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Digital identity software vendor Okta says data on all users of its customer support service was exposed in a recent cyberattack. The attack, disclosed last month, was the latest in a series of breaches to have impacted the company.
Okta notified customers on Tuesday that the hackers behind the attack downloaded a report that contained the names and email addresses of all clients that use its customer support system. It had previously said that only 1% of its users were impacted by the incident, but this number now seems likely to be much higher. The company works with 17,000 clients, managing 50 billion users.
The massive impact of Okta cyberattack
It has not been disclosed which cybercriminals are behind the Okta attack, but it is thought they used stolen credentials to gain access to its support case management system.
An Okta statement released at the time of the breach said: “The threat actor was able to view files uploaded by certain Okta customers as part of recent support cases.”
The hackers are said to have carried out their attack using HTTP Archive (HAR) files, which allow support teams to troubleshoot technical issues by replicating browser activity. Okta said it often asks its clients to upload HAR files as part of support requests, and that these “can also contain sensitive data, including cookies and session tokens, that malicious actors can use to impersonate valid users”.
Okta customers have been notified that their data may have been exposed. “While we do not have direct knowledge or evidence that this information is being actively exploited, we have notified all our customers that this file is an increased security risk of phishing and social engineering,” a company spokesperson said.
Okta’s security issues can lead to supply chain attacks
With its software deployed by some of the world’s biggest companies, including Microsoft, Okta is a common target for hackers because compromising its systems could open the door for software supply chain attacks, which allow hackers to access the networks of the vendor’s customers.
Last year, Okta suffered four significant cyberattacks, the most high profile coming as part of a crime spree perpetrated by hacking gang Lapsus$, which posted screenshots of breached Okta systems to Telegram.
As reported by Tech Monitor, this most recent attack has already had a knock-on effect on some of Okta’s clients. Password management service 1Password said in October it had detected “suspicious activity” on its network stemming from one of its Okta instances. But it claimed it was able to contain the problem before any sensitive information was compromised.


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LYNNFIELD, Mass. (May 18)—Spurred by a 7-percent boost in sales to $4.6 million, GreenMan Technologies Inc. recorded net income of $192,176 in the second quarter ended March 31 compared to a net loss of $656,752 in the corresponding period last year. It was GreenMan's second consecutive profitable quarter. Net income in the first six months of the fiscal year was $204,099 on an almost 6-percent jump in sales to $9.3 million. GreenMan had a net loss of $715,804 in the fiscal half in 2000. The company's improvement was attributed to the improved performance of its southeastern U.S. operations, which were consolidated; an 18-percent improvement in tire volume; and an ongoing cost reduction program, the firm said.
GreenMan rebound continues in quarter, half
Rubber & Plastics News wants to hear from its readers. If you want to express your opinion on a story or issue, email your letter to Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].

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@TEM's AFRICA ICT EventsFollow
Hosting a delegation from the Ministry of Tourism and Culture of Gambia. The team led by the Director General of the Gambia Tourism Board, Mr. Abubacarr Camara are on a benchmarking visit to destination Kenya.
RT the whole thread to share this amazing story!! https://t.co/9xoCwjJse2


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Billionaire Microsoft co-founder
Interval Licensing, which owns the patents of a computer science and communications research firm shut by Mr Allen in 2000, has filed a lawsuit in Seattle claiming the companies have infringed its patents for online shopping technology.
AOL, eBay, Facebook, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo! and Google’s YouTube were also named.
Facebook said the lawsuit was “without merit" and eBay said it would “vigorously" defend itself. Google said innovation was better than litigation.
“This lawsuit against some of America’s most innovative companies reflects an unfortunate trend of people trying to compete in the courtroom instead of the marketplace," Google spokesman Aaron Zamost said.
Mr Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975, created Interval Research with David Liddle in 1992.
He also owns the Seattle Seahawks American football team and the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team.
A former employee, H. Harlyn Baker, said the firm’s purpose was to develop technology with the aim of building companies.
It had more than 110 workers and helped fund outside projects, including work by Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, according to a statement announcing the suit.
“Allen sort of let it go when the dotcom bubble started to burst," said Mr Baker, who now works at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories. “A lot of brilliant technology was developed there, so I’m not surprised Paul is trying to do something with it."
A spokesman for Mr Allen, David Postman, said the billionaire had maintained ownership of the inventions through companies he controlled. Interval Licensing is seeking a court order to block further use, as well as unspecified cash compensation.
“We will fight it vigorously," Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said.
The four patents cited in the lawsuit are primarily common e-commerce applications for displaying and categorising product information.
“All of these patents appear to be lightweight inventions that are intended to improve a computer user’s online experience," University of Missouri professor of law Dennis Crouch. said. “That said, the improvements disclosed in these patents represent important core features that internet users rely upon."
Mr Postman said the lawsuit was necessary to protect the “groundbreaking" work Interval Research contributed to the internet economy.
“Legal risk and patent risk in this day and age is part of the process of doing business," said Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Partners LP.
“The most interesting part" was that the lawsuit didn’t include Microsoft or Amazon.com, he said.
Mr Postman declined to say why Microsoft or Amazon weren’t named.
eBay said it was reviewing the complaint. Yahoo! declined to comment.
The Australian Financial Review


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|Rediff India Abroad Home | All the sections|
Suicides on the rise in Gujarat
October 29, 2004 09:26 IST
Severe depression and a drastic reduction in tolerance levels are triggering suicides in Gujarat, according to psychiatrists and sociologists.
In the last three months, more than 40 people have committed suicide.
Psychologists say the highly risky stock market scenario is to a large extent responsible for this trend among Gujaratis, who are mainly an entrepreneurial people.
On Wednesday, four members of a family committed suicide in the Sabarmati area due to financial problems.
Psychiatrist Hansal Bhachech says in the last few years, there has been a three-fold increase in cases of depression.
"Adding to this is the consumerism, easy availability of cash through credit cards, consumer loans and the tendency to spend money beyond their means," he says.
Moreover, there are no counselling centres for youth on self-employment and entrepreneurship and therefore within a short span, new ventures collapse and entrepreneurs are in the red.
This results in frustration, which many a times prompts people to commit suicide.
More reports from Gujarat
Read about: Gujarat Riots | Earthquake hits India


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By ROSS MAROWITS
The head of Eastern Canada’s largest lumber producer said he is confident he can demonstrate to American authorities this month that the region deserves free and unencumbered access to the U.S. market.
The forestry sectors of Ontario and Quebec are modelled after the market-based systems in the U.S., and that should convince the U.S. Commerce Department that the region doesn’t engage in the unfair trade of softwood lumber, Resolute Forest Products Inc. CEO Richard Garneau said.
“So based on this, I think that we deserve the right to have access in Central Canada – in Quebec and Ontario – to the U.S. market,” he said in an interview after Resolute released its fourth-quarter and 2016 results.
The Montreal-based company was recently selected by the U.S. Commerce Department – along with B.C. companies West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd., Canfor Corp. and Tolko Industries – to provide details on how they operate as part of its investigation into alleged unfair trade.
The producers are required to respond to a questionnaire by the end of the month. A U.S. auditor will then visit the four companies for follow-up.
Contact Hakan Ekstrom, Wood Resources International LLC
China imported record-high volumes of softwood lumber in 2016 and softwood log imports reached their second highest level on record. Despite relatively pessimistic forecasts for wood demand early in 2016, China’s need for imported wood picked up during the summer and fall with import volumes of both logs and lumber being up about 20% in the 4Q/16 as compared to the 4Q/15. Total importation of logs and lumber (in roundwood equivalents) reached almost 76 million m3 in 2016, which was up 17% from 2015, and almost 38% higher than five years ago, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ).
Over the past decade, the importation of softwood lumber has grown much faster than that of softwood logs. From 2006 to 2016, lumber imports were up from just over two million m3 to over 21 million m3, while log import volumes were up from 20 million m3 to 34 million m3 during the same period.
From 2015 to 2016, Russia has increased its shipments of lumber to China by over three million to a total of 11.6 million m3 (this includes logs that have been canted to avoid log export taxes). With lumber markets in the Middle East and Northern Africa (the MENA countries) and Europe having been relatively weak the past few years, many sawmills in the Nordic countries have increased their presence in the Chinese market with shipments being up over 35% in 2016 from the previous year. Although lumber supply from Finland and Sweden still account for only six percent of the total lumber imports, the share can be expected to increase in the coming years because of more intense marketing of predominantly higher-quality spruce lumber for the Chinese furniture, millwork and construction industries.


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Nubia N1 review: Better alternatives available
Nubia recently launched its N1 smartphone in the country, which is the company’s third handset to launch in India. Having an affordable price tag of Rs 11,999, is the Nubia N11 any better than numerous other competing smartphones within the same price bracket?
We spent some time testing the Nubia N1, and here’s what we think about this new budget smartphone. Read Full Review


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Blizzcon, 2009: Blizzard released info of the actual skill trees to be used in D3. diii.net has put together some visually pleasing representations of those skills (but these are not actual in-game screenshots!). Take a look!
The Need for Speed franchise has been around for a long time now, and EA decided a couple of titles back that it was Need for Change time. The company switched to "official" racing instead of the cooler, more dangerous street racing. In their attempt to redeem themselves and prove that NFS is just as cool in circles as it is underground, EA has released the NFS Shift demo slightly earlier than expected for PC.
Direct2Drive has a big 5th anniversary sale going right now over a 5 week period, with 10+ games available each week each for $5. This week is action games, but coming up are RPG/MMO, Indie, and War games. They're not announcing which games will be available in the coming weeks, but there are some good games there right now (such as Bioshock) so check it out, a lot of these games are definitely worth the $5. There are also some additional $5 games available at the bottom of the page. One question: When D2D turns 10, will the games be $10?
Great news for the Star Wars fans! Knights of the Old Republic, one of Bioware's name-making RPGs, is now going for $9.99 on Steam. For a game released in 2003, KotOR still packs decent graphics and a hell of story. $10 for a classic RPG. Seeing as it is not a sale, Steam will most likely not raise the price again so there's plenty of time to get it.
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“These figures were much worse than expected, with exports recording a decline on a monthly and quarterly basis. Longer-term comparisons show exports rising considerably slower than imports.
“It is clear that the much-needed rebalancing of the economy towards export-led growth is not happening. With a competitive exchange rate, the UK’s international trading performance is still too weak.
“Businesses urgently need short-term trade finance support, so that our exporters can get their goods and services out to the global market as the recovery continues. We must remember that business exports will be at the centre of any meaningful UK recovery over the next few years.”


