text:
The mutual fund scandal seems likely to usher in regulatory reform that goes beyond the late traders and market timers, beyond the hedge funds and fund managers who enriched themselves through insider trading, and beyond the fund companies themselves that were complicit in unethical behavior. The scandal seems likely to change the way independent broker/ dealers conduct their business, and it is likely to affect the way many B/Ds price themselves to reps, i.e., your payouts.
Like it or not, undisclosed dealings between B/Ds and fund companies are going to end. The dirty little secret of the independent broker/dealer business, which is arguably not so secret, not so little, and not so dirty, is that independent B/Ds derive much of their revenue from mutual fund company shelf space arrangements. In fact, that idea–of making money by giving marketing access to a field force of reps–is commonly applied beyond funds to other products and services that reps need, separate account platforms, software vendors, and other services and products. These arrangements help allow a B/D to offer 95% or 100% payouts. The B/D, instead of relying totally on money paid to them by their reps, also relies on revenue from these marketing deals. These marketing arrangements subsidize rep payouts.
Regulatory reform that many observers expect to be imposed as a result of the spreading fund scandal, however, seems likely to spell an end or, at a minimum, a curtailment to these undisclosed payments fund companies make to independent B/Ds. B/Ds and fund companies are likely in the future to be required to disclose these arrangements. That dose of transparency could lead to a repricing by B/Ds. If they can no longer get revenue on these fund company marketing deals, a key revenue source for many B/Ds, then they’ll need to lower payouts and, effectively, raise the price reps must pay for their service.
B/D executives, while acknowledging that sweeping reform and greater disclosure are likely, make a strong case that it’s unfair, and that it won’t even help investors. It’s fair to say that many B/D executives and reps would not welcome reform, but their voices are likely to be drowned out by the cry for fuller disclosure.
The Shape of Reform
As regulators and lawmakers contemplate reforms to be enacted, even as the fund investigation widens and ensnares more firms, a public discussion about the shape of the reforms and how they might affect the independent advisor industry is wise for B/Ds and reps. Personally, I think fuller disclosure of these marketing arrangements is a good idea. But that’s my personal bias. I’m a reporter. I like everything out in the open. I believe that advisors can’t build trust and long-term relationships when a part of the terms with their customers is not disclosed, and that advisors should be on the same side as investors and investor protection. Those notions are probably a lot more reflective of where rulemakers are headed and what the public will demand in the coming weeks and months as the cries for reform grow stronger. This column should facilitate that public discussion, even if it agitates some of my friends in the industry.
First, it must be said that, when it comes to ethics, independent B/Ds own moral high ground that the wirehouses generally cannot yet reach. Independent reps can be proud of that fact, and leverage it in marketing, sales, and trust-building.
Wirehouses sell house brands, their own mutual funds, rather than other fund families. They double dip, making money not just on the sale but on the management and operation of the fund. That’s best for the brokerage house. Often, when the wirehouse makes more by selling one product, the broker also makes more on the sale. Wirehouses also cut lucrative deals with fund companies to sell their products, and as part of that deal a broker’s compensation may be materially higher for selling those favored funds than it is for sales of other funds. And then there are directed brokerage commission deals that fund companies give to wirehouses. These are key differences between independent reps and wirehouse reps, and customers would seem to have a right to know about these differences.
For independent B/Ds, fund company marketing deals are not as objectionable but do raise some questions. Some of the fund companies pay B/Ds an annual fee based on assets under management with the B/D’s reps. In some cases, the B/D gets paid by a fund company to sponsor a conference, a golf outing, or a luncheon speaker. Ads in newsletters, ads in e-mails, and easy access to the reps at B/D gatherings–fund companies thus buy influence. Is that okay? Should that be disclosed to clients? In fact, should those terms be disclosed to reps?
Most executives at independent B/Ds make a case against it. And I have to admit that, despite my personal bias toward full disclosure, they make a convincing case.
Jeff Auld, for instance, president and CEO of NEXT Financial Group in Houston, is clearly an honest man trying to do the right thing in running his B/D. “NEXT has selling agreements with 110 fund companies,” says Auld. “And if an advisor comes to me and tells me that we are missing a good fund, we’ll have 111. With anything that we do in terms of commission payout or payments, never do we bias or in any way influence the sale of one product over another.”
Joe Deitch, chairman and CEO of Commonwealth Financial Network in Waltham, Massachusetts, says there are practical reasons the industry has moved to shelf space deals, and there is nothing deceptive about it. “Say a brokerage firm with no intention of being deceptive or unfair is having a conference for its reps, and there is booth space for 10 fund companies,” says Deitch. “There are thousands of funds and hundreds may want space at a booth. Do you give it to the biggest funds? The ones with the best three-month track record? The best three-year record? Do you sell the booths to the highest bidders? Should there be a lottery?”
As a consequence, Deitch says, B/Ds must come up with a short list of fund families. “It’s just a matter of being practical,” he says. “Ultimately, though, it comes down to good judgment and not abusing the system.”
“Is the brokerage firm merely selling space to the highest bidders or is the B/D adding other incentives?” he says. “That’s the issue: Where does the B/D draw the line?” And Deitch says the “truly” independent B/Ds are not the problem. “Brokerage firms and other institutions owned by product manufacturers who influence their agents and customers, overtly and covertly, have more serious disclosure issues,” he says.
Access, Not Guarantees
Auld says he understands why fuller disclosure might be needed when a rep gets compensated better for selling one fund than another. But the marketing deals NEXT makes with fund companies is totally different.
“I would like to be able to tell a fund company to sponsor our conference or advertise in our newsletter and that they’ll be the best-selling mutual fund in our firm,” says Auld. “But the truth is, it isn’t necessarily so. And I can show you where a fund company that has almost made no effort to get a booth, sponsor anything, and that spends the least amount of marketing dollars with NEXT, is the number-one-selling fund company with our advisors.”
“I can no more guarantee that being a sponsor of my conference or advertising in my newsletter will give the mutual fund company results than your magazine’s ad sales department can guarantee that running a full-page ad on the inside cover of your magazine will create direct results,” Auld says.
The argument is convincing, but why would fund companies keep doing the marketing deals with B/Ds if they did not show results? If such arrangements were not effective, fund companies wouldn’t be doing them. So, if they do help influence sales, should they be disclosed?
Auld argues that it is unfair to require disclosure because it is just advertising. He says a double standard is applied to no-load funds versus funds with loads. “Look at what no-load funds spend on advertising,” he says. “Doesn’t that affect an investor’s decision about how much to put into his 401(k)? Of course it does.”
“So if a fund spends more with Money magazine and more investors buy shares in that fund because they see that ad or the fund company has brand recognition, are we going to have more disclosure about the fact that that no-load fund company spends so much at Forbes, and so much on TV ads? At what point will the rules say that a fund company has spent too much and bought too much influence through its marketing?”
Auld makes a good point, although sales of no-loads are self-directed. A consumer is actively picking up a phone and buying something on his own. That’s different from a rep selling an investor a fund.
One of the other arguments I heard from B/D executives against greater disclosure is that auto salespeople don’t have to tell you about their commission arrangements. For some reason, the auto industry was mentioned repeatedly. But is that a good analogy? Yes, cars are expensive, but when you go to a financial advisor, your entire life savings could be on the line. Moreover, the government, i.e., Congress, has set rules and regulated the financial services industry. And from the very start of securities market regulation in the post-1929-market-crash era, along with the creation of the Securities & Exchange Commission in the Securities Act of 1933, mutual fund companies were explicitly required by law to be publicly registered with the government. Selling cars just wasn’t the same as selling investments, Congress figured, after investors lost 50% of their wealth in the Great Crash and so much of the middle class was left homeless by the Great Depression.
Successful B/D executives like Auld and Deitch know all this, and know that the current fund scandal is likely to change the business. “There will be more disclosure,” says Deitch. “I think it’s reasonable to assume that.” So the next question is what form will it take? How will it change the independent advisor business?
Regulation Equals Lower Revenue
“Revenue will decline in direct correlation to the amount of regulation added,” says Auld. If the reform brings burdensome disclosure rules, the effect will be amplified. For instance, say if fund companies and B/Ds have to provide all investors with printed notification annually about the fund companies they have sales agreements with and the terms of those agreements, and that they will be required to mail that disclosure to every customer every year, and track the notifications and the changes to marketing deals, the financial burden may spur the fund companies to spend their marketing dollars elsewhere. The B/Ds would likely lose an important source of revenue, says Auld.
If you consider that as the worst-case scenario, the impact on the independent advisor business would be significant. B/Ds would stop offering 90%-plus payouts and have to charge reps for their services in other ways. Undoubtedly, B/Ds would adjust to a new pricing model.
Doug Durrie, a VP at QA3 in Omaha, Nebraska, says some independent B/Ds have in recent years already moved away from the high-payout pricing model and made their businesses less dependent on marketing deals. In fact, Commonwealth and NEXT do not market to reps based on high payouts, and emphasize value-added services.
“When a B/D competes based on payouts, it commoditizes itself and there are no margins because you cannot differentiate yourself,” says Durrie. Durrie says the trend for B/Ds to provide value-added services is likely to accelerate if reforms weaken the revenue B/Ds receive from fund company marketing deals.
“With the service model, B/Ds compete by offering practice management support to help the advisor build his practice,” says Durrie. “Independent advisors don’t have people to collaborate with. Their expertise is not in building a small business but in selling and in financial advice.” Durrie’s firm, ironically, was founded by Steve Wild, who was one of the first to market the 100% payout price model to advisors after he founded Securities America in 1985. (Securities America, which is now owned by American Express, no longer offers 100% payouts.)
B/Ds hooked on high payouts for attracting reps and that are competing on price have a difficult time switching to the service model, says Durrie. It requires a change in a B/D’s support staff to acquire experts in practice management and financial planning instead of experts at processing business efficiently. That’s an up-front investment B/Ds need to make while cutting payouts to their reps, a tough business transition that could take many months.
Durrie says most independent B/Ds combine the price and service model already, but expects more firms to move toward the service model as a result of the fund scandal and reforms. “You’re already starting to see some changes in that direction in the last few years,” he says.
However, because of the fund scandal and likely reforms it will inspire, change is likely to be industrywide. If greater disclosure threatens an end to the high payout model used by a B/D, all of the B/Ds will suffer the same disadvantage. “That should actually make it easier for them to move payouts lower without losing competitive ground,” says Durrie.
My guess is that any new disclosure rules will not be so burdensome and will not cause a total overhaul of the B/D pricing and payout model. But some change is likely and it could be disruptive. Small B/Ds that can’t make the transition to a new pricing model could be gobbled up, and the B/D consolidation wave of the late 1990s may gain renewed momentum. You may have to pay more for your B/D relationship, and B/Ds may need to provide more services to reps to differentiate themselves. Other changes in the business are impossible to predict but reps and B/D executives probably need to think through what it will do to their businesses.
On the bright side, fuller disclosure could make some reps feel better about their client relationships and create more trusting relationships with clients. Reps will be better able to compete with fee-only advisors, who can today use nondisclosure of such deals in marketing. Investors will simply have greater transparency about the way you charge for your advice service, and that is probably a good thing. In fact, reps will have better transparency about the way their B/Ds charge them for services. So even though the headlines about mutual fund abuses keep coming almost daily, it’s probably going to be just fine for all of us.


