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Next week, the mobile-obsessed hordes will descend on Barcelona for the hottest tech show on Earth: the Mobile World Congress (if you thought it was the Consumer Electronics Show you’re living in the early aughts, my friend). For those, like me, who are staying behind and are worried about being overwhelmed, here are the five themes worth paying attention to during the four days of the show. Don’t worry; if we missed one, we’ll let you know as soon as we see it.
Mobile Networks Meet the Cloud. All the big gear makers from Alcatel-Lucent (s alu) to Nokia Siemens Networks (s nok) (s si) will have something to show mobile operators that will allow them to deploy smaller base stations and more flexible networks. Big vendors and startups are all trying to help operators deal with a deluge of traffic and the need for more network components, from Wi-Fi access points to pico and femtocells. As operators support more networks and deploy more base stations, they’ll need more software to manage and adjust them without the aid of costly network engineers. Expect startups pitching self-optimizing networks, real-time traffic information, technology to manage interference and other products that will help operators automate their networks to appear in droves.
Dual-Core is the Only Core. Just this week, Qualcomm (s qcom), Broadcom (s brcm) and Texas Instruments (s txn) all announced new application processors that take the idea of a single-core, 1-GHz smartphone chip and double (or in the case of TI’s planned OMAP 5 product, quadruple) it. We’ve been excited about dual-core chips for years, but they are just now hitting the market in consumer phones and tablets. Look for demonstrations of the chips, and also for the new types of devices and applications they can power. Given that most people are toting smartphones with single cores today, you might also be looking to replace your existing phone. It’s going to look pretty slow after Barcelona’s demonstrations.
The Overwhelming Onslaught of Video. A huge component of mobile traffic will be video as consumers download YouTube (s goog) videos, chat with friends via FaceTime or merely play precious moments from their Facebook pages on their handsets. Allot Communications recently said streaming video comprises 37 percent of network traffic today and Cisco said it would be 66 percent of traffic by 2015 (s csco). Part of the issue is more people turning to video on their handsets, but the other component is a rise in tablets which makes watching video so much better while on the go. Vendors such as Bytemobile will show off new gear to help operators optimize video on their networks and reduce costs, while startups such as Skype and Facebook might introduce new products that only exacerbate the problem.
Tune in to See if Microsoft (s msft) Gets Mobile. After Nokia turned to Microsoft today to save its “burning platform,” the software giant has a chance to team up with a great handset maker to give its Windows Phone 7 operating system a draw. Some reviewers actually liked Windows Phone 7 when it launched last year, but when it hit the market, the response from consumers was decidedly less enthusiastic. And while operators might long for alternatives to the Android/Apple (s aapl) juggernauts, it’s unclear if Microsoft and Nokia will convince operators, developers and consumers that the combined platforms are a good option. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO, will give a keynote at Mobile World Congress, and observers will also be looking for hot apps and good devices that buy into the Redmond ecosystem. Also pay attention to see if Microsoft’s decision to port its Windows franchise to the ARM (s armh) architecture generates any exciting tablet or even laptop news.
Everyone Hops on the Mobile Payments Bandwagon … Again. Mobile payments have been a favorite topic in the industry for years, but this year may prove to be a turning point as more players jump on to Near Field Communications, direct carrier billing and other payment options. Mobile World Congress has dedicated a conference track to mobile money, with an assortment of carrier, financial institutions, payment providers and start-ups all scheduled to talk about the industry. While Square’s Jack Dorsey is a scheduled keynote speaker, it appears much of the talk will revolve around NFC deployments, trials and updates. Google’s outgoing CEO Eric Schmidt is scheduled to keynote and will likely talk about Android’s support for NFC among other things. But expect a lot of other news from other players looking to finally make some money off mobile payments.
Additional reporting by Ryan Kim.
Image courtesy of Flickr user andy_c
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- About Us
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April 2nd, 2007
Niche camps have blossomed in a time when parents fret over how their children will stack up against their peers. "That's a cultural phenomenon going on in the country now," he says. "We want tangible results right now. That's a very American thing."
On the other hand, some say, 1861 was a long time ago - back when hiking and canoeing were essential for getting around. Who's to say spending two weeks learning nanotechnology or website design - can't also be character-building, not to mention more practical?
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Zynga, the biggest developer of games played on Facebook’s social network, plunged Thursday, falling the most since its December initial public offering after missing analysts’ second-quarter revenue and profit estimates.
The shares fell 37 percent to $3.18, leaving the stock down 68 percent since its IPO. Zynga blamed the shortfall in part on Facebook, saying changes to the site made it harder for users to find existing games. It’s also competing with a growing number of applications on the social network and mobile devices.
Zynga said Wednesday that second-quarter sales were $332.5 million. Though both user numbers and revenue increased, analysts were expecting much more. Net loss was $22.8 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with net income of $1.4 million, or break-even, a year earlier. Zynga also cut its full-year guidance sharply.
Zynga, based in San Francisco, makes money by selling virtual goods within its games — say, a gun in “Mafia Wars” or a tractor in “FarmVille.” Most Zynga games are free. The company makes money from a small core of dedicated users who buy virtual goods like tractors in “FarmVille.” Over the past year, the average daily amount of money Zynga took in from these core users dropped 10 percent even as the overall number of users expanded.
Facebook, which derives most of its revenue from advertising that reaches users, also makes money when users pay for digital items on the site, including on games made by Zynga. Last year, it got 12 percent of its revenue from Zynga.


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The social reckoning that our country is going through is now becoming quantifiable.
Inclusive Guide is a new customer review website that ranks businesses not just on their service, but their welcoming nature to diverse cultures.
Think Yelp, but for inclusion.
“One of the things a lot of folks don’t realize is just how constant this is, how prevalent discrimination is, and it doesn’t have to be overt,” said Crystal Egli, CEO of Inclusive Guide.
“We want it to because a force to shift our economy toward inclusion,” added Parker McMullen Bushman, COO.
Prior to joining forces, Egli and McMullen both worked in the world of the great outdoors, but they drew from their collective experiences as Black women to start Inclusive Guide two years ago. They say getting investors were hard, but over time they were able to fundraise enough money to launch a beta version of their website last month.
It currently only operates in Colorado as it works out kinks, but the duo aspires to expand Inclusive Guide nationwide so restaurants and businesses from coast to coast can be reviewed.
“An example would be Black hair care products. When I walk in are they displayed right along with the other hair care products or are they in a corner, or locked away, like they often are,” said McMullan Bushman. “If we have a way for people to be able to really see what businesses are inclusive and to go and support those businesses then maybe other businesses will see there is an economic incentive to inclusion.”


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Gulfstream, G550 Business Jet. (Photo credit: dirkjankraan.com)
It is hard to have sympathy for large multinational companies at the best of times, even when they are really going through times of woe, but I can have no sympathy for Telefonica which, according to Bloomberg, is taking action to cut costs that in my view shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
The Spanish company that focuses on the mobile industry and offers businesses tools like video conferencing to stop enterprises having to travel around the world for meetings has made the bold decision to sell off two of its business jets.
Yes, the firm that tells us all to stay at home and talk on its phones or communicate using its video kit has corporate jets.
And it is not just that the firm has jets, it apparently has more jets than any other publicly traded company in Spain.
What is even better is it is only selling two – Telefonica actually has four – and one of them is being replaced as it had already put in the order for a new Gulfstream jet three years ago.
Telefonica hopes to make €35m for the planes but, as a firm whose debt is bigger than its market value, I think it should think about getting rid of the whole fleet and start using some of those tools it so eagerly wants us to snap up as business users, rather than spreading its wings to pop overseas.


