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Podcast: MilliporeSigma says education vital to creating unbreakable chain for sustainability
MilliporeSigma discusses the importance of people, education, and the benefits of embracing discomfort to bolster sustainability efforts.
February 14, 2020
MukoCell GmbH has hired Co.don AG to manufacture its autologous cell-based treatment for urological disorders.
The deal will see Co.don make the product – also named MukoCell – at its recently established human cell-focused manufacturing facility in Leipzig, Germany.
Matthias Meißner, Co.don director of corporate communications, told us MukoCell “is an innovative and gentle method for the surgical repair of urethral strictures.”
Image: iStock/Mohammed Haneefa Nizamudeen
A urethral stricture is a narrowing of the urethra caused by injury, instrumentation, infection, and certain non-infectious forms of urethritis.
MukoCell is approved for use in Germany.
Co.don board member Tilmann Bur cited the Leipzig plant as key, explaining “We repeatedly received enquiries about the availability of Co.don’s new site for contract manufacturing.
“We are proud to be able to offer customers the use of our technology for routine production, to cover capacity peaks, bridge initial phases or carry out research projects with GMP and non-GMP material.”
Co.don’s Leipzig facility was licensed by German regulators last month.
The license covers production of Co.don’s own product Spherox, a cell-based treatment designed to repair knee cartilage.
The facility has also been approved to manufacture therapies for other companies on a contractual basis.
At the time Andreas Eberle, vice president and head of technical operations at Co.don said, “Building a new production site in compliance with all the regulatory requirements and legal standards for the pharma industry is always a time-consuming and cost-intensive process.
He added the firm “has been totally successful in mastering this challenge, from the start of the project to the award of the manufacturing licence, within the original budget, in just over two years.”
According to a 2018 presentation Co.don invested €10 million ($11 million) in the new plant, which has capacity to produce 4,500 units a year.
Previously Co.don has said offering contract manufacturing services at the plant will help cover “ongoing fixed costs and staff expenses of the plant and so achieve economies of scale that will impact the company’s own margins.
The firm also said the plant will “give us the opportunity of scaling up the production of our own product.”
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According to the iPhone Index 2023 of the analytics site Picodi.com, the average Filipino will need about 80 working days to be able to purchase the basic variant of the iPhone 15 Pro.
The latest report was released last September 12 and the Philippines ranked second, just between the top Türkiye and third Brazil.
Picodi iPhone Index 2023
Türkiye was on the top requiring average workers 123.7 working days to buy the iPhone 15 Pro. The Philippines followed at 79.5 days and Brazil clocked in at 66.6 days.
At the bottom of the Index was Switzerland only needing 4.2 working days. Above Switzerland was the US at 5.3 days and Australia at 6.3 days.
The iPhone Index is an annual index of iPhone price-to-wage ratio which Picodi.com started back in 2018. The iPhone Index 2023 was calculated based on the official prices of the iPhone 15 Pro (128GB) by either local Apple or authorized sellers. In the Philippines, the base variant of the iPhone 15 Pro is priced at PHP 70,990 via the Apple Store.
Meanwhile, the average wages were taken from the official statistics office websites of the different countries. The salary used is net wage which was obtained through salary calculators. The average net wage in the Philippines, as per Numbeo, is said to be PHP 18,744.39, according to Picodi.com.
The site clarified that the computation doesn’t include the sales tax in each country. More importantly, the number of days is computed
Ram found his love and appreciation for writing in 2015 having started in the gaming and esports sphere for GG Network. He would then transition to focus more on the world of tech which has also began his journey into learning more about this world. That said though, he still has the mentality of "as long as it works" for his personal gadgets.

domain: news


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Glenmark Pharmaceuticals on Monday said it has received approval from the US health regulator to market Sirolimus tablets, an immunosuppressant, in the American market. The company's US-based subsidiary has received final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for the product which is a generic version of PF Prism CV's Rapamune tablets, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said in a statement.
Sirolimus tablets are prescribed for preventing rejection of kidney transplants either alone or with other medications.
According to IQVIA sales data for the 12-month period ending August 2020, the Rapamune achieved annual sales of around USD 119.7 million.
Glenmark said its current portfolio consists of 165 products authorised for distribution in the US marketplace and has 45 abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) pending with the USFDA for approval.
In addition to these internal filings, the company continues to identify and explore external development partnerships to supplement and accelerate the growth of its existing pipeline and portfolio, it added.
(With PTI inputs)


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Airbnb announced Monday that approximately 550,000 travelers rang in the new year in about 20,000 cities around the globe at rentals booked through the site.
That's impressive growth for the company, now valued at upwards of $13 billion, which had only 2,000 travelers using the service on New Year's Eve five years ago.
The company is marking the occasion with an interactive map, that will be updated daily to show growth, milestones and activity of hosts and guests.
Activity from the company's recent marketing campaign, called One Less Stranger, is also included. A spokesperson told Mashable the map shows real-time activity of its pay-it-forward "social challenge."
At the end of December, Airbnb announced it would give the equivalent of $10 to 100,000 its members around the world, with the caveat that it be used "for a unique act of kindness with the goal of inspiring others to join in this global movement to help rid the world of strangers."
“For Airbnb, hospitality is personal and we are committed to spreading a sense of belonging far and wide," said CMO Jonathan Mildenhall.
The tone of the campaign is in line with the company's positive and upbeat messaging that focuses on community, instead of ongoing regulatory and legal battles in cities where the service has grown popular.
In New York, for instance, Airbnb's public campaign focused on "regular" New Yorkers who were able to supplement their income by hosting guests in their own homes. Meanwhile, the state Attorney General had declared a majority of the listings on the site illegal based on a review of data up to 2013.
Portland, Oregon, San Francisco, California, and Amsterdam, Netherlands, are some of the cities that have recently agreed to allow certain types of Airbnb rentals in exchange for the company automating the collection of lodging taxes.
Many other cities are taking an approach somewhere in between. In Edmonton, Canada, for instance, city officials said this week that the service is not within current regulations, but they will not initiate a crackdown.
In Boston, city officials are actively considering how to regulate the service, and will hold a meeting on the topic at the end of January. In Raleigh, North Carolina, residents met last week to discuss concerns, and a report will be presented to the city council in a few weeks.
Meanwhile, Airbnb will continue to promote its message of community. There are now more than 1 million listings available to travelers in 190 countries, according to the company.


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Since Bexel has recently been acquired by NEP Group, it will be present at IBC 2017 on the NEP Group, stand, 14.A30.
Veteran mobile production company F&F Productions, based in Clearwater, Florida, has hit the road with a new 4K/HDR-capable production truck, called GTX-18, that includes the latest Artemis Beam broadcast production audio mixing console from Calrec for a variety of stereo and surround audio projects.
F&F Productions chose 17 Fujinon 4K UHD lenses to outfit the company’s first 4K mobile production unit, the GTX-18 4K HDR truck. Partnered with Sony HDC-4300 4K camera systems, the new unit will have eight UA107x8.4BESM 4K studio lenses, five UA18x5.5BERD 4K portable zooms, three UA14x4.5BERD 4K portable zooms, and one UA22x8BERD 4K portable lens.
Leading-edge video productions often become laboratories for the use of new technology or current technology applied in new ways. Many times the new solutions are not so much experimentation for new ideas, but just efforts to solve workflow issues. Here are two articles that illustrate how the programs’ producers used tested technology in new ways to solve old problems.
The annual Fourth of July celebrations in Washington DC, which included the Facebook Live and YouTube broadcasts of “A Capitol Fourth,” America’s national Independence Day celebration, broadcast live from the West Lawn of the United States Capitol, were delivered to viewers with the help of The Switch, which served as the primary provider of transport services for the broadcast.
Euromedia, a remote production company that has worked on numerous high-profile telecasts throughout Europe, has seen a significant interest among its clients for 4K production and has upgraded two of its larger OB’s with the latest video production switcher from Grass Valley.
Bexel Global Broadcast Solutions Headquartered in Burbank with operations in California and Texas, Bexel has provided innovative outs