text:
Raising the Bar on Fanciful Desserts
New York magazine’s Grub Street food section reported that Christina Tosi’s bakery mini-chain, Milk Bar, “which has grown from the original East Village outpost to 12 spots spread across four cities and two countries – just closed on a Series A funding round.” While Milk Bar isn’t revealing a precise amount, The Wall Street Journal heard that it was “an eight-figure investment.”
According to Milk Bar’s own press release, “The new funding will be used to further Milk Bar’s mission of making life a little sweeter, and marks the brand’s first outside investment following nine years of steady and profitable growth.”
From humble beginnings as the dessert provider at David Chang’s original Momofuku restaurant, Tosi is now being called “the Martha Stewart for this Generation.” And Milk Bar fans can attest that her highly original baked goods, with names like “compost cookies and crack pie,” are worthy of cult-like devotion.
While Tosi is busy assuring her fans that growth will be steady and thoughtful, New York magazine reported that investor RSE also invests in the reservation app Resy and trendy fast-casual pizzeria chain &pizza, but it’s otherwise mostly a sports-focused fund. RSE is predicting that Tosi could become a full-blown “lifestyle brand,” a term that could include anything from branding bakeware to designing furniture, paint colors and beyond. More realistically, it means Tosi will partner with retailers to sell packaged dessert mixes, proprietary beverage lines, and more branded merchandise.
This investment also shows that restaurant desserts, which industry experts have reported to be on the decline, can still be big business when an innovative pastry chef brings something unique and new to the market.
- Original pie and pastry names for signature store-made treats
- Whimsical pastries with lots of colors and sprinkles
- Flavored milk and cookie pairings on the kids’ menu

domain: news


text:
WhatsApp Will Become the Next WeChat — Here’s How
WhatsApp is on its way to become the Indian equivalent of WeChat. However, I wouldn't be surprised if they expanded beyond India...
If you’ve kept up with Chinese developments over the last decade, you’ll undoubtedly have heard of WeChat, the “everything app” with over 1.1 billion MAU (monthly active users) (Tencent Q3 2019). What started as a simple messaging app has become a game console, a bank, an online healthcare service, a social network, and a gateway to ride-share, food-delivery & more.
On the other hand, Whatsapp has no value-added services nor ads but has 2 billion MAU as of March 2020 (Clement, Statista). This begs the question:
How can Facebook monetize WhatsApp?
The direction Facebook has been taken to monetize WhatsApp is that of WeChat. In a 2019 blog post, Mark Zuckerberg explained how he aims to combine Instagram Direct, Messenger and Whatsapp into one interoperable messaging system. He also talked of implementing a payment system and “offer[ing] a platform for other private services”. By combining all the Facebook products together and by looking at ways to scale vertically, Zuckerberg has repeatedly expressed interest in taking Whatsapp in the direction of WeChat and turning it into a “super-app”.
But how is Facebook going to turn Whatsapp into WeChat?
Because of its sheer size, Facebook cannot acquire any US companies without raising antitrust concerns. So what did it do? It looked internationally. More specifically, it looked in WhatsApp’s biggest market: India (Singh, July 2019).
On April 22nd, Facebook bought a 9.99% stake in Jio for $5.7 billion, making Facebook the largest minority stakeholder (Singh, April 2020). Jio is an Indian telecommunications company and is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries (RIL), a conglomerate that owns retail stores, music streaming, payment services, content creation, and more.
Why did they do this? In a statement, Facebook said that buying a large stake of Jio would enable them to create “new ways for people and business to operate more effectively” (Fischer, April 2020). According to Fischer, this effort would start by combining JioMart (online commerce app focused on small businesses) into the Whatsapp app. Combining both apps would fuel an internet-revolution among India’s small stores, arming hundreds of thousands of businesses with fast, secure mobile payment systems and online ordering capabilities and consequently making the entire sales process more efficient and increasing the market reach of all stores. Facebook giving these small businesses the tools necessary to catch-up with e-commerce without attempting to replace them. This is the crucial insight Amazon did not recognize when it attempted to penetrate the Indian market: the small, independently owned stores are the bread-and-butter of the Indian retail market and cannot yet be replaced.
By buying a stake of Jio and leading the digital commerce revolution in India’s small stores, Facebook is effectively creating its own market. Giving their own payment/e-commerce tool to hundreds of thousands of small businesses will create a cycle of demand for their product: as businesses adopt the WhatsApp payment system, so will individuals, and doing so will convince more businesses to adopt it, etc. This cycle will iterate and will continuously build demand for their product, at which point Facebook will implement additional features.
What does this mean for the future?
Following this strategy, I hypothesize that WhatsApp will implement JioPay into WhatsApp and push it to all businesses across India. As people become accustomed to paying via WhatsApp, Facebook will start rolling out additional features. I hypothesize that the second feature WhatsApp rolls out is the ability to stream Jio content within the app. After all, this makes sense: India’s internet connection is primarily mobile and Indians mainly use the internet to watch videos (Iyengar, CNN). Doing so would effectively turn WhatsApp into the “everything app” of India, i.e. the Indian equivalent of WeChat. From there, my guess would be that Facebook will choose to test out these features into other emerging markets. I do not think that these features will take-off in the United States as the online-payment market is already saturated (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Paypal, etc.).
What do you think?
Do you think that Facebook’s strategy is to turn WhatsApp into the WeChat of India? If it did so and is successful, do you think that this success could be replicated on the international market?
If WhatsApp becomes a direct competitor to WeChat (on an international scale), could this further accentuate the bi-polar world we live in? Could this bi-polar model become irrelevant as India experiences an internet revolution?
There are arguments to be said about Facebook integrating all of their platforms to escape anti-trust measures rather than attempting to build an “all-inclusive” app. Do you think Facebook fears anti-trust measures more than anything else?
If you enjoy my work, why not buy me a coffee ? This newsletter is not monetized, so any donation helps me write, stay motivated, and shows that you truly found my article insightful.


text:
Revolut Triples Revenue and Records First Full-Year Profit in 2021
Revolut, a UK-based challenger bank, has reported its first full-year profits as it expands its range of products in various jurisdictions.
According to Revolut’s Annual Report for the year ending on December 31, 2021, published on March 1, the fintech company recorded a profit of £26.3 million ($31.5 million) for the year, with revenue tripling compared to 2020.
The bank attributes this performance to increased retail customer activity and revenue growth across multiple product lines. The bank recorded a 50% increase in weekly active retail customers and a 10% rise in average user spending.
Revolut’s revenue tripled to £636 million in 2021, up from £220 million in 2020, thanks to product offerings such as payments, subscriptions, Revolut Business, foreign exchange, and wealth.
Revolut’s CEO, Nik Storonsky, said that the results demonstrate the bank’s ability to expand its customer base and increase revenue across all its product lines.
However, Revolut’s auditor, BDO LLP, cautioned that it could not independently verify a significant portion of the fintech’s revenue, resulting in a delayed release of the financial results.
Revolut has recently increased its stake in crypto-related products, which have become essential to its earnings. It remains to be seen how the crypto market downturn affected its income in 2022.


text:
The automobile scarcity has influenced dealerships through the U.S. significantly, but a research introduced by analytics company Progress from Knowledge located that Midwest prospects are willing to wait around the longest to get the car or truck they want.
In excess of 17,000 customers who were being aware of the chip lack had been surveyed, and 33 % stated they would adjust their buying plan due to the fact of the scarcity. Just about half of people men and women stated they would hold out right until their specific model arrived.
Of the persons inclined to hold out, people from the Midwest have been most probably to hold out much more than 12 months, with 43 percent declaring they would do so. Northeast buyers had been the minimum most likely to wait around that long, with only 30 % keen to do so.
Julie Kenar, GfK’s senior vice president of mobility consulting, explained the difference is most very likely thanks to the significant amount of auto personnel living in the Midwest.
“That is the place the bulk of worker revenue are happening, and clearly men and women who are utilizing an staff discount are much additional conscious of the chip scarcity and greater recognize the effect,” she informed Automotive Information.
Though it is not as crystal clear why the fewest number of persons who would wait above a yr were from the Northeast, it likely has to do with a lifestyle difference. Quite a few of individuals shoppers likely did not require vehicles in the past, but as there is a change in the amount of people transferring to the suburbs from key metro parts, they will probable require them now, Kenar said.
Jason Olesnavage, a division supervisor for Midwest dealership group Fox Motors, said the car lack has forced his department to appear up with new approaches to promote automobiles, in particular for the reason that there usually are not enough to fill loads, he stated.
While there are unique pools of buyers eager to transform their buying plans, he promotions with numerous who will not compromise and will wait for the precise automobile they want. He reported his shoppers will typically wait around the longest intervals for more recent products of the Ford Bronco, Ford Bronco Activity and electric powered cars.
Fox Motors is rated No. 75 on Automotive News’ most the latest list of leading 150 dealership groups based mostly in the U.S., with retail income of 12,517 new motor vehicles in 2020.
Over and above finding that Midwesterners will hold out the longest, GfK uncovered that these over 45 will wait the longest as perfectly.
All those with the least expensive residence cash flow are also eager to wait the longest, although of people building above $150,000, only 29 p.c would wait around in excess of 12 months.


