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Financial tech giant NCR Corp. could bring more than 5,000 jobs to Midtown Atlanta — an influx of workers that will reshape the skyline and add momentum to the region’s frenetic pace of development.
NCR (NYSE: NCR) could add about 5,300 jobs over five years as it grows into its planned headquarters campus near Tech Square, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed told Atlanta Business Chronicle on Aug. 9. That estimate is nearly 50 percent more than the 3,600 jobs NCR has said its relocation from Duluth, Ga., would bring.
NCR, which declined comment, is expected to consolidate work from two states, one of which is said to be Texas. The company has made several acquisitions in the past few years, including Redwood City, Calif.-based online and mobile banking software firm Digital Insight Corp. and Retalix, an Israeli software company with North American headquarters in Plano, Texas.
NCR had planned to maintain a presence in Atlanta’s suburbs — the company considered consolidating employees scattered across several suburban buildings into a new 160,000-square-foot office near Avalon in Alpharetta. That deal, which was “very far” along in negotiations, was scrapped a few months ago, a source said. The Midtown campus expansion is expected to absorb those employees.
Abandoning the suburbs entirely is an unusual move, given that more than 90 percent of the company’s workforce live north of Interstate 285, a source said.
NCR’s move to Midtown underscores a culture shift in the 130-year-old company. It is also a nod to the Fortune 500 fintech’s pivot from hardware to software and services. NCR, which invented the cash register, is transforming into a technology and services company. The company is spending billions of dollars in developing and acquiring high-margin software, applications and services, as consumers change the way they shop, bank and travel.
“It is our goal to become more of a software and SaaS company,” NCR’s chief information officer, Bill VanCuren said earlier. “Right now we are in the Top 50 software companies in the world.”
In locating to Midtown — the nucleus of Atlanta’s tech and creative class — NCR is making a play for the millennial workforce that prefers the bustle of in-town living and has no patience for long commutes to the ‘burbs. It is also about creating brand awareness as the financial payments industry gets disrupted by changing consumer preferences and technology competitors. Having a corporate sign atop a trophy tower overlooking the Downtown Connector likely drives better marketing return on investment than being tucked away in a generic suburban campus.
The NCR expansion is going to add to the density of the fintech ecosystem in Midtown, said H. West Richards, executive director of the Atlanta-based American Transaction Processors Coalition.
“That’s going to help draw talent and investment to the area,” Richards said.
And, it might already be happening. Three fintech companies are said to be considering Midtown for corporate headquarters relocations, Richards said.
Since NCR initially announced plans for its new headquarters early last year, plans for its campus have grown by nearly 50 percent.
Cousins Properties Inc., (NYSE: CUZ) which is developing the campus, revealed plans for a Phase 2 in a quarterly earnings call on July 27. Phase 2 includes the addition of about 240,500 square feet of corporate office space and nearly 10,000 square feet of retail and other space.
Cousins is in the midst of building NCR’s 494,000-square-foot office tower, which the developer said would cost $213 million to develop. That’s up from the “approximately $200 million” estimate Cousins provided during an analysts call in the third quarter of 2015.
NCR picked a site in the “heartbeat of everything that’s happening,” Midtown Alliance CEO Kevin Green told Atlanta Business Chronicle. The company realizes that and is doubling down with the expansion.
“The decision by NCR to locate (at Tech Square) in the first place was significant,” Green said. “And now, while they are still moving dirt, to come in with Phase 2 is very exciting.”
NCR’s bold bet on Midtown is likely to bring more players to the table.
“Each announcement like this adds another dimension to the ecosystem that’s being created,” Green said. “It’s a compounding effect. When business and talent decide to locate here, more business and talent are going to decide to locate here. The fundamentals are here.”
Despite the frenetic spate of development in Midtown, Green said even more opportunity is ahead. There are more than 70 acres of property that can accommodate more than 30 million square feet of new development as of right now within a 10-minute walk from Tech Square, Green said.
“We are in the midst of one of the most important chapters in our history in terms of economic development for Midtown and particularly Tech Square,” he said.
Urvaksh Karkaria covers Technology.


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Kuala Lumpur—Every cent counts. Every penny matters. The mandatory 10 percent service charge imposed is too much for the diners wanting to sit and eat in a fine restaurant that some people in KL find a way to circumvent it. They dine and eat their ordered takeaway food. This has become a trend in the capital city.
Branded as the heart of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur’s cost of living is getting expensive. It ranked 296th out of 447 cities in the world and with a cost of living index of 41.09 according to Numbeo, the world’s largest database of user contributed data about cities and countries worldwide providing current and timely information on world living conditions including cost of living, housing indicators, health care, traffic, crime and pollution.
Service charge is an additional rate usually implemented by service providers towards consumers for the service delivered. It is different from the service tax and other taxes levied by the government. Service providers in the hospitality industry like restaurants and hotels are allowed to charge a 5 – 10% rate of the total bill for service charge.
Service charge actually tips for the employees given that tipping culture is not really practiced by Malaysians. It is meant to supplement the low income of employees for the amount collected will theoretically then be shared among all employees at the end of the month. Service charge encourages better service too so that customers will patronise the establishment.
On the other hand, sales and service tax (SST) is a form of indirect tax imposed by the Malaysian government on taxable persons for specified “taxable services” under the Service Tax Act 1975 [Act 151]. It was reintroduced middle of this year permanently scrapping the gross and service tax (GST).
The trend has become a coping mechanism for the rising cost residents endured in their daily living. Residents insist that they are just being smart in spending their money and they just want to save some ringgits.
They added that anyway, they are still supporting the businesses by still buying food from these restaurants. Other residents also maintain “I want to be able to enjoy the luxury of eating out without ripping a hole in my pocket.”
Photo: Screengrab from YouTube
But everyone does not agree especially the restaurant owners and supervisors. They felt that they are short-changed and asserted that their businesses are losing thousands of money every month.
The question of being ethical doing it seems to cloud the claims of the residents. One restaurant manager feels that it is a “violation of our honesty”. She adds, “we try our best to be honest; that’s why we have a sign that says the restaurant charges service charge and tax.” Service charge is stated in the menu.
Even the Malaysian Franchise Association, a non-governmental organization, which assists franchise businesses, including restaurants, is aware of the issue of residents foregoing service charges.
Mr Mohamad Shukri Salleh, association’s secretary-general, proposes a solution for both sides: “While we urge diners to be more considerate, what these eateries can do is take advantage of the situation by turning it into a marketing strategy – use social media to show that many people actually go to their restaurants. It can be a win-win situation for all.”
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As of today, GLOBUL launches series of promotional activities with prizes which will be held across the country. Within the campaign, which will run until September 15 inclusive, the operator will give away a total of 280 summer gifts. The new GLOBUL Go Green initiative is aimed at promoting healthy lifestyle and care about the environment among young people.
Each day the operator’s promo teams will be in different places in Bulgaria, as the campaign will cover 80 cities in the country. Information on the exact time and locations of the promotions will be published in a special internet application available at GLOBUL Facebook page.
Those who wish to participate in the summer events will have to find the green promo teams of GLOBUL and ask for a card with a unique code. Using the code, the participants may register for the raffle in the GLOBUL Go Green application at the operator’s Facebook page. Each participant may register with more than one identification code to increase the chances of winning a gift. The prize draw will be held every week. The winners will be notified by email and by phone and their names will be published in the Facebook application.
As part of its GLOBUL Go Green campaign, the operator will give away 100 longboards, 50 bicycles, 50 solar chargers, 20 kayaks, 10 paddleboards and 50 bamboo sunglasses.


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Xiaomi is one of the fastest-growing organizations in the smartphone and related industries. The company can no longer stay away from its customer base and return soon after launching one device. But there was a lack of software in this company.
It is not a new thing to say that Xiaomi heavily criticized for not including the MIUI 12.5 (Android 11) system on the outside box of the new Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro and Mi 11 Ultra. But companies have their reasons for this.
According to Xiaomi, 2020 is the most revolutionary year for MIUI since the MIUI V5 era. The company developed two significant research and development versions, which improved privacy, animation, interactions, and more.
But adapting to Android 11 is quite tricky. Companies’ challenges with Android 11 include stability, performance, and compatibility issues with third-party apps. And that’s why the company could not release the Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro and Mi 11 Ultra with fully functional Android 11.
In a statement, the company said:
“So for quite some time, the team has been working hard to optimize and repair, including layered adaptation for different performance models. Although we see a significant increase in version quality every week, this process still brings some challenges. We also want to ask everyone to understand that the version’s stability is the most important thing we are currently investing in. You will see perceivable changes in the next release”.
According to these sources, the smartphone market is very competitive, and there are challenges in terms of software updates. If Xiaomi slows down its software work, it may start losing a significant chunk of its market share. The company can’t bear this, provided it just has started its mission.


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Town of Babylon officials: Copiague smoke shop sold nicotine products to minors
A Copiague smoke shop was busted Monday afternoon for allegedly selling vape products to minors.
The Town of Babylon and Suffolk County police executed a search warrant at the store following reports that it was selling nicotine products to children.
Town officials tell News 12 they were tipped off to the store after a school resource officer caught 9- and 10-year-olds with vape pens allegedly purchased there.
They say with the help of Suffolk police, they made three undercover buys of nicotine vape products and THC-laced edibles by a minor, including one made to look like a bag of chips.
The town says at least one person at the store was arrested Monday.
Officials showed News 12 a photo of what appears to be a bulk amount of marijuana ready for distribution found inside the store. They say Suffolk narcotics detectives will now take over the investigation.
"They found a few bags of marijuana inside and they'll take that back to the precinct, along with the clerk who was working behind the counter," says Babylon Councilman Terence McSweeney.
Recreational marijuana or THC products are not allowed to be sold in New York yet and town officials say they are not supposed to be sold to minors.
They say the smoke shop was also operating too close to Great Neck Road Elementary School and did not have a license to operation in the town.
"They just opened up on their own - they didn't get any permission from the town - no permits were put in," Rosario says.
Suffolk County police tell News 12 a search warrant was executed at the location.
Babylon officials say the owner of the store and the landlord of the strip mall could face thousands in fines.