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Professional Community for Car Dealers, Automotive Marketers and Sales Managers
The car business is loaded with lions and gazelles. Some are ferocious, competitive beasts who want nothing but the best and they're willing to do what it takes to acquire it. Others accept what they're given and they're happy to still be alive and thriving after the economic hardship came and…Continue
Added by Paul Potratz on October 14, 2014 at 12:42pm — No Comments
|by Nicole Milkovich, Search Engine Optimization Specialist|
Using a combination of smartphones, tablets and desktop computers,…Continue
Wantalease.com, the nation’s first online car lease marketplace for new car lease deals, shows a growing number of car and truck lease deals offered for less than $150 per month. What's more, a few cars are even offered for less than $120 per month. The deals arrive as leasing continues to grow in popularity for consumers and dealerships.
The Chevrolet Cruze LT and the Ford Focus SE are both offered at $119 monthly in their current October Wantalease.com lease deals, highlighting…
Added by John Sternal on October 14, 2014 at 7:18am — No Comments
There are many mistakes companies and marketers alike make when breaking into digital marketing. Whether we’re talking about automotive SEO, PPC, or social media, you have to understand the fundamentals of…Continue
BrandMuscle Research Report Reveals Local Media and Marketing Tactics Used by Car Dealers and other Local Franchised Business - But Does The Report Answer the Question About Who Uses What and Which Works Best?
Not too surprising to many of Automotive Marketing…Continue
Added by Ralph Paglia on October 13, 2014 at 10:48pm — No Comments
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Urbandale, IA--October 13th, 2014--Flick Fusion (www.flickfusion.com), the industry's leading video marketing provider, today launched AutoflicksTM for auto dealers, live action videos that provide car shoppers with a virtual test drive experience for every vehicle in a dealer's inventory. Autoflicks are available for nearly every make and model and are designed to drive customers to a…Continue
Added by Brian Cox on October 13, 2014 at 9:41am — No Comments
AutoLoop Introduces Engage™ Call Center Solution Proven to Increase Sales and Service Profitability for Auto Dealers
Clearwater, FL -- AutoLoop today introduced EngageTM, a call center solution proven to engage customers and increase sales and service profitability for auto dealers.
Building on twenty years of call center experience…Continue
Added by Patrick Kelly on October 13, 2014 at 9:30am — No Comments
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ALBANY, N.Y. – October 13th, 2014 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (www.automate.com) announced today the final integration of its dealership management system (DMS) with Nissan's dealer communications system (DCS). The completed integration means that 100 percent of Nissan dealers using Auto/Mate's DMS are now able to communicate seamlessly with their manufacturer in parts, service, sales and…Continue
Added by Mike Esposito on October 13, 2014 at 8:50am — No Comments
Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of Beggs on the Used Car Market, with data and insights from Ricky Beggs and Black Book. From all of the reports and seeing the action first hand we know how active most dealers and remarketers have been this past week. The comments within the Black Book survey personnel summary reports this past week as compared to the prior week took on a…Continue
Added by Black Book on October 13, 2014 at 8:44am — No Comments
Virtually every dealership today uses their website, social media channels, and email to be a part of their “voice” when it comes to communicating with their customers and begin building a “trust” relationship long before the shopper ever visits their store.
The ultimate goal of each…Continue
Added by Timmy D. James on October 13, 2014 at 7:00am — No Comments
CreditPlus Brings Consumer-Qualified Payments to Front of Sales Process
Mission Viejo, CA – October 13, 2014 – eLEND Solutions™ today announced the launch of CreditPlus™, the next generation of its industry-leading online, interactive credit application platform. CreditPlus instantly pre-approves…Continue
Added by Crystal Hartwell on October 13, 2014 at 6:30am — No Comments
Start putting a plan together to market your upcoming sales events and begin executing it today.
Is your dealership planning ahead for upcoming sales events? There are not that many days left until Thanksgiving or Christmas, and the end of the year will be here before you know it. Don’t get caught up in the last minute panic of planning a sales event.
On this week’s…
Added by Paul Potratz on October 10, 2014 at 10:30pm — No Comments
It’s Friday! Are you ready to get caught up on the Top 10 automotive news stories and blogs of the week? We’ve got some interesting content for you - new research studies, Google’s EAT, how to tweet your notes at DSES, and more!
Read on, Auto Professionals, read…Continue
Added by Rebecca Kon on October 10, 2014 at 1:19pm — No Comments
These best practices combined with …Continue
Added by Leonard Buchholz on October 9, 2014 at 1:30pm — No Comments
Added by Rob Hagen on October 9, 2014 at 12:19pm — No Comments
Swapalease.com, the nation’s largest car lease marketplace, reports lease credit approvals during the month of September were down at 64.5%, falling after reaching into the low 80% range during July and August. The approvals rate is an important indicator of how successful car shoppers are at getting approved for a car lease.
The approvals rate has witnessed noticeable turbulence in recent months, with SubPrime car shoppers the likely culprit. Year-to-date approvals are at 67.8%…
Added by John Sternal on October 9, 2014 at 9:35am — No Comments
Every year about this time, kids’ minds turn to images of ghosts, skeletons and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. To accommodate their imaginations merchants everywhere fill their shelves with Halloween costumes, candy and related stuff.Continue
Added by Jeff Cotton on October 9, 2014 at 6:44am — No Comments
Last week, I mentioned 6 important social media updates you should look out for on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. This week, it’s all about the recent changes to Pinterest -- and boy, there are quite a few. SPOILER ALERT: Some of these update launches are still in the works, but it's good-to-know information in planning your dealership's marketing strategy on this…Continue
Added by Lisandra Ramos on October 9, 2014 at 6:42am — No Comments
A recent article on Science20.com, explains how customers will be less focused on price and will emphasize the customer service experience when the economy is going well. However, when the economy…Continue
Added by Richard Holland on October 9, 2014 at 4:30am — No Comments


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Fired Up Sisters, a support group for victims of the 2007 Witch fire, is seeking donations of new materials or items that can be used in the building and equipping of fire victims’ homes.
“We have a warehouse dedicated to fire families that we try to keep stocked,” said Janice Strizver, a Ramona resident and Fired Up Sisters member.
The support group has tax credit slips for donors. Donating to the group’s warehouse is a great way for a retailer to unload materials, returned merchandise, or items they cannot sell, and receive a tax write-off, Strizver said.
Only new items are accepted, she stressed, but the variety of items is vast, as many of the families are still rebuilding their homes or have not yet started the process.
According to Strizver, approximately 60 percent of the Witch fire victims are still not in their homes. The warehouse offers those families the opportunity to come and find materials and items to be used in the building and furnishing of their homes.
Faucets, sinks, doors, windows, tile, carpet remnants, ceiling fans, window treatments, linens, furniture—the list goes on.
If a retailer has an item missing a part, instead of throwing it out, donate it, said Strizver. She gave an example of a ceiling fan with a broken globe. A fire victim was able to use the fan and buy new globes for it.
Strizver said she was in a tile store one day and asked about tile donations for the warehouse and received some beautiful glass tile.
“All I had to do was ask,” she said. “We’re able to put homes back with the help of these donations.”
Strizver told of another time a company in Los Angeles had thousands of pieces of furniture originally ordered for a hotel. The group rented trucks and brought back 1-1/2 tractor trailer loads to provide furniture for many families.
A fire victim herself, Strizver said many of those who lost their homes had insurance but were very underinsured. As a result, the process of rebuilding is taking time and, although many homeowners are involved in the actual work of rebuilding, their resources are limited. Even with insurance, Strizver said it is sometimes difficult to work with new codes enforced by the county and it takes more money to meet these codes.
“We need help to get houses going, built, furnished,” said Strizver.
By donating new items to the warehouse, Strizver added, “It’s helping the families in your community.”
Anyone interested in donating to the warehouse may check the website, firedupsisters.org, and click on “contact” for e-mail and phone information. Fired Up Sisters will pick up donations.


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The “ReMIND” DLC for Kingdom Hearts 3 received a teaser at E3 2019, but the DLC won’t be arriving until Winter. Get a peek at the trailer for this content here.
More Kingdom Hearts III Videos
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KINGDOM HEARTS III Re Mind is coming to PlayStation®4 on January 23, 2020 and Microsoft Xbox One on February 25, 2020.


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Details of the new Golf, to mark the 40th Anniversary of Ireland’s best-selling car have been unveiled.
In addition to adding a Free Technology pack worth over €1,000 on all Golf models, Volkswagen Ireland has added a host of upgrades to the 2015 Golf range.
From the get-go, the Golf has a new entry-price, now selling from €19,995 — a €400 price reduction from the 2014 model. The car gains a leather steering wheel and front centre armrest in this specification at no extra cost.
Across the range, however, there are a number of interesting developments. The Golf BlueMotion model benefits from a €430 price reduction, now starting at €25,295. The new car also gets front fog flights and a leather multi-function steering wheel as standard, which is valued at €410, saving the customer €840 versus 2014 prices.
The Comfortline model now starts from €22,755 and comes now with 16” ‘Toronto’ alloy wheels, front fog lights and a leather multi-function steering wheel as standard - this specification value increase of €765, coupled with a price reduction of €375 means that Comfortline customers are now €1,140 better off for 2015.
The GTI now starts from €35,750, a €1,215 price increase but with over €4,350 worth of specification added as standard.
The GTD now starts from €37,705, with an extra €4,215 of specification added as standard for only a €1,200 increase in RRP.
Meanwhile, the new Suzuki Celerio goes on sale here on December 1, just eight months after it was first unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show. The manufacturer says it underlines Suzuki’s traditional expertise in the field of compact cars, making strong statements in terms of styling, space, driving performance, handling - as well as throwing in low fuel consumption and low emissions.
There will be three models in the Celerio range on offer here, the GL, GLX and a GL with Suzuki’s Dual Jet engine and these will be priced respectively at €11,995 and €12,995.Suzuki says the new car is a new type of A-segment vehicle — they call it an “A+ compact.”
It also boasts a new engine and new transmissions and offers best-in-class low CO2 emissions, low fuel consumption and lively drive. All these elements have been cleverly packed into a dynamically-styled vehicle with a unique colour line-up.
© Irish Examiner Ltd. All rights reserved


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After rising slightly in the first few days of May, cotton prices spent the following three weeks dropping at a rather alarming rate after demand from China fell off. The seven-market U.S. average spot price ended the month down 7 percent, at a price of almost $0.80 per pound.
The decision by Chinese officials to allow its state reserves of cotton to be sold in higher quantities and at lower prices than previously stated resulted in a sharp decline in demand for imported cotton. According to the China National Cotton Information Center, the country’s cotton imports fell 44 percent in the first quarter of 2014.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued its first projection for 2014—2015 cotton production, which calls for larger crop output. Well-timed rainfall in West Texas, the largest cotton-growing region in the country, helped the planting cycle get off to a good start. It also estimated that rising cotton inventories outside of China will continue to put downward pressure on prices.
Bangladesh, Turkey and India reported rising cotton imports. India’s prices, though higher than in recent months, remained attractively priced from a global standpoint because of the weak rupee for most of the month, but prices weakened in the last week due to apparent stockpiling by ginners. In Pakistan, cotton demand and pricing rallied early in the month, but then weakened a bit as demand and pricing declined everywhere else.
This week, the apparel industry encountered political promises, heightened personalization efforts and observed a need for more environmentally-friendly business models.Read more
When compliance problems arise, factories shouldn’t be the only ones to blame—the onus should fall on social auditors too.Read more
Oeko-Tex pledged to the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) program on Jan. 19 to support the apparel industry's environmentally-friendly efforts.Read more
Nordstrom CIO Dan Little announced his retirement. Plus, Burberry tapped former Céline CEO Marco Gobbetti to take over as its new CEO.Read more
Nine West Holdings, Inc. announced it will acquire apparel manufacturer the Kasper Group.Read more
Our rainforests now have a host of new angels. Victoria Secret has taken steps to protect our forests.Read more


