text:
Apple release iOS 6.0.1 via OTA update
To coincide with the launch of the iPhone 5 Apple released its latest version of its mobile operating system to the masses in the form of iOS 6, but trouble is there have been a number of early teething problems with the software. We can now tell you that Apple has released iOS 6.0.1 via an OTA update to fix some of the bugs.
As GottaBe Mobile are reporting the company has pushed out the iOS 6.0.1 update for owners of the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad that brings with it a number of bug fixes for the software. Users of iOS devices have been looking forward to the update since it was first revealed to be coming just over a week ago.
The update will address the issues that some users have been experiencing when trying to connect their device to the Wi-Fi networks they use at home, and it will also fix the keyboard bug that has seen some users met with horizontal lines displayed across the keyboard.
Apple has also revealed that the new software will fix the cellular receptions issues that have been affecting some iPhone owners, which only started after downloading iOS 6, and the company has promised that they have fixed the issue where the flash on the camera not going off.
Owners of the iPhone 5 will be given a prompt ahead of installing the new software that is almost 69.7MB in size, and owners of the smartphone will need to download and install an update, which will fix a bug that stops some iPhone 5 users from getting the update over the air.
Once this downloader has been installed iOS 6.0.1 will be automatically readied and installed normally, and users of the iPad 2 or later, iPhone 3GS and up, and the iPod Touch 4G or later are promised a much better experience.
If you have one of these devices you can go to settings and check for the update via the Software Update option and the file size of the update is small so should complete pretty quickly, but you can still update your device via the usual iTunes route if you refer. You can see the full list of bug fixes here.
Have you installed the iOS 6.0.1 yet?


text:
False Marketing Calls From Semco Energy Circulating
Yesterday we received a phone call to the station office that asked whether we had received a fax from Semco Energy. I placed the caller on hold and checked our fax machine, there was nothing from the company. Upon informing the caller about this, they said thanks and hung up.
This didn't seem all that curious until today when I was reading through local news and came upon an article from the Battle Creek Enquirer reporting that Semco has warned it's customers of some false phone calls that are circulating in SW Michigan. Whether our phone call yesterday was linked or not, this is something to note!
Customers are reporting getting phone calls from a nondescript "Semco Representative" pushing a special program that they have running, with new rates. The caller often asks for account information and if the customer goes through with the call and deal, they would possibly be lead to verify their payment information and other personal details.
The company has encouraged customers to be mindful of the personal date they share. If you are worried about a calling Representative, you can contact Semco at 800-624-2019 or e-mail email@example.com to verify and discuss the issue.

domain: news


text:
BlizzCon 2007! So many fond memories! We had the Wrath of the Lich King announcement, developers answering all of our questions, the latest on the World of Warcraft movie, and (of course) L70ETC! While there doesn't seem to be anything yet on Blizzard's website announcing a BlizzCon 2008, Buisiness Wire has a press release announcing BlizzCon 2008 taking place on October 10th and 11th in good old Anaheim California. We've contacted Blizzard to confirm, but in the meantime we're clearing out calendar and making travel arrangements. We hope to see all of you at BlizzCon!
EDIT: Official announcement released.


text:
A few of the corporations Skift featured in its first journey startup funding roundup went on to thrive, whereas others… not a lot.
Skift has revealed tons of of tales on funding for journey startups since our launch in 2012, that includes Airbnb and excursions and actions supplier GetYourGuide amongst different corporations in a few of these early articles. We took our protection even additional three years later with a weekly roundup of startups that had obtained or introduced funding from buyers.
Since it has been near eight years after that first startup funding roundup, it is time to ask, what occurred to the six corporations Skift featured on Feb. 19, 2015? So we’re having a look on the trajectory of these startups after that article. We have listed the six corporations we featured within the order of how a lot cash they raised the week of that funding roundup.
Stayzilla, a Chennai, India-based startup for reserving homestays and price range accommodations that was based in 2007, introduced that week it had raised $20 million in a Collection B spherical. It additionally raised one other $14 million after its launch. However regardless of its success in elevating funds, the corporate ceased operations in February 2017, with CEO and co-founder Yogendra Vasupal asserting that the corporate had suspended bookings on its web site and cellular app, revealing the corporate was unable to develop and break even. Stayzilla reported losses of $14 million in opposition to income of $2 million for the fiscal 12 months ending in March 2016.
Vasupal’s vows to reboot Stayzilla beneath a distinct enterprise mannequin by no means bought off the gang as he despatched to jail in 2017 after defaulting on funds over $260,000.
PriceMatch, a Paris-based lodge income administration startup, raised $9.1 million in a Collection A spherical from Partech Ventures and Northzone. PriceMatch was acquired by the Priceline Group in 2015, which finally folded PriceMatch into its BookingSuite set of software program companies for hoteliers. PriceMatch was renamed RateManager, which the Priceline Group made out there to accommodations worldwide. RateManager was shut down in spring of 2018.
BookingPal CEO and founder Alex Aydin stated the holiday rental distributor used nearly all of the $5 million it raised in a Collection B spherical to put money into expertise. He acknowledged the corporate, which launched in 2014, used just one property administration system on the outset, which it used to attach a single property supervisor with one on-line journey company.
Aydin stated BookingPal now makes use of greater than 80 completely different PMS suppliers, which he added he has helped the corporate distribute over 180.00 trip leases to 55 on-line journey companies. BookingPal additionally raised $12 million in 2019, funding that Aydin stated enabled it to develop past its preliminary markets of California, Florida and Hawaii to 48 states in addition to 33 worldwide markets, citing Mexico, France, and Italy amongst its greatest. He added the corporate has provided properties to corporations equivalent to Airbnb, Marriott’s Houses and Villas and VRBO.
Nevertheless, Aydin admitted BookingPal’s hasn’t had sufficient sources to launch a property proprietor platform when requested what’s been the corporate’s greatest setback since its launch.
Triptease, a London-based startup that goals to assist accommodations improve their share of direct bookings, raised $2 million in a seed spherical. The corporate additionally raised $9 million in Collection B funding in 2017, a few of which used it to double worker numbers at its London and New York places of work. Triptease, which works with greater than 12,000 accommodations, has gone on to open places of work in Singapore and Barcelona.
iTraveller, an India-based startup that enabled vacationers to pick vacation packages or customise certainly one of their very own, had raised $1 million in a Collection A spherical from ah! Ventures, LetsVenture and Mantra Ventures. It was acquired by the Lastminute.com Group in 2019 as half because the Switzerland-based firm’s plans to make inroads within the Indian market.
Nevertheless, iTraveller has gone out of enterprise, with its final reserving coming in February 2020.
“So whereas iTraveller as a model as was, is now not working, we did handle to redeploy members of its tech staff into our group, they usually proceed to spice up our customer support expertise in India,” a spokesperson from the lastminute.com group stated.
Flytographer, a journey images service that connects vacationers to photographers, raised $650,000 from 9 angel buyers. The corporate, which launched in 2013 in Victoria, British Columbia, used the funds from that 2015 angel spherical to rent its first staff, together with a developer to construct its preliminary reserving platform.
Founder and CEO Nicole Smith stated Flytographer now operates in 350 cities and has expanded past trip images to supply photographs of shock marriage ceremony proposals and hometowns. Smith acknowledged that Flytographer laid off 80 excellent of workers working in its headquarters early within the pandemic although.


text:
Windows 10 is on the fast track for its final release just weeks before its official release on July 29th.
After months to years of teasing and demos, Windows 10 has finally gone gold and is ready to release to manufacturing (RTM). The Verge reports Microsoft has released a new build designated as RTM 10240, which will be making its way into new laptops and PCs from Original Equipment Manufacturers.
Don't get too jealous though, because only a very limited number of these machines preloaded with Windows 10 will actually hit the streets on July 29.
Tiny test group
For now, build 10240 is only available to Windows 10 testers, which includes a small group in Microsoft Insiders program.
The RTM release also spells the end of Windows 10 preview builds. Gabe Aul, engineering general manager for Microsoft's OS group confirmed that Microsoft will focus on working with Insiders to use, stress, and validate the new operating system's distribution and upgrade processes.
As the final version of Windows 10 will release to retail in a digital form later this month, its likely that build 10240 will become outdated come July 29. In the event that were to happen, there very well could be a Day One update for these new machines.
- Microsoft Office is read for Windows 10


text:
By David R. Henderson
One of the biggest policy victories for the United States—and, indeed, for the world—over the last 60 years has been on international trade. Both the United States, which was relatively protectionist in the first half of the twentieth century, and most other countries have steadily reduced trade restrictions. And the blossoming of freer trade has made both Americans and foreigners better off. Just as free trade between Californians and Alabamans makes people in those two states better off, so too does free trade between Americans and Chinese people, Mexicans, and Canadians make all sides better off. People gain from trade, or else they wouldn’t trade.
But many people don’t understand the case for free or, at least, freer trade. Unfortunately, among them is the putative Republican candidate for President, Donald Trump. (See this part of his website for his views on trade.) I hasten to add that he is not alone. Virtually every fallacy he believes about trade is one that many people, including many other politicians, believe. Trump believes, for example, that if other governments subsidize their exports to the United States, we Americans are worse off. He believes that if people in poorer countries work for lower wages and have fewer environmental protections, it is bad for Americans. He believes that outsourcing call-center services to places like India is bad for Americans. He seems to believe that if we open our borders to other countries’ exports, it hurts us unless they open their borders to our exports. All of these claims are false.
Consider, first, Trump’s objection to China’s subsidies to its exporters. Assuming that he’s right that these subsidies exist, there are reasonable grounds for objecting to them, but they are not the ones that Trump gives. It’s the hapless Chinese taxpayers who pay the subsidies: people in China’s highest individual income tax bracket, for example, pay a hefty 45-percent marginal tax rate. So they are the big losers from these subsidies. It’s true that, to the extent that subsidies reduce American firms’ market share in the United States, these competing U.S. firms lose. But it’s a fairly straightforward exercise, using demand and supply curves, to show that the gains to American consumers from these subsidies exceed the losses to American firms. As the late Milton Friedman pointed out, foreign governments’ subsidies to their exports to the United States are a form of foreign aid—given to Americans. We should object to this foreign aid to the extent we care about Chinese taxpayers, but we should not kid ourselves that it makes us Americans, on average, worse off.
Trump is with the environmentalist left in believing that it hurts Americans to allow imports from countries that have less-strict environmental laws and fewer safety regulations in the workplace. The list of such countries, by the way, includes virtually all poor countries. There’s a reason for that. Environmental quality and safety of all kinds are what economists call “normal goods.” These are goods that, as our income increases, we buy more of and are willing to pay more for. So workers in poorer countries would rather have more income than the meager amount they start with and less environmental quality and workplace safety. And the market responds. We in America buy imports produced by workers who are willing to work in those conditions. And our comparative advantage is in other areas. Each side produces the goods in which it has a comparative advantage, and both sides are better off. Again, this does not mean that trade does not hurt any competing workers; it means, rather, that the losses to the hundreds of thousands of them are less than the gains, all in dollar terms, to the hundreds of millions of U.S. consumers who pay lower prices.
Read the rest here.


