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The IPO calendar was sparse in 2022, and things are only a bit busier in 2023. The bear market made many private companies rethink their plans to go public. With investor sentiment waxing negative for most of 2022, IPOs garnered only muted interest. This reduced the amount of cash that a private company could raise from selling shares to the public.
Image source: Getty Images.
The result was a terrible year for the IPO market. According to financial research company S&P Global (SPGI -0.6%), there were only 1,671 IPOs worldwide in 2022, half as many as in 2021. Money raised was less than $180 billion, down from $627 billion in 2021.
Nevertheless, the IPO market could be heating up again. While many private companies are delaying their IPO plans until the bear market eases, there have been a handful of exciting public offerings so far in 2023, with a couple more on the calendar for later in the year.
The IPO calendar for 2023
The IPO calendar for 2023 and beyond
Here are the top upcoming IPOs to keep an eye out for in 2023:
|Company||What they do||Projected IPO date|
|CAVA Group||Top Mediterannean-themed fast-casual restaurant chain.||June 15, 2023|
|ARM Holding||Top semiconductor design licensing company, currently a subsidiary of Japan's Softbank to be spun off as an independent entity.||In 2023|
|Discord||Communications app popular among video gamers but with growing adoption as a chat app among other users as well.||In 2023|
|Vinfast||An electric vehicle startup planning a U.S.-based factory.||In 2023|
|Instacart||A grocery ordering and delivery service that partners with physical stores.||In 2023|
|Popular social media site and public forum for making posts where content is promoted via user voting.||In 2023|
|Databricks||Cloud-based tool for collaborating on data management and analysis, also used in building AI applications.||To be determined|
|Stripe||Digital payments infrastructure and software leader that powers payments capabilities for merchants worldwide.||To be determined|
1. CAVA Group
1. CAVA Group
CAVA Group (CAVA -2.71%) is a fast-expanding fast-casual restaurant (think the same type of dining experience as Chipotle (CMG 0.4%)). CAVA has a Mediterranean flair, marketing the healthy lifestyle and simple fresh-ingredient cuisine of southern Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East.
Over the summer of 2018, CAVA acquired another fast-casual Mediterranean fare chain, Zoe's Kitchen, which itself was a publicly traded stock at the time.
CAVA went public in June 2023 and nearly doubled from the IPO price when shares began trading on stock exchanges. Though CAVA is growing fast, it also loses money, making it a high-risk bet right now.
2. ARM Holding
2. ARM Holding
Following Intel's (INTC -1.04%) successful spinoff of its self-driving car subsidiary Mobileye (MBLY -2.36%) in 2022, ARM Holding could be the next semiconductor company to hit the public markets. Current owner Softbank (SFTB.Y -1.0%) purchased ARM in 2016 and is interested in a spinoff to raise cash.
ARM is a top licensor of chip designs -- counting mega-tech customers like Apple (AAPL -0.73%) as customers. Apple uses ARM to design silicon for its iPhone, as well as the M-series chips for its MacBooks. ARM was key to making mobile computing mainstream, but its energy-efficient chip designs are beginning to gain market share in the data center space as well. That could mean big opportunities for would-be shareholders of ARM in the next decade as the era of AI dawns on the global economy.
Chat and mobile communications start-up Discord gained millions of new users during the pandemic. Discord is a favorite among video game enthusiasts, but it has gained adoption for other uses as well. The company provides chat, voice, and video via private topic-based channels. It generates revenue via premium subscriptions, unlike other communications apps that make money from advertising.
Discord filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2021, but the bear market slowed plans for an IPO. Recent moves from the company suggest a 2023 IPO is possible. It has reportedly turned down several buyout offers, including from Microsoft (MSFT 0.07%) and Amazon (AMZN -1.71%). The company has also hired executives who have taken other tech companies public in recent years. Discord's last private funding round in late 2021 valued it at more than $15 billion, although that figure has almost certainly fallen as tech company valuations have been humbled by the bear market.
Revenue is a business’s gross income or the amount of money it brings in from regular operations before costs are considered.
Vinfast hopes to be the latest startup company to cash in on the electric vehicle (EV) trend. A part of Vingroup, Vietnam's largest business conglomerate, Vinfast is a subsidiary headquartered in Singapore. The company was eyeing an IPO in 2022 that would have valued Vinfast at more than $60 billion. However, EV startups and related stocks have been bludgeoned, so that valuation is unlikely to happen.
An IPO is still expected in 2023, though Vinfast's losses have reportedly steepened after a not-so-great start to deliveries of vehicles to the U.S. Early on, it appears there are serious concerns about vehicle quality, and recalls have been issued.
Vinfast would use the proceeds from an IPO to help build a new factory in the U.S. The company is offering two all-electric SUVs, which are currently available for reservation in the U.S. Production from a U.S. facility isn't expected to begin until at least 2024. Meanwhile, deliveries within Vietnam have begun in earnest. International deliveries (including to customers in the U.S.) from the Vietnam factory were in the early stages in the first half of 2023.
Vinfast is now expected to go public via a merger with SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) Black Spade Acquisition later in 2023.
Instacart quickly became a top e-commerce name early in the pandemic. The company partners with grocery stores, big-box retailers, pharmacies, and other brick-and-mortar stores to provide consumers with an online shopping experience and same-day home delivery service.
The company's growth skyrocketed in recent years, but market turmoil and high inflation reportedly led to slashed valuations for Instacart. A recent estimate pegged the company's value at about $13 billion in May 2023 -- down nearly 70% from its peak valuation in early 2022. As a result, Instacart is reportedly slashing expenses in preparation for an IPO sometime this year.
In late 2021, social media and public forum Reddit filed for an IPO with the SEC. It was reportedly tapping Wall Street banker Goldman Sachs (GS -1.87%) in its efforts to go public and was seeking a total valuation of $15 billion. The market sell-off in 2022 slowed its IPO plans down, though, and likely lowered Reddit's valuation. A go-public date has yet to be determined, though the company is eyeing a second-half 2023 IPO.
Reddit hosts well over 100,000 active subreddits and content is created and voted on by users. The company makes money via a combination of advertising and an ad-free premium subscription. Reddit picked up millions of new users in 2020 and 2021.
However, as it prepares for an IPO, the company is trying to show it can be profitable. It laid off some of its staff. And in a particularly controversial move, it said it would begin charging high fees for its API -- a bit of code developers use to embed Reddit or Reddit data into their apps. Many developers have been protesting, saying the high fees would kill their work.
Databricks might have missed the tech IPO boom of 2020 and 2021, but an IPO is still reportedly in the works. The company provides a cloud-based platform for data scientists and analysts to collaborate on digital information warehousing and work on artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
Over the summer of 2021, Databricks was valued at some $38 billion after raising $1.6 billion during a private funding round. Like other tech companies, that valuation has taken a big hit. Nevertheless, the company said in August 2022 that it now brings in more than $1 billion in annual recurring revenue from subscribers. An IPO date hasn’t been set yet. Given the beating tech stocks took last year, plans to go public were likely delayed until market sentiment improves. Perhaps 2023 will be the right time.
Stripe is a leader in payment processing services. The company claims that millions of companies all over the world use its platform for processing digital payments. Stripe integrates with e-commerce payment systems such as Shopify (SHOP -1.08%), helps with payment acceptance from card networks such as Visa (V -0.95%), and even integrates with a variety of cryptocurrency marketplaces. The company also provides tools to help merchants and businesses detect and prevent financial fraud, has software for financial and tax reporting, and helps banks offer digital products to customers.
Stripe registered its intent to have an IPO with the SEC in 2021. However, details for the IPO and a date have yet to be set, and the company is reportedly still determining whether a 2023 public offering is prudent. The bear market has certainly affected Stripe’s plans.
Due to its large size, some investors are speculating that a Stripe IPO might occur as a direct listing (where no new money is raised for the company) rather than a traditional IPO. And hit by macroeconomic issues, the company recently raised $4 billion from investors in a private funding round. Estimates point to Stripe’s market cap falling from a peak of $95 billion to $50 billion.
Related investing topics
Investing in IPO stocks
Investing in IPO stocks
Investing in IPOs can be risky. This isn’t simply because many IPOs can be richly valued tech stocks. Take Porsche, part of German automaker conglomerate Volkswagen. At the end of September 2022, Volkswagen spun off 25% of its equity stake in Porsche and raised 9 billion euros (about $8.8 billion). Volkswagen returned 49% of proceeds to shareholders via a special dividend in early 2023.
As for Porsche, the company reported it brought in 17.9 billion euros (about $17.5 billion) in sales during the first half of 2022 and generated an operating profit margin of 19.4%. But despite solid performance and optimism that Porsche’s mix of luxury sports cars and EVs will provide steady growth for years, shares still fell below the IPO price in the days following the initial public offering. (Note to retail investors: Beware before swooping in to buy a hyped IPO stock.)
The IPO calendar in 2023 could feature some hot companies out there looking to go public. Some of these businesses have exciting potential. However, be careful before jumping in. IPO stocks can be risky, especially during the first year or two after the company goes public. Companies that have an IPO to raise cash may need that money in an attempt to stabilize their business or to fund aggressive expansion plans. Employees and early investors often sell in the first year or two after a hot IPO, which can also lower stock prices if too many big shareholders sell within a short period of time.
Oftentimes it pays to wait before buying a fresh IPO.
John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Nicholas Rossolillo has positions in Amazon.com, Apple, Shopify, and Visa. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon.com, Apple, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Goldman Sachs Group, Microsoft, S&P Global, Shopify, and Visa. The Motley Fool recommends Intel and recommends the following options: long January 2023 $57.50 calls on Intel and long January 2025 $45 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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Sukhoi Superjet sales to Mexican carrier Interjet are being financed by an international consortium led by Vnesheconombank (VEB), with backing from export credit agencies.
The Russian state-owned bank says the first commercial loan toward funding 20 Superjets ordered by Interjet was issued on 19 December.
To date, Interjet has taken delivery of four of the regional airliners. Finance covering further deliveries will be released in the first quarter of 2014, says VEB.
Under a tripartite agreement, the syndicated loan facility is backed by guarantees from the Italian and French export credit agencies SACE and COFACE.
French bank Natixis has been mandated to act as an agent.

