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Half of all mobile consumers will use devices for holiday researching and purchasing. And they’ll start doing so as early as October. So says new research from Mojiva, a moble ad network.
Study: Mobile Will Influence Holiday Shopping
According to Mojiva’s research, at least half of mobile consumers view their mobile device as a holiday-shopping resource for product information, coupons and sale information, product reviews or store information. Nearly one third (32%) of respondents think their mobile device is helpful for buying products. The two-month (July-August 2011) study was conducted with InsightExpress, a digital marketing research firm, and polled more than 200 random users on the Mojiva network who completed the survey.


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Contest to create gaming app on NEO blockchain draws 160 teams
As on Monday, 160 teams are competing to develop gaming applications based on the NEO network. Winners of the NEO Game competition are expected to be announced on August 15, according to an announcement made on online publishing platform Medium.
The development team, NewEconoLab, had opened registrations for the contest in May. The aim of the competition is to encourage game developers to be familiar with the NEO blockchain, which offers features such as quick transactions and virtual currency support, and enable a blockchain gaming community.
According to the rules of the contest, the game must be based on blockchain technology. Smart contracts can be used to trade and store game assets such as characters and virtual properties. These smart contracts can also be used to store and manage player information such as results, levels and ratings.
Winners of contest to get GAS tokens
In order to to bring in as many registrations as possible, the organizers of the competition have allocated over $500,000 in GAS tokens. The competition will have 39 awards, having a total value of 3.5 million yuan.
NeoGas, or GAS, is another native token of the NEO network and is used to fuel transactions on the blockchain. Whenever a NEO block is generated, GAS is distributed to all NEO holders. The supply of both coins is capped at 100 million tokens each. At the time of writing, the total supply of GAS was 17.2 million coins.
GAS currently has a market capitalization of $109.1 million while that of NEO is $2.19 billion.
Not the first NEO game contest
The development team had conducted a similar competition in November last year and had attracted around 77 entries. The winning entry was Nachomen, a turn-based multiplayer game running on the NEO blockchain. The game was developed by Phantasma, a decentralized content storage and distribution service.
The closed beta version of Nachomen ran from Sunday, and will go on till July 29. Developers release a closed beta version to a restricted number of individuals to test the application by invitation. The open beta version, which will be open to all users for a final test of the game, will go live next month.
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Grower-shippers of Mexican grapes say they expect to have ample supplies in the pipeline for their season, despite some rough weather during the growing season.
“An early spring frost damaged the earliest sprouting growth,” said Keith Wilson, owner of Dinuba, Calif.-based King Fresh Produce LLC. “The result was about 10% to 15% of the total crop.”
Plenty of grapes survived the cold and rain, however, and clients should have all the product they need available to them for springtime promotions, said Juan Laborin, director of the Hermosillo, Mexico-based Sonora Table Grape Growers Association.
“The weather has been nasty, rainy and cold, but a good crop is there, showing good quality and promotable volumes, so far,” Laborin said.
Total volume in 2020 likely will be down about 20% from a year earlier — 19.7 million cartons, compared to 23.7 million in 2019, the association reported March 19.
The numbers were only preliminary estimates and could be adjusted about the time the first shipments out of Mexico move, in early April, Laborin said.
Nearly all varieties look to be down in 2020, according to the report. The forecast calls for 800,000 boxes of perlettes versus 1.7 million in 2019; 8.7 million red seedless in 2020 versus 10.8 million in 2019; mid-green, 4.2 million in 2020 versus 5.1 million in 2019; red globe, 300,000 in 2020 versus 307,000 in 2019; and black, 1.5 million in 2020 versus 1.9 million in 2019.
The exceptions, with larger volumes expected this year over last, were early primes, at 2.8 million boxes versus 2.6 million in 2019; and “others”, 1.5 million versus 1.2 million in 2019.
“We had a good winter and a freeze, which had an impact on total production,” said John Pandol, director of special projects with Pando Bros. Inc. in Dinuba, Calif.
The freeze was particularly hard on perlettes, Pandol said.
“We have little less bunches in the Guaymas area, but we’ll have plenty of those grapes,” he said.
The first grapes should ship out of Jalisco “near the first week of April,” and Sonora grapes should start to ship in early May, which would be normal, said George Matoian, who works in sales and marketing for Nogales, Ariz.-based Fresh Farms.
“The recent weather in Hermosillo has been a bit inconsistent, with cooler temperatures and cloudy weather, but the current long-range outlook is more of a normal weather pattern for the months of April and May, which should see some early harvest the first week of May,” Matoian said.
Related content: Jalisco deal offers early grapes
Fresh Farms, part of the Molina Group, sees a competitive advantage with some of its new production areas in Jalisco, Matoian said.
“This new growing area mimics the grape growing regions of Peru and Brazil, with a very temperate climate,” he said.
“The Molina family has been experimenting with growing grapes in different regions of Mexico and have found that this special micro-climate in Jalisco is an ideal location for growing table grapes.”
Fresh Farms will harvest numerous varieties in Jalisco, including Ivory, Sweet Globe, Sugar Crisp, Great Green, Sweet Celebration and Cotton Candy, Matoian said.
“The Jalisco area will enable the trade to have fresh table grapes available which will only be a few days from harvest, as opposed to grapes from the Southern Hemisphere, which are usually many weeks or months old.”
The Vancouver, British Columbia-based Oppenheimer Group is anticipating an early May start, which would be earlier than a year ago, said Marc Serpa, director of domestic grapes and sales manager.
“We anticipate good supplies through to June, despite the impact of the February frost on volume; this will provide ample promotional opportunities for Oppy’s popular grapes program, and we look forward to offering promotional volumes in the last week of May, with heavy volumes starting in June,” he said.
The first Hermosillo grapes should ship around May 10, Laborin said.
“We’re earlier than last year,” he said. “We have plenty of grapes to promote and are coming earlier than last year.”
This year’s crop is only small in comparison with a year ago, Pandol said.
“Last year was one of those years where everything was perfect, which was why we had such a monster crop,” he said. “This is kind of a medium-crop potential.”
The early part of the deal may suffer some, due to the frost problems, said Carlos Bon, sales manager with San Diego-based Grupo Alto and its marketing arm, Divine Flavor LLC.
“The crop looks to be on time but definitely short on the early part, as the weather events we had back in January and February caused problems in yields on the earlier varieties,” he said. “This goes for all growing areas in the state of Sonora.”
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as of March 31, 18-pound containers of bagged special storage white seedless grapes from Chile were $34-36 for extra large; $32-34, large; and $30-32, medium-large.
Prices on red seedless were $20-22, extra large; $18-20, large; and $16-18, medium-large. Black seedless grapes were $20-22, extra large; $18-20, large; and $16-18, medium-large.


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Coinbase temporarily stopped transactions for users in the US due to an issue preventing the company from processing withdrawals or deposits involving bank accounts. Problems started around 7AM ET, but the company resolved the issue at around 12:40PM ET.
“We are currently unable to take payments or make withdrawals involving US bank accounts. Our team is aware of this issue and is working on getting everything back to normal as soon as possible,” Coinbase explained on its status page, adding that users could still use a debit card or PayPal account to buy crypto.
At the time of the outage, Coinbase said on Twitter that users’ funds are “safe,” before announcing that transactions have been restored about three hours later. The Verge reached out to Coinbase with a request for comment, but didn’t immediately hear back.
Update October 2nd, 12:49PM ET: Updated to add that Coinbase has fixed the issue.
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The usa will certainly sponsor the subsequent around regarding Buy and sell Coverage Community ending up in India right here about October twenty nine in a very quote for you to progress on-going bilateral efforts for you to broaden business in addition to purchase via forward-looking plan attempts.
US will host the next round of Trade Policy Forum meeting with India
“The US-India Buy and sell Coverage Community allows the united states in addition to India for you to progress on-going bilateral efforts for you to broaden business in addition to purchase via forward-looking plan attempts that can advantage the producers, staff, innovators, companies, maqui berry farmers, in addition to ranchers, inch the united states Buy and sell Agent (USTR) Michael Froman stated about Fri.
Froman will certainly fulfill Native american Commerce in addition to Business Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with regard to 9th ministerial-level conference of the US-India Buy and sell Coverage Community about October twenty nine.
This TPF supplies the place with regard to evaluating improvement that has been produced about business in addition to purchase concerns in between the united states in addition to India for the ministerial stage, a state statement stated.
“I anticipate web hosting Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for the effective conference about taking the nations directly into increased business joint venture, inch Mr Froman stated.
“This dialogue comes on this pumps regarding Chief executive Barack Obama’s new ending up in Excellent Minister Narendra Modi exactly where they talked about precisely how joint venture in between the united states in addition to India about business in addition to purchase can bring about brand-new fiscal increase in addition to employment design prospects for the ancestors, inch he / she stated.
Co-chaired through Mr Froman in addition to Microsof company Sitharaman, PEOPLE India Buy and sell Coverage Community is the most recognized bilateral forum for the debate in addition to solution regarding business in addition to purchase concerns involving the a pair of nations.
Discussions inside the TPF usually are set about essential matter parts, as well as mental residence, cracking open purchase throughout creation, agriculture, in addition to companies.
PEOPLE things in addition to exclusive companies business with India totaled $102. 8 million throughout 2014.
India currently is this United States’ 11th greatest things dealing associate with $66. 8 million altogether (two ways) things business throughout 2014.
Buy and sell throughout exclusive companies with India (exports in addition to imports) totaled $36 million throughout 2014.


