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Tecno, a challenger smartphone brand gaining popularity in Africa, recently hosted a showcase event in Johannesburg to reveal its latest products and innovations. The Tecno Showcase afforded media pundits the opportunity to see exactly what the brand has in store for the year to come, and, as we have seen with Huawei in the past, it may be dead set on becoming a market leader.
Founded in 2006 as a subsidiary of Transsion Holdings, a Chinese company that also owns other smartphone brands Infinix and Itel, Tecno has grown into a beloved brand in many markets. While mostly expanded to regions such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, it focuses on affordability and localised features. Tecno has become one of the leading smartphone brands in countries like Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana and now the brand has its sights squarely primed at the South African market.
While many products were showcased, the highlight of the event was the local unveiling of the TecnoMegabook T1 i5 laptop, which is expected to launch in South Africa in the near future. The laptop runs on Windows 10, features a 14-inch full HD display, an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of SSD storage, and a 55Wh battery lasting up to 10 hours. The laptop also has a fingerprint scanner, a backlit keyboard, and a sleek metal design. Tecno claims the laptop is designed for productivity, entertainment, and gaming, and that it will offer a competitive price point.
The second main product Tecno introduced was the TecnoWatch 2, a smartwatch that can track various health and fitness metrics, such as heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen, sleep quality, and steps. The watch also has a 1.3-inch touchscreen display, a 210mAh battery that can last up to 10 days, and a water-resistant design. The watch can connect to Tecno smartphones via Bluetooth and can receive notifications, calls, and messages. Tecno says the watch is aimed at young and active consumers who want to monitor their health and stay connected.
The TecnoBuds were the third biggest product unveiled, and for good reason: it is a pair of wireless earbuds said to deliver high quality sound and noise cancellation. The earbuds have a 13mm dynamic driver, a dual-microphone system, and a low-latency mode for gaming. They also have a 40mAh battery lasting up to 4 hours, and a 400mAh charging case providing an extra 16 hours of playtime. The earbuds can pair with Tecno smartphones automatically and can support voice commands. Tecno says the earbuds are designed for music lovers and gamers who want to enjoy immersive audio and seamless communication.
In addition, Tecno also announced the Tecno Sonic 1 Active, a pair of true wireless earphones catered toward providing a “premium listening experience”. They have an 800mAh battery that can last up to 50 hours, call noise cancellation, fast pairing, and a magnetic tip design for easy switching of ear tips. They also support a smart EQ app that customises the sound profile according to your hearing.
In addition to the products above, Tecno also showcased other innovations that go “beyond the handset”. These include a power bank, a Bluetooth speaker, and even a new personal router. Tecno says these products are part of its strategy to create a comprehensive ecosystem of smart devices to enhance the user experience and provide more value. Tecno also hinted on how it is working on other projects, such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and blockchain, but did not reveal any details.
The Tecno Showcase demonstrates how Tecno is not content with being just a smartphone brand, but rather a technology company offering a variety of products and services to its customers. Tecno’s ambition is to become a global leader in the smart device industry, and to challenge the established players in the market. Whether Tecno can achieve this goal remains to be seen, but it is clear the company is not afraid to try new things and to surprise its audience.
Junior Editor at Vamers. From Superman to Ironman; Bill Rizer to Sam Fisher and everything in-between, Edward loves it all. He is a Bachelor of Arts student and English Major specialising in Language and Literature. He is an avid writer and casual social networker with a flare for all things tech related.


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Though most of the focus this week has been on Apple’s Watch announcement and, to a lesser extent, the new MacBook and ResearchKit, I wanted to take some time to talk through the other announcement from Monday’s event — Apple’s deal with HBO to be the exclusive partner for HBO Now for the first three months.
Two possible solutions to solving the app fragmentation problem
A few months back, I wrote a piece about what I thought Apple could do to finally take the Apple TV device beyond a hobby. In a nutshell, I proposed Apple would need to create a fully-fledged TV service of its own to really turn the device into something more compelling. But I also talked about other interim steps Apple could potentially take to overcome a major problem that’s emerging in online TV services: fragmentation. As I put it in that piece:
Apple TV does now carry lots of apps which allow you to watch a variety of content without switching inputs on your TV, but that’s only a partial solution. You’re still having to hop between apps, with no universal search to allow you to locate shows across them (unlike Roku). But there are other hassles too – people still have to maintain multiple subscriptions and authenticate themselves to the various apps they want to use.
I still think the best solution to all this would be Apple creating and launching a service of its own, because that’s the only way Apple will be able to exert the kind of end-to-end control necessary to create a truly Apple experience. However, either as a stopgap or even as a more realistic alternative, the other possibility has always been that Apple could simply bring together the disparate elements of the current app-based approach in a more integrated fashion, and I think the implementation of HBO Now is an indicator this might be possible.
One app doesn’t make much difference, but could be the beginning
To be clear, HBO Now is for the time being yet another app on the Apple TV. As such, it adds to rather than subtracts from the fragmentation problem. But in other ways, the HBO Now implementation is different from how other apps have been implemented in the past and in a way that gets at some of my criticisms of how the Apple TV has worked until now. The key element is that Apple will bill for and manage the user relationship of HBO Now rather than that relationship being managed by HBO itself separately and then authenticated on Apple TV. That may seem like a subtle change and it is when we’re only talking about a single service. But where this starts to get really interesting is where Apple becomes the key customer interface for several of these services. In that way, even though the customer subscribes to multiple different services, Apple becomes an aggregator of sorts, such that customers only pay one bill, have one user account, and use a single user interface to interact with all this content.
Beyond that, Apple could then add universal search similar to what Roku offers today on its boxes, allowing users to search content within those several services rather than having to dip in and out of each of them. It could layer on recommendations and personalization which would work across these different services too, so that you could have a single hub on the Apple TV to go to in order to figure out what to watch – a key issue with the current fragmented approach.
From version 1 to version 2 of TV services on Apple TV
In some ways, the current model for most apps could be considered version 1 of TV content on the Apple TV, with each app its own silo, mostly as an instantiation on the Apple TV of a service subscribed to elsewhere, with no integration between them, different billing relationships (and TV Everywhere authentication requirements) for each, and so on. Version 2 could be beginning with HBO Now and could begin to unify a set of services built with Apple devices and this sort of integration specifically in mind. To me, this would overcome many of the risks of the current fragmentation problem in online TV.
Significant benefits to this model
The other major benefit to Apple from doing this is it would be able to steer clear of the thorny issue of advertising, which is such a key component of the business model for live, linear TV today, and which I’ve written about previously here and here. With more of an aggregation relationship than a service creation relationship with content owners, Apple could forgo this role entirely, leaving it to the individual content providers to manage however they wish. It would also leave the pricing of individual elements as a decision between content providers and their end customers, which would enable Apple to stay out of the messy affiliate fees disputes which occasionally disrupt service on pay TV platforms.
Some downsides too
The downside to all this? Apple wouldn’t enjoy the same degree of control over the whole thing as if it controlled and owned it end-to-end. Individual content providers would want to implement their own offerings differently and that would cause some inconsistencies and some degree of fragmentation (though arguably less than at present). Of course, many of them would also extend the same services to other platforms beyond Apple’s, just as HBO will do three months from now. But Apple’s advantage would be its ability to pull these things together and provide the integration layer across all of this.
The next few months could see more partners
I have no inside information that Apple is planning this and it may well not come about. But in the context of such a move, discounting the Apple TV by $30 makes sense – seeding the biggest possible base for future services delivered to the Apple TV, which will then become the major revenue generator for Apple, rather than the device itself. And it would also make sense of several Apple executives’ remarks on Monday that HBO Now is the beginning of something bigger. The big question now is: who’s next? Sling TV could easily become another similar partner – Apple TV was conspicuously absent as a launch partner for that service, but perhaps because Apple has something deeper than just another version 1 app in mind. CBS would be another, with Netflix, Hulu, and other potential future partners if they choose to play ball. Over the next few months, we should see whether HBO Now is a one-off, or the start of something bigger.

domain: news


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As the holiday season approaches, American consumers are gearing up to indulge in festive shopping with a notable willingness to loosen their purse strings. According to the latest findings from the Mastercard SpendingPulse survey, spanning the holiday shopping season from November 1 to December 24, non-automotive retail sales in the United States are projected to ascend by 3.7% compared to the previous year.
This uptick underscores a trend of holiday spending returning to levels akin to those witnessed prior to the pandemic. Last year, holiday sales experienced a robust surge of 7.6%, while in 2019, the rise was recorded at 3.4%.
Chief Economist of the Mastercard Economics Institute US, Michelle Meyer, noted, “It’s a bit of a return to a more normal environment because we have a more normal inflation environment.” She observed that while the economic landscape isn’t entirely back to its pre-pandemic state, inflation is now more contained compared to the same period last year.
Consumers, however, are contending with a range of challenges, including elevated interest rates, escalating gas prices, and the burden of student loan repayments.
Gasoline costs are proving to be a substantial factor affecting consumer wallets. Monday’s national average for gasoline in the US reached $3.88 per gallon, as reported by AAA. Although this marks a 2023 high, it falls below the levels observed in 2022 when gas prices surpassed $4 per gallon.
Meyer cautioned, “We have to keep a close eye on prices at the pump.” She emphasized that while gas prices aren’t yet a major concern, they wield a direct influence on how Americans gauge their spending capacity and their perception of the overall economy.
Additionally, Meyer is closely monitoring factors such as household debt service and student loan payments. She anticipates that the reactivation of student loans will necessitate an adjustment in the economic landscape, albeit not a sudden or abrupt one.
Regarding the impact of higher interest rates, the report indicates that households’ financial positions are marginally less favorable compared to those of holiday shoppers in the previous year.
Several retailers, including Macy’s (M), recently issued warnings about consumers encountering difficulties in settling their credit card balances. Nonetheless, Meyer underscored that in terms of the debt service ratio—a measure of debt payments relative to disposable income—US consumers have essentially returned to 2019 levels.
E-commerce sales are poised to surge by 6.7% in comparison to the preceding year, while in-store sales are projected to rise by 2.9%. Meyer noted that this breakdown closely mirrors that of the previous year, suggesting a persistent preference for e-commerce.
Sales of electronics are forecasted to experience a notable boost of 6%, likely driven by a desire to upgrade the technology used for home offices, a trend stemming from the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.
Consumers are also demonstrating a willingness to dine out during this holiday season, with restaurant sales expected to grow by 5.4%, surpassing the anticipated 3.9% growth in grocery sales.
This trend unfolds against the backdrop of a challenging choice for Americans, who must weigh the rising costs of dining in versus dining out. In August, the cost of groceries saw a 3% year-over-year increase, while restaurant prices surged by 6.5%.
As witnessed this year with the economic upswing fueled by tours from renowned artists Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, Americans appear inclined to invest in experiences this holiday season.
Meyer expressed, “Consumers have power. They have choice. They’re being very clear on how and when and what they want to spend on.” The sentiment prevailing among consumers signals a robust holiday season ahead, characterized by an appetite for both material indulgence and experiential enjoyment.
Source: Yahoo Finance