domain: news


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Isola AG Announces a Change of Responsibilities at Isola Laminate Systems Corp.
CHANDLER, AZ, March 24, 2003 — Isola Laminate Systems Corporation, the U.S. subsidiary of Isola AG, broke ground on its new Technology Center in Chandler Arizona last week.
The new development facility is expected to open in August 2003 and will facilitate an increase in the speed of new product development and testing.
The facility will be located adjacent to the company’s manufacturing operation also located in Chandler. The center will house the company’s U.S. research and development team and will also house dedicated product development and pilot line manufacturing equipment and associated laboratories.
“The North American market for our products continues to evolve towards high performance products requiring new technologies while simultaneously requiring fast turns, high quality, and additional service levels in support of already established products. Our substantial investment in this new facility will enable us to accelerate our pace of new technology introduction for our customers and will include the rapid integration of these new products into our advanced customer support and manufacturing operations,” stated Augusto Meozzi, CEO of Isola Laminate Systems Corporation.
23 March 2003


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Kingdom Come: Deliverance Summary
Dan Vávra spoke at Reboot Develop, an industry event in Croatia, about the controversy regarding the lack of diversity in Kingdom Come: Deliverance.
From a female playable character to a dog companion, we've got it all.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance Mods are now starting to come out, with the game only just released earlier this week. The still somewhat buggy title offers a highly realistic medieval RPG experience without any of the fantasy elements that are so common in the genre.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance Patches will be arriving very soon, with the release taking place today across PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
With just a couple of simple mods you can make Kingdom Come look more realistic and utterly gorgeous, by enabling features left out by developer Warhorse.


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Since the year 2015, the percentage of Americans who watch television via cable or satellite has dropped from 76% to 56%. This recent drop in cable users can be directly related to the rise in popularity of streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu. It is believed that dating back to 2020, about 25 million United States households are expected to cancel their television subscriptions. To add to this, since 2012, 25 million families have already abandoned their television subscriptions. This rapid decline in subscription holders is expected to continue unless a new solution is produced.
Originally, streaming services such as Netflix were viewed as friends of the television industry. However, over time, this perception began to change as viewers began to shift over from television viewing to fully supporting streaming sights. The COVID-19 pandemic was a major booster for the streaming industry. Because many people were left without much to do during the pandemic, many people picked up the hobby of indulging in different streaming platforms to utilize their time. The number of pay-TV households will dip from its peak in 2010 with 105 million viewers to a forecasted 72.7 million by the year 2023. The excitement and engagement towards television have depleted over the years because of the creations of more convenient viewing options. Due to this surplus of streaming platforms, this trend will continue to skyrocket.
Since 2019, there have been ten new streaming services developed. The most popular ones include Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, Paramount Plus, and HBO Max. This explosion of different streaming services has been a remarkable addition to leisure time over the past decade. However, with all this growth a question is slowly beginning to circulate. As the viewership for television continues to drop and the streaming services rise, are cable viewers actually depleting, or is television slowly being reinvented?


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Facebook’s marketers already have a few reasons to be a little less than pleased with the social network’s policy changes, but life isn’t about to get any easier. This week, Facebook alerted its marketers that the organic reach of their Page will likely decline over time once again.
This isn’t the first time that Facebook has altered its policies with regards to Pages and their posts; over the last few months, the algorithm which selects posts to show up on users’ News Feeds has been altered a number of times. For a number of months, Facebook has been pushing Pages to use its paid advertising feature in order to gain better reach to their potential clients, and this change seems geared towards that as well.
“Like many mediums, if businesses want to make sure that people see their content, the best strategy is, and always has been, paid advertising,” a spokesperson for the company said on Wednesday.
Pages are the equivalent to user profiles for brands, businesses, and organization, and are often used as marketing tools for social media relations.


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Canton is getting its very own Bagger Dave's next month, and we all know what that means—free food. The company says they will give away one free burger per week for a year to the first 50 customers in the door at the 11 a.m. Grand Opening on February 15.
The chain's new location at 2234 N. Canton Center Road is set in a 4,755-square-foot tavern with a front patio and 10 big-screen televisions. The restaurant will seat 200 patrons, and the company plans to hire approximately 80 employees.
Update: The Grand Opening at Bagger Dave's Canton has been moved to February 15.


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Business & Investment
- Extractions could become a massive part of the German medical cannabis industry, Colorado trends suggest.
- Another UK first as a dedicated CBD food supplement store opens in Burnley.
- The global legal cannabis market is predicted to grow by over 20% within the next year.
- The UK’s first cannabis convention is to convene in London later this year.
A Bill calling for the legalisation of medical cannabis in Ireland was rejected by the Oireachtas Health Committee in July over fears that it could potentially “decriminalise the recreational use of the drug”.
The European Cannabis Report
Read the stories that shape the cannabis industry
North Macedonia considers legalisation of adult-use cannabis and Argentina’s government plans to remove cannabis from...
European Union rules CBD is not a narcotic, A comprehensive overview of the Latin American...
Argentina legalises medical cannabis self-cultivation & sale of hemp oil, Israeli government plans to legalise...


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QuietWord - stock.adobe.com
In a move that the Dubai-based metaverse project says will usher in a new era of metaverse accessibility, Everdome has launched the Spaces metaverse-as-a-service (MaaS) product line with the aim of making the metaverse more accessible for all.
Spaces is designed to allow users without deep technical knowledge to quickly produce metaverse experiences that can last for days, weeks or even a matter of hours as a metaverse pop-up space. Citing the reasons for the launch, Everdome noted a report by McKinsey showing that almost 60% of consumers using the early version of the metaverse were excited about transitioning everyday activities to it, and 95% of business leaders expected the metaverse to have a positive impact on their industry within five to 10 years.
Yet Everdome said the research also highlighted that the metaverse remains confusing for many business and consumer users, with greater barriers to entry and understanding than widely used web2 applications. Everdome said it was seeking to change this with its Spaces application, which it said would deliver easy-to-use, customisable and engaging metaverse pop-up spaces that can be created in a matter of minutes.
This product release follows closely behind Everdome’s Mars Landing experience release, which represented the completion of its alpha layer-one of their immersive metaverse destination, taking users from a virtual Hatta Spaceport through to a digital imagining of a future Martian civilisation. Created as a standalone application from the Mars metaverse environment, Spaces aims to address the ongoing challenge of accessibility in metaverse development, allowing a wider audience to take their first steps into the web3 world.
In practice, the Everdome team combines the power of Unreal Engine 5 with blockchain technology, wrapping them together to create metaverse templates designed to enable users to showcase images, video and streaming to invited users who can then react and socialise using avatars in a three-dimensional, immersive and interactive environment.
Releasing first in Alpha for Everdome’s community of landholders inside their experience, the Spaces release forms part of Everdome’s wider metaverse-as-a-service product line, encompassing metaverse templates and custom developments for brands and businesses, which will be gradually released over the third quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.
Much as software as a service (SaaS) became a standard for web2 development, Everdome believes that MaaS will become a similar standard for web3, providing on-demand, subscription-based access for metaverse development for individuals, brands and businesses of all sizes.
“The metaverse is really just getting started. However, we need to provide people with a simple jumping-in point so they can really get a taste of the possibilities and differences between the web2 and web3 experiences,’’ said Everdome CEO Jeremy Lopez. “Metaverse as a service is an arena that is very exciting and with huge growth potential – to make sure the metaverse is usable by more people, quickly – focusing on tooling and products knocking down barriers to entry.’’
Read more about metaverse applications
- Gearing up for the industrial metaverse: With the hype around the metaverse probably at an all-time low since the former Facebook invented it, it could be argued that its potential is at an all-time high. Where will this potential be exploited and though what tools?
- Adopting and adapting to the industrial metaverse: The industrial metaverse heralds the arrival of commercial transformations, driving benefits across operations and industries. We look at the benefits an industrial version of the emerging computing environment can offer to businesses.
- Connectivity the key to metaverse success: Telefónica spells out clearly the vital need for infrastructure innovation to support the imminent range of immersive applications and use cases from the metaverse.
- Enterprise and industrial metaverses exceeding expectations: Across use cases, particularly industrial and enterprise, early metaverse adopters report benefits more often than companies still in the planning phase, with capex reduction and sustainability showing largest difference.


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Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman told in his Power On newsletter in the past that Apple is reportedly working on a 20-inch foldable device. Now he has said that the company is looking for a dual display format for its foldable MacBook/iPad hybrid. If this is possible, the company will launch a new category in its product portfolio. This category will be the foldable Mac / iPad hybrid key. In simple words, this device can be a hybrid of MacBook and iPad. Although there is still time for its launch.
Mark Gurman says that the company can offer a 20-inch foldable screen, which will support a physical keyboard or a virtual keyboard can be offered in a part of the display. Gurman likes the virtual keyboard thing more. It is believed that the new product can be launched in the year 2026. Around this the target of releasing the foldable smartphone has also been kept. This is also the timeline when Apple’s AR glasses, mixed reality headsets and Apple cars are also expected.
By the way, Apple has not officially said anything about the Apple car. A product of the company is being prepared by the name Project Titan. It is believed that this will be the Apple car. In a news report last month, it was told that a patent of Apple has been approved. This patent is said to be related to Apple Car. The US Patent and Trademark Office has granted Apple a new patent. It is believed that this will be the sunroof technology for the company’s upcoming electric car. The patent also reveals a glass, according to which the user can adjust the transparency of the car’s roof. It is said that the Apple car can become a reality by the year 2025.
For the latest tech news, smartphone reviews and exclusive offers on popular mobiles, download the Gadgets 360 Android app and follow us on Google News.


