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The City of Edmonds Walkable Main Street program is returning this weekend — Saturday and Sunday, June 19-20.
Main Street will be closed from 6th to 3rd avenues, starting at 8 a.m. Saturdays and reopening before 8 a.m. Mondays. Vehicle U-turns will continue to be allowed around the downtown Edmonds Fountain, with clear pedestrian pathways protected by metal crowd fencing. The program will conclude over Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 4-5.
“We are excited for the return of this popular summer program that promotes the charm of our city, encouraging shoppers and diners from Edmonds and the greater Puget Sound region to enjoy our downtown,” Mayor Mike Nelson said.
This is the second year for the program, which was instituted last year in response to the COVID-19 outbreak to provide safer outdoor dining and shopping experiences for customers. In deciding to run the program again this year, the city faced pushback from some local merchants, who said the closure removed valuable close-by parking and hurt their businesses. A group of business owners instead proposed a Sunday-only closure, but that was rejected.
According to the city, visitors this year will find more areas of public parking this year, in the following locations:
- Public Safety Complex at 5th and Bell
- Behind/below City Hall
- Adjacent to City Hall on the south, accessible by the alley (ADA parking will be added here)
- Additional ADA and drop-off spaces will be available at 4th and 5th Avenues.
The city also said it will provide more seating and tables along Main Street, music will be added on Saturday afternoons, and there will be drop-in activities and games. Wayfinding banners will be added along the closure barricades, along with flyers that invite visitors to visit shops and restaurants in the Walkable Main Street area as well as throughout the downtown core.


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BlackBerry Q5 smartphone has been priced at Rs 24990 in India.
BlackBerry announced the launch of the Q5 smartphone for Indian mobile phone users on Tuesday.
This is the first budget smartphone on the newly launched BlackBerry 10.1 OS platform. It runs on dual core 1.2 GHz.
5MP rear camera with auto focus, 5x digital zoom, 1080p HD video recording, LED flash are part of BlackBerry Q5 which is targeted at the youth and professionals.
The new phone features 2,180 mAH battery offering 3G talktime of up to 12.5 hours and stand by of up to 14 days. The smartphone provides up to 62 hours of audio playback and up to 9 hours of video play back.
BlackBerry Q5 is the first BlackBerry phone available in red color.
Specifications of BlackBerry Q5
- QWERTY Touch & Type
- 3.1 inch touch-screen (720 x 720 pixels)
- Dual-core 1.2 GHz processor
- 2GB RAM
- 8GB (microSD support) memory
- 5MP & front-facing 2MP camera
- 2100 mAh battery
- Blackberry 10.1 OS
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G or 4G & NFC (model dependant) connectivity options

domain: news


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Finnair has announced plans to join the BA/Iberia/AA transatlantic joint venture later this year.
The three carriers established the joint business agreement in 2010, and AA’s senior vice president of customer services Jon Snook told Business Traveller this week that “we’ve seen bookings grow significantly because of it”.
Finnair will now join the fold, adding its AY code to selected AA, BA and Iberia flights between North America and Europe, while the three existing joint venture carriers will add their codes to Finnair’s daily flights between New York and Helsinki.
Once integrated Finnair will be able to co-ordinate transatlantic schedules with the other joint venture airlines, and members of the Finnair Plus loyalty scheme will be able to earn points or miles on the new codeshare services. All four carriers are members of the Oneworld alliance.
Passengers will also be able to check-in and print boarding passes either on the website of the airline operating the flight, or that of the airline used to book travel.
Commenting on the news Finnair’s senior vice president, commercial, Allister Paterson, said:
“Our participation in this venture will significantly increase the portfolio of available destinations to Finnair’s existing customers, as well as open up Northern Europe to a whole new network of potential travellers.
“Fare combinability between the four carriers also brings more ticket flexibility to customers, as the fares and conditions are identical between the airlines. A business traveller soon will be able to combine American, British Airways, Iberian and Finnair routes flexibly when flying between Europe and North America.”
Finnair recently announced plans to roll out its fully-flat business class seating across its long-haul A330 and A340 aircraft, with the exception of three older aircraft (see online news February 13).
For more information visit finnair.com, ba.com, aa.com, iberia.com.
Report by Mark Caswell


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Today, TCL announced a new variant of the 10 5G, the TCL 10 5G UW. It's made for Verizon, and with a Snapdragon 765 chipset and more, it's a 5G phone for the carrier that costs $399.
Tcl 10 5g RSS
Following its experiment with the mid-range Plex, TCL has now announced a full line-up of smartphones under the TCL 10 family. It includes the company's first 5G phone, costing just €399.


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Managua to Host Central American Travel Market
The fifth annual Central American Travel Market will take place at the CrownePlazaConvention Center in Managua, Nicaragua, Oct. 10 to 12.
The trade event, run by the Federation of Central American Tourism Chambers (FEDECATUR), will see representatives from approximately 140 tourism companies exhibiting their products, primarily to European wholesalers.
“It is a regional fair, so companies from all of the seven countries of Central America are participating,” Grethel Collins, executive director of the Nicaraguan National Tourism Chamber and organizer of this year’s fair, told The Tico Times.
“Central America as a region reached an agreement to promote itself in the European market because of the type of visitor that comes from there,” explained Adriana Brenes of the Costa Rican National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR). “On average, Europeans stay more than a week, and sometimes more than a fortnight, in order to visit the whole region.”
FEDECATUR wants to encourage this European model of multi-destination tourism, Brenes added.
“Not just one country, but all the countries together as one market – that is what we want to do here in Central America,” she said.
Different countries in the region hold the travel market alternately. Last year it was held at the Cariari Country Club, on the outskirts of San José (TT, Oct. 19, 2007), while in 2009 it is likely to be held in El Salvador.
According to Brenes, CANATUR has sold all 30 of the stands allocated to Costa Rica at the event. However, places are still available for Nicaraguan firms.
For more information, contact Collins at 505-270-2587 or visit www.catm2008.com.
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The government has informed the Lok Sabha that the number of cyber attacks in India has increased since 2018. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) revealed some data while responding to an unstarred question from MP B.B. Patil.
The government also acknowledged that adversaries are launching cyber attacks from foreign soil.
Attacks Originating from Foreign Jurisdictions
In its reply, MeitY revealed that since 2018, there has been an increase in the number of cyber attacks. Further, CERT-In’s analysis determined that attacks on Indian websites originated from jurisdictions located out of India. According to CERT-In’s reporting, the number of cyber attacks each year is as follows:
|No. of Websites Hacked
|2021 (till October)
The response added that the origin of attacks belonged to various countries including Algeria, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Netherlands, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Serbia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, USA, Vietnam, etc.
However, the response also remarked that attackers are using masquerading techniques and hidden servers to hide the identity of actual systems from which they are launching attacks.
Cyber Crisis Management Plan
Besides the data on cyber attacks, the government also revealed that it has:
- formulated a Cyber Crisis Management Plan for counter cyber attacks & cyber-terrorism;
- issuing alerts and advisories through CERT-In;
- auditing government websites and applications prior to hosting, and even after hosting;
- conducting cybersecurity mock drills in government and critical sectors. CERT-In has conducted 61 such drills with 600 organisations so far; and
- issued National Security Policy and Guidelines (NISPG) to all Minisries and Government Departments for implementation.
No Plans for a new Cyber Security Law
In a separate reply to an unstarred question put up by MP A. Raja, MeitY said that there is no proposal for a stand-alone law for cybersecurity.
It is pertinent to note that India does not have a special law to deal with cybersecurity. Although different provisions of the Information Technology Act, Information Technology Rules touch upon the subject, they are neither comprehensive nor up-to-date. The entire policy is scattered, with different sectoral regulators issuing separate guidelines.
Meanwhile, the UK has introduced a new cybersecurity bill to toughen standards and protect consumers from data breaches.


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Men should eat tomato know why: Do you also like to eat tomato? If so, then let us know that your favorite food is very beneficial for you, especially for men. According to recent research, the risk of skin cancer tumors is reduced by more than half of the men who consumed daily tomatoes. The researcher at Stadi told how nutritional intervention skin can change the risk of cancer. During the research, 10% of tomato powder was consumed and 35% of food was eaten daily in the men for food. Research showed that approximately 50% of skin cancer risk was less compared to those who did not eat tomato.
Ohio State University Jessica Copperstone of US says that the combination of tomatoes and cancer is such that the coloring elements of tomatoes protect the Dietary Carotenoids skin from ultraviolet rays. Earlier, according to the research on tomato, eating sunflower reduces the amount of tomato paste, because carotenoids are found in humans which are stored in the skin, which provides protection from ultraviolet light. Lycopene present in tomatoes is primarily carotenoids, which is the most beneficial antioxidant, but the complete tomato is more successful to protect from liquefaction than ultraviolet compared to lycopene.
In addition to Copperstone lycopene, researchers are now searching on tomato’s Kampa Ude to remove more benefits for health.