text:
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) investors have enjoyed stellar returns so far in 2019. Year-to-date the stock has exploded by 82%. But now is the time for caution, advises five-star Mizuho Securities analyst Vijay Rakesh.
This top-performing analyst has been a long-time AMD bull- upgrading the chip stock from Hold to Buy back in December 2016. However, Rakesh is now moving to the sidelines due to the stock’s increasingly pricey valuation. That’s despite a price target boost from $33 to $37, which from current levels indicates upside potential of just over 10%.
In a July 18 report, the analyst tells investors “While we continue to like AMD with a solid Ryzen/Rome portfolio and new product ramps, we are downgrading to Neutral after a stellar 80%+ run-up YTD.” In comparison, the semiconductor tracking index SOX is up just 30%. Indeed, the last time AMD was at these levels was in January 2006 with the Opteron cycle, and before that, back in 2000.
As a result, the analyst sees limited near-term upside potential for AMD. Rakesh explains: “With the stock past our PT and at 10-yr high, we see 2H upside more limited with 1) 1H19 PC pull-in, 2) slower 2H Rome ramps, and 3) overall 2H server/spending inline combined with INTC pricing pressure.”
Most notably, AMD’s larger rival Intel (INTC) is getting more aggressive with DC/Server pricing with discounts and upgrades to 4S servers. According to Rakesh, INTC could be approving higher 15%+ "meetcomp discounts" as it competes with AMD versus historical ~5% discounts. Plus it is also shifting to 4S/8S socket servers as AMD does not have a 4S server offering.
“We also believe [Intel’s] 8GPU servers are up 15-20% with increasing demand and 16GPU servers ramping into mass production at a higher price point” adds the analyst. And even though AMD started 7nm production Rome shipments in 2Q/June, the analyst expects product volume ramps only later in 4Q19/1Q20.
With this in mind, Rakesh concludes “We are moving to the sideline near-term, lowering our 2H estimates, and adjusting PT to $37 (prior $33) given good execution and improving SOX multiples.”
However, AMD supporters can take heart from the fact that the bull thesis remains intact. Indeed, Rakesh is clear that he would re-examine his current call should prices pullback: “We would revisit at a more attractive entry point as the we believe long-term 7nm Server/DT roadmap still intact” he says. So watch this space.
Word on the Street
Overall we can see that the Street has a relatively optimistic Moderate Buy analyst consensus on AMD. In the last three months, 13 analysts have published buy ratings on the stock vs 8 hold ratings. However the average analyst price target of $33.53 paints a more troubling picture, suggesting 0.2% downside potential for the stock from current levels.
The stock’s biggest bull right now is Rosenblatt’s Hans Mosesmann with a $42 price target (25% upside potential). The analyst writes: “We expect AMD’s roadmap to continue to improve in the coming years while Intel’s desktop CPUs likely stagnate at 14nm++ until 7nm is available in 2022.”


text:
Apple's latest iPhones appear to be luring many European consumers away from Android.
Over the 2015's first quarter from January through March, Apple's share of the smartphone market grew in Europe's five biggest countries, specifically Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, according to a report released Wednesday by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. Specifically, Apple's slice of the market hit 20.3 percent, 1.8 points higher than the same period in 2014.
At the same time, Android's smartphone share among the big five European nations fell to 68.4 percent in the first quarter, a drop of 3.1 points.
Google's mobile OS is still firmly in the lead across Europe. But the new figures from Kantar show that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have played a role in convincing more users to jump ship from Android to iOS. Prior to launching its latest iPhones last October, Apple had been losing more market share to Android as consumers craved big-screen smartphones. Apple's strategy of bumping up the displays of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have paid off as screen size is no longer such a deciding factor over whether to opt for iOS or Android.
"In the first quarter of 2015, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus continued to attract consumers across Europe, including users who previously owned an Android smartphone," Carolina Milanesi, chief of research at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, said in a press release. "On average, across Europe's big five countries during the first quarter, 32.4 percent of Apple's new customers switched to iOS from Android."
Last week, in discussing Apple's financial results for the first quarter of 2015 (the company's we're seeing a higher rate of switchers than we've experienced in previous iPhone cycles," according to a transcript from Seeking Alpha.), CEO Tim Cook said that "
Still, Android remains the dominant mobile platform in Europe due to favorable and flexible pricing for both contract and prepaid customers.
"Thirty-five percent of consumers who bought an Android smartphone in 1Q15 said their decision was driven by receiving a good price on the phone," Dominic Sunnebo, business unit director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Europe, said. "Another 29 percent said that getting a good deal on the tariff/contract was a factor in their purchase." The European Union applies a tariff or tax on goods imported into Europe.
During the first quarter, Apple fared well in China, where its smartphone share grew by 9.1 points to reach 26.1 percent, up from 17.9 percent over the same period a year ago. Courtesy of the strong iPhone 6 sales,during this year's first quarter. That's a significant factor as in 2011 and now is home to almost .
In the U.S., Android's market share inched up by 0.2 percentage points, while Apple's inched down by the same number.
"LG had a particularly good first quarter with its share growing to 10.8 percent from 7.4 percent a year ago, while Samsung was holding on to second place as it prepared for the launch of its new Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge in April," Milanesi said.
What about Windows Phone?
Still firmly in third place behind Android and iOS, Windows Phone eked out gains in some countries but lost some share in others. In the US and the big five European countries, Microsoft's mobile OS has shown little growth over the past year, according to Kantar. The one exception is France, where Windows Phone's cut of the smartphone market jumped to 14.1 percent in this year's first quarter from 8.3 percent in the same quarter a year ago.
Microsoft is currently revamping its entire OS strategy with the upcoming release of Windows 10, due out before the end of summer. Windows 10 will offer a more unified environment across desktop PCs, laptops, tablets and mobile phones. The software giant is also trying to convince more developers to create apps for Windows 10 by making it.
"Microsoft is betting that new Windows 10 functions and the ability for developers to easily port Android apps to Windows will make the Windows ecosystem more appealing," Milanese said.


text:
Reports that Samsung will launch three Galaxy S10 variants next year are becoming quite common on the rumor mill these days. The Korean tech giant is expected to celebrate the iconic flagship lineup's tenth anniversary next year and commemorate the occasion by launching a feature heavy Galaxy S10 which is dubbed internally as 'Beyond 2'.
Samsung will also launch an entry-level Galaxy S smartphone next year. This device will serve to expand the lineup's market penetration and boost Samsung's overall gadget sales. This device with an alleged 5.8" screen size will feature a dual rear camera setup a fingerprint sensor that's on the side per the latest. Now, we've got more details for the premium Galaxy S10+. Take a look below to find out more.
The Samsung Galaxy S10+ Will Feature A 16MP Wide Angle Rear Camera Setup In Addition To A Standard Dual Camera Setup
Today's report is straight from Europe, where the publication AllaboutSamsung claims to have laid its hands on some internal details for next year's Galaxy S10 lineup. It's widely expected that Samsung's Beyond 2 (or the Galaxy S10+), will feature a tripe camera setup at its launch next year. The device will showcase Samsung's innovational muscle, ensuring that the company stays at the forefront of high-end Android smartphones.
Now, AllaboutSamsung lays down a handful of possibilities for the Galaxy S10 lineup. According to the publication, Samsung just might choose to compete with LG and introduce a Wide Angle camera sensor on the lineup. Samsung's eager to take the edge with camera specifications as its variable aperture cameras on the Galaxy S9 lineup demonstrate.
This suggests that Beyond 0 and Beyond 1 will feature a dual camera setup, with a main variable aperture camera lens (12MP, f/1.5 + f/2.4) and a secondary Wide Angle Camera lens of 16MP resolution and f/1.9 aperture width. The Galaxy S10+, codenamed Beyond 2 on the other hand, will feature a triple camera setup. This setup will include both the main and wide-angle camera lens highlighted above. The third lens will be a zoom camera with 13MP resolution and f/2.4 aperture width.
Additionally, if our translation is correct, then the publication believes that the S10+'s triple camera setup will be horizontal. The zoom lens will be in the center of this setup, with the other two flanking it. It's an interesting upgrade that's for sure, one that will ensure Samsung's position at the near top of the flagship camera food chain, depending of course on Google's take with the 2018 Pixel 3 lineup. Thoughts? Let us know what you think in the comments section below and stay tuned. We'll keep you updated on the latest.
News Source: Allaboutsamsung


text:
As India moved up the rankings to be the eighth largest source market for inbound arrivals into Australia, spends by Indian travellers’ in Australia has reached an all-time high
Indian travellers to Australia have demonstrated that spending on quality travel experiences is no constraint. As India moved up the rankings to be the eighth largest source market for inbound arrivals into Australia, spends by Indian travellers’ in Australia has reached an all-time high. For the year ending June 2015, visitor expenditure out of India crossed AUD one billion mark registering a record growth of 39 per cent. India has also improved its ranking to become the 10th largest market for spend into Australia. For the quarter ending June 2015, India recorded visitor expenditure growth of 40 per cent.
Nishant Kashikar, country manager, India and Gulf, Tourism Australia said, “The last fiscal (July-June) has been the best year for us with the highest ever growth in arrivals and spends. We see a shift in visitor profile from India, with a growing share of holiday visitation out of the overall leisure segment. Rising destination awareness and an increased aspiration to visit Australia have facilitated a surge in arrivals and spend by Indian travellers. Our core objective for the current year is to strengthen our ties with key distribution and airline partners to sustain the growth of tourist arrivals and spend from India.”
Tourism Australia recently launched a tactical driven media campaign in association with its key distribution and airline partners in the primary markets of Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore through the successful and established platform of ‘There’s Nothing like Australia’. The campaign aims at enticing travel to Australia through attractive offers by travel partners including Kesari Tours, Vacations Exotica, MakeMyTrip.com, Yatra.com and TUI. Tourism Australia has also collaborated with India’s national carrier, Air India, giving flyers a chance to travel to Australia at exciting fares.