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General Motors Co. (Detroit) didn’t wait until the end of the holidays to put down the hammer.
The largest U.S.-based automaker said Monday it’s looking to close three auto-assembly plants, largely cutting back its presence in cars to concentrate on pickups and SUVs. The company also said intends to close two plants outside North America by the end of 2019.
Besides the plants affected, GM also is cutting salaried jobs. No specific figure was given. But GM is looking to pare its “salaried and salaried contract staff” by 15%. That includes having 25% fewer executives ” to streamline decision making.”
All told, GM says the moves will free up $6 billion in cash annually. The company says it will record costs of $3 billion to $3.8 billion.
The headline on the release was cheerily phrased, “General Motors Accelerates Transformation.”
The three car-assembly that are targeted are Detroit-Hamtramck, Lordstown, OH, and Oshawa, ON. Also on the chopping block are two engine plants in Maryland and Michigan.
Officially it’s not a closing announcement. That will require negotiations with the United Auto Workers union in the United States and Unifor in Canada.
However, GM said those factories will be “unallocated” by the end of 2019, meaning they have no vehicles assigned to them to assemble. The UAW later issued a statement the move “will not go unchallenged” by the union.
Among the models made at the plants are the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, Chevrolet Impala and Chevrolet Cruze.
A decade ago, GM said it was investing in fuel efficient cars after gasoline prices skyrocketed. The automaker, seeking a U.S. bailout, cited the Cruze as an example of the future technology it was developing.
Before you know it, the future becomes the past. Fuel prices went back down. Popularity of trucks and SUVs increased. Those models are more profitable than cars to begin with. Car popularity generally is plunging. Ford Motor Co. (Dearborn, MI) mostly is getting out of cars to concentrate on trucks, SUVs and crossovers.
What’s more, the three assembly factories have a problematical history with GM.
The company has tried to close Oshawa before but the factory has survived. GM has had awful labor relations at Lordstown for decades. Detroit-Hamtramck was built using eminent domain, spurring court fights and protests. Assuming they close, GM will close some troubled chapters.
What’s spurring all this is the greatest automotive uncertainty in more than a century.
The industry is developing self-driving cars and trucks. Automakers also are looking to expand their “electrified” vehicles. For GM, the Volt was the vanguard of that trend. Yesterday’s vanguard is today’s casualty.
In any case, all those self-driving and electrified vehicles are going to require investment. Lots of it. Essentially, GM is looking to maximize profits from pickups and SUVs to help fund investment in the future.
“The actions we are taking today continue our transformation to be highly agile, resilient and profitable, while giving us the flexibility to invest in the future,” GM CEO Mary Barra said in the company statement. “We recognize the need to stay in front of changing market conditions and customer preferences to position our company for long-term success.”
Of course, GM thought it had the future figured out a decade ago. Today’s announcement shows looking into the future is not easy.
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Get in touch: send your photos, videos, news & views by texting YORK to 80360 or send an email»
Access Intelligence increases revenues and losses
SOFTWARE business Access Intelligence has announced increased losses despite increasing revenues.
The business, which last year opened a new development centre in York, said it would continue to invest in developing its products in 2013.
Access Intelligence, which provides software solutions to manage businesses’ governance, risk and compliance requirements, increased revenue from continuing activities by 11 per cent to £8,053,000 for the year ended November 30 2012, although pre-tax losses increased to £497,000, up from £279,000 in 2011.
The business said it had contracted, but not invoiced a further £5,453,000 of revenue.
Michael Jackson, executive chairman, said: "2012 has seen strategic investment in both the company and its solutions.
"We have already started to see the early signs of return on this investment, with a significant increase in revenues contracted not yet invoiced and an increase in long term shareholder value with a growing recurring revenue base.
"Our strategy continues to evolve and the synergies and interoperability between our products continues to grow, with customers recognising considerable benefits from utilising our combined suite of brands."
The business said the cost of sales increased because of higher messaging costs and sub-contractor costs suffered in the first half of the year. The group has since re-tendered for its messaging services and reduced these costs by 76 per cent, it said, and sub-contractors have been replaced by permanent hires.
It said: "The increase in total operating cost reflects the significant investment made with the creation of a cutting edge development centre in York, housing specific staff in functional roles for research, development, programme management and quality assurance, rather than developers covering all areas. Significant investment has also been made in central functions as well as at brand operating level."


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Sprint has entered into an agreement with Motorola to conduct joint wireless broadband technology testing and equipment trials in 2005 and 2006 to help substantiate next-generation wireless network infrastructure requirements and consumer products for future wireless interactive multimedia services.
The collaboration will spur IEEE 802.16e (2.5GHz) technology development, validate vendor solutions and help formulate network architecture strategies. The technical assessment involves lab testing of base station equipment, smart antenna technology and multimedia handsets and field trials in certain locations beginning in 2005 through 2006 as a basis for additional business- case evaluation. Successful outcomes will lead to customer demonstrations and further user studies for market applicability.
"Sprint is fostering a number of strategic partnerships and investigating multiple technologies in support of future wireless interactive multimedia services," explained Oliver Valente, chief technology officer and vice president - Technology Development, Sprint. "WiMAX is one of the technologies Sprint is investigating for services which would be considered for deployment in the 2.5 GHz band of spectrum."
"Motorola will use its deep heritage in wireless radio technology innovation, IP core switching and wireless devices to help Sprint validate next-generation wireless opportunities," said Dan Coombes, senior vice president and chief technology officer for Motorola Networks.
Sprint previously signed a related agreement with Intel as it begins to cultivate an ecosystem of chipsets, devices, equipment and infrastructure for future wireless broadband services. Sprint has provided broadband wireless (BRS) service in the past and continues to investigate potential offerings of interest to the marketplace. In January, Sprint joined the WiMAX Forum as a principal member to lend its support and long-standing network expertise to that organization's mission of global interoperability standards formation for broadband wireless access products.


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To celebrate the long weekend, Post Arcade has put together a list of some of our favourite hidden gems inside some of our favourite games.
Join us for a weekly look back at all the news and views from around the video game world.
Rochelle, Coach, Ellis, and Nick will be joining the cast of Resident Evil 6 in the exclusive "Mercenaries No Mercy" mode in Resident Evil 6.
Sometimes the whole reason you play a game is so you don't have to deal with other people, so why are publishers turning their backs on the single player experience?
To be clear: It isn't good. But there's a stupid weekend with a buddy drinking beer and eating pizza buried in there somewhere
How the original Resident Evil rekindled a love of gaming in a disillusioned 20-year-old and why the series still matters today.
Will Capcom's decision to build the latest Resident Evil video game more for fans of the movie series based on the video game franchise than for its hardcore gamer audience pay off?
Theresa Tedesco: Laurence’s swipe would have made the late Ted Rogers proud; his numbers so far as CEO of Rogers Communications, maybe not so much
Planning on buying a new iPad or just looking for something different for your current iPad? This list will help you sort through the thousands of Apple apps
Howard Levitt: Want three months off a year, job security despite your performance and to retire at age 55 with a great pension? Become a schoolteacher
Auto lending — which has swelled 20% a year since 2007 — has exposed Canadian banks to the risks of bad loans if the economy turns sour, Moody’s warns
I’ve done this six times as a manager and supported many more as an HR advisor. This advice is meant to help you through a very difficult conversation


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The Beastie Boys honor the 30th anniversary of Paul’s Boutique with an Adidas collab for a good cause.
Adidas has announced a new collaboration with hip-hop group the Beastie Boys in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the group’s second studio album Paul’s Boutique.
The collection was unveiled at Adidas’ Beyond the Streets exhibition space in New York City.
According to High Snobiety, it will be highlighted by a new Adidas skateboarding shoe influenced by the group’s experience with skating, hardcore punk, hip-hop and graffiti culture over the last 30 years. A portion of the sales of the collection will go to PEACE Sisters and Little Kids Rock.


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Welsh farmers have begun to receive their single farm payments, Wales’ rural affairs minister Elin Jones has confirmed.
The Welsh Assembly processed £183m (82.5%) of single farm payments by 1 December, Ms Jones told visitors to the Welsh Winter Fair at Llanelwedd on 1 December.
That figure improved upon last year’s achievement of 75% payments.
At the winter fair Ms Jones said: “I am pleased to have this good news today. We have already exceeded the number of farmers that were paid by Christmas last year. This year I expect more than 85% of our farmers to receive their payments by Christmas.
“Being able to plan ahead is important for all businesses, including farming. The fact that so many farmers can expect to receive their payment by Christmas will be of great assistance, particularly at this time [of economic downturn].
“This demonstrates the commitment and dedication of staff in Rural Payments Wales to helping farmers in these difficult economic times.
“Further welcome news is that there will be a small boost in income for most Welsh farming families this year, as those that receive the single payments in sterling will get a 10.6% increase, net of modulation, for the same entitlements held, as a result of the exchange rate difference,” Ms Jones said.


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The frenzy of Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales is now over in America. According to Adobe, the total revenue from online sales reached USD 4.47 billion, up 18 percent from last year.
Chinese e-commerce giant T-mall was the winner on Singles Day or Double 11, China’s Black Friday. It set a world record for overall transactions with RMB 91.2 billion (USD 14.3 billion), about three times higher than the USD 4.47 billion Black Friday revenue in America.
AllChinaTech selects core data to compare the largest shopping festivals in the U.S. and in China.