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Avnet has named Cisco EMEA Data Centre Distributor of the Year for 2015. The recent accolade comes as the two celebrated their fifth anniversary of business in 2015.
In the UK, Avnet has achieved a double-digit increase in data centre sales and significantly expanded partner reach in the last 12 months.
Avnet has fostered deep relationships with complementary technology vendors such as EMC, IBM, NetApp, Nimble, VMware and Veeam. These relationships have enabled Avnet’s partners to create complete solutions based on Cisco server technology to help their end-user customers improve productivity and profitability.
Miriam Murphy, senior vice president, Avnet Technology Solutions, North region, EMEA, said, “Being named Cisco EMEA Data Centre Distributor of the Year for 2015 underlines the progress Avnet UK has made in recent years. We have evolved into a specialist data centre solutions distributor, offering a completely integrated set of converged data centre solutions that have successfully helped our channel and vendor partners grow profitably.”
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NIBE Industrier AB of Sweden has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of WaterFurnace. The total equity value of the transaction is approximately C$378 million.
“This transaction is NIBE’s largest to date in North America and further elevates our position as one of the global market leaders in sustainable energy solutions,” said Gerteric Lindquist, CEO of NIBE. “Following our successful expansion of our Elements Division in the United States, the teaming up with WaterFurnace represents a strategic match and bridgehead into North America also for our largest business area Energy Systems. We are pleased to see that both groups share the same entrepreneurial tradition and technological vision, being one of the first companies to market geothermal heat pump solutions on respective sides of the Atlantic”
Tom Huntington, CEO of Waterfurnace, says he believes the acquisition will offer an excellent strategic partnership.
“The combined talents of these two fine companies are aimed at helping people around the globe find sustainable energy solutions. As CEO of WaterFurnace and on behalf of my whole team, I can state that we are excited to be joining one of the market leaders in our industry,” he said.
Founded in 1983, WaterFurnace has been known as a manufacturer of geothermal heat pump heating and cooling solutions in North America. The company’s product offering includes a range of geothermal heat pumps, smart control systems, hot water storage tanks, and indoor air quality solutions. Products are marketed under the WaterFurnace and GeoStar brands in North America, and the WFI brand via a joint venture in China.


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Post-pandemic chip M&A splurge targets the data center market; room for more consolidation in 2021
After a prolonged hiatus, M&A activity in the semiconductor landscape ramped up significantly this year, nearing the record levels of 2015. The consolidation surge was particularly notable during the second half of 2020. These deals targeted many end use markets but the common thread is the cloud data center market: remote work and study amid the COVID-19 pandemic has spiked demand for cloud-based tools and services. The dealmaking is not yet done. Next year is likely to witness more consolidation among chipmakers, despite geopolitical tensions between the US and China and stringent regulatory scrutiny serving as impediments to deal completion.
Flurry of chip deals bring cheers to an otherwise muted first half
Chip M&A activity had a quiet first half of the year, as COVID-19 created high levels of uncertainty and steep drops in GDP. Stock markets settled in 2H20, though, and big companies found ways to operate amidst a pandemic. COVID-19 remains a severe problem for many major economies, but improved business sentiment and a gradual economic recovery have fostered a strong climate for M&A.
With year-to-date announced deals already topping $100B in value, 2020 is turning out to be a blockbuster year for chip M&A. The mega-deal kickstart to the chip M&A frenzy was Analog Devices’ $20.9B acquisition of rival chipmaker Maxim Integrated Products in July 2020. This was followed by Nvidia’s acquisition of chip design house Arm for $40B in September 2020, the year’s biggest deal so far. The month of October saw a string of M&A agreements featuring the $9B acquisition of Intel’s NAND SSD business by SK Hynix, AMD’s $35B deal to acquire Xilinx, and Marvell’s $10B acquisition of Inphi.
Figure 1: Timeline of semiconductor M&A in 2H20
Source: MTN Consulting
Chipmakers aim at the lucrative cloud data center market
None of the big chip deals are focused narrowly on a single end market, but one key market is of common interest to all – the cloud data center. The deals differ from each other in terms of sub-market focus, though, stretching from power engineering and networking, to computing and storage – see Figure 2 below:
Figure 2: Data center aspects of 2020’s big chip M&A transactions
Source: MTN Consulting
Networking & Power Engineering
Networking and power management form the vital foundation of any data center infrastructure. Optical modules help connect not just the server racks inside data centers but also the data centers to one another across different locations. With the acquisition of Inphi, Marvell aims to target this space by providing interconnect solutions that enable seamless and speedy movement of data between and inside data centers.
Chips for power management have grown in significance over the years to control the biggest expense of running a data center, i.e. power utility costs. Analog Devices is seeking to address this issue through Maxim Integrated’s data center power chips, which also permit greater computational capability to data center operators.
Data centers typically house thousands of servers that process and run applications along with high performance computing (HPC) workloads. The processing and computational tasks are carried out by server processor chips that come in various forms: CPU, GPU, FPGA (field-programmable gate array), and ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Xilinx, and Infineon are some of the leading server processor vendors developing either one or most of the chip types.
The acquisitions announced by AMD and Nvidia relate to expansion into new server chip types, and also rivaling Intel as a more formidable force. AMD is looking to dent Intel’s customer base with the acquisition of Xilinx. The FPGA pioneer Xilinx had earlier managed to end Intel’s exclusivity with some its customers such as Microsoft. Meanwhile, GPU maker Nvidia will gain access to server CPU designs through its Arm acquisition. Arm-based server processors are already being adopted by webscalers like Amazon for its data centers. For now, Intel is looking to counter these developments through in-house efforts aimed at the server GPU market for data centers, extending its presence across all the four chip types.
On the storage side of things for data centers, Intel has agreed to sell off its NAND SSD business to SK Hynix. The assets sold include Intel’s NAND component and wafer business along with the NAND manufacturing plant in Dalian, China, but exclude Intel’s “Optane” memory business. Intel’s NAND memory chips are mostly used in smartphones but also data centers to support in-memory processing demands of the cloud. The business acquisition will elevate SK Hynix’s market share in the NAND memory market, which is currently dominated by Samsung Electronics.
Three key factors are fueling M&A among chipmakers
Three key factors discussed below are driving chip companies to go on a shopping spree:
- New applications: Key emerging applications based on AI/ML along with new evolving markets in edge computing, self-driving vehicles, and 5G have opened new frontiers for chipmakers. This is in addition to the ever-increasing demand for more media-intensive content such as images, audio, and video streaming over cloud that require faster server processors and networking capabilities for seamless and speedy transmission to end users.
- Faster time to market: Apart from the obvious reasons of expanding into new markets and accessing proprietary technologies, chipmakers are increasingly exploring M&A to cut down on the costly and lengthy R&D timeline associated with developing advanced process nodes and chips, thus enabling faster scaling. Slowdown in Moore’s law is also pushing chipmakers to look elsewhere.
- Improved market conditions: A low interest rate environment has enabled chipmakers to borrow modestly and finance acquisitions. Rising stock prices are also aiding large chipmakers such as AMD and Nvidia to fund their purchase either partially or entirely in stocks. Notably, Nvidia surpassed Intel as the largest US chipmaker by market cap in July 2020
More chip industry consolidation on cards but not without hurdles
The M&A activity in the chip market landscape is likely to continue into next year, but probably not at the scale of what has transpired so far in 2020. Even though the deal-making drivers discussed above will persist in 2021, future deals may confront more obstacles related to COVID-19 and geopolitics.
With COVID-19 expected to play out well into 2021, delays in deal-making would keep the deal volumes limited as carrying out negotiations, due-diligence, and audits would be challenging with travel restrictions and limited in-person meetings. For companies having long-term or strong working relationships with prospective acquirer or targets, the pandemic would be less of a worry, as seen with Nvidia-Arm or AMD-Xilinx for instance. These pairings shared strong working relationships prior to acquisition.
Geopolitical tensions between the US and China upsets the stability needed to make M&A deals happen. That’s especially true in the chip sector. With the situation not expected to get any better even under the Biden administration, China has been gearing towards chip self-sufficiency by pouring billions of dollars to support the growth of its domestic chip industry and advanced chip development. Furthermore, open-source chip architectures such as RISC-V have opened the gates for Chinese tech firms like Huawei. Chipmakers will be wary of snapping up companies amid a hostile business climate.
Last but not the least is the regulatory hurdle that an M&A transaction must go through before the final deal closure. Big-ticket deals are subjected to increased scrutiny due to wide-ranging issues such as strict antitrust laws, national security threats, access to proprietary technology, and sanctions imposed under trade disputes. All the chip M&A deals discussed above are pending regulatory approval, in multiple jurisdictions. Among them, the Nvidia-Arm deal is likely to raise eyebrows among the watchdogs, especially in Europe and China. China could essentially prove to be a spoilsport in the Nvidia-Arm deal: Chinese tech firms currently use UK-based Arm’s intellectual property to design chips, which could change post acquisition by US-based Nvidia. If China blocks this transaction, it would not be the first time. Two years ago, China blocked US-based Qualcomm from completing its acquisition of the Netherlands-based chipmaker NXP Semiconductors.


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Toyota is taking the tiny tandem Tango to Tron town. In a teaser video for the new i-Road, debuting at the Geneva Motor Show next week, we catch a light-bike-like glimpse of Toyota's quirky tandem-seat concept. We still don't know much about the vehicle itself, but the video does flash the words ...
In its fourth and final teaser before the 2014 Wraith is introduced next week, Rolls-Royce has released another image of the car showing a distinct fastback appearance. We've seen this car teased in its profile before, but that image had a heavy shadow over the rear of the car obscuring what ...


