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BT has posted a 1.4 per cent increase in its second quarter results, but is bracing itself for its #500 million windfall tax levy, the first instalment of which is expected in December.
Pre-tax profits rose to #881 million on turnover of #3.8 billion. Earnings per share increased by 4.1 per cent to 9.4 pence.
Demand for private circuits for Internet and Intranets represented the biggest growth at 9.8 per cent.
MCI, however, fared less well in its second quarter. Net income slid by 6.7 per cent to $470 million, on turnover of $4.8 billion. Earlier this month, MCI warned that its profits would be hit by difficulties tackling its local market. This led BT to review the situation.
Insecticides based on sulfoxaflor might be as bad for bees as neonicotinoids
Intel teases forthcoming new graphics card accompanied by the text "We will set our graphics free"
Think your password manager is completely secure? Think again...
ARM plans 7nm 'Deimos' for 2019 and 5nm and 7nm 'Hercules' for 2020


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Those of us who watch and study Korean big business and their complex corporate structures, find the relationship between the Groups and Korean government facinating. On one hand the government tries to regulate Korean bid business, one the other hand hampering the Groups might hurt the economy.
One issue that continues to surface is the holding company issue. All of the major Korean business groups have a defacto holding company. Most often the defacto firm is wholely owned by the controlling family and used to transfer control from one generation to the next.
This article notes a move by Korea's regulatory agency to push the Groups to better transparancy and less complex and clouded shareholder systems...
Fair Trade Commission (FTC) chairman Kang Chul-kyu Friday hinted that the anti-trust regulator will seek ways to give conglomerates incentives if they improve their long-standing conservative governing structures.
In a closed-door meeting with chiefs of 15 conglomerate' restructuring offices in downtown Seoul, Kang said the FTC intends to offer conglomerates incentives to convert their complicated shareholding system into a holding firm system.
Kang told reporters that his comment on the incentives has come after representatives from conglomerates called on him to scrap regulatory requirements dealing with their control of subsidiaries.
He said the participants requested a step-by-step lowering of the ceiling on holding firms' owning of units, 30 percent or more for non-listed units and 50 percent for listed units.
Furthermore, Kang said, they hoped that the FTC would eventually abolish the requirements.
The chairman replied that it is difficult for the regulator to accept the proposal, but said an incentive system could be possible for those trying to conform to the government's policies.
Kang also called for conglomerates to have transparent operations in their restructuring offices.
Kang said he told the participants to take responsibility for trading and controlling affiliates. Compared to the rights they have, restructuring offices lack transparency and responsibility, he said.
The corporate restructuring offices of chaebol, such as Samsung Group and LG Group, have frequently been investigated by prosecutors for their questionable funding of affiliates since the 1997 financial crisis.

domain: news


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WiredPRNews.com Press Release – West Palm Beach, FL – October 14, 2008- Cutting expenses is one of the first steps small businesses take to offset tough times such as what we all face right now. What goes first? Marketing, Advertising, Labor costs, Employee benefits, yikes!
Hey, this is about survival here! Small businesses start cutting marketing, advertising and other efforts that serve their current customers and attract new ones. Small businesses have to keep up with the times. The art of self-inventing and innovation are essential because innovation is the only edge in the 21st century. Today, technology has made inroads to almost anywhere you may want to travel with your businesses. The advantages we now have at our fingertips, literally were almost unheard of just a few years ago to small businesses.
Some of the newer more innovative techniques to market your business can be found on my website, www.susannefzgerpr.com. Web sites, Search Engine Optimization, internet marketing through social media, public relations through visibility on the world wide web are just a few things you can research. Low cost and very effective, these items are essential to ANY business being successful today, not only small ones.
Thomas Friedman’s new book, “Hot, Flat, and Crowded,” is a follow-up of his best-seller, “The World is Flat.” Recently, he was quoted in The New York Times saying, “A developed country’s competitiveness now comes primarily from its capacity to innovate – the ability to create the new products and services that people want.” He quoted Curtis Carlson, chief executive of SRI International, a Silicon Valley research company, “As such, innovation is now the only path to growth, prosperity, environmental sustainability and national security for America. ”
We operate in an incredibly competitive world. Many information industries require that products be improved by 100 percent every 12 to 36 months, just for the company to stay in business, so log on and find out what is happening out there!
Contact: Susan Nefzger
Susan Nefzger PR & Web Marketing http://www.susannefzgerpr.com/


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Search Result For
Result(s) found: 23
FDI in textile need of the hour
In 2018, China will shy away from conventional textiles to concentrate more on branded apparel. This will create a huge demand-supply gap, says Avinash Mayekar.
Yes, 2018 would be the year for textiles and apparels! Let’s change ourselves in this New Year, by becoming positive in our attitude. Let us begin this year with hope. Hope that this year will be the year for the growth of Indian textile industry, hope for positive investments, and hope that the year will turn out to be the watershed year for Indian textile industry. After all, “hopes” alone have the capacity of driving crazy dreams and making them achievable.
Organic textiles: Blessings for the Future!
The demand of organic textiles in India is much less and has not yet reached the peak for Indian entrepreneurs to jump into organic manufacturing, says Avinash Mayekar.
Textile exports: Yesterday, today & tomorrow
India is changing its colour from traditions to fashion and textile and apparel industry is the best observer to witness the same. We are growing and expanding to be precise we are developing beyond boundaries. From a country once considered only as a farmers land. India today has explored and is competing in each and every segment from textiles to electronics, our presence is dominant everywhere.
Textile investment ahead: A boom or bust or just so-so?
India is one of the fastest growing and promising economies today on the world map. With huge raw material availability and with stable Government, rapid industrial growth is forecasted in near future. Today, textile sector is one of the largest contributors to India´s exports with approximately 11 per cent of total exports.
Faster clearance need of the hour
TUFS scheme has been serving as ´Sanjivani´ (Life Giving) for textile sector till date. It was introduced with an aim to boost investments into textile sector.
Some years ago, IT was moving at a snail´s pace in the Indian textile industry, but now even SMEs are going all-out for ERPs and PLMs, thanks to the realisation that these packages help in the long run, reports Indian Textile Journal.
Yarn: A Welcome Twist
This is no ordinary yarn. Spinners are spinning a new success story with innovations, both in-house and with the help of imported fibres. Samuel Joseph reveals this new dimension to the yarn story.
Advertise Here [300 W x 250 H pixels]


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Last year, Intel seemed to be placing some big bets at the Consumer Electronics Show. CEO Paul Otellini, touting a digital-entertainment initiative called Viiv, staged a glitzy keynote that was highlighted by an appearance by actor Morgan Freeman. Its party boogied to the Black Eyed Peas.
This year, Intel has no keynote, no lavish party. A dinner for reporters with one of its top executives was called off. The biggest news so far comes in a rather ho-hum release describing additional variants of what Intel calls its “quad-core” processor, which is actually two dual-processor chips packaged together.
Why the change? One factor is that Advanced Micro Devices — whose band last year was the Black Crowes, by the way–was causing enough problems in Intel’s microprocessor business that the company decided that it better stick to promoting its bread-and-butter business and let Hollywood fend for itself, for the moment.
Kevin Corbett, the point man for Viiv as vice president of Intel’s digital home group, acknowledged in a recent interview that Viiv has taken off a bit more slowly than expected, partly because new connection devices for hooking PCs and TVs that Intel is certifying under the program did not make the Christmas selling season. But he insists many PCs and other products that will carry the Intel logo are on the way.
Maybe so, but it’s still hard for the average person to understand exactly what Viiv does for them (it has to do with certifying that hardware and Internet-delivered video can all play together in the home).
Meanwhile, let’s give a nod in passing to the new Intel chips, which are particularly suited for PC users doing tasks such as rendering video that can make use of multiple electronic brains. And the price, when you think about it, is quite a tribute to the company’s innovation, and the competition that helps drive it: Intel charges $851 each in thousand-unit quantities for a product with four processors operating at 2.4 gigahertz. It wasn’t long ago that Intel charged more than that for a single-processor chip that ran at less than 1 gigahertz.
How many other things can you be sure will just keep getting better for the same or lower price?