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An internet outage at the post office in Santa Clara’s Franklin Square has finally been resolved.
“There was a service interruption beginning on July 17 that was caused by damage to a cable that supports the Post Office, only,” said Jeannine Brew Braggs of Verizon, the internet service provider for the Post Office at Franklin Square. “The cause of the damage cable is unknown. Service has been restored.”
The United States Postal Service (USPS) confirmed that service was restored on the afternoon of July 25.
“The cause of the network reduction was due to several damaged cables located in a manhole accessed area near the Post Office,” said Kristina Uppal of the USPS. “The extent of the damage to the cables was found to be significant and the Post Office escalated this matter to the service provider as a priority for resolution.”
The Postal Service worked with Verizon for several days to get the internet back up and running.
For five and a half business days, the post office could not accept credit card or debit card transactions but could carry out all services. During the outage, employees put signs on the windows and in the store that read, “Sorry cash only, at this time internet is down.”
“The Post Office at Franklin Mall had not limited available services or closed during this network reduction, however they were only able to accept only cash transactions as the credit and debit was not able to be operated with this network impact,” said Uppal. “Customers were advised for credit and debit purposes they may go to any of the [other post office] locations.”
Because of the outage transactions at the post office did run a little slower, but employees did the best they could.
For their part, customers were understanding and the signs outside the post office gave them ample warning. Many customers we talked to had cash to pay for their transaction or prepaid shipping labels so there was no problem.
“The Santa Clara Postmaster has worked diligently to ensure that this issue was resolved as quickly as possible,” said Uppal “We’re happy to be back to providing fast and steady service at the Franklin Mall Post Office and customers may feel free to come by with their debit and credit cards from today onward.”
During the outage, the Postal Service advised customers to go to the Mission Santa Clara Office at 1050 Kiely Blvd. or the CPU Mailing Service at 65 Washington St. Both offices are less than two miles away from the Franklin Square location.


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Nokia Music, a Windows 8 app developed by the Finnish phone maker for their Lumia lineup, has been rebranded. Consecutively, Nokia released their ad-free music streaming service under a new name, MixRadio, which is available completely free of charge. Of course, while the app is free, premium service aren't. For $4 a month, users can gain access to unlimited downloads as well as higher quality audio streaming. Certainly a low price to pay for all your music requirements, isn't it.
Update Nokia Music to Nokia MixRadio right away from Windows Phone Store.


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News: Ed Boon’s studio is responsible for two popular fighting franchises and now he is teasing that those franchises might make the Switch.
It appears that Ed Boon is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day by teasing Nintendo gamers on Twitter. If you go to his Twitter account you will see the Nintendo Switch logo with a green background and Mr. Boon saying “Decided to SWITCH the red with green for St. Patricks Day.” In case you aren’t aware of who Ed Boon is, he is the founder of Netherrealm Studios who make the Mortal Kombat franchise as well as the Injustice fighting games.
Injustice 2 (sequel to Injustice: Gods Among Us) is currently slated to be released on Xbox One and PS4 in a couple months. Injustice 2 continues the cinematic story introduced in Injustice: Gods Among Us as Batman and his allies work towards putting the pieces of society back together while struggling against those who want to restore Superman’s regime. In the midst of the chaos, a new threat appears that will put Earth’s existence at risk. Players can play from the biggest DC roster ever offered in a fighting game, from classic fan favourites such as Batman, Superman, Supergirl and Aquaman, to new villains like Atrocitus and Gorilla Grodd. Battles will take place across arenas that have evolved in scale and span across iconic locations such as Metropolis, Gotham City and Atlantis.
“In Injustice 2, we are introducing new features that will change the way fans play fighting games,” said Ed Boon, Creative Director, NetherRealm Studios. “We’re always interested in pushing the genre forward and allowing players to customise and level-up their favourite DC Super Heroes and Super-Villains is a significant leap.”
In addition to Injustice 2 it is always possible that Netherrealm brings over the latest Mortal Kombat game to the Switch. It would definitely be a fun title to play on the go and would be a great “pick up and play” title. Mortal Kombat XL was released not to long ago and was basically the definitive version of Mortal Kombat X which was released in April 7, 2015.
What do you think the Tweet means? Is Netherrealm Studios going to support the Nintendo Switch or is Ed Boon just playing a cruel joke on gamers? Tell us what you think below.


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Photo from iStock
MANILA, Philippines – The biggest change in Philippine television is set to come, when all broadcasters will need to shut down their analog airwaves and shift to Japan's digital terrestrial television broadcasting (DTTB) technology in 2023. This migration is spurring revenue growth for the hardware industry.
With about 17 million Filipino households migrating to digital TV, the brown goods industry has been seeing a "rapid" growth in sales for the past years, said the president of Philippine Appliance Industry Association Incorporated (PAIA).
PAIA president Peter Villanueva told Rappler that with regards to the brown goods industry, the "huge growth in LCD sales" has been happening in the past 4 years. (READ: Part 1: PH telcos, TV networks ride double-edged digital wave)
Brown goods are relatively light electronic consumer durables such as TVs, radios, digital media players, and computers.
"Right now, we are looking at the replacement market or the new family segment as the growth drivers for the coming years. There will still be a decent growth for the industry," Villanueva said on the sidelines of Department of Information and Communications Technology's (DICT) Digital TV Summit 2017 in Quezon City on Tuesday, February 14.
"Remember, in one house, they have more than one TV. We, in the hardware, are expecting growth from that replacement. From our picture tube television, right now, you can only enjoy total television entertainment through LCD or LED TVs," said Villanueva, who also serves as the president of Sharp Philippines Corporation.
DICT chief Salalima with ABS, GMA, TV5 execs do ceremonial shift to digital TV5 @rapplerdotcom pic.twitter.com/aZRkGZIMqj — Chrisee V. Dela Paz (@chriseedelapaz) February 14, 2017
64 years since first TV broadcast
Television was introduced in the Philippines in 1953, with the opening of DZAQ-TV Channel 3 of Alto Broadcasting System in Manila, which is now called ABS-CBN Corporation.
After 64 years, the Philippine telecommunications regulator finally cleared the way for the country's shift to the Japanese-standard DTTB system.
Aside from clearer video and audio, DICT Secretary Rodolfo Salalima told reporters that the DTTB technology has an integrated early warning mechanism in times of natural disasters such as tsunami, typhoon, and earthquakes.
All PH networks will shut down their analog TVs by 2023 @rapplerdotcom pic.twitter.com/qyPV3H5nDm — Chrisee V. Dela Paz (@chriseedelapaz) February 14, 2017
In December 2014, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued Memorandum Circular No. 07-12-2014, requiring broadcasters to simulcast their digital TV and analog services within a year from grant of authority to provide such service.
Smaller broadcasters find it tough
NTC Deputy Commissioner Edgardo Cabarios said the total shut-off of analog TV services has been moved to 2023 from an earlier target of 2019, as "smaller broadcasters find it costly to migrate to the new Japanese standard."
"The leading networks have no problem with that (shifting to digital TV). But how about the smaller ones? We should take into consideration their plight. Their ability for them to roll out digital infrastructure," the NTC official said.
According to Cabarios, the initial investment of small broadcasters for the digital TV shift is "around P50 million, which is already huge for these companies."
He added that his office is looking at subsidizing 5% of smaller firms' capital expenditures in shifting to digital TV, but clarified that this will still be studied by the concerned agencies.
While the smaller firms are finding it difficult to migrate, the top 3 broadcast companies have already begun their migration to DTTB technology.
ABS-CBN, GMA Network Incorporated, and TV5 have earmarked between P400 million and P2 billion to finance the digital shift.
"We are working hand-in-hand with the government. We are still in the testing stage. First phase will be Metro Manila. Admittedly, the two (ABS-CBN and GMA) are ahead of us. We are going to approach the shift in a slightly different way," TV5 president and CEO Vincent "Chot" Reyes said on the sidelines of the Digital TV Summit.
For GMA executive vice president and chief financial officer Felipe Yalong, the network targets to commercially roll out its digital TV in Metro Manila within the year.
"We don't have any specific plan yet. What's definite is that we will be able to come up with our DTT signal hopefully within the year," Yalong said on the sidelines of the event.
ABS-CBN, meanwhile, launched its DTT service in February 2015, selling over two million TVplus units as of November 2016.
For Shigeki Suzuki, Vice Minister for Policy Coordination at Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, migrating to digital TV "is not easy."
"Digital TV migration requires the cooperation of all stakeholders. Japan will continue to be a partner of the Philippines. We will help in the country's smooth transition to DTTB," Suzuki said. – Rappler.com