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Sharp is aiming to double the number of outlets selling its LCD TVs in China over the next 12 months, and increase sales there to more than
Y20bn (almost £150m), twice current levels, in the same period.
That's the ambition of company president Mikio Katayama, speaking to reporters in Tokyo yesterday. It's part of a larger plan to increase its worldwide LCD TV sales to 15m units in the current financial year, 47% more than in 2009-10, and Katayama expects China to account for at least 2.4m of those sales.
Katayama said that while the company currently allocates 70-80% of its business resources to its current major markets, 'emerging countries will start receiving a higher portion than industrialised nations within several years'.
And he expects demand for larger screen sizes to continue to create shortages of panels, with the result that the company is considering starting manufacture of larger sizes in Malaysia, where it already makes displays up to 32in.
In a parallel announcement, Katayama said he expects Sony to follow through with its plans to increase its stake in a joint venture manufacturing LCD panels in Sakai, Japan. Currently Sony holds a 7% stake, but has an agreement to increase that to 34%, subject to conditions.
More after the break
However, there is currently some speculation that Sony may not increase its stake, due to past problems in the supply of panels.


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The founders of online shopping software platform BigCommerce, Mitchell Harper and Eddie Machaalani have bagged a Series B funding round of $20 million. Their series A backer, Boston venture capital fund General Catalyst Partners participated in the round, joined by VC Floodgate – a fund run by Mike Maples – which has taken stakes in Twitter, textbook rental powerhouse Chegg and washed-up news aggregator Digg.
The round brings the capital raised by the duo to $35 million and values the fledgling company at more than $150 million, according to Dow Jones VentureWire.
Pretty impressive for a hosted shopping cart service for online retailers, which only became available three years ago. These days its software powers 30,000 online stores that pay a monthly fee of between $24.95 and $300 for the software as a service product. With a lazy $20 million in their pocket to hire more developers and bring on more sales and marketing firepower, it makes you wonder how much bigger these guys can get.
Could they be the next Atlassian? And what does that actually mean? Well, for one, it makes a good headline. But in all seriousness, the Australian technology scene needs more companies of Atlassian’s size and stature.
The emergence of exciting start-ups like Ninja Blocks, ScriptRock and Posse are great for creating buzz and fostering a culture that embraces innovation and taking risk. But it’s the more established technology companies like Atlassian that employ large swathes of smart IT graduates, encourage global ambition and generally lay the foundation of a strong local technology industry.
And of course, because the enterprise software powerhouse has been around for a decade, it has a huge customer base that pays substantial revenue and creates solid profit. This final point is of course the aim, but is still a way off for many start-ups.
There are some similarities between BigCommerce and Atlassian. The power pair at the helm of each is a start. Both were founded on the “start with low overheads and get something out there quick" philosophy. Atlassian was founded in 2002, funded by $10,000 in credit card debt. BigCommerce was spun out of Harper and Machalaani’s software company Interspire – the early days of which involved the couple coding in a room above a mobile phone shop in the Sydney suburb of Rozelle.
The names of Atlassian founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar come up in the vast majority of interviews that I conduct with young technology company founders. They are (rightly) idols for many of the young, ambitious hackers and hustlers out there.
But I reckon Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar might be getting sore shoulders, carrying the weight of expectation of a generation of young developers and coders. The pinnacle of achievement would be to see their heroes list on the NASDAQ – partly for the milestone to put the Aussie tech sensations even more firmly on the map. And partly because many believe it would set off a chain reaction of Atlassian employees turning angel investors as they cash in their options or, indeed, founding their own start-ups. Whatever the case, maybe Harper and Machalaani could lighten the Atlassian duo’s load.


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lwn.net: The first release of Liberté Linux is available. "Liberté Linux is a secure, reliable, lightweight, and easy to use Gentoo-based LiveUSB Linux distribution intended as a communication aid in hostile environments."
brajeshwar.com: Battling to be classified as the most reliable open source operating system is the Linux Mint team, which apparently has put its plans to action by leveraging its existing and most popular product the Linux Mint and in turn has brought out a new and updated version of the same.
linuxuser.co.uk: The latest beta release of Pardus Linux sports a slew of tweaks and under-the-hood improvements. But does the new release make the distro a viable alternative to the Ubuntus and Fedoras of this world? Dmitri Popov investigates…
makeuseof.com: Booting in under 10 seconds and centering around web browsing and media, xPUD is nothing if not a lightweight operating system.
zdnet.com.au: In its work Weta uses several different software programs to create its special effects. The company uses PCs running Linux and most animation is done using Maya.
pcmag.com: Microsoft just purchased 882 patents from Novell, and I think that amongst this treasure trove is something Microsoft wants to use against Linux.
linuxjournal.com: Warren Woodford, founder of MEPIS, has announced the release of SimplyMepis 11.0 Alpha 3 just in time to mark the eighth anniversary of MEPIS on November 21. SimplyMepis usually takes quite a while to cook and no final release date has been given.
linuxplanet.com: A while ago I noted that I have been exploring Lilliput, trying out a few of the lightweight distros that have been proliferating lately. A brand new one named Bodhi is currently being developed, and I gave Bodhi a try (just from the LiveCD so far), and I must say I definitely see it as a significantly new approach to providing a kit for making The Distro You Always Wanted.
penguinpetes.com: Every now and then I'm shocked from my usual shell of cynical apathy when a sign of intelligent life is spotted elsewhere in the technology district of Blogistan. Such a blip passed by radar a couple weeks back when Matt Hartley of Datamation arrived at the question Does Being Competitive with Windows Matter?
h-online.com: Tiny Core lead developer Robert Shingledecker has announced the release of version 3.3 of Tiny Core Linux.


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Tiffany Haddish dusts off $4G white gown for Oscars
06 March, 2018, 02:50 | Author: Constance French
The Girls Trip star hasn't gotten too big for her britches either.
The 86-year-old icon made something old something new again when she wore the same floral gown she did to the ceremony 56 years ago, when she took home best supporting actress for West Side Story. Gary Oldman, winning best actor for Darkest Hour, quipped, "I'm not going to get the ski" amid his rambling speech. It's taboo to wear it twice, ' and I said, 'I don't give a dang about no taboo'.
The cream gown with fitted bodice and full skirt, with black-and-gold embroidery was a tribute to her late father. "My whole team told me, "Tiffany, you can not wear that dress on SNL". "As soon as I get out of the vehicle I'll be like, 'Um, where are the non-disclosure forms at?"
"My heart has been smiling since she walked onto the Oscars red carpet, I literally started crying", Fetaw said. But, she later explained, the dress was so expensive she didn't want to wear it just once. In fact, part of Tiffany Haddish'sSaturday Night Livemonologue was all about how she plans to rewear the dress multiple times, despite the fact that it's frowned upon in Hollywood.
HADDISH: I don't know, but it feels like I'm in a department store.
Tiffany said that before her dad passed away, he assured her that she'd one day get to the Oscars - and she needed to honour her fellow Eritreans when she did.
Modi, his family, and Choksi left the country in early January, much before the CBI received a complaint from the PNB. In response to the second summons, Nirav said he can not appear before the agency owing to his business commitments.
So it remains to be seen what it will make of the U.K.'s bid for high market access, whilst sticking only to some regulations. Elaborating she said: "First, measures to ensure the requirements for moving goods across borders are as simple as possible".
Finally, Snap is considering partnerships with companies like Warby Parker to put its technology into their own glasses. If Spectacles actually look as cool as Snapchat makes them out to be, then maybe they'll find themselves on more faces.
The incident took place in the absence of the US President Donald Trump as he was on a visit to Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Secret Service walk in front of the White House, on December 18, 2014, in Washington, D.C.
His visit comes a day after Egypt's top court upheld a deal to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-Egypt causeway or bridge will link the countries between Sinai and northern Saudi Arabia.
Smith's contract was set to expire on March 14 but his rights would have remained with Oakland if he was reinstated by the NFL . Audio from San Francisco Police Department's dispatch regarding suspended Raiders linebacker Aldon Smith has been released.
German business greeted with relief the news that Germany would get a government after its longest-ever post-election interregnum. As part of the price for its support, the SPD will take the helm at key ministries, including the finance ministry.
The Cboe Volatility Index.VIX, the most widely followed barometer of expected near-term volatility of the S&P 500 index . The worst performing sectors were energy, materials, and health care down 2.2%, 1.7%, and 1.5%, respectively.
Both federal and California anti-discrimination laws prohibit employers from making hiring decisions based on race or gender.
Amazon to stop selling Google Nest's smart home devices
It's now unclear whether consumers will be able to buy Nest's connected gadgets through third-party sellers on Amazon Marketplace. This is just the latest development in a battle between two tech titans that leaves consumers left in the crossfire.
SPD Votes: No New Elections for Germany
To her right, Merkel, 63, also faces pressures from her own camp. We want common protection of the external borders. It's time for Merkel to think about her legacy.
Shaquem Griffin Is the Star of the NFL Combine
Afterwards, NFL Network's Kimberly Jones told Griffin that one GM told her he'd be impressed if he was able to do five reps. I didn't know I had it in me, but I had it today". "Some of my buddies were in there and they said it was awesome".
Kylie Jenner shows pics of baby Stormi
A source said: "With the support and abilities she has to hire nannies and assistants, she's been a really, really great mom". I've never felt love and happiness like this I could burst.