text:
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the European Union and South Korea which comes into force on 1 July is being heralded as a major milestone for the Scotch Whisky industry.
The FTA is the most ambitious trade deal negotiated by the EU and the first with an Asian country. Scotch whisky is expected to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the deal as it eliminates Korea’s 20% import tariff on spirits. Scotch whisky is the UK’s largest export to Korea and it is by far the biggest imported spirits category in Korea.
The agreement also provides legal protection in Korea for products with “geographical indications”, including Scotch whisky, and it tackles a number of other barriers to trade.
Korea is currently the sixth largest export market by value and ninth by volume for Scotch whisky worldwide, with direct shipments from the UK alone totalling £153 million last year.
While the agreement with South Korea is confirmation of progress being made on the international trade agenda, the SWA said there is still a lot of work to be done to break down barriers in other emerging markets, notably India.


text:
So apparently BlackBerry (NYSE:BB) and T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS) never quite smoothed things over from February's falling-out. BlackBerry announced today that it would no longer sell its devices through T-Mobile as of April 25.
While it's never good news for a device maker to stop selling its products through one of the major wireless carriers, BlackBerry investors have much more to be concerned about than the two companies parting ways.
Why split up?
Dropping T-Mobile from its list of carriers is likely the result of the magenta company's promotion back in February that offered $200 to any BlackBerry user to switch to an iPhone on T-Mobile's network. The offer spurred a backlash by BlackBerry loyalists online.
T-Mobile tried to smooth things over by offering a Blackberry promotion, but it was too late. About 94% of users who participated in the offer ditched their BlackBerry for another device.
Why neither company will suffer
BlackBerry's device sales in fiscal Q4 2014 were already pretty bad, and dropping T-Mobile isn't likely to make them any worse. The company only sold 3.4 million devices to end consumers and only 1.1 million of those were running the BB10 operating system.
BlackBerry's newer OS hasn't turned around the company as investors had hoped and now it's looking to tap into some nostalgia for future sales. The company's brining back its formerly popular BlackBerry Bold device, and is releasing its Q20 device with a physical keyboard -- harkening back to the company's heyday.
With device sales already so low, and BB10 failing to change the tide, BlackBerry doesn't have much to lose by cutting ties with T-Mobile. Consequently, with such low demand for BlackBerry devices, T-Mobile won't likely see much of a loss, either. The company will continue to support current BlackBerry devices, so any current customers can continue to pay for their plans if they choose.
Foolish final thoughts
The one thing that could potentially be hurt in all this is how BlackBerry loyalists perceive the company. Sure, BlackBerry has already lost its clout with most mobile consumers, but purposefully dropping a carrier should be a little unsettling for a group of users who are staunch supporters of the devices.
I can't help but view the T-Mobile and BlackBerry split as yet another small step into insignificance for the device maker. While the move doesn't change much for either company, it's still a telling sign that BlackBerry is slipping further away from mobile consumers. And, unfortunately, that's nothing new.


text:
HeadSpin, a mobile application testing service, launched today to give developers a one-stop shop for quality assurance and control for mobile application development.
The company’s co-founder and chief executive, Manish Lachwani, knows the mobile appspace better than almost anyone. The former co-founder and chief technology officer of Appurify (which Google bought), Lachwani previously served as the CTO of game developer Zynga and was a principal architect of the Amazon Kindle — developing the first Kindle OS.
At Appurify, Lachwani was one of the first to use hosted software to test automation with real devices, and the company’s subsequent acquisition by Google helped pave the way for in-house testing services that enabled Google developers to move faster and break fewer things, the company said.
““No one was enabling developers with automated real world testing, pre-release. All the attention was on post-launch monitoring and testing. In addition, testing and performance management solutions provided developers no visibility into the complex user experiences around the world,” Lachwani said. “As a result, developers were not getting ahead of performance or user experience issues.”
HeadSpin is already being used by companies like Tinder, DocuSign, Akamai, Telstra, and Dell. The company’s software provides monitoring of application development before and after an application’s release, the company said.
The company monitors code on devices in real networks; it doesn’t use an SDK so there’s no expansion of an application’s code base.
“Unlike other solutions, HeadSpin’s data driven platform is able to proactively uncover ‘hidden insights’ through learning. This helps us fix our app issues before launch and have something reliable and repeatable to test or measure,” said Maria Zhang, CTO at Tinder, in a statement.


text:
Max Schrems (pic: Lukas Beck)
Max Schrems, famous for his role in overturning Safe Harbour in 2015, is challenging eight streaming media companies over alleged abuse of GDPR.
Schrems is director of Noyb, a new European non-profit organisation for privacy enforcement, which has filed complaints with the Austrian Data Protection Authority against eight companies representing 10 users. The Austrian authority will have to liaise with the data authorities in each of the European countries where the companies are officially based.
The complaints claim that each of the eight companies violated Article 15 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Under the GDPR, users enjoy a right of access to the raw data held by the company about them, as well as the sources of the data and with whom it has been shared, the purpose for processing the data and the country in which the data is stored.
Noyb filed subject access requests with each company and found they failed to respond adequately, Schrems claimed in a blog post on the Noyb website.
Four of the companies – Amazon Prime, Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube – used automated systems but none of them provided all the relevant data, Schrems claimed.
He said: "Many services set up automated systems to respond to access requests, but they often don’t even remotely provide the data that every user has a right to. In most cases, users only got the raw data, but, for example, no information about who this data was shared with. This leads to structural violations of users’ rights, as these systems are built to withhold the relevant information."
Two companies – DAZN and SoundCloud – ignored the requests, he said.
The other two – Flimmit and Netflix – provided some raw data, but it was missing some background information, he said.
"The right of access is a cornerstone of the data protection framework. Only when users can get an idea of how and why their data is stored or shared they can realistically uncover violations of GDPR and consequently take action," he said.
Under Article 80 of the GDPR, individuals can be represented by a third-party when filing complaints. "Noyb is meant to reasonably enforce the new law, so that the benefits actually reach the users," Schrems said.
Meanwhile, Russia’s communications watchdog has opened civil cases against Twitter and Facebook, according to a report on Reuters.
Roskomnadzor says Twitter and Facebook had failed to explain how they would comply with legislation requiring servers which store the personal data of Russian citizens to be located in Russia.
The companies have been told they have a month to supply the information before civil action would be taken against them.
Currently the penalty for failing to comply is a small fine equivalent to a few thousand pounds or having your service blocked by the Russian government. However, the Russian government is reportedly mulling far stiffer fines for tech companies that fail to comply.


text:
Spotify is now rolling out support for standalone Apple Watch streaming via the Spotify app for Apple Watch. The new feature allows Spotify users to listen to music or podcasts from Spotify using a WiFi or cellular connection without the need to have an iPhone nearby.
While a Spotify app for the Apple Watch has been available for a few years, standalone streaming on the Watch was not an option until now. Spotify has been testing the feature for the last few months and has not begun rolling it out to the general public.
The new feature allows users to stream Spotify content directly from the Apple Watch to Bluetooth headphones, making it ideal for exercising without the need to bring your iPhone along.
While the feature is not yet available for all users everywhere, Spotify has confirmed that it is “rolling out” the feature as of today. German site Macerkopf.de first spotted the change, which was confirmed by TechCrunch.
“We’re focused on developing experiences that enable users to listen to Spotify wherever and whenever they want – regardless of the device or platform. After an initial testing period, we are now rolling out streaming capabilities for Spotify on the Apple Watch,” a spokesperson told TechCrunch.
If you don’t as yet have the feature on your Apple Watch, be patient, as it will take some time for the feature to roll out to all Apple Watches.


text:
DENVER (AP) — Legal marijuana sales in Colorado are set to start on Jan. 1, or so the law says. Knowing when the recreational pot shops will actually open, however, is anyone's guess.
The state's 160 hopeful pot shops are mired in red tape and confusion. None knows yet when or if they'll be allowed to open. Not a single shop will clear state and local licensing requirements until about Dec. 27.
Many of the applicants are still waiting on inspections, local zoning hearings and background checks before finding out whether they've been approved to open their doors to adults over 21.
Marijuana tourism companies that already lead bring-your-own pot tours in Colorado are putting off new trips, unsure where they'd bring tourists looking to buy legal pot, not just smoke it.


text:
Wendy's and Pringles will compete against likes of Popeye's
Move over, Popeye's; step aside, Chick-fil-A. Make way for a new entrant into the chicken sandwich wars -- Kellogg's!
No, there's not a new chicken-sandwich-flavored breakfast cereal: Sorry to disappoint.
Kellogg's also owns Pringles, and it's adding that flavor, with an extra spicy kick, in partnership with Wendy's to promote its spicy chicken sandwich, CNN reported.
The new chips will only be available for a limited time, starting in June.
And here's something that might grab your attention: People who buy a can will also get a code for a free spicy chicken sandwich.
That can be a pretty good deal, even if you toss that can directly in the trash!