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The new year is going to be bringing with it a whole new resource for Kelowna’s tech and business community.
The Innovation Centre has officially been fully leased, with the last of the remaining space going towards a company that provides unique co-working facilities.
The company, Spaces, will be opening in May 2019, bringing a working environment that’s built to foster community among the Okanagan’s modern and traditional workforce.
Wayne Berger, CEO of IWG Canada and Latin America, which owns Spaces, said they’re are excited to be launching in Kelowna given the unique “ecosystem” that just continues to evolve in the region.
“It’ll be interesting. We’re really excited to be launching Spaces in Kelowna. I think it will be a great extension and a compliment to what’s taking place with the Innovation UBC Hub and Accelerate Okanagan,” says Berger. “I think when you look at the ecosystem going on with technology and in the start up community in Kelowna, I think Spaces will just fit really well into that type of ecosystem.”
Berger adds that he predicts that we’re going to see emerging trends in technology such as fintech, design media, app development, and more greatly accelerate.
The space they’re moving into spans across 23,000 square-feet, and has seven different environments to suit any kind of work from meeting rooms, private phone booths, open seating areas, and a coffee shop for people to congregate at.
“The best way i can describe it is that Spaces is these really great, sophisticated, co working environments,” says Berger. “When you walk into a Spaces, what we try to do is build this really great ecosystem of people, whether they’re a new startup or a fortune 500 company, they have a chance to gather together, they can collaborate in great open environments.”
And it’s not just for weekly meetings. Berger says that with the shift that’s happening with the contingent workforce, companies are increasingly basing themselves out of co-working space instead of taking on conventional leases.
Five years ago, co-working space was more of a utility, explains Berger. Companies used it for a specific project, or as a transitional space between lease. Now, he says the contingent workforce has grown from 30% to 40%, so there are more contractors, freelancers, start-ups, and entrepreneurs than ever and more demand more a different kind of workspace.
With solutions like Spaces, companies and business people can invest more capital into their core operations instead of into a lease where they’re spending their income on furnishings, administration, security, and other costs.
The other part is the ability to make connections and collaborate with other people in co-working space, making it easier to meet new people and make business connections.
Berger says that one of their missions in the Okanagan is to provide an immersive community and to be a catalyst for economic growth. He says Spaces Kelowna is planning on providing event space building a roster of monthly networking events, supporting both the business community and the philanthropic community.
“We want Spaces Kelowna to not just be a great co-working facility for the members, but also for be a hub for the business and the philanthropic community,” he says. “We try to provide our space for great non-profits, great business trade associations, different chamber groups, different business groups.”
“Many times we’ll off the space for free because we want to make sure that space is available for organizations to be able to gather their constituents and their members together,” he adds. “People really love being a part of a community, so we’re trying to make sure we’re building a really strong and immersive community.”
“I think it’s a really exciting time in Kelowna right now,” says Berger.
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In Tokyo, Sony rolls out the first complete revamp of its PlayStation Portable. With a 5-inch OLED screen, dual analog sticks, 3G, Wi-Fi, and more, it's an exciting reboot for the PSP line.
Sony unveiled its long-awaited PlayStation 4 at the annual E3 gaming conference in Los Angeles. CNET's Sumi Das explains how it stacks up against Microsoft's upcoming Xbox One.
Sony's disclosure of the engine powering the Next Generation PlayStation Portable shows that the Japanese company is deadly serious about performance.
Portable owners can rent from a library of more than 125 games beginning August 4.
Sony CEO and Group President Kazuo Hirai shows off the Next Generation Portable, known as the PS2, at a Tokyo press event.
The Next Generation Portable, NGP, or PSP2 certainly has an impressive amount of news surrounding it, so we've decided to make this post our central hub for all things NGP.
Check out how the Sony NGP's rear touch panel works in this gameplay video featuring Little Deviants.
Sony has revealed the company's next portable system, codenamed Next Generation Portable (NGP), known to the public up until now as the PSP2.
Sony has revealed the company's next portable system, code-named Next Generation Portable (NGP), known to the public up until now as the PSP2.
After 10 years, the company ends sales of its handheld gaming device in North America, Europe, and Japan.


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Gold worth Rs 20,000 crore was sold during the day. About 40 tonnes of gold has been sold on Dhanteras this year across the country. According to the India Bullion and Jewelers Association (IBJA), this year’s sales are 30 per cent higher than last year’s Dhanteras.
According to IBJA National Secretary Surendra Mehta, about Rs 12,000 crore worth of gold was sold last year. On the other hand, it was sold for Rs 20,000 crore this year. Where last year about 30 tons of gold was sold, this year about 40 tons of gold was sold. He said gold sales have increased by 30 to 35 per cent in the country compared to last year. So on the other hand the value has increased by about 70 per cent.
Exchange-traded fund Nifty Bees, which tracks the 50-share Nifty index saw a record turnover of Rs 281 crore on December 21. This compared to an average daily volume of a little less than Rs 30 crore between January 1 and December 20. Let’s Take a closer look at the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ of this trend.


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Born of a dissatisfaction with Homeworld 2, the Homeworld:@ team is building upon the foundations of Homeworld and Homeworld:Cataclysm to create a faithful sequel in the Homeworld:2 engine, with new ships, storyline, and game mechanics.
Homeworld:@ continues to develop the Vaygr gunship and Higaaran interceptor, and looks for new blood.
New team members, new ships, and new art for Homeworld:@!
A showcase of recent modeling strides, including three original ships and two more from the Homeworld community.
Homeworld:@ releases another alpha package including new backgrounds, new effects, and a new ship.
Homeworld:@ 0.0.4.0 released, featuring a new ship, new background, color picker, and potentially working AI.
A new Christmas release of Homeworld:@, reaching version 0.1.0.0
HW@ Releases version 0.1.1.0, featuring update harvester, heavy corvette, and bugfixes.
Homeworld:@ releases version 0.2.0.0, with music, new models, new textures, new effects, a new game mode, and extensive balancing.
Homeworld:@ 0.2.0.2 released. Patch notes included.
A new version of HW:@, featuring textured Vaygr destroyer and completed Vaygr Battlecruiser, Vaygr Flare Gunship, and UNH Heavy Cruiser, has been released...
In which the team confirms that they're still alive and shows off some new ships.
Announcing new ships and a new website for the mod.
A new version of HW:@, featuring fifteen new models, including ships from two new factions.
Homeworld:@ is developing a small campaign and recruiting testers for it.
Homeworld:@ talks about what's going to happen now that Remastered is out.
Doci7's contributions to the mod resume with two striking fully textured ships.
First in what is hopefully a weekly series of Saturday Updates. Here we'll talk about ... well, basically everything mod related we're up to. In this...
More concept art, more renders, hints at things to come


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Y2K Not to Blame for System Failure in Trinidad, Bank Says (Ha-Ha)greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread
12/20/99 -- 10:08 PM
Y2K Not to Blame for System Failure in Trinidad, Bank Says
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) - When dozens of ATMs in Trinidad failed during weekend Christmas shopping, some debit card users feared the Y2K bug had arrived early. They were wrong.
Republic Bank announced on Monday that a power outage was to blame for the glitch, which halted machines connected to cash registers across the Caribbean island this weekend.
``We don't want people thinking it's Y2K related,'' said Derwin Howell, Republic Bank's manager of information technology.
The card system was working normally by Monday, he said.
In many countries, debit card machines have had to be replaced or reprogrammed because of the Y2K computer bug, a quirk in older computers that causes them to confuse the years 2000 and 1900.
The bug already has caused some debit machines to erroneously report that cards are expired if they expire after Jan. 1, 2000. Computer experts fear other computers also may malfunction or fail on that date.
-- NOT me (No@Not.Y2K), December 20, 1999
No, nope, not, couldn't be, impossible, no, don't even think it, no, no way, no, don't go there, don't venture to presume, no, nope, impossible, no, no
-- no (firstname.lastname@example.org), December 20, 1999.
A fix in one day? The power generating station or the bad bad software?
-- Polly-Morphic Doomer (email@example.com), December 21, 1999.


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- BiteDirector, 2012 - present
- Waggener EdstromHead of Digital, 2009 - 2012
NEW 2014 Nerf Zombie Strike Doublestrike and Slingfire
A Nerf Blog, Nerf News Blog, Nerf Reviews, Nerf Updates, Nerf Guns blog
One Direction and the London tube strike: were too many people trying to...
It's been a lucky few weeks for London-based minicab firm Addison Lee. The company that became notorious for ex-founder John Griffin's appro
Why we need 'smart energy meters' in our homes – Telegraph Blogs
Electricity consumption in American homes has dropped for the third year in a row and is already back to 2001 levels, according to a study b
Pebble put smart watches on the Map. But Apple's iWatch will change ever...
Pebble announced its second smart watch last week, almost a year to the day after its first attempt hit wrists around the world, and way aft
Welcome to Jelly: using huge piles of cash, Twitter's founders are turni...
Jelly, a mobile app created by Twitter founder Biz Stone, launched on Tuesday. The app has an extremely high-profile list of investors – inc
'We want Quip to feel like two people writing on the same piece of paper'
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For Twitter users, you don’t need to worry. Twitter never quits with Elon Musk. Musk stated that if Apple and Google removed Twitter from their app stores, he could create his own brand of smartphones. which means he could develop his own smartphone if necessary to save Twitter.
On Twitter, Liz Wheeler, who hosts The Liz Wheeler Show, asked Elon Musk that “if Apple and Google boot Twitter from their app stores, @elonmusk should produce his own smartphone.” Half the country would happily ditch the biased, snooping iPhone and Android. “The man builds rockets to Mars; a silly little smartphone should be easy, right?”
Musk replied, “I certainly hope it does not come to that, but, yes, if there is no other choice, I will make an alternative phone.”
Liz also conducted a poll regarding the name of Elon Musk’s phone brand. “Would you switch to a tELONphone? Vote yes or no with your best pun for a name below.”
According to Elon Musk, Twitter users can now get verified with a blue tick by paying $8 per month. Twitter will have 3 different verified checkmarks: Gold — Companies, Grey — Government, and Blue — Individuals (celebrity or not). From next week, Twitter will begin unbanning suspended accounts.