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Eastman Kodak (EK ) sells 22% of the digital cameras in the U.S. annually, making it the biggest player. Its 65,000 yellow, blue, and red printing kiosks seem to be everywhere. And on Sept. 27 the 125-year-old company shipped what it says is the world's first Wi-Fi pocket camera, which lets consumers send good-quality photos directly to the Internet. So you might imagine that the Rochester (N.Y.) company has made a seamless transition to the digital age from the messy analog world of film and chemicals.
Kodak's financial reports show a much darker picture. The company is barely breaking even on its digital cameras. It is scrambling to drum up enough cash both to shut down most of its film and paper capacity -- at an estimated cost of nearly $1 billion over this year and next -- and to repay $750 million of debt that comes due next year. Its credit ratings, which fell below investment grade in April, were marked down again on Sept. 30 by Standard & Poor's (MHP ) even as it is finalizing a $2.7 billion loan facility.
Senior executives at Kodak concede that the company's balance sheet is "stressed." But they say Kodak will turn up from this financial low point in its massive transformation to digital. By the end of 2006, according to Chief Executive Antonio Perez's plan, the total $1.5 billion cash cost of laying off workers and shutting down factories will be pretty much paid. Besides, no significant amount of Kodak's remaining $2.7 billion of debt is scheduled for repayment until 2010. Chief Financial Officer Robert H. Brust says earnings will start to turn up sometime next year. "We're at a difficult point, but coming along pretty good," he adds. "As digital earnings start increasing faster than traditional [film] earnings are falling, we will repay debt."
Investors have heard such predictions before. But the company's forecasts have often been unreliable, says S&P. About a quarter of Kodak's consumer film business is disappearing each year -- more than three times faster than executives envisioned in September, 2003, when they declared they would transform the company into a maker of digital products. Kodak missed its targets for operating earnings in the first two quarters of this year and has now stopped issuing them at all. Profits from consumer digital products -- cameras, home printers, kiosks, and the ink and paper for them -- are scant two years after they were held up as the salvation of the core consumer business. And the health-care division, often portrayed by the company as a future source of big profits, stumbled recently on several counts, including a delay in getting a digital radiography product to market and the slow installation of software being sold to hospitals. Executives warned on Sept. 28 that Kodak will fall short -- they didn't say by how much -- of their July projection that digital products would produce $275 million to $325 million of operating earnings this year, vs. $46 million in 2004. Brust says forecasting amid so much change is difficult. "There are a lot of moving parts, but we're more in a steady state now," he says.
CHINA GOES STRAIGHT TO DIGITAL
Kodak's woes highlight the financial strains faced by established companies when disruptive technologies erode their traditional revenue streams. As many media companies, music retailers, and video-rental chains can attest, the problems are compounded by the speed at which digital technology spreads around the globe. "Digital was supposed to be the promised land, and it is turning into a swamp," says James S. Chanos, founder of money manager Kynikos Associates, who is betting that Kodak shares will fall. "Businesses with these major paradigm shifts to digital products just see their cash flows from analog products evaporate much faster than people are used to."
At Kodak, executives had hoped that emerging markets such as China would give them more time to wind back the film and photographic-paper business as Americans switched to digital cameras. Instead, buyers in new markets skipped over film and went straight to digital. So in July, Kodak raised its layoff target from the 15,000 announced in January, 2004, to as many as 25,000 jobs. It vowed to eliminate $2 billion, or two-thirds, of its traditional business assets by the end of next year. It is even cutting capacity in China.
The speed of the collapse of its traditional business lines has pushed Kodak into a cash bind. Severance and other restructuring bills will gobble up $300 million in the second half of this year and $650 million more next year, when the $750 million of debt comes due -- for a total of $1.7 billion. At the beginning of July, Kodak had just $553 million in cash on hand. Brust predicts he will have enough money to close the gap. Typically, Kodak generates most of its cash in the second half of the year -- $1.1 billion last year. He plans to raise $600 million by selling real estate and patent rights; he's also liquidating inventory and cutting capital expenditures.
Then there's Kodak's surprising decision to make fewer consumer digital cameras and printers in case holiday sales falter. Even so, Brust is taking no chances. He has negotiated a bank commitment to refinance $500 million of debt if he needs to.
Should things not go as planned, Kodak would be unlikely to find it easy to raise cash in the bond or stock markets. Its shares are down 27% this year, to 2003 levels. Bond investors are dumping the company's debt, too. Besides the missed projections, what's frustrating them is that Kodak is giving banks security for the new loan package and putting their $2.2 billion of unsecured debt at a disadvantage. Pessimists such as Chanos think Kodak's write-offs will continue and that the company will ultimately have to restructure its debt -- in or out of bankruptcy court.
Not everyone on Wall Street is down on Kodak. Bill Miller, chief executive of Legg Mason (LM ) Capital Management and portfolio manager of Legg Mason Value Trust (LMVTX ), the only mutual fund to beat Standard & Poor's 500-stock index for the past 14 years straight, is a big fan. He holds some 42 million Kodak shares, 15% of the company's equity, including 3 million bought earlier this year. Despite having lost money on the stock -- he began buying in 2000 when it was twice as high as its recent $23 -- he believes the shares will turn around. "Once these cash charges are gone, we expect [Kodak] will have free cash flow of more than $1 billion, conservatively," says Miller. He figures that will make the company worth more than $16 billion and $50 a share. Then, Miller says, double-digit profit growth will kick in, thanks largely to Kodak's commercial-graphics business. Built up with a half-dozen acquisitions over the past two years, the division is getting ready to sell more machines capable of personalizing slick junk mail and printing everything from colorful store merchandising banners to lottery tickets. "The real payoff begins after 2008," Miller predicts.
All the same, there are risks to his rosy scenario. Some people are turning away from printing photos at home or anywhere else. Doctors in U.S. hospitals are increasingly viewing X-rays on video monitors, while youngsters are looking at one another's digital pics over the Internet without bothering to make prints.
Kodak executives, while exuding optimism, are preparing a change in the company's organization that could make it easier to sell off assets. Starting in January they'll divide the company into four distinct units -- consumer digital, commercial printing, health care, and traditional film -- each with its own financial report. "It will be up to the board to decide what is the best option," CEO Perez recently told securities analysts. "We don't have anything for sale." At least not yet.
By David Henry in New York


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Amber Beverage completes Think Spirits acquisition
Luxembourg-based Amber Beverage Group has completed its majority stake acquisition of Australian distributor Think Spirits for an undisclosed sum.
Riga Black Balsam is part of Amber Beverage Group’s portfolio
The deal was first revealed last month (April), when the group confirmed that Think Spirits founder and managing director Patrick Borg would remain in his position at the company. No further operational changes are expected.
Amber Beverage Group (ABG) specialises in the production, distribution, logistics and retail of alcoholic beverages, with brands such as Rooster Rojo Tequila and Riga Black Balsam.
Seymour Ferreira, CEO of Amber Beverage Group, said: “We, at ABG, are excited by the prospect of establishing a firm foundation in the important Australian and Asian markets and look forward to having Patrick and his exceptional team join us on our journey.”