text:
Dan Aykroyd told Dallas radio station 105.3 KLLI that Atari has indeed picked up the publishing rights for Ghostbusters, confirming rumors that have persisted since Activision declined to pick up the game following its merger with Vivendi. He has also reported that it would be atleast a year before development stirs.
Ubisoft has released detials on the DRM system included with Farcry 2: 5 activations on 3 separate PC’s. Also, uninstalling “refunds” an activation. They also claim they are committed to long term support so you can always play Far Cry 2.
What can be expected of the next Xbox revolution? According to sources, the third Xbox installment will be “Forward Compatible” which will provide graphical and performance updates to Xbox 360 titles. This ranges from increased draw distance, improved framerate, or perhaps even new DLC. This would be the equivalent of upgrading your PC video card to allow for higher graphical settings. This, of course, will only apply to games still in development for the 360.
What is happening in the Half-Life 2 world? Possibly Episode 3: Marketing director Doug Lombardi says announcement may arrive later this year, though game is still more than a year off.
In a similar move to Microsoft releasing Silverlight version 2, Adobe has released Version 10 of the Flash Player plugin for browsers.
Nvidia has released the Official Forceware 178.24 drivers for Windows XP and Vista. These drivers are for all GeForce 6,7,8,9 and 200 series cards. The driver package also contains the 8.09.04 PhysX drivers which were released with the 178.13 Forceware last month. The only changes in this driver over the previous 178.13 are some bug fixes.
The free Opera browser has been updated to Version 9.60. This is a security and stability update, and also contains a range of new features and settings.
The free VLC Media Player has been updated to Version 0.9.4
Valve has official sponsored mods via the Steam network. So far included are DIPRIP, Zombie Panic, Age of Chivary, and Synergy.


text:
Secretive Israeli cyber firm selling spy-tech to Saudi Arabia
... Quadream is an offensive cyber company focused on breaking into and hacking mobile phones. They provide technological solutions to those who want to extract data from smartphones and even allow their clients to turn those phones into remotely operated spying devices that track their unwitting owners.
... Among Quadream’s clients are law enforcement agencies from a number of legitimate countries, a source says, “but there are also others.” Haaretz has discovered that the firm provided its services to one of the most oppressive and least democratic regimes in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia.
... A sales deck intended for potential clients and obtained by Haaretz reveals that Quadream uses a Cyprus-based company called InReach to sell its services abroad... According to the deck, the main hacking tool - the virus that actually infects target phones, called Reign - belongs to InReach itself... Reign, the InReach deck claims, has zero-click capabilities for iPhones.
... The use of a Cypriot company as its front sales office may have regulatory consequences. Israeli cyber companies are subjected to the oversight of Israel’s defense export regulator. But this does not apply to a Cypriot entity. The Defense Ministry did not respond to Haaretz’s questions regarding the oversight of Quadream and InReach. Quadream also did not respond.
... In September 2020, reports from Ghana said that 14 Israelis from the cyber industry arrived in the country... Haaretz has confirmed two key aspects of the report: Firstly, staff from Quadream did arrive in Ghana at that time and secondly, Quadream has worked for the Ghanian government. However, Haaretz did not confirm for what end they were in the country or what was the project they were involved in. Haaretz also confirmed that Quadream pitched its services to an official agency in Indonesia. Quadream declined to comment on this report


text:
OXM recently caught up with Yoichi Take, president of Toylogic, at a review event. During their interview Take stated that his team plans to release downloadable content for the free-to-play Happy Wars every one-to-two months. He further said that Toylogic “will be adding new items almost every week, along with continually releasing new maps.” The developer’s goal is to keep the game thriving long-term; they are currently taking feedback from fans via Facebook and other means. For more information visit OXM.
Source: Official Xbox Magazine


text:
LONDON — Burberry Group plc, which pulled itself out of the red and reported profits of 82.2 million pounds, or $131.5 million, in the year ended March 31, is pushing further into emerging markets and cleaning up distribution in established ones.
Figures have been converted at average exchange rates for the 12-month period.
On Wednesday, the brand reported a 6.5 percent increase in revenue to 1.28 billion pounds, or $2.04 billion, from 1.2 billion, or $1.92 billion, driven by the expanding accessories business — nonapparel is now Burberry’s largest product category, generating 36 percent of sales — and a string of retail openings.
As a result of cost-cutting and efficiency measures, including a reduction in inventory, the company ended the year with cash reserves of 262 million pounds, or $377.3 million. Current and forward-looking figures have been converted at actual exchange rates.
Chief executive officer Angela Ahrendts said there’s a lot of momentum at the brand, and much more to be done.
“We were able to deliver. We made record profits in what was a challenging market,” said Ahrendts in the slick conference room near her corner office at Burberry’s Horseferry House headquarters in Westminster. “And shame on us if we do not optimize our performance and the brand’s momentum.”
Ahrendts said the current fiscal year would be about “purifying” the brand and pushing deeper into emerging markets. “We have to correct some legacy issues that still plague us,” she said, adding Burberry was already winding down wholesale accounts in Europe and terminating “ancillary licenses” for Japanese men’s wear and leather goods.
She said last year the brand closed 300 specialty store accounts across Europe, and planned to terminate more this year. “We don’t need multiple accounts, customers who are buying little bits of the collection. We need partners who can purchase Burberry in the right way.”
Stacey Cartwright, chief financial officer, said the clean-out would continue over the medium term. The company said the ongoing termination of licenses and wholesale accounts would dent 2010-11 profits by 5 million pounds to 10 million pounds, or $7.2 million to $14.4 million.
Earlier this year, Burberry revealed plans to close its Spanish factory, pulling its local collection out of that market and replacing it with the global Burberry line. As a result of the Spanish restructuring, Burberry expects to lose 10 million pounds, or $14.4 million, in sales in the current fiscal year.
With regard to emerging markets, Burberry will nearly double capital expenditure to 130 million pounds, or $187.2 million, in the current year. That money will go toward 20 to 30 new store openings, chiefly in the Americas and Asia-Pacific, and to refurbishing current units and beefing up Burberry’s e-commerce site.
On Wednesday, the company opened a second, 2,800-square-foot Burberry Brit store on Columbus Avenue in New York. Today, Burberry’s chief creative officer, Christopher Bailey, will celebrate the opening of the brand’s first store in Lebanon with an event for 600 guests at the White Club.
Earlier this year, the company opened a Burberry Latin America headquarters in São Paulo, Brazil, and this month cut the ribbon on a 2,808-square-foot store at the Iguatemi Centre in Brasilia.
Ahrendts said she expects to have four to five stores open in Brazil by the end of the fiscal year. “We believe Latin America to be one of the best potential long-term growth opportunities for the company,“ she said.
Burberry said start-up losses in these new regions will cost the company about 5 million pounds, or $7.2 million, in the current year.
The Americas region, which includes the U.S., generates 27 percent of sales and grew 2 percent during the year. Asia-Pacific accounts for 24 percent of revenue and grew 13 percent in the year, with much of the growth coming from South Korea and Hong Kong.
Cartwright added that Burberry’s India joint venture, with the local fashion retailer Genesis Colors, already has produced three stores with a fourth set to open in Mumbai over the next few weeks.
She added the brand’s nonapparel joint venture in Japan was operating two flagships and nine department store concessions, with a further 10 shop-in-shops in the pipeline.
In his new book “Hollywood Royale,” Andy Warhol’s Protégé Matthew Rolston celebrates the Eighties revival of Hollywood glamour. Featuring more than 100 portraits taken by Rolston from 1977 to 1993, the book contains photos of icons like Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, and @drewbarrymore, pictured here in 1991. “Hollywood Royale,” out today, will be accompanied by an exhibition opening at Los Angeles’ Fahey/Klein Gallery on March 1. #wwdeye
"Nowadays when life is not so happy with everything going on in the world, I think people come to me for a little bit of whimsy and color and fun." - Designer Rebecca De Ravenel on her cult-favorite jewelry line. (📸 : @vsteves) #wwd40
“Everyone is talking about how the retail industry is struggling, but I think it’s an incredible time because brands who are doing something different and innovative are setting themselves up for the future,” said @adamgoldston, who founded the luxury athletic brand @apl with his brother @ryangoldsten. The Goldston’s are part of WWD’s 40 under 40: a group of industry notables. See the rest of the list on WWD.com. (📷: @vsteves) #wwd40
@eyeswoon blogger Athena Calderone debuted her first-ever cookbook, “Cook Beautiful,” which is heavily centered on the presentation and visual expression of food. Pictured here are her miso glazed carrots from the book. Get the recipe on WWD.com. (📷: @johnny_miller_) #wwdeye
“It’s passion that helps get anybody to a certain point and it’s what’s propelled me,” said Kith founder @ronniefieg, one of WWD’s 40 under 40: a group of industry notables who are changing the face of retail, fashion and beauty. Fieg, who opened a Manhattan flagship on October 7, began his career at age 13 as a stock boy and salesman for footwear chain David Z. “I think staying true to [my] beliefs, hard work and passion have gotten me to where [Kith] is today.” See the rest of the 40 at WWD.com. (📷: @vsteves) #wwd40
25-year-old @samweaving is about to break out this fall, starring in Netflix’s horror film “The Babysitter,” fittingly out today on Friday the 13th. That’s not the only place you’ll be seeing her, though — Weaving’s got a role Showtime’s “SMILF” and another alongside Frances McDormand and Woody Harrelson in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” Though she’s got a full plate at the moment, there’s one role she’s got her eye on: Marilyn Monroe. “I’m a little too young at the moment, but it’s on my bucket list,” the actress told WWD (📷: @dandoperalski) #wwdeye
BFF's Poppy Jamie and Suki Waterhouse celebrated the launch of their bag line Pop x Suki at Nordstrom last night. "The line is really about our friendship, and how we are so different but complement each other," said Waterhouse. 👯 (📷: Katie Jones) #wwdeye
After designing the new @louisvuitton and @bulgariofficial flagships and a @chanelofficial boutique opening in Japan, @petermarinoarchitect has another project on his plate: The Lobster Club. Located in the Seagram Building, it’s the famed architect’s first restaurant project in New York, serving up modern Japanese brasserie-style cuisine. Bronze hues, bespoke material detailing, blush and chartreuse tones and a heavy emphasis on Picasso can be seen throughout. Mark your calendars for Nov. 1 for the much-anticipated opening. (📷: @clint_spaulding) #wwdeye
Did you know: @carlychaikin of "Mr. Robot" has been painting for about a decade? The actress, who plays Darlene on the show, is a self-taught artist who lists Salvador Dalí and Chuck Close as some of her idols. Chaikin told WWD that painting is a form of meditation for her — A much-needed one given the intensity of "Mr. Robot." See a piece Chaikin is working on at WWD.com (📷: @jilliansollazzo) #wwdeye


text:
Aspire Global withdraws from Australian market
Aspire Global withdraws from the Australian market following new gaming legislation.
Australian authorities have voted for an amendment of its current gaming legislation driving Aspire Global to withdraw from the market.
Following new market conditions, Aspire global has decided to withdraw from the Australian market. The Australian market accounted for 8% of the company’s total revenue in the second quarter.
“We regret having to leave a market, however, we expect to compensate for the lost business through intensified efforts in other regions. Consequently, we don’t expect this to affect our long-term financial targets.” says company CEO Tsachi Maimon.