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Coins, paper money, plastic cards soon to be historic
- Published: Mar 27, 2012, 8 PM
The timeline futurists have predicted for the arrival of a cashless society came into sharp focus March 22 when financial industry experts briefed members of Congress on the rapid development and public adoption of mobile payment devices.
During the first of three hearings the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit says it plans to conduct on the future of money, technology experts noted that the ability to use handheld devices — smart phones — to access financial services in-store and online has already opened up channels of transactions that were not possible just a few years ago.
And, amazingly, the experts said that within the next five years smart phones are likely to become the primary way most Americans pay for goods and services, no matter the size of transactions.
Ed McLaughlin, chief emerging payments officer at MasterCard Worldwide, in his prepared testimony noted that while 85 percent of today’s transactions are still being conducted using cash and checks, smart phones and the Near Field Communication technology now used in them and tablets such as iPads provide such convenient and secure environment that their use will rapidly displace not only coins and paper money, but credit and debit cards as well.
Many in the numismatic community will likely be skeptical of such a rapid march to jettison traditional forms of money, especially in the United States, where we’ve spent more than 30 years trying to replace the $1 Federal Reserve note with a dollar coin and failed, despite logic and costs clearly pointing to the wisdom of such a change. Many researchers say the biggest obstacle to changing to dollar coins has been the “convenience factor.”
If convenience is truly the reason the small dollar coin has failed in the United Stares, then the financial technology experts are likely right on target. Smart phones and tablets are convenient and their use is growing by leaps and bounds. (The experts told Congress that wireless subscriber connections now exceed the total U.S. population and almost one out of three are smart phones or wireless enabled Personal Communications Digital Assistants.)
The banking industry will play a key role in the success of the rapid deployment of mobile payment technology, especially the Federal Reserve System. It is important to understand that the Fed is embracing the new technology and is playing a leadership role in mapping the path to standard protocols and security.
The Fed’s attitude toward mobile payment technology stands in sharp contrast to its approach to dollar coins. Congress and the United States Mint have had to beg and cajole the Fed into making dollar coins available to the public. Essentially the Fed has ignored every small dollar coin — Anthony, Sacagawea, Presidential and Native American.
Collectors take note: The coins in your pockets may become historic relics much sooner than you might have imagined. Young people 3 years of age and younger today may never experience buying candy and toys with cash money (subsidiary coins and paper dollars). Instead they are likely to grow up learning to tap their smart phones to pay for such items. The future of money is rapidly changing. ¦
US Coins Jan 21, 2022, 2 PM
US Coins Jan 20, 2022, 4 PM
US Coins Jan 19, 2022, 9 PM
US Coins Jan 18, 2022, 4 PM


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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 7/5/2013 (1564 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Charleswood residents now have more options, and convenience, for buying alcohol.
The Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation (MLLC) opened a Liquor Mart Express (LME) in the Park West Shopping Centre, 6640 Roblin Blvd., on April 29.
According to MLLC spokeswoman Susan Harrison, customers visiting the store in its opening days have been telling employees it’s about time.
"We do look at the needs of any area that we’re going into, and I know that area has seen a lot of growth," Harrison said of the decision to open a store in the area.
Paul Winslow, a 44-year resident of the area, tried out the new store for the first time on Wednesday. Usually he travels 20 blocks to the Liquor Mart at Charleswood Centre.
"It’s fantastic," Winslow said, adding he’s happy to see another storefront occupying part of the strip mall.
Dave and Sandra Anderson, also trying out the store for the first time on Wednesday, said the lone employee was very friendly.
"It’s just more convenient," Sandra said, explaining that in the past they travelled over the West Perimeter Bridge to the Liquor Mart at Portage Avenue and Cavalier Drive.
Sandra echoed Winslow’s happiness to see a new tenant in the strip mall, noting that even with the addition of the LME and a Pizza Hotline opening last week, the mall still has several empty storefronts.
The new 4,560 square-foot LME offers 1,000 unique products, making it by far the largest of the four LMEs now open in Manitoba and the only one with doors that open onto a parking lot.
The first such store opened inside Richardson International Airport in November of 2011. That was followed by one inside the Pembina Village Safeway in December 2012, and one in a Brandon Sobeys last March.
Harrison said the express stores are part of the province’s "hospitality strategy" announced in 2011, and the main purpose is to provide convenience.
The "express" designation is purely due to the size, she said.
"They’re smaller (and) they carry fewer listings than our regular liquor stores."
By comparison, the non-express Grant Park Liquor Mart is over 15,000 square feet and more than 3,300 unique products.
The original plan was to open five LMEs inside grocery stores and five as stand-alone stores, she said, but that may not happen until the "pilot project" has been evaluated.
No more LMEs are being built at this time, she said, though a new liquor mart being built in Winkler is slated to open in Dec. 2014.
Stacking up the LMEs:
Brandon West Sobeys:
1,000 square feet
Pembina Village Safeway:
755 square feet
Richardson International Airport:
600 square feet
Park West Shopping Centre:
4,560 square feet


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For Chinese language electrical automobile producers, Europe has lengthy been a precedence vacation spot for worldwide growth. With its affluence, environmental consciousness, and comparatively pleasant perspective in direction of China, the continent has attracted established gamers like BYD in addition to rising manufacturers like Nio and Xpeng.
Regardless of their bold plans, Chinese language EV makers but to realize the extent of success that they had hoped for in Europe. In 2022, BYD held a mere 0.3% market share throughout 14 main European markets, whereas Xpeng and Nio, which each entered Europe in 2021, every accounted for 0.1% of the area, in response to auto information monitoring website EU-EVs. Western carmakers proceed to dominate the market, with Tesla having fun with a 15% share, Volkswagen with 11.3%, and BMW with 6.2%.
It’s too quickly to say if China’s bold EV makers will ever set up a robust foothold in Europe, however the early tepid efficiency is driving them to hedge their bets. They’re setting their sights on a area midway between Europe and China — the Center East.
As international locations all over the world speed up efforts to part out fossil fuels, the oil-rich international locations within the Center East are additionally becoming a member of the fray to affect the auto trade. In a controversial transfer, the United Arab Emirates, a rustic recognized for its ample oil reserves, will host the 2023 United Nations-sponsored local weather talks, extra generally often called COP28.
“Oil is comparatively low cost [in the Gulf countries] however might be exported for a giant revenue margin. The cash constituted of export can then go in direction of subsidizing the home EV trade,” Emma Meng, an auto influencer with over one million followers on Weibo who can be an EV guide primarily based within the UAE, defined in an interview with Information World.
Chinese language electrical car producers are being attentive to these developments. The Center East, with an EV market that’s nonetheless nascent, presents a wealth of potential for development. However the identical challenges that Chinese language EV makers have confronted in Europe will come up as soon as once more on this land of alternatives.
Pushed to transcend China
China’s EV makers really feel an growing urgency to broaden abroad as client demand weakens amid an financial slowdown and Tesla’s aggressive worth cuts heighten home competitors.
The value struggle began by the American titan has triggered some 40 Chinese language EV manufacturers to slash costs. Even Nio, which prides itself on its premium model picture and pledged to not be part of the worth struggle, gave in finally.
“The Chinese language market is simply too cut-throat. EV makers don’t have any selection however to get out,” urged Meng.
The momentum in Europe is driving Chinese language EV makers to look elsewhere. In the meantime, the growing degree of government-level interactions between China and the Center East is providing reassurance for automakers to put money into the area.
In early December, President Xi Jinping traveled to Saudi Arabia, marking considered one of his first journeys overseas since China closed its borders to regulate the COVID-19 pandemic. His assembly with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was extensively considered as China’s try to claim extra affect within the area. In June, Saudi Arabia signed a historic $5.6 billion oil cope with China, additional solidifying the financial ties between the 2 international locations.
Nearly all main Chinese language EV makers have now developed plans for growth into the Center East, in response to Meng. For carmakers already current in Europe, the area represents a pure subsequent step as their European Union homologation makes it a lot simpler for the businesses to acquire certification for the Center East. The Center East additionally serves as a pleasant springboard for growth into North Africa, which shares similarities by way of faith, language, and local weather, with huge desert landscapes and sparse rainfall, Meng urged.
Having Chinese language EVs within the Center East might probably create a mutually useful state of affairs. To ascertain the required community to energy EVs, the oil-rich nations want to hunt exterior know-how. It come down to 2 choices.
“There are solely two kinds of EV corporations on this planet: Tesla, or Chinese language EV makers,” mentioned Meng. China’s repute for infrastructure growth makes it a great candidate to assist construct amenities like charging stations.
In line with one trade report, demand for EVs within the UAE is projected to develop by an annual price of 30% between 2022 and 2028, with Dubai alone anticipated to require 70,000 charging factors by 2030.
Meng’s consulting agency is considered one of many Chinese language companies tapping the area’s thirst for EV experience. In a three way partnership with Shenzhen Bus Group, it gained a bid to help within the electrification of Abu Dhabi’s public transport system by way of the deployment of electrical taxis and buses.
Slowed down by crimson tape
Regardless of the eagerness of Chinese language producers to enter the Center East, solely BYD has managed to open shops within the area up to now. This gradual tempo is partly attributed to the difficult technique of acquiring the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) certification, which is partially wanted to exhibit that the automobiles can face up to the area’s harsh climate circumstances.
Timing is essential for getting the approval to promote within the GCC. As Meng identified, there’s a temporary interval through the summer season when EVs might be examined to indicate they may carry out effectively in sizzling climate. If this window is missed, producers would wish to attend one other yr.
Nio lately scored a major funding of $738.5 million from the Abu Dhabi authorities. Nonetheless, there was no indication of when the corporate can start promoting within the nation.
Like different governments, the Center East expects international companies to play a task in driving the native financial system. However establishing, say, manufacturing on the international land might undermine Chinese language producers’ competitiveness — an entire provide chain and reasonably priced labor at residence that result in decrease costs.
Chinese language EVs exported to Europe and the Center East are already significantly costlier than their home costs. BYD’s well-liked ATTO3 (recognized in China as Yuan Plus) mannequin is priced at roughly twice as a lot within the UAE as in China principally attributable to steep logistics and homologation prices, in response to Meng.
Wait occasions for Chinese language EVs are additionally prolonged. Given the comparatively small export quantity, producers are nonetheless prioritizing their home fashions. Lengthy wait occasions, coupled with the absence of a longtime model repute and fewer aggressive pricing, undercut Chinese language EV automobiles’ enchantment to their international patrons. The upcoming yr will probably be key to find out if the Chinese language carmakers will stand a greater likelihood of success within the area.