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By Chris Stonor
Taz Drone Solutions partnered with Skyportz last week for a successful drone delivery flight of Freycinet Marine Farm oysters and Devil’s Corner wine to Picnic Island, Freycinet, Tasmania, reports a company press release. This first short flight is described as a “first baby step in the development of what will be a heavy lifting drone delivery airline 150km out to Flinders Island.”
Last month Taz, founded in 2017, worked with Woolnorth Wind Farms to help research a bird radar. This custom project in the Netherlands involved using a drone as a flying bird simulation whilst communicating with the development team over live video feed. Taz areas of expertise also include drone weed management, video productions and CASA certified training. Transporting cargo is a new development for the company.
Skyportz are UAM infrastructure specialists. Not only are the company developing a network of landing sites in Australian cities, but is at the forefront of R&D for delivery drones in the country and working alongside Google’s Wing project.
Last month the company signed a deal with Parking Australia, to develop the use of existing car parking areas with the aim of transforming certain sections into UAM take-off and landing pads.
For more information


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Victoria's Secret Passes on "Survivor" Bra Line
Turns out fitting and selling mastectomy bras is too complicated for the lingerie retailer
This all comes after Victoria's Secret's relatively positive response to Maiden's petition, which was posted back in January, and inspired by her mother Debbie Barrett's struggle to find bras after her mastectomy. The petition quickly garnered more than 120,000 signatures and by the end of the month, Maiden and Barrett were flown to the parent company headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, to meet with team members, conduct research, and share Barrett's shopping experiences. Needless to say, the future looked bright and hopes were high.
Flash forward to the present: Research has been completed and Victoria's Secret has decided that it would be more beneficial to customers to continue funding cancer research instead. But if the largest American retailer of lingerie can't figure out this science, then who can? Apparently, Nordstrom can ... and already has.
The upscale store houses a prosthesis program that offers mastectomy bras, post-mastectomy camisoles and enhancers/equalizers for reconstructive surgery. However, selection varies by store, and the number of Nordstrom's locations doesn't stack up to Victoria's Secret ubiquity. "My mom and I had an amazing experience at Nordstrom, a store that's already figured out the 'science' of helping breast cancer survivors," Maiden stated in an interview with ABC News. "But with more than 1,000 stores in 49 states, Victoria's Secret is in a position to help empower so many more women to feel beautiful after their battles with cancer."
What do you think? Is Victoria's Secret missing out an important opportunity?
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26 Feb. 2020 | Comments (0)
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index ticked up slightly in February, with further strengthening of expectations offsetting a pullback in consumers’ assessment of present conditions. The bottom line: American consumers remain historically confident—with their spending likely to drive continued economic growth through the first half of 2020. Could the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak—which escalated globally after our February survey closed—grow into the “black swan” that finally disrupts years of positive trends?
Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators, explores the epidemic’s latest signals and downside risks—and explains how long the good times for consumers can continue as we approach November in an election year.


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Plant-based meat alternatives aren’t new products in the market, but OmniMeat is taking it one step further by creating the world’s first luncheon meat and pork strips made entirely from plants.
OmniMeat was first launched in April 2018, and it overwhelmed the market with its unique blend of plant-based proteins and striking resemblance to traditional pork in taste, texture and appearance.
Similar to other brands like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, OmniMeat was only available in “ground-meat” form, particularly suitable for flexitarians and vegans looking to create “pork-based” food like meatballs and patties.
At a press conference in May, the company unveiled two new products that would change the game: the OmniMeat Strip and OmniMeat Luncheon, both of which aim to provide an environmentally friendly and nutritionally superior option to their pork-based counterparts.
OmniMeat Luncheon, the world’s first vegan luncheon meat, was created out of health concerns for the Asian market.
Statistics have shown that luncheon meat is so popular in Asia that industry forecasts expect annual sales to exceed 400 million cans in the Asia Pacific region this year. This comes at a shocking number, especially since WHO classified luncheon meat as a Class 1 carcinogen, and consuming even one slice per day increases cancer risk.
Enter OmniMeat Luncheon, a healthier option made mainly from soy, wheat, beet and coconut oil. It contains zero cholesterol, zero carcinogenic nitrates. When compared to traditional canned pork meat, OmniMeat Luncheon is 49 percent less in fat and 62 percent less in sodium content. It is also cruelty-free, non-GMO and contains no added hormones, antibiotics or MSG.
From now to 2 December, local gourmands will be able to get a taste of the OmniMeat Luncheon at Accor Group’s varied dining establishments in Singapore. This includes the OmniMeat Luncheon Sando at Raffles Courtyard, and an array of dishes at the Fairmont such as the OmniMeat Luncheon Sushi, and the OmniMeat Luncheon Udon Mikuni Restaurant.
Apart from ground pork, pork strips are also a common ingredient in Asian cuisines. To cater to the market, OmniMeat will also be debuting a plant-based alternative: the OmniMeat Strip.
OmniMeat Strip is created mainly out of soy, wheat, beet and sunflower oil, making it a protein-rich alternative to the regular pork shoulder. The formula is cruelty-free, non-GMO and contains no added hormones as well.
In other news, Green Monday Group has just announced that they are set to open their renowned plant-based concept store and cafe Green Common is set to open in January 2021 at Vivo City.
Considering the COVID-19 pandemic exploded just months after an outbreak of the African Swine Fever, it might be a good time to try a new alternative pork product. Or two.
OmniMeat Strip and OmniMeat Luncheon will be available in Singapore from 19 November 2020 at select NTUC FairPrice supermarkets, while expanding to other major supermarkets and select online retail platforms, from 15 December 2020.


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This past week, there’s been a lot of talk circulating around a prediction made by Macquarie Capital Securities analyst Damian Thong, who says that Sony will release its next-generation PlayStation, ie. PlayStation 5, sometime in the second half of 2018.
The prediction is getting a lot traction because it was featured in the Wall Street Journal, and Thong has previously predicted the arrival of PS4 Pro and PS4 Slim. That’s meant that now many analysts and press are head-nodding along with this latest forecast. Not to discount Thong’s predictive abilities, but I looked into that past prediction, and he essentially said that PlayStation “Neo” would arrive in fall 2016 after its existence had just been confirmed by Sony in early 2016. Not too much of a stretch. He was one of the first people to be talking about a PS4 Slim before Sony, however, and he said it would be released alongside PS4 Neo, which was true. But I will say that a Slim version of a console is pretty par for the course ~3 years after one’s release.
But I want to focus on this current prediction, and why I’m not sure if I buy it. Yes, Thong may end up being right, but in my view, it just seems unlikely that Sony would already be spooling up for a new next-gen console launch just a year and a half from now.
While it’s true that Nintendo has just released its fully “next-gen” console in the form of the Switch, at least in terms of its power level, it’s still behind the Xbox One and PS4, and well behind their more powerful variants (though that hasn't slowed sales a bit). More pressingly, Microsoft will arrive on the scene with the hugely powerful Xbox Scorpio this fall, and I suppose the theory is that Sony will not like losing their power advantage, so they will race to cook up something even better for the following year in this new “upgraded” console arms race.
But there’s what’s possible, and there’s what’s smart, based on reading the room. And I don’t think it’s in Sony’s best interest to pump out a fully next-gen PlayStation 5, or another upgraded model, five years after the original and two years after the arrival of PS4 Pro.
Sony is in such a dominant market position, it simply does not need to rush. They have sold over 60 million PS4s at this point, and no one else is even close to them. The Wii U ended its run with 13 million units sold, and while the Switch is selling much better, optimistic predictions put it at maybe 12-13 million sold in its first year, so it has a ways to go. The Xbox Scorpio is certainly going to be a shockwave to the market, but Microsoft has not been releasing sales data for the Xbox One for ages now, and the estimated totals are almost certainly no more than 25-30 million, half of Sony’s haul, at this point.
But Sony risks alienating their fanbase if they keep pumping out new and upgraded consoles like they’re phone models. They just told their biggest fans that PS4 Pro was the wave of the future and the best way to play PlayStation games going forward. Putting a relevancy shelf life on that system of just two years, when not that long ago, people used to own consoles for 7, 8 year stretches of time, may be a bridge too far. Not to mention that marketing for this thing would have to spool up right after this next holiday at the latest, which would barely be a year after Sony convinced everyone to buy a PS4 Pro. I just don’t see that happening.
I don’t believe that Sony is in the market position where they need to or should produce another system this quickly. Microsoft can talk about the power of the Scorpio all they want, but if Sony keeps producing must-have games (and the likes of The Last of Us 2 and God of War 4 are coming next), Scorpio’s power won’t mean all that much. This isn’t to say Scorpio is going to do poorly, but it will be a tough sell if it’s a $500 system (as many are predicting) without exclusives to back it up. But no matter how well it does, with double the sales of Xbox, Sony has an incredibly comfortable lead, meaning whatever their next hardware offering will be, they should take their time and get it right.
A theoretical 2018 PlayStation puts Sony between a rock and a hard place in many ways. If this is a fully “next generation” PlayStation, a PS5, that means the power difference between it and the PS4 Pro is going to need to be really significant as a selling point. And for that matter, the difference between PS5 and Scorpio should be obvious as well, or else Microsoft gets to claim Sony’s fully new console is just as good or barely better than their upgraded, “last gen” Xbox One. And with so little time in between hardware releases, I just don’t know how much Sony can pump into a new system in that window.
But if Sony plays this another way and a 2018 is PS4 Pro 2, another upgraded console, then fans will probably be outraged about that and reject the idea that they have to keep upgrading their $400 system every few years to stay current, without it being a fully new generation. Again, the phone market and the video game console market are very different places.
I could more easily envision a holiday 2019 PlayStation heading to market because that’s six full years after PS4 and three after PS4 Pro. More time would equal more power and features, and again, I don’t see a good reason for Sony to rush out a new product when they have a ~30 million unit sales lead over their closest competition. I’m sure that Scorpio will be a technically impressive system and it may not feel great to have PS4 Pro play second fiddle to it, but if Sony continues producing must-have games like it has, I don’t think the threat of having less horsepower should make them scramble to put out a system sooner than they need to.
Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook. Pick up my sci-fi series, The Earthborn Trilogy, which is now in print, online and on audiobook.


