text:
3243BMW Mini E” /BMW-Mini-E
BMW is using the Mini as its testing car for the future of an Mini E. So we should see the electric BMW Mini likely in a year or two. The MINI E fleet which is currently in operation, which there are 450 MINI Es on the road in the US right now. They are being driven by a dedicated group of individuals and select fleet users.
“I would hate for anyone to get the impression that we are backing away from our commitment to EV development or the Megacity Vehicle project. Let me reassure you that nothing could be further from the truth,” said Rich Steinberg, Manager – Electric Vehicle Operations and Strategy. “With one of the largest fleet of electric vehicles in operation today, we are learning a great deal. Those lessons have already been applied in our development work. One example is the liquid heating and cooling capability for the batteries in the upcoming BMW ActiveE. This will help to optimize operating range in conditions of extreme hot and cold climates. Others include the four-seat capacity of the BMW ActiveE and it seven cubic-feet of trunk space. More than anything we have been impressed with the dedication and enthusiasm that MINI E drivers have brought to this project.”
The upcoming BMW ActiveE field trial will begin in 2011, the BMW Group announced at the North American International Auto Show in January that it will offer one-year lease extensions to current MINI E lessees.
The MINI E will be prominently featured at the New York International Auto Show from April 2 – 11.


text:
Dead Island 2 planned for this year claims report – new trailer expected soon
In lieu of any official news, insider Tom Henderson has said that Dead Island 2’s development is going well, and it could release this year.
It has been nearly eight years since Dead Island 2 was announced and despite behind-the-scenes troubles and shifting developers, it’s said to be approaching a state where it could actually release by the end of the year.
Trusted insider Tom Henderson recently uploaded a video to discuss what he has heard from those close to Dead Island 2’s development, which he says is progressing well.
He adds that a release date is expected to be somewhere in Q4 2022, which covers October to December, but any last-minute issues could push it into 2023. He also claims that a new gameplay trailer may be shared very soon.
Details about Dead Island 2’s plot have always been scarce, with the only official information being that the state of California has been put under quarantine due to a zombie outbreak.
Players will get to explore three open world locations, including Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Henderson claims that the game begins with you on a plane, which crashes because of zombies – naturally. It crashes into Hollywood and while you do survive, you need to loot nearby mansions to defend yourself against more zombies.
Due to your limited resources, you’re eventually forced to escape into the sewers when a massive horde of zombies comes after you, eventually reaching Hollywood Boulevard.
It would have been fair to assume that Dead Island 2 had become vapourware, doomed to never actually come out, considering its tumultuous development cycle.
Publisher Deep Silver originally had Yager Development helming the project. Only a year after the official announcement, Yager dropped out and wound up being replaced by Sumo Digital in 2016, which in turn was replaced by Dambuster Studios, formerly Free Radical Design, in 2019.
Dead Island 2 is so far still confirmed for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, although it could potentially release for Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 as well, if a 2020 job ad is anything to go by.
Email [email protected], leave a comment below, and follow us on Twitter.
Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at [email protected]
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.
Source: Read Full Article

domain: news


text:
Chris Foresman at Ars is hopeful for its future:
As the standard begins to mature, will the technology begin to break out of its niche?
It's hard to say with absolute certainty, but it appears that the groundwork laid in 2012 may slowly start to pay off in 2013.
It’d be a nice change for Apple to be a successful early adopter in the field of fast I/O: FireWire never really made it mainstream. Thunderbolt is already beginning to appear on some PCs — perhaps Apple’s 2011 bet is starting to reap rewards.


text:
The notable startup fundings for the week ending 9/7/19 featuring funding details for Loadsmart, OpenGov, VRChat, PerimeterX, and much much more.
Everything you need to need to know about the largest global startup funding rounds for August 2019; broken down by industry, stage, investors, and more…
Everything you need to need to know about the largest US startup funding rounds for August of 2019; broken down by industry, stage, investors, and more…
The notable startup fundings for the week ending 8/24/19 featuring funding details for Tala, SpotHero, and much much more.
With so much going on in the thriving LA tech and startup ecosystem, it is easy to miss some of the news in the space. We keep you abreast of a few of things that you may have missed in LA Tech news this week including the fundings, exits, and events. CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED IN LA TECH LAST WEEK […]
Here are the latest venture capital, seed, and angel deals for LA startups for 5/21/18. This page will be updated throughout the day to reflect any new fundings.
Sense360, founded by Eli Portnoy, is a sensor-intelligence company that helps restaurants and retailers behaviorally understand the entire customer journey.


text:
- StepApp closes in on launch, no set date yet.
- FITFI to move to an Avalanche subnet, will be used to pay for fees.
- StepApp expands Avalanche C-Chain gaming ecosystem with a high-profile launch.
StepApp, one of the top move-to-earn games for the summer of 2022, is getting ahead in its development. The FITFI token is among the trending assets, while the game also tries to build up a robust native marketplace.
StepApp is another prominent app that started on Avalanche C-Chain and is moving to its own subnet. With this move, StepApp takes the route of Play Crabada, by adding a utility for FITFI. The advantage of StepApp is that the game plans to migrate early in the game and achieve all further upgrades on its subnet.
To achieve the launch of its own subnet, the FITFI token will briefly halt its inflation and continue with the planned game tokenomics after the upgrade.
StepApp expected to launch its actual app in June, and until then builds up staking for FITFI and NFT trading. Launching with a subnet ready may decrease the potential for congestion, which is also sometimes possible on C-Chain. In the past, Crabada’s transactions took up significant bandwidth and required additional AVAX feeds which cut into game profits. With a subnet, more active usage is possible with a smaller overload.
StepApp Faces Challenge to Balance User Growth, Earnings
Blockchain-based fitness apps are still looking for the right recipe of earnings and utility. While some users access those as regular fitness apps, some may require a significant upfront investment. Additionally, the games are at risk of serving early adopter “whales” first, distributing significant earnings, but barely paying out the latest players.
Using Avalanche subnets and native gas fees, it is at least possible to decrease gas costs for NFT purchases or other transactions, thus decreasing the load on players.
StepApp is still in its early stages, with a count of 700 users based on smart contract monitoring by DappRadar.
FITFI launched to high expectations for StepApp, at a time when STEPN (GMT) was also at the peak of the wave. FITFI reached its maximum above $0.70, and has continued to drop to its current levels of $0.12. The token is represented on the Huobi exchange, and has more limited listings compared to the GMT campaign.


text:
[b[China’s New Loonsong Processor Blows Intel Out of Water, Secures Beijing’s Tech Sovereignty [/b], by Svetlana Ekimenko for Sputnikglobe.com. 11.28.2023.
Amid the US-China trade rift, the Biden administration has been determined to clamp down on Beijing’s rapid advancements in high-tech sectors, restricting the Asian juggernaut’s access to advanced semiconductor technology, specifically ultra-modern chips, while ramping up domestic production of these components.
Beijing has made a huge stride towards securing its tech sovereignty, launching a new generation of homegrown computer CPUs, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.
Undaunted by Washington’s relentless efforts to hinder the Asian giant's technological rise, China's flagship computer central processing unit designer, Loongson Technology Corp, unveiled the Loongson 3A6000 desktop-grade CPU on Tuesday.
According to a Loongson announcement previously made on the Chinese site QQ.com, the Loongson 3A6000 uses proprietary instruction set architecture (ISA), Loongson Architecture (LoongArch), that has nothing to do with architectures designed outside China. The self-developed CPU can be used in multiple applications, across different platforms, for complex tasks, as per Loongson, cited by local media reports. Furthermore, the company also unveiled a printer main control chip, the Loongson 2P0500. The trailblazer chip is described as being the first based on an independent command system.
According to Loongson, which was added to a US trade blacklist this year, the performance of the quad-core 3A6000 processor, which integrates four compute cores boasting 2.5 GHz CPU clock speed, is on par with Intel’s desktop models. Performance tests of Loongson 3A6000 carried out by the China Electronics Technology Standardization Institute reportedly suggested that the processor rivals Intel’s 10th generation quad-core processors launched in 2020.
Founded by chief architect Hu Weiwu, Loongson Technology Corp originated as a research team under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It has been on a mission to achieve independent CPU design, and slash China's reliance on American semiconductor producers like Intel and AMD.
LoongArch, which the company has been working on for over 20 years, was originally based on the MIPS32 / MIPS64, as well as RISC-V ISAs. MIPS (Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipelined Stages), is developed by MIPS Computer Systems (currently MIPS Technologies), based in the United States. In late 2020, Loongson is said to have launched its home-grown 3A5000 CPU, based on process node of 14 nm. However, the US government prohibited Chinese semiconductor manufacturers from acquiring instruments and technologies required to produce chips with dimensions of 14 nm/16 nm or less, among other restrictions. As the US-China tech rivalry heated up, the Chinese government pledged more resources to support the development of crucial technologies.
Semiconductor Trade War
As competition with China became the primary strategic focus of US foreign policy, the tit-for-tat between Washington and Beijing over microchip manufacturing techniques escalated on October 7, 2022. That is when the Biden administration rolled out extensive restrictions on Beijing’s chip manufacturing industry. The measures required licenses for those companies that export chips to China using US tools or software, irrespective of where they are made in the world. The restrictions were preceded by President Joe Biden signing into law a bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which includes more than $52 billion for US companies producing semiconductors, as well as billions more in tax credits to encourage investment in the industry. Prior to that, under the Trump administration, the US and its Western allies targeted the People's Republic's telecom giants, such as Huawei, citing "security" concerns.
Forced to import technology for its massive tech manufacturing industries, the Chinese government has embarked on a massive effort in recent years to master advanced chipmaking. Furthermore, in response to US restrictions, the East Asian country has moved to restrict exports of some of the key minerals used to manufacture those chips. New export controls on gallium and germanium came into force on August 1, restricting the sale abroad of eight products containing gallium and six containing germanium - two metals used to make semiconductors.
However, despite industry warnings that Biden's semiconductor spat with China could backfire and threatened to sink the administration’s ambitious domestic microchip manufacturing goals, Washington was undeterred. Earlier this year, the White House warned the People's Republic of China about its intent to further tighten export rules for chipmaking tools and AI chips.
China, the largest global semiconductors market, has repeatedly warned that by imposing restrictions on normal trade, the United States will end up harming itself as well as other market players.
"The US measures to restrict chip exports to China violate market rules and lead to fragmentation in the global semiconductors market, which not only harms lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies, but also significantly affects the interests of semiconductors manufacturers throughout the world, including in the US," China's Commerce Ministry spokesman He Yadong said in September.


