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FORTUNE -- Online real estate company Redfin has raised $50 million in what it believes will be its last round of VC funding before going public.
Tiger Global Management led the round, and was joined by T. Rowe Price Associates and existing investors Greylock Partners, Globespan Capital Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Vulcan Capital and The Hillman Company.
Fortune has learned that the deal was done at around a $500 million valuation, and that it was competitive.
Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman declined to discuss valuation, but acknowledged that this is being viewed as a pre-IPO round.
"We wanted to make sure we understood how public market investors would view and understand us and our story," he explains. "Bringing Tiger and T. Rowe in gives us that, while still letting us make some long-term investments in our business that may have been more difficult as a public company.
Redfin sometimes gets compared to Zillow (Z) and Trulia (TRLA), but really is more of a tech-enabled brokerage than it is a lead generation service. The company enables users to list their properties via a combination of the company's online platform and Redfin-employed brokers, rather than third-party brokers who are essentially licensing the brand of large real estate companies.
Kelman says that the company currently has between a 3% and 4% market share in its hometown of Seattle, and expects to hit similar numbers in markets like Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston. "If we reach 5% just in the markets we're already in, that would be $1 billion in revenue," he says.
One key for Redfin is expanding its demographic reach. The company originally launched by appealing to tech-savvy early adopters -- like engineers at Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOG) and Microsoft (MSFT) -- but Kelman noted that one of his brokers had just sent over a photo of a 92 year-old client. "Part of our demographic growth is simply that a 35 year-old in 2008 is now 40, still wants to use our service, only this time to buy a nicer house," Kelman says. "But it's also just about getting more visibility and referrals in each market."
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Neighborhood social network maker now worth around $600 million.
FORTUNE -- Nextdoor, a private social network for neighborhoods, this morning announced that it has raised $60 million in new VC funding, co-led by Tiger Global Management and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The round was competitive, with sources telling Fortune that it values the San Francisco-based company at approximately $600 million.
Comcast Ventures also participated, alongside existing shareholders Benchmark, Greylock Partners and Shasta MOREDan Primack - Oct 29, 2013 9:01 AM ET
WordPress.com parent company raises $50 million.
FORTUNE -- WordPress.com parent company Automattic today announced a $50 million investment from Tiger Global, in a secondary deal that will provide liquidity to early company shareholders.
The San Francisco-based company declined to discuss valuation, but a source familiar with the situation says that Tiger valued Automattic "just below" the $1.1 billion price-tag that Yahoo (YHOO) recently bestowed upon Tumblr.
You may recall earlier this week that Automattic founder and MOREDan Primack - May 24, 2013 11:26 AM ET
Facebook investor raises largest private equity fund to date.
Tiger Global has raised nearly $1.5 billion for its seventh private equity fund, according to a filing with the SEC.
This is the private equity affiliate of Tiger Global, the tech-heavy hedge fund run by Chase Coleman. It's extremely secretive -- no website, no interviews -- but is regularly called on to provide later-stage capital to some of the world's hottest private companies.
For MOREDan Primack - Mar 6, 2012 4:29 PM ET
|Light bulb ban set to take effect|
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|Average American inheritance: $177,000|


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With the return of the Datsun, Nissan is making aggressive moves to expand its markets, and the latest numbers show that business for the automaker has been "pretty good." Nissan's quarterly net profits are on the rise, beating forecasts. But here are three reasons why Japan's number two automaker isn't out of the woods yet.
The Europe Union and Chinese solar panel exporters said Saturday that they had reached a settlement in their long trade dispute, with the exporters agreeing to sell their products at a minimum price in the EU market. The agreement ends one of the biggest-ever trade disputes between China and Europe — a row that threatened to escalate into a full-blown trade war involving European wines and to disrupt EU-China relations.
With the discovery of shale gas reserves in Brazil and plans to auction drilling rights there, a delegation is visiting Pennsylvania to see how its drilling boom has turned the state into one of the leading natural gas producers in the U.S. The group of Brazilian business and energy industry professionals hopes to learn from the state's experience and to explore the possibility of exports to Brazil during meetings Wednesday and Thursday.
Ford Motor Co. is finally becoming the well-rounded company it aspires to be. Almost bankrupt last decade because it relied too heavily on selling big trucks and SUVs in North America, the second-largest U.S. automaker is now making small and midsize cars at a profit and selling them across the globe.
North Korea on Thursday threatened to re-station troops at a stalled inter-Korean factory park located just across the tense border separating the two Koreas, as minor scuffles reportedly broke out between delegates from the rivals after failed talks meant to restart the complex.
Japan's trade deficit was a smaller-than-expected 180.8 billion yen ($1.8 billion) in June as the weaker yen boosted exports. The deficit reported by the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday was smaller than most forecasts and down from May's deficit of 996.4 billion yen. Still, it was more than triple the 56.1 trillion yen deficit recorded in June 2012.
A deepening slowdown is challenging Chinese leaders' determination to stick with painful economic reforms they say will deliver more sustainable growth in the long run. The latest gloomy data point: A manufacturing survey released Wednesday showed this month's activity fell to an 11-month low.
Nissan Motor Co. and its French alliance partner Renault SA said Tuesday they have sold a combined 100,000 electric vehicles globally. However, the companies' sales of zero-emission cars have not been as strong as expected due to higher price tags than equivalent gasoline-powered vehicles as well as scarce charging facilities.
The Institute for Supply Chain Management held their 98th Annual International Supply Management Conference & Educational Exhibit April 28th through May 1st in Grapevine, TX. More than 2,000 professionals attended the conference and several “instant” digital polls were held, taking a look at reshoring and tax concerns. Thomas Derry, CEO of ISM, discusses the results of those polls and how they are affecting business and the economy.
Not too long ago, an article outlined some major reasons why reshoring, for all its business viability and value to the American economy, faces real problems with aging machinery and a workforce in need of new, well-trained people. Naturally, these concerns stem from a variety of flaws in the educational and training systems, and from a lack of foresight from manufacturers, who were not prepared for such a wide skills gap.
Hershey's has been making and selling chocolate for more than a century but the company is just getting started in places like China. CBS News' Seth Doane reports on how this classic American brand is changing to appeal to its new customers.
ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, has abandoned plans for an $8.5B steel plant in eastern India in the second major blow this week to the government's efforts to lure foreign investment. The company said Wednesday it decided to scrap the steel plant in Orissa state after a seven year delay in acquiring land. Its decision came a day after South Korean steel giant Posco dropped plans for a steel plant in southern Karnataka state.
Any way you look at it, the United States and European Union will remain dominant players in world trade over the next two decades. The real question, says the World Trade Organization in a new report, is how much ground they cede to rising economies like China.
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew says that cyber theft is a real problem in China that "has to stop." It is a competitive world, Lew says, but despite problems, the United States has emerged strongest from the recession, which shows that the United States remains among the strongest and largest economies in the world.
Jobs growth remains weak among the world's 20 biggest economies, where almost a third of the 93 million unemployed have been out of work for more than a year, top labor and development officials reported Wednesday. In a batch of new figures intended to push G-20 governments into action, the U.N.'s International Labor Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned the rate of employment growth remains low.
General Motors' global sales grew almost 4 percent in the first half of the year, enough to fend off Volkswagen for second place and perhaps close the gap with sales leader Toyota. GM said Tuesday that it sold 4.85 million cars and trucks worldwide from January through June. That puts GM on pace for sales of around 9.7 million for the year.
The Datsun re-launch was no ordinary car launch. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn even called it "a historic moment." Datsun, a brand that Nissan phased out in the 1980s, has been re-launched in India with the low-cost Datsun Go. The Datsun Go is priced at 400,000 Indian Rupees, or about $6,700 U.S.
South Korean steel giant Posco has pulled out of a proposed $5.3 billion steel plant in the southern Indian state of Karnataka in a new blow to government efforts to attract foreign investment to spur growth. The company said Tuesday it scrapped the project because of inordinate delays stemming from local opposition to land acquisition for the project.
Authorities in a southern Chinese city on Saturday scrapped a plan to build a uranium-processing plant, one day after hundreds of local residents protested against it because of safety concerns. The city government of Heshan in Guangdong province said in an online statement that it would halt the 37 billion yuan ($6 billion) project by China National Nuclear Corp.
Nissan launched a new Datsun in India on Monday, three decades after shelving the brand that helped win Western acceptance of Japanese autos. The company hopes that bringing back the brand that built its U.S. business will fuel growth in emerging markets with a new generation of car buyers.
The United States needs more startup companies and innovation to compete with the rest of the world, General Electric Co. chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt told the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents on Friday. Immelt said the U.S. needs more risk capital to help fuel startups, less government regulation, a greater emphasis on research and development and more cooperation with higher education.
Disposable flatware maker Trellis Earth Products is moving its manufacturing operations from China to upstate New York, where it will create 189 jobs. Trellis, with headquarters in Portland, Ore., plans to break ground on an $8 million, 80,000-square-foot facility in the Rochester Technology Park by the end of the summer.
Who, at this point, hasn’t heard about Chip Starnes, the American co-owner of a medical supply company, who was held against his will for five days by his own Chinese employees? As with most other news of labor relations coming out of China, many are using this event as another example of why manufacturers need to be moving back to the U.S. as soon as possible. I wouldn’t be so quick to judgment.
Louisiana is giving $6 million to help a Russian chemical company build a $1.5 billion fertilizer plant and distribution center in the state. Moscow-based EuroChem, which ranks itself among the world's top 10 fertilizer producers, will choose between two sites — one in Iberville Parish and one in St. John the Baptist Parish.
Japanese auto parts maker Denso Corp. will invest approximately $51.4 million (about 5.1 billion yen) to expand the Silao plant, which will start producing air conditioners in October, to accommodate the new line for customers such as Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., as they increase production in the region.