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PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- Pascagoula's Walmart Supercenter is joining hundreds of other Walmart stores in staging strikes to shine a light on low pay and other complaints, according to the Corporate Action Network website.
The watchdog group, OURWalmart and Making Change at Wal-Mart are encouraging strikes across the country and are asking for the retail giant to stop retaliating against employees who speak out for fair pay, affordable health care and other issues.
The CAN website said Tuesday that the Pascagoula Walmart is staging a strike, which is scheduled for Thanksgiving night at 8.
Employees and residents can RSVP to the event by clicking here.
"Stand with Walmart workers in their fight for their rights," the website says. "For decades, Walmart Stores Inc. have dragged down wages, forcing their workers to work irregular schedules, and intimidated and took retribution on any workers who fought back."
A strike has not been organized at the Ocean Springs Walmart, but the location is listed on the website with link for a volunteer leader to "adopt the event."
Kory Lundberg, Walmart's director of national media relations, said Tuesday that the protests involve only a handful of associates at a handful of stores.
"In fact, most of the protesters don't even work for Walmart," he said in an e-mail. "They are union organizers and union members who work somewhere else."
Most of the company's 1.3 million employees "are excited about Black Friday and are ready to serve our customers," he said.
Lundberg said the company is "laser focused on serving customers" during the Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales.
"Our stores will be operating normally on Black Friday, and our customers will see nothing unusual when they shop," he said. "This is the Super Bowl for retailers, and we're ready."


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Two local businesses are helping five members of the SRSLY Youth Steering Committee and six adult SRSLY members will travel to Austin, Texas, in July to meet and learn from prevention leaders from across the country. Jet’s Pizza and Back to the Roots owners Jason Povlich and Jason Bendinelli are hosting fundraisers at their two [...]
Monday dine-in sales at Jet’s Pizza and Saturday dine-in sales at Back to the Roots in April will benefit the Beach Middle School-Shimizu, Japan student exchange program. On April 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29, Jet’s will donate 15 percent of the restaurant’s dine-in sales toward the exchange program while on April 6, 13, 20 [...]
(Chelsea Update would like to thank Joanne Ladio for the information in this story.) If you haven’t had a chance to see or sign the equality proclamation that’s making the rounds of Chelsea, it can be found at Back to the Roots until April 1. By way of background, in February 2012, Chelsea community leaders [...]
Jet’s Pizza will be hosting a private beer tasting and dinner to benefit the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, April 10 from 6-8 p.m. Arbor Brewing Company will be featuring six of its new and unique beers with a fabulous four-course meal prepared by the chefs from Back to the Roots. Matt Greff [...]
Jason Povlich was a recent guest speaker at a Chelsea Kiwanis Club meeting. He owns Chelsea’s Jet’s Pizza and is part owner of Back to the Roots, also in downtown Chelsea. Povlich gave a very interesting talk on how he got involved in both ventures, his interest in helping others through Back to the Roots, [...]
Michelle Massey Barnes would like everyone to know that Lottie and the Manatee, a group from Chelsea High School, will be performing at Back to the Roots on Friday, Dec. 28 at 7 p.m., during a CD release party. She sent a link Getting to Know Lottie and the Manatee with all the details.
After interviewing four candidates a week ago, the Chelsea City Council will hold a discussion and vote for its newest member on Dec. 11, during the council’s last meeting of 2012. Bethany Morris, Dustin Suntheimer, Lynn Fox and Jeff Blazok applied and were interviewed for the position following a known vacancy that will occur in [...]
There’s been an organic evolution taking place at Back to the Roots during its first year in business on Main Street. With a staff of 17 full- and part-time employees, the combination restaurant and retail business continues its core mission to support fair trade and raise awareness of the human trafficking that is taking place [...]


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Capital craft and art weekend set for Dec. 7-9
MONTPELIER — More than 200 crafters and artists are expected to convene in downtown Montpelier for the Montpelier Craft and Art Weekend on Dec. 7-9.
After nearly two decades of holding separate craft fairs during the same weekend, the Planting Hope Solidarity Craft Fair and the Touch of Vermont Holiday Gift Market, a fundraiser for OUR House of Central Vermont, have teamed up with Montpelier Alive to organize the upcoming three days of events and activities.
“Vermont has such a vibrant craft and art scene, I love seeing it take hold in Montpelier,” said Claire Fitts, market manager for the Touch of Vermont Holiday Gift Market, in a news release. “It’s very exciting to be part of the Montpelier Craft and Art Weekend. This weekend is really drawing artisans from all over the region, with all sorts of new stuff that Montpelier hasn’t seen before.”
The Montpelier Craft and Art Weekend is accepting applications for vendors. Contact Daniel Staples at 279-9285 for more information.MORE IN This Just InMONTPELIER — Both major candidates for Vermont governor have places they don’t want to go for... Full Story
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The previous year’s tech industry debacle rages on. In 2023, the tech sector has witnessed a staggering 240,000 job losses, a figure that has already surpassed last year’s total by 50% and is still rising. The first half of the year saw widespread layoffs at tech giants like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Yahoo, Meta, and Zoom, as well as startups across various industries. While tech job losses slowed down during the summer and fall, recent trends indicate that these cuts are picking up once again.
Although some economists have warned against concerns about a recession, the tech industry’s recovery has been slow, leading companies to continue reducing their workforces and transitioning from growth-oriented mindsets to more efficiency-based strategies in response to stubborn market conditions. This situation has a significant impact on innovation, which companies are under severe pressure, and who is available to hire for the fortunate companies that are currently experiencing growth.
The article offers a detailed list of all known tech layoffs that have occurred in 2023, updated monthly, with a running total of 224,503 job losses recorded as of the fully completed months of the year, according to the data compiled by Layoffs.fyi. The trend indicates that tech layoffs in 2023 have exceeded the total from 2022. The article then goes on to list the specific numbers of employees laid off by tech companies in each month of 2023.
Subsequently, it provides an extensive list of companies that have recently conducted layoffs in December 2023, including Superpedestrian, Bolt, Cruise, Etsy, Sunfolding, and many others. The layoffs range from a few employees to hundreds and span across various tech sectors, including e-commerce, fintech, software development, travel, and others. This comprehensive coverage offers a real-world insight into the impact of the ongoing workforce reduction in the tech industry.
In conclusion, the article highlights the economic impact of technological layoffs and how these developments can influence the future risk profiles of companies and their employees. The detailed insight into these layoffs provides an invaluable resource for understanding the current state of the tech industry and its potential implications.


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DED organises awareness sessions for businesses with repeat fines
The Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection Division in the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) is organising awareness sessions for owners of business licenses with repeat fines according to business activity. The initiative is part of DED’s efforts to help businesses avoid penalties and ensure that no company gets fined more than five times for repeat offenses.
Omar Bushahab, CEO of the Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection Division, said: “We launched the initiative by meeting with the owners of cosmetics, skin care and massage centres to review the fines and the reasons leading to them as well as ways to avoid them in future. DED seeks to create a work environment characterised by complete transparency and clarity in the provision of services and products to customers and consumers.”
The meeting included discussions on co-operating with DED to offer services according to rules and regulations as well as ways to enhance business operations while maintaining the rights of consumers.
Attendees in the meeting confirmed their commitment to fully comply with all laws relating to economic activities, particularly the laws on commercial companies, commercial fraud, trademark, commercial agencies, and consumer protection. They also expressed readiness to accept any fines in the event of failure to implement DED’s guidelines.
Bushahab noted that similar meetings will also be held with other businesses with repeat fines in sectors such as foods, car repair workshops and electronics.
The Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection Division organises awareness sessions and direct meetings with traders and shop owners to discuss ways to eliminate negative practices. The Division also distributes brochures on consumer rights across all shopping malls and traditional market areas in Dubai in various languages, including Chinese. Bushahab noted that the Division specifically aims to control negative phenomena such as high prices and the sale of harmful products.
“DED seeks to implement best practices in business activities, raise awareness among businessmen, and ensure the rights of consumers through a series of specialised field studies. These efforts are aimed to raise the level of business performance in vital sectors and ensure cordial relations between traders and consumers,” added Bushahab.
Department of Economic Development
The Department of Economic Development (DED) is the government body entrusted to set and drive the economic agenda of the emirate of Dubai, UAE. The DED supports the structural transformation of Dubai into a diversified, innovative service-based economy that aims to improve the business environment and accelerate productivity growth.
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The restaurant scene is roaring back to life in the South Bay and a common theme among them is restaurants featuring a unique bar program paired to a dining menu equal in creativity. While the concept of bringing together your favorite bar with gourmet bar bites is no new feat, here are 15 top-notch gastropubs in the South Bay.
Tag: Josh Margolis
Following the recent trend of popular San Francisco-based restaurants that have opened up sister spots across the bay, Rosamunde Sausage Grill debuted its latest location last night in downtown’s Old Oakland neighborhood.
Next month, the Mission outpost of sausage and craft beer emporium Rosamunde Sausage Grill marks its third birthday. Partner-owner Josh Margolis shared some meaty updates with Bay Area Bites recently: plans for an East Bay Rosamunde location are in the works.


