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Source: The Pikes Peak Hill Climb may now only appear in Gran Turismo games :: Team VVVWell this is disappointing. The racing game community rejoiced when the EA's exclusivity license with Porsche finally expired after 10 years, paving the way for the prestigious manufacturer to appear in racing games other than Need for Speed. Now it looks as if it's going to be a similar situation with the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and Gran Turismo.
Edit: The news has now been officially confirmed by Codemasters' Paul Coleman on the official community forum: “yes, we signed it for DiRT Rally before it went exclusive but we can’t use it anymore,” he said.
The news comes from a recent DiRT 4 preview by Eurogamer, which mentions that "Gran Turismo now has sole rights to Pike's Peak" when discussing DiRT 4's impressive procedural technology. While it's understandable that DiRT 4 won't have the authentic rally special stages from the official WRC license, the omission of Pikes Peak is disappointing, considering that the grueling 12.42-mile long course has been making appearances in recent rally games such as DiRT Rally and Sebastien Loeb Rally EVO.
For reference, the Pikes Peak Hillclimb hasn't been confirmed for Gran Turismo Sport yet, and it hasn't featured in the franchise since Gran Turismo 2 way back in 1999, despite claims that it would be included in Gran Turismo 5. Rumours that the Hillclimb circuit will be coming to the series have been rife since Gran Turismo became a 'Platinum Sponsor' of the event a few years ago.
Still, so far there hasn't been any official confirmation about the future of Pikes Peak's racing game appearances, so don't panic just yet.
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Racing games exclusive-deals war isn't over: Pikes Peak licensed for Gran Turismo only
I find this absolutely ridiculous in any case but this case is extra dumb because GT games come out every 50 years or so. Nobody's buying the game because it has a single track that they make sure nobody else will get. The EA/Porsche deal was a huge pain in every racing gamer's arse and I hope this isn't a sign of times to comeListen to Mike, I'm definitely not the most super out of all the non-super moderators, just check the username! (;
Haha, the Gran Turismo games are becoming ever more irrelevant to me as each new piece of info comes out about this PS4 GT. From the recent videos that have been shown, it still seems to be suffering from the same issues that players have wanted sorted since the first, and now they are trying to take the racing genre backwards by going with that 'we got X exclusively' crap. Such a farce and what a fall* that series has taken.
*Fall in quality and keeping up with its competitors because of course I know it still sells millions despite not being up to the standard of the others.I'm a bit mental.
Yep, I have lost all faith in Gran Turismo. The latest games were fun as car collecting games, not much else. GT Sport is supposedly more about the racing too so I'm happy to pass I'm afraid.Listen to Mike, I'm definitely not the most super out of all the non-super moderators, just check the username! (;
It is more about the racing but it appears to be missing out on some core aspects such as collisions and damage along with the complete omission of dynamic weather. Something, that can completely redefine a race. I now find myself looking at GT games in the same way I look at any future TDU-esque type: I'll keep expectations low until I see that the right areas are being taken care of.I'm a bit mental.


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Now, Savage and his husband Terry Miller opened up to the New York Times Magazine about how their marriage works. (Not to mention why Arnold Schwarzenegger’s didn’t.)[Read More]
Captured by a webcam on the Canada-France-Hawaii-Telescope on Mauna Kea, the orb of light probably has something to do with a missile test-launch in California last week. At least, that’s what experts are speculating.[Read More]
Hats. Pencil skirts. Cocktails. And now, an entire line of ’60s-inspired clothes from Banana Republic.
The clothing retailer, a subsidiary of Gap Inc., announced the line earlier this month. Photos have been released to New York Magazine and a few fashion blogs — and there’s definitely a little bit of Roger Sterling and Joan Holloway in the lineup. (Although, maybe that’s just the models’ hair.)[Read More]

domain: news


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On Sunday, February 5, two months after the European Union banned most crude oil from Russia, the bloc will extend the embargo to Russian diesel and gasoline supplies. As a result, Moscow will lose more than half of the sales markets for its oil and petroleum products that it had in 2021 in natural terms.
This is reported by The New York Times.
The EU embargo is aimed at further suppressing the Russian energy business, cutting it off from the most important export market. The sale of oil products is crucial for financing the country's budget and, ultimately, its war in Ukraine. The West hopes to gradually reduce this source of money for the Kremlin.
"Russia has lost its most important client," said Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency.
As noted in the publication, although Moscow has so far managed to find new oil buyers in India, Turkey and other countries, such tactics may have limits. And Russia may have a harder time convincing India, which has increased its purchases of Russian oil, to do the same for petroleum products where it is self-sufficient.
"Russia cannot simply supply diesel to Asia as it has done with oil," said Richard Bronze, head of geopolitics at research firm Energy Aspects.
To sell oil to a shrinking number of markets, Russian companies have given huge discounts to offset the extra costs of longer delivery distances and to compete with established suppliers to Asian markets such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
In addition, the European Union and the G7 countries will seek to limit the amount of revenue Russia can earn from its refined products by setting a price ceiling, as they did in December for Russian oil. Western shippers and insurers will be allowed to deal only with those Russian oil products that are sold at set prices that have not yet been announced.
While Russian exports held up better than analysts expected in 2022, low prices began to cut into its revenues late in the year. According to the International Energy Agency, in December Russia earned about $12.6 billion from oil, which is about 24% less than a year earlier


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Walmart at (800) 925-6278 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. CT on Saturday, and from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. CT on Sunday, or online at www.walmart.com and click on Product Recalls for more information.
This recall involves the Mainstays card table sets with a black padded metal folding table and four black padded metal folding chairs. "Made by: Dongguan Shin Din Metal & Plastic Products Co," or "Made by: Taiwan Shin Yeh Enterprises", is printed on a white label on the bottom of the chairs.
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled card table and chair sets and return the entire set to Walmart for a full refund.
Walmart has received 10 reports of injuries from collapsing chairs. Injury reports include one finger amputation, three fingertip amputations, sprained or fractured fingers and one report of a sore back.
Walmart stores nationwide and online at www.walmart.com from May 2013 through November 2013 for about $50.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., of Bentonville, Ark.


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- 1 day ago Piaggio Ape HT Three-Wheelers Launched In India At Rs 2.24 Lakh: Cargo & Passenger CNG Available
- 1 day ago Dakar Rally 2022: Audi RS Q e-Tron Unveiled For The Rally Race: Battery Capacity, Specs & Other Details
- 1 day ago 2021 Tata Tiago NRG Launching Soon — Design, Features & Other Details
- 1 day ago SSC Tuatara’s 500+Km/h Top Speed Record Proven Wrong; SSC Admits To Botched Up Figures
- Technology Amazon Prime Day Sale 2021: Discount Offer On Top Trending Smartphones
- Movies Veteran Actress Savita Bajaj, Who Was In Dire Need Of Financial Help, Gets Discharged From Hospital
- Sports India vs Sri Lanka 1st T20I: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav star in India's 38-run win over Sri Lanka
- News PM Modi cleared roadblocks to NE peace, development: Amit Shah
- Finance 3 Best Performing And High-Rated Gilt Funds To Start SIP In 2021
- Education CGBSE 12th Marksheet: Check CG 12th Result Name Wise And Roll Number
- Lifestyle Cancer Centre Successfully Initiates Neuro-Monitoring Technique For Spinal Cord Surgery, A First In Mumbai
- Travel 10 Best Places To Visit In Andaman and Nicobar Islands In August
Volkswagen Passenger Cars India has announced the global bestseller, which is the new Volkswagen Tiguan as the fourth SUV under its SUVW Strategy. Moreover, the company has now showcased its complete range of SUVs for the Indian market for the year 2021, taking a significant step towards its objective of gaining a 3 per cent market share in the country.
However, the T-Roc and Tiguan Allspace have been a testament to the brand's sustainable product strategy. Keeping this momentum, Volkswagen India is all set to introduce the second batch of award-winning SUVWs the T-Roc and Tiguan Allspace.
Adding more context on the developments, Ashish Gupta, Brand Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India said, "2021 is an important year for the brand as we fulfil our promise of introducing four-new SUVs. We've been working relentlessly towards strengthening our existing offerings and our upcoming products, the Tiguan and Tiguan will further enhance our presence in the Indian market. The customers' demand for different body styles is on the rise and we look forward to contributing in meeting this growing demand in India with our strong, reliable and sustainable product strategy."
Volkswagen is gearing up for its biggest launch of 2021, the Volkswagen Taigun, the first product based on the MQB A0 IN platform. Staying aligned to the SUVW strategy, the brand has undertaken several initiatives that will be implemented and executed in phases in the coming months.
Moreover, the T-Roc and Tiguan Allspace, which was introduced in 2020, has received a phenomenal response in the Indian market. T-Roc which was launched in March 2020, was sold out within two months of unlocking in India.
Volkswagen is all set to unveil the production-spec model of the Taigun SUV in the Indian market. The company will take the wraps of the Taigun SUV on March 31, 2021. Ahead of its launch, the company has released multiple teasers of the upcoming SUV's arrival in the Indian market.
The company has also confirmed that the Taigun will be powered by a pair of TSI turbo-petrol engines. The 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine will produce a maximum power of 108bhp at 5500rpm, and a peak torque of 175Nm at 1750rpm. On the other hand, the 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine produces a maximum of 148bhp at 5000rpm, and a peak torque of 240Nm at 1500rpm.
Thoughts About Volkswagen India Announces Its Biggest Product Line-Up Under The SUVW Strategy
The Volkswagen Taigun will be the brand's entry-level SUV offering in the Indian market. The company is expected to price the Taigun aggressively because of localization. This will help the SUV compete against established segment rivals in the Indian market.


