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Pittsburgh taxis plan own smartphone app to battle newcomers Lyft and Uber
Pittsburgh's largest taxi company is fighting smartphone apps with one of its own.
Jamie Campolongo, CEO of Pittsburgh Transportation Group, which owns Yellow Cab, said on Thursday that his company is partnering with zTrip, which makes an app for taxi companies that is similar to apps for driving services Lyft and Uber. They began operating in Pittsburgh in the past week.
“We hope to roll it out in Pittsburgh in March. Basically, you'll get everything that you get from the other companies in conjunction with professionally trained and licensed drivers,” Campolongo said. “Unfortunately, we're three weeks too late.”
The recent rollout of Lyft and Uber in Pittsburgh riled traditional cab companies and the state Public Utility Commission. The PUC contends anyone who offers rides for compensation is subject to regulation. Campolongo met with PUC representatives Thursday Downtown. He said the PUC told him that it has an enforcement plan for the new-age apps and is awaiting approval.
A PUC spokeswoman said this week that the agency could ticket unregulated companies and their drivers and was “preparing to take action.”
Representatives for Lyft and Uber could not be reached for comment.
Lyft and Uber users book a ride from an app and pay by credit card through a smartphone. Drivers use their personal cars. Lyft cars brandish a pink mustache on the front.
Bobby Kerlik is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at 412-320-7886.
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|By Business Wire||
|June 5, 2014 12:01 AM EDT||
MasterCard’s technology combined with increased engagement of governments is helping drive greater expansion of financial inclusion. Public-private partnerships, such as the social security program in Pakistan MasterCard announced last week, offer citizens new opportunities to join the financial mainstream.
Around the world, innovations such as prepaid and mobile payments combined with biometrics are enabling more people to take advantage of formal financial services. This is especially apparent in Africa where MasterCard was recently recognized by The African Banker for its work extending financial inclusion across the continent. MasterCard’s broad-based collaboration with public and private sector entities is quickly bringing the benefits and security of electronic payments to the continent’s largest economies, where financial exclusion is still prevalent.
- MasterCard’s work with the South African Social Security Agency has helped showcase the impact of delivering government funds via electronic payments and encouraged other governments to explore these solutions.
- In Nigeria, the government launched a national ID program that combines a biometric identification solution with a prepaid payment functionality powered by MasterCard and is the broadest financial inclusion initiative of its kind on the African continent.
- In Egypt, MasterCard partnered with the National Bank of Egypt and Etisalat to unveil the first Arabic mobile money program that enables subscribers to transfer money via their phone.
Earlier this year, MasterCard president and CEO Ajay Banga set the tone on the private sector’s role to provide broader access to financial services for the 2.5 billion adults who lack a simple bank account. “While the risks of not addressing financial inclusion are profound, the benefits are undeniable,” said Banga. “If it’s done well, it can help grow an economy that’s more equitable, sustainable and inclusive.”
But, leading on financial inclusion isn’t new to MasterCard or limited to Africa. In fact, MasterCard has programs designed to bring financial access to over 350 million people around the world including:
- In Brazil, MasterCard’s joint venture with Telefonica created Zuum, a mobile money solution to make deposits or transfers and pay bills easily and securely;
- In Vietnam, a partnership with Viettel and Military Bank to develop a prepaid card linked to the Viettel BankPlus wallet;
- In India, a collaboration with Beam launched a mobile companion prepaid card that allows mobile wallet consumers to transact at physical merchants, online and access ATMs;
- In Turkey, together with the Turkish Government and DenizBank, MasterCard introduced a new Social Aid Card to bring innovation and efficiency to Turkey’s welfare service; and
- In Canada, a collaboration with SelectCore and the City of Toronto launched the City Services Benefit Card, a prepaid card program enabling Toronto residents to instantly receive their Ontario Works benefits through an EMV chip and PIN prepaid MasterCard.
Throughout 2014, MasterCard has continued to lead efforts that expand financial inclusion:
- Issuing new payroll card standards in the United States to help employees take full advantage of the benefits of having their paycheck electronically deposited;
- Launching the MasterCard Center for Inclusive Growth to foster collaborative relationships between academia, governments, nonprofits, the social design community, and the private sector that advance research and investment in sustainable economic growth;
- Partnering with the Inter-American Development Bank to promote economic inclusion in Latin America & the Caribbean;
- Co-authoring “Banking a New Generation” with Child Youth Finance International to help financial institutions, NGOs and governments co-create appropriate and innovative banking and payment products for young people;
- Leading conversations on Financial Inclusion with the World Economic Forum in Davos, Colombia, Nigeria and Philippines; at the China Development Forum; and with the World Bank;
- Conducting the Road to Inclusion study in India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Egypt, and Nigeria that challenges previously-held notions of the unbanked; and
- Continuing to partner with the Better Than Cash Alliance, an organization that works with governments, the development community and the private sector to move towards electronic payments in emerging economies as a pathway to greater financial access.
“We must dispel the myths surrounding financial inclusion,” said Banga. “The 2.5 billion adults without access to financial services are disproportionately women and young people and include many who are employed or living in urban centers. And, there are 106 million unbanked or underbanked people in the United States, so clearly financial inclusion is needed in all markets, not just the developing world.”
MasterCard (NYSE:MA), http://www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard’s products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MasterCardNews, join the discussion on the Cashless Pioneers Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.
@GonzalezCarmen has been ranked the Number One Influencer and @ThingsExpo has been named the Number One Brand in the “M2M 2016: Top 100 Influencers and Brands” by Analytic. Onalytica analyzed tweets over the last 6 months mentioning the keywords M2M OR “Machine to Machine.” They then identified the top 100 most influential brands and individuals leading the discussion on Twitter.
Apr. 25, 2017 05:45 PM EDT Reads: 988
The Internet of Things is clearly many things: data collection and analytics, wearables, Smart Grids and Smart Cities, the Industrial Internet, and more. Cool platforms like Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Intel's Galileo and Edison, and a diverse world of sensors are making the IoT a great toy box for developers in all these areas. In this Power Panel at @ThingsExpo, moderated by Conference Chair Roger Strukhoff, panelists discussed what things are the most important, which will have the most profound e...
Apr. 25, 2017 05:15 PM EDT Reads: 2,164
The age of Digital Disruption is evolving into the next era – Digital Cohesion, an age in which applications securely self-assemble and deliver predictive services that continuously adapt to user behavior. Information from devices, sensors and applications around us will drive services seamlessly across mobile and fixed devices/infrastructure. This evolution is happening now in software defined services and secure networking. Four key drivers – Performance, Economics, Interoperability and Trust ...
Apr. 25, 2017 04:45 PM EDT Reads: 355
@ThingsExpo has been named the Most Influential ‘Smart Cities - IIoT' Account and @BigDataExpo has been named fourteenth by Right Relevance (RR), which provides curated information and intelligence on approximately 50,000 topics. In addition, Right Relevance provides an Insights offering that combines the above Topics and Influencers information with real time conversations to provide actionable intelligence with visualizations to enable decision making. The Insights service is applicable to eve...
Apr. 25, 2017 04:45 PM EDT Reads: 2,632
Multiple data types are pouring into IoT deployments. Data is coming in small packages as well as enormous files and data streams of many sizes. Widespread use of mobile devices adds to the total. In this power panel at @ThingsExpo, moderated by Conference Chair Roger Strukhoff, panelists will look at the tools and environments that are being put to use in IoT deployments, as well as the team skills a modern enterprise IT shop needs to keep things running, get a handle on all this data, and deli...
Apr. 25, 2017 04:30 PM EDT Reads: 2,288
SYS-CON Events announced today that Grape Up will exhibit at SYS-CON's 21st International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on Oct. 31 – Nov 2, 2017, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Grape Up is a software company specializing in cloud native application development and professional services related to Cloud Foundry PaaS. With five expert teams that operate in various sectors of the market across the U.S. and Europe, Grape Up works with a variety of customers from emergi...
Apr. 25, 2017 04:15 PM EDT Reads: 1,996
SYS-CON Events announced today that T-Mobile will exhibit at SYS-CON's 20th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. As America's Un-carrier, T-Mobile US, Inc., is redefining the way consumers and businesses buy wireless services through leading product and service innovation. The Company's advanced nationwide 4G LTE network delivers outstanding wireless experiences to 67.4 million customers who are unwilling to compromise on ...
Apr. 25, 2017 04:00 PM EDT Reads: 941
SYS-CON Events announced today that Hitachi Data Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi LTD., will exhibit at SYS-CON's 20th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City. Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) will be featuring the Hitachi Content Platform (HCP) portfolio. This is the industry’s only offering that allows organizations to bring together object storage, file sync and share, cloud storage gateways, and sophisticated search an...
Apr. 25, 2017 03:04 PM EDT Reads: 254
SYS-CON Events announced today that CollabNet, a global leader in enterprise software development, release automation and DevOps solutions, will be a Bronze Sponsor of SYS-CON's 20th International Cloud Expo®, taking place from June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. CollabNet offers a broad range of solutions with the mission of helping modern organizations deliver quality software at speed. The company’s latest innovation, the DevOps Lifecycle Manager (DLM), supports Value S...
Apr. 25, 2017 03:00 PM EDT Reads: 446
Bert Loomis was a visionary. This general session will highlight how Bert Loomis and people like him inspire us to build great things with small inventions. In their general session at 19th Cloud Expo, Harold Hannon, Architect at IBM Bluemix, and Michael O'Neill, Strategic Business Development at Nvidia, discussed the accelerating pace of AI development and how IBM Cloud and NVIDIA are partnering to bring AI capabilities to "every day," on-demand. They also reviewed two "free infrastructure" pr...
Apr. 25, 2017 02:45 PM EDT Reads: 1,245
With billions of sensors deployed worldwide, the amount of machine-generated data will soon exceed what our networks can handle. But consumers and businesses will expect seamless experiences and real-time responsiveness. What does this mean for IoT devices and the infrastructure that supports them? More of the data will need to be handled at - or closer to - the devices themselves.
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DevOps is often described as a combination of technology and culture. Without both, DevOps isn't complete. However, applying the culture to outdated technology is a recipe for disaster; as response times grow and connections between teams are delayed by technology, the culture will die. A Nutanix Enterprise Cloud has many benefits that provide the needed base for a true DevOps paradigm.
Apr. 25, 2017 02:30 PM EDT Reads: 525
Most technology leaders, contemporary and from the hardware era, are reshaping their businesses to do software in the hope of capturing value in IoT. Although IoT is relatively new in the market, it has already gone through many promotional terms such as IoE, IoX, SDX, Edge/Fog, Mist Compute, etc. Ultimately, irrespective of the name, it is about deriving value from independent software assets participating in an ecosystem as one comprehensive solution.
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New competitors, disruptive technologies, and growing expectations are pushing every business to both adopt and deliver new digital services. This ‘Digital Transformation’ demands rapid delivery and continuous iteration of new competitive services via multiple channels, which in turn demands new service delivery techniques – including DevOps. In this power panel at @DevOpsSummit 20th Cloud Expo, moderated by DevOps Conference Co-Chair Andi Mann, panelists will examine how DevOps helps to meet th...
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SYS-CON Events announced today that Hitachi, the leading provider the Internet of Things and Digital Transformation, will exhibit at SYS-CON's 20th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Hitachi Data Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., offers an integrated portfolio of services and solutions that enable digital transformation through enhanced data management, governance, mobility and analytics. We help globa...
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Five years ago development was seen as a dead-end career, now it’s anything but – with an explosion in mobile and IoT initiatives increasing the demand for skilled engineers. But apart from having a ready supply of great coders, what constitutes true ‘DevOps Royalty’? It’ll be the ability to craft resilient architectures, supportability, security everywhere across the software lifecycle. In his keynote at @DevOpsSummit at 20th Cloud Expo, Jeffrey Scheaffer, GM and SVP, Continuous Delivery Busine...
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Apr. 25, 2017 09:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,092