text:
Ikea’s business in South Korea has reported 32.6-per-cent sales growth over the past fiscal year despite the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
The success of the retail business over the period has been attributed to a surge in interest in home furnishings as people remain at home to avoid the pandemic, according to Ikea Korea country retail manager Fredrik Johansson.
Customer numbers at Ikea stores also increased by 31 per cent during the period to 12.3 million people, with online shoppers increasing by 14 per cent to 44.7 million.
The firm has made concerted efforts to market goods at affordable prices and engage in remote sales efforts. It is also about to commence a new sustainable home-furniture marketing campaign to support climate action within Korea, along with strategies to buy back and resell used furniture at to replace 20 per cent of the firm’s delivery vans with electric vehicles by the end of the next fiscal year.


text:
MOSMAN Park shoppers can lay claim to being the most generous in WA after they donated the greatest amount to kids’ cancer charity Redkite at their Coles supermarket during Christmas.
Redkite head of fundraising Isobel Lindley said the suburb’s shoppers raised more than $9500 by buying a $2 Christmas card during the five-week campaign.
“I think the significant amount was because it was a children’s cancer charity,” Mosman Park Coles manager Will Henry said.
Customers who also bought gingerbread men at the supermarket contributed 20c to a campaign.
Nationally, more than $1.6 million was collected to support children and young people with cancer, and their families.
The WA contribution to the total was about $240,000.


text:
Rosslyn Chapel has been awarded a new Chartermark from VisitBritain in recognition of its work to welcome Chinese visitors, including the publication of a souvenir guidebook in Mandarin,
The GREAT China Welcome Charter was launched in 2014 by VisitBritain to help make Britain the destination of choice for the rapidly-growing Chinese market. Visitors from China have doubled in the last five years and tourism bosses believe they will be worth over £1 billion to Britain by 2020.
The Charter – which now has over 300 members – is designed to help Chinese visitors easily identify hotels, attractions, retailers and tour operators that are making themselves ‘China-ready’ by providing information in Chinese and adapting their products for the market.
Ian Gardner, Director of Rosslyn Chapel Trust, said, “We pride ourselves on providing very high standards of service to all our visitors and the Chinese are no exception. We are experiencing increasing interest from China as Chinese visitors seem to particularly enjoy our heritage and culture. We hope that our new guidebook in Mandarin will enhance their visit here even further.’
Jo Leslie, who manages the GREAT China Welcome programme for VisitBritain, said, “There is strong evidence that businesses who go the extra mile in catering for certain nationalities quickly reap the benefits. Rosslyn Chapel is a great example of an attraction which has been quick to recognise the massive potential of the Chinese market and invested accordingly. We’re delighted to be able to count them as one of our first 300 members and hope that many more British tourism and hospitality businesses will follow their example.”
Membership of the GREAT China Welcome Charter is completely free but is only open to organisations which can prove they are ‘China-ready’ by providing evidence of one or more of the following – a product or a service that is of genuine interest to potential Chinese visitors and meets their distinct cultural needs and expectations; first-hand experience of welcoming Chinese visitors within the past two years; Mandarin speaking staff; translated websites, apps or literature; visitor information or signage in Mandarin; visitor-facing staff who have undergone training about Chinese culture and etiquette; facilities for customers to pay using China UnionPay; or some form of formal collaboration with a peer organisation in China.
For more information about the Charter please see www.visitbritain.org/greatchinawelcome


text:
This move really does seem of note in a country that intense industry pressure, a weak biosafety regime and biotech lobbyists acting in a regulatory capacity, have turned into the industry's gateway to Africa.
The African Centre for Biosafety has now been in existence for just over 2 years and after our consistent badgering through inter alia submissions and objections regarding GM applications, and in the light of the recent successful application by Monsanto to win approval of its stacked GM cotton, we were about to re-think our work. But we have now just heard that all applications for commodity imports into South Africa of GMOs have been halted pending the outcome of a study that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has just commenced, which is looking at the impacts of GM imports.
This study is something that civil society groups in South Africa have long been calling for, many petitions have been filed to this effect by SAFeAGE in the past, http://www.safeage.org/
This is quite a significant victory for us and a blow for industry, taking into account the manner in which the entire GM issue has been handled in SA todate, with industry running amok here.
Please, note, however, the assessments of applications for commodity imports are continuing, but no decisions will be taken.
For further information, please contact Elise Koekemoer from the DTI, agro-processing.
The African Centre for Biosafety
Go to a Print friendly Page
Email this Article to a Friend
Back to the Archive


text:
If you purchase a McDonald’s Happy Meal you can expect a surprise in the form of a toy, however customers of the fast food giant in Japan have experienced some rather less enjoyable surprises.
McDonald’s Japan has been forced to apologise after a human tooth was amongst some of the bizarre things found in their food.
Customers have also complained of finding items such as pieces of plastic and a strip of vinyl.
Takehiko Aoki, a senior vice president at McDonald’s Holding Co (Japan) Ltd said these were ‘isolated incidents’ and that the unusual finds did not signify an issues with quality control.
‘To make such cases zero is our goal. We are doing our utmost to tackle them, one by one,’ he said.
Following the news that a customer had found a tooth in a french fry McDonald’s Japan announced that no-one on the store the food was brought in or at any point on the assembly line had lost a tooth, and also pointed out that the tooth did not appear to have been fried.
A child also injured their mouth while eating a ice cream sundae that contained a piece of plastic in December.
To reassure customers, Mr Aoki said: ‘I will eat McNuggets, I will feed McNuggets to my Children. I have no doubts.’


text:
Some Android apps are being replaced by PWAs when installing through Google Play on Chrome OS
All the way back in 2017, Google announced that it would phase out support for Chrome apps on Windows, Mac, and Linux in favor of Progressive Web Apps. At the time, however, most PWAs were pretty much basic websites that weren’t as well-built as a native application. Over the last couple of years, web developers have evolved their PWAs quite a bit, and today, they can easily replace native Android applications for a lot of services. Due to the significant improvement in the quality of PWAs, a few services are now choosing to set up their PWA as the default option on the Google Play Store for Chrome OS devices.
As per a recent post from Chrome Unboxed, Twitter’s PWA has now replaced its native web app as the default option on Chrome OS. This means that Chromebook users installing Twitter from the Google Play Store will now get the Twitter PWA instead of the Twitter app for Android. It’s worth noting that this is the first time a service has replaced its native app with a PWA on the Play Store and this goes to show how much PWAs have evolved over the years. Along with Twitter, YouTube TV has also made its PWA the default option on Chrome OS, and it’s no longer listed as incompatible with your device on the Play Store.
The change doesn’t have any effect on the end-user and installing the aforementioned apps on a Chromebook will work just the same. Users will get the same uninstall dialog like any other app on the Play Store and the PWAs can even be removed from your device directly from the Play Store. The PWAs will be installed just like any other service, with the only exception being that it won’t be an Android APK anymore. As of now, Twitter and YouTube TV are the only two services to replace their native apps with PWAs on Chrome OS, but we expect more services to jump on the bandwagon in the near future.


text:
ACOM specializes in automated content management, business process workflow and payment processing. They offer solutions in Intelligent Data Capture, Accounts Payable Automation, Financial and Business Workflow Automation, Document and Enterprise Content Management, Payment Processing, and EDI integration. They are a privately held company, founded in 1983, and headquartered in Long Beach, California.
- HQ Location
- United States
- Year Founded
Combining work and fun: these are a few of my favorite things. Catch up with the latest headlines from CMSWire this week. Quick, Give Me the Headlines: Haters are going to hate, but email still reigns supreme in the communication game — and will be for a longgg time. Cont...Read more
Box moved a little deeper into the digital asset management space this week with the announcement that it's adding Google Images search technology to its platform via the Google Cloud Vision API. Continue reading...
IBM announced it was ending remote working for US employees in February. At the time some speculated it was just thinly veiled layoffs in disguise. Whether the measures helped Big Blue or not is a matter of speculation, but they fed into an ongoing debate about technology, remote working...Read more
Chatbots, artificial intelligence, machine learning and virtual and augmented reality may be all the rage in digital experience, but websites and email remain the most common points of engagement between consumers and businesses. That's at least one of the findings in Marketo's "The State of En...Read more
Evergage, a Somerville, Mass.–based SaaS personalization platform, has secured $10 million in Series C funding to double down on its customer experience. The round — which brings Evergage's total venture funding to $31.5 million — was led by Arrowroot Capital, with participat...Read more


text:
Three in four small businesses in the UK feel that the Government favours big businesses, suggests a MarketInvoice poll conducted by Censuswide.
Last month’s Budget saw the announcement of several major initiatives to redress the balance between big businesses and SMEs, but these findings suggest the Chancellor will need to do a lot more to overcome the scepticism of UK SMEs.
Anil Stocker, Co-founder and CEO of MarketInvoice, said: “Small business owners feel cheated of their hard-earned profits when they see large corporations exploiting tax loopholes, whilst they have the taxman scrutinising every penny. The Budget went some way to righting this wrong, but actions speak louder than words.
“Until small businesses feel see the change in their own books, the Government’s reputation will remain tarnished.”
There are small signs that George Osborne is starting to address issues currently facing SMEs, however. When quizzed on their number one ‘wildest dream’ policy for the Budget, more than a quarter of small businesses said, “Scrap Corporation Tax for SMEs and make sure big business pays more”– and indeed in his Budget, Osborne announced that Corporation Tax for SMEs will be reduced.
He went one step further to address issues of imbalance with the announcement of fewer loopholes for multinationals and more tax breaks for SMEs. From April 2017, 600,000 small firms won’t have to pay business rates, while 250,000 will pay lower rates than they have been.
Robert Ellis, Principal at Ellis & Co, said of the figures: “The smaller businesses in the UK continue to suffer from too much legislation leading to increased administration costs and an inability to take advantage of tax incentives through lack of finance.”
For more information on the latest implications of the Budget for SMEs, please contact Robert Ellis on 01244 343504.