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Online Lottery Growth Drives Record Jackpots
June 6, 2012
Those who follow the world of international lotto have certainly noticed an undeniable trend lately: Lotto jackpots just keep getting larger and larger.
What’s behind this record growth? It can be difficult to tease out specific causes in such a complex system. Some might argue that the global economic downturn has driven more and more people to play the lotto in the hopes of dramatically reversing their situation. Another common argument is that the growth of interstate and inter-country lotteries, where several independent jurisdictions pool their players and prize money to create massive jackpots, have contributed to the record-breaking numbers lotto players are seeing as of late.
Both arguments have merit, but there’s another factor at work that might not be the first guess of all observers: The growth of online lottery purchases.
While numbers for the industry are not readily available, it’s simple logic that when players have access to any lotto worldwide available online, participation in lotteries will grow. This is especially true for “mega-lotteries” with jackpots in the tens of millions of dollars (or euros) that draw in players who don’t normally make the lottery a part of their spending habits. With more interest comes more ticket sales, with more ticket sales comes a bigger jackpot, and that bigger jackpot creates more interest again, starting the cycle all over back from the start.
Safe, secure lotto from third-party delivery services is now available, meaning players from the US can take a crack at the Spanish Lottery, players from Australia can buy tickets for US Powerball jackpots, and so on. These services have basically opened up an entirely new market for individual lotteries, allowing their prize pools to swell with a river of entries that were simply not feasible in the pre-internet lotto days.
In addition to third-party services, more and more lotteries are officially moving online. This trend is sweeping the US and Europe, as states hope to leverage the Internet to further increase the exposure and popularity of their lotteries. The end result will likely be even more partnerships that create larger and larger jackpots – and a far greater pool of customers overall for the combined prize.
As with any new medium for gambling, there are challenges facing online lotto. Players will need to do a bit more research and investigation before simply jumping in – after all, it’s a far cry from buying a few tickets from the machine at your corner store. With the proper precautions, however, we can conclude that online lotto will be a safe and secure avenue for driving lotto jackpots ever higher.


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Industry executives: In today's healthcare landscape, the patient comes first
AUSTIN, TX – It's a consumer's world, and we'd all just better get used to it.
That's especially true of the nation's doctors, who've been at the center of the healthcare landscape and are now dealing with a healthcare system that's putting the patient first. In this reform-minded era, they're turning to telemedicine and mobile health to make those connections and carve out a better and more efficient business.
A panel of telemedicine industry executives took on that question Monday afternoon at the American Telemedicine Association's18th Annual International Meeting & Trade Show in an Industry Executive Session focusing on user-friendly design. Their conclusion: Healthcare needs to design new methods of care delivery that appeal to the consumer.
"I think there's such an opportunity with consumers and what they're demands are," said Steve Cashman, founder of HealthSpot, which is designing and marketing the HealthSpot Station kiosk. "The majority of (doctors) want to be more effective in what they do for a living," and they'll only be effective if they meet their patients' needs.
"It's becoming a consumer market," added Allen Izadpanah, president and CEO of ViTel Net. "People are starting to shop for their own doctors now."
The panel, which included Mark Vanderwerf, vice president and director of eHealth and OEM for Nonin; Jerry Wang, director of engineering and quality assurance for A&D Medical; Andy Sallee, vice president of business development for Alere Connect; and Simon Wright, managing director of research and development for Panasonic, pointed out that "design is everything" in telemedicine and mHealth. Products that appeal to the consumer will be accepted by them, and they'll in turn compel their doctors to embrace telemedicine and mHealth – or lose business.
The market is becoming comfortable with telemedicine technology and even demanding it, pointed out Vanderwerf. Consumers are taking charge of their healthcare and using more and more tools and devices. That, in turn, is compelling physicians to embrace telemedicine as a means of communicating with their patients, pulling in healthcare data and effecting better health outcomes.
The Monday afternoon session was one of several being staged by the ATA to bring together the movers and shakers in telemedicine and mHealth and engage them in panel discussions about top trends. Earlier in the day, American Well CEO Roy Schoenberg led a discussion on "The New World of Service Delivery," highlighting direct care providers who are using telemedicine to reach new markets.
"Telehealth, in truth, is a pretty magical technology," said Schoenberg, whose company is among the nation's largest providers of home-based telehealth encounters.
Joining Schoenberg were Carl Keldie, MD, who recently retired as chief medical officer of Corizon, a provider of telehealth services to prisons; Lee Paschall, CEO of Insight Telepsychiatry; and John R. Palumbo, president of MD Aligne, which markets a web-driven consumer health portal.
Perhaps surprisingly, this panel said technology may be a key component to telemedicine, but it shouldn't be, as Paschall put it, "the only cargo on the train." Providers have to understand that telemedicine can bridge gaps between the patient and the doctor, and that interaction is just as important as the toys and tools used to allow it.
In the end, they said, it's all about appealing to the consumer.
"It's all about the channels, not so much the healthcare technology," said Palumbo, who urged his fellow executives to design telemedicine programs that address the customer's needs, not the healthcare expert's.
"When people are accessing healthcare, you need to speak their language," added Schoenberg. "You need to touch them where they can be touched."


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As of Thursday, October 19, 2017
GRANGER The Washington State Department of Agriculture has suspended Pride and Joy Dairy’s raw milk processing plant license.
“They still have a production license,” department spokesman Hector Castro said.
That means they can take it to a processing plant, and it can still be sold as organic milk, he said
But it would not be raw organic milk. That is what Allen and Cheryl Voortman have marketed for years. According to Castro, the Voortmans have until Oct. 16 to appeal the decision.
Or they can put together a suitable action plan to deal with the “pathogens” in their milk. The department would review and determine if it is acceptable.
“The WSDA does not acknowledge any one else’s test results. So we don’t know if they will even accept what we give them,” said Cindy Umipig, Spokesman for the Voortmans, her parents.
Castro’s response was that the department has its own lab, and the Federal Drug Administration also uses it.
The Voortmans had not decided yesterday what action to take, according to Umipig.
They do not agree with the department that their milk is tainted by a Salmonella strain.
The strain Castro said the department found is a strain the caused hospitalization for two Washingtonians in January.
This the second time the Voortmans are shut down. They shut down voluntarily in February when the department said its testing had come up with the salmonella strain.
Umipig said the Voortmans weathered that 9-week storm and kept everyone employed. This time, it will be difficult.
“We had to lay off four employees, and we are trying to keep two more that depend on that part of the business, but only time will tell if we have enough work for them to keep them happy with the paycheck,” Umipig said.
The Voortmans say they had milk from the same batch the department used tested by an independent lab and came up with a different result.
Umipig said the independent testing came up negative for the salmonella strain the department says it found.
If that’s the case, Castro said, it can easily be explained.
The pathogens are not uniformly distributed through he milk, he said. There can be different results from two tests of the same gallon. He noted the department tested milk from four one-gallon samples.
“His claim is that the Health Department came up with the same results as them, but he does not mention that they are the same exact samples as the WSDA already had in hand,” Umipig said. “The health department was not given closed new samples for testing.”
Umipig said the Voortmans are considering all their options. They are working with an attorney but are not sure they want to take legal action.
“The government’s pockets are deep, and the laws are written to protect their interests, not ours,” Umipig said.
Umipig said the department told the Voortmans they have until Oct. 31 to submit and action plan. Castro said that date is not set in stone.
Umipig said time is important to the Voortmans, but they aren’t fearful their market will dry up while they work their way to a solution.
“We have some very loyal customers that came back to us as soon as we were up and running again, but it’s very hard to predict customers’ habits,” Umipig said.
Umipig said the Voortmans have lost their biggest retail account, two produce stores in Vancouver that sold an average of 150-180 gallons a week.
“They will no longer carry our milk even if we are able to get up and running,” Umipig said.


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Although there are a lot of new additions to see, there are also a few attractions and hotels that will NOT be open for at least part of December. You’ll want to be aware of these closures before your trip so that they don’t catch you off guard! In this post, we’re going to take a look at what’s going to be closed in December in Disney World. [Read more…]
There are LOTS of hotel renovations happening in Disney World.
Some that we’ve been following are the renovations coming to Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows and the updates coming soon to the Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort. Now, Disney has announced one big change that’s coming to the villas at both of these resorts!
Another month down in Disney World and we’re headed into the summer!
We had a pretty busy month FULL of Disney news (which seems to be the norm these days). Sure, we saw some things coming like preparations for Pride Month and even the 4th of July, but some news was downright SHOCKING. Here are the three most unexpected things that happened in Disney World last month!


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Three Reasons Why Sleeping Close to Your Phone Wrecks Your Health
According to a recent survey, around 44 percent of the cell phone owners sleep with their phone next to their bed to make sure they didn't miss any crucial calls or texts. The intentions might be good, but here are three reasons why snuggling with the phone could be hazardous to health.
Pillow could catch fire
A Texas teen was recently in the news. Reason? She woke up to a burning smell of her Samsung Galaxy S4 which was under her pillow. The phone had partially melted scorching her sheets and mattress.
Although it was more specifically a case of non-Samsung replacement phone battery, but still you should bar yourself from using phone in bed.
2. It keeps us awake
Cell phones and other gadgets with screen, give off a type of blue light that might inhibit the production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin and disrupt our circadian rhythms. It may be because the emitted blue light emits wavelength similar to daylight which makes our body think it's daytime, at anytime.
Researchers advise powering down all electronics two hours before bedtime.
3. Health risks of cell phones are scary
In 2011, World Health Organization had warned that using phones for more than recommended duration may be possibly carcinogenic to humans, especially in children whose scalps and skulls are thinner than adults' and more vulnerable to radiation.
Previously studies also suggested that cell phones give off small doses of electromagnetic radiation. Though these radiations are perfectly safe to handle, taking a precaution is advisable.