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ShpilbergStudios - stock.adobe.c
With widespread attention focused on the likes of Zoom and other unified communications and collaboration (UCC) applications during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, the sector is moving to address privacy and security problems more quickly than is typical in the industry, according to a new report from Mozilla.
The report, Privacy not included, said that a combination of fierce market competition and heightened scrutiny by the general public, the industry and the media was spurring UCC firms to innovate faster.
“With a record number of people using video call apps to conduct business, teach classes and catch up with friends, it is more important than ever that this technology is trustworthy,” said Ashley Boyd, Mozilla’s vice-president of advocacy.
“The good news is that the boom in usage has put pressure on these companies to improve their privacy and security for all users, which should be a wake-up call for the rest of the tech industry.”
Mozilla said that Zoom, in particular, had acted quickly to tackle its privacy and security problems, partly due to the vast range of other options poised to steal away its traffic, something Mozilla rarely sees with companies like Facebook, which lacks proper competition and so has no incentive to improve when called out on privacy issues.
Mozilla’s researchers reviewed 15 popular video apps and platforms – many of which have seen a surge in usage during the pandemic. Among other things, they assessed privacy policies, dissected app specifications, and looked at critical areas such as third-party data sharing.
They concluded that 12 out of the 15 services met Mozilla’s minimum security standard – which means they use encryption, provide automatic security updates, require strong passwords, manage security vulnerabilities using penetration testing or bug bounties, have clear points of contact for reporting security issues, and have clear privacy policies.
Three of the 15 did not meet these standards – Discord, Doxy.me and Houseparty. Those that did were Apple Facetime, BlueJeans, Cisco WebEx, Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, GoTo Meeting, Jitsi Meet, Microsoft Teams, Signal, Skype, WhatsApp and Zoom.
“Our research reveals there is still much work to do,” said Boyd. “Even though most of the services met our minimum security standards, many of them could still pose risks that consumers need to be aware of. We want to make sure that all videoconferencing apps have basic security and privacy features built-in to protect all users.”
Read more about videoconferencing security
- Videoconferencing tools are a remote worker’s lifeline. As such, it is essential to maintain their security. These eight best practices will help ensure secure, private video-enabled meetings.
- Hybrid cloud provides several benefits to a business. But hybrid cloud video security shouldn’t be taken for granted. Learn what four areas should be considered.
- With more people working from home and collaborating via online meetings, videoconferencing security among vendors and users has been thrust into the spotlight.
All the tested apps used some form of encryption, but very few used true end-to-end encryption, which means nobody not on the call can access its content – these were Apple FaceTime and Signal. Others tended to use client-to-server encryption, which means data is only encrypted in transit and once it has arrived on a company’s servers, it is readable.
The report builds on Mozilla’s manifesto and its research and advocacy work, which focuses on holding tech companies accountable for the security of their products, and giving consumers the information they need to take control when it comes to safeguarding their privacy and security. The full report can be read on its website.


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Playgon Games, a British Columbia based igaming provider, has obtained a type 1 licenses from the Malta Gambing Authority.
This is a huge move for the up-and-comping Canadian software company, as Playgon can now provide its game products and software to all Malta-licensed online casinos and betting sites – of which there are many.
Playgon was founded and based in BC, and primarily creates and develops iGaming technology and licensing for the online casino and fantasy sports markets. The acquisition of the MGA license will increase Playgon’s trust and position as a supplier to the European online casino market – which is the biggest in world, thanks to the global reach of the MGA license.
Playgon has now said that it plans to release its live dealer technology throughout Europe and in other regulated gambling markets. At the heart of Playgon’s live dealer games are table casino classics including, roulette, blackjack and baccarat.
Their plans to tackle the live dealer market are bold, given that the global live dealer market has been dominated by Evolution Gaming from the get go. When online live casino dealer games first came about, Evolution claimed the market by providing service converting existing online casino games into live versions.
Off the back of this, they initially managed to almost monopolise the market, however now a number of software companies are popping up grab a share of the market, with Playgon being the latest to set their sites.
Playgon’s grant of the MGA license follows their already agreed B2B deal with Malta-based online casino supplier Swintt. The combination of license and supplier means that the Canadian software company is now in pole position to take the European online casino market by storm.
Darcy Krogh, chief executive of Playgon Games, is feeling confident, claiming that the demand has been their already for some time. He reinforced the confidence in Playgon’s products, claiming their mobile iGaming technology to be the “most innovative and exciting” on the market today.
The live dealer concept is well-developed, but still relatively new, so their certainly is plenty of room for new and exciting technology.
As well as looking to spread their live dealer technology throughout the European markets, Playgon games is also in the daily fantasy sports game. Back in June 2020, Playgon Games (then names Playgon Interactive) was acquired by Global Daily Fantasy Sports for an estimated CAD$9.5 million.
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
Trading financial products carries a high risk to your capital, especially trading leverage products such as CFDs. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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Fashion writer Louis Pisano has issued a public apology for kickstarting a rumor that A$AP Rocky and Rihanna parted ways due to infidelity.
View this post on Instagram
The social media influencer, claimed the couple — who are expecting their first child — “split” after the rapper was “caught cheating” with shoe designer Amina Muaddi.
“Last night I made a dumb decision to tweet some information I had received,” Pisano tweeted Friday.
“I’m not going to talk about sources, blame others for a discussion that was started, etc because at the end of the day I made the decision to draft that tweet, press send and put that out with my name on it.”
“I’d like to formally apologize to all parties I involved with my actions and for my reckless tweets.”
— LOUIS (@LOUIS_via_ROMA) April 15, 2022
After Pisano posted the since-deleted tweet about Rocky and Muaddi, Muaddi hopped online and slammed the allegations as an “unfounded lie.”
Meanwhile, Rih nor Rocky have responded to the chatter. Instead they jetted off to Barbados where they were spotted hand in hand enjoying Rih’s native country.


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For Canadians who own contactless payment methods such as MasterCard’s Tap & Go-enabled credit cards, the inconvenience of being required to pay any other way has become unacceptable.
This is according to a new study from Technology Strategies International Inc., an Oakville, Ont.-based digital payments researcher.
In its report, Canadian Payments Forecast – 2016, the firm says that contactless payments are becoming the norm, having more than doubled in the value of purchases made by consumers over 2015. That’s an increase of $30 billion over 1.2 billion transactions.
“The contactless market has evolved to the point where consumers are frustrated if the merchant doesn’t accept contactless payments,” Christie Christelis, president of Technology Strategies International, said in a statement. “A number of merchants have found it necessary to place signs on their POS terminals apologizing for the inability to accept contactless payments.”
Before it paves the way for mobile payments, however, contactless payment systems still have to reach ubiquity, the report said, especially in most frequented places such as grocery stores. Another challenge is the lack of contactless debit cards, especially among BMO customers, the report added.
Furthermore, only one in six people that own contactless payment methods do not use them, while the average user will wield it about three times per month.
When mobile payments do arrive – and there are hints that they are – they will use the same infrastructure as contactless payments, according to Christelis, meaning that the technology will stay relevant well into the near future.
However, other technologies required for mobile payments such as NFC in smartphones, as well as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay have yet to reach many Canadians.
Despite launching back in November 2015, Apple Pay failed to catch on as the technology was not compatible with Interac Association’s chip-and-pin contactless authentication method, leaving it with American Express as the sole backer.
This changed in May, when the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) announced they would support Visa, Mastercard, and debit cards on Apple Pay, while others including the Bank of Montreal (BMO), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD), and the Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank) will add support in the coming months.
With three-quarters of smartphones in Canada having NFC by 2020, the report estimates, mobile wallets and applications will grow in adoption.
The report also found that debit and credit card transactions will exceed cash transactions in 2016 and 2020 respectively, and that the use of Bitcoin has doubled in 2015.