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PepsiCo said its quarterly revenue fell 3.2 percent, largely due to a strong dollar.
The company's net revenue fell to $12.22 billion in the first quarter ended March 21, from $12.62 billion a year earlier.
Net income attributable to PepsiCo was little changed at $1.22 billion but earnings per share rose to 81 cents from 79.
Shares of Pepsi were down 1% in pre-market trade on Thursday.
(Editing by Don Sebastian)


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That, most likely, won't happen.
As of the time of this writing, Kia has no plans to launch the new Optima on the European markets. The sedan’s demise from the region is due to the huge popularity of crossovers and SUVs, which annihilate sales from the Old Continent’s D-segment, where the Optima competes against the Volkswagen Passat, Skoda Superb, Ford Mondeo, and the likes. While this decision basically means no Optima wagon is in the cards too, we decided to share an interesting rendering previewing a hypothetical long roof Optima.
Gallery: 2020 Kia Optima Sportswagon rendering
Our friends and colleagues from Kolesa.ru propose a very stylish family vehicle that shares design cues with the new Optima, the previous Optima Sportswagon, and the Proceed shooting brake. The latter borrows its athletic rear end to the Optima wagon and provides inspiration for the design of the rear bumper diffuser.
save over $3,400 on average off MSRP* on a new Kia Optima
The situation in Europe’s D-segment is far from being stable at this point. The Volkswagen Passat continues to dominate the charts with more than 90,000 examples delivered through the first nine months of 2019, followed by the Skoda Superb with close to 52,000 sales. However, every single model from the top-four best-sellers is suffering from a major sales decline.
The Optima’s performance in Europe is not great, too. Last year, the company sold approximately 10,000 examples of the model, while deliveries in the United States were nearly ten times higher. Still, chances of seeing a new Optima Sportswagon seem very slim at the moment.
The first generation Optima wagon debuted in 2016 with a huge 19.5-cubic feet (552-liter) boot and a choice of three different engines.


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Elon Musk Wants to Terminate $44 Billion Twitter Acquisition [Updated]
Elon Musk no longer plans to purchase Twitter for $44 billion, according to Reuters. Musk told Twitter this evening that he is calling off the deal because of “material breach of multiple provisions of the agreement.”
Back in April, Musk offered to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share, and Twitter agreed to accept the offer in late April. Since then, the deal has been up in the air because of an issue over spam or fake accounts.
Musk in May put his Twitter takeover “temporarily on hold” because he did not believe Twitter’s claim that fake or spam accounts represent less than five percent of users. Musk at the time said that he was “still committed to the acquisition,” but he also said that he wanted to look into Twitter’s spam account data.
In a notice to Twitter, Musk said that Twitter did not comply with its contractual obligations and that he was not provided with the relevant business information that he requested.
Update: Twitter chairman Bret Taylor says that Twitter’s board is “committed to closing the transaction” and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the agreement.
The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery.
— Bret Taylor (@btaylor) July 8, 2022
Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Apple today announced that the new MacBook Air equipped with the M2 chip will be available to order starting Friday, July 8 at 5 a.m. Pacific Time. Apple said deliveries to customers and in-store availability will begin Friday, July 15.
MacRumors exclusively reported that Apple planned to launch the new MacBook Air on July 15, and the date has now been confirmed by Apple. Customers will be…
Apple today announced a new Lockdown Mode coming to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura. Apple says the optional security feature is designed to protect the “very small number” of users who may be at risk of “highly targeted cyberattacks” from private companies developing state-sponsored spyware, such as journalists, activists, and government employees.
The upcoming launch of Apple’s redesigned MacBook Air with the M2 chip has some Windows laptop manufacturers “worried” that sales of Intel-based laptops will be negatively affected, according to industry sources cited by DigiTimes. “A Wintel brand vendor pointed out that at a price point of US$1,000-$1,500, the MacBook Air will crowd out other high-end notebooks,” the report claims, with…
European Union lawmakers have approved landmark legislation to heavily regulate Apple, Google, Meta, and other big tech firms.
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA) were proposed by the European Commission in December 2020. Now, collected in a “Digital Services Package,” the legislation has been formally adopted by the European Parliament and seeks to address…
Apple today released new firmware for the Siri Remote designed for the Apple TV, updating the software from version 9M6772 to 10M1103. The software is for the redesigned Siri Remote that was released in May 2021, aka the gray remote with the updated interface. In the Apple TV settings, the new firmware will display as 0x0070, up from 0x0061. There is no word on what’s new with the Apple TV…
Following the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote in June, Apple provided developers with a beta firmware for several AirPods models, including the second-generation AirPods, third-generation AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max. Apple today updated that firmware, with the version number going from 5A5282d to 5A304a.
The updated AirPods firmware is limited to developers, who can…


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There’s a beef shortage coming.
In February 2024, the USDA announced that the American beef industry hit a record low with beef cattle inventory dropping to 28.2 million this year—the lowest levels since the 1970s.
Agricultural economists blame it on an ongoing drought, along with high feed costs and inflation.
Others report high prices are due to ranchers having fewer cattle.
While these factors may contribute to fewer cattle and higher prices, something more sinister is at play.
There is a war on food unfolding, with meat at the center of the battle.
Read on to discover the alarming reality of meat in America and how to prepare for exorbitant prices and coming shortages.
Most Beef Sold in the USA Is Not from the USA
If you ask most Americans where their meat comes from, they mistakenly believe it comes from cattle farms in the USA.
The truth is, the majority of beef Americans purchase in the states comes from other countries.
White Oak Pastures explains:
Our beef imports come from all over the world, apparently now including Paraguay. Other countries we import from include, but are certainly not limited to: Brazil, Uruguay, Australia, Namibia, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, Japan, China, and...the list continues. The beef we import is mostly lean meat trim, and like 50/50 trim, is really not a marketable product as a stand-alone item. But, when mixed with 50/50 trim, multinational packers can create a product many of us know well: 80/20 or 90/10 ground beef. Today, thanks to the fact that there is no mandatory ‘Country of Origin’ labeling law, consumers are consuming beef raised and slaughtered in these foreign countries under the guise that it's a product of the USA.
It’s not just beef being imported. Did you know that 74% of our lamb is imported into the USA as well? We used to have 56 million head of lamb just three generations ago. Now we have only five million head.
Want to make sure your family has protein made in the USA? Stock up on our Protein Builder Case Pack.
Farmers Are Being Forced Out
Our local farmers are being regulated out of business, which is one of the main reasons there are fewer US cattle for beef.
Recent regulations put in place to “protect the environment” have hit our farmers hard.
According to the Paso Robles Press, “Family farms cannot afford to keep up with increasing regulations involving how their crop is produced and in complying with labor laws — leaving large corporate farms as the only ones who can withstand the increased output.”
In the article, San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau Executive Director, Brent Burchett, explains, “It hurts our family farms the worst. […] It is regulations that when you aren’t working in agriculture, on paper might look very rational.”
But he adds, “It’s harder now to make a living farming than it ever has been.”
Just this week, Glenn Beck spoke with Shad Sullivan, the R-CALF USA Private Property Rights Committee chair.
Sullivan agrees regulations and the anti-animal ideology are making it harder, but adds the WEF 2030 Agenda and the push to regulate our farmers out of business will lead to mass starvation.
Shad Sullivan warns,“Millions would starve overnight under global sustainability initiatives.”
All we have to do is look to Mao for how this plays out.
Shad continues, “We are on the cusp of something very dangerous if Americans don't wake up, and I don't say that to scare people. I say it because independent production, independent consumption, independent thought is so important. Especially right now.”
Corporate Control of Our Meat
The majority of meat processing in the US is controlled by only four companies: Tyson, Cargill, JBS, and National Beef.
85% of the US beef market is controlled by these companies.
If that isn’t disturbing enough, most of our meat industry is under foreign ownership.
JBS USA Holdings, Inc. is a meat processing company and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Brazilian multinational JBS S.A.
National Beef is controlled by Brazilian beef producer, Marfrig Global Foods S.A.
Cargill is America's largest privately owned company. Tyson is also American owned.
WH Group, JBS, Hormel, and Tyson control about 67% of the pork market.
The WH Group is the largest pork company in the world and is owned by China.
Hormel, while US owned, has The Vanguard Group, Inc. and BlackRock, Inc. as its second- and third-largest shareholders.
And as mentioned above, JBS is Brazilian. Tyson is American owned.
Tyson and Pilgrim's Pride control about 45% of the chicken market.
The danger in this—other than the obvious—is when these corporate packers team up with global elites and governments to implement anti-meat policies and Agenda 2030 policies.
In fact, Tyson and Cargill are leading the fake meat market.
In October 2023, Tyson invested in Protix, a Netherlands-based insect ingredients maker. Tyson is not only taking a minority stake in the company, but is also working alongside it to build a US factory.
Cargill invested in Bflike, a Belgian food-tech company whose plant-based ingredients are used to produce faux meat and fish.
Elites Lobbying for Synthetic, Lab-Grown Meat
In addition to farmers being forced out of business and mass consolidation of the meat-processing industry, there is also the issue of elites using their money to change America’s food landscape.
For example, Bill Gates is buying up massive amounts of farmland—and he isn’t stopping.
Bill Gates has already said we should not eat beef unless it is grown in a lab, and he is actively looking for opportunities to create, promote, and sell synthetic meat.
Gates told MIT Technology Review, “I do think all rich countries should move to 100% synthetic beef. You can get used to the taste difference, and the claim is they’re going to make it taste even better over time.”
(If you’d rather not “get used to the taste difference,” stock up on the Mega Protein Kit with Real Meat.)
Gates' dream is already coming to fruition.
Lab-grown meat or cell-cultured meat, which is grown from real animal cells, has already been approved for sale in the US.
Good Meat recently received FDA approval for lab-grown poultry, which involves using “a big tank similar to those that ferment beer” to grow cells.
Then, according to the San Francisco Examiner, “After around six weeks, the cells are ready to be meat-ified. Through 3D printing, molding and other techniques familiar products begin to take shape. And finally, it's ready to eat.”
Bugs Appearing on Grocery Store Shelves
In addition to lab-created meat products, there is also a push for humans to start eating bugs for protein.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is backing All Things Bugs, a company claiming to be “the world’s leading innovator in the insect industry.”
They produce Griopro cricket powder, which is used for food and beverages including pasta, baked goods, smoothies, meat extenders, and more.
(Instead of cricket powder, we suggest Ready Hour All-Purpose White Flour. Not only is it bug-free, but it is specially packaged to prevent bugs from getting in.)
It’s not just Bill Gates. Tyson Foods and Ardent Mills have recently partnered with insect protein producers.
Currently, there are over one 100 insect-farming tech startups in the United States alone.
It won’t be long before a beef shortage takes place and bugs are used as substitutes.
What Can We Do to Prepare
Here are a few things you can do to prepare:
Educate yourself on the Constitution and what’s going on. Share this article and the interview with Shad with your friends and family. Remember, knowledge is power.
Stock up on protein-packed emergency food. Stock up on real protein like our MEGA Protein Kit with Real Meat.
Support local farmers. Shop at the local farmers’ market or butcher shop. Make connections with these farmers for the future.
Start hobby farming. If your area allows hobby farming, now is the time to get ducks or chickens.
Grow your own veggies and fruits. Get heirloom seeds for yourself and your loved ones and start your own veggie garden today.
Start stocking up on your real meat, friends.
Preparedness Advisor, My Patriot Supply


