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American rapper Kanye West has accused Adidas of selling fake Yeezys and suing him for $250 million.
West and Adidas released their first sneaker in 2015. Their tumultuous business partnership later came to an end in 2022, with the German athletic apparel and footwear brand cutting ties with the rapper after a series of anti-Semitic statements.
While Adidas initially pulled Yeezy products from shelves after the end of their relationship, the company went on to relaunch the brand.
West has not taken lightly to Adidas profiting off the sales of their co-designed footwear, with the rapper taking to Instagram on Monday to bash the company’s latest release, the 350 V2 Steel Grey.
West shared a screenshot of an Instagram post promoting the shoe and said that no one who supports him would purchase the product from Adidas.
According to West, who described the shoe as fake, the new colourways were not designed by him, and he is not profiting from them. Previous reports had estimated that West would receive 15% of profits in royalty payments from Yeezy sales after he and Adidas ended their partnership.
In the post, the artiste also suggested that the public is hypocritical for criticising his previous controversial actions while watching Adidas take advantage of him.
“All these celebrities and the public will stand against a T shirt or the color of my hat but when yall see me have my children hidden from me or see an actual Fortune 500 company rape one of your heroes in real life don’t nobody say nothing or do nothing,” West wrote.
The Stronger rapper went on to question if people will continue to interfere with his life by messing with his album, freezing his account, or threatening people against working with him. After making the post, West further accused Adidas of suing him for $250 million in a video and said that the company is using loopholes in their contract to “rape” him.
“Not only are they putting out fake colourways that are non-approved, they’re suing me for $250 million, and they’re also not paying me for these shoes that they’re putting out that have my name on it. And their using contract clauses and 50 years of business experience to rape an artiste, one of yall favourite artistes,” West stated.
Watch the video of Kanye West Speaking on Adidas below.


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Developer Larry Silverstein’s Silverstein Properties is roughing out designs for an approximately 60-story residential and retail tower on Manhattan’s West Side a block from his Silver Towers.
The new project at 514 11th Avenue, between 40th and 41st streets, is in the early stages and has not been formally announced, a source familiar with the development said. While the overall size of the building has not been laid out, the retail portion of the project is expected to be between 150,000 and 250,000 square feet, a source familiar with the developer’s discussions said.
A spokesperson for Silverstein declined to comment.
Silverstein has developed two large residential projects on the West Side with more than 2,000 units combined in Silver Towers, the twin-towered rental buildings at 600 West 42nd Street, and the 41-story tower at 1 River Place. The development firm is currently building the 72-story 4 World Trade Center, the retail base of 3 World Trade Center and 2 World Trade Center to street level.
The new Silverstein building would be part of a residential construction boom on the West Side. Brookfield Office Properties has even changed plans at its Manhattan West project at Ninth Avenue and 33rd Street and is now considering adding as many as 900 residential units to a formerly entirely office project.
Silverstein will partner with Mercedes-Benz of Manhattan, which owns the land. The site is the former showroom for the luxury automaker, which relocated to 555 West 53rd Street last year.
Robert K. Futterman & Associates is representing Silverstein to find a tenant for the retail space. The blended asking rent (for ground-floor and upper-level space) is about $75 per foot, Robert Futterman, company CEO, said.
He said the neighborhood with its booming residential population was in need of a large grocery store.
“It’s pretty unique because where else do you have over 200,000 square feet of retail with parking in New York,” he said. His firm won the leasing assignment in late 2011, over a few competing firms.
Futterman recently landed a Russian restaurant company for the long-vacant retail site at 11 Times Square, at 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue.

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TORONTO – Do you know how many calories are in that venti Caramel Frappuccino?
You may not now, but soon those numbers will be staring you in the face when you place an order at Starbucks.
The world’s largest coffee chain is adding calorie counts to its menu boards for all beverages and food items sold in Canada.
The changes will come into effect for drinks on Sept. 29 and food items on Nov. 2.
The Seattle-based company says the new menu board labelling is part of its effort to be transparent with customers.
The calorie counts will only apply to standard orders, as any revisions, such as substituting a type of milk or the addition of whipped cream, will change the calories on an item.
For the last ten years, Starbucks Canada has already provided nutritional information – including caffeine, saturated fat, trans fat, carbohydrates and sugar amounts – on its website, and more recently through its mobile app since it was launched last October.
“We believe food and beverage transparency is important. Menu labelling provides our customers and employees with the information they need to help make informed decisions,” said Rossann Williams, president of Starbucks Canada, in an email.
Williams said customers want to know this information and doesn’t think it will turn people away from the favourite drinks.
The first Starbucks Canada location opened in Vancouver in 1987. The company now has more than 1,200 locations across the country.
Starting in January, Ontario will become the first province to mandate caloric information on menus for all restaurants with 20 or more locations.
The Ontario government says that more than 60 per cent of large chain restaurants in the province provide nutritional information on their website, in their restaurants or by request.


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The New York Times details a campaign from a Michael Jackson fan group that sought to bury an unfavorable book on Amazon with promotion of anonymous one-star reviews. While fake reviews are thought to be a widespread problem on Amazon, the Times says that the campaign by "Michael Jackson's Rapid Response Team to Media Attacks" has been the biggest and most successful: the group reportedly submitted dozens of one-star reviews (the lowest rating), worked to promote those ratings, and took credit for the book's temporary removal on Amazon. The Times says two points made by Randall Sullivan in the book (titled "Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson") seem particularly infuriating to fans: that Jackson's extensive plastic surgery decimated his nose, and that despite being married twice, Jackson was a lifelong virgin. "Sullivan does everything he can to dehumanize, dismantle and destroy, against all objective fact," a Rapid Response Team spokesperson told the Times.
To stop the hatred & slanderous attacks against Michael Jackson takes an army. We will need your help in 2013 more than ever.— MJRapid ResponseTeam (@MJRapidResponse) December 27, 2012
Being a fan of Michael Jackson is so much fun.— MJRapid ResponseTeam (@MJRapidResponse) January 11, 2013
While Amazon has worked to crack down on bogus reviews, its focus has reportedly been on fraudulent reviews that promote books — not those intended to sink a product. The Times points out that the book received mixed reviews from professionals, but that doesn't mean the negative reviews didn't have an impact on sales. In an interview with the Times, Sullivan asked: "should people be allowed to make flagrantly false comments about the content of a book or its author? This is suppression of free speech in the name of free speech." As of the time of this writing, several negative reviews still top the Amazon page for "Untouchable;" "skip Randall Sullivan's poorly written, poorly researched, and tabloid focus piece of trash!" tops the list, with Amazon indicating that 53 reviewers made a similar statement. The "most helpful customer reviews," however, are all favorable five-star reviews. Amazon told the Times that the fans' reviews did not violate its guidelines, but declined to comment further.
"People think they know me, but they don't'. ~MJ— MJRapid ResponseTeam (@MJRapidResponse) January 8, 2013


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Now is the time to take a close look at models.
No, not those who strut the catwalks of London, Paris and other rallying points of international fashionistas. Instead, those economic models that might contain clues for post-recession policy. The European Union wants to jack its growth rate up from a meager 1% to 2%, and the United States would like to see its economy grow at an annual rate of at least 3%. Faster growth means more jobs, and an increased flow of tax revenues with which to bring down the huge deficits many countries are running.


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There have been rumors that Sony could be open to connecting Spider-Man to Marvel’s uber-successful Avengers franchise, and now we have confirmation those discussions have definitely taken place.
The massive data leak at Sony has revealed all kinds of crazy stuff, but this tidbit might be one of the biggest. According to The Wall Street Journal, emails included in the leak confirm “extensive discussions” between executives at Sony and Disney (which owns Marvel) that reach all the way to the CEO level.
An Oct. 30 email from Sony Pictures president Doug Belgrad to Sony motion picture chief Amy Pascal discussed a potential deal that would allow Marvel to produce a new trilogy of Spider-Man films, with Sony retaining “creative control, marketing and distribution” throughout. Another email had Pascal telling a colleague that Marvel inquired about including Spider-Man in the upcoming Captain America sequel Civil War. Considering he plays a critical role in the comic version of that arc, it makes sense.
Sadly, it seems the negotiations eventually fell apart and Sony has doubled down on its convoluted plan to eventually produce anything from another Spider-Man sequel to a Sinister Six spinoff, a female-led super-spinoff, a Venom film and who knows what else. The emails also note that an animated feature from Chris Miller and Phil Lord (The LEGO Movie) is apparently in development. Which could be neat, maybe.
This is, just, wow. Wow. Rumors are one thing, but it’s fascinating to think that, as recently as two months ago, this could’ve actually been a real thing discussed at the highest levels. Considering Amazing Spider-Man 2’s mediocre reviews and so-so box office performance, you have to wonder why Sony didn’t work harder to close this deal. Aside from the obvious fact that Marvel would probably make better Spidey movies, the fan goodwill and buzz this would’ve bought for the beleaguered franchise could’ve been huge.
There’s more than enough room in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for Spider-Man, and with Sony keeping marketing and distribution as part of the would-be deal, they’d still have made a ton of money. Plus, tying him into Civil War would’ve been a great way to jump off to a new set of Spider-Man films. Better to split the take on a successful movie with Marvel than make a bomb all on your own, right?
Do you wish this deal would’ve eventually closed? Do you hope there’s still a chance they could work this one out in the end?
(Via Wall Street Journal)


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An Amazon spokesman added, “We plan to create the 25,000 jobs that were supposed to happen in NYC across our current tech hubs network in North America.” Chicago is one of 17 cities that Amazon dubs its tech hubs in North America.
In addition to about 10,000 warehouse workers in Illinois, mostly in the Chicago suburbs, Amazon has about 300 workers downtown, mostly connected to its AWS cloud computing service and its growing advertising business. It already plans to have 400 employees here by 2023.
The company’s announcement today surprised many who thought Amazon was bluffing a week ago, when word leaked that it was considering pulling out of New York.
The first signs of serious trouble appeared two weeks ago, when an opponent of Amazon's expansion was appointed to a New York state commission that needs to approve the incentive package the state was offering for the expansion.
As soon as the Washington Post reported Feb. 8 that Amazon was reconsidering its New York plans, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he contacted the company about reconsidering Chicago, which was one of 17 finalists on Amazon's short list.
Pritzker and Mayor Rahm Emanuel immediately responded with a letter to Amazon, reiterating highlights of Chicago’s HQ2 pitch.
It’s not clear how quickly Amazon will begin adding jobs, but given all of the publicity around the company, the HQ2 process and its founder, Jeff Bezos, odds are that the next moves will be more discreet.
“Amazon is historically a very private company,” said John Boyd Jr., of Boyd, a relocation firm based in Princeton, N.J.