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For decades, tennis shoe maker K-Swiss has been best known for “The Classic,” a white-on-white tennis shoe that so consistently vibes vanilla it has attained icon status. Like the white uppers behind those white stripes, K-Swiss has been content to blend into the background in the color-saturated, loud-as-bombs sneaker category – the brand has grown modestly and profitably (sales in the hundreds of millions of dollars) – letting the athletic-shoe alpha male brands tear each other to pieces.
Well, not anymore it ain’t. [more]
In a branding departure so radical it just might work, K-Swiss has teamed up with foul-mouthed pro athlete Kenny Powers to introduce to its new “Tubes” line. The catch? Kenny Powers is only a pro athlete on his fictional HBO satire, Eastbound and Down. Played by comic actor Danny McBride, Powers has become a cult comedy hero, a washed-up, grotesquely bigoted misogynist and ignorant major league baseball pitcher whose best years are behind him. Powers is as un-PC – and as un-K-Swiss Classic – as they come.
In a series of commercials, “Powers” talks up the K-Swiss shoes in his trademark preposterous style.
The campaign was launched in cooperation with the comedy group Funny or Die, founded by McBride’s friend and frequent co-star, Will Ferrell. The video will melt your face off but it is very NSFW.
The more SFW commercials match Powers with real-life athletes, including Patrick Willis, Jeremy Shockey and Urijah Faber. The inclusion of Faber, a mixed martial arts fighter, is on-target given K-Swiss’ recent acquisition of Form Athletics, a brand specializing in mixed martial arts gear.
Earlier this year, K-Swiss also entered into a marketing partnership with high-energy and higher-profile star trainer of the show The Biggest Loser, Jillian Michaels. Last year, K-Swiss partnered with one of the hunky stars of the show Gossip Girl, Ed Westwick.
It all adds up to a celeb-led incursion into new, more youthful turf. Older fans of the K-Swiss brand may not understand the association with Powers in particular – if it even hits their radar. But K-Swiss clearly has its sights set on both the action sports and youth front, and demonstrates that the brand may be attempting to shake its dignified middle-aged tennis guy image. Still: Keep pumping out those iconic white-on-whites, dudes!


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The founder and managing partner of the venture firm Morgan Creek Anthony Pompliano believes that the first cryptocurrency can reach the “bottom” at 85% below the historical maximum. He said this during an interview on CNBC.
Bitcoin Will Hit The “Bottom” At 85% Of The Historical Maximum
The well-known venture investor Tim Draper, who predicted the rise of bitcoin to $250,000 by 2022, is sure that in the future the entire world economy will make a turn towards cryptocurrencies, and that bitcoin will be at the head of all these changes.
Tim Draper: Bitcoin Will Lead The Global Economic Changes
The module Node.js, used in many web applications and called event-stream, has been compromised.
Bitcoin Wallet Copay Is At Risk Because of Node.js
Bulgarian law enforcement agencies arrested three members of an organized criminal group accused of stealing $5 million in cryptocurrency.
Bulgarian Police Arrested Hackers Who Had Stolen $5 Million In Cryptocurrency
As of November 24, the hashrate in the main bitcoin network was 47.2 EH/s, which is 38% more than on Wednesday (34.7 EH/s).
Bitcoin Hashrate Increases By 38%, The Price Is Recovering
Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex listed RBTC token from the Argentine blockchain startup RSK, which is developing an opensource platform of smart contracts with a two-way binding to bitcoin. Trades are available in against bitcoin and fiat dollar, however, the margin tools are deactivated.
Bitcoin Exchange Bitfinex Added Support For RSK Tokens
According to the information posted by CoinDesk, security token startup Securitize announced it has raised nearly $13 million in a Series A funding round Monday as part of its mission to digitize traditional securities products on a blockchain.
Securitize Raises $12.75 Million And Gets Backed By Coinbase And Blockchain Capital
The Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF), French stock market regulator, criticized a French financial technology (fintech) company for trying to sell cryptocurrency through tobacconists, Finance Magnates reports.
French Regulator Warns About Tobacconists’ BTC Retail Plans
The war between Bitcoin ABC and Bitcoin SV is probably over since Bitcoin ABC has the longest chain and the most hash power. Bitcoin SV has recovered multiplying its value from $38 on November 23 to $112 in three days (an increase of almost 300%).
Bitcoin SV Climbs Up After Announcement of Road Map
The head of the trading department of Oanda Stephen Innes is convinced that a further decline of bitcoin to $3000 will lead to a significant increase in the price of gold.


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Flutterwave, the African fintech giant, is cautiously treading the path towards its Initial Public Offering (IPO) ambitions as the challenges faced by other African-born companies on global stock exchanges raise questions about the feasibility of a successful listing.
In 2021, after securing a remarkable $170 million in funding, Flutterwave’s CEO, Olugbenga Agboola, expressed interest in the possibility of listing in New York or considering a dual listing in both New York and Nigeria. However, recent struggles of African companies on international markets have cast a shadow over the anticipated success of Flutterwave’s IPO.
While an IPO is seen as a significant milestone for African startups, the track record of technology companies that ventured outside the continent, including IHS, CAB, Jumia, and Tingo, shows limited success.
Strive Masiyiwa, founder and chairman of Econet Group, highlighted the challenges faced by African companies listed on international markets, citing examples like Airtel Africa, IHS, CAB, and Jumia, which have seen significant declines in their market values.
Airtel Africa stands out as an outlier, experiencing growth since its listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2019. However, others like IHS, CAB, and Jumia have faced substantial declines in market capitalization, with some losing up to 83.54 percent of their initial value.
A closer look at the pioneers reveals that the challenges are not confined to specific industries. IHS Holdings, listed on the NYSE in 2021, has lost about 75 percent of its starting share value. Similarly, CAB Payments, a London-based payment processing and foreign exchange business, faced a significant decline in market capitalization, attributed to volatility in exchange rates in Nigeria and other West African countries.
Jumia, the e-commerce giant, has seen its market cap decrease from $1.94 billion in 2019 to $319.96 million, indicating a compound annual growth rate of -32.35 percent.
Despite these challenges, Flutterwave, known for processing over 550 million transactions worth over $32 billion and serving more than 2 million businesses across 34 African countries, seems poised for success as an IPO company. However, concerns about corporate governance loom large.
Experts suggest that while Flutterwave’s business model is strong, the company’s corporate governance issues must be addressed before going public. The recent resignation of Oneal Bhambani, the CFO, and allegations of misconduct and investigations by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have raised questions about the company’s readiness for an IPO.
In response to these concerns, Flutterwave stated that Bhambani left to pursue new opportunities, and Israel Koledowo, head of finance for Africa, will lead the finance department on an interim basis.
As Flutterwave navigates its way towards an IPO, the spotlight on corporate governance becomes more critical. Investors are expected to demand transparency, and any infractions may be less forgiving, especially considering the scrutiny faced by fintech companies in global markets.
The road to IPO for Flutterwave appears promising from a business perspective, but the journey ahead will require careful navigation of governance challenges to ensure a successful listing on the global stage.