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On March 15, 2005, Google software engineer Chikai Ohazama published Google X on the company's blog. Ohazama wrote: "I hope all of you enjoy it - especially Mac users, who I'm sure will appreciate its lineage."
When Google X was launched, this little poem could be found at the bottom of the page: "Roses are red. Violets are blue. OS X rocks. Homage to you."
Although the project was pulled hours after it was launched, you can still see how it looked.
Apple and Google Just Attended a Confidential Spy Summit in a Remote English ... - The Intercept - First Look Media
— The Intercept - First Look Media Apple and Google Just Attended a Confidential Spy Summit in a Remote English ... The Intercept - First Look Media At an 18th-century mansion in England's countryside last week, current and former spy chiefs from seven countries faced off with representatives from tech giants Apple and Google to discuss government surveillance in the aftermath of Edward Snowden's ... 'The Google execs, the journalists, plus Brit and US spybosses in a cosy ... The Register all 3 news articles »
Google's Plan for a Sci-fi Teddy Bear is Terrifying - TIME
— TIME Google's Plan for a Sci-fi Teddy Bear is Terrifying TIME Out of Google's secretive moon-shot factory may come the scariest toys you've ever seen: Internet-connect robots that look like stuffed animals but are essentially fuzzy house servants that take orders from humans and program their other connected ... Google patents 'creepy' internet toys to run the home BBC News Google Patents Toys That Watch and Listen to Your Kids NBCNews.com Google's Designed an Intelligent Robot Teddy Bear That Can Recognize You Gizmodo CNNMoney - Business Insider all 84 news articles »
The schoolboy who ran up a £3000 bill through Google Play - The Guardian
— The Guardian The schoolboy who ran up a £3000 bill through Google Play The Guardian Like thousands of other parents, Penny Wrinch handed over her debit card details to allow her “highly trustworthy and technically savvy” son Nick to buy games for the family Google Nexus tablet. But she has since been left regretting the move after her ...
Google Maps Is Racist Because the Internet Is Racist - Wired
— CNNMoney Google Maps Is Racist Because the Internet Is Racist Wired Earlier this week, Google Maps suffered the latest in series of embarrassing occurrences. It was discovered that when searching for “n***a house” and “n***a king,” Maps returned a surprising location: the White House. A search for “slut's house” led to ... Google Maps fixes N-word problem for most users CNNMoney Google Maps No Longer Directs Searches For 'N---- House' To The White House Huffington Post Google To Implement Googlebomb Fix To Prevent Racist Listings In Google Maps Search Engine Land RT - TechCrunch - Digital Trends all 148 news articles »
Eurovision Song Contest 2015 final: As Google celebrates the competition with ... - The Independent
— The Independent Eurovision Song Contest 2015 final: As Google celebrates the competition with ... The Independent Eurovision Song Contest fever is spreading once again, as viewers across Europe plan to gather with friends and cheer on their favourite countries at Saturday's final. Google is marking the annual singing competition with a colourful Google Doodle ... Eurovision Song Contest: Google dedicates its Doodle to the annual cheesy ... International Business Times UK Eurovision 2015 Google Doodle celebrates song contest Phones Review all 672 news articles »
Nexus 6: Another reason why Google might favor phablets over smaller phones - BGR
— BGR Nexus 6: Another reason why Google might favor phablets over smaller phones BGR Google surprised Android fans who were anxiously waiting for a new Nexus smartphone last year by only launching one new handset, a 6-inch Nexus 6 phablet that proved to be too big for some users. The correlation between the gadget's name and its ... The Real Reason Google Loves Big Phones TIME Report: Google adding fingerprint authentication to Android OS Fortune Google Tracker 2015 (I/O edition): Android M, Chromecast 2, and lots more Ars Technica (blog) International Business Times - Network World - Apple Insider all 150 news articles »
Google I/O 2015: 5 things to expect - CNET
— CNET Google I/O 2015: 5 things to expect CNET Google I/O is a week away and I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to hear what Google has to announce. The yearly conference is set up for developers to network and hone their skills through workshops. However, the main attraction is Google's keynote ... Your Google Chrome browser has a hidden game … and its VERY addictive Express.co.uk Android, Chrome OS, and the future of Google's platforms Computerworld Google is the king of mobility TechRepublic BetaNews all 53 news articles »
Spy Agencies Explored Tapping Google, Samsung App Servers - Wall Street Journal
— Wall Street Journal Spy Agencies Explored Tapping Google , Samsung App Servers Wall Street Journal Spokesmen for Google and Samsung declined to comment. An Alibaba spokeswoman said the company hasn't seen the document but that it had no evidence that any user information has been taken. To address concerns, Alibaba's UCWeb mobile-browser ... NSA Planned to Hijack Google App Store to Hack Smartphones The Intercept - First Look Media New NSA documents reveal plans to deliver malware through the Google Play ... The Verge Spy Agencies Target Links to Google Mobile App Stores, Reports Claim eWeek ExtremeTech - Investopedia - ZDNet all 181 news articles »
Google's Project Fi Invites To Reach Everyone By Mid-Summer - TechCrunch
— TechCrunch Google's Project Fi Invites To Reach Everyone By Mid-Summer TechCrunch Project Fi, Google's recently announced plans to offer its own wireless cellular service, appears to have a lot of demand – or at least, that's what an email sent out to potential customers seems to imply. The email informs those who previously ... Google will fulfill all Project Fi invites by mid-summer Phandroid.com Google's Project Fi invites won't roll out to everyone til mid-summer The Verge Google To Fulfill All Project Fi Invites By Mid-Summer Tech Times Movie TV Tech Geeks News - Greenbot - 9 to 5 Google all 29 news articles »
Copyright © 2004–2015 John Fogleman. All Rights Reserved.


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EchoStar goes 2-way with Hughes acquisition
Dish Network to offer internet connectivity
EchoStar is spending around $2bn to buy up Hughes Communications, adding fixed communications to the mobile acquisitions made by its subsidiary Dish Networks earlier this month.
Dish Networks announced its plan to buy DBSD North America, the company formerly known as ICO, earlier this month; DBSD was bankrupt, but still worth $1bn, having accrued significant assets while trying to set up a satellite phone service. Now EchoStar will be buying Hughes Communications, adding fixed internet access to the range of services the company will be able to provide, at a cost of around $2bn.
Hughes Communications has around 500,000 customers around the world, with US customers getting access through its own Spaceway 3 satellite. In Europe Hughes has signed up to resell capacity on Avanti's latest bird, Hylas-1, but it is America that EchoStar is interested in.
Both transactions still require regulatory approval, but assuming that happens, then EchoStar will be able to bundle fixed and mobile broadband, as well as broadcast TV, to anywhere in the USA with only the smallest of latencies. But more interestingly, the company might decide to follow the path so effectively cleared by LightSquared.
LightSquared has convinced the Federal Communications Commission to change the rules on satellite radio spectrum, removing the obligation for every device to be satellite-capable, making the spectrum a lot more valuable. That's great for LightSquared, but it is also good for anyone else with satellite frequencies to play with, including EchoStar, as mapped out at Daily Wireless. ®
HughesNet a Real POS service
As a part-time computer tech I can attest to the extreme waste of money that the Satellite Internet here in the USA is. Especially HughesNet. I have yet to see a functional internet with that particular service. At one time DirecTV had stakes in Hughes but dropped it because it was taking time (wasted) and money (more wasted) just to keep the customers happy.
The reason, of course, is the latency of Satellite and the fact that if you don't have the dish aligned within 98-100% accuracy, you just are NOT going to get this monstrous pile of mierda to work correctly. Some people are getting even LESS speed than a traditional modem. Yes, less than 56Kbps speed of downloads.
Verizon in my area provides the USB stick for internet at either pay per use or with a month-to-month contract and if you can get a good signal, this is really the way to go if you are in a cable-dsl free area.
If you go to http://dslreports.com you can see what I am talking about. Just hunt for HughesNet.
I am glad to see that Poopert Murdoch is going to lose his ass to this faulty technology. Of course he has Faux-Saudi network to support this boondoggle.