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Amsterdam-based Interxion, which provides carrier and cloud-neutral colocation data centre services, announced this week it has agreed to be acquired by Digital Realty, a data center services company.
The transaction values Interxion at $8.4 billion and brings added value to the company. Interxion will benefit from Digital Realty’s global footprint, helping it build its presence in the Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pacific. “We also believe our stakeholders will benefit from Digital Realty’s investment grade balance sheet and lower cost of capital,” said Interxion CEO David Ruberg.
“The transaction is expected to be accretive to the long-term growth trajectory of the combined organization, and to establish a global platform that we believe will significantly enhance our ability to create long-term value for customers, shareholders and employees of both companies,” said Digital Realty CEO A. William Stein.
Once the deal is finalized the new entity will be called Interxion, a Digital Realty company. Interxion CEO David Ruberg will serve as the CEO of the combined company’s Europe EMEA business while Stein will serve as CEO of the combined company.
Finalization of the deal is subject to closing conditions and shareholder approval. The transaction is expected to close in 2020.
Interxion was founded in 1998 and now serves its customers through 50 data centrs in 11 European countries. The company is partnered with more than 700 connectivity providers, 21 European internet exchanges, as well as many cloud and digital media platforms.
At FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2015, Interxion’s VP of Enterprise Bill Fenick, gave a presentation titled Quants in a European Cloud.


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Computer users are in big trouble, and the threat is faced by consumers and the business community alike, writes ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK.
Almost all users of online business sites and tools are potentially in big trouble – they just don’t know it.
When hackers broke into the most popular social network for professionals this year and the most popular file storage service a few years ago, they didn’t just make off with the passwords for their own use. They published their lists of stolen user names and passwords on hacker sites and on what is know as the Dark Web: an Internet underground that is accessed with specialised browsers.
The biggest problem is not so much that hackers managed to get to the passwords. The average person is simply not worth targeting by the hacker looking for a big payday.
There are two bigger issues, says Stefan Tanase, senior security researcher in Kaspersky Lab’s global research and analysis team. At Kaspersky’s annual Cyber Security Weekend in Malta last week, he offered a sobering perspective on just how easy the hackers have it.
First, he says, most people don’t change their passwords even when they have been compromised in this way – precisely because they feel these particular accounts wouldn’t interest anyone.
Second, once such details have been made available to others, there are armies of potential wrongdoers scouring these lists and testing accounts to exploit vulnerabilities. These can be as mundane as the opportunity to damage people’s reputation by posting vile content in their names.
But even if a password has been changed, a deeper threat remains.
“Since it is so difficult to keep track of one’s passwords across multiple sites, many people use the same standard password wherever they log on,” says Tanase. The sharp criminal mind – and there are many of those – uses publicly-posted stolen log-on credentials to try logging onto various other sites.
Sooner or later, they find their way into people’s Facebook, Twitter or Gmail accounts. Here they harvest profile information, combine it with the log-in credentials that have already proven fruitful, and proceed to break into anything from PayPal to online bank accounts. Where they have access to the victim’s email, it is a simple matter to alter security credentials, and begin transacting in that person’s name.
That is a worst-case scenario – but one that is all too real. There is a word for it: “pwned”. That’s hacker/youth/hipster slang for being “owned” by someone, or conquered.
Most of us have already been pnwed, but don’t know it. Visit the website https://haveibeenpwned.com and type in your email address. It will tell you exactly which stolen passwords lists include your details. If nothing comes up, you’ve kept your online registrations to a minimum. If something does come up, make sure you change your passwords on any sites mentioned – as well as on any other site where you use the same passwords.
“Whenever hackers publish a hacked database, the people at haveibeenpwned collect it and put it in a searchable database where the public can check for their email addresses,” says Tanase. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t make passwords available. But it includes an incredible number of accounts – from 152 leaked databases and 1,8-billion accounts ‘pwned’ by hackers.”
Tanase himself, an affable Romanian who has been analysing threats for Kaspersky Lab for much of this decade, admits he has been pwned.
“Even though I’m a security expert, and done everything right, I’ve been massively pwned. My information was leaked from at least five providers who were hacked.
“Even if you do everything right from a security standpoint, with two-factor authentication, complex passwords, don’t reuse passwords, don’t click on phishing links, you’re still vulnerable when a website gets compromised.”
There is little people can do to prevent one-off theft of passwords after an intrusion, but they can close the hole quickly by changing the password as soon as it has been compromised, If they don’t reuse passwords, then the blow to the ego of getting pwned will be the worst of the damage. If they do reuse passwords, then some serious maintenance suddenly becomes a priority.
For those who are deeply concerned about email and messaging privacy, Tanase has one simple piece of advice: “Crypto is your friend.” By this, he means that using encryption tools will generally safeguard you from personally targeted intrusions. “It is mathematics; it will never lie to you,” he says.
“There are tools you can use, you just need to know about them and also get your friends to use them because, if you’re the only one using it, its not encrypted.
“Let’s imagine every site you use is 100 per cent secure with 100 per cent customisable privacy controls, flawless platform with bulletproof protection. But what happens if one of your friends gets infected? They have access to your private emails sent to the friend, and access to all the information that contact has.
“I want to encourage people to explore the privacy and security settings that are available on all the big platforms, settings that were not available a few years ago, but you still need to enable them from your settings.
“Another important thing is two-factor authentication, where you need both a password and a device where you receive a one-time pin or password. It’s the easiest and quickest thing you can do to massively improve security of your online accounts, online banking security for your Facebook or email or Twitter account. It’s not available by default for simplicity sake, but if you really want security, look for it in the settings. The moment you do that, you make it twice as hard for hackers to access your account.
“Use a password manager to manage all your different passwords. And make sure you keep everything up to date to massively increase your level of security. If you want more security, you have to be okay with less convenience.”
- Arthur Goldstuck is founder of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram on @art2gee
Sidebar: Compromised web sites, courtesy haveibeenpwned
Adobe: In October 2013, 153 million Adobe accounts were breached with each containing an internal ID, username, email, encrypted password and a password hint in plain text. The password cryptography was poorly done and many were quickly resolved back to plain text. The unencrypted hints also disclosed much about the passwords adding further to the risk that hundreds of millions of Adobe customers already faced.
Compromised data: Email addresses, Password hints, Passwords, Usernames
Dropbox: In mid-2012, Dropbox suffered a data breach which exposed the stored credentials of tens of millions of their customers. In August 2016, they forced password resets for customers they believed may be at risk. A large volume of data totalling over 68 million records was subsequently traded online and included email addresses and salted hashes of passwords (half of them SHA1, half of them bcrypt).
Compromised data: Email addresses, Passwords
Last.fm: In March 2012, the music website Last.fm was hacked and 43 million user accounts were exposed. Whilst Last.fm knew of an incident back in 2012, the scale of the hack was not known until the data was released publicly in September 2016. The breach included 37 million unique email addresses, usernames and passwords stored as unsalted MD5 hashes.
Compromised data: Email addresses, Passwords, Usernames, Website activity
LinkedIn: In May 2016, LinkedIn had 164 million email addresses and passwords exposed. Originally hacked in 2012, the data remained out of sight until being offered for sale on a dark market site 4 years later. The passwords in the breach were stored as SHA1 hashes without salt, the vast majority of which were quickly cracked in the days following the release of the data.
Compromised data: Email addresses, Passwords
Win a Poster Heater with Gadget and Takealot.com
This winter Gadget and Takealot.com are giving away three Poster Heaters, which look like posters but become heaters when you plug them in.
Three Gadget readers will each win a unit, valued at R550 each. To enter, follow @GadgetZA and @Takealot on Twitter and tell us on the @GadgetZA account how many Watts the heater consumes.
What’s the big deal about these heaters? Many of us are struggling to keep the balance between soaring electricity costs and the need to keep warm this winter.
However, the recently launched Poster Heater by EasyHeat and distributed in South Africa by Takealot.com is not only one of the most cost effective electric heaters currently on the market, it is also easy to setup and use.
As the name indicates, it is a poster similar to one you would hang on a wall. But, plug it in and it turns into a 300 Watt heater. The Poster Heater isn’t designed to heat hallways or large rooms, but rather smaller ones like a bedroom or a baby’s nursery or a dressing room.
It uses radiant heating, which means that it heats up in a couple of minutes and the heat is directed at the objects or people around it, quickly taking the chill out of the air and providing a comfortable ambient temperature.
The other advantage of radiant heating is that it doesn’t dry out the air like infrared or gas heaters. Users also don’t have to worry about their children or pets getting too close to it because, even though it gets hot, it can be touched.
To enter the competition follow the steps below:
Competition entry details:
3. The competition closes on 31 July 2018.
4. Winners will be notified via Twitter on 1 August and Takealot.com will be in touch to organise delivery.
5. The competition is only open to South African residents.
Happy Emoji Day! Here’s 10 reasons to be cheerful
First created by Shigetaka Kurita in 1999, the emoji has become a huge part of everyday communication. Whether you love them or hate them, flying dollar bills, applauding hands and rolling eyes are here to stay.
Scientist suggest that the use of emojis will help us gain the same satisfaction from digital interactions as we enjoy from personal contact.
Almost two decades later, and we have over 2600 unique emojis to perfectly express what we feel, thank you Mr Kurita! Join HMD, the home of Nokia phones as we celebrate World Emoji Day on the 17th of July with these interesting emoji facts:
The most popular emoji used is “Person Shrugging”
1. The Nokia 3310 was chosen as one of the first 3 “National” emojis for Finland… it represents unbreakable!
2. South Africa’s favourite emoji is the “Kiss and wink”… how sweet SA!
3. French is the only language where a ‘smiley’ does not top the list for its use
4. On average, over 60 billion emojis are sent on Facebook every day
5. For the first time ever, the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year was a pictograph! The “Face with Tears of Joy” was crowned word of the year in 2015
6. According to Emojipedia, some of the most requested emoji’s include afro, a bagel and hands making a heart
7. To include all races, a diversity pack was released in 2017
8. It has become so trendy that the Museum of Modern Art displays the original emoji collection on canvas
9. In 2009, Herman Melville’s classic Moby Dick was completely translated into emoji’s