text:
The Fiji dairy industry is suffering because of a decline in copra production.
The chief executive of the Fiji Co-operative Dairy Industry Ltd, Sachida Nand, says copra meal, because of its high protein content, is a key part of the diet of dairy cows.
But he says there is a substantial shortfall in what they need and what is being produced.
Mr Nand says the dairy industry requires 25 tonnes of the copra meal a week but millers are only able to produce a quarter of that.
Fiji is only producing a fraction of copra it grew in colonial times.
While the Fiji government is making moves to foster copra production, the dairy industry, in the short term, is considering importing copra or soya meal, and is already using palm kernel feed from Papua New Guinea.


text:
Initial Coin Offerings
Bitcoin and Ether are not regulated under Austrian law. The Austrian Financial Market Authority (Finanzmarktaufsicht – FMA) has issued several warnings on cryptocurrencies and their volatility. Depending on the business model, anti-money laundering (AML ) obligations under the Austrian Trade Code (Gewerbeordnung – GewO) may apply. The AML under the financial services legislation does not yet apply to professional cryptocurrency traders.
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether are not yet regulated in Bulgaria.
The Bulgarian National Bank (“BNB”) and the Financial Supervision Commission (“FSC”) have given formal opinions on the regulatory treatment of cryptocurrencies as part of court proceedings. According to the BNB, Bitcoin is not legal tender in Bulgaria and bitcoins are not “funds” or electronic money within the meaning of the Bulgarian Act on Payment Services and Payment Systems (“APS”). The FSC, which is the authority that regulates trading in financial institutions, states that bitcoins and similar cryptocurrencies are not regarded as financial instruments and do not fall within the scope of the Bulgarian Market in the Financial Instruments Act (“MFIA”) (implementing MiFID). The FSC outlines, however, that in cases where cryptocurrencies are underlying assets of derivatives, trading in such derivatives is an activity subject to licensing as an investment activity. The court practice, which is not very extensive on the matter, supports the conclusions of the BNB and the FSC. The Bulgarian Tax Authority, on the other hand, stated in a formal opinion issued in 2014 that the income received by selling and exchanging bitcoins should be declared and taxed. The taxable basis will be the accumulated profit from the sale and exchange of cryptocurrencies throughout the taxable year less the price for which the cryptocurrency was purchased by the taxable person/entity. Apart from these formal opinions given in 2014, there is no recent official position or statement by the Bulgarian authorities which would be competent in case of the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the future. In a recent informal statement on cryptocurrencies in December 2017, the BNB governor said that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not money or digital currency (e-money) which will be issued by banks in the future. Cryptocurrencies are speculative assets, which is why they remain unregulated.
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether are not yet regulated in Croatia. According to the Croatian National Bank (“CNB”), Bitcoin and Ether neither fall within any regulated category of means of payment nor constitute money or electronic money. Transactions involving Bitcoin or Ether should not constitute a payment service under the Croatian Payment Transactions Act. Accordingly, the CNB does not issue a licence to businesses issuing or trading in virtual currencies nor does it have a legal basis for their supervision. The Croatian Tax Authority, on the other hand, has stated that Bitcoin is equivalent to a money-market instrument and thus capital gains tax is applicable. This conclusion may be attributed to the Tax Authority’s desire to forcefully subsume Bitcoin under one of the expressly stipulated types of financial assets in order to be able to levy tax; thus it is questionable whether this opinion should be used for future interpretations of the legal status of Bitcoin or any other token. Except for a couple of opinions/statements of the CNB and the Tax Authority, no particular guidelines are available. Nevertheless, the CNB announced that it will closely follow EU regulations. Therefore, in view of the ECJ’s judgment in case C-264/14, Bitcoin should not be considered as tangible property, as a security conferring a property right or as a security of a comparable nature, and the same should apply to Ether. Finally, the CNB recently formed an internal taskforce to deal with FinTech, and therefore further actions/opinions/statements may be expected.
Cryptocurrencies are unregulated in Hungary and not considered as a form of money. No guidance is yet available as to the regulatory treatment of cryptocurrencies, but the Hungarian National Bank is investigating the topic. The regulators have issued warnings with respect to the potential risks.
Cryptocurrencies are unregulated in Poland.
The National Bank of Poland (the “NBP”) and the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (the “PFSA”) issued a joint release on 7 July 2017 indicating the unregulated legal status of cryptocurrencies. The NBP also added that cryptocurrencies are not a form of electronic money (within the meaning of the legislation implementing Directive 2009/110/EC on the taking up, pursuit and prudential supervision of the business of electronic money institutions) and not a valid payment instrument. The NBP advised caution with respect to investment in cryptocurrency due to potential risks for investors and the financial system.
The PFSA issued an additional release on 22 November 2017 confirming the unregulated legal status of cryptocurrencies and issued a warning with respect to ICOs due to the lack of supervision and potential breach of financial instruments / investment activity regulations, although according to the PFSA, this needs to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Cryptocurrencies are unregulated in Romania. The National Bank of Romania (the “NBR”) issued a press release in 2015 indicating that they do not consider cryptocurrencies as currency and noted that the acceptance as payment of cryptocurrencies is not mandatory. The NBR also added that cryptocurrencies are not a form of electronic money (within the meaning of the legislation implementing Directive 2009/110/EC on the taking up, pursuit and prudential supervision of the business of electronic money institutions). The NBR stated that it monitors the evolution of cryptocurrency schemes from the perspective of potential risks for the financial system. It did not issue any formal indication on whether cryptocurrencies may be seen as payment instruments, mainly due to the very scarce use of cryptocurrencies in Romania for payment purposes, rather than its broader use as investment instruments. Nevertheless, the NBR may consider such classification in the future. In relation to its 2015 press release, the NBR issued another statement in February 2018 in which it drew attention to the high risk of people losing the money they invest in virtual coins. The NBR noted a rise in interest in virtual coins, especially Bitcoin, both in terms of holding and trading and as a business. In the press release, the NBR stated that in order to avoid reputational risk exposure at the level of credit institutions it discourages any involvement in virtual currencies, including in terms of providing services to entities that provide investment or trading services in these currencies.
In February 2018, the Financial Supervisory Authority (the “FSA”), which is the supervisory authority for capital markets in Romania, posted a pan-European communication on its website issued by ESMA, EIOPA and EBA to raise awareness among retail investors about the risks of buying and trading virtual coins. Also around the same time the FSA issued another warning about the high risks of investing in financial contracts for differences (CFDs) on cryptocurrency.
The Romanian courts refer to cryptocurrencies mostly in criminal disputes, which largely concern the use of cryptocurrencies as means of payment for illicit transactions, but also in civil disputes (e.g. a case where a cryptocurrency exchange filed suit against a trader to be able to return fiat to that trader for a wrongfully processed transaction). The court practice does not qualify cryptocurrencies in any manner.
The buying, storing and trading of virtual currencies is still largely unregulated in Slovenia.
Pursuant to some of the most recent guidelines and statements by the Slovenian Tax Authority (FURS) and the Bank of Slovenia (issued in January 2018), cryptocurrencies should not be considered monetary assets (denarno sredstvo) or financial instruments; nor are they electronic money, due to their own denomination. They can, however, legally be used as payment instruments.
To date, FURS has issued several guidelines on the tax treatment of virtual currencies. As a general rule, any income (irrespective of its form) is taxed pursuant to standard income tax provisions; however, capital gains from trading cryptocurrencies are not subject to income tax, unless such income is generated within a business activity. Proceeds derived via the “mining” of cryptocurrencies are taxed as any other income under the category of other income (drugi dohodek), using the BTC/EUR exchange rate at the time when the income is received. As for VAT, if the issued tokens are specifically designated for the purchase of particular products/services or have the characteristics of financial instruments, the issuance of tokens is subject to VAT. The guidelines also address certain other VAT aspects linked to the purchase of software and hardware for mining and to managing of trading platforms.
In addition, the Slovenian Office for Money Laundering Prevention has issued a formal statement that the AML regime should in principle fully apply to the issuance and management of virtual currencies.
Otherwise the topic of cryptocurrency has received a lot of attention in Slovenia and regulation (and regulatory priorities) in this respect is regularly discussed.