text:
Pre-holiday retail and hospitality hiring helped Kern's economy keep pace with an expanded workforce last month, leaving the county's jobless rate unchanged at 10.3 percent on a seasonally unadjusted basis, the state reported Friday.
The report by California's Employment Development Department signaled significant improvement from November 2012's 11.8 percent.
California's unemployment rate, also unadjusted for seasonal swings, held at 8.3 percent, while the national figure declined from 7 percent in October to 6.6 percent, the department stated.
Across Kern County, public and private sector employers created 2,500 jobs in November -- 900 of them in the clothing and general merchandise stores, and 200 in food services and drinking establishments. Farm employment shrank by 300, or half of 1 percent.
Professional and business services added 300 jobs in the county, while local government brought on an additional 400 education employees, the EDD reported. Construction firms shed a net 100 jobs.
Kern's civilian labor force expanded in November by 4,000 people, or about 1 percent. The number of people with jobs grew by 1 percent, while those without increased by 1.5 percent.


text:
The Meal Planner gets €700k in fresh funding.
The Meal Planner, a Pori, Finland-based SAAS startup providing solutions for healthy nutrition, announced raising an investment round of €700k ($823k).
The money comes from Tekes as well as from a range of undisclosed private investors.
The Meal Planner, founded in 2016 by CEO Sophie Michelin, has developed a mobile application, FoodToDo, connecting all the new tech solutions such as health trackers and smart watches with a diet or meal plan, and providing a diet solution according to stress/energy level, glucose/fat level and other parameters.
Prior to this transaction, the company raised €300K in seed money in 2016.


text:
The gaming industry has been growing with tremendous speed as of late — and everyone wants a piece of the profits. That even goes for Netflix, a company that, until now, has for the most part stayed in its streaming lane. Netflix is in search of an executive to oversee its expansion into the world of gaming, The Information reports. The tantalizing gossip has since been corroborated by those familiar with the matter to Reuters as well.
Not much is known about Netflix’s gaming plans beyond the fact that, well, they exist. Both reports say the company has directly approached “veteran game industry executives” about joining Netflix’s ranks.
While Netflix’s plans are still “very much in flux,” one source did also tell Axios that the company’s gaming service could be similar to Apple Arcade, albeit with a smaller footprint. That description is also abstract but makes it sound like Netflix’s early plans are for ad-free mobile games available for a monthly subscription fee.
It wouldn’t exactly be true to say Netflix has never tried its hand at gaming; last year the company released a choose-your-own-adventure game / interactive episode as part of the Black Mirror franchise. A more dedicated foray into gaming would be a massive expansion for Netflix — but whether or not it would be fruitful for the company remains to be seen.
Next year, maybe? — If Netflix does end up releasing full games, it won’t be for quite a while. The company is just now hiring someone to oversee its gaming operations, after all, and then there’s tons of planning involved — not to mention the actual development of each game.
Axios reports that the service will “possibly be launching in 2022,” but even that timeline seems like a stretch. And, of course, we’d be remiss not to entertain the possibility that these gaming plans never pan out at all. It’s not exactly an easy industry to break into, as Google has found out with Stadia.
Netflix, for its part, left the door open in an abstract statement to The Information:
Our members value the variety and quality of our content. It’s why we’ve continually expanded our offering — from series to documentaries, film, local language originals and reality TV. Members also enjoy engaging more directly with stories they love — through interactive shows like Bandersnatch and You v. Wild, or games based on Stranger Things, La Casa de Papel and To All the Boys. So we’re excited to do more with interactive entertainment.
This could actually work — The idea of Netflix creating its own Apple Arcade might sound strange at first glance, and, to be fair, it would probably take us a while to get used to the reality of such a product. But Netflix owns the rights to so much intellectual property. There are billions of Netflix original series (that’s an exaggeration, but not by much), and many of those series have passionate fan bases attached to them. Netflix is already home to shows based on video games, like The Witcher and Resident Evil — so yeah, it could actually work, if the company is smart about it.
It seems Netflix’s days of being all about TV and movies are coming to a close. The company is reportedly dipping its toes in the world of podcasting and is even trying its hand at luxury fashion collabs.


text:
Fond of uploading selfies and photos on social media? Then you might fancy the upcoming new smartphone from Chinese mobile giant Xiaomi.
New Delhi, May 14: Fond of uploading selfies and photos on social media? Then you might fancy the upcoming new smartphone from Chinese mobile giant Xiaomi.
The company, has not yet revealed the brand of the new phone, which will sport a powerful 48-megapixel camera. A post on the official Twitter account of Redmi India on Tuesday hinted that the new smartphone may debut under its brand.
"An all-new Redmi with a new 48MP Super camera is coming," Redmi India wrote in the tweet.
The Redmi Note 7 Pro, which was launched in late February, also features a 48-megapixel primary camera. However, the tweet also contained an image which confirmed that the Note 7 Pro, which is currently priced at Rs 16,599, will no longer to be the only 48-megapixel camera phone in the Redmi stable.
Interestingly, the teaser of the new smartphone comes even as Xiaomi celebrates the success of its the Redmi Note 7 and Redmi Note 7 Pro variants which have surpassed the sales mark of two million.
Xiaomi also reportedly plans to introduce a Snapdragon 730 or Snapdragon 730G powered phone in India, which could be the phone that the Chinese company is currently teasing.
Xiaomi has recently teased a new series powered by the Snapdragon 700 that could have either the Snapdragon 730 or Snapdragon 730G SoC.
There is a possibility that the new Xiaomi smartphone with a 48-megapixel camera might be the Mi A3 model. If so, this new phone may emerge as a successor to the Mi A2 costing Rs 11,999, which was launched last year. The new phone is also rumoured to sport a Snapdragon 700-series processor.
Photo: Google Image


text:
Back in the late 1980s, a small meat processing firm out West rolled out a “new” product that generated instant controversy: It was called Spotted Owl Sausage.
For those who remember, environmental groups had gone to court back then and filed lawsuits demanding that the thousands of acres of old-growth forests preferred by the owl be ordered off limits to logging, lest the bird’s surviving habitat be put in peril. That made the rarely seen raptor a symbol of the conflict between the proponents of development and the advocates for wilderness preservation.
USDA, when forced to rule on the legitimacy of the product’s labeling, invoked a classic bureaucratic escape clause by determining that the product couldn’t be marketed since it did not contain the proper percentage of actual spotted owl meat.
Of course, it had all been done as a spoof and a protest against eco-activists, and as an Endangered Species, it would have been illegal to actually source any spotted owl meat in order to comply with labeling regulations.
Now, a related development is taking place up in Canada, as a pair of intrepid restaurateurs in Quebec, Kim Côté and Perle Morency, have added a seal-meat burger to the menu of their popular bistro Côté Est, according to the National Post.
That alone is controversy enough, but they “decided to have some fun with the name,” as the Post phrased it, naming their new creation “The Phoque Bardot Burger.”
If French isn’t your native tongue, it probably loses a little something in translation, but the name combines the French word for seal with the name of the famous French movie star and bikini model-turned-animal-activist Brigitte Bardot, well-known for her campaigning against Canadian seal hunting.
The Bardot Burger has become one of the restaurant’s top sellers, according to the story—only in this case, it actually does contain seal meat from the Magdalene Islands, which fits with the restaurant’s mission of showcasing the foods of eastern Quebec.
For that reason—and because customers love it—the two Quebecois restaurateurs are determined to keep the Bardot Burger on the menu. But Ms. Morency said they are considering dropping the Bardot name from the dish.
In calling it the Phoque Bardot Burger, “There was some provocation, but our intention was purely humorous,” she told the Post. “There was no malice.”
That was not the case with animal rights groups, and Morency said that she and her partner have received warnings and disturbing threats. She said they got phone messages calling them “crazy, inhumane,” even “assassins.”


text:
The topic of automotive security is hot today in light of Chrysler’s recall of more than 1 million vehicles after security researchers were able to hack a Jeep remotely. That incident has inspired many, including Intel, to look at automotive security more closely.
Intel Security today is announcing an Automotive Security Review Board (ASRB) that will focus on advancing vehicle security. As part of the ASRB effort, Intel Security is also releasing a white paper today that details its view on best practices for automotive technology security.
Although Intel is backing the ASRB, “the efforts to document and improve automotive security best practices will be technology-neutral in terms of encompassing the complete car as a system, which includes many non-Intel components,” Lorie Wigle, vice president and general manager of IOT Security Solutions at Intel Security told eWEEK. “The platforms that the ASRB receives will be Intel-based.”
With the ASRB, the actual board will be made up of individuals from multiple vendors. Wigle explained that the ASRB will draw on top talent from the security industry to research and collaborate on continuous improvement of automotive security technologies and products. She added that Intel is working with IOActive, iamthecavalry.org and opengarges.org to identify members.
“We are in discussions with individuals like Marc Rogers [Tesla hacker] and Karl Koscher [who hacked Corvettes], who have hacked a few vehicles, among others,” Wigle said. “There will be a car awarded to the researcher who makes the strongest contribution.”
Security professionals who are interested in joining the board can visit www.intel.com/automotive/asrb to find out more information.
The initial Intel Security white paper on automotive security is a 17-page document that includes multiple suggestions, including an approach to looking at the challenge overall.
“Automotive security must be approached from a system-level perspective, and not from a single attack surface or platform ingredient alone, and requires ecosystem collaboration and contribution,” Wigle said.
Security begins with the design of the car where hardware, software and network security technologies can be deployed, Wigle said. Institutional processes, such as security development lifecycle and secure supply chain management, are also critical. Security isn’t just about things done on the assembly line; the car must be protected while it’s in operation as new threats emerge over its lifetime, she said.
Intel has various products and technologies across processors, and its Wind River and Intel Security businesses that contribute to automotive security, Wigle said. “Our collective sales engagements will entail working with our customers to ensure those technologies are implemented correctly to provide the intended protection.”
Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at eWEEK and InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.


