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Pizza Hut is partnering with America’s dairy farmers to give away 500,000 free one-topping medium pizzas to 2020 high school graduates.
Congratulations to all the 2020 graduates this year.
We know how tough graduating Seniors have had it this year. Proms have been canceled, and graduation ceremonies have been reduced to virtual celebrations as a result of the pandemic.
Since many high school seniors have missed out on walking down the aisle in caps and gowns, Pizza Hut is celebrating the class of 2020 by giving away 500,000 free pizzas.
In honor of your momentous occasion, Pizza Hut is recognizing your achievement and offering you free pizza, but you gotta move fast.
“Our brand has a long history of celebrating moments that matter — like graduations — and Pizza Hut takes pride in being a part of our customers’ big days,” Pizza Hut chief marketing officer George Felix said in a news release. “So, it’s only natural that we’d be there for students and their families to help celebrate the accomplishments of the graduating class of 2020”.
To claim your free pizza, simply sign in to your Hut Rewards account at pizzahut.com/gradparty.
Once signed in, a digital coupon for the offer will appear in your account.
Congratulations Class of 2020, you did it! Together with America’s dairy farmers, we want to celebrate all your accomplishments with half a million FREE pizzas. Visit https://t.co/jgwYy9Tsc6 to claim your free medium 1-topping pizza while supplies last. pic.twitter.com/64zaUHawl1
— PizzaHut (@pizzahut) May 22, 2020
The promotion runs through May 28, 2020, or until all 500,000 pizzas are claimed – whichever comes first. So act fast!
*Pro tip – you don’t actually have to be a graduate to score a free pizza but you have to be one of the first 500,000 so move quickly to claim your free pizza.
Source: This news was first published on Chew Boom.


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Tilly’s Travels on t’ Internet March : Welcome to Tilly’s travels on t’ Internet, a collection of interesting news stories from the world of vending, micro markets and OCS.
March – the beginning of Spring, longer days and more innovations in the wonderful world of vending. This month, we have stories including ways in which vending can become more sustainable, the increasing popularity of book vending machines and – love this one – designer handbags available 24 hours a day.
Let’s kick off in Kuala Lumpar, where a canny operator is providing vending machines that sell over the counter medications. With 100 installations scheduled for various locations, such as universities, housing estates and petrol stations, is this something that might be appreciated in the UK? Who needs to drive miles to the duty chemist if there’s a machine on your high street? It’s worth keeping an eye on it, that’s for sure. FYI, the concept is called RoyalePharma 24/7.
Tilly’s Travels on t’Internet March : There has been an increase of vending machines providing books and judging by the volume sold, (sorry about that), book vending machines are becoming something of a global phenomenon. It makes you wonder about the future of libraries, for a start. As the services offer a contactless way of purchasing books, and limits interaction, it’s the perfect post covid initiative.
In this month’s ‘strangest things to be found in a vending machine’, snippet, it’s not so much a product that caught my eye as what can be found behind the machine. Intrigued? Well, in New York City’s West Village, KIND, a healthy snack brand that’s big in the Big Apple, has installed a vending machine. The thing is, when you are tempted to buy, you don’t actually get one of the company’s famous bars… Instead, the machine opens up to reveal an array of produce, for instance nuts, vegetables and fresh fruit, which are free to take away. Anyone else heard of anything like this? Thought not. Take a look!
Tilly’s Travels on t’Internet March
Selecta has announced a new automated store in Belgium. The concept of the store is “shop and go” and it is said to be a hassle free experience for consumers. All you have to do is scan your payment card, pick your favourite products and leave. Is this the future of on the go purchasing?
Food in vending can be inaccessible to some individuals because of dietary issues. Istanbul Airport has announced a new vending machine providing Kosher meals for the Jewish community. Good idea! Vending machines like this would provide much needed inclusivity for travellers, regardless of their religious commitments. Is this something that we should consider to implement world wide?
The world never ceases to amaze with its technological leaps – but who predicted that a robot would be set up to deliver a vending service? The Tortoise manages the job of a vending machine and a store assistant in one, and it takes up to $100 per hour. Watch this space for more robotics entering the world of vending.
Meanwhile, what can vending businesses do to improve their carbon footprint? Can it be done through sustainable products, using less plastic packaging or reviewing sustainability goals on a regular basis? Take a look at this interesting article from our buddies at Vending Times, HERE
Tilly’s Travels on t’Internet March : Abu Dhabi has announced the introduction of healthy vending machines in health care facilities, as part of a phased plan that was set out in 2021. Products are specially selected and distributed throughout health care facilities in Abu Dhabi. Is this something that vending could use globally?
Designer brands have been using the hype around vending machines to sell their high quality products, at any time of day, in extravagant vending machines. Jaquemus has announced a new, all white, 24 hour vending machine, located in – you guessed it – Milano. Watch this space for future designers!
Finally, as this month marks International Women’s Day, the most successful women in the vending industry have been recognised here in PV land, including Jane Macdonald, of Excel Vending, Louise Cummings of AVS and Michelle Hefferon of NIVO. Congratulations to all women who have been nominated and recognised. Here’s to some of vending’s most amazing women.
That’s all for Tilly’s Travels on t’ Internet March! See you next month for more vending trivia.
More Tilly’s Travels HERE on Planet Vending