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More great news coming out of Highspot: We’ve won an American Business Award for Most Innovative Tech Company of the Year from the Stevies®!
According to the American Business Award judges, “Highspot created integrations across learning management platforms to further enhance the ability for sellers to sell. Highspot has further developed its artificial intelligence capabilities over the course of last year.”
“All of us at Highspot are honored to be recognized by the American Business Awards alongside many other impressive companies,” said Jake Braly, vice president of marketing at Highspot. “The fact that this award is focused on innovation highlights the hard work of our product and engineering teams — dedicated to building beautifully designed sales enablement software with a spark of magic, that marketers and sales reps love.”
We’re laser-focused on transforming the way companies enable their sales teams through technology by creating new and better ways to find, organize and share content — including developing new integrations with more than 50 major sales and marketing technologies as part of the Highspot Everywhere program.
We always knew there had to be a better way to enable sales teams. Innovation is the key. It’s built into Highspot’s DNA and it all starts with our engineers. A big shout-out and thank you to the Highspot engineering team! You make it all possible.
We’re proud to win this tremendous award and also congratulate the rest of this year’s winners!


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Sightsavers, an esteemed international organization dedicated to preventing avoidable blindness and promoting disability inclusion, has joined forces with DeafTawk, a Pakistani startup committed to improving the lives of deaf individuals, to announce the selection of the inaugural cohort for the Innovation Challenge Futuremakers (ICF) program.
The ICF program, a result of the strategic partnership between Sightsavers and DeafTawk, is an accelerated program designed to cater specifically to the needs of entrepreneurs with disabilities in Pakistan. This unique initiative offers a hybrid experience, blending virtual engagement with valuable offline activities, to provide startups with an unparalleled opportunity for growth and success.
After an extensive evaluation process, which involved the scrutiny of 70 applications by a panel of industry experts, mentors, and entrepreneurs, eight exceptional startups were chosen as part of the first cohort.
These selected startups hail from various regions of Pakistan and represent a diverse range of innovative solutions, poised to make a significant impact in their respective domains. Munazza Gillani, the Country Director of Sightsavers Pakistan Office, expressed her excitement about the program, stating, “The Innovation Challenge Futuremakers is a testament to our commitment to fostering disability inclusion and promoting entrepreneurial spirit among individuals with disabilities. We are excited to witness the transformative journey of these startups and look forward to seeing the positive impact they will create.”
Ali Shabbar, CEO of DeafTawk, also expressed his enthusiasm for the program, saying, “We are delighted to welcome the first cohort of the Innovation Challenge Futuremakers. These startups demonstrate the immense talent and creativity present in the disability entrepreneurship ecosystem in Pakistan. Through the ICF program, we aim to provide the necessary support and resources to empower these entrepreneurs and their ventures to drive positive change.”
The startups comprising the first cohort of the Innovation Challenge Futuremakers are Attendant Service Providers (ASP), Digital Inclusive Library, Fresh N Frozen, HutKarlo, Khaas Foodz, Quadpar Auto Engineering, TailorBird Stitch Studio, and The World of Art.
Equipped with a custom-designed curriculum, mentorship opportunities, networking sessions, access to investment prospects, startup toolkits, and the chance to attend global conferences, the first cohort is embarking on an exciting journey of growth and development. These startups will receive the necessary support to scale their businesses and create a profound social and economic impact.
The Innovation Challenge Futuremakers program sets the stage for a transformative and inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem in Pakistan, one that fosters the talents and aspirations of individuals with disabilities and propels them towards creating a better future for themselves and their communities.


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And that’s why the world’s most popular social networking site, Facebook, has introduced a new reaction emoji called Care Emoji in these difficult times.
recently facebook introduce a new emoji that is called facebook care emoji in this post we discuss how to get facebook care emoji
In fact, for the first time since 2015, Facebook is adding a new reaction to the Like button, and this emoji will allow people to virtually express their sympathy for a post.
What is the new reaction on Facebook
The purpose of introducing this new reaction is also to express love to your friends and loved ones in this way, even when you are away from them.
In this reaction, an emoji face is embracing the heart and also a reaction has been introduced for Messenger which is a beating heart.
According to Facebook, this new reaction is being added so that you can show extra support even when you are away from friends and loved ones.
According to the company, we hope this will increase the sense of connection between you, your family and friends.
In fact, if you can’t hug people right now because the risk of the virus increases, then no one can stop you from embracing virtual hugs.
This reaction has started to be available to users in the Facebook app and desktop version and will be seen in a few days if you don’t have a show yet.
Similarly, a beating heart is now available on Messenger and there is no need to explain how these reactions can be used on Facebook and Messenger.
After this increase, the number of Facebook reactions has increased to 7 and thus it has reached the number of 2015 which was given at the beginning of this new like button.
At the time, the Yay Emoji, along with six others, was included in the trial phase of the feature but was removed when the Like button was introduced worldwide.
how to get facebook care emoji
Facebook new care emoji is available on few facebooks account.it is on all account shortly just wait. If you can’t see the reaction on your Facebook app yet, make sure you download the latest version of the app on your Apple or Android phone.


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Chromebooks now outsell Macs
Google’s low-cost Chromebooks are now outselling the Apple range of Macs in the US for the first time.
IDC analyst Linn Huang has been adding up the numbers and concluded that Chrome OS overtook Mac OS in the US in terms of shipments for the first time in 1Q16.
Apple sold 1.76 million Macs in the latest quarter, with nearly 2 million Chromebooks sold by Dell, HP, and Lenovo combined.
Over the pond, Chromebooks are extremely popular as they are supplied to students in schools.
Google recently announced that Android apps are on the way to the Chrome platform so it looks like the technology is getting as large and stable as Android.


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New campaign pushing stores to stop selling tobacco
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Oct. 21, 2014) — A new campaign has launched this week using positive reinforcement to convince retailers to stop selling tobacco products.
The effort, part of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, published an online tool to help consumers find and shop at tobacco-free stores, rather than stores that continue to stock the products.
The effort’s site applauds chains like Target and CVS for halting the sale of tobacco products, while providing links to send messages to retailers that have not made the same choice, including Walmart, Walgreens and Rite Aid.
More than 480,000 Americans are killed each year due to tobacco-related illnesses and more than $289 billion is spent on health care costs and lost productivity, according to the campaign. By making retailers tobacco-free, these advocates hope fewer kids are tempted to join the next generation of smokers.
Central Indiana shoppers who spoke with FOX59 had mixed feelings about the push.
See more at:


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- Ford is rolling out incentives of up to $3,250 on the 2014 Ford F-150, the country?s best-selling pickup truck.
- The deal is not available on the 2014 Ford F-150 Raptor or FX2.
- The F-150 incentive program runs through March 31.
DEARBORN, Michigan — Ford is rolling out incentives of up to $3,250 on the 2014 Ford F-150, the country's best-selling pickup truck.
The deal is not available on the 2014 Ford F-150 Raptor or FX2. Ford is advertising the incentive program, which applies to such vehicles as the 2014 Ford F-150 XLT SuperCab or SuperCrew, on its consumer Web site. The special deal includes $1,000 Customer Cash, $1,500 XLT Customer Cash and $750 Ford Credit Bonus Cash.
A 2014 Ford F-150 XLT SuperCab with the maximum amount of incentives starts at $30,400, including a $1,195 destination charge.
The F-150 incentive program runs through March 31.
The redesigned 2015 Ford F-150 is due to arrive at dealerships in the fourth quarter of 2014. The F-150 has been the best-selling truck in the U.S. for 37 years.
Detroit automakers have kicked off a truck incentive war this month. General Motors is offering discounts of up to $7,092 on its redesigned 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 pickup truck.
Edmunds says: Car shoppers should be aware that some Ford dealers are offering even better deals on the F-150, some that are much cheaper than the official factory deal. It's best to check in with your local dealer to see what is available in your area.