text:
is not ready to make an announcement yet.Naza intends to replace Kia with SuzukiThe Kia brand is now
Models produced by the Thaco-Kia manufacturing JV in VietnamThe newly formed Kia manufacturing joint
The next-generation 2022 Kia Sportage (NQ5) has been teased for the first time before its scheduled debut
Capping off the gangster look of this modified Fortuner are a set of chunky wheels - which look bigger
for Active Traction Control, A-TRC is a form of electronic limited slip differential but tuned for off-road
The Kia Seltos made its global debut back in June 2019 as Kia’s entry into the ever-growing B-segment
After the discovery that Naza Kia Malaysia has discontinued sales of the Kia Picanto, our radar also
It is hard to beat the performance potential of electric cars, which is why Kia Australia’s boss
grabbing 213 PS/500 Nm.What is less said during its local launch of the new Hilux however, was the many off-road
Korean carmakers new logo and slogan.The patent filings as seen on KIPRIS site.According to sources, Kia
Kia Grand CarnivalWith this, Kia will become the fifth brand to be represented by Bermaz and its affiliated
Following our earlier report that there are no more 2020 manufacturing year Kia Sorento and Kia Sportage
Ahead of its full reveal tomorrow, Kia has taken the covers off the updated 2021 Kia K3 (Cerato/Forte
(2019 Kia Picanto Price and Specs | Gallery)The Kia Picanto has been a value-for-money preposition since
Kia has just revealed the interior of the 2021 Kia Carnival.
When we say “modified”, thoughts like changing the front bumper or adding a rear spoiler
Images of the upcoming Kia EV6 have been revealed ahead of its world premiere.
The planned release of the fastest ever 2021 Kia Optima GT was originally set for the USA only, but the
Investigation and Enforcement Department (JSPT) has issued a total of 10,166 summons on vehicles with modified
Since Naza Kia Malaysia updated the 2020 Kia Grand Carnival to an 11-seater MPV, the car’s interior
Kia PicantoFollowing that, the new distributor is calling for current Kia owners to hop on to their site
Since its introduction back in 2017, the Kia Grand Carnival has been the head-turning MPV that many coveted
currently looking for speeding against traffic in Klang, Selangor yesterday, is not a Hyundai but a white Kia
GT-Line variant picturedNaza Kia Malaysia has officially launched the 2021 Kia Seltos in Malaysia, nearly
The 2020 Kia Grand Carnival 11-seater has just been introduced with a sole variant priced at RM 179,888
2021 Kia Stinger facelift officially makes its global debut after the unveiling earlier last month!
Born with Subarus symmetrical all-wheel-drive system, the XV is the only compact crossover with the off-road
Fans of the popular reality series Ice Road Truckers, you won’t want to miss The Ice Road!
and its a trend that this next-gen 2022 Kia Sportage (codenamed NQ5) aims to follow.SourceThe camouflage
effective from 15th June 2020 until 31st December 2020, and covers the wide range of models offered by Kia
Who loves this extreme modified #Kia Sportage? Looks like it would be a blast to take off road! #ModMonday
No, Kia Sportage doesn't have Speaker Brand.
No, Kia Sportage doesn't have Rear Airbags.
Yes, Kia Sportage is available in Immobilizer. The available Immobilizer variants are: 2019 Kia Sportage 2.0 EX.


text:
Shippo is opening a new European R&D centre in Dublin.
As part of its international expansion plans, San Francisco e-commerce shipping platform Shippo is to create 120 highly skilled jobs in Dublin.
Shippo is the shipping platform where e-commerce businesses, marketplaces, and other platforms are able to connect to multiple shipping carriers around the world from a single API and dashboard. The company has raised over $150m in funding and was recently valued at $1bn.
“That Shippo has chosen my home country–and location of Stripe’s second headquarters–as the basecamp for its European presence makes the company’s continued expansion all the more exciting”
The company’s international expansion plans centre on growing its global workforce and expanding its shipping infrastructure and carrier ecosystem.
Global merchant community
“We serve a growing, international community of merchants who are looking for a global end-to-end shipping solution,” said Simon Kreuz, president and co-founder at Shippo.
“With our European team working with our US engineering teams in building a world-class shipping service, as well as spearheading new initiatives for the European market, including platform API optimisations, carrier integrations, and building a brand new mobile app, this new location will enable us to deliver more tailored programs to our customers and partners across Europe.”
Shippo has hired tech veteran Ashutosh Saxena as Site Lead and Head of Engineering, Europe. Capitalising on his nearly two decades of industry experience, including his most recent effort establishing and growing another Bay Area company in Dublin, Saxena will lead the company’s expansion throughout Europe as well as building out and managing the engineering team, and will oversee day-to-day operations in Dublin.
“Shippo’s vision is to provide Amazon-like shipping to all e-commerce merchants, and it is a wonderful career opportunity to join the company at this stage,” Ashutosh said. “As a home to some of the best engineering talent in the world, Ireland felt like a natural next step for Shippo as we continue our international expansion, and I’m excited to help lead this effort locally.”
The announcement builds on key milestones that Shippo achieved this year including a mult-year partnership with Shopify, the launch of a new product called Shippo for Platforms and international carrier expansion across five European countries, representing the first phase of Shippo’s international growth.
“The internet economy is still in its early days,” said Patrick Collison, Stripe co-founder and CEO, and a Shippo investor. “Shippo’s work orchestrating the world’s intricate shipping infrastructure will help millions of businesses around the world to expand their operations and reach new customers. That Shippo has chosen my home country–and location of Stripe’s second headquarters–as the basecamp for its European presence makes the company’s continued expansion all the more exciting.”
The expansion was welcomed by IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan who said: “Shippo is a welcome addition to the SaaS technology space in Ireland. The availability of multilingual technology talent here will help the company with this expansion of its operations into Europe.”
Main image: Laura Behrens Wu and Simon Kreux, co-founders of Shippo


text:
According to a German minister.
Germany is one of the world's technological leaders, especially when it comes to vehicles. It has a long and proud tradition of advanced engineering benchmarks, but what about design?
Germany's current economic minister sees a problem here. According to Electrek and first reported by Der Spiegel, Germany's Economic Minister, Peter Altmaier, is clearly not pleased with the electrification effort of his country's premium automakers, BMW, Daimler-Benz, and VW Group.
In fact, he told the CEOs of each of those companies at a recent event the following: "I really wonder when you, Mr. Zetsche, or you, Mr. Diess, or Mr. Krüger of BMW will be able to get an electric car build, which is only half as sexy as one by Tesla. As far as the attractiveness of your e-cars is concerned, you could actually come up with some fresh ideas."
Der Spiegel claims there was no immediate response from any of the three CEOs, most likely because they were caught completely off guard by Altmaier's bluntness. Only Zetsche and Diess were physically present at the event but we're sure Krüger received word quickly. In some ways, Altmaier is correct. Just look at the BMW i3, for example. Now compare it to the Tesla Model 3. There was also the now discontinued Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive. Like the i3, there's great technology, subpar design. Fortunately for Altmaier, hope is on the way.
First off, Mercedes-Benz just revealed its new and far more stylish EQC all-electric crossover. Volkswagen will soon begin unveiling its I.D. lineup of electric vehicles while Audi will has launched an all-electric crossover of its own, the e-tron, with the e-tron GT concept set to debut next week at the LA Auto Show. Porsche will also soon launch what will likely be the Tesla Model S's greatest rival to date, the Taycan. Based on the Mission E Concept and spy shots, its design looks like it'll be pretty amazing in our eyes. Has Altmaier even seen the Mission E?
And then there's BMW. An all-electric version of the X3 crossover, dubbed the iX3, will arrive next year and an all-electric 3 Series is also in the works. In addition, there will be production versions of the iVision and iNext concepts. Given all of that, we don't see any reason for Altmaier to complain, other than the fact that the German automakers didn't beat Tesla to market.


text:
Following months of rumors, Fullscreen has let the cat of the bag—it's launching its own subscription service.
Though Fullscreen had been working on the service, simply called Fullscreen, for months, this is the first time the multichannel network has publicly talked about it. In a blog post announcing the service, CEO George Strompolos said the goal was to "bridge the gap between social media and television for youth audiences."
Fullscreen did not provide much detail about the upcoming service and made no mention of price or a potential launch date—though it likely won't happen until next year. The company did not say if the paid service will include ads, but it is expected that branded content will be a part of the platform. (The company recently acquired McBeard, a social media content studio that supports major brands across platforms.)
Fullscreen did say the subscription product would feature series exclusive to the platform—including Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart's upcoming reboot of Sid and Marty Krofft's Electra Woman and Dyna Girl—and would also look to develop other formats like podcasts and editorial content. Fullscreen will also house documentaries The Outfield and #O2LForever and the upcoming Paul Scheer-Jonathan Stern teen parody series.
The announcement comes at a time when content creators, especially multichannel networks, are looking for greater ownership and control of their content. Fullscreen's videos running across YouTube, Vine, Snapchat, Instagram and Periscope. Aside from an additional revenue stream, Fullscreen's new service could put it in direct competition with YouTube—Fullscreen is one of the largest multichannel networks on the platform—which is launching its own subscription-based product.
Fullscreen is not looking to compete with big-time SVOD services like Netflix, Amazon or Hulu but instead is looking to monetize the younger viewers it already has. "This will not be for everyone," Strompolos said. "We're building something special for a very specific audience—a community of viewers who grew up online and live on their mobile devices."
Fullscreen produces videos that reach 600 million subscribers, who generate more than 5 billion video views a month, and has a large talent network of more than 70,000 creators it can tap into for the new streaming service. Some of the better-known creators working with Fullscreen currently include Grace Helbig, The Fine Bros., filmmaker Devin SuperTramp, Andrea Russett and Jack and Jack.
The Chernin Group and AT&T's Otter Media purchased a majority stake in the company last year.