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Brazil’s O Boticário cosmetics brand is launching two new fragrances specifically for millennials that have been developed through artificial intelligence.
Created in partnership with IBM, they are the result of a data-driven study by Symrise, a major producer of flavors and fragrances, that collected 1.7 million fragrance formulas – including scents sold to Coty and Estée Lauder.
This was combined with fragrance sales information, customers’ location and their age, human usage patterns and responses, to enable IBM to develop the scent AI tool called Philyra.
Philyra uses machine learning to create fragrance combinations that will match specific demographics. For Brazilian millennials, for instance, it suggests notes of fruits, flowers, wood, spices, and even caramel, cucumber, and condensed milk.
It’s not all algorithm however. The human element still exists on top with both perfumes ultimately tweaked by a master perfumer at Symrise to emphasize a particular note and improve how it lasted on the skin.
O Boticário is also known for being a brand that champions diversity and inclusion in their ads, so both AI-generated perfumes will be sold as genderless. “Fragrances are fragrances, and men and women should use whatever they prefer. We want to make our fragrance development process less bias,” said O Boticário’s marketing director, Alexandre Souza, to Exame’s publication.
Now, Symrise plans to distribute this technology not only to master perfumers but also to its Perfumery School to help train students. Beyond developing fragrances, IBM believes the technology can aid in other uses, like flavors, cosmetics adhesives, lubricants, and construction materials, as reported by Engadget.
The two O Boticário fragrances will hit the market on Monday, May 27.
How are you thinking about product innovation? We’re all about finding you the perfect partners to do so. The Current Global is a consultancy transforming how fashion, beauty and consumer retail brands intersect with technology. We deliver innovative integrations and experiences, powered by a network of top technologies and startups. Get in touch to learn more.
Google today announces the launch of an experiment in collaboration with innovation consultancy Current Global, to build-out a data analytics and machine learning tool powered by Google Cloud technology that will enable fashion brands to make more responsible sourcing decisions.
The initiative, revealed at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit, one of the fashion industry’s key sustainability events of the year, aims to focus on the raw materials stage (referred to as ‘Tier 4’ of the supply chain), providing brands with greater visibility as to the environmental impact of different textiles. The hope is to translate data into meaningful insights so the industry can take action.
Sustainability in fashion is a global environmental emergency. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the fashion industry accounts for 20% of wastewater and 10% of carbon emissions worldwide. The 2019 Pulse of the Fashion Industry report also shows the fashion industry is not implementing sustainable solutions fast enough to counterbalance the harmful environmental and social impacts of its rapid growth.
Current Global, an innovation consultancy that empowers fashion brands to reach their sustainability goals through the use of relevant technologies, analyzed where the industry’s largest environmental challenges are, and worked with Google to determine how it could help be part of the solution through the use of cloud-based tools for data collection and analysis.
What was identified was the need to focus on Tier 4, where brands have little to no visibility. This is an industry wide problem, where supply chains are highly fragmented, unregulated and with little transparency, yet where the majority of negative impact occurs.
Many organizations and brands have been trailblazers in an effort to collect and surface data that can lead to better sourcing decisions, but gaps in the data continue to persist due to its complexity and global nature. The aim of this experiment, is to bring together information in a way that will complement existing tools, consolidating and building on the data to shine a light into the furthest parts of the fashion supply chain.
“Lack of data in the fashion industry is one of the most pressing and complex issues we’re faced with. If you can’t see it, you can’t measure it, and if you can’t measure it, you can’t change it. In other words, without insights the industry is not empowered to make strategic and beneficial decisions for the sake of reducing their environmental impact,” Rachel Arthur, co-founder and chief innovation officer of Current Global, says. “We teamed up with Google to identify the strategic places within the supply chain that would benefit from its access to global data and its machine learning power to launch an experiment to create a decision making tool for the industry in order to enable a more sustainable fashion future. We know that if we could understand the nuance of the raw materials we source – information right now that is essentially impossible to accurately calculate – we could make an enormous dent into the overall composition of the clothes that are produced.”
To bring it to life, we’ll be collaborating closely with Stella McCartney on the first pilot project. This brand has been a pioneer in leading the fashion industry towards sustainability, helping to launch the UN Fashion Industry Charter for climate change and recently introducing Stella McCartney Cares Green, one of the arms of the Stella McCartney Foundation, to further promote sustainability and environmental protection.
As Kate Brandt, sustainability officer at Google, explains: “Stella McCartney has been a forerunner in the fashion industry embracing and leading the charge for sustainable fashion. At Google, we also strive to build sustainability into everything that we do whether that’s operating efficiency data centers to having our own Responsible Supply Chain Program. In 2016 we celebrated 10 years of carbon neutrality and we are the largest corporate renewable energy purchaser in the world. Outside of Google, we aspire to build tools to help people understand the planet, improve environmental impact, and take sustainable action. This pilot with Stella is a great step in the fashion industry’s bid to become more sustainable.”
The tool will use data analytics and machine learning on Google Cloud, focused on sources that allow companies to better measure the impact of their raw materials, relevant to key environmental factors such as air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, land use and water scarcity.
To start, it will look at cotton and viscose, each chosen due to the scale of their production, data availability and impact considerations. More specifically, cotton accounts for 25% of all fibers used by the fashion industry, with a notable impact on water and pesticide use. Viscose production is smaller but growing in demand, and has links to the destruction of forests—some endangered—which are critical in mitigating carbon emissions.
The goal is not only to be able to determine the impact of producing these raw materials, but also compare the impacts of these in different regions where they are produced. This pilot will enable us to test the effectiveness of the tool on these different raw materials, building out the possibilities for expansion into a wider variety of key textiles in the market down the line.
Ian Pattison, customer engineering manager for Google Cloud UK, says: “Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. The challenge facing the fashion industry is one of information – taking fragmented and somewhat incomplete information and quickly translating it into meaningful insights to take action. In this case, understanding how fabrics are grown or made, what impact different sourcing decisions has on the environment, and ensuring that data is visible across the whole supply chain. Google’s 20-year leadership of data technologies, cloud computing and machine learning capabilities, coupled with our commitment to sustainability and our unrivalled global mapping, means that we are uniquely placed to work with the brands to address the challenge of reducing the environmental footprint of fashion.”
This is the first phase of the experiment. Google and Current Global are now actively working with further fashion brands, experts, NGOs and industry bodies with the ambition of creating an open industry-wide tool, and plan to continue driving collaboration with other key players—large and small.
The hope is that the experiment will give fashion brands greater visibility of impact within their supply chain and actionable insights to make better raw material sourcing decisions with sustainability in mind.
Adds Maria McClay, industry head of fashion and luxury at Google: “We have been hearing increasingly from clients, our industry partners and consumers the growing urgency around the fashion sector to make a dent in their negative environmental impact given the magnitude of the problem. If nothing changes, what is at stake is our future and that of our children’s. Google empowers its teams to find moonshots – really difficult, complex problems to solve where our technology can help make a 10x contribution, not just a marginal improvement. We believe that this could be our moonshot for the industry.”
How are you thinking about your sustainable innovation strategy? Want to learn more about how we worked with Google? The Current Global is a consultancy transforming how fashion and consumer retail brands intersect with technology. We deliver innovative integrations and experiences, powered by a network of top technologies and startups. Get in touch to hear more.
Why is someone who blew the lid on the Facebook data scandal talking about fashion? Canada-born Wylie was studying trend forecasting at the University of the Arts London while working at Cambridge Analytica, and has spent much of his career exploring links in culture.
Much like fashion trends, politics is cyclical, and encompasses the idea of presenting an aesthetic, or narrative, he explains. “Trends are just as important in politics as they are in fashion; just that rather than an aesthetic trend, it might be an ideological, behavioural or cultural trend,” he says. “You need to keep track of all kinds of trends in politics because you need to know if you come out and say something, what the adoption of that will be six months down the road. And is that going to help you win an election.”
Given the nature of his role at a data business, unsurprisingly he also has a big view on the impact of artificial intelligence and machine learning on the fashion industry too.
Fashion’s intuitive nature is not only hard to measure in trends, but also incredibly complex for machines to learn, he explains. He believes fashion is contextual because its trends and aesthetics are hard to quantify. “How do you define bold? If I go to a black tie dinner but I’m decked out in camo, I’m actually wearing quite muted colours, but it’s quite bold,” he exemplifies, saying boldness is contextual, depending on where you are.
“How do you tell a computer about that? Amazingly, with fashion, is that not only is it visually and aesthetically really enriching, computationally and mathematically it’s really hard. It’s a hell of a lot harder than politics.”
Computer vision could be the solution, he says, because an outfit is essentially visually-encoded information. In that sense, it is human beings who would need to look at pictures of people wearing clothes and choose the relevant adjectives that describe what they look like. They then need to work closely with computers to teach them about fashion.
“Everybody needs teaching, even computers. You learnt fashion in the first place, so the computer needs to learn fashion from people as there are no machines that know fashion yet,” says Wylie.
We saw this movement towards focusing on the human earlier this year at SXSW. While every conversation was underpinned by the concept of artificial intelligence, the topic kept highlighting the sense of instilling humanity in all interactions – from robots learning from humans, to humans being freed from minimal tasks to focus on what matters.
Another strong theme from SXSW – and one permeating consumer trends full stop today – is around the lack of trust in society. The Edelman Trust Barometer has reported a straight-line decline for 25 years, and Wylie likens the rise of ironic fashion such as Vetements to this too. “If you have a lot of designers who are starting to make stuff that is ironic – or stupid like the €200 DHL t-shirt – and people are buying it, it’s because you have a total collapse of trust in institutions, including fashion institutions,” he says, adding that this is where fashion and culture in general have a lot more power than they give themselves credit for.
The Vogue Italia interview otherwise covered Wylie’s involvement in the Cambridge Analytica and Facebook data scandal more broadly, and exactly why he decided to go public with the information.
For more on the future of data regulation and privacy, listen to our episode of TheCurrent Innovators podcast with Amnesty International’s Sherif Elsayed-Ali.
There’s a very simple filter that comes with working at Google, and it’s about putting the user first, says Tomas Roope, creative lead at Google Zoo, the tech giant’s think tank focused on pushing the limits of creativity through technology.
Talking to Rachel Arthur in a live recording of TheCurrent Innovators podcast from the FashMash Pioneers event in London, he said: “The way we think is always user-first. Are we really solving something for somebody here? …At Google we’re about solving problems at scale.”
While Roope admits some are more PR or headline-driven than others, his process, whether the result incorporates buzzworthy terms like augmented reality, artificial intelligence or beyond, always comes back to whether the solution is something that answers a consumer need. “What shifts the bottom line is making things more relevant, and making them simpler. [It’s about answering] what do people really want?” he asks.
Anchoring much of that work these days however, comes data. “[At Google], we have seven to eight products that have over one billion users monthly, and so we have a really great understanding of what people are doing… and what they’re thinking,” he explains.
That insight is what informs the work his team does as a result, while machine learning (ML) then takes it to the next level, Roope notes. He refers to ML as an area that’s not yet being explored to its full potential.
“We’re in the middle of two massive revolutions – one of which is still the smartphone coming from 10 years ago, and now the rise of machine learning.” He refers to this as not only a powerful and extraordinarily interesting tool that allows you to fix problems in a way you couldn’t have done before, but as the most exciting underpinning to the future we’re currently building.