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Startups funded by venture capital, particularly in education technology, logistics and gig economy sectors, will drive the job market in 2021.
According to a survey by Scalar, recruitment at 90 percent of the companies would be at the same pace as the pre-COVID-19 period, Business Standard reported.
More than 50 percent of the companies said they would step up hiring in the March quarter.
Companies are ready to pay a premium for individuals who have knowledge and experience in digital skills such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, the survey said.
Skills that will see the highest demand are software development, data science, web and mobile application development.
150 plus partner companies across multinational corporations, large companies, high-growth startups and early-stage startups participated in the survey."We expect hiring, especially in the technology sector, to return to pre-covid numbers by the end of this quarter. Companies will hire, but they will focus on hiring the right talent. People will need to invest time and effort to ensure they have the requisite skills and knowledge. Up-skilling and reskilling will continue to be key growth drivers," Abhimanyu Saxena, co-founder, Scaler and InterviewBit was quoted as saying by Business Standard.


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DOMODEDOVO, Russia, April 27 (Reuters) - Deere & Co (DE.N), the world’s largest farm equipment maker, opened a manufacturing and parts distribution plant near Moscow on Tuesday, saying it was prepared to increase investment in the country.
The plant — Deere’s single largest investment in Russia — will make farm equipment including large tractors and combine harvesters as well as other equipment for use in construction and forestry.
“We are prepared to significantly expand our investment and operations here consistent with economic and market conditions,” Deere Chairman and Chief Executive Samuel Allen said at the opening ceremony.
Deere said last July it had planned to invest over $500 million in new Russia projects. [ID:nL6414230]
“Most of the world’s available arable land is already being farmed, clean water is becoming increasingly scarce and infrastructure is needed in many parts of the world to bring crops and forestry materials to market,” Allen said.
“Russia has great advantages in all these areas and the potential to become one of the world’s major food-producing areas, or bread baskets.”
Russia has nearly 9 percent of the world’s arable land, 20 percent of forestry and 8 percent of fresh water, Allen said.
The new plant will supply customers in Russia, the CIS and other nearby markets.
“Our plans are to work closely with our Russian customers and dealers and with the Russian government to help your country realise its aspirations to greater food security and food exports,” Allen said.
Deere made its first major sale in Russia 100 years ago, supplying 900 ploughs to the Pacific city of Vladivostok.
Reporting by Robin Paxton; editing by Dmitry Sergeyev and Sue Thomas


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Helping SMEs fish the Big Data ocean
Think of Big Data and the image is of oceans of infinitesimal bytes of disparate information even the largest corporations struggle to manage. The stats are overwhelming. Every single minute, the world is said to generate 1.7 million billion bytes of data, equal to 360,000 DVDs or over 6 megabytes for each man, woman and child on this planet every day. If Big Business has its work cut out to wade through Big Data in an effort to turn research into profit, what hope can there be for small companies swimming in the tides of knowledge overload. Well, thanks to modern, cost-effective data mining techniques, and like-minded souls across Europe fishing for the same opportunities, quite a lot, actually. It’s the exciting realization that Big Data can mean a big break, for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in the EU, that is driving the European Commission to promote a wealth of learning and innovation opportunities for SMEs in its Horizon 2020 research programme. Vast opportunities for non-ICT companies A myth has developed that the art of analysing and making sense of Big Data is the preserve of ICT specialists. While it does offer new prospects for ICT companies, the opportunities are also vast for producers and users of data in all other economic sectors, too. For example, manufacturing companies can make use of Big Data analytics to render their production processes more efficient. Retailers who need to face the challenge to meet the demand of a new generation of customers who expect information to be available anytime and anywhere, can effectively use the new technologies. But SMEs need a helping hand here in order to understand concretely how they can profit from Big Data. They need convincing that it needn’t be such an expensive and complex process. This is where the European Commission can play a role. ‘The key here is better data analytics enabling more reliable predictions and evidence-based business decisions with regard to the SMEs' own market, own customers needs and behaviours and business opportunities,’ explained Katalin Imrei, policy officer at the European Commission, dealing with big data. But to bring this about, SMEs, which produce smaller and fewer datasets than their larger counterparts, need high quality, reliable data and services to run new experiments leading to innovative products and services. Networking of data processing facilities, an essential component of the Commission’s plans, will be crucial in transferring knowledge and tools to them. The Commission has been helping SMEs in this area for almost a decade. The 2012 CODE project, for example, helped several small companies set up tools to manage and share research papers. German start-up RapidMiner, founded in 2006 as Rapid-I, developed its software in the e-LICO and VISTA-TV projects and now sells it in 50 countries worldwide. The FP7-funded DOPA project pooled data to provide SMEs with financial and economic data they previously had no access to. ‘Cooperation with large companies, universities, research institutes is key for SMEs to make use of the latest R&I on data while being offered new business opportunities, for example, by larger companies that assign specialised tasks to the SMEs,’ said Katalin. Open data incubator to ‘Prime the Pump’ Big Data projects are getting 89 million euros in 2014 and 2015 from the H2020 programme. They include research and innovation on business intelligence, decision support processes and systems supporting SMEs and web entrepreneurs. H2020 is also setting up an ‘open data incubator’ next year to help SMEs develop their prototype data applications. The incubator, linked to local ones across Europe, will also help the companies set up supply chains for products and services based on open data resources and attract others to contribute some of their own data assets for experimentation. But SMEs themselves also need to embark on a cultural change if they are to exploit the potential of Big Data. This requires them to investigate data-handling tools and methods outside their small structures, and be prepared to use Big Data actively in their decision-making processes. They need to be ready to dive in and explore the growing ocean of information that is waiting for them out there.
Big data, SMEs, European Commission, business, analytics, FP7


text: New marijuana businesses and medical services are cropping up all over, despite the fact that our U.S. Attorney General still thinks Reefer Madness was a documentary. Public sentiment is continuing to turn against the plant's Schedule I classification by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, as 26 states, including Texas, have some kind of legal marijuana law on the books. The Southwest Cannabis Conference & Expo will host thousands of professional industry experts and entrepreneurs to discuss issues and innovations in the medical cannabis world. The conference starts at (when else?) 4:20 p.m. Thursday, April 20, with an open 420 party at Lola’s Saloon, 2736 W. 6th St., Fort Worth. The conference moves to the Fort Worth Convention Center (1201 Houston St.) from Friday through Sunday, April 21-23. A special Pro Athletes Pro Cannabis panel, featuring ex-NFL players, will discuss the effects and changes needed on pro football’s marijuana policies at 6 p.m. Saturday. Tickets for the full conference registration is $150 per person or $100 for a one-day pass. Passes for the exhibit hall only are $50 per person. Tickets can be purchased online at SWCCexpo.com.


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Electric vehicle maker Polestar is having a bit of a moment right now. The firm’s sales are on the rise, its range of cars is expanding, and it has now launched in 23 global markets. But, this ambitious growth is about to hit a snag, as the firm has slashed its delivery targets for 2022 due to pandemic problems in China, where every Polestar is currently built.
While announcing its sales for the first four months of 2022, the company alluded to production issues as a result of ongoing Covid-19 lockdowns in China. In a statement, the firm said it had cut 15,000 units from its 2022 delivery targets.
The statement, provided to Jalopnik, reads in part: “As a result of prolonged government COVID-19 lockdowns in China during the first half of 2022, Polestar has now announced a reduction to the number of customer vehicle sales that it will be able to deliver in 2022 from 65,000 to approximately 50,000.”
That’s a hefty cut, and equates to a 23 percent drop in deliveries for 2022.
Dewalt 20V Max Cordless Drill & Driver Kit
Comes equipped with an LED which goes on when the trigger is pulled. You’ll a clear view of whatever you are drilling or screwing with minimal shadows.
In recent weeks, cases of Covid-19 have been on the rise in China. In response, leaders in the country have issued strict lockdown orders to prevent social mixing and curb the spread of the virus.
The lockdowns have hit other automakers, including Tesla, where CEO Elon Musk recently praised workers for pulling all-nighters. That was an odd stance to take when employees were reported to be working 12-hour shifts and sleeping on the factory floor to meet targets.
But for Polestar, it sounds like the disruptions in China due to Covid-19 aren’t hampering its long-term goals for growth.
In the same statement, Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said, “The fundamentals driving the growth in sales of electric cars remain in place and the momentum is stronger than the uncertainties we are witnessing right now. Any short- to medium-term economic effects have not dented our goal of selling 290,000 cars in 2025 – 10 times more than we sold in 2021.”
Key to the brand’s growth will be the upcoming Polestar 3 SUV, which the brand says will launch later this year. Due to premiere in October, the new EV will be the first Polestar to be built in the USA.
Also instrumental to Polestar’s chances of reaching its 2025 sales goal is a new deal with rental company Hertz. Earlier this year, Polestar announced a global partnership with the firm to supply 65,000 cars over the next five years.
“We promised growth and we are delivering on that promise,” added Ingenlath.