text:
The Wind of Change in the Top Ranks of the Textile Industry – New management and presidents were appointed by the elections held in the unions representing the export side of the Turkish textile industry.
New names have been elected for the executive boards and chairs of important export associations of the Turkish textile industry. There was a wind of change in the association elections. The newly elected presidents have underlined the importance of the textile and ready-to-wear industries for the country’s economy and expressed their willingness to further increase power of the export.
Uludağ Textile Exporters’ Association (UTİB) General Assembly elected Pınar Taşdelen Engin as their new chairman. Taking over from previous chairman İbrahim Burkay; Engin also won the title of the first woman association chairman in the industry. Pınar Taşdelen Engin, who received all of the 77 votes in a single list election; “I worked for 8 years in the executive board of UTİB and 4 years as vice president. Therefore, I know the problems of the industry and its objectives closely. We will continue to work for the industry with all our strength as we did before.”
Engin reminded that the Turkish textile industry closed 2017 with $ 8.1 billion exports and continued her words saying; “The 1.2 billion dollars of these exports were made by UTİB member companies. We will speed up the process in the new period by especially working on increasing the exports of high value added products, and increase the export figures of UTİB to 1.6 billion dollars level.”
The Wind of Change in the Top Ranks of the Textile Industry: Ahmet Öksüz is the new chairman of İTHİB
Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters Association (İTHİB) will continue its path in the new period under the chairmanship of Ahmet Öksüz. İsmail Gülle, who has been the long-time chairman of İTHİB, will serve as the Vice President in the new board of directors. New Chairman Ahmet Öksüz said in his statement that they would solve common problems with common sense.
Entering the election with a single list and winning the chairmanship in İTHİB General Assembly, Öksüz said; “I have been working in export associations for 20 years. We are working in the most dynamic industry of Turkey. We are one of the sectors that gives the most foreign trade surplus. Our aim is to solve the problems with consultation by increasing cooperation. We aim to create common solutions to common problems.”
Mustafa Gültepe elected as the new chairman of İHKİB
Mustafa Gültepe sat in the Chairman chair at the Istanbul Apparel Exporters’ Association (İHKİB). Gültepe, who was joined the elections as the sole candidate and will be running the chairmanship of İHKİB for 4 years, thanked the former president Hikmet Tanrıverdi for his contribution to the apparel industry.
Advocating a spring breeze in the industry, Gültepe continued his words as follows; “We have entered a cyclical turn of fortune. We had a very good start to 2018 after three hard years. We are up 11.4 percent in the first quarter compared to last year. We will speed up and try to further increase this rate higher.”
Aegean textile manufacturers chose Eskinazi as chairman
Aegean Textile and Raw Materials Exporters Association (ETHİB) chose Jak Eskinazi as the chairman of the board. Eskinazi, who was elected to the chairmanship in the general assembly, took over from Sabri Ünlütürk. Previously, Eskinazi was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Aegean Textile and Raw Materials Exporters Association between 2003-2010.
Addressing the members of the general assembly, Jak Eskinazi recalled that the textile and apparel industries have a great importance for the Turkish economy and that the two industries had signed 25 billion dollars’ worth of exports in 2017. Eskinazi; “Exports of the textile industry increased by 3 percent in the whole country, and by 18 percent in our region compared to the previous year. Textile industry, which is one of the most important industry to create added value in Turkey, has completed 2017 as the European Union’s largest 2nd while 8th largest supplier of the world.”
Burak Sertbaş was elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Aegean Apparel and Ready-to-Wear Exporters Union.


text:
In an effort to make its cards more financially attractive to merchants, American Express Co. plans to cut its worldwide discount rate by potentially up to three times the level it had previously predicted for 2018.
AmEx, generally the costliest of the major card brands for merchants to accept, typically cuts its average discount rate slightly each year in the face of network competition for acceptance in both the U.S. and abroad. In earlier guidance, the New York City-based card issuer and network had predicted its average worldwide discount rate would fall 2 to 3 basis points (0.02 to 0.03 percentage points) this year. But in a March 7 Investor Day presentation, the company upped the predicted reductions to 5 to 6 basis points.
According to the Financial Times, the cuts will be AmEx’s biggest in 20 years. The London-based newspaper estimated they could cost AmEx as much as $585 million this year.
The biggest driver of the cuts will be individually negotiated discount rates with merchants in countries where acceptance costs are unregulated, according to the presentation. The reductions are one component of a multi-faceted growth initiative now overseen by new AmEx chairman and chief executive Stephen J. Squeri, the successor to long-time CEO Kenneth I. Chenault, who retired last month.
AmEx’s average worldwide discount rate was 2.43% of the sale in 2017, down from 2.45% in 2016, according to the company’s latest earnings report. Specific discount rates vary widely based on a particular merchant’s AmEx volume, industry, the type of transaction, and whether the merchant is in a regulated or unregulated country.
Discount revenues from card charges at AmEx-accepting merchants are the company’s single biggest source of income, totaling $19.2 billion in 2017, up 3% from 2016’s $18.7 billion. AmEx’s revenues took a hit in 2016 when the company lost its exclusive U.S. credit card acceptance deal and cobranded card with Costco Wholesale Corp., the world’s second-largest retailer, to Visa Inc. and Citigroup Inc.
“We’re making some conscious trade-offs in the discount rate as we continue our focus on growing merchant coverage,” Squeri said at the Investor Day event, according to an AmEx-supplied transcript. “The result, more places for our cardmembers to use our products, which means more revenues from both spending and lending.”
AmEx for years has been trying to narrow the gap between the size of its merchant base and that of the Visa and Mastercard networks, which have about 10 million locations worldwide. Chenault’s goal was to get it to parity in 2019, but it’s still about 1.5 million locations short, according to the Financial Times.
A big component of the merchant-acquisition drive is OptBlue, which enlists bank card merchant acquirers to sign small businesses, and then service the accounts. OptBlue reeled in 1 million new merchants for AmEx in 2016. Last week, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business announced that JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s acquiring unit in Canada was offering the CFIB’s 110,000 members access to OptBlue under a program that it said could cut AmEx acceptance costs by as much as 50%.
AmEx’s growth plan goes far beyond expanding its merchant base and includes cobranded cards and enhanced cardholder rewards, an emphasis on digital offerings, more focus on commercial payments, and other components. The presentation says 16% of worldwide billed business in 2017 came from cobranded cards, with half of that on the Delta Air Lines card. The Hilton hotel chain, which for years had split its cobranded credit card business between AmEx and Citi, recently assigned the entire program to AmEx.


text:
- Subscribe NowLimited Time Offer
Time: 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Place: The Triple Door, Seattle
Microsoft says Surface 2 'close to selling out'
Send this to a friend
Microsoft Corp. said its pre-order stock of its new Surface 2 tablet is "close to selling out."
On its blog, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) writes "It ... looks like pre-order stock of the Surface 2 (64GB) and Surface Pro 2 (256 GB and 512GB) are close to selling out ... at Microsoft Stores."
Microsoft Surface General Manager Brian Hall added "pre-order stock of the Arc Touch Mouse Surface Edition, Type Cover 2 in Purple and Black, and Touch Cover 2 has sold out at Microsoft Stores in the U.S."
Microsoft unveiled its new Surface 2 tablet last month and plans to begin selling them on Oct. 22.
In July, Microsoft took a $900 million charge on unsold inventory on its slow-selling Surface RT tablet in the fourth quarter.
- Most popular
- These 16 huge construction projects will change the Puget Sound region
- Bellevue's biggest earner finds a gig in the Golden State
- Karmagate: 3 former Microsoft women discuss Nadella and what’s next
- Airbus to cut A330 rate, will Boeing follow with 777?
- 'Working together:' Alan Mulally recalls Boeing, Ford in talk
- For Boeing, smooth Airbus A350 certification brings new pressure
- FAA approves Boeing's new winglets as airline orders fly in
- Hanauer warns income inequality could lead to 'Ferguson everywhere'
- In King County government, the paychecks are healthy, too
- Public Paychecks: UW, WSU leaders top list of highest-paid state jobs
Stay on top of the latest tech news from Seattle and beyond.
Senior Estimator PCL Construction | Bellevue, WA
Real Estate Project Manager Antioch University | Seattle, WA
Finance Business Manager Vulcan Inc | Seattle, WA
Sr. Project Manager (Vulcan Philanthropy) Vulcan | Seattle, WA
Director, Finance Business Operations Vulcan | Seattle, WA