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Playtech has partnered with leading Swiss operator Casinò Lugano SA to launch its products through the casino’s online brand Swiss4Win.ch.
Through this new partnership, Swiss4Win.ch has become the first platform in the combined Italian-Swiss region to go online with Playtech’s industry-leading information management solution (IMS), Casino and Live Casino content.
“The continued growth and development of Switzerland’s online casino market in the last few years makes it an exciting growth area for our Casino and Live Casino offering. Live Casino is a key product vertical for Playtech, and we look forward to working with Casinò Lugano to deliver our data driven, omni-channel IMS platform which can help drive the growth of the country’s emerging online market,” Shimon Akad, Chief Operating Officer of Playtech, said.
“We are excited to partner with Playtech and bring the success of Casinò Lugano into the online market. Playtech’s industry-leading software and expertise will help deliver a sustainable and innovative online casino experience to our customers as we enter the online market for the first time,” Gianmaria Frapolli, CEO and Board Member of Casinò Lugano SA, said.


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Here's info on the latest Google algorithm change, Directly from Matt Cutts:
"I just wanted to give a quick update on one thing I mentioned in my search engine spam post.
My post mentioned that "we're evaluating multiple changes that should help drive spam levels even lower, including one change that primarily affects sites that copy others' content and sites with low levels of original content." That change was approved at our weekly quality launch meeting last Thursday and launched earlier this week.
This was a pretty targeted launch: slightly over 2% of queries change in some way, but less than half a percent of search results change enough that someone might really notice. The net effect is that searchers are more likely to see the sites that wrote the original content rather than a site that scraped or copied the original site's content."


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Kejriwal is leaving for Dubai on Thursday afternoon and will be accompanied by party leader and senior Supreme Court lawyer HS Phoolka.
ET gets Snapdeal's Kunal Bahl and Arvind Lifestyle Brands' J Suresh to debate on the relative advantages and sustainability of the two. Read on to know their take...
In August, the company had announced that it entered into a franchise agreement with Arvind Lifestyle Brands Limited to open stores in India.
Online vendors alleged that Flipkart and other big e-retailers are enjoying venture capital and FDI funds and are compelling vendors to sell at big discounts.
The television campaign is a reflection of the brands success till now and the trust the brand has been able to garner from its consumers, the company said in a statement.
The store will also display brands like Arrow, US POLO, Flying Machine. In addition to this, the store will have customised tailoring solutions with studio Arvind and Arvind denim lab.
The 'online-versus-offline' war has reached a tipping point; malls and offline retailers asking brands to show loyalties upfront.
"Till Delhi polls, we are not fighting in any other poll. After polls here, the party will decide where to fight and where not to fight," he siad.


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Epic has announced another cup where you can unlock a new Deathstroke skin.
Epic has just shown a new skin that will soon be in Fortnite. By default, because it is special, you will be able to get it a bit earlier. All this, of course, is due to the cup.
Graffiti is easier to get, but with the skin, it will be much more difficult
The standard way to get the skin is to take the top place in the upcoming tournament. As we read on the official website, the cup will appear in the game on May 27.
“Compete in the Deathstroke Zero Cup on May 27, 2021 for the opportunity to unlock the Deathstroke Zero Outfit and Deathstroke’s Katanas before they hit the Item Shop! This is a Solo competition, where players will need to brave it alone — playing up to 10 matches in their region’s three-hour time window”
Anyone who accumulates at least 8 points will receive the Slade’s Watching Spray. To participate in the Deathstroke Zero Cup, players must enable two-factor authentication on their Epic account and have an account level of at least 30.


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Beer mats containing NFC tags are being used by Dutch online shopping platform MyOrder to promote and offer easy downloads of its smartphone app. The beer mats, supplied by NFC Support, are being used throughout the city of Leiden where NFC payments are currently being piloted. “The NFC beer mats are unique in the Netherlands,” says NFC Support owner Tristan de Haas.
- Chevrolet and Shell let drivers pay for fuel and access offers from their vehicles
- US supermarket chain Meijer to launch mobile self-checkout service
- Charity to roll out contactless donation screens following successful three week pilot
- Google’s mobile payments app has now been installed 100m times
- JCB to pilot biometric payment cards in Japan


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Door-Stop has been shortlisted for what could be its 4th national award in just five years. The no.1 composite door manufacturer has won at the prestigious Construction Marketing Awards in 2009 (then the ‘BEMAs’), 2011, 2012 for its Direct Marketing campaigns and www.door-stop.co.uk. Door-Stop is a finalist again in 2013 for Best Use of Website, supported by full service agency MRA Marketing (www.mra-marketing.com).
The CMAs recognise excellence in marketing across the built environment and are sponsored and supported by the Construction Products Association, The Building Centre among others.
“I’m delighted to be shortlisted again,” says Nick Dutton, Managing Director of Door-Stop. “The website is what our business is based on, and our entry this year focused on the results of new online initiatives that help our customers buy and sell doors more easily.”
Door-Stop was also shortlisted for two National Business Awards (Online Business of the Year and Customer Focus) and a B2B Marketing award in 2011 (Best Integrated Campaign).
Story has been viewed


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Government seeking to ‘simplify’ Australia’s food nutrition labels
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is seeking comments on a recommendation to change the way that nutrition information...
A new front-of-pack labelling (FoPL) system that uses a ‘health star’ rating, has been approved by Australian and New Zealand Ministers responsible for food regulation, with plans for further examination...
Australian food industry representative body the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) has warned the Australian government that “serious flaws” remain and need to be resolved if an effective...
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This article is more than 1 year old
Microsoft renames Open License Value program Open Value
Microsoft's mission to simplify pricing has seen the company update its volume licensing programs for small and medium business (SMB) customers.
Microsoft's Open License Value program, for those running less than 250 PCs, will now be called the Open Value program and eliminate regional differences in Open License Value.
Sunny Charlebois, product manager for worldwide licensing and pricing, told The Register Microsoft is taking the "best" from each regional program and making it available to everyone.
Other changes include a streamlining of the license ordering process from Microsoft partners for customers, while the software contracts themselves have been reduced from 22 pages to just nine pages in length by cutting out legal jargon.
The goal is to help companies who run Windows in different geographies and are forced to negotiate different terms, conditions and offers from the same company – a fact that can cause an administrative headache for customers and partners.
Microsoft is using the changes to introduce two new software bundles under Open Value - the Professional Platform and the Small Business Platform. The Professional Platform includes Office Professional Edition and a Microsoft Core Client Access License (CAL) for Windows Server, Exchange, SharePoint Portal Server and Systems Management Server (SMS) along with a Windows Professional Desktop Upgrade.
The Small Business platform features Office Small Business Edition, a Windows Small Business Server CAL and a Windows Professional Desktop Upgrade.
Microsoft is also going live with software financing after a three-year pilot in its Business Solutions (MBS) division. Microsoft Financing, formerly Microsoft Capital, will offer financing on software for up to 60 months in nine countries with plans to rollout to a further six countries during Microsoft's new fiscal year.
Microsoft is promoting the service with a 101 per cent financing introductory offer. Partners who arrange a transaction between a mutual customer will get 100 per cent of the financing plus what amounts to one per cent commission on the deal.
Charlebois said financing meant customers would no longer experience a big payment spike when they first buy Microsoft's software as payment can now be spread out. "The partner gets paid up front, the customer gets the solution they want and we are able to feed the ecosystem," Charlebois said.®
Look out IBM, here comes Microsoft's OzFest
Microsoft's Ballmer tells lurvely partners to stick it to IBM
Microsoft urges partners to make business app run
Microsoft rejigs Windows pricing for midsize companies


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Volkswagen has reported an 11.1 per cent rise in October sales over the same month last year.
Strong sales in Germany and China have driven the results, said Europe’s biggest car maker.
The group’s nine brands also sold a total of 5.32 million vehicles in the 10-month period from January to the end of October, a rise of 0.6 per cent over 2008.
"Overall developments are better than expected thanks to our market leadership in Germany, the growth markets of China and Brazil and to our young and environmentally friendly product range," sales director Detlef Wittig said.
However he warned that there would still be difficult times ahead for car companies.
“Global passenger car markets have not made a sustained recovery yet, so we are anticipating a particularly difficult and challenging year in 2010," he stated.