domain: news


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Supplement firms face injunction for health claims
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
FDA announces a permanent injunction against Brownwood Acres Foods and Cherry Capital Services, and two of their executives as a result of unapproved drug claims and unauthorized health claims about their products, which include liquid glucosamine and salmon oil capsules, agency reports Feb. 22. According to FDA, the firms and executives agreed to a consent decree that prohibits them from manufacturing and distributing products claimed to "cure, treat, mitigate or prevent diseases." Signed by a U.S. District Court in Michigan, the decree requires the firms to remove the claims from the labels of products, Web sites and brochures, and hire an expert to review claims. FDA notes firms cannot make such claims until products "are approved by the FDA as new drugs, exempt from approval as investigational new drugs, or until the claims on the products' label ... comply with the law"...
You may also be interested in...
The first data readout for remdesivir, the much anticipated antiviral for the coronavirus pandemic, is expected in days. Scrip surveys antiviral development and regulatory experts to gauge their interest and the key aspects to watch for in the milestone announcement.
The UK has an “excellent but small diagnostics industry,” so it needs further testing support from related life science industries to tackle the COVID-19 crisis. One of the outcomes of this could be the creation of new big diagnostics industry players.


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The head of the Dash Core Group predicted the death of Bitcoin
The head of the software development company for Dash cryptocurrency - Dash Core Group, Inc., Ryan Taylor, said that in the long run, Bitcoin will...
Last News about Dash [DASH]
Dash (DASH) is an open source cryptocurrency launched in 2014 that allows online shopping and blockchain to publicly disclose every transaction.
Dash managed to improve on the original idea of Bitcoin in several ways, including speed, cost and control.
We bring you the latest Dash news, so you can stay up to date on everything happening in this project.


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This Sunday, Intel announced the creation of the Automotive Security Review Board (ASRB) to help automakers secure cars and drivers in the face of the rising threat of car hacking.
According to the official press release, this board will be focused on running various security audits, creating industry-wide best practices, and sharing advanced cyber-security products for the benefit of both automobile makers and drivers.
To help get things started, the company published the Automotive Security Best Practiceswhitepaper, which sets the baseline for future car cyber-security research.
According to this research paper, automobile makers are faced with security threats that exploit not only software vulnerabilities but also the hardware platform itself, a problem that classic PC makers never faced, and neither did classic anti-virus solutions.
Intel will play a major role in the car cyber-security sector
Some of the recommended best practices include the implementation of secure boot and software attestation functions, usage of trusted execution technology, the presence of a tampering protection system, cryptographic acceleration, active memory protection, and the implementation of device identity directly on the device.
Additionally, Intel’s best practices also call for usage of virtualization techniques when building the car’s software, the usage of isolated software containers, and the enforcement of approved and appropriate behavior for each networked system.
When it comes to network and cloud services, Intel recommends that car makers implement firewalls for all their vehicles, the usage of secure authenticated channels between the car and the cloud, remote monitoring of the vehicle’s activity, the mandatory implementation of over-the-air updates and credential management.
To help mitigate attacks faster, Intel also recommends collaboration among all parties involved, from car makers to dealers, and from government agencies to cyber-security firms.
Intel’s interest in the car security sector is not to be ignored since the company’s CPU’s have been deployed with vehicles from Ford, Hyundai, Infiniti, Kia, and BMW.
He is a well-known expert in mobile security and malware analysis. He studied Computer Science at NYU and started working as a cyber security analyst in 2003. He is actively working as an anti-malware expert. He also worked for security companies like Kaspersky Lab. His everyday job includes researching about new malware and cyber security incidents. Also he has deep level of knowledge in mobile security and mobile vulnerabilities.


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A well-known investor in cryptocurrency startups, Roger Ver, called Bitcoin a cryptocurrency that is subject to censorship. At the same time, Ver said that Bitcoin Cash is a very libertarian (free) asset.
Roger Ver on Bitcoin
Roger Ver, known for his large investments in cryptocurrency startups, has once again talked on Twitter about Bitcoin censorship. According to the investor, people who are critically dependent on the opinion of the state support Bitcoin. This, in turn, affects the rate and makes the cryptocurrency "censored."
Interesting in the section: Bitcoin Gold as alternate currency
At the same time, Ver has spoken positively about the Bitcoin Cash crypto asset. According to the information, the investor considers Bitcoin Cash a free currency that still has not lost its popularity and attractiveness.
"BitcoinCash is still very attractive to the libertarian viewpoint. Bitcoin BTC was overrun by a bunch of censorship supporting economically ignorant state worshipers." – Roger Ver, Twitter.
Roger Ver is considered one of the earliest investors in blockchainBlockchain
is a continuous and sequential block chain of information (digital linked list). When building a blockchain, copies of related blocks are simultaneously stored on multiple computers.Details and crypto startups; he is a Bitcoin millionaire. In the past few years, he gained fame as a supporter of Bitcoin Cash cryptocurrency (hard forkFork
– is the intentional use of one code base of a software project to start another. That is, changing the blockchain code to split it into two.Details of Bitcoin). At the same time, he assures the public that he refused to support digital gold due to its low throughput, informal centralization, and high fees.
In addition, Roger Ver (who declined the US citizenship) has repeatedly spoken about inflation as a way for the government to take money from citizens. Ver himself often says that he "refused the United States" because of political bias. Few people know that this happened after Ver served a prison term for selling explosives illegally.
A popular investor said that Bitcoin is a "currency with censorship". Let us remind you that last year, Roger Ver was accused of using the United Corp Bitcoins illegally.
Editor: Godfrid Brower


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WASHINGTON (FNS) -- A second review has been ordered on the heels of a $500,000 study in which a U.S. Department of Agriculture consultant was unable to conclude whether concentration of ownership in the meat packing industry is keeping meat prices artificially low.
The study, mandated by Congress, examined one year of business within the meat packing industry, which continues to show market share growth among a small number of packers.
The four largest packers accounted for 82% of steer and heifer slaughter in 1994, compared with 36% in 1980. "The study does not definitively answer the questions and concerns of producers and others about the potential effect of concentration in agriculture," said Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman.
Glickman has appointed a 21-member advisory committee to continue looking at the issue, and has asked for a report by June of this year. Scheduled to have its first meeting Feb. 27, the committee is comprised of various officials whose interests are touched by livestock prices, including Tim Hammonds, president and chief operating officer of the Food Marketing Institute, Washington.
Among the critics of the meat packing industry concentration are ranchers, farmers and small feedlot operators, who complain that having fewer slaughterhouses to buy their cattle keeps prices low. Another take on the price issue is that the oversupply of cattle is hurting prices, which in the past year have reached new lows at the retail level.
J. Patrick Boyle, president of the Arlington, Va.-based American Meat Institute, said it was significant that the study found no incidence of wrongdoing among meat packers. He also criticized Glickman's call for further examination of the issue.
"Given the overwhelming evidence that industry structure is not to blame for low livestock prices, AMI questions the need for yet another review of the production and packing industries' structure," he said in a statement.