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Snapchat plans to launch a new augmented reality art platform featuring pop artist Jeff Koons and others. It will allow art to be pinned to specific locations in augmented reality so users can see it when they hold up their phones in the right spot. Snapchat will solicit sign-ups from artists who want their art added to the platform.
Like Mirage except it will likely work well.
I’ll wait to see how this plays out but if it ends up being an Ello or Tumblr – meaning, users will feel the pressure to post nice things – with AR turned on it won’t be for me personally. But I can see it being a hit.
There is a video on Product Hunt.


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Aleph Farms Moves To New Premises To Scale Cultivated “Thin-Cut’ Beef Steak Prototypes
3 Mins Read
Israel’s Aleph Farms has announced that it has relocated to new 65,000 square foot headquarters in Rehovot, which will allow the cultivated meat company to increase production by six-fold. Production of thin-cut beef steaks will be the initial focus.
An onsite R&D centre is now being planned, to continue developing market-leading technology. International marketing and distribution are planned for the last quarter of 2022, though regulatory approval is still pending. Last year, Aleph Farms raised $105 million in a Series B round. At the time, scaling of manufacturing capabilities was listed as a funding driver. With this now in place, the other chief objective, global expansion ahead of commercial launch, can be addressed.
Predicting market demand
Aleph’s new plant will allow 10 tonnes of cultivated steak to be produced every year. The versatile thin beef development is designed to accelerate approval processes. Despite only just moving to the new location, even bigger manufacturing premises are being eyed for construction by 2024.
“Aleph Farms’ team is passionate about changing the world around us, one bite at a time,” Eyal Rivlin, vice president of production and operations said in a statement. “Our new facility enables us to scale our production capabilities and launch limited quantities of our steak around the end of the year, pending regulatory approval. We’ve worked hard to get here, and it is exciting to see the infrastructure that will help bring our vision to life.”
Both the new and existing Aleph offices enjoy prime positioning within the Israeli biotech hub of Rehovot. More than 100 team members are expected to migrate to the new location.
Incubating new ideas
Alongside the opening of new premises, Aleph is celebrating its new Aleph Frontiers division. Described as being an incubator for new ideas, it will act as a fast track method for assessing viability of new products and concepts. The company’s newly promoted chief technical officer, Dr. Neta Levon, will be taking point in the Frontiers project. Evolution of tech capabilities for a variety of cultivated products will be an ongoing focus, as part of her R&D role.
“We are committed to driving impact through innovation,” Levon said in a statement. “This is why we have been hyper-focused on developing the most advanced technology in the cultivated meat industry. Expanding our R&D footprint in this new facility will help us drive exciting new advancements for the field of cultivated animal products.”
News of Aleph’s relocation and scaling comes after the announcement of an industry-significant strategic partnership in December last year. Aleph revealed that it will be working with Germany’s Wacker in an open supply chain development. Wacker will supply food-grade growth medium proteins to Aleph for all of its prototypes and products in a non-exclusive agreement. Aleph hopes that this will allow for faster development of cost-effective mediums, thus progressing the entre cultivated industry on an expedited timescale.
Bringing cultivated meat one step closer
Another company looking to accelerate the acceptance of cultivated meat is British biotech CellulaREvolution. The startup just announced a successful pre-Series A funding round that generated £1.75 million for more R&D on its continuous cell cultivation tech. The methodology is said to be an answer to meeting price parity with conventional meat quickly, as traditional batch development of cell culture systems is still cost-prohibitive.
All photos by Aleph Farms.


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There’s a new post on the CHAOSS blog: How can designers contribute to an open source project on GitHub? thanks to @iamkingsleey!
Here’s an excerpt:
This week, one of our design contributors at CHAOSS Africa came up with a great idea that could enhance one of our ongoing projects. This idea wasn’t listed among the open issues in our GitHub repository. The contributor was unsure of how to proceed with her contribution, which is a common scenario for many designers who are not familiar with GitHub.
If you’re a designer interested in making open-source contributions, here are two key things you should know about contributing to projects in any GitHub repository:
Highly recommend you read the full post!


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According to new research from Google Trends, the web searches for the word “Bitcoin” just dropped 75% since the start of 2018, splitting in half in the past three months. The report comes from CNBC.
Actually, CNBC has cited the co-founder of Datatrek Research and Wall Street Bitcoin analyst Nicholas Colas, who links the decline in web searches to the coin’s price rates that have similarly dropped by 50% this year only. In an email to his clients, Colas adds that “BTC needs a new narrative in order to re-establish its global attention.”
Meanwhile, Google Trends analyzes different periods of the popularity of certain web searches – where a value of 100 is taken as the peak popularity for a specific search term. In January 2018, Bitcoin’s popularity was 37 and currently, it is as low as 9.
Colas also mentioned the decreasing number of newly created Bitcoin wallets compared to the last quarter of 2017 when the Bitcoin prices neared $20,000. The growth in the number of new wallets is only 3.7% right now, while in late 2017 it was 7.6% monthly. As Colas said, “wallet growth must be +5% percent per month in order to see meaningful price appreciation.”
The searches for other cryptocurrencies on Google are also in decline, according to CNBC. Ethereum searches also dropped by 70% since early 2018, Bitcoin Cash lost 82% and XRP fell 87%.
DC Forecasts is a leader in many crypto news categories, striving for the highest journalistic standards and abiding by a strict set of editorial policies. If you are interested to offer your expertise or contribute to our news website, feel free to contact us at [email protected]


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Instacart has made changes to its pricing in Canada and the U.S, making the service a more competitive and cost-feasible option than companies such as Amazon.
In a Nov. 28 e-mail from the third-party service to its customers, Instacart said it had dropped its delivery fee in the U.S. from $5.99 to $3.99 per order of $35 or more, though customers still pay a 5% service fee and $3.99 default delivery fee. Orders arrive within two hours of placement. In Canada, shoppers were already paying $3.99 for the a la carte service so that remains unchanged. The company has, however, lowered the service fee to 5% from 7.5%, according to a company spokesperson.
Additionally, the annual subscription fee to the company’s Instacart Express service dropped by $50 to $99, which is what Canadian members have been paying. Though the annual fee remains unchanged north of the border, the company dropped the 7.5% service fee.
“We’ve made grocery delivery more affordable. … Let our personal shoppers take care of your grocery shopping while you save an hour or two,” the grocery e-commerce service said in the e-mail.
Currently, members of Amazon’s Prime subscription program can enjoy two-hour delivery of groceries from Whole Foods for free, and ultra-fast delivery within one hour for $7.99 on orders of $35 or more. An Amazon Prime membership costs $119 annually–up $20 as of May–or $12.99 per month, but the value over Instacart arguably is unlimited free two-day delivery through Amazon, content streaming and more, which the San Francisco-based delivery service does not offer.
A version of this article appeared at ProgressiveGrocer.com.


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This is how the “recovery” is progressing.
From “CNN Money” – “Staples will close 225 stores in North America by the middle of next year as the office supply retailer tries to trim costs in the face of weaker sales. The store closings will come to about 12% of its stores in North America. The closings build upon the 40 stores it closed in the region in 2013. Staples said it is aiming to save $ 500 million annually through the closings and other cost cutting measures. (Translation: Staples is losing $ 500 million annually.)
“Staples also reported lower sales and earnings in its most recent quarter that ended Feb. 1, a period that included the holiday shopping period. And it warned that sales and earnings would be lower again in the current quarter, missing forecasts of analysts.
“The announcement comes two days after electronics retailer Radio Shack announce plans to close up to 1,100 stores, or about 20% of its locations.” –
From Business Week – “Quiznos Corp., the Denver-based toasted-sandwich chain, filed for bankruptcy days after pizzeria company Sbarro LLC sought protection from creditors, as competition among fast-food restaurants grows in a tight market. Quiznos said it’s seeking to implement a reorganization that would cut debt by $ 400 million. (Translation: Quiznos is losing $ 400 million annually) … Sbarro filed for bankruptcy on March 10, while the owner of Hot Dog on a Stick filed last month, as foot traffic in shopping malls dwindled …” –
During the last few years GAP closed 20% of its locations, and Macy’s, which had forecast strong earnings and is considered the most successful of the mid-market retailers, closed stores recently. Other notable closings include:
– Abercrombie & Fitch announced plans to close 180 of its stores by 2015.
– Barnes & Noble early last year announced plans to shut a third of its stores over the next 10 years.
– J. C. Penney announced the closing of 33 stores to be completed by May.
– Office Depot, since merging with OfficeMax in November, has closed 15 of its stores and seven OfficeMax locations.
– Sears Holding has closed approximately 300 stores since 2010.
– Toys “R” Us – Industry sources say the company will soon close 100 of its stores.
[Do you suppose our unemployment crisis has anything to do with these failures?]