It’s completely reshaping what our world looks like, and what opportunities there are for brands in it as a result, he explains.
To get there, he says experimentation for all industries – including fashion and retail – is key. “For me, you’re not going to sit and discover the future by dwelling on it… it’s all about test and learn,” he explains.
As to where it will take us, he adds: “There’s a great quote by Bill Gates that says we tend to overestimate what’s going to happen in two years, but underestimate what will happen in the next 10. If you look back 10 years, we didn’t have smartphones, but in two years nothing’s happened. Only when we look over a good chunk of time do we see how much it’s changed.”
Catch up with all of our episodes of TheCurrent Innovators here. The series is a weekly conversation with visionaries, executives and entrepreneurs. It’s backed by TheCurrent, a consultancy transforming how consumer retail brands intersect with technology. We deliver innovative integrations and experiences, powered by a network of top technologies and startups. Get in touch to learn more.
US performance label Ministry of Supply has launched an intelligent heated jacket that uses machine learning to adjust the garment’s temperature.
The Mercury jacket creates a microclimate optimized to the wearer’s body by using a custom microcontroller heating system to heat up carbon-fiber heating pads sewn in the garment’s lining. The system takes in to consideration the weather and body temperature, motion data, and user preference to modulate power. For example, when walking to a train stop the jacket senses temperatures and an elevating heart rate, as well as user behaviour learnt through time, to regulate the system.
The machine learning element ensures that the more feedback the user gives its accompanying app, the better the system gets at learning their preferences. Meanwhile an added voice element allows wearers to naturally activate the jacket through a smart assistant like Amazon Alexa.
“Our mission is to invent clothing that blends form and functionality — and temperature regulation is one of the most important factors in comfort,” says the brand’s team. “We’re excited to present our vision of what wearable technology can become, not just a way to monitor our vitals – but also act on it allowing us to become more comfortable and capable because of it. The Intelligent Heated Jacket is just that literally putting a learning thermostat in your jacket.”
Since Ministry of Supply’s inception, it has approached clothing through a human-centric, design-led methodology that takes into consideration both aesthetic and function. The jacket has been developed to replace any other outerwear alternative.
This is Ministry of Supply’s third successful Kickstarter campaign. In 2012, it launched the Apollo shirt, which controls body temperature after raising over $400K. Following that, the Atlas socks, which are made out of coffee beans that filter out sweat, raised over $200K or its $30K goal.
Imagine this: You walk into your favorite store and the sales associate welcomes you by name. She or he lets you go about your business, but on-demand shares with you which of their latest products you would most likely be interested in.
Such recommendations, powered by artificial intelligence, are a very familiar experience online these days, but they’re also increasingly being worked towards in the brick and mortar retail world.
A multitude of different technologies lie at the heart of achieving this, but namely it’s a connection between CRM and machine learning, all with that layer of identification placed on top to deliver results for the specific customer in question.
Your mobile device usually plays a key role in making the ID part possible, but facial recognition is another such way.
Lolli & Pops, a candy store based in the US with roughly 50 doors, is one such retailer experimenting with this. A proof of concept called Mobica, which is powered by Intel, was on show at NRF’s Big Show in New York this week. Using computer vision, it’s a facial recognition loyalty scheme designed to drive VIP consumer engagement.
The opt-in experience (shoppers literally have to enrol their face to be a part of it), means anyone entering the store is recognized in real-time by an app the sales associates are using on their tablet devices. From there, they are able to tell the individual’s taste profile, know for instance if they’re allergic to peanuts, and be able to personally recommend great products to them via AI-enhanced analytics accordingly.
“It’s designed for their loyalty shopper, so about wanting to make them feel really special,” Stacey Shulman, Intel’s chief innovation officer for its Retail Solutions Division, told me. “Privacy isn’t an issue because they have such a strong relationship with their customers and are trusted by them already. It all starts with service and a connection to the customer.”
You can easily imagine the same VIP concept being applied at the likes of Sephora for beauty, or even in an apparel merchant.
Other facial recognition technology on show at NRF enabled special, personalized deals to surface on screens in real-time, demonstrated a restaurant that allows customers to pay by face, and also touted broader data collection opportunities around demographics and store-traffic patterns.
It was the customer service piece that felt particularly pertinent however. As Shulman explained: “Technology today needs to not be at the forefront. It needs to be the helper at the back. When done right, it enables people to get back to the customer and back to what’s important. That’s what we see here; it’s not about the facial recognition or the AI, it’s about the experience the customer then has. The differentiator between a brick and mortar store and Amazon today is customer service. We can’t compete on price and selection anymore, so we have to go back to service. If we don’t we will have a problem.”
The Lolli & Pops facial recognition initiative will roll out to stores in the coming weeks, according to Shulman.
Young fashion shoppers today are demanding personalization more than ever. According to an IBM study, 52% of female Generation Z would like to see tools that allow them to customize products for themselves.
This coincides with an ever-increasing expectation for speed in delivery of product. While several fast fashion retailers can get product to shelves in weeks, the majority of clothing items take anywhere from six to 12 months of development.
Technology is impacting throughout the supply chain to shift this forward, including in the creative process itself. Artificial intelligence (AI) for instance – incorporating computer vision, natural language understanding and deep learning – is being used to produce key insights on trends to both expedite the initial design process and better predict demand for hyperlocalized products.
IBM has teamed up with Tommy Hilfiger and The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) Infor Design and Tech Lab on a project called Reimagine Retail to demonstrate this. The aim is to show how AI capabilities can give retailers an edge in terms of speed, and equip the next generation of retail leaders with new skills using AI in design, according to Steve Laughlin, general manager of IBM Global Consumer Industries.
To do so, FIT students were given access to IBM Research’s AI capabilities including computer vision, natural language understanding, and deep learning techniques specifically trained with fashion data.
Those tools were applied to 15,000 of Tommy Hilfiger’s product images, some 600,000 publicly available runway images and nearly 100,000 patterns from fabric sites. They then brought about key silhouettes, colors, and novel prints and patterns that could be used as informed inspiration to the students’ designs.
Product recommendations for e-commerce sites are not new in concept, but the suggestions they present to shoppers are increasingly getting smarter thanks to the algorithms behind them.
And the result of delivering more relevant product ideas? Higher spend of course. When Jewelry.com partnered with omnichannel personalisation technology firm, Dynamic Yield, to integrate personalised product recommendations on its website, for instance, it saw revenue increases per visitor of 39% from the homepage, 13% from product pages, and 18% from cart pages.
The key, according to the team, was not just to focus on the usual ‘most popular’ or ‘similar to current item’ suggestions, but instead to turn to machine learning to automatically select the most effective strategy for each user.
That meant finding a personalisation strategy that would work for both visitors with a rich history of behavioural interactions, and those who are new to the site, thus for whom minimal information is known. Doing so is about capturing signals from shoppers about their buying intentions and preferences for specific products as they move through the sales funnel, the Dynamic Yield team explained, and then providing upsell and cross-sell opportunities throughout.
“Traditional retail is beginning to have what we like to call a ‘moneyball moment’ where the old way of simply making gut decisions on which experience to serve your customers is being challenged. As machine learning technology becomes more advanced, algorithms will outperform humans in recommending products that users are more likely to show an affinity for, and ultimately buy,” Mukund Ramachandran, CMO of Dynamic Yield, notes.
“With Dynamic Yield, we can use machine learning to make data-driven recommendations based on where visitors are in the sales funnel. The ability to assess the level of valuable information about each visitor and automatically serve the most effective strategy has empowered us to increase revenue across our site,” said Jon Azrielant, director of marketing at Jewelry.com.
On the homepage, for instance, the Dynamic Yield widget leveraged affinity-based recommendations, recommending products according to a weighted score of what returning users had added-to-cart, viewed, or purchased in the past. To induce engagement among new visitors, the widget presented products with the highest amount of page views and click-through-rate on the site.
“While ‘point solutions’ for deploying product recommendations have existed in the market for decades, these solutions are limited by data silos that restrict their algorithms to only making decisions based on a user’s interactions with product recommendation widgets. With Dynamic Yield’s unified data stack, information onboarded from all onsite interactions, third party data, CRM data and loyalty data can be ingested,” Ramachandran explains.
On the product pages, the team has been running A/B tests, comparing 45% of users who were recommended products ‘similar to the current item’, 45% who were recommended ‘top-selling’ products, and 10% who received?a control variation. As a result, Jewelry.com revealed that recommending ‘top-selling’ products provided a 10% uplift compared to the other variations.
Finally, an additional widget was introduced on the bottom of the cart page to showcase items frequently bought together with the current item.
“These results are very strong compared to industry benchmarks. We think this is the case because with Dynamic Yield product recommendations are only part of the puzzle. The entire site starts working better for you – the homepage engagement is higher which leads more people to discover the most relevant products as they browse,” Ramachandran adds.
Topman’s global digital director, Gareth Rees-John, took to the stage at Shoptalk Europe this week with a welcome reminder of the things it’s possible to do without huge budgets.
He noted how many retailers are still operating on legacy systems with “jumbled data” making it hard to move forward fast, and said his focus is on “making little changes that have robust business cases”.
The key, he said, is about doing things the retail board will understand – referring to Sir Phillip Green as an owner that is becoming increasingly tech savvy but still at his roots a traditional shopkeeper – and said it’s about nudging people along.
He highlighted three simple ways his team is personalising the e-commerce experience for shoppers in order to help drive conversions.
The first is dedicated to students. A simple switch at the top of the website, facilitated by SaaS company Qubit, enables users to toggle all products to student prices – a 10% discount. “Normally we see 38% of spend on the website is with students, when we do this then we see 50%, so it’s huge – just by taking the friction out,” Rees-John explained.
The second he said is about personalising the website based on geography. “We see trends in the data as to what people are buying and where. Sterotypically, for instance, we don’t sell as many coats in [the northern city of] Newcastle – it’s all lads in short sleeve shirts – compared to in the south-east.” So the website is set up to over-show on categories where they do sell.
The last pulls in artificial intelligence: Canadian company Granify helps optimise Topman’s conversion rates by serving different messages to shoppers when they are at flight risk. The notifications use machine learning to address issues that will help retain the individual in question, such as letting them know an item is low in stock, as one example. It’s seeing an uplift of 3-5% in doing so.
Long-term Rees-John is looking to streamline the creative process for personalised content. “One of the biggest barriers to personalisation is the creative output – dynamic ads have their limits and if you have multiple segments then you need multiples of artwork. Our view is by the end of the year to have six different modules on the homepage and every person will see them in different orders but only see three at one time.”
The result will equal 720 different permutations of the website. “It isn’t a big data exchange it’s just a different experience of the brand going forward,” he said.
If time is the greatest luxury for modern consumers, Nordstrom is steadily proving that convenience is one of the foremost things it can offer its shoppers.
The department store is expanding its Reserve Online & Try In Store service to over 40 stores nationwide, following the success of its pilot in six last year.
The premise, which is built around making it easier for customers to shop in the way that they want to, enables app users to select items they like, then book to have them set in a fitting room for them in the store of their choice, ready to try on in person. There is no commitment to purchase at any stage.
“Many of our customers like to feel and try on clothes and shoes before they purchase them and we’re excited to offer them a more convenient way to do so,” says Shea Jensen, senior vice president of customer experience at the company. Read the full story, including further insight from Jensen, via Forbes.