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Bummed that you're home alone on date night yet again? Don't worry. A new watch or some scuba gear could help.
At least that's the philosophy behind Singles Day, a Chinese festival that encourages those untethered by a significant other to buy themselves gifts.
Observed on November 11 -- or "11.11," for the date with the most 1s -- Singles Day has become the world's biggest online shopping day, thanks to the e-commerce prowess of China's Alibaba Group. Alibaba holds promotions and sales each year on its shopping sites on November 11. This year, Singles Day lands on Tuesday, and it's expected to generate about $8.18 billion in sales for Alibaba, up 42 percent from last year, according to market research firm IDC.
The day started out as a joke among a group of male college students attending Nanjing University in the 1990s. Originally called Bachelor Day because it was celebrated only by young men, the holiday has since morphed into a nationwide holiday for all genders, with its own traditions, according to China Daily. People eat four fried dough sticks representing the four ones in 11.11. Blind-date parties and even matchmaking fairs have become popular November 11 events.
It wasn't long before merchants realized the marketing potential of the holiday. Five years ago, Alibaba, which is China's biggest e-commerce site, began holding its own 11.11 sales. Today, Alibaba's TMall and Taobao shopping sites are filled with 11.11 promotions from thousands of business partners. The gimmick is paying off. Last year, Alibaba sold twice what all US companies sold on Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined -- those are the Friday and Monday, respectively, after Thanksgiving.
"Alibaba has picked up on it and made it its own, much like Hallmark has picked up on Valentine's Day and every other holiday," said Marlene Morris Towns, marketing professor at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business. "It's been great for their business so far, and I think Amazon would do well to jump on it as well."
Amazon has tried to get a piece of the action. The Seattle-based company launched promotions for the holiday last year on its Chinese site, and it's done so again this year, promoting several brands including scuba gear maker Cressi, health tech company Withings and fashion brand Vivienne Westwood. It's unclear how much revenue the day generated for Amazon.cn last year, because the company doesn't break out sales figures by region.
For Alibaba, last year's holiday translated into $5.75 billion in sales, breaking the previous year's record of $3.14 billion. It dwarfs the US's biggest online shopping day, Cyber Monday, which reached $1.46 billion in sales in 2013.
Now Alibaba has decided to take its 11.11 promotions worldwide, highlighting global brands including online jewelry store Blue Nile and clothing brand Juicy Couture. Even Costco is on board. The US-based bulk discount retailer joined Tmall in October and is promising five-day international shipping for 11.11.
"It's something that could be pretty easily promoted" in the US, said Towns. "As more people here wait to get married and get more settled into their careers and their independent lives, there's an opportunity to counter, say, Valentine's Day."


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How Important Is Customer Data?
The Case of Amazon vs. Ticketmaster
Last month, the rest of the world learned through news reports what many of us in the ticketing industry had been aware of for a while — that Amazon.com has designs on selling tickets. Tickets are the ultimate digital product because you don’t need a warehouse to provide the product, which makes it an ideal target for Amazon. The entrenched commercial ticketing industry is led by Ticketmaster, which last year earned almost $2 billion selling tickets largely on behalf of commercial venues and promoters.
My thesis for the past decade has been that today, ticketing companies can’t just provide technology for venues to sell tickets. That gets you in the game, but it doesn’t win the game. Ticketing companies now must provide ways for the sellers of tickets to amass a rich, robust database of buyers from which they can build relationships. That’s the essence of CRM and what has guided us to build PatronManager for the arts community.
Ticketmaster has built its own database of hundreds of millions of ticket buyers, and it markets events to these buyers in a highly targeted way (the company uses the Salesforce Marketing Cloud to power these efforts). That’s its approach.
Now think about Amazon’s approach. It’s pretty much the same — marketing directly to consumers on behalf of Amazon and its selling partners. This company, too, has a rich database of millions of buyers as well as an incredible ability to segment and market. With technology and a big customer database, Amazon has been displacing nearly every brick-and-mortar retailer in the world.
So, in its quest to get into the ticketing business, Amazon apparently tried to forge a deal with Ticketmaster that ultimately failed. According to a recent article in Forbes:
Amazon has failed to close a deal with Ticketmaster because they can’t agree on who would control customer data.
This is worthy of significant attention. Amazon tries to partner with the giant of the ticketing industry in order to enter said industry, and what stands in the way? Customer data.
Yes, it is customer data that’s the currency of every Internet marketer. Without it, you’re shooting in the dark. With it, you could build an Amazon or a Ticketmaster!
This brings us full circle to what arts organizations can learn from this. If Ticketmaster and Amazon are in a tug-of-war over customer data, that should be a significant reminder that building your customer database with a full-fledged CRM capability to dissect, analyze, and target your customers should be an important priority for your organization.
The good news is that as the world of commerce becomes more and more digital-based, you’ll be increasingly able to collect more and more of your patrons’ data. Let’s use the battle between Amazon and Ticketmaster as our motivation to always remember that it’s the customer relationship that matters most.


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ZF Friedrichshafen said it is moving its business, production and industrial processes onto the cloud as it expands its partnership with Microsoft.
The German supplier on Tuesday said it will digitalize all of its processes on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform -- a move that ZF expects will generate far-reaching benefits across its business.
The company said moving the platform onto the cloud would allow for greater autonomous driving capabilities, more efficient factories and workplaces and a better understanding of a rapidly evolving global supply chain.
"It has become very clear to us that we have to have data to manage our business, and that data has to go across the whole of ZF group. It cannot be local," said Martin Fischer, a member of the ZF Board of Management, in an interview with Automotive News.
Fischer did not say how much the company is spending on the partnership, though he said it was a "long-term contract." In a news release, ZF said it was investing "billions of euros" on digitalization in the coming years, including a "significant amount" in the Microsoft collaboration.
The move is the latest example of a major auto company deepening its relationship with Microsoft. In recent years, Volkswagen Group has partnered with the tech giant on cloud computing for connected vehicle and autonomous driving technology, while supplier Robert Bosch said earlier this year it would work with Microsoft to develop a software platform for vehicles.
"We wanted to bring our software development processes to the state of the art," Fischer said. "And who better to learn from than from Microsoft?"
ZF previously bought cloud storage and other services from Microsoft, but this collaboration will enable "all sorts of creativity" between its workforce and its customers and partners, Fischer said.
"We have a strong belief that it's all about big data and artificial intelligence," he said.
In the news release, ZF said it will use Microsoft's cloud, data, machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities to "create new products or business models," including in its automated driving business. For example, ZF said the cloud platform would allow for "continuous data flow" between its autonomous shuttles and their environments.
"The secret is to know as much as possible about the environment to make that virtual driver really safe," Fischer said. "The more information we can gather about the environment and feed that to the shuttle, the better that virtual driver is going to be."
ZF said it would also be "digitally connecting" its supply chain to the cloud, integrating it with the company's "sales and operations planning process." That will allow the supplier "to anticipate internal and external capacity needs" more efficiently, while also providing "seamless end-to-end supply chain visibility."
"Full visibility enables a faster response to potentially challenging market developments to minimize or avoid supply chain interruptions and ensure timely customer deliveries," ZF said in a statement.
Additionally, ZF said Tuesday it will roll out the "Digital Manufacturing Platform" it developed with Microsoft and PwC Germany to all of its factories worldwide after a successful pilot program at a plant in Germany. The platform utilizes Microsoft's cloud and data services to make its manufacturing processes "more flexible and more efficient," ZF said.
ZF ranks No. 3 on Automotive News' list of the top 100 global suppliers, with automotive parts sales of $33.4 billion to automakers in 2020.