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WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) As Jarrell Dillard reports, “Six U.S. senators are calling on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate allegations that Amazon.com Inc. fails to make adequate provisions for pregnant employees at its warehouses.”
In a letter to the commission, Democrats Kirsten Gillibrand, Bob Casey, Richard Blumenthal, Sherrod Brown, Elizabeth Warren and Independent Bernie Sanders cite “what appears to be a concerning pattern of mistreatment of pregnant employees at Amazon fulfillment centers” that may be illegal.
They asked the commission to examine allegations that Amazon has failed to shield pregnant workers from physically strenuous tasks that may threaten their health and claims the company has punished employees for pregnancy-related medical absences. The practices may violate the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, the senators said.
“Between 2015 and 2019, former Amazon employees filed at least seven lawsuits alleging that Amazon wrongfully terminated them during their pregnancies and failed to accommodate rudimentary requests such as more frequent bathroom breaks and fewer continuous hours on their feet,” the senators wrote in a letter published Friday.
“While Amazon settled several of these suits outside of court, a repeated pattern of publicly-reported pregnancy discrimination and pregnancy-related disability discrimination complaints has emerged at Amazon fulfillment centers as a product of the strenuous demands of the fulfillment center model.”


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Following the announcement and introduction of the metaverse by the CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, more details in its utility is been provided as each day goes by.
Demystifying what the metaverse stands to give and what creators stand to achieve with its usage, Zuckerberg in a recent Facebook post revealed that the metaverse would offer more opportunities for creators to leverage on and get paid.
According to Zuckerberg, there’d an updated subscription as against the 30% fee that Apple takes on all transactions, thereby providing an opportunity for creators to earn more.
Three key points were highlighted to provide more insight into the new subscription and its opportunities. They are:
1. The company would be launching a promotional link for creators for their Subscriptions offering. When people subscribe using this link, creators will keep all the money they earn (minus taxes).
2. Creators will have more ownership of their audience — we’re giving the ability for them to download the email addresses of all of their new subscribers.
3. We’re launching a bonus program that pays creators for each new subscriber they get as part of our $1 billion creator investment announced this summer. More to come.


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The cafe in your kitchen
by SEAN POULTER
Last updated at 08:41 22 March 2007
Which is why cafe culture has invaded the domestic kitchen.
Scroll down for more...
Annual sales of expensive coffee machines have more than doubled since 2001 - rising from 520,000 to 1.2 million last year, according to the retail analysts Mintel. And the market is expected to double again in the next three years.
Some machines claim to be able to turn roasted beans to a steaming brew within just 45 seconds while names such as Gaggia, Krups and Nespresso are becoming as familiar as Nescafe and Kenco.
Coffee shop addicts can spend as much as £20 a week at Starbucks, Costa Coffee or Caffe Nero.
Consequently, the hefty prices demanded for the coffee machines, which are pushing aside American fridge freezers and range cookers to become the new focal point of the kitchen, are unlikely to prove alarming.
Some go as far as installing top of the range commercial machines, costing more than £3,000, at the hub of their kitchens.
Such machines keep the water bubbling constantly, even through the small hours of the night, should the owner suddenly feel the need to reach for a latte, mocha or caramel macchiato.
Julie Sloan, senior market analyst at Mintel, said breakfast coffee "has come a long way since the days of hot water and freeze-dried instant.
"The growth in coffee machines largely reflects a high degree of new product development, with coffee makers having become a real lifestyle statement, especially amongst young urbanites."
So-called pod machines have been a real success story. Sales have risen 260 per cent since 2001 and now account for 470,000 of the 1.2million total.
Similar to vending machines, they involve inserting a cartridge to deliver the preferred coffee style.
Even the coffee shop chains are themselves looking to cash in. Starbucks is producing its own brand of roast and ground coffee in partnership with Kraft Foods for sale in supermarkets.
Kitchens have seen similar crazes in the past, with the likes of sandwich toasters, juicers, vegetable processors and bread makers, most of which can be found cluttering up the back of cupboards.
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Third-party insurance liability claim is mandatory for drone operations in the country.
Various government bodies and especially police have been using drones in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic which has killed over 9,500 people in the country so far and more than 3.32 lakh people are infected so far. Globally, more than 4.3 lakh lives have been lost and close to 80 lakh are infected.
Ritesh Kumar, the managing director of HDFC Ergo General Insurance said as "drones are being used in outdoor commercial activities, operational mistakes and equipment failures may cause damages to third parties. Considering this we are launching this cover under our aviation insurance, which is a first in the industry, to safeguard drone owners and pilots from any third-party liability while flying a drone commercially."
Drones were effectively used by the police to implement lockdowns as they have proved to be efficient and beneficial for public surveillance, crowd monitoring and in certain areas even for delivery of essentials like medicines.
Sandipan Sen, founder of Tropogo said third-party insurance is mandatory for drone operations, and there has been a demand from the drone operators for insurance.
"Unfortunately, until now, no insurer offers such a cover and the flexibility to buy the policy through a digital platform. We identified this as the problem statement and partnered with HDFC Ergo to offer the country's first on-demand pay-as-you-fly third-party liability cover for drone owners and operators," he added.
- Front Page
- Pure Politics
- Companies & Economy
- Indices hit Fresh Highs on Strong Liquidity Flows
Indian equities surged to fresh records on Wednesday as a spurt in the last half hour of trade helped the Sensex surpass 63,000 for the first time.Vi in Talks with SBI for up to ₹16,000-Cr Loan
Cash-strapped Vodafone Idea (Vi) has dialled State Bank of India (SBI) for a ₹15,000-16,000 crore loan to meet its immediate 4G capex needs, fund gear supply contracts for its pending 5G rollout and to clear some sizeable vendor dues, three people aware of the matter said.China Stir may Infect Key Sectors in India
The widespread protests in China against the strict restrictions under its zero Covid policy and the spreading pandemic could impact India’s consumer electronics, gold, diamonds, and engineering goods sectors, industry executives said.
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According to the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Belarus, the annual onion production in Belarus makes it possible to fully meet the needs of the country and have free resources for export deliveries.
The Ministry further stressed that "In 2018, onion farms of all categories produced 215,700 tons of onion, of which 41,300 tons were from agricultural organizations and farms.”
In addition to governmental stabilization funds, onions are stored by agricultural organizations in specialized storage facilities. According to data on May 2, in storage facilities of agricultural organizations, there are 109 tons of onions, which are delivered to retail chains and other buyers, mainly under direct contracts.
"The Ministry of Agriculture and Food annually informs all interested structures about the need to conclude contracts for the cultivation and supply of these products," east-fruit.com quoted. The products manufactured last year allowed to meet the needs of industrial processing, as well as to carry out export deliveries.
Meanwhile, according to russiabusinesstoday.com, the prices of onions in Russia have already reached a record high for at least the last 5 years and continue to rise rapidly.
Since the beginning of this week, onions from Russian farms have risen in price by an average of 30%. Today, farmers offer high-quality onions at 30-40 rubles/kg ($0.46-$0.61/kg), whereas a week ago the price for high-quality products did not exceed 32 rubles / kg ($ 0.49/kg).
According to experts, the reason for this price growth is a fairly high demand for onions in the domestic market. At the same time, more and more often, market participants receive complaints about the lack of supply of high quality products.
Wholesale companies are trying to compensate for this problem by importing onions from new crops from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, analysts say. Better quality imported onions, but at the same time more expensive, are offered in Russia in limited quantities at a price of 38-43 rubles/kg ($0.58-0.66/kg).


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Photo Credit: Twitter/ Evan Blass
- Moto E6 render has been leaked by Evan Blass
- It shows the phone from all angles, 3.5mm audio jack sits on top
- Moto E6 is tipped to be powered by the Snapdragon 430 SoC
After the launch of the Motorola One Vision, the Lenovo-owned company is now gearing up for the launch of the Moto E6 series. The Moto E6 Plus was recently spotted on Geekbench, and now the Moto E6 variant has been leaked in photos by noted tipster Evan Blass aka @evleaks. The photos suggest that the phone will fall in the budget segment, and is seen to feature considerable bezels, a single rear camera setup, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a textured back panel as well.
Blass has taken to Twitter to share a photo of the Moto E6 showing the smartphone off in all angles. The Moto E6 is seen to sport considerable bezels on all sides of the display with the Motorola logo plastered at the bottom of the display. The top bezel is seen to house the selfie sensor and the earpiece. The back panel is textured for better gripping and a single rear camera sits on the top left edge with the flash beneath it. The phone sports a Motorola logo at the back as well, which could presumably double up as a fingerprint sensor as well.
Coming to the sides, the Moto E6 has the volume and power buttons on the right edge, while the 3.5mm audio jack sits on the top edge of the phone. Unfortunately, the bottom edge is not shown in the photo, but we can presume that is where the speaker grille and the charging port are housed.
There’s no word on when this phone will be unveiled, but a past leak has given us a look at the probable specifications. The Moto E6 is tipped to run on Android Pie, sport a 5.45-inch HD+ (720×1440 pixels) display, be powered by the octa-core Snapdragon 430 SoC paired with 2GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB of inbuilt storage, and sport a single 13-megapixel rear camera (S5K3L6) with f/2.0 aperture and a 5-megapixel front camera (S5K5E9) with the same aperture.
The Moo E6 Plus, as mentioned, was also spotted on Geekbench recently, and it is tipped to be powered by the MediaTek Helio P22 SoC and pack 2GB of RAM.