text:
The XDPL8219 enables power factor correction to > 0.9, and total harmonic distortion of 10% or less.
September 14, 2020 by Gary Elinoff
Researchers from the University of Michigan’s Kotov lab developed a new, rechargeable zinc battery that may pave the way to distributed energy…
September 11, 2020 by Stephanie Leonida
As tradeshows and conferences have been interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, power supplier MEAN WELL is launching a virtual product exhibition.
September 10, 2020 by Shannon Cuthrell
This article highlights ABB CC2725AC48, that introduces a new level of power density, in part due to its compact size and reduced weight.
August 29, 2020 by Hailey Stewart
WiBotic has designed a wireless charging solution that when integrated allows for autonomous landing control until a drone's battery is charged.
August 25, 2020 by Antonio Anzaldua Jr.
With a charging power of 180kW, ABB’s next generation of electric vehicle (EV) DC fast chargers have been designed for future electric buses,…
August 20, 2020 by Antonio Anzaldua Jr.
This article highlights Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. SiRA99DP 30 V p-channel power MOSFET to offer ON-resistance of 1.7 mΩ at 10 V.
August 19, 2020 by Hailey Stewart
TRACO POWER’s TMPW line of high-density encapsulated AC/DC power supplies cover four power levels at 5 / 10 / 25 / 50 watts and are available in…
August 18, 2020 by Hailey Stewart
Recent developments in integrated circuit design, system integration, and packaging are serving to lighten the power designer’s load.
August 18, 2020 by John Bazinet
In this third article of the series, we will look at SiC power transistors.
August 17, 2020 by Artur Seibt
This article highlights Diodes Incorporated AP3781 that is a high-performance AC/DC power supply controller for battery charger and adapter…
August 15, 2020 by Hailey Stewart
This article highlights XP Power modular EMI filter selection for AC-DC converters.
August 12, 2020 by Gary Bocock
This article highlights Maxim Integrated MAX77958 USB-C PD controller and the MAX77962 28W buck-boost charger to overcome the challenges of…
August 11, 2020 by Hailey Stewart
This teardown looks at the inner workings of the Hitachi SJ P1 Variable Frequency Drive, an inverter for industrial applications and part of a line…
August 11, 2020 by Nilo Mitra
Lenovo and Navitas come together in another partnership, but this time GaN-powered fast charging is the name of the game.
August 09, 2020 by Stephanie Leonida
Qualcomm has developed the world’s first commercially viable fast charging platform to support more than 100W charging power in a smartphone,…
August 07, 2020 by Antonio Anzaldua Jr.
This article introduces some of the technologies Amantys has developed to realise a full-power MMC converter for medium-voltage applications.
August 06, 2020 by Mark Snook
This article highlights Analog Devices Incorporated LTM8042 as can be easily configured in three topologies—boost, buck, and buck-boost—to meet…
August 05, 2020 by Victor Khasiev
ABB, a Swedish company that has become a leader in DC fast charging system design, and a partner of the FIA Formula E Championship, is providing…
August 05, 2020 by Nicholas St. John
Initially planned for Las Vegas next January, CES 2021 has now switched to a virtual format, citing COVID-19 safety concerns.
August 05, 2020 by Shannon Cuthrell
Don't have an Control account? Create one now.
Forgot your password? Click here.


text:
China is not playing nicely in the sandbox.
The nitty gritty of trade seldom gets the attention it warrants, but enough mercantilist measures can trigger retaliation, which most observers agree would merely precipitate a race to the bottom.
And China, which in many ways has the most to lose from protectionism, has been tempting fate. China has quietly reverted to a hard peg of the RMB against the dollar, even though keeping the currency weak is tantamount to a subsidy. We noted earlier that China was ramping up aluminum production despite signs of considerable oversupply. Now China is offering what amounts to an explicit subsidy to steel exporters. From MetalMiner, “New China Export Rebate Sure to Fuel the Trade Wars” :
The trade wars continue to rage on as China has just offered a new 9 percent VAT rebate for flat-rolled steel products and hot rolled ferro-alloy products starting June 1, according to this article. The tax changes extend beyond steel to include more than 600 items according to this report. These changes were implemented as part of an overall Chinese economic recovery plan.
The new rebate for steel, however, will have the effect of two things. First, it will promote exports of steel products (vs. production for domestic consumption) as the 9% can only be claimed if goods are exported. It will further stimulate aggressive anti-dumping action on part of the US domestic steel industry (we have another anti-dumping case to report shortly).
In all fairness, China was a net importer of steel products for the months of April and May and has seen a huge drop in demand (like all other global steel producers mind you) since the beginning of this year. We knew it was only a matter of time before China would begin tinkering with the VAT scheme again.


text:
的 中国 International Robot Show CIROS 于7月2日至5日在上海举行。预计将有30,000人参加，并展出了56家公司。尽管大多数参展商是台湾，日本，韩国，德国和其他国际机器人供应商及其中国的集成商，但也有许多新的中国机器人制造商。
国际机器人联合会（IFR）避风港’t counted robots manufactured in 中国 because the IFR is dependent on country robot associations for their data and up until this year there hasn’t been such an association in 中国. 的 new 中国 Robot Industry Alliance (CRIA) was recently established to enable 中国’s new robot makers to have a lobbying presence within 中国 and a statistical presence with the IFR.
根据IFR’总裁坂原伸介博士在 新闻发布会 preceding CIROS, 中国 is forecast to exceed Japan and the USA as the largest market for robots, particularly when in-country manufactured robots are included in the tally, sometime in 2014.
但是加拿大蒙特利尔高等技术学院机器人学副教授Ilian Bonev 在最近的帖子中, suggests that 中国 probably already has become the largest user of industrial robots in the world. Citing data from the IFR which showed that 23,000 robots were sold into 中国 in 2012, Bonev added 9,800 robots manufactured by six major Chinese vendors giving a total of 32,800 – 4,000 greater than the 28,700 sold into Japan in 2012. Hence his claim that 中国 has already become the largest buyer of robots.
这不’t include Foxconn’s Foxbots –台湾为富士康生产的机器人’s factories in mainland 中国. Foxconn already has 20,000 robots at work in it’首席执行官郭台铭表示。但是，IFR并未对此进行报告，因为富士康不是’既不是台湾机器人协会（TAIROA）的成员，也没有被报道为中国制造商或新CRIA的成员。
About 70% of the total number of robots produced in 2012 went to Japan, 中国, the US, Korea and Germany. Sales to Japan rose slightly to 28,700 units and 22,400 for the U.S. Between 2005 and 2012, sales of industrial robots into 中国 increased by about 25% on average per year. Based on an IFR chart, welding is the main use of those robots followed by handling, assembly, dispensing and cleanroom robotics.
IFR尝试测量机器人密度，即制造/汽车行业中每10,000人使用的机器人数量。 IFR 2011年数字显示韩国’s measure is 347, Japan is 339, Germany is 261 while 中国 is 15. 的 implication is that there is much room to grow in those countries with low density figures. 的 USA, with a density rating of 130, can also foresee growth in the purchase and deployment of robots.
总裁曲道奎 新善机器人& Automation Co., Ltd， 说过，
“China is now at the stage of industrial transformation. To achieve the goal, 中国 has to gradually change from labor-intensive style to a more sustainable and innovative development. 机械人 play a crucial role in supporting the process. It helps Chinese enterprises to reduce cost and increase efficiency and competitiveness.
“It is forecast that 中国 will have 40 million less workers in the 20-30 age bracket in the next decade compared to ten years ago, because of the aging population. 机械人 are expected to fill the gap.”


text:
The Ontario government is imposing a provincewide "emergency brake" as a result of an alarming surge in case numbers and COVID-19 hospitalizations across the province. The new measures will be effective Saturday, April 3, at 12:01 a.m. and will be in place for at least four weeks.
Ontario's key indicators and latest modelling show that additional measures must be taken. From March 26 to 28, 2021, provincial case rates have increased by 7.7 per cent to 101.1 cases per 100,000 people. Current COVID-19 related ICU admissions are already over the peak of wave two and hospitals in regional hotspots will need to further ramp down scheduled surgeries. COVID-19 related ICU admissions are projected to exceed 650 beds in a few weeks. These increases are being driven by COVID-19 variants, which are transmitted easily and result in a higher risk of death and hospitalization, including in younger populations.
Measures include, but are not limited to:
Prohibiting indoor organized public events and social gatherings and limiting the capacity for outdoor organized public events or social gatherings to a 5-person maximum, except for gatherings with members of the same household (the people you live with) or gatherings of members of one household and one other person from another household who lives alone.
Restricting in-person shopping in all retail settings, including a 50 per cent capacity limit for supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, indoor farmers' markets, other stores that primarily sell food and pharmacies, and 25 per cent for all other retail including big box stores, along with other public health and workplace safety measures;
Prohibiting personal care services;
Prohibiting indoor and outdoor dining. Restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments will be permitted to operate by take-out, drive-through, and delivery only;
Prohibiting the use of facilities for indoor or outdoor sports and recreational fitness (e.g., gyms) with very limited exceptions;
Requiring day camps to close; and,
Limiting capacity at weddings, funerals, and religious services, rites or ceremonies to 15 per cent occupancy per room indoors, and to the number of individuals that can maintain two metres of physical distance outdoors. This does not include social gatherings associated with these services such as receptions, which are not permitted indoors and are limited to five people outdoors.
On the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, all Ontarians are asked to limit trips outside the home to necessities such as food, medication, medical appointments, supporting vulnerable community members, or exercising outdoors with members of their household. Employers in all industries should make every effort to allow employees to work from home.
“With more than $1.6 billion invested to protect against COVID-19, schools remain safe for students and staff,” the province says. “Keeping schools open is critical to the mental health and well-being of Ontario youth. During the emergency shutdown, schools will remain open for in-person learning with strict safety measures in place. The spring break will continue as planned for the week of April 12. In order to support working families, child care will remain open during the shutdown. Child care settings will continue to adhere to stringent health and safety measures so that they remain safe places for children and staff."


text:
Mario Tennis Aces Online Tournament Demo Release Date Confirmed for Japan
We are a few weeks away from the launch of Mario Tennis Aces on Switch and according to information, Nintendo will hold an online tournament in the days before its launch and today the Japanese company has confirmed the date when the competition will take place in Japan.
Today Nintendo revealed that the pre-launch tournament of Mario Tennis Aces will take place from June 1 to 3 at 23:59 JST in Japan, date that should be taken as a reference for the celebration of the competition in Europe and the United States, since it is thought that in these markets will be made in later days.
To participate in this tournament, it will be enough for players to download the Mario Tennis Aces client on their Nintendo Switch, so they can try the new proposal for Nintendo Switch that will arrive on June 22.
As you know, Mario Tennis Aces will offer different game modes, including online and local multiplayer for up to 4 players. In addition, the title will feature a campaign mode where we will enjoy an adventure that will take us to face some bosses of the series.
Mario Tennis Aces will arrive on June 22 at Nintendo Switch. Along with the announcement of the dates of the tournament, Nintendo released 2 new videos of its tennis game that you can check out below.