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In case you have symptoms of a fever or cough, call your medical supplier to find out if you have to be examined for coronavirus. Worldwide, no one underneath 9 has died from COVID-19, and zero.2 % of these ages 10 to 19 have died, primarily based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidance to docs Compare that to an total mortality fee for COVID-19 that's estimated to be greater than 10 instances that top.
The university is testing the vaccine in a medical trial deliberate to be conducted in the Thames Valley Area. Nevertheless, extreme symptoms—particularly if you have underlying well being situations—can occur and must be promptly recognized and treated.
One other question is what function children have in spreading the virus: "There may be an pressing need for additional investigation of the function kids have within the chain of transmission," researchers at Canada's Dalhousie University wrote in The Lancet Infectious Illnesses.
Then on March 24, the FDA announced data for healthcare staff about blood that has been collected from COVID-19 sufferers who have recovered. Other kinds of coronaviruses embrace 229E, NL63, OC43, or HKU1, which aren't the identical as COVID-19. The virus spreads simply and the majority of the world's population continues to be weak to it. A vaccine would supply some protection by coaching people's immune programs to battle the virus so they should not develop into sick.
PillPack has pharmacy licenses in all 50 states. The company delivers drugs to clients in pre-sorted doses designed to make it simpler for people to take multiple drugs a day. Amazon (AMZN) was widely expected to maneuver into the pharmacy enterprise.
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I like to think of Batman (and Superman) as the Wolverine of the DC Universe in that they’re both iconic characters who are shamelessly exploited in multiple titles simultaneously to the point where one story thread in their world is basically impossible to construct. Of course, in my opinion, Batman is a much more multi-layered and interesting character than Wolverine (even though Wolvie has his own demons). There’s something about Batman’s vulnerability and human-ness that draws people in.
DC Comics is of course well aware of the Caped Crusader’s popularity and during a panel at Wondercon, the company took time to preview upcoming Bat titles including spin-off characters such as BatWoman and BatGirl.
Here’s a rundown of the highlights from the DC Comics Batman panel:
– A new title centered on Dick Grayson will arrive in stores on July 2 and will pick up with the aftermath of the Forever Evil story arc which, frankly, hasn’t been all that kind to Grayson’s character. The title will be written by Tim Seeley (Revival) and Tom King, a former CIA counterterrorism operations officer.
– The current BatWoman story arc will conclude in the next issue (#31) and issue #32 will feature the return of Nocturna, who was a part of the Forever Evil storyline. Nocturna was one of the many villains who were recruited by the Crime Syndicate of America to join the Secret Society of Super Villains.
– BatGirl #31 will bring RagDoll to Gotham. Long time writer Gail Simone also hinted that there would be some surprise “female guest stars” in issues 32 through 34. Additionally, BatGirl Annual #2 (out April 30) will feature a showdown between Poison Ivy and BatGirl.
– Batman Detective Comics began a new storyline with its most recent issue (#30) by bringing on long time Flash writer Francis Manapul. What can we expect from this new story arc? Manapul hinted that, “If you read Flash #25, you’ll see that the story we’re working on for Batman DC started out back then.” Manapul added that the story arc will find Batman and Harvey Dent having to work together, even though they don’t want to .
– Finally, Batman Eternal recently launched and the DC folks couldn’t help but remind folks to pick up the weekly series. The year-long weekly series recently offered its first big reveal in issue 2. I’m not going to spoil it. Go grab $5 and pick up the first two issues at your local comic store.


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Newly discovered information reveals Google has apparently canceled multiple projects for Nvidia-powered Chromebooks.
To refresh your memory, rumors began circulating back in May, claiming Google was developing several Chromebooks with Nvidia graphics cards as part of a big push into the gaming industry. There was a lot of hype surrounding these laptops because playing video games on a Chromebook is currently not a great experience. Integrated GPUs just can’t deliver the same level of power coming from “the discrete graphics cards found in the best gaming laptops.”
Hopes were high until recently when a developer comment was found on Google’s Chromium Gerrit, the company’s own open-source code review website. It states “Herobrine, Hades, and Agah are all canceled.” It goes on to say the “infra” for each project “have already been shut down” before ending with a simple, yet heartbreaking “Delete”. We know these laptops would’ve had Nvidia GPUs because the brand is mentioned by name within the various build files of these devices.
Tech news site About Chromebooks states in its report “this cancellation [also] applies to any specific Chromebook models [that were] expected” to use the same boards as Herobine, Hades, and Agah. This means projects Cora and Zeus got the ax as well.
This bombshell could not have come at a worse time because, on August 11, Chrome Unboxed reported Google was ending work on six Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered Chromebooks. Putting everything together, 11 devices have just bit the dust. It’s unknown why the tech giant is terminating so many computers in a short period of time. Perhaps development was a lot more difficult than anticipated. We reached out to Google asking if they would like to make a comment about the situation.
This story will be updated if we hear back.
It is still possible to play your favorite titles on a Chromebook – as long as they’re several years old. About Chromebooks detailed the difficulties of getting Shadow of the Tomb Raider to work on the hardware. Even at the lowest graphical settings with multiple features turned off, the title had an average frame rate of 17 fps. To put it in simple terms, that is very bad.
Analysis: The dream lives
But looking at that 17 fps number, maybe it’s a good thing Herobine, Hades, and Agah were canceled. Ask yourself this question: is it really a good idea to put an Nvidia graphics card, even something as mid-range as the GeForce RTX 3050, into a Chromebook? Those laptops are not easy to repair, have a short lifespan, and have been known to overheat. Perhaps Google is doing us all a favor by dumping all 11 computers.
Also, there’s a chance the dream continues. If Hades didn’t pan out, maybe the next project will. Call it Poseidon or whatever Greek god name you want to use. Note that nowhere in the developer comments or code does it state Google is ending all work on Nvidia-powered Chromebooks. Just the three mentioned earlier. There’s a chance the tech giant is going back to the drawing board.
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Tesco is offering lorry drivers a £1,000 joining bonus in a bid to secure food deliveries as the UK’s driver shortage crisis worsens. The supermarket giant is offering the bonus for candidates who join before 30 September. Applicants must have a full HGV 1 (C+E) EU licence with no more than six current penalty points showing, the new Driver Card and must be 21 years of age or over. On its jobs website the supermarket, which has 40,000 deliveries a […]
Inflation and Brexit sent December road freight prices soaring, new research from Transport Exchange Group (TEG) shows.
Derbyshire operator Sprintdeliver has closed down, citing the Covid-19 pandemic and difficulties recruiting HGV drivers as reasons for its collapse.
UK Fuels has expanded its fuel card network to 3,350 sites after adding 307 Sainsbury’s fuel station locations this month.


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A $30 million equity and debt investment round was completed for Vendease, a Y Combinator-backed digital platform based in Lagos, Nigeria that enables restaurants in Africa to purchase goods, access financial services, and run their operations.
Co-led by TLcom and Partech, the $20 million series A equity round also includes previous investors VentureSouq, Hustle Fund, Hack VC, GFR Fund, Kube VC, Magic Fund, and Kairos Angels. The local finance market was used to raise the $10 million debt round. Following their investments, Cyril Collon, general partner at Partech, and Andreata Muforo, partner at TLcom, will become new directors on the Vendease board.
The cash will be used by the company to assist its expansion as well as to solidify its operations and growth in Ghana and Nigeria.
Present in 8 locations in Nigeria and Ghana, Vendease negotiates bulk-buy discounts with food suppliers, stores the food, and promises delivery of food supplies for restaurants within a day at much lower costs. Vendease has helped its consumers save more than $2,000,000 in procurement expenditures and more than 10,000 procurement man-hours by moving more than 400,000 metric tonnes of food via its platform in the last 12 months.


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UK: Wahaha "frontrunner" in UB snack sale
United Biscuits' owners are said to be looking to offload salty snacks unit
Chinese food and beverage group Wahaha has reportedly emerged as the frontrunner in the bidding process for the snack unit of United Biscuits.
According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, UB's private-equity owners, Blackstone and PAI Partners, have sent out a four-page sales document to approximately six potential buyers, including Wahaha, Kellogg and Kraft Foods.
The report places Wahaha at the head of the pack in the sale process, which has been valued at around GBP520m (US$816m).
A spokesperson for UB told just-food the group was not commenting on the progress of the sale process. Wahaha could not be reached for comment at time of press.
One story has dominated the industry headlines last week - the deepening and widening horse meat contamination, which has now taken in household brand Findus and a supplier in France. Beyond the debat...
Kellogg recorded an increase in profits in 2012 and has reiterated its outlook for 2013. The US cereal giant's acquisition of Pringles boosted the results and the company enjoyed growth in Latin Ameri...
- How Windsor buy is part of Ajinomoto's global push
- Dairy in India: No quick win for multinationals
- Focus: Fonterra's bid to weather dairy volatility
- Dairy in India: How to win over Indian consumers
- On the money: Diamond's faith in on-trend range
- Nestle forms new unit to "leverage scale"
- Nestle sells baby food brands Alete, Milasan
- Kerry, Premier team up on frozen NPD in UK
- General Mills to slash up to 800 more jobs
- PepsiCo eyes Middle East growth with R&D centre