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CA: Low veg prices help keep Manitoba inflation rate in check
Manitoba, Canada's annual inflation held steady at 1.5 per cent last month as higher costs for things such as property taxes were offset by lower prices for items such as vegetables, new Statistics Canada data shows.
In its latest monthly Consumer Price Index report released on Friday, the federal agency said property taxes, as well as the cost of personal care supplies and equipment, both increased by 4.1 per cent from September to October in Manitoba.
However, those increases were largely offset by lower costs for things like fresh vegetables (-6.0 per cent), fresh or frozen beef (down 9.9 per cent) and fresh or frozen chicken (-4.2 per cent).
Canada's consumer price index was up 1.4 per cent in October compared with a year ago, following a 1.6 per cent increase in September.
The Bank of Canada, which uses a two per cent inflation target in setting monetary policy, raised its key interest rate target twice this year following strong economic growth to start 2017.
However, economists expect growth for the second half of the year to come in at a slower pace and the central bank has suggested that while further rate hikes are likely, they will be cautious and pay close attention to the incoming economic data.
Of the Bank of Canada’s three preferred measures of core inflation, which seek to look through the noise of more-volatile items, CPI-common increased to 1.6 per cent compared with 1.5 per cent in September, while CP-median slipped to 1.7 per cent from 1.8 per cent. CPI-trim held steady at 1.5 per cent.
Publication date: 11/21/2017
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No More Windows Phone Unlocks Via ChevronWP7 Labs For Now
ChevronWP7 Labs was the only Microsoft-approved way for users to unlock their Windows Phones for $9, aside the Microsoft AppHub where developers get unlocks in exchange of $99. It looks like the AppHub will remain the only solution, at least for the near future.
The ChevronWP7 Labs team said on Twitter that once the unlock tokens sell out, they “don’t (currently) have plans to restock”. Later on confirmation came that “ChevronWP7 Labs enters the New Year with 10,000 token sales under our belt”. “Our agreement with Microsoft was to sell no more than 10,000 tokens. Our team doesn’t currently have plans to renegotiate this number, although it’s a matter we’re still discussing”, they said.
This means that currently you will only be able to unlock your device via the “developer” way, of course, unless ChevronWP7 and Microsoft agree to hand out more tokens or someone else takes action and starts offering another unlocking solution. We (still) don’t know the exact Windows Phone numbers in order to calculate a percentage but it sure looks like users want to embrace homebrew (or were there also a lot of devs that wanted to check out the platform and their apps before going to the AppHub?)


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The April 2021 Android security patch for Google’s Pixel lineup promised more than just vulnerability fixes. The official changelog suggested several camera, connectivity, performance, system, and UI-related improvements and fixes for different Pixel devices. Most notably, Google promised GPU performance optimizations for the Pixel 5 and the Pixel 4a 5G. And it appears those optimizations have indeed significantly improved the graphics performance of Google’s latest smartphones.
Google‘s official changelog for the April 2021 Android security patch mentions “performance optimizations for certain graphics-intensive apps & games” for the Pixel 5 and the Pixel 4a 5G. Andreas Proschofsky of Austrian publication Der Standard tested the GPU performance of the Pixel 5 following the update and the results are pretty stunning (via XDA). He says the phone is delivering around 30-50 percent better graphics performance than before in 3DMark tests.
The Pixel 5 earlier scored around 2278/2260 for the OpenGL/Vulkan tests in 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme. However, after the April update, the device scored 3286/3083 in the same tests. That’s a substantial improvement, enough to show some differences in real-life device performance, as confirmed by Andrei F. from Anandtech.
Andrei says has the graphics performance of this Pixel 5 has “essentially doubled” following the April update. The performance is in line or better than other Snapdragon 765G-powered phones, he says.
Note that both the tests were performed using the Pixel 5. However, the Pixel 4a 5G should also see similar improvements in GPU performance after the latest update, given that Google promises the same optimizations for it as well in the official changelog. Both the devices are also powered by the same Snapdragon 765G SoC.
Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G are finally performing to their true potential
When Google started rolling out the first Android 11 stable build to its Pixel phones, some tech-versed users noticed that the GPU performance of the phones had drastically declined following the update. The likes of Pixel 4 XL and Pixel 4a all showed an unexpected dip in graphical performance. The same issue was noticed with the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G as well.
The two phones arrived late last year, both powered by the Snapdragon 765G chipset. The phones came running Android 11 out of the box and were vastly underperforming as compared to other phones featuring the same chipset. This suggested that Android 11 was the culprit for this poor GPU performance of Pixel phones.
While it’s still unclear what Google had messed up, or what caused this massive GPU performance regression, a fix is finally here. Nearly six months into launch, the Google Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G are finally performing to their true potential.


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PEUGEOT and REBELLION Corporation are pleased to announce that they will be joining forces to tackle the challenges of the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) and the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Within the scope of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Rebels Racing and Watchmaking Team has created a bright brand-new collaboration with RocketByz.
Having been involved in motorsport and most particularly in Endurance for many years, Matmut is proud to become REBELLION Racing’s official partner in the FIA World Endurance Championship until 2020. This partnership marks Matmut's return to the head class.
The FIA WEC Super Season is poised to start and REBELLION Racing has announced its partnership with the iconic British sports car manufacturer TVR. In September 2017, the brand – which is well known for its place in the history books of the 24 Hours of Le Mans – revealed its latest "Griffith" model. It is fitting for the brand to partner and work with REBELLION Racing for its return to Le Mans.
The REBELLION Racing team will engage two Oreca REBELLION R-13s in the World Endurance Championship with balanced and complementary crews. Both cars will be equipped with a Gibson engine and Michelin tires.


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The dating website mentioned usersaˆ™ brands and email addresses that were put into the machine before might 2018 might influenced.
Popular dating app coffees satisfies Bagel have sent its people a message informing them that her information might have been aˆ?acquired by an unauthorized party.aˆ?
The news headlines arrives time after a huge database that contain the information of approximately 6.2 million coffees joins Bagel consumers turned up throughout the black internet. Users received notice in the breach (ironically) on Feb. 14, in an email that has been distributed to Threatpost.
Coffees satisfies Bagel try a well known San Franciscoaˆ“based matchmaking and social network site. The software discusses each useraˆ™s fb account to greatly help select possible matches for them.
aˆ?With online dating, people should feel secure. If they donaˆ™t believe secure, they wonaˆ™t share themselves authentically or render important connectivity. We need that responsibility seriously, therefore we informed the area whenever possibleaˆ”regardless of what schedule date they fell onaˆ”about how it happened and whatever you are doing regarding it,aˆ? a Coffee satisfies Bagel representative advised Threatpost.
In the alerts, coffees satisfies Bagel asserted that the internet dating software read with the breach on Feb. 11. Names and emails that were included with the machine in advance of might 2018 happened to be impacted.
aˆ?On March 11, 2019, we learned that an unauthorized celebration gathered the means to access a limited variety of individual info. If we turned conscious, we easily got methods to ascertain the character and extent in the challenge,aˆ? the notification reads.
E-mail provided for customers.
The database containing scores of documents made an appearance and is available from Monday on Dark Web, within a bigger purchase of 617 million internet based accounts details taken from 16 hacked websites, based on the enter. Additional target website provided Dubsmash, armour video games, 500px, Whitepages and ShareThis, amongst others.
In accordance with that report, all 6,174,513 accounts comprise on the market for 0.13 BTC, or $468. That includes information siphoned between belated 2017 and mid-2018, such as full labels, email addresses, get older, subscription date and sex.
Coffee Meets Bagel verified to Threatpost that its violation is definitely from the database found on the black Web, and this doing 6 million customers were impacted.
Java touches Bagel said inside the notification so it doesnaˆ™t shop any monetary facts or passwords. Additionally, it said that it has got interested forensic protection gurus to perform examination its methods and structure.
aˆ?As usually, we recommend you’re taking higher extreme caution against any unwanted communications that ask you to answer for personal information or send that an internet webpage requesting private facts,aˆ? the notice checks out. aˆ?We in addition recommend steering clear of hitting backlinks or downloading accessories from suspicious email messages.aˆ?
Around this authorship, there is no find regarding the facts breach on coffees matches Bagelaˆ™s web site.
Valentineaˆ™s Day Woes
This Valentineaˆ™s time, the security area possess viewed per week riddled with scams and vulnerabilities concentrating on individuals flocking to adult dating sites. More concerningly, https://www.hookupdate.net/cs/meetmindful-recenze/ a critical flaw for the OkCupid app ended up being started disclosed on Thursday which could allow a poor star to steal recommendations, start man-in-the-middle problems or totally undermine the victimaˆ™s program.
Early in the day this week in another incident, OKCupid refuted a facts violation after states appeared of consumers worrying that their reports had been hacked.
And, in another consultative posted on Tuesday, the Federal Trade payment cautioned that states of internet relationship cons are climbing as cyber crooks gain the confidence regarding sufferers and technique all of them into delivering money. Indeed, this past year, men reported shedding $143 million to love cons aˆ“ a greater full than for any other kind of scam reported, according to the FTC.
aˆ?These different frauds are not vanishing any time in the future. Certain times of the year, Valentineaˆ™s Day integrated, enhance both ideal as well as the worst in united states,aˆ? stated Anupam Sahai, vp of items management at Cavirin, via mail. aˆ?Given the feelings, it is no surprise that relationship fraud loss, averaging $2600 each, are 7x greater than most other fake. There are lots of websites with recommended recommendations. Adhere all of them! And if you really have susceptible company or family members, lend them a hand.aˆ?