text:
BioWare Talking About Next Mass Effect at Comic-Con -- What Are You Hoping to Learn?
Developers will talk about how they are trying new things while staying true to the series during panel next weekend at pop culture event.
E3 2019 Press Conference Schedule: Nintendo, Microsoft, Square Enix, And More - GS News Update Avengers: Endgame Passes Avatar in the US Box Office, Still Behind Worldwide - GS Universe News Update Game Of Thrones Series Finale Breakdown -- "The Iron Throne" Top New Games Out On Switch, PS4, Xbox One, And PC This Week -- May 19-25 2019 More Gen 4 Pokémon, Glaceon, And Leafeon Now Available In Pokemon Go - GS News Update Apex Legends Update Tweaks Wraith And Pathfinder - GS News Update Pokémon Go June Community Day Announced - GS News Update Ice On Fire (2019): Official HBO Trailer Everybody's Golf VR: 8 Minutes of Golfing And Flirting Gameplay Everything New in Episode 6 of Living World Nioh 2 Closed Alpha Test Starts Soon - GS News Update Resident Evil 4 On The Nintendo Switch
Mass Effect fans eager for more information about the next Mass Effect game don't have much longer to wait. Thanks to the San Diego Comic-Con schedule recently coming online, we now know that BioWare will hold a panel on Saturday, July 26, where developers from the company's offices in Edmonton and Montreal will discuss their vision for the game.
The panel, "Charting a Course: Designing the Next Mass Effect," will be led by lead animator Carl Boulay, senior artist Noel Lukasewich, community manager Jessica Merizan, and producers Mike Gamble and Fabrice Condominas. The panelists will, according to the official description, "share their experiences in shaping the next Mass Effect game with new possibilities while staying true to the critically acclaimed series."
If you're attending Comic-Con in person, you can sit it on the panel (if you can find a seat!) on Saturday, July 26, at 2 p.m. in Room 25 ABC. The most recent update BioWare provided on the next Mass Effect game came during E3 in June, when the developer teased that the game will feature an entirely new set of characters, and will be set in a new region of the universe. The studio also laid out its bold plans for the game.
"We think fans of the series are going to be surprised at just how far we're going," a BioWare developer says about the game in the video above.
Though Comic-Con might be most associated with movies, TV, and...comics, games will be there, too. In addition to BioWare's Mass Effect panel, there will be talks from Ubisoft about Assassin's Creed Unity and Far Cry 4, as well as presentations by Microsoft for Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Halo: Nightfall. A new Witcher 3: Wild Hunt gameplay video will also be on display at Comic-Con, alongside the first-ever Super Smash Bros. 3DS tournament.
For more on all the gaming-related events at this year's Comic-Con, be sure to read GameSpot's roundup. Editors will be on the ground at Comic-Con, which runs July 24-27, bringing you all the news as it happens.
Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email email@example.com


text:
The Mulleys is one of the largest supermarkets in Ukambani. It started as a retail store in Machakos to having over seven branches in the three counties: Machakos, Makueni and Kitui. There were rumours that the supermarkets were going under and Churchill took time to find the truth on such.
Mulleys just like any other businesses has been adversely affected by the current tough times experienced in the country. Churchill assured people though that the supermarkets were not on the verge of closing shop. While admitting that there has been empty shelves, he said that the management is doing its best to restock. Churchill called onto Kenyans to lend their support to the business by buying from them whenever possible.
When pandemic hit the country, Mulleys supermarkets partnered with Machakos County Government to offer goods to Kenyans at subsidized prices. Kenyans are hopeful that the giant supermarkets will make a huge comeback.
Content created and supplied by: HotNews_Ke (via Opera News )
Opera News is a free to use platform and the views and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not represent, reflect or express the views of Opera News. Any/all written content and images displayed are provided by the blogger/author, appear herein as submitted by the blogger/author and are unedited by Opera News. Opera News does not consent to nor does it condone the posting of any content that violates the rights (including the copyrights) of any third party, nor content that may malign, inter alia, any religion, ethnic group, organization, gender, company, or individual. Opera News furthermore does not condone the use of our platform for the purposes encouraging/endorsing hate speech, violation of human rights and/or utterances of a defamatory nature. If the content contained herein violates any of your rights, including those of copyright, and/or violates any the above mentioned factors, you are requested to immediately notify us using via the following email address operanews-external(at)opera.com and/or report the article using the available reporting functionality built into our Platform See More


text:
Mondi warned on Wednesday that its full-year profits would be hit by rising costs and negative foreign currency movements, sending shares across the sector lower.
The FTSE 100 business said that although the prices of its products have climbed this year, this would not offset the rising cost of wood, energy and chemicals, as well as the falling value of the US dollar and the “sharply weaker” Turkish lira.
"Continuing cost pressures and negative currency impacts are expected to result in an underlying performance for the year modestly below market expectations," it warned.
It said planned shutdowns of some of its paper mills would also hit profits in the fourth quarter.
Mondi's shares plummeted...
Start a 30-day free trial for unlimited access to Premium articles
- Unlimited access to Premium articles
- Subscriber-only events and experiences
- Cancel any time
Free for 30 days
then only £2 per week
Save 25% with an annual subscription
Just £75 per year


text:
The speculation around the Moto X+1 refuses to die, even when we’ve entered the month in which it’s expected to be unveiled by Motorola. Word out on the street right now is that the smartphone will start being sold by Verizon on September 25.
Now if Motorola unveils the Moto X+1 sometime this month, September 25 is quite long away for Verizon to begin offering it. So, if this rumor is to be believed, Motorola might not reveal the smartphone in August or it could unveil it but release it through another(other) carrier(s) sometime soon after that.
The possibility of the latter happening is sharp, as that was somewhat the case with the Moto X when it was launched in August last year. As has been pointed out by Droid Life, Motorola had said in February that its new flagship as well as a smartwatch (Moto 360) will arrive ‘late’ this summer.
Now, as summer officially ends on September 22 waiting until September 25 will mean breaking a promise for Motorola. This is yet another piece of evidence pointing towards the possibility that the company will release the device through another(other) carrier(s) sometime before bringing it to Verizon.
If leaks are to be believed, the Moto X+1 will come with support for even more customization options than its predecessor. It will apparently run on a Snapdragon 801 chipset, and will kick in a 5.2-inch 1080p full HD display, apart from other advanced components.
The Moto X+1 is widely believed to have been set up for an August unveiling. There’s also a possibility of the Moto 360 smartwatch being released alongside it.


text:
GamesIndustry.biz reports that Dundee-based casual game developer Denki has struck a deal with American satellite TV giant DirecTV to feature its games on its interactive TV service.
The deal gives Denki its first foothold in the US, where digital TV gaming is not yet as popular as it is in Europe.
Denki has provided nine games for the launch of DirecTV's new Game Lounge service. They include the puzzle title that made Denki's name - Denki Blocks! - as well as licensed games like Hot Wheels: Monster Truck Smashdown and Barbie in The 12 Dancing Princesses.
DirecTV customers with an interactive TV receiver can access the Game Lounge by paying either USD 5.95 a month for an all-access subscription, or USD 1.95 for its unique "play-per-day" offering


text:
DraftKings Completes Acquisition of Golden Nugget Online Gaming
On Thursday, DraftKings (DKNG) officially completed its acquisition of Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG). Golden Nugget will benefit DraftKings as it will help the company reach iGaming customers who don’t necessarily wager on sports. Last year, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins specified that the company’s clientele is “mainly male and focused on sports,” and the GNOG deal will help it reach a broader audience.
Today, @DraftKings announced the completion of its acquisition of Golden Nugget Online Gaming, allowing the company to deploy a multi-brand approach and broaden its reach into additional customer segments. Read more here: https://t.co/LFcUrpj5Y1 pic.twitter.com/9u5vmr6yS9
— DraftKings News (@DraftKingsNews) May 5, 2022
Transaction Delayed Almost 9 Months
The DraftKings purchase of Golden Nugget was first announced in August of last year with DraftKings expecting $300 million in synergies at maturity. There was initially a target deadline of the end of the first quarter of 2022, but that was pushed off to May 31, 2022.
The transaction was set to be worth $1.5 billion when first agreed, but DraftKings stock has declined by almost 75% since then, so the final compensation is worth around $365 million. Under the deal, GNOG shareholders will receive 0.365 shares of DKNG stock for each share of GNOG.
Expected Benefits of Partnership
In addition to helping DraftKings reach a broader audience, GNOG will offer the sports betting company several synergies to reduce overhead costs. DraftKings will be able to eliminate platform costs by migrating GNOG’s current technology to DraftKings’ in-house proprietary platform.
In addition, DraftKings will reduce G&A expenses such as vendor services and duplicative overhead. DraftKings expects to be able to increase returns on advertising spending and boost its LTV to CAC ratios through the partnership.
DraftKings will likely be rebranding current and future sportsbook locations at Golden Nugget properties into DraftKings sportsbooks, and that brand recognition will surely boost traffic to Golden Nugget casinos.
Tilman Fertitta Confident in DraftKings
GNOG chairman Tilman Fertitta, who is also the owner of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, has remained steadfast in his bullishness on the DraftKings stock, as he has called it a “long term hold” that will “turn the corner like all tech companies and become profitable.”
Fertitta owns about 46% of GNOG and has agreed to hold his DraftKings shares for at least a year following the purchase. He said that he wanted the stock because “this is the best management team in the space” and he has confidence that the stock can reach $50 or $100.
Fertitta Entertainment and DraftKings Partnership
In addition to the GNOG acquisition, DraftKings also has agreed to a partnership with Fertitta Entertainment to become the exclusive Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS), sports betting, and iGaming partner of the Houston Rockets. Additionally, DraftKings will open a sportsbook at the Rockets’ Toyota Center if sports betting becomes legal in Texas.
DraftKings Moving into Las Vegas?
When asked in a call with shareholders, Robins said that his company is “certainly interested in Nevada” and actively looking into it. DraftKings purchased Vegas Sports Information Network (VSiN) in 2021 and later opened a Las Vegas office with 1,000+ companies.
DraftKings doesn’t currently offer Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) in Nevada, but there is an expectation that it could open a Vegas sportsbook in the future. Golden Nugget’s Las Vegas casino currently has its own sportsbook, and DraftKings could ultimately rebrand that sportsbook under its own brand.