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Gamerdeals: "With the launch of the new Amazon Playstation Network Store, the deals are starting to flow!"
They were at this price during the Sale of the Dead, got them at $2.00 each with ps plus, best deal I've gotten so far on the ps store
Definitely grabbing these. Never had the chance to try the series and I hear these games are truly frightening. Just more incentive to grab that PS3 come Black Friday.
N4G is a community of gamers posting and discussing the latest game news. It’s part of NewsBoiler, a network of social news sites covering today’s pop culture.


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Long line for Tractor Supply jobs
Published 9:48 am Wednesday, September 1, 2010
FRANKLIN—By late morning Tuesday, Tractor Supply Co. had interviewed more than 80 people for 14 to 16 full- and part-time positions at its new store in Franklin, which opens Oct. 23.
Interviews will continue from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, Sept. 1, at Paul D. Camp Community College Regional Workforce Development Center.
“We have had a huge turnout so far,” said store manager Debra Smith. “We have gotten quite a few good applicants. With the recent closing of the (International Paper Co.) mill, we expected it.”
Franklin resident Steve Warrington was among those who lined both sides of the hallway, waiting for an interview.
“I’d love to get a full-time job if I can get it,” said Warrington, who was in line for about an hour. “But I’ll take whatever I can get, to be honest with you.”
Warrington said he’s been looking for a job for a little over a year, after working at the Cypress Cove Country Club and, before that, nine years with a tile company. He was laid off from the latter because of a slowdown in the housing market.
“It’s a good thing for (Tractor Supply) to be here,” Warrington said. “There are a lot of people here who need jobs.”
New hires, including two managers, will begin working at the end of September or early October to go through orientation, product training and to perform some store setup.
According to Smith, the beginning pay scale for the jobs is minimum wage — $7.25 an hour in Virginia — but a higher wage will be given to workers with more experience.
Jarvis Hunter of Suffolk also waited in line for an interview.
“I’d like to get a job doing what I’m doing,” said Hunter, who works part-time at Dail’s Home Center in Franklin. “I’ve been working with tractors for 20 years, I know all about the different parts.”
Asked about Tractor Supply coming to Franklin, Hunter said, “It’s a good thing. At least it gives somebody else a chance to get a job.”
According to its website, Tractor Supply, which is based in Brentwood, Tenn., is the largest retail farm and ranch store in the U.S., operating more than 800 retail stores in 40 states. Its stores sell work clothes, animal and pet supplies, power tools, riding mowers and lawn and garden products. Tractor Supply also specializes in agricultural fencing and livestock equipment.
When completed, the 19,097-square foot store in Franklin will be the second in the Hampton Roads region, after Gloucester. Currently, the nearest Tractor Supply store to Franklin is located in Roanoke Rapids, N.C. It occupies about one-half of a former Wal-Mart.


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Motorola unveiled the Moto G Turbo Edition, a speedier version of this year's Moto G smartphone. There's no word on whether the Moto G Turbo Edition will leave the confines of Mexico, though it will carry a heavier price tag.
Motorola built a powerful online customization tool with Moto Maker, but it also knows the value of letting consumers get their hands on its gear. With that in mind, the mobile firm will this week open its first brick-and-mortar store, in…
Motorola has announced the Moto X Force in the U.K. earlier today, a new 5.4-inch smartphone with a shatterproof display and 21-megapixel camera. It is a repackaged version of the Droid Turbo 2 for international markets.
Verizon's new #WhyNotWednesday promotion lets customers try to find the Moto Droid Turbo 2 in a virtual city, with 200 winners snagging a free unit. The Droid Turbo 2 was announced yesterday at a Motorola event.
Motorola's new ShatterShield technology on the Droid Turbo 2 finally means that you never have to worry if you drop your phone again. It's display is guaranteed to not crack or shatter for up to four years.
According to rumors, Motorola may debut a ruggedized addition to its Moto X series of smartphones -- the Moto X Force -- in December. It reportedly sports a shatter-proof design and high-end internals.


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Microsoft's upcoming mid-range Lumia 730 is expected to incorporate wireless charging, according to latest reports.
The smartphone, which is expected to be the successor to Microsoft's popular Lumia 720, continues to grab attention even before its official release.
Various technical specifications of the Lumia 730 surfaced earlier this year, and hinted at a 5 megapixel front camera along with a 6.1 megapixel rear snapper, to cater to those hoping to capture the perfect 'selfie'.
Now, another important feature of Lumia 730 has reportedly been confirmed by a report published in Nokia Power User.
According to this report, the Lumia 730 will incorporate functionality like wireless charging, 4G LTE connectivity and a Nano SIM slot.
The microSD card slot (for expanding the internal storage, rumoured to be either 8GB/16GB by default), should provide expansion of internal memory up to at least 32GB via an external microSD card.
Wireless charging should be the major USP of the Lumia 730, considering the smartphone's mid-range positioning and hardware offering.
Other tech specs are yet to be confirmed by Microsoft, but according to earlier speculations, the Lumia 730 is expected to incorporate a 4.7in FWVGA display and run the latest Windows Phone 8.1 update 1 OS straight out of the box. The smartphone is likely to be driven by a quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, along with 1GB RAM.
Microsoft's 'selfie' smartphone is also rumoured to offer a two SIM-card option.
Software-wise, the Lumia 730 is said to be driven by Nokia's 'Debian Red' firmware, which should feature new enhancements.
Recently, a Lumia smartphone variant, with model number RM-1038, passed through the American Federal Communications Commission. This Lumia variant is said to be the Lumia 730, and has dimensions measuring 134.7 x 68.5 mm, which is comparatively higher than the Lumia 720's real estate that measures in at 127.9 x 67.5 mm.
Lumia 730 is highly anticipated to be released during Microsoft's event that is slated to be held on 4 September, in Berlin, Germany.


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“We are seeing an influx of women-targeting gaming sites like womengamers.com, conferences dedicated specifically to women in gaming, and brands successfully targeting and engaging women in advergame experiences,” says Richard Lent, CEO of AgencyNet., a strategic interactive solutions firm in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
In addition to more enhanced capabilities, AgencyNet’s Lent predicts a greater proliferation of advergames as a marketing medium. “We see more games coming… especially in brand web sites. We also see more community-based games where people can invite their friends to join them or to play along. The future of advergaming will probably involve portability and/or multiplayer capabilities, customization, better sound and more 3D/video for greater realism,” Lent says.
Follow TEN: @agencyTEN


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It’s much more common today for laptops to outsell desktops. With every new generation of laptop comes more power and features; the laptop is quickly outshining the beloved desktop computer. When you purchase a laptop today it comes equipped with the latest software for general computing, Internet access and gaming. You can now do almost anything with a laptop that can be done with a desktop computer.
The Survey Says:
A recent survey of 1,002 Quebecers conducted by research firm, Cefrio found that the laptop is the most popular choice of computer.
They found that:
- 60% have laptops, while only 52% have desktop computers,
- 42% have smartphones, fewer than in other provinces,
- 27% have tablets, similar to the percentage in other provinces,
- Only 12% have e-readers,
- 78% of the households are connected to Internet, the same as last year, and
- Quebecers spend approximately 20 hours per week on the Internet, nine hours on their work computer, seven hours per week on their laptop, five hours on their mobile devices.


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AppleFest opened on Flipkart on Tuesday, January 10, which will last up to January 13. The AppleFest is offering deals on iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6, Apple Watch.
Let's have a look at seven gadgets that becomes almost redundant if you have a smartphone.
The media invite has been sent for the launch event which will take place in the capital city New Delhi on the 10th.
2017 is going to unveil more new gadgets upping the convenience factor. Some of the launches expected are of the following:
Samsung pushed back the launch of its alleged Galaxy S8 smartphone back to April 2017 from February 2017 earlier in order to gain confidence from consumers before making it available worldwide, as per media reports.
The is available to buy in the US from Friday. The key Mate 9 talking is the fact that Huawei’s Mate 9 ships with Alexa functionality pre-installed.
Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus on Friday opened its first `Experience Store` in Bengaluru that will be a one-stop destination to experience the complete range of OnePlus products.
ASUS on Thursday launched the ASUS ZenFone ARsmartphone that comes with a massive 8GB RAM – the biggest RAM in any smartphone so far.
Lenovo announced a new range of laptop and tablet products at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2017) here.
Lava's sub-brand Xolo is scheduled to launch its smartphone Xolo Era 2X on January 5. It will go on sale from January 9, 2017.
OnePlus has roped in American actress and model Emily Ratajkowski to explain how the Dash Charge works.
CES is an annual trade show organised by the US Consumer Technology Association.
iPhone production is set to reduce by 10 percent in the first quarter of 2017, as per reports in the media.
Companies are hopeful that 2017 will ring in good news and sales will return to healthy growth clip like that seen in the previous year.
Lenovo, the Chinese smartphone maker, has recently launched Phab 2 Plus.
The Windows 10 Home-based laptops natively support China Mobile's networks without requiring a separate SIM card. And to make it more attractive, users will get free access to 4GB of 4G data every month, totalling 48GB a year.
Two strap variants of ZenWatch 3 were announced on Friday by technology major ASUS.
Xiaomi, over the weekend, unveiled Mi VR Play headset pricing it very competitively at just Rs 999.
Global Internet and ecosystem conglomerate, LeEco had announced the expansion of its e-commerce partnerships to include e-commerce giant, Snapdeal, for its second-generation superphone Le 2.
The latest addition to Lenovo’s highly successful K-series, Lenovo K6 Note is all set to be launched on December 14.
Motorola has launched its first metal smartphone- Moto M in India.
Lenovo will launch its much anticipated smartphone Moto M in India on Tuesday. Moto M has been promoted as company's first all-metal smartphone.
Xiaomi on Monday launched its entry-level VR (virtual reality) headset "Mi VR Play" and live-streaming "Mi Live" app in India.
Homegrown handset firm Micromax has launched its new series of smartphones -- the Vdeo 1 and Vdeo 2 smartphone with Google Duo preloaded, and also boast of 4G VoLTE support in India.
South Korean consumer electronics titan LG launched its latest flagship smartphone V20 in India on Thursday.
Chinese smartphone maker Coolpad on Monday announced that sale of its smartphones will begin through offline channels soon.
The Chinese smartphone maker launched OnePlus 3T in India on Friday. The gadget is an upgrade over its 2016 flagship OnePlus 3.
Mobile phone industry body Indian Cellular Association has asked the government to allow use of old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes for the purchase of handsets and claimed that their sales have come down by 50 per cent due to cash crunch post demonetisation.
It is powered by 1.4GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor coupled with 2GB of RAM. It packs 16GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 256GB via a microSD card.
It fulfills all the needs of a gadget freak, yet subtly satisfies the requirements of the not so tech savvy.
- Is Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance just a compulsion for Akhilesh Yadav?
- UP polls: When fans played spoilsport for SP star campaigner Dimple Yadav
- Have political parties diverted from development agenda in UP elections?
- Pakistan cancels licenses of weapons issued to Hafiz Saeed and his aides
- DNA: How India became world's largest arms importer
- UP polls: Voting for fourth phase of Assembly elections today
- BJP begins counselling youths in Kashmir against stone pelting
- DNA: Analysis on mobile technology disinfection that pose threat to patients
- DNA: India sees 50% jump in millionaire exodus in 2016
- DNA: Today in history, 21 February, 2017
- Himachal Pradesh's Mandi enters Limca Book of World Records
- Children subjected to cruelty on allegations of mobile stealing
- DNA: Today in History | February 22, 2017
- J&K: Three soldiers martyred in terror attack in Shopian
- DNA: China bars 60 lakh bank defaulters from travelling
- BMC election 2017 results LIVE: Shiv Sena leads in 92 seats, BJP ahead in 73; counting underway
- BMC exit poll: BJP predicted to score big in neck-and-neck battle with Shiv Sena
- How Kashmiris use children for 'meri jaan Pakistan' type 'freedom struggle' - WATCH
- Maharashtra Civic Poll Results 2017 LIVE: Shiv Sena, BJP supporters clash in Mumbai; Congress wiped out from state
- Solapur Municipal Corporation Elections 2017 Results LIVE: Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM bags 5 seats; counting underway
- Thane Municipal Corporation Elections 2017 Results LIVE: Counting underway; Shiv Sena leads the race
- Reliance Jio Prime Membership at Rs 99: All you need to know about the plan
- 'Intolerance brigade' attacks Zee News' #FatehKaFatwa host Tarek Fateh - WATCH
- 'BJP gaining in Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections after Hindutva introduced in campaign'
- MS Dhoni set to lead Jharkhand in 2017 Vijay Hazare Trophy
- Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation Elections 2017 Results LIVE: Counting underway
- Scam in Arvind Kejriwal's 'Mohalla Clinic'? Vigilance Department initiates probe over doctors earning Rs 4 lakh/month
- 'Cyanide' Mallika, Sasikala's dangerous neighbour in Bengaluru prison, shifted
- Javed Miandad unfazed by Pakistani players' absence from IPL, says we've got our own PSL
- Amar Singh makes explosive claim, says Mulayam scripted Samajwadi Party family feud to help Akhilesh