text:
YAKIMA, Wash. — Developers have a clear vision for West Valley: big-box retailers and grocery stores flanked by condos or apartments and smaller retail shops. They see something similar to Redmond Town Center, a shopping center integrated into a housing development east of Seattle.
Since the 220,000-square-foot Wal-Mart supercenter was erected at Nob Hill Boulevard and 64th Avenue four years ago, traffic has been good, drawing interest from developers and other prospective retailers, said Bill Moultray, co-owner of Moultray Real Estate.
Now that the recession is over and the economy is picking up, area developers are anticipating a strong uptick in commercial development, mostly in West Valley, he said.
“That area is going to be the next big retail growth, there’s no doubt about it,” Moultray said. “Wal-Mart has landed, that’s a big elephant. They land where they want, and now the rest of the development will follow in time,” he said.
A retail study being conducted for the city of Yakima is showing the city overall has great potential for retail growth, said Yakima’s Economic Development manager, Sean Hawkins.
“I think if you talk to the community as a whole, they’re leaving this area to shop because our offerings are not meeting their needs, and I think that’s where the demand is,” he said.
So far, Wal-Mart’s presence has attracted a coffee shop and a bank to nearby commercial lots. Walgreens, which is on the adjacent corner, also attracts its share of traffic. Now, Wal-Mart plans to put a gas station of its own in the last available space that faces Nob Hill Boulevard.
But development in the immediate area won’t end there, Moultray said. He said he’s working with a prospective business that also wants to locate nearby.
The business, which he said he could not identify at this time, has the potential to lure another 500 cars a day. “This is a prospective tenant or owner that is interested in landing in that area,” he said. “This is the kind of thing that causes others to come in.”
Eventually, the Nob Hill corridor between 64th and 72nd avenues and within city limits will be lined with restaurants, grocery stores, and condos and apartments, Moultray predicted.
Hawkins said he can see that happening because the infrastructure is already in place. “I think there is tremendous possibility out there and I also think it can be done in a way that is very attractive and blend in with the surrounding area,” he said.
The concept of mixing retail with residential in the same development may be a good fit for West Valley, where people generally have higher incomes, but are isolated from Interstate 82, said Dave McFadden, president of New Vision, the Yakima County Development Association.
“It’s really trying to create a living area than just a shopping center,” he said. “From an activity standpoint, the Redmond Town Centers are attractive to people. It’s much more that just pulling into a large parking lot and going into a large shopping center. It’s THE new mall and it’s got different attributes.”
Because West Valley is isolated from the main thoroughfare into the city, retail business would be highly interested in drawing from immediate neighborhoods rather than the masses coming off of a freeway, he said.
“I have a sense that if it’s done, it will probably go well,” he said.
And there is plenty of property in the area, about 200 acres that Congdon Orchards is looking to develop, said real estate broker Bill Almon Jr.
“I think the area is prime to break loose,” he said.
But the key is finding a larger retailer — one equivalent to Lowe’s — to come into the area and serve as an anchor store, Almon said.
But finding an interested business that’s not intimidated by locating across the street from Wal-Mart will be challenging, he said.
A store like Lowe’s, however, would be complementary to Wal-Mart, he said.
“That would be someone big enough to go out there that would start some action,” he said.
Other options would be a Gold’s Gym or a Dick’s Sporting Goods, Almon added.
“Wal-Mart is a necessary evil,” he said. It creates movement, but it’s scary going in next to them so you’ve got to find someone that’s going to be complementary.”
Average income levels in the West Valley area are a strong lure for retail, Moultray said. The average annual income per household in the area of the Rosauers shopping center at 72nd Avenue and Tieton Drive is $64,000, and it’s even higher, at $84,000, just a half-mile away in the area of the Chalet Place shopping center at Summitview and 56th avenues.
“So you’ve got the two highest income households in the Valley around these two shopping centers,” he said.
With those shopping centers filled with retailers, more development is inevitable, Almon said.
“I think it will break loose in the next three years,” he said. “I think you’re going to see some significant retail development around the 64th Avenue and Nob Hill Boulevard in the next three years.”
• Phil Ferolito can be reached at 509-577-7749 or firstname.lastname@example.org.


text:
Business: Man who was family’s ‘breadwinner’ aged 10 lands large contract
- Credit: Archant
A businessman who started on his dad’s market stall at the tender age of seven, and was “breadwinner” for his mum and disabled brother a few years later has landed a new contract.
Ricky Shah, now 20, of Southdown Crescent, Newbury Park, is no stranger to businesses as 10 years ago he was running his own market stall in Dagenham with four people working beneath him but his recent contract to serve Carphone Warehouse with mobile phone accessories has seen his business expand further.
He said: “At 10 I was making a decent amount of money and also studying at primary school.”
He was also working in the Ilford Recorder newsagents his dad owned named Ricky’s News, on Aldborough Road North, Ilford.
Two years later he took a big risk “borrowing” £500 to start his own business selling phones and later accessories.
He said: “Aged 12 I started a business using my mum’s credit without telling her. I used the money I made to support my mum and my disabled brother. I was the breadwinner of the family.”
Now Ricky has a team of 10 people and is selling his own brand of phone and tablet accessories Samrick exclusively to the international phone company. His products are being trialled in up to 50 stores nationwide.
- 1 'Stop being so disgusting': Hornchurch mother's outrage at delivery drivers urinating on her house
- 2 Upminster bridal boutique gives back to frontline workers with £50 wedding dresses
- 3 Knife seized in Hornchurch as part of neighbourhood patrol
- 4 Hornchurch Japanese restaurant rejects licensing officer's advice over late opening application
- 5 Aldi given nod to open at former Mothercare branch in Romford
- 6 Man found not guilty of attempted murder in Brentwood
- 7 NHS staff protest mandatory vaccinations outside Queen's Hospital
- 8 Car park killing: John Avers the 'best friend' of hitman, court hears
- 9 Romford's South Street reacts to BBC licence fee announcement
- 10 Construction company asks to make changes to approved 40-flat development in Romford
Ricky, after studying at Oaks Park High School, in Ilford, did not go on to university instead he went straight into the real world.
He said: “I thought this would be the better route rather than going to uni. Instead of getting in debt and looking for a job I have got my own business and my wages are going up.
“If you are creative and feel that you have something the market doesn’t have, just go for it and you never know what might happen.”


text:
DPD to launch 16-tonne electric delivery truck in London
UK-based delivery giant DPD is to trial “the worlds first” fully electric delivery truck in London in 2021.
A partnership between the UK delivery company and Scandianavan EV manufacturer start-up Volta Trucks has seen the design and build of a purpose-built electric truck designed for London’s roads as part of DPD’s sustainability and net-zero strategies.
The truck has been designed to be used in the UK capital’s ultra-low emissions zone (ULEZ) which covers much of the city centre, and is a vital area in which these types of vehicles need to reach.
The current issue is Diesel and other fossil-fuel-powered vehicles are heavily polluting the capital, highlighting the need for greener solutions to be manufactured to ensure a sustainable future for both London and delivery companies alike.
The design of the truck was made and manufactured following the opening of DPD’s all-electric parcel depot in the city back in October 2018, a UK first.
Since then, the firm has built a further two fully electric micro-depots which are fully in use. Located in Shoreditch and Park Lane in the city, they are the first of many depots to be built by the company as part of its “micro-depot strategy” which will see a further six being constructed across the capital.
CSR General Manager at the delivery and logistics firm, Olly Craughan, complemented the Volta Zero vehicle describing it as “an ideal fit for our urban logistics strategy”.
Volta Truck’s CEO, Rob Fowler had this to say: "As the world's first purpose-built full-electric large commercial vehicle, the Volta Zero was specifically designed to deliver parcels and freight in inner-city locations where today's air quality and noise pollution challenges are at their worst."
This news comes shortly after the company announced that around a tenth of its vehicle fleet are now fully electric, meaning it has reached its 2020 target nearly half a year sooner than it first anticipated.
At the start of the year, a total of 130 of the firms’ vehicle fleet were fully electric, this number has since shot up to 700 and it’s growing daily.
The company has said that almost five million emissions-free parcels have now been delivered and this is set to continue to grow.
Speaking about the firm’s electric vehicle targets, DPD’s CEO Dwain McDonald said: "We originally targeted 500 EVs this year, but with over 700, we have absolutely smashed it”.
McDonald did, however, voice the “huge frustrations” of the lagging supply of battery-powered vehicles saying “we just can't get our hands on enough of them at the moment".
He continued, saying: "We are calling on the government, and the vehicle manufacturers to do everything they can to encourage the development of more EVs, at affordable prices, so that progressive companies, like us, can become even greener, even quicke


text:
Gaming computers need to be really powerful in order to handle modern games with max settings, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they’re massive power hogs, but it’s still a bit surprising to see just HOW much power they consume. Even though they make up just 2.5% of the global PC equipment base, which includes consoles, gaming computers account for a whopping 21% of the power consumed by these devices. This is according to a new study that was published in the journal Energy Efficiency, which also claims that gaming computers consume about $10 billion worth of electricity every year, but that number doesn’t have to be so high.
Father / son team Evan and Nathaniel Mills has published a study entitled ‘Taming the Energy Use of Gaming Computers’ in the journal Energy Efficiency. The study looks into the energy usage of gaming PCs, and it turns out, they use a lot. The study says that with some adjustments, savings of an estimated $18 billion per year could be made globally by 2020. Of course, it’s common knowledge that gaming PCs are more power hungry than regular desktops and even gaming consoles. According to the study, gaming PCs represent 2.5 percent of the global PC equipment base (including consoles), while using 21 percent of the power (75 TWh/year which equates to $10 billion). He also adds that the number of people using more high-end equipment is growing. Mills estimated that the typical gaming computer, including a display, uses approximately 1400 kWh/year, which is six times a standard PC, and ten times a games console. Mills’ solution to the power problem? Use more efficient components. We knew this already, of course—and PC components do trend towards greater efficiency over time. It seems like an obvious conclusion, but the study goes into some of the numbers. The Mills team tested a number of PSUs, CPUs, GPUs, motherboards, displays, laptops, and RAM, to see how efficient they were. One test was done using a base system, with a number of improved components incrementally added. It showed that efficiency could be significantly increased, with only a minor drop in performance.
Leave a Reply


text:
The newest member in Dodge’s lineup, the Dart, has been recently taken for a spin by the guys at The Car Connection.
After it was officially presented to the public earlier this year, the Dodge Dart is entering our news once again, this time thanks to the guys at The Car Connection, who have taken the model out for a spin. The new Dodge Dart is the company’s attempt to get back into the compact car segment and go against models like the Ford Focus or Chevrolet Cruze but, until the model will become competitive, you should scroll down and click play.
As a small reminder, the 2013 Dodge Dart has a starting price of 15,995 USD for the entry-level SE version, while the top of the line R/T will cost 22,495 USD. The cheapest version is getting the 2.0 liter 16-valve Tigershark I-4 engine, which is developing a total output of 160 HP and 148 lb-ft of torque. The unit can be mated to either a six-speed automatic transmission, as an option or a six-speed manual as standard.