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Startup OpenAI has launched APIs for developers and enterprises to build its ChatGPT and Whisper models into apps, websites, and their products and services.
A joint statement from the groundbreaking new firm released this week, including remarks contributed by Greg Brockman, President and Co-Founder, OpenAI, confirmed that it was to give access to its cutting-edge language and speech-to-text capabilities. The statement read: “Through a series of system-wide optimisations, we’ve achieved 90% cost reduction for ChatGPT since December; we’re now passing those savings to API users.
“Developers can now use our open-source Whisper large-v2 model in the API with much faster and cost-effective results. ChatGPT API users can expect continuous model improvements and the option to choose dedicated capacity for deeper control over the models.”
The move to open with the APIs is hugely significant and points towards OpenAI’s strategy for making its money back. According to estimates, ChatGPT has accumulated over 100 million users since its release in December. However, many have wondered where it would make a return on investment.
The offering from OpenAI means firms can develop enhancements and integrations with a choice of models and ways to receive the service. But with OpenAI projected to make back just $200 million in 2023, its under pressure to capitalise on the buzz around its technology.
The statement added: “We believe that AI can provide everyone with incredible opportunities and economic empowerment. The best way to achieve that is to allow everyone to build with it. We hope the changes we announced today will lead to numerous applications everyone can benefit from.”
Introduction of ChatGPT Plus
Propelled by unprecedented global interest and looking to recoup the investments made from Microsoft, which placed a further $10 billion stake in the technology in January, it launched a pilot subscription plan ChatGPT Plus. The new tier was launched at $20 a month, with a free tier of ChatGPT remaining.
In a blog post on ChatGPT Plus’s release, the firm stated: “We love our free users and will continue to offer free access to ChatGPT. By offering this subscription pricing, we can help support free access available to as many people as possible,” the company continued. “We plan to refine and expand this offering based on your feedback and needs.”
ChatGPT and Whisper API Pricing
The ChatGPT model family launched this week is still the 3.5 Turbo model but will be ten times cheaper at $0.002 per 1k tokens. The startup has said this current “0301” model version will be supported through June 1st.
The API for the Whisper transcription model will cost developers $0.006 per minute, enable “robust” transcription in multiple languages, and provide translations into English.
Early Global Adopters of ChatGPT and Whisper
With the API launch, OpenAI has released a list of early adopters of the ChatGPT and Whisper models with some deeply impressive stats around their implementation.
- Snapchat creators Snap, for a start this week, unveiled My AI to its 750 million monthly Snapchatters.
- Global learning platform Quizlet will be introducing Q-Chat, a fully-adaptive AI tutor intended to engage its 60 million student user base, after three years of deploying GPT-3 across several use cases.
- The shopping app Instacart will use ChatGPT with its own AI program for 75,000+ of its retail partner store locations to harness product data to answer customer recipe questions.
- Shopify’s consumer app, Shop, used by 100 million shoppers, will be deployed to assist shoppers with buying recommendations by scanning millions of products across the database.
- Language learning app Speak is the fastest-growing English app in South Korea and uses Whisper for open-ended conversational practice.
Dedicated Instances for Developers
The firm also offers ‘dedicated instances’ to those looking for control and system performance. Instead of per request, Azure-run APIs with dedicated instances mean developers pay for an allocation of compute infrastructure per term reserved for service requests. Developers can enable a dedicated instance, and OpenAI has suggested that it makes economic sense for those running up to over 450 million tokens daily.
Developers will be able to make apps execute a range of tasks, such as: composing an email or other text, assembling Python code, answering questions about various documents, create a conversation agent, give the software a natural language interface, tutor for various subjects, translate language and simulate characters such as video games.
It looks certain that OpenAI is banking on building a platform on which enterprises can build businesses. To this end, the startup has focused on feedback and offered incentives to encourage take-up. Subsequently, it has made some changes to its terms such as simplifying data usage and making it clear to users on the input and output. It will also automate its pre-launch review process.
AI in Microsoft 365 and the Teams Platform
Previously we looked at how the potential of AI models meant developers could leverage API into Microsoft Teams to create a chatbot. The same article also showed how Teams is already using AI and primed to include meeting benefits like summaries, action planning and chapter creation.
Following this, Microsoft then announced integrations for Teams Premium and added AI to meetings with features such as Intelligent Recap, Live Translation and Meeting Templates.
Microsoft has been behind AI publicly and implementing product integration for some time, from introducing the DALL-E 2 model across much of Microsoft 365 ecosystem introducing the DALL-E 2 model across much of Microsoft 365 ecosystem back in the autumn of last year to recently unveiling its search engine Bing with a ChatGPT-powered extension. The ongoing strategy has landed at a point where Microsoft seem poised to grab Google’s dominance of the search market.
Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO Microsoft, stated: “AI will fundamentally change every software category, starting with the largest category of all – search. We’re launching Bing and Edge powered by AI copilot and chat to help people get more from search and the web.”
Bing v Bard
According to Statista, Bing currently has 8.85 percent of the global search market, while Google’s market share dropped to 84.69 percent, down from more than 90% in 2022.
The Bing release seems part of a tennis match to see who can integrate a search chatbot quicker. Google also released Bard its storytelling AI model last month. The model is based on LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications) and has been seen as mirroring Microsoft’s ChatGPT activity since December. Yet, Google has been developing AI for over two decades and has around twenty sets of tools for developers looking to use open-source code and API services.


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With its full-featured front camera, the HTC Desire Eye is made for a very specific type of person: the selfie addict.
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Since many other countries, including the United Kingdom, don't have functioning 5G networks yet, it's no surprise the Galaxy S10 5G is only launching in one region, but as the 5G connectivity grows we'll likely see the handset available in other places. When the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G is launched in other countries we'll let you know, so check back regularly for updates.
For businesses sectors, the superfast wireless technology will offer improved support for artificial intelligence, media content, robotic factory lines, remote medical services and telepresence conference calls that enables hologram communications seen in movies like "Captain America" and "Kingsman: The Secret Service".
If we combine both pieces of information, then we get the picture, but not the whole puzzle.
The only thing that remains to learn is how much Verizon will charge customers for the 5G-powered flagship and whether or not there will be any promotions that will make the device more appealing.
Mobile carriers are competitively developing and introducing photorealistic live streaming services and virtual reality experiences to prove that 5G network is a change that is worth the cost of purchasing a new phone and plan. On the downside, there's only one U.S. carrier that offers 5G services at the moment, and even Verizon only has the service available in two cities, Chicago and Minneapolis.
The Samsung Galaxy S10 (Review) utilises Qualcomm's 3D ultrasonic in-display fingerprint technology, which relies on ultrasonic waves reflecting from the finger to create a 3D map of the fingerprint pattern. "I hope faster speeds will help me manage my time better".
Unfortunately, those speeds are most of the time achieved in lab conditions, so if you're located I Chicago or Minneapolis, you'll probably get download speeds of around 450Mbps.
Samsung launched the Galaxy S10 devices over a month ago, and the devices were said to have sold in record-breaking quantities over their first few weeks on the market, with analysts expecting the phones to outsell the Galaxy S9 models by around 40%.
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In 2021, Amazon is poised to meet a renewed challenge from groups it has long faced: unions.
Powered by protests at Amazon Taking over US warehouses and more labor-friendly governance responsibilities, unions are campaigning at the world’s largest online retailer to see if its warehouse or grocery workers want to join their ranks.
Expect a bigger test when workers in a warehouse decide whether or not to consolidate early next year. The company has not faced union elections in the United States since 2014 and will be the first to vote “yes” to the US Amazon facility.
Amazon, America’s second largest private owner Walmart, Which has already informed workers that wages and benefits are being promised by unions and trained managers to identify managerial activities. Its operating company in France presents an escape picture: strong unions there closed its warehouses for months this year.
The upcoming vote is for colleagues at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Bessemer, Alabama; They weigh in on whether or not to join the retail, wholesale and department store union (RWDSU). The organizing committee launched a social media campaign, shared union authorization cards and collected enough to hold elections.
This week and last, RWDSU and Amazon discussed the terms of the election. As of Tuesday they had agreed to include seasonal workers in the bargaining department, as well as process assistants, as the union questioned for their supervisory authority over election hearings chaired by the Government Labor Board. That board will determine the date of the election.
The bargaining unit size is large – now estimated to be over 5,700 – the union needs more votes to win.
In a statement, Amazon said, “We do not believe this group represents the majority of our employee views. Our employees choose to work at Amazon because we offer some of the best jobs available everywhere we hire.” The average wage in the Bessemer facility is 30 15.30 (approximately Rs. 1,100) per hour, and jobs come with health and retirement benefits.
Preliminary shows that RWDSU is facing an uphill battle. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in January that union membership had fallen from 20 percent in 1983 to 10 percent of the qualified workforce in 2019.
Employees at the Alabama facility did not respond to requests for interviews.
Amazon workers are operating elsewhere. Alexander Koleas, cashier for Amazon’s subsidiary Full Foods, said the pandemic had endangered workers’ health and management had allayed the concerns of others.
“We are definitely in favor of the union,” he said of his Whole Foods store in Portland. “If we have a vote today, I think it will pass.”
Courtney Brown, a process assistant at Amazon’s warehouse in New Jersey, said work in her building had increased 10-fold during the epidemic and that colleagues had fallen ill. So she started distributing through work related petitions Facebook.
“We need to be able to have a voice,” Brown, 30, said, adding that she was neutral about the impact a union would have on its comfort.
Reuters was introduced to both Brown and Collios by pro-labor groups campaigning on Amazon. One of them is the Whole Worker, a team of current and former Whole Foods staff to manage the grocery chain.
Katie Dawn, one of the group’s directors, said its strategy is to focus on & teach and action in half a dozen wholesale stores, including Vavatosa in Portland and Wisconsin, where the majority of staff are already supported.
“We’re focused on the small stores here and there that are fully integrated, without fail nationally,” said Don, who worked for Whole Foods in California until the beginning of this year.
Similarly, representatives of United Food and Commercial Workers International reached out to Whole Foods staff to discuss union, accident pay and other issues, according to interviews and transcripts of communication shared with Reuters.
Seattle-area unions are meeting with Amazon tech workers, their coalition leader said. According to a public record obtained by Reuters, a local man is helping corporate whistleblowers who opened fire on Amazon for violating U.S. labor law. Amazon said it would support workers’ right to criticize the company, but said the employees in question violated internal policies.
Labor advocates say it is a presidential administration Joe Biden Ready to assist union efforts, the U.S. National Labor Relations Board underestimates corporate interests and supports the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.
That bill passed the U.S. House in February and adds penalties to companies that obstruct maintenance; Senate approval is far from guaranteed. Stuart Appelbaum, president of RWDSU, which has the Mid-South Council behind Alabama Union Drive, said.
“With the change in governance, Amazon workers will have a better chance of coming together,” he said.
© Thomson Reuters 2020
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After Celebrity Home Loans reportedly laid off most of its employees this week without paying their last paychecks, commissions and severance payments, On Q Financial said the deal to acquire some of the company’s assets has fallen apart.
“There’s nothing left to acquire,” Patrick Lamb, an executive at On Q Financial, said during an interview.
HousingWire first reported on Tuesday that Illinois-based Celebrity’s employees received an email this week saying they were laid off and, in addition, the company will not be able to process its full payroll obligations on Feb. 16 due to “unanticipated events.”
“We are anticipating additional funds and believe this is only a timing issue with our sincere intent to provide you all compensation that is owed to you over the next several weeks,” the email read.
Before that, on Feb. 8, Celebrity communicated to employees that over the past several months, it had been searching for “the right partner to merge” with and “found the perfect fit with On Q Financial.”
“We’ve had discussions with Celebrity about acquiring their remaining production divisions. Not the ones that were sold to Luminate Home Loans, but the ones that were remaining,” Lamb said.
Several of Celebrity’s retail businesses transitioned to Luminate Home Loans in December and January, including Neo Home Loans. Sources said Apex Home Loans and Robert Coomer Group also joined Luminate from Celebrity.
According to Lamb, On Q Financial contacted Celebrity’s former employees to hire and onboard several of them. “We’re trying to provide a landing spot.”
Lamb said that On Q Financial was interested in acquiring eight of Celebrity’s production divisions employing between 300 and 350 loan officers. The company would assume leasing contracts, computers and other assets from the branches.
However, On Q Financial was not acquiring the loan pipeline or Celebrity’s equity. The financial terms were not disclosed due to a confidentiality agreement.
As the deal did not involve the Celebrity company as a whole, On Q Financial did not have access to its balance sheet to check its cash position and financial conditions, according to Lamb.
Arizona-based On Q Financial, founded in 2004, originated $2 billion last year in 46 states. The company has a distributed retail platform, Lamb said. According to Lamb, the company is expected to announce an M&A transaction in the coming months.