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BERLIN--Volkswagen AG's emissions-cheating scandal took a hefty dent out of sales of its VW brand in 2016, but strong growth in China and Eastern Europe helped offset declines in other major markets.
Shares of Volkswagen rose strongly Monday after it said VW-brand car sales increased significantly in December and after a senior executive voiced hope that the company would soon resolve a criminal investigation in the U.S.
Sales of the VW brand, which makes the popular Golf compact and Tiguan sport-utility vehicle, rose 2.8% world-wide to 5.9 million vehicles, driven by 14% growth in new car sales in China and nearly 7% growth in Central and Eastern Europe.
Volkswagen shares were up 3.8% at EUR144.30 ($151.99) at 11:35 a.m. GMT.
VW brand new car sales surged to 2.9 million in China in 2016, reasserting the country's position as Volkswagen's biggest source of growth. Sales plunged 9% in Australia and VW sales were banned in South Korea in the wake of the diesel crisis.
In other major markets, VW brand's new car sales fell sharply.
Volkswagen brand sales in the U.S. and Canada were hit by the diesel scandal, which was the subject of civil litigation and criminal investigations in 2016.
Volkswagen has agreed to pay up to $17.5 billion in compensation to U.S. consumers and appears close to settling a criminal investigation with the Justice Dept. that could add up to $3 billion to the bill.
In the U.S., new car sales fell nearly 8%, to 322,900 vehicles in 2016. A 14.7% increase in Mexico, to around 198,000 vehicles, slowed the overall sales decline in North America to 1.9%.
Volkswagen's market share in Western Europe, it is second-largest market after China, declined steadily in 2016 after the company admitted in 2015 to rigging nearly 11 million diesel engines to cheat on emissions tests.
Western European new car sales rose 5.8% to 13.9 million vehicles in 2016, according to LMC Automotive. But Volkswagen brand sales in the region fell 2% to 1.47 million vehicles.
Western European sales were stunted by a 7.2% decline to 557,800 cars in its home market Germany.
The erosion of sales in Germany was largely due to an extension of leasing contracts for VW employees. Volkswagen's in-house bank sought to prop up used car prices by restricting supply by moving the expiration date on some leases to April 2017 from October 2016. Used-car values were hit by the fix for tainted diesel vehicles, which some experts say has increased fuel consumption on the affected vehicles.
In Brazil, where VW was long the market leader, sales continued to slide in 2016, falling 35% to 218,200 amid a broad downturn in the economy.
Volkswagen brand sales appeared to improve late in 2016, suggesting that 2017 could mark a turnaround. In December, world-wide sales of VW brand cars rose 16.4% to 567,900 vehicles. All major markets except Germany and Russia grew last month.
New VW models launched in the U.S. late in 2016, such as the Golf Alltrak and the Atlas sport-utility vehicle, fueling a 20% increase in the VW brand's U.S. sales to 37,200 for the month.
But the overall outlook for 2017 is murky. In Western Europe, VW's core home market, growth in new car sales is expected to slow to around 1.5% this year. The new U.S. administration could impose tariffs on Mexican-built auto imports, which could have an impact on sales of Volkswagen vehicles from the VW brand and Audi, which manufacture there. And if tension with China grows once President-elect Donald Trump takes office, that could impact the ability of Western auto makers to do business there.
Friedrich Geiger contributed to this article
Write to William Boston at email@example.com


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The fans of the PS5 console have gotten up on their feet against one PS5 scalper group. Since the launch of the PS5, multiple PS5 consoles have been sniped with an aim to resell them for a higher price. Those people that do that are known as scalpers, which usually gain a considerable profit by doing that. Now, combined with the stock shortage and other issues, you could imagine how bitter consumers would get by just realizing this.
Without any shame, a scalping group named CrepChiefNotify has posted on their official Twitter profile the whole profit they’ve managed to gain by just reselling the consoles. The scalper group based in UK, managed to gain over 1,000,000 million pounds in profit, with over 2500 units sold. It’s amusing to realize how they managed to stockpile a high number of PS5 consoles. However, Fans haven’t missed their opportunity to respond and show their frustration.
Congratulations to our members 🎉
In less than 24 hours of the release of the PS5 and our members have secured over 2,500 consoles this morning.
Stop missing out, reselling isn't going away so jump in fast and maximise your profits. pic.twitter.com/WUTBFWNHfE
— CrepChiefNotify (@CrepChiefNotify) November 20, 2020
This story is likely to continue in the same fashion. As an insult to injury, Sony’s president Jim Ryan has revealed that absolutely everything is sold, which makes people think twice about buying their PS5 console “second-hand”. Not only that it’s not coming directly from Sony’s storehouse or official retailers, but the price is a lot higher than the normal MSRP.


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The Rapaport Group’s latest June melee auction sold 43,800 cts. for $6.4 million.
Average prices were
up 45 percent, year on year, while medium to low quality imperfect goods
increased by 70 percent.
The new Rapaport Melee Index tracks average auction
transaction prices for commercial quality melee. The June 2011 RMI stands at
145 up 8.2 percent from the March RMI of 142, and 45.5 percent above the June
2010 RMI of 106.
The upcoming schedule for Rapaport Auctions is as follows:
- July 4–12, Mumbai
- Aug. 15–25, New York City and Belgium
- Aug. 29–Sept.1, New York
- Sept. 6–13, New York City and Israel
- Sept. 12–16, Hong Kong
Follow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine


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Winner – 'easyJet Tackles the COVID-19 Crisis', Taylor Herring for easyJet
Children’s masks, school lessons and home delivery: with Taylor Herring leading PR, easyJet went above and beyond during the pandemic.
With the aviation industry hit particularly hard by COVID-19, easyJet asked the agency to ensure it remained in the public mind during a difficult 12 months. Doing this required a delicate balance between offering reassurance to nervous passengers and light relief in gloomy times.
As initial lockdown rules eased, Taylor Herring developed a pan-European toolkit showing the company’s extensive safety measures, which included a wellbeing explainer video and animation sequences. For youngsters, the agency developed a new range of Marvel-artist-designed, superhero-inspired face mask covers, 30,000 of which were given out in airports across Europe, with drawing tutorials also made available via easyJet’s channels.
As news of further lockdowns dominated the autumn period, a partnership was struck with Deliveroo that enabled customers to order a drink or their favourite in-flight snack to be delivered to their homes, served up by actual cabin crew in flight attire. Next, the airline wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson offering to help with the coronavirus vaccination programme, and furloughed staff were trained to administer the jabs. The firm even offered help with home-schooling, offering online lessons on geography and physics and, when schools returned, female pilots joined classrooms via video link to encourage more girls to aspire to the profession.
All this activity helped drive attention to easyJet as a family-friendly brand, spawning more than 1,000 pieces of coverage in the UK. Online, there was a 300 per cent uplift in web traffic and a 64 per cent rise in sales upon relaunch.
The judges said
I remember seeing each and every part of this campaign. At a time when potential negativity around the company was so high, this programme delivered positive sentiment at a challenging time. Very clever work.
Highly Commended – 'EweTube', Golin for Premier Inn
'EweTube' encouraged people to change bad bedtime viewing habits and promoted Premier Inn's 'Rest Easy' brand platform. The EweTube site attracted 120,000 visits by reimagining TV shows with the help of a shepherdess and a sleep expert, leading to a 66 per cent increase in bookings.
'A Night On the Cobbles' by Airbnb with Hope&Glory for Airbnb
'Let's Do London' by The Romans for The Mayor of London
'Pizza in the Post' by W Communications for Pizza Pilgrims


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Survey: Media, Entertainment Companies Focused on Digital
Seventy percent of respondents to an Accenture survey said they derive some revenue from new alternate forms of media -- such as downloading or watching TV programs on demand, digital advertising or user-generated content.
The survey, Accenture's 2008 Global Media Content Survey, interviewed more than 100 senior executives, examining the growth strategies of companies in the advertising, film, music, publishing, radio, Internet, videogames and television industries.
The survey found, however, that the revenue derived from the alternate media most likely would be less than 10 percent. Accenture said that while less than 10 percent of revenue might seem small, it actually represents tremendous growth and indicates that substantial revenue streams are being derived today from these new forms of media.
Four of the main sources of revenue growth cited by respondents in this year's survey are the same as those identified in last year's survey, according to Accenture. The sources are multiplatform distribution; short form video; social media/user-generated content; and advertising.
Other key findings from the survey include:
- Digital advertising will drive a large portion of future revenues. Fifty-two percent of respondents said they see digital advertising surpassing traditional advertising within five years, and 62 percent said they believe that content will be supported by several digital advertising methods, including branded content, search, sponsorships, performance and a mix of all of these.
- The Web 2.0 phenomenon is here to stay. Two-thirds (66 percent) of respondents said there is no likelihood that the Web 2.0 bubble will burst during the next 24 months, and 71 percent said they do not see any risk in allowing their brands to be associated with social media.
- There is uncertainty as to when the mobile market will take off. When asked when they believe the mobile market will become a mass market, 55 percent of respondents said within three years, and 45 percent said they believe it will take longer.


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December 17, 2013 8:56 AM
Nintendo has released a quick video detailing how to get your free trials of Wii Fit U and Wii Sports Club on your new Wii U.
December 17, 2013 7:35 AM
Nintendo has announced via Twitter that a new Nintendo Direct is airing tomorrow to showcase new games through Spring 2014.
December 16, 2013 10:57 AM
Masahiro Sakurai has taken to Twitter to squash the rumor that Super Smash Bros. will have a Spring 2014 release date.
December 16, 2013 9:01 AM
Toys R Us is currently offering $50 off the price of the Skylanders SWAP Force Wii U bundle.
December 16, 2013 8:35 AM
Reven is a new Metroid-inspired platform game under development with plans to come to Wii U.
December 13, 2013 12:54 PM
The return of the audio only version of the GameFans podcast! This week we discuss the failed VGX awards and our own GOTY for 2013.
December 13, 2013 7:56 AM
Hey Ash, Whatcha' Playin' submitted a WInd Waker video that won the Wii U Video Challenge this year.
December 13, 2013 7:23 AM
The Wii U is said to have sold 230k units in November, a substantial rise over previous months.
December 12, 2013 11:46 AM
Nintendo seems to be assisting some YouTube channels that are experiencing huge content ID matches on their videos.
December 12, 2013 11:26 AM
Here's a look at what's available on the Nintendo eShop and virtual console this week.