text:
AIA Singapore has tied up with asset manager Franklin Templeton to launch a Shariah-compliant balanced fund via an investment-linked plan (ILP), the insurer said in a press release Tuesday.
“AIA Singapore is thrilled to be Singapore’s first insurer to be launching the Shariah Balanced ILP fund to meet the increasing demand amongst Muslim consumers here where such investment options are limited,” Liu Chun Yen, the chief investment officer for AIA Singapore, said in the statement. “The overlap between Shariah-compliant finance and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles will also see non-Muslim consumers interested in the fund,” she added.
The fund’s asset allocations will include the Templeton Shariah Global Equity Fund, the Franklin Global Sukuk Fund and the Franklin Shariah Technology Fund, the release said. Franklin Templeton has more than US$3.2 billion in assets in its Shariah business, the release said.


text:
Thankfully, Samsung isn’t releasing that foldable phone no one asked for
Rumors have swirled in recent years that Samsung was creating a foldable phone. As part of the development process, Samsung is said to have produced a prototype under the so-called Project Valley initiative. We now know what that prototype may have looked like, courtesy of new leaks.
As you see below, the series of photos leaked by a Chinese user and Slaskleaks show a phone with two screens hinged in the center. It’s also clear this phone was created a few years ago since it doesn’t use any of the Samsung’s recent design trends. Identified as SM-G929F, the handset is thick and even more so when it acts like a folio case.
Samsung Project V
— 电流今天也想拍片 (@MMDDJ_) June 16, 2018
Samsung has probably canceled Project Valley, although its foldable phone aspirations live on. As we noted in April, Samsung could be developing a foldable phone with three folds, not two. The so-called Galaxy X could launch in a few years.
Of the leaked handset presented here Digital Trends notes:
However, it was never clear the phone was going to go on sale or was anything more than a prototype used for development. What can we learn from the Project V pictures? Only the Android home screens are showing, spread across the two screens, rather than having to swipe left or right to reveal them. No video or app content is displayed, so it’s not known how Samsung intended to handle the dual-screen aspect of Project V’s app use.
Take Control of Your Health with Fitbit Charge 6! Save up to $60 - Limited Time Offer
Get accurate insights into your heart rate, calories burned, sleep patterns, and more. Achieve your fitness goals while prioritizing your overall well-being.
Samsung isn’t the only company said to be looking into foldable phone technology. Apple could reveal a foldable iPhone as early as 2020.
Aren’t you happy Samsung isn’t making the foldable phone presented here?
For more Samsung news, check out:
- We could see an early August launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9
- Facebook probably shared your data with Apple, Samsung, and other manufacturers
- It’s official: Samsung’s Galaxy S9 downloads content faster than any other smartphone


text:
Online classified ads might seem like an easy digital replication of an old newspaper bulwark for the PC era, but it’s not quite as simple as that. While Craigslist seems to have struggled to innovate in the smartphone age, classifieds site OLX India has produced some surprising numbers.
OLX India’s mobile traffic has just surpassed its desktop-based web traffic. That comes amid growing traffic to the free listings site, hitting half a billion page-views in July. OLX India CEO Amarjit Singh Batra tells us it’s on course to reach 600 million in August once last month’s figures are added up. The site is served by apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows Phone, and several more platforms.
Batra points out that OLX India’s has grown to 52 percent of the site’s overall traffic in July and it’s currently inching towards 55 percent. “We expect mobile to be about 70 percent of our traffic in one to two years,” he says, adding:
The reason for this is that PC penetration – and, because of that, web penetration – is limited [in India], whereas mobile penetration in the country is huge, with mobile internet growing rapidly because of availability of cheaper smart phones and cheap mobile internet tariff plans.
OLX being a classifieds site is deigned for the masses and is very simple to use over the phone. Users are finding it really easy to post ads from their OLX mobile app or their tablets as the camera, internet, and typing is integrated in one device – unlike with PCs. We also see a large number of users who are using internet for the first time on their mobile phones and this number is expected to grow. The mobile-only internet users are expected to be about 100 million [in India] in two to three years time as projected by many reports.
With financial clout from Naspers
OLX actually comes from Argentina, launching there in 2006. OLX India came online in 2007, and is now the top online classifieds site in the country, chased hard by rivals like Quikr and a gaggle of specialist startup selling sites for niche areas, such as Bootstrapp for selling mobiles.
CEO Batra reckons that more rivals “will only help in expanding the market and making people aware that people can get value out of their second-hand products.” And, with listings for over 1,000 cities and rural areas across India, it’ll be a challenge for any other site to get that kind of reach.
OLX also has the financial clout to keep its market position – and run TV ads across India – with funding from South Africa’s Naspers, which is both a strategic investor and a majority stake owner in the classifieds site. We’ve seen Naspers take even more interest in India’s tech sector recently with a 10 percent stake in Flipkart and a hand in the $138 million acquisition of Redbus.in earlier this summer.
The OLX India team is currently made up of 40 people, with plans to expand that number soon.
E-commerce, but face-to-face
Aside from general classifieds ads, OLX India is also used for some localized C2C selling. It’s not quite e-commerce, as the merchants and buyers meet up face-to-face to inspect the goods and hand over cash. Batra says that OLX India might consider e-payments and broadening its scope to e-commerce down the line, but only to the extent that it might “improve the experience for our users.” For now, the site is focused on free listings – paid ones were killed off quietly last year – and monetizing by advertisements it places on the site.
Currently, 90 percent of the sellers on the site are individuals, not merchants with a bunch of stock to shift, and there’s no plan to morph into India’s version of Taobao, the iconic Chinese e-commerce site that turned China into a nation of amateur e-shopkeepers. Instead, the site is focusing on classifieds for its most popular sections, such as mobiles, gadgets, used cars and bikes, and household goods. Batra adds, “We are also doing very well organically in local jobs [listings], real estate, and C2C services, where we haven’t focused too much at this stage.”
(Editing by Anh-Minh Do)


text:
OPINION: The future of fintech
DURBAN - Far from the panic of Y2k and the limited capabilities of the Nokia 3310, consumers in 2020 have a world of financial services accessible on their smartphones.
With an 82 percent fintech adoption rate in 2019, according to the EY Global Index, South Africa is set to experience further shifts around traditional financial and banking systems in 2020.
"We’ve seen unprecedented developments in the fintech space over the past few years. Innovations in mobile payments, digital currencies, cloud software and digital lending have completely changed the way consumers engage with financial services," said Daniel Goldberg, co-founder of Bridgement, a Fintech company offering digital invoice financing and credit facilities to small businesses.
He added, "Strides in digital lending were made in 2019. We’re seeing higher adoption rates of fintech lending, through a more informed and educated market,” says Goldberg. “By promoting a more client-centric and interactive approach to financial and banking services, fintech will continue to change customer experiences and expectations".
Bank Zero, Tyme Bank, Better Bank and Discovery Bank, were launched in 2019. Goldberg believes that by lowering the need for physical infrastructure and optimising processes, the newcomers will be able to run more cost effectively than traditional banks.
"Going forward into 2020, these banks will play an important role in the market. Their accessible services and apps built off the latest technology, will draw in a number of customers, even from incumbent banks," said Goldberg.
He predicts that 2020 will see the continuation of big non-financial institutions moving into the fintech space.
He said, "We’ve seen several big companies such as retail chains and the Telco’s moving into financial services by offering insurance and credit products. This trend will continue, with more retailers becoming active in this space".
Hesitation surrounding cryptocurrency is likely to continue this year as South Africa holds no specific laws or regulations that address the use of virtual currencies.
He said, "Due to their unregulated status, cryptocurrency cannot be classified as legal tender or a means of payment. Mass adoption will only occur once people become more familiar with and comfortable with cryptocurrency".
Although unlikely to come into effect this year, South Africa is set to follow the global trend of open banking – allowing customers to more easily share their financial data.
"This will allow customers to access a new wave of fintech services with more automation, better security and greater efficiencies within financial services," said Goldberg.
He believes that local fintech startups will continue to help small businesses avoid new digital security risks such as EFT fraud and hacked accounts.
Goldberg added, "As we continue to transact and communicate more online, the risk for fraud and other cyber threats will only increase".
Bridgement’s fintech predictions for 2020:
Digital only banking - lowering the need for physical infrastructure and optimising processes, online banks will be able to run more cost effectively than traditional banks.
More corporates moving into fintech – several big companies such as retail chains and the Telco’s are moving into the Fintech space by offering insurance and credit products.
Continued scepticism for cryptocurrency – currently in South Africa, there are no specific laws or regulations that address the use of virtual currencies. Mass adoption will only occur once it is regulated and more people become familiar and comfortable with cryptocurrency.
Increase in digital security – as we continue to transact and communicate more online, the risk for fraud and other cyber threats will only increase. Local fintech companies will help businesses avoid new risks including EFT fraud and hacked accounts.
Open banking – South Africa is set to follow the global trend of open banking. This means businesses will experience more automation, better security and greater efficiencies with financial services.
Further growth of fintech lenders – filling the gaps that banks are missing in terms of SME funding. More partnerships between fintech lenders and banks and other non-financial institutions will be seen.
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE


text:
Although the net percent of our 549 respondents expressing optimism about the economy has jumped to 47.2% from 30% two months ago, perhaps the most significant result in our survey this month is in the labour market. Only a net 12.2% of respondents now say that they are finding it hard to source jobs or extra hours of work. This proportion was a net 23.8% in our previous survey undertaken at the end of November.
The results are supportive of a good outlook for retailers this year, but there may be a note of caution injected regarding how much the Reserve bank will need to raise interest rates to keep inflation suppressed this cycle. Whereas in late-November a net 54.5% of respondents said they expect house prices to rise in the coming year, that proportion has now risen to a net 68.5%.
NB: The net percentages are calculated as Up minus Down with the result divided by the sum of all responses of Up, Down, and Same or variations thereof. EG, for this month 328 or 60% of people said they have a positive outlook for the economy, 69 or 13% Worse, 152 or 28% Same. (328-69)/(328+69+152)*100 = 47.2%
The survey is made possible by Nine Rewards, an online market research panel of over 70,000 people in New Zealand. www.ninerewards.co.nz