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Recent Scranton News
- Power out at University of Scranton
- Remembering Al Boscov: More than 2,000 pay tribute to department store chairman
- Scranton Cop who retired on disability in 2002 now Monroe County detective
- Cross-eyed Scranton kitty becomes internet celebrity after Instagram debut
- Court reinstates part of Scranton worker's lawsuit
- Scranton looks for pharmacy savings
- Burglar steals cash from Minooka American Legion
SCRANTON — Owners of the Fanciful Fox, a handmade soap boutique on Adams Avenue in Scranton, have announced plans to relocate to New York City at the end of the month.
“It’s been a five-year goal in the making,” co-owner Amanda Fox said of the move. “We’re trying to grow and move where our customers are.”
Ms. Fox said the Scranton store will close by early July and move to the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. She hoped to serve customers in the Scranton area through online orders.
“It’s so important to us to keep in touch with all of our customers who have become friends,” Ms. Fox said.
— SARAH SCINTO


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Press release 20 March 2017
DMRI has developed a robot that pull single ribs from pork bellies. It eliminates some of the physically demanding work at slaughterhouses.
Slaughterhouses will now be able to automate a physically demanding task currently performed by slaughterhouse workers, who manually loosen the ribs from the pork belly before it is further processed for the Japanese and Korean markets.
”There has long been a need for this equipment, because it eliminates several physically demanding job functions, thereby increasing productivity and improving the working environment at the slaughterhouses,” says Carsten Jensen, Product Manager at DMRI.
In the single rib equipment, the pork belly initially passes through an x-ray scanner, and the scanned 2D image is analysed and processed on a computer. Orders are then sent to an industrial robot, which moves a special tool down to the pork belly ribs and loosens them three at a time, until all 12 ribs have been loosened. The concept received an enthusiastic response at the IFFA trade fair in Germany last year.
DMRI and the recently merged Frontmatec, Tandslet, have signed a cooperation agreement on the final development, sale and service of the new state-of-the-art robot, which is expected to be implemented on the first slaughter line in 2018.
”The development is a good example of DMRI’s new development strategy, which focuses on the development of standard platforms. The strategy also ensures that the final product is tailored to the individual slaughterhouses, thereby making the technology relevant for many customers. The development is now far more user-driven, so it will be possible to achieve both faster development times and synergy in relation to the business partners’ resource consumption,” says Carsten Jensen.
The cooperation agreement between Frontmatec and DMRI was signed on 17 March 2017 by Andreas Jensen, Managing Director at Frontmatec, Tandslet, and Carsten Jensen, Product Manager at DMRI.
See video presentation of the concept here.


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8 Top Stories Affecting Dow 30 Tech Stocks: Weekly Recap
Here’s your Cheat Sheet to the week in Dow 30 tech stock news:
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO)
Cisco is going for another acquisition, Cognitive Security, which is a Czech security software firm. The buyer intends to unite Cognitive’s tech with its own worldwide, cloud-based threat intelligence system.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
According to Bill Gates, India is becoming less dependent on aid and eventually will not need it, says the Economic Times. In his annual letter, Gates commented that, “The good news on resources is that many developing countries have growing economies that allow them to devote more resources to helping their poorest people. India, for example, is less dependent on aid and will eventually not need it.” Gates is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is actively involved in a number of developmental activities in many countries, such as India.
BlackBerry (formerly Research In Motion) says that domestic carriers such as AT&T are set to announce BB10 device availability on Wednesday…
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)
The Founders League, which is a new platform through which to strengthen Rhode Island’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, says that Verizon has become a top sponsor of the effort for this year. Verizon’s sponsorship of $10,000 will be pivotal in the platform’s initial year of operations.
Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ)
Skycom Tech Co., which tried to sell embargoed Hewlett-Packard computer equipment to Iran, has much closer involvement to Huawei Technologies than was known prior to this time, corporate records indicate, says Reuters. Huawei Chief Financial Officer Cathy Meng, who is the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei, was on the board of Skycom between February 2008 and April 2009, according to Skycom records filed with the Companies Registry in Hong Kong.
HP will restructure its Enterprise Services division in Germany as part of its global multiyear restructuring plan that was announced in May 2012 and further detailed at its Securities Analyst Meeting in October…
International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)
IBM will spend almost $15 billion on deals through 2015, which could make NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) and Splunk takeover candidates, according to Bloomberg. The corporation is searching for acquisitions after its sales increased by 0.8% in four years, marking the worst rate since the period that ended in 2002, say Bloomberg data.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)
Intel now insists that all Haswell-platform ultrabooks be supplied with touch panels, says Digitimes, which cited the Taiwan-based supply chain makers who said that the strategy could help step up the penetration of touchscreen notebooks.


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The state killed this guy’s business because of what? People voluntarily spending their time on the vineyard while learning the craft of making wine? Clearly this is a case of worker exploitation. All those middle aged BMW convertible owners from the city being shipped in. Someone needs to stand up for wealthy wine aficionado rights! What a travesty of justice.
But lucky for us the People’s Republic of Cali sets things right again.
The volunteers, some of them learning to make wine while helping out, were illegally unpaid laborers, and Westover Winery should have been paying them and paying worker taxes, the state Department of Industrial Relations said.“I didn’t know it was illegal to use volunteers at a winery; it’s a common practice,” said winery owner Bill Smyth.
Smyth has paid some of the fines and is appealing the rest.
Meanwhile, he and his wife, Jill, are holding a going-out-of-business sale and plan to shut down before the end of the year. The fines represent more than a decade’s worth of profits for the winery, which nets about $11,000 a year, Smyth said.
“There’s just no money left; they’ve taken everything,” he said.
“We’re a small winery, open only 10 hours a week. We didn’t really need any helpers; we were just educating people about wine,” he said.


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Timeline: AirAsia’s digital transformation journey
IN the age of digital transformation, companies either hop onto the latest technology bandwagon willingly or are forced to adopt modern approaches because of customer demands and competitive market forces.
But Malaysia’s low-cost airline AirAsia was born with a desire to be digital-first — even though it wasn’t a digital native to begin with.
The company’s digital vision took flight in 2002 when the Group CEO Tony Fernandes realized its distributions channels had to be optimized if the airline was to make flying easier for the masses.
As a result, AirAsia went completely ticketless and rolled out online booking through its website. Subsequently, it became the world’s first airline to offer SMS and mobile web booking services — allowing customers to move away from traditional ticketing and travel agents.
“We were one of the first companies – not just as an airline – but one of the first to embrace e-commerce in a big way, and we fostered a culture of booking tickets via the website,” AirAsia Deputy Group CEO Aireen Omar said in an exclusive interview with Tech Wire Asia.
“That was key,” she added. “It has set the tone for everything else we have done since, and what we are doing today.”
Aireen oversees the group’s digital transformation and corporate services.
Since then, AirAsia has continued to innovate and transform its operations, raising the bar every step of the way. And it has done so with a clear focus on optimizing cost, without negatively affecting customer experience.
In 2014, it became first Malaysian airline to introduce Wi-FI services onboard its flights. The roKKi powered Wi-Fi system was developed by AirAsia’s subsidiary Tune Box.
“At AirAsia, innovation is key, not just in the products and services that we provide, but also in the experiences that we create for our guests. It is important to keep up with the needs of our guests and maintain relevance with all of them,” Aireen said then.
Earlier this year, the airline integrated facial recognition technology via F.A.C.E.S. – Fast Airport Clearance Experience System – in an effort to make the traveling process more frictionless.
“It (F.A.C.E.S.) would not only make it easy for passengers in their travels but also helps us manage the volume (of passengers) that we see at our airports. We see about 10 percent growth in volume every year, and the airports get congested easily,” Aireen explained.
Through all its digital initiatives, the company has generated what it considers its biggest asset – a significant amount of data – from all aspects of its operations, from customer behavior patterns to aircraft engine data.
To help manage and gain valuable business insight from its data, the company recently partnered with Google Cloud to integrate machine learning and AI.
Aireen is confident that partnering with Google will allow AirAsia to deliver on its ultimate objective: becoming a “travel technology company”.
The airline hopes to evolve into a one-stop, complete, e-commerce platform that provides a seamless travel experience to its customers.
Below are some of the major milestones digital AirAsia has achieved in the last two decades or so.
- Ethical AI: The renewed importance of safeguarding data and customer privacy in Generative AI applications
- How Japan balances AI-driven opportunities with cybersecurity needs
- Deploying SASE: Benchmarking your approach
- Insurance everywhere all at once: the digital transformation of the APAC insurance industry
- Google parent Alphabet eyes HubSpot: A potential acquisition shaping the future of CRM


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Because of the sheer number of data breaches reported last year, along with a steady stream of new revelations about the misuse of data, it’s possible you think you’ve heard everything there is to know about data breaches.
That’s not really the case.
With the GDPR fully implemented, there’s yet another way for companies to be in breach of data privacy laws. GDPR is a sweeping set of rules governing the handling of European Union members’ personal data, no matter where it is. It came into full force in May, and breaches carry huge fines — up to 4 percent of a company’s annual global turnover or €20 million (whichever is greater).
So what is a breach under GDPR? To the GDPR, it as a “breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure of, or access to, personal data.” Under GDPR, entities have only 72 hours to notify a supervisory authority, which is also known as a data protection authority (DPA). Data controllers are required to report breaches to the authority, while processors must report them to their controllers.