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In today’s world, ransomware attacks are tending to become more disruptive which has been the reason for the downfall of many organizations. According to Hartford, 31% of all data breaches are in organizations having fewer than 100 employees, and about 66% of all data breaches investigated were not discovered for months, or sometimes even years.
During the monitoring of deepweb and darkweb leaks, our researchers came across the leak disclosure post in which the Maze ransomware operators claim to have breached Interstate Restoration and claimed to be in possession of the company’s sensitive data.
Established in the year 1998, Interstate Restoration one of the leading full-service emergency response restoration and reconstruction companies based in the United States of America. With over 450 employees the company has been earning annual revenue of around $127 million.
Below is the snapshot of the leak post published by the Maze Ransomware Operators-:
After analysing the company’s leaked data of around 800 MB, our researchers gathered some of critical information as detailed below-:
- Details of Current and former employees which includes employment agreements forms, background checks, healthcare documents, and much more.
- Acquisition documents of InStar Services Group which include bank payoff letter, trademarks agreement, Asset purchase agreements.
- Networking routing diagrams of the company.
- Cost status report and invoices of the company.
- Currently, the ransomware operators claims to have published 5% of company’s total data leak.
Cyble has been reporting these data breaches to aware individuals of the risks associated with using online services.
We recommend people to:
- Never share personal information, including financial information over the phone, email or SMSs
- Use strong passwords and enforce multi-factor authentication where possible
- Regularly monitor your financial transaction, if you notice any suspicious transaction, contact your bank immediately.
- Turn-on automatic software update feature on your computer, mobile and other connected devices where possible and pragmatic
- Use a reputed anti-virus and internet security software package on your connected devices including PC, Laptop, Mobile
- People who are concerned about their exposure in darkweb can register at AmiBreached.com to ascertain their exposure.
Cyble is an Atlanta, US-based, global premium cyber-security firm with tools and capabilities to provide near real-time cyber threat intelligence.
Cyble Inc.’s mission is to provide organizations with a real-time view of their supply chain cyber threats and risks. Their SaaS-based solution powered by machine learning and human analysis provides organizations’ insights to cyber threats introduced by suppliers and enables them to respond to them faster and more efficiently.
This monitoring and notification platform gives the average consumer insights into their personal cybersecurity issues, allowing them to take action then as needed. It has recently earned accolades from Forbes as being the top 20 cyber-security companies to watch in 2020.


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The companies stated that they intend to develop sustainable batteries utilizing the lignin-based carbon from wood sourced in Nordic forests, namely as of Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Europe has a total of 211 million hectares of forest land, there are around sixty-one million hectares in these three countries.
Lignin accounts for 30 percent of wood weight whilst bestowing rigidity and antimicrobial properties of wood.
Northvolt in February acquired an old Swedish paper mill from Stora to turn it into a cathode material factory by 2024 with an annual production capacity of around one hundred gigawatt hours.
The chief Environmental Officer at Northvolt, Emma Nehrenheim stated that the company is exploring a new source of sustainable raw material and expanding the European battery value chain, whilst developing a less expensive battery chemistry.
Volkswagen, a German motor vehicle manufacturer has been financing hundreds of millions of dollars in Northvolt to secure battery supply for its electric vehicles.
Stora Enso, a leading provider of renewable products firm has announced lower-than-projected quarterly earnings, as logistics bottlenecks undermined profitability.
Annika Bresky said in a statement that the demand has been robust for their main segments but logistical challenges with low long haul vessel reliability and poor container availability has had an impact on their ability to copiously assist their customers.
Second-quarter sales increased at 18 percent to EUR 3.05 billion, while analysts had projected revenue to be EUR 2.98 billion.
Stora Enso in June raised its full-year earnings guidance and stated it currently anticipates 2022 operating profit to surpass last year’s EUR 1.53 billion.
The companies stated that the global megatrends including an accelerated focus on combatting climate change, increased awareness of sustainability, and digitalisation reinforce Stora Enso’s business strategy and the demand for its renewable and eco-friendly products, both a brief and prolonged period.
In 2017, Nothvolt enabled the future of energy by creating the world’s greenest battery cell and setting up a European supply of batteries. Northvolt’s mission is to build the greenest battery in the globe and deliver batteries with an 80 percent lower carbon footprint compared to those made using coal energy.
About Stora Enso
Stora Enso is a leading world-wide provider of renewable solutions in biomaterials, packaging, paper, and wooden construction. The company believes that everything that is made from fossil-based raw materials today can be made from a tree tomorrow. Stora Enso has around 22,000 employees and their transactions in 2021 were EUR 10.2 billion. Stora Enso shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Oy and Nasdaq Stockholm. Additionally, the company shares are traded in the USA as American Depository Receipts (ADRs).


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Currys PC World Apologises for Extra Charges- What To Do If You’re Overcharged
- Customers pressured into paying more than advertised price
- Complaints go back to 2015
- Issue was raised with Currys PC World multiple times
- What can you do if this happens to you?
Currys PC World has apologised after customers complained they has been pressured into paying more than the advertised price for laptops on multiple occasions since 2015.
Which? said customers have reported ordering laptops or seeing them advertised at a specific price, only to be charged up to £40 more when they went to collect them.
Customers said that staff told them that only pre-setup computer were available, so they would have to pay a previously unmentioned set-up fee.
The retailer offers an optional £35 ‘Knowhow’ set-up service, but customers said that this wasn’t offered as an option, but as compulsory, meaning they had to pay more.
The watchdog said it had raised the issue with Curry multiple times, but continued to hear from customers with the same complaint.
Alex Neill, Which? director of home and product services, said, “This issue has been going on for more than three years without resolution and we are disappointed people are continuing to report feeling pressured into parting with their cash.
“We want Currys to make cast-iron guarantees that it will put an end to this practice and that customers who’ve been caught out will be reimbursed.”
Currys has now responded, saying, “We are sorry to hear that some customers have been charged for a Knowhow Laptop Setup service on their new machine when they did not request it.
“Whilst setting up machines in advance enables customers who want the service to benefit from it straight away, it is not something everyone needs.
“We are urgently re-briefing our stores now to remind them that, in the small number of cases where only pre-set up models are available, customers should not be charged for the service when they buy their laptop.
“We ask any customers affected by this to email us directly at: firstname.lastname@example.org so we can resolve this and feed back to our stores and regional managers.”
What are your rights?
If you were made to pay more by Currys, or another retailers, you might be able to get your money back.
Which? has called on Currys to refund customers who were forced to pay the charged even though they didn’t want to take advantage of the optional service, so if you are one of these, you should be getting money back.
All retailers are required to advertise the full price of a product, according to the Consumer Contracts Regulations.
Also, under the Unfair Trading Regulations, there are 31 practices that are listed as unfair, and one of these is “bait advertising”, which Currys has done.
This is when a shop advertises a special price in an effort to get customers interested, but with no intention of honouring the price.
If a shop has done this to you, your within your rights to complain and may be able to get your money back.
Retailers also can’t promote one product with the intention of selling the customer something else- this is known as ‘bait and switch’.
So if a laptop, or any other product, is advertised for a specific price but there are only models with an upgrade left in stock, the shop has to honour the advertised price.
If you’re charged extra for making payments via card instead of cash, remember that this is now banned, and you don’t have to pay the charge.


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In a report released today, Ram Selvaraju from H.C. Wainwright reiterated a Buy rating on Cormedix Inc (CRMD), with a price target of $3.50. The company’s shares closed yesterday at $1.60.
“We derive a value of $470M for Neutrolin using a 12% discount rate and 90% probability of success, along with a 23% effective tax rate, or a price per share of $3.50, taking into account $150M from additional value drivers (ex-U.S.”
According to TipRanks.com, Selvaraju is ranked 0 out of 5 stars with an average return of -14.0% and a 19.8% success rate. Selvaraju covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as Biospecifics Technologies Corp, EyePoint Pharmaceuticals Inc, and Bausch Health Companies Inc.
Cormedix Inc has an analyst consensus of Moderate Buy, with a price target consensus of $3.50.
See today’s analyst top recommended stocks >>
Based on Cormedix Inc’s latest earnings release for the quarter ending September 30, the company reported a quarterly GAAP net loss of $10.24 million. In comparison, last year the company had a GAAP net loss of $9.96 million.
Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 19 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is positive on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders buying their shares of CRMD in relation to earlier this year.
TipRanks has tracked 36,000 company insiders and found that a few of them are better than others when it comes to timing their transactions. See which 3 stocks are most likely to make moves following their insider activities.
CorMedix, Inc. operates as a pharmaceutical and medical device company that seeks to in-license, develop and commercialize prophylactic and therapeutic products for the prevention and treatment of infectious and inflammatory diseases.


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STXNEWS LATAM-Brazil flat steel sales jump in August, Inda says
Sales of flat steel products at distribution companies in Brazil rose sharply in August from the prior month, according to the National Institute of Steel Distributors, known as Inda. Sales rose 9.6 percent from July to 424,100 tonnes, and 12 percent from the same month a year earlier, Inda said.
Inda said in a report that it expects purchases and sales of flat steel products at the distribution level to fall 5 percent in September from August.
Unwanted inventory reached 1.13 million tonnes in August, almost unchanged from July, Inda said. Unwanted inventory is now equivalent to about 2.6 months worth of monthly sales - down from 2.9 times in July, according to Thomson Reuters calculations based on the Inda data.
- Gaza gunmen execute 'collaborators'; mortar kills Israeli boy |
- Ferguson march muted, police officer disciplined over video |
- U.S. says Russia must pull convoy from Ukraine or face more sanctions |
- U.S. hostage rescuers dropped from night sky: Syria activist
- U.S. protests intercept of Navy jet by Chinese warplane