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Google's high-tech specs cross the pond and bring with them new apps from The Guardian, Goal.com and Zombies, Run!
Google Glass has arrived outside the US for the first time. The high-tech spectacles are now on sale in the UK for £1,000 -- equivalent to $1,700 in the US or AU$1,800 in Australia.
Google Glass is a lightweight frame similar to a pair of glasses without the lenses. Attached to one side a tiny screen sits in front of your right eye, equivalent to a 720p display. You can check your Gmail messages, search the Web, navigate along a journey or see various other functions on the screen using specially made apps, known as Glassware.
Everything is controlled by tapping on the side of the specs, tilting your head, or announcing "OK Google" and telling Glass what to do.
Glass makes phone calls with a mic and a "bone conduction" speaker, or headphones. It also has a built-in camera to take hands-free photos and video.
The Big G is keen to stress that Glass is still a prototype. When first launched to developers in February 2013, early adopters had to apply to be part of a beta test called the Glass Explorer programme. In May this year the Explorer programme was opened up to anyone to buy Glass.
At some point there will be a wider release. In the US, Glass costs $1,500 (equivalent to AU$1,600). Google hasn't said when it'll reach Australia, however.
UK residents over the age of 18 can become a Glass Explorer by purchasing the facially mounted gadget directly from google.co.uk/glass.
New Glass apps also announced today include British newspaper The Guardian, which shows you breaking news alerts and enables you to save news stories to read later. The soccer-themed Goal.com app keeps up with football news, while StarChart is an augmented reality app that enables you to look up at the sky to discover the stars, planets and constellations above you.
The Zombies, Run! app is a new version of the popular fitness game. The app makes running more interesting by adding a fictional narrative, co-created by novelist Naomi Alderman, with an audio story that sees you running from zombies.


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Eric Phillips has been in prison for 18 years for 2nd degree murder. He just presented a startup to 50 Silicon Valley investors.
Here's what cities could look like in 10 years
More "The Next 10" »
Brothers share what it was like quitting their corporate jobs to sell ties on the beach and cofound Vineyard Vines, a company worth nearly $1 billion
More "Transformations" »
Available on iOS or Android


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buchachon - Fotolia
Citrix plans to collapse five partner incentive programs into a single structure that the company said will simplify the way channel companies apply for incentives.
The unified incentive program, dubbed Citrix Ultimate Rewards, was announced at this week's Citrix Summit 2018 and will go live Feb. 10. Paul Fecteau, managing director of partner programs and operations at Citrix, said the move marks a "simplification of our partner program structure and the process involved."
Prior to the restructuring, Citrix operated five program elements: Citrix Advisor Rewards (CAR), CAR Plus, CAR Bonus, Opportunity Registration and Net New Partner-Sourced (NNPS). Fecteau said the components, which have rolled out over the course of 18 years, have all served a purpose in Citrix's partnering initiative, but added a level of complexity. Partners have to apply separately to each of the five programs, for example.
With the new system, partners can register a deal without having to apply for the individual incentives. Instead, partners provide information on the customers, and the systems' built-in intelligence determines the discount elements for which a Citrix partner qualifies, according to Fecteau.
"They can register deals ... without having to understand the intricacies," he said.
Citrix joins Cisco and Microsoft as vendors that have moved to streamline their channel programs in recent months. At its 2017 Partner Summit, Cisco discussed the retooling of channel programs targeting its resale partners. The networking vendor said it is taking steps to simplify its specialization portfolio and deal registration efforts. And at its annual channel meetup in July 2017, Microsoft unveiled measures the company said will simplify partner engagement and go-to-market approaches.
Discount and rebate programs
Paul Fecteaumanaging director of partner programs and operations at Citrix
As part of the Citrix Ultimate Rewards revamp revealed at Citrix Summit 2018, partner incentives have been recast as two discount programs, Spark and Drive, and one rebate program, called Accelerate. Accelerate provides a quarterly aggregated rebate. Spark, which Fecteau said is akin to NNPS, rewards partners for identifying and registering new selling opportunities that Citrix didn't already know about, Fecteau explained.
Drive, meanwhile, is similar to CAR in that it offers rewards to partners that pursue value-selling activities that result in a sale. Value-selling activities include delivering a solution design, scheduling a customer demo or proof of concept, and providing an implementation schedule.
Beyond program simplification, the Citrix partner program changes also aim to accelerate partners' profit in the cloud, while still rewarding them for on-premises business, Fecteau said. In 2018, partners will earn rebates based on selling Citrix Cloud services and product sales growth.
Fecteau said the cloud-related rebate is the first time Citrix has established a rebate specifically for cloud sales. But any combination of cloud sales expansion and on-premises product revenue growth will earn partners a rebate, he added.
Also at Citrix Summit 2018
Partners attending at Citrix Summit 2018 will hear keynoters, including Citrix President and CEO David Henshall, talk about the company's overall strategy.
Conference sessions are organized around a handful of tracks, including sales, technical, marketing and Citrix service provider.
The Citrix partner conference, held in Anaheim, Calif., concludes Jan. 9.


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Don't-Miss Cloud & Services Stories
Elcomsoft said it is aware pirated copies of its Phone Password Breaker software are circulating in the underground
To qualify, business customers must buy at least 150 seats of the suite.
Box also rolled out consulting services and tailored packages for vertical industries.
The acquisition aims to boost Samsung's business-to-business mobile offerings
The decision upheld a district court ruling that Yelp did not extort businesses to sell them ads
The company detailed progress in its ongoing investigation into the incident that led to publication of celebrities' private photos.
Oregon may be facing an uphill battle to prove its case, according to one observer
Microsoft's following in the footsteps of Dropbox and Google Drive by removing OneDrive's 2GB file size limit, albeit with little fanfare.
Uber can be fined up to €250,000 if it continues to operate its UberPop service in Germany, a court there has ruled
Using Watson Chef, master cooks have created a tasty Vietnamese apple kabob and other novel dishes
Baidu, Tencent and Dalian Wanda Group are establishing a new e-commerce joint venture
IBM's Watson could help doctors by analyzing the masses of literature in the field
Microsoft updates its OneDrive for Android app with the ability to store files in either a personal OneDrive account or OneDrive for Business.


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Santiago Eximeno‘s disturbing story “The Sweetest,” translated by me, which already appeared in his (disturbingly good) personal collection Umbría, is back in the summer issue of Chthonic Matter. That’s a new — and very promising — quarterly series (this is the second book) by Nightscript editor C.M. Muller.
The book includes “tales from the darkside” by Jason A. Wyckoff, Jonathan Louis Duckworth, Gail Pinto, Santiago Eximeno, Gordon Brown, Stephen McQuiggan, K. Wallace King, Patrick Barbis. It’s already on Amazon in ebook and paperback.