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(SNOHOMISH COUNTY) -- For many teachers the nation’s battered economy is a grim lesson; a reminder of what can happen to anyone when a market based economy goes haywire, particularly one that is two-thirds driven by consumers simply spending money on goods and services.
(NATIONAL) -- After numerous stories linking it’s “Erotic Services” category to crimes and criminals, and under threat from various attorneys general to do something about the category or end up in court in various states, Craigslist.com web site officials said Wednesday it is throwing in the towel and will remove the "erotic services" category of advertisements from its U.S. Web site within a week.
(NATIONAL) -- Home foreclosures last month exceeded even the brutal pace of March. In April a record 342,000 American homes receuived notices of either default, auction notices or undergoing bank repossessions according to an industry report from RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed properties.


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National Drug Authority (NDA) has been sued over its recent directive banning drug shops near pharmacies as of December 31.
A letter signed by the NDA’s secretary Donna Kusemererwa recently directed that any drug shop that is less than 1.5 kilometres from a pharmacy will be required to either apply for a licence to operate as pharmacy or relocate
NDA also announced it would not renew licenses of drug shops in urban areas unless they accept to relocate to rural areas before directing drug shops in municipalities and towns to either upgrade into pharmacies or shut down in the next one year.
The directive also limits establishment of more pharmacies in Kampala and other major municipalities.
However, Spirited Individuals Association Limited, a company that engages in public litigation and other incentives aimed at protecting and promoting human rights has sued NDA saying it was wrong for the body to stop issuance of new licences to drug shops in Kampala according to their suit in the High Court.
“The defendant’s acts and omission passing a regulation requiring the suit drug shop owners to relocate to a distance of less than one and a half kilometres violates economic and social rights of drug shop owners,” says the petitioners in their suit.
“All operators of drug shops are qualified medical personnel and the defendant’s act of passing the said regulation is unconstitutional.”
The petitioners say that the co-existence of the drug shops and pharmacies does not prejudice the defendant(NDA) or pharmacies in any way.
They say it is unfair for directing that a drug shop relocates to another an undeserved area irrespective of the fact that it (drug shop) was the first to operate in the specific location.
“Drug shop owners have a right to operate their business anywhere in Uganda without interference from the pharmacies.”
The petitioner seeks orders from the High Court declaring the directive by the National Drug Authority illegal and unconstitutional before being annulled.
“The plaintiff prays for a directive to the National Drug Authority to withdraw all printed notices, publications in the media and their website ordering drug shops to comply with the said regulation by 1, January, 2019,”says the petitioner.
The petitioner has also asked court to issue an order restraining NDA from enforcing the directive.
According to the National Drug Authority, there are 4248 licenced drug shops all over the country.


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It might as well be 2006 for all the cash social networks aren't raking in. During its recent earnings call, Google complained that ads on social sites like MySpace and YouTube weren't meeting expectations. The WSJ reports Microsoft is losing money on its Facebook deal. Meanwhile, analytics firm eMarkerter expects ad spending on social networks to increase 70 percent in 2008, but that's an increase to only $1.56 billion. So who's to blame? One Google exec says it's those old-fashioned ad agencies.
In its report, the Journal rehashes old claims against sites with user-generated content: The content is crass and poorly made. But Google ad exec Derek Kuhl recently told a crowd at the company's New York offices that ad agencies are the ones which need to make changes. "Large agencies are struggling with how to buy large packages," Kuhl said, "Some opportunities need to be moved on in six days. A client meeting once a quarter doesn't work."


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Commentary: Coping with a rain-free zone
Packers are also watching this drought with more than just a passing interest. It’s no secret they’ve got more slaughter capacity than cattle coming through the pipeline. Just like feedyards, packers can’t turn a profit on low numbers or shuttered plants.
Retailers? They’re probably fine since our friends in the pork and poultry industries will gladly increase production to fill any meat cases beef producers can’t. And when beef loses that market share, can it ever be regained?
Tough questions for an industry facing a horrific natural disaster that seems far from over.
Of course, it will rain again. And beef producers will be able to gradually build their herds again, though such plans may now be a few years down the road.
Drought has limited the options for ranchers, which calls for a re-examination of your business plan. Were you prepared for a drought? Will you be better prepared for the next one?
Maybe this drought has forced you to take some actions you were delaying because cattle prices were so good. Has your herd culling been deep enough in the past? Will your herd’s genetics be improved when you’re finally able to restock?
I know, it’s hard to make lemonade out of the lemon we’ve been dealt this year.
Here’s wishing you a three-day rain.


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Princess Cruises has announced that MedallionNet, its high-speed onboard WiFi, will be available on 15 of its ships by the end of 2020
MedallionNet is currently available on eight ships including Crown Princess and Island Princess which will both be based in the UK next year.
The fleet-wide rollout will continue throughout 2020 on a further six ships as follows:
- 2,600-guest Grand Princess on February 21. The ship will then sail on a number of different sailings to the Pacific coast, Hawaii and Alaska.
- 2,670-guest Diamond Princess on March 15 as it sails throughout Asia and Japan on a variety of departures from Tokyo, Kobe, Taipei and Singapore.
- 3,560-guest Majestic Princess on April 18. The ship will spend the year sailing on voyages across Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
- 2,600-guest Star Princess on June 12 as it departs San Francisco on summer sailings in Alaska.
- 3,660-guest Enchanted Princess when she enters service in June. The ship will officially launch in Southampton, followed by an inaugural season in the Mediterranean.
- 2,670-guest Sapphire Princess on July 27 before departing on voyages across Japan, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
The other ships which currently feature MedallionNet are Caribbean Princess, Regal Princess, Royal Princess, Ruby Princess, Coral Princess and Emerald Princess. The enhanced WiFi will also be available on Sky Princess when the ship launches in October this year.
Tony Roberts, vice president Princess Cruises UK & Europe, said: “The expansion of MedallionNet, the best WiFi at sea, means more guests than ever before can stay connected whenever and wherever they are in a fast, affordable and reliable way.
“MedallionNet offers a new way for us to exceed guest expectations by giving them the freedom to control just how much or little they connect to stream movies, music and sports and share those once-in-a-lifetime holiday moments with friends and family back home.”
Princess previously announced the dates when seven more ships will become OceanMedallion-activated vessels. These are:
- Sky Princess on its launch in October 2019
- Ruby Princess on January 27, 2020
- Grand Princess on March 29, 2020
- Enchanted Princess on June 15, 2020
- Emerald Princess on August 16, 2020
- Coral Princess on October 16, 2020
- Island Princess on December 20, 2020
The multi-award winning OceanMedallion, which is the same size as a 10p piece, has been designed to deliver an entirely new level of service and create a holiday that is more simple, effortless and personalised with:
- Expedited arrival – Guests who arrive at the terminal with travel documents (i.e. passports) uploaded to their profile enjoy a streamlined and expedited check-in process that gets their holiday started even sooner
- Touchless stateroom entry – No need to touch, swipe or insert cards or devices into the door handle to unlock the stateroom. As a guest approaches their stateroom the door automatically unlocks
- On-demand services – Using smart devices, guests have the ability to order drinks, food and retail items such as suntan lotion and have them delivered directly anywhere onboard, including to their stateroom
- Interactive game play – Available on portals throughout the ship, PlayOcean allows guests to take part in digital scavenger hunts, interactive games and create their own avatars, as well as turning their smart device into a game controller for interactive gaming on the Movies Under The Stars top-deck screen
- Family and friends locator – Accessible on portals throughout the ships and via guests’ smart devices, OceanCompass leverages the OceanMedallion to easily locate and chat with friends and family onboard. OceanCompass guides guests throughout their journey, providing directional information so they can seamlessly navigate to their next point of interest
- Interactive voyage timeline – Available on ship portals and via guests’ smart devices, JourneyView is an interactive timeline that lets guests scroll through all of the events available on board during their voyage and bookmark activities they’re interested in to their own personalised itinerary. Voyage itineraries are available as many as 60 days in advance, allowing guests to start planning before they leave home
Princess Cruises is offering a 7-day Mediterranean and Aegean voyage on Enchanted Princess, departing September 12, 2020. Sailing from Rome (Civitavecchia) to Athens and calling at Naples, Kotor, Corfu, Chania and Mykonos. Prices from £1,099 per person, with up to $250 onboard spending money per person.
For more information go to https://www.princess.com/
About Princess Cruises:
One of the best-known names in cruising, Princess Cruises is a global premium cruise line and tour company operating a fleet of 17 modern cruise ships, carrying two million guests each year on 170 itineraries to more than 380 destinations around the globe, including the Caribbean, Alaska, Panama Canal, Mexican Riviera, Europe, South America, Australia/New Zealand, the South Pacific, Hawaii, Asia, Canada/New England and World Cruises. Itineraries range in length from three to 111 days.
In 2017 Princess Cruises, with parent company Carnival Corporation, introduced MedallionClass cruises enabled by the Ocean Medallion – the cruises industry’s most advanced wearable device, provided free to each guest sailing on a MedallionClass ship. The award-winning innovation offers the fastest way to a hassle-free, personalised cruise, giving guests more opportunity to enjoy their time onboard. Ocean Medallion will be activated on five ships by the end of 2019. An activation plan will continue across the global fleet in 2020 and beyond.
Three new Royal-class ships are currently on order with the next new ship, Sky Princess, under construction and scheduled for delivery in October 2019 followed by Enchanted Princess in June 2020. Princess recently announced that two new (LNG) ships which will be the largest ships in the Princess fleet, accommodating approximately 4,300 guests with expected delivery in 2023 and 2025. Princess now has five ships arriving over the next six years between 2019 & 2025. The company is part of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE:CUK).