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As a cardiologist with a Master of Business Administration, UF Health Jacksonville’s Dr. John Catanzaro sees medicine differently.
While he spends most of his time treating patients, a portion is spent looking for better, safer ways to care for cardiac patients, especially those with defibrillators and pacemakers.
“It’s about looking for problems,” he said.
“Along the way you notice there are problems, whether it happens to you or it’s a problem in the field or it’s a problem in the public. The better you can learn and understand the problem, the closer you can come to a solution.”
Catanzaro has had a hand in developing two devices for those patients with a third underway.
The latest is a phone case and shirt to protect patients with defibrillators from the magnets in the iPhone 12.
The magnet in the phone is strong enough to disable the defibrillator if it is within 6 inches of it, typically in a shirt pocket. Apple issued warnings to users to keep their phones more than 6 inches from their defibrillators, or 12 inches if it is wirelessly charging.
“It renders it inactive, so if you have a heart attack and the phone is in the chest pocket, the device won’t be able to shock you,” Catanzaro said.
Catanzaro filed a provisional patent for his development of a shirt and phone case with a blend of a material that blocks magnetic fields.
Another was a catheter that releases a gel into the esophagus to regulate its temperature during ablation procedures. In that process, doctors use cold or heat energy to correct heart rhythm problems, such as atrial fibrillation.
In that procedure, the esophagus, located next to the heart, is at risk of being damaged from the heat or cold energy. If damaged, a patient’s chance of death following the procedure is at about 80%.
Catanzaro said he partnered with a material scientist to create a prototype, tested it on animals to prove it is effective. He now is working to take the product to clinical trials in the next year.
The third invention was developed at UF Health Jacksonville. Catanzaro was the first in the world to implement it in 2018.
Catanzaro developed a regenerative bio envelope to protect a cardiac defibrillator and keep tissue from growing around it, rendering it less effective.
Rather than scar tissue growing around the device, new tissue with blood supply grows around it.
With scar tissue, energy from the defibrillator is absorbed and less of it reaches the heart.
Catanzaro said he is studying the envelope to show how it benefits patients over time.
In addition to his role as a cardiologist and electrophysiologist, Catanzaro leads the cardiac electrophysiology fellowship and teaches future doctors.
In that role, he encourages them to use new technologies and try to come up with their own.
“It’s great to use other people’s toys, but when you can develop your own, it’s even more fun,” he said.
“They really take a liking to coming up with your own idea and bringing it to life to commercialize something.”


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NEW DELHI—India is pressing China to buy more of its goods—from pharmaceuticals to software—and taking steps to reduce Chinese imports as it grows increasingly worried about its widening trade gap with its Asian rival.
New Delhi is frustrated that trade talks launched when Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited India in late 2010 haven't yielded significant benefits. India's trade deficit with China jumped 42% to nearly $40 billion in the last fiscal year ended March 31, and was the largest contributor to the country's overall gap between exports and imports.
In an interview, Anand Sharma, India's commerce minister, said he is "very concerned" about the trade imbalance with China. He said India will be hosting a meeting with Chinese officials this month in which the issue "will be on top of the agenda."
India's trade woes have become a serious economic threat for the nation. The country's current account deficit—which measures the balance of trade with the world—was 4.5% of gross domestic product in the quarter that ended March 31, an all-time high. That has contributed to a sharp depreciation in the rupee and has put enormous pressure on India to attract foreign capital.
The trade gap is one of many structural deficiencies that are plaguing India's economy. Inflation is persistent and economists expect it to tick up more this year. Spending on expensive energy subsidies is weighing down the treasury. And, as was on stark display this week when India suffered the world's largest-ever electricity blackout—covering states inhabited by 680 million people—the country's infrastructure is badly outdated and unable to meet the demands of a huge, emerging middle class.
Indian Power Minister Veerappa Moily said Wednesday he was thoroughly investigating what went wrong in the blackout. "We need to take remedial measures to prevent the recurrence of disruption of such a magnitude," he said, including strengthening the transmission grid.
Left unchecked, large trade deficits threaten to thrust India into the same kind of balance-of-payments crisis it faced in the early 1990s, when New Delhi was forced to abandon decades of Soviet-style central planning and take its first steps toward economic liberalization. To address the problem, experts say, India needs to boost exports significantly and create a business environment that attracts foreign capital. While Indian policy makers say they are trying to do both, they have made only spotty progress.
India's fiscal problems, combined with its growth slowdown, are a source of concern for investors who are looking to big emerging markets to buoy global growth amid Europe's turmoil and the anemic U.S. recovery. India's central bank on Tuesday cut its forecast for gross domestic product growth in this fiscal year to 6.5% from 7.3%.
Falling oil prices have helped India pare its imports lately—the government said Wednesday the trade deficit narrowed somewhat in June—but economists say the prospect for exports is still bleak and the pressure isn't likely to go away.
With respect to China, India wants greater access for its "value-added products" and wants China to increase government procurement in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, Mr. Sharma said. India recently submitted a list of 916 goods that it believes China should purchase in larger quantities.
Meanwhile, Chinese goods are flooding Indian markets—from heavy industrial equipment to laptops to cosmetics. In a little more than a decade, China has moved from India's seventh-largest source of imports to its largest source, overtaking the U.S., Germany and Japan, according to Indian government data.
India is taking steps to curb that influx. The cabinet late last month approved a 21% tariff on imports of equipment for big power projects, a move aimed at protecting local manufacturers from Chinese competitors. Such protectionist moves have drawbacks, though. India desperately needs to boost power generation, as the massive outage this week demonstrated, and advanced Chinese technology—from boilers to turbines—is becoming increasingly vital to pull off the biggest power plant projects. China already supplies over 40% of India's power gear.
Some Indian officials openly accuse the Chinese of effectively blocking Indian exports. "This is a message we've been raising with the Chinese—that this isn't sustainable to run a trade deficit of this order," said Rahul Khullar, who was India's top bureaucrat in the Commerce Ministry until he moved to another government department in May. "There are clear perceptions that some of our manufactured goods—whether it is pharmaceuticals, chemicals, processed products—are simply not able to get market access."
A spokesman for China's foreign ministry didn't respond to requests for comment.
Louis Kuijs, an economist at the Fung Global Institute in Hong Kong, a think tank, says India's struggle to expand exports to China isn't the result of Chinese market barriers as much as India's inability to produce quality manufactured goods. "China has this overpowering manufacturing sector and it is hard for India to compete," Mr. Kuijs said.
It isn't just the amount of trade, but the composition of it that has India worried. China is exporting a wide variety of sophisticated products, which have higher profit margins and create more jobs at home. It exported $6.7 billion of telecom equipment to India in the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2011, including cordless phones, cellphones and cellular base stations.
The lion's share of India's exports to China, in vivid contrast, are raw materials. The top two products, copper and iron ore, combined for nearly half of India's $19 billion in total exports in the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2011.
Many other countries, including the U.S., Brazil, and Russia, run large trade deficits with China. But India's concerns are especially sensitive, given the countries are neighboring rivals with clashing strategic interests. They have long-standing territorial disputes along their shared Himalayan border. India is increasingly worried about China's influence over Indian Ocean shipping lanes, while China is wary of India's oil-exploration in the South China Sea.
The flood of Chinese goods into India is on stark display in the narrow, congested alleys of Sadar Bazaar in the old section of Delhi built by the Mughals. The market, a maze of tiny shops in dilapidated buildings with crumbling brick facades, sells toys, hardware, costume jewelry, cosmetics, home appliances and hosiery.
Traders say Chinese goods made up only 5% of their inventory five years ago but now account for more than half. Even Chinese-made portraits of Hindu deities have made their way to Sadar Bazaar. One trader was selling holograph images of the monkey-god, Hanuman, and the destroyer-god, Shiva.
Traders who once used to travel across India, sourcing products from small-scale manufacturers, now make regular trips to China to purchase their inventory.
Siddharth Kumar, whose family runs a major wholesale and retail operation in Sadar Bazaar, spends 15 days per month living in China's eastern city of Hangzhou, where he sources all sorts of goods—padlocks, wind-chimes, nail cutters, glassware. The Kumars were pioneers but now others have caught on to the opportunity.
"Whenever I go, I meet at least one hundred people from my own market," Mr. Kumar says. "Anything you can think of comes from China these days—that is how it is."
Indian firms have pressured their government to stem the tide of Chinese goods. Of India's 35 dumping complaints against Chinese firms in the past three years, the government has imposed new duties 22 times to protect Indian goods.
Many economists say protectionist moves by India will likely hurt India much more than China in the long run—depriving Indian firms and consumers of goods they can't find at home.
"I don't think a strategy of trying to regulate imports is going to make a big difference," said Biswajit Dhar, director general of Research and Information System for Developing Countries, a New Delhi research organization. "We need an export strategy, and this has been sorely lacking."
India thus far has focused on shipping China the goods and services it has already had success exporting elsewhere. Indian pharmaceutical companies are leading suppliers of low-cost generic drugs to treat everything from high cholesterol to stomach infections. They have had great success in the U.S., U.K., Germany and other Western markets, helping propel exports of drugs and fine chemicals from $3.3 billion in 2004 to $10.4 billion last year.
But in China, the opposite has happened. India's drug and fine chemical exports to China have fallen 12% since 2007 to a meager $108 million, even as sales to the U.S. have more than doubled since then to nearly $2 billion, according to the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India, a trade group for the Indian industry.
"China for an outsider looks very attractive—it's a huge market," said Arun Sawhney, managing director of India's Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., which exited its Chinese joint venture in 2009 after launching some 40 products and failing to make significant headway. "But generic pharma from outside China has not been able to figure out what can make it successful."
Indian pharmaceutical firms complain of cutthroat pricing in China and an inability to navigate a system of state-run health institutions.
An Indian government memo prepared by the country's Embassy in Beijing last year said Indian firms have been thwarted by regulatory hurdles. Registering new drugs can take three to four years in China, versus 10 months in India, the memo said, and China's regulators require firms to conduct clinical trials in the country, something Indian firms are reluctant to do.
India has also pushed China to buy more of the outsourced software services India's tech sector is famous for.
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., India's largest technology outsourcing specialist by revenue, has been in China for a decade. But the company's chief executive, N. Chandrasekaran, says its accomplishments thus far—deals with some financial services firms, including Bank of China, BACHY 1.65 % and a workforce of about 3,000—are much more modest than Tata envisioned. "We're still not present in any of the very big companies," Mr. Chandrasekaran said. "It's very difficult to break through."
Mr. Chandrasekaran says selling to China's state-run companies requires a heavier dose of government relations than Indian firms are accustomed to. On his trips, he generally meets with officials from China's National Development and Reform Commission—which carries out economic planning—as well as local officials like party secretaries and provincial leaders.
"In other markets you don't spend time with government officials, but in China you do—the government is your client," Mr. Chandrasekaran said.
—Carlos Tejada contributed to this article.
Write to Amol Sharma at email@example.com