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Manufacturers of Chinese goods are increasingly shipping via Mexico in order to avoid the impact of tariffs on imports directly to the US, a new analysis has found.
A review of customs data by the Financial Times (FT) and Xeneta revealed the number of 20-foot containers shipped from China to Mexico reached 881,000 in the first three quarters of 2023, up from 689,000 in the same period of 2022.
It was suggested that many of the goods imported are then moved onto trucks in order to complete their journey, as evidenced by growing numbers of cross-border shipments from Mexico to the US.
The publication noted that direct shipments to the US from China have fallen from around a fifth of the US' total imports in 2017 to around 15 percent today, following the introduction of new tariffs by the administration of Donald Trump, many of which have been retained or expanded on by current president Joe Biden.
Erik Devetak, chief product and data officer at Xeneta, told the FT: “Reducing reliance on China is an easy sound bite for politicians, but the reality is very different.”
He added that a true realignment of manufacturing to cut the US' dependence on Chinese goods would be "a vast undertaking which will take many years and a colossal amount of investment and state intervention to achieve”.
Among the main beneficiaries of using Mexico as a stop on the supply chain is China's auto manufacturing sector. Figures from the INA, Mexico’s trade body for auto parts suppliers, show that there were 33 Chinese-owned companies with Mexican operations in 2023. These shipped $1.1 billion worth of parts to the US, up from $711 million in 2021. Meanwhile, Mexico imported almost $9 billion of vehicle parts from China last year.
Currently, cars and auto parts shipped directly to the US from China are subject to tariffs of 25 percent. However, automobiles manufactured in Mexico only attract a 2.5 per cent US levy, while parts put together in Mexico incur tariffs of between zero and six percent.
The FT noted that Mexico is looking to address the issue, introducing its own tariffs of between five and 25 percent on Chinese imports last year, but added it is unclear how effectively these will be enforced.


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A robot dog equipped with a grenade launcher that appears to be a modified Chinese robotic pet has been unveiled at a Russian arms expo.
Russian-state owned news agency RIA Novosti shared a video of the RPG-bearing robot dog, filmed at Russia’s annual Army-2022 international arms expo on Monday.
The news agency reported that the machine, dubbed the M-81, is capable of shooting and transporting weapons, as well as delivering medicine and supplies to front-line soldiers.
Despite being covered in black cloth, the positioning of the robot’s sensors and its overall frame resembled that of a G01 consumer-grade robot sold by Chinese manufacturer Unitree Robotics.
It is available for sale through online marketplaces like AliExpress for around £350, advertised as a “light and compact” companion robot.
“The human-machine interaction is both harmonious and safe,” Unitree’s website states.
“Robot walks alongside its human master, which is much better than the conventional following mode.”
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) August 15, 2022
Unlike some other advanced robot manufacturers, Unitree does not appear to include any safeguards against weaponising its robots, though its terms and conditions warn that any damages caused by “unauthorised modification” will not be covered by its sales warranty.
It is not the first robot dog to be equipped with a weapon, with a widely-shared video last month showing what appears to be another Unitree device firing a machine gun strapped to its back.
Leading US manufacturer Boston Dynamics has a strict policy preventing its quadrupedal Spot robot from being modified
Boston Dynamics’ terms of service state: “All buyers must agree to our Terms and Conditions of Sale, which state that our products must be used in compliance with the law, and cannot be used to harm or intimidate people or animals, or be used as a weapon or configured to hold a weapon.
“Any violation of our Terms will automatically void the product’s warranty and prevent the robot from being updated, serviced, repaired or replaced.”


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COTTCO is in the process of paying farmers their outstanding payments from last season following the release of $500 million by Treasury last week.
The $500 million is part of the $2 billion owed to farmers by the company.
Cottco managing director Mr Pious Manamike on Wednesday confirmed that Treasury released the money last Friday and farmers had started receiving their payments.
“We have received $500 million from Treasury and we still owe farmers $1, 5 billion. Treasury has committed to release $500 million every week so we are expecting another $500 million this week.
“We have started paying farmers their money,” said Mr Manamike.
Cotton Producers and Marketers Association national chairperson, Mr Stewart Mubonderi confirmed that farmers had started receiving their money.
“We are grateful to Treasury for the release of the money. At least farmers are now being paid. We urge Government to release the money on a weekly basis as per their promise,” he said.
Mr Mubonderi commended Government efforts to capacitate Cottco and ensure farmers are paid timely.
“Also, the announcement by the Minister that by March this year Government will be a major shareholder at Cottco is good news to our farmers. Hopefully the move will solve our perennial payment challenges. We also welcome the $US30 per 250 kg as announced by the Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) up from the $US10 given last year. This will motivate our farmers to be more productive,” he said.
Mr Mubonderi said cotton farmers were currently busy weeding and spraying against pests.
“They are also receiving fertilisers and we encourage them not to abuse this special input but to put it to good use and get better yields,” he said.
Government is supporting cotton production through availing free inputs under the Presidential Input Scheme.
Production of cotton is expected to transform rural population’s livelihoods while generating huge benefits for the economy at large through exports.
Cotton is a strategic crop that is interwoven into the rural economy and the national economy by virtue of it being a cash crop to many farmers, particularly those in drought prone areas.
The crop provides lint for downstream textile industries, seed for cooking oil, and generates export earnings.
Seed residue after the oil is extracted for human consumption is used in animal feeds.
The intervention by Government on cotton production through the Presidential Inputs Scheme was meant to revive the sector, which was collapsing due to low prices offered by merchants and other problems related to inputs.


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Travellers look for more adventurous breaks
A growing number of Aussies are becoming more adventurous when they select their holiday destinations.
While Asia has been a long-term favourite among people from down under, it seems that plenty of travellers are trying to cast their net even further.
With the dollar currently very strong against the euro, many Aussies may be tempted to take advantage of the best exchange rates before heading to destinations in eastern Europe.
Travel expert at Cheapflights.co.uk Nadine Hallak suggested that places such as Montenegro, Romania and Macedonia are proving to be increasingly popular holiday destinations.
Although many Aussies may have opted for Italy, France and the UK when embarking on a European tour in the past, there are plenty of beautiful places to see in the less fashionable eastern countries. Aussies' overseas travel money is also much more likely to stretch further in these destinations too.
ANZ's currency strategist Andrew Salter recently told the Sydney Morning Herald that the eurozone crisis has made the continent far more accessible to Aussies, who may have previously been unable to afford to get there.
Have a question about travel money? Ask the money gurus at Mozo Answers.


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Heavily addicted smokers do not get enough support to help them quit, warns a UK report published last week. It calls for better access to nicotine replacement treatment as part of a harm reduction strategy.
It proposes that a new nicotine regulatory authority be established to oversee all aspects of regulation of nicotine products and to coordinate efforts to end the advantage that cigarettes currently have in the marketplace over alternative products such as gums and patches.
The report, published by the Royal College of Physicians, argues that smokers smoke mainly for the effects of nicotine, that nicotine itself is not especially hazardous, and that providing nicotine in an acceptable and effective form such as cigarette substitutes could save millions of lives. It recommends changing the regulations governing nicotine products so that substitutes are as easy to buy as cigarettes and so that they can provide a higher level of nicotine than is provided by the substitutes currently available.
Current regulatory systems governing nicotine products in most countries, including the United Kingdom, actively discourage the development, marketing, and promotion of substitute products to smokers, the report says. In contrast, cigarettes are relatively unregulated, giving them an unfair advantage in the marketplace.
John Britton, professor of epidemiology at Nottingham University and chairman of the royal college's tobacco advisory group, said, “Smokers smoke because they are addicted to nicotine, but it isn't nicotine in cigarette smoke that kills: it's the hundreds of other toxic chemicals that come with it.”
He said that much of the current effort in the UK to reduce smoking aimed to prevent people from starting to smoke and to help smokers quit completely. But he noted: “There are millions of smokers who can't quit or else who are unlikely to quit, and those people need nicotine products that can satisfy their addiction without killing them.”
Acknowledging the highly addictive nature of nicotine, Professor Britton said, “If we could provide the nicotine hit that smokers seek in a form that is acceptable and effective as a cigarette substitute, millions of lives could be saved by encouraging smokers to switch to lower risk nicotine products—ideally as a step towards complete quitting or else as a long term, less risky alternative to smoking.
He added, “We would like to see nicotine products that deliver as much nicotine as quickly as cigarettes.” These may be similar to current nicotine replacement products, such as gums and patches, but would contain higher amounts of nicotine. Higher nicotine content would make the products more addictive, so regulations would need to be changed to take this into account. To encourage smokers to choose these products they should also be more attractive and cheaper than cigarettes, Professor Britton said.
The report says that a new regulatory framework would include measures designed to provide smokers with safer sources of nicotine and effective cigarette substitutes and to encourage the development of more effective and user friendly medicinal substitutes to nicotine.
Jean King, director of tobacco control at Cancer Research UK, said, “We welcome this report, which highlights the stark fact that cigarettes—which are the most dangerous way of obtaining nicotine—are freely available and accessible, while medicinal nicotine products—which by comparison carry minimal risk—are heavily regulated and therefore much less readily available.
“We also strongly support a fully independent tobacco and nicotine regulatory authority to govern all tobacco and nicotine products. If nicotine can be provided in a form and at a price that offers a far more attractive and accessible alternative to smoking than at present, many lives could be saved.”
Harm Reduction in Nicotine Addiction: Helping People Who Can't Quit is at www.rcplondon.ac.uk/pubs/brochure.aspx?e=234.