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A battle for talent is heating up industrywide as the economy strengthens. With unit growth accelerating, the unemployment rate inching down and turnover rates on the rise, operators are beefing up their benefits to better compete for and retain managers and hourly workers. “There’s a pretty strong correlation between the unemployment rate and turnover rates,” said Michael Harms, executive director of operations at People Report, a Dallas-based firm that tracks ...
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Contact: Desiree Torres Desiree.Torres@penton.com


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With the first 100 units booked within the first 48 hours last year, Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. is proud to announce the arrival of a fresh batch of its Civic Type R.
According to Honda, market acceptance and continuous demand are what urged them to have another 100 units brought to the country for 2018. To celebrate this milestone, the company is introducing a new Polished Metal Metallic color in addition to the signature Championship White and Rallye Red color lineup.
As a quick run through of its specs, a 2.0-liter VTEC Turbo Engine breathes life into the vehicle, packing a maximum output of 310PS and peak torque of 400Nm. It comes in a 6-speed manual transmission, a bespoke chassis setup, and advanced aerodynamics and technology features.
For those who didn’t get to order last year, this might be your chance. The new Civic Type R comes with a PhP 2,980,000 retail price and will be available for viewing at Honda car dealerships starting September 1. Initial customer deliveries kick off in the first week of October 2018.
2019 Mazda 3 arrives in the Philippines
Still has the KODO design language
The highly awaited 2019 Mazda 3 has finally arrived in the Philippines. This compact car (first seen during its grand debut in Los Angeles last year) still has the company’s KODO design language but comes with a fresher look.
Up front, both the sedan and hatchback models have a large meshed grille with Mazda’s logo proudly sitting at the center. This is flanked with a more aggressive pair of headlamps that sort of stretch to its sides. Rounding up the front fascia is an accented lower lip.
Walk to its back and you’ll be greeted by a refreshed tailgate that protrudes outward. Together with its rear bumper and new taillights, the Mazda 3 exudes a sportier, more agile vibe that blends well with the contours of its body. All that is standing on 18-inch alloy wheels.
The same attention to detail that gives the exterior attitude can also be found inside. The seats are wrapped in elegant red leather while the rest of the interior has a simple approach. There’s an 8-inch infotainment display, three-spoke steering wheel, and redesigned control hub at the center.
Mazda Philippines wanted this event to be more like a welcome celebration for the arrival of the Mazda 3 in the country. As such, a number of things are not yet final. It’s still unclear if the models to go on sale here will already have the company’s SkyActiv-X technology that has the responsive traits of a gasoline engine with the conservative fuel consumption of a diesel unit.
Pricing and availability were also not disclosed, although Mazda says they will be announcing the details once everything has been finalized. We’ll just have to make do with the photos for now — good thing this car is such a looker.
Nissan pushes through with electrification of Asia and Oceania
One step at a time
It’s that time of the year again when Nissan gathers thought leaders, government officials, and media representatives from around the region to discuss how to improve and reshape the way people use transportation.
With the theme “Transform the way we drive and live,” this year’s Nissan Futures offers updated statistics and tackles the company’s plans and strategies to fully electrify Asia and Oceania.
Through a report, Nissan kicked off the event by showing us our current situation and where this could lead. They said that in about 30 years, the human population will hit 9.9 billion and two out of three people will be living in cities. This translates to more carbon footprint for each city and heavier air pollution for everyone if we simply continue going down this path.
“Asia Pacific is home to more than 2.1 billion urban residents, that is 60 percent of the world’s urban population. This brings increased pressure on the region’s cities and mobility systems. Events like Nissan Futures create the appropriate platform to discuss solutions for our region’s societies and mobility systems,” said Yutaka Sanada, Regional Senior Vice President for Asia and Oceania. “Driven by our Nissan Intelligent Mobility vision, we are committed to bringing safe, smart, and sustainable mobility to more people.”
We already talked about the benefits of electric vehicles (as well as myths that surround them) and how they will significantly reduce tailpipe emissions on the streets and eventually reduce air pollution. With that in mind, Nissan envisions a city with a more sustainable environment by jumping on the electric bandwagon. And right now, their Leaf electric vehicle is what embodies their plans for the future.
“The Leaf remains the icon of Nissan Intelligent Mobility, our strategy for moving more people to a better world,” said Daniele Schillaci, Nissan’s Global Head of Marketing, Sales, and Electric Vehicles.
Just earlier this month, the Leaf cemented itself as the most successful EV to date — surpassing the 400,000 sales mark. Although, we weren’t that surprised since we got to drive and experience the Leaf for the second time. I’d say the drive was more exciting this year since we drove it around the open streets of Hong Kong and witnessed how it fared in terms of its safety features, handling, power, and battery consumption.
We made a short video of the drive:
Yes, we’re still far away from cities being fully electric, but Nissan is relentlessly pushing through. It has already put its foot in and is paving the way for electrification that will soon extend beyond the confines of a vehicle.
New Model Y is Tesla’s more affordable electric SUV
Arriving fall of 2020
The Tesla Model Y has made its debut, positioning itself as a more affordable Model X — the company’s luxury SUV. This new mid-size all-electric vehicle is the company’s second stab at a mass market EV as an effort to make more people jump on the electric bandwagon.
At first glance, one could mistake it for a Tesla Model 3 with its long, sloping lines, wide bonnet, and lower grille. The difference is that being a crossover, the Model Y is bigger. In front there are LED fog lamps, auto dimming and power folding side mirrors, and a choice of 18-, 19-, or 20-inch wheels.
Inside, it has a 15-inch touchscreen display against a minimalist interior that we’re pretty much used to seeing. The vehicle will fit up to seven people on its 12-way power adjustable heated seats with a panoramic glass roof above them.
The Model Y will come in four different versions namely the Standard Range, Long Range, Dual Motor AWD, and Performance specs. The Long Range Model Y boasts a range of 300 miles while the Performance version can go from zero to 60mph in 3.5 seconds and topping at a speed of 150mph.
Apart from the Standard Range which will come later in 2021, all other models will arrive in the fall of 2020. Pricing starts at US$ 39,000 and stretches to US$ 60,000 for the top-of-the-line Performance model. In between those are the Long Range and Dual Motor AWD which are at US$ 47,000 and US$ 51,000, respectively.
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During a Friday appearance on FNC’s “Fox & Friends First,” Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita discussed his investigation into MSNBC’s Al Sharpton and others for participating in a 2019 October meeting with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other Facebook executives about censoring users.
Rokita verbally expressed he wants to ascertain if Facebook and other tech companies are “violating any of Indiana’s consumer bulwark laws” by censoring information. “It’s a veracious investigation endeavoring to ascertain precisely what these people’s intent [was] — why were they meeting, why were they meeting, why were they concretely — allegedly, discussing censoring information from users,” Rokita outlined. “And we optate to ascertain if they are contravening any of Indiana’s consumer bulwark laws. You ken, if a car dealer kept information from a consumer about the product they were displaying or selling, they would be in breach of Indiana’s laws. Well, so may Apple, Facebook, Google, Amazon and the rest of them, Twitter.”
He integrated, “We’ve learned that there was a meeting, a dinner, not only with Vanita [Gupta] and these executives from five tech companies but additionally Al Sharpton, members of the NAACP and the Urban League where the topic was concretely requesting these companies to keep information from consumers. And you can have a commercial transaction where you keep information from consumers like when Amazon took the transgender book off the shelf … but withal as consumers, we process and digest political information. And this meeting was about keeping political information from consumers. And in a free republic like the United States, that’s paramount, so we make the right decisions for electing our bellwethers.”
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent
Source: You can read the original Breitbart article here.
This News Article is focused on these topics: Clips, Politics, Tech, Al Sharpton, Censorship, Facebook, Fox News Channel, Todd Rokita


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Ambika Soni, the Minister of Tourism and Culture of India, aims to make tourism a major engine of the economic growth. She wants to enhance it to deal with unemployment and poverty at some level. The policy of the Ministry of Tourism & Culture had a positive effect in the last few years.
During 2001 to 2006 there was presumably some 78% growth in number of foreign visitors to India. The growth in foreign exchange earnings is expected to be some 122% during this period.
For India it is important to promote tourism since it can utilize its natural, human, cultural and technical resources. Tourism can provide jobs for people in rural areas, especially jobs for the young and women. And so the rural tourism is number one speaking of promotion. It offers look at the rural like art, culture and crafts. Its economic value is also high. Another important sector of tourism is the medical tourism that is recently booming in India.
The promotion policy includes e.g. liberalization in aviation sector, rationalization in tax rates in the hospitality sector, tourist friendly visa regime and making land more easily available for construction of hotels.
There is also plan to introduce Advance Passenger Information System at airports to reduce delays in clearance of passengers at the immigration counters. The system is currently tested at Delhi Airport.
To promote safety, all states have to deploy Tourist police at major tourist destinations in the States. In States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, J&K, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi such police force is already working.
The government is also promoting the already existing tourism products (e.g. Taj Mahal or Red Fort) and their development. There is an advertising going on through the Internet and in the print media to show India as an interesting tourist destination.