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People in California will begin to see the effects of Proposition 22 this week, with the ballot measuring 58% of the state’s voters in November.
The measure exempts app-based, on-demand companies from California labor law and classifies gig workers as independent contractors rather than employees. Ride-highling drivers and app-based delivery workers will see some benefits in salary and benefits, but not full employee protection.
Some companies – who together spent more than $ 200 million to pass Proposition 22 – now say they will raise rates for customers. Uber Technologies Inc. UBER,
Is calling the increase on every ride and distributes a “California Driver Benefit Fee” which it said will vary depending on the cost of operating in different markets. Dordash Inc. DAS,
This is a “modest percentage increase in service charges”, while Lyft Inc. LYFT,
And on Monday Instacart did not answer questions about raising rates and fees.
See: Uber and Lyft fight to keep drivers in California as contractors
Gig Workers Rising, a labor group that opposed Proposition 22, called the increase in consumer rates “corporate bait and switch” on Monday, saying in a statement that “Uber and other app corporations during their Proposition 22 campaign Said time and again. ” If the measure fails to pass, riders can expect higher rates. Now when Prof. 22 has passed, with Uber announcing that the rider will have to bear the increased costs after all. ”
Drivers for Uber and Lyft, and delivery workers for DoorDash and Instacart, will start this week to earn a guaranteed earnings equivalent to 120% of the minimum wage during their busy or booked time – waiting for passengers or deliveries Turns out time doing – companies said on Monday. They will receive 30 cents for each booked mile, and will be covered by occupational accident insurance for injuries on the job.
In addition, workers who log in at least 15 hours a week will be eligible for subsidies for use for health insurance. 1 January
The company said Lyft would review its drivers’ earnings and ensure that if they met less than the guaranteed amount, the difference would be made. The review will be biweekly, and suggestions will not count towards the income guarantee. Health care subsidies will be paid quarterly, Lyft and Instacart said.
Dordash stated shortly after Prop. 22 that he had previously expected to pay health care subsidies in April 2021.
In addition, on Monday Gig Workers Rising announced an app for workers meant to help workers understand the benefits they are entitled to under the proposal. 22. The app, which will be available on January 11, will allow workers to provide information about salaries and benefits. The group stated that “it would show that the benefits offered by Proposition 22 are completely inadequate.”


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Oscar Mayer announced Monday that they're adding two new vehicles to their WinerFleet.
The first is a WeinerCycle, a three-wheeled moped, which is decked out in the colors similar to the original Weinermobile. They cycle even features a sidecar shaped like the iconic Weinermobile that doubles as a hot dog warming station according to the company.
The WeinerDrone also looks like original ride. The quadcopter can deliver one hot dog from a built in bay.
Oscar Mayer, in a release, said it is the first unmanned hot dog-carrying aircraft designed for remote location delivery.
Besides the two new vehicles and the original Weinermobile, Oscar Mayer also operates a WeinerMini and the WeinerRover.
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Before launching her own collection, Charlotte Chesnais worked for Balenciaga and with Kenzo and Maiyet, among others.
Posts published by Sarah Moroz
ARC Objects was born out of Daniela Jacobs’s senior thesis project at Parsons.
Silencio, the director’s members-only, labyrinthine culture hub, will migrate its creative community to the Maison de l’Aiguebrun for the season.
For its anniversary, the annual event shares photos that even include a snapshot of the elusive Martin Margiela.
An exhibition and retrospective celebrate the filmmaker — and offer some context for his groundbreaking work.
“Re-Corbusier” collects 16 contemporary works that allude to the designs of the iconic Modernist Swiss architect.
“Écriture,” at the concept boutique Merci, highlights iconic stationery and desktop accouterments.
“Déboutonner la Mode” at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs explores the fastener’s history and uses, from the Enlightenment to Elsa Schiaparelli.
Solovière, which launched with men’s footwear last year, has recently expanded into women’s sizing, thanks to a request from Colette.
The jewelry designer introduced her nine newest creations, on view here, during Paris Couture Week.


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Judge nixes punitive damages for Maris.
Circuit Judge Buzzy Green dismissed half of the eight counts filed against the St. Louis brewer.
The New York Yankees outfielder retired from baseball in 1968 and moved to Gainesville, Florida, where he operated an Anheuser-Busch beer distributorship. He died of cancer in 1985. Mans' family sued the beer giant for $1.3 billion for taking away the distributorship in 1997.
The family still plans to seek $300 million in compensatory damages.
Anheuser-Busch attorneys said Maris Distributing repeatedly violated the terms of its agreement by repackaging outdated beer, falsifying reports and having dirty warehouses.
"We have always maintained that the plaintiff did not have any evidence to support these claims," John E. Jacob, Anheuser-Busch's executive vice president, said in a statement.
Judge Green dismissed the counts of tortious interference with employees, tortious interference with retail accounts, civil theft and conversion. However, he allowed to stand counts of unjust enrichment, breach of contract and breach of covenant. He was to decide later on a count of deceptive trade practices.
Anheuser-Busch had offered to buy the distributorship from the Mans family for $20 million before taking it away from them.
"This case is about corporate greed and how Anheuser-Busch took the Gainesville-Ocala distributorship away from this hard working and honest family," Mans attorney Madison McClellan said in a statement.
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There is significant uncertainty ahead for the UK economy, according to Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
The Chancellor warned of uncertainty following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
His warning comes despite a healthy set of economic figures in January, with the UK economy growing by 0.8% after its 0.2% decline in December.
The UK economy bounced back in January as Covid concerns started to ease.
However, the British Chambers of Commerce is warning we might face a recession in the UK due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its impact on prices.
Before Russian launched its military action in Ukraine, UK households already faced sharply rising prices, with more to come next month when National Insurance tax rates are hiked along with council tax and energy bills.
Suren Thiru, head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce, said:
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has increased the risk of a recession in the UK by exacerbating the already acute inflationary squeeze on consumers and businesses and derailing the supply of critical commodities to many sectors of the economy.”
Looking back at January’s economic growth, the recovery came from wholesaling, retailing, restaurants and takeaways, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
However, the global supply chain crisis continues to hamper recovery in some sectors.
Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said:
“GDP bounced back from the hit it took in December due to the Omicron wave and is now 0.8% above its pre-pandemic peak.
“All sectors grew in January with some industries that were hit particularly hard in December now performing well.”
Responding to the latest official figures, the Chancellor said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is creating “significant economic uncertainty”, but “it is vital that we stand with the people of Ukraine to uphold our shared values of freedom and democracy and ensure Putin fails”.
The Chancellor also said the government had provided “unprecedented support” throughout the pandemic, “which has put our economy in a strong position to deal with current cost of living challenges.”


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Google's parent company Alphabet is trying to buy US wearable device maker Fitbit, according to Reuters. Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that there was 'no certainty' that the deal would...
Discord may choose to go public if it does not get an acceptable offer
Both the US SEC and European Commission have approved the acquisition
Auth0 will continue as an independent entity, being integrated into Okta’s platform over time
Lynch who faces extradition to the US, owns about 40 per cent of the UK cybersecurity company valued at £4 billion
Microsoft, Google and Qualcomm are said to have complained to antitrust regulators about Nvidia's proposed takeover of Arm


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Mobile Commerce app, MERGIMS has won the Rwandan leg of the Seedstars world competition.
MERGIMS, according to Disrupt Africa, connects Rwandans living abroad with merchants back home and also helps them buy items for their relatives back home.
“Winning this ticket to Geneva for us is the recognition of six months of hard work from the MERGIMS team,” said Louis-Antoine Muhire, CEO and founder of MERGIMS. “We are definitely working on something that will change the world, and today we’ve got another confirmation of that fact.”
Asuqu, Yubeyi, Lycamedia, Grocewheels, Safemotos and educational cartoon-making startup, Cartoon Home Network, were some of the other Rwandan startups that competed alongside MERGIMS last night.
The MERGIMS team will be in Switzerland next February, alongside other winning contestants from Nigeria, Kenya South Africa and Ethiopia and 50 other countries for the global finals.
Three winners will take home $500,000 equity funding each at the global finals.
Image: Seedstars World


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Gigi and Bella Hadid have sparked mixed reactions with the bold half-shaved hairstyles they debuted while walking in the Marc Jacobs runway show.
On Monday, the supermodel sisters walked the runway inside the New York Public Library for Marc Jacobs’ Fall 2022 show. For the occasion, the models underwent extreme hairstyle transformations, with Gigi and Bella both modeling the designer’s latest clothes with half-shaved heads and blunt bangs.
The statement looks, which featured bowl cut-esque cuts on top and long lengths, were completed with bleached eyebrows.
On Instagram, where Bella shared a behind-the-scenes look at the transformation, which saw her sitting backstage as her long black hair was styled using multiple hair clips, many fans have questioned the model’s hairstyle.
“Please tell me it’s a wig,” one person commented, while another said: “Bella I love you, but what is that…”
However, others revealed that they were fans of the unique hairstyle, with someone else commenting: “I’m loving this look for you.”
“Only person who can rock this look,” another person claimed.
The hairstyles didn’t require any permanent changes, however, as the looks were created using wigs and prosthetics, according to cosmopolitanwhich noted that celebrity hair stylist Duffy and a team of prosthetic artists were behind the style, while the show’s makeup was directed by Diane Kendal.
Makeup artist Noël Jacoboni, who worked as the key SFX makeup artist for the show, also shared a look at the transformation process on Instagram, where she shared photos of the sisters walking in the show, as well as one of Gigi backstage with her head covered in a bald cap prosthetic before her wig was placed.
“Today was the perfect marriage of my ability to do a bald cap as well as work for one of my favorite designers with some of the top models in the industry,” the makeup artist wrote in the caption, adding that the entire experience was “ surreal”.
Following the show, Marc Jacobs revealed that the theme of the show was “choice,” with the designer sharing a statement on Instagram, in which he wrote: “Choice. Amidst an ever-changing landscape of resources, unexpected obstacles and a world feverishly digitizing new standards of reality, my sentiment is unwavering – creativity is essential to living.
“We share our choices in contrast to the ongoing brutality and ugliness of a world beyond our insulated but not impermeable walls.”
The designer concluded the statement with a quote from German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, which read: “We have art in order not to die of the truth.”
While Bella and Gigi’s hairstyles were not permanent, this is not the first time the models have undergone transformations for the runway. In 2021, Gigi debuted a long red hairstyle for Versace’s fashion show, while she appeared on the runway of the Ralph Lauren Autumn/Winter 2022 show with platinum blonde hair.
As for how she feels about the occasionally questionable styles, the model previously told Harper’s Bazaar that it is not her “job to have an opinion” on what she is modeling.
“It’s not my job to have an opinion on what I’m wearing,” she said. “It’s my job to wear what I wear and have enough of a photographic mind to understand how to make that piece look good, sellable, and give the feeling that is wanted by the creative team.”