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Experts say a fresh rupture in US-China trade relations could be another blow to a world economy already devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Government timeline for gradually lifting lockdown, explained
- All the changes to lockdown announced
- Why you’re less likely to catch coronavirus outside than indoors, according to experts
- The full list of UK testing locations and who is allowed to book a test
- Contact tracing: How the track-and-trace app trial will work
The coronavirus outbreak originated in Wuhan, China, in December and was spreading silently as Washington and Beijing signed a Phase 1 trade deal hailed by the Republican president as a major achievement.
“I’m very disappointed in China,” the Republican president said in an interview on Fox Business Network.
‘It doesn’t feel the same to me’
“They should have never let this happen. So I make a great trade deal and now I say this doesn’t feel the same to me. The ink was barely dry and the plague came over. And it doesn’t feel the same to me,” Mr Trump said.
Under the Phase 1 deal signed in January, Beijing pledged to buy at least $200 billion in additional US goods and services over two years while Washington agreed to roll back tariffs in stages on Chinese goods.
A Chinese state-run newspaper has reported that some government advisers in Beijing were urging fresh talks and possibly invalidating the agreement.
Mr Trump said again he was not interested in renegotiating. And he added that coronavirus pandemic showed he was “right” about the importance of US manufacturing and moving supply chains out of China.
Supply chains criticised
“Everything I said turned out to be right,” Mr Trump said in the Fox TV interview.
“These stupid supply chains that are all over the world. We should have them all in the United States.”
Many business groups and economists are calling for Mr Trump to cut tariffs, at least temporarily, to ease cost pressures on US companies facing severe drops in revenues.
The International Monetary Fund has warned that raising new trade barriers will prolong the worst recession since the 1930s Great Depression.
While US intelligence agencies said the virus did not appear to be man-made or genetically modified, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said early in May there is “a significant amount of evidence” the virus came from a laboratory in Wuhan.
His comments followed Trump’s assertion on April 30 that he was confident the coronavirus may have originated in a Chinese virology lab.
In the Fox Business interview, which was taped on Wednesday, Trump focused more on China’s response to the outbreak than on its origin.
“We have a lot of information, and it’s not good. Whether it came from the lab or came from the bats, it all came from China, and they should have stopped it. They could have stopped it, at the source,” he said.
“It got out of control.”
Extra reporting from REUTERS and AP.


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Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said on Wednesday that the aircraft manufacturer
In addition, Picasso’s engagement with the then Chinese art community is another focus of the exhibi什么应用可以赚微信红包夜生活
Four original engravings by the artist courtesy of Chinese collector Jiang Xingdao, foun什么应用可以赚微信红包夜生活
ritain’s Conservative Party leadership contest frontrunner Boris Johnson has backtracked on his prev
Just a day after he stoked concern by promising in a radio interview to leave the EU on Oct 31 “come wh
at may, do or die” with a no-deal Brexit, Johnson stated he did not believe that was where Britain would “end up”.
In a Conservative party hustings on Wednesday evening, Johnson said: “It’s absolutely vital that we prepare for a no-deal outcome if we’re going to get the deal that we need.
“什么应用可以赚微信红包夜生活女神会所I don’t think that’s where we’re going to end up — I think it’s a million to one against — but it’s vital that we prepare.”
The EU has said it will not return to Prime Minister Theresa May’s withdrawal deal, rejected three
times by UK Parliament, and experts are sceptical a new prime minister can secure any changes to the
controversial Northern Ireland backstop hated by Eurosceptic MPs by the end of October.
Both men vying to be the next prime minster, Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, have said they would back a no-
Johnson said there was a new feeling of “common sense breaking out” among members of Parliament
什么应用可以赚微信红包夜生活女神会所The exhibition, co-hosted by the Cervantes Institute and the Picasso Museum
Jim O’Neill, chair of the international think tank Chatham House and former chief econom
i 什么应用可以赚微信红包品茶微信st at Goldman Sachs, made the remarks in a speech on Wednesday at the celebration of the 70th anniversary of th
e founding of the People’s Republic of China and the second China-UK Economic and Trade Forum in London.
O’Neill i 什么应用可以赚微信红包品茶微信s known for coining the term BRIC, the group term for Brazil, Russia, India and China, in 2001, to describe the four rapidly-developing nations that symbolized the shifting balance in the global economy.
South Africa was added to the group nine years later, making it BRICS.
o resume the conversation between Chinese and US leadership, which was a positive
什么应用可以赚微信红包后花园sign that China and the US intend to promote new economic and trade negotiations, he said.
At the G20 forum, efforts to reform the WTO dispute settlement system should be prioritized to avert the acute Appellate Body什么应用可以赚微信红包后花园
crisis that looms in late 2019, Liu said. “China, as a major member of the WTO, will definitely benefit from the organizational reform,” he added.什么应用可以赚微信红包后花园
eichow Moutai Group, vice-chairman and chairman of Kweichow Moutai Group.
He was replaced by Li Baofang as the chairman of什么应用可以赚微信红包后花园品茶微信 Moutai group in May 2018. One year later, he wa
s dismissed from the Guizhou Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
According to the SPP, the prosecutors informed h什么应用可以赚微信红包后花园品茶微信is litigation rights and liste
ue of 75 billion yuan, up 23 percent year-on-year. Its net profit totaled 34 billion yuan, jumping 25 percent over the previous year, its earnings report said.
什么应用可以赚微信红包千花网This year, Moutai aims to achieve sales revenue of 100 billion yuan, growing 14 p
ercent year-on-year, and reaching a net profit of 45 billion yuan. The company said it is strong and confident enough to drive further growth.
China’s electric car startup NIO recalled 4,803 ES8 vehicles, about one-third of the company’s first batch for delivery, Beijing Youth Daily reported on Friday.
The company also promised to compensate all property losses caused by accidents due to battery quality什么应用可以赚微信红包千花网什么应用可以赚微信红包品茶 according to law, the report said.
Starting from June 27, the company recalled the 4,803 ES8 electric vehicles with power battery packs manufactured between April 2, 2018, and Oct 19, 2018, a什么应用可以赚微信红包千花网什么应用可以赚微信红包品茶ccording to a notice from the State Administration for Market Regulation.
The power battery pack used in the vehicle within this recall range is equipped with a module of the specification model NEV-P50, which has the voltage sampling harness in an improper position, where it could cause a fire.
什么应用可以赚微信红包千花坊logue and consultation, but it will firmly safeguard its own legitimate interests.
US threats to impose more tariffs on Chinese imports cannot intimidate the Chinese people, Geng added.什么应用可以赚微信红包千花坊
In a recent survey, a majority of US and Chinese consumers expressed strong su
pport for bilateral trade due to a belief that both countries benefit from the exchan
ge of goods, said Mei Yan, senior partner and China chair at advisory firm Brunswick Group.什么应用可以赚微信红包千花坊
The online survey was conducted among 1,000 US consumers and 1,000 Chinese consumers in early June.


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KUALA LUMPUR (September 17): Eco World Development Group Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter ended July 31, 2021 (3QFY21) edged down 1.9% to RM35.15million from RM35.83million de RM at the same time a year ago.
Revenue for the quarter fell 6.06% to RM 448.91 million from RM 477.87 million in the same quarter last year, mainly due to the sale of more or near-completed properties , which allowed a higher percentage of revenue to be immediately recognized upon completion of sales of the units.
However, for the cumulative nine-month period, Eco World’s net profit increased 59.19% to RM 139.9 million from RM 87.88 million in the same period a year earlier, while that cumulative revenue increased 1.14% to RM 1.38 billion, from RM 1. 0.36 billion previously.
With this, Eco World recorded RM2.873 billion in sales for 9MFY21 and as of August 31, 2021, it had reached RM3.11 billion. The group has also seen its sales increase by more than RM 1 billion since 2TFY21, allowing it to exceed the annual target for fiscal year 2021 of RM 2.875 billion.
He added that total sales in FY10MFY21 were 35% higher than RM2.3 billion in FY2020.
In an exchange filing today, Eco World noted that the main projects that contributed to revenue and gross margin in fiscal year 3QFY21 were Eco Majestic, Eco Forest and Eco Sanctuary in Klang Valley; Eco Botanic, Eco Botanic 2, Eco Spring, Eco Summer, Eco Business Park II, Eco Tropics and Eco Business Park III in Iskandar, Malaysia; as well as ecological terraces in Penang.
He added that the group’s share in the results of its Malaysian joint ventures came from Eco Grandeur, Eco Business Park V, Eco Horizon, Eco Ardence and Bukit Bintang City Center (BBCC), whose contributions totals were 30.3% lower in 3TFY21 compared to the quarter last year, as progress on construction sites slowed due to restrictions placed on site activities during MCO 3.0 and FMCO, coupled upon completion of the development of phase 1 of Eco Horizon.
“Despite the implementation of MCO 3.0 followed by OCAF during our 3Q 2021, we are very pleased to report that the group has exceeded our sales target for fiscal 2021 in 10 months. Sales remained strong in all three geographies, as well as in all market segments. , which indicate the strength of fundamental demand for our projects and products, ”said Eco World President and CEO Datuk Chang Khim Wah.
“Now that 100% of our staff medically eligible for vaccination and over 80% of site workers are fully vaccinated, all construction sites at EcoWorld Malaysia are able to operate at full capacity, which will allow us to catch up. the delay in the work. ,” he added.
The group has also been authorized to reopen its sales galleries, and is therefore able to welcome customers again to visit them to personally see their projects and properties, which remains an important step in the buying process. for many.
This, Chang said, will allow the group to continue its plans to launch several new phases before the end of the year, in order to build a strong sales pipeline for the coming year.
Eco World’s share price closed unchanged at 80.5 sen today, giving it a market cap of RM2.36 billion. Since the start of the year, the stock has risen 67.71%.