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Intel lost on Thursday its challenge against a record 1.06-billion-euro ($1.44 billion) fine handed down by European Union antitrust regulators in 2009 for blocking rival AMD.
By decision of 13 May 2009 the European Commission imposed a fine of €1.06 billion on Intel for having abused
its dominant position on the market for x86 central
processing units (CPUs) in infringement of the competition rules of the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA).
According to the Commission, Intel abused its dominant position on the worldwide market for x86 CPUs from October 2002 to October 2007, by implementing a strategy aimed at foreclosing from the market its only serious competitor, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD). The Commission said Intel was giving rebates to PC makers Dell, Hewlett-Packard Co , NEC and Lenovo for buying most of their computer chips from Intel. The authority said Intel also paid German retail chain Media Saturn Holding to stock only computers with its chips.
Judges at the Luxembourg-based General Court backed the Commission's decision.
"The Commission demonstrated to the requisite legal standard that Intel attempted to conceal the anti-competitive nature of its practices and implemented a long term comprehensive strategy to foreclose AMD from the strategically most important sales channels," the court said.
"The General Court considers that none of the arguments raised by Intel supports the conclusion that the fine imposed is disproportionate. On the contrary, it must be considered that fine is appropriate in the light of the facts of the case," judges said. Intel can take its case further to the Court of Justice of the European Union but only on points of law.


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Associations: CIECA Announces 3E Ventures as New Corporate Member
BASF will continue to provide CARSTAR shops with its Glasurit and R-M paint systems across the United States.
BASF Automotive Refinish has signed an agreement with Driven Brands, extending its 25-year relationship with CARSTAR North America. As a preferred partner, BASF will continue to provide CARSTAR shops with its Glasurit and R-M paint systems across the United States.
“We’re proud to continue to work with elite partners, like BASF, who allow us to offer exceptional products at reasonable costs to our customers throughout the country,” said Michael Macaluso, president – CARSTAR North America. “I look forward to continued, close work with them for years to come as we continue to grow and provide best-in-class service to our customers.”
As the No. 1 chemical supplier to the automotive industry with a 151-year history, BASF is committed to being a market leader in advanced technology and services for the refinish market. Its Glasurit and R-M paint brands are supported by an industry-leading number of OEM approvals and are backed by one of the strongest R&D investments in the industry.
“BASF and CARSTAR have enjoyed a win-win relationship,” said Denise Kingstrom, BASF distribution director. “Our expertise and dedicated teams will continue to provide CARSTAR customers with the highest quality products and services to maximize paint and material profitability, combined with market-leading training and support.”


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Missed the GamesBeat Summit excitement? Don’t worry! Tune in now to catch all of the live and virtual sessions here.
Mino Games unveiled the alpha version of Dimensionals, a new gaming franchise that will eventually feature the first character-driven RPG (role-playing game) to use AI to power unique, unscripted character interactions and real-time, shareable mods.
Unlike conventional RPG franchises, the Web3-based Dimensionals will also feature limited edition collector’s items like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), toys, comics and trading cards to deliver the most compelling, personalized gaming experiences.
The company made the announcement at the inaugural 3XP Web3 Gaming Expo today in Pasadena, California.
The company said today’s modern gamers expect more engaging and personalized experiences that many traditional RPG franchises don’t deliver, such as live streaming, modding, user-generated content, guilds and active Discord communities. Dimensionals will deliver on all of these aspects, including using A.I. and Web3 tech to deliver the most compelling characters, interactive storylines, and personalized gameplay ever, said Sasha MacKinnon, CEO of Mino Games, in an interview with GamesBeat.
“What we’ve come to realize is that Web3 and AI are creating very interesting ways to not only introduce games but engage the community,” MacKinnon said. “We’ve done a lot of community building, which is culminating in these alpha trials.”
He added, “Instead of just doing a behind-closed-doors alpha test, what we’re doing is this weekly series of live events in a game-show style for the alpha. That’s happening every week. There will be different characters, different game modes, giveaways — which we can do because of NFTs. It’s going to be streamed. It’s really like this totally new way of launching the game.”
Dimensionals – Heroes of the Multiverse
Dimensionals is a fast-paced, high stakes and action-packed RPG with a cartoon art style. Players collect an army of unique heroes to save the multiverse. Gamers enter the Rift to battle enemies, explore new dimensions, recruit new Dimensionals, discover new stories, team up and compete for valuable collector’s items. Designed to be livestreamed, gamers will be able to create, play, and share their mods in real-time with other gamers.
“Today’s RPGs need a storytelling upgrade using the latest technology,” said MacKinnon. “Dimensionals is a character-driven franchise built for modern gamers on modern technology. Our mission is to build the next $100B gaming franchise that includes the game, cards, toys, digital collectibles, comics, an animated TV series, and a wide variety of other merchandise. Mino Games is using Web3 and AI to connect all of these products so players can play, collect, own, compete, and create in ways that weren’t possible before.”
In addition, players’ heroes will truly take on a life of their own through AI hero characters will have their own memories, unique personalities, and unscripted dialogue that evolve as gamers interact with them – making an entirely new way to experience RPGs.
In Dimensionals, NFTs are limited edition collector’s items that can be used in the game and tie together every part of the gaming franchise, including the game, trading cards, toys, digital collectibles, comics, animated TV series, and other merchandise.
Weekly alpha trials
Starting in the third quarter this year, gamers can experience Dimensionals by competing for limited edition collectibles in weekly alpha trial tournaments while Mino Games’ CEO, Sasha MacKinnon, livestreams the new alpha build each week on Discord. Each week for six weeks, Dimensionals will open up for 48 hours with a new raid, story, enemies and characters.
“We’re trying something different to engage our community. Our alpha trials are almost like a game show rather than a closed playtest,” added MacKinnon.” You can play, compete, watch, chat with the developers, and win super rare Dimensionals NFTs – all live in Discord.”
NFT holders of Eve, Dimensionals’ mascot, are eligible to play and win giveaways (e.g., toys, in-game consumables, NFTs of heroes) in the alpha trials on Mac and Windows desktop apps. Gamers can apply to be whitelisted for Eve here and get access to exclusive channels, products, and events in Dimensionals.
Dimensionals will be a cross-platform game available on desktop (Windows and Mac), mobile (iOS and Android), and major consoles (PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch). Mino Games will be releasing various AI and other features throughout this year and beyond.
Mino Games is a creator of character-driven games and a pioneer in Web3 gaming with its latest franchise, Dimensionals. Since launching in 2011, the company has garnered more than 60 million downloads for its mobile games with players in more than 90 countries. Mino Games has raised more than $25 million to date.
MacKinnon said he believes NFTs are much more powerful when it comes to launching limited-edition collectibles.
“They’re much better than trading cards, stamps, and toys because they’re on the blockchain, which means they’re programmable,” MacKinnon said. “They are instantly tradeable. They’re verifiable. The marginal cost of creation and distribution is approaching zero.
“Tying that deeply into every part of what we’re doing, whether it’s the giveaways in the alpha trials, whether it’s the live events in the game, people will compete to get these extremely rare cards,” MacKinnon said.
In tests so far, the metrics are much better in terms of spending, distribution and engagement, he said. Creators are incented to participate since they can do their own giveaways.
“We’re looking to prove this out over the course of the next three months to six months as we go to alpha trials and then beta trials,” MacKinnon said.
The company is doing its first live demo of the game at 3XP in Pasadena, California. MacKinnon noted NFT sales and prices have been in the doldrums, but they have started a recovery. That is based on macroeconomic conditions, he said, but he believes it will “take a well-executed game that has meaningful on-chain integration to bring the space back into a bull run.”
GamesBeat’s creed when covering the game industry is “where passion meets business.” What does this mean? We want to tell you how the news matters to you — not just as a decision-maker at a game studio, but also as a fan of games. Whether you read our articles, listen to our podcasts, or watch our videos, GamesBeat will help you learn about the industry and enjoy engaging with it. Discover our Briefings.


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Microsoft's Windows 7 is sucking the life out of laptops and netbooks at a faster rate than its predecessors, according to computer users who posted their complaints on a support forum maintained by the software maker.
Some users are complaining that the operating system is draining their batteries at an alarming rate, while others say the OS is issuing false alerts, warning them that their batteries are about to run dry despite having a full charge.
"Unbelievable!" wrote forum member RVBoston, in a post Wednesday. "It is Feb 2010, so this issue is already 8 months old and no fix from MS?"
Not that I have noticed, at least by looking at the LED HDD indicator light. My guess is that it is an issue with certain brands of HDD's, but I'm probably wrong. Do you plan on buying the RTM before it starts the whole shutting down every 2 hours thing or reverting back to XP or Vista?


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December 15 (SeeNews) - Romanian retailer of sneakers and street fashion items GRID has opened its first store in Bulgaria, following investment of some 250,000 euro ($282,000), it said on Wednesday.
In addition to the 113-square metre store located in Sofia's Serdica Center mall GRID plans to open at least two more stores in Bulgaria by the end of 2022, the retailer said in a press release.
The launch of an online store for the Bulgarian market is expected in the third quarter of next year, the company said.
GRID was founded in 2018, with its first store in Pitesti city. Its domestic network currently includes 13 stores in Romania.
($ = 0.8864 euro)