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Apple Increases Over-the-Air Download Limit In App Store To 50 MB
With the announcement of the new iPad, Apple has boosted the over-the-air limit for the App Store downloads to 50 MB, up from previous 20 MB.
AppAdvice suggests that the change is made to accommodate larger app files due to the new Retina display and faster 4G LTE cellular data speeds available in the new iPad. The limit is now 50 MB for all devices and affects apps that users download over 3G or 4G networks.
Developers often make considerable effort to keep their app under the download limit, as they think it increases the likelihood of spontaneous purchases.
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RIP: Dana Rudolph, 1951-2018
By Greg Haymes
Former Greater Nippertown artist and entreprenteur Dana Rudolph died earlier this week in Florida at age 67. She was one of the major players on the Lark Street scene during the ’80s glory days operating the designer jewelry and new wave clothing shop After the Goldrush at 247 Lark Street, where she shared her retail space with Mary Miller’s Lark Beat Records. Later, she moved down the street to 216 Lark Street, where she ran her similar store, Rocket Rocket. She was also instrumental in launching what has become Lark Street’s defining event LarkFest, back in 1981.
In addition to being an innovative jewelery maker, she was also an acclaimed artist who studied at SUNY at Purchase, Bard College and Sage Junior College of Albany. She was also an adjunct art professor at the Sage Colleges, and her work was exhibited at many Local 518 galleries over the years. Her art is currently on exhibit at Dennis Herbert Folk Art Gallery in Hudson.
After leaving Lark Street, Rudolph operated a bead store in Troy, Dana Rudolph and Company, helping to revitalize lower River Street, not only with her shop, but also as a driving force in creating the River Street Festival (now known as the Troy River Fest).
After relocating to Florida, she opened My Bead Gallery in 2010 in Englewood and operated it until losing her valiant battle with pancreatic cancer earlier this week.


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A touchscreen for your iKids: First tablet computer toy for children raises fears they will become addicted to technology
They used to be content with a toy box full of puzzles, games and teddy bears.
But young children are increasingly becoming addicted to technology, leading to a generation of ‘iKids’ who may struggle to read, write and speak properly, experts warned yesterday.
Dr Aric Sigman, a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, spoke as it was revealed that the first tablet computer for youngsters – the InnoTab by VTech – will be launched in the UK in August and in America this fall.
Exploiting the success: The Vtech InnoTab will be launched in August and is aimed at four to nine year olds with a number of 'child-friendly' applications
Targeted at children aged four to nine, it aims to exploit the success of the Apple iPad among a younger market. It comes with a 5in colour touchscreen, built-in MP3 player and ‘child-friendly applications’.
Selfridges expects the tablet, priced £79.99, to be the top-selling children’s toy this Christmas, while Tesco is predicting that Fijit Friends Interactive Toys – a set of four squishy robots that interact with iPhone applications – will be top of wish lists.
But Dr Sigman warned that children are already showing ‘signs and symptoms of not spending enough time paying attention to the 3D world around them’.
He said: ‘It’s absolutely imperative that children spend as much time as possible interacting with real people, particularly looking at their parents’ faces and picking up facial and voice cues and gaining eye-to-eye contact.
‘If they don’t, they don’t learn to speak as well and they don’t learn how their behaviour affects others.’
Literacy expert Sue Palmer, author of Toxic Childhood, cautioned: ‘It will make it harder for them to learn to read and write.
‘This is a long, slow process that is fundamentally boring to begin with and involves a lot of physical co-ordination and rallying of different parts of the brain.
‘If they are learning from a very early age to get a quick fix, their attention and capacity to focus isn’t going to develop.’
Perfect for learning: Ezra Elliott was so intrigued by his father's iPad that he installed child friendly apps and imposed a time limit on use
But educational psychologist Kairen Cullen said the InnoTab ‘could be a very good thing’ to prepare children for ‘increasingly media-rich worlds’.
She added that she often sees young children who have a ‘fascination’ with gadgets due to their parents’ use of new technology.
Simon Elliott’s four-year-old son Ezra became so intrigued by his father’s iPad that Mr Elliott installed child-friendly applications, such as a drawing program, and imposed a time limit on his use.
Mr Elliott, from Hampstead, London, said: ‘It’s perfect for learning and has really improved his hand-eye co-ordination.’
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Ford Delays Launches of Bronco, Mustang Mach-E, and F-150
【Summary】Because of delays brought on by the coronavirus, Ford has had to delay the release of a few of its important vehicles by a few months – the same amount of time plants were idle because of the pandemic.
The coronavirus threw a large hitch in a lot of automaker's plans. Because of the pandemic, numerous automakers had to shut their North American factories down for a few months to keep their workers safe. Ford shut down its American plants on March 19 and officially opened them on May 18. Those two months have put the American automaker behind schedule and has now resulted in the brand having to delay the launch of a few of its upcoming vehicles.
Three Major Vehicles Have Been Delayed
According to a report by The Detroit News, Ford is delaying the launch of three incredibly important vehicles: the redesigned F-150 pickup truck, Bronco SUV, and all-electric Mustang Mach-E. The outlet claims that the launch of these three vehicles will be pushed back by approximately two months, or the same amount of time its factories were closed because of the coronavirus.
"Given our inability to work in the assembly plants during the shelter-in-place restrictions, it will have an impact to program timing, in terms of the launches," said Hau Thai-Tang, Ford's head of product development and purchasing, on Friday at a Bank of America analysts' conference. "But we expect the launch delays to be commensurate with the duration of the shutdown period."
These three vehicles are expected to bring in a lot of money for Ford, which is in dire need of cash at the moment. The outlet claims that the American brand will lose approximately $5 billion just this quarter. While Ford is doing everything that it can to help bring things back up to speed, there's only so much it can do.
Why These Three Are Important
In a statement to Roadshow, a Ford representative told the outlet that it still expects to "deliver the all-new Mustang Mach-E to customers late this year." The representative didn't say anything about the delay. In regard to the Bronco, the automaker claimed that the SUV was still on schedule to go on sale at the beginning of 2021. So, from Ford's end, it sounds like things are still on track.
All three of these vehicles are important for Ford. The F-150 has been the automaker's bread and butter since day one. Throughout the coronavirus, pickup trucks continued to reign supreme in sales and the F-150 has been the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. for a number of years. A redesigned F-150 would help the brand maintain its dominant sales streak.
The upcoming Bronco is a rugged SUV meant to compete with the likes of the Jeep Wrangler. It's the revival of a historic nameplate, which should bring in some nostalgic consumers. The Bronco will also spawn a miniature version in the form of the Bronco Sport, which will be based on the Ford Escape, but a more rugged vehicle.
Lastly, the Mustang Mach-E is Ford's first attempt at a real electric vehicle. The EV will extend the Mustang family to new heights and to a place where it's never been before. The Mustang Mach-E is supposed to show consumers and executives that Ford knows how to keep up with other electric brands in modern times, so it's highly important for the automaker.
Vineeth Joel Patel
Joel Patel has been covering all aspects of the automotive industry for four years as an editor and freelance writer for various websites. When it comes to cars, he enjoys covering the merger between technology and cars. In his spare time, Joel likes to watch baseball, work on his car, and try new foods
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Chinese Startup Pony.ai Introduces Contactless Delivery Using Autonomous Cars
- Detroit’s Big 3 Looking to Reopen Factories by May 18: Report
- General Motors Shutters its Peer-to-Peer Car-Sharing Unit Maven
- Waymo to Resume its Self-driving Vehicle Testing Next Week in Arizona
- Volkswagen’s Truck Unit Traton SE Offers to Buy U.S. Truck Maker Navistar for $2.9 Billion
- Ford’s Mustang-inspired Mach-E Crossover Secures Reservations in all 50 States
- Tesla’s New Mega Battery Pack Could Boost Range to 400 Miles
- What Effect Will COVID-19 Have on the EV Industry?
- Toyota and its Partners Are Building Maps for Autonomous Vehicles Using Satellite Images & Dash Cam Footage
- Self-Driving Startup AutoX Deploys its Robotaxis in Shanghai
- BMW Decides its New iX3 Electric SUV is Not Coming to the U.S. as Planned