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KB Toys yesterday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, becoming the second toy retailer to fall victim to the fierce price wars that marked the holiday shopping season.
KB’s filing, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, comes six weeks after FAO Inc. sought protection under the bankruptcy code.
Both companies were unable to compete during the peak holiday season with the deep discounts offered by Wal-Mart, Target and Toys ‘R’ Us.
As reported in The Post, KB missed a key December payment to suppliers.
Subsequent to that missed payment, according court documents filed yesterday, KB contacted Bear, Stearns & Co. to find a buyer, but discussions with five potential suitors failed to result in a deal.
Instead, KB said, it would restructure its operations by closing 400 to 500 of its 1,231 stores.
KB, which is controlled by Bain Capital, said it had secured $350 million in financing from a group led by Fleet Retail Group.
Hasbro is listed as the store’s largest unsecured creditor, with a claim of $15 million. Mattel appears to be owed far less, claiming only $1 million, according to court documents.
The disparity raised eyebrows among some observers.
One person familiar with the proceedings said the amounts filed with the court yesterday were only rough estimates culled from KB’s books. Once Mattel files an official proof of claim, the amount owed the company is likely to climb 10-fold, this person said.


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OnePlus security breach exposes customers' personal info
According to a security notification sent from OnePlus today, an unauthorized third party gained access to customers’ order information.
The intruder didn’t access people’s payment information, passwords, and accounts. However, OnePlus said names, contact numbers, and shipping addresses “may have been exposed.” The company said it “took immediate steps to stop the intruder and reinforce security.” It’s also working with authorities to investigate the matter.
In the email, OnePlus also said it will update customers on the investigation. The company didn’t say how long it’s known about the intrusion or how many people are affected.
On OnePlus’ forums, OnePlus security team member Ziv C. posted the following statement:
We want to update you that we have discovered that some of our users’ order information was accessed by an unauthorized party. We can confirm that all payment information, passwords, and accounts are safe, but certain users’ name, contact number, email, and shipping addresses may have been exposed. Impacted users may receive spam and phishing emails as a result of this incident.We took immediate steps to stop the intruder and reinforce security. Before making this public, we informed our impacted users by email. Right now, we are working with the relevant authorities to further investigate this incident.We are deeply sorry about this, and are committed to doing everything in our power to prevent further such incidents. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at Customer Support.
When reached for comment, OnePlus issued a similar statement. Also, the company pointed us to the forum post with the statement posted above.


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Tales of Fantasy alpha test begins
Tales of Fantasy, a new MMO from IGG that features mounted combat, has begun its alpha phase of testing today. The test will last for eight days, and those lucky enough to get an alpha test key and play will be entered for a chance to win an Apple iPad.
IGG is offering alpha keys to players who refer enough friends to their gaming portal to earn credits for an Alpha Key. Details on the referral event can be found here.
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Cyber Monday to be biggest online shopping day of year
by Frank Mungeam
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 11:06 PM
Portlanders enjoy the latest heat wave
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US probes complaints that Ford Escape doors can open while SUVs are being driven
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating complaints that the doors on some Ford Escapes can open while the SUVs are being driven.
The investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers 346,000 Escapes from the 2020 and 2021 model years.
The agency says in documents posted Tuesday on its website that it has 118 complaints that spot welds in a door assembly bracket can fail. Investigators contacted some of the owners and found 25 reports of minor injuries.
Many reported a popping noise when they opened the door as a bracket begins to separate. The agency says continued use could dislodge the door, and it could fail to latch when closed.
Ford says it’s working with the agency to support the investigation.
NHTSA says the probe will determine whether the problem creates an unreasonable risk to highway safety. The agency could seek a recall.


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Asda’s Just Essentials has been a resounding success. So much so that buying limits had to be introduced on the budget range, which scooped a Grocer Gold Award this summer.
So the rationalisation of Just Essentials, reported this week, may seem like an odd move. It’s not a game-changing reduction in lines – it has fallen from 293 to 269 SKUs, according to IPLC research – and may simply come down to factors that Asda highlighted, such as availability and duplication.
But it could equally be a calculated decision. As commentators pointed out at the time of launch, a hugely successful budget range is a double-edged sword. Yes, it is a powerful proposition during a cost of living crisis – one that can help secure loyalty and drive footfall. On the flipside, margins are low or even negative. So if the range is too appealing, it poses a threat to margin mix – and could even encourage shoppers of standard tiers to trade down.
By all accounts, Asda’s range has been selling well ahead of expectations. As summed up by Paul Stainton of IPLC: “It must be costing them a hell of a lot of money.”
If this was a calculated move, Asda would be in good company. Morrisons is also looking to manage sales of its budget range. While it has rolled out its Savers to c-stores, it’s still only a limited selection. And IPLC found its Savers SKU count was noticeably lower online than it was in physical stores.
It’s an understandable tactic to preserve margin mix. Still, Asda could be playing a dangerous game at a time of ever-intensifying price competition. For the second week in a row, the typically unrivalled victor on price has been undercut by Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s loyalty schemes in the Grocer 33.
Granted, this doesn’t take into account Asda Rewards, which is a more traditional, rewards-building loyalty scheme. And a reduction on Just Essentials SKUs is unlikely to make a seismic impact on shoppers. But if this is part of a wider strategy, it could risk pushing shoppers into the arms of rivals. In this case, Asda will need to think carefully about the balance between delivering for shoppers, and delivering on its margin mix.