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The Recycling Partnership, which already has the backing of a number of corporations and trade groups in setting up local curbside recycling programs nationwide, has a new supporter: the primary trade group for the bottled-water industry.
An association closely associated with water and plastics is doubling down on recycling. The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) recently announced that it would offer financial support to The Recycling Partnership, an industry coalition focused on curbside recycling efforts.
“The bottled water industry is actively working to build partnerships that will help increase recycling efforts, and the reliable, scalable results that the Recycling Partnership delivers are hitting the mark for us,” Chris Hogan, vice president of communications at IBWA, said in a statement.
The Recycling Partnership was quick to welcome the 640-member IBWA with open arms.
“IBWA unifies the bottled water industry in much the same way that we unify the recycling industry, making them great strategy partners for squeezing every last drop of goodness out of our work,” Keefe Harrison, the Recycling Partnership’s executive director, said in a media announcement.
IBWA is one of many sponsors of the Recycling Partnership, in both the association and corporate sector, including the Consumer Technology Association, the American Chemistry Council, Coca-Cola, Heineken USA, and Procter & Gamble.
“It’s a pretty simple equation,” Harrison said about the organization’s hope for more support. “More funding partners equals more resources, which directly equates to the recovery of more high-quality recyclable material.”
The Recycling Partnership, formerly the Curbside Value Partnership, focuses on building and strengthening local recycling programs; last year alone it donated $11 million for new recycling infrastructure, providing funds for 165,000 recycling carts and helping 1.2 million households nationwide recycle.
Plastic water bottles show up often in those recycling bins, and IBWA’s Hogan wants to ensure this trend continues.
“The recycling rate for single-serve PET plastic bottled water containers has more than doubled in the last 10 years, and they are the most frequently recycled PET beverage containers in curbside recycling programs,” Hogan said in the media announcement. “As an industry, we are always looking for ways to strengthen existing programs and help to expand recycling efforts ever further.”


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Published on October 21st, 2015 | by Subhash Nair0
Production of 2016 Civic Begins in Canada
The election wasn’t the only big piece of news to come out of Canada this week, Honda have begun production of their highly anticipated Civic.
Now in its 10th generation, the Civic is now turbocharged to produce an impressive 174 hp and 219 Nm of torque from its 1.5-litre powerplant. In North America, five variants of the car will be available namely a sedan, coupe, hatchback, Si and Type R.


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Kevin Evans, Indonesia Director of the AIC, says these “quite severe criminal punishments” are of considerable concern to the research community inside and outside of Indonesia.
Indonesia to prioritize imports of meat, rice, raw sugar from India in exchange for lower CPO tariff
Previously, India had imposed a 50 percent import tariff on palm oil products.
Indonesia’s top policymakers are now more certain about the need to amend its strict labour laws, which have, for more than a decade…
The government is mulling over a number of policies to improve the performance of the domestic timber and furniture industries, which…
Global trade tensions could derail a landmark regional agreement encompassing 16 countries including India, China and Australia if a deal is…
President Joko Widodo said ministers must do more to improve competitiveness and attract foreign direct investment.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo is seeking to speed up the development of four priority tourist destinations across the country…
The solution is to increase production in Indonesia, the top supplier and processor in the region, according to the Cocoa Association of Asia. But that’s going to be a tough assignment.
The world’s top palm oil producer has told some retailers to remove food products with “palm oil-free” labels from their shops, as it seeks to protect its key export.
“The international world should be able to perceive our talent. Once again, we must be more expansive (in our approach), by migrating from local to global.”
Indonesian President Joko Widodo is set to unveil measures to lift Southeast Asia’s largest economy from the stagnation that’s marked his first term, amid rising risks from a global slowdown and escalating trade war.
Indonesia, the top producer of the world’s most-used vegetable oil, is seeking to raise import tariffs on EU dairy products to 8%-18%, according to Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita
Thomas Lembong, the influential chairman of the Investment Coordinating Board, BKPM, says opening up the university sector to overseas players will be a key part of the foreign investment push.


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Media Exec Says Iger Lobbied To Get Disney CEO Job Back
INTERVIEW ON THE PRICE OF BUSINESS SHOW, MEDIA PARTNER OF THIS SITE.
Recently Kevin Price, Host of the nationally syndicated Price of Business Show, interviewed Jeremy Murphy.
During the past year, the Walt Disney Company’s stock has taken a nosedive. Shares have fallen to multi-year lows and are expected to be weaker in the year to come. Disney has reported $1.5 billion in losses in the fourth quarter. They also warned that revenue will be weak in the year to come.
Bob Iger is set to replace Bob Chapek as Disney’s CEO. The board of directors has unanimously approved the deal. Chapek has been the company’s CEO for almost three years.
Chapek’s tenure got off to a rocky start. He faced criticism for changes to the Annual Pass program and price increases in the parks. He also faced scrutiny over his handling of the Black Widow lawsuit.
Chapek also planned to lay off employees. In addition, he announced a hiring freeze for Disney employees in 2023.
Several former Imagineers have spoken out in favor of Iger publicly. Others have said that he is a “second coming” for the company. Some have even said that Iger may end up making some negative changes.
After a tumultuous year for the company, Disney shareholders have had their minds on the future of the company. They were not pleased with the direction the company was heading. It appears that Iger is set to clean it all up.
Several Disney executives have warned that Disney may not meet its profitability target for the year. In addition, the company is expected to incur hefty expenses for its streaming business.
According to a statement, “Jeremy Murphy is a sarcastic, embittered veteran of the media industry. Founder of 360bespoke, a respected boutique PR agency in New York, Murphy handles a full roster of clients in the lifestyle, beauty, fashion, and start-up fields. Previously, he was Vice President of Communications at CBS, where he worked for 14 years. There, he oversaw PR for many of its divisions and created its glossy magazine Watch. Murphy started as a journalist, working with Knight Ridder newspapers and Mediaweek. He is a graduate of Florida Atlantic University and lives in New York with his cat, Champers.”
FOR MORE GREAT BUSINESS STORIES CLICK HERE
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW IN ITS ENTIRETY HERE:


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Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), the big business-backed company behind the forthcoming CurrentC mobile payments service that's going to compete fiercely with Apple Pay when it officially launches later this year, just swapped CEOs.
Outgoing MCX CEO Dekkers Davidson will be replaced by Brian V. Mooney, who was most recently CEO and a board member of Bank of America Merchant Services. Davidson will be "pursuing other opportunities," according to a press release.
MCX is going so hard against Apple Pay that several of the member stores have blocked or disabled the NFC antennae that cash registers need to use it. CurrentC, which uses a barcode system, remains unaffected. The message is clear: CurrentC, cash, credit, or nothing.
And while both Best Buy and Discover are still hedging their bets and keeping on with their involvement with MCX, it's yet another blow to CurrentC, which had an underwhelming soft launch later last year (TechCrunch called it "clunky") and was hacked shortly afterwards.
Meanwhile, Apple Pay numbers are nothing to write home about just yet, but it's fast-growing. And Google is very likely planning to announce an update to its own Google Wallet mobile payments system later this year.
In other words, Mooney has his work cut out for him.
- Credit Card Industry and Market
- Mobile Payment Technologies
- Mobile Payments Industry
- Mobile Payment Market, Trends and Adoption
- Credit Card Processing Industry
- List of Credit Card Processing Companies
- List of Credit Card Processing Networks
- List of Payment Gateway Providers
- M-Commerce: Mobile Shopping Trends
- E-Commerce Payment Technologies and Trends


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Kaepernick made headlines in 2016 for kneeling during the national anthem. He also wore socks featuring a cop hat on top of a pig’s head on the field. He has not played in the NFL since 2016.
Nike announced a massive deal with Kaepernick last month for its latest “Just Do It” campaign. The move drew criticism from those who felt Nike backed Kaepernick’s stance on police.
Buzz started on the Internet this week — as it often does without backing — after civil rights activist Shaun King reportedly posted a photo on Twitter showing dozens of mugshots from the UCSD with inmates in only Nike shirts.
Sheriff Ricky Roberts addressed the issue in a formal statement Thursday. He said, despite postings on social media, that the shirts had nothing to do with protesting Nike or Kaepernick.
“It has been brought to my attention that there are those who feel that one of our shirts of choice may be viewed as inappropriate,” he said. “Please understand, I require that this office treats everyone equally and equitably within the law. We are not, and will not, be influenced by current political and social debates in the media.”
Why Nike Shirts?
So how did the shirts from Nike come into play? While offering several apologies, Roberts’ explanation was simple. He added that the shirts were nothing new.
“These shirts were not purchased by the Sheriff’s Office to be used for this purpose, but were simply on hand and available. … This shirt is not only in use now, bus has also been for several months prior,” he said. “I understand the concern of those who may have found this offensive and for that I apologize.”