text:
Constancy Canada has succeeded in launching its Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in addition to the Constancy Benefit Bitcoin ETF Fund (mutual fund) on December 2, thus turning into solely the primary of such to be obtainable within the nation. The funds shall be buying and selling on the Toronto Inventory Change (TSX), beneath the tickers FBTC for the Canadian greenback and FBTC.U for the usdollar model.
Constancy Canada Turns into the Largest Asset Supervisor to Launch a Bitcoin ETF
Having acquired sufficient of america Securities and Change Fee (SEC), and the company’s blatant refusal to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF, Constancy Funding Inc. migrated to Canada to maneuver forward with its ETF plans, and at last the corporate has succeeded.
In a statement issued by the corporate on Thursday, the Senior VP of merchandise and advertising at Constancy Canada, Kelly Creelman expressed the pleasure of the corporate, whilst each the bitcoin ETF and ETF fund started buying and selling on the identical day.
In the meantime, this official launch is coming a number of months after the officers of Constancy had a closed door meeting with the U.S. Securities and Change Fee (SEC), looking for to get the nod to launch an analogous product in america. Nevertheless, up till this very second, the SEC had both not accredited, or as seen in some circumstances, outrightly rejected spot crypto ETFs. SEC’s causes carry that such merchandise will not be in compliance with the strict guidelines for mutual funds.
In the meantime, in November additionally, Constancy Canada got approved by the nation’s regulators to go forward with an institutional bitcoin custody and buying and selling platform.
Now with over $4.2 trillion in belongings beneath administration AUM, Constancy Investments could have simply develop into the most important asset supervisor to launch a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
The introduced content material could embrace the non-public opinion of the writer and is topic to market situation. Do your market analysis earlier than investing in cryptocurrencies. The writer or the publication doesn’t maintain any duty to your private monetary loss.


text:
Trade associations representing the European soft drinks industry have said they want their PET bottles back so they can be closed loop recycled.
In a joint article for Politico Europe, the European Fruit Juice Association, Natural Mineral Waters Europe and UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe have said that “increased use of recycled content by one sector should not be at the expense of breaking another sector’s closed loop”.
For PET bottles, they wrote that an increasing number of non-food industries are recycling the bottles into new products such as clothes, backpacks, carpets, toys and more. But at the end of their life, these are thrown away unlike bottles, which are recycled.
They added: “While the sustainability efforts of other non-food industries are laudable, their use of recycled PET bottles does not automatically make their products more circular and leads to a significant shortage of food-grade recycled plastic for the non-alcoholic beverage industry.
“This in turn has created a lot of uncertainty for our industry despite our steady investments in shifting to circular packaging and choosing highly-recyclable materials like PET. Moreover, granting unrestricted and unconditional access to our recyclable high-quality content to other sectors does not incentivise them to further invest in recycling of their own materials, therefore hurting the very objectives of the EU circular ambitions.”
As a result, they would like a legal framework that guarantees manufacturers fair and necessary access to their own recycled packaging material, especially as they are financing the collection of this across Europe.
They suggest this should also apply to any other industry which is obliged to use recycled plastics in a closed loop.
This would mean that closed loop plastics manufacturers would have a right of first refusal mechanism within the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive.


text:
There's no love lost between Apple
in the mobile space, each of which is vying for platform dominance with iOS and Android, respectively. As such, neither company is all that interested in helping out the other unless it's a mutually beneficial relationship, which is what they had by bundling Google's YouTube app in iOS. However, the latest beta release of iOS 6 no longer carries the app, leading some to wonder just how deep the rift is between these two companies.
On the surface, there's a simpler explanation.
"Our license to include the YouTube app in iOS has ended; customers can use YouTube in the Safari browser and Google is working on a new YouTube app to be on the App Store," Apple said a statement.
Google's official statement was equally diplomatic and talked about how the company is "working with Apple to ensure we have the best possible YouTube experience for iOS users." That's all well and great, but it won't be sewn into iOS. The upside to that is Google will be able to deliver updates to end users on a much more frequent basis.
Word on the Web is that iOS 5 devices will not be affected by any of this and will continue to carry YouTube natively.


text:
by Jeff Sovern
In the Detroit News. Professor Joseph refers to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as "purposefully-misnamed," as if members of Congress sat around saying "let's create an agency that will hurt consumers but give it a name that suggests it will protect them." So what does he think is wrong with the Bureau? He cites a report that says it is insufficiently transparent and doesn't do enough to protect consumer data. He also states "recently the bureau has been seeking to eliminate dealer-negotiated car financing and replace it with a flat fee method of compensation. According to one analysis, such a move would eliminate a key source of price competition between auto dealers — the ability to vary interest rates — and ultimately result in restricting consumer choice." But he neglects to mention that such car financing has led to discriminatory lending. He does mention some praise for the Bureau in the report, but also claims that "taxpayers have good reason to be scared" of the Bureau and calls for it to be subjected to "a little more heat." Oh, and the Bureau's actual accomplishments for consumers? Its enforcement actions and rules? They somehow were omitted from the op-ed. Unfortunately, Professor Joseph's op-ed followed his recommendation for more heat, but casts little light.


text:
Nintendo cuts Switch sales forecast 6%; says can't fulfill holiday demand
Sales of the Switch device slumped to 8.28 million units in the six months to end September
Nintendo Co Ltd on Thursday cut its full year Switch sales forecast by 6% to 24 million units and said it would struggle to meet demand in the key year-end shopping season as chip shortages disrupt production of the hit device.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
"We can't produce enough to meet the demand we are expecting during the upcoming holiday season," Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa told a news briefing.
The global chip shortage is hampering efforts by the Kyoto-based firm to boost sales of its aging Switch device, which is in its fifth year on the market.
"Currently there is no sign of improvement and the situation continues to be severe so I can't say how long it will continue," Furukawa said.
APPLE POSTS RARE SALES MISS AMID CHIP SHORTAGE, SUPPLY ISSUES
Sales of the Switch device slumped to 8.28 million units in the six months to end September, compared to 12.53 million in the same period a year earlier.
Its previous full year sales target was 25.50 million units.
Nintendo launched the $349.99 Switch OLED model on Oct. 8 ahead of the year-end shopping season but it remains in short supply in many markets.
With console gaming a cyclical business and Nintendo highly dependent on a single system, the timing of Switch peak sales is the focus of intense debate among investors and analysts.
QUALCOMM POSTS RECORD SALES AMID SURGING DEMAND FOR 5G SMARTPHONES
Early data points to the improved Switch OLED model giving sales a bump. However, some observers worry that many buyers are likely upgraders rather than new customers, diminishing the potential bounce for software sales.
"Our main concern is still a lackluster game pipeline combined with a sharply declining tie-ratio that is likely to drive earnings lower," Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal, who has downgraded Nintendo to underperform, wrote ahead of earnings.
|NTDOY||NINTENDO CO. LTD.||9.575||-0.06||-0.65%|
Tie-ratio is a closely watched indicator that refers to the amount of software bought by hardware owners.
However, most analysts remain bullish, with 11 of 18 analysts having a "strong buy" or "buy" rating on the stock, according to Refinitiv data.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
Nintendo shares, which closed down 1.7% ahead of earnings, have declined by 25% this year.
(Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Kim Coghill)


text:
“The internet is one of the most powerful tools for economic and social progress. It gives people access to jobs, knowledge and opportunities. It gives voice to the voiceless in our society, and it connects people with vital resources for health and education.
I believe everyone in the world deserves access to these opportunities.”
– Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and Co-founder of Facebook
In August, 2013, Facebook in partnership with Samsung, Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera and Qualcomm, launched Internet.org, a project aimed at bringing affordable internet access to about five billion people world-over. The project made waves throughout developing countries and Zuckerberg was lauded for his vision and philanthropy. Over the next few months, he spoke and wrote at various forums on the idea and importance of having free internet for all.
India was an important focus area for this initiative. In 2014, Zuckerberg visited India and met Prime Minister Modi and the IT Minister, assuring them to support their Digital India initiative.
In 2015, Zuckerberg visited Indian villages, met locals, and pointed out how much free internet could benefit their lives.
No, thank you!
“Who could possibly be against this?” Zuckerberg asked in an article he wrote for an Indian newspaper.
In April 2015, web-technology companies, mostly start-ups, started pulling out of this initiative and criticized it. The problem had its roots in the principle of “zero rating”, which was fundamental to the “business model” of Internet.org. This meant that service providers would offer selective services and access to certain applications only. It went against the principle of ‘net neutrality’, which The Economist called “the idea that all data on the internet should be treated equitably, regardless of content or provenance.” Common people were also worried that they might have to pay extra to access individual apps.
Not just philanthropy?
Facebook was blocked in China, making India, with its population of over 1.2 billion people, the biggest growth market for the social networking site. It was alleged that Facebook wanted to dominate this massive market by monopolizing access of internet among those who could not afford it otherwise. Internet.org had partnered with local carrier Reliance Communications to offer “free internet services” in India. However, only 38 websites or apps could be accessed without consuming or paying for internet. Users would naturally be inclined to use these websites for free instead of paying for internet charges to use competing websites. In all fairness, none of the participating sites had paid or were paid to participate in Internet.org.
But start-ups complained that they would never be on equal footing with these websites if the user is supposedly disincentivized to use new their products. As per their logic, Facebook, the phone carrier, and the limited number of sites could soon capture hundreds of millions of users in India, and by reducing their access to other sites, gradually build a monopoly over this massive customer base.
Save the Internet
Indian tech start-ups and internet activists launched the ‘Save the Internet’ campaign to promote net neutrality and save the fundamental architecture of internet, as Internet.org was “threatening freedom of expression, equality of opportunity, security, privacy and innovation.” Countries such as USA, Netherlands, Chile, Brazil, etc. already had regulations or laws favoring net neutrality.
Popular comedy group All India Bakchod simplified the message to explain it to the common man –
Save the Internet appealed to the common masses to voice their discontent to the concerned regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). It was estimated that over a million emails were sent to TRAI, which had asked for comments on a consultation paper.
The “Business” Model
The author believes that it started becoming evident that Facebook and service providers had business interests in mind while offering free internet. They could capture and own a big share of internet users and eventually be paid by some websites to keep off their competition. While Facebook tried to make certain changes in their model because of the protests, they did not agree to let all websites be used without data charges.
Instead, the initiative was rebranded and given a new name – ‘Free Basics’. The fresh branding with a powerful connotation again received a major lobbying push by its proponents, but it was soon realized as a case of astroturfing and repackaging, and was rebuked by TRAI.
On February 8, 2016, TRAI banned the Free Basics service. Within three days, Facebook withdrew the platform from India.
The author believes that Facebook tried to pursue a business interest in the name of philanthropy. If this was not their intention, they should have not discriminated among websites and offered genuinely free internet, which would have been transformative for developing countries, and have truly led into a digital transformation.