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One of the biggest and best pieces of news for Windows 10 Mobile came out at the end of last week and the implications are huge. Microsoft stated in an article on ZDNet that they will be controlling all update to Windows 10 including those of Windows 10 Mobile. This not only includes businesses running Windows 10 Mobile but consumers like you and me. This is fantastic news as it takes the carriers out of the equation which, in theory, means that we should see updates to Windows 10 Mobile far faster than we ever have under Windows Phone 7, 8, or 8.1.
I wrote about this very subject back in February where I outlined how Microsoft could bypass the carriers on updates to Windows 10 Mobile via a Windows Insider style mechanism. While in the article from Mr. Bott clearly states that carriers will still be in the mix, it will be at a far lower level and Microsoft ultimately is the one that determines when the upgrade button is pushed on devices.
All of this should be welcome news to Windows Phone users. The Lumia Cyan and Lumia Denim updates have been nothing short of a mess for many as carriers have delayed or failed to release these updates for the devices on their network. A good example is the Lumia Denim release for the Lumia 1520 on the AT&T network coming out a full six months after it was released. That’s unacceptable, particularly on a flagship device.
The lack of updates from carriers has produced unnecessary consumer frustration and while they will still control when a device on their network gets upgraded from Windows Phone 8.1 to Windows 10 Mobile, going forward from that point all updates will come from Microsoft.
My suggestions to all readers if you can afford to do it is to get your Windows Phone from Microsoft or Amazon off contract or even better unlocked. I have an unlocked Lumia 1320 which received the Lumia Denim update back in January. My AT&T locked Lumia 635 is still waiting.


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Microsoft Surpasses Expectations with Strong Q1 Earnings as Azure Revenue Soars, while Google Struggles in Cloud Sector
Microsoft has reported impressive Q1 earnings, surpassing expectations and sending its stock soaring, thanks to strong performances from its cloud and AI divisions. The tech giant’s earnings per share were reported at $2.99 on revenue of $56.52 billion, beating the average analyst estimate. Net income also saw a significant increase, rising by 27%, reaching $22.29 billion, marking $2.35 per share.
Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud segment, which includes Azure and other key components, generated $24.26 billion in revenue, reflecting a 19% increase and surpassing analyst consensus. Azure revenue demonstrated remarkable growth, with a 29% increase during the quarter, outperforming expectations. Microsoft’s Productivity and Business Processes unit also demonstrated strong performance, achieving $18.59 billion in revenue, a notable 13% increase.
During the earnings call, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed that the company’s Teams communication app now boasts over 320 million monthly active users, a significant increase from six months ago. Additionally, Microsoft’s More Personal Computing segment, which includes Windows, Xbox, Bing, and Surface, reported $13.67 billion in revenue, a 3% YoY increase.
On the other hand, Google-parent Alphabet missed expectations in its Q3 earnings, particularly in its cloud segment. While the company reported a 11% YoY increase in revenue, returning to double-digit growth, its cloud sales fell short of expectations. The cloud segment generated $8.41 billion, below the expected $8.6 billion.
Alphabet’s core advertising segment, including YouTube advertising revenue, performed well, surpassing analyst expectations. However, Google’s cloud business struggled to satisfy investors. CFO Ruth Porat highlighted the strength of the cloud business across various geographies and industries, but acknowledged the impact of customer optimization efforts on the growth rate.
While Microsoft shares gained 4% on the strong Q1 results, Alphabet shares fell 6% due to the disappointing cloud performance. Microsoft’s success in the cloud sector, particularly with Azure, highlights the company’s leadership and continued growth in this area. With the demand for cloud services and AI products on the rise, Microsoft appears well-positioned for continued success in the future.


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The announced findings of surveys by Trip Advisor and American Express have confirmed that the credit crunch is having a disproportionate impact on inbound tourism compared to outbound, according to the trade association UKinbound.Trip Advisor quizzed more than 4,000 people worldwide and found that just 21% of British travellers said fuel prices would affect travel plans this summer, compared with 41% of worldwide travellers. The American Express poll of more than 2,000 people found that 80% of Britons are not willing to give up their summer break at a time of widespread fears over the adverse impact UK fuel and price rises will have on holiday trends.
British holidaymakers are continuing to travel abroad, while their overseas counterparts are becoming more frugal, which according to UKinbound means the UK has to compete for fewer overseas visitors, who are also choosing cheaper destinations.
Stephen Dowd chief executive of UKinbound said:
“Both surveys show there is little chance of UK citizens taking fewer trips abroad, so in order to mitigate the effects of the credit crunch and reduce the tourism deficit we need a real push to make the UK more attractive to overseas visitors. That has to mean a change in Government policy and a reduction of the barriers which currently deter tourists from visiting the UK. The industry is continuing to improve it product offering and its welcome to overseas visitors but now we need Government to help us too.”


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A payment card data breach at The Home Depot Inc. netted more than just payment card data -- criminals also grabbed files containing about 53 million email addresses.
That's one of a few new findings the Atlanta-based home improvement retailer reported after market close on Thursday.
As reported earlier this year, Home Depot's Sept. 2 data breach will cost the company $62 million and is estimated to have put payment card information at risk for 56 million payment debt/credit cards.
Home Depot (NYSE: HD) now says:
- The files containing the 53 million email addresses did not contain passwords, payment card information or other sensitive personal information. The company is notifying affected customers in the United States and Canada. Customers should be on guard against phishing scams, which are designed to trick customers into providing personal information in response to phony emails.


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Johnson Controls International plc reported strong fiscal fourth quarter earnings.
The industrial conglomerate's EPS of $0.93 was +7% higher from the year-ago period. Reporting an overall organic growth of +6%, its sales was $8.4 billion. It had an adjusted free cash flow of $1.3 billion in the quarter. The company projects its fiscal 2019 adjusted EPS to be in the range of $2.90 to $3.05, representing organic EBIT growth of 8% to 12%.
The company announced an additional $1 billion of share buyback plan.


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A strong interest grew into a minor addiction and finally a crazed obsession. So goes the relationship the younger generation now has with their various mobile devices.
A recent study done by the Kaiser Family Foundation revealed U.S. children between the ages of 8 and 18 are now spending an average of 7.5 hours a day immersed in some form of entertainment media on a mobile device.
While no one is ready to definitively state whether or not all this mobile minutia is healthy or unhealthy, it's important to take a closer look at the impact it's going to have on this demographic as they become older retail consumers later in life.
“The amount of time young people spend with media has grown to where it's even more than a full-time work week,” Drew Altman, president and chief executive of the foundation, said in a statement. “When children are spending this much time doing anything, we need to understand how it's affecting them—for good and bad.”
Altman adds that because young people often use more than one medium at a time, they are actually managing to pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes worth of media content into those 7.5 hours.
“The younger generation is so media savvy today they require a completely new approach on the marketing front,” began Seth Greene, a former multimedia marketer who now studies emerging consumer trends as a New York-based consultant. “Their focus isn't scattered like ours was when we younger. They can zero in on exactly and on only what they want to and kind of close everything else out.”
Greene added that addressing this demographic is vital as, “They are truly the first generation that only knows this world. They have nothing to draw from to make a comparison and the pace at which this technology is moving is very comfortable to them.”
So comfortable in fact that the vast majority of young people today would not be caught dead without the devices on which they play their games, listen to music and, in many cases, connect to the Internet to check out pictures and watch videos. Over the past five years, laptop, cell phone and iPod ownership has exploded. The proportion of 8- to 18-year-olds owning a laptop has climbed from 12 percent to 29 percent; cell phone ownership has jumped from 39 percent to 66 percent, and those with an iPod or other MP3 player has gone from 18 percent to 76 percent, according to the study.
Altman added that they suspect that the tremendous increase in cell phone and MP3 ownership among tweens and teens is probably the most important factor underlying the increase in media use among 8 to 18 year olds.
The report adds that roughly 20 percent of media consumption (2:07) occurs on mobile devices—cell phones, iPods or handheld video game players. Moreover, almost another hour (:56) consists of “old” content—TV or music—delivered through “new” pathways on a computer (such as Hulu or iTunes).
New online capabilities and types of content have also come to play an important role in young people's media activities. Two of the three most popular computer destinations among this age group—social networkin and video sites like YouTube—were not widely available five years ago; today they account for an average of :37 of young people's daily media time (:22 for social networking and :15 for video Web sites).
In conclusion, we suggest imaging retailers keep a close eye on the mobile habits of this demographic as there appears to be a trickle up theory in play here as older consumers are beginning to adopt many of this group's habits. We are seeing the tip of a potentially very big iceberg with regard to the mobile revolution. Stay tuned…just use your iPhone.


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Olive e-Business has won the digital account of Dalmia Bharat following a multi-agency pitch held in June 2011. Dalmia Bharat, earlier known as Dalmia Cements, got its new name after its demerger in 2010. This is the first time that the company has roped in an agency to create an online presence.
The campaigns will aim to revamp Dalmia Bharat's traditional image using digital and social media platforms. A new website has already been launched as part of the digital revamp.
Commenting on the win, Siddhant Johri, head, strategy and creative, Olive, says, "The challenge was to come up with a strategy that could illustrate Dalmia in a new light altogether. It was perceived as a traditional company doing traditional business for long. We offered it a solution unifying its traditional milieu with modern aspirations."First Published : December 07, 2011


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Ministers thought the problem was the government spending too much," says Duncan Weldon, senior economist with the TUC. "And that if they simply lowered corporation tax and cut the cost of capital, companies would invest more."
On that score, Osbornomics has been an undeniable failure. According to official forecasts from June 2010, business investment should have risen 35% by now; it's only increased 1%. Nor has the promised export boom turned up, despite the pound's plunge making our goods much cheaper abroad.
…..Our record with graphene has been similarly dismal. Consultants calculate that China has taken out more than 2,200 patents on the material; the US more than 1,700; South Korea is closing in on 1,200. And the country that discovered it? Just over 50.
…..Which leaves the academics trying to fill in for the old corporate labs. Geim tells me of dinner a couple of years ago with senior staff from one of the corporate children of ICI, pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. "They were complaining … about how their stock price never went up. So I told them, 'Shut your lab at Alderley.'"
He was being caustic: the hub at Alderley Park in Cheshire has been doing cutting-edge drug research for more than 40 years. "They laughed: 'It will never happen.' Then this summer Alderley's closure was announced. And I looked up their share price and it had rocketed."
Oznake: aplikativna znanost, financiranje, J.Z.