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Thieves steal three rhino horns from museum amid fears crime gangs are targeting institutions for precious horns and ivory to sell in the Far East
Three rhino horns were stolen from Leicester’s New Walk MuseumExperts fear pieces will be sold on black market by organised criminals
Rhino horns are used in traditional medicines and aphrodisiacs in many Asian countries
18:21 GMT, 30 November 2012
Three rhino horns worth tens of thousands of pounds have been stolen from a British museum.
Thieves broke into the secure storage area at Leicester’s New Walk Museum and made off with the valuable pieces.
Experts fear the items, which have been in museum’s collection for 50 years, may have been taken by an organised crime gang who plan to sell them on the black market.
Rhino horns and elephant tusks can fetch tens of thousands of pounds in some Asian countries, where they are used as ingredients for traditional medicines and, in some cases, aphrodisiacs.
Three rhino horns were stolen from a Leicester museum. Some Asian countries believe crushed horn has healing properties and use it to make traditional medicines (file picture)
The rhino horns were stolen from a secure storage area at the New Walk Museum in Leicester (pictured)
The theft comes as a spate of similar crimes have been reported across Europe.
Last year European police agency Europol
have warned that crime gangs were targeting museums, particularly those in
smaller towns and cities, specifically for rhino horns.
Museum staff are unsure about when the horns were taken, but the theft is believed to have happened in the past few months.
Leicestershire Police was informed of the theft in September, when staff were sure the horns, which were kept in a storage area, had been stolen and not simply mislaid.
Officers have now launched an investigation into the incident and recently arrested a 57-year-old man on suspicion of the theft.
He has been released on police bail while officers continue their investigation.
Leicester City Council, which runs the museum, said it had improved security since the incident came to light.
The items have not been on public display
for many years because of the authority’s opposition to the trade in
endangered species’ body parts.
A city council spokesman said: 'We can confirm that three rhino horns went missing from the museum stores in September.
Rhino horns can fetch tens of thousands of pounds when sold on the black market (file picture)
WHY ARE RHINO HORNS IN DEMAND
Rhino horn is made of keratin, which people in some Asian countries believe has healing properties.
Traditional healers in Vietnam and China use it in a range of remedies, including cancer treatments and hangover cures.
But doctors in the UK say rhino horn has no medicinal properties.
According to environmentalists say that in the past five years, growing incomes in the Far East have meant more people can get access to crushed horn, despite the 35,000-per-kilo price tag.
This has resulted in the number of rhinos being poached for their horns soaring.
'The practice of hunting rhinos for
their horns has decimated the population of several species and the
horns would never have been exhibited.
'But they have been in our possession for more than 50 years and we were very disappointed that they had been stolen.
'Since discovering the theft we have
had a complete review of security and access to our stores, and
implemented new and more stringent procedures.'
Dr Dave Unwin, of the School of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester, said: “Rhino horns and, indeed, elephant tusks, are extremely valuable in Asia, where they are ground up and sold as medicine or aphrodisiacs.
'There has been a spate of these thefts across the country in recent years and these items can be sold for tens of thousands of pounds.
'So, the New Walk Museum is certainly not the first victim, but what is unusual here is that these items appear to have been stolen from an area which wasn’t easily accessible to the public.'
A report by Europol last year highlighted the theft of rhino horns as a growing problem in the UK.
The report said: 'The theft of rhino horn shows how organised criminals are always on the look-out for new and creative crime opportunities.
'The attraction towards rhino horn clearly stems from the high value of this rare commodity.
'Depending on the size and quality of the specimen, a rhino horn can be worth between 25,000 and 200,000 euros.
'Rhino horns are used for decoration, to produce luxury products and also used in traditional medicine, despite it being proven ineffective.
The report highlighted one Irish gang’s methods.
It said: 'To source and acquire rhino horns, the group has targeted antique dealers, auction houses, art galleries, museums, private collections and zoos, resorting to theft and aggravated burglary where necessary
'To sell specimens, they have exploited international auction houses in the UK, France, USA and China.'


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Ahead of the Singapore government’s budget announcement in February, there has been much talk of rise in GST. Currently, consumers in Singapore are exempt from paying GST when they purchase less than S$400 worth of goods online from overseas vendors. It is widely believed that this exemption will be wiped out in the new budget […]
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Volvo wades through troubled waters, blames ‘lack of cars’
Volvo Car AB reported a sharp decline in global sales in the month of October as the prevailing shortage in semiconductor chip has hit the Swedish company hard. It is reported that sales in China, the world's largest auto market, fell by a third while figures plunged by as much as 21.5% across Europe.
Volvo, in a press statement, blamed lack of cars for the significant dip in sales numbers and pointed to shortage of components for the situation. Much of the performance last month was once again determined by fortunes in China where the company sold 11,006 units, down 34.2% vis-a-vis same month in 2020. In Europe, Volvo sold 22,124 and the company blamed lack of cars. In the US, the automaker sold 8,701 units last month. Overall, 50,815 cars were sold across the world in the month gone by.
It is not all gloom though because Volvo is still in the green when figures from January to October period of this year are compared to figures from the same period in 2020. In the ten months of this year, the company has sold 581,464 cars which is a rise of 12.6% from the same period in 2020. Another positive development comes in the form of electric vehicles offered by the company. Recharge, for instance, is witnessing increase in demand where already offered. EVs from Volvo now account for 25% of all units sold.
Also check these Cars
Volvo was scheduled to drive in XC40 Recharge in India but the plans had to be pushed back to early 2022 owing to the semiconductor shortage. On paper at least, there is a lot of potential for the EV to make its mark in the still nascent EV sector here and the company has already revealed plans of launching one EV in India each year. Volvo underlines that India is a key market and appears determined to make the most of the EV segment here, one that is witnessing luxury car makers like Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Jaguar making solid moves.


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Flat design is where it’s at these days. With simplicity at its core, it’s clean and user-friendly. This is what defines Google’s Material Design for Android. If you like YouTube and Material Design, you’re in for a treat. It looks like Google is about to give YouTube a makeover.
Following Chrome OS’s change to Material Design, Google is testing it on YouTube – it still hasn’t been announced, but a user on Reddit discovered it and how to enable it. According to the Verge, you will need to log out of YouTube first, or use Chrome’s incognito mode to make it work.
So, here how it’s done (if you’re fairly familiar with a little “hacking”):
If you like our stories, there is an easy way to stay updated:
If the above works for you, you should be seeing YouTube with a much “fresher look”, with “hints of colour”. As Instagram is testing a Black & White version to help content stand out, I feel the tendency is for designers of apps and sites that display content to create designs that focus on the continent itself.
Try it! Did it work for you, and what do you think about the new design?
Image credit: theverge.com
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Service life 30 times longer thanks to the new coating generation BALIQ
Balzers, Liechtenstein / Hannover, Germany – September 16, 2013 – Oerlikon Balzers will introduce a new generation of wear-protective coatings called BALIQ at the EMO, the world’s leading metalworking trade fair to be held in Hannover. BALIQ significantly outperforms current coatings in many ways and can be modified to create tailored, user-specific applications. “BALIQ enables our customers to significantly boost productivity, process reliability and lower costs,” says Dr. Hans Brändle, the CEO of Oerlikon Balzers. “With this pioneering product, we have secured our position as an innovation leader for years to come.”
Coatings are already a driving force behind the productivity gains being achieved by the metalworking industry. Due to high productivity requirements, a broad variety of applications would not be possible without coatings. Compared with untreated tools, coated instruments last up to much longer and facilitate considerably higher cutting speeds. Oerlikon Balzers laid the industrial groundwork for these strides 35 years ago when it introduced the BALINIT coating generation. Just like such market pacesetters as the VW Golf and the Apple iPhone, BALINIT is setting standards in coating technology. “BALINIT has written a significant chapter in the success story our company has enjoyed in recent decades,” says Oerlikon Balzers CEO Brändle. “With BALIQ, we are setting another industry standard that complements BALINIT in applications that have not been explored before.”
With the market introduction of the BALIQ coating family, Oerlikon Balzers is once again entering a new dimension of productivity and reliability in metalworking. Until now, it has been impossible to coat tools used in microdrilling. But extensive testing conducted in cooperation with customers has demonstrated that BALIQ is capable of doing this job, extending the life time of these special and expensive micro drills by 30 times and more. In other areas of application like gear processing, previously unusable coating materials can now be applied, an improvement that can boost tools’ life time by nearly 300 %.
The secret of these many improvements is the unusually smooth surfaces as well as the extreme hardness, thickness, wear resistance and adhesive strength exhibited by BALIQ coatings. The foundation of this combination of qualities is the S3p process technology (S3p stands for Scalable Pulsed Power Plasma) that Oerlikon Balzers introduced to professional audiences two years ago. In one single process, S3p integrates the previously non-combinable qualities of the two coating technologies sputtering und arc evaporation. “With BALIQ, we are launching the global marketing campaign for our S3p technology and are generating further momentum for our growth strategy,” Brändle says.