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How South Korea is Re-Positioning Itself as a Global Crypto-Market Leader
Despite banning initial coin offerings (ICOs) some months ago, South Korea seems to be re-positioning itself to become a major global player in the cryptocurrency industry. Other than lifting the ICO ban and rolling out strict cryptocurrency regulations, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) has stated that it is not opposed to cryptocurrencies as it plans to implement cross border crypto regulations agreed during the G20 summit.
Additionally, the Bank of Korea has said that cryptocurrency investments pose a small risk to South Korea’s financial market. As of December 2017, the cryptocurrency balance held in South Korea's local banks stood at $1.79 billion, which is about 8% of the country's brokerage houses total deposits.
Significant Impact Although the share of cryptocurrency balances in South Korean banks is small compared to other sectors, these decisions will likely have a significant effect on the global cryptocurrency market. According to Jess Davis, CEO of Uberstate, the significance of the decisions is an impending global blockchain acceptance as countries are putting their infrastructure in place.
He says, “The significance of Korea and outlying G20 countries support mean that there is impending acceptance of Blockchain as a technology and medium of exchange. Currently countries and banks are putting in place the global infrastructure to connect all countries on similar payment systems and find the highest and best uses for distributed immutable ledger technology.”
The growth witnessed in the cryptocurrency space has led to an emergence of innovative solutions on the blockchain. Some notable ICO projects include URAllowance with parent-children interaction solutions, BlockVest that utilizes smart contracts to facilitate digital asset management and IOU that provides customer satisfaction solutions to the e-commerce industry.
Other revolutionary ICO projects are precious metal trading platform AnthemGold, Bank52, a networking, collaborative and smart data banking platform and Bitque, a peer-to-peer exchange platform for digital currency traders.
A Paradigm Shift Alex Karasulu, co-CEO and founder of OptDyn is of the opinion that there is a shift in the global cryptocurrency market from countries that resist crypto-friendly countries. He holds that countries that try to stop cryptocurrencies will only lose on cryptocurrency wealth.
He says, “South Korea’s directional pivot removes another brick in the wall. In fact, it removes several bricks because it demonstrates the futility, yet again, of governments resisting the global cryptocurrency tsunami. China, an economic juggernaut, demonstrated the severe repercussions of trying to stop that train in 2017, with cryptocurrency capital flight into progressive neighbors like South Korea and Singapore.”
“The domino effect has begun and we’ve seen it twice now with two large economies that overreacted and have corrected themselves to embrace cryptocurrency based banking, token distribution events, and exchanges. Otherwise the wealth simply seeps out of their institutions into those outside that are more cryptocurrency friendly,” he adds.
Similarly, Antonio Sainz, co-founder and CEO of Inclusivity wants other countries to follow South Korea’s decision as any contrary move will only see them miss the opportunity to lead the cryptocurrency market.
He says, “In the cryptocurrency market there are two positions: those who want to lead the market and not lose this opportunity and the fearful who seek protection via regulations and who can lose the train of innovation and the market. Let each country choose its position. Korea seems that they have chosen their way, I hope the others countries to choose the right train.”
Disclaimer: David Drake is on the advisory board for most of the firms mentioned or quoted in this article.
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A man in his early 40s — we’ll call him Matt — sat down at his computer to figure out how to spend some quality time with his wife, Christy, and son Chase. He’d been working late a lot and wanted some good bonding time during the weekend.
He began perusing some outdoorsy ideas — it was supposed to be a nice weekend, and the family liked spending time outside — and eventually this culminated in Matt and Christy walking out of Mount Dora Boating Center and Marina in Florida with a 20-foot Monterey runabout with a tower. It was about a $45,000 boat.
“They were the perfect demographic,” says Mount Dora owner Joe Lewis. “They came to us, bought the boat, and they keep it in the marina. And because he is the target, the people we are looking for and trying to actively get into boating, we had dinner and I wanted to pick his mind about what brought him to us.”
It was DiscoverBoating.com.
Matt didn’t know it, but one day as he was trying to figure out how to spend leisure time with his family, he wound up on the Discover Boating website. He looked around and was referred to Monterey’s website after plugging in what he and his family would like to do with a boat via Discover Boating’s boat selector tool.
“Eventually he was referred to me,” says Lewis. “And here’s the kicker — he didn’t even know it. He told me the key was a boat selector tool. He was saying he was on this site, and it was really neat because he could say what he wanted to do with the boat, how many people would be using it, and it led him to me. It wasn’t until we sat down at dinner and started talking that he even realized he was on the website.”
That’s not the ideal way for this to unfold, Discover Boating president Carl Blackwell acknowledges. Blackwell is working hard to increase the brand awareness of the national industrywide campaign, which is designed to draw more people to boating. “Why do you care about brand awareness? It helps us with credibility,” Blackwell says. But either way, he will take it — the website, the campaign and the tool did exactly what they were designed to do.
“My biggest challenge is keeping him,” Lewis admits. “His boat’s got 10.5 hours on it after a year. So affordability and time are a huge issue. Now Chase is in baseball. Their affordability isn’t dollars and cents. It’s the time factor.”
And thus goes the story of Discover Boating. Any discussion about whether the campaign is working and doing what it is designed to do (essentially get people boating) inevitably runs into certain realities — changing family dynamics, time spent in kids’ activities on weekends and affordability. Those issues just might not be addressable by an industrywide campaign.
The crucial juncture
There are lots of numbers involved with Discover Boating — impressions, website visits, manufacturer referrals — but as Lewis says: “We can’t always definitively say what that has meant quantitatively. Once they go from Discover Boating’s website to a manufacturer website, we’ve accomplished our mission,” says Lewis, who sits on the Grow Boating board that he chaired for a number of years. “That’s all we can do. It’s then the responsibility of the industry to turn that person into a person on the water. That’s where the rubber meets the road.
“The Grow Boating initiative and Discover Boating were never meant to be sales promotions,” Lewis adds. “They were always meant to be awareness campaigns.”
It’s indisputably a lot of awareness. As Larry Russo of Boston-based Russo Marine says, there are metrics to measure consumer responses and impressions. “All those metrics are up over the last several years,” says Russo, who also sits on the Discover Boating board.
“We have an integrated marketing plan that involves website, social media, public relations, and that is all working very effectively to drive people to DiscoverBoating.com and get them to manufacturer websites,” says Thom Dammrich, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association. “And it’s the manufacturer’s job to sell them and pique their interest further to refer them to a dealer.”
“Just look at the results,” says Lewis. “One of the most shining examples I can give you now is the number of referrals to manufacturers’ websites from Discover Boating. We’re up over last year by 83 percent.”
Of the 3.4 million people visiting Discover Boating.com, 1.8 million clicked on manufacturer websites — something that takes some clicking around on the website, Blackwell says.
“As we have educated people about this strategy and talked to people about this strategy, what we find is that among the builders who look at analytics, most tell us Discover Boating is in the top three or top five of Internet referral sources for traffic. So we are sending a significant amount of traffic their way,” says Dammrich.
That is because the site is much more engaging than in the past, Russo says. “Our Facebook metrics are way up. We’re making a difference. It ultimately trickles down to how many leads get referred to manufacturers. That’s the ultimate drive to the success of Discover Boating. If we continue to grow that result and put more names of customers into the hands of manufacturers that trickle down to dealers, it gives us more opportunities to sell boats. And we see those numbers going exponentially up and up.”
Never gonna happen
When Dammrich joined the NMMA 15 years ago, the industry had been discussing an industrywide growth effort for 25 years, he says. There had been widespread criticism of a United Growth Effort because nothing was happening. The prevalent mindset in the industry seemed to be that there was no way to get everyone on board with any funding mechanism.
It was soon after that the NMMA decided to do some research and “base decisions on how to move forward on research rather than opinions,” Dammrich says. “That was different than any other previous efforts, which were based on opinions.” Along with a growth initiative discussion, certification programs were implemented to improve products and customer experiences at the dealer level, Dammrich says.
Funding was based on the horsepower of engines, starting at $1 and going up to $72 for inboard and sterndrive engines larger than 300 hp. Some funding comes from membership dues, such as the Marine Industry Certified Dealership Program, which was launched in 2005.
The 700 accessories manufacturers that are members of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, of which Blackwell is marketing vice president, have had their dues — which vary based on sales — raised 25 percent in recent months. That cash goes directly into Discover Boating coffers, Blackwell says. “We have a slew of new contributors this year,” he says.
“If we can get more parts of the industry to contribute so it doesn’t all rest just on the backs of engine manufacturers, boat manufacturers and dealers, I think that’s how the industry wins,” Blackwell says. “So having the accessories contribute, as well, was a nice win for the campaign and a nice endorsement for us.” The group lost “one or maybe two” members after the increase. “But we’ve more than made up for that because we’ve gotten new members since. They’ve embraced it.
“If we can get some of the other niches out there to contribute, that’d be great,” he says.
Lewis says the numbers show that Discover Boating is having an impact. “Are we having the impact I’d like to have? No. But we just don’t have the budget we used to have.”
The program enjoyed three years with a “great budget” until the Great Recession, Dammrich says. “We continue to certify boats, and certify dealers through the Marine Dealer Certification Program, and a third of the funds continue to very effectively promote the boating lifestyle,” he says.
Some critics point to the RV industry’s campaign — GoRVing — as an example of how they’d like to see the Discover Boating campaign work. But there are a few inherent differences between the two, Dammrich says. “They’re back to selling 350,000 units a year, and we’re selling half of that. I’m confident boat sales are going to increase slowly over the next five years and we’ll get to some number over 200,000 units.”
Also, the RV industry has been at it for 20 years. “We’ve been at it for eight,” Dammrich points out. “And I would agree, the whole RVing industry is highly unified behind the campaign. But that’s true for us, too. You hear the occasional gripe and complaint, but I think for the most part manufacturers and dealers largely are united behind DB.”
“Anytime I heard a dealer offering criticism and comparing Discover Boating to Go RVing, it’s because it’s on cable TV and media other than social media,” Lewis says. “With our budget, we’re just not throwing out a large enough net.”
Board members today would like to see funding increased, Russo says. “But you have pushback from major corporations, and they have a lot of sway.”
Dollars per unit of horsepower have not changed since 2006, Lewis says. “I think that’s part of the hangover factors … from the recession. People are very, very against talking about increases.” Although Lewis understands that businesses are still pressed, “Where else can you invest that small amount of dollars to increase a future market for yourselves?”
Dammrich stresses that even with the current budget, Discover Boating has an integrated marketing campaign that involves a website, online marketing, social media and public relations, and he says it’s all working very effectively together.
“If we had more money, what would we do with it? I think we would get onto cable television,” Dammrich says. “That would allow what we’re doing very effectively to be magnified by its ability to reach more people. It would make what we’re already doing better.”
What the campaign is doing has gotten the attention of Facebook, where company officials wanted to know how Discover Boating had earned more than a half-million fans so quickly, earning the campaign a Gold Effie Award in the small-budgets category. “There’s a long list of things we need to do,” Blackwell says. “The industry seems to be doing well, which is great for us, and it’s great to have some momentum going. Yet I still think, from a Discover Boating perspective, there’s a lot of work for us to do.”
The message is getting out there, and Lewis thinks commercials such as the one that shows a GMC truck pulling a boat and comparing the luxurious interior of the truck to the boat, is a result of more visibility around the brand of boating.
“I’m noticing more of that, and I’m not sure if it’s because I’m in boating,” Blackwell says. “But I see more boats in commercials, on TV and in movies, I think, a lot more than I used to.”
The campaign seeks to integrate boats into popular culture, sort of in the way that Andy Samberg, formerly of “Saturday Night Live,” accomplished in the rap video (with explicit lyrics) “I’m On A Boat.” “That became a part of pop culture,” Blackwell says. “That is sort of the kind of thing we try to do and capitalize on. Like the term #boatie. We had thousands of people tagging selfies on boats #boatie this year. We’re going to try to continue to weave boating into popular culture. I would love to get ‘boatie’ into the Webster dictionary.”
Whatever they’re doing, they try to be where the consumer is, he says. “I think it’s pretty cool to have a mobile-responsive site, and now 40 percent of our traffic is coming from those devices. Now we’re into video.” The Stories of Discovery that were shot last year were videos with different boaters — country star Jake Owen, a Hispanic family, for example — and the numbers of people who watched the videos from beginning to end were off the charts, he says.
“We’re seeing a lot of traction,” Dammrich says. “All of it works together to create the traction. Our strategy this year was focused much more on what’s known as content marketing. Stories of Discovery are content, and we’re creating other content. We place our advertising so it doesn’t look like an advertisement — native content. We’re continuing that and developing more Stories of Discovery. Video has been a big part of that from day one. Video sells boating very effectively, though one of the things you’ll find is that Discover Boating videos are more focused on people’s faces, full of emotion, rather than boats flying across the screen.”
Moving the needle
One point that sometimes goes unnoticed is that 50 percent of Discover Boating visitors are current or lapsed boaters, Blackwell says. That means the project is not only targeting entry-level boaters, as some manufacturers complain — particularly those not selling entry-level boats. But when Blackwell gets a chance, he sits down to show critics how the dots are connected. “The thing is, somebody’s got to be out there promoting boating. Discover Boating’s mission is to get the pie bigger, so we have to start somewhere. And for those people who are getting into boating today, at some point they’re going to buy that second and third boat.”
“These changes occur gradually over time. They don’t happen overnight,” Dammrich says. “It’s step by step, inch by inch. Discover Boating can only do so much. We don’t sell boats. So the industry has to pick this up and run with it. Discover Boating can provide an example and leadership, but the industry’s got to pick it up and run with it.
“The biggest message I have is what we’re doing is working,” he adds. “If we had a bigger budget it would work better, but we’re not counting on having a bigger budget, so the money being invested is working very hard for the industry and the industry needs to pay more attention. It has to make better use of the resources out there for them and have a better understanding of what is being done for their benefit.”
For example, the Stories of Discovery videos have been popular and are available for dealers and manufacturers to embed on their websites. That can increase optimization during web searches — that is, potentially get your dealership to pop up over a competitor’s.
Teasing out the issues
Affordability. Ethnic diversity. Millennials. Shifting family dynamics. The question becomes, are these issues that can be addressed by an industry campaign? “I applaud the overall initiatives,” Russo says. “We always have to be getting our minds together on solutions to our problems. This is a shrinking industry. What do we do to stop the shrink? How do we make this a more attractive resource to Gen Xers and millennials. Boomers have the gene, but they’re dying.”
The millennials are more educated and loaded with more debt than any other group in the history of our country, Russo says. They have been distracted by other forms of social interaction, and boating is not top of mind. “How do we reach that demographic and influence them positively about boating?”
The average boater age is about 55 today, and it increases six months a year. So that means that in a decade, the average age will be 60, Blackwell says. “I don’t want to be one of those industries like golf. I saw something where they close a golf course in this country every day.”
Part of how Discover Boating addresses those issues is through research, he says. For example, research showed that people ages 25 to 34 had far fewer barriers and far fewer perceptions that cost even was a barrier than the 35- to 54-year-old category. “Part of that probably is the life stage they’re in. They don’t know about the barriers because they haven’t bought the boat yet or maybe they’re a little naive. My point is if we can reach these folks at that age, before they make that decision to buy that RV or second home — if get them thinking about boating earlier, before life happens, they’ll probably stay in boating longer. That information was startling to us. It was pretty eye-opening.”
That’s why affordability has been such an issue. Time and affordability are big challenges, but gateways to boating are emerging, Blackwell points out. “If we were to reach a younger demographic, they might even go in together and buy a boat” or turn to boating clubs or time shares or companies that allow owners to rent out boats when they’re not in use. “The industry’s starting to provide more opportunity to have experiences on a boat.”
There are many ways to get boating to cost less, Lewis says. “In terms of getting people to recreate on the water, there are a lot of ways they can do it. But we’ve got to make sure we’re positioning ourselves in that way, and that’s what Welcome to the Water is all about.” (Welcome to the Water is a campaign within Discover Boating.) “If we get them out there and they develop a passion for it, they’re going to figure out how to do it.
“That’s when affordability comes back into the value equation,” Lewis adds. “Can we make that 10.5 hours worth it in their minds? Fortunately, with Matt and Christy and Chase, I’m winning that battle.”
This article originally appeared in the December 2014 issue.