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The Microsoft Surface Duo Phone Arrives In The US For Just $700 Per Side
Microsoft Sees If A Linux Powered Phone Will Succeed
History has shown Microsoft has trouble with their phones, even with the $7 billion of knowledge they picked up when they purchased Nokia they have struggled to release a compelling product. Today we see the release of their newest adventure into the world of phones, with the Surface Duo. It is a foldable phone which bears more resemblance to a shrunken Surface than a regular phone or even a foldable one such as Samsung released. That isn’t the only trick they have tried to change their luck, the Surface Duo Phone runs not on Windows 10X, but a version of Linux regardless of what the name might imply.
The phone sports two 5.6″ OLED screens which offer 8.1″ when you open the hinge and use it spread out. It comes in 128GB and 256GB versions, with 6GB of memory and a Snapdragon 855 inside powered by a custom version of Android 9 Pie. As Bloomberg points out, it is a US only release, and can be picked up on Microsoft.com, AT&T or Best Buy. You should also see it come up on Verizon and T-Mobile in the near future as well.
Previews have been very limited so we don’t know a lot about how the phone will work in the real world but you can expect that to change in the very near future now that it is readily available for anyone willing to pay $1400+ for the device.
The Android-powered Surface Duo starts at $1,399 and will be available Sept. 10, said Microsoft Chief Product Officer Panos Panay. The device will be sold on Microsoft.com as well as by AT&T and Best Buy. It is the thinnest Surface ever, with screens that unfold completely to serve as a phone or act like a book to provide more space for different apps.


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New Quick-Med Wound Care Technology Now Available to $14 Billion Wound Care Market.
Quick-Med Technologies, Inc. announced today that Derma Sciences has begun selling and shipping BIOGUARD™ barrier dressings to customers. BIOGUARD is the first wound dressing to utilize Quick-Med’s proprietary non-leaching NIMBUS® technology. NIMBUS represents a next generation in advanced wound care and establishes precedent for a multitude of products with this combination of safe and effective properties.
Quick-Med’s unique NIMBUS technology will offer surgeons, wound care clinicians, infection control experts and primary care doctors an important new weapon against the transmission of such virulent bacteria as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). NIMBUS received clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in late February, 2009. It is the first non-leaching antimicrobial available in a wound dressing.
NIMBUS is a platform technology that employs a large polyquaternary biocide which is irreversibly bonded to any of several materials such as cotton, rayon and polyurethane for use in wound care products. NIMBUS, unlike other antimicrobial agents that require release into the wound, does not interfere with wound healing and is not susceptible to originating bacterial resistance.
Derma Sciences separately reported that they have been awarded reimbursement codes for these novel dressings, allowing the products to be reimbursed by Medicare. Ed Quilty, CEO of Derma Sciences, stated “We expect BIOGUARD™ to quickly become one of our most successful new brands to enter into the $14 Billion dollar global wound care market.”
“It’s exciting that this unique technology is now available to assist healthcare professionals in their efforts to reduce bacterial infections,” said J. Ladd Greeno, CEO of Quick-Med. “Derma Sciences has done an excellent job in a short time of scaling up marketing, manufacturing and packaging to stimulate and satisfy surging demand for BIOGUARD,” he added.
NIMBUS is unique in that it is a sterile bacterial barrier that prohibits the transfer of microorganisms into the wound because the microbicidal agent is permanently bound to the dressing. NIMBUS is non-toxic, long-lasting and not blocked by organics such as blood, urine and perspiration. Product labeling has been allowed that indicates various organisms such as MRSA, VRE, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli are killed at levels exceeding 99.999%.
“Traditional wound dressings absorb fluid from the wound and act as a great incubator for bacteria that are shed back into the wound,” says Gregory Schultz, Professor, Institute for Wound Research at the University of Florida and Past President of the Wound Healing Society. “This [NIMBUS] is the first bound, antimicrobial material – rather than delivering an antimicrobial into the wound, it creates a barrier that won’t allow bacteria to penetrate the dressing or grow in the wound fluid.”
NIMBUS poses no danger of bacteria developing resistance, or of releasing toxic material into the wound and impeding the wound healing process. It is a novel antimicrobial technology: bonded and effective even in high concentrations of body fluids.
Source: Quick-Med Technologies


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Profit up 86% for September quarter J$12 million
Jamaican pre-owned car dealership, Jetcon Corporation has seen a strong rebound in fortunes during the first half of this year, with both profits and revenues surging.
Net profits for the half year have surged by 110 per cent to J$26 million, while profit for the September third quarter was strong, rising by 86 per cent from J$6 million in 2021 to J$12 million in 2022. Revenues ended the third quarter of 2022, increasing by 52 per cent to J$300 million, compared with the
same period in 2021.
Revenues for the combined three quarters of 2022 are up 33 per cent to J$806 million. The management has explained that these figures are more in line with pre-pandemic levels of performance.
Vehicles sold below normal margins
A number of vehicles were sold below normal margins, resulting in cost of sales again rising a bit faster in the third quarter than sales at 55 per cent versus sales increase of 52 per cent. Cost of sales year-to-date were in line with revenues – both up 33 per cent.
October sales continued a strong upward trend, evidenced since August, well above last year’s sales in dollar figures. The management is expecting this trend to continue on a positive path for the remainder
of the year.
With total inventories at J$448 million, Jetcon has an adequate supply of vehicles and its stock of electric vehicles (EVs) is expanding to include multiple brands. The company has also diversified into solar,
tentatively distributing solar panels, which has been fruitful so far.
Although the Bank of Jamaica has increased interest rates, Jetcon has not seen any noticeable impact on demand. However, this is a development the management will continue to monitor, noting that although Jetcon has a robust inventory of vehicles in stock, it is well placed to meet demand if it continues.
The Andrew Jackson-led management team has indicated that it will not be heavily indebted in order to meet demand should the need arise. The company also held its annual general meeting earlier this month, which had a fair attendance by shareholders and news outlets.


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Maine McDonalds Using Coffee Cups To Encourage Covid-19 Vaccines
According to WABI, McDonald's is working on a new project to help spread the word about Covid-19 vaccines and the importance of getting vaccinated. The food chain giant has teamed up with the White House to promote vaccines and will be featuring a saying by the U.S. Department Of Health And Human Services on its coffee cups.
Starting in July, McDonald's will be releasing the new line of cups that will have the saying “We Can Do This,” as well as the website for those still looking to schedule an appointment to receive the vaccine. It is estimated that Mcdonald's plans to run this promotion for several weeks and will release 50 million of these redesigned cups.
LOOK: 15 Discontinued McDonald's Menu Items
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UK chip designer ARM has released details of its new ARMv8 architecture, which for the first time will support 64-bit processing. This is a strategic move fromCambridge-based ARM that will see it take...
Huawei's 5G chipset is made by TSMC using its latest 7nm manufacturing process
Intel claims Cascade Lake-X will be twice as fast as Skylake-X, and outperform second-gen AMD Theadripper
Intel claims Cascade Lake-X will offer better price per pound than AMD Threadripper
Facebook has already started using Intel's new 'Spring Hill' AI chip, according to Intel
New AMD Epyc benchmarks indicates that Intel has a big fight on its hands in the data centre
AMD is planning a series of Navi-based GPUs in 2020 - including a return to the high-end of the graphics card market