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Apple has launched new MacBook Air laptops and Mac Mini PCs in a bid to provide a long-awaited overhaul to two long-in-the-tooth computing lines. At the same time, it also launched two new iPad Pros. ...
Biggest-ever acquisition for BlackBerry reflects shift towards security software and services
Communication between the board and IT cannot be solely one way
And more than half route data via servers in China - despite Chinese government clampdown on VPNs
SAP is moving HANA exclusively to Linux - Sabine Soellheim explains why


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The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is expected to grow its staff by 40 percent in the next few years to bear the weight of incoming European regulation.
The ICO, which governs data protection in the UK, will add 200 people to its staff of 500 who are already said to be buckling under the pressure. The office may battle with skill shortages for as long as two years as it attempts to hire all the lawyers, investigators and specialists it requires.
Elizabeth Denham, the information commissioner, appeared before the House of Lords on 8 March to discuss the implication of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the added resources her office would require.
Helping UK firms comply with the GDPR appears to be at the heart of this new employment drive.
Though the UK is set to leave the EU by 2019, the ICO has been focused on ensuring that UK firms are compliant with the regulation. Denham told parliament last week that the ICO's cooperation with EU member data protection authorities will also be ramped up as the office looks towards more long-standing data sharing agreements.
Not that Brexit is immediately relevant. The GDPR will take effect in May 2018 after a year long clemency period, leaving UK businesses working under GDPR for the better part of a year before the UK could conceivably leave the EU.
Indeed, the watchdog has adopted a more active posture recently. It has been less shy about bringing out the heavy hand of enforcement which it has been reluctant to use previously. Its most notable case of late has been a £400,000 fine handed to TalkTalk for its failure to protect customer information in the breach of October 2015.
That may seem paltry compared to the weight that GDPR will bring to bear. The regulation sets out concrete data protection policy for firms working within the EU. By late next year, any business that wants to do business within European borders will have to comply with a variety of regulations including disclosing data breaches and establishing data protection officer roles within firms.
Failure to do so will be painful for the non-compliant. The regulations threatens to take four percent of global revenue or 20 million euros, whichever is higher, for those who do not abide by the rules.
The addition of 200 more staff at the ICO may be welcomed by many as it becomes clear that UK firms have little idea what to do, how to comply or what the GDPR even is.
A recent survey by the Direct Marketing Association showed that only 68 percent of respondents thought their companies would be compliant in time for May 2018.
An ICO spokesperson said, “In May 2018 new laws come into force to better protect people's privacy in the digital age and ensure organisations who handle personal information get it right. That brings significant additional responsibilities for the ICO as the UK's data protection regulator.”


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A worldwide trend that has seen Samsung Electronics Co. take a dominant lead in the smartphone industry may now be taking effect in Canada, according to recent reports.
On a worldwide scale, Samsung has claimed one-third of the smartphone market since the third quarter of 2012 and remains steady at exactly 32.1 per cent market share in November 2013, according to analyst firm Gartner Inc. Although Samsung’s share of the market was flat, second-ranking Apple saw some of its share slip away – from 14.3 per cent a year ago to 12.1 per cent this month. Following the top two vendors worldwide are Lenovo with 5.1 per cent share, LG Electronics at 4.8 per cent, and Huawei at 4.7 per cent. A total of more than 250.2 million smartphone sales were completed in the third quarter of 2013 compared to 171.6 million one year ago.
In Canada, Apple remains the most popular smartphone choice, but Samsung is closing the gap as the second ranking brand, according to Ipsos Reid’s Mobil-ology study conducted in August 2013. While 33 per cent of Canadians use an iPhone, 29 per cent now use a Samsung device. Samsung has tripled its market share in Canada in the past two years, and in August 2011 it was just five per cent.
“We’ve seen a strong surge from Samsung and its line of Galaxy products, which are giving Apple a run for the top spot in Canada’s mobile device market,” says Mary Beth Barbour, Senior Vice President with Ipsos Reid in a statement. “Apple remains the top brand in both the Smartphone and the Tablet market, but in both spaces, they appear to have plateaued. Samsung, however, is gaining and is closing the gap in the Smartphone market.”
It’s worth pointing out that although Apple is slipping in market share, it is actually increasing the number of smartphones that it sells each quarter. The smartphone industry is still growing in overall size, so its not that Apple is selling less, just that other vendors are also selling more handsets into the marketplace.
Had the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S not shipped as late in the third quarter, its possible Apple’s numbers would be better, according to Gartner. Strong demand for iPhone 5S in many geographies saw stocks depleted, suggesting there was more demand than could be fulfilled.
Meanwhile Samsung has its Galaxy line to thank for lifting its smartphone sales. The latest entries, the Galaxy S4, and Galaxy Note 3, have dominated the big-screen size segment of the market.
Gartner’s numbers also carry more bad news for BlackBerry, which is losing its third-ranking in mobile operating system share to Microsoft Corp. Microsoft’s market share has climbed from 2.3 per cent to 3.6 per cent, while BlackBerry now only claims 1.8 per cent of the market. Google’s Android dominates with more than 80 per cent of the share.


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Popular Mexican fast-food giant Taco Bell has reportedly launched its first restaurant in Connecticut that serves alcohol on the menu. The new restaurant Taco Bell Cantina is now opened on Chapel Street in New Haven.
As per trusted sources, the new alcohol-serving restaurant is part of a strategy by the fast-food chain to open more new restaurants that include alcohol on the menu. The company announced the expansion last year in urban areas, which began with cities that included New York City, Detroit, and Chicago.
According to sources familiar with the development, the new drink menu will offer a $4 draft beer, bottled beer, margaritas, and a drink called ‘Twisted Freeze’ that can includes vodka, tequila or rum. Like every other Taco Bell restaurant, Taco Bell Cantina will also be open late night, however, it will stop serving alcohol an hour prior to closing.
Sources also reported that the interiors of the restaurant will be enhanced with local artwork and will include features like open kitchens and digital menu boards. According to a news report published earlier, the fast-food chain plans to open 300 more outlets throughout the country and give it a much different look and a new addition.
For the record, Taco Bell opened its first Cantina restaurant three years ago in Chicago. Since then, more inline stores have opened up in other cities across the country which includes San Francisco, Atlanta, and New York. Previously, Taco Bell had stated that its new restaurants will be cantina styled.
Cantinas won’t include a drive-thru as bigger cities don’t allow them. Therefore, Taco Bell franchisers go after areas with high pedestrian activity. The restaurant menu offers the usual Taco Bell items, along with items that are exclusively available in Cantinas, such as the Twisted Freezes, cinnamon twists, and empanadas, cite sources.