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Southern Cal town gets creative in fight against Dollar General
A handful of communities in California, Palo Cedro and Etna among them, have rallied to stop national retailer Dollar General from opening a store in their area.
They’ve signed petitions, put up Facebook pages, attended city council meetings and authored declarations against the Tennessee-based store.
But this is a new one.
The folks in the Southern California high desert town of Joshua Tree have put together a video. The Desert Sun reports that residents and businesses have been fighting to stop a developer from building a Dollar General for some three years.
For a look at the video and more on the story, click here.


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Beer giant AB InBev ups offer for SABMiller
Belgium-based Budweiser maker AB InBev raised the cash-only component of its offer for British-South African rival SABMiller from 44 pounds per share to 45 pounds per share. SABMiller's board had tentatively agreed to accept the original deal, but its investors have not signed off — and during that period the pound has declined sharply following the so-called "Brexit" vote. The new offer is worth about $103.8 billion.
The currency's falloff threatens to derail the deal, which the companies had trumpeted as giving them combined 30% share of global beer sales, paving the way for cost cuts and enabling AB InBev's push into developing markets.
Ironically, the tie-up cleared a major hurdle last week by winning the U.S. Justice Department's approval with a few strings attached, including a requirement aimed at protecting independent beer distributors.
That authorization was originally viewed as potentially the biggest obstacle to the accord. In a preemptive attempt to clear regulatory hurdles throughout the world, AB InBev has also agreed to sell its 58% stake in MillerCoors to Molson Coors to avoid anti-trust scrutiny.
But SABMiller investors are agitating that the merger is no longer a good deal. The newest bid includes a slightly improved alternative offer for shareholders that would prefer a mix of cash and stock.
SABMiller said Tuesday in a statement that its board "will meet in due course formally to review" the new deal.
AB InBev said Tuesday that the bid was its final offer.
Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.


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BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Even a one-person travel agency can develop a compelling brand that sets it apart from a sea of competitors, according to speakers at The Affluent Traveler Symposium here.
“A brand is a promise; it’s not a slogan or a tagline,” said travel marketing executive Susan Black. “It’s the promise you make to your customer. It tells them, ‘You can count on me for this.’”
Black, a founding partner of the strategic advisory firm Black & Wright and a former executive with Travel Impressions, led a panel titled “The Importance of Branding Yourself” on Wednesday.
Panelists discussed what a “brand” means and how agents can craft a strong one.
Don’t fake it
Jennifer Doncsecz, CTIE, president of VIP Vacations in Bethlehem, Penn., said a brand can’t be faked. “With social media you can shine through, if you’re authentic.”
“It’s all about how others think of you,” she added. “That’s your brand.”
Doncsecz advised agents to think about why they sell travel when developing their brands. “Start with that,” said Doncsecz, who started out as a home-based agent and built VIP Vacations into a large destination weddings specialist agency.
‘About Us’ no-nos
The “about us” page on an agency’s website is an important part of branding. Unfortunately most are boring, she said.
“Don’t put in how long you’ve been doing travel,” said Doncsecz. Instead write about your favorite destinations and other things that impart your passion for travel and serve to establish a personal brand.
Jason Kycek, director of sales and marketing for Capella Marigot Bay Resort & Marina in St. Lucia, agreed that “personalizing” a brand is key for agents.
“Agents’ brands are not like the big brands developed by Coca-Cola or Microsoft,” he said. “They’re more like micro-brands.”
Camille Olivere of Norwegian Cruise Lines said part of crafting a brand is “figuring out what you can be competent about and be passionate about that.”
“Find something to which you can bring a unique expertise, and narrow your focus to that,” said Olivere, who is senior vice president of sales, Americas, for Norwegian’s luxury The Haven and Suites brand.
Before you develop your brand . . .
Black recommended two steps agents can take to develop a brand: 1) make a list of the personal attributes you want to communicate to clients and 2) write a mission statement before coming up with a branding strategy.
“How many agents have a mission statement? You can’t say what your brand is until you have this.”
Black cautioned agents to “stay away from the aspirational” in their mission statements. “Say authentically what you can do and what you do do.
“Don’t underestimate things you do, like sending thank you notes to clients and following up with a call after their trip. Those things are part of your brand.”
Social media can play a huge role in creating a brand, panelists said.
Olivere said Norwegian Cruise Line has created online contests for passengers that serve to foster the line’s brand. “Get creative,” she told agents. “Extend your reach through social media.”
Agents should also “let their clients shout out” their praises on their website, said Doncsecz.
“Use their photos and their full names. A blurb from clients won’t do it,” she added. “They won’t mind giving you their names. They’re already on Facebook and LinkedIn and other social media.”
Doncsecz said agents should have a personal Facebook page. She also cautioned that having a company page with very few likes is worse than not having a page at all.
Not for everyone
Not every agent needs to embrace social media, said Kycek.
“It may not be your brand,” he said. And it should be noted that there are successful agents who are not active in social media.


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We’re changing how people are invited to talk about brands and share information
New York, NY (PRWEB) December 8, 2010
On Dec. 15 at 6 p.m, at the opulent Hudson Terrace in New York City, the exclusive invite-only event will celebrate the holiday season with the powerhouses of Twitter and Facebook in attendance. Guests of the first-of-its-kind party will be personally-chosen specifically by their social media influence and engagement.
“We’re changing how people are invited to talk about brands and share information,” said Shankman. “By utilizing the rich analytics of Klout, (http://www.klout.com,) a site that allows companies to know and interact with the most influential names within their industry, only those most engaged industry leaders will be invited to attend this exclusive event.”
The holiday party’s sponsors including The Venetian and The Palazzo in Las Vegas, Haworth, Jet Blue, Vocus, Inc., and Nolcha will invite their high-profile industry influencers to celebrate the holiday season in the Big Apple.
“What fun this will be, to join Peter in exploring social media, especially with some of the unique opportunities he dreams up,” said Julie Smith, PR Manager for Haworth, Inc. (@haworthinc) “Haworth has a unique interest in how social media influences work environments and new communities. Corporate cultures are active participants in social media – willingly or unwillingly – and we are researching the workplace changes can be a result of this social shift.”
“This is a groundbreaking way to interact with a brand’s top influencers,” said Dawn Britt, director of public relations at The Venetian (@venetianvegas) and The Palazzo Las Vegas (@palazzolasvegas). “We are excited to partner with Peter Shankman and celebrate the holidays with our most-engaged Twitter followers.”
Additionally, JetBlue Airlines will be flying in guests from other cities for this landmark event.
The party will include cocktails by Don Q Rums, Riazul Tequila and Pristine Vodka; a fusion of Mediterranean and Southern hors d'oeuvres by Mojo restaurant and lounge; pastries by award-winning Pastry Chef Henry Masterov; gift bags by GlobalFashionBrands.com and Nolcha, and sounds by the world-renowned DJ Gravy.
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Our newest FOOD VENDOR "Soul Kitchen" will be offering samples of Korean food on Saturday, September 15th, between 2 and 5:00PM. The food can be sampled by donation and donations will be given to the RCCA "Raise the Roof Fund".
Their grand opening for Korean food sales will be on Monday, September 24th, and every Monday after that! Drop by the hall and sample the Korean Food.
Check out some of their food itms on their FB page here.


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March 2, 2016—Tech-savvy pirates once breached the servers of a global shipping company to locate the exact vessel and cargo containers they wanted to plunder, according to a new report from Verizon's cybersecurity team.
"They'd board the vessel, locate by barcode specific sought-after crates containing valuables, steal the contents of that crate—and that crate only—and then depart the vessel without further incident," says the report, Verizon's Data Breach Digest.
Verizon released the report detailing 18 case studies among hundreds its Research, Investigations, Solutions and Knowledge (RISK) team investigated ahead of a talk on Tuesday at the RSA Conference, one of the world's largest information security conferences.
While piracy is a common problem for global shipping, the unnamed company contacted RISK after a group of pirates started acting differently than in the past. Usually, pirates would capture a vessel, then hold its crew hostage until a ransom was paid.
To read the full story, please click here.