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Apple shelves feature that allowed iPhone messaging without cellular network
As Apple gears up to unveil the latest iPhones, a report from The Information has revealed that the company has shelved the fancy 'Walkie-Talkie' feature for its smartphones. The capability, going by the codename OGRS, was being developed to allow iPhone to iPhone communication even without a cellular or Wi-Fi network. Here's all you need to know about it.
Walkie-Talkie for communication in remote areas
Though Walkie-Talkies are not commonly used these days, Apple was working to bring the concept back to life. According to The Information, the company had partnered with Intel to develop the OGRS feature that would allow people using iPhones to communicate using long-distance radio waves. This would have sent messages instantly, enabling users to get in touch in remote areas without any cellular/Wi-Fi network.
Apparently, Apple-Intel were progressing with the project
The feature leveraged the cellular modems developed by Intel and sent messages over the 900MHz radio spectrum, which is commonly used by the utility, oil, and gas industry. Apparently, its development was going on at a brisk pace but then Apple chose to shutter the effort. The reason for the action also remains unclear at this stage.
No word from Apple on the matter
While Apple has not commented on the matter, reports speculate that the shutdown could be driven by the departure of Apple executive Rubén Caballero. Caballero was the lead in charge of the project, but he left the company in April this year. Notably, this shutdown could also have something to do with Apple's plan to start using Qualcomm modems in 2020.
Still, this may not be the end for iPhone's Walkie-Talkie
Apple has shelved Walkie-Talkie, but that doesn't mean it can't return. The company has got a series of patents associated with this technology and could choose to continue the work in the future. For all we know, iPhone users would definitely love the ability to send messages even when the network is broken or not available at all.


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The headline was sobering: “Race is On to Fingerprint Phones, PCs.” Published by The Wall Street Journal on December 1, 2010, the article described how a young entrepreneur, David Norris, planned to collect the digital equivalent of fingerprints from every computer and cellphone. Mr. Norris is taking the unique clock settings, different fonts, and the hundreds of details that each computer has with other computers to develop a computer fingerprint database of information to build profiles of people who use them—and to sell that information to advertisers. To date, Mr. Norris has identified and catalogued 200 million devices—and expects to have one billion devices of stored information by the end of 2011.
It did not take long for the Federal Communications Commission to strike back. Four hours after The Wall Street Journal article was published, Grant Gross of IDG News reported that the FCC was recommending that a “do not track list” (similar to the telecommunications “do not call list”) should be implemented. Unfortunately, such action would have to be implemented by the Internet industry or by Congress. As FTC Chairman Jon Liebowitz stated during a recent press conference, “Despite some good actors, self regulation of privacy has not worked adequately and is not working adequately for American consumers.”
In the face of these warnings, the privacy onslaught continues. Facebook provided applications access to addresses and phone numbers until a change was made in January 2011 to change privacy policies. As recently as March 10, 2011, Joel Stein, in an article written for Time, reported that three hours after he gave his name and e-mail address to Michael Fertik, the CEO of Reputation.com, Mr. Fertik called him back and read Mr. Stein’s social security number back to him. Similarly, Google Ads Preferences shows an individual’s interest in politics, foods, sports, purchases and any number of other individualized likes and dislikes. As Mr. Stein reported, Alliance Data (an enormous data-marketing firm in Texas) knew that Mr. Stein was, “a 39 year-old college-educated Jewish male who takes in at least $125,000 a year, makes most of his purchases online and spends an average of only $25 per item. Specifically, it knows that on January 24, 2004, I spent $46 on ‘low-ticket gifts and merchandise’ and ‘that on October 10, 2010, I spent $180 on intimate apparel. It knows about more than 100 purchases in between.’” Each of those pieces of information—rightly or wrongly—is sold for less than a penny to advertisers, which then deliver ads to the individual user.
So how can you guard against these invasions of privacy, whether you are a company or an individual? It takes a combination of computer discipline and knowledge of laws and regulations. For example, you (and your employees) can decide not to check “preferred” subjects offered by online search engines. Avoid placing personal private information and company-related information on social networking sites. Read—and perhaps opt out of—security agreements and licenses that include provisions that allow companies to share your information with affiliates or advertisers. Change passwords frequently, and increase the level of security of your passwords by simply using upper and lower case letters.
Equally important, be familiar with both state and local laws. In most states, consumer protection rules by state commissions mirror federal law and prohibit the disclosure of CPNI (Customer Proprietary Network Information). For example, an end user’s name and phone number cannot be disclosed without consumer consent, a court order or an adjudicated decision. In California, federal lawsuits have recently been filed against companies that request zip codes at the time of in-store purchases. While technology has placed more pressure on maintaining personal information (or company proprietary information), common sense, good computer practices, and knowledge of your legal rights can help you or your company protect your identity and proprietary information.