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According to the rumors, the Samsung Galaxy S24 is expected to be announced on the 17th of January, 2024. Samsung has yet to officially confirm those dates, but a post on X by reputable leakster Evan Blass might have confirmed it.
In what appears to be an official countdown to the event, it mentions that the launch date for the upcoming Galaxy S24 series will be taking place at 3AM KST on the 18th of January, 2024. Converting that to US time, that’s basically 1PM EST on the 17th of January, 2024, confirming what the previous rumors are claiming.
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) December 21, 2023
Like we said, the 17th of January date had been mentioned in earlier rumors so it shouldn’t really be that surprising, but it’s good to have additional confirmation, especially when it comes from a pretty reliable source. Also, unlike the Galaxy S23’s launch which was held in South Korea, next year’s event is expected to see Samsung return to the US.
The Galaxy S24 is expected to come in three variants – the base Galaxy S24, the Galaxy S24+, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The phones have also been rumored to be sold in Exynos and Qualcomm variants depending on the region save for the Ultra model, where it will only be available with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset globally, which is good news for those who are planning on getting it.


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ONE of the pioneers of the red meat industry’s world-leading eating quality systems and a highly-experienced senior executive in the industry, Jason Strong, will take over the reins as Meat and Livestock Australia’s managing director.
Mr Strong replaces Richard Norton who announced late last year that he was leaving the company to take up the role of Elders general manager.
Mr Strong is a well-recognised and respected senior executive with extensive skills in commercial and industry business management and administration, supply chain development, meat science and grading, genetics and marketing.
He has been very active in the past year as the chair of the Europe Union and United Kingdom Red Meat Market Access Taskforce, where Australian beef and lamb currently have some major battlefronts.
He made a significant and early contribution to the development of the Meat Standards Australia program and has owned a number of meat retail outlets giving him a unique perspective into consumer demand for high quality and consistent red meat produced in sustainable and high welfare systems.
Mr Strong is the past chair of the Australian Beef Industry Foundation and spent 17 years managing and coaching the Australian Inter Collegiate Meat Judging Team.
The board of the big red meat service provider unanimously supported the appointment.
“The MLA board is extremely confident that Jason will make an outstanding contribution and will continue to foster the prosperity of our industry on behalf of the red meat producers we serve,” MLA chair Dr Michele Allan said.
“He returns to MLA with comprehensive red meat and livestock experience, knowledge and connections - from the farm through to the end consumer - in both domestic and international markets.
“Importantly, Jason has significant on-farm experience meaning he has a unique understanding of what is expected from MLA on behalf of levy payers. He is focused with a passionate commitment for our industry.
“With a proven track record in building strong teams and developing business opportunities in a number of key markets and corporate environments, Jason was the standout candidate for this highly coveted position.”
Mr Strong said it was an exciting time to be returning to MLA, with many opportunities for the red meat industry.
“I am looking forward to working with MLA’s board, staff, red meat producers and the broader industry to make certain we are best positioned to respond to the challenges and opportunities ahead,” Mr Strong said.
“I want to ensure MLA’s current programs and projects continue to deliver value, but also identify and implement what is required for the future success of the red meat industry.
“Having previous experience with MLA, both within the organisation and as an external partner, I understand the workings and responsibilities of our industry research and marketing service company. I also appreciate the responsibility MLA has to meet the expectations of red meat producers and broader industry.
“Since MLA’s formation 21 years ago, our industry organisations have evolved in response to our growing and dynamic industry. However, the responsibility for MLA to deliver on the current and planned programs and projects remains.
“While many red meat producers and others in the value chain are currently facing tough conditions, MLA will continue to do everything it can to support and enhance the success and global competitiveness of Australia’s red meat industry.”
MLA’s chief financial officer Andrew Ferguson has been acting as interim MD for four months while the executive search was underway.
Mr Strong will commence in the role on Monday 1 April 2019.
Most recently, Mr Strong was chief executive officer of Smithfield Cattle Company, a leading family owned feedlot and cattle supply business. Prior to this he was managing director with AA Co during which time he led its evolution into a vertically integrated supply chain company, achieving an impressive increase in beef sales, company revenue and profit margins for the benefit of its shareholders.
Mr Strong has also represented industry as MLA’s regional manager in Europe and Russia. He was also responsible for the expansion of the Pfizer (now Zoetis) DNA technology business into new key international markets.
He is also experienced at agri-politics and industry advocacy through his involvement with the Cattlemen’s Union of Australia as a councillor, New South Wales state chairman and national vice president.
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The U.S. has put more curbs that block the sale of certain Nvidia GPUs to the Middle East, largely under fears that the technology will be accessible to China.
The setback for Nvidia was revealed in the company’s 10K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
In the filing, Nvidia stated that the U.S. government, in the most recent quarter, “informed us of an additional licensing requirement for a subset of A100 and H100 products destined to certain customers and other regions, including some countries in the Middle East.”
Nvidia is already banned from selling the A100 and H100 GPUs to China because of export controls restricting U.S. companies from exporting advanced A.I. and chips. Nvidia devised the A800 and H800 versions of the chip for the Chinese market that played within the export control rules.
The U.S. is concerned about the close relationships between Middle Eastern countries and China. China had become a significant trade partner with Middle Eastern countries and helped broker a peace deal between rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran.
According to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, China’s trade with the Middle East totaled $259 billion in 2021, growing from $180 billion in 2019.
China imports most of its oil from Saudi Arabia, and most Middle Eastern countries have awarded 5G telecom contracts to Huawei, which is on the U.S. ban list, according to data published by the U.S. government.
China has been a very important market for Nvidia, with a heavy talent base already familiar with the CUDA programming language used with Nvidia GPUs. In the past, Nvidia held the GTC conference in the Chaina and, in 2009, established the Chinese Academy of Sciences as a CUDA Center of Excellence.
The Chinese Ministry of Education in 2011 put CUDA into the technology education syllabus. Every month, researchers at Chinese universities publish scientific research papers tested on the CUDA codebase.
Nvidia is concerned about the long-term impact of restrictive trade practices imposed by the U.S. government but expects no more rules restricting the sale of the company’s products globally.
“Given the strength of demand for our products worldwide, we do not anticipate that additional export restrictions, if adopted, would have an immediate material impact on our financial results,” Nvidia wrote in the filing.
Nvidia’s GPUs are in big demand in China as no company has produced a competitive GPU. A Chinese company called Biren Technology is rumored to have developed a capable GPU for domestic use, though it would not match the performance of A100 or H100 GPUs.
The China market generated $2.74 billion in revenue for Nvidia during the most recent quarter. Nvidia’s quarterly revenue was $13.5 billion, and China was the third largest market behind the U.S. and Taiwan.
It was not clear which Middle Eastern countries faced export restrictions. A.I. chip company Cerebras struck a deal to install its systems in U.S. data centers run by UAE-based cloud provider G42. Cerebras said the agreement complies with the export restriction rules established by the U.S. government.
Similarly, AMD in SEC filings, notes that the company is not allowed to sell its MI250 and MI250X high-performance GPUs to Chinese firms.
Intel recently launched its Gaudi2 AI chip in China. The chip maker claims that the A.I. performance of Gaudi2 is comparable to Nvidia’s A100.


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What's The Bigger Issue (Behind the Ban on Promotional Products)?
With the California state government ban on promotional products and the previous ban from the pharmaceutical industry, many of us have serious concerns about the future of our livelihood, and rightly so.
However, I believe there is a bigger issue here. The issue is: how can we change the perception of promotional products from one of not really necessary, to one of a being a valuable marketing tool that helps our economy grow? In doing this, promotional products won't be an easy target to eliminate.


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The Hollywood Reporter says that Spider-Man 2 got off to a big start:
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s superhero sequel “Spider-Man 2” sold more than 6 million combined DVD and VHS units during its first day on retail shelves across the country, according to industry sources.
That Day 1 sales figure doesn’t set any records, but the holiday gift-buying season should bode well for the Sam Raimi sequel, which is expected to get a boost in retail sales before Christmas. Sony reported Week 1 sales for the original “Spider-Man” at approximately 10 million combined units when it was released Nov. 1, 2002.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter


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LG Electronics (LG), a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, today announced that it has entered into a cross licensing agreement with GE Consumer & Industrial, an industry leader in major appliance, lighting and integrated industrial equipment, systems and services. This new agreement will allow LG and GE to use one another’s patents for refrigerators and cooking appliances without paying licensing fees.
“We believe that this licensing arrangement with GE will enhance our ability to deliver winning products and move us further toward our goal of becoming one of the top global brands in consumer electronics and home appliances,” said Young Ha Lee, President and CEO of LG Electronics Digital Appliance Company. “Our long history of working together with GE will help us take advantage of this agreement even more quickly.
“This agreement is part of a win-win strategy for both GE and LG,” said Lynn S. Pendergrass, President and CEO, GE Consumer & Industrial – Americas. “We expect the synergies resulting from the strong relationship between our two companies will contribute substantially to the success of both GE and LG.”
The companies marked this new cross license agreement with a ceremony held today at LG’s R&D Campus in the Gasan area of Seoul, Korea. Executives from both companies attended the ceremony. They included Young Ha Lee, President and CEO of LG Electronics Digital Appliance Company and Lynn S. Pendergrass, President and CEO, GE Consumer & Industrial – Americas.
LG and GE have collaborated on cooking appliances since 1999, both in technologies and product development. This new agreement will help the companies strengthen their competitiveness worldwide. This agreement will be especially helpful to LG, in its push to expand its presence in digital appliances globally. The company currently sells its products through all three of the top retailers in North America: The Home Depot, Sears and Best Buy.
LG has previously entered into key partnerships with other top companies to build its technology and customer base. In 2000 the company partnered with Matsushita’s air conditioning division and in 2001 LG allied itself with both Microsoft and Intel in the home networking sector.
GE Consumer & Industrial, a $13 billion business, uses innovative technologies and “ecomagination,” a GE initiative to aggressively bring to market new technologies that help customers and consumers meet pressing environmental challenges, to deliver comfort, convenience and electrical protection and control.