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Seek’s sights stay on acquisitionsPUBLISHED: 30 Aug 2010 00:09:25 | UPDATED: 30 Aug 2010 05:59:52PUBLISHED: 30 Aug 2010 PRINT EDITION: 30 Aug 2010
After its $US40 million acquisition of 40 per cent of Mexican online job ads company OCC Mundial, Seek is looking for more acquisitions in the online advertising and education sectors here and overseas.
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In a warehouse basement in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood late last year, a handful of self-taught network engineers gathered to casually discuss how they might make Time Warner Cable irrelevant in their lives.
Toppling—or at least subverting—a telecom monopoly is the dream of many an American, who are fed up with bait-and-switch advertising campaigns, arbitrary data caps, attacks on net neutrality, overzealous political lobbying, lackluster customer service, and passive-aggressive service cancellation experiences that are a common experience of simply being a broadband internet customer these days. The folks at NYC Mesh are actually doing something about it.
I'm in Cambridge MA and wish I could find people interested to start such a project. It makes me think there is an opportunity to keep a register of people interested by geographical area.
Here in the Corporate States of America, that register is called a "terrorist watchlist."


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bill-swift - February 28, 2012
Forget all the Oscar hoopla over silly films most people will never see, our friends at Mr. Skin, expert purveyors of all things skin on film, have announced the winners of their 13th annual Anatomy Awards, for the voter-voted on choices of their favorite bits of flesh filled celluloid fantasies from the past year.
Check out the Anatomy Awards winners announcement video on Mr. Skin for the uncensored big wins. Enjoy.


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The state's transport agency considered charging $10 for new Opal cards under plans to get most people using credit cards and mobile devices to pay for trips, leaked documents show.
The confidential strategy documents detailing the rollout of so-called contactless technology, obtained by the Herald and the ABC, reveal it was partly aimed at cutting the cost to the state of ticketing and stemming fare evasion, especially on trains to Sydney Airport.
But Transport Minister Andrew Constance said there were “no plans to introduce any fee for new Opal cards”, and Opal was “here to stay” as the foundation of the state's public transport system.
“Contactless payments are available as a convenience to customers but it is still an Opal system and always will be,” he said, describing the leaked documents as outdated.
The documents show Transport for NSW considered introducing the $10 fee for new Opal cards as a way to encourage a rapid take-up of contactless payments.
It had aimed for 90 per cent of people who use reloadable Opal cards to have switched to credit and debit cards, and mobile devices, within two years of the full rollout of the contactless payment system across the train, bus, tram and ferry networks.
Contactless payment technology was extended across the ferry network and to the inner west light rail in March, and the government wants to expand it to trains by the end of this year and to buses in early 2019.
Part of the justification outlined in the documents for a switch to contactless payments was that it would help cut the cost to taxpayers of using retailers to distribute and reload Opal cards, as well as call centres to deal with customer enquiries about top-ups.
NSW is different to other major cities around the world such as Hong Kong, London and Vancouver in not charging fees for smart cards for public transport use.
Each Opal card costs the state more than $2 to produce and distribute, which amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. The number of cards issued dwarfs those that are active.
The state also loses about $1.2 million in revenue each year from customers effectively travelling for free by throwing away their Opal cards that have negative balances and gaining new ones.
The majority of the discarded Opal cards with negative balances are used by people to get trains to Sydney Airport's domestic and international terminals.
The cost of catching the train to the airport is the most expensive on the city's rail network. A one-way journey from central Sydney to the domestic or international terminal costs an adult passenger $18.70 during peak hours due to a so-called station access fee.
The leaked documents estimated the capital and operating cost of the project to shift people to contactless payments at about $500 million over a decade.
However, the transport agency's more recent analysis puts the cost of the full rollout of contactless technology at less than a third of the initial estimate.
In making the case for the shift towards contactless payments, the documents highlighted how it would make it easier for tourists and infrequent users of public transport, and remove the hassle of having to add credit to cards for existing Opal holders.
At present, the cost of a journey using credit cards or mobile phones is the equivalent of an adult Opal single-trip ticket. That means people do not gain the benefits of using Opal cards, which include half-price travel after eight trips in a week, or a transfer discount when switching modes of transport.
In response to questions, Transport for NSW said “there are no plans to replace the Opal card” with contactless payments for trips.
“We will continue to use what we learn from the contactless payment trial to shape our plans for adding future digital ticketing and payment solutions to the Opal system,” it said.


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News - General Motors
GM looks east for all-new EV
Chinese joint venture gets the nod to develop GM’s all-new electric vehicle platform
21 Sep 2011
GENERAL Motors has signed a deal to co-develop an electric car with its Chinese joint venture partner, SAIC Motor Corp, joining an apparent rush by western car-makers to jump-start electric vehicle (EV) development in the world’s biggest motor market.
Toyota and Hyundai are also reportedly working on EV ventures with partners in China where such vehicles can attract large subsidies and preferential treatment from government fleets, provided they are built by Chinese companies and sold under Chinese brands.
The new GM-SAIC vehicle – to be developed at the partners’ Pan-Asia Technical Automotive Centre (PATAC) in Shanghai – will be an all-new architecture, not a variation of an existing car such as the Volt.
GM also has confirmed that the EV platform will spawn models to be offered by both GM and SAIC outside China, as well as in the Chinese domestic market.
GM Holden director external communications Emily Perry said such a vehicle would be considered for Australia, as long as a business case could be made.
GM – the biggest foreign brand in China – sold 2.35 million vehicles there last year and hopes to double that to around five million by 2015.
The GM-SAIC EV joint development is a first for GM and SAIC, whose partnership has risen to number one in the Chinese market on the back of GM-designed vehicles such as the Chevrolet Cruze, Sail and Aveo and Buick Excelle, Lacrosse and Regal.
The announcement of the new venture was made in Shanghai where the GM board this week met for the first time, underlining the increasing importance of China to GM.
The deal was signed by SAIC chairman Hu Maoyuan and GM chairman and CEO Dan Akerson.
Left: The Chinese-made Chevrolet Sail. Below: The Australian-designed GM EN-V Xiao electric vehicle showcased at Shanghai Expo 2010.
GM international operations president Tim Lee said the co-development of the new electric vehicle architecture demonstrated the broad range of benefits made possible by the strong partnership between SAIC and GM.
“For almost 15 years, our two companies have forged some of the industry’s most successful joint ventures,” he said.
“This unprecedented level of cooperation is another demonstration of our companies’ commitment to work collaboratively.”
SAIC Motor president Chen Hong said the deal would take advantage of SAIC-GM economies of scale and get new technology to the market faster than by going it alone.
“It will help bring about our goal of leading the automotive industry in new energy vehicles and our vision of sustainable transportation, which we introduced at World Expo 2010 Shanghai.”
GM said the agreement would leverage SAIC’s market knowledge and local expertise along with GM’s expertise in electric vehicle development and global know-how.
Teams of SAIC, GM and PATAC engineers will work together to develop key components, as well as vehicle structures and architectures.
Said GM in a media release: “Vehicles resulting from the partnership will be sold in China under Shanghai GM and SAIC brands.
“SAIC and GM will also use the architecture to build electric vehicles around the globe for their own purposes.
“Product details and timing will be announced at a later date.”
SAIC and GM are already partners in 10 joint ventures in China, including vehicle and powertrain manufacturing, sales and aftersales, automotive engineering and design, automotive finance, telematics and used vehicles.
The latest project – funded 50/50 – delivers on a pledge signed by GM and SAIC last year to collaborate on the development of “new-energy vehicles”.
Late last year, GM and SAIC revealed the Sail electric concept vehicle developed at PATAC.
Earlier this month, the China Car Times carried images allegedly leaked from the Chinese patent office that are purported to be of the production version of the GM-SAIC Sail EV.
The wagon-style hatchback – based on the Chevrolet Sail small car launched in early 2010 – is shown with an S-shaped badge, leading to speculation in the Chinese media that the vehicle might be launched under a new sub-brand, rather than Chevrolet, Buick or some other existing GM or SAIC brand.
However, the Sail EV is unlikely to be the vehicle mentioned in the latest deal, as it uses existing GM vehicle architecture and appears to be all ready for launch, perhaps this year.
The Sail EV concept that was revealed at the 2010 Guangzhou motor show was powered by a lithium-ion battery, with maximum output of 65kW and maximum torque of 220Nm.
It had a claimed maximum speed of 130km/h and a range of 150km.
Similar speculation surrounds images of what appears to be an electrified version of the Toyota Crown that also turned up out of the patent office in China.
In this case, the vehicle displays a badge with a prominent ‘V’, leading journalists to speculate that the vehicle will be offered in a new all-electric sub brand in a joint venture between Toyota and its Chinese partner First Automobile Works (FAW).
And as GoAuto has reported, Hyundai and its Chinese partner BAIC are allegedly preparing an electric vehicle brand, with cars to be built at a new factory being constructed near Beijing.
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In efforts to raise awareness for different issues, many companies release special edition merchandise. The beauty company EOS continues in this tradition by releasing a new lip balm in a partnership with the charity (RED), an organization that provides AIDS treatment to the impoverished. Furthermore, EOS revamped their packaging for this special edition product.
Similar to their other packaging, the special edition pomegranate raspberry lip balm was concealed in a sphere container. In keeping with the theme for the awareness campaign, the container was a deep red hue to symbolize the partnership between the beauty company and the (RED) charity.In fact, EOS has pledged 15 percent of the sales profits for the special edition gloss to the charity.
Since its inception, EOS has focused on using natural and ethically-sourced materials in their products. As a result,the company uses sustainable ingredients such as Shea butter, beeswax, and jojoba oil. EOS states that their mission is to make beauty products that serve a purpose and which are enjoyable to use. Besides partnering with (Red), the company also partners with other charities like I am that Girl. Additionally, they work with Terracycle, a recycling firm whose aim is to make recycling an easy option for everyone.
EOS’s partnership with (RED) is an honorable effort that will help many people in sub-Saharan Africa receive the treatment that they need. In a statement a spokesperson for EOS highlighted that 18.5 million women and girls live as HIV-positive, so the company felt compelled to raise awareness in some way. EOS hopes that this action will inspire their customers to spread some goodwill.
End Of Article