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Microsoft Devices unveils budget Lumia 535 in Dubai
Redmond’s hardware unit throws gauntlet down to low-end market players
Microsoft Devices Middle East today introduced the Microsoft Lumia 535 handset in both single- and dual-SIM variants, as it announced plans to compete in the budget smartphone market.
"Microsoft was founded on the vision of a PC on every desk, in every home," said Jon French, vice president, Microsoft Devices Middle East. "And I don't think any of us could argue that Nokia's done more to proliferate mobile technology around the world than any other mobile company. So with the two companies coming together, we're able to reach new and exciting price points and make sure personal computing and mobile reach more and more people."
Both devices will sell at "well under AED500" according to French, who gave a tentative release date for the UAE market of "early December".
Both Lumia 535 handsets run the latest build of Windows Phone 8.1. They offer a number of integrated Microsoft services, wide-angle 5MP front- and back-facing cameras, and come with 5-inch qHD displays.
Microsoft's play for the budget market comes from a desire to get a greater number of consumers using its services. Earlier this year, the company's devices arm U-turned on its previous commitment to Nokia's legacy X series of handsets, which are Android-compatible. CEO Satya Nadella instead chose to focus on a Microsoft-only devices strategy, and go after consumers in emerging markets.
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French cited UAE regulator figures that claim 46% of connected devices in the Gulf nation are Nokia phones. French is hopeful that those consumers, and others across the region, can be persuaded to identify with the Lumia brand.
"Lumia will become one of those brands that helps us light up the world of Microsoft services," he said. "We believe Lumia stands for innovation, design, quality, fashion; and with the acquisition of Nokia by Microsoft, Lumia joins a great stable of brands: Xbox, Surface, Skype, Office."
Microsoft may find it difficult to compete in a crowded budget market that is increasingly dominated by Chinese manufacturers that are also snatching more share in upper-tier markets. Wary of slipping margins in these segments, cost-conscious BlackBerry, a one-time smartphone leader, this week announced its intention to reduce the number of handsets it releases in a year.
"I'm not going to build a general purpose device, simply because it is a 5-inch touchscreen," said CEO John Chen. "The Chinese can build one for 75 bucks; I can't get enough parts together for 75 bucks."
As a relative newcomer to the smartphone market, Microsoft may struggle to fare better than BlackBerry, unless it can interest more consumers in its ecosystem.


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In a sign of the red-hot market for telemental health care, Talkspace announced Wednesday it would go public via a merger with special purpose acquisition company Hudson Executive Investment Corp in a $1.4 billion deal.
Talkspace, which offers therapy through text and video chat, has become among the best-known virtual therapy startups thanks to eye-catching advertising campaigns fronted by Olympian Michael Phelps. The company sells its services directly to consumers and through company-sponsored health plans. In a presentation shown to investors this morning, the company said it has served over 2 million people total since it was founded in 2012 and that it currently has 46,000 active members treated by 2,600 providers in all 50 states.
Talkspace raised $50 million in a Series D round in May, as it was becoming clear the coronavirus pandemic would have a long-lasting effect on mental health and how care is delivered. Like other telemental health startups, it has reported a surge in use as the pandemic has kept people home and put more pressure on their mental health.


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On the Web site of mega research firm Gartner lives a section titled IT Budget Optimization, which, among other things, offers for sale 20 research papers on strategies for cutting IT expenses.
The papers cover everything from deferring PC purchases to cheap options for IP videoconferencing. But nowhere is there any advice on how buyers might cut costs on another IT expense that can easily run into six or even seven figures, a product that is Gartner's bread and butter: IT research.
There are more than 400 firms selling technology-related research, data and advice, sales of which topped US$3 billion worldwide in 2007, according to The Knowledge Capital Group (KCG), an analyst relations strategy firm.
IT departments across the country spend tens of thousands of dollars every year on IT research sold by Gartner, Forrester Research, IDC, AMR Research, Burton Group and hundreds of other companies, raising the question of how, or whether, IT buyers can cut back or at least optimize their spending on research and advisory services.


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Amazon, IMDb TV Close Deal With Sony For Norman Lear Classic Television Titles
On Wednesday, Amazon Prime Video and IMDb TV, Amazon’s free streaming service, closed a licensing deal with Sony Pictures Television. With this deal, classic Norman Lear TV series will be available to stream on Amazon Prime and IMDb TV.
“Norman Lear is a national treasure and his impact on television and popular culture is immeasurable,” said Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios. “We are so honored to bring his classic television series to Prime Video and IMDb TV so new audiences and a new generation can laugh, enjoy and be inspired, like so many of us have been throughout the years.”
Amazon Prime Video is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 10,000+ movies, TV shows, and Prime Originals like Jack Ryan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Homecoming, and more.
Some of the series will be available on Amazon Prime and others will be available on IMDbTV. There will not be any overlap between the two. Most of the series in the deal will be available to stream in their entirety, including All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, Diff’rent Strokes, and 227. Others will feature a couple of seasons at a time.
On July 15, 227 and Diff’rent Strokes will be available to stream on Prime Video. Later this year, The Jeffersons, Sanford & Son, and Sanford will launch on the service.
On IMDb TV on July 15, All in the Family, Good Times, Maude, and One Day at a Time will be available to stream.
Over the past several weeks, Amazon and IMDb have been making major streaming deals. The company is aggressively licensing content from Universal and other studios, and now Sony has gotten involved too.
IMDb TV is a free video streaming service that includes on-demand access to hundreds of movies and TV shows. The service also offers virtual live streaming channels like Dove Channel, CON TV, Docurama, Tastemade, and AMC Presents.
Users will experience commercial breaks roughly every 15 minutes in the course of a film.
If you are not watching on a Fire TV, you may find the IMDb TV library as a subsection within the Amazon Prime Video app, although a dedicated mobile app is available for iOS and Android.
Based on this recent agreement with Sony, it doesn’t look like Amazon will be slowing down any time soon. The company may have a few more licensing deals coming, bringing even more content to its viewers on Amazon Prime Video and IMDb TV.


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Kroger rose $4.66 or 6.7 percent, to $74.31. Supervalu rose$. 23 or 2.3 percent, to $10.41. Whole Foods Market Inc. rose$. 81 or 1.5 percent, to $56.15.» Read More
LONDON, Feb 25- Ken Morrison, the son of Morrisons' founder and a former boss of the British grocer, has welcomed the appointment of ex-Tesco executive David Potts as Morrisons' new CEO. "It looks a good appointment... At Morrisons' annual shareholders' meeting last year Ken Morrison labelled the grocer's performance "disastrous" and called for its board to be bolstered...
LONDON, Feb 25- Britain's No. 4 supermarket Morrisons has named former Tesco executive David Potts as its new chief executive, completing a triumvirate of ex-Tesco men at the top of the firm. Having started off stacking shelves in his local store, he rose to head the firm's supply chain, its UK business and then its Asian operations. As Morrisons' chief financial...
Kroger fell$. 22 or. 3 percent, to $72.92. Supervalu fell$. 10 or 1.0 percent, to $10.20. Whole Foods Market Inc. fell$. 30 or. 5 percent, to $56.68.
Kroger fell$. 25 or. 3 percent, to $72.89. Supervalu fell$. 01 or percent, to $10.30. Whole Foods Market Inc. fell$. 17 or. 3 percent, to $56.81.
Kroger fell$. 16 or. 2 percent, to $72.98. Supervalu fell$. 03 or. 3 percent, to $10.27. Whole Foods Market Inc. fell$. 30 or. 5 percent, to $56.68.
Kroger rose$. 35 or. 5 percent, to $73.14. Supervalu fell$. 07 or. 7 percent, to $10.30. Whole Foods Market Inc. rose$. 26 or. 5 percent, to $56.98.
Kroger rose$. 14 or. 2 percent, to $72.93. Supervalu fell$. 13 or 1.2 percent, to $10.25. Whole Foods Market Inc. rose$. 45 or. 8 percent, to $57.16.
Kroger rose$. 02 or percent, to $72.81. Supervalu fell$. 09 or. 9 percent, to $10.28. Whole Foods Market Inc. rose$. 23 or. 4 percent, to $56.95.
India Pale Ales are growing rapidly, and variations on the hoppy beer are helping to keep them popular.
CARACAS, Feb 19- The U.S.-based owner of a supermarket chain taken over by Venezuela's socialist government hopes to recover his business despite accusations of hoarding goods to inflate shopping lines. Dia Dia owner Jose Vicente Aguerrevere, a Venezuelan who now lives in Boston after spending most of his life in Europe and the United States, told Reuters by...
*Carrefour to open first Kenya store this year. *Kenya seen as gateway to regional trade. Kenya, with a GDP of $53.4 billion, is a gateway to regional trade, but it holds other attractions for retail investors.
LONDON, Feb 19- Supermarket Asda, the British arm of United States retailer Wal-Mart, said on Thursday same store sales fell in its Christmas quarter, hurt by an escalating industry price war. Asda, which trails UK market leader Tesco by annual revenue, said sales at stores open over a year, excluding fuel, were down 2.6 percent on a year ago in the 12 weeks to Jan. 4, its...
Wal-Mart will report its earnings later today. Burt Flickinger, managing director at Strategic Resource Group, discusses what he's expecting.
Paul Bulcke, CEO of Nestle, talks the current volatility in the Swiss franc and the measures the company is taking to offset that.
Paul Bulcke, CEO of Nestle, discusses emerging markets and the growth of the company.
China's chocolate sales will grow to $4.3 billion by 2019, up nearly 60 percent from 2014, driven by a growing urban population, a Hershey official said.
LONDON, Feb 18- John Allan's credentials as a turnaround specialist have given the 66- year-old the chance to make his mark on Britain's cut-throat grocery industry as chairman of troubled Tesco, some 35 years after he left the supermarket sector. Described by analysts as "a shrewd operator" and "a safe pair of hands," Allan joins Britain's biggest retailer armed...
MEXICO CITY, Feb 17- Wal-Mart de Mexico, the country's biggest retailer, said on Tuesday fourth-quarter profit rose more than 40 percent, helped by a pickup in revenue and asset sales. Walmex has been selling non-core assets in Mexico as it seeks to focus on its supermarket business. The company, which is controlled by Wal-Mart Stores Inc, sold its restaurant...
James Knightley, U.K. economist at ING, says that falling oil and food prices were the main factors behind the fall in U.K. annual inflation.
The flower business is blooming for 1-800-FLOWERS, which has weathered downturns and the fact that consumers use them infrequently.