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The play is an aesthetic
The students debated the aesthetic
of the poems.
This paiting is aesthetic
The artwork has an aesthetic value. 这件艺术品具有美学价值。
The interior decor gives an aesthetic appeal. 室内装潢具有美学吸引力。
Aesthetic considerations often influence artistic creation. 美学因素经常影响艺术创作。
HIT was developed by Galderma in collaboration with aesthetic injection experts from across the globe, with a comprehensive assessment of the individuals seeking medical aesthetics treatment as the core, paying special attention to their physical and psychological needs, according to the company.
At this year's expo, Amorepacific has created an aesthetic space that integrates natural inspiration with modern technology.
Covering 504 square meters, the open exhibition area incorporates unique aesthetic values under the concept of "Journey of Beauty", retracing and savoring the company's original intentions, accomplishments and vision of creating a more beautiful world for more than 70 years.
For a lighting company, localization is specifically important, as aesthetic standards and brightness requirements vary from region to region.
Its aesthetic evaluation system is based on machine learning.
Meitu is now eyeing new growth points from SaaS with the launch of MeituEve, which provides AI-powered skin analysis and related SaaS solutions for skincare brands, aesthetic medical clinics and beauty salons.
Speaking at a media roundtable during the Appliance & Electronics World Expo (2023) held in Shanghai in late April, the Dutch executive noted that Chinese Consumers are more likely to purchase built-in household appliances because they tend to have higher aesthetic requirements and demand perfect functionality from the products.
"We weave the Chinese aesthetic lifestyle into refined details, allowing guests to experience the beauty of elegance and comfort as inspired by nature.
For residents, surfers and tourists, the significance of Corona living bin is not just about providing people with places to dump garbage, but, more importantly, about rebuilding the close ties between people, plastic waste and community from a unique aesthetic perspective, said Matt Che, chief marketing officer of Hong Kong-listed Budweiser Brewing Co APAC Ltd, a part of AB InBev.
Wu said the company is eyeing new growth points from the SaaS business by launching MeituEve, which provides artificial intelligence-powered skin analysis and related SaaS solutions for skincare brands, aesthetic medical clinics and beauty salons.
In addition to focusing on the sales and production of hyaluronic acid products in the country, LG Chem will rely on science and technology to improve product quality and reinforce their brand image to increase its competitiveness in this market, said Kim Hye-ja, vice-president of LG Chem Life Sciences Co's aesthetic division and CEO of LG Jiansheng Life Sciences(Beijing) Co Ltd.
"We always feel obliged to leverage advanced technologies in the upgrade of the hyaluronic acid industry and ensure the products' service safety," said Jung Im-no, expert advisor of LG Chem Life Sciences' aesthetic division, adding that the company has been investing constantly in research and applications.
Already one of the world's largest, China's aesthetic medicine market value stood at 143.6 billion yuan ($20.5 billion) in 2020, and is expected to hit 318.5 billion yuan in 2024, with the compound annual growth rate reaching 17.3 percent, according to a study released by consultancy Frost&Sullivan.
According to a study conducted by Kantar Worldpanel China last September, Chinese women aged between 15 and 39 have relatively higher preferences for hair salons and beauty devices, compared with lower interest in beauty salons and medical aesthetic procedures.
根据Kantar Worldpanel China去年9月进行的一项研究，年龄在15岁至39岁之间的中国女性对发廊和美容设备的偏好相对较高，而对美容院和医疗美容程序的兴趣较低。
According to CBNData, 91.3 percent of those aged between 22 and 32 years old who were interviewed for a survey in 2020 chose aesthetic medicine as the primary way to fight against aging, followed by skincare and workout.
"With excellent product quality and aesthetic designs, China's domestic brands are paying more attention to brand building now," said Zhong Bo, chairman of Chengdu XGIMI Technology Co Ltd.
One example comes from the booming aesthetic medicine industry.
Already one of the world's largest, China's aesthetic medicine market value stood at 143.6 billion yuan in 2020, and is expected to hit 318.5 billion yuan in 2024, with the compound annual growth rate reaching 17.3 percent, according to Frost& Sullivan.
The aesthetic medicine industry consumes the largest share of pharmaceutical-grade hyaluronic acid in China, accounting for 55 percent in 2019, followed by treatment for orthoptics and ophthalmology, according to Orient Securities.
"Cheng said the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic has compounded a malaise in the cinema industry, which typically features a lack of certainty concerning financial returns or overall aesthetic quality.
The campaign aims at conveying to medical aesthetics consumers the concept of "going to formal institutions, finding qualified doctors and using standard products", as well as raising their safety awareness and establishing a rational and scientific aesthetic value.
According to the report from consulting firm iResearch, China's medical aesthetic market reached 176.9 billion yuan ($25.4 billion) in 2019, growing 22.2 percent year-on-year.
Aggregate value of medical aesthetic treatment transactions facilitated by So-Young's platform was about 1.8 billion yuan, an increase of 66.6 percent from a year earlier.
Jin Xing Jin, co-founder and CEO of So-Young, said the company has made several strategic changes to enrich the growing and vibrant community of users and medical aesthetic professionals, and its goal for this year is to create a more diverse, engaging and high-quality content portfolio that will dominate the mindshare of users.
Wee Siew Kim, CEO of Singapore-headquartered Nipsea Group, said the company hopes to inspire children's imagination with color, as it believes that "aesthetic education" is a practical element to inspire dreams and guide future life.
As aesthetic education is still scarce for remote villages in China, the firm has been adopting art and color to help children grow up.
Xing Jin, co-founder and CEO of So-Young, said the company believes the medical aesthetic service industry will continue to generate substantial growth opportunities for the company to adjust its strategy to benefit.
The company said it used technologies such as face recognition, 3D simulation and machine learning, and relied on professional aesthetic knowledge and the huge data of app users' photos and cosmetic surgery pictures the company had accumulated, to develop the new system.
They have seen many excellent practices across the world and have their own aesthetic perspective.
Ireland-based pharmaceutical giant Allergan is planning to increase investment in China and train more local medical cosmetic professionals, as the country's medical aesthetic industry booms and the sector is in urgent need of talents, said a senior executive.
Working with the Chinese Association of Plastics and Aesthetics, on June 13, Allergan China launched its first medical cosmetics course at its newly built innovation center in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province, to give medical professionals systematic training in areas such as anatomical basis, aesthetic evaluation, consumer communication and photography.
China's medical aesthetic industry is exploding, and the public demand is surging, forcing medical professionals, techniques, products and institutions to make progress," Fan said.
"According to a recent report by SoYoung, China's leading medical aesthetic platform, in 2018, the market in China totaled 224.5 billion yuan ($32.4 billion), growing 27.57 percent on a year-on-year basis.
In the past three years, the average annual growth rate of China's medical aesthetic market was 31.83 percent, and the market is estimated to grow at a rate of around 25 percent in the coming five years.
According to SoYoung, out of the 20 million medical aesthetic consumers, 64 percent are from the post-1990s generation, while 19 percent are born after 2000.
"Younger generation consumers lack self-protection awareness, leading to frequent chaos in the market, "said Jiang Hua, director of the Chinese Society of Aesthetic and Plastic Doctor under the Chinese Medical Doctor Association.
"In clinical operations, practitioners with unknown backgrounds generally lack the necessary expertise in anatomical theory, aesthetic evaluation and consumer communication, threatening the safety of beauty seekers.
"If Chinese game-makers want to go abroad, they need to solve three issues—creation, aesthetic style and localization.
After a 15-day rail journey from Europe, the first shipment of high-end medical aesthetic products from Ireland arrived in Chengdu.
We are also the first foreign medical aesthetic company here.
"Medical aesthetic products are a fast-emerging business.
According to SoYoung, China's leading medical aesthetic platform, in 2018, the market in China was worth 224.5 billion yuan, up 27.57 percent year-on-year, and Chengdu is aiming to turn itself into a center of medical aesthetic business.
In 2018, Chengdu released a development plan to push its medical aesthetic industry revenue to over 100 billion yuan by 2025, and to further double the number by 2030.
This gives stores across geographies the freedom to customize presentation to suit local aesthetic habits.
Lin Liangqi, president of AkzoNobel China, said aesthetic education has a great influence on cultural enhancement and the power of beauty can inspire and encourage people to create a better world.
The company is honored to be able to explore together with masters of the craft to enhance aesthetic education in remote areas in China.