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Sofia, March 25, 2016/ Independent Balkan News Agency
By Clive Leviev-Sawyer of The Sofia Globe
Bulgarian Parliament passed at second reading the amendments to the Tobacco Act, which envision the introduction of graphic health warnings on cigarette packaging and a ban on flavourings in tobacco products.
The amendments implement the European Union directive 2014/40/EU, adopted in April 2014, and would go into force on May 20 2016, but the amended law also envisions a one-year transition period during which tobacco products made under the current regulatory framework can be sold, meaning that the full effect of the new regulations is delayed to May 2017.
Tobacco products’ packaging in Bulgaria already carries text warnings, but the latest EU regulations mandate an increase in the surface of packaging covered by the warning, as well as the introduction of colour photographs illustrating the impact of smoking on the human body.
The EU regulations also ban the sale of tobacco products that contain “a characterising flavour”, which is defined as “a clearly noticeable smell or taste other than one of tobacco, resulting from an additive or a combination of additives, including, but not limited to, fruit, spice, herbs, alcohol, candy, menthol or vanilla, which is noticeable before or during the consumption of the tobacco product.”
The ban specifically mentions additives that create the impression that a tobacco product has a health benefit or presents reduced health risks; caffeine or taurine or other additives that are associated with energy and vitality; as well as additives having colouring properties for emissions.
The amendments to the Tobacco Act also implement the new EU regulations on electronic cigarettes.
Bulgaria has one of the highest tobacco consumption rates in the EU at 35 per cent, second only to Greece (38 per cent), compared to 26 per cent in the EU as a whole, according to a Eurobarometer survey published by the European Commission in May 2015.


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Over $200,000 worth of cash and prizes to be won!
Singapore, 27 May 2010 – The SPH Shop & Win 2010, organised in conjunction with the Great Singapore Sale annually, will be held from from 28 May to 25 July this year. Over eight weeks, besides enjoying great bargains and offers, shoppers will have lots of opportunities to win fantastic prizes in the SPH Shop & Win weekly draws.
The organiser of SPH Shop & Win 2010, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), is delighted to be the Official Media Partner for this year’s Great Singapore Sale, organised by the Singapore Retailers Association with support from the Singapore Tourism Board.
There are prizes worth over $200,000 to be won, including a Subaru Impreza 1.5R (MT) Sedan and a Subaru Forester 2.0X, Nikon COOLPIX digital cameras, Mitsubishi Electric refrigerators, Sharp LCD TVs, water ovens and air purifiers, Canon projectors and printers, Tempur vouchers and cash prizes.
To take part, shoppers simply need to spend $30 in a single receipt at any SPH Shop & Win participating partner identifiable by the SPH Shop & Win window decal or poster, and SMS their entry for a chance to win.
Shoppers should SMS their entry to 33833 in the following format:
SPHGSS<space>NRIC<space>Date of Purchase<space>AmountSpent<space>Place of Purchase
Example: SPHGSS S1234567J 29052010 155.60 Plaza Singapura
The main prize sponsor of SPH Shop & Win 2010 is Motor Image Enterprises / Subaru, and other sponsors include Canon, Mitsubishi Electric, Nikon, OWELL BodyCare, SHARP and TEMPUR.
For more details on the SPH Shop & Win campaign, please refer to the advertisements in SPH newspapers, or log on to www.asiaone.com/sphshopandwin.
Issued by Singapore Press Holdings Ltd
Co. Regn. No. 198402868E
For more information, please contact:
Ms Niccolle Lum
Assistant Branding & Promotions Manager
Product Branding & Promotions
Singapore Press Holdings Limited
DID: 6319 4029
Singapore Press Holdings Limited
DID: 6319 2261
HP: 9798 6097
About Singapore Press Holdings Ltd
Incorporated in 1984, main board-listed Singapore Press Holdings Ltd (SPH) celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2009. It is Southeast Asia’s leading media organisation, engaging minds and enriching lives across multiple languages and platforms.
Newspapers and Magazines
In Singapore, SPH publishes 17 newspaper titles in four languages. Every day, 3 million individuals or 79 per cent of people above 15 years old, read one of SPH's news publications. SPH also publishes and produces more than 100 magazine titles in Singapore and the region, covering a broad range of interests from lifestyle to information technology.
Internet and Mobile
Beyond print, the Internet editions of SPH newspapers enjoy over 225 million pageviews with 14 million unique visitors every month. Apart from SPH AsiaOne portal, SPH's online and new media initiatives include an online marketplace for products, services and employment, ST701; local search and directory engine, rednano.sg; Stomp (Straits Times Online Mobile Print), a portal that connects, engages and interacts with readers on the Web and via mobile phone messaging; omy.sg, a bilingual news and interactive portal and The Straits Times RazorTV, a free access interactive webcast service offering live chat shows and video-on-demand clips.
SPH has a 20 per cent stake in MediaCorp TV Holdings Pte Ltd, which operates free-to-air channels 5, 8 and U, and a 40 per cent stake in MediaCorp Press Limited, which publishes the free newspaper, Today. In the radio business, SPH has an 80 per cent stake in SPH UnionWorks Pte Ltd, which operates entertainment stations Radio 100.3 in Mandarin and 91.3FM in English.
Events and Outdoor Advertising
SPH’s events subsidiary Sphere Exhibits organises innovative consumer and trade events and exhibitions. In addition, SPH has ventured into out-of-home (OOH) advertising through its wholly-owned subsidiary, SPH MediaBoxOffice Pte Ltd, Singapore’s largest outdoor motion display advertising network media company.
SPH owns and manages Paragon, the prime retail and office complex in the heart of Orchard Road, Singapore's main shopping belt. SPH's wholly-owned subsidiary, Times Development Pte Ltd, is also developing a 43-storey upmarket residential condominium, Sky@eleven, at Thomson Road.


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Alex Kennedy @AlexKennedyNBA
The Houston Rockets are shopping Samuel Dalembert, according to sources. He may be packaged with one of Houston's first-round picks.
Interesting that this rumor comes up while Olshey is down in Houston checking out Joel Freeland. Dalembert would fill a need for Portland. Think there's any chance Portland is the team trying to grab him?


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Industrial digital twin market to reach US$ 33.9 Billion in 2030 at a 29% CAGR
ABI Research estimates the industrial digital twin market will grow from US$3.5 billion in 2021 to US$33.9 billion in 2030 at a 29% CAGR. Digital Twin technologies includes composition of technologies such as CAD modelling, connectivity, cloud computing, IIoT software platforms, remote monitoring, hardware for shop-floor workers (tablets, AR glasses), physics-based simulation, machine learning, and systems integration.
“Digital twins are no longer a niche concept but rather becoming mainstream with the help of IIoT dashboards and near real-time reporting,” explains Ryan Martin, Research Director, ABI Research. “The biggest changes in the last 12 months include pandemic response uplift alongside new requirements such as increased factory and shop floor automation; greater data transparency; real-time planning and change management; and better worker augmentation and remote support.”
ABI Research estimates average global adoption of digital twins will reach 34.9% by 2026, supporting more than 10 million frontline workers in manufacturing. The United States currently leads in both the adoption of digital twins and in products manufactured using digital twins. However, China has the potential to overtake the United States in terms of products manufactured using digital twins by 2024 under current conditions, finds ABI.
“Many vendors provide a few of the core products and services for digital twins very well, but few provide a customizable end-to-end solution,” continued Martin. “Some companies that provide the most complete solutions include Dassault Systèmes, Hitachi Vantara, PTC, and Siemens. Other companies with a prominent position are Ansys, Autodesk, GE Digital, and Microsoft, due to their work on standards through organizations like the Digital Twin Consortium (DTC).”
There is rising interest in solutions that can be deployed and configured versus built from the ground up. “Eventually, this will lead to the rise of standards and model libraries/digital twin marketplaces that accelerate and ease the deployment process,” Martin concludes.
Author: Srinivasa Reddy N


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South Korean mobile game publisher Gamevil (Zenonia
, Baseball Superstars
) has reported another quarter of growth, with increased smartphone revenues continuing to drive its business.
Overall revenue for its second fiscal quarter was reported at KRW9.8 billion (South Korean Won), or around $9 million, up 34 percent from the same period one year ago.
Of that total, KRW6.1 billion ($5.6 million), around 62 percent, was generated from the company's expanding smartphone business, which was up 259 percent from last year.
Net profit for the quarter was KRW3.8 billion KRW ($3.5 million), maintaining what the company claims is "the highest percentage of operating profit ratio in the Korean mobile gaming industry," at just over 41 percent. In fact, that ratio is on the rise as well: it is slightly higher than the 40 percent achieved last quarter
The company attributes its success to its continued focus on smartphone titles, as well as its focus on free-to-play games. Its iOS title Air Penguin
hit the top spot on Apple's App Store in several countries including the United States.
"The second quarter result shows that Gamevil has successfully transformed to a publisher for smartphones, which are the driving force of the mobile landscape," said CEO and executive VP Yong Kuk Lee.
The company recently announced
a $10 million investment in partnerships with external developers, starting with the acquisition of the popular Cartoon Wars


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Uganda has been ranked the most secure cyberspace Country in Africa in the recently announced Global National Cyber Security Index.
The National Cyber Index is a global organization which measures preparedness of countries to prevent cyber threats and manage cyber incidents.
”Previously 2nd in the 2017 ranking, the elevation to the number 1 spot is exciting news for the nation,” said the National Information Technology Authority-Uganda (NITA-U) in a statement on Monday.
NITA-U says that the increased use of Information, Communication and Technology services (ICT), electronic commerce/business is on the rise and offers great new opportunities for economic growth.
“Whereas this adoption of ICT is intended for good, there are malicious actors that are keen on using the same for unlawful purposes through cyber-crime. This has therefore led to the emergence of new crimes. Similarly, digital information continues to grow at an exponential rate and can be stored on a device or cloud service and in different jurisdictions,” it noted.
In line with the above, Parliament of Uganda enacted three laws relating to the use of electronic communications in Uganda, namely; the Electronic Transactions Act 2011; the Electronic Signatures Act, 2011 and the Computer Misuse Act, 2011 collectively known as ‘Cyber Laws’ which became effective on 15th April 2011.
NITA-U adds that these laws are the backbone of the legal framework for the IT sector and provide for and regulate the use of electronic communications in business and in the delivery of services to the public. Additionally, NITA-U developed the National Information Security Framework (NISF) to standardize the approach to information security.
“The ranking as Number 1 in Africa is as a result of above efforts in ensuring that digital transactions are carried out in a secure environment,” NITA-U added.
Commenting on the development, the Executive Director NITA-U, James Saaka said, “The ranking is testimony to our efforts in ensuring that all digital transactions are carried out securely. Our citizens can trust that we have put in place world class mechanisms that prevent cyber threats and manage cyber incidents, once they occur.”
In a national coordinated approach for handling information Security incidents, a National Computer Response Team / Coordination Centre was established (www.cert.ug) as an organization devoted to ensuring that appropriate technology and systems management practice are used to resist attacks on networked systems. It was also established to limit damage while ensuring continuity of critical services in spite of successful attacks, accidents or failures.