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The 2nd Annual EU-US Trade Conference - The Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership
05 Febbraio 2015 09:00
Management Centre Europe
At the recent G20 Summit in Australia, political leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, reaffirmed their commitment to delivering on the TTIP trade deal, emphasising its economic and globally strategic importance.
This 2nd Forum Europe conference looking at EU-US trade and specifically TTIP, will bring over 250 stakeholders together to assess what 2015 has in store for the TTIP. The conference will once again feature a combination of plenary sessions and sector-specific breakouts.
If you are interested in discussing this event in more detail, please contact Jessie Atkinson on firstname.lastname@example.org or call on +44 (0) 2920 783 029.


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Amazon Alexa's app redesign makes navigating your smart home easier
This is happy. Alexa, do not play Despacito.
With Amazon's huge lineup of smart devices (opens in new tab), all new generations (opens in new tab) coming out, and new toolkits giving developers even more freedom to experiment, the Alexa voice assistant has firmly entrenched herself as one of the top voice control smart home systems around. The primary way to control Alexa, outside of yelling at her (be nice!), is through the free app. Now that app is getting a face-lift and it's looking better than ever.
If you haven't gotten the update yet, it is rolling out to iOS (opens in new tab) and Android (opens in new tab) devices worldwide. Check your app store and give it an update. Outside of design and color, one of the functional changes includes a simpler way to control all your smart devices. You'll now see your smart devices grouped by room with all the individual devices listed below it. Practically, this eliminates at least one click you'd have to take in the current edition of the app, making it easier to use.
Amazon is on fire these days (literally... because of the new Fire TV Stick 4K (opens in new tab). They've got all new ways to watch Thursday Night Football, a DVR called the Recast (opens in new tab) that wants to be the new way cord cutters watch TV, and all kinds of bundles on the newest generations of Amazon devices designed to save you money. A redesigned Alexa app is just the icing on the smart home cake.
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J.D. Levite has been in the deals game since 2012. He has posted daily deals at Gizmodo, The Wirecutter, The Sweethome, and now covers deals for Android Central, iMore, and Windows Central. He was there for the first Prime Day and has braved the full force of Black Friday. If you cut him, he bleeds savings. But don't try it for real. That's a metaphor.
When is the app coming to Microsoft Store for Windows 10 devices?
You'd think it would now that Alexa is the official AI of consumer Windows.
When did that happen?
That never happened as of today
He's joking that Alexa has taken priority over Cortana. It Definitely feels that way.
Why would anyone buy this SJW cheap called Alexa!?
I love Surface Headphone.


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If you’re looking for the perfect gift for your left-wing friend, this could be it.
Artists’ site Redbubble is selling a range of Jacinda Ardern clothing in time for Christmas.
- Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to feature in Vogue wearing NZ designers
- Which NZ town will Jacinda Ardern spend Christmas in?
One item, a Jacinda Ardern miniskirt, features the repeated smiling face of Ms Ardern set on a green background. It’s available for $30.
Other items available include Jacinda Ardern t-shirts and hoodies. “Really happy to have received my shirt and it’s going to make a terrific gift! Thank you,” one reviewer commented.
And there’s more good news for those who want to make the world a better place – they’re “ethically sourced”.
It’s not the Prime Minister’s first step into fashion. Ms Ardern will appear in the American edition of “fashion’s bible” Vogue magazine.
An interview has already been done, a spokesperson for Ms Ardern confirmed to NZME, and a photoshoot featuring all Kiwi designers took place last weekend.


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Netherlands-based event technology firm XLNT-Operations claims to offer a total concept for event organisers and sports competitions. From payment (cash to digital) and ticketing to complete reports to support, management, including as administrative and fiscal substantiation of the result of the event.
TheTicketingBusiness.com caught up with XLNT chief executive Rob Rijsenbrij for a quick-fire Q&A about all things ticketing…
Q: Sum up the live event industry in three words…
A: People (audience), bread and games (still going strong)…
Q: What’s the best thing about the industry?
A: It bridges the old and new school (the real and digital worlds) and stimulates new markets and brings people together.
Q: And what’s your biggest bugbear?
A: That the live event industry is getting a tool for politics and that live events will need the giants within the digital industry for covering the costs. It will always be the money which rules.
Q: What’s the best experience you’ve had at a sports/entertainment venue?
A: When social and geographical origin played no role…
Q: …and what’s the worst?
A: When social and geographical origins were just used for demonstrations and riots.
Q: What’s most important issues for the industry in the next five years?
A: Not only big, bigger, biggest, but creating events that are open for every person’s wallet. I also think the event industry will merge with the digital industry.
Q: How do you expect the live experience for fans/spectators to change in the coming years?
A: Live events will shift to semi-live and being part of games and/or a combination with digitalisation (special goggles, the smartphone, will give extra “live” information).
Also, sports will develop more to a digital experience for the audience, due to the rapid changing target groups being more adjusted to the digital world
Q: What do you think will be the most important technological change in the industry over the next five years?
A: The influence of digitalisation will change the event market, stimulating new business and sponsorship models.
In addition, ticketing as a financing model for events will be debatable (this is subject to legislation and the consumer not accepting “no show and no money back” anymore.
And finally, we will see more online payment models by bank and/or credit cards. Apple Pay will change into a new ”closed loop” payment model to minimise the costs of payments (payment is becoming more and more expensive due to the stacking of costs by intermediary parties).
Q: Prediction time: for this industry, 2019 will be the year of…?
A: FC Ajax (just kidding)…
The new markets (China, India, Arabic countries) will show their muscles and money as sponsors and/or new owners of events. The ‘why’ is simple… they have a huge audience market now approachable via the online world.
Q: If you could travel back in time and attend any historic event in the sports and entertainment industry, what would it be?
A: As a former athlete; the 1st Olympic Games in Athens. Pure sport and athletes going at a nonprofit base, for the highest achievement.


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In 2020, smart TVs with a size of 55 inches will account for more than 50%. 65-inch, 75-inch, and even larger TVs have entered ordinary households; 4K TVs have become popular. Accounting for more than 70%, 8K ultra-high-definition TVs have also begun to enter from the commercial field to home entertainment.
BOE announced that it has newly developed a 65-inch 8K 240Hz ultra-high resolution and high refresh rate display product, which is another technological breakthrough in BOE’s wide-view ADS Pro hard screen technology. The product is equipped with unique EPQ drive technology and HSR frequency multiplication technology to achieve 8K240Hz, and the transmittance is greatly improved. It can be used in large-size ultra-high-definition series products to provide users with a more realistic, natural, and smooth display experience.
Realizing large-size ultra-high-resolution, high refresh rate, and high transmittance display faces many challenges. Currently, the use of Oxide backplane + 1G1D with higher electron mobility and a-Si backplane + 2G2D double line time pixel design are the two major technical routes for the industry to achieve a large-size 8K4K high refresh rate display.
Since most of the current TFT-LCD production lines are based on a-Si backplane technology, in terms of cost and penetration, breakthroughs based on a-Si backplane technology have become an important direction for the industry.
Stay tuned with us via Telegram
However, due to the 2G2D method used on the a-Si substrate, the number of data wiring is doubled. On the one hand, the number of Source Drivers data driver ICs is doubled, and on the other hand, the aperture ratio/transmittance is greatly reduced, which affects the display brightness and power consumption.
Therefore, the use of an a-Si backplane and high transmittance 1G1D design to achieve a large-size 8K4K high refresh rate display has become a more reasonable solution.
Moreover, BOE 8K 240Hz 1G1D technology, added EPQ technology that greatly improves the charging rate and image quality, and HSR technology that realizes frequency multiplication by charging compensation in the panel, speeding up resetting through gate voltage shutdown, dynamic adjustment of data timing, new GOA structure design, and new pixels.
A number of technological innovations such as structural design and new data-driven algorithms have broken through the technical bottleneck of the simultaneous improvement of charging rate and image quality, and have taken the lead in realizing 8K 240Hz a-Si 1G1D ultra-high resolution and high refresh rate display technology.
Furthermore, compared with conventional 8K 60Hz products, this technology has a nearly 30% increase in transmittance and a nearly double-contrast increase. BOE’s 8K 240Hz 1G1D technology, as a platform technology for driving capability enhancement and ultimate picture quality display, can be applied to the resolution and refresh rate upgrades of a full range of ultra-high-definition display products to provide users with a better visual experience.
BOE said it will continue to optimize the 8K 240Hz a-Si 1G1D display technology, relying on the leading G10.5 and G8.5 high-generation line process levels, covering 98-inch, 110-inch, and other larger size products.


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Which has the most apps? Which has the coolest features? Which one is the best? The most popular streamers all have their merits, so we'll help you decide which box is right for you.
Browser plug-in F.B. Purity lets you block this and other unwanted Facebook elements.
Some of our favorite TVs from last year were Vizio's M series, and now they're back with 4K resolution for inexpensive prices. The company also said its Reference series sets, first announced 15 months ago, would be released sometime in 2015.
The company plans to hold seven meetings across Europe to discuss the regulations -- and Google's problems with it..
The company's always popular Worldwide Developers Conference will take place in San Francisco in the second week of June, giving us a peek at the new versions of OS X and iOS.
Apple has acknowledged that supplies will be tight at first, and it will be limiting preorders to online customers.
The free Apple Watch Basics workshop will kick off on April 24, the same day the watch itself officially launches.
CNET editor Dong Ngo explains the USB standard and the significance of the latest USB Type-C.
The edge screen on Samsung's hottest new phone shows off notifications, news and a night time clock.
In his latest public question-and-answer session, the social networking giant's CEO discusses public policy, Internet expansion and other topics.