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Roh appointment forms part of a larger series of top appointments at Samsung Electronics which has resulted in newer younger generation coming to the helm in one of Asia’s biggest conglomerate.
On Thursday, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd decided to name Roh Hee-chan as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), placing him at the helm of one of Asia’s biggest corporate cash pile.
The appointment comes in the wake of Lee Sang-hoon, Samsung’s former CFO, stepping down from the role two days ago after being nominated as Samsung’s next chairman of the board.
Previously Roh was the CFO of Samsung Display, a unit of Samsung Electronics.
Roh will oversee $68.31 billion worth of Samsung Electronics’ cash holding and cash equivalent, which incidentally rose by 8% from the first quarter.
Roh’s appointment forms part of several other appointments at senior executive levels at Samsung, which were announced on Thursday.
The appointments included a new head of Samsung’s China business, Hwang Deuk-kyu, but most kept their current roles in addition to being promoted to President.
These appointments essentially mark a new generation of top managers coming to the helm at Samsung.
Samsung has promised to reward shareholders with $26 billion in payouts to 2020.
The change of management at the top level was designed to ease investors’ concerns about a leadership vacuum following the arrest and conviction of Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee on bribery charges earlier this year.
Samsung Electronics’ shares have appreciated by 6% in three days since the shake-up was unveiled and has touched a record high of 2.876 million won per share on Thursday.


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Switzerland and the UK, increasingly attracting wealthy Chinese
In 2012, Switzerland reports an increase of 25% in Chinese travellers compared to 2011, totalling 600,000 or 830,000-840,000 according to the Swiss Tourism Authority, estimating that the number of Chinese travellers to Switzerland will quadruple in the next 10 years. The most popular Swiss destinations for the Chinese are Lucerne, Interlaken, Zurich and Geneva. The watch industry is one of the main beneficiaries of this Chinese boom, according to consultants KPMG. Many Chinese tourists prefer to buy luxury watches here because they know they won’t be buying an imitation
At London’s Heathrow, Chinese account for 25% of total luxury spend at the airport despite being less than 1% of total travellers, according to the Retail Director of Heathrow Airport. Joining Amsterdam’s Schiphol and Los Angeles’s LAX airports, London’s Heathrow is also gearing up for Chinese New Year celebrations, with a series of events including traditional Chinese music, dragon dancing, festive food sampling and taster classes in the art of Zhezhi (paper designs).


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DANCE FASHIONS: WORKING TOWARD THE LEAD POSITION
Byline: Georgia Lee
ATLANTA — Tolbert Yilmaz, president of Dance Fashions Super Store, set out two years ago to become a category killer — the Toys ‘R’ Us of dance and fitness.
“In department or sporting goods stores, dance and fitness is often an afterthought, or an under-the-counter business,” he said. “Here, we have the space and selection to make it our main focus.”
Located in Roswell, a northern suburb of Atlanta, Dance Fashions opened in 1980 and expanded from 2,400 to 10,000 square feet in 1994. With 55 percent apparel and 45 percent shoes, the store carries over 100 lines, including bestsellers Danskin, Bloch, Mirella, Baryshnikov and Capezio.
The store has posted sales of just under $1 million in 1995, a 15 percent increase over 1994, with $1 million projected for 1996.
Yilmaz — in partnership with wife Nancy Yilmaz, a former ballerina with the Southern Ballet of Atlanta — is also president of Eurotard, a dance and activewear line that posted sales of $5 million in 1995. The fashion-forward line, which is made in Atlanta and through Morganton, N.C., contractors, accounts for 20 percent of apparel sales at the store. The couple also owns the 10,000-square-foot Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance, also in Roswell.
Each business complements the other, said Yilmaz.
“Manufacturing helps us understand retail and vice versa,” he said. “We have to know fiber, fabric and construction. Product knowledge and our expertise is the most important thing in establishing customer loyalty.”
The freestanding unit is a destination store, with virtually no walk-in traffic.
“Ninety-nine percent of our customers come in with a special need, and come in to buy,” said Yilmaz. “They’re concerned with performance, fashion and the latest product developments.”
Dancewear makes up half of all apparel. Basic black and pink looks, have been augmented with more earth tones and fashion colors, such as hunter green and burgundy, as well as open-back silhouettes.
“Dance was all basic 10 years ago,” said Yilmaz. “Now, dancers have become much more creative in what they wear to class.”
Children’s wear makes up half of all dance apparel, and includes cheerleading, gymnastics, ice skating and other costumes. Best-selling lines are Danskin, Baryshnikov, Eurotard and Capezio, often in children’s versions of adult styles, or frilly styles with lace, bows, attached skirts, and other embellishments.
Despite the store’s primary focus on dance, fitness apparel is the fastest growing category.
“Fitness has opened up a whole new area,” said Yilmaz, who added that the category is ever-changing. “Five years ago, women wanted many different leotards,” he said. “Now they want bras, leggings, boxer shorts, T-shirts and oversized tops to mix and match.”
Separates and streetwear looks have been important trends.
Push-up bras from Eurotard are the store’s bestselling item, in a variety of basic and fashion fabrics, including lace and cotton velvet. Over 2,500 units have sold this year, at prices averaging $24-$30.
Prices range from $18-$30 for bras, $20-$38 for leotards, and $15-$40 for tights, an average of 10 percent less than department stores, said Yilmaz. But unlike other category killers, Dance Fashions Super Store does not promote itself as a discounter.
“People come here for quality and selection, not price,” he said.


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Xiaomi’s Mi MIX series of phones has been Xiaomi’s breeding ground for displaying and flexing the ground-breaking technology. And as expected, the next iteration in the Mi MIX series is something that shows off Xiaomi’s bravado in conceptualizing what smartphones of the future might look like. The Mi MIX Alpha has a display that melts into the back, a 108MP camera, and is powered by the Snapdragon 855+. Sounds exciting? Let’s dig in to know more about the phone.
A first look at the product and it seems like Xiaomi’s product team completely forgot to box the display to the front of the phone. The display of the phone melts over the edges to grace the back of the phone and the continuity is only broken by a strip that houses the triple camera setup. This “Surround Display”, as Xiaomi calls it, gives the phone a screen-to-body ratio of a whopping 180.6%.
And since the display is wrapped around the edges too, the phone doesn’t have a physical volume rocker or a power button. There are pressure-sensitive areas on the side that function as buttons. The side of the phone can also display status bar icons. Palm rejection is something that Xiaomi claims it has fixed. With the use of the accelerometer, cues from the app being used and Xiaomi’s AI, the phone will prevent accidental touches.
The Alpha misses out on an earphone piece and a selfie camera. Replacing the earphone piece are ultrasonic vibrations that emanate from the display. And since the phone has a display at the back too, the primary camera setup also doubles up as a front camera setup. Speaking of the camera setup, the phone has a triple camera setup that comprises of a 108MP Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX camera sensor, a 20MP ultrawide camera, and a 12MP depth sensor. This makes the MIX Alpha the first phone to sport a 108MP sensor that is approximately four times larger than the size of Sony’s 48MP sensor and takes shots that are about 40MB in size.
Apart from acting as a secondary viewfinder, the display at the back can be used for applications like Calculator, Maps, Calendar and more. The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 855+ SoC and comes with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of UFS 3.0 storage. The phone has a 4,050mAh battery and has support for 40W Turbo Charging.
The Mi MIX Alpha is priced at CNY 19,999 (Approx. INR 1,99,000) but only a limited number of devices will be made available for sale. It’s unlikely that the phone will step outside China as of now. What do you think about the phone? Could this be how smartphones of the future look like?