text:
Kristjan Loftsson, manager of whaling firm Hvalur, said ... firms must first test the meat for dangerous chemicals to see if it meets food industry standards.Based on the Japanese articles I have seen, I agree that a supply of 100 tonnes of fin whale meat should easily have a market found for it. Loftsson is absolutely right in taking the time to run the tests pollutants. One point that I haven't seen covered anywhere yet is the process of registering the DNA of each whale with the ICR. Currently all meat sourced from Japan's research programmes is logged on the DNA register, and fishermen wishing to market products based on by-caught whales may also do so on the condition that they provide the authorities with a DNA sample from the whale.
"We have not sold any meat. First we must analyse the meat. When that's done, then there will be no problems," he said.
Loftsson expects a decision on when Hvalur will start marketing the meat abroad by the end of January, but said the analysis of the meat has taken longer than expected.
"We must prepare and carry out testing carefully. We have never done this before and we have to do an extremely good job," Loftsson said.
Gudfinnsson said there were no laws or regulations in Japan, where Icelandic whaling firms plan to sell most of their catch, to prevent the import of whale meat.
... according to the latest statistics, Iceland's tourism industry stayed strong into the end of 2006.The article unfortunately doesn't provide any monthly figures to substantiate the statement, but based on past history, I am expecting that the impact on tourism from the decision will indeed be limited, ultimately. Iceland resumed whaling in a scientific form in 2003, as opposed to the commercial form of the latest hunt, and the reality is that people who oppose whaling will generally oppose it in any form. Many people who opposed Iceland's scientific permits were also likely under the impression that the research was "commercial whaling in disguise", anyway.
Keflavik Airport saw an 11 percent rise in passenger traffic in 2006, while stays in Icelandic hotels were up by 11 percent in the first 11 months of 2006.
June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 January 2010 February 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010 August 2010 September 2010 February 2011 March 2011 May 2013 June 2013


text:
Mauritius tourism growth lags behind other Indian Ocean islands
Struggling to take off? In just four years, Mauritius has been relegated from market leader in Indian Ocean tourism space, with dominant market share of 40%, to a laggard at third place. (Image: Global Village Directory)
Mauritius tourism lagged far behind that of other Indian Ocean islands with a pale 3% annualised growth rate between 2009 and 2013, even as Seychelles grew by 10%, Maldives by 14% and Sri Lanka by a towering 30%, says a report by Axys Stockbroking.
While Maldives, Sri Lanka and Mauritius all hosted a little fewer than 1 million guests in 2012, solid-double digit growth thereafter has propelled the former two well ahead of Mauritius.
Thus, in just four years, Mauritius has been relegated from market leader in Indian Ocean tourism space, with dominant market share of 40%, to a laggard at third place.
Axys Stockbroking’s recently published report on the Mauritian tourism industry also notes that the island’s receipts per visitor per day (RpVD) last year stood below Rs 4,000 for the first time since 2005.
The report by the Mauritius-based financial services firm also projects tourism receipts at Rs 42.5 billion in 2014, against Rs 40.6 billion in 2013, a rise of 5%.
Further, Mauritius’ tourist arrivals in 2014 are expected to hit 984,000 excluding transit and cruise passengers, against 963,000 comparable tourist footfalls in 2013, representing a rise of 2%.
Total tourist arrivals in 2013 increased to 993,000, representing an increase of 2.9% over 2012 numbers.
However, excluding transit and cruise passengers, the figure improved by 3.5% to 963,000 compared to 931,000 in 2012.
The report mentioned that in 2013, Europeans contributed 55% of tourist arrivals while 15% of tourist arrivals were Asians.
While Mauritius can expect growth in tourism earnings with European tourists returning as Eurozone economies recover, but analysts say real growth in the sector will come from targeting Asia.
The report also argues that a technocratic high level steering committee is required to bring direction and concrete objectives back to this ‘headless’ industry.
Ultimately, Axys Stockbroking has advised that the Mauritian destination must be re-glamorised by the government, and the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) must get its act in place. The report criticizes the flip-flop by the MTPA over the current branding of Mauritius tourism under ‘Mauritius C’est un Plaisir’ motto, and notes that digital marketing is essential to take the brand forward in this day and age of social media.
On the other hand, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) expects Mauritius’ tourism sector to grow by 4.4% a year over the next decade, with its share of total national investment rising to 6.5% by 2024 from 5.8% in 2014.
In 2013, the direct contribution of Travel & Tourism to the total GDP stood at 11.3% or Rs 41.4 billion. This figure is forecast to rise by 6% in 2014, and to rise by 4.4% per annum from 2014-2024, to Rs 67.8 billion, or 12.0% of total GDP, in 2024.
Concerning capital investment, Travel & Tourism is expected to have attracted Rs 5 billion in 2013, which is anticipated to grow by 1.7% in 2014 and continue to grow by 4.8% per annum over the next ten years to Rs 8.1 billion in 2014.
The tourism sector has the ability to generate high levels of employment as it is proved to be a tool for economic development and job creation, the WTTC report notes.
Consequently, last year Travel & Tourism directly supported 62,000 jobs, representing 10.8% of total employment, and this figure is expected to rise by 4.1% this year and rise by 2.5% per annum to 83,000 jobs, 12.0% of total employment, in 2024.
In addition, the total contribution of Travel & Tourism to employment, including wider effects from investment, the supply chain and induced income impacts, was 137,500 jobs in 2013.
This number is anticipated to increase by 3.6% to 142,500 jobs in 2014, with Travel & Tourism ultimately forecast to support as many as 179,000 jobs by 2024, an increase of 2.3% per annum over the period.


text:
Adept Technology, Inc.
- CA, United States
- Tel: (925) 245-3400
- Fax: (925) 960-0452
Click Here to Contact
- Member Since 1992
- Robotic Supplier
Adept Technology, Inc. is a leading provider of intelligent industrial and mobile robots and services worldwide. Our robots enable companies to achieve increased productivity, higher precision and better quality throughout the production life-cycle. Founded in 1983, Adept is the world leader in autonomous intelligent vehicles (AIVs) and the largest U.S.-based manufacturer of industrial robots. Today, we are leading the convergence of industrial and mobile robots through intuitive products and services. We pride ourselves on our technical capabilities, product simplicity and proactive customer support. Our product lines include industrial robots, autonomous mobile robots, configurable linear modules, machine controllers, machine vision, and specialized software. Our core markets include manufacturing, warehouse/logistics, electronics, semiconductor and food.
New Viper Robots on Display at Motek Trade Show in Stuttgart, Germany.
Adept Technology announced today that it won a Robotics Business Review Game Changer Award for its Lynx autonomous intelligent vehicle.
Adept Technology announced today that it will be presenting at the 2015 Liolios Gateway Conference.
Adept Technology, Inc. has added a new distributor in the Republic of Korea, YS-Thermtech Co., Ltd.
Adept Technology, Inc. today announced its fiscal 2015 fourth quarter and full year financial results.
Adept Technology, Inc. today announced that it will release the Company's financial results for the fourth quarter and full year.
Adept Technology announced today that Terry Hannon will present a company overview at the Canaccord Genuity 35th Annual Growth Conference.
Adept Technology announced today that it has hired Brian McMorris as Vice President of North American Sales for Fixed Robotics.
Adept Technology, Inc. announced today that it has added a new distributor, Olympus Controls, Inc.
Hornet 565 to Debut at CiROS Tradeshow in Shanghai July 8-11, 2015.
Attendees Will Get First Look at New Robots and Applications at Adept's Booth, A116, July 8-11 in Shanghai.
Adept Technology has added a new distributor in China, Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Co.
Adept Technology, Inc. has received orders over the last several weeks totaling more than 2.5 million dollars.
HTE Technologies Will Market and Support Adept Robots in Missouri, Kansas and Southern Illinois.
Adept Technology, Inc. has today announced that it has agreed to sell 1,391,304 shares of its common stock.
Applied Controls Will Market and Support Adept Robots in U.S. Mid-Atlantic Region.
Adept Technology, Inc. has received an order totaling more than 1 million dollars for its Lynx AIVs.
Mobile business made significant progress, contributing over 20 percent of total revenues generated by a record number of unit shipments.
Adept announced that it will release the Company's financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2015.
"See the Future of Mobile Robots - Today" at Booth 1060 March 23-26 at McCormick Place in Chicago.


text:
China Minmetals Non-ferrous Metals Co. Ltd. (CMN), a subsidiary under the country's metal and mineral titan China Minmetals Corp.(CMC), has bought HPTec, Germany's leading manufacturer of drills and cutters for an unspecified price, CMC told Xinhua on Tuesday.
CMN said this move is to update its tungsten sector and it will have a 100 percent control of the Ravensburg-based company, the biggest European producer of printed circuit board (PCB)-use microcutting tools.
Founded in 1977, HPTec has branches in Singapore, the Republic of Korea and China.
The acquisition is part of CMC's strategy since 2002 to transform its business focus from metal trading to production.
State-owned CMC is one of China's major importers and exporters of metals and minerals. As a Fortune 500 member, the corporation's operating revenue was 21.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2007, with profits topping 7.1 billion yuan (1.02 billion U.S. dollars).


text:
The decline in car production in Thailand in February was primarily due to various factors, including the rise in imported electric vehicles (EVs) and a decrease in the production of pickup trucks. These factors contributed to a 19.3% decrease in car production compared to previous months. This trend indicates a shift in consumer preferences towards more environmentally friendly vehicles and a decrease in the demand for certain types of vehicles.
The increase in imported electric vehicles suggests a growing interest in sustainable transportation options among consumers. On the other hand, the decrease in production of pickup trucks may indicate a shift in market demand or changing economic conditions in the country. Overall, these factors have led to a significant decline in car production in Thailand, highlighting the dynamic nature of the automotive industry and the need for manufacturers to adapt to changing trends.