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Growth slowed costs increased by 20% European enterprises considering divestment China
With the growth slowing and cost rising, foreign enterprises began to consider transfer.
On May 29, the European Chamber of Commerce of China and the Roland Berger Management Consulting Company jointly released the China European Chamber of Commerce Business Confidence Survey 2012. 22% of EU companies surveyed said they were considering diverting their investment to markets outside China. Most of these enterprises serve the Chinese market.
"It's not that these companies have withdrawn their capital from China, but that they will withdraw their capital from China if the operating environment in China does not meet the basic requirements of corporate profitability, such as textile and other industries." David, chairman of the China EU Chamber of Commerce, said.
According to the report, the problems encountered by EU companies in China before were largely offset by China's low-cost advantages. At present, China is moving up the entire industrial chain, and the demand for labor wages is rising. In contrast, the investment environment in Southeast Asia and South America has become more attractive.
China's market revenue accounts for 10% of the world's total.
Liu Wenbo, vice president of Greater China at Roland Berger, said: "European enterprises in China are facing more and more intense competition from domestic enterprises because of the maturity of the Chinese market. The brand promotion, marketing and product quality of domestic enterprises have been greatly improved."
But last year the Chinese market still contributed 10% of the EU's total global revenue, up 50% from 2009.
From the perspective of industry and scale, foreign enterprises with a tendency to withdraw capital mainly focus on consumer goods and service enterprises, while long-term, large-scale enterprises in China are still inclined to increase investment in China.
"The survey is based on expectations and opinions about China. Many of the companies surveyed are large enterprises with more than five years'experience in China and stable Chinese business. They are willing to stay in China if they are treated fairly." David said.
The idea of divestment from China is not just in foreign companies. Last year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) conducted a survey on small and micro labor-intensive manufacturing enterprises. Wang Jianxiang, deputy director of the MIIT Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Department, told this newspaper that many SMEs have begun to transfer their industries to Southeast Asia during their research, which is the result of China's industrial upgrading and transformation.
David said many foreign companies in the survey said they were also considering shifting their investment operations to central and Western regions, such as Chongqing, where the growing market for foreign investment could expand business in central and other regions. Data from the Ministry of Commerce show that in January-April this year, the central region actually used $3.05 billion in foreign capital, an increase of 12.6% over the same period last year.
Foreign-funded enterprises say that investing in the middle of the country has a more tangible advantage in reducing operating costs. The reason for choosing Anhui, Hubei, Gansu, Hainan and other provinces to invest is that foreign enterprises can obtain government loans and there are government incentives for development in these areas.
FDI growth rate decline
Prior to this, most foreign enterprises in the interpretation of the "12th Five-Year Plan" in some areas of foreign capital opening, are optimistic, but this year, more enterprises interviewed said that the "12th Five-Year Plan" has no impact on its business, the proportion from 11% last year rose sharply to 30%.
"There are very few opportunities for foreign companies in the 2008 stimulus package, and the new stimulus will be the same result." David said. Recently, China introduced a new policy catalogue to encourage foreign enterprises to set up R&D centers in China, and some key and sensitive areas also encourage foreign enterprises to enter.
"Foreign companies are willing to set up R&D centers in China, because the salaries of domestic R&D personnel are more reasonable, and the key is to put forward policies to promote the sharing of results between Chinese enterprises and foreign enterprises." David said that as long as the conditions are reasonable, foreign enterprises are willing to set up R & D centers in China.
In the first 4 months of this year, the actual use of foreign capital amounted to US $37 billion 881 million, down 2.38% from the same period last year. Some analysts believe that due to the impact of the European debt crisis recently, EU investment in China has continued to decline, and EU exports to China are not ideal.
"The willingness of 63% of EU companies to invest more in China shows that the debt crisis has no direct bearing on these European companies, of course, companies will bear some losses in the debt crisis environment." David insisted that the decrease in investment is related to problems encountered in China.


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You know that viral TikTok video with the dude skateboarding while drinking cran-raspberry juice and lip-synching Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams?
It has 26m views now — and at least one of them came from Tom Hayes, the CEO of Ocean Spray.
Hayes made his own version of the viral vid and gifted the skater dude (Nathan Apodaca) a red pick-up truck full of cranberry juice.
Ocean Spray likely got millions of dollars worth of exposure
As Mae Karwowski, the founder of the influencer-marketing firm Obviously, told the Boston Globe: “You are reaching millions of people and you have thousands of creators incorporating your juice into their videos.”
Here are a few other products that have benefited from a TikTok lift:
- Bissell Portable Carpet Cleaner (video with 19.1m views)
- Magic Fragrant Shaving Powder (video with 9.9m views)
- The Ordinary Face Peeling Solution (video with 7.1m views)
- Ecolution Micro-Pop Popcorn Popper (video with 6.7m views)
- BlissLight Sky Light (video with 2.2m views)
Even under the cloud of a US ban, TikTok continues to grow
And, as the examples above show, the app offers serious marketing potential.
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The Aware Consumer State Awards 2017
With the growing need for digitisation of public services, the central government launched the Digital India initiative and has been encouraging the state governments to invest in digitisation for increasing transparency and accountability.
In this regard, the second edition of ‘The Aware Consumer State Awards’ – held on the occasion of World Consumer Rights Day on 15th March, 2017 – focussed on evaluating the transparency of public services and the level of digitisation in each state. With knowledge support from Quality Council of India, the methodology and the evaluation matrix were improved and made more comprehensive.
The edition was supported by the Department of Consumer Affairs of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, GoI. The event also led to a consensus between all stakeholders to take this initiative forward for building a New India by 2022 in the interests of the Indian Consumers.
Theme: Building Digital World Consumers Can Trust
Sub-Themes: The following pillars of Public Services and their respective delivery mechanism were considered as the key factors for determining the success of state governments from the point of view of the consumers:
- Consumer education and redressal mechanism
- Digital friendly initiatives for efficient delivery of public services
- Delivery of health-related services including safe food and access to quality healthcare
- Consumer Online Foundation
- Quality Council of India (QCI)
- Association of Indian Medical Devices Manufacturers (AIMED)
Top 5 Consumer-Friendly States/UTs of India
- Himachal Pradesh


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The worldwide mobile phone market jumped during the fourth quarter to its highest level ever, says IDC. According to its Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, worldwide mobile phone shipments totaled 194.3 million units in 4Q04, growing 18.1% sequentially and 24% year over year. For the full year 2004, worldwide mobile phone shipments increased 29.3% over 2003.
The fourth quarter marked Nokia’s second consecutive quarter with market share above 30%, reveals IDC. The Finnish company strengthened its product line-up with devices aimed at entry level, business, and fashion conscious users. As a result of its efforts, Nokia firmly maintained its spot as top vendor in the industry. The companies in the next four spots saw increased activity as well. Motorola reached record level shipments, claimed 16.4% of the market, and distanced itself from Samsung by more than ten million units. Third place Samsung, after spending most of 2004 steadily closing the gap against Motorola, saw its shipments decrease to levels it had not seen since the start of 2004, but managed to retain 10.9% of the market. Finally, LG Electronics climbed another notch to supplant Siemens for the number 4 spot and 7.2% market share, but only 0.3% separated the two companies.
‘Growth during the fourth quarter was largely fueled by vendors who offered a balanced portfolio of innovative features, technology, and style. Additionally, vendors continued to upgrade their product lines, improving features such as improved screen and camera capabilities as well as introducing more phones with 3G technology. Combined with phones introduced earlier in the year, vendors were able to offer a range of entry-level, mid-range, and high-end phones,’ said Ramon Llamas, research analyst in IDC’s Mobile Devices Group. ‘Now that there is more clarity among the top three spots, the competition will continue to heat up for the final two positions. The difference in shipments between LG Electronics and Siemens is slight, with recent public comments questioning the latter’s opportunity going forward. Sony Ericsson trails closely behind the two, poised to re-enter the top five .’
Em Foco – Empresa