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By Brian Halweil and Danielle Nierenberg
In July, Brian Halweil of Edible Communities and Nourishing the Planet’s Danielle Nierenberg wrote an op-ed for The New York Times entitled, “The Kindest Cut of Meat is Ground.” The article highlighted the ecological and economic benefits of grass-fed ground meat, particularly its advantages over cuts like sirloin and round—cuts typically considered superior in terms of taste and quality. The article generated substantial feedback, particularly concern from environmentalists and animal advocates who argue that the consumption of meat is inherently bad for the environment and for the welfare of farm animals.
And some comments from readers questioned the affordability of good ground meat, arguing that $8.50 per pound isn’t “well within most Americans’ budgets.” But that price is just one example (of New York grassfed meat) from Dickson’s Farmstand Meats in Chelsea Market in Manhattan, a haven for foodies. This location isn’t representative of the nation’s meat pricing–it’s Manhattan, after all. But we have also shopped New York City Greenmarkets where we found ground poultry, pork, and even beef–all pasture raised–for $5 or $6 per pound.
And buying direct from farmers often gets the per pound price down to $4 or $5–a price that we suspect shoppers can beat in the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, or other parts of this meat-raising country. Either way, the point remains that ground is often the most affordable cut, wherever you are shopping. And as Jake Dickson helpfully explained, for small farmers trying to make it outside the factory paradigm, healthy sales of lesser-loved cuts can make the difference between economic feast or famine. And that is why it’s so important that butchers like him, as well as restaurant chefs, caterers, foodservice providers and consumers, buy that meat, too.
Eating local, grass-fed ground meat has a wealth of advantages over other types and cuts of meat. If you eat meat and plan to barbeque this Labor Day weekend, you can consider the following benefits of grass-fed ground meat before going to the grocery store:
–Grass-fed meat promotes the conversion of hundreds of acres of industrial grain fields into permanent pastures that reduce soil erosion, improve water quality, and boost plant diversity. According to a study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Land Stewardship Project, pastures have 53 percent greater soil stability, improved passage for runoff, and less nitrate pollution from groundwater than corn and soy fields.
–Polyculture—an agricultural system that promotes nutrient recycling by incorporating native species and reducing fertilizer use—enhances the productive capacity of agricultural land. Small, family-run businesses, such as Joel Salatin’s Polyface Farm, demonstrate that sustainable farming can be very successful: Salatin’s 100-acre farm produces 40,000 pounds of beef, 30,000 pounds of pork, 10,000 broilers, 1,200 turkeys 1,000 rabbits, and 35,000 dozen eggs each year.
–While animal advocacy and other groups are concerned about the suffering of animals raised for human consumption, the ground meat produced from pasture-raised animals typically comes from small-scale farms, where farmers practice better animal welfare standards than large factory farming operations.
–Ground meat produced from grass-fed beef is also healthy (and tasty!)—it is typically leaner and lower in fat than grain-fed meat, and studies have shown that grass-fed animals have higher levels of vitamin A and E and omega-3 fatty acids, which reduces cholesterol and high blood pressure. Additionally, a simple rinsing process has been shown to reduce the fat content of ground meat by up to 50 percent. Frances Robinson, author of “Pasture Perfect,” states that switching to grass-fed meat will save American consumers 16,642 calories per year.
–Small-scale cattle farms such as Minnesota’s Thousand Hills Cattle Companyhave shown that raising grass-fed livestock provides a balance between ecological and economic benefits. This can save farmers from paying thousands of dollars for feed grain, and the pastures easily recover if they are not overgrazed.
–Consumers of locally produced ground meat lend a hand in building their economy, for the money they spend stays within the community. According to a report by the University of Essex, this ensures that farmers keep at least 80 cents for every dollar consumers spend, for local ground meat eliminates the high advertising and transportation costs associated with commercial livestock farms.
Many recipes that call for ground meat are, additionally, less meat intensive than meals prepared with traditional cuts. One reader noted that she and her Indian-American husband have been using local grassfed beef to make keema, an Indian minced meat recipe that includes peas and potatoes, to the delight of their young children.
Although the production of meat has a greater environmental footprint than the production of fruits and vegetables—which is highlighted by the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition (BCFN) in the Double Pyramid of Food and the Environment—consumers who eat meat can make better choices this holiday by purchasing local, grass-fed, and ground meat.


text: Retail giant Sears isn’t the first company that comes to mind when you think about digital movie downloads, but a newly launched offering aims to change that. The company has announced Alphaline Entertainment, a digital movie rental and download service that runs on the RoxioNow platform. First rumored back in July, Alphaline will offer users 24-hour movie rentals for between $3 and $4 or movie purchases for between $10 and $20. Movies can be viewed on a PC or on any RoxioNow capable device (e.g. Xbox 360). In the future, Sears hopes to support viewing on Macintosh computers, mobile devices, and network connected TVs. What do you think? Does Sears stand a chance against Amazon, Netflix, and the like?


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7:25 a.m. July 27, 2014
- By Quentin Fottrell
A supersize iPhone is a big risk for Apple. The tech giant has good reason to worry about the impact of introducing a bigger version of the iPhone, tech analysts say.. The tech giant has good reason to worry about the impact of introducing a bigger
3:37 p.m. July 24, 2014
- By Sara Germano
The big-box retailer is also rethinking its specialty retailer Golf Galaxy, which was acquired in 2007 for $226 million.
6:30 a.m. July 24, 2014
- By Therese Poletti
In this case, Apple’s predecessors among smartwatches include the Pebble, several models of Galaxy Gear created by Samsung Electronics Co. and other devices designed around Google Inc.’s Android Wear software. 2.
6:00 a.m. July 12, 2014
- By Jake Lingeman
Man U will wear the uniforms for the first time here in the U.S., when they play the LA Galaxy (also a soccer team?) in a preseason game July 23.
5:56 a.m. July 8, 2014
- By Laura He
Galaxy Entertainment Group slid 2.7%, SJM Holdings fell 2.4%, and MGM China Holdings skidded 2.3
8:12 a.m. June 23, 2014
- By Rex Crum
The image here is a photoillustration is not meant to depict an actual Apple product.) Apple wouldn’t be the first company to release a smartwatch — Samsung released its first Galaxy Gear watch last September — but it will certainly be a big deal if and when it comes out.
8:18 a.m. June 20, 2014
- By Catey Hill
Is Amazon’s Fire phone right for you? Probably not. Many consumers won’t feel a burning desire to buy Amazon’s new Fire smartphone — thanks to some lackluster features and a high price tag.. Many consumers won’t feel a burning desire to buy
4:40 p.m. June 18, 2014
- By Philip van Doorn
Yes, my Samsung Galaxy S4 is a heck of a lot more stable than the Pre, the camera is better and the big screen is easier to read, but I can’t type the way I used to.
9:25 a.m. June 12, 2014
- By Philip van Doorn
12 bargain-bin stocks to buy low, sell high. It’s a bad year for retailers, though the industry is set to rebound, writes Phil van Doorn.. It’s a bad year for retailers, though the industry is set to rebound, writes Phil van Doorn. Opinion:
4:00 a.m. June 11, 2014
- By Matthew Lynn
They will be talking on their iPhones or Samsung Galaxys, drinking Coke or Heineken, watching the latest Tom Cruise move, listening to Coldplay, and flying Airbus’s.
1:39 p.m. June 10, 2014
- By Cody Willard
Barnes & Noble: Read the writing on the wall. Barnes & Noble rallied big over the last few months and might be handing Revolution Investor subscribers a terrific opportunity.. Barnes & Noble rallied big over the last few months and might be handing
9:56 a.m. May 23, 2014
- By Matthew Futterman
He hasn’t scored a goal this season for his club, the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer.
11:09 a.m. May 16, 2014
I talked about that developing issue in my first column of , which seems like a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away right now.
1:59 p.m. May 8, 2014
- By Jonathan Cheng
Samsung names new design head for mobile. Samsung Electronics names Lee Min-hyouk to lead Samsung’s mobile design team, replacing Chang Dong-hoon.. Samsung Electronics names Lee Min-hyouk to lead Samsung’s mobile design team, replacing Chang
5:00 a.m. May 8, 2014
- By Mark Vaughn
There were SVT Lightning pickups, ‘61 Lincoln convertibles, Mercury Cougars, Pintos, Fairmonts, Fairlanes, Galaxie 500s, Thunderbirds, early Broncos, Econoline vans, there was even a single, really cool 1947 Ford F5 truck. “I’ve been coming here 25 years,” said Bill Sawyer, standing next to one of his three Fairlane 500 Skyliner Retractable Hardtops. “I have a lot of fun.” This ye...