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Relying on a set of PPT listed valuation of 12 billion: the self-cultivation of new energy leeks
From the "next Tesla" to the "next Theranos".
Around 2015, the "new force in car-making" exploded.
Crunchbase data shows that in 2015 alone, nearly 300 new energy vehicle-related companies were established, and in the following years, more than 100 new companies entered the market every year. During the period, there were constant doubts about some companies' fraudulent subsidies, data fraud, substandard technology, and Ponzi schemes. The five-year market test can be said to have played a major role in scouring the sand. With Tesla leading the world and mass production and delivery of brands such as Ideal and Xiaopeng, public opinion gradually improved its attitude towards them.
While various companies are trying to get rid of the "PPT car manufacturing" hat, there is such a new energy automobile company, with a set of "good PPT", not only won 2.5 billion US dollars in venture capital, but also successfully IPO.
This god-like company is the American hydrogen truck company: Nikola Motor.
1 A magical strand that makes people unable to breathe
Known as "the world's first hydrogen energy heavy truck", Nikola was founded in 2015 and is the fourth entrepreneurial project of founder Trevor Milton.
His last company, dHybrid, developed natural gas-powered trucks. After being acquired in 2014, Milton focused on hydrogen fuel cells and founded Nikola Motor, which focuses on hydrogen-powered trucks.
In the five years since Nikola was founded, because of the two gimmicks of "environmental zero emission" and "advanced hydrogen fuel cell technology", it has attracted US$2.5 billion all the way. The investors are all well-known institutions in the automotive and machinery industries, including General Motors and Bosch. , Hanwha Corporation, Case New Holland Industries, etc., are also supported by the US Department of Energy.
In June 2020, Nikola reversed acquisition of VectoIQ Acquisition Corp. to go public. After being listed for more than four months, the stock price has fluctuated several times, sometimes soaring 200% in five days, sometimes shrinking by 50% in a week, and soaring to $93.99 at its peak, becoming the third largest auto manufacturer in North America (after Tesla and GM). Car), which fell to $17.88 at the lowest point, which is not unexciting.
And all of this even happened before Nikola did not come up with an official product! As a result, Nikola has attracted the attention of many people as "a magic stock in the SPAC world".
Nikola Motor stock price trend
2 Nikola and Tesla are stupidly unclear
In the field of new energy vehicles, there are a lot of companies claiming to be the next Tesla overtly and secretly, not many such as Nikola.
Like Tesla, Nikola's name comes from the well-known talented physicist Nikola Tesla. Starting from the company's name, he has not concealed the momentum to fight Tesla.
In terms of products, Nikola also keeps an eye on Tesla.
Nikola currently has 8 models, the main semi-trailer heavy truck series, providing hydrogen fuel power and pure electric power two products, in addition to some electric off-road vehicles, motor boats and so on. Among them, Nikola One is against Tesla's pure electric truck Semi, and pickup truck Badger is against Tesla's Cybertruck.
Nikola Badger even has a font style a bit like Tesla Cybertruck
In terms of business model, Nikola is as ambitious as Tesla. Nikola satisfied with only a car manufacturer, but to establish a "around their products hydrogen network network", the construction of hydrogen refueling stations in the country, the equivalent of Tesla super-charging stations.
The information of its C round of financing shows that it is expected to build 700 hydrogen refueling stations in the United States by 2028 and 70 in Europe by 2032. Each hydrogen refueling station will have its own solar power generation, hydrogen storage and hydrogen refueling. Closed-loop self-hematopoietic ability.
Users who purchase Nikola trucks will enjoy complete services such as hydrogen fuel, vehicle maintenance and repairs throughout their life cycle. In Milton's view, the core of Nikola's business model is energy. Mastering advanced hydrogen fuel technology has grasped the lifeblood of the market. Trucks are just a carrier of its energy services. The profit of selling fuel is as high as 5 of selling trucks. Times.
With such beauty good business model, when Nikola declared himself able to 2.47 US dollars per kilogram when the cost of producing hydrogen, it is no wonder excited Wall Street, the Nikola onto the "next Tesla," the throne.
3 Is it the next Tesla or the next Theranos?
On June 4, 2020, Nikola went public and its stock price rose accordingly. The market value reached 12 billion that day. The founder Trevor Milton was proud.
However, the cold water was caught off guard. Hindenburg Research issued a short-selling report, stating that "never saw a listed company deceive to this degree." Nikola's subsequent response all confirmed that Hindenburg's revelations were all real hammers.
Investors were embarrassed, and the crowd was shocked: Is this the next Tesla or the next Theranos?
Simply put, the general idea of Hindenburg's short report is: Nikola is a scam from the inside out. There are several heavy hammers:
Product video fraud.
A promotional video released by Nikola showed the state of Nikola One driving at high speed, but Hindenburg investigated and learned that this video was shot on a slope. Nikola deliberately tilted the camera to film the truck "rolling" under gravity. Rather than really rely on fuel to drive. Nikola said that the video was produced by a third party and did not clearly state that the truck was self-driving.
Hydrogen technology is fraudulent.
Nikola claims that it has mastered a method for preparing hydrogen, which can save up to 81% of the cost, and has been put into production, but Hindenburg accused that this technology does not exist, and Nikola did not start producing hydrogen.
Falsified key components.
Hindenburg's report pointed out that the battery, inverter and other key parts currently used by Nikola are from other cooperative manufacturers, and tape is also attached to cover the original manufacturer's trademark, which is inconsistent with the independent research and development claimed by the founder. Nikola said that third-party products will be used in the early R&D stage, and will be replaced with self-developed parts in future production.
Falsified production status.
Hindenburg and Bloomberg discovered that a Nikola One prototype car presented at the 2016 conference was secretly connected to a cable to supply power to the central control screen, instead of the founder's “full-featured and fully usable” feature. In July of this year, the founder of Nikola told the media that five Nikola Tre finished products will soon be assembled in Germany, which was later denied by partner Bosch, and the two parties have not yet started production.
In addition, such as the fact that there is no solar panel installed on the roof of the headquarters, the company does not have a natural gas well, the off-road vehicle products are actually outsourced to manufacturers to piece together in a few weeks, and the product reservation amount is doubled. Compared with the above lies, it is simply It's "light as a feather".
Bloomberg reporter found that Nikola's exhibit car was secretly powered by cable
As soon as this report came out, Nikola's stock price plummeted, the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice immediately intervened in the investigation, and founder Trevor Milton resigned.
Hindenburg directly compared Nikola with Theranos, the biggest scandal in Silicon Valley in the past decade. It can be said to be a very powerful accusation. Hindenburg said in the report that Nikola took advantage of investors and partners' eagerness to gain a position in the electric vehicle field, and created a lot of lies, while investors did not do their homework.
4 GM supports Nikola, the story is not over yet
In Theranos's story, after the Wall Street Journal reporter broke the scam, Theranos basically fell all the way down. Government investigations and lawsuits began to flow in, and investors and partners quickly cut.
But Nikola's situation is different.
On the one hand, short-selling institutions have their own profit-making purposes, and they are not as objective and neutral as investigative reporters. Readers naturally have reservations about the authenticity of their revelations.
On the other hand, Nikola's most important partner, General Motors, has not yet given up. Two days before the short selling report, Nikola just announced the strategic cooperation with GM to develop Badger pickups. Therefore, the market is closely watching GM's response. Once GM announces the termination of the cooperation, it is almost equivalent to giving Nikola a death notice.
However, not long ago, the GM CEO officially supported Nikola, saying that the two billion US dollars investment agreement between the two parties has not been cancelled, and related cooperation agreements will still be signed in the future. As soon as the news came out, Nikola's stock price ushered in a rebound. The highest pre-market increase that day came to 13%, closing at $22.24, an increase of 7.34%.
Judges who have a little understanding of the past few venture capital ventures may question: the venture capital bubble has broken a lot, how can Nikola's investors be bluffed by PPT storytelling? Investors are all guilty, or joint cutting of leeks?
Looking closely at Nikola's past few rounds of financing, I found that things are not so simple.
Nikola completed 3 rounds of financing before 2018, including a seed round of 2 million USD, a USD 16 million A round and a USD 44 million B round. Until 2018, it started to take off and completed the $210 million Series C financing with a pre-investment valuation of $1.1 billion; in 2019, the Series D financing was $250 million, with a valuation of $3 billion.
The main investors in these two rounds are CVC, and have more resources to support the relationship with Nikola. For example, commercial vehicle giant CNH Industrial provides truck chassis for Nikola and also co-produces Nikola Tre models; solar panel giant Hanwha Corporation provides Nikola with solar energy technology for hydrogen refueling stations; Bosch brings power systems and central control computers Technologies such as systems, keyless entry systems, and in-vehicle cameras.
At the same time, these key technologies also leave investors with a lot of room for bargaining. Although Nikola officials did not disclose the composition of each round of financing, there is indeed news that a considerable part of the investment is based on goods/services. For example, CNH Industrial, the lead investor in the D round, cash subscriptions only accounted for less than 50% of the total investment.
The so-called "biggest taker" GM can be said to be an empty white wolf. It didn't cost a cent to subscribe for 11% of the shares (worth $2 billion).
According to the agreement between the two parties, GM will provide Nikola with its own developed Ultium battery system and Hydrotec hydrogen fuel cell. The two parties will also produce Badger pickup trucks at GM's plants. Even better, GM not only does not spend money, but also makes money: while collecting Nikola's research and development and foundry costs, while earning 80% of Nikola's electric car points, a total of about 2 billion US dollars. A total of 4 billion can be earned inside and outside, not to mention the gains from the rise in GM's stock price.
From this point of view, even if Nikola is unsustainable, investors will not lose much. We don’t need to worry about the smart heads of the venture capital circle for the time being. However, what happened to Nikola seems to be the epitome of another wave of enthusiasm for new energy vehicles in the market.
Not to mention that traditional automakers such as Toyota, Daimler, Hyundai, and FAW have increased their investment in electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. At this moment in the United States, many new energy vehicles and related companies are lining up for the listing of SPACs. Among them, Fisker and Lordstown have been listed at the end of October. Companies such as Canoo and QuantumScape are also in preparation. We even see the long-silent Faraday Future in the list-and these companies have not yet begun to make profits.
In this wave of capital chasing, how many people say "FOMO" (fear of missing out), how many want to attack/rebuild Tesla, and how many people understand the technology and the market, we don’t know, but we Indeed, I deeply feel that the wind has risen again.
Regardless of whether the ending is a soap bubble or a new round of wealth creation movement, Nikola's heavy strokes in this farce will remain in the history books forever.
The matter of building a car has changed. Since 2014, building a car has become the most desirable thing for entrepreneurs. Not only are successful entrepreneurs working hard to start their second and third ventures, but countless "grassroots" teams have also begun to move around, as if the threshold of building a car was suddenly pulled to non-existent. But facts have proved that there are indeed barriers to building cars, and it limits most players. Li Bin, the founder and chairman of Weilai Automobile , once said that an electric car company needs at least 20 billion yuan to reach mass production. Xiaopeng Motors Chairman He Xiaopeng also sighed: "It used to be an exaggeration to see others making cars. I jumped in and realized that 20 billion is not enough to spend.” In the end, the new car-building forces ran out of three first-tier players, but at the same time it also made people realize how difficult it is for a new company to build cars. People's attit
The news of the newly redesigned 2021 Tesla Model S was suddenly mentioned by Musk at the beginning of the year. Everyone was pleased with the Model S that had not been updated for a long time. However, when the pictures came to light later, everyone found that the change didn't feel much, and there was almost no change in appearance. Tony teachers just repaired it and it was over. However, after the interior was exposed, everyone found that it seemed like a new generation without looking at the exterior, which was shocking. Many people still don't believe that this is the real car, so today Musk will give you an official announcement. Currently the fastest mass-produced electric car Today, Tesla officially released Model S Plaid, and it was also a delivery ceremony. Excited Musk specifically brushed a track out of the Fremont factory , and then drove directly to the stage. Two days ago, Musk just announced the cancellation of the Plaid+ version. The reason was that
New energy is the trend of automobiles, and the sinking market is the vast world of new energy automobiles. However, for many new energy vehicle brands, there is still a long and rugged mountain road to go before they truly reach the "willows and flowers in another village". New energy vehicles are accelerating toward the sinking market, looking for new incremental space. However, for more new energy vehicle brands, how to break the dilemma of low prices in the sinking market, increase the added value of products, and obtain more profits in addition to the increase in sales are long-term problems that need to be faced. On the other hand, after Baidu , Xiaomi also intends to enter the game. Traditional car companies continue to launch new new energy brands, and more and more players are entering the game. In 2020, the power of new cars will usher in strong growth, and Tesla will also achieve sales of over 100,000 vehicles in the Chinese market. Many high-end brand new