text:
One model was cut from a top Paris fashion show because she has them.
Fashion folk, models in abundance — and Paris Hilton wearing something pale pink and tufty. The amFAR Gala at Cannes never disappoints.
“Actually, [modeling is] really tough… This walking thing is crazy.”
Shocker: models take a lot of selfies, and then they post them on Instagram. Chances are some are bound to get weird.
Both the latest American and Australian issues of Vogue are making a big deal of the movie. Which did it better?
The people who think a woman with short hair can’t be a Victoria’s Secret Angel are crazy. CRAZY!
At least, according to the December issue of Vogue Spain.
The industry has proven racially insensitive many times before Karlie Kloss wore a Native American headdress on the runway, prompting outrage.
Vogue did a spectacular photo spread of the hot male Olympic athletes posing with model Karlie Kloss, wearing evening wear and this yellow Versace onesie.
The festival is finally behind us — so what did some of the world’s hottest and most stylish ladies wear there? Here is your full recap.
And what do you commonly find on pro-ana sites? Fashion images.
Models you either love or love to hate, like Catherine McNeil, Karlie Kloss, and Myf Shepherd, have started a network of blogs. I guess this is like BuzzFeed but with models! And with a much more attractive editorial team. I guess we should just go kill ourselves now.


text:
21 February 2020
The Taiwan Government has banned the import of live pigs and pork products from Italy after the Italian Government grounded all its flights to Taiwan in response to the Coronavirus...
19 February 2020
The Coastal Companies has acquired fresh produce processor Lancaster Foods from Guest Services, a hospitality management company in Fairfax, Virginia, US.
13 February 2020
Vertical farming company Freight Farms has raised funding, led by investment firm Ospraie Ag Science, to advance the technical potential of its platform.
29 January 2020
US-based regenerative agriculture start-up Cooks Venture has raised $4m to boost the wholesale and retail distribution of its heirloom chickens.
22 January 2020
Calavo Growers, US, has announced that its Renaissance Food Group (RFG) subsidiary will acquire Simply Fresh Fruit (SFFI).
21 January 2020
The Department of Agriculture in the Philippines has imposed a ban on the imports of pork and related products from Indonesia.
17 January 2020
The US-China trade deal has opened up new opportunities for American beef producers as China has agreed to ease its limits on hormones in beef.
9 January 2020
The US-based multinational retailing company Kroger has launched its plant-based fresh meats under its Simple Truth Emerge brand.
7 January 2020
Belgium-based fruit and vegetable canning company Greenyard has signed an agreement to divest its Greenyard Logistics Portugal business through a management buyout (MBO).
5 December 2019
An explosion at the Kyo-Nichi Todai Foods facility in China has claimed the lives of four people and injured at least ten others.


text:
Business news from around the Web:
• Craft brewers ask for tax cut (Read more at NYT)
• Latest round of cyber-attacks seek to destroy, not just steal (Read more at NYT)
• The rise of massive office screens (Read more at Wired)
• Amazon buys book-review platform GoodReads (Read more at FastCompany)
Mark Reilly manages daily and weekly coverage at the Business Journal newsroom.


text:
India's largest carmaker Maruti is looking to cut production in September due to a shortage of semi-conductors. This may result in the extension of the waiting period of some of the products too. The auto manufacturer is also getting ready for a substantial price hike in the upcoming month and this will be the fourth one since January due to a sharp rise in commodity costs.
"Commodity prices have a huge impact on our material cost, which is 75 percent of the total cost of manufacturing. Since April 2020, steel has gone up from Rs 38,000/tonne to Rs 65,000/tonne. Copper prices have gone up by $5200 per tonne to $10,200 per tonne, Rhodium has gone up from Rs 18,000/gram to Rs 64,300/gram. As commodity prices remain very high we have decided to go in for another hike," said Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Director of Marketing and Sales, Maruti Suzuki, in an exclusive interview to CNBC-TV18.
The company which has increased prices by 3.5 percent since January, is working out the exact quantum of price increase for September. "I can confirm that price hike will be across models and substantial as well. We do not pass on the entire cost to customers, we pass on costs only partially as we have to be very conscious of demand as well," said Srivastava. Any rise in the cost of acquisition will impact demand negatively and vehicle costs have been going up because of regulatory measures as well, he said. The official said that Maruti Suzuki has been actively cutting fixed costs and sale promotion expenses to maintain cost efficiency.
According to industry estimates, Maruti Suzuki has reduced production by 37 percent compared to July and is likely to produce under 107,000 units in August and could scale back production to under 100,000 units in September. "We cannot comment on production numbers as the situation remains fluid. We informed the exchange about production cuts in August due to the semi-conductor shortage and this is likely to be the case in September as well. We are working out the production schedule for next month", he said. Srivastava added that the industrial production for August could be 245,000 units compared to the planned 305,000 units.
Ertiga, XL6, Wagon-R, and CNG variants have had a waiting period and the waiting period for these cars could go up further if there are production cuts in September. "The number of electronic components varies from product to product and model to model within our large portfolio and for the past few months we have been trying to adjust production to maintain high levels of production", said Srivastava.


text:
yesterday a user of the popular Facebook platform
Breaking News Commune posted video of the moment a pallet stacked with packages of toilet paper hit the store's floor.
Due to the size of the Facebook platform
, we have a unique vantage point to see which conversations are growing at scale and taking hold, and which are simply a i
It is the second product LotLinx has developed for the Facebook platform
During the workshop, trainers from Facebook Product, Partnerships, and Engineering teams engaged with the attendees, using hands-on instruction via code-labs, tech talks, and updates on the latest Facebook Platform
products that were designed to help the developers build and grow a successful business.
For those in customer service, meanwhile, the recent Facebook Platform
announcement and some of the company's other recent news in this realm are a call to action.
Just like in Facebook's unreleased solution, SalesCart Cloud keeps the shopper within the Facebook platform
during the entire start-to-finish buying and checkout experience.
The Facebook platform
value proposition is that we want to
According to ABC News, every photo ad will have the sponsored label, tapping on which, details about the advertisement can be found and users can also hide the ad and explain why they don't like it, just like they can on the Facebook platform
Facebook posted, "By making Parse a part of the Facebook platform
, we want to enable developers to rapidly build apps that span mobile platforms and devices.
For example, the marketing services provider Valassis has launched a "Red Plum Social Savings" app that was built with the Facebook platform
, while third-party loyalty/marketing and couponing providers such as Codebroker, Eagle Eye, Yowza
The integration of Rovi Video with Facebook Platform
will also offer app developers a high-quality, standardized base of entertainment data for creating meaningful consumer apps and interaction with entertainment-related content.


text:
Tech Wire Asia
See all of Tech Wire Asia news coverage in one place. Discover how Tech Wire Asia’s media bias informs their coverage and compare with thousands of other news outlets.
We’ve assigned a media bias rating of unknown to Tech Wire Asia. You can read more about our methodology here.
If you want to know if Tech Wire Asia is credible or reliable, look no further. We rank Tech Wire Asia as unknown factuality. Find out more about our methodology here.
Information about Tech Wire AsiaWhere is Tech Wire Asia located?Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaTech Wire Asia's Website
Media Bias Ratings
Does Tech Wire Asia lean left or right?
Learn more about Media Bias Ratings.
Top Tech Wire Asia News
Business · Seattle
Amazon.com's Ring gave police data without user consent 11 times in 2022
Amazon's smart-doorbell company, Ring, has provided surveillance footage to law enforcement without a warrant or the consent of doorbell-owners. The disclosure highlights the degree of Amazon's control over data generated by the doorbells' cameras and microphones. Sen. Ed Markey said he is concerned that biometric surveillance could become central to the growing web of surveillance systems that Amazon and other tech companies are responsible for.See the Story
60% Center coverage: 69 sources
Business · Menlo Park
Facebook to allow up to five profiles tied to one account
Facebook is testing an option for users to create multiple profiles from a single account. The feature is aimed at helping users "tailor their experience based on interests and relationships," Facebook said. The test comes as Facebook parent company Meta experiences slowing profit growth and steep competition from rivals like TikTok.See the Story
68% Center coverage: 28 sources
Business · Wuhan
Baidu bags China's first fully driverless robotaxi licenses
Baidu Inc said on Monday it has obtained permits to operate fully driverless robotaxi services on open roads from two Chinese cities. The permits, awarded by the southwestern municipality of Chongqing and the central city of Wuhan, allow commercial robotaxis to offer rides to the public. Baidu said they marked a "turning point" in China's policy-making towards autonomous driving.See the Story
44% Center coverage: 16 sources
Latest News Stories
Business · Beijing
Baidu unveils autonomous vehicle without steering wheel
Baidu will add the Apollo RT6 EV to its Apollo Go ride-hailing service next year. The new battery-electric robotaxi is Baidu's sixth-generation autonomous vehicle. Apollo RT6 has the road skills of a driver with 20 years' experience, Baidu says. The detachable steering wheel could be replaced by extra seats, vending machines, desks or games consoles. The vehicle is packed with 38 sensors, including:eight light-detection and ranging (Lidar) sensorsone 6mm (0.2in) wave radar. The car will cost 250,000 yuan ($37,000) per unit. Baidu plans to put it to use for its robotaxi service in China next year.See the Story
72% Center coverage: 14 sources
Apple to add 'lockdown' mode to protect users from spyware attacks
Apple plans to roll out a 'lockdown' option for iPhones, iPads and Mac computers. The feature is intended to protect against spyware unleashed by state-sponsored hackers. Apple believes the extra layer of protection will be valuable to activists, journalists and other targets of hacking attacks launched by well-funded groups.See the Story
67% Right coverage: 3 sources
iPhone 14 satellite connectivity: everything you need to know
Huawei beat Apple in satellite communication game by announcing its Mate 50 series. The new Mate 50 and Mate 50 Pro come with the ability to send texts via satellite communication by global BeiDou satellite network. Apple's SOS satellite option is only available in the US and Canada, while Huawei's only works in mainland China.See the Story
67% Center coverage: 3 sources
Metaverse · Anaheim
Local businesses scout for opportunities at US renewable energy show
Ciena global survey examined business professionals' views on using more immersive and connected digital platforms at work. The metaverse promises to be a stunningly realistic 3D virtual environment where people can engage in activities. Ciena recently commissioned a survey to find out how prepared business professionals are for virtual collaboration.See the Story
Banks are looking cloudwards, and migrating their core banking systems effectively & cost efficiently is top-of-mind.
Many industry observers recognise that banking is at an inflection point. The confluence of modern technologies is accelerating innovation in the financial services industry (FSI) and driving healthy competition with emergent, disruptive financial technology (fintech) players. Industry experts agree that financial services providers powered by modern core technology will be driving the future of banking.With the age of core banking technology in…See the Story
Carsome confirms layoffs after expanding its ecosystem
Carsome, Malaysia's first tech unicorn, has been making the rounds in the last 24 hours over the possibility of a workforce reduction across all its operations in the region. The Southeast Asia's largest integrated car e-commerce platform eventually confirmed the rumors and indicated that they are indeed going through a optimization of workforce.See the Story
TSMC warns of a price hike for its chips and Apple, its largest customer, is unhappy
Taiwanese chip giant TSMC has been planning to increase its prices by six to nine percent, depending on the fabrication process. Apple, TSMC's largest customer, is expected to use its latest A17 bionic chips in the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro models. TSMC is also apparently keen to stop its clients from canceling orders and ordering more chips than needed. The move is apparently to secure production line space, which will gain them additional support from contract chipmakers.See the Story
Can Grab hit the slab of profitability in 2024?
Grab has been struggling since it went public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company in December last year. The Southeast Asian tech giant targets profitability in 2024 and it is speeding up efforts to reverse years of losses. Grab also forecasted a 45% to 55% increase in growth for 2023, in its attempt to try and reassure shareholders.See the Story