That's why we started Daotian Riji to promote the aesthetic value of the Chinese dessert in the modern age," said Wang Juanshi, deputy general manager of Beijing Daoxiangcun Food Co Ltd. "The biggest feature is the new shop offers handmade desserts that are made-to-order.
Through this platform, users can upload their photos and videos to get aesthetic tips.
"We are still learning and experimenting to find the best way to build the aesthetic of Peking Opera through pay-for-knowledge platforms. "
It will also cooperate with more Chinese designers to cater to the increased aesthetic demands of Chinese consumers.
"A fan of contemporary arts, Blackburn said his interest has sensitized him to an aesthetic approach to managing Swire Properties in the mainland.
Rather than providing a luxurious experience, the hotel will focus on "offering an aesthetic sense of simplicity".
Legend Capital led the 120 million yuan ($17 million) series B round in PhiSkin, the Shanghai-based aesthetic medical and beauty services provider that focuses on skin treatment.
"Out of the many different niche sectors in the healthcare industry, medical aesthetic clinics are the easiest to understand and operate," Hsu added.
He said that demand for aesthetic medical services would continue to expand as the middle class population grows steadily, and mid-to-high income people required more anti-aging services.
"If we just consider high-quality medical aesthetic services which are operated by real high quality doctors, the supply is not enough," he said.
"China's aesthetic medical services sector has been appealing to a wide range of investors.
That has included Nanjing-based Suning group, which set 5 billion yuan fund to invest into aesthetic medical services, and Beijing-based female fashion retailer Lancy, which acquired stakes in six beauty clinics and now seeks to raise more fund to invest in a cosmetic services hospital.
Shanghai-based conglomerate Fosun also invested in acquiring stakes in aesthetic medical equipment and material suppliers, aesthetic medical information providers, and aesthetic medical clinics－in a bid to profit from the fast-growing market throughout the entire value chain.
According to data from the country's representative body for comestic medical services and plastic surgery, the Chinese Association of Platics and Aesthetics, the country now has more than 10,000 aesthetic medical services clinics, and some 3 million quasi-aesthetics stores without medical service qualifications providing services such as acne treatment and anti-aging treatment.
Analysts estimate that in 2014, some 1 percent of the population used aesthetic medical services, and the number is seen reaching about 17 percent by 2019.
"The aesthetic medical services market is quite fragmented in China, but its size is expanding fast.
Coming for the sixth time with his newly designed products in various patterns and colors to help meet the aesthetic demands of Chinese customers, Bhusal said he was more than happy to revisit Kunming after three years due to the pandemic.
"Liu Wenqi, director of the company's overseas marketing department, gave a nod of approval to Chorley's request, as part of the company's efforts to better meet the aesthetic preferences and usage habits of their customers.
China's art collectors are constantly developing new aesthetic interests, with exuberant enthusiasm for cross-cultural and interdisciplinary art, Yang said.
"Personalized and socialized aesthetic expressions of Chinese consumers have reached a new high.
We used our expertise to enlarge the initial draft by more than 100 times to fit its designated size in the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) and ensure its aesthetic standard.
The visual outlook design of its products is also more in line with young people's aesthetic tastes.
The project model has been constructed dozens of times so that the waiting room in the station can be built as a whole with beauty and aesthetic value," he said.
From actors to settings, everything aims to align with local aesthetic preferences.
Thanks to its high quality and aesthetic appeal, Qixian's glassware products have made a mark at various international events such as the G20 Summit, the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and the Qatar World Cup, Zhang added.
Wang currently serves as the Chief Product Officer at Marsmart pet stores, which feature a captivating Martian aesthetic.
Though tanning currently remains a niche aesthetic in China, its growing popularity indicates a shift in Chinese beauty standards, Chen said.
Also, their identification with Chinese cultural elements incorporated by the brands is a reflection of the improvement of national strength and the return of the collective aesthetic, they said.
"Currently, manufacturers of some devices, such as carbon dioxide aesthetic devices, have reached international standards and have produced many high-quality devices.
"As people's living standards improve, their aesthetic demands have risen too," said Zhou Chong, an art collector in his early 30s.
Apart from pharmaceutical manufacturers with innovative drugs for conventional patients, overseas producers of more than 100 popular brands of medical aesthetic products have applied for entry into the zone, seeing the huge demand for beauty products in the China market,'' said Lyu Hui, an official with the pilot zone administration.
Hugel's numerous medical aesthetic products have the lion's share of the market in South Korea as well as having worldwide reach.
The country's medical aesthetic market is projected to top 300 billion yuan ($46.87 billion) in 2023 from 200 billion yuan in 2020, the Ries report said.
"Underpinned by the steady growth of consumer disposable income, people's acceptance of aesthetic medicine consumption has gradually been boosted by the dual influence of trade-up trends and increased awareness due to novel digital marketing advancements," Ries' Xiao said.
To tap into the digital-savvy group, Galderma is working in tandem with e-commerce platforms, online review sites and individual professional influencers, such as dermatologists, to promote the safe and responsible use of medical aesthetic products.
"Ice cream is not only a special summer delicacy but meets the aesthetic and social needs of more and more young people in leisure," said Huang Ying, deputy director of PR of Chicecream, a popular ice cream brand in China.
Currently, institutions carrying out hair transplants in the country fall into four categories: large chain organizations, making up 30 percent of the market; comprehensive medical and aesthetic institutions, at 25 percent; public hospitals, at 15 percent; and local clinics, at 30 percent.
The company said that Japan and China both belong to the same Asian cultural community, and share strong cultural and aesthetic traits.
Among its planned offerings are cutting-edge medical products and solutions, including specially licensed medical treatments, cancer prevention and care, health management services, rehabilitation, aesthetic medicine and anti-aging treatment.
"A decade ago, I thought the aesthetic medicine market in China will mature in the next 10 years.
According to Deloitte, the aesthetic medicine industry includes surgery, injections and skin treatments.
According to surveys conducted on Asian respondents by academic journal Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the most highly addressed facial feature for doctors and beauty seekers in China last year, especially in the 18-30 age group, was nose shaping.
To tap into the digital savvy group, Galderma is working in tandem with e-commerce platforms, online review sites and individual professional influencers such as dermatologists to promote the safe and responsible use of medical aesthetic products.
To tap the growing market in China, Galderma will introduce nine medical aesthetic products and six skin care items, and a dermatologic medicine before 2024.
"To mitigate potential risks caused by external factors, China's garment industry needs to participate more in future standards setting and hold cultural events to introduce their products on the international stage, as well as bring in advanced technological solutions, industrial practice theories and aesthetic value orientation, Sun added.
The campaign aims to convey to medical aesthetics consumers the concept of "going to formal institutions, finding qualified doctors and using standard products", as well as raising their safety awareness and establishing a rational and scientific aesthetic value.
Mylike Aesthetic Plastic Hospital Group, a Beijing-based medical aesthetics giant, said that ever since the company was established, it has only offered products and services via its direct outlets, refusing involvement of intermediaries to guarantee the quality and authenticity of its products and services.
A report from online aesthetic medicine platform SoYoung showed that in 2019, China's male medical aesthetics consumption market accounted for 9.98 percent of the total.
Mu Liang, client manager in the marketing department of Mylike Younger－the high-end outlet of Beijing-based beauty salon giant Mylike Aesthetic Plastic Hospital Group－said that during the past five to six years, China's medical aesthetics sector has witnessed great changes.
On March 26, Switzerland-based Straumann Group and Shanghai's Minhang district government held a signing ceremony for the company's first China campus for manufacturing, education and innovation－an effort by the global aesthetic dentistry leader to expand business in the local market.
Many Chinese have found it quite convenient to get the job done through aesthetic medicine services delivered by internet platforms.
Aesthetic medicine is a broad term for specialities that focus on altering cosmetic appearance through both surgical and non-surgical treatment.
China's aesthetic medicine industry has been undergoing a transition featuring digitalization and the use of intelligent tools in recent years, and the pandemic－although a blow to the industry－has prompted it to further keep pace with information trends.
Such apps include both online aesthetic medicine platforms such as SoYoung and Gengmei, and technology firm like Meituan.