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A quick burst of 12 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team
The iPad's Killer App >> John Naughton
It isn't an app.
How Steve Ballmer told me what to do with my iPad >> Mark Wilson
Talking to clients in London, Steve Ballmer hinted that Media Center might be in Windows-based tablets' future: "what you'll see over the course of the next year is us doing more and more work with our hardware partners creating hardware-software optimisations with Windows 7 and with Windows 7 Media Center [...] Media Center is big and, when people say 'hey, we could optimise more for clients' I think what they generally mean is 'Big Buttons'. Big Buttons that's, I think, a codeword for Big Buttons and Media Center is Big Buttons not Little Buttons. I'm not trying to trivialise that – it's a real issue."
Read the whole piece to find out what he said about Wilson's iPad - and why he was wrong.
Is Facebook subject to breach notification laws for revealing phone numbers? >> Liminal states
An interesting question: is it enough if you've said it's OK for Facebook to slurp up your mobile phone address book, which it then puts in various places on Facebook, to get around Germany privacy laws?
Facebook Gives Users A Few More Controls >> paidContent
"Notably, the company said it was releasing a new Groups product, which will let users set up a new private page, where they will be able to share information—like updates and photos—with select friends. Users will also be able to group chat and also use the list of fellow group members as an e-mail list.
"During his remarks, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the new Groups product solves a "fundamental" problem with the social network where users don't want to post an update because it will be shared with everybody and not just with family members or a few friends."
Can You Hear Me Now? The Truth about Cell Phones and Cancer >> Scientific American
Basically, if you understand Einstein's explanation of the photoelectric effect, you already know why mobile phones can't cause cancer.
ICO urges clarity on definition of personal data >> Pinsent Masons LLP
"A definition at the heart of the UK's Data Protection Act (DPA) is unclear, creating legal confusion that undermines the whole law, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has said. The ICO enforces the DPA, advising businesses on how to stay in line with the privacy-protecting law and investigating complaints about organisations accused of breaking it. But the ICO has told a Government consultation that the definition of 'personal data' on which the whole law rests is inadequate."
The .ly domain space to be considered unsafe >> Ben Metcalfe Blog
"The domain was seized by the Libyan domain registry for reasons which seemed to be kept obscure until we escalated the issue. We eventually discovered that the domain has been seized because the content of our website, in their opinion, fell outside of Libyan Islamic/Sharia Law."
'Claimed my free iPhone' scam swamps Facebook >> Graham Cluley's blog
"Interestingly, this latest batch of messages are say they were posted 'via Email'. That's the facility Facebook supplies to post status updates to your Facebook page remotely, just by sending an email to a unique address (every Facebook account has a specific email address for this purpose). Is it possible that the facility has been compromised, and scammers have found a way to update folks' statuses just by sending an email message directly to their walls?"
From January: 10 reasons the iPad could fail catastrophically >> GamesRadar
Among reasons including "it'll be too expensive" (this was pre-Dell Streak, pre-Galaxy Tab" was the wonderful "Although we haven't yet had an actual hands-on with the iPad, we mocked up our own ghetto cardboard facsimile – based on the device's exact dimensions – to get a feel for its shape (if not its heft). And while it might actually be more comfortable than the iPhone for playing games that superimpose onscreen controls, playing games that require full use of the touchscreen – particularly fast use – is going to be slow torture." Your cardboard mockup showed that? Still, it was cheap.
Xmarks is Dead. Long Live Xmarks? >> Xmarks blog
"But first, the punch line: we're revisiting the idea of Xmarks as a premium service. We've set up a Pledgebank page where you can sign up if you're willing to pay at least $10 a year for Xmarks. No credit card is required, but please only pledge if you are genuinely willing and able to pay:
"This is not a scientific experiment to predict what % of our base will pay, but it's a data point that will definitely help."
Who's suing who in mobile: Guardian infographic reworked >> Design Language News
Reworking of Guardian Tech's diagram of who's suing who in mobile. Clarification: HTC wasn't sued by Microsoft, it licensed patents. That aside, lovely.
You can follow Guardian Technology's linkbucket on delicious
To suggest links, tag articles on delicious.com with "guardiantech"


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Luxottica CEO says firm is engaged on Google Glass 2.zero
When Nest CEO Tony Fadell took over Google Glass again in February, he pledged to redesign the headset “from scratch.” Nicely, it seems to be like that course of is properly underway. In an organization assembly right now, Luxottica CEO Massimo Vian stated the Italian eyewear firm is working with the parents in Mountain View on not one, however two new variations of the gadget. Luxottica owns manufacturers Ray-Ban and Oakley, and for those who’ll recall, the corporate labored with Google on frames for the unique model of Glass.
“What you noticed was model 1,” Vian stated. “We’re now engaged on model 2, which is in preparation.”
Vian additionally defined that a third model is within the works, and there are presently “second ideas” on what it’s going to seem like. Except for the promised redesign, particulars are scarce on the brand new mannequin(s), in addition to stories that it will be powered by Intel and purpose to be what Google’s Eric Schmidt calls “prepared for customers.” Talking of Intel, Luxottica has its personal product within the works with the chip maker that is set to debut in 2016.
[Picture credit score: Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Photographs


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Google is to begin rolling out full mobile support for its Docs cloud-based application suite.
The English language software will be distributed over the next few days for use on Android 2.2 and iOS 3.0 devices and above, including the iPad, and other languages will follow.
The move, which Google said was one of the most common requests by customers, will help strengthen the firm's cloud offering at a time when it is facing increasing competition.
"With Google Docs, we're always trying to make you more productive, and part of that means making it possible for you to get things done from anywhere, at any time," said Google software engineer Andrew Grieve in a blog post.
Once the rollout is complete users will see an edit button after they sign in as normal. The new software will also support text-to-speech systems operated on Android handsets, and will allow "near real-time" collaboration with users on PCs or other mobile devices.
The lack of mobile support has been a major flaw in Google's cloud application services, and the company is under increasing pressure to add features to make its products more complete.
Latest Tesla news: Tesla stock price tanks amid reports of 'widening probe' by SEC and claims the base Model 3 loses money
SEC 'probe' takes its toll on Tesla as new research suggests that Tesla loses $6,000 on every $35,000 Model 3
10nm Cannon Lake Core i3-8121U CPUs make a rare outing with Intel's NUC mini PC
'Notorious' Australian child hacker thought he had executed 'flawless' hack
The former employee says that Tesla fired him for bringing the accusations to management internally


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Apple Watch 3: News and rumors
The Apple Watch is the best-selling smartwatch ever released, and it’s certainly a great product, but there’s always room for improvement. While the Apple Watch Series 2 did alter the Series 1 for the better in a few key areas, it’s the rumored Apple Watch Series 3 that may offer what we really want to see.
But what exactly will the release of the Apple Watch Series 3 bring? The device is shaping up to be quite an interesting one. Here’s everything we know about it so far.
Rumor has it that Apple may be stepping up the health tracking capabilities on the Apple Watch for Series 3. According to a report from BGR, the new Apple Watch may be able to monitor blood glucose levels. Apple has reportedly been interested in helping tackle diabetes for some time now, and the glucose monitoring feature could be a game-changer for diabetics. Around 30 million people in the U.S. alone suffer from diabetes.
Currently, the only way to monitor blood glucose is to get a blood sample. According to the report, the Apple Watch’s glucose monitoring will be noninvasive.
Apple may introduce a whole slew of new functionality with the Apple Watch Series 3 through a series of interchangeable “smart bands,” which will add different functions to the Apple Watch quickly and easily. That will give the Apple Watch a modular design, and allow users to add features without having to pay more for the Apple Watch outright. It’s possible that the glucose monitoring system will be introduced as a smart band rather than as core functionality to the Apple Watch itself.
A SIM card and LTE
The Apple Watch Series 3 may be the first in Apple’s portfolio to support LTE connectivity, although rumors about such a feature have spread since the very first version, indicating it’s something Apple often experiments with ahead of launch.
At the end of March 2017, an analyst from Susquehanna Financial Group published findings from a data-gathering trip to Asia, and claimed, “several parties” said the new Apple Watch would have a SIM card slot and support LTE connectivity. The analyst met with Qualcomm and Broadcom, among others, during his trip. Additionally, Apple may be investigating a low-power LTE chip for use in the Apple Watch 3 to ensure battery life doesn’t suffer.
This fits in with a previous Bloomberg report, which stated company engineers weren’t able to finalize a cellular design for the Apple Watch without compromising battery, and was reportedly invested in “low-power cellular data chips.”
The addition of LTE would make phone calls possible directly from the Apple Watch, and the Susquehanna analyst says Apple will push its wireless AirPods as the ideal companion product for the job.
The Apple Watch Series 3 won’t use the same touch panels as its predecessors. According to DigiTimes, Apple will source glass-film capacitive glass from Biel Crystal or General Interface Solutions.
The reason: Apple is reportedly unhappy with the yields of its current glass manufacturer, TPK. The firm has been unable to produce the Apple Watch’s particular brand of glass at scale, reportedly because of the smartwatch’s curved surface.
Moreover, a new report suggests that Apple will not be using OLED in the Apple Watch Series 3. Rather, it will be employing a new display technology called micro-LED. Back in 2014, Apple acquired LuxVue, a company that specializes in the technology, and now it appears the iEmpire is leveraging this company to bring micro-LED screens to market.
It would certainly make sense for Apple to begin testing out micro-LED tech in its smaller hardware, like the Apple Watch. After all, as Apple Insider points out, producing these panels is quite difficult, and as such, it’s likely not yet ready for application on say, the newest iPhone. That said, the smaller screen of Apple’s wearable makes it an ideal first candidate.
A report from DigiTimes, meanwhile, mentions two key improvements to the Apple Watch Series 3 — performance and battery life. The Apple Watch has never been a high performer and it has always suffered from battery life issues, so improvements in those areas will certainly be welcome changes. Still, the Apple Watch Series 2 battery can generally last for around 2 or more days — so if Apple is seriously focusing on battery life for the Series 3, it’s possible that it’s also introducing new features that could put a bigger drain on the battery.
Many are hoping that the Apple Watch Series 3 will bring with it a major redesign, however if recent reports are anything to go by, unfortunately this may not be the year we see that happen. According to a report from DigiTimes, which sources Chinese publication Economic Daily News, the overall design of the third Apple Watch will remain the same, despite the fact that it will include a few new key features.
What that means is that those hoping for a round Apple Watch may have to wait a little longer, if one is ever released at all. While round smartwatches have become quite a trend in the Android Wear market, the Apple Watch has stuck with a four-cornered form factor.
So when will we get the new Apple Watch? The report from DigiTimes suggests it will land at some point in the third quarter of this year, meaning that Apple could be shifting to a yearly upgrade cycle for the Apple Watch.
We’ll keep this post updated as we learn more about the Apple Watch Series 3.
Article originally published in January 2017. Updated on 05-16-2017 by Christian de Looper: Added news that Apple is looking into glucose monitoring and introduction of smart bands.