text:
Sagar Malviya & Ratna Bhushan
Mumbai | New Delhi
Big Mac is getting bigger, in size, price and aspiration. Nearly two decades after entering India as a value-for-money eatery, burger and fries chain McDonalds is set to go premium by rolling out big-sized burgers for adults at almost 20% more than its existing range, company officials said. The new burgers, clubbed under the 'Royale' range, are priced at 130 and 135, while the US chain's existing burgers cost anywhere between 25 and 115.
"Our positioning is clear. We are more than a value brand...we are a family restaurant brand that has products available for everyone," said Kailash Agarwal, director for new business channels at McDonald's (North & East).
Industry observers see this as another step Big Mac is taking to distance itself from being seen mainly as a kids' hangout place, and step up profitability in a muted economic environment.
"Like every other player in this sector, McDonald's too is facing the challenge of muted demand and margin pressures. We see the move as aimed at improving same store sales and profitability, and increasing the ticket sizes," said Ankur Bisen, senior vice-president at retail consultancy Technopak.
Two years ago, Big Mac had kicked off a large-scale revamp in line with a global strategy by shedding its red-and-yellow colours for more muted tones to bring more adults into its stores. In many stores across the country since then, the familiar red-and-yellow Mac logo and decor have been replaced with white and pale colours. Agarwal said the chain will continue to evolve the menu and introduce products at every level. "For the last few years, our focus has been to strengthen our menu across all levels... the McEgg in the value range, Masala grill in the mid-tier and now Royale is our most premium product range," he said. An executive at Hardcastle Restaurants, McDonald's joint venture partner in West and South India, said the flavours and product options were based on detailed consumer feedback.
"We have seen rising demand from customers for wholesome products that they can have as complete meal at lunch or dinner time," Rameet Arora, senior director for marketing and menu management at Hardcastle Restaurants, said. "This is a continuous expansion of our menu, aiming to grow not just its share of sales in the QSR industry but in the industry as a whole," Arora added. The move will also help Big Mac counter rival American chain Dunkin Donuts, which last year launched big-sized 'tough guy' burgers at 130- 175 as part of a larger exercise to woo adults into its stores.
In many developed markets like the US, burgers are sized bigger and adults form a big chunk of customers.
McDonalds had set up its first store in the country in 1996, and all along, it had operated as a value meals player.
But earlier this year, it launched McAloo wrap, Egg wrap and Grilled Chicken wrap with chipotle sauce. Discretionary spends across sectors, including eating-out, have slowed down significantly, with most leading chains such as McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut and Domino's posting lower same-store sales in the October-December quarter, despite all of them offering value meals.
While in an economic slowdown, consumers flock to cheaper QSR chains for value meals, this hasn't been the same over the last few quarters.


text:
Shangri-La Jeddah was awarded the World’s Leading New Hotel 2022 at the World Travel Awards Grand Final Ceremony. The prestigious event was held in Muscat, Oman, on November 11, bringing together travel industry leaders from across the globe.
The award was presented to the General Manager of Shangri-La Jeddah, Alexander Blair, in recognition of the hotel’s exceptional performance and unprecedented hospitality services for both leisure and business segments.
Commenting on the occasion, Alexander Blair said, “After being recognized as Saudi Arabia’s Leading New Hotel 2022 on a regional level, and Middle East’s Leading New Hotel 2022, we are honored to receive such an esteemed award at the global Grand Final Ceremony in Oman. Being named the World’s Leading New Hotel 2022. We are obsessed over the customer experience that is exactly the ethos which Shangri-La imbibes and exudes as we set a new benchmark for luxury hospitality in Jeddah”
Taking its place as the Kingdom’s premier hospitality destination, Shangri-La Jeddah is home to several extraordinary restaurants serving world-class cuisine where traditional flavours are blended with modern techniques. This includes the all-day culinary experience at The Waterfront Kitchen – offering a panoramic view of the Jeddah waterfront whilst Shang Palace is home to soulful and modern Chinese cuisine, and most recently the hotel unveiled its latest F&B lounge and hotspot, Kaia, bringing a new energy to Jeddah nights with the best residence DJs and elite Pacific rim cuisine.
World Travel Awards was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward, and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries. Today, the World Travel Awards brand celebrates its 29th year anniversary and is recognized globally as the ultimate hallmark of industry excellence.


text:
It would only make sense to make a gold sculpture out of the Aston Martin DB5 that appeared in the classic James Bond movie, Goldfinger, and Swiss artist and creator Dante Rublin did just that. The 24-karat creation, part of the artist’s Iconic Sports Car series, will be unveiled at the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
Thought by many as the world’s coolest spy car, the gadget-laden Aston Martin DB5 made enthusiasts drool over James Bond’s tricked-out machine in the 1964 Goldfinger film, and Dante hopes to spark that passion once again with his new work-of-art. Previously debuted at the 2010 Top Marques Event in Monaco, Dante unveiled the sculpture alongside former 007 agent, Sir Roger Moore.
“I was flattered to have Sir Roger Moore unveil this piece to the world,” said the artist. “His reaction when he unveiled my 24-karat interpretation of this great car confirmed to me that I have succeeded in creating art that brings people great pleasure.”
But the artist isn’t just all about sculptures – he’s also designed automobiles for celebrities and collectors from all over the world.
Source: Dante Rubli


text:
(The Hosting News) – Wireless carrier Verizon on Tuesday unveiled its latest Data Breach Investigation Report – detailing cyber espionage attacks during 2012 that primarily included ones considered financially motivated (75%).
Falling behind the top category were attacks considered “state-affiliated espionage campaigns” which accounted for 20%.
“The bottom line is that unfortunately, no organization is immune to a data breach in this day and age,” commented Wade Baker, principal author of the report via a company news release.
Meanwhile, the report identified industries most affected by cyber breaches. Accounting for 21.7% of attacks was the retail industry followed manufacturing (12%) and information (10.4%). While the retail market was primarily affected by financial breaches, espionage campaigns plagued manufacturing.
To deal with the increasing threats, Verizon detailed a range of areas to focus on including data loss prevention, boundary defense, malware defenses, application software security and more.


text:
Newlyweds Austin and Beccy Craig will spend the first 90 days of their married life living only on Bitcoins.
The couple is getting married today. As soon as they return from their honeymoon, they will say goodbye to cash and credit cards and attempt to use Bitcoins for everything, including rent, food, bills, and transportation.
Bitcoin is a form of digital currency that uses decentralized peer-to-peer technology to manage transactions and validate payments. It has no governmental backing, and the value is volatile, subject to malware, phishing, and DDoS Attacks. The tech community is excited about the opportunities with Bitcoin, but the currency is far from mainstream. Living on Bitcoin alone would be a challenge for someone living in the heart of Silicon Valley, much less a young couple from Provo, Utah, but that is what the Craigs are trying to do.
Austin said he has been interested in this technology for about a year now, but whenever he talked to someone about it, the first questions were “what can you buy with it?” and “who accepts it?” He approached Beccy with an idea for a project, and she thought it sounded like an adventure. They created a Kickstarter campaign to fund a documentary about their experience and quickly surpassed their $70,000 goal.
“This technology looks really disruptive to me,” Craig said in an interview with VentureBeat. “I think that cutting out the middlemen and creating a more direct way to transfer money, without all the different parties involved in the transaction, ultimately serves the end user a lot better. This project is really about educating people, and I look forward to learning a lot and learning it quick. We are jumping into the deep end here. ”
Online and credit cards transaction involve multiple banks, financial institutions, and fees. Bitcoin challenges that model by enabling people to transact directly with each other, with no fees. This sounds great, but purchasing Bitcoins has not always been easy, and just a few years ago, it was a questionable and uncertain process. VC-backed startups like Coinbase are making the buying, selling, and holding of Bitcoins easier, but that progress is in the online world.
The real challenge for the Craigs will be taking that digital economy and finding ways to extend it into their daily life.
“When we get back from Costa Rica, a film crew is meeting us at the airport and will take away our wallets, debit cards, credit cards, cash, and cellphones,” Austin said. “We will have to start from scratch. I know there is one sandwich shop in my area that accepts it, but beyond that we will have to seek out other businesses that are willing to take Bitcoin. I am afraid of the unknowns. There are so many things I do in everyday life I won’t be able to do, like going down to the corner store to get a snack. I am afraid we might get stranded somewhere or won’t be able to find food.”
Austin works in online video advertising, and Beccy is a graphic designer. Her company has agreed to pay her in Bitcoin, and they are hoping their landlord will agree to accept rent in Bitcoin (or at least wait to kick them out). They will try to minimize the amount of intermediary exchanges and services and focus focus on direct transactions. Life on Bitcoin will start in their hometown, but as the days go by and they get more comfortable with the lifestyle, Austin said they plan to travel and push the limits of what is possible. The whole thing will, of course, be captured on social media.
Austin and Beccy’s project seemed gimmicky to me at first, but ultimately the goal of raising awareness and promoting acceptance of new ideas is something I appreciate. First come the early adopters, and then, perhaps, come the rest.