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Out-of-town store could be blocked in Ulverston
Last updated at 14:38, Monday, 31 December 2012
MOVES to build a new supermarket on the outskirts of Ulverston look set to be blocked.
Sainsbury’s has applied to South Lakeland District Council for permission to build a store off the A590 at the end of Lightburn Road.
And Cumbria County Council is to discuss the plans this week as a statutory consultee.
The county council’s development control and regulation committee meets in Kendal on Thursday, and members of the committee are being recommended to object to the proposals in favour of the former Robinson’s brewery site, where there are also plans for a supermarket to be built.
In a report prepared for the meeting, the council’s assistant director for planning and sustainability, Paul Feehily, said a strategic objection should be raised.
He said: “There are sequentially preferable sites in proximity to Ulverston town centre, one of which is subject to a current planning application at Brewery Street, which should be given preference first, before favourable consideration could be given to the application site at Lightburn Road.”
An objection will also be raised as the council believes the development will conflict with its long-term employment plans for Ulverston.
SLDC is also being recommended to examine the long-term effects of having the supermarket outside the town.
Mr Feehily said: “It is recommended that SLDC should carry out an independent assessment of the likely retail impacts of the proposed Sainsbury’s foodstore development, having regard also to the proposed site at Brewery Street, before a conclusive view on the impact of the development upon the vitality and viability of Ulverston can be taken.”
Councillor Colin Pickthall, chairman of Keep Ulverston Special, said the lobby group would continue to fight plans for any supermarket in Ulverston, but said an out-of-town development would be of more danger to town centre trade.
First published at 13:08, Sunday, 30 December 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk
Have your say
Excellent comment Johnno. Agree with every word. Although, I am probably what you would call an "off comer", we're not all the same you know. ;)The town needs a boost like this to give the place a kick up the wotsit. If whichever store 'wins' and the independents work together instead of fighting each other it will benefit everyone.
All of these arm-chair experts commenting here, from both sides, why aren't you on the council fighting for your cause? It's been discussed for over a year now, closer to two in fact, you could've been elected and showed them who's boss. Except it'd mean getting out of that arm-chair wouldn't it? Pathetic.
View all 31 comments on this article


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Nvidia says it didn't want this business...waht a clown company, they could't compete!
Sentiment: Strong Buy
You're an imbecile. I have the IDC report on my desk in front of me. IDC predicts that the total size of the new generation console market over 7 years will be SMALLER than the prior generation by around 2 million units. They are predicting 138 million units total for XBox One and versus 140 million for the first generation boxes.
More importantly, Read on the Q3 CC acknowledged that AMD expects volumes to fall off compared to Q3 and Q4 2013 later in the lifecycle.
Merrill Lynch also correctly pointed out that these deals are almost certainly based on volume discounting. That is, as Microsoft and Sony buy more chips, they pay less for each chip. It is gaming industry hardware supply contract standard practice.
Finally, despite far overshooting its plan to hit the "console chips being 30% of revenue by the end of Q4" target (they did so in Q3), the revenue is feeble; much lower than early models used by analysts in sizing the revenue and income opportunity consoles represent for AMD.
AMD owes $150 million to GF for chips it has no market for. AMD owes $200 million to GF next quarter as the last payment of 3/4 a billion dollars in penalties for the last time AMD couldn't sell the chips it had promised to buy from GF. The next year, AMD owes bond holders $2 billion.
Where's the money going to come from to discharge these obligations? Not consoles, clearly, nor GPUs, nor certainly not AMD CPUs or APUs. AMD got no game, suckers.
Nvidia has no solution, Tegra4 can't do the work for Xbox and PS4
Intel has no solution, I7 iGPU can't even play BF 4
APU is AMD's answer to Intel/Nvidia combo is way overkill and too expensive for game console
what next, AMD Kaveri + Mantel + GPU 290 with crossfire enable, going to release soon, CES2014. It will be the best for PC game.


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Zong 4G, Pakistan’s leading cellular and digital services company, is celebrating the Pak- China friendship by offering special incentive to Chinese users on Zong. The gesture aims to further solidify the tried and tested ties of friendship between the two countries and express appreciation and care for people on both sides.
Through the Pak-China friendship offer, Chinese users of Zong 4G will get 10GB of free data. To avail the offer, the Chinese customers can visit: https://www.zong.com.pk/chinese-new-year.
“China is like a brother to Pakistan and the people of both countries love each other like family. Our Chinese New Year offer is a small token of appreciation of the Chinese culture and an effort to be a part of their dearest celebrations.” Said spokesperson Zong 4G.
Zong is one of Pakistan’s largest mobile connectivity providers and is leading the country’s digital transformation with many industry-first initiatives. Alongside its incessant network transformation efforts to serve customers with best-in-class services, Zong is credited with pioneering 4G in Pakistan and running the first successful 5G test in the country.
Zong also continues to lead the industry in international roaming segment having introduced prepaid and postpaid roaming offers for Turkey, China, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Europe, and many other countries.


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Fujitsu Hitachi Display Ltd, the world's biggest maker of plasma display panels for televisions, is expanding production as early as next year, the company said.
Fujitsu Hitachi will spend ?75 billion (US$669 million) on a new factory in Miyazaki, southern Japan, which will have a monthly capacity of 150,000 panels, the Kanagawa, Japan-based company said in statement.
Fujitsu Hitachi and rivals such as Pioneer Corp are expanding capacity to keep pace with growing demand for flat-panel displays. Sales of plasma displays will more than double to US$5.8 billion in 2006 from US$2.7 billion this year, according to market researcher DisplaySearch.
Pioneer is set to become the world's second-largest maker of plasma displays after it buys NEC Corp's business later this year. Tokyo-based Pioneer last month sold ?60 billion of convertible bonds to help pay for the business.
Fujitsu Ltd and Hitachi Ltd each own a 50 percent stake in Fujitsu Hitachi.
Separately, Samsung Electronics Co, the world's second-biggest semiconductor maker, said it will jointly spend 2.1 trillion won (US$1.8 billion) with Sony Corp to build liquid crystal displays for televisions and computer screens.
Samsung Electronics will hold a majority stake in the venture, called S-LCD Corp, by having two more shares than Sony, Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung Electronics said in a regulatory filing.
Aiming to become the world's largest maker of liquid crystal displays, or LCDs, the venture involves the construction of a so-called seventh-generation plant able cut display panels more efficiently, the statement said.
As consumers replace bulky glass-tube TVs and monitors for flat-panel models, the market for LCDs measuring more than 10 inches diagonally will grow 23 percent annually through 2007 to US$48.8 billion, according to researcher DisplaySearch.
Tokyo-based Sony, the world's second-biggest consumer electronics maker after Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, said in October it would revamp its television business by entering a venture with Samsung, the world's largest maker of liquid crystal displays.