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Martin Abbott's appointment five years ago as chief executive at the London Metal Exchange (LME) raised a few eyebrows.
What did someone who had laboured in a coal mine, worked as a security guard, a journalist in the fashion world and an editor and publisher know about the complexities of running the world's largest metals market?
But industry sources say he rapidly grasped the role and has impressed even his critics. He has led the LME to the brink of an historic sale, overseen a rise in trading volumes to record levels and opened the way to building a clearing service.
Abbott, 51, said he arrived in an exchange administration that was full of good people but falling short of its potential.
Five years ago we were struggling to keep the market open on a daily basis, now we are seriously able to contemplate building a clearing house, he told Reuters in an interview.
That, I think, has been a really good journey. Right now the LME is not afraid to consider anything.
That includes the potential sale of the LME. More than nine suitors are eying the 134-year-old institution.
Its modest building on Leadenhall Street in the City financial district is one of the last bastions of open outcry, with futures in metals including copper, aluminium, zinc, lead, tin and nickel still changing hands in so-called ring trading as well as electronically and over the telephone.
The exchange, which accounts for 80 percent of traded volume in global metal futures transactions, saw record trading volumes last year of 120 million lots equivalent to $11.6 trillion (7.2 trillion pounds) and 2.8 billion tonnes of metal.
There's no need for us to sell the LME, the fact that people want to buy us is flattering, Abbott said.
And I'll take credit for the fact that five years ago, we still dominated the space that we're in, but I'm not sure that we presented an attractive operating unit as a purchase target.
While many in the industry gladly give him that credit, there are others, including some of his admirers, who say he must take responsibility for what they see as shortcomings in warehousing arrangements that have damaged the LME's reputation.
I think Martin has done some things very well, but he is quite controversial in other ways. It's fine to sell the exchange, but is the exchange's reputation better today than it was five years ago? said one of its shareholders.
I'm not sure on that basis you could argue that it's been a particularly successful period. If anything, it's much more controversial than previously, the shareholder said.
Logjams at some of the LME-monitored warehouses around the world have crimped available supply, artificially inflating premiums, critics say. Premiums are paid on top of LME cash prices to take delivery of metals such as aluminium or copper.
In response, the LME increased the minimum rates at which metals must be loaded out of warehouses. Critics say this is not enough, and have also expressed concern about big financial players owning warehouses even as they trade the commodity.
Abbott has adamantly defended the LME's warehousing policy. He has insisted the LME has not lost credibility and that it enforces a strong separation between warehouses and the trading arms of their owners.
Abbott got his first taste of the mining world when he was 18, working on and off in a coal mine throughout his law degree studies at university in Leicester.
I was a coal cleaner, Abbott said. My first day, I clocked on at 7.00 a.m., the first break was at 10.00 a.m. and I thought it was time to go home. I didn't clock off until 6.00 that night.
Now his early start takes him to the LME building on Leadenhall Street in the City financial district.
His first job in London was right next door, where he was a uniformed security guard, eventually becoming a guard in the Soho Square home of Drapers Record, a fashion trade magazine.
He worked his way up the stairs and into the office, first selling advertising and then as a trainee journalist.
It was great fun. I was surrounded by fashion journalists who were writing ephemeral descriptions of collections, he says. And I would be asking: what's the cost of producing the collection and how will you be making the transition from haute to ready to wear?
But the pay was bad so he answered an advertisement for journalists at Metal Bulletin, a high-profile trade magazine.
On my first day they sent me to the LME and said go and have a look at that, because that's what we write about.
He stood in the gallery overlooking the raucous open outcry trading, and thought: That looks like a lot of fun.
I quickly realised that in addition to that it was a global business and there was nothing parochial about it.
That was June 16, 1984, and he has never really left the LME's orbit. Since then, he has been Metal Bulletin editor and publisher, with stints at brokerages and the exchange itself.
From his time in the fashion world, he enjoys choosing well-tailored suits and ties. I think fashion is at times gloriously irrelevant, but it's fun, he said.
He has also learned as a journalist and in dealing with the media that there is very little you can keep secret.
The fact that it is secret to you doesn't mean it is secret to everyone else, so communicate as much as you can, he said.
Industry sources also say he has built a competent team.
I've never had any fear of having very good people work for me, he said. They say a good CEO should be able to make himself redundant.
And what if he is made redundant in any takeover of the LME?
I'll add a line to the bottom of my CV saying I created shareholder value and toddle off down to the job centre, he said. I don't think it's a given that someone would clean out the management, but it's certainly a possibility. There are no CEOs for life.
(Editing by Anthony Barker)


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Yet another case of how gateways to the sea are usually not a good idea, but rather an excuse to take yet another belated action. With the hardware and the sanctions against China and Russia, the US needs to understand that this is the case a war you can never winand in fact the latest data from Asia confirms this. China is moving high-end hardware from Intel and AMD to Russia Under the hood, with a strategy as simple as it is effective, how do they do it?
Blockades have behind-the-scenes economic deals that we will never know. It happens in everything, the only thing it succeeds in is partially weakening a part of the economy, in this case technology, because Russia will pay China for the most expensive equipment, just as Europe pays for Russian oil and gas. the price of gold up to a third.
China transfers technology to Russia with its startups
And it is that the term “new” is literal. The strategy is clear because we’re ahead. Based on creation of small or medium enterprises They buy a lot of Intel or AMD hardware from a lot of big Asian distributors, either through China as such or through Hong Kong, which continues to have a different domestic status.
The figures revealed correspond to last year, but they are huge. 740 million dollars It entered Russia via China and Hong Kong, where the Nikkei notes this 70% of that value corresponded to hardware from Intel and AMDas well as Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, Apple and others.
The indicator is relevant when we see what was happening there 2021. In the specified year, they were presented only in the same form 51 millionwhich shows that the alliance of these two giants is much more than what is said in the press conferences.
Given that the US has blacklisted more than 500 companies between the two countries, the new creation technique, close them if they get Blacklisted and open another one for the same purposeIt’s something brilliant and impossible to stop unless you have customs control in a very strong friendly country and blockade half of the Asian continent, which is impossible at the moment.
Russia has acquired more than half a million Intel processors and more than 100,000 drams
From Russia, they do not hide the data, which is synonymous with the fact that they shamelessly laugh at the United States, when one of their newspapers reports that last year a huge 782,000 Intel processors, 9% more than when there was no blockade due to the war in Ukraine. On the other hand, AMD saw 143,000 processors They are in Vladimir Putin’s country without permissionwhich means a Compared to 2021, the decline is more than 50%.
In other words. Russia wants Intel’s infrastructure to be updated as soon as possible, while AMD is designed for specific users and companies. The joke goes so far that the Russian distributors they post the products on their websites in everyone’s eyes, and only when their attention is drawn do they eventually remove the pages from them.
And we’re not talking about old processors, we’re talking Core 13, Ryzen 7000 or EPYC Genoa, to give a few examples. Of course, all processors are advertised as OEM because they are intended for companies, when logically this is largely incorrect and sold to individuals. And this also happens with NVIDIA GPUs, motherboards and in general any hardware that we can find in the West without problems.
So far, the US is losing the battle, but it gets an excuse to start any kind of dispute, dialectical, military or ideological attack against the two countries, where the tension is already at a critical point, and even more so after what happened with the armies. China and the USA itself.


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Glebe Farm adds three Coca-Cola veterans to its management team | New
Glebe Farm has announced a hat-trick of appointments to its management team.
Tony Holmes and John McGowan have joined the sales division in the newly created roles of UK sales manager and strategic business development respectively, while Malcolm Plows has been added as a non-executive director.
The trio would strengthen Glebe Farm as a player in the oat milk category, following a recent surge in sales and signups for its PureOaty at Morrisons and Holland & Barrett, the brand said.
Holmes comes with years of sales and marketing experience, having held leadership positions at Bestway and Coca-Cola. He also played a key role in the 2011 launch of the controversial health lottery.
“There’s something special about Glebe Farm,” he said. “Coming from large conglomerates, it’s great to work for an independent company owned and run by local farmers that has innovation at its heart. The brand has a strong British provenance, with a unique and real story to tell.
Like Holmes, Plows and McGowan are both veterans of Coca-Cola, where Plows had many titles, including business manager and chief commercial officer.
McGowan started at the soft drink giant as a sales representative, before becoming senior account manager for McDonald’s accounts.
The three men “believe in what we are doing and come at a pivotal time for the business,” said Glebe Farm co-owner Philip Rayner. “It’s time for local produce and British farmers to challenge big food, especially when most of it is unnecessarily imported.”


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Lately, the indie market has spurred a new genre of games that are taking the world by storm – the “survive and craft” titles, which later evolved into the “battle royale” adrenaline-infused shooters. We are talking about games like Rust, H1Z1 King of the Kill, and Player Unknown Battlegrounds. These games are all in early access, yet all three are insanely popular.
Well, good news is, when a certain genre for PC or console goes popular, mobile developers start thinking about developing the same type of titles for phones and tablets. Now, this type of games needs …


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Telegram has filed an official complaint with European antitrust officials against Apple and its App Store.
Its complaint centres on the fees Apple’s App Store charges, as well as the strict rules that govern the App Store.
It comes after an Apple commissioned report last week defended its fees, stating that the 30 percent commission is about average.
In June Apple was hit with a double whammy, when European Commission, after a year of debating, officially opened two formal antitrust investigations over its App Store and Apple Pay.
And now Telegram has become the latest company to file a formal antitrust complaint to the EU over Apple’s App Store, according to the Financial Times.
In a complaint to EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager, Telegram reportedly said Apple must “allow users to have the opportunity of downloading software outside of the App Store”.
Apple’s App Store fees across the world are estimated to generate more than $1bn for the company each month.
In its complaint, Telegram reportedly took issue with Apple’s argument that the App Store commission keeps it running.
Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov in a blog post this week listed seven ‘myths’ Apple uses to justify its 30 percent commission on apps hosted in the App Store.
“Myth 1: 30 percent commission allows Apple to maintain the App Store,” wrote Durov. “In fact, running an app store costs only a fraction of what Apple takes from app developers. Every quarter, Apple receives billions of dollars from third-party apps. Meanwhile, the expenses required to host and review these apps are in the tens of millions, not billions of dollars.”
“We know that because we at Telegram host and review more public content than the App Store ever will,” he added. “Actually, any company running a massive video platform will need both more servers and more moderators than a company running an app store.”
Telegram said that in 2016 Apple had restricted the messaging app from launching a gaming platform on the grounds that it went against App Store rules.
Telegram reportedly risked being deleted from the App Store and therefore halted the venture.
Telegram alleged that this is an example of Apple’s capacity to curb innovation thanks to its “monopolistic power” on the app market.
Durov’s comments echo similar complaints from Spotify, and in March 2019 the music streaming service filed an official complaint and accused Apple of unfairly using the dominance of its App Store to give the Apple Music service a competitive advantage.
Rakuten has also previously complained to the EU that the app store represents a monopoly power.
And in June last year, Apple was hit with a lawsuit in the US from two app developers, who alleged that the App store gives the iPad maker a monopoly on the sale and distribution of iOS apps.
Apple at the time strongly defended itself against Spotify’s complaints, and slammed the firm for using its App Store to dramatically grow its business, and then allegedly seeking to keep all the benefits of the App Store ecosystem (including hefty revenues), without making any contributions to that marketplace.
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has also been questioned about the App Store fees and the domination of big tech firms and whether it has hurt competition, in an antitrust hearing in Washington DC this week.
Quiz: How well do you know Apple?
Top adviser to French President holds talks with Israeli counterpart to discuss NSO spyware allegedly…