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Posted on April 22, 2015 by Matt Pressman
What if Tesla was more than just a car company? Let's rewind to 2014 when Tesla Motors Founder and CTO, J.B. Straubel said: “I really love batteries. I might love batteries more than cars… We [Tesla] are an energy innovation company as much as a car company.”
Now... let's fast-forward to today, according to Bloomberg, Tesla will announce a home battery and a “very large” utility-scale battery on April 30, according to Jeffrey Evanson, Tesla’s head of investor relations. Tesla Motors (TSLA) shares rose 4.8% today to close at $219.44, the biggest daily gain in more than two weeks.
What does all this mean? According to the Verge: "Tesla Motors is really a battery company in aluminum clothing. Just like razors are vehicles for blades, Tesla’s cars are just intelligent battery systems on wheels. Tesla’s SolarCity ties, its advanced battery 'Gigafactory,' and its soon-to-be-announced home and large-scale utility batteries make for a compelling argument." And Wired magazine seems to agree: "Tesla is admired for building the cars of the future. But it’s not really a car company. It’s a battery company that happens to make electric cars."
First, let’s take a look at the home battery solution already being tested in about 300 homes via SolarCity (where Elon Musk is Chairman).
Source: Tesla Motors / Gas2
Taking a look at the market, there are already about 12 million backup generators across the U.S. With that in mind, let’s take a look at a Tesla home battery, in action, inside a SolarCity house during a blackout…
Next, let's take a look at bigger, commercial uses for battery storage -- what might Tesla's solution look like for businesses? J.B. Straubel did reveal some telling images (along with those surprising comments) back in 2014…
Source: Greentech Media
And today, according to Bloomberg, “thanks to state incentives and advances in battery chemistry, storage is a hot industry. By 2019, total U.S. sales will reach $1.5 billion, about 11 times as much as in 2014, according to a March report from GTM Research*. ‘Tesla has been able to install more than 100 projects, really without anyone noticing,’ said Andrea James, an analyst with Dougherty & Co. She said Tesla’s energy storage business could be worth as much as $70 to Tesla’s stock.” Wal-mart is already testing Tesla’s commercial battery storage solution in 11 stores. Food processing company Cargill, schools, and wineries are also reported in Bloomberg utilizing Tesla’s commercial battery storage.
*Source: GTM Research
Perhaps Tesla’s utility-scale battery may be in-the-works (or being explored) as reported by Dallas Morning News, “Utility-scale batteries have been a holy grail within the energy sector for years… But Oncor [which runs Texas’ largest power line network] believes it can make the economics work. Executives have already begun discussions with manufacturers including Tesla, the California-based electric car company that is building what it claims is the world’s largest battery factory in Nevada... A Tesla spokeswoman said its technology would be ready for the application planned by Oncor. Its 'gigafactory' is scheduled to open in 2017, and 30 percent of production will be set aside for utility-size batteries, she said."
Deutsche Bank analyst Rod Lache notes that energy storage represents a significant opportunity for Tesla, "we believe that the economics are already quite favorable... if Tesla could equip just 50% of SolarCity customers with 10kWh battery storage systems by 2018, this could translate into up to $1.5 bn of revenue for Tesla. Tesla is planning to dedicate 30% (15GW) of their Gigafactory’s capacity to stationary batteries in the future. At a price of $300/kWh this could eventually translate to $4.5 bn annual revenue."
Back to Straubel's comments in 2014, the Tesla CTO stated "we should all be thinking bigger" and that stationary energy storage could grow faster than automotive batteries, "maybe this whole group is not thinking in large enough scale for the market size of energy storage.”


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Launching features to keep kitchens open
April 14, 2020 by Soraya H Contreras
I’ve met a lot of restaurant owners over the years, and there are few who started out in this industry solely to make money. No, this is an industry built on passion – passion for delicious food and memorable experiences. And as COVID-19 threatens the foundations on which this industry is built, we’re doing all we can to help keep that passion alive and kitchens open. We started LEEROY to help those who run restaurants keep their passion alive by removing unnecessary and often tech-related challenges – challenges that can threaten to extinguish that original passion, and turn running a restaurant into a daily battle. Now we want to help out more than ever because we’ve built the tools that do help. And unlike some of our competitors, our solution has been running in a live environment for many years so we know they work. And the results so far are promising. As the COVID-19 virus keeps people indoors and increases social distancing, the restaurants that use our technology, i.e. Pizza Hut. The data shows they have a significantly lower sales drop than the industry average. But it’s not enough. So we decided to do more.
A free service to get all restaurants online
In mid-March, we started giving all of our customers a monthly discount – which continues as long as this crisis does. We have mobilised our teams to inspire and educate customers about how to maximise their use of our features, especially the digital offering – like online/app ordering, take-away food, and targeted and personalized mobile offers. But it’s not enough just to reach our existing customers; there are thousands of restaurant owners that need to get their businesses online, so they can offer take-away as quickly as possible.
Today we’re launching a free service that will allow any restaurant to accept online orders through their existing website. It functions with any point-of-sale system – not just LEEROY’s. It also includes delivery as an option – an important change as restaurants band together to offer delivery services. Starting today, we are also offering our entire software solution for free for the next 12 months to all new customers who sign with us before September 1st. This includes our white-labelled order and loyalty app, online ordering, mobile POS, express POS and kitchen display.
Existing customers get a boost
Next up – we’re redirecting our big R&D department to work on several initiatives that will launch throughout April to help address the crisis the industry suddenly finds itself in. For existing customers using our white-labelled app, we’re launching two new features next week that help with the social distancing in place.
Delivery options will be added to the app and web ordering products, so restaurants can organise their own delivery services. Customers dining in will be able to order food in the app from their table, and send the table number to the staff for faster service. And this is just the beginning. We are assessing our customers’ needs continuously and will be launching the features to help them get through this unprecedented time.
Start receiving order through your website or social media
Right now, time is of the essence. The saying “time is money” has never been more true. If features that will move your business online, and allow you to keep your kitchens open by offering take-away and delivery are valuable to you – and you need a way to hold onto your most valuable customers – then give us a call. We have our whole organization standing by to help you.
Contact our sales team directly
Marcus Hällfors +4676-314 92 47, Kristoffer Krukowski +4673-961 35 79
Jakob Hanstorp +4673-961 35 04, Petter Hvid +4670-292 32 27


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Plug-in cars have left the hobby stage. Approximately 600 people attended Plug-In 2008, the first edition of a conference held earlier this month in San Jose, Calif. And, 1,000 attendees paid to see the technology show floor. A pre-conference battery workshop was standing room only.
In many ways this enthusiasm is warranted: PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) hold the sole realistic short- to medium-term promise to significantly reduce vehicular petroleum consumption, say many experts in the field. PHEVs have larger battery packs than standard hybrids, but smaller ones than full electric cars, and at today's state of battery development this offers them a better cost/performance combination than full electric cars. But it's not as good as with standard hybrids.
For short- to medium-range distances, PHEVs, in fact, can function as electric cars. Sixty to 80 percent of household vehicles travel less than 20 to 60 miles in a day, a distance a plug-in hybrid will cover with battery power. And with most PHEVs, the majority of the energy for short-range travel comes from a wall plug, perhaps at a cost of less than a dollar per gallon of gasoline equivalent.
Besides reducing tailpipe emissions and gasoline consumption, plug-ins of all types can potentially help balance the electrical grid by getting drivers to charge them at night when electricity is cheaper and demand is far lower. Assuming millions can be deployed, PHEV batteries charged at night can also serve as energy storage devices for utilities and/or wind power providers without, according to some studies from the national laboratories, unduly stressing the grid.
Finally, a PHEV can act as a self-propelled generator on wheels, allowing it to swarm to emergency situations like Hurricane Katrina.
Consumers are already drawn to the idea of electric cars. This can be judged by both the excitement around cars like the all-electric Tesla Roadster but also in sales of hybrids, such as Toyota’s Prius, Ford’s Escape Hybrid (which uses Toyota licensed HEV technology) and Honda’s Civic Hybrid.
PHEVs, at their simplest, add a bigger battery to a standard hybrid and a 110- or 220-volt plug to that battery. Compare that to standard wall plugs, which operate at 110 volts, and clothes dryers that use that strange looking and oversized plugs to plug into a 220 line.


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Car sales in India fall 19%, bikes hit too
- Sushma Swaraj rubbishes Pakistan's 4-point peace formula at UN
- US shooting: 15 dead, 20 wounded at Oregon community college; shooter detained
- Day after Dadri lynching, VP Ansari says state has to ensure right to life
- Delhi: Man shoots self at Rajiv Chowk Metro station
- BJP MP compares Modi with Gandhi, Cong says 'sycophancy at its worst'
Car sales in India fell for the first time in 10 months in August, and motorcycle sales fell for the first time since January 2009, an industry body said, as high interest rates and slowing economic growth dragged down demand.
Automakers sold 118,142 cars in August, down 18.6 percent from a year ago, according to data released on Monday by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Weak demand was compounded by a factory shutdown at market leader Maruti Suzuki that slashed its sales by 41 percent.
Sales of motorcycles fell 8.5 percent to 766,127 vehicles. Truck and bus sales stood at 66,767 vehicles, up 3.9 percent.
Stocks More on Maruti Suzuki
Company INFO More on Tata Motors
Domestic car sales down 19 pc, bikes' dip by 8 pc in Aug
(PTI) Car sales in India declined by 18.56 per cent in August this year, the biggest drop in 10 months, prompting industry body SIAM to seek cut in excise duty from the government.
With exports also posting the highest decline in more than 11 years, falling 26.83 per cent during the month, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) also sought a stimulus package similar to the one given during the 2008-09 downturn, stating the industry is "now entering a desperate situation".
The overall vehicle sales in the country also registered a drop of 3.9 per cent to 13,54,436 units in August this year, the biggest decline in more than three and half years.
According to the latest SIAM figures, domestic cars sales in August stood at 1,18,142 units compared to 1,45,066 units in the same month last year, down 18.56 per cent. The rate of decline is the highest since October 2011, when sales declined by 23.74 per cent to 1,39,095 units.