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PICO CHEMICAL: Resin Dissolver
PICO Chemical Corp., Chicago Heights, IL, has announced the development of a resin dissolver for the quick and complete removal of stubborn styrene polymer build-up from reactor interiors. Previous cleaning efforts by a styrene resin manufacturer were described as a nightmarish “exercise in futility,” resulting in long periods of costly downtime and risky, laborious manual follow-up that left incomplete results. PS 1025 Reactor Cleaning Accelerator was employed, and made the entire reactor interior bare-metal clean from recent as well as aged resin accumulations in just a few short hours. This reusable, water-based material has performed many subsequent times without failure for complete and reliable styrene removal, providing additional benefits and accelerating return for the company. As a direct result of PS 1025, this customer has reported a measurable increase in product quality, process efficiencies and production capacity.
For more information, visit www.picochemical.com.


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Johnson & Johnson profit beats, lifts forecast on cancer drug demand
Johnson & Johnson reported slightly better-than-expected third quarter profit and raised its full-year forecast on Tuesday as increased demand for cancer drugs and immune disorder treatments powered strong results for its pharmaceutical unit.
Shares of the healthcare conglomerate were up 2.3 percent at $137 in morning trading after it raised its adjusted 2018 earnings forecast to a range of $8.13 to $8.18 per share from a prior view of $8.07 to $8.17.
Solid prescription drug sales helped offset continued disappointment in the medical devices segment. Executives on a conference call said that business would start to grow in-line or better than the market by 2020.
"We are not satisfied with the performance in medical devices," Chief Financial Officer Joseph Wolk said after the unit's quarterly sales missed Wall Street estimates.
Pricing pressure has impacted all categories in orthopedics, the company said, adding that it will consider both transformative acquisitions and smaller, tuck-in deals to support the business.
The company has been selling off certain businesses, such as diabetes care devices, to focus on better performing units and the development of new products.
Overall sales rose 3.6 percent to $20.35 billion in the quarter, exceeding analysts' average estimate of $20.05 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
Pharmaceuticals sale rose 6.7 percent to $10.35 billion, fueled by double-digit sales growth for prostate cancer drug Zytiga and Stelara for Chrohn's disease and psoriasis
Zytiga sales surged 43 percent to $958 million, blowing past the consensus estimate of $795 million, according to Barclays. Stelara sales jumped 16.5 percent to $1.31 billion, above expectations of about $1.27 billion.
Sales of rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade fell 16.3 percent to $1.38 billion due to increasing competition from cheaper biosimilar versions.
Newer blood cancer drug Darzalex brought in sales of $498 million, falling short of lofty Wall Street estimates of about $510 million.
Medical device sales were down 0.2 percent at $6.59 billion, while consumer products sales rose 1.8 percent to $3.42 billion, helped by the U.S. relaunch of the Johnson's baby brand.
Excluding items, the company earned $2.05 per share, edging past analysts' average forecasts by 2 cents.
Wolk said on Tuesday that while J&J was supportive of more transparency in drug pricing, the company does not believe a Trump administration proposal for requiring the list price of medicines at the end of television ads would be helpful.
He said including those prices in commercials could be somewhat confusing and "act as a deterrent to good responsible healthcare."
Medical Dialogues Bureau consists of a team of passionate medical/scientific writers, led by doctors and healthcare researchers. Our team efforts to bring you updated and timely news about the important happenings of the medical and healthcare sector. Our editorial team can be reached at email@example.com. Check out more about our bureau/team here


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OTTAWA – April 21, 2015 – Recycle My Cell, Canada’s free cell phone recycling program, is calling on Canadians to join in the Earth Day celebrations on Wednesday, April 22 by making sure that all those old cell phones in our junk drawers are recycled responsibly.
Canadians can visit the bilingual Web site – www.RecycleMyCell.ca and www.Recyclemoncell.ca – and enter their postal code to locate the 10 drop-off locations closest to them where their old wireless devices will be accepted, regardless of brand or condition. If a consumer cannot get to one of the drop-off locations in their neighborhood, the Web site offers printable postage-paid labels that can be used to mail the device back to Recycle My Cell at absolutely no cost to the consumer.
Canadian Cell Phone Recycling Facts
- 875,366 wireless devices were recovered in 2014.
- 5,757,957 wireless devices have been recovered since 2005.
- Recycle My Cell offers more than 3,600 drop-off locations across Canada.
- RecycleMyCell.ca experienced more than 15,000 searches for drop-locations in 2014.
Findings from the 2014 National Cell Phone Recycling Study include:
- On average, Canadians had used their current phone for nearly two years (21 months).
- Canadians had owned on average three or four cell phones prior to their current one.
- Two in five Canadians (40%) stored their old handset when a new cell phone is obtained; 22% gave it away or sold it; 10% recycled it; 9% returned it to a store or their cell phone company; and 5% threw it away in the garbage.
- Half of Canadians (50%) were aware of recycling programs for cell phones.
- Satisfaction with the Recycle My Cell program was very high. Over four in five users (84%) assigned a positive rating to their cell phone recycling experience.
“Thinking green doesn’t need to be complicated, and keeping old cell phones out of our landfills couldn’t be easier,” said Bernard Lord, President & CEO of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA). “I encourage all Canadians to celebrate Earth Day by taking a few moments to reflect on some of the simple things they can do to help protect the environment for future generations.”
What’s in Your Drawers?
Earth Day also marks the launches of Recycle My Cell’s “What in Your Drawers?” community challenges in Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador. Non-profit and community organizations in those provinces are challenged to collect as many old cell phones as possible between April 22 and May 22, 2015. The group in each province that collects the most wireless devices will receive a $500 prize. For registration and complete challenge rules, please visit www.RecycleMyCell.ca/Whats-in-Your-Drawers-Challenge.
Host a Recycle My Cell Drop-off Location Year-Round
Businesses and community organizations across the country can also support the Recycle My Cell program by hosting a drop-off location year-round. Registration is quick and easy, and pre-paid shipping and promotional materials are provided at no cost. For more information, please visit www.RecycleMyCell.ca/host-a-drop-off-location or contact [email protected].
About Recycle My Cell
Recycle My Cell is Canada’s national recycling program for mobile phones and accessories. The bilingual Web site – www.RecycleMyCell.ca and www.Recyclemoncell.ca – allows consumers to simply enter their postal code to locate the 10 drop-off locations closest to them where their devices will be accepted, regardless of brand or condition. The free program is run by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), in conjunction with cell phone carriers, handset manufacturers and approved processors, who have come together to raise awareness about the importance of cell phone recycling. The program’s partners include: Bell, BlackBerry, Eastlink, GEEP Inc., Google, GREENTEC, LG Electronics Canada, Inc., Lynx Mobility, Microsoft, MTS, ProMobility, Rogers Communications, Samsung Electronics Canada Inc., SaskTel, Sony of Canada, Tbaytel, TELUS, Videotron, and Virgin Mobile Canada.
613-233-4888 ext. 207


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THE DAILY SCOPE, 12/15/21: There is big news in the technology distribution and services business world. Exertis (DCC Technology) today said that it will acquire Almo Corporation, a 75-year-old family business with 660 employees, nine distribution centers, and warehouse space totaling more than 2.5 million square feet. It’s the biggest acquisition in the history of Exertis and its parent company DCC plc. It not only expands Exertis’s North American offerings in consumer appliances and consumer electronics, but also gives Almo and its customers better access to the supply chain. Current Almo CEO and President Warren Chaiken will continue to run Almo under its new owners.
In other news, just one day after announcing that it would reinstitute mask requirements at its brick-and-mortar retail stores, Apple is temporarily shutting down three of its retail stores in Miami, Annapolis, and Ottawa. It isn’t clear if employees with COVID cases were vaccinated – or boostered, for that matter – and closing stores for this reason is nothing new for Apple, but usually it isn’t more than one location at a time. Besides the mass closure of 2020, it closed stores in Texas and South Carolina just last week, according to Bloomberg. All we can say is, strategies such as wearing masks and/or getting vaccinated (and booster shots if it’s six months since your last vaccination) tend to keep this COVID thing at bay and people out of the hospital. Kudos to Apple for taking swift action, which will likely do more to set a precedent than make a huge dent in Omicron spread, but action speaks louder than signs with gentle reminders at the entrance doors.
Some gamers may have experienced slowdowns and outright shutouts earlier today when the West Coast servers at Amazon Web Services (AWS), which powers a big chunk of online gaming services from Twitch to PlayStation Network, went down briefly. Also down were services such as DoorDash and Slack. Fortunately it was resolved in minutes, but it’s the second AWS outage this month (last week, connected security cameras were affected due to an issue with AWS’s East Coast servers). The cloud is cool and all, but it’s not really physically in front of you and is inaccessible regularly for any number of reasons, so remember to save your work!
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Retailers Caught Unaware By Smash-and-Grab Theft Have Few Tools to Combat It
Lowe’s Expects Home Improvement Demand to Cool
November Retail Sales Slow Sharply As Historic Inflation Surge Bites Spending


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News > Turkey slaps advertising ban on Twitter, Pinterest
Turkey slaps advertising ban on Twitter, Pinterest
The Hindu | 19/01/2021 07:55 PM | Click to read full article
Turkey on Tuesday slapped advertising bans on Twitter, Periscope and Pinterest over their non-compliance with a controversial new law that requires social media platforms to appoint legal representatives in the country.
The law forces social media companies to maintain representatives in Turkey to deal with complaints about content on their platforms. Facebook avoided the advertising ban after it announced on Monday that it had begun the process of assigning a legal entity in Turkey.


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(USA) Wanted: 1.4 million new supply chain workers by 2018
TL Hub recommends you to read this article published by "FORTUNES" (USA).
You will find most relevant parts of this paper here under; to read the entire article, please follow this link.
US logistics challenge & issues are quite similar in Belgium (figures change )
"Easy. The vast U.S. logistics business, which delivers 48 million tons of freight (worth about $48 billion) daily and already employs roughly 6 million people, operates mostly behind the scenes."
"When you order something from, say, Amazon, you know it arrives on your doorstep in two days, but most people don’t think about how,” observes George Prest, CEO of logistics trade group Material Handling Industry (MHI)"
"“I think the challenge we have is the same as for lots of manufacturing companies,” says Chuck Edwards, president of Lenze Americas, the Uxbridge, Mass.-based arm of German logistics giant Lenze, which specializes in supply-chain automation, software, and systems integration. “How do you communicate to college kids that this stuff is cool?” Like other supply-chain employers, Lenze recruits heavily at a handful of colleges “with strong engineering and tech programs,” including MIT, Cornell, and Purdue."