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The names of Microsoft operating system updates are often confusing and difficult to pronounce. Indeed, we’ve seen a variety of names over the years, but the latest leaks say that’s about to change. A Windows 11 user with the pseudonym XenoPanther on Twitter has spotted the name of the Redmond firm’s next big update. He saw the more explicit mention “Windows 11 2022 Update” appear in the Get started software after installing what is still known as Windows 11 22H2.
The tech giant has yet to confirm that this terminology will be retained in the final version. Nevertheless, with this discovery, we have an idea of what Microsoft plans to call major updates to its brand new operating system. The next update will be deployed from September 20, 2022.
How did Microsoft choose the names before?
Microsoft has had a bad habit of choosing complicated names. We had the right to “Creators Update” for the big Windows 10 update, but also to names like “Windows 10 21H2” alongside more banal names like Windows 10 May 2021.
At first, the company even considered naming its updates with names of animals or famous people. Nevertheless, it soon changed its mind and decided to switch to the safer monthly denomination instead of adopting point releases like Apple does with iOS, iPadOS, watchOS and its other software updates. This often gives users difficulty in finding the latest update and knowing which version their PC was under.
To what do we owe this change?
Microsoft will now choose simpler denominations. This change would make sense with the change in the company’s update rollout schedule. The latter is preparing to return to a publication of new versions of Windows every three years.
On the other hand, the major functionalities would be delivered once a year. This means Windows 12 won’t be rolled out until 2024, three years after Windows 11 was released in late 2021.


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Hard Brexit could cost car manufacturers 110 billion euro
Britain's car manufacturers warn of 110 billion euro bill if a hard Brexit goes ahead.
British and European Union car manufacturers called on Monday for an urgent free trade agreement, stating that a “disorderly Brexit” could potentially cost the automotive industry in the UK, €110 billion euro over the next five years due to loss of trade.
In just three and a half months Britain will transition away from the EU trading structure that has been in place for years.
The crisis is escalating after Britain tabled a plan to break the divorce treaty that both sides signed in January.
This means that the European Union’s talks on a trade deal for 2021 onwards have been plunged into crisis.
There is huge fear in the automotive world and 23 auto associations have warned in a joint statement that there could be huge problems ahead.
It is feared now, that a failure to secure a deal will lead to inevitable tariffs. In the real world, this will mean that vehicles in the UK will become far more expensive. This in turn will have a knock-on effect and cause a drop in demand. A drop in demand, in turn, could eliminate production of 3 million vehicles over the next five years.
Potentially, it is not just the UK that could suffer economically by their factories losing €52.8 billion but EU car plants could also lose €57.7 billion euro.
Some of the associations that signed the joint statement on Monday where SMMT, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, the European Association of Automotive Suppliers and Germany’s Association of the Automotive Industry.
In the statement they said: “These figures paint a bleak picture of the devastation that would follow a ‘no deal’ Brexit,”.
If a hard Brexit transpires, this would see World Trade Organisation tariffs applied to trade from the EU and the UK. This could be an economic nightmare as Europe’s car industry is already reeling from the fallout of the coronavirus lockdown.
The new tariffs would mean another 10% on top for cars and up to 22% for trucks and vans. The manufacturers will not want to absorb such an increase and they would “almost certainly” need to pass this on to the end consumer.
So far this year there have been losses of an estimated 100 billion euros in EU and UK production value as car sales have already plunged during the Covid-19 lockdowns.
This has resulted in new car registrations in the European Union dropping by as much as 38% in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period last year. The United Kingdom saw a massive 49% drop in sales.


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The e8th edition of annual exhibition of Pakistani mangoes will be organized by Commercial Wing of Pakistan Embassy in The Netherlands with support of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan on June 29, 2011 at Chamber of Commerce The Hague.
There will be more than 10 varieties of Pakistani mangoes on display and available for tasting. Leading Pakistani suppliers, exporters will showcase their products. Visitors will include wholesalers, distributors, importers, retailers, chain stores dealing in fresh fruits, vegetables. VIPS from Dutch Government and consumers especially from Pakistani community are expected to visit. Pakistan is 6th largest producer of mangoes in the world.


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| Nov 27, 2013
| 7:07 AM
Editor's note: This is a guest post from Mike Tietjens of crazytowndeals.com.
Most, if not all, Black Friday deals will be offered online -- and most will hit the web before the in-store sales begin.
These Best Buy deals have gone live today,...
| Nov 25, 2013
| 6:00 AM
SWEETWATER STATION, Wyo. — In the fading afternoon light, the barnyard is turning raucous: the chickens are clucking, peacocks are pacing and sheep are bawling, making the llama a bit nervous. The donkey just works his gums as though chawing on a...
| Nov 15, 2013
| 2:39 PM
A deal or a meal?
Some South Floridians think it's wrong to lure bargain-hungry shoppers and retail workers away from holiday tables and into stores on Thanksgiving.
On Nov. 28, Kmart will open at 6 a.m.; Toys R Us at 5 p.m.; Sawgrass Mills,...
| Sep 30, 2013
| 6:30 AM
Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer is making waves with her call to rescind the company's liberal work-from-home policy and require that all Yahooligans stop lolling around on their sofas, watching cat videos in their sweatpants and, instead, start working from...
| Sep 18, 2013
| 7:21 PM
OfficeMax chief executive Ravi Saligram withdrew his name from the running as new CEO of the combined Office Depot-OfficeMax company, Saligram said in a letter to employees filed with securities regulators on Wednesday.
The action means the new CEO of...
| Nov 12, 2013
| 2:16 PM
Fast-food turnaround artist Roland C. Smith was named the new chairman and CEO of Boca Raton-based Office Depot on Tuesday, just a week after the company merged with rival OfficeMax.
Smith, 59, of Atlanta most recently led the U.S. division of $18...
| Nov 1, 2013
| 7:41 AM
The Federal Trade Commission said Friday it has unanimously voted to close its seven-month investigation into the proposed $1.2 billion merger of office supply superstores Office Depot and OfficeMax.
The closing date for the merger is now on Nov. 5, the...
| Nov 1, 2013
| 6:33 PM
Seems like "Grey Thursday" is the new Black Friday.
Several big-box retailers such as Macy's, JCPenney and destination shopping center Sawgrass Mills have announced an 8 p.m. Thanksgiving opening to kick off this season's holiday shopping.
| Nov 2, 2013
| 3:31 AM
Put that expensive smartphone to work and start saving by signing up for mobile offers so you always have coupons right in your pocket. Earth-loving bonus: No wasting of paper or printer ink, not to mention time.
Here's a list of retailers and short...
| Oct 21, 2013
| 1:20 PM
On Oct. 4, Ames United Methodist Church presented the Community Action Agency, Harford Food Bank in Edgewood with a check for $8,206.77.
The 5th Annual Racing to Feed the Hungry Daily 5K Run and 2K Walk held June 22 at Tollgate Park, drew a crowd of...
| Oct 5, 2013
| 4:56 AM
Freebie Friday morphs into Shopping Saturday! Our fabulous freebie free-for-all goes coupon crazy so you can save at your all fave stores. Don't forget, Publix is offering $10 off gas cards through Sunday, so it's time to stock up. Plus, save on fun...