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WIRELESS ITUNES DISTRIBUTION - Apple receives patent
A patent application filed by Apple Computer in December 2004 appears to cover a method of buying a song, ring tone, for music video from an online store over a wireless network. The application was published yesterday on the Web site of
the US Patent and Trademark Office. It describes an invention that allows cell phone or wireless handheld users to interact with an online music store, such as iTunes, and mark a song or video file that can be downloaded to a computer at a later time.
These articles are some of the interesting articles dealing with ownership of copyright and patentable inventions produced by an AI machine ...
The issue of content regulation in China was mentioned in this blog last year . In the last few weeks, this issue has once again pushed into...
This website has some useful links and references: http://www.epiphanysolutions.co.uk/article-index/rights-and-laws-of-the-internet/


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According to a new Microsoft Store leak, Halo Infinite's getting an early access release before December 8th. As reported by Aggiornamenti Lumia, a new hidden listing recently emerged for Halo Infinite, regarding an "Early Access Digital Bundle."
Initially spotted several days ago, Lumia confirmed that Microsoft had updated this to include four new DLCs for Halo Infinite. What those are remains unknown as the "Early Access Digital Bundle" page remains blank, but considering Infinite's December release date, we'll likely get more information soon.
Read More: Halo Infinite Release Date Countdown: Campaign News, Multiplayer Leaks, Price, All Trailers and More
Halo Infinite May Get an Early Access Launch, Alongside Four DLC Packs
This wouldn't be the first time Microsoft's used this strategy, as Forza Horizon 5 also has a similar early access bundle before its full launch. You can see the full listing below:
That follows a growing trend across the games industry to incentivise digital bundles, offering access several days earlier alongside bonus goodies. It's something we've previously seen used by EA with FIFA 22, SEGA/Atlus with Persona 5 Strikers + Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania and more. If Halo's getting one, we'll keep you informed.


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Arlington, VA, March 29, 2021 – Subaru of America, Inc. announced last week its donation of more than $20.6 million to national and local charities resulting from the 2020 Subaru Share the Love® Event. When combined with participating Subaru retailer donations, the total donation climbed to $26.2 million in 2020. More than $200 million has been donated to charities throughout the last thirteen years of the campaign. Starting in 2008, the Subaru Share the Love Event is held from mid-November to the end of the calendar year, during which Subaru donates $250 to the customer's choice of charities for every new Subaru vehicle purchased or leased at 632 participating Subaru retailers nationwide.
“In a year where good news was harder to come by, our 2020 Subaru Share the Love Event represented a glimmer of hope for people looking to help their communities,” said Alan Bethke, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Subaru of America, Inc. “With our retailers, customers, national and local charity partners, Subaru of America has donated over $200 million to help those in need over the last thirteen years. This, along with bringing love into the lives of our friends and neighbors, is just one more reason why Subaru is more than a car company.”
The thirteenth iteration of the campaign marks the fifth consecutive year that Subaru did not place a cap on the total contributions to its national Subaru Share the Love Event charitable partners including Meals on Wheels America. National charity partners collectively received nearly $7.7 million, while hometown charities selected by local Subaru retailers received $18.5 million.
As part of the 2020 Event, 246 local Meals on Wheels programs across 46 states helped promote the Subaru Share the Love Event in their communities through socially distant events, virtual events, and social media, resulting in a final donation of over $2 million. Since 2008, Subaru of America, Inc. and its retailers have helped Meals on Wheels nationwide deliver more than 2.5 million meals and friendly visits to older adults experiencing hunger and loneliness.
“Amid such a challenging time for us all, we remain grateful to have the continued, generous support of Subaru in helping us ensure that homebound seniors receive the daily nutrition and companionship they need to thrive,” said Ellie Hollander, President and CEO, Meals on Wheels America.
To learn about the Subaru Share the Love Event, please visit www.subaru.com/share.
About Meals on Wheels America
Meals on Wheels America is the oldest and largest national organization supporting the more than 5,000 community-based programs across the country that are dedicated to addressing senior isolation and hunger. This network exists in virtually every community in America and, along with more than two million volunteers, delivers the nutritious meals, friendly visits and safety checks that enable America’s seniors to live nourished lives with independence and dignity. By providing funding, leadership, research, education and advocacy support, Meals on Wheels America empowers its local member programs to strengthen their communities, one senior at a time. For more information, or to find a Meals on Wheels provider near you, visit www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org.
About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Camden, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 630 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile manufacturing plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company’s vision to show love and respect to everyone, and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA has donated more than $200 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged more than 63,000 volunteer hours. As a company, Subaru believes it is important to do its part in making a positive impact in the world because it is the right thing to do.
For additional information visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.


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Close to 7 in 10 marketing teams are expected to grow this year, says McKinley Marketing Partners in its 2018 Marketing Hiring Trends report [download page], basing its finding on responses from marketing professionals with influence on hiring decisions. Companies are planning to hire more marketers this year after a lower-than-anticipated number of hires last year.
Earlier this year, the latest edition of The CMO Survey [pdf] found CMOs’ planned marketing hires reaching their highest level since at least 2012.
The biggest factor impacting hiring plans this year is company growth, according to the McKinley report. And it seems that new technologies might be a strong driver: one-third said that new innovations and technologies are driving their hiring plans for 2018. That also aligns with The CMO Survey results, which found that marketing technology platform experience was the single largest skill prioritized in future marketing talent hiring processes.
Digital Marketing Remains In Demand
It’s no surprise that digital marketing skills are highly sought after, as CMOs have long been looking to supplement their talent in this area.
In this latest study from McKinley Marketing Partners, digital marketing (59%) remains clearly the top area of demand for marketing talent, with creative services (43%) next on the list.
Within digital marketing, the most sought-after skills continue to be digital advertising, content creation & curation, email, content strategy and social media, as they were last year.
Meanwhile, graphic design and copywriting are the top areas of expertise sought within creative services. Somewhat surprisingly, user experience (UX) falls in the bottom half of desired creative services talent, despite several pieces of research indicating that UX design continues to be a major challenge for marketers.
Traditional Marketing Makes A Comeback?
This year’s hiring study demonstrates that traditional marketing skills are now more in demand than marketing operations and research & analysis talent. And while it’s true that traditional marketing is the top function slated for cutbacks, it has also seen a strong rebound in hiring demand from last year. (Traditional marketing refers to direct mail as well as print, traditional advertising, telemarketing, direct response and broadcast.)
One reason behind potential hiring growth is a reversal in the balance of demand and supply. Whereas in last year’s study available talent outstripped demand, this year that has shifted, with demand this time exceeding supply.
McKinley Marketing Partners suggests that the shift may be due to some traditional marketers aging out of the workforce, with companies deciding to replace them with traditional marketing talent as opposed to just hiring digital marketers in their stead.
Additionally, the analysts note that many of the companies that hired for traditional marketing talent last year are doing so again this year, indicating that these are businesses that rely strongly on these skills.
The full report is available for download here.
About the Data: The report describes its methodology in part as follows:
“McKinley Marketing Partners collaborated with a national market research agency to conduct a comprehensive survey on hiring trends in marketing.
The survey was open to marketing professionals across all industries throughout the U.S. from October 6 – October 30, 2017. Qualifying criteria for respondents included either working in a marketing role or experience working in a marketing function. Questions specific to 2017 and 2018 hiring practices were only asked of those who have influence in hiring decisions.
Once responses were collected, the data was reviewed for accuracy and suspect data was eliminated from the analysis. Of the 329 marketing professionals who completed the survey, 282 were employed in various roles across a mix of company types and sizes – from solo consulting practices to publicly traded enterprises with revenues of more than $100 billion.”


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Varun Mittal, Associate Partner with EY, recently posted a couple of interesting slides about the launch of virtual banking licences to encourage challenger banks in Asia.
If you’re not aware, there’s a great deal of digital banking activity across Asia. It’s not just in China, but there are notable things happening in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and more. In particular, there has been a launch of banking licences for digital firms with Alibaba, Tencent, Xiaomi, Grab, SingTel and more making bids. In other words, the Big Tech giants are moving into digital banking in Asia. It’s not just the Big Tech world that’s moving in however, as Scott Bales notes that OCBC, HSBC, UOB and Standard Chartered are also likely to be bidding for licences in Singapore. After all, why not? A large bank should have no reason to not be a challenger bank as RBS’s Bo would tell you.
In fact, this would follow the example of Hong Kong – a first mover in awarding online-only digital banking licences – where Ant Financial, Ping An, Tencent, WeLab and more have received licences. Equally, so have Standard Chartered and Bank of China. In fact, the most interesting aspect of the HK experience is that many of the new banks are partnerships between Big Tech and Big Banks. For example, Fusion Bank is a joint venture between Tencent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) and Hillhouse Capital.
This environment of creating mobile-first online-only new digital, virtual banks is interesting and will probably diverge from the European and American markets, although some recognisable names like Revolut and Tandem Bank are also in the mix. The reason it will be different is that the culture is not the same and, with big players like Alibaba, Ping An and Tencent in the mix, it will be fascinating to see how it plays out.
Meantime, assuming this is of interest, here’s a comparison of the three major markets that are opening up, kindly shared by Varun on LinkedIn.
Finally, as it's a great link, here's a summary of the current challenger banks in Hong Kong according to FinTech Futures:
Ant Financial (AliPay/Alibaba) received a virtual banking licence from the Hong Kong regulators in spring 2019.
Fusion Bank is a joint venture between Tencent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) and Hillhouse Capital. There is also an investment from Hong Kong entrepreneur Adrian Cheng, via Perfect Ridge Limited.
Insight Virtual Bank is a joint venture of Hong-Kong based AMTD Group, Asia’s largest independent investment bank, and Xiaomi Corporation, a Beijing-based internet company.
Livi Virtual Bank is a joint venture between Bank of China (BOC) Hong Kong, JD New Orbit Technology and JSH Virtual Ventures Holdings (JSHVV).
Neat is a Hong Kong-based start-up that offers banking accounts for businesses. It was founded in 2015 by David Rossa (CEO) and Igor Wos (CTO).
Ping An OneConnect is the fintech arm of Chinese conglomerate Ping An Insurance, and received its Hong Kong virtual banking licence in spring 2019.
Revolut is understood to be coming to Hong Kong.
SC Digital is led by Standard Chartered, and has partnerships with Hong Kong Telecom (HKT), PCCW (a Hong Kong-based information and communication technology firm and owner of HKT), and travel services provider Ctrip Hong Kong.
Tandem Bank unveiled its plans to expand to Hong Kong in November 2019. This would be the first overseas location for the UK-based bank.
WeLab received a virtual banking licence in early spring 2019, claiming to be “the first homegrown Hong Kong fintech company to establish a virtual bank”.
ZhongAn Bank (ZA Bank), a Shanghai-based online-only insurer – and the first of its kind in China – received a Hong Kong virtual banking licence via its local subsidiary ZA International.
Chris M Skinner
Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...