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In many ways, Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are the use case that first introduced cryptocurrencies into a common lexicon. People who were previously uninterested in the benefits of decentralization suddenly ethereum (ethereum 6.52%) Buy a pack of NBA Top Shot NFTs and celebrities from Justin Bieber to Neymar Jr. proudly show off their bored monkeys online.
While NFT sales have cooled in 2022 as cryptocurrency prices fell, there are plenty of signs that the NFT market is picking up. for example, flowis best known as the home of the NBA’s top shots, meta platform (NASDAQ: Meta) announced that Instagram now supports Flow NFTs.Here are 3 of the best ciphers NFTs At an exciting and liquid time for the asset class.
Ethereum: Category Creator
Neil Patel (Ethereum): It probably comes as no surprise to readers that Ethereum tops the list as the most famous and popular cryptocurrency for blockchain networks and NFTs. Launched in 2015, it is his second oldest and second most valuable crypto. BitcoinAs of the afternoon of August 10, Ethereum had a market cap of $224 billion.
Be the first blockchain to adopt smart contract A huge boon for Ethereum, its native token Ether has returned an incredible 56,500% since its inception. A smart contract is a computer program written on the blockchain that runs when certain conditions are met between two parties. They introduce features, new features, and applications to the blockchain. One of them is her NFT.
The largest NFT marketplace, OpenSea, was first launched on the Ethereum network. This means that if a buyer wants to buy his NFT from OpenSea, he has to buy Ether first, increasing the demand and value of Ethereum. Although down from its May 2021 peak, OpenSea has generated over $500 million in Ethereum NFT trading volume over the past 30 days.
Ethereum’s dominance in NFTs can also be demonstrated by looking at the top two collections of CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club. Together, they have a collection value of about $3 billion. They are issued and sold on the Ethereum blockchain to support the demand for Ether. And most recently, luxury jewelry maker Tiffany & Co. released her NFT collection, called NFTiffs, to her CryptoPunks owners on her Ethereum blockchain.
Ethereum has the largest number of crypto developers working to evolve the network and build apps for its users, a positive sign for its prospects.and the future mergeIt improves Ethereum’s scalability and makes it even more attractive to NFT creators and collectors. As a result, no other cryptocurrency has surpassed Ethereum as the best cryptocurrency for NFTs.
RJ Fulton (Sorana): The situation in which Ethereum has dominated the NFT market may be changing. It accounts for over 80% of all NFT turnover, but like other blockchains Solana (Sol 10.77%) Competing for market share. Compared to Ethereum, Solana offers incredibly fast speeds and low fees. This is what NFT artists and collectors are increasingly asking for.
Thanks to integrations with the most popular NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea and Rarible, Solana gained more exposure last year than in all previous years combined. At some point this year, Solana did the unthinkable and thanks to the release of her Trippin’ Ape Tribe collection in May, he surpassed Ethereum in his 24-hour NFT trading volume. Already accomplished one of his feats this year thanks to his arguably most popular Solana-based NFT project, Okay Bears. This collection of 10,000 uniquely designed profile pictures of him cracked the top 50 of all his NFT total volume, and had more trading volume than all other Ethereum NFTs at some point last April. is the only non-Ethereum based project he was able to generate in a day. .
In addition to its success, in early 2022 Meta Platforms will bring the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram to Adding NFTs Joining the network, Solana is one of four blockchains selected. The integration has yet to be rolled out, but once Meta exposes his NFT capabilities, Solana will be able to further increase its presence with users around the world as a viable alternative to Ethereum.
If current trends continue, Ethereum should continue to lose share of the NFT market. At some point in 2021, Ethereum accounted for 95% of all NFT sales, but now that number has dropped to around 80%. As users look for other alternatives, blockchains like Solana have an opportunity to build a reputation as formidable opponents of Ethereum.
Despite the significant drop in NFT prices this year, the popularity of Solana NFTs has definitely increased. If you don’t want to know what profile picture NFTs will explode with next, but want to get in touch with the increasingly diverse NFT blockchain space, a position at Solana is a must.
Porygon: Up-and-coming Dark Horse
Michael Byrne (polygon): what will you do coca colaReddit, Walt Disney and meta platforms all have in common? All four recently announced that they have chosen to work together polygon (matic 11.19%) In various NFT projects. Ethereum is the 800lb gorilla in the room and Solana is probably the top challenger, polygon An interesting dark horse that has built successful partnerships and is gaining traction. Thanks to our low fees, scaling capabilities, fast transaction times, and climate-friendly profile, we are a natural partner for these blue-chip companies looking to enter the crypto space.
Walt Disney has selected Polygon for the 2022 Disney Accelerator Program. It is a “business development program designed to accelerate the growth of innovative companies around the world.” Disney probably sees Polygon and the team as a good way to leverage the company’s vast intellectual property catalog for his NFTs. Reddit has also chosen to create a new Collectibles Avatar NFT marketplace on Polygon. Reddit highlights Polygon’s choice due to its commitment to sustainability and low transaction fees. The NFT was designed by a Reddit artist and the proceeds support these Reddit users. Reddit NFT owners can use the NFT as a profile picture and get a license to use her NFT on and off Reddit.Not to be outdone, Meta Platforms’ Instagram currently supports Ethereum, Polygon, and flow blockchain We enable users in over 100 countries to view NFTs on our platform.
Polygon isn’t just being used by media empires and tech companies looking to make headlines with Web3. Coca-Cola used Polygon to distribute generative art NFTs of Coca-Cola bottles to existing Coca-Cola NFT holders to celebrate International Friendship Day.
Polygon may not have the marquee collection of Bored Apes and Okay Bears that Ethereum and Solana have, but it circles the field when it comes to partnering with companies and has a bright future.
The NFT market has been turbulent in 2022 as cryptocurrency prices fell, but this is an exciting emerging asset class that is starting to make its way into multiple industries, and these cryptocurrencies will be open to participation. Three of the best ways.
Randy Zuckerberg, former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister of Meta Platform CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of the Motley Fool’s board of directors. Michael Byrne We have positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana. Neil Patel He holds positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum and Meta Platforms, Inc. RJ Fulton We have positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions and endorses Bitcoin, Ethereum, Metahi Platforms, Polygon, Solana and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool’s U.S. Headquarters has received $145 long calls for Walt Disney’s January 2024, Coca-Cola’s January 2024 $47.50 long calls, and Walt Disney’s January 2024 $155 long calls. We recommend short calls. The Motley Fool Disclosure policy.


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Costco sold more than 2500 rings under the brand name of Tiffany and made $3.7 million from the sales. But it seems that selling those rings with Tiffany name cost them many times more than how much they earned. Costco is fined for $19 million by Tiffany & co for using their brand name by the federal judge recently. According to the U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York Laura Taylor Swain, Costco Company has illegitimately utilized the brand name of Tiffany for making the sales of the rings and other marketing purposes. This decision of the judge was based on the 2015 jury verdict which displayed that the company has made more than $3.7 million in profits by unauthorized usage of the brand name against the argument put forward by Costco stating that the word Tiffany is used with the reference to the ring design and settings.
The decision was in favor of Tiffany wherein the judge announced that the company would make payment of $11.1 million against the losses suffered by Tiffany due to the actions of Costco and also bear the punitive damages of $8.25 million. Also, it was cleared that moving forward Costco cannot use the word Tiffany to describe any of their product line of Jewellery. Tiffany has been very happy about the ruling and said that the decision would strengthen their product brand name and increase its value in addition to sending a strong message to all the companies involved in the intrusion of illegally and without authorization using their brand name or associate their products with their brand name.
Costco in their defense said that the case wasn’t about using the brand name of the company. This was the actual scenario and they were not involved in selling any imitation jewelry including rings under the brand name of Tiffany & Co. They also said that the jewelry sold in their outlets didn’t have any stamping or marking under the name of Tiffany & Co and had the name of those original companies that manufactured those products. Even no written document including the sales receipt had the name Tiffany or Tiffany & Co mentioned on it. The list of 2500 purchases was submitted of all the sales done by the Costco Company and Tiffany was able to find only 10 customers who misunderstood the usage of word Tiffany to be linked to Tiffany & Co. even Tiffany has not mentioned in their claim they might have lost a single customer to Costco due to misunderstanding of the sign.


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When Motorola announced its new Moto X Style earlier today, the company said it had one of the top three smartphone cameras in the world, based on testing by the experts at DxOMark. Now those test results have been published, and it turns out Motorola was not lying. Its new handset is actually ranked the second-best smartphone […]
Get ready to say au revoir to that unwanted Google+ account you randomly get a friend requests on once a year. Google announced today that in the coming months the company will allow you to create a YouTube Channel, or Gmail account, without creating a Google+ account. And for those of us who were forced […]
Since their September launch, Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have produced record-setting revenue and sales for Apple, but looking beyond financials, the handset also is radically changing the reading habits of those who own the large-sized devices, according to news-reading service Pocket.
Pocket recently analyzed 2 million article and video opens and examined the reading behavior of readers both before and after the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. In particular, the study compared how iPhone and iPad usage changed after the recent iPhone launch.
According to the results, customers with an iPhone 5s and an iPad spent an equal amount of time with each device. As users adopted the iPhone 6, however, they spent considerably more time reading on their iPhones than on their iPads, with users choosing their iPhone over the iPad 72 percent of the time.
This trend was even greater among iPhone 6 Plus owners, who grabbed their iPhones 80 percent of the time when they wanted to read. The big screen of the iPhone 6 Plus also increased video watching by 40 percent.
Even before it was announced, analysts expected the larger-screened iPhone 6 and 6 Plus would cannibalize iPad sales, especially for the 7.9-inch iPad mini. Overall, iPad sales are on the decline, dropping as much as 12.7 percent year over year as the tablet market begins to slow.