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Brazilian coffee imports edge up in H1
Dubai, December 9, 2012
The Arab world imported $106.9 million worth of Brazilian coffee during the first half of 2012, reflecting a 1.52 per cent increase in revenues compared to the same period last year, said a report.
Brazil exported 526,464 pieces of 60-kilogram coffee bags to various markets in the region from January to June 2012, according to new figures released by the Brazilian Coffee Exporter Council (Cecafé).
In 2011, Brazilian coffee exports to the Arab region reached $214 million, increasing by 35.88 per cent from 2010 according to statistics from the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
“Brazilian coffee exporters are stepping up efforts to satisfy the preferences and needs of consumers in the Arab region, where coffee has always been a very popular beverage,” said Michel Alaby, general secretary and CEO of Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
“The increase in revenue during the first six months of 2012 is a strong indication that we are in the right direction as we continue to cultivate healthy trade alliances between Brazil and the Arab world. In this regard, the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce remains firmly committed to provide strategic support to further expand the market share of Brazilian coffee exporters in the lucrative Arab market.”
The Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce was established more than 60 years ago to consolidate and expand partnerships, generate opportunities and bring Arabs and Brazilians together. – TradeArabia News Service
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Amazon Fire TV Stick set for India launch
MUMBAI: After launching Amazon Prime Video in India, Amazon is importing its popular TV streaming product to India even as it aggressively competes to lead the e-commerce sector in the world’s fastest-growing economy.
Amazon Fire TV Stick, a competitor to Google’s Chromecast, Roku and many other streaming devices, is expected to launch in India at an introductory price of Rs 1,999 for existing Prime customers.
For non-Prime subscribers, the Fire TV Stick may be priced at Rs 3,999. The Fire TV Stick could initially be sold on Amazon India, Croma and Reliance Digital Stores in select Indian cities.
The Fire TV Box would be the next to follow in the slew of Amazon launches in India. The Fire TV box, which connects to your TV with an HDMI cable, is faster and has more memory. It has more apps than the stick.
The Amazon Fire TV is a streaming media player that displays internet content on your TV. The Fire TV comes in two models—Amazon Fire TV (a small box) and the Fire TV Stick.
The main feature of the Fire TV Stick is voice commands supported by Alexa. The device is powered by 1GB RAM and a quad-core processor.
Some of the popular apps available on the Fire TV platform include Prime Video, Netflix and YouTube. Amazon could also start negotiations to carry Indian TV streaming apps such as dittoTV, Sony Liv and Hotstar. It would, however, be too far-fetched to conclude that Amazon Fire TV would seek to replace DTH or cable TV.
Incidentally, DTH operator Airtel Digital TV has launched Internet TV, a hybrid set-top box (STB) powered by Android TV that brings the best of online content to the TV screen along with a bouquet of over 500 satellite TV channels. Airtel Internet TV comes preloaded with Netflix, YouTube, Google Play Music, Google Play Games, Airtel Movies and more. It also comes with access to Google Play Store, allowing users to download their favourite apps, content and games on to their TV.
The hybrid STB is priced at Rs 4,999 with three months’ Digital TV subscription. Also, as a limited period offer, customers can pay Rs 7,999 and get the Airtel Internet TV with one year subscription.
Earlier, Netflix had entered into a major partnership with Airtel Digital and Videocon d2h to launch smart STBs that will come preloaded with the Netflix app.


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As launch partner in the ForgeRock Trust Network, Entersekt will contribute mobile-first authentication and global expertise.
Entersekt, a pioneer in mobile-first authentication and e-commerce enablement, announced today that it has joined the ForgeRock Trust Network as a principal technology partner. ForgeRock is a leading provider of identity and access management solutions to a wide range of industries, including financial services, retail, healthcare, higher education, and communications, in addition to governments like Belgium, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway.
Entersekt’s advanced mobile app security, authentication, and digital signing technology is now available to ForgeRock’s customers as a convenient means of securing consumers, citizens, services, and connected devices. Built on open standards, Entersekt’s software integrates seamlessly with omni-channel identity and access management systems like ForgeRock’s. But by aligning closely on a technical and business level, the two companies are better able to unlock value for their shared customer base from product design to support.
“As Entersekt did with push-based authentication, so has ForgeRock re-imagined identity and access management, re-architecting it from the ground up,” said Dewald Nolte, chief commercial officer at Entersekt. “Besides our game-changing complementary technologies, it’s that pioneering approach that I believe will benefit mutual customers the most. It promises to spur further innovation and help deliver to end-users the best mobile experiences available anywhere.”
“ForgeRock is thrilled to have Entersekt join our rapidly growing Trust Network Technology partner program,” said Ben Goodman, vice president of global strategy and innovation for ForgeRock. “Entersekt will bring our customers powerful, proven authentication options that will add great value to the exciting digital transformation projects they are embarking on with ForgeRock.”
Entersekt is a Premier sponsor of the Gartner Identity & Access Management Summit in London, United Kingdom, 5 to 6 March. Visit exhibition stand P10, where the company will showcase its strong authentication, digital signing, and mobile app security solutions.
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More rises in export lamb schedules as the short supply of chilled product drives prices forward.
Not such optimism on the frozen product front, however, as prices are peaking and the hot weather in Europe and the UK have sapped demand.
The NZ/China chilled beef and lamb trial has started with processors testing their cold storage and transportation systems, which are vital to ensure product quality is maintained at the plate.
Beef and Lamb NZ’s annual stock survey has shown sheep numbers falling further by 0.9% but, with hoggets retained lifting and more lambs being born predicted, hopes are that the shift from sheep has bottomed.
Farm expense data seems under control with wages and repairs and maintenance showing only small increases but feed costs lifting the most on the back of the wet weather.
More northern flocks have started lambing and some reports out of the Hawkes Bay region suggest good survival and high percentages.
Other areas have been affected by continual wet conditions that has held up pre lamb shearing and made management with early lambing flocks difficult.
Those that purchased store lambs in the autumn for this spring harvest should have made good margins based on present returns from the saleyards.
The South Island wool auction sale last week was slightly stronger, with 83% sold and the coarse indicator lifting to 282c/kg clean.
Some are reporting hopes that the crossbred wool slump has bottomed and is now slowly moving up again, but with significant stocks on hand any lifts will be slow.
Merino and mid micron wools continue to attract strong demand, but Wool Services International have ceased publishing these micron groups and the scope of the lifts are unable to be compared with other years.
In Aussie 22-23 micron fibre reached record highs as buyers chased the finer bales for quality clothing production in a market short of supply.
A steady week for prime beef export schedules but the weakness in the US manufacturing beef market remains.
Prime markets into Asia remain subdued and the current volatility with the US dollar is also impeding farmer returns.
Beef cattle numbers lifted 2.8% on the back of strong demand for weaner cattle in the autumn but the wet weather has dampened numbers of heavy cattle in the saleyards at present.
Local trade beef schedules were also steady as were prime steers sold at the saleyards where the traditional spring premiums are yet to be seen.
More lifts in spring venison schedules as buyers for the European trade react to shortages in supply, driven by more females being retained and the industry initiative of development of new markets.
Early finishers will be weighing their tops and will soon look for "the spring trigger" to ignite growth rates so marketing targets for chilled venison production can be met.
A new deer husbandry qualification has been developed by Deer Industry NZ, as participants are upskilled with knowledge to allow production goals to be achieved, and a universal quality assurance standard has been agreed on by all export processors.
Some areas of the country are reporting early signs of spring and this could help casting of buttons signaling the start of velvet growth.