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Bombay (Maharashtra) [India], April 20 (ANI/BusinessWire India): Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Trade and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, called on India’s plastic to set its sights on becoming a Rs 10 lakh-crore industry in the near future by expanding domestic and export markets and also following import substitution. He was speaking as he congratulated exporters at the Exports Excellence Awards organized in Mumbai by PLEXCONCIL, India’s leading body for plastics exporters.
“The economic activity of the Indian plastics industry is worth Rs 3 Lakh crore per annum, one third of which is exported. There is significant growth potential for the Indian plastics industry to become the global sourcing hub “It can aim to take its economic activity to Rs 10 Lakh – crore industries. This could be achieved through more exports and import substitution, which in turn will create immense employment opportunities,” said said Shri Piyush Goyal during the inauguration and addressing the members of PLEXCONCIL Goyal appreciated India’s plastics industry for its performance on the export front as the industry achieved exports of $13 billion in 2021-22 with a growth of 30% and welcomed the export target of 25 billion dollars that it has set for the year 2025.
“India’s plastics industry has performed well on the export and domestic market fronts and contributed significantly during the pandemic, especially in supporting healthcare supplies in the country,” he added. He argued that the central government is supporting plastic manufacturers, especially to ensure that more MSMEs take advantage of domestic and global market opportunities and provide more employment opportunities to the marginalized sector. The Minister of Commerce and Industry also urged stakeholders in the Indian plastics industry to upgrade technology, equipment and capabilities to produce world-class quality products and seize global opportunities to that plastics become the main player. He also highlighted the need for sustainability by engaging in environmentally friendly plastic recycling practices.
Arvind Goenka, Chairman of PLEXCONCIL, welcomed Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry and thanked him for his ministry’s support to India’s plastics sector. In his welcome address, Shri Arvind Goenka said, “The Indian plastics industry is aggressively advancing on the domestic and export fronts achieving $13 billion in exports in 2021-22 with 30% growth and targeting $25 billion in exports. by 2025, which will put India at the top of the world’s plastics exports. The PLEXCONCIL Export Excellence Awards will encourage many plastics manufacturers to seek global opportunities. Goenka urged Hon. Shri Piyush Goyal to support the plastics sector to seek the flow of large investments in the sector for capacity expansion; so that more manufacturers can contribute to exports and begin to reap the benefits of global markets.
During an event held today at the Taj President in Mumbai, Hon. Shri Piyush Goyal congratulated the winners of the PLEXCONCIL Export Excellence Awards for 2017-2021 and also announced the launch of the Export – Plastic Industry Focused Trade Show – PLEXCONNECT 2023. Arvind Goenka, President , PLEXCONCIL, Shri Hemant Minocha, Vice President, PLEXCONCIL, Shri Ravish Kamath, Past President, PLEXCONCIL and Shri Sribash Dasmohapatra, Executive Director, PLEXCONCIL were present for the event along with other PLEXCONCIL dignitaries.
The PLEXCONCIL Export Excellence Awards recognized excellence in plastics exports with a view to encouraging other manufacturers towards the process of nation building by fueling economic growth and prosperity through exports. The prizes were awarded to 96 winners. Cosmo Films Limited, Chiripal Poly Films Limited, Vikas Industries were among the winners. Vice President Hemant Minocha, PLEXCONCIL, said, “This year the Council recognized exporters in no less than 50 award categories and a new award category, the Life Time Achievement Award.
Hon. Shri Piyush Goyal has presented a Lifetime Achievement Award, first instituted by PLEXCONCIL, to Shri Vamanrai Parekh, Chairman of Nilkamal Limited, a seasoned industrialist for his unwavering contribution to India’s plastics industry and national growth . The event also saw the launch of PLEXCONNECT 2023 – An export-focused trade show for the plastics industry, and PLEX E pages which showcased over 20,000 players from the Indian plastics industry in an interactive format. electronic directory. The event also focused on key topics of interest to the industry such as technology upgrading, promotion of entrepreneurship in exports, incentives and programs for new players, etc.
Sribash Dasmohapatra, Executive Director of PLEXCONCIL, said, “On the export front, currently, the Indian plastics industry is targeting traditional markets in North America and Europe as well as emerging markets like Africa, India and India. America and the Caribbean and the countries of Oceania. With the right push from the government, the Indian plastics industry is transforming from a linear to a circular economy to the benefit of all stakeholders,” Goenka added. This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible for the content of this article (ANI/BusinessWire India)
(This story has not been edited by the Devdiscourse team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


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Friday 24 May 2013
13:00 - 17:30
Kneza Borne 2
On Friday, 24 May 2013, the European Commission Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry hosted a seminar in Croatia at the Sheraton Hotel in Zagreb on the issue of late payment and the application of a new European directive to tackle the problem.
This directive is an important legal development for businesses, particularly SMEs, and public authorities in Croatia and across the EU. It puts in place strict time-lines and tough penalties for payment between businesses, and between businesses and public authorities.
The seminar provided participants with an opportunity to learn more about the problem of late payment and the new measures being put in place to address the issue.
It included presentations from: Mr. Richard Masa, Head of Operations Section in Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Croatia; Mr. Slavko Linić – Minister of Finance; Mr. Gordan Maras - Minister for Entrepreneurship and Trade; Mr. Kristian Johansen, Seconded National Expert, Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry, European Commission; Ms. Madeleine Bosch, Intrum Justitia; Ms Anđa Redžić, Croatian National Expert; Mr. Maciej Górka, Head of Unit, Product, Market, Integration, and Enforcement; Mrs. Admira Ribičić: Legal Advisor, Croatian Employers` Association; Mr. Darko Liović: President of HAMAG INVEST Management Board; Mrs. Sanja Želinski Matunec: Department for Economy and International Cooperation, Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts; Mrs. Ilda Stanojević: Assistant to the President of the Croatian Association of Cooperatives; and Mr. Boris Lalovac, Deputy Minister of Finance.
This campaign is funded by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enterprise & Industry and is part of the European Commission’s ongoing commitment to promoting economic growth and European business.
Agenda [174 KB]
Brochure [396 KB]
Poster [350 KB]
Info Sheet [169 KB]
[169 KB] Presentations
Mr. Kristian Johansen, Seconded National Expert, Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry, European Commission [715 KB]
Ms. Madeleine Bosch, Intrum Justitia [5 MB]
Frequently asked questions (FAQ) [212 KB]
For further information, please contact Caitriona Crowe by email at firstname.lastname@example.org


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Teenagers hold the key to the future, Daisy Whitney contends in this week’s edition of the New Media Minute.
That’s why she looks at where they are and aren’t watching TV, and the numbers may surprise you.
You’ll also learn about marketers pouring real money into online video content for teens — yes, marketers are spending money in this economy, and they want to reach the young ones. Who’s spending and where are they putting their dollars?
Finally, Daisy offers a hot tip for TV executives on a Web show worth acquiring.


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Speculative Hype?, dean of valuation and NYU Stern Professor Aswath Damordan said that the future of cryptocurrency as a currency, as opposed to a speculative asset as it is so often treated, depends on cryptocurrency developers thinking. Credit Card Transactions the Difference Between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. Bitcoin cash, once its difficulty has adjusted, could have transactions processing in two minutes and 30 seconds. Bitcoin will continue to be highly secure, but how much its transaction speeds will improve is unclear. Talk of doubling the size of blocks from 1mb to 2mb in November has ramped up, and is expected. Furthermore, the process of introducing SegWit2x as the road forward was anything but transparent, and there were concerns that its introduction undermined the decentralization and democratization of the currency. The security of the Bitcoin cash blockchain, though, is unclear. Its going to be difficult to get a clear picture until bitcoin cash has been running for a while (or fails the impact of bitcoin's segregated witness technology is assessed, and the size of Bitcoin's blocks are doubled. There are two major solutions to this problem, either to make the amount of data that need to be verified in each block smaller, making transactions faster and cheaper or to make the blocks of data bigger, so that more information can be processed. And this network is decentralized; it exists on computers all over the world.
Signature data has been estimated to account for up to 65 of data processed in each block, so this is not an insignificant technological shift. This would also go some ways in improving bitcoins scalability. Bitcoin cash has implemented an increased block size of 8mb, to accelerate the verification process, with an adjustable level of difficulty to ensure the chains survival and transaction verification speed, regardless of the number of miners supporting. In mid July 2017, mining pools and companies representing roughly 80 to 90 of bitcoin computing power voted to incorporate a technology known as a segregated witness, called SegWit2x. Like, really slow, especially in comparison to banks that deal with credit card transactions. 1, some miners and developers initiated what is known as a hard fork, effectively creating a new currency: Bitcoin cash. In mid-October, Bitcoin scientists from Bitcoin Unlimited revealed they had mined the world's first 1GB block, 1,000 times bigger than the normal size. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that exists within a network of computers, within the blockchain. Presa Altcoins (Monede Alternative) Skandinavisk Türkçe (Turkish) Bitcoin Haberleri Pazar maksat veron kanssa bitcoin Alan Madencilik Ekonomi Servisler Fonlar Proje Gelitirme Alternatif Kripto-Paralar Madencilik (Alternatif Kripto-Paralar) Duyurular (Alternatif Kripto-Paralar) Konu D Yeni Balayanlar Yardm Bulumalar Other languages/locations. They felt as though SegWit2x did not address the fundamental problem of scalability in a meaningful way, nor did it follow the roadmap initially outlined by Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous party that first proposed the blockchain technology behind cryptocurrency.
Zcash vs bitcoin reddit
Auto maker bitcoin
Miten kaivos bitcoin lohko