text:
Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission X for the Nintendo 3DS — the third and latest portable entry supporting the over-six-years-old, still-going-strong, card-based arcade game — launched in Japan 27 April 2017. According to the Media Create sales list for the reporting period of 03 July 2017 to 09 July 2017, the game pushed an additional 2,594 copies during its eleventh week on sale, bringing its total sales to 175,491 copies in Japan.
By comparison, the original Ultimate Mission had sold 184,517 copies by its respective eleventh week in May 2013, while Ultimate Mission 2 had fallen off the charts in its eleventh week having done roughly 152,000 copies by its respective tenth week in October 2014. The most recent Nintendo 3DS game prior to Ultimate Mission X‘s release — Ganbarion’s Dragon Ball Fusions — had pushed 177,592 total copies by its respective eleventh week last October.
Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission X received a Version 1.1 update this spring adding a new Tenka’ichi Budōkai mode. As with the previous Dragon Ball Heroes games on the Nintendo 3DS, no international localization has been announced for Ultimate Mission X.


text:
Vodafone Essar has announced its special tariff bonus card to usher in Durga Pujo for its prepaid customers in Kolkata. Priced at Rs 99, this bonus card is valid for a period of 15 days and offers 30,000 seconds of talk time to all local Vodafone to Vodafone numbers. This special card can be availed by minute pulse subscribers too.
The Bonus Card Rs 99 will be available at all Vodafone Stores, ministores and retail outlets across Kolkata.
Telecom operators usually offer such lucrative offers ahead of festival seasons. On Saturday, Reliance Communication also announced its Triple Dhamaka festival offer for Reliance 3G customers under which it is offering triple data download for the price of one plan. The Triple Dhamaka offer allows Reliance 3G customers to download three times more data than the existing download limit without extra charges. This limited period festive offer is available to both prepaid and postpaid customers in all the 333 towns of the 13 3G circles of Reliance Communications.
Idea Cellular too announced the launch of special recharge voucher for its users in West Bengal recently. The new voucher will enable Idea prepaid subscribers to make local, STD and ISD calls at affordable rates to their friends and relatives during the upcoming festival season, and also get more value for money.
Idea is now offering Rs 42 worth of talktime on a recharge of Rs 35. Idea users in Kolkata and West Bengal who wish to avail the special offer can recharge with the new voucher which will also enable them to make local and STD calls at just 40 paise per minute. Talktime validity is for seven days from the day of the recharge.


text:
Israeli B2B data company Zoominfo, a firm that develops go-to-market intelligence solutions, has announced its intention to acquire Chorus.ai, also an Israeli company that developed a conversation intelligence platform for sales teams. The value of the transaction was listed at approximately $575 million in cash.
Founded in 2000, Zoominfo offers accurate and actionable B2B contact and company intelligence to help organizations accelerate profitable growth. It enables sales and marketing teams to execute marketing campaigns and improve sales prospecting efforts with access to on-demand direct-dial phone numbers, email addresses, and background information.
Chorus.ai was founded in 2015, developing a conversation intelligence platform for high-growth sales teams that aims to transform conversations into data and insights. Chorus.ai’s technology transcribes and analyzes business conversations in real-time, with proprietary algorithms detecting key, high-value moments during sales calls. These insights serve as the foundation of a coaching strategy for sales and customer-oriented teams. Its clients include Zoom, Qualtrics, Adobe, TripActions, and GitLab.
Chorus has 14 granted patents and is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Tel Aviv, Boston, Toronto, and Salt Lake City.
Together, ZoomInfo and Chorus.ai will allow “customers to make excellent, data-driven decisions through their sales funnel, combining ZoomInfo’s historic top-of-the-funnel strength with insights-driven from the middle of the funnel in the customer conversations that Chorus captures,” the companies said in the announcement released last week.
“The acquisition of Chorus will accelerate our vision to deliver a modern go-to-market platform that brings together best-in-class intelligence with comprehensive data management, workflow, and engagement software, empowering companies to effectively execute their revenue-generating strategies,” said Henry Schuck, ZoomInfo founder and CEO. “With the largest Conversation Intelligence patent portfolio in the industry, Chorus will advance each aspect of our vision by surfacing a new category of insights, illuminating new workflows, and enabling more targeted engagement at scale.”
Chorus.ai CEO Jim Benton said “ZoomInfo has a bold vision of delivering a world-class go-to-market platform that empowers companies to drive better execution and more revenue. Chorus will play a vital role in helping deliver on that promise with deep, AI-driven insights based on real interactions with prospects and customers, a previously untapped source of crucial data about their relationships.”
Benton will join ZoomInfo as Senior Vice President, Emerging Products.
The acquisition of Chorus.ai will expand ZoomInfo’s total addressable market to $70 billion, the company said. It is its second announced acquisition in two months. In June, Zoominfo said that it acquired Insent, a Japanese conversational marketing platform that identifies website visitors through artificial intelligence (AI) and chatbot technology.


text:
With the launch of the Paramount+, Australian consumers of video streaming are arguably drowning in choice.
But all this competition isn’t actually making things easier. It’s likely all this “choice” will see more of us turning to piracy to watch our favourite films and televisions shows.
The problem is that services are competing (at least in part) through offering exclusive content and original programming.
Paramount+, for example, is offering content from Paramount Pictures and other entertainment companies owned by entertainment conglomerate ViaComCBS. These include Showtime, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. Its catalogue ranges from the Indiana Jones and Harry Potter movies to popular TV shows Dexter, NCIS and The Big Bang Theory.
This content may have been available on your preferred services. But the end goal — as with Disney+ and others — is for all ViaComCBS-owned content to be exclusive to Paramount+.
Here the problem for the consumer becomes evident. How many subscription services do you want to join? Subscribing to the six most popular video streaming services — Netflix, Stan, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Binge, and Apple TV+ — will cost you about $60 a month. How much more are you willing to pay for a new service to watch a favourites film or TV show now only that service?
The temptation to turn to piracy is clear.
The emergence of video streaming services such as Netflix was heralded as an effective way to curb illegal downloads. But how Netflix did this at first was in aggregating content. It provided a convenient, cost-effective and legal way to access a large catalogue of TV shows and movies; and consumers embraced it.
But as the streaming market has developed, the loss of content aggregation appears to be leading back to piracy.
As an example, according to analytics company Sandvine, the file-sharing tool BitTorrent accounted for 31% of all uploads in 2018; in 2019 it was 45%. As Sandvine explained:
When Netflix aggregated video, we saw a decline in file sharing worldwide, especially in the US, where Netflix’s library was large and comprehensive. As new original content has become more exclusive to other streaming services, consumers are turning to file sharing to get access to those exclusives since they can’t or won’t pay money just for a few shows.
This trend has been amplified by COVID-19 lockdowns, with traffic to illegal TV and movie sites reportedly surging in 2020. A survey for the Australian Government found 34% of respondents consumed some form of illegal content in 2020.
Lessons from music
Why should this be happening more for TV shows and movies and not for music?
There’s an important difference. Services such as Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal offer you just about all the music there is. You don’t need to sign up to one to listen to The Beatles and another to hear Taylor Swift. You need only sign up to one.
Research has shown that a consumer’s willingness to pay is often anchored around the initial information they are exposed to. Viewers accustomed to paying for one streaming service might be reluctant to pay for as many as six.
In a survey of about 3,000 US TV watchers in February, 56% said they felt overwhelmed by the number of streaming services on offer.
Deloitte’s Australian Media Consumer Survey 2019 found that almost half of streaming video on demand subscribers said it was hard to know what content is available on what service. Three-quarters said they wanted the content in one place, rather than having to hunt through multiple services.
Seeking a one-stop shop
But in the absence of a legal one-stop-shop for TV and movies, people will take matters into their own hands.
Illegal streaming platforms that aggregate content from multiple video streaming services into a single interface are becoming more widespread. Such services typically use an open-source media player, coupled with cheap jailbroken hardware and a VPN to access a plethora of illegal entertainment.
Until the industry offers a legal alternative to such platforms, the popularity of such services is only likely to grow.


text:
Lucid is a relatively new player in the electric car scene. It was just April of this year that the startup automaker revealed its Air EV. At the time of the vehicle’s debut, Lucid claimed an Air prototype had reached a top speed of 217 mph on the Transportation Research Center’s test track in Ohio. This month, Lucid returned to the banked oval circuit to aim even higher.
Using the same Alpha Speed Car, Lucid has announced that the Air achieved a top speed of 235 mph. To put that figure into perspective, the first top speed, recorded in April, matched that of a million-dollar supercar – the Ferrari LaFerrari.
So how did the automaker improve by 18 miles per hour? Lucid says its first test saddled the prototype with software that limited the top end to 217 mph. The initial test more than exceeded the company’s expectations, but Lucid knew the car could go further with some improvements.
“For example, the self-leveling air suspension was not able to adjust quickly enough when running near 200 mph on a high-banked track, with heavy downforce pushing the car laterally against the track.” Lucid explains in a recent blog post. “We also found the front motor was running at temperatures higher than had been predicted in computer simulations.”
The front motor received coolant flow and ventilation upgrades. New, aerodynamically efficient wheels were fitted. Finally, the speed limiter was removed. Like the first test, the July prototype was equipped with a roll cage and a parachute for emergencies.
During the first test in April, the Air prototype was doing 200 mph coming off the banked curves. This time, it was doing 215 mph. By the end of the straight, it clocked 235.44 mph in a silent rush.
Lucid is quick to point out that because this is a prototype, specifically setup for top speed runs, the production car may not match this top speed. However, with the consumer model boasting 1,000hp and 400 miles of range in its highest trim, there should be no question that the pure EV is lightning fast.