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Facebook data scientists are being blasted for a social psychology experiment they ran in 2012 in which they varied the amount of positive/negative content exposed to users in newsfeeds and measured whether this affected the positive/negative content posted by those users. (link to WSJ report; link to paper)
I'm perplexed by the reaction. Boing Boing's Cory Doctorow calls it "likely illegal", who links to James Grimmelmann, a law professor. Slate slams it as "unethical". NPR proclaims that "we" are "lab rats, one and all".
The biggest gripe is that users who were randomly selected to be part of the test were not informed. Facebook argues that consent is given in the overarching terms and conditions which all users must agree to.
I am against all forms of forced consent that is practiced by Internet companies like Facebook and Google but that's a much larger issue of which scientific experiments like this is but a small part. The same critics don't seem to mind if the experiment are conducted for financial gain (like generating advertising revenues) but they grumble about an academic exercise designed to verify a theory of social psychology.
Critics are emotionally charging the conversation by claiming that "Facebook is manipulating users' emotions". The truth is every form of marketing and advertising is a form of manipulating users' emotions. If you are against this particular experiment, you should be against all the other experiments (i.e. so-called A/B tests) that are conducted every day by the same companies on the same users who are not informed and have not agreed to be "lab rats".
In fact, the same critics should have been incensed more by those advertising experiments, for which the businesses are looking for "actionable" insights, meaning that they are looking for ways to manipulate not just your emotions but your actions and behavior, such as what you click on, what you view, and what you spend money on.
Playing the devil's advocate for the moment, I'd suggest that this type of large-scale randomized experiments has the potential of bringing a revolution to psychology experiments.
I have never been a fan of the typical psychological experiment that we are forced to accept as legitimate "science": you know, those experiments in which a professor recruits 10 or 50 students via campus posters offering $20 for participation. The severe limitation of the sample, both size and composition, does not stop researchers from generalizing the results to all humans. The standard claim is that the observed effect is so large as to obviate the need for having a representative sample. Sorry - the bad news is that a huge effect for a tiny non-random segment of a large population can coexist with no effect for the entire population.
I believe scientists should be actively addressing the privacy and ethical concerns of such experiments but not dismissing them categorically.
The Opt Out Solution
There are at least two components of the possible solution. One is having an organized review board like institutional review boards. This should be created across industry, not within a company. Perhaps a list of ongoing experiments should be made available for those who care enough to review it.
More importantly, users of Facebook or other websites should be allowed to opt out of any experiments (again, not just science experiments but also advertising-motivated experiments).
I think many critics are being incredibly facetious by asking for prior consent. For many psychology experiments, we need to use double blinding. The experiment at the center of this controversy would have been neutered if the participants know what is being changed.
The Issue of Harm
One of the weakest arguments raised against Facebook is the allegation of harm. James Grimmelmann, who has been cited by various articles, wrote definitively: "The study harmed participants." (link) How so? He explains:
The unwitting participants in the Facebook study were told (seemingly by their friends) for a week either that the world was a dark and cheerless place or that it was a saccharine paradise. That’s psychological manipulation, even when it’s carried out automatically.
That's it? And he condones advertisers and politicians who manipulate our emotions because somehow we should accept lower standards in those arenas.
The Fallacy of Paying for Free Service
The WSJ commits the same fallacy as a lot of other journalists when it comes to explaining why users should submit to experimentation. It says:
Companies like Facebook, Google Inc. and Twitter Inc. rely almost solely on data-driven advertising dollars. As a result, the companies collect and store massive amounts of personal information.
The same argument has been used to support massive invasion of privacy and indiscriminate data collection.
There are several problems with this argument:
Firstly, most companies that are collecting massive amounts of data on their users today are not solely advertisers. Amazon is not an advertiser. Netflix is not an advertiser. Cable and phone companies are not advertisers. Banks are not advertisers. Your doctor is not an advertiser. (I mean, not primarily advertisers; some of these actually do earn advertising dollars.)
Secondly, advertising dollars are there whether or not there is data. I have yet to see a proper study that shows that digital marketing dollars are incremental spending, not just repurposed spend shifting from offline channels. Indeed, the frequent claim that digital advertising solves the half-the-traditional-advertising-spend-is-wasted problem is evidence that the digital marketing play is mostly spend shifting, not spend creation. The alternative world in which these digital advertisers and data collectors do not exist is not one in which the advertising market is half the size of what it is today.
Thirdly, advertisers do not need personal information. If advertising is the purpose of the data collection, anonymous data is just as good. This is because brands have an identity. Brands do not want to be different things to different people. Brand messaging, just like other forms of messaging, benefits from simplicity. Nike wants everyone to use "just do it"; Nike is never going to want a million slogans for a million people. Thus, the idea that collecting massive amounts of personal data is a "result" of data-driven advertising is bogus.
Fourthly, the business model of Facebook, Google, etc. is a choice. No one but themselves is forcing them to rely on advertising dollars. Google for instance makes Android, Chrome, etc., all of which are products that they can charge money for.
The journalists who keep printing the argument that we have to accept mass surveillance in order to support the business model of "free" are merely repeating a marketing message without thinking about it. They have fallen victim to emotional manipulation.


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If you watched Netflix‘s Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and walked away thinking, “I have the perfect Halloween costume,” we’ve got news for you: no, you don’t. The show, which is apparently driving up Jeffrey Dahmer costume sales, has prompted eBay to ban such items from its site following the popularity of the Ryan Murphy series.
Variety reports that eBay is removing Dahmer-related props and costumes because they violate the site’s terms and conditions. The outlet says a “surge of listings for Dahmer-related costumes” has flooded eBay since the Dahmer premiere.
A spokesperson for eBay confirmed to Buzzfeed News that the retailer has been removing previously listed items, which have included a prison jumpsuit and mask, plus glasses like Dahmer’s.
Such items don’t align with eBay’s company policy, which prohibits listings “promote or glorify violence or violent acts, or are associated with individuals who are notorious for committing violent acts.”
Dahmer is portrayed by Evan Peters in Murphy’s new show, which has dominated the Netflix charts since it first premiered in late September. Just yesterday (Oct. 18), Netflix released new numbers proving Dahmer‘s continued popularity; the show pulled was viewed for 122.78 million hours in the past week, and has been viewed for 824.15 million hours in total.
All the hype can make it easy to gloss over the grisly details of Dahmer’s crimes, which is really the only possible explanation we can think of for why people would search for a Dahmer Halloween costume on eBay.
Between 1978 and 1991, Dahmer killed 17 men and boys and “engaged in horrific cruelty with their bodies, including necrophilia, cannibalism and dismemberment,” per Buzzfeed.
The families of his victims are incensed by Netflix’s series, including Shirley Hughes, who has noticed the interest in Dahmer costumes and told TMZ the show was upsetting enough, but seeing people dress as her son’s killer for a holiday is even worse.
Shirley said “Dahmer was pure evil,” TMZ reports, and she “doesn’t understand how the folks who choose to dress like him can sleep at night.”
Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is now streaming on Netflix.
The post Jeffrey Dahmer Costumes Are Being Yanked From eBay After Netflix Series Drives Up Interest appeared first on Decider.


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In an effort to fight online trolls and harassment, Google’s Jigsaw unit announced it was releasing a new software tool called Perspective. This software uses machine learning to detect online abuse.
Jigsaw and this type of software have been around since 2010, with a different name. The new Perspective API is now available to developers who are free to build on top of the software.
This troll-fighting platform uses machine learning to automatically identify online harassment. This includes speech such as insults, abuse, discrimination, etc. By entering a sentence into its interface, Perspective can immediately provide an assessment of the sentence’s “toxicity” level.
Software That Uses Algorithmic Decisions to Foster a Troll-Free Zone
According to a report in Wired, publishers like The New York Times, The Guardian, and the Economist are experimenting with the tool. They plan on using it to keep their comments section a place where “everyone can have intelligent debates.”
By open sourcing the project, Google and Jigsaw offer developers the chance to use their abilities to tap into the toxicity detector running on Google’s servers to filter harassment/abuse on social media.
“We hope this is a moment where Conversation AI goes from being ‘this is interesting’ to a place where everyone can start engaging and leveraging these models to improve discussion,” says Jigsaw’s Conversation AI product manager CJ Adams.
In an era of polarized, biased, and heated online discussions – Jigsaw believes that software for cleaning up comments may help bring together a more open atmosphere for healthier discussions.
“We’re in a situation where online conversations are becoming so toxic that we end up just talking to people we agree with,” says Adams. “That’s made us all the more interested in creating technology to help people continue talking and continue listening to each other, even when they disagree.”


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As reported by Silicon.com:
Spam: ‘It’s a meat’ insists Hormel. Spiced-ham maker Hormel has announced a massive UK advertising campaign in what may be seen as an attempt to wrestle back the name of its flagship ‘spam’ product from widespread negative associations with unsolicited email. For the first time ever Hormel will begin advertising on UK television screens next week with a campaign that cost £2m, according to a report on the BBC.
[…] But in recent years Hormel has become increasingly tetchy about the use of the word ‘spam’ to describe one of modern society’s worst tech-menaces. Last year anti-spam firm SpamArrest was sued by Hormel for trademark infringement over its use of the word spam in its company name.
And as reported by BBC News Online:
Spam set for TV comeback. Wartime food staple – Spam – is making a comeback in the UK, at least on its TV screens. US firm Hormel Foods is launching a new £2m advertising campaign to get the meat product off the shelves and onto our plates. A fad for all things retro has seen Spam sales recover from their 1980s low point and Hormel are hoping to capitalise on the trend. The ads will remind Britons that Spam is “still out there”, the firm said.
[…] Hormel will be hoping that the push sparks a turnaround in UK fortunes and helps it to shake off the fusty image that was famously ridiculed by Monty Python and prompted many consumers to can the foodstuff in recent years.