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With the Nasdaq solidly in a bear market, most market participants are busy talking about the steep losses tech names have suffered. But in the long term, the technology sector will be a force to reckon with in the market, and if history repeats itself, stocks from the technology sector could start their path to recovery sooner than other stocks. Following the dot-com bubble and the financial crisis of 2008, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite hit its trough long before the S&P 500.
This go around, for innovation-focused investors, the potential of some mid-cap tech stocks (stocks with a market cap. that is > $2 billion and < $10 billion) should not be ignored. While small-cap stocks are often fast-growing but volatile, and large-cap stocks tend to be slow growing and relatively stable, the best mid-caps tend to fall in between: less volatile than fast-moving small caps but with more growth potential than mammoth large-cap companies. Top-ranked mid-cap stocks have a high potential to enhance their profitability, productivity, and market share.
Our research team has a few recommendations for mid-cap tech stocks poised to take off when the technology sector regains traction.
Banyan Hill Publishing:
Just $2 a Share Today — The No. 1 Investment of the 2020s
New technology’s user base growing at 5X the speed of the internet in the 1990s. Could dwarf dot-com boom. [Click here to get details on $2 stock now.]
DXC Technology Co. (DXC) provides information technology services and products. DXC targets IT modernization, including both on-premises and cloud services, as well as data-driven operations and workplace modernization. The company serves 6,000 customers across the private and public sectors globally.
For its first quarter, which ended June 30th, DXC Technology reported $3.71 billion in revenue, down 8.6% year-over-year and just shy of the $3.72 billion Wall Street expected. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.82 by 9%. The company’s Q1 revenue and earnings miss were disappointing. However, DXC is still progressing on its transition to a more digitally focused, consistent and transparent operator, even though the path toward achieving these goals could take longer than initially anticipated.
DXC shares had fallen 33% over the past year, leaving them priced at only around six times this year’s projected earnings. Short-term, prolonged market weakness could continue to weigh heavily on the stock, but those with a longer-term outlook will likely appreciate a deeper pull-back as an opportunity to get in at a better price.
“Card-Sized” Battery Set to Blow Lid off the Electric Vehicle Industry
This tech company’s new EV battery is so small and light, experts predict it may spur 1,000% growth in EV sales. Watch this stock.
Founded in 2001, Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ) is a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules and a provider of solar energy solutions. CSIQ has delivered around 52 GW of solar modules to thousands of customers in more than 150 countries through the end of 2021, reaching approximately 13 million households. Canadian Solar derives roughly 47% of its revenue from Asia, 35% from the Americas, and 18% from Europe and everywhere else.
Canadian Solar is one of the most bankable companies in the solar and renewable energy industry, having been publicly listed on the NASDAQ since 2006. The company has the potential to advance in the upcoming months based on its continued business growth, favorable earnings, and revenue outlook.
Benefitting partially from renewed interest in renewable energy solutions, Canadian Solar posted revenue of $1.25 billion in Q1 of this year, up nearly 15% from the $1.09 billion in sales posted in the year-ago quarter. CSIQ is up 33% year to date, while the Nasdaq index is down 19% during the same period, making Canadian Solar intriguing on a relative level. Moreover, the share price remains 33% below its February 2021 peak, and now may be a good time to buy before the next leg up.
Online security is a young, quickly evolving industry. Competition is heavy in the space, and demand continues to grow faster in volume and complexity. The undisputed global leader in identity security, CyberArk (CYBR), has been gaining attention on Wall Street. The stock is up 10% this week and could continue to gain steam ahead of the company’s earnings release, slated for next Wednesday. Regardless of any short-term earnings volatility, the potential for long-term, steady growth is too great to ignore.
A company with 400 million ‘patents’
One company has quietly compiled more than 400 million official trade secrets.
Trade secrets are like patents in that they protect valuable and proprietary information…
But unlike patents, trade secrets take less time to register… and more importantly, they never expire.
Which is a huge advantage for this little-known company.
You see, this company is using these trade secrets to build the world’s largest “codebase,” which will bethe key to it becoming “America’s Next Big Monopoly.”
Not surprisingly, Wall Street is starting to take notice. And the smart money is already pouring in.
Tech investor Cathie Wood has invested over $80 million already, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates has invested as well.
Get the details here before this story hits the mainstream media.
CyberArk’s innovations occur across its self-hosted solutions and expanding SaaS portfolio of privileged access management, secrets management, and cloud privilege security offerings, helping its customers enable “Zero Trust” by enforcing the least privilege. Under the framework of its Zero Trust approach, its teams can focus on identifying, isolating, and stopping threats from compromising identities and gaining privilege before they can do harm.
The Israel-based company was recently named a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Privileged Access Management for 2021. It was positioned both highest in ability to execute and furthest in completeness of vision for the fourth time in a row. It comes as no surprise the business has been attracting customers to its subscription-based services, which means tremendously reliable cash flow, a good sign for anyone eyeing the small-cap.
For its second quarter, CyberArk reported a 133% growth acceleration from the previous year quarter of the subscription portion of its annual recurring revenue (ARR) to $255 million. Total ARR came in at $465 million, with growth Accelerating to 48%. Management also increased the full year 2022 ARR Guidance Range to $589-$601 million, up from a prior estimate of $583.5-$598.5 million.
Where to invest $1,000 right now...
Before you consider buying CyberArk, you'll want to see this.
Investing legend, Keith Kohl just revealed his #1 stock for 2022...
And it's not CyberArk.
Jeff Bezos, Peter Thiel, and the Rockefellers are betting a colossal nine figures on this tiny company that trades publicly for $5.
Keith say’s he thinks investors will be able to turn a small $50 stake into $150,000.
Find that to be extraordinary?
But you have to act now, because a catalyst coming in a few weeks is set to take this company mainstream... And by then, it could be too late.
The Forever Battery: Making Gas Guzzlers Obsolete
Only 2% of cars sold in the U.S. today are electric vehicles… but that’s about to change — FAST.
A new battery breakthrough is ready to hit the market. It could revolutionize the $2 trillion automotive industry … and could soon make gas guzzlers obsolete.
This technology is predicted to cause a 1,500% surge in electric vehicle sales over the next four years.
The company pioneering this new battery could be the investment of a lifetime.


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Music Gear News
‘Creative development’ boosted by music
And it seems that music is able to boost ‘creative development' for younger children, too.
Musicalminis.co.uk's managing director Karen Sherr has said that this is just one of the developmental areas that music is able to give a boost to.
“[This can be by] singing simple songs from memory, recognising repeated sounds and sound patterns, and matching movements to music,” she went on.
She also explained that children's abilities with the likes of literacy and communication are able to be boosted through interaction with songs.
Children have an innate musical attraction, she suggested, while music instruments designed for their use can enhance co-ordination.
“Child-friendly musical instruments help the child to explore sounds and effects, whilst developing control and hand to eye co-ordination,” as she put it.
Published by KT.Posted on 11 Oct 2012 17:00 to category : Music News
Related Music News
Band to tour underwater performance starting May 27th 2016 at the Festival of New Music, Rotterdam.
McDonald's in the Netherlands combine beats and big macs with the introduction of a new music-making place mat.
Moog and sound-art designer Yuri Suzuki enlist in your help to create a unique global synthesizer project for audio representations of cultures across the planet.
Ableton has announced Loop 2016 in Berlin - a three day event comprising of creative music talks, performances studio sessions and more.
Rugged QSC PA system features in world-record breaking gig on Mount Everest.
The announcement will open up opportunities for DJs and producers to have their music brought to the fore and heard by the masses.
Recent Music News
Fender guitar has release image of new signature model for guitar legend.
To celebrate four decades of BOSS, the effects manufacturing giant is set to run four days of recommended offers on selected Boss products over the weekend of 27 - 30th May until 23:59pm on the 30th May 2016.
UK Postal service mark 50 years of Pink Floyd with special Pink Floyd stamp set.
Source Audio effects, renowned for innovation and quality, are now available via Gear4music.
Universal Audio is now offering free plug-ins in a limited time offer with the purchase of any new Apollo rackmount audio interface.
We're proud to announce that Akron, Ohio pedal manufacturer, EarthQuaker Devices is now part of the extensive stompbox effects range at Gear4music.


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Whatsapp wants to implement a third blue check for security issues
The online messaging platform seeks to generate new tools for the benefit of its users.
MORE IN THIS SECTION
Mark Zuckerberg often says that his company, Meta, is always willing to listen to consumers of its technological services. In this case, some of the new features proposed by the social network is that, in order to offer a more stable service and protect the privacy of users, it could add a third blue checkmark when capturing an image in a conversation.
This new measure comes after a few weeks ago, many Whatsapp users complained on social networks that the application lacked security methods.
The third blue checkmark would appear in the future when one takes a screenshot in a group conversation. The following notice will pop up: "User (xxx) has taken a screenshot. For your safety do not provide any personal information, you could be a victim of fraud or extortion."
The future tool "is intended to provide greater privacy control so that users are aware that their messages could be shared with third parties," explained El Clarín magazine.
Currently, when there is only one checkmark it means that the message has left our device, when there are two checkmarks it means that it has reached the server and has been sent; when they turn blue it means the intended receiver has read the message. However, there are still people who discard the use of blue check marks in the chat in WhatsApp's settings.