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iOS 11 Features: The operating system updates from Apple have been rather tame over the last few years, but the iOS 10 did bring in some changes to make the platform suitable for some of the significant design upgrades that the iPhone lineup went through in 2016. The iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus are hefty new additions to Apple's flagship series, but they still left a lot to be desired. To some extent, the case remains the same with the iOS 10. So as Apple loyalists around the world are looking forward to the release of some truly next-gen upgrades for both their devices and software, here we are compiling a list of all the probable iOS 11 features may come with.
The iOS 10 was announced by Tim Cook at the WWDC 2016, and the software was officially rolled out in September this year. In all honesty, the new version scored well with critics and users, but Apple still has a long way to go to truly amaze fans with new added features. But with the current year about to take a turn, fans are expecting the upcoming iOS 11 to meet them at least halfway. And with the iOS 11 release date coinciding with Apple's tenth year anniversary, Apple may just have a number of surprises in store. So let's take a look at the iOS 11 features.
An Adaptive Dark Mode: Among all the things that the iOS 11 beta is supposed to come with, a Dark Mode ranks pretty high on the lost of possibilities. Apple device users have been rooting for something like this for a long time now, and the iOS 10 is somewhat capable of mimicking this. But the feature is yet to come to the platform full-fledged.
The iOS 11 is more or less confirmed to come with a dark mode, because Apple has already introduced the feature on a different platform. Introducing the Dark Mode will have multiple advantages: first off, it will put less strain on the eyes while reading or viewing something on the iPhone in the dark. Keeping the dark mode on during low light conditions will also help save Apple devices from unnecessarily draining their batteries.
VR Compatibility: Amidst the growing popularity of Virtual Reality technology, we can't imagine Apple lagging behind their biggest competitors in the field. While Google, Microsoft, Samsung, and every other big name in the tech world have already forayed well ahead in VR tech, Apple is yet to make a mark.
while Apple loyalists appreciate the fact that the company is not all about following trends but rather creating them, we think that Apple will mark their first step in smartphone VR in a big way with the iOS 11. This could also mean that we'll see Apple launch a new VR wearable that will work with the technology in the iOS 11. So in ways more than one, VR in iOS will be a feature to look out for. And iOS 11 will be the perfect place for Apple to do that.
An Improved Siri: When Apple first introduced Siri, they took the world by storm. The ability to talk to your smartphone and ask it to do things for you (and even randomly converse with it) became a favourite pastime for Apple users. But to get to the point where Siri is today, the company has taken a long time. Using Siri during its first few days was not just frustrating, but also outright infuriating if you were from anywhere outside of the US. But while Siri has improved a ton, there still is a long way to go. Fortunately, it seems that Apple is already working hard on that front. The company has reportedly assembled a team of Artificial Intelligence experts to make Siri smarter and more natural, human sounding. Additionally, Siri on the iOS 11 could also be opened up to be made compatible with third party applications.
That means that iOS 11 onwards, Siri could be used to manage apps and tasks that are not just related to Apple's core applications. Some of the third party apps that are expected to be supported by Siri's voice control AI tech are messaging platforms like Whatsapp and transportation apps such as Uber among many others.
Quick Customisation: One of the small conveniences that Apple device users lack as compared to other companies' products is the ability to switch between settings quickly when needed. Though the Control Centre has been revamped and made more user-friendly with the iOS 10, there still are certain tweaks that Apple users wish to see.
For instance, users can't personalise their devices as much as they would like to, as the iOS 10 still does not provide the opportunity to create their own shortcuts on the toggle bar swapping out other, less-used ones. But Apple has already taken the time to make valuable changes to the Control Centre with the last iOS version. We are certain this feature will see a host of new improvements with the arrival of the iOS 11.
Advanced Maps: Let's face it, Google is leagues ahead of anyone else in terms of map services, but Apple is reportedly trying to play catch up. The company has already made apparent its plans to vastly improve upon their existing maps, for which it will resort to drones for instant and updated information that will be displayed on the iPhone or iPad's maps. This new revamped Maps feature with rapid updates is likely to be rolled out with the iOS 11.
We already have a lot to look forward to from Apple next year, and these are just a few of the features that the iOS 11 will come with when it is released in September 2017. If truth be told, then we are really excited to know what Apple has been working on to deliver a truly top-of-the-line experience with the iOS 11 and the iPhone 8 next year. Meanwhile, if you would like to know about which Apple devices will be compatible with the iOS 11, check out the 'Compatibility' section. You can also browse through some of the other sections of our site to know more about iOS 11's Concept Design, Wishlist and Beta.


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Starfield is seemingly unstoppable. Having reached over 10 million players last month, the RPG has continued to grow. During Microsoft’s latest investors call, CEO Satya Nadella confirmed a new milestone for the game.
According to the CEO, Starfield has reached 11 million players across all platforms.
Why it matters: This is another major milestone for the game, cementing this release as Bethesda Game Studios’ best contribution to the gaming industry.
Prior to the conference, Microsoft announced the best Q1 performance for Xbox during FY24. Starfield was expected to be the driving force behind much of this success, and the CEO’s comment confirms this was the case.
Speaking to investors, Satya Nadella said:
“More than 11 million people have played the game to date.”
He confirmed that around half of the time spent in the RPG came from players on PC. While this may be underwhelming for Xbox consoles, Microsoft’s focus on a gaming ecosystem means this divide does not matter much in the long run.
The CEO announced another major accomplishment for Starfield, stating that this release led to record-breaking Xbox Game Pass subscriptions in a single day. Meanwhile, the title also took the spot of the best-selling game in the US last month.
Therefore, the RPG has delivered on all fronts, bringing sales, players, Game Pass subscribers, and significantly higher revenue for Xbox.
Apart from Starfield, Microsoft’s arcade racer, Forza Horizon 5, reached a new milestone recently, accumulating over 34 million players in less than two years.
Combining these excellent results, Xbox is doing better than ever, with an endless amount of positive news for the gaming giant after the recent quarterly earnings results.
While Starfield has already accomplished a lot, the game is yet to receive DLC content, official DLSS support, and mods for consoles. Therefore, the RPG has a lot of life left, and Xbox will likely see millions of new players joining the vast universe as the updates are rolled out.
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How could we improve this post? Please Help us. 😔
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than three years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.


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Also, it seems that some of the staff at Cryptography Research will also be heading over at Macrovision:
“Not only is BD+ critical for content security, but it also supports value-added features that enhance the consumer playback experience, such as potentially unlocking bonus content.” said Fred Amoroso, CEO of Macrovision Corporation. “I am especially delighted to add some of the cryptographic talent for which CRI is renowned. We believe they will allow us to accelerate our future security solution development efforts.”
It’s interesting that the BD+ creators chose to sell instead of licensing the use of their technology., which would’ve enabled them to profit more. The “Macrovision will take it to the next level” statement from Cryptography Research is definitely less than enough. Basically, the company to completely get out of the deal and focus its efforts on something considered much more worthy.
Could this be a sign of a lack of trust in the Blu-ray format?


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Codemasters talks World Series Racing in their latest Grid 2 trailer
Codemasters has released a new trailer to give players a feel for the World Series Racing competition that forms the backbone of Grid 2.
Narrated by WSR's founder Patrick Callahan the video talks up the game's emphasis on racing clubs and obviously competing to be the best across different racing disciplines.
The video shows footage of street racing in Chicago, track racing on the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway and some pretty scenic racing on the Califonia Coast.
Grid 2 is dur out on May 31st for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
- Dark Souls 2 could see a fourth pack of DLC released
- Far Cry 4 is all about player choice, has five endings
- Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare PC system specifications announced
- Evolution adds more multiplayer events to Driveclub as they continue to work on the game's server issues
- Rockstar announces a San Andreas 10th Anniversary event this weekend for GTA Online
- Dead Or Alive 5: Last Round gets a release date
- Unfinished Swan to hit the PS4 and PS Vita next week
- Gamersgate.com CEO emphasizes that they have nothing to do with #Gamergate
- Microsoft announces the feature list for the November Xbox One update


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Southwest Airlines made a big announcement Wednesday night! They are planning to add routes from continental US to Hawaii in 2018. That’s right – you will soon be able to use your Rapid Rewards® to go to Hawaii! This is a great addition to an already extensive route map throughout the Continental US, Caribbean and Central America. Continue reading “Aloha! Southwest Announces Plan for Routes to Hawaii in 2018”
Certain credit cards have great benefits, even beyond the signup bonuses and points you’ll earn for every dollar you spend. In fact, some cards offer hundreds of dollars in additional cash-back offers every year — IF you claim them. So if you’ve got one of these cards, please claim them! We’ll talk about two such cards here.
Let’s start with the American Express Platinum card. If you’ve got this card, you’re paying a hefty $450 annual fee. But did you know that you can get $200 back in statement credits every year that can cover certain airline-related costs? You should definitely claim that value every year, and if you don’t do it right / in time, you lose that chance until next year, with a new annual fee.
You may have heard that Marriott and Starwood finalized their merger last night. With that, there were a lot of uncertainties, some of which have been answered today. This merger creates the world’s largest hotel brand with over 5,700 hotels in 110 countries, so it’s kind of a big deal. One of the biggest pieces of news today is that you can now merge your accounts. We’ll show you how.
The new Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card has generated a lot of buzz in the past couple of days. Anyone that has another Chase rewards card (Sapphire Preferred, Freedom, etc.) understands the value of the points earned on these cards. We usually do not review specific cards, but we’ve received so many questions in the past two days about the Chase Sapphire Reserve, we thought we’d provide our thoughts.
Earlier this week, Hyatt announced that they are making changes to the redemption categories for about 100 of their hotels. This change is effective August 1, 2016. 50 hotels are increasing in category (more points needed per night) and 56 hotels are decreasing in category (fewer points needed per night). RewardStock’s charts will reflect this change on August 1st, but we wanted to give our users a head’s up.


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Signify has revealed further erosion of its UV-C disinfection business, confirming to LEDs Magazine that it has withdrawn its Philips-branded goods from the consumer sector.
It will continue to market UV-C products in the professional sector, and will also provide non-Philips–branded products on an OEM basis for other vendors to sell under different labels.
But Eindhoven, Holland–based Signify has hit the end of the road for its own brand of UV-C wares in the consumer market. It exited quietly in December, some two-and-half years after marshalling significant resources across Asia, Europe, and North America to build and launch a range of 12 UV-C product families to combat the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19.
“At the end of 2022, we discontinued sales to consumers of Philips-branded surface and air UV-C products,” a spokesperson told LEDs Magazine. “We are now focusing our UV-C efforts on disinfection in the B2B channel, where we see more structural demand for public health and hygiene solutions, and we continue to sell to our OEM customers.” (Signify, formerly Philips Lighting, still uses the Philips name across its entire product stable, be it general illumination, smart lighting, horticultural lightings, UV-C, or others).
When CEO Eric Rondolat ordered the UV-C ramp-up in June 2020, the COVID pandemic was in relatively early days and lockdowns were widespread. The UV-C products were intended to help eradicate the virus in homes, businesses, schools, retailers, theaters, and other public settings to help foster a return to normal. Signify built the units to emit 254-nm ultraviolet wavelengths — - a spectrum that resides in the shorter, or “C” range of UV, and which had earlier been proven to deactivate 99% of a sample of SARS-CoV-2 within 6 seconds.
Unfortunately for Signify and its well-intended public health and business decisions, the market has not materialized as well as it had anticipated.
Within a year or so after the UV-C launch, signs began emerging that sales were not going to plan. A big indication came in early August last year, when Rondolat told analysts on a second-quarter financial results call that Signify was declaring certain UV-C products as “obsolete” on the accounting books.
The affected products were those aimed at surface disinfection, which had fallen out of favor as scientific evidence increasingly indicated that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was spread primarily by airborne means.
Signify insisted at the time that, even though it had declared the surface products as obsolete — i.e., the company had written down their book value — it had not “discontinued” them. Rather, it was continuing to sell them — presumably to clear out stock.
As recently as November, Signify reiterated to LEDs that it had not discontinued any products, although it acknowledged that demand had declined for all of its types of UV-C products, including those for air as well as surface and object disinfection.
But that has now changed, with the withdrawal from the consumer market.
It is not clear how financially costly the underperforming UV-C market has been, or the extent to which it contributed to a recent fourth-quarter decline of 8.8% in corporate sales, a 49.5% plunge in net income, and reluctance by Rondolat to commit to a 2023 sales forecast.
Signify informed LEDs of the consumer withdrawal after we asked for a UV-C update following a web call with analysts last Friday to discuss the fourth-quarter results. The company did not discuss UV-C sales during the call. We will bring you more on this story as we get it.
MARK HALPER is a contributing editor for LEDs Magazine, and an energy, technology, and business journalist ([email protected]).
For up-to-the-minute LED and SSL updates, follow us on Twitter. You’ll find curated content and commentary, as well as information on industry events, webcasts, and surveys on our LinkedIn page and our Facebook page.