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2018 Bugatti Chiron Sport revealed
Faster around a handling circuit... yep, that's what the Chiron needed to be.
If there's one thing Bugatti knows how to do, it's speed. The Veyron was fast, the Veyron Super Sport was faster and then, just when you thought there was no more 'fast' to go around, the Volkswagen Group's performance darling unveiled the Chiron.
Now, the fastest Bugatti has been made faster around a circuit, thanks to a strict diet and a new Sport badge. Unveiled in Geneva, it's a full five seconds faster than the standard Chiron around the Nardo handling circuit in Italy.
That quicker lap time comes courtesy of an 18kg weight saving – thank lightweight wheels, carbon-fibre stabilisers, a carbon intercooler cover and carbon-fibre windscreen wipers, along with a new rear window and exhaust deflector – and a handling package.
The rear-axle differential has been "optimised" for sharper handling, there's a new Dynamic Torque Vectoring function capable of actively shuffling grunt from side-to-side to "improve the steering behaviour and agility" of the Chiron. Bugatti says the shock absorbers are 10 per cent stiffer than stock, too, provided the car is running in Handling Mode.
In 'EB Mode' the Sport should behave just like its (slightly) less-focused stablemate.
Power comes from the same quad-turbo W16 engine you get in the standard Chiron, making the same 1103kW and 1600Nm. The 100km/h sprint blows by in 2.5 seconds, and top speed is limited to 420km/h to protect the tyres.
You'll be able to tell the Sport from the Chiron by its new alloy wheels and quad-pipe exhaust setup. As you'd expect, the paint job can be customised to the owner's desire, and there's a mind-boggling array of trim choices on offer.
Base price is predictably eye-watering: €2.65 million in Europe, or US$3.26 million ($4.2 million) including transport, customs costs, taxes and fees. Deliveries are set to start at the end of 2018.
MORE: Everything Bugatti


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Would you pay 5p for every supermarket plastic bag? How about an extra 5 pennies for a first class stamp? It’s that time again when we get to feature the best of this week’s Conversations and comments.
We’re sending fewer letters than ever before, and it could lead to a rise in stamp prices. This doesn’t bother Shire of Rose, who feels a 5p increase isn’t enough. And John thinks I should stop sending e-cards and actually buy a stamp.
With much fanfare, Microsoft has released its take on motion-controlled gaming. Our gaming expert Jack Turner argues that Xbox Kinect is a promising outing for the company. Wampdog29 agrees – he’s already enjoying playing Kinect online, unlike Diago who returned his after he found his living room was a too small. Are you tempted by Kinect?
Do you think banning free fast food toys will make children eat healthier? So far opinions are split, with Sharon Hingley tweeting that ‘it’s often the giveaways […] that make them want to go there.’ Simon feels the onus should be on the parents, ‘I don’t see any point in banning the toys really. There is nothing wrong with eating McDonalds – you just have to do so in moderation.’
Have you ever made a complaint on a social networking site? Many of us have – but few of us had a swift, direct response. Luckily, many of you spoke up about the good guys. Helen couldn’t fault Lands’ End clothing, and we had lots of responses on Twitter, with Zoggs, Whole Earth Foods and Hipp Organic all getting gold stars from our followers.
It was a week of mobile phone stories, with Ofcom finding that there just aren’t many people living in areas with poor network coverage. But what happens if you do have poor coverage with your chosen provider? At the moment it’s often too difficult to get out of your contract.
The European Commission has set out to overhaul old privacy laws. It’s a complex document, but we’re ultimately in favour of its step to protect your online privacy rights. What do you think should be done to protect consumers online?
There’s a new ‘super’ camera in development that not only measures your speed, it checks whether you’re wearing a seatbelt (among other offences). The question is whether this is an invasion of privacy. Commenter Ivan Hackman thinks not, ‘if you are in a public place WHAT privacy? When you walk down the street everyone can watch you, so what is the problem if anyone watches when you are driving?’
Should the whole of the UK follow Wales by charging for plastic bags? According to your comments the answer appears to be yes. ‘I have no problem with a tax on plastic bags but it must apply to all purchases,’ says John. Sophie Gilbert goes one step further, ‘If I were charged 20p a pop I’d be surer to remember to take my shopping bags’.
For National Ethical Investment this week, Martyn Saville ponders on why the ‘e’ word has gone out of fashion. He’s chosen to separate the two issues, but he’s challenged by Arthur Jones who argues, ‘Sorry – you can’t separate ethics from finance’.
We’re still drawing attention to shoddy savings accounts, especially those that have impressive names like ‘Liquid Gold’, but just don’t deliver. Now we want you to get involved too – take a moment to email your MP and put pressure on them to support our cause.


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Hardware manufacturers are trying to limit the amount of energy their technology uses, it is about time OS developers did the same
We've all seen the worries that people will need to upgrade their computer systems if they wish to run Vista, thereby leading to the binning of a large amount of perfectly usable kit. However, is it the...
HM Treasury says consultation on taxing plastic waste received highest ever response rate from businesses and the public, with strong support for measures to cut demand for takeaway containers
Three companies team up to develop waste plastics as a raw material for making fuels, chemicals and new plastics
BusinessGreen brings you this week's green economy headlines from around the world
Westcott Venture Park plans to build 15MW direct wire solar farm to make it the first "carbon-negative" business park in the UK


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Are you ready to take your purpose-led business to the next level? Blue Earth Summit 23 is seeking out the UK’s most impactful ventures to join BE100, a prestigious list of innovative companies leading the way in positive market disruption and sustainable practices.
The ventures team behind Blue Earth Summit will collaborate with top investors and experts in climate, technology, and sustainability to identify the top 30 companies from the BE100 list. These businesses will be invited to pitch live to influential global impact investors at the event in October.
Last year, more than 500 businesses applied to pitch at the summit, where over £6 million in investment was raised. Finalists who pitched live and received investment included plastic-free chewing gum Nuud, sustainable period care products company DAME, and sustainable children’s clothes company Bundlee.
Eve Kekeh, the founder of Bundlee, shares her experience: “At Blue Earth Summit, I felt validated about my business. I had a constant flow of investors coming up to me and telling me what we are doing is awesome. I secured investment from Sweaty Betty co-founders Tamara and Simon Hill-Norton. I didn’t even know they were in the audience! Simon saw the pitch, we talked at the networking event afterwards, and they became investors.”
Live pitches are the centrepiece of Blue Earth Summit, which explores the role of disruptive business in transforming how we live and work in the future. This year’s speakers include entrepreneur Deborah Meaden, singer and campaigner Feargal Sharkey, Eden Project founder Sir Tim Smit, Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees, and Riverford CEO Guy Singh-Watson.
In addition to the inspiring talks, workshops, and panels, the summit is committed to supporting clear and tangible solutions to shift the dial towards more regenerative business practices.
Guy Hayler, co-founder of Blue Earth Summit, explains their vision: “We want to support high-growth, high-impact companies that have the potential to disrupt their industries for the better. The #BE100 will give them a profile with investors, and then 30 companies will be selected to pitch live to a room full of the world’s best impact investors. We know that accessing finance is hard and takes time, so our agenda backs investment in innovative businesses that can deliver positive change for people and the planet.”
The BE100 invites applications from three categories: Seed, Growth, and Scale. Seed category encompasses early-stage innovators with revenues of up to £1 million, seeking pre-seed and seed rounds. Growth category includes established brands with proven traction, generating revenues between £1 million and £20 million, actively raising funds from seed to Series A rounds. Lastly, Scale category targets companies with significant market penetration, global demand, and revenues surpassing £20 million. They will have the opportunity to pitch their series A, B, and C rounds.
Eve Kekeh adds: “I applied to pitch because I knew we needed to raise more investment to get to the next stage of growth. We’d built our own rental system, created the website, and done our first round of angel investment. But I needed financial resources to bring on more team members and invest in marketing and brand partnerships. It was such a great opportunity to get in front of so many investors in one room who all cared about sustainability as well as scalability.”


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InStyle, the women’s fashion and beauty magazine known for its photo spreads of celebrities on red carpets, has entered the direct response business with the debut of InStyle By Mail and InStyle.com.
Six-year-old InStyle magazine, which is owned by Time Inc., New York, hopes its print catalog will generate sales and drive consumers online to make purchases as well as increase the magazine’s subscriber base.
The premier InStyle By Mail Holiday Collection 2000-01 catalog, which was designed inhouse, was mailed in late October to 750,000 consumers. Half the recipients were InStyle magazine subscribers. InStyle’s circulation base is 1.3 million.
InStyle is using internal services for list brokerage. Ann Acierno, president of InStyle.com, said that while it is not out of the question that InStyle would use external lists for prospecting at some point, the company has no plans to use an outside list broker.
Glenda Shasho Jones, president/CEO of catalog marketing agency Shasho Jones Direct Inc., New York, expects that InStyle’s catalog will succeed because of its authority as a fashion and beauty resource for its readers.
“All of their authority comes from showing you celebrities and what celebrities do to demonstrate what’s in, what’s not in, what’s hot, what’s not,” she said.
However, the question for InStyle By Mail, according to Shasho Jones, is: “How strong will their level of authority be without those celebrity reinforcements?”
The 8-inch-by-8-inch book was re-mailed this month to 150,000 InStyle subscribers who have a history of shopping via catalogs.
While InStyle launched its Web site, www.instyle.com, in late October, it intends to be open for e-commerce this spring, around the same time that InStyle produces and mails its second print book. Visitors to the site can currently view the holiday catalog online. Though they can e-mail InStyle to request a catalog, they cannot place catalog requests at the site. Visitors will be able to place catalog requests in the future.
Acierno said InStyle plans to produce three or four catalogs next year while concentrating its efforts on the winter holiday season. The merchandise sold in the holiday catalog is not exclusive to InStyle, and not all of the products sold in the catalog are showcased in the magazine.
“In the future, there will be some crossover with the [merchandise sold in the] magazine,” Acierno said, adding that products will be selected for the magazine before they are selected for the catalog. “Where possible, we would purchase things that they’ve already selected [for the magazine].”
While the 40-page holiday book primarily includes gifts for women — such as a gold-plated pewter coin bracelet for $125 and a scarlet chemise for $75 — it also offers gifts for children, including a stuffed turtle beanbag chair for $75 as well as board games and gadgets.
Printing and production of the books are being handled inhouse.
The catalog will be advertised in InStyle and other Time-owned magazines as well as in outside magazines, but Acierno declined to name specific publications. InStyle expects to launch a full-scale ad campaign this spring for its direct response initiative.