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We’ve been hearing that Apple’s next desktop operating system, OS X Lion, will be released on July 14th. Alongside Lion, there have also been rumors that Apple will release a new MacBook Air and Mac Pro model at the same time.
Apple is reportedly set to release new machines with Intel’s Sandy Bridge chips. The new MacBook Airs aren’t expected to have an exterior design change, but instead focus on improved internal hardware. The updated Mac Pros are rumored to have a rack-mountable, narrower enclosure.


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Landmark Launch Trailer
Daybreak Games celebrates the full official launch of Landmark (previously part of EverQuest Next), available for $9.99.
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The groups announced by the UKGC aim to accelerate progress to raise standards and reduce gambling harm in the UK.
UK.- The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has unveiled that three industry groups have been created to make gambling safer. The working groups will be led by senior industry leaders and will tackle high-value customer incentives, advertising online and responsible product design.
The UKGC said that this initiative follows a briefing to industry leaders late last year, in which the commission’s CEO Neil McArthur laid down three challenges and opportunities that the industry must grasp to raise standards and reduce harms across the sector.
The group will focus on game and product design, advertising technology and high-value customer incentives to gamble.
UKGC chief executive Neil McArthur said: “Consumer behaviour and technology are changing so quickly that only a bold and innovative approach will allow us to achieve a reduction in the numbers of people experiencing, or at risk from, gambling-related harm.
“I’ve been encouraged by the willingness of so many operators to work with us on these challenges. We’ve set a demanding timetable for progress because we cannot proceed at the speed of the slowest. If rapid progress is not made then we will have to look at other options, as making gambling safer for consumers is paramount.”
UKGC sets new self-exclusion scheme
All online gambling operators in the UK will be forced to participate in the multi-operator self-exclusion scheme GAMSTOP from March. According to a new directive from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), this makes the coverage of GAMSTOP comprehensive.
This scheme was developed for the online sector and allows consumers to self-exclude from online operators with one request, instead than having to do so with each operator individually. The UKGC said that this will make access to self-exclusion much simpler for those who wish to be prevented from online gambling.


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It’s not just leaks that let us know what big tech companies plan to announce at their keynotes, increasingly it’s the companies themselves. Since this year’s Academy Awards fall ahead of Samsung’s February 11th Unpacked keynote, the company decided to go for a huge tease of the Galaxy Z Flip — it basically showed off the whole phone.
We are expecting Samsung to announce new Galaxy S20 phones (three of them) and the Galaxy Z Flip, a folding phone rumored to have a glass screen. The ad showed the phone sitting on a table at a 90-degree angle on its own, the better to do video chatting. It also gave us our first, best look at it folded up and it doesn’t appear to fold completely flat. The Motorola Razr, which was just released but has a…tech, The Verge, The Verge - All Posts


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Samsung QT67 QLED TV series launches: Six first-class energy-efficient models starting from 990,000 won (US$824)
Samsung has revealed a new series of QLED TVs for its domestic market of South Korea. The QT67 series should attract customers who want the best picture possible but are also concerned about the amount of power being taken from the socket by their TV set. The Samsung QT67 QLED TVs have been given a first-class energy-efficiency rating by the Korea Energy Management Agency.
Six models of the Samsung QT67 TV series have been announced: 43-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch, 65-inch, 75-inch, and 85-inch. Prices for the televisions that have so far been shared include KRW 990,000 (US$824) for the smallest model going up to KRW 5,490,000 (US$4,571) for the 85-inch giant. Samsung states that units in the QT67 series offer “100% color volume” and quantum HDR (the screen is made up of quantum dots).
To sweeten the deal of purchasing a Samsung QT67 TV set, customers can apply for cash back from the Korea Energy Management Agency – set at 10% or a maximum of KRW 300,000 (US$250). Additionally, if shoppers go for a 55-inch model or larger, then there’s KRW 600,000 (US$500) discount available plus a further KRW 300,000 in benefits to be had from Samsung.


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October 5, 2020
Soybean prices struggled much of 2020 to cross the profitability line for many growers, but prices rallied in the last quarter, if not to respectable levels, at least away from not rude ones. Caution flags ahead show prices for 2021 season will be volatile, nothing new, but the price window to seal up a profit may be better.
Aaron Smith is a University of Tennessee Extension agricultural economist. He and his colleagues from other Southern land-grant universities gathered virtually for the annual Southern Ag Outlook Conference the last week in September. They gave their reviews and forecasts on major Southern commodities. Smith gave the soybean outlook.
As October started, November futures contracts were hitting the $10 mark and a bit better. Southeast soybean production costs vary across the region as do local basis prices. But according to Smith's numbers, that $10 price with trend average yields between 55 bushels and 60 bushels per acre for Delta production budgets, along with the government assistant in 2020 through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2 , and in some cases the Agriculture Risk Coverage-County payments "may result in some profit for producers," he said. "We also had that peek back on Sept. 18 of $10.46 (per bushel) and hopefully some producers took advantage of that pricing opportunity. … and are able to take advantage of the current situation."
COVID-19 compressed the marketing season and threw a monkey wrench into most markets. Most producers had no opportunities to secure profitable prices until the most-recent rally. As harvest hit the high gears this October, a price "rally" isn't typically something you see in a normal year. A combination of late-summer weather issues in major growing areas, including flash droughts and freakish inland hurricanes in the upper Midwest, coupled with strong export sales and buying intentions from China, historically U.S. soybean's top buyer, have finally led to a good unusual thing about the 2020 marketing season.
Storage fees and local basis, again vary across the Southeast, but even if growers plan to store their 2020 crop, $10 futures price is a "good opportunity to at least secure a price on the future side, for anything that you're putting into storage," he said. “Basis appreciation can still be taken advantage of for stored soybeans that are priced on the futures market. This can be beneficial for many producers in the Southeast.”
He said there is support for prices to hover for now around that $10 mark, but pricing chances might be short-lived, however, due the high degree of uncertainty with trade with China and competition for other countries such as Brazil, there remains a very wide range of potential prices.
Pegging Brazil’s production and quality can be tough. But the country now plants about 100 million acres of soybeans, or about 30 percent more than it did seven years ago. Its average yields are equal to the U.S., between 50 bushels and 53 bushels per acre, producing about 4.9 billion bushels annually, more than the U.S. Brazil's ending stocks for 2020 and into the 2021 year will remain low, he said, or at around 720 million bushels.
China, he said, is projected to buy from other countries 3.64 billion bushels of soybeans, which goes to feed its massive pork industry now ready to rebound from African Swine Flu epidemic. China purchases of U.S. soybean all but fell off the map in recent years, but indicators now show China is back for U.S. soybeans with strong accumulated and outstanding sales now trending higher than the levels the previous two marketing years.
Is China making good faith on its end of the U.S. Phase 1 trade deal to buy more U.S. soybeans, or its need to feed pork to feed people, or both? Either way, he said, it's a good sign.
Government payments triggered by national and international decisions far removed from U.S. farmers' control, contributed greatly to keeping many soybean growers afloat over the last few years. But just what, or if, such government support will look like in 2021 is unknown. Right now producers should not be counting on support at 2018-2020 levels from the federal government.
With that and all the other uncertainty, Smith set the pricing range for 2021 at between $9 and $11 per bushel, a wide gap but there is support to see prices swing to that $11 level. Growers should look at a target price of $9.75 per bushel as an entry point to market some of the 2021 crop. Growers need to also set sound crop insurance coverage and consider other tools such as put options to set price floors.
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SEOUL, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Sales last month at South Korea’s top three department store chains rose for the first time in six months and by the fastest annual pace in 11 months, preliminary data showed on Friday, adding to signs of the economy turning around.
Sales at department stores run by Hyundai Department Store , Lotte Shopping and Shinsegae rose 10.2 percent in November from a year earlier, the finance ministry’s monthly report estimated.
It snapped a five-month run of annual declines in their sales and marked the fastest growth since December 2011.
Sales at the country’s top three discount store chains fell by 2.1 percent from a year earlier, improving from a 6.6 percent decline in October but marking the eighth month of fall this year, according to the report.
The Ministry of Knowledge Economy will release final November sales figures for the department and discount stores later this month.
Data last week showed exports by Asia’s fourth-largest economy rose 3.9 percent in November from a year earlier, beating the market’s consensus forecast and gaining for two successive months for the first time this year. (Reporting By Se Young Lee; Editing by Choonsik Yoo)