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Adelaide’s appropriately-named Gorgeous Festival is back in 2015 and even more gorgeous than ever, with Aussie songstress Kate Miller-Heidke headlining this year’s festivities.
Also FYI, this year’s double-date event has been moved to a new home, McLaren Vale’s famous Penny’s Hill, and is scheduled to take place across the Summer-cusping weekend of November 27th and 28th.
The Gorgeous Table will also return on the Friday, with an extravagant food and wine feast at Penny’s Hill Winery to kick off the festival with the appropriate amount of face-stuffing. And – this being South Australia and all – you can bet your bottle of Barossa’s finest that the rest of the fest will be curated with plenty of food and drink as well.
Advance tickets to the 2015 Gorgeous Festival are expected to be announced very soon. For now, check out the lineup so far, below.
Watch: Kate Miller-Heidke Feat. Passenger – Share Your Air
Gorgeous Festival 2015 Lineup
Melbourne Ska Orchestra
+ more to be announced
Friday, 27th November – Saturday, 28th November
Penny Hill, McLaren Vale SA
Tickets: Gorgeous Festival


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Yesterday’s blog looked at Facebook for Business and how businesses can make the most of their presence on the social media channel. But we’re intrigued by another project launched by Facebook to place itself at the centre of all businesses’ marketing strategies…
As part of Facebook’s intensive business targeting, over 100 select businesses in New York City are currently trialling, “Place Tips”, the Facebook Bluetooth beacon.
Don’t be alarmed by the jargon-tastic name. It’s a device a company can stick to the ceiling of their shop, restaurant etc, and when a smartphone user passes within its vicinity, it will prompt them to like the company’s Facebook page and show them content that other fans of the page like.
Facebook was keen to stress that information sharing is “one way” – the devices aren’t gaining insights from users they target. It’s also important to note that for the beacons to work, users must accept certain permissions and download an app that accepts the content.
So, is the end game here for all Facebook business pages to install a beacon? With 25 million small business pages already in existence, the potential of this project is enormous.
With integrity and personality becoming ever-important assets for a company brand, it’s essential that content is relevant and engaging to the audience that Place Tips is reaching. That means it’s our job as writers to find out what makes the brands’ consumers tick, and channel that in the content we put out, ensuring it doesn’t feel like spam or newsfeed pollution.
What’s more Facebook has just announced plans to expand its partnership with Shopify. This translates in to a lot more “BUY NOW” buttons and a unique opportunity for brands to offer products and services instantly to target audiences at the click of a button.
With 1.3 billion monthly users, it doesn’t look like Facebook has any plans to slow down. Twitter (284 million monthly active accounts) and Instagram (300 million monthly users) are both hot on its tail and we can’t wait to see what’s next.


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July 13, 2000
Welcome to summer in the Pacific Northwest. Although it may be partly-cloudy and cool in our area of Puget Sound, a quick trip to the other side of the mountains could show you sunshine and temperatures above 90 degrees.
And, if you’re working on a construction site, it only gets hotter.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, working in extreme heat conditions, especially on jobs that require protective clothing, can lead to heat stress, possibly causing dangerous medical conditions including heat exhaustion and heat stroke, as well as heat-induced rashes, fatigue and fainting.
Keeping cool is an important safety factor, says Dave Angelico, president and owner of Air Systems International in Chesapeake, Va. For 16 years, his company has been known for its breathing-air products on construction and manufacturing sites. More recently, Air Systems has developed products designed to keep workers cool in hot conditions.
One of the company's products, the Cool-Box, was created at the request of workers at the Hanford Nuclear Site in Eastern Washington. "They’re working in the desert over there, in about 110 to 120 degrees," Angelico says. The workers wanted a cheep way to cool the air in their full-body chemical suits. "They’re going to die if they don’t get some cool air in there. They asked us to build something for them."
Designed like an ice machine, the Cool-Box is basically an Igloo ice chest that acts as a pass-through for air coming from a mobile air compressor. "You throw ice in the cooler, and warm air is passed through the cooler, through coils, and blown into the back of their suits," he says. "Anybody can hook up any kind of respirator and get cool breathing air."
For about $695, the Cool-Box works for about four hours, suppling air at about 50 degrees for up to four people. Angelico says it works well for workers who need to wear safety suits or breathing hoods for painting or sandblasting.
Another product -- Air Systems' first in its line of personal cooling products -- is the Kool-Vest. Used with an air line adapter, the Kool-Vest is made to apply cool air directly to the chest and back. The vest is made of a double-layered PVC scrim material with an adjustable cooling ring for the head and face.
"It's used more predominantly by industrial manufacturing plants," Angelico says. "Any kind of area where there are warm conditions. We do a lot with the steel mills and foundries. It's very hot ... and you can't air-condition a steel mill."
For those who don't want to be tied up to an air line, Air Systems makes a Kool-Vest with internal pockets to hold special chemical cooling packs. The packs are different than your typical freezer cold-pack or simple bag of ice cubes. "The chemical changes from liquid to solid at about 50 degrees... It actually holds the cold at 50 degrees, instead of 32 degrees," Angelico says. "You don't actually chill the guy's skin, which would do more harm than good."
The cost of the Kool-Vest is about $195. Angelico says they will soon come out with a new, less-expensive Kool-Vest for wider applications. "We're talking about a low-cost vest for $99, just for the construction industry," he says. The new product would serve the road worker laying asphalt or flagman guiding traffic in the hot sun, "where heat exhaustion can be a major problem."
The chemical packs will keep their cool for two to four hours, and take about 20 to 30 minutes to recharge. "They don't have to be frozen," Angelico says. The packs can easily recharge in a tub of ice or ice water.
Air Systems is also coming out with a Cap Cooler for hard hats using the same cold-pack principle. Velcro tabs keep a cold pack secured in the hard hat's suspension strap.
Personal cooling devices like these make the heat a little more bearable and are more effective than alternative methods -- like pouring a bucket of ice cubes over your head.
Lisa Lannigan can be reached by email or by phone at (206) 622-8272.


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With the Samsung Galaxy S8 and LG G6 launch behind us, what is the next flagship to look forward to? The OnePlus 5 should make an appearance sometime this summer and according to the leaks we have seen so far, it’s going to be quite an impressive product.
We’ve already heard the OnePlus 5 will bring about an improved main camera and according to some industry sources the phone should pack a main 23-megapixel snapper. But according to a few new renders coming to us via India Today Tech, it looks like the Chinese company will follow one of this year’s predominant smartphone trends and will implement a dual-camera setup onboard of the OnePlus 5.
The renders were obtained by the publication from persons with knowledge of the device and who have probably even worked with it. Naturally we’re talking about prototype units and not the finished product, but given that the OnePlus 5 should in theory make it out into the world this summer, we tend to believe not much will change.
As you can see in the pictures, the main notable difference is the addition of a dual-camera setup on the back of the phone. What’s more, OnePlus seems to have removed the fingerprint scanner from the back, which suggests that maybe the company is going to implement some innovative, new authentication solution, especially since the phone does not have a physical home button. We handset could have the fingerprint sensor embedded beneath the display, but we’re only speculating.
OnePlus’ next-gen flagship will probably come equipped with a 5.5-inch display (with unknown resolution but probably QHD) and a Snapdragon 835 processor under the hood. The product will most likely carry 6GB of RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of internal storage.
As for the design, the OnePlus 5 smiling back at us from the renders doesn’t appear to bring something new to the table, except the antenna lines present on the OnePlus 3T are now missing from the back.
The sources of these renders say the design is not yet 100% final, so some aspects might change ahead of the phone’s launch that could happen as soon as June.


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XBIZ | Sex Toy News | Adult Novelty News
Digital Playground’s Jesse Jane, ‘Pirates II’ Costars Make Genesis Cover
Oct 15, 2008 1:00 PM PDTThe December 2008 issue of Genesis magazine is dedicated to “Pirates II: Stagnetti’s Revenge” and will feature Digital Playground’s contract star Jesse Jane, Jenna Haze and Sasha Grey on the cover.
Evolved Novelties Releases New Massagers
Oct 15, 2008 5:00 AM PDTEvolved Novelties has added two new massagers to its line.
Doc Johnson Releases Love My Cock Ring
Oct 14, 2008 8:00 AM PDTAdult novelty manufacturer Doc Johnson has released the Love My Cock Ring.
Topco Intros New Rascal Toys
Oct 13, 2008 5:00 PM PDTTopco Sales has introduced eight new products in Chi Chi LaRue's Rascal line.
Evolved Novelties to Appear at Venus
Oct 13, 2008 2:00 PM PDTAdult toy and novelty manufacturer Evolved Novelties has announced that they will be showcasing new products at the Venus Expo in Berlin Oct.16-19.
Pipedream Releases New Fetish Catalog Supplement
Oct 13, 2008 7:00 AM PDT"Our Fetish Fantasy Series has really taken off since we first introduced the first few products in 2005," Pipedream CEO Nick Orlandino said.
Jack Jelly Masturbation Lube Bears One-Hand-Friendly Packaging
Oct 13, 2008 6:00 AM PDTEmpowered Products now offers a flip-flop packaging for its Jack Jelly masturbation product.
Shunga Erotic Art Adds New Flavors to Sensations Balms
Oct 10, 2008 1:00 PM PDTShunga Erotic Art has added several new flavors to its Sensations Balm line, including strawberry and champagne.
The Exotic Erotic Ball Adds to Talent Lineup
Oct 10, 2008 8:00 AM PDTThe 29th annual Exotic Erotic Ball and Expo has added to its musical and burlesque lineups.
Fleshlight Reps to Appear at Venus Berlin
Oct 10, 2008 7:00 AM PDTFleshlight representatives are slated to appear at Venus Berlin to promote all of the company's sites.
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New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against crypto exchange KuCoin for operating in the state without registering with authorities.
The move is part of James’ ongoing efforts to bring cryptocurrency companies under state regulation.
Martin Act violation by crypto exchange KuCoin.
According to the lawsuit, KuCoin, which is based in Seychelles, allowed New York residents to buy and sell cryptocurrencies on its platform without complying with state regulations.
The lawsuit alleges that KuCoin violated the Martin Act, which gives the attorney general broad powers to investigate and prosecute financial fraud.
In a statement, James said her office “will not hesitate to take action against any company that violates New York law and puts investors at risk.”
She added that the legal action is part of her effort to protect New Yorkers from shadowy cryptocurrency companies operating in the dark.
KuCoin, founded in 2017, has become one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, with a daily trading volume of more than $1 billion.
The exchange allows users to trade a wide variety of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
The lawsuit against KuCoin is not the first time James has taken action against cryptocurrency companies.
In fact, in February, James filed a lawsuit against Tether (USDT) for allegedly misleading investors about the support of its cryptocurrency.
The debate over prosecutor Letitia James
James’ efforts to regulate the cryptocurrency industry have drawn praise from some quarters, but also criticism from others.
Supporters of cryptocurrencies argue that it is a new and innovative technology that should not be burdened with excessive regulation.
They also argue that state regulation of cryptocurrency companies could stifle innovation and drive business abroad.
Critics, on the other hand, argue that the lack of regulation in the cryptocurrency sector has led to rampant fraud and abuse.
They point to the numerous scams and Ponzi schemes that have been uncovered in the sector, as well as the high volatility of many cryptocurrencies.
The debate over cryptocurrency regulation is likely to continue for some time, with compelling arguments on both sides.
In the meantime, however, it is clear that the New York attorney general is determined to bring cryptocurrency companies under state regulation and that companies like KuCoin will have to comply with state rules if they want to operate in New York.
The lawsuit against KuCoin is also a reminder of the risks investors face when buying and selling cryptocurrencies.
Although the technology behind cryptocurrencies is exciting and potentially transformative, the industry is still largely unregulated and rife with scams and fraud. Investors should therefore approach the sector with caution and invest only what they can afford to lose.
What will be the future of KuCoin?
For KuCoin, the lawsuit is a significant setback. The exchange now faces the possibility of fines, legal fees, and reputational damage.
It may also be forced to comply with New York regulations, which could be costly and time-consuming.
However, it is worth noting that KuCoin is not alone in facing regulatory scrutiny.
Many other cryptocurrency exchanges and companies have also been targeted by regulators in recent years, as governments around the world seek to bring the industry under control.
For investors who use KuCoin, the lawsuit could also be a cause for concern. Although the exchange has not been charged with any wrongdoing other than failure to register with the state, the lawsuit could impact its operations.
Investors using KuCoin should therefore keep informed of any developments and take appropriate steps to protect their investments.
Because each state and country takes its own approach to industry regulation, it can be difficult for cryptocurrency companies to comply with all the different requirements.
This can create confusion and uncertainty for investors and ultimately stifle innovation and growth in the industry.
To address this problem, greater international cooperation on cryptocurrency regulation has been called for.
This could involve creating a global regulatory framework that sets clear guidelines for cryptocurrency companies, regardless of where they are based.
Such a framework would help create a level playing field for cryptocurrency companies and ensure that investors are protected, regardless of where they live.
In the meantime, we are likely to continue to see a patchwork of regulations emerge around the world as governments and regulators try to deal with the rapidly changing world of cryptocurrencies.
This can create challenges for cryptocurrency companies, but it also underscores the importance of keeping abreast of the latest regulatory developments and taking steps to comply with each jurisdiction’s rules.