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HTC released a couple of devices last year which came with Facebook heavily integrated into the devices, although they did not become very popular, and we have been hearing rumors for a while that Facebook and HTC are working on a new smartphone.
Now according to a recent report by Bloomberg, Facebook and HTC will launch a new smartphone in the middle of 2013, and Facebook are apparently in the process of developing a modified OS for the device.
It isn’t clear as yet if this will be the Facebook phone we have been hearing about for some time, or if it will be one of many Facebook phones which will be produced by a range of manufacturers.
It will be interesting to see what the two companies come up with, the previous Facebook themed smartphones from HTC were less than popular.
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Iota Foundation To Start Financing Blockchain Startups
The Iota Foundation, which has introduced the Iota crypto (MIOTA), revealed that it has signed a cooperation agreement with the incubator Nova to help develop blockchain startups, Cointelegraph reported, referring to the company's press release.
The principal goal of the partners will be to finance startups working on the Iota platform. The assistance will be provided within the Iota Cofoundery program, published on the Nova website, aiming to provide financial support to promising startups at an early stage of their development.
With the help of the program, some young companies can take part in the Nova guiding program. Within its framework, two dozen experts provide consulting support in the field of blockchain technologies.
Nova has co-founded more than 80 startups, with over half of them working for at least three years. It should be noted that only 10% of blockchain startups reach a three-year term of work, according to statistics.
Assistance in the development of blockchain startups is provided by many companies in the crypto sphere, and it happens in different forms. In November 2018, Tron announced the creation of the Tron Arcade fund, aimed at games based on distributed ledger. In December, Binance Labs released the first series of blockchain projects as part of its incubation program.
As previously reported, the Iota crypto platform will assist the Danish state-owned company Energinet in the development of the country's electric power systems.


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cloud network hunting on 13 March (text/who)
“Internet car” ali next year
saic group with alibaba group, announced that the joint venture to set up the “Internet car fund” of $1 billion. According to introducing, the fund will promote the “Internet car” development and operation platform construction, the future will be an open platform for the capital, to absorb more Internet car participants. Cooperation of both sides the first Internet cars will be listed in 2016.
giant building cars, do you have opened the “door”?
apple against enemy: the Jawbone and Nike bracelet all the shelves
Apple Watch selling approaches, Apple’s retail stores will have its products compete in a variety of fitness bracelets from the shelves. No longer selling the Jawbone Up and Nike + FuelBand intelligent hand ring products, etc. In addition, the wear on your wrist, used to track the heart rate of the equipment, benefiting also can only be found through the apple online store.
some estimate, yesterday apple nearly 12 hours downtime, loss of $26.4 million. Apple is based on its online services and 6% of total revenue, pattern in Tucson, buy I can wait, early make late make all the same, apple just charge you 12 hours less interest…
tencent in Tmall flagship store
day cat has confirmed, the netizen has “tencent official digital flagship store” for tencent official opening. Shop main tencent intelligent digital products, portable WiFi, teng love glucose meter, intelligent voice, small Q Q pet film and so on. 1 yuan, activities such as shopping lottery and kill “3.16 is getting ready for the opening, 5 fold bag mail”, “1000 w opening gift certificates capricious rob” slogan really catching on.
blocked? For sure! Through the micro direct access to the letter. Amazon also set up shop in the day the cat, the main products imported straight length. You two talk about?
Google push new cloud storage service Nearline
Google Nearline, the cost of each month for only 1 cents per GB data, and the data can be in three seconds or even a shorter period of time to read. This means that the cloud storage service will be free, cloud service providers must study how to based on storage to develop other revenue. Google through some cooperation encourages enterprises to customers to use their own cloud storage service.
amazon, what do you think, is the price or the price?
Shanghai house fair on those things
360 released smart home strategy, positioning to shift from “Internet security” to “safe” Internet companies. Are you dizzy? I am dizzy… Sharp published 8 k resolution 85 inch LCD TV, at the same time also introduced a 4 k four color LCD TV, known as “beyond the 4 k” TV new products. Beyond? Super…
Liu Jin response by 400 million bad rumors
Liu Jin said in a statement issued in a bad storm, the so-called bad rumor has nothing to do with what Liu Jin P2P business. Rumors of bad loans belong to subsidiaries peace international factoring accounts receivable, has entered the stage of justice. But the project is provided by a third party guarantee, rights and interests of investors completely unaffected, so the project has nothing to do with what Liu Jin P2P business.
financial risk, the investment need to be careful…
Richard li, PCCW buying American online video Vuclip
Hong Kong’s largest telecommunications company, PCCW, in order to speed up The company in Asia and other regions to launch OTT (Over The Top) service, The company has acquired The mobile online video service provider Vuclip. OTT refers to provide various application service to the user via the Internet. Typical OTT have Internet TV business, apple’s app store, etc.
the Jones lang lasalle 420 million stake in Q book
the Jones lang lasalle’s announcement said, the company has signed the investment agreement, plans to spend 420 million yuan to buy Q book 15% stake. For specific details of cooperation, the allied chairman secretary Yuan Hongchang just said the two sides confirmed the cooperation intention, but in the mode of cooperation in business level is still in discussion.
chain home DE – you two big intermediary merger, 58 city buy housing, this is the rhythm of the sit still wow.
millet will open 100 in India this year experience store
millet company announced that this year will open 100 experience store in India. The experience shop does not sell products, but for Indian consumers experience the millet products. Millet in July last year to enter the Indian market, mainly through online retailer Flipkart.com sales of its products. India is the world’s third largest smartphone market.
SO, after the Indian doesn’t even have to snap up, only the experience?
WeChat will build brand advocacy process
micro letter brand advocacy process is expected to launch in April, the rights of the entry will be launched on the micro letter “micro letter 110”. Micro letter will open the trademark holder access to apply for entry of the brand rights protection process. Users can submit sale clues on the platform, by the brand to the inspection, for there are selling fakes of public or individual account, micro letter will be titles processing, as a punishment.
tell you a bad news, the first batch of the holder of the trademark in the approach including LV, Adidas, montblanc, Cartier, etc. I also use less than, the good news, hi hi, wood?
China auto rental, home inns rich
China auto rental after launch its first annual report, annual report 2014 annual income of 3.52 billion yuan, up 30% from a year earlier. Short of rental income 2.3 billion yuan, up 34% from a year earlier. After-tax net profit of 562 million yuan, net profit margin of 20%.
home inns in the fourth quarter of the total revenue of RMB 1.64 billion ($263.6 million), up 1.6% from a year earlier. Belong to common shareholders of the net income of 84.6 million yuan ($13.6 million), up 558.0% from a year earlier.
to learn more knowledge, entrepreneurial innovation quickly add cloud network hunting WeChat public account:


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New sodium guidelines: FDA asks chefs, food producers to cut the salt
NEW YORK - The Food and Drug Administration is urging the restaurant and the food production industries to significantly cut back on the use of salt in order to help Americans reduce their sodium intake for health reasons.
While acknowledging the "important roles" sodium has in both food safety and food "technology," the FDA issued nonbinding recommendations for businesses that commercially process, package, and prepare foods.
More than 70% of our sodium intake comes from sodium added during food production and commercial preparation, i.e. packaged foods and restaurant foods, not from home cooking, the agency noted. That means that Americans are hard-pressed to reduce sodium intake on their own.
"Average sodium intake in the U.S. is approximately 3,400 milligrams [per] day," the FDA said. That is significantly higher than the 2,300 milligrams per day recommended for anyone 14 and older under current dietary guidelines.
The FDA said sodium reductions have to be gradual and across the entire food supply so people don't keep reaching for higher sodium options.
"By putting out the targets, that really helps to level the playing field across the industry," said Susan Mayne, director of the FDA's food safety and nutrition division.
The agency's new guidelines are designed to achieve what it calls "measurable voluntary short-term goals'' over the next 2.5 years. The FDA's target sodium levels aim to cut average intake by 12% — from 3,400 to 3,000 milligrams a day. That would still leave average intake above the federally recommended limit of 2,300 milligrams a day for people 14 and older.
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But the FDA said it will monitor the progress in the food industries and will keep issuing updated targets to bring levels closer to the recommended limit over time.
"To avoid the potential for unintended consequences, we plan to monitor the levels of other nutrients (e.g., added sugars and saturated fat)," the FDA stated in its guidelines. "Our goal is to encourage gradual, efficient reduction of overall sodium content using effective and sustainable strategies that maintain other measures of nutritional quality."
"This is a step in the right direction, it's progress," Dr. John Whyte, WebMD's chief medical officer, told Fox News. "And because we're going to have less sodium in food, it's gonna make it easier for consumers to make healthy choices."
Too much sodium in your diet could raise blood pressure, which is a major risk for hypertension, heart disease, and stroke. So limiting sodium intake could be a key factor in disease prevention, many health experts say.
With The Associated Press and Fox News.
A jar and a bowl of salt. (FOX 5 NY Photo)