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When the original Crysis video game launched on November 13, 2007, it was epic. The visuals and graphics that the game generated brought even high-end gaming PCs of the day to their knees and spurred gamers around the world to upgrade. The game also spawned one of the best-known Internet memes of the day when it seemed everyone was asking, “But will it play Crysis?”
It’s interesting that we’re celebrating the fifth birthday of Crysis. I played through the game again not long ago, and the game still has visuals good enough to look like a much newer game. Since the original game launched in 2007 there have been two other games released in the franchise.
The fourth game, Crysis 3 is scheduled to launch in February of 2013. Earlier this year, Crytek started offering the original Crysis as a digital download on the PlayStation Network, and Xbox LIVE. EA and Crytek are also offering the original Crysis as a free bonus to those who pre-order Crysis 3.
Perhaps the most interesting thing I’ve heard about the Crysis franchise in years also surfaced this week. The head of Crytek studios announced this week that the entire franchise was just now nearing break even. I can only imagine that creating a video game that still looks new and impressive today, five years ago, must have cost a fortune.
Crytek celebrates fifth anniversary of original Crysis game is written by SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


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Abortion pill distributor sees no surge or shortages after Roe v. Wade overturned: ‘We are very confident in our position’
The provider behind the abortion pill Mifeprex says it’s ready for whatever comes after the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade last Friday, removing the constitutional right to abortion.
Last week, before the ruling, Danco Laboratories predicted it would have adequate supply to handle a rush of women seeking self-managed abortions. “We are prepared for any surge,” a company spokesperson told ABC News. “Our supply is stable and plentiful.”
Now Danco, which distributes the abortion-inducing drug mifepristone under the brand name Mifeprex, said it has yet to experience shortages and maintains it can handle any post-Roe demand, reports Bloomberg.
“We are very confident in our position to be able to meet whatever surge in demand may come up especially in those states that become safe haven[s] for women in banned states,” Abby Long, a spokesperson for Danco, told Bloomberg.
For more than 20 years, the Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of mifepristone to end a pregnancy that is less than 10 weeks along. According to the FDA, the drug works by blocking the hormone progesterone and is typically followed by another medication, misoprostol, which causes cramping and bleeding to empty the uterus.
More than half of U.S. abortions that took place in 2020 used abortion pills, according to a report from the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion-rights research organization.
The medication is currently not available over the counter, but Danco Laboratories told ABC it is working with federal regulators to allow pharmacies to carry the drug by the end of the year. Danco was the U.S.’s only provider of abortion pills until the FDA approved a generic version of mifepristone from GenBioPro in 2019.
Neither Danco Laboratories nor GenBioPro responded to requests for comment from Fortune.
However, providers of telemedicine abortion care are anticipating and preparing for more demand to come. These services connect patients with medical providers for online consultations and send out abortion pills by mail, where state laws allow.
Virtual clinic Hey Jane said that following the Supreme Court’s decision, its site traffic grew nearly 10 times, and patient demand more than doubled, compared to last month’s average.
“This spike in interest demonstrates to us that people are increasingly curious about telemedication abortion as it becomes an exceptionally viable option in the wake of Roe’s overturn,” its CEO, Kiki Freedman, told Fortune.
The demand has come from “an increase in patients reporting that they’re coming to Hey Jane because of longer-than-expected appointment wait times” over the past few months due to restricted abortion access in states like Texas. The clinic is now treating 25 times more daily patients than 15 months ago, Freedman said.
Another online provider of abortion pills, Just the Pill, said it received more than 260 requests following the ruling last Friday to Monday. Before, it typically received 20 to 25 requests a day.
At the same time, pharmacies have seen a significant surge in demand for emergency contraceptives such as Plan B, causing Walmart, RiteAid, and CVS to cap the number a customer can purchase.
“Due to increased demand, at this time we are limiting purchases of Plan B contraceptive pills to three per customer,” RiteAid told Fortune.
A spokesperson from Walmart said, “Many of our products have online purchase limits in place. During times of fluctuating demand, these limits may change.”
“Immediately following the Supreme Court decision, we saw a sharp increase in the sale of emergency contraceptives and implemented a temporary purchase limit to ensure equitable access,” CVS said. The pharmacy chain said Tuesday that sales for these products had returned to normal.
“We’re in the process of removing the purchase limits, which will take effect in-store and on CVS.com over the next 24 hours. We continue to have ample supply of emergency contraceptives to meet customer needs,” a company spokesperson told Fortune. As of Wednesday morning, the original purchase limit of three was no longer in place for both Plan B and Aftera on its website.
June 29, 2022: This story was updated to include comment from CVS.
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“The event is not a marketing lesson, it is a cinema moment that you should enjoy!” says Jean-Marie Boursicot, the creator of the Night of the Ad Eaters. In the past 33 years, the event has been celebrating advertising spots that rise to the artistry of the cinema in over 40 countries worldwide. During seven hours of program, 300.000 enthusiasts from all over the world watch awarded and top advertisements.
In 1981, film fan Jean-Marie Boursicot imagined and created the concept that won fans from over 60 nationalities worldwide, from Vladivostok and New York, to Prague, Singapore, Mauritius Islands, Hong Kong or Sydney. Boursicot reached the Guinness Book of Records for its collection of 700,000 films which grows constantly with about clips 10,000-20,000 per year.
Romania is on the list for a long time now and this year the Night of the Ad Eaters (Noaptea Devoratorilor de Publicitate) will take place on November 7 in Bucharest, at Sala Polivalenta. The show will be opened by DJ Cosmin Cojocaru, Radio ZU producer, What’s Up and Jagermeister Brass Band.


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Dale Power Solutions the leading national power supply, service and manufacturing specialist, celebrates a most successful first year after the management buy-out of August 2012.
Online PR News – 07-August-2013 – Scarborough, North Yorkshire – Dale Power Solutions the leading national power supply, service and manufacturing specialist, celebrates a most successful first year after the management buy-out of August 2012.
Since the management buyout which was backed by a leading private equity investor LDC Dale Power Solutions has gone from strength to strength, it has continued to expand even a very difficult economic climate, by offering new services and products to our UK and overseas customer base. Dale power Solutions is a leading provider of servicing both generators and UPS system and, currently services over 8,000 maintenance contracts. Dale has developed its national service capability on the back of its historical manufacturing legacy of over 70 years designing and manufacturing specialist secure power solutions including diesel generators, gas turbines, uninterruptible power supplies and battery based chargers, under the renowned Dale and Erskine brands.
Since the management buyout
Dale Power Solutions has achieved a planned 25% increase in profit for the first half of 2013 compared to last year; keeping is well on course with a full order book to achieve sales of over £32 million.
This achievement continues a historical trend as Dale Power Solutions has expanded from sales of £4million in 2004, employing 40 people to sales of £31million in 2012, employing 230 people. It now has offices throughout the UK and Dubai and is looking for further geographical expansion.
The company has achieved its targets investing for growth by increasing our range of secure power products, by introducing new generator and UPS systems as well as offering brand new services to our customers. It is also in the process of implementing a new state of the art IT system and completely revamping our organisation, including a major change to the sales structure to better service its growing number of customers. In addition to this it is also invested in marketing, expanding the team and increasing expenditure in brand development and customer communication.
Much of the current expansion can be attributed to Dale’s historical investment in the training and development of its employees. For many years the company has actively invested and grown its apprenticeship scheme which was recognised nationally, as we were awarded with a Top 100 UK Apprenticeship Employer award.
Dale Power Solutions won a the second accolade from the Sunday Times Fast Track 200 for our International Sales figures for the last two years – finishing 60th overall and 7th in the Yorkshire and North East region in the UK respectively.
Dale Power Solutions maintains commitment to its corporate and social responsibility. Actively promoting and motivating young people into engineering, which we see as key for the future of the business. The company is signed up to the STEM program with NYBEP, which involves engaging with local schools to get young children passionate about STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths) and to help change their perceptions of engineering.
CEO Tim Wilkins says” The first year of independent ownership has been an exciting challenge but hard work and I congratulate all employees for their endeavours to increase the company’s success. We have proven that having the freedom to make the right business choices for the company and with the backing of LDC that we have a fantastic future and we are looking forward to significant expansion in the next few years”