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Michael Foods reported a segment profit of $42.7 million during the second quarter of the 2017 fiscal year, less than half of the $89.6 million profit reported during the second quarter of fiscal year 2016.
Michael Foods – the egg, potato, cheese and pasta segment of Post Holdings, also reported net sales of $515 million for the quarter, a 7.7 percent year-over-year decline. The company partially attributed this decline to reduced pricing related to the rollback of the temporary component of avian influenza pricing, and reduced market-based pricing in the ingredient and retail shell egg channels.
As a whole, Post Holdings reported a net loss of $4 million for the quarter, compared to a net income of $4.9 million that was achieved during the same period in the 2016 fiscal year. Post Holdings’ net sales for the second quarter were around $1.26 billion, down from net sales of about $1.27 billion for the second quarter of 2016.
The second quarter of fiscal year 2017 ended on March 31.
Michael Foods, which according to the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies Database, was the seventh largest egg company in the United States in 2016. The company has a flock of about 12.96 million hens.
Michael Foods was acquired by Post Holdings in June 2014. Since that time, Post Holdings has acquired Willamette Egg Farms and National Pasteurized Eggs. Both acquired companies have been consolidated into Post’s Michael Foods subsidiary.


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We’re excited to welcome a new dealership to Baxter Auto.
Formerly named Kuni Lexus of Colorado Springs, on June 6th the dealership became Lexus of Colorado Springs. This is our first dealership in Colorado.
Kuni Lexus first opened in 2003 at the top of the Motor City Complex at 604 Auto Heights Road, and currently employs 54 sales and service personnel. At Baxter, we’re excited for these employees to join our team.
Tyrone Williams has been a managing partner for our Baxter Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram La Vista and Baxter Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Bellevue dealerships for 20 years. He is spearheading the Lexus of Colorado Springs transition.
“We are very fortunate and excited to add a third Lexus dealership to the Baxter Auto Group, and to open our first dealership in the great city of Colorado Springs and the state of Colorado,” said Williams. “Lexus is a great automotive brand, known for incredible vehicles and outstanding customer service. Ed Baur and his team at Lexus of Colorado Springs are true professionals and great additions to our company.”
Welcome Lexus of Colorado Springs!


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Metal Gear Solid seems to be making a return on PC after all if some new listings from Taiwan are to be believed.
Metal Gear Solid could be seeing new life on the PC platform if new rumors involving the first two entries in the series prove to be accurate.
Nearly five years later, The Phantom Pain's remaining PS3 player base reached its highly cooperative, long elusive milestone: global nuclear disarmament.
Metal Gear Solid director Jordan Vogt-Roberts has released a fun new video featuring Snake, Campbell, and Otacon all struggling with being quarantined in their own ways.
A concept artist for Cyberpunk 2077 is using his skills to make incredible Metal Gear Solid character art, showing the raw talent of CDPR.
Stranding, Death Stranding gets the full James Bond treatment with this 60's inspired poster from No Spoilers.
Kojima's 1998 classic gets a lush vinyl treatment.
Death Stranding and Devil May Cry merge forces, thanks to a terrific fan-made figure of a Kojima and Dante crossover and we want it.
In a collaboration between Konami and IDW Games, Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game will adapt the acclaimed stealth-action series to tabletop form.
In celebration of the game's 20th anniversary, one fan took to meticulous detail to recreate the intro of Metal Gear Solid in Unreal Engine 4.
Coming off the heels of the surprising revelation from producer/host Geoff Keighley at tonight's The Game Awards 2015 that Metal Gear Solid series creator Hideo Kojima wasn't allowed to attend the event due to legal reasons, the
Chronicled over nearly three decades and filled with double-crosses, time paradoxes, and several healthy doses of "WTF?!" in every game, Metal Gear Solid has stood as a landmark series in the history of gaming, and Hideo
Konami Working on Patch for Game-Save Bug in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain; Offers New Tip on Still Using Quiet in Certain Missions
After one week on the store shelves and scores of critical praise, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is already looking to be a formidable contender as one of the year's best games, though a critical
It's been just about a week since the long-awaited release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and after garnering staggering amounts of critical praise, many are diving in to the title including one of the
"Late to the Game" is our editorial series looking back at classic titles through today's lens, and reflecting on their influence and legacy from the perspective of those playing them for the first time.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Will Not Have Preload Option for PC; Preload Still Coming to Consoles
With just a few weeks left at this point, anticipation for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is at an all-time high, with new details arising for the game's preload options before launch.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Resolution/FPS on All Platforms Revealed; Graphical Comparison Screenshots Inside
At this point, players have just about one month to go until the highly-anticipated release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain despite notable behind-the-scenes happenings between series creator Hideo Kojima and publisher Konami, and now
With just under one month to go, the highly-anticipated Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is on the minds of Metal Gear fans everywhere, and now the system specs for the PC version should give players
With just over a month to go until its release, anticipation for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has only grown in the coming weeks, and if you happen to be looking at upgrading your PC


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Backwards Compatibility now an offline affair
Microsoft has quietly changed the structure of its shiny Xbox Series X hardware to now allow the playing of Xbox One games without the need for a DRM check.
The new feature, which is included in the consoles 2206 Update, will allow Xbox Series users to play their Xbox One games in an offline mode. Previously, the console would always do a brief online handshake to ensure that the Xbox One game in question was an authentic, licensed title and not a copied disc. Unfortunately, the Xbox Series S was unaware of the need to perform this additional step.
Eden Marie, an Xbox engineer and a well-known person, has confirmed the update on Twitter.
Yes, since the 2206 update, wrote Marie. We examined data since Series X/S launch, and determined that an online compatibility check isnt required in the vast majority of Xbox One discs. Some games may still need to be updated online after the installation to ensure the best experience.
While this is quite a different situation, one cannot help but recall the PR disaster that occurred before the Xbox One consoles release, where Microsoft stated that an online connection was a requirement for the playing of Xbox One games, to ensure that the player had already purchased a license for each and every title. Although this would eventually be true, there is no denying whatsoever that the initial statement was a Sword of Damocles, and that it significantly contributed to Xbox hardware sales going down at the start of the eighth generation.
The 2206 Update is now available on Xbox Series X and PlayStation platforms.


text: The Republic of Samsung, as some locals call their country, is in a fragile state: two of the sectors on which its economy relies—smartphones and shipping—have been hit hard. Samsung, which accounts for one-fifth of South Korean exports, slashed estimates for third-quarter operating profit at its flagship electronics division by one-third after it killed its line of Galaxy Note 7 phones, which had been catching fire. Hanjin Shipping, a container line, has gone bust and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, another maritime heavyweight, is shedding a quarter of its workforce; the IMF expects South Korea will need a decade to recoup 31trn won ($27bn) in debt-restructuring costs for the ailing sector. No wonder the central bank has trimmed its growth forecast for 2017 from 2.9% to 2.8%. And little surprise that third-quarter GDP, announced today, was only 0.7% above last year. More anaemic rates are expected to follow.