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Travellers can now buy Boatyard Double Gin at Belfast International Airport
TRAVELLERS passing through Belfast International Airport will now be able to pick up a taste of Fermanagh after the Boatyard Distillery sealed a deal with Aelia Duty Free to stock its award-winning Boatyard Double Gin.
Following its success at the spirits design masters, the newest product from the Enniskillen-based distillery has been hailed as an exceptional spirit.
Speaking at a special tasting to launch the airport’s latest product, Joe McGirr, founder of the Boatyard Distillery, said: "Now visitors from all over the world will be able to take a taste of Fermanagh home with them as they leave Northern Ireland.
"We’re proud that Boatyard Double Gin has been recognised as a one of Northern Ireland’s finest local products and we hope they''ll be flying off the shelves”


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Legitimate payday loans
5 percent atone position Thursday to the lowest price since July after the organization produced its fourth-quarter earnings outcomes. Fords conventional counterparts in Detroit's futures, Fiat Chrysler and General Motors Co.also fell while the broader stockmarket increased. For investors, Fords legitimate payday loans solidified their issue the automaker will be less profitable this season in North America in the home. The organization claimed it'd a 10.
That prompted Apple to threaten to remove the app from its store, based on the page. Spotify pulled on a marketing campaign pressing on the promotion, but also ceased enabling shoppers to pay via the App Store. Apple trumping current products using its own competing services' exercise has become generally known as Sherlocking inside the app developer community. The label stems a search-tool on Apples PC operating systems that within the early-2000s was updated to include the identical methods that the additional program had started providing just a legitimate payday loans months beforehand, from Sherlock.
The shares rose around 4. 4 percent to some file 898. 5 kroner in Copenhagen on Friday, pushing the companys market-value to 108. 2 billion kroner (16 billion). The investment rallied 73 percent in 2015.
Obtaining the Whitehouse put a force on colleges to legitimate payday loans out seeking guy that is less provides some emergency towards the matter, Livingstone says, however the executive department isnt precisely going to be checking on her peers. Universities should press themselves forward, she suggests, to ensure that they are exemplifying how agencies should be run. It's about the Bloomberg Final before itis here. FIND OUT MORE Chinas entrepreneurs make money. They need to love the motherland, appreciate the folks, appreciate the Communist Party, and definitely exercise socialist key beliefs, Leader Xi Jinping informed businessmen.
He claims while he helped his clients handle their diseases, he was not changing their lives. Before strolling out the entranceway in 2008, he attended the Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lifestyles meeting in the Napa Valley, a venture between your Harvard H of Florida. Chan School of America of Public Health Insurance And the Culinary Institute. The seminar shows medical researchers in regards to nutrition and exercise's fundamentals, concentrating not only on legitimate payday loans to eat but also on how to prepare it, topics many medical curricula never feel.


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Stories by Victor Ahiuma-Young
THE issue of decent work has become part of global industrial relations practice.
Few days ago, when the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA, announced the successful accreditation of NECA, Global Certification Limited, NGCL, an indigenous global certification body to enhance global competitiveness, NECA also assured of decent work in its operations.
Announcing the birth of NGCL at a briefing in Lagos, NECA Director-General designate, Mr. Timothy Olawale, said NGCL had been internationally accredited as the first indigenous certification body in Nigeria to provide certification and training services for companies locally and internationally.
He informed that NGCL certification was achieved in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, UNIDO.
According to him, NGCL had successfully gone through the process of international accreditation and set to add value to the Federal Government-approved National Quality Infrastructure Project, NQIP, launched in 2014.
He informed that before now, Nigerian companies seeking international certification would do so outside Africa or Egypt through the Egyptian Accreditation Council, EGAC, a recognised member of International Accreditation Federation, IAF.
Olawale said: “But with NGCL, Nigerian companies can secure their accreditation locally. NGCL has been internationally accredited as the first indigenous certification body to provide certification training services for companies locally and internationally.” The Director-General designate listed some of the benefits of the accreditation of NGCL to include “Continual improvement of business management systems processes, Business growth through improved productivity and profitability, Assurance and confidence in the quality of goods and services further to certification by an accredited third party organisation, Marketability of goods and services, Compliance with statutory and regulatory authorities.”
While stressing that “NGCL is poised to promote quality, remove technical barriers to trade and advance economic growth through Certification and Training,” Mr Olawale added: “We assure all stakeholders and organised businesses that we will champion quality through Certification and Training on ISO 9001: 2015 QMS and other Standards. We thank the EU and UNIDO as this is a step towards enhancing NECA’s role in enterprise growth and furthering our age-long practice of encouraging excellence, promotion of decent work and global best practice.”
Contributing, UNIDO’s Technical Adviser, Mr Shaukat Hussain, said the international body was interested in better standards of Nigerian companies and products.
Represented by Mr Rotimi Olaoluwa, Lead Consultant, ISO 9001: 2015, Hussain noted that the project would be a robust business strategy to boost investment.
Similarly, Chief Executive Officer of NGCL, Mrs Celine Oni, said businesses needed to align with emerging trends in global marketplace. She pointed out that the implementation of the ISO standards in business had brought about improved efficiency and effectiveness of processes as well as adherence to regulatory and statutory requirements.