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Organizers claimed that nearly 2 million Hong Kong protesters took to the streets Sunday in a rally to demand the city's top official resign a day after she suspended — but...China Politicsread more
The Fed is not likely to make a move on interest rates when it meets next week, but it should clear the way for a rate cut later in the summer.Market Insiderread more
Software engineers straight out of college often make six-figure salaries, not counting equity compensation.Technologyread more
Representatives from the Chinese side say they think it likely that Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the G-20 meeting later this month. But in order to reach a trade...China Economyread more
In the survey, 66% of Democratic primary voters say they'd be enthusiastic or comfortable about Biden as their nominee to take on President Trump in the 2020 election. Just...Politicsread more
You can save money by doing a quick check and unsubscribing from apps you no longer use.Technologyread more
Investors are holding out hope that Fed Chair Jerome Powell lays the groundwork for a rate cut as soon as July. Even just one this year would be a mistake, says Amanda Agati,...Trading Nationread more
A company spokesperson said the outage was the result of a "an internal technology issue" and was not security related.Retailread more
Mired in a crisis over its best-selling 737 Max plane, Boeing could hand the spotlight over to its rival Airbus at the Paris Air Show.Airlinesread more
Using MIT's living wage calculator, CNBC Make It mapped out the minimum amount a single parent must earn to meet their basic needs without relying on outside help in every...Earnread more
Luckin's opportunity in China is "one of the world's greatest retail growth opportunities," according to KeyBanc Capital Markets.Investingread more
Starbucks on Thursday reported earnings that outpaced analyst expectations and raised its outlook for the year, as customers spent more at its cafes in the U.S. and sales growth in China was stronger than expected.
Shares of the company were unchanged in extended trading.
"We are especially pleased with our comparable store sales growth in our two lead markets, the U.S. and China, where we are also continuing to drive strong new store development with industry-leading returns," CEO Kevin Johnson said in a statement.
Here's what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:
The coffee chain reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $663.2 million, or 53 cents per share, up from $660.1 million, or 47 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding the sale of its Tazo brand, costs related to its licensing deal with Nestle and other items, Starbucks earned 60 cents per share, topping the 56 cents per share expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
The company raised its full-year earnings forecast. It is now expects adjusted, or non-GAAP, earnings per share in the range of $2.75 to $2.79, up from a prior range of $2.68 to $2.73. Analysts were forecasting 2019 earnings of $2.71 per share.
Net sales rose 5% to $6.31 billion, missing expectations of $6.32 billion.
The company reported same-store sales growth of 3%, beating Wall Street's estimates of 2.9%. Starbucks attributed the growth to a 3% increase in average ticket.
"While much of the beverage comp sales growth was driven by ticket, close to half of the ticket growth was from beverage mix and match, demonstrating that our higher margin premium offerings resonated with customers and customers bought more beverages per transaction," CFO Pat Grismer told analysts on the conference call.
Starbucks released one of those pricier drinks last month, the Cloud Macchiato, with help from pop star Ariana Grande. Johnson called the drink's launch "the second most viral Starbucks campaign ever." The beverage is part of its wider drink innovation strategy: focus more on cold drinks and less on limited-time offerings and Frappucinos. The strategy is meant to build more brand affinity to keep customers coming back to Starbucks' coffee shops regularly.
The chain also saw the best afternoon performance in three years, due to the popularity of its cold drinks and improved in-store experience. In the U.S., sales at stores open at least a year grew by 4%.
The company even saw same-store sales growth of 3% in China, where the company is facing increased competition from Luckin Coffee and a slowing economy.
"This performance is especially noteworthy when you consider the intensity of competition from discounting in China, as well as our aggressive pace of new store development," Johnson said.
However, transactions at stores open at least a year fell 1% in the country, meaning that traffic was declining.
In just four months, Starbucks added delivery to 2,100 of its stores in China through its partnership with Alibaba. Johnson said that the average delivery time is under 20 minutes. The company is planning to launch mobile order and pay in the country by the end of fiscal 2019.
In the second quarter, Starbucks Rewards reached 8.3 million active Chinese members. Executives said on the conference call that loyalty program members represent over 50% of its transactions in China.
Starbucks' loyalty program grew to 16.8 million active members in the U.S., up 13% from last year. The Seattle-based company recently revamped the program, offering a wider range of redemption options for members. The changes also mean that customers have to spend more to earn a free drink.
Unlike the last time that it made major changes to its loyalty program back in 2016, Starbucks has largely avoided social media backlash. COO Roz Brewer said that the company has also not seen as many phone calls to its customer service hotline as expected.
During its second quarter, the company added 319 net new stores, bringing its total to 30,184 worldwide. A whopping 94% of its openings were outside of the U.S., including a Reserve Roastery in Japan.
And Starbucks has no plans to slow down store openings in the second half of 2019. The company plans to add 2,100 net new stores globally. Nearly 600 of those openings will be in China, as rival Luckin plans to open 2,500 this year in an attempt to overtake Starbucks as the largest coffee chain in the country. Rather than mimicking Starbucks' homey store concept, the fast-growing newcomer's strategy has focused on stores designed for convenience and easy pick-up.


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Furniture and design company Pentatonic revealed their innovative creation, the Trashpresso, at the London Design Festival this week, setting it up in the courtyard of the historic Somerset House in Central London, according to Inhabitat. The name makes it sound like the Trashpresso turns garbage into espresso, but it is actually even more useful than that. The mobile technology is a solar-powered mini-recycling plant that transforms plastic waste into usable architectural tiles.
Pentatonic is committed to using materials for their products that have some element of recycling involved. They don't use raw goods that create excess waste. They also want whatever they make to be reusable too, so they don't use glues, resins, paints, or formaldehydes to create their work. Thus everything in their studio can be safely recycled. Co-founder Johann Bodecker says this is an ethos that informs all decisions at the company.
“Our non-negotiable commitment to the consumer is that we make our products using single materials. That means no toxic additives and no hybridized materials which are prohibitive of recyclability,” said Bodecker.
The Trashpresso is a way to spread that ethos around, as it can be used in places off the grid where traditional recycling plants wouldn't be capable of functioning. The machine sorts, shreds, and then compresses the plastic fibers it creates into the fully formed tiles visitors could see on display in London. Spheres were put on display around the Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court nearby, and then slowly filled in by the tiles created by their machine.
The company's ideas have attracted the attention of companies who want to reduce their own contribution to waste and ocean pollution in the form of plastic. Starbucks UK has commissioned Pentatonic to turns their coffee shop waste into furniture. They'll be producing Starbucks Bean Chairs with recycled textiles, with a frame produced from plastic bottles and cups. You can soon be comfy, caffeinated, and supporting a sustainable planet. There's nothing the Trashpresso can't do.
Nissan plans to bring their futuristic IMx concept into production soon. The Japanese auto manufacturer believes that this model will be a revolution in the battery-electric SUV market and could be cheaper than the competition.
Almond production has grown in recent years. This does create plenty of shell waste, but farmers and the USDA are finding ways to turn that into useful, renewable products.
Actor and activist Jaden Smith isn't slowing down after launching his new JUST Water brand. G-Star Raw, a denim clothing company that focuses on sustainability, is teaming up with Smith for a new renewable denim line coming out in the fall.
Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted announced the company was able to sell one million of their new sustainable shoe line last year and that should grow by five times this year.


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Doodle Jump – one of the most popular and addictive games in the Android market to date – has gone on sale until November 17th for only $.99. (Normally, it’ll set you back $3.49.) Aside from a nice temporary price drop, you’ll get four new themes – Jungle, Space, Night, and Christmas – and the usual round of bug fixes and performance enhancements that you’d expect. Doodle Jump is one of those games that just never gets old, so don’t hesitate to give it a shot (and remember that you have 24 hours to get your 99 pennies back.)
stars Popular this Weeklaunch
While smart TV makers are keen on wowing you with the promise of “Netflix and Chill” at the click of a button, we’re going to buck the trend and take the stance that you shouldn’t buy an Android TV with Chromecast built-in.
A scary new WiFi vulnerability is being reported this morning, and it affects pretty much every WiFi device out there.
Google customer support has confirmed that the company will not void the warranty for any Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL owners who have rooted their devices.
The OnePlus 5T rumor mill has been churning lately and these latest images with a fingerprint sensor on the back fuel that fire.
Looking for something fun to do this month? Noodlecake has announced that zombie road-trip survival sim Death Road to Canada is finally coming to Android.
more_vertGoogle Search custom widget
The latest beta of the Google app (7.14.15) get some cool customization tools for the Search widget.
more_vertSamsung & Google ARCore
Today, Samsung and Google announced a partnership to bring ARCore to Galaxy smartphones. This is a huge step in ARCore being a viable competitor to Apple’s ARKit.


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Sungjee Construction Co. announced on March 15 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Indonesian state-owned port company PT. Pelabuhan Indonesia 1 (Persero) for joint development of Tanjung Sauh Container Port.
The project calls for building a container port on Batam Island in the southeastern part of Indonesia. The port is scheduled to start commercial operation in 2022. The total project cost is estimated at about US$2 billion.
Indonesia plans to develop Tanjung Sauh Container Port as the biggest logistics hub in Southeast Asia. It will make a massive investment to improve the port's infrastructure and grow it into an industrial center.
The port's business prospect is bright as it has a competitive edge compared with the Singapore port, which is only 40 km north of Batam Island.
"We are hoping that the largest port development project in Indonesia will help us secure a high growth and profit base," an official of Sungjee Construction said. "We will make more efforts to win overseas construction contracts based on this project."


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Jun 23, 2019
By Zoomer Podcast Network
This week the federal government unveiled its long-awaited dementia strategy which focuses on prevention and help for caregivers. But it will take more research to conquer the disease and that’s why Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging received 46-million dollars to investigate the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of dementia. Dr. Howard Chertkow is leading more than 300 researchers in this effort. He dropped by our Liberty Village studios to tell Libby Znaimer about it.
The alternative meat market is booming, with plant-based fake meats taking over grocery stores and fast food restaurants. Part of the appeal is that eating less red meat can reduce health risks such heart disease. But nutritionists say ordering a meatless burger at a fast food chain might not be that much better for you. The nutritional profiles are strikingly similar, both pack the same amount of sodium, calories and fat content. And in all cases the meatless version were more expensive in most fast food menus.
Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Food Distribution and Policy professor at Dalhousie University joins Bob Komsic, filling in for Libby Znaimer, on the phone.