text:
Industrial 3D printing in metal and architectural visions: A match made in heaven
BIG has succeeded in drawing attention to the UN's 17 Global Goals by applying the latest technology to produce a 3D-printed metal model of a city planning project in Stockholm.
BIG's architects wanted to create an aesthetically pleasing, weather-resistant model of a city planning project for the Solna Business Park.
FORCE Technology produced a 3D-printed metal model at its laser welding facility.
BIG now intends to consider 3D printing in metal for its future projects.
Over the next 10 years, a district of Stockholm known as the Solna Business Park will be undergoing a major transformation aligned with the UN's 17 Global Goals for sustainable development. The project aims to put the 17 Global Goals into the hands of ordinary citizens. To that end, residents of Stockholm can already take a stroll through a new park that uses colours and symbols to raise awareness about the Global Goals. Among the more spectacular sights in the park is a 3D-printed model showcasing how the entire district will look once the project has concluded.
Blending storytelling with smart technologyBIG — short for Bjarke Ingels Group — is an architectural firm participating in the city planning project in Stockholm. As part of the project, BIG needed to deliver a model of the future vision for the district aligned with the 17 Global Goals. The firm decided to use a cutting-edge technology for the model: 3D printing in metal, also known as additive manufacturing.
"Our model is designed to tell people about this place and about developments coming to the district over the next 10 years. For as many people to see it as possible, it needs to be placed outdoors. Our ordinary plastic models can't withstand that, so we were initially thinking about a 3D-printed concrete model. But then, we learned about FORCE Technology's metallic 3D printer," says Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard, a senior architect at BIG.
After some test prints conducted at FORCE Technology's 3D laser welding facility in Lindø, the focus shifted to translating BIG's computer model into a format that the 3D printer could use to produce a physical model. The model, produced at a 1:500 scale, has a diameter of 1.5 metres.
Can 3D printing technology meet BIG's aesthetic requirements?
BIG was concerned about striking a balance between the coarse, industrial nature of additive manufacturing and aesthetics. The model could not be too imprecise, nor could it be sanded down so much as to eliminate the characteristic look of 3D printing. BIG had already ruled out the traditional approach of creating a physical mould and casting the model in brass or bronze, as doing so would be too costly.
"At BIG, aesthetics are a big deal to us. We wanted it to look good, but we also wanted it to tell a story, to explain the thought that went into it. Finding that balance in the midst of uncharted territory wasn't easy," Stubgaard explains. "That's why it was so important for us to develop this solution together with FORCE Technology. There were some inevitable bumps in the road, but they were so flexible and solution-orientated, which was great. With just a few refinements here and there, we've achieved an optimal solution, and the model's finish — which was the toughest part of the project — came out the way we wanted it to."
New opportunities for new, flexible solutions in the future
BIG's architects have gained valuable knowledge about what is technically feasible, and they are considering ways they could use metallic 3D printing in their future projects.
One of the major benefits of 3D printing in metal is freedom to refine the design until the very last minute. BIG took full advantage of this freedom. Since the printing technology is based on welding, finished models can also be modified at a later time, such as to add new buildings.
"It's been such a pleasure for us to work with FORCE Technology on this project. This has opened up a whole new world for us, in terms of what is technically feasible and how we can use this in the future. Obviously, this is a major advantage for us, and given the rate at which the technology is developing, robots will be able to make even metallic 3D prints that are even smaller and more detailed in the future, so we feel that the technology has a lot of potential," concludes Stubgaard.
In light of the new opportunities and greater freedom it brings to design and architecture, large-scale 3D printing is well on its way into creative fields.
The 3D-printed metal model of the district will be officially unveiled in spring 2022 in the Solna Business Park.


text:
“I didn’t even tour. I just applied, and when I was accepted, I said ‘yes,’” recalls Niels Bulskov, a native of Oregon, of his decision to attend Mason.
“This was my real first opportunity to branch out, get out of my comfort zone, meet a lot of new people, and get more opportunity than I could back home.”
Bulskov, a senior marketing major who’s a first generation college student, has made the most of his time at Mason. He started his own business, Ground Control Coffee LLC, and took second place in the 2016 Deans’ Business Plan Competition. He’s president of Mason’s American Marketing Association chapter, is involved with StartUp Mason and the Mason Innovation Lab, and is a member of the Green Machine Pep Band. He’s also interned with non-profit SourceAmerica for the last three summers.
His entrepreneurial spirit helped him earn the EagleBank Entrepreneurship Scholarship for $10,000 this academic year.
“I wanted to start a business my whole life. I wanted to create something,” Bulskov said.
He decided to build his business around coffee, because it’s one of his loves. He started developing the business last September, and launched in April.
“It’s a really cool learning experience starting a company because I learned so many things in the business school and the intro classes have been so useful. I’ve used accounting so much. It’s essential,” he said.
In addition to the scholarship, Bulskov credits EagleBank with playing a “considerable part in my college experience.”
To help fund his education and business, he’s worked at EagleBank Arena for the last year and half. Bulskov also had the opportunity to meet EagleBank CEO Ronald D. Paul at a Brown & Brown Speaker Series event on campus.
After graduation, Bulskov plans to continue working on growing his business. So far, he has reinvested all sales back into the company.
“If I can build the customer base up to a sustaining level so that I can pay myself, that would be the dream,” he said.
Bulskov said the scholarship has been an “enormous help to give me peace of mind” and he sees it as the business school investing in his future. The scholarship will allow him to focus on finishing his senior year and building his business.


text:
Vaginas! All they do is pop out babies and make weird noises during sex and drip trails of blood and mucus like slugs everywhere, and probably doody too. I don’t know, I’m not a doctor or anything.
The point is, vaginas are gross, and because they’re so gross, it makes sense why Apple would fail to take them into account while developing HealthKit, its new, ostensibly comprehensive health-tracking app. Although the app tracks everything from your sodium intake to your height to your blood alcohol level, as Arielle Duhaime-Ross at the Verge points out, it omits one chief bodily function: menstruation.
Sorry, uterus-lining-shedders! Guess you’ll have to use Android instead.
i cannot believe the Apple Health app doesn’t include a menstruation tracker how the f*ck did they omit that in an all-inclusive health app
— it’s the quenchiest (@literallysokka) September 25, 2014
Wow the Health app doesn’t have a menstruation tracker. And I didn’t even notice. For fucking SHAME, Apple. Jesus Christ.
— Emily (@emily_wk) September 26, 2014
All joshing aside, the concept of a period-tracking app isn’t without precedent: There are at least a dozen already available on the Apple Store, from Period Tracker to Fertility Friend Mobile to Clue. Women already use these apps for a wide range of functions, from trying to get pregnant to figuring out when they should switch from Super to Super Plus tampons.
Given that the existence of these apps proves there’s a market for a period-tracking function—not to mention the fact that, you know, more than 50 percent of the population that Apple is trying to cater to is female—it’s actually pretty mind-boggling that Apple didn’t think to include a menstruation-tracking feature in what is widely being touted as a “comprehensive” health tracker.
Of course, this isn’t the first time Apple has taken a decidedly anti-vagina stance, as we found out with iPad engraving.
So what have we learned from this? That the geniuses who work at Apple are in this respect no different than the 12-year-old boys in your middle school grammar class who think vaginas are gross and snickered when your teacher said the word “period.” And that’s a bloody shame.
H/T The Verge | Photo via Wikipedia


text:
PepsiCo has made it official: Crystal Pepsi is coming back, but only for a limited time via a sweepstakes.
The marketer hinted at a comeback for the 1990s-era clear soda over the summer. PepsiCo responded to one of Crystal's biggest fans, competitive eating star Kevin Strahle. He was told that "we definitely hear you and all your followers and we think you'll all be happy with what's in store."
On Tuesday, PepsiCo confirmed that Crystal is returning via a sweepstakes on the "Pepsi Pass" app that will run from Dec. 10 to Dec. 11. Winners will be picked and notified by the week of Dec. 14, according to the company. Pepsi also released a video (above) that uses a 1990s retro theme, including the song "Whoomp! (There It Is)."
The video, which is by The Barbarian Group, will get paid digital support.
"Loyal Crystal Pepsi fans and their enthusiastic requests for its return, inspired Pepsi to bring back this iconic '90s product for the holiday season," a spokeswoman stated in an email.
Bringing back old sodas has emerged as a trend among beverage marketers seeking to gain social media attention. Last week, PepsiCo announced the return of Mtn Dew
Crystal's comeback is a low-budget affair compared with its initial launch in the early 1990s when it was backed with a $40 million ad budget and major hoopla. But the soda fizzled among consumers who had grown disenchanted with clear sodas, Ad Age reported in 1994.