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DIRECTV Entertainment Package Now in 415,000 Verizon Customers' Homes
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NEW YORK - Verizon voice and Internet customers who have had it with cable companies continue to complete their service "triple play" by choosing to bundle DIRECTV all-digital entertainment with their Verizon calling and DSL services, creating one of the best values in telecommunications today.
More than 415,000 Verizon homes now get DIRECTV service, saving as much as $60 a month or more off the non-promotional prices of competing bundles from cable. Verizon reported recently that more than 66,000 Verizon customers discovered the value of the bundle in the first three months of this year.
"We're finding that customers who try DIRECTV love it, not only for the quality of the all-digital picture and the unique sports programming, but because when they bundle it with a Verizon Freedom calling plan and Verizon Online DSL, they get the best value in the marketplace today," said Bob Ingalls, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon.
DIRECTV is available to Verizon customers in all its 28 states and the District of Columbia. When packaged with a calling plan and DSL, the overall cost of the package can be as much as $16 off list prices and bests most non-promotional prices for cable service bundles.
"Our new TV commercials about the young men doing a documentary on why customers choose Verizon drive home the value of a bundle with DIRECTV," Ingalls said. "The commercials boldly remind customers that we offer calling, Internet and TV."
DIRECTV, the nation's leading digital television service, recently received the highest score for customer satisfaction among satellite and cable TV companies rated by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Of the satellite and cable TV companies included in the ACSI survey, DIRECTV posted a significantly higher index score (71) than any other cable or satellite company.
Verizon and DIRECTV signed a marketing agreement two years ago, and Verizon customer service representatives have been vigorously promoting the "triple play" when customers call for voice or Internet service. According to Ingalls, having Direct TV as an entertainment option is proving very valuable to calling and Internet customers. Although Verizon is building a new all-fiber-optic network of its own and can offer Verizon FiOS TV over that network, the DIRECTV choice remains a popular one for customers and gives them a great alternative to cable in areas where FiOS is not available.
Verizon's best offer for a "triple play" is available in New York and New Jersey, where a Freedom unlimited any-distance calling plan, DSL at 768 Kbps (kilobits per second) and DIRECTV's TOTAL CHOICE® PLUS programming package are available for as little as $90.93 a month. Bundle prices are not promotional and do not balloon after a fixed period, like some cable companies' $30-$30-$30 promotional bundles designed to attract customers below the $100 price benchmark. "Our customers love DIRECTV and they love our Freedom calling plans and Internet speed choices, as well," Ingalls said. "They can assemble a bundle that fits their lifestyle and price target, choosing from as many as five Freedom plans, five Internet plans and several DIRECTV and FiOS entertainment plans. That's customized service."
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), a Dow 30 company, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving 53 million customers nationwide. Verizon Business operates one of the most expansive wholly-owned global IP networks. Verizon Telecom is deploying the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network to deliver the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services to customers. Based in New York, Verizon has a diverse workforce of more than 250,000 and generates annual consolidated operating revenues of approximately $90 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.


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The console beta launched earlier in 2021, with an increasing number of players asking for codes. The bad news is that the development team are not planning on adding to the current numbers of players who have access.
But for those who are enjoying the survival sim, more time is being added to the Rust beta, which will make it easier to wait for the final release date.
The good news is that the Rust console beta will be continuing into next month, with the end date now set for April 5.
A message from developers Double Eleven reveals: “Thanks to all of you, we have a much clearer picture of how the game behaves when it hits high player counts, as well as what we need to do to support a large player base trying to connect at the same time.
“We didn’t expect to hit more than twelve thousand concurrent players during this test, but it happened, and we are very happy with the results.
“Overall, the community has shown immense love and support for the game, and we understand the huge responsibility we have on our shoulders and how important it is for the community that we present the best possible version of Rust Console Edition once we release it. This is why we are going to extend the Closed Beta period for one more week.
“We want Rust Console Edition to be the best game it can possibly be, so by extending the beta; we should be able to get some more valuable information and work on even more improvements.”
It’s been a big week for gamers waiting on the final Rust release date on PS4 and Xbox One consoles.
It has now been confirmed that the Rust console edition will be launching on May 21, 2021, on PS4 and Xbox One.
Unfortunately for gamers who own the PS5 and Xbox Series X, there will be no optimised launch in May for Rust on those consoles.
“To accommodate the game on these systems, some light optimisations wouldn’t cut it! So the team needed to rip apart and rewrite major engine subsystems within Unity. Some of the systems we designed and refactored helped us a lot, improving the performance of the game over on consoles.
“Another big issue was loading time. When we first had Rust up and running on console, the initial load took up to 45 minutes to read and decompress the enormous procedural map and its assets into memory.
“We implemented a whole new bootstrap system, capable of loading multiple Unity scenes and asset bundles simultaneously, and in a manner more suited to the mechanical hard disks of these machines. After a lot of work, the game now loads in around one minute give or take.”
More news is expected to be shared by Double Eleven and Facepunch Studios in the lead-up to the PS4 and Xbox One launch.


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Mobile payments at physical locations in China have been slow to develop, and the lack of card acceptance at convenient locations is an important part of the reason. Ubox, a start-up in China, has adopted a new approach to the issue by introducing a mobile payment service allowing consumers to make purchases at vending machines.
Users of Ubox begin by signing up for the service and adding funds to their Ubox account via a UnionPay bank card or Alipay, according to a report on Penn Olson. Then, when they come across a participating vending machine, they simply make their snack selection by phone. The transaction takes place through the app, which also awards a 10 percent discount on all purchases made this way.
The combination of ubiquitous vending machines and the convenience of mobile payments will be appealing to some consumers who have so far found mobile payments irrelevant. It will be interesting to see how consumers adopt this new service.
Read more about the story and watch a product demo video here: http://www.springwise.com/financial_services/china-app-enables-discounted-mobile-payments-vending-machines/


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TVs with OLED display technology remain rare, but the South Korean company expects a gargantuan new manufacturing plant will help spread the technology in coming years.
The South Korean company is hoping to breathe new life into its various businesses by giving them more autonomy.
Too much Star Wars? Never! Google sneaks Star Wars characters into its apps and services. Meanwhile, Yahoo blocks ad blockers, and LG kills the Urbane 2 smartwatch just days after it went on sale.
Company stops sales of timepiece, touted as first Android Wear smartwatch with cellular connectivity for placing and receiving calls even when users' phones weren't at hand.
Attention online shoppers: Google beefs up shopping search on mobile, eBay puts a new twist on Black Friday fights and IBM's Watson tracks which gifts are trending.
There's no need to search high and low for the best smart home and appliance deals this holiday season -- we've already compiled a list just for you. Click through to see what the 2015 shopping season has in store.
The electronics conglomerate wants to turn its smartphones into digital wallets, just like its competitors have.
Take a regular front-load washer, stick a second, smaller washer in the pedestal below, and you end up with LG's innovative Twin Wash duo.
LG's Twin Wash is coming to the US soon -- click through for a quick tour of this unique laundry system.
LG's innovative washing machine includes a main cleaning compartment as well as a smaller Sidekick washer. Here's how it works.
The retailer has cut the prices of many large appliances ahead of Black Friday.
Looking for great gifts under £100?
Trendy tech gifts don't require a hefty price tag. Choose from these CNET-recommended useful and high-quality gadgets.


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- ABBA promises five new songs will be released in 2021.
- The songs have been on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- In addition, they are releasing a new vinyl box set this month.
ABBA fans have a lot to be excited about! They just have to wait a little bit longer. Previously, the group announced that they would release new music this summer. Unfortunately, the music has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, they will release their five new songs in 2021.
ABBA had also announced a hologram tour that is currently on hold. Most artists are postponing or canceling their tours due to the pandemic. For those impatient fans, they are releasing a special vinyl box set containing their entire catalog of songs this month.
ABBA promises five new songs next year
The new songs were actually recorded back in 2018. There have been delays due to technical difficulties caused by the pandemic. The group will hopefully be able to finish the songs very soon for their 2021 release!
ABBA has promised fans that the new music will be shared next year. According to Consequence of Sound, one song is “a pop tune, very danceable, while another is more timeless, more reflective, [and another is] a self-described Nordic sad, but happy at the same time kind of offering.”
We can’t wait to hear the new tunes! In the meantime, pre-order the vinyl box set here.


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You can tune in to Walmart’s webcast of its 2020 Investment Community Meeting on February 18th:
“BENTONVILLE, Ark., Feb. 11, 2020 — Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) will webcast its 2020 Investment Community Meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 18, from approximately 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST. A live video webcast of the presentations will be available through the link provided on the events portion of the company’s corporate website. In addition, the company will release its fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2020 earnings results at approximately 6 a.m. EST on Feb. 18 and provide guidance for fiscal 2021.”
P.S. Walmart has made a huge turnaround in the past few years, and investors are eager to learn more about the company’s strategy. Are you ready to continue doing business with this evolving retailer? Get in touch with us today to schedule a consultation with one of our experts.


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More than 23 million Americans to shop on Christmas Eve
More than 23 million Americans will be leaving the eggnog in the fridge on Christmas Eve and hitting the malls instead.
According to a survey released Tuesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers, 23.1 million consumers, or 15%, plan to shop on the day before Christmas.
More men (17%) plan to shop that day than women (13%). By age, people 18 to 34 years old are more likely to be shopping (21%) than those 55 and over (8%).
By region, 19% of those living in the Midwest said they were planning on doing last-minute holiday shopping on Christmas Eve, while those in the West (16%), Northeast (13%) and South (13%) were relatively less likely to shop that day.
On the day after Christmas, 19% of consumers reported they were likely to shop, with men (18%) and women (19%) about equally inclined to do so.
After-Christmas shopping is also expected to be relatively busy, according to the survey, with 47% of consumers planning to shop sometime during the workweek between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
-- Andrea Chang