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[funsec] Hot new tech!
ge at linuxbox.org
Fri Jul 24 00:54:52 CDT 2009
Rob, grandpa of Ryan, Trevor, Devon & Hannah wrote:
> Coming from Faux News this is questionable, but:
Didn't they do a call-back of batteries due to this happening a year ago?
> Apple iPods have burned users or caught fire more than a dozen times, but neither
> the company nor the federal government has disclosed this to the public,
> according to a Seattle television station. KIRO-TV says it used the Freedom of
> Information Act to get more than 800 pages of Consumer Product Safety
> Commission documents regarding iPod-related injuries and property damage.
> Within the documents were details of at least 15 separate incidents where iPods
> overheated, sparked, smoked, caused burns or caught fire.
> The station became interested when an individual of Arlington, Washington, was
> mystified by a penny-sized burn on her chest in November 2008. [!!! Danger,
> Danger! - rms]
> KIRO-TV filed an FOIA request in December 2008, but said the CPSC documents
> took seven months to arrive, delayed by Apple lawyers filing several exemptions.
> An Apple representative had no official comment.
> ====================== (quote inserted randomly by Pegasus Mailer)
> rslade at vcn.bc.ca slade at victoria.tc.ca rslade at computercrime.org
> Power corrupts. PowerPoint corrupts absolutely. - Vinton Cerf
> http://blog.isc2.org/isc2_blog/slade/index.html http://twitter.com/rslade
> Fun and Misc security discussion for OT posts.
> Note: funsec is a public and open mailing list.
ge at linuxbox.org.
More information about the funsec


text:
This was an opportunity for critics of Apple’s DMA compliance plans to address questions to representatives from Apple. There’s video of the 9-hour workshop, but it’s locked behind a password (insert joke about the EC’s support for openness here). I can’t imagine sitting through that, even at 2× speed. Lucky for us, Kay Jebelli followed along live and took copious notes in a thread on Twitter/X:
Interesting detail: the EC told Apple that they aren’t allowed to
notarize apps to protect users. So “government authorities are the
ones that are going to have to step up to protect” app developers
and users from the risks of these 3rd-party apps.
In other words, the EC has a problem with Apple doing any vetting whatsoever on apps distributed outside the App Store. The EC will take care of making sure malware, phishing, scams, clones, IP rip-offs, and pirated apps aren’t getting through. This also means that apps distributed outside the app store will be able to use private APIs. One can argue that what Apple is calling “notarization” in its DMA compliance plan is actually just a less extensive form of app review, but without this step, Apple has no oversight over software distributed outside the store at all. That seems to be exactly what the EC is saying the DMA demands. I don’t think this is going to go well.
[Update, March 20: Jebelli, in a follow-up: “Looking through some of what else has been put out, I could have misheard, and the point was that notarization doesn’t address all of the risks of alternate distribution, and it’s these other risks where governments will have to step up (not due to total removal of notarization).” So it looks like Apple’s plan to notarize and inspect all apps remains.]
Pushed again on the CTF, Apple re-asserts that it is fully
compliant with the DMA. It isn’t charging an additional fee for
interoperability, but compensation for technologies that it was
previously monetising through its original model (effectively
tolling digital app sales).
We know from today’s workshop that (a) Apple has already gotten specific pushback from the EC on aspects of its DMA compliance plan; and (b) Apple continues to think the CTF is perfectly cromulent under the terms of the DMA. That to me says the CTF is going to fly. The idea that the entire CTF is disallowed under the DMA is an argument that the DMA disallows a company from monetizing access to its own platform and IP. EC fans may be surprised to hear this but the EC is a capitalist body. I really don’t think they want to send a message to the world that the EU will strip companies of their own platforms. As Jebelli writes in an aside in his thread:
It’s pretty incredible if you take a step back, in what other
industry do entire regulatory frameworks pop up to address a
dispute between different businesses over the question of “Why
can’t I have gratuitous access to this infrastructure, at zero
cost to myself?”
The crybaby Spotifys in the EU have already gotten a lot from the EC protection racket, including a large number of huge concessions in Apple’s DMA compliance plan. Not paying anything to Apple under any condition is all they’ll settle for though.
★ Monday, 18 March 2024


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RUSSIA: Wal-Mart quiet on "Russian recruitment" reports
The US-based retailer closed its Moscow office in February last year, after failing to identify appropriate acquisition targets that would facilitate its entry into the market.
"We examined the Russian market for several years and concluded the right entry strategy is through acquisition. Since we have decided to enter the market through acquisitions, not greenfield development, and since there is no clear acquisition partner in the near term, there was not a business reason to continue our Moscow representative office," a spokesperson for Wal-Mart told just-food today (15 February).
"Our international strategy is all about focus, putting our resources – people and finances – in markets where we can make a difference for our customers and generate returns for our shareholders. We still believe the Russia market has promise and we'll continue, as we do in markets all over the world, to watch for the right market-entry opportunity."
However, the spokesperson insisted that Wal-Mart has "nothing new to share" on its plans for Russia and declined to comment on the reports that is appointing staff in the region.
Russian retailer Dixy is focusing its growth strategy on expanding its convenience store network in the country....
Wal-Mart de Mexico, the US retailer's arm in Central America, has reported a 7% increase in half-year profits on the back of higher sales....
Russian grocery retailer Magnit has booked a 142% jump in first-half profits, driven partly by higher sales....
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- Greencore profits lifted by on-the-go food focus


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This is a syndicated repost published with the permission of Statista | Infographics. To view original, click here. Opinions herein are not those of the Wall Street Examiner or Lee Adler. Reposting does not imply endorsement. The information presented is for educational or entertainment purposes and is not individual investment advice.
The jobs recovery in the U.S. appears to be slowing down, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Industries hit hard are finding it difficult to claw back to normalcy, even as reopening measures persist across the country. Many in the U.S. are coming around to the idea that a substantial portion of the damage caused by the great jobs crash in April will be permanent. Data on the loss of retail stores in the country shows how that industry may know this fact the best.
According to data compiled by the Wall Street Journal from Coresight Research, retail stores continue to disappear by the hundreds each month. After mass layoffs in April, 1,330 stores closed permanently the following month. While the number of closings trended toward a recovery for June and July, another huge wave of 2,163 closings were observed in August – highlighting how many retail stores in the U.S. continue to struggle even as city and state governments reopen their doors for business.
No retail business has been spared from the COVID-19 economic crisis, with small businesses closing their doors at similar rates to big corporations declaring for bankruptcy. Still, in terms of total store closures, small businesses may be suffering the most. Experts have said another small business stimulus is necessary to act as a life preserver for businesses across the country, however negotiations on a stimulus package have stalled yet again in Congress.
This chart shows the monthly net store openings in the U.S. in 2020.
Join the conversation and have a little fun at Capitalstool.com. If you are a new visitor to the Stool, please register and join in! To post your observations and charts, and snide, but good-natured, comments, click here to register. Be sure to respond to the confirmation email which is sent instantly. If not in your inbox, check your spam filter.


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The developers behind EVERSPACE, Rockfish Games, have teased fans on Twitter that they could be supporting Xbox Play Anywhere. EVERSPACE is a single-player 3D space shooter with rogue-like elements and non-linear storytelling based on Unreal Engine 4.
Microsoft revealed its new Xbox service, called Xbox Play Anywhere, at E3 2016. The service allows you to purchase a participating game, then play it on both an Xbox One and Windows 10 PC at no additional cost. That means the game will be unlocked across both platforms with a single purchase. Your progress – including saves, achievements, add-ons, season passes, consumables, and in-game unlocks – will transfer across both platforms, so you can pick up where you left off.
we will have an announcement coming very soon. Stay tuned 😉
— ROCKFISH Games (@Rockfishgames) August 13, 2016
With Gamescom coming up in Germany in the next few days it might be a safe bet to assume they might be making an announcement on this at the event. EVERSPACE has been on my radar for a few months now so I for one hope that this is indeed the case and that even third party developers are getting on board with Xbox Play Anywhere.
- Rogue-like gameplay with persistent progression
- AAA-style visuals & sound and PC-optimized controls (mouse + KB)
- Non-linear storytelling that perfectly fits the nature of a rogue-like
- 1st and 3rd person action focus (no sim)
- In-depth upgrade and damage system
- VR support


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More From Pamella de Leon
The founder and CEO says that the core motivation behind her startup, which connects street sellers with consumers, was to try and meet the challenge of creating a stable consumer base for those forced to turn to touristic, traffic-heavy streets to sell their wares in cities around the world that are rife with economic challenges.
Instead of going for the usual funding routes taken by startups in the Middle East region, Artscoops chose another option to grow its business: crowdinvesting.
ArabNet CEO and founder, Omar Christidis on the KSA entrepreneurial ecosystem and what's ahead of the ArabNet Riyadh 2015.
Vaniday founder and Managing Director Vera Futorjanski says that while there's an on-demand booking app for "virtually every kind of product or service," there was a gap in the market when it came to discovering and booking beauty and wellness services- which is now filled by her app.
Whether you're a great detective or a mediocre one, your team will surely love the adrenaline rush.
In a region where directions are a major hassle since addresses are often too difficult to locate (or in some cases, may not exist at all), Fetchr has found its window of opportunity.
Squash champion Raneem El Welily says it's not just the hours that you put in toward your goal, but "what you work on, how well you manage your weak points, and how you work on improving them."
Dubai Internet City's tech incubation hub in5 center, brought together developers, coders and designers for the third edition of Decode Dubai.
Startup ChefXChange offers food enthusiasts an online platform to search for chefs who'll cook for you, manage everything from the menu to the grocery shopping, and even the washing up.
With this year's focus on the travel and the fintech sectors, the Switzerland-based startup contest held its Middle East regional event, Seedstars Dubai, at The Cribb in September.
Founded in India in 2008, and subsequently launching in the UAE in 2012, Zomato, the restaurant discovery platform now present in 22 countries, is keen for more.
The founders of the café, who are all aged between 24 and 25 years old and are currently pursuing Master's degrees, bootstrapped and set up their homegrown concept in Dubai's JLT neighborhood at the end of February this year.
It was with curiosity, a bit of anxiety and excitement that the Entrepreneur Middle East editorial staff entered The Explorers Library room (one of the three Escape Quest challenges).
Rukun Gallery wants you to see how materials are manipulated and hopefully, "transform our preconceived notions of the way they behave."