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With multiple players seeking to exploit the potential to service consumers in their homes via the increased bandwidth of the NBN the will need to collaborate and co-operate if the full potential of the 'connected home' is to be realised, says a report from the Australian Centre for Broadband Innovation (ACBI).
The latest findings from Roy Morgan research suggest that only 29 percent of businesses expect the NBN to benefit or be useful to their business.
ACCAN has called for the government to legislated against mobile operators charging fees to remove sim locks on prepaid phones. Meanwhile Optus has tightened its sim unlock rules.
Nominum, a company whose software underpins domain name systems (DNS) for hundreds of ISPs worldwide, has developed a software platform and associated ecosystem to enable network operators to easily develop and deploy a wide range of applications to leverage the DNS.
Google has reached an out of court settlement in its long-running law suit with five major US publishers over their copyrighted works digitised under Google's Library Project and made available online via Google Books.
Woolworths has expanded its range of mobile communications offerings with the launch of global roaming SIM card in partnership with Cubic Telecom, based in Ireland, that it says can cut the cost of roaming charges for voice, text and data by as much as 90 percent.
The expansion of mobile Internet connectivity helped to buoy the global ICT sector and the global economy as a whole during the recent period of sustained economic malaise, according to the OECD.
Co-ordinated action by the ACMA, the US Federal Trade Commission and regulators in other countries has closed down a long running telephone scam in which the scammers posed as tech support staff for Microsoft and other IT companies to extract money from consumers by pretending to remove malware from their 'infected' PCs.
The Federal Department of Finance and Deregulation has released a five year ICT strategy for the Australian Public Service promising that it will position the Australian Government to use ICT in creative and innovative ways to deliver better, easier to use services to the public.
Vodafone has contracted Netcomm Wireless (ASX: NTC) to supply M2M cellular modems for its global M2M business.
A survey of contractors - independent professionals or iPros - across a wide range of disciplines debunks the belief that they are less committed and productive than permanent employees.
Gold Coast based IT company Rival Networks is planning to launch a free Internet access service via mobile broadband.
The mobile industry and its proponents are forever talking of mobile networks delivering increasing throughput at lower costs and competing strongly with fixed broadband networks like the NBN. The reality will be very different, according to one analyst firm.
The ACMA has announced completion of its review of telephone numbering saying its planned changes will prepare the telephone numbering system for the NBN.
Alcatel-Lucent is bringing to Australia an initiative designed to help its telco customers participate fully in the value chain of network-delivered services and applications but one of these - NBN Co - is limited to providing basic carriage services.
NBN Co has launched its multicast service that enables service providers to deliver one stream of content to the NBN and have it delivered to multiple end users.
Communications Compliance, the body established by Communications Alliance to monitor compliance with the new Telecommunications Consumer Protection (TCP) code has named Christiane Gillespie-Jones as its executive director.
For many years Apple has been ahead of the curve when it comes to new computing technologies. It was the first to adopt the mini floppy disk, and the first to abandon it. It led in the incorporation of WiFi and Firewire and, in the MacBook Air the use of flash storage instead of spinning drives for internal storage.
Brocade has released a new high end ethernet fabric switch the VDX 8770 along with enhancements to its VCS Fabric technology designed for highly virtualised data centre environments and to enable the creation of greatly simplified data centre networks.
IT consultancy Analysys Mason has warned that the ITU's forthcoming review of the International Telecommunications Regulations could extend these to the Internet and that any such expansion is "not only unnecessary, but could harm the growth of the Internet in developing countries."
I agree. Not much new in these devices these days, but there is a big market out there for the[…]
Copying Samsung, which also has a A3x, A5x, A7x, A9x line up at similar price points.
Has Jennifer put the Dud in Dudley-Nicholson?
The problem lies with so-called pundits who are trying to push a particular line and do not bother to verify[…]
If disinformation about the 2016 USA election was bad then the disinformation about the 2020 election was a disaster.The problem[…]


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With the fresh funding, the startup Bare Anatomy will look to augment its research and development labs, strengthen marketing and technology operations.
Vimal Bhola, co-founder of Bare Anatomy said that the company plans to grow its research and development activities to create customized beauty products.
“We’ll invest in the modernization of our R&D lab to deliver safe and effective products to our customers which are at par with the European safety standards,” he added.
All the products are personalized as per the customers’ unique needs and are manufactured only after receiving the order.
To order products, customers have to take a quiz on the website, which asks questions related to their hair profile and preferences.
One can pick the hair goals they want to achieve, pick the color and fragrance of their products, so much so that customers even print their names on their bottles.
“Many other industries have adapted to personalization. Clothes have been tailor-made for years, food is prepared to order based on your preferences and streaming platforms have also jumped on the bandwagon. When it comes to personal care, personalization is yet undiscovered. That’s where we wanted to revolutionize the beauty industry and bring in something as powerful, yet accurate,” Chawla, chief executive of Bare Anatomy said.


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Operating systems are incredibly complex pieces of software, so it's perhaps not too surprising that despite several beta releases, a few bugs snuck into the final release of Android 11. The update has apparently caused issues with Android Auto, leading to some drivers being unable to play music or read notifications.
Android Auto's download count over on the Play Store is positively exploding. In a mere four months, the app has gone from 500 million installs to over a billion. Only six months before that, it was at 100 million. That's an incredible order of magnitude of growth in less than a year.
BMW was one of the last automakers to add Android Auto to its vehicles, and owners with compatible cars still have to go to the dealer to get the update. That's changing soon, though; BMW has just announced that an over-the-air update will start rolling out "over the coming weeks."
Earlier this summer, Google announced new categories of apps coming to Android Auto, including navigation, parking, and electric vehicle charging apps. Starting today, developers everywhere can begin testing out these categories with the Android for Cars App Library open beta.
Boats use the same double-DIN head units that cars do, but it turns out that nobody had made an Android Auto unit for marine applications... until now. Boss Audio has just released a fully weatherproofed 6.75" 480p head unit capable of Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and it's actually pretty affordable at $289.99.
While compatibility with wireless Android Auto is expanding on phones, there are still many in-car head units and media players that are stuck using tethered connections. That's where a device called 'AAWireless' comes in, which aims to add wireless support to as many Android Auto units as possible.
A new settings and setup interface for Android Auto has been spotted rolling out. The changes aren't too drastic, but they do make for a smoother and slightly more attractive workflow, featuring a more general "connect a car" prompt with separate options for wired and wireless setup that follow.
The Polestar 2 is a very important vehicle. It's the first legitimate EV competitor to Tesla's Model 3, and Polestar's first mass-produced vehicle, both of which are incredible milestones. But we're taking a look at it from the perspective of another huge first: the debut of Google's Android Automotive, an in-car infotainment operating system designed to control everything from navigation and music to your air conditioning and traction control settings. Entrusting Google to build such a platform may sound a bit iffy if you're not familiar with the vehicle space, but if you are, you know automakers have been using Android for years, generally without Google's blessing (and often ludicrously old versions of the platform).
Android Auto has been getting more activity lately, including big changes like a return to calendar integration, and smaller adjustments that quietly pop up from time to time. If you regularly play music or podcasts, there's a chance you've already spotted the latest change that gives new track notifications a little more animation.


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Abdulla Al Ghurair’s Net Worth Inspires Traders in UAE to Chase Riches
Abdulla Al Ghurair is a well-known Emirati businessman, with a net worth estimated at over $4.4 billion. His success has inspired many traders in the UAE to chase riches of their own.
Al Ghurair is the founder of Mashreq Bank, one of the largest banks in the UAE, and the Abdullah Al Ghurair Foundation for Education, which provides scholarships to students in the Middle East and North Africa. He is also a member of the UAE’s Federal National Council.
Retail traders in the UAE have been drawn to the world of trading by the potential for high returns, and the example set by successful businessmen like Al Ghurair. Many of these traders are using UAE trading platforms to invest in stocks, forex, and cryptocurrencies.
However, as with any form of investing, there are risks involved. Many retail traders have lost money in the pursuit of quick profits, and there have been concerns raised about the lack of regulation in the industry.
“The potential for high returns is certainly a draw for retail traders, but it’s important to remember that there are also risks involved,” said Rizwan Ali, a financial advisor based in Dubai. “Traders need to be aware of the risks and have a solid understanding of the markets before investing.”
Despite the risks, the number of retail traders in the UAE continues to grow, with many looking to follow in the footsteps of successful businessmen like Al Ghurair. Some trading platforms have reported a surge in new account openings in recent years, as more people look to get involved in the markets.
“Retail trading is a growing trend in the UAE, and we’ve seen a significant increase in the number of new traders joining our platform,” said a spokesperson for a major online trading platform based in the UAE.
“While there are risks involved, we believe that with the right knowledge and tools, retail traders can be successful in the markets.” commented LuxuryLifeMag.
As retail trading continues to grow in the UAE, it’s important for traders to be aware of the risks involved, and to have a solid understanding of the markets before investing. However, for those willing to put in the effort and take on the risks, the potential for high returns can be a powerful draw.


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NEW CHANGES coming into force on executive pay tomorrow are unworkable, according to a survey of FTSE board members.
The rules, which were announced by business secretary Vince Cable last year, are designed to give shareholders a binding vote on board pay, golden goodbyes, and the hiring of new directors.
The change also ensures that quoted companies announce a single figure for total director pay.
Nearly 60 per cent of respondents to a survey by Hedley May said that the scheme would be unworkable, with 46 per cent of institutional shareholders agreeing.
Hedley May partner Deborah Warburton commented: “ While there appears to be a consensus that change needs to take place with regard to how CEOs and top executives are compensated, it seems equally clear that there is no broad agreement that the government’s proposals are the right way forward.”
According to the executives surveyed, the changes may actually promote rather than diminish pay inflation.
The survey suggests that with approval required only every three years, respondents suggest that shareholders will demand more flexible policies on pay.


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A newcomer to the Best of Success stage, Kevin Lao excited the audience with his energy and enthusiasm during his session about Google and online strategy. Lao, who’s worked for Google since 2011, explained the importance of the ever-changing digital world.
“We know that digital has really constructed and innovated almost every single industry, including the roofing industry, and businesses who understand it and then act on it will be vibrant moving into 2018.”
He began his presentation discussing how consumer behavior is changing due to having 24/7 access to information in the palm of our hands. Lao elaborated on the significance of reaching customers in the right moment, and utilizing a digital platform to do so. “In the roofing contractor business, we’re seeing that folks are investing roughly 15-20 percent of their overall marketing budget (on digital). This presents a massive opportunity for folks to really capture those moments that matter most,” he said.
Lao presented roofers with five different ways to grow their business with Google: Own your My Business listing; reach the right prospects; make your ads more profitable; build a great mobile experience; and drive impact with innovative ad formats. A short Q&A took place at the conclusion of Lao’s presentation, and R.J. Lowery, regional sales manager at RevLocal — a premier partner of Google — assisted following his own presentation focused on building a digital marketing strategy and a website that’s mobile-optimized.