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Suitcase prompts bomb scare at Food Lion
Posted May 16, 2010 11:11 a.m. EDT
Raleigh, N.C. — A suitcase left in a shopping cart has prompted a bomb scare at a Food Lion store in north Raleigh Sunday morning.
Police said they are checking out the suitcase and treating it a suspicious package just as a precaution. No one has been injured.
The suitcase was found in a shopping cart in the parking lot of the store at 9101 Leesville Road shortly before 10 a.m. Hazardous materials teams from the Raleigh police and fire departments responded.


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Since 2017, Living Vehicle has shaped the manufacture of motorhomes. It opened up several possibilities and luxuries of living outdoors – further expanding the limits of off-grid excursions. Last year, the living vehicle came with an all-terrain package that can reach more places with the aluminum trailer.
For the 2021 model year, the Hofmann family is bringing even more toys to the Living Vehicle – in the form of a better on-board power system powerful enough to charge an electric vehicle.
Made possible through its partnership with Volta Power Systems, the 2021 Living Vehicle in its PRO model comes with up to 3,080 watts of solar power and 47,600 watt hours of energy storage. It is the highest capacity lithium-ion system available in a trailer, according to Volta, allowing electric vehicles to charge at rates of up to 44 miles per hour of charge using an exportable 240-volt power supply in option.
However, with this major advance comes a major caveat: there are only a few EVs that can pull the vehicle alive. It should be noted that this trailer carcass has a base weight of 11,500 pounds and a GVWR of 16,000 pounds (the GVWR of the PRO model is 18,000 pounds). Given those numbers, the Tesla Cybertruck might be able to pull one off, but the Rivian R1T won’t.
Of note, the Tesla Model X can only tow up to 5,000 lbs, so you’ll need … three or four?
Nonetheless, the 2021 Living Vehicle is still an attractive motorhome for those who want to maximize off-grid adventures without sacrificing comfort. Along with carryover niceties from the previous year such as auto-leveling, all-season performance and increased payload capacity, the new version of the Living Vehicle comes with an 80-inch foldable desk space.
The 2021 Living Vehicle is now available to order with a starting price of $ 229,995. You will have to wait a bit if you order one today because the company requires a nine month lead time.


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Xiaomi’s double folding smartphone makes another video appearance
So far, 2019 feels like an exciting year for the implementation of newer form factors. While the different choices for the style of notches have seized most of the attention, certain smartphone manufacturers are also experimenting with foldable smartphones -a trend which might dominate the future of mobile devices. Samsung and Huawei have already demonstrated real-life use cases of their foldable smartphones while Motorola’s redefined clamshell, Moto Razr is expected to be surface soon too. At the same time, Xiaomi is also gearing up for the foldable smartphone game and, perhaps, has the most interesting concept of them all. The company has now released a second teaser for the double folding smartphone to keep followers on the edge of their chairs.
The folding smartphone concept by Xiaomi uses not just one but two creases, allowing double folds on the smartphone. The smartphone was first teased by the company’s senior executives back in January, showing the different orientations in which it can work. Now, another video of the double folding smartphone has been released by Xiaomi’s official Weibo handle. Even though it doesn’t reveal much, the animation accompanying the transitions from the larger footprint to a smaller form factor seems a bit smoother and refined compared to earlier. Further, the video also shows a USB port at the bottom of the device.
— Xiaomishka (@xiaomishka) March 27, 2019
The USP of Xiaomi’s double folding smartphone is its convenient and compact design which allows easy use with a single hand. Another aspect which we can expect from Xiaomi is affordability. While the Samsung Galaxy Fold and the Huawei Mate X will easily cost you $2000 or even more, Xiaomi’s offering can be expected to be much cheaper.
It is hard to pinpoint why Xiaomi chose to include the instant noodles in the frame of the video, but my gut says it could either be to metaphorize the quick transition or the ease of use with one hand. There are no direct references for a launch date and any euphemism seems to be lost in translation. Something more interesting than instant noodles is definitely cooking at Xiaomi and we’d love to share more details as soon as they are served.


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Remember the Motorola RAZR?
Of course you do, it was the flip phone that everyone wanted during the early 00s, and for good reason.
Motorola's V3 RAZR was a design masterpiece, it was thin, extremely well-built and featured that glorious laser-etched metal keyboard that made using a T9 keyboard an absolute dream.
That phone will always have a place in our heart but sadly as technology advanced design elements were dropped and the flip phone was ditched.
Well it looks like Motorola has a surprise up its sleeve, because if this teaser is anything to go by then the company is looking to bring back one of the most iconic smartphone designs.
The RAZR name did indeed continue past the flip phone design, and even led to some very good Android smartphones but since then it has all been very quiet.
Flip phones have had something of a resurgence of late, particularly in countries like South Korea and Japan so if Motorola is looking to make a modern Android version of the RAZR flip phone then that wouldn't actually be too far-fetched.
Indeed you only have to read the company's accompanying teaser line: "Flip back to the Razr days of yesteryear and get ready for the future."
Thankfully we won't have long to wait before we find out. The Lenovo-owned company will reveal all on 9th June.


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Spanx To Celebs Like Beyonce, The Shapewear Market Is, Uh, Expanding
Shapewear: we used to call them granny panties. And maybe you still do (granny-chic is in now, anyhow), but tummy-tucking undies are no longer for the geriatric set. We’ve seen the signs coming for a while—first with the Spanx explosion (or implosion, if you will), and then with the underwear-as-outerwear trend that began coming down the runways. Now, reports WWD, the shapewear market is experiencing a huge rebirth, citing a growth in retail sales of over 10 percent in the last year. The real reason behind the fad? Celebrity fans (duh), but more specifically, Rihanna with her metallic corset costume, Beyoncé‘s gold bodysuits from her latest tour, and Lady Gaga’s … well, Lady Gaga’s everything.
So, what about you? Have you been eschewing your lacy thongs for full-coverage knickers? [WWD]


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Taipei American School to hold book sale on Sat.
The China Post news staff
March 21, 2014, 12:02 am TWN
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The Annual Taipei American School (TAS) Orphanage Club Book Sale will be held from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 22 in the lobby and front area of TAS, according to the school's press release.
Thousands of current best sellers, classics, novels for middle school students, high school students, and adults are available. Books by Booker and Pulitzer prize-winning authors are included and art, travel, health, parenthood, music, children's titles and cook books are abundant, TAS said.
There is a special collection of Asian writers and materials about Taiwan. Those people teaching or learning English will find many ESL and language skill development books, according to TAS.
The sale also includes magazines and comic books, puzzles, as well as games. Books in Chinese and other languages can also be found. Everyone is welcomed. There is no admission fee required, according to TAS.
MOST POPULAR OF THIS SECTION


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Published on September 17th, 2013 | by Alex Porter3
Rockstar To ‘Investigate’ Early Sales Of GTA V
In case you have been living under a rock for the last few months, Rockstar’s latest title, Grand Theft Auto V, is out today but many gamers received their copies of the game over the weekend despite Rockstar having given retailers strict instructions not to sell or dispatch before the official release date.
Most of those who received the game early had pre-ordered via Amazon with many gamers posting up images of their copies via social networking sites. In a statement to GamesIndustry International, Rockstar stated “We are in the process of investigating early ‘sales’ to determine how and why that is occurring.” At the moment, it would seem that Amazon may be the primary focus of this investigation having broken the sales embargo and allowing gamers to receive the game as early as Saturday.
On the other hand, many retailers have stuck with the restrictions set by Rockstar only to anger customers who expected to get the game early. ShopTo, a retailer with a reputation for getting pre-orders to customers a day early, in particular was bombarded with angry Twitter users demanding to know why their copy of GTA V hadn’t turned up early with many claiming that they would immediately send their copy back and never use the retailer again. Many gamers seem to forget that receiving a game early is a bonus and not something that is guaranteed by purchasing from one retailer over another.
It will be interesting to see what Rockstar does in response to early sales and I hope that those gamers who are attacking excellent retailers like ShopTo will realise that they are being very unreasonable. I also hope no-one decided to buy an early copy from CeX for £75! Did you receive your copy early? What do you think of the game? Let us know in the comments!


text: Gameloft's upcoming free-to-play kart racing game Disney Speedstorm has been delayed into 2023 and will no longer launch this year as initially planned. Disney Speedstorm is a free-to-play kart racer that features a large roster of Disney characters, each with their one unique set of skills. The game was originally supposed to launch this year, but Gameloft has now announced a delay, pushing back Disney Speedstorm into 2023. Disney Speedstorm delayed https://youtu.be/IG6epdw-Gg0 In a statement posted on Twitter, Gameloft said, "We have been working diligently to craft an amazing racing experience for Disney Speedstorm, capturing our vision of the exciting magic fans enjoy in their favourite Disney and Pixar characters and?games. "With this in mind and after careful consideration, we have decided to delay the? worldwide release of Disney Speedstorm to meet our expectations and provide players with a more immersive racing experience, customization offerings, game modes and more. Fans are invited to join us on the speedway when Disney Speedstorm launches in 2023 on PC and consoles." Gameloft says it will be sharing regular updates on Disney Speedstorm over the next few weeks. As for Gameloft's other Disney game, Disney Dreamlight Valley, it appears that Stitch could be on his way to the life sim. If you're looking for something free to play while you wait for Disney Speedstorm, check out our list of the best free Xbox games. Are you looking forward to Disney Speedstorm? Sad about the delay? Let us know down in the comments!