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Asda has launched a new eco-strategy, starting with the opening of a new sustainability store and promising shoppers will not pay more for greener options.
Asda has once again made headlines today with the opening of a ground-breaking new sustainability store opening in Middleton, Leeds.
The new store is part of their customer-facing eco-strategy, and they are promising customers they will not pay more for greener options, which has been a major obstacle to many shoppers.
The store has been converted by installing banks of dispensers and weighing machines, partnering with leading suppliers to allow customers to bring their own containers and purchase products without the plastic packaging. Some of the suppliers include: Persil, Kellogg’s, Radox and PG Tips.
Asda has opened this store in a bid to save one million pieces of plastic per year, with the intention to roll out the new measures “at scale” next year if they are successful.
In addition to the new store, the supermarket has also launched ‘Greener at Asda Price’, a national price promise that loose and unwrapped products will not cost more than its plastic-wrapped equivalents to encourage shoppers to choose the more eco-friendly option.
‘Reduce, re-use and recycle’
Asda CEO Roger Burnley said: “Today marks an important milestone in our journey as we tackle plastic pollution and help our customers to reduce, re-use and recycle,” said Burnley.
“We have always known that we couldn’t go on this journey alone, so it is fantastic to work in tandem with more than 20 of our partners and suppliers, who have answered the call to test innovative sustainable solutions with us.
“This is an issue that matters greatly to our customers – our own insight tells us that more than 80% believe that supermarkets have a responsibility to reduce the amount of single-use plastics in stores. We want to give them the opportunity to live more sustainably by offering them great product choices and value, underpinned by a promise that they won’t pay more for greener options at Asda.
“During the next few months, we will listen to customers and colleagues’ feedback on Middleton so we can understand how we can continue to reduce our environmental impacts, whilst continuing to deliver quality service at a great price.”
Find the full list of Asda stores with the new vegan aisle here.
Keep up to date with all the latest vegan news here.


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Gov. Kevin Stitt and Republican leaders in Oklahoma's Senate and House of Representatives announced an agreement on the state budget last week. KGOU's Dick Pryor and eCapitol's Shawn Ashley discuss the deal, some of its sticking points for Democrats and what's next for legislators.
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The events amounted to a win — and a loss — apiece for Republicans and Democrats in their ongoing high-stakes legal and political war over separation of powers and oversight in the aftermath of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
The McGahn matter
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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Native American rights in a 5-4 decision in a case out of Wyoming. Justice Neil Gorsuch, the only Westerner on the court, provided the decisive vote in this case, showing himself again to be sensitive to Native American rights.
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Pulitzer Prize-winning author Herman Wouk has died. Wouk was famous for his sprawling World War II novels, including The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, and for his portrayal of Jewish Americans in the novel Marjorie Morningstar. He died in his sleep Friday at his home in Palm Springs, Calif., at age 103.
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Taiwan's parliament approved a bill on Friday that legalizes same-sex marriage, making it the first place in Asia to do so. Throngs of supporters who gathered outside parliament cheered and embraced at the news. .
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Crowds around the world flow through the buildings designed by architect I.M. Pei; in Paris, they stream into the Louvre's Pyramid entrance. In Cleveland, they wander through the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. And in Hong Kong, they travel up and down the soaring Bank of China Tower.
Pei's death was confirmed by Thomas Guss, his press contact. He was 102.
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His designs were widely praised — but not always at first. When his large glass pyramid opened at the entrance to the Louvre museum in 1989, it was not well received.
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Early-morning commuters in Oklahoma City on Men's Running shoes Classic Outdoor Sneakers Fashion Sport Gym Cushion TrainersSkechers Mens Go Walk Max Charcoal Walking shoes Size 13Wednesday may have caught a harrowing sight: a window-washing basket swinging wildly at the top of the tallest building in the state.
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Scott Pruitt, the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, and his staff spent roughly $124,000 in excessive travel costs during a ten-month period,Adidas 3MC X Evisen White Scarlet Red Cream Sole Sz 10 DB3506NIKE MENS NSW TIEMPO '94 SP SIZE 8 STYLEMVAuthentic Adidas Men's fashion athletic shoes US 10.5 11.5 according to a new report from EPA's internal watchdog.


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In case you didn’t already know, October is International Breast Cancer Awareness month.
Throughout this month, I have seen shops sell everything from pink ribbons, to pink chocolate biscuits, pink bras, pink soap, pink light bulbs and even pink tomato sauce bottles… lots of pink!
Every time I walked past a random pink product, I thought, “This is awesome!” and felt somewhat inspired that if large corporations can make an effort to spread public awareness… perhaps I could say something on this website.
And, well, have an excuse to post a picture.
Two weeks ago, a new friend of mine died of breast cancer. While she was a mature woman who had lived a full life, I know other women – around my age – who are fighting and struggling with breast cancer.
My husband has nearly died of cancer, and being so close to his experiences, I know that there are two really important things about surviving cancer –
1. Treatment is much more successful, and much less painful, if you find out about it early. So get into a screening programme. Find the cancer early – or even better, find out you don’t have cancer.
2. So much more research needs to be done to find better treatments and to find the causes. And that costs money. So it makes a lot of sense to invest in the future, and donate a little to help fund research.
You can read some more women’s responses to this issue at Blogging for Boobs.
Dina Rabinovitch, died yesterday from breast cancer. She wrote a column at The Guadian UK, about her battling journey. Read an extract from her columns.
You can shop at The Breast Cancer Site to fund mammograms for women in need.
Or donate to the International Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Or donate at Australia’s National Breast Cancer Foundation.


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Android co-founder Andy Rubin's Essential mobile to take on Apple, Google and Samsung in 2017; all you need to know
Sony Android Nougat release schedule news: Xperia Z5, Z4 Tablet, Z3+ series to get Google mobile OS v7.0 soon
- #SeduceSomeoneInFourWords gone wrong: German Foreign Office apologizes after 'Your visa got approved' remark
- Xiaomi makes huge POCO-related announcement: No, it's not about Poco F2
- Flipkart Republic Day Sale 2020: Top 10 smartphone deals you shouldn't miss
- Honor 9X, Magic Watch 2, Band 5i launched: Price, features, launch offers
- Poco F2 launch update: Is Poco F1-successor coming or not?


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Flash memory prices will continue to drop over the next month or more, according to one securities firm that says Apple's iPhone 3G and other new, hot hand-helds are about the only thing that is likely to stabilize NAND memory's cost. Avi Cohen, head of research at Avian Securities LLC, is reporting that spot pricing for both DRAM and NAND memory chips are contining to drop week-over-week, as most large resellers continue "to stay away from making large-scale DRAM purchases.
"There's been an over supply of NAND for almost a year now. Everyone keeps hoping for that over supply to end," Cohen said. "NAND pricing has fallen off a fair amount and taken the memory manufacturers down with it."
Prices for both MLC [multi-layer cell) and SLC [single-layer cell) NAND is down 10% to 20%, Cohen said, who expects prices to continue eroding for next 2 to 6 weeks before some stabilization occurs. Currently, an 8Gbit NAND memory chip -- used for high--density MLC solid state disk -- is selling for about $2.30, according to Avian Securities LLC.
Click for larger picture.
Cohen said industry "sources expressed" optimism that Apples 3G iPhone, which was released this week, will have some impact on solid state memory pricing, but not until the second build of the product goes out sometime around mid-July.
Cohen noted that Apple doesn't produce enough product to meet initial demand in a first release but after measuring uptake, it normally fulfills demand by increasing production -- creating a surge in sales.
Nokia is also expected to release two flagship handhelds in the August/September time frame -- the N96 and the E71, which should also give a boost to the arm of NAND manufactures and further help to stabilize NAND prices, Cohen said.
"On DRAM we remain skeptical even as we head into the better seasonal period," he said.
NAND solid state disk (SSD) memory, or flash memory, is still vastly more expensive than traditional spinning hard disk, but Cohen said while it won't be on price parity over the next five years, SSD will reach a point in about 18 months when it will be as attractive to buy as traditinoal hard disk drive storage - particularly for portable devices.
"What will happen is for portable devices NAND will be good enough to have 160GB at a relatively attractive price point - say $100 - but you'll still be able to get a 500GB hard drive at the same price," he said. "But you don't need a 500GB drive on your notebook."
While users may have to sacrifice capacity in buying SSD over hard disk drives, they'll eventually gain vastly superior speed, reliabilty and battery life, he said.


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Lumen, a new UK-based dating app for the over-50s, has reached a total of 350,000 users in the six months since its launch.
Its distinguishing features include a minimum length for opening messages, a 3-images-or-more rule for profiles, and selfie verification on signup.
It monetises via Lumen Premium, which ups the amount of daily conversations a user can have from six to 12.
CEO Antoine Argouges said of the milestone: “Lumen launched on the app store 6 months ago… 350,000 users have already trusted Lumen to change their lives.
“We are now more than ever on a global mission to fight ageism and loneliness!”
Badoo Founder Andrey Andreev announced a $3.5 million investment in the company last September, saying at the time: “Do a search of the phrase ‘over-50s dating’. The results that come up are embarrassing for the industry.
“The over-50s have been mistreated by the dating sites for years. I’m excited to see the Lumen team launching an app which finally listens to this audience and specifically targets their issues and needs.”
It has also run a series of innovative acquisition campaigns, including coining the Welsh word Credwchmewncariadarôlpumdegoherwyddeifodmorllawennawrfelybuerioed (“believe in love after 50 because it’s as joyful now as it ever was”).
Visit the Lumen website here.