text:
When Netflix first started streaming back in 2007, the overall goal was to give people an entertainment option that was better than the entertainment they found on broadcast television. Now, Netflix co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos says the goal remains the same as the company prepares to launch a new ad-supported option.
“We are a little far from talking about the details about the launch,” Sarandos told Kara Swisher in an interview onstage at the Cannes Lion Festival on Thursday. “But what I would say for sure is that what we do first is not going to be representative of our goals. I want our product to be better than TV. So that’s when I think about how to show ads currently on streaming Let’s go… I think there’s a lot more to be done.”
The move to integrate advertising comes at a time when Netflix faces a significant bump in the upward trend that has traditionally skyrocketed over the past decade. In its most recent earnings report in April, the company said it had lost nearly 200,000 customers, the first such decline since 2011. The stock is down 37% that week and has continued to drop more than 70% over the past six months. Netflix is still ahead of the streaming pack with over 220 million subscribers worldwide, but the competition for audience attention and subscription dollars is only with Prime Video, Paramount Plus, HBO Max, Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, and more. has become more intense. ,
When presented with Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings Frequently cited, past claims That Netflix was never interested in advertising, Sarandos tells Swisher that ads will not be part of the existing offering, just integrated into a new tier for those who want lower prices and are more inclined to watch ads.
Sarandos said, “I think it was wise for us not to advertise initially because we were creating a product that would be better than television and better for watching movies.” ,[Back then] Advertising and linear programming made television a very easy target. And we wanted to grow the business very simply so that we could grow it very fast, and the advertising was complicated.
Now is the right time, he said, because, with increased competition, Netflix has found it is missing out on a potentially large (paying) audience by not offering the ad-supported tier. Moving to the new ad-supported level will allow Netflix to compete directly with other platforms that already offer models like Hulu, HBO Max, Peacock and more. Disney Plus, According to a report in wall street journalGoogle and NBCUniversal are likely to be at the fore As partners to help Netlfix build its advertising tier.
While Sarandos was light on details about what that new tier would look like, he hinted that what made the platform so good at content will also help with advertising—as will its already booming brand. Partnership is in business.
“Audience matching is what we’ve been doing from the beginning, and I think we can do really well at that,” he said. “I think creative is something that we’ve been doing for 10 years and have been very competitive there, so to bring those worlds together and make it a great experience for both audiences and advertisers. We’ll start simple and Will iterate fast.”


text:
Shale gas bonanza could extend to other industries
The shale gas boom could cut costs significantly for the chemical industry and ultimately benefit the apparel, electronics, machinery and other industries, according to a report released Tuesday.
The report by PricewaterhouseCoopers US suggests cheap natural gas liquids could even prompt some companies to move production back to the United States.
Rivera said the rebound started as the nation began to recover from the recession.
"Here in the United States, it has been a game-changer and has created an opportunity for a lot of companies to make new investments in the United States, as opposed to overseas markets where natural gas has historically been cheaper over the last 10 or 15 years," he said.
Anthony Scamuffa, U.S. Chemicals leader for Price-waterhouseCoopers, predicted that the effects of low-priced natural gas liquids will ripple through the manufacturing chain.
"As the U.S. chemical industry expands (natural gas liquids) conversion into a higher volume of downstream products, the positive impacts could flow through the value chain into other manufacturing sectors, particularly given that chemicals are used in an estimated 90 percent of all manufactured products," he said in a statement. "Not only could the abundance of (natural gas liquids) help drive reduced pricing for derivative products, it could also potentially drive domestic re-shoring activity and possibly bring about a favorable shift in the U.S. balance of trade as ethylene capacity comes on line."
The report, "Shale Gas: Reshaping the U.S. Chemicals Industry," followed an earlier Price-waterhouseCoopers report that estimated shale gas could cut raw material and energy costs for U.S. manufacturing by as much as $11.6 billion annually by 2025.
The chemical industry uses natural gas liquids to produce products used in a number of manufacturing sectors, so lower costs for natural gas could mean lower costs for a wide range of other products, according to the report.
Pricewaterhouse-Coopers said specialty chemical companies are starting to feel the impact of lower natural gas and natural gas liquids prices and speculated that companies might look for longer-term sourcing relationships and partnerships with suppliers.
The report said manufacturers should see costs drop if they replace petroleum-based raw materials with products based on ethylene, which is derived from natural gas, a pattern it said would be repeated for other petroleum-based raw materials, including many used in building and construction.
Scamuffa noted that the extent of the shift would depend, in part, on public tolerance for expanded hydraulic fracturing, which is used to extract shale gas. Opponents of fracturing fear environmental damage from the process, which involves injecting water, sand and chemicals into a well to force oil and gas out of tight formations.


text:
After a year of watching Microsoft throw around billions buying up game studios, Sony has returned fire with a small acquisition of its own. The purchase of Returnal developer Housemarque is only the second studio Sony has acquired over the last decade, however, marking a clear difference in the two companies’ strategies around media consolidation.
“We’re very selective about the developers that we bring in,” PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst said in an interview today with British GQ. “Our last new acquisition was Insomniac [for $229 million in 2019], which has worked out very well. I’m always looking for people that have a similar set of values, similar creative ambitions and work very well with our team that we can further invest in and help grow as creators. It’s not like we’re going around and just making random acquisitions.”
Hulst was responding to a question about the current arms-race around gaming studios, tech, and IP deals, and although he didn’t mention Microsoft by name, it’s hard not to interpret “random acquisitions” as a dig at Xbox’s recent spending spree. It wasn’t the only shot Hulst took at the PlayStation rivals either.
“They’re very, very targeted acquisitions of teams that we know well,” he said of Insomniac and Housemarque. “The amount of collaboration between our external development group and Housemarque on the technical side, the production management side and even on the creative side has been so deep. So for us, it just makes so much sense to do that. This is not something you do overnight.”
Let’s Take A Look At A PlayStation Game Pitch
Sony Acquires Housemarque, Developer of PS5’s Returnal [Updated]
Bethesda’s Starfield is an Xbox exclusive following Microsoft’s purchase of Bethesda last year.
Anime-Style Streetscapes That Are 3D Models
That’s in contrast to Microsoft’s recent $7.5 billion acquisition of Bethesda Game Studios. While head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, and Bethesda leaders, Todd Howard and Pete Hines, have played up the two companies long history together, the deal itself seemed to unfold quite quickly. Talks for a sale began last summer, according to Bloomberg, leading to an announcement by September, and finalization of the deal in March of this year.
In Sony’s case, a studio proves it can deliver strong console exclusives and then it decides to integrate them into its first-party network. In Microsoft’s case, it sees the types of games it would like to become exclusives and then goes out and buys them. At least that’s how it looks right now from the outside. The latest example of this would be Blue Point Games, an acquisition Sony accidentally hinted at earlier today but which hasn’t yet been confirmed. If accurate, the studio behind the successful Shadow of the Colossus and Demon’s Souls remasters would have no shortage of other PlayStation franchises to repackage and resell.
Microsoft, on the other hand, seems to be struggling with some of the output of its older first-party studios. 343 Industries’ Halo: Infinite lost its creative director in 2019, didn’t look great last summer, was subsequently delayed, and then lost a second director. Similarly Rare’s Everwild lost its creative director last year, was subsequently rebooted according to VGC, and was then missing from this year’s E3 showcase. On the other hand, Playground games has turned Forza Horizon into one of Microsoft’s top-tier homegrown exclusives. (aessoil.com) Maybe that’s why they were put in charge of bringing back Fable. Whatever the outcome of those projects, Microsoft now has Bethesda’s Starfield to lean back on in 2022.
Of course, there have been murmurs of discontent at Sony as well. In April, Bloomberg reported that a “fixation on teams that churn out hits is creating unrest” at its first-party studios. As one example of this, Sony Bend’s pitch to make Days Gone 2 was rejected, and its teams were instead put to work supporting Naughty Dog’s projects.
Hulst paints a much rosier picture of collaboration within the PlayStation family. ”[Housemarque will] be invited to forums such as a studio head forum, where we share a lot of initiatives, ideas and technology,” he told GQ today. “It’s entirely voluntary. He gets to run his team, gets to maintain the culture and we’ll protect that. But we’re going to be able to offer a lot to Housemarque going forward.” Time will tell.
Sony has acquired the Finnish developer Housemarque, after years of collaboration between the two companies. Housemarque most recently released the PS5 exclusive Returnal.
The news was announced on the PlayStation Blog, with PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst saying “Housemarque’s recent release of Returnal proves the studio is one with incredible vision, capable of creating memorable new games that resonate with our community. This addition enhances the creative force of PlayStation Studios, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for Housemarque.” The studio has been purchased for an undisclosed fee.
In a detailed interview with British GQ, Housemarque co-founder and managing director, Ilari Kuittinen, said: “I think Sony is the partner that’s best positioned to help develop even further. Let’s face it, these are some of the best game developers in the world. So we’re proud to be part of that group and hope to collaborate and learn from them.”
Hulst added to the conversation, saying” “We’ll be able to take the limitations away and to get Ilari, Harri Tikkanen [creative director] and all the core team to focus exclusively on making amazing games. I think this is going to help them grow even further and it will be great for the quality and ambitions.”
“I think we’ve always been pushing technology,” said Kuittinen while discussing what possibilities the acquisition will open up. “We can do that from now on, even more than we did before since we can concentrate on a platform. So that’s a big, big part of it. You know, we have our VFX engine in the game that we’re using and, hopefully, we’ll be creating something more on top of that.”
“And obviously, they’ll be invited to forums such as a studio head forum, where we share a lot of initiatives, ideas, and technology,” added Hulst. “It’s hard for him to comment coming in from the outside on what he’s going to benefit from, but I can tell you from experience it’s going to be quite a lot. It’s entirely voluntary. He gets to run his team, gets to maintain the culture and we’ll protect that. But we’re going to be able to offer a lot to Housemarque going forward.”
Housemarque was founded in 1996 but found particular success after the release of Super Stardust HD on PS3 in 2007, which began a long relationship with Sony. The Helsinki studio has since released Dead Nation, Resogun, Alienation, Nex Machina, Matterfall, and Returnal as console exclusives for PlayStation.
After releasing Returnal, Housemarque CEO Ilari Kuittinen thanked Sony for letting it work on something “very risky”. “In the age when game publishers are taking less and less creative risks,” he wrote, “we are truly thankful to our publishing partner Sony, who has allowed us to work on something very risky and has given fantastic support during the whole project. We are forever grateful for having this opportunity.” Hopefully, this move allows Housemarque to keep taking more risks.