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The old adage goes that when the US sneezes, the world catches a cold. And this time the country caught Covid-19. Despite repeated attempts by the central bank, the likelihood of the world’s largest economy slipping into recession within the next 12 months has risen to nearly 50% from 30% in June, economists predicted in a Bloomberg poll earlier this month.
The US is India’s largest export destination. And growing fears of a US recession are keeping Indian exporters on edge as a slowdown in demand here weighs on export growth.
In the first two months of this fiscal year, India exported $14.3 billion worth of goods to the US, accounting for 18.2% of total exports.
Farida Group, one of the largest exporters of leather and leather shoes in India, says it is seeing a drop in the volume of new export orders from its American customers for the 2023 summer and winter seasons, with winter orders showing a much sharper drop. The group sources 45-50% of its business from the US. No slowdown is expected in the near term, although the group has seen few order cancellations.
However, the situation is worse for ready-made clothing exporters, who are already noticing a drop in orders.
Rafeeque Ahmed, chairman of Farida Group, says new orders for summer 2023 show a 15% drop in volume. Customers cut orders by 20-25% for winter 2023. The clothing industry is also facing a similar situation, he says.
But on the IT services side, things aren’t looking so bleak, although the top four exporters missed their first-quarter earnings estimates. TCS, HCL, Wipro and Infosys also reported falling margins amid increases in staff costs to handle high turnover. But they do see a strong deal pipeline.
Citing a strong demand outlook, Infosys raised its full-year revenue growth forecast to 14-16% on Sunday. CEO Salil Parekh acknowledged that there have been talks of a recession and rising interest rates and that he sees pressure on some segments like mortgage companies in the financial services sector.
Wipro CEO Thierry Delaporte recently said there has been no slowdown or decrease in IT spending by the company’s customers. TCS CEO Rajesh Gopinath also expects the demand environment to remain very robust.
According to DD Mishra, senior director analyst at Gartner, the recession will not affect IT in the short or medium term, but the IT spending landscape can change at any time. The recession is not a big problem for IT companies and customers, he says.
With their customers’ IT spending plans intact, the management of Indian IT majors have commented positively on the short-term demand scenario. Nevertheless, they remain cautiously optimistic. On the other hand, Indian exporters of consumer goods will be hit hard as US households cut spending. There may still be a silver lining. Even if the US does go into recession, it is likely to be mild.


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|The Pew Charitable Trusts, under the direction of consumer advocate Sandra Eskin, has begun a campaign to reduce health risks from foodborne pathogens by strengthening federal government authority and the enforcement of food safety laws.
According to Pew findings, the estimated number of foodborne illnesses in the United states associated with eating meat or poultry is staggering. The centers for Disease Control and Prevention backs up that conclusion. They estimate that "contaminated foods sicken 48 million Americans each year, resulting in 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths." And "for the almost 9.4 million illnesses cause by known agents, data suggest that at least 22 percent (over two million cases) are associated with eating meat or poultry."
Some of the bacteria found in meat and poultry include Salmonella, Campylobacter and harmful strains of E.coli. Pew estimates that the annual cost to the United States associated with foodborne illnesses from meat or poultry is $7 billion.
Most national laws governing inspection for meat and poultry, respectively, date back to 1906 and 1957. The Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906 and the Poultry Products Inspection Act of 1957 cover all beef, pork, and poultry products sold in the United States. These laws require that the U.S. Department of Agriculture employ government inspectors to visually examine each live animal and then its carcass, head, and viscera after slaughter. In Meat and Poultry Inspection 2.0, The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Center for Science in the Public Interest have concluded that the United States, as does the European Union and the United Kingdom, should "commission comprehensive scientific assessment to evaluate its existing meat inspection approaches and alternatives for modernization."
For the complete report go here.


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BMW has added its voice to those noting pan-European increases in sales tax will almost inevitably have an impact on new vehicle purchases.
Speaking to delegates at today’s (23 June) Automotive News Europe Congress in Bilbao, Spain, BMW sales and marketing chief Ian Robertson cautioned tax increases would change purchasing behaviour.
UK finance minister George Osborne on Tuesday unveiled plans to hike VAT or sales tax from 17.5% to 20% at the beginning of next year – with the increase following swiftly on the heels of a recent rise from a temporary, economy-spurring 15%.
“Yesterday’s speech by the chancellor will have some effects as VAT will increase to 20%, which means in essence some cars sold in 2011 will come into 2010,” said Robertson.
“Spain has had a strong recovery albeit from a difficult 2009, but there are changes to VAT in July so we are seeing additional sales which we might not see in the second half.”
Despite painting a generally upbeat view of improved European sales, Robertson nonetheless admitted his overall assessment of the continent was “a mixed picture” particularly as different governments adopted individual taxation positions.
“A lot depends on what the governments do with austerity measures that may or may not start to deflect some consumer behaviour,” he said.
Germany had enjoyed a massive boost from its scrappage scheme and, although Robertson said BMW was not particularly affected as the incentives were mainly targeted at the volume sector, the market was nonetheless predicted to take a 25% hit this year after the incentive ended.
The UK has also “defied some of the original forecasts” but, although there was room for tentative optimism, Robertson added a note of caution to those highlighting the fledgling return to growth.
“We can all be encouraged by what is happening market by market [but] it is by no means a full recovery,” he said.


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The Council of the European Union adopted a regulation allowing for temporary trade liberalisation and other trade concessions with regard to certain Ukrainian products. This means that for one year import duties on all Ukrainian exports to the European Union will not be due.
“Thanks to these measures the EU will be able to significantly support Ukraine’s economy. Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine has had a devastating impact on the country’s production capacity, transport infrastructure and access to the Black Sea, as well as its wider ability to trade with the rest of the world. The consequences cannot be underestimated both internally, and internationally, in terms of impact on food security,” reads the press release of the Council of the EU.
As noted, today’s decision will apply for a period of one year, and will suspend in particular:
- all those tariffs under Title IV of the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine establishing a deep and comprehensive free trade area (DCFTA) that had not yet been liberalised. The suspension covers notably: industrial products subject to duty phase out by the end of 2022, fruits and vegetables subject to the entry-price system, and agricultural products and processed agricultural products subject to tariff-rate quotas,
- the collection of anti-dumping duties on imports originating in Ukraine, and
- the application of the common rules for imports with respect of imports originating in Ukraine.
The Council underscores that the decision is conditional upon respect for the principles set out in Article 2 of the DCFTA.
As reported, on April 26, the European Commission proposed to suspend import duties on all Ukrainian goods for a period of one year. Last week, the European Parliament backed the EC’s decision.
The EU is Ukraine’s largest trading partner, with a trade turnover of more than 40% of the country’s foreign trade in 2021. In turn, Ukraine is the EU’s 15th largest trading partner.