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A new Pew Research poll is out which says that 85 percent of adults view the people they meet on social media as being, well, “nice.” This is good news for every company, brand and individual who has gone out of their way to be nice through their social media network, even when the recipient of their kindness might not have deserved it.
Blocked commenters and “Unfriended” individuals aside, it really says something that more than half, heck, more than three quarters of people using social media think of it as a nice place. I can’t recall there being any polls about the Internet in general when it first came out, but as someone who was among the first to venture forth I can tell you, it was like wandering into a deep, dark woods, alone, at night, blindfolded, with raw meat strapped around you.
The Social Web is decidedly different from Web 2.0 or the original Internet. It is a friendly place, perhaps because people cannot so easily hide behind their shield of anonymity. There is a factor of accountability built into social media that forces people (mostly) to behave themselves. This is part of what makes social media a good place for businesses to interact with clients, customers and potential clients and customers. There is freedom to speak your mind, yes, but you have to be sure of what you say and have the facts to back yourself up. You can’t just spout off at the mouth, complain without reason and expect that complaint to go unanswered. People are listening and they respond (you do listen and respond, right?)
We all know that social media marketing is relationship marketing and most of us take that to heart. We strive to be good friends with the people we encounter on the Social Web because that pays big dividends. As a side benefit, it is also making the online world a much nicer place for everyone to visit, which is a good thing.
The overall social and emotional climate of social networking sites (SNS) is a very positive one where adult users get personal rewards and satisfactions at far higher levels than they encounter anti-social people or have ill consequences from their encounters. A nationally representative phone survey of American adults finds that:
85% of SNS-using adults say that their experience on the sites is that people are mostly kind, compared with 5% who say people they observe on the sites are mostly unkind and another 5% who say their answer depends on the situation.


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Life Time Group Holdings Inc., which is working to return to the public markets after years as a privately held company, plans to raise nearly $1 billion in its new initial public offering, the company disclosed Wednesday.
The Chanhassen-based chain of fitness clubs and coworking centers revealed additional details about its IPO hopes in a new securities filing. Life Time plans to sell 46.2 million shares priced between $18 and $21 each. If successful, the IPO could generate as much as $970.2 million at the upper end of the price range.
Renaissance Capital reported that the deal, at its midpoint price, would value Life Time at about $4.1 billion.
That’s roughly the same valuation as when the company was taken private in a leveraged buyout by CEO Bahram Akradi and private equity firms Leonard Green & Partners, TPG and LNK Partners.
Since then, Life Time grew its revenue from $1.3 billion in 2014 to $1.9 billion in 2019, though that figure nosedived in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It also expanded beyond its original fitness focus, adding coworking spaces and residences, and partnering with the likes of mall operator Simon Property Group in a bid to create village-like developments where customers live, work and play.
It also took on plenty of debt, which totaled $2.4 billion in May. Life Time plans to use proceeds from the IPO to pay down some of that debt.
The business took a big blow from pandemic-related shutdowns; revenue fell to $900 million and the company posted a net loss of $360 million. However, Life Time has continued to open clubs and coworking centers — a coworking space in downtown Minneapolis opened this month — and said visits and revenue are on a pace to improve over 2020 levels.


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Year 10 student and business entrepreneur, Laila Beharry has made it through to the final round in a national business competition to win a share of a £10,000 investment to go into growing her American sweets business.
Laila is the owner of LB’s Sweet Tooth – an exclusive retailer of American candy, chocolates, cereal, drinks, crisps, snacks, cakes which she packages and sells to customers all over the UK from her unit in Hillingdon.
The Side Hustle Initiative is a nationwide search for all 14-18-year-olds like Laila who either are already delivering a side hustle or who have an amazing business idea that they are passionate about launching. The opportunity is being run by YourGamePlan, and they’re providing an opportunity for the top 25 individuals to gain access to one to one professional mentoring to support them in evolving their ideas. The top 5 finalists will share a £10,000 investment fund to go straight into growing their business.
Laila will be pitching her business idea to five judges in a ‘Dragons Den’ style this August in the hope of winning a share of £10,000 – the judges include Kully Johal – CEO of Amaryllis Ventures, Enoch Adeyemi FCCA, Sam Smith, CEO of finnCap Group, Richard Snow, Chief Financial Offer of finnCap Group and Baasit Siddiqui – Managing Director of Siddiqui Education Ltd.
On asked more about the set-up of LB’s Sweet Tooth – Laila said:
Last year during the first lockdown, I saw a gap in the market and took advantage of it by being the first business to offer a same day delivery service of American goods in London. I was contacted by influencers and rappers and got promotion on their social media platforms for some of our exclusive items. This made my clientele more celebrity based. I have made very good friendships with many celebrities from this, such as Central Cee (1.2m Instagram followers and one of the biggest artists in the UK), his family are regular buyers from me and I see him all the time.
However, Laila quickly realised the importance of pivoting her business to focus on website orders and also the ability to provide a delivery service for customers:
My business blew up in December 2020 and was extremely busy over the Christmas period. However, after this I noticed there was a massive spike in American candy businesses, proving that I had a huge impact on this. I launched my website on my birthday- 8th May 2021 and that has increased my sales massively as people can order direct at whatever time they like, instead of having to wait on a reply from myself. I do everything myself, such as website updates, packing and posting orders, making stock purchases and contacting suppliers! I have a paid driver that does deliveries around London. I am now looking to expand my business into importing my own products from America and other countries and sell my retail items at incredibly competitive prices, and supply to other small businesses.
Another Global Academy student, Ronnie Koldashi in Year 12 also got through to the first round of the competition with his unique trainer reseller business – Realistkrepz. Ronnie uses a mix of platforms including Depop, Snapchat, Instagram and eBay to build audiences to his streetwear brand.
Students with a passion for business and enterprise should join Global Academy where enterprise, business and commercial activity sits at the heart of everything we do when thinking about creating media products for audiences in today’s ever increasing commercial market.


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Obama's indecision: In NH, only Ayotte urges action 2Concealed controversy: Our 'Mother, may I' gun policy 3Delana and Samuel Curtis a marriage not made in heaven 0Another View Frank Guinta: I am uniquely qualified to represent NH in Congress 2Homeless man faces DWI charges in Dover 0Free school meals rejected as Manchester board bucks federal program 8Proposed hike for Manchester's driver education course reversed Nike Air Vapormax Flyknit With Jeans 1With SNHU merger on hold, search renewed for NHIA president 0Sox blow lead in ninth, beat Blue Jays in 10th 0
a final determination.
Canaan boy dead hours after chest injury in fall onto tree stump
Frank said that based on the initial investigation it appears that Robert's death was accidental in nature, but an autopsy is being performed today to determine the cause of death. In the meantime, Frank said the case is under investigation.
Veteran Arizona officer named Rindge police chief 3NH gun license form must change, critics say 8Rimmon Heights honors Manchester Community Policing Division 0Three teens sent to area hospitals after crash on Blackwater Road at Rochester Dover border 0Motorcyclist dies in Route 302 crash 1First Coffee with a Cop session goes smoothly 1Plaistow begins search for new police chief 0Upcoming selectmen's meeting stirring controversy among Bow's firefighters 3Manchester police to hold with a Cop event 0
Bay State man hurt in Ripley Falls fall READER COMMENTS: 0
Frank said the family of Robert Rudder as well as the emergency responders who arrived on the scene were obviously shaken by the tragedy.
On Wednesday evening, Indian River School fifth grader Robert Rudder was playing outside with his 14 year old brother when he apparently fell and hit his chest on a tree stump, according to Canaan Police Chief Sam Frank. The stump was about a foot in diameter and sticking out of the ground about two inches.
Canaan Police Department issued a statement Friday afternoon with preliminary findings of an autopsy performed to identify the cause of death.
autopsy results before making Nike Uptempo Release Date 2018
UPDATE Falling into a tree stump didn't kill 10 year old Canaan boy, say investigators, but the death does appear to be from natural causes.
When emergency responders arrived they found Robert's parents administering CPR to their son. Robert was transported to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon and was later pronounced dead.
CANAAN A freak accident appears to have been behind the death of a 10 year old Canaan boy, but police are waiting for Black And Gold Nike Uptempo
after the fall, the boy didn't appear to have suffered a serious injury, said Frank.
But a few hours later, at 8:24 pm, police and Canaan ambulance personnel were called to the Rudder home at 12 Nicks Lane. Robert had lost consciousness and stopped breathing.
"The initial investigation revealed that the child may have suffered an injury to the chest a couple of hours prior to the child collapsing while playing in the backyard of the residence.
Dan Tuohy's Granite Status: Gun group endorses Bob SmithREADER COMMENTS: 0
"It's pretty bad," he said. "A lot of the officers and EMTs have young kids, so to see a 10 year old kid get killed hits home real hard."
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text: The iconic racing game Ridge Racer returns with a vengeance! With its latest release the adrenaline-pumping action of the game is sure to capture fans once more. Ridge Racer was a hit in the gaming world ever since it was featured at the PlayStation 3 E3 in 1995. In the present, the excitement for this game has been reignited by the release of a new version. The beloved franchise is getting a makeover, promising an immersive and thrilling gaming experience. The teaser shows off the high-speed action and dynamic visuals of the game, as well as its intense gameplay. The game's debut at E3 has created a buzz with fans and critics. Ridge Racer's iconic status will ensure that it remains a racing game staple for years to come. Gamers can look forward to the same heart-pounding action and drift-packed excitement that made Ridge Racer such a legendary franchise. The announcement has inspired nostalgia and excitement among those who fondly remember playing the original game. The prospect of a new and improved version has rekindled interest in the series, attracting both longtime fans and brand-new players. Ridge Racer returns to the gaming industry with a legacy that is well-established. The game will be a hit again with racing fans because of its timeless appeal and enduring popularity. As the release date draws near, the gaming world is eagerly anticipating the chance to experience the adrenaline rush that Ridge Racer brings. The upcoming release promises to be a thrilling ride, whether it is nostalgia for the original game or a new experience. Ridge Racer is still going strong, with its legacy and impact intact. It's ready to capture a new generation.