text:
Govt, industry invest $140m for cybersecurity CRC
Telstra eyes simpler 5G and IoT rollouts
SA Dept Premier and Cabinet sacks CIO
CCC clears Qld minister of wrongdoing
OAIC investigates defunct firm's data leak in Qld, NT
Don't have an account? Register now!
Uber to end post-trip tracking of riders
As part of privacy push.
Aug 30 2017 7:48AM
Victoria appoints first information commissioner
FOI and privacy functions merge.
Aug 29 2017 3:30PM
QPS crime reporting app fails privacy, security audit
No PIA until five years after launch, and prompt by watchdog.
Aug 25 2017 6:40AM
Enterprise use of Uber app risks data leaks
Updated: Uber disputes findings.
Aug 14 2017 6:20AM
Blood Service escapes penalties in data breach investigation
Contractor given harsher rebuke.
Aug 7 2017 11:51AM
Sweden exposed sensitive data on citizens, military personnel
Sent unredacted drivers licence database to marketers.
Jul 24 2017 9:00AM
Millions of Verizon customer details exposed on misconfigured Amazon S3 server
Threat to two-factor authentication.
Jul 13 2017 7:16AM
Medicare access to be reviewed after breach discovery
System hasn't been changed in eight years.
Jul 10 2017 9:26AM
British hospital trust failed to protect patient data in Google trial
DeepMind also takes responsibility.
Jul 4 2017 8:30AM
NSW appoints full-time privacy commissioner
Brings in health privacy executive.
Jun 22 2017 2:02PM
Trump campaign data firms leak info on 200m US voters
Over a terabyte of data open in the cloud.
Jun 20 2017 6:50AM
Qld Police to share de-identified data on individual criminals
Griffith Uni data lab goes live.
Jun 6 2017 2:56PM
Pollies' leaked phone numbers were downloaded almost 1000 times
White text could still be copied.
May 22 2017 2:35PM
Govt likely to open face verification system to private sector
Despite criticism over privacy.
May 18 2017 12:15PM
Qld public servants told not to 'peek' at personal data
CCC warns govt workers to stay within the law.
May 18 2017 11:26AM
OAIC forces Australian govt into a data privacy code
To guard against any more breaches.
May 18 2017 9:59AM
Victoria dismantles privacy commission
Merged with FOI office under information commissioner.
May 12 2017 10:27AM
Aussie banks forced to open up customer data
Budget 2017: New regime to empower users.
May 9 2017 7:58PM
AFP breached data retention laws
Accessed journalist records without a warrant.
Apr 28 2017 3:54PM
Tanium chief admits to using private hospital data in sales demo
Accessed network without permission.
Apr 24 2017 10:32AM
Most popular tech stories
The 2017 CRN Channel Chiefs
Telstra quietly switches on internet of things network
Inside Micron21's high-spec Melbourne data centre
Optus opens first flagship store in Sydney
Inside Optus' first flagship smart home store in Sydney
7 accounting packages for Australian small businesses compared: including MYOB, QuickBooks Online, Reckon, Xero
6 cloud accounting systems for Australian small businesses compared: MYOB, QuickBooks, Reckon, Saasu, Sage and Xero
How long will a UPS keep your computers on if the lights go out?
Xero launches new expenses, projects and more
Apple vs Samsung: smartphone shootout 2017
Top 25 fantasy games of all time
Upgrading to Windows 10 is still free, if you use this loophole
Head-to-Head: Synology DS216+ versus QNAP TS-251+ 2-bay NAS
How to: Install Kodi on Chromecast
How to: Remove Netflix recently watched shows so no one ever knows your love of Shadowhunters
20 key tips for succeeding at Rainbow Six Siege
10 advanced tips for Rainbow Six Siege
Every Battlefield game ranked from worst to best
18 pro tips from the Rainbow Six Siege world cup
South Park: The Fractured But Whole buffs gameplay, maintains LOLs
Telstra now supports eSIMs for wearables
Walk down Sydney's street of the future
Privacy flaws of smart home devices revealed
Singapore govt forms Industry 4.0 alliance
Aussie drone maker wins US marketing deal
Don't have an account? Register now!
Forgot your password?


text:
Welcome to WebmasterWorld Guest from 18.104.22.168
Forum Moderators: travelin cat
The US Department of Justice has today filed a motion compelling Apple to comply with a court order to help the FBI break into a killer's iPhone.
On Tuesday, a magistrate judge in central California granted an order filed by the Feds that requires Apple to reprogram San Bernardino murderer Syed Farook's smartphone with a custom build of iOS. This tailored firmware must allow agents to quickly guess Farook's passcode, and thus unlock his device, without triggering an iOS feature that wipes the iPhone after 10 wrong PIN attempts.


text:
The company says it has 87 games in the pipeline to release by the end of its 2025 fiscal year.
Grand Theft Auto VI
Grand Theft Auto VI - Latest Contents
The story of one of gaming's biggest ever leaks.
Around 90 videos of the game appeared online on September 18.
The game will apparently feature two playable leads influenced by Bonnie & Clyde.
Rockstar is in charge of when to reveal more Grand Theft Auto 6 news.


text:
Social media isn’t just about connecting people with people. It’s also about selling people stuff. Google’s launch of Google + Pages is an attempt to make that social network more useful for businesses, allowing businesses and Plus users to connect via Google Hangouts and to +1 businesses and so forth. Yet another avenue, in other […]
Read more at Forbes.


text:
Safeway-operated stores nationwide have signed on to sell fruit punch, orange and grape flavors of AquaBall, the zero-calorie, stevia-sweetened, vitamin-enriched flavored water from Bazi International.
Convenience store sales of Rockstar Energy were down 5.1% for the four weeks ending July 6, according to Nielsen. Joey Cannata, Rockstar’s EVP of sales and distribution, said the company will combat the trend with innovations, including the recent introduction of "supersour" flavors and a zero-calorie Rockstar Pure Zero line.
Honest Tea is launching a carbonated line, Honest Fizz, in Root Beer, Lemon "Limey", Orange Pop and a cherry Professor Fizz flavor. The stevia-sweetened zero-calorie drinks is debuting at Whole Foods stores in select markets in 12-ounce cans and six-packs.
Safeway stores nationwide are now carrying zero-calorie Vitamin Squeeze Powder Water Enhancers from Ecosentials. The water enhancers are offered in Strawberry Watermelon, Lemonade, Fruit Punch, Acai Grape Pomegranate and ENERGY Black Cherry flavors, and are rich in electrolytes, zinc, vitamin C, chromium and vitamins B3, B5, B6 and B12.
Superfruit beverage brands Zola Brazilian Superfruits and BAZI Natural Energy Shot have both signed deals giving them shelf space in national retail chains. Zola will sell its acai-based drinks in Safeway stores, and BAZI energy shots will be available at 2,000 Rite Aid stores.
PepsiCo plans changes to its SoBe, Gatorade and Lipton brands. The company has three zero-calorie variants on SoBe Life Water ready to launch "the moment the FDA approves" the all-natural sweetener stevia. The company also has new packaging for Gatorade, as well as new sparkling and functional Lipton teas.


text:
Today traders await the US inflation data to be out at 15:30 MT. Jump in to get fresh trade ideas for today!
British pay surge beats estimates
For the three months to July, UK employees’ wages excluding bonuses rallied faster than anticipated, demonstrating a rate, which hasn’t been surpassed for three years because British companies found it more difficult to hire new staff members. That’s what official figures uncovered on Tuesday.
The Bank of England has long foreseen that a tighter labor market is going to provoke faster pay surge, although not at the rates observed before the financial downtime, and the latest reports will most probably strengthen its focus on inflation pressures in the country.
Both average weekly profits without bonuses, which appear to be the gauge widely utilized by Britain’s key bank, and total pay tacked on at the top end of market experts’ estimates in a Reuters survey.
On the year, earnings without bonuses added 2.9% for the three months to July in contrast with June’s outcome of 2.7%, matching a maximum observed in March. Since July 2015 pay hasn’t soared faster.
The overall earnings surge speeded up from 2.4% to 2.6%.
The UK currency edged up on the news, while UK government bond prices went down, although market experts don’t expect the key financial institution to announce any acceleration of its rate lift plans at this week's gathering. The gathering will take place just a month after the key bank had rates lifted for the second time since the financial meltdown.
The faster pay surge will comfort to UK clients, whose household incomes have been affected by a leap in inflation after June 2016's Brexit vote.
The Bank of England keeps an eye open on wage surge for indications of inflation pressure.
Pay surge ramped up employers' labor costs that were currently ascending at a rate, pointing to inflation at about 2% and required Britain’s key bank to have interest rates lifted at a gradual tempo.
In this article, you'll find the list of the hottest stocks to trade on April 19-23, which will publish their earnings!
While Citigroup reports better-than-expected quarterly data, it is also aims at restructuring its global presence. What will be the impact?
What's moving markets on Friday? What is the hottest news? Let's find out!


text:
Grocery store manager accused of stealing lottery tickets
ASHEVILLE — Authorities have accused a manager at a North Carolina grocery store of stealing more than a half-million dollars worth of lottery tickets.
Local news outlets report a warrant filed with the Buncombe County Magistrate's Office said the customer service manager stole tickets from an Ingles store in Asheville for nearly two years.
The search warrant said the manager was fired from the job in March after admitting to Ingles in a handwritten statement to activating and taking lottery packs out of the store. The manager told store officials the money was needed to spend on prescriptions.
The warrant also said members of the manager's family, including a niece, were named as co-conspirators for validating and cashing the tickets.