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Bioplastics demand to hit 6.2m tons by 2017
The amount of packaging, products and other items produced with bio-based plastics is expected to more than quadruple over the next five years, from 1.4m metric tons of annual production capacity in 2012.
However, resources could be stretched by the surge—for example, only about 0.02% of the world’s agricultural land currently is dedicated to bio-material production.
François de Bie, chairman of the board for European Bioplastics said growth in demand for bio-based plastic likely will continue to exceed expectations.
“Continuous growth can be expected with regard to all bioplastic material types and in a range of very diverse market segments, from packaging to fibres to consumer electronics,” he said.
Packaging is the leading segment of bioplastic production. This field boasts a significant range of mature applications, geared toward minimizing carbon footprint and cutting dependence on fossil-based materials.
The strongest growth likely will be in non-biodegradable bioplastics, such as PET and PE. Such material is attracting interest of CPGs such as Heinz and Coca-Cola, both of which pour their products into the recyclable, bio-based Plantbottle.
However, biodegradable plastics also are expected to increase, thanks to the increased attraction to materials that help increase waste-stream efficiency.
The planet isn’t the only party benefiting from increased use of bio-based materials. Development and production of bio-based packaging and other items is helping create jobs around the world, particularly in the EU. This is a particular boon to agricultural areas, which have seen employment decline in recent years.
The European Bioplastics study indicates that South America and Asia are the favoured centers of production activity. de Bie said that in order to remain competitive and fuel the European economy, officials will need to step up.
“We call upon the European Commission to establish a level-playing field for the biobased industries in Europe and a clear-cut policy framework for promising markets such as bioplastics,” he said.
biobased material demand
Posted by Ecologik 2014,


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Sainsbury’s prides itself on being the leading Fair Trade supermarket. Join our campaign to pressure Sainsbury’s not to deal with companies like Mehadrin, active in Israeli settlements.
The Co Op has already ceased trade with four companies trading from illegal settlements: Arava, Mehadrin, Ada Fresh and Agrexco
Across the UK campaigns are held monthly outside Sainsbury’s stores. Last month we spoke to lots of shoppers and people agreed to hand letters to the manager in protest at the sale of Israeli goods.
JOIN US AT THE NEXT CAMPAIGN: to collect signatures and raise awareness
Saturday 2nd November 2013
Outside Sainsbury’s front doors, Keighley
11.30 to 1.30
Bring banners and placards if you can (eg: 1. Sainsbury’s : Say No To Farming Injustice. Boycott Israeli Goods 2. Boycott Israeli Apartheid 3. Sainsbury’s Say No To Goods From Stolen Land 4. Sainsbury’s Trades with ILLEGAL Israeli Settlements.)
More information about the campaign can be found at: http:www.sainsburyscampaign.org
and about Israeli products at: http://www.boycott-israel.co.uk
and about PSC at https://palestinecampaign.org
and about the BDS movement (BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT and SANCTIONS) at: http://www.bdsmovement.ne


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EBA reminds FIs on Brexit preparations
FCA flags requirements under Electronic Commerce Directive
PSR consults on future strategy
LINK on interchange and cash use
Visa lays out support for crypto
Mastercard launches business intelligence platform
Amazon Fraud Detector announced
TransferWise reaches $5 billion valuation
Monzo Bank flags Covid-19 danger to business
Financial institutions wishing to operate in the EU and offer services to their EU customers should ensure they have obtained the necessary authorisations and effectively establish themselves before the end of the transition period. It particularly reminds UK-authorised PSPs and EMIs they require to be authorised beforehand and UK FIs that they should not outsource activities to such an extent that they operate as ‘empty shell’ companies.
The ECD provides an exclusion from host state regulation for e-commerce activities provided from one EEA state to a person in another EEA state. The ability for UK firms to continue to service EEA customers in this way will end at the end of the transition period and the FCA advises firms to contact local regulators in other EEA states to check if other methods are available.
This is a preliminary information seeking initiative before the PSR formally consults, around the end of this year, to define clear outcomes for the payments sector – to set out priorities for the regulator, and what stakeholders can expect from the regulator in the future. It links to a new Strategy document – A new strategy for a changing world – together with a paper on Innovation and future payment methods. These will be followed by a Competition, activity on payment methods and various events, all designed to gather views and input into the eventual strategy. A series of nine ‘Thought pieces’ has also been posted.
Following a review of the ATM network and the likely future use of cash, the LINK Board has decided to cancel the fourth Interchange reduction due in January 2021.
LINK has also indicated that ATM cash use is rising again as retail and hospitality reopen.
£1.5bn is now being withdrawn a week in 20 million cash withdrawals compared to £1bn and 12 million withdrawals a week in early April. However, withdrawals are still down 30% against ‘normal’. Research indicates 50+% have used cash in the past two weeks.
Visa’s outlook on new digital currency payment flows has been made positive as it acknowledges digital currencies offer an exciting avenue for it to continue expanding its network to support new forms of commerce. Globally, more than 25 digital currency wallets have linked their services to Visa as its product and research teams continue to evolve its offering in the crypto environment.
The interactive platform provides a comprehensive view of payments insights, competitive intelligence and industry trends including market assessment reports, card comparison, analysis of leading global Fintechs, consumer research and industry insights.
Amazon Web Services has announced the general availability of Amazon Fraud Detector.
AFD is a fully managed service that, using machine learning, automatically identifies potentially fraudulent activity in milliseconds. Using the AFD console, customers can select a pre-built machine learning model template, upload historical event data, and create decision logic to assign outcomes to the predictions. It is not a subscription service – customers pay only for their actual usage.
The round allowed shareholders and employees to sell some of their holdings to other new and existing investors with the new valuation reflecting a near 45% growth in 14 months.
Monzo Bank has published its Annual Report 2020.
As reported extensively, Monzo has flagged that it has been hit hard by Covid-19 and losses have reached £113.8 million. The report lays out precisely what challenges it faces and that there is significant doubt in its ability to continue as a going concern. However, it also lays out a series of mitigating factors and activity aimed at ensuring the bank’s survival.


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Google has announced the launch of a Chinese version of its popular YouTube channel for Google developers. This new channel will increase Chinese developers’ access to information and resources about Google’s products and services. The channel includes videos from the main developers’ channel that will have Chinese subtitles and original content in Mandarin. Google has announced that there is a risk that the channel will get disrupted by China’s censorship system unless viewers use a VPN for access.
Google’s Developer Channel is a valuable resource for developers, covering a range of topics, including Android, Android Wear, web and other apps, as well as general developments and information. The channel also includes talking points from events like the Google Developer Conference. The English-language Developer Channel currently counts more than 650,000 subscribers around the world.
Google is continuing on its path of opening its Android platform to mobile developers in China. Last November, the company started to allow Chinese developers to make money via Android apps from users based outside of China. Google Play itself remains blocked in China, but developers based in the country can use Google Play to distribute and sell apps to hundreds of millions of Android devices across the rest of the world.
The ban on Google Play in China may not last much longer. Last year, the company claimed that executives were discussing launching Google Play services there with potential partners and the Chinese government. However, to date there has not been any official comment from Google about updates to this plan. It remains to be seen whether Google can convince the Chinese government to allow the service in the country.


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Recently, PundiX began operations in Venezuelan territory by delivering the XPOS device, which recognizes the XPASS debit card and converts the tokens into the national currency at the time of the transaction.
Gabriel Falcone, one of the representatives of PundiX shared a series of statements, starting with the motive behind the arrival of these services to Venezuela. He explained that there have been months of planning in Brazil to finally be able to start this process in the border country.
In his replies, he shared that PundiX CEO himself has visited Venezuela before during the installation of equipment in Traki stores, a chain of shopping centers distributed throughout the country.
According to Falcone, for Pundi X Singapore, Venezuela is an extremely important market. Since cryptocurrencies have been gaining increasing relevance in media and in economic exchange activity amid the depreciation of the legal tender in the country, the bolivar, the company has created a commercial strategy to serve the market.
“We are not worried about competition, it really only encourages us.” Falcone said. The goal is to be able to generate a minimum infrastructure using XPOS, XWALLET and XPASS products, creating a solution that is friendly to end users and physical outlets appear to be a useful tool for this, or at least that suggests the positive reception received by the Venezuelan subsidiary after starting operations.
For the cashier, the equipment will be intuitive, and the idea is that it is efficient enough to reduce friction in the face of the user to just one minute per operation, says Falcone. Users can choose between bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), NXPS, the Pundi X token and BNB, the Asian exchange house token, Binance.
In addition, the card is an incentive for those users who prefer to make their purchases through these devices but using their cards, being able to leave their cell phone safe.
Will it be safe in terms of privacy?
Falcone, who is a lawyer, was extremely interested in making it clear that users and merchants who decide to bet on this product will comply with the Know Your Client (KYC) process, although he pointed out that it is not a direct affront to privacy .
If we understand this concept as the possibility of providing personal information data selectively, it seems that the Pundi X process could violate that right. However, Falcone said that the advantages in terms of speed and ease of payment (with the wallet and the card) have a cost in terms of privacy: the data obtained are protected by the company and would only be disclosed in a legal inquiry against some users.
“This is about compliance, we are not threatening the spirit of cryptocurrencies but we have to be able to respond to competent entities, merchants and users,” Falcone said.
An element that Falcone highlighted is that there was already a community of users of Pundi X products before this subsidiary began its expansion in the country. Up to 30,000 XWALLET purses were installed in the country, so it seems that Venezuelans have no care to comply with KYC requirements to be able to access the products they are activating from the Venezuelan subsidiary.
The company’s global goal is to install more than 100,000 points of sale worldwide by 2021 and Latin America is a strategic area, says the executive. In fact, he notes, the company of Asian origin has been present in the region for a year.
The Venezuelan company executive said there are already several stores that are operating with PundiX technology. Although he did not give details, he said that his expansion strategy includes commercial chains and establishments of different items such as food and beverages, clothing and footwear, tourism, restaurants, pharmacy chains, among others.
“The plan in the short term and long term is to provide an alternative payment platform that allows Venezuelans to use their crypto assets as mechanisms and real exchange on the street,”