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Sweet & Savory
2011 marks the 20th anniversary of Fairfield’s own Tomato Festival. With over 30,000 visitors last year, the Fairfield Main Street Association, producer of the event, is expecting an even greater turnout with their new additions to the festival. While it is a fairly local event, guests are expected to travel from as far as Sacramento to Contra Costa to San Jose.
The Tomato Festival is an event put on for the community, by the community. “We probably use over 100 volunteers,” says Margaret Manzo, Executive Director of the Fairfield Main Street Association. Travis Air Force Base also plays a huge role in the festival by loaning over the power equipment, generators and manpower. “We couldn’t do it without them,” Manzo says. “They bring a whole crew to help set up, and volunteer throughout the festival. Both Air Force and Navy crews offer their services.” But it doesn’t stop there. “From the city manager all the way down, the City of Fairfield staff is out there chopping tomatoes.”
Many may ask, of all things, why tomatoes? When the festival first began 20 years ago, tomatoes accounted for the leading cash crop in Solano County; they resurfaced as the leading cash crop again in 2009. “If the weather cooperates, we try to get all of our heirloom tomatoes from Suisun,” says Manzo. “Last year was a very cool summer so some of the tomatoes came from Dixon.” About 1,500 pounds of tomatoes will be chopped throughout this two-day event. From sweet to salty to meaty, you’re going to find the widest range of tomato samplings around.
With no gate, no entrance fee and the 20th anniversary celebration, “We think it’s going to be a much bigger draw this year,” Manzo says. One of the most exciting additions this year is a ticketed wine and food tasting portion of the event. “It’s our attempt to have a little something for everyone,” she continues. “Our wineries are not interested in pouring wine in the summer heat, so we decided to add the event inside the Solano County Events Center.” At only $15, your ticket comes with a commemorative glass and a raffle ticket for a case of local wine.
Other attractions include two music stages featuring performances by 12 different bands of nearly every musical genre including Modern Day Kids and the Time Bandits. The Wizard of Oz will be playing as a family movie option along with a costume contest. Also, in partnership with Ford Fairfield, the main sponsor of the event, attendees will have the opportunity to attempt to win a Ford Mustang or $50,000 in cash. There will be a plexiglass prize vault with a digital keypad. Festivalgoers can try and guess the six-digit code. If nobody guesses the code, nobody wins, but it’s exciting and you can guess as many times as you want.
Many people may not be aware of this, but 30% of the Tomato Festival’s budget is actually funded from the City of Fairfield’s Redevelopment Agency. “The purpose of the event is to attract consumers to downtown,” says Manzo. “We want people to come downtown, shop, dine and discover something that they may have not otherwise discovered. Its purpose is to boost the economy.” As redevelopment funds are diminishing in the state of California, Manzo states that the festival “needs to become self-sufficient. We’re hoping that eventually happens through sponsorships.”
Over the past 20 years the Tomato Festival has grown to be an iconic event for the city of Fairfield. “It’s one of those treasured community events,” Manzo says. “While a lot of people have opinions about what it should be or shouldn’t be, the fact of the matter is, people look forward to it year after year. It’s just a fun, family, community event and it celebrates our agricultural history in Solano County.”
The event is scheduled for August 20-21, 2011. For more information visit www.fairfieldmainstreet.com.
California Candy Festival
From the years 2000-2008, some Solano County residents may recall attending what was known as the Fairfield Candy Festival. It’s been a few years, but now the festival is under new management and is scheduled to make its enhanced return as the California Candy Festival later this year, reclaiming its title of the “sweetest” event in Solano.
Originally under the control of the Fairfield Main Street Association, the producers of the Tomato Festival, the California Candy Festival is now in the hands of the Fairfield and Suisun Public Education Foundation (FASPEF), as deemed by the Fairfield-Suisun Chamber of Commerce. FASPEF is one of the chamber’s leadership groups formed to give back to the community. “The mission [of FASPEF] is to benefit the kids in educational programs of Fairfield, Suisun and Travis school districts,” says Richard Garwacki, Festival Producer and chamber member.
The California Candy Festival is to be held over a lot of 15-acres, which will include the Jelly Belly Candy Company, its visitors center and parking lot. The festival is to be divided into three main attractions: Tasty Treats, Big Fun and Sweet Music.
For the Tasty Treats section, the name says it all. Featuring not just candy vendors but chocolatiers, confectioners, snacks, desserts, cupcakeries, ice cream and popcorn vendors, some of whom are coming from across the U.S. “We also have some Food Network personalities and award winning food truck restaurants and carts,” says Garwacki. Sift, a cupcakerie, will be present as winners of the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars, as well as Gerard’s Paella from Occidental as featured in a Throwdown with Bobby Flay.
“We’re really after some family fun for adults, as well as kids,” Garwacki says. “We’re going to be doing a chocolate and wine pairing for parents, working with the [Suisun Valley Vintners & Growers Association] in putting together a very fun wine and chocolate experience.”
In addition to the tasty treats there is “Big Fun” to be had. “We’re going to have a kids area with rides, attractions, games, pony rides, a three-story-tall 150-foot zip line, ‘spider zone’ and slide…” Garwacki goes on, “and a special promo called the ‘zip and dip.’ Basically we’re getting 10 local celebrities/community members that get strapped into the zip line, down 150 feet and land in a tank of gooey chocolate fun, all for dollars being raised for FASPEF.”
But it’s not just all yum and games at the California Candy Festival, there’s also some “Sweet Music” to be heard throughout the event. The event’s headliner is Malo, an 11-piece Latin rock jazz band whose members include Jorge Santana (brother to the famous Carlos) and Pete Escovedo. The event also features the band Sugar Rush (keeping with the festival theme) and 16-year-old country-western singer McKenna Faith.
An interesting aspect of the candy festival is their goal to throw the world’s largest “Candy Party,” by which they mean that anyone with the name Candy, or any variation thereof, gets in for free. “We’re actually checking in to see what the Guinness Book of World Records has to say,” Garwacki says. “We’re going to gather as many people named Candy as we can.”
Tens of thousands of people were known to attend the Fairfield Candy Festival years ago; with that goal in mind, the California Candy Festival needs to slowly build up to that same following. “We’re hoping for 8-9,000 folks,” says Garwacki. He hopes to develop this event to contend with the Garlic Festival or the Asparagus Festival. “Doing our research, there doesn’t seem to be anything like this in the United States,” he says. “These various elements offer some great possibilities. We really want to grow the California Candy Festival to have Fairfield become known for this regional branding event.”
The event is scheduled for September 24, 2011. Ticket prices are $10 for adults; kids 12 and under get in for free. $25 VIP tickets will be available as well, and active and retired service members and their families get in for $5 each. For more information visit: www.californiacandyfestival.com.
Art Wine and Chocolate
As if that all weren’t enough – Suisun City is “Happening” as well! Come join the fun at the 7th annual Waterfront Festival featuring “Art Wine and Chocolate”. The free event will be held on Saturday, October 1st from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Suisun City Historic Waterfront (Main and Solano Streets). Wine tasting is available for $20 and includes a commemorative wine glass and eight 1 oz. pours or a full glass of wine (proof of age is required). Why should you go?
Enjoy the ambiance of the Suisun Waterfront while browsing the 70+ artist and artisan booths.
Sip wine from local award winning and up-and-coming Suisun Valley and Solano County wineries.
Indulge in fine chocolate candy, cupcakes, fudge and other chocolate culinary delights.
Enjoy live music center stage: “The Broadway Street Rockers” 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and “Inner Soul” 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Great food booths, lots of fun, children’s activities, KUIC 95.3 and more!
It promises to be a fun family event with something for everyone to enjoy! Check out www.suisunwaterfront.com.
Come browse the artisan booths set up along the beautiful waterfront, enjoy samples of delicious chocolate and find a new favorite wine at the wine tasting booth. See you there!
For vendor or visitor information please call (707) 399-7195 or email@example.com.
These are just a few of the great festivals that happen around us everyday. Make sure to check out our online calendar for a more complete list and start enjoying more of these great Local Happenings today!
By Matt Larson: Matt Larson is not just a writer, he does lots of other stuff with his time. Example? Sure! He hosts stand-up comedy shows and would like YOU to attend on August 28, 2011 at the Fetterley Playhouse in Vallejo! Info @ www.thecomedycircuit.com.