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The olive oil leaves the year with good prices in origin, although with a downward trend since the beginning of the campaign, and a strong international demand, which contrasts with the continued decline of the internal market in recent months, due to the transfer of consumption to the sunflower.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment (Mapama) takes stock of the sector and notes that «liquid gold» is increasingly sold outside our borders.
THE DECLINE OF THE INTERNAL DEMAND IN THE OLIVE OILS IS EVIDENT AND SO SHOW IT THE LATEST DATA OF THE PACKAGING
The 2016-17 campaign (from October 2016 to September) resulted in a new turnover record – the value exceeds the previous campaign by more than 600 million euros – while, in volume, the second highest figure is reached for export, after 2013/14.
There is an increase in volumes exported to Italy (+30%) compared to the 2015-16 campaign; in third countries, the increases in Australia (+ 15%), Brazil (+6%) and Japan (+5%) stand out, although there was a decline in outflows to China (-20%), Russia (-18) %) and the US (-6%).
The trend continues and global marketing during the first two months of the new 2017-2018 campaign (October and November of this year) remains strong -with a slight fall of 3 %-, thanks to the good performance of the foreign market.
And it is that the exports, with still provisional data for the month of November, are estimated in 153,700 tons, with an increase of 4% with respect to the previous campaign, some statistics that contrast with the internal market that, with 63,600 tons in the same period, collapsed 17% year-on-year.
The decline in domestic demand for the «olives» is evident and this is shown by the latest data from the packers adhered to the Anierac employer, who sold just over 274.79 million liters of these oils -between virgins and refined- in the first eleven months of the year, which means a sharp fall of 13.67%, with only December remaining to close 2017.
At the same time, sunflower oil, its main rival, shoots up 21.52%, reaching 278.66 million liters in total.In the first two months of the 2017-2018 campaign (October and November), olive oil output was 53.88 million liters, 5.35% less year-on-year, with decreases in sales of virgins ( -24%) and «soft» and «intense» (-6.5% and -28%), although that of extra virgin rose (+16.4%).
THE FORECASTS OF THE CURRENT COLLECTION CAMPAIGN ARE NOT VERY GOOD AND THERE ARE NO PERSPECTIVES FOR THE NEXT BE BETTER
At the agronomic level, the accumulated oil production (October and November) amounts to 221,100 tons, resulting from the milling of almost 1.24 million tons; the total volume of stock stands at 325,500 tons, according to official data.
The agrarian organizations emphasize that the forecasts of the current collection campaign are not very good and neither are there any prospects for the next one to be better because it has hardly rained in the producing areas of southern Spain and the drought will weigh.
This is how the Secretary General of UPA-Andalusia, Miguel Cobos, remembers that there will be a «short» harvest and the next one will be «more complicated», because the dry ones will be worse due to the lack of rain and there is little water stored.In the case of Andalusia, the first producer, a 16% decrease in production is expected compared to last season, to 884,900 tons, while in Spain as a whole the fall will be 15%, estimating 1,090,000 tons, indicate from Asaja-Jaén.
As for prices on oil, commercial agents went out this Friday 29 to buy extra virgin from 3,474 euros per kilo; virgins from 3,426 euros and lamps from 3,372 euros, according to today’s price observatory of Infaoliva.


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HTC promises HTC10 update news “in the next few days” as One M9 Nougat rolls out
HTC EMEA lightning rod Graham Wheeler just took to Twitter again to announce that the HTC One M9 in mainland Europe, Turkey and South Africa is getting the Nougat update today, with “more countries to follow over the coming days”.
When questioned in the comments about the halted HTC10 update, Wheeler said he will have some news “in the next few days”. Wheeler also said the company is “still looking into an issue found” – indicating the halt may have been down to a single (albeit very large) problem rather than a number of them.
More countries to follow over the coming days.— Graham Wheeler (@wheelergd) February 2, 2017
A screenshot shared on Wheeler’s Twitter shows a build number of 4.14.401.7 and a hefty 1.27 GB install file. So be sure you have ample space and battery on your device before making the jump to Android Nougat. Let us know how you like it when it arrives on your device.


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You are here
ANKENY, Iowa -- Casey's General Stores Inc., which last year was threatened by an unfriendly takeover attempt by Canada-based Alimentation Couche-Tard, is apparently back in acquisition mode.
The Iowa-based convenience store chain announced it signed a definitive agreement to purchase five c-stores from QuikTrip Corp., the Tulsa, Okla.-based chain of about 550 stores. All of the acquired stores are located in the Springfield, Mo., metropolitan area operating under the QuikTrip banner. The stores will be immediately rebranded to Casey's once the transaction is completed.
"Springfield has been a great market for Casey's, and we are excited to expand our presence there," said Robert J. Myers, president and CEO of Casey's. "These stores have been well maintained and are high volume locations that will be a perfect fit for our proprietary prepared food program."
Casey’s expects this acquisition to be immediately accretive to earnings in their first full year of operation. The acquisition is subject to certain regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the company's first quarter of the fiscal 2012 year and will be funded by existing cash and cash flow.
Casey’s owns the fifth-largest number of company-operated convenience stores in the U.S., with more than 1,500 units, mostly located in secondary markets and small towns.


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The 11th annual Global Wellness Summit (GWS) will take place next year at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida Oct. 9-11. This invitation-only international gathering brings together leaders and visionaries to positively shape the future of the $3.72 trillion global wellness industry. The Summit attracts delegates from more than 40 countries and has been held in Tyrol, Austria, Bali, Indonesia, New Delhi, India, Mexico City, Mexico, Marrakech, Morocco, Interlaken, Switzerland, and Istanbul, Turkey. The location changes each year, but the goal of bringing together top-level decision makers from around the world to spend time shaping the future of the wellness industries has remained constant. The Summit also ensures that attendees exchange ideas, debate, and strategize for the good of the wellness industry, the consumers it serves, and for the planet as a whole.
Next year’s 2017 GWS location, The Breakers, is known as a beloved grand dame hotel and for hosting the rich and famous since it first opened in 1896. The Spa at The Breakers has recently undergone an $8 million renovation designed by spa consultant Sylvia Sepielli of Sylvia Planning And Design (SPAd). The spa incorporates the resort’s Italian Renaissance style and draws inspiration from its oceanfront locale throughout its 20,000 square feet and 17 treatment rooms.


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Carrier promotional offers for new smartphones are pretty typical. But in the wake of this year’s iPhone 11 announcement, T-Mobile is doing something a bit different.
Most of the time, new smartphone deals require that you switch from another carrier or add a new line to your account. But, as it has done in the past, the Uncarrier is offering steep discounts on new iPhone 11 models, even for current customers.
T-Mobile’s new promotion is a trade-in offer, but you could potentially get up to 50 percent off a new iPhone 11 or iPhone 11 Pro on a 24-month installment agreement. The amount you get seems dependent on what device you have to trade in.
- If you trade in an iPhone 7, you can get half off the $699 iPhone 11.
- Trade an iPhone XS Max in and you can get half off the $1,099 iPhone 11 Pro Max.
It’s a great deal if you’re a current T-Mobile subscriber due for an upgrade. You won’t need to add any additional lines, you’ll just get a nice discount on a new device.
The discount you get depends on what device you have to trade in. Here’s the full breakdown.
- Save $550 when you trade in an iPhone XS Max (64GB or 256GB)
- Save $500 when you trade in an iPhone XS (64GB or 256GB)
- Save $350 when you trade in an iPhone XR (64GB or 128GB), iPhone X (64GB), or iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7 or 7 Plus.
The deal doesn’t just apply to the 2019 iPhones, either. You can potentially get a discount on a new iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max or iPhone XR.
There are, of course, other terms and you’ll need to pay taxes and fees at the time of purchase.
Any Better Deals?
Of course, it’s worth noting that you may be able to find better deals elsewhere — even at Apple itself.
For example, if you trade-in an iPhone XS Max for an iPhone 11 Pro at Apple, you could get the 2019 device for just $499.
T-Mobile may have Apple beats on other offers, however. Apple only offers $150 off for an iPhone 7-for-iPhone 11 trade — compared to T-Mobile’s roughly $350 off.


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Cairo delivery sets high bar
Coffee, bikini waxes, X-rays — even a single pill can be summoned
BY NOUR YOUSSEF
When it comes to home delivery and services, Cairo has most other places beat.
Suffering from a hangover and perhaps some regrets? Costa Coffee will send around a single shot of espresso ($2.70), and the neighborhood pharmacy will dispatch one...
Read latest International New York Times Asia online.