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James Davison and Mitchell Scott of The Very Good Butchers like to talk about the total number of “beans butchered” for their range of popular vegan meat products — 26 million and counting.
By CINDA CHAVICH
You could call them Victoria’s most accomplished bean counters.
Partners James Davison and Mitchell Scott of The Very Good Butchers like to talk about the total number of “beans butchered” for their range of popular vegan meat products — 26.5 million black beans in 2020 for Very Good Burgers alone, or a total of two billion beans on the chopping block last year.
It’s a cheeky way to look at a business that’s growing like a magic beanstalk and, like a modern day fairy tale, turning beans, and other plant foods, into golden profits.
“It is kind of crazy,” admits Scott, recalling the company’s rapid rise, from a burger and banger recipe in Davison’s Denman Island kitchen and farm market sales in 2016 to the stock market valuation of more than $500 million today.
“I think what investors are seeing is there’s a ton of growth in the space, and we’re really well positioned to capitalize on that growth.”
In fact, the now public company (TSXV: VERY) has recently been rebranded The Very Good Food Company (VGF), with a new 45,000-square-foot facility in Vancouver that will increase production by a projected 2,690% this year.
"Bringing the Rupert (Vancouver) facility online is a major milestone for our business," says Scott, VERY’s CEO.
"Once we are fully operational, we will be able to substantially scale our food production in order to meet consumer demand.”
VERY GOOD TIMING
Demand has long been the operative word for this successful start up. The story of the Very Good Butchers is one of perseverance and perfect timing, a new line of plant-based proteins launched in a city hungry for tasty vegan meats.
When Davison, a British-born chef with experience in top vegan restaurants in Vancouver, brought his artisan bean and wheat-gluten based burgers to market in Victoria in 2017, the small shop sold out in the first few hours, with 1,000 customers lining up for a taste.
Demand for their products has been so strong since the outset, the partners have been playing catch up to fill growing orders ever since.
“It was hard fought for awhile — there have been ups and downs,” says Scott, “but people have been enjoying the product and we’ve been growing each year.”
That may be a modest portrayal of the expansion that saw the company launch its IPO on the TSX Venture Exchange in mid-2020 with an initial stock price of $0.25. By April 2021, the stock was hovering around $5.25, and the company had just announced its best sales month ever, $1 million in March of this year.
In December, investment website The Motley Fool reported Very Good sales were up 582%, year over year, dubbing it “one of Canada’s hottest stocks” and one of the most successful crowd-funded companies in the country.
But raising capital was not always easy for the Victoria-based business partners.
After opening western Canada’s first vegan butcher shop in early 2017, they turned to a Kickstarter campaign to raise $50,000 for expansion. A year later, with $1 million in sales behind them, the pair appeared on the CBC’s Dragon’s Den looking for $500,000 to boost production to meet the demand for their products. That deal was never inked, but with an equity crowd funding campaign through FrontFundr, they raised $600,000 from 250 retail investors, enough to repurpose a former Victoria bakery and begin automating the vegan meat-making process.
“We’ve been very production limited since the beginning, but the big catalyst was when we went public,” says Scott.
“That really opened the flood gates. Having easy access to capital means we are able to expand, and hire and retain great talent.”
From the beginning, company founders Scott and Davison split duties — the former overseeing the business and marketing side, the latter in charge of product and menu development. Today Scott is the company’s CEO with Davison overseeing production and a team of research and development scientists. Earlier this year, Ana Silva was appointed the new company president. Silva spent five years as CFO for Vancouver-based Daiya Foods, a company specializing in plant-based dairy alternatives available in more than 25,000 stores across North AmericaDaiya, which was recently purchased by Japan’s Otsuka Pharmaceuticals for $405 million, expanded into a 400,000 square-foot facility in Burnaby last year, with VGF moving into their former production plant.
“The possibilities in the plant-based food industry are endless, and I believe the plant-based movement will secure our long term global food supply,” says Silva, who will oversee the company’s ongoing expansion plans.
Beyond the 45,000-square-foot production facility in Vancouver, there’s a new Vancouver head office with space for R&D and retail in Mount Pleasant, and plans to open a 50,000-square-foot production plant in Patterson, California by November this year.
“Victoria has been a great city to start a plant-based business and will always be our spiritual home,” says Davison, who will maintain offices and production in Victoria as well. “Victoria really is a great incubator.”
Daiya, which was recently purchased by Japan’s Otsuka Pharmaceuticals for $405 million, expanded into a 400,000 square-foot facility in Burnaby last year, with VGF moving into their former production plant.
GROWTH AND GROWING PAINS
Another successful vegan food company in Victoria is The Cultured Nut. It’s a “tree nut creamery,” making dairy-free cheeses and plant-based butter with nuts, products that are found on many retail shelves and restaurant menus.
VGF recently acquired The Cultured Nut for $3 million and will rebrand it as Very Good Cheese this year.
“We helped The Cultured Nut get started with production space,” says Scott. “We sell a ton of their cheese in our shop and online, and we think its one of the tastiest vegan cheeses on the market in the artisan category. It’s a high quality product with good ingredients so it was a natural fit.”
Though Victoria has been a good place to launch and grow Very Good Foods, Scott says there are logistical limitations. There’s not a lot of purpose-build space for large-scale food production on the island. All of their raw materials arrive in Vancouver and all of their e-commerce orders, still the bulk of their business, require an extra day in transit when shipped out of Victoria.
“At a certain point you’re just adding time and complexity by being on the island,” he says. “Its easier and cheaper to expand on the mainland. Vancouver has a lot of talent and plant-based food production infrastructure.”
But the company is in expansion mode in Victoria, too.
Scott says the vegan cheese will continue to be produced in the Victoria facility and “we’re putting in new equipment and hiring more people and really scaling it up for a cross-Canada launch.”
While the company has shifted production of its higher volume vegan meats, including burgers and sausages, to the Vancouver plant, 50 of its now 150 employees will keep the smaller Victoria production facility humming.
“In Victoria we’ll focus on the more specialty items — the steaks, the ribs, the pepperoni and deli meats — while we continue to grow in Vancouver,” says Scott.
WEST COAST VEGAN
Like Very Good Butchers and The Cultured Nut, other vegan food entrepreneurs are starting up on the island, too.
Save Da Sea Foods makes vegan salmon lox in the Victoria Public Market, using shaved carrots and Vancouver Island seaweed. When owner Aki Kaltenbach first created the product, she was inspired to replace the salmon in the sushi rolls in her parents’ Japanese restaurant, and now has other vegan seafood products in her sights.
“Our next product, now in development, is a canned tuna analogue,” says Kaltenbach, who has added a food scientist on to her local R&D team. “Again, unlike some of the other vegan fish on the market, it will be made with whole foods and simple ingredients.”
Kaltenbach originally planned to distribute her vegan smoked salmon through food service but the pandemic forced her to switch gears and focus on retail sales. Save Da Sea carrot lox can now be found at 50 retail outlets in Western Canada with an Ontario launch planned for later this year. And a recent win in the new product category at the Canadian Health Food Association awards (including 20K in free advertising), promises to boost the brand further.
“BC is a very good place to launch, with a high proportion of vegetarians and vegans,” she says, “and Victoria has so many fantastic independent grocers that are very open to working with local vendors.”
Lauren Isherwood and Nick Baingo moved their Vumami Foods business to Sidney from Osoyoos, BC, last year and now make their line of vegan Umami Bomb condiments in a commercial kitchen in Brentwood Bay. The bold and spicy shiitake chili sauce adds a savoury umami boost to vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals alike.
“We are both vegans but missed that savoury umami you get from meats,” says Isherwood who developed the product with Baingo in their home kitchen. “We spent a long time trying to replicate that taste in a vegan condiment that we could use to liven up veggies, noodles, sandwiches and wraps.”
Umami Bomb was launched at farmers markets, but its now available at a variety of independent grocers and online via PlantCurious.com and SPUD.ca.
They’re all cashing in on a segment of the food industry that’s growing in the double digits as consumers adopt more plant-based proteins.
A study by market researchers Mintel found that 53 per cent of Canadian consumers surveyed eat plant-based meats, 18 per cent “a few times a week.” And though only five per cent of Canadians identify as vegetarian, and two percent are vegan, 21 percent of those surveyed “think meat alternatives are healthier than meat.”
The vegan burger boom is leading the way, with mega brands like Beyond Meat and Impossible burgers using vegetables, soy, legumes and grains to mimic meat. In the first nine months of 2020, Nielsen reported sales of plant-based meats were up 129%.
It’s also drawing giant animal meat producers into the vegan meat mix, including brands like Raised and Rooted by Tyson Foods, and OZO plant-based meats from Planterra, a subsidiary of JBS, the world’s largest meat company.
When Greenleaf Foods (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canada’s Maple Leaf Foods) acquired Seattle-based Field Roast in 2018, it announced plans to build North America’s largest plant-based protein manufacturing facility, banking on a very vegan future.
“While burgers are fueling category growth, all refrigerated products are forecasted to deliver double-digit growth for the next twenty years,” the company forecast.
And with Vancouver ranked as one of the world’s most popular cities for vegans, its not surprising BC’s vegan business is booming.
TO INFINITY AND BEYOND
Conquering the world is next on Scott and Davison’s to do list.
The first Very Good Butchers flagship retail shop and cafe will open in downtown Victoria this summer, a template for similar corporate stores the founders say will represent their brand.
“The main focus this year is on North America but we want to be a global brand so we’re looking at Europe and Asia next year as well,” says Scott, noting Vancouver and Montreal shops are in the works now. “We’d love to see 20 of these stores, as flagship stores — in London, in Tokyo — around the world.”
While the majority of the company’s growth to date has been from online sales, Scott says VGF will continue to expand to more wholesale and food service accounts.
This year they inked a distribution deal with Quality Foods, owned by the Jim Pattison Group, that includes distribution through its other major retailers, Sobeys Inc. and Safeway across Canada. A new US distributor will expand sales south of the border.
From plant-based burgers and sausages, to pulled BBQ jackfruit (akin to pulled pork) and Very Good Ribz, even VG Steak, VGB has focused on red meat alternatives based on beans and wheat gluten for its product line, but there’s also a new gluten-free line in the works.
“Our burgers and sausages, our original products, are what people love the most,” says Scott, “the ones James first made in his Denman Island Kitchen.”
And Davison is busy with more ideas.
“Anything you can think of in your fridge or pantry, we want to replace it with a healthier, better tasting, plant-based alternative,” he says. “The mayonnaise, the sauces, the fish, the cheeses – you name it, if it comes from an animal, we want to have a product to replace it.”
Even with thousands of burgers now tumbling off their Willy Wonka-esque automated line in Vancouver, the ingredient list is still relatively simple, Davison says, and the goal to produce healthy vegan foods remains a priority.
“It’s exactly the same product, just made a lot faster, in a lot bigger cooking kettles, bigger burger presses and faster sausage stuffers,” he says.
The company is maintaining its philosophy of sourcing organic ingredients, direct from farmers, and “trying to stay true to our roots.”
“I think it’s the quality of the ingredients, having that always at the forefront of our minds when making our products,” he says, “the most nutritious, the one that’s best for you, not just the most profitable.”
The west coast has definitely been the best coast for aspiring vegan chefs and food companies.
Davison says they’re up to “a bajillion beans” and counting. That’s a lot of plant-powered love.


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Sudbury: Town’s traders optimistic despite store closures
BUSINESS leaders in a Suffolk town have spoken of their optimism for the future despite the closure of two high street stores in a matter of weeks.
Health food retailer Julian Graves has already stopped trading in Sudbury while the imminent closure of the Stead and Simpson shoe shop on the town’s Market Hill has also been announced.
However, chairman of Sudbury and District Chamber of Commerce, Chris Storey, said the closure of both chain stores was due to national trends rather than a downturn in Sudbury’s economy.
He said: “There will always be pressure on stores on the high street and shops have to respond to that pressure.
“Shops come and go – we have seen Woolworths and Marks and Spencer pull out of Sudbury in recent years and other retailers come in and take their place.”
Local businessman Robin Drury agreed Sudbury’s retailers should not be unduly worried.
He added: “Sudbury is excelling compared with many other market towns and there is general desire for people to move, work and visit here compared with places like Colchester and Ipswich.
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“But we must not get complacent and we need to see more positive investment in the town’s economy from the local authorities.”
The comments come a week after the first of an expected 200 job vacancies for a new Sainsbury’s superstore due to open in Sudbury later this year became available on the company’s website.
According to the supermarket giant, team leader roles have already been advertised and interviews are taking place this week. A further 40 to 50 positions, including bakers and night-shifts, are expected to become available throughout August, while all other roles – around 170 to 200 jobs – will be advertised in September.
Sainsbury’s also said it is working in partnership with the JobCentrePlus and West Suffolk College to encourage the long-term unemployed into new positions.
Visit http://sainsburys.jobs/ to find out about jobs at the new Sudbury Sainsbury’s store.