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Paid search spending forecasted to hit $10 billion by 2009
This study from MarketWire; a new study from eMarketer reports that “paid search advertising spending, slowing from its meteoric rise the last few years, will still hit $10 billion by 2009.” More from the article:
“eMarketer forecasts that US paid search ad spending in the US in 2006 will grow by 26.2%, a full seven percentage points less than last year’s 33.2% gain. After triple-figure growth rates earlier in the decade, more modest growth rates will prevail through the rest of the decade.
“Clearly our growth rates are slowing,” said Google’s chief financial officer, George Reyes, on February 28, 2006, noting that the company’s revenue growth is decelerating because of the “law of large numbers.” In other words, hyper-growth can’t be sustained forever. And as Google goes, so goes the search marketing industry.”
I think it’s a bit early to send the search marketing industry off into the sunset, especially since there’s more search engines and search technology out there than what’s in the Googleplex. The article included this very encouraging quote from David Hallerman, author of the report:
“As this market matures, the search engines will need to refine and improve their products, which will create greater opportunities for search marketers to unearth more effective niches,” says Mr. Hallerman. “Such maturity will include more vertical search for better targeting, and a sharp rise in local search, as both users and advertisers increasingly realize that the Internet is the best place to make contact with any kind or size of business.”


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without your permission.
We will send you an email with an invite soon.
The UK reportedly plans to scrap value added tax on Bitcoin trades, a boost for the cryptocurrency by @kaylenehong
Singapore bucks the trend and welcomes Bitcoin, laying out tax rules for the virtual currency by @kaylenehong
Google set to face new questions over its business and tax setup in the UK by @jonrussell
See what's Trending Now for @TheNextWeb
Follow @TheNextWeb on Twitter


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You can now buy an unlocked iPhone 5S in the United States. Beginning Friday, Apple is accepting orders for unlocked GSM versions of the device through the company’s online store. The unlocked model is identical to those already on the market, except that it doesn’t come with a SIM card. The phone works on AT&T and T-Mobile in the U.S. and is available in three varieties. These include the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models, for $649, $749 and $849, respectively.
4,846 Recent Stories
Welcome to this morning's edition of "First To Know," a series in which we keep you in the know on what's happening in the digital world. Today, we're looking at three particularly interesting stories. A Dropbox update brings a fresh iOS 7 design and other visual improvements for iPad. Apple introduced video trailers in the App Store, exhibited by the game Clumsy Ninja. It's currently visible only in a special featured section of the UK App Store.
Apple has launched a new page on its website, titled "Life on iPad," showcasing some of the most interesting stories around iPad use. The page consists of one beautifully shot video and six articles, detailing some of the most interesting projects in which the iPad was used.
A San Jose jury ruled on Thursday that Samsung owes Apple an additional $290 million in damages for infringing on several of Apple's patents.
The way you maintain your expensive tech says volumes about your personality. Do you cradle your iPad like a newborn? Or maybe you're of the risk-taking variety, the "e-reader in the pool" type? With the holiday season in full tow, industry analysts and Apple executives are expecting an "iPad Christmas." If the tablet community is about to see a population explosion, we think a good, highly data-driven user analysis is well overdue.* *By "data," we mean opinion, obvi.
Apple wants to make shopping easier this holiday season with its first Apple Store app for iPads, which it debuted on Wednesday. The app comes loaded with features to make product discovery on Apple.com more seamless. The Apple Store for iPad is designed specifically for iOS 7, capitalizing on using gestures to find more products from Apple's online store. It essentially wraps up everything currently listed for sale on Apple.com and packages it up in one easy-to-navigate app.
Apple's proposed project for a new campus in Cupertino, Calif., has received the final stamp of approval from the City Council, San Jose Mercury News reports. The Cupertino City Council approved Apple's campus project in October 2013, two years after Steve Jobs announced the construction plans, but one final voting was needed for the project to get the green light.
An appellate court decision has opened the way for Apple to again pursue a ban on some Samsung Electronics mobile devices found to infringe Apple patents. But the ruling is a mixed bag for Apple, experts say, and will place a bigger burden on parties seeking injunctive relief in patent disputes in the future. A three-judge federal appellate panel issued the unanimous decision on Monday. The court said U.S.
Apple updated its Reuse and Recycle Program to allow water-damaged iPhones to be traded in. Previously, iPhones that have been damaged by water or other liquids were not accepted in the trade-in program, which Apple launched in the U.S. in August and in the U.K. in October. But as reported by 9to5Mac, which cites Apple retail employees, that is no longer the case as of this week.
You can throw away your old pedometer. The iPhone 5S comes packed with a M7 motion coprocessor, which tracks a user's step count and activity type. The latest video in our Ask a Dev series looks at the best ways that developers can take advantage of the iPhone 5S' motion-tracking chip. See also: Watch How the iPhone 5S Stacks Up Against Every Other iPhone Consulting iOS architect Conrad Stoll explains that fitness apps are a great way to use the chip.
Virtually every good (and bad) thing you can say about Apple's iPad Air is applicable to the new iPad mini with Retina display. The 7.8-inch tablet's second edition is virtually identical inside and out to the 9.7-inch iPad Air, with the obvious exception of size and weight.
When Google revealed its wearable computer, Google Glass, many wondered how Apple could compete. In response, the Cupertino, Calif. company finally announced its version of Glass to its target market: pirates. See also: 10 Accessories to Make Google Glass Look Even Dorkier In this Sunday comic, Maria Scrivan jokes about the perfect name for an Apple product that you wear on your face. BONUS: Got Google Glass? Don't Be a Glasshole Comic written and illustrated by Maria Scrivan.
Apple has reportedly acquired PrimeSense, the company behind the Xbox Kinect's 3D-sensor technology, for $345 million, according to Israeli financial newspaper Calcalist. This isn't the first time that rumors of an acquisition have popped up. In July, the newspaper reported that Apple was in talks to acquire PrimeSense at a valuation between $280 million and $300 million.
The holiday season is getting closer, and many people will be adding a tablet to their wish lists this year.
In addition to releasing a minor update to iOS 7, Apple on Thursday upgraded its iBooks app, giving it an iOS 7 visual overhaul. When iOS 7 launched back in September, a few Apple apps not built-into the OS kept their classic skeuomorphic designs. Over the last two months, Apple has updated the bulk of those apps -- most notably including major updates to the iWork and iLife app suites.


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Saratoga could become the next South Bay city to regulate single-use plastic bags. Earlier this month, the city council began discussing the possibility of adopting an ordinance similar to ones passed by neighboring cities that would reduce use of single-use carryout bags and styrofoam products.
A Saratoga plastic bag ban has been debated since at least 2011, but Councilwoman Jill Hunter and Vice Mayor Howard Miller spotlighted the issue at a council meeting in March.
“I’m proud of what we do in California. I think it’s time that we do this,” Hunter said. “As I said before, I’m embarrassed that we’re one of the few communities that haven’t done it. Everybody else is on board, and frankly, it’s the right thing to do.”
Saratoga is one of only a handful of cities in the county that doesn’t have a policy regulating the use of plastic bags. The cities of Campbell, Cupertino, Los Altos, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose and Sunnyvale all have a bag-ban ordinance, as does the town of Los Gatos and Santa Clara County. Monte Sereno discourages the use of single-use bags, but hasn’t adopted an ordinance restricting their use.
The ordinance passed by most of these cities requires retailers to charge 10 cents per single-use paper bag, with some having the option of increasing the fee to 25 cents per bag after a certain amount of time.
“A study of trash transported through urban runoffs in the San Francisco Bay Area found that 8 percent of litter consisted of single-use plastic bags,” states a staff report on the subject. “While single-use plastic bags were not the single greatest source of litter found, plastic bags have been particularly difficult to clean up and have had adverse effects on marine environments.”
The council concluded its discussion with an agreement to await the state Legislature’s decision on Senate Bill 270, which would prohibit certain stores from providing single-use carryout bags to customers and would allow retailers to sell 10-cent recycled paper bags. According to city clerk Crystal Bothelio, the measure, if passed, would affect only two stores in Saratoga: Safeway and Gene’s Fine Foods. Lawmakers have until the end of the legislative term in August to make their decision.
“Let’s wait out this legislative session of the state; see if something comes through,” Councilman Manny Cappello said. “It’s doubtful, but nonetheless we should wait to see if they take action, because after all they could trump anything that we do.”
In the meantime, the council requested an analysis from the public works department of the city’s waste behavior “to determine if we really truly have a problem here in Saratoga or an indication of a problem,” Cappello said.
While Cappello wondered whether a bag ban would be government over-regulation, Miller and Hunter hesitantly agreed to await the state’s decision and approach the issue the “Saratoga way” per Councilman Chuck Page’s suggestion, instead of emulating a process followed by other cities.
In addition to a discussion of a plastic bags ban, Hunter and Miller had also requested a discussion of adopting policies to restrict the use of carry-out foam food containers and other products made of expanded polystyrene or styrofoam by all food vendors.
“Lightweight [expanded polystyrene] can travel easily from inland waterways to the ocean. As it travels, EPS breaks up into small pieces that are commonly mistaken as food by birds and other marine wildlife, resulting in harmful side effects,” the staff report states.
Saratoga already has a policy that prohibits the purchase of polystyrene products with city funds or the use of polystyrene containers at events or at facilities in the city. But now some council members want to adopt a law limiting or prohibiting their use, similar to Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Palo Alto and San Jose, all of which have adopted policies to reduce the use of polystyrene. The council indicated that for now, it would focus just on plastic bags.