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FTC will not petition US Supreme Court in Qualcomm antitrust case
The FTC believes that Qualcomm’s licensing practices demonstrate anticompetitive behavior
In September 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for a rehearing of the August 2020 decision of a panel of that court in siding with Qualcomm on the issue of whether the chip maker’s licensing practices are anticompetitive. Following the denial of that petition, the FTC has decided not to get the U.S. Supreme Court involved, and therefore, has unequivocally decided to throw in the towel.
The FTC, however, remains convinced that Qualcomm’s practices absolutely demonstrate anticompetitive behavior and that the court has made a bad call.
“Given the significant headwinds facing the Commission in this matter, the FTC will not petition the Supreme Court to review the decision of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in FTC v. Qualcomm,” said Acting FTC Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter in a statement. “The FTC’s staff did an exceptional job presenting the case, and I continue to believe that the district court’s conclusion that Qualcomm violated the antitrust laws was entirely correct and that the court of appeals erred in concluding otherwise.”
“Now more than ever, the FTC and other law enforcement agencies need to boldly enforce the antitrust laws to guard against abusive behavior by dominant firms, including in high-technology markets and those that involve intellectual property.”
What exactly Slaughter means by “headwinds” is not entirely clear but perhaps refer to the opposition its case has faced throughout the four-year battle from much of the legal community, including the U.S. Department of Justice, which not only vehemently opposed the case, but went as far as to testify against it at the appeals hearing. Legal scholars, Ninth Circuit judges, as well as previous FTC commissioners all have also expressed opposition to the FTC’s case.
The FTC’s original case against Qualcomm took aim at the company’s practice of charging a license fee for its IP in addition to charging for the physical modem chips. This same practice was also the subject of Apple’s unsuccessful case against Qualcomm, which was ultimately settled in 2019. Such behavior was considered by the FTC to violate both Section 1 and Section 2 of the Sherman Act, and therefore, are anticompetitive and restrict the business activities of Qualcomm’s competitors.
According to Prakash Sangam, founder and principal at Tantra Analyst, Qualcomm’s court victory “establishes a pretty significant precedence for licensing practices and applicability of antitrust laws” and “will have a long-lasting impact on not only the cellular but almost the entire technology industry and beyond.”
This is because when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned the initial ruling, it sent the message that Qualcomm’s licensing policies are “completely valid and legal.”
“With 5G set to transform almost every industry on the planet,” added Sangam, “the repercussions of the case are impossible to overstate.”


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Google’s Messages platform simply obtained a giant increase from T-Cellular, with the provider saying on Monday that the RCS app will come commonplace on all present and future Android telephones it sells. That is a major step ahead for what’s been an extended and generally difficult quest on Google’s half to make Wealthy Communication Companies ubiquitous throughout the Android ecosystem.
T-Cellular was an early adopter of the protocol again in 2015. By mid-way final 12 months, it additionally turned one of many first carriers to implement a full standards-based interconnect with Messages. That meant T-Cellular subscribers might benefit from all of the protocol’s headline options — together with typing indicators and skim receipts — when messaging individuals outdoors of the US. In accordance with the provider, it’s going to full this newest switchover by the tip of the 12 months.
Google additionally shared an replace on its work so as to add assist for end-to-end encryption in Messages. The corporate says the beta rollout of the characteristic will proceed all through 2021. Finish-to-end encryption over RCS is at the moment solely accessible by means of the Messages app, not different RCS-compatible software program.
Messages is not the one Google product getting a lift from T-Cellular. As a part of their new partnership, the provider may also begin selling Google’s Pixel telephones, in addition to dropping its personal TV service in favor of YouTube TV.


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There's no shortage of explanations for the logistical snarls denying consumers the abundance they once took for granted. Persistent pandemic-related shutdowns, extreme weather, demand swings, hoarding, politics, underinvestment in infrastructure, and just plain bad luck have all played a part in fouling up supplies of everything from toilet paper to automobiles.
It didn't need to be quite this bad. President Joe Biden talked to the leaders of Walmart Inc., United Parcel Service Inc., FedEx Corp. and Target Corp. this week to see what might be done. He also announced some shifts of funding to help ports relieve logjams and said that parts of the infrastructure plan recently approved by Congress would guard against future disruption. For the most part, though, this isn't a job for the government. If the manufacturers, distributors and retailers responsible for making and delivering goods had adopted some long-known best practices, the disruption could have been much less severe. These lessons are worth learning before the next time.
Over the past several decades, a combination of trends — including containerisation, e-commerce and freer trade — put comparative advantage to work with a vengeance. Activities shifted to wherever they could be done most efficiently. Supply lines grew longer and more complex, snaking around the planet in a relentless search for the best configuration.
This brought benefits, but also risks. The growth of supply chains often exceeded companies' efforts to keep track, from time to time causing unpleasant surprises — as in 2012, when an explosion at a German chemical factory triggered parts shortages that threatened US auto production. The sheer number of links amplified the so-called "bullwhip effect," in which initial fluctuations in demand grow larger the farther they move up the chain.
The pandemic compounded the issue in an unprecedented way. Companies discovered the full extent of their exposure to producers in locked-down parts of China and elsewhere — often deep in their supply chains, beyond their own suppliers' suppliers, where they hadn't judged the risks. As consumers began hoarding and purchasing managers inflated orders to get whatever they could, the bullwhip lashed wildly, overloading already-clogged transportation channels. Economic recovery has added to the chaos: As of September, unfilled orders of consumer durables were at their highest in the US since 2005, up nearly 50% from before the pandemic.
What to do? In some ways, the problem is no longer so acute: Shortages of pickup trucks and Squishmallows are less grave than lack of essentials such as ventilators and N95 masks. In other ways, the damage has been done. Some economic growth will be postponed as consumers hold off on purchases until better times, and a lot of production will end up wasted, arriving too late or too old to be of use. In the short term, sorting out the tangles will be mainly a matter of individual initiative and ingenuity.
In the longer term, though, companies can do a lot to avoid a repeat. For one, they can get a better grip on their supply chains — something surveys suggest many are already doing. Thorough mapping, all the way to suppliers several tiers down, can allow them to identify vulnerabilities, diversify suppliers, improve resilience, and improve their processes in ways that pay for themselves. Renault, for example, is using simulations aimed at helping it navigate disasters. VF Corp., maker of brands such as The North Face and Eastpak, recently started publishing product-specific maps that go down to the fourth tier of suppliers.
Cooperation and information-sharing are the best antidotes to the bullwhip effect. Instead of guessing at demand based on information from the nearest middleman, producers can gain access to point-of-sale data to build better forecasts, and in some cases even manage retail inventory directly. Procter & Gamble, for example, uses such "vendor-managed inventory," reportedly with positive effects on sales and productivity. Many other companies have yet to follow suit.
Executives shouldn't need a nudge from the government. Subpar supply-chain management leads to production delays, higher transportation costs, missed sales and wasteful surpluses. But forcing companies to share information, as the Biden administration has been attempting, is counterproductive: Commerce Department questionnaires are just another nuisance, collecting data that's stale by the time it's received.
Building a more flexible and resilient system won't be easy, and can't be mandated from on high. It'll require the efforts of operations experts at thousands of individual firms, and might entail significant upfront costs. Ultimately, it's a matter of adopting best practices in pursuit of profit — a self-interested endeavour that will help the system as a whole work more smoothly.
Mark Whitehouse writes editorials on global economics and finance for Bloomberg Opinion.
Clive Crook is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and writes editorials on economics, finance and politics.
Disclaimer: This article first appeared on Bloomberg, and is published by special syndication arrangement.


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Logistics specialist Consolidated Carriers is projecting another year of record growth, with revenues already up by 50 per cent on last year.
The business has enjoyed a record jump in turnover in the last year, up from £3.8million to more than £6m. It is the fourth year running the Troon company, founded in 1999, has enjoyed growth of more than 40 per cent.
Founder Callum Bastock has invested £600,000 developing a web-based software system, and is looking to add further product offerings based around the technology.
The first in a planned series of websites will launch next month and be a consumer-led parcel delivery service aimed at small businesses and individual consumers.
The site, parcelsplease.co.uk, will expand Consolidated's existing delivery offerings which includes pallet haulage, freight and bulk shipping. Bastock is confident the venture will be generating £10m in revenues by 2011. He said: "The recession is really helping our business grow, as more and more companies are looking to cut down on administration and supplier overlap.
"2009 will be another year of record growth for the company, and I am confident we will be generating £50m in turnover within five years, based on current growth rates and new product offerings.
"We are the only company in the market who operate a system which not only finds the best logistics solutions for companies, but also a more cost effective better managed interface in dealing with payment and invoicing.
"The reason we can offer our customers such good deals is we can use the weight of our purchasing power with suppliers to pass on savings to our customers - something the bigger companies usually keep for themselves.