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Sherwani are worn by men during festivals and special occasions. Presently, during wedding ceremonies Groom’s mostly wear Sherwani. In coastal region men use a scarf and in rural areas people use a hand woven towel over the shoulder when they do not wear any upper garment. You don’t use a turban to add “pop of blue” in your outfit. They also use brocade shawls called “Chenar” which is embroided with “Kashida” work. As anger over the turban spread this week, critics called for protests and demanded an explanation from Gucci. Friendships and Relationships- There is an ancient Punjabi tradition called “Pag Vatauni”(exchange of turbans), where an individual exchanges his Dastar with another. Kurta Salwar is the traditional dress for Punjabi and Haryanavi women in Chandigarh. In the Sikh religion, the turban is known as dastar, which is considered to be a very respectful Punjabi word. A Twitter user, Harjinder Singh Kukreja wrote: ‘Dear Gucci, the Sikh Turban is not a hot new accessory for white models but an article of faith for practicing Sikhs. Just four days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Balbir Singh Sodhi, a gas station owner in Arizona, was fatally shot by a man who thought he was an Arab.
The coalition was formed after Balbir Singh Sodhi, a bearded Sikh American wearing a turban, was shot and killed on Sept. The reality, however, was that whites killed many defenseless Native women and children, took captives, and tortured them. We’re attacked and killed for how we look, and now corporations get to profit off that same look? They decided to replace natural rolled layers with neat, symmetrical folds, cute turbans leading to what is now commonly known as the “Kenyan” style turban. The Gucci product appears on the online store with a description: ‘A gorgeously crafted turban is ready to turn heads while keeping you in comfort as well as trademark style’. The department store and Gucci did not respond to requests for comment. However, Gucci has yet to issue a comment on the backlash. Using fake Sikhs/Turbans is worse than selling fake Gucci products’. Nordstrom has apologized to Sikhs for selling a turban they found offensive, but a representative with the U.S. In A Point of View: The Absurd Expectation That We All Need to “Fit In,” I cite the 3-0 decision of the 11th U.S.
I am suggesting that we (1) be thoughtful before adopting practices from other cultures, (2) be diligent about challenging our stereotypes, and (3) make a point of learning about oppressed people’s struggles. The turban is one of the most important and symbolic articles of faith for Sikhs, and you’re selling it as a fashion accessory to make money? The turban is one of the most important and symbolic articles of faith for Sikhs, and you’re selling it as a fashion accessory to make money? Victoria’s Secret came under similar criticism when one of the models was sent down the runway in a fringed suede bikini, turquoise jewelry, and a feathered headdress. The most widespread criticism was due to White, non-Sikh models wearing turbans. Gucci had not responded to the criticism over the product by Saturday. People felt that Gucci was culturally appropriating the staple, which goes beyond fashion for most Sikhs.
In essence, appropriating elements from another culture isn’t always inappropriate and, in fact, has benefitted many civilizations. “The winding of military puggarees had become a skilled accomplishment and, throughout the Indian Army, there must have been scores of different styles, each instantly recognizable by those who knew them. For Sikhs, the turban is a deeply important garment, not, as many have pointed out, a cute hat to pop on as an accessory. It is not, as many think, a way for one culture to honor another. Many are noting that other items sent down the catwalk resemble hijabs and niqabs, and in one specific look, a headpiece that looks a lot like a pagoda, a.k.a. The turban isn’t a hat per se, and we don’t wear it like a hat. Earlier, the Nizams and other nobles of Hyderabad preferred to wear Hyderabadi Sherwanis. In the Sanatan culture, as talked about earlier, the ‘modesty’ of a woman did not and does not imply severe simplicity and plainness of physical appearance. Gucci’s turban was first talked about last winter, when a white model walked the runway wearing it during a fashion show. When the lanky white model walked onto the runway at a Gucci fashion show last year, people immediately zeroed in on one part of his ensemble: A bright blue turban.
Several angry tweets have since followed with many calling Gucci move as insensitive. Again this year, Gucci started the online sale of turbans, calling them ‘Indy Full Turban’, on Nordstrom’s website, reported India Today. It is not only in India that turbans had such great importance but also among cultures around the world. It’s the fifth largest world religion by population. A warm welcome to the world of authentic Indian fashion. However, generally the term Ghoonghat also implies head-veiling, which wasn’t an externally introduced practice in the Indian subcontinent, it was very much native to our motherland. Sikh Indian immigrant Parmjit Singh, 64, was stabbed to death Aug. 25 during an evening walk in Tracy, California. Sikh Coalition wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday. There are more than 25 million Sikhs worldwide, and the United States is home to an estimated 500,000, the coalition said. On Tuesday, the Sikh Coalition tweeted an image of the Nordstrom listing and criticised the treatment of the “sacred” headwear.


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Chinese supplier Pegatron has received orders to manufacture 4.7-inch iPhone 6 for September announcement
Taiwan's Industrial and CommercialTimes spilled the beans that Apple supplier Pegatron has received 15%of orders to manufacture and assemble Apple's upcoming 4.7-inchiPhone 6. The next iPhone's announcement is scheduled for September.
The supplier will produce 50 million iPhones by the end of thisyear, including the iPhone 6, iPhone 5c, and iPhone 4S. In addition to Pegatron, long-timeApple manufacturing partner Foxconn has been tasked with iPhone 6production as well. It has already recruited workers at its newfactory in Kunshan, China to meet demand. Production is scheduled tostart in the second quarter of this year, perhaps in July.
Once again, the report mentions that a4.7-inch iPhone 6 will be announced in September, while aphablet-sized 5.5-inch iPhone will follow later. Also, the purportediPhone Air name isn't being mentioned anywhere.
For more information on Apple's nextflagship, take a look at our iPhone 6 rumor round-up. We'll beupdating it as new bits of information leak.


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BY RUTH EPSTEIN REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
KENT — The question at the grocery checkout would no longer be "paper or plastic?" but "Do you have your reusable tote?" if the Kent Energy and Environmental Task Force had its way.
The group, committed to increasing the rate of recycling in the town, among other goals, enlisted the help of South Kent School students to come up with ideas for encouraging the use of reusable totes among customers of Kent stores.
Chairman Karren J. Garrity, member Austi Brown and Davis IGA owner Gary Davis met with students in Mike Benjamin's advanced environmental science classes Friday to see what ideas they might have to advance the cause. Several thought-provoking proposals were discussed.
In opening the session, Benjamin said the classes have been looking at the subject of waste management and more specifically the practice of using plastic bags for carrying merchandise. He said research shows citizens of the United States use one billion bags per year and of those, 1 percent to 5 percent get recycled. The average family uses 500 bags annually.
"We hope to get a dialogue on how to think about things differently," Garrity told the young men. "We can effect a change if we start with our own habits. It's exciting to be able to make a difference and impact the community around us."
Davis said his store, which he owns along with his sisters, uses three methods of packing: plastic, paper and cloth bags. Paper bags cost 11 cents, which is four times the rate of plastic ones. He said the store encourages the use of reusable cloth bags and estimated between 20 percent and 30 percent of the customers do so. Davis said the store provides a recycling bin for plastic bags, but it's probably underutilized.
"It's an ongoing problem and we'd love to get out from under it," he told the students and teachers who attended the session."Any strategies you have we'd be happy to sign on to. Plastic bags are the poster child for litter."
A student from Taiwan said in his country shoppers receive credit if they bring in a reusable cloth bag and are charged extra for taking plastic ones. Another student suggested that customers who buy a certain amount in stores be given a free tote. He said if the items are then immediately placed in it, the purchasers will hopefully create a mindset about using recyclable bags.
Faculty member Kasey Clerk thought the creation of an educational poster placed prominently in stores outlining the benefits of using recyclable bags and the downside of plastic might help the cause. Benjamin offered that perhaps cashiers could be encouraged to promote the use of cloth bags.
Garrity thought producing a short video to put on various websites, such as the school's and the task force's, might be something to be considered. Faculty member Tonya Taylor said perhaps decorative bags promoting Kent could be handed out to tourists who shop in town. There was also a suggestion South Kent School produce one that students could take on their shopping trips to town.
Faculty member Laura Brandt said she is one who is guilty of forgetting to bring her totes into stores. "I'd be happy to go back to the car and get them if I'd get two or five cents per bag or if I were going to be charged for plastic."
"It's an easier pill to swallow to give money back for using cloth," said Davis. "I wouldn't charge. I think we're taxed enough."
Benjamin, a member of the task force, said he make the subject as part of the curriculum and the students will decide if they want to take part in a community project.


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The big names in DSLRs are in retreat from the iconic camera design. Now what?
A shift akin to the end of the plasma TV is happening -- now what?
ProRaw photos are making the iPhone better for photography enthusiasts like me.
Looking for a deal on a DSLR, digital camera or GoPro action cam? Here are the best discounts we've spotted on cameras.
Hike down a canyon with it at your own peril.
TruePic has developed technology that can be embedded in Qualcomm mobile chips to authenticate images from the moment they're taken.
Not sure what you think about the Z5 or mirrorless cameras? Here's a risk-free month to find out.
Commentary: My dad's vintage twin-lens reflex camera was a stolid and imposing box, but it also held mysteries.
Whether you're buying for a landscape photographer or budding vlogger, we've got gift ideas for all budgets.
Canon's EOS R5 and R6 impress, and it's not just because of the 8K video.
The maker of the first designed-from-the-ground-up digital SLR is going the way of Kodak, Polaroid and other historic camera manufacturers.
Looking for a webcam that's better quality than the one in your laptop? This is how to convert a camera you already own into a webcam for video calls on Zoom, Skype or Google Meet.


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Cruise Lines Back in Service: July 2021 | Cruise Industry News
Wilderness Adventurer Alaska Reflection
With the U.S. restart pushing the numbers up, the global cruise industry is quickly bouncing back.
While 141 cruise ships will be in service before the end of July, over 40 operators have already resumed operations around the world.
According to the July 2021 edition of the Cruise Ships in Service Report by Cruise Industry News, these are the cruise lines currently in action:


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The Spot: Fade by Grey, Vancouver, Streetwear for Daydreamers and Minimalists
The hook behind Vancouver-based streetwear brand Fade by Grey is "daydreamers."
"People like to create circumstances to fade into, they daydream," explained co-founder Leon Larano. That's why their designs while minimalist, offer an opportunity to escape.
Using a palette of black, white, and grey co-founder and designer Logan Tran calls “predawn,” their first collection revolved around travel; their second “new youth” and the new generation; and the upcoming around “duality.”
When pushed for detail about what that new line might look like the 23-year-olds wouldn't budge, they did share that they're getting more technical with their designs, with a focus this season on more tailored sizing, fabric, and graphic techniques.
"We're doing something really different, but we'll still have the same aesthetics and quality," says Larano, mysteriously. "We don't like the all out kind of graphics, we prefer simple,” Tran explains.
Stay tuned. It sounds like Fade by Grey's Spring 2015 collection is going to be dope.