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ONE of the cybersecurity researchers of Synopsys, Tuomo Untinen in Finland, has uncovered a vulnerability in the D-Link DIR-850L routers that would allow hackers to join a router’s network without the required authentication credentials.
McGallen and Bolden, however, reported that D-Link subsequently patched the firmware, advising users to update their D-Link DIR-850L routers to the latest firmware.
Below is the description:
CVE-2018-18907 refers to an authentication vulnerability with D-Link DIR-850L routers that allows clients to communicate with the router without completing the full WPA handshake. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability allows an attacker to join the router’s network without the required credentials and mount further attacks against users of the network. D-Link DIR-850L routers with hardware revision A and firmware version 1.21B06 Beta and older are vulnerable to CVE-2018-18907. On Nov. 6, 2018, D-Link issued their official disclosure.
This vulnerability allows a user that has not authenticated to join the wireless network provided by the router. Once joined to that network, the user would have access to all services, computers, and devices available to any other user on that network. Unauthorized access to a network is often the first step in a broader attack.
Following client and AP negotiation phases, it is possible to skip the four-way WPA handshake used to establish encryption parameters and validate ownership of the AP’s pre-shared key, and proceed directly to un-encrypted communications.
D-Link published firmware version 1.21B07_i9d9_WW, updated on Nov. 6, 2018, which patches CVE-2018-18907. The DIR-850L routers were released with two hardware versions, A and B. Only the A hardware is affected by this disclosure. Users can verify their hardware version by looking at the product label on their router for the “H/W ver:” string. Affected users should update their D-Link DIR-850L routers to the latest firmware version available herecovered by these release notes.
Users should update their D-Link DIR-850L routers to the latest firmware version available here. According to D-Link, if you are currently running firmware version 1.14 or lower, you must update your router to firmware versions 1.15B04 and 1.20B03 first before applying the security patch.
The D-Link DIR-850L AC1200 Wi-Fi Router is a consumer-grade wireless router used to provide access to the internet or a private home network. More information about the device is available at the vendor’s website. The DIR-850L was initially released in early 2013 and is designed for the consumer market. It is available in two hardware revisions, with only the A version being affected by this disclosure.
Tuomo Untinen, a Synopsys engineer based in Oulu, Finland, discovered this vulnerability during development of additional Defensics SafeGuard checks.
● Aug. 6, 2018: Synopsys discovers the issue.
● Aug. 7, 2018: The Synopsys research team contacts D-Link.
● Aug. 20, 2018: Synopsys contacts the National Cyber Security Centre Finland (NCSC-I), part of the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority.
● Sept. 20, 2018: Synopsys tests a vendor patch and confirms issue resolution to NCSC-FI.
● Nov. 6, 2018: D-Link publishes the firmware patch.
● Nov. 7, 2018: NCSC-FI publishes an advisory.
●Nov. 15, 2018: CyRC publishes this advisory. (D-Link via McGallen and Bolden)


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BANGALORE: Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions
(RBEI) has inaugurated its new reliability testing laboratory in Naganathapura, Bengaluru. The lab houses state of the art infrastructure, equipment and resources to deliver hi-quality ECU testing solutions.
Electronic Component Units (ECUs) is the umbrella term referring to the electronic systems present inside automobiles, aircrafts, home appliances and the like. The facility will be used to test ECUs before being deployed in the corresponding machines.
The testing lab which extends over 5000 sq. ft was built at a cost of $3.5 million dollars. The center hosts a climatic test chamber in which products are subject to extreme conditions in a simulated environment. The test centre can simulate extreme temperatures ranging from -40 °C to 115 °C.
“We have developed core competence in testing for India-specific conditions. We believe that this expertise, coupled with our uncompromising focus on quality can deliver product excellence for our customers. It is in line with the Make In India vision as it supports local development, manufacturing and testing.” said Vijay Ratnaparkhe
, Managing Director and President, RBEI.
The laboratory does a multitude of tests -humidity test, vibration test, shock test, drop test and other visual inspections. The tests check the endurance of the product.
The expansion is in line with RBEI’s objective to diversify their services and solutions portfolio into non-automotive domains which include aviation, telecommunication, home appliances and Internet of Things devices.
“With driverless cars being rolled out there is a push in ECU tests for connectivity,” said Christian Koitzsch
, VP Engineering for automotive electronics and steering, adding that the Bangalore facility supports connectivity testing for autonomous cars.
“Earlier the testing happened only in engine control ECUs. Now we are increasingly going into power steering and braking systems,” said Dattatreya Gaur
, VP and Head Area Business Engineer BBI Bosch
In addition, the services of the laboratory can also be availed by external organisations who want their ECUs tested for reliability.'


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Hamburg is Germany's second largest city and, much like Liverpool, as a port town is home to many vibrant neighbourhoods and a plethora of fashion, music and cultural hot spots.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) is celebrating its first new route announcement of the year following today’s news that Ryanair will be adding flights from Liverpool to Milan Malpensa at the start of their Winter 2017/18 flying programme.
Flights are due to commence in October 2017 and will operate three times weekly as part of Ryanair’s Winter 2017/18 schedule which will go on sale soon.
Ryanair celebrated today’s news by releasing seats for sale on their other Liverpool services at prices starting from just £9.99 for travel in February and March. These low fare seats are available for booking on the Ryanair.com website until midnight Monday, 30 January.
Paul Winfield, LJLA's Director of Air Service Development commented, "It's great to be able to celebrate our first new route announcement of the year so early into 2017 and for another airport in Italy to become linked with Liverpool later this year.
We expect this flight to Milan Malpensa to prove popular with the region's travellers looking to travel to this part of Italy and also look forward to welcoming visitors to the Liverpool City Region from Italy on this service too."
Ryanair’s Robin Kiely said, “Ryanair is pleased to announce a new route from Liverpool to Milan Malpensa, with a three-times weekly service starting in October, as part of our Liverpool winter 2017 service, which will be launched soon.
Liverpool customers and visitors can look forward to even lower fares when they make advance bookings for their summer or winter holidays, so there’s never been a better time to book low fare flight to or from Liverpool.”
A new year means a fresh start with plenty of adventures to look forward to. To get your holiday bug tingling, we’ve pulled together a list of 6 destinations we think should be on your 2017 bucket list! So here it goes…
A busier than expected December for Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) helped take total passenger figures for 2016 to over 4.8 million – an increase of 11% compared to 2015 and the highest levels for five years.
Have questions about what to expect at the airport?
Want to leave us some feedback on your experience?
Click here for the answers to your questions!
Pre-book official, onsite car parking through Liverpool John Lennon Airport and you'll not only receive the best rates guaranteed but also up to 70% off the walk up rates.
From fragrances in World Duty Free, currency at Travelex, to a bite to eat at the Kissing Gate- you'll be spoilt for choice for shopping at Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
The faster, easier way to travel, skip queues, save time, relax and enjoy your journey before your flight, whether you want to do some last minute shopping, grab a bite to eat or relax with a drink.


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Amid complaints over its “malware” tool, as Art Blocks CEO Erick Calderon called it, the top NFT marketplace revises its stance.
- OpenSea has announced various changes to its enforcement of creator royalties following complaints from some creators and builders.
- The firm has extended the deadline by which creators of new NFT projects will need to use its tool to have royalties fully enforced, along with other changes.
Leading NFT marketplace OpenSea recently took action on royalty fees, releasing a tool that creators can use to ensure that newly launched NFTs can’t be traded on platforms that reject royalties. But the approach and implementation didn’t sit right with everyone, and now OpenSea is again changing its policies following complaints from some Web3 builders.
Creator royalties are fees that are associated with the sale of NFTs, typically set between 5% and 10% of the sale price, paid by the seller to the creators of a given NFT project. For projects that generate significant trading volume, these fees can be a substantial source of revenue. And the rejection of these fees in recent months from NFT traders and most marketplaces has threatened that revenue.
In a tweet thread today, OpenSea revealed a number of tweaks to its own approach to NFT royalties, including the formation of the Creator Ownership Research Institute (CORI), a group that will oversee curation of the list of Ethereum marketplaces blocked by what’s known as the “Operator Filter” tool as well as policies related to its development.
CORI includes OpenSea, along with a number of other NFT marketplace and smart contract builders, including Nifty Gateway, Zora, Manifold, SuperRare, and Foundation. The firms will use a multi-signature wallet—the kind that requires more than a single actor to sign a transaction—to make changes to the registry, and OpenSea tweeted that it is also “expanding governance of the registry to include more stakeholders, including—critically—voices in the creator community.”
That’s just one piece of OpenSea’s changing approach in the face of criticism regarding the rollout of its blocklist tool. Another has to do with how rapidly it required the tool for new projects. On November 8, just days after announcing the tool, OpenSea began enforcing creator royalties on new NFT projects that implemented its code into their smart contracts. A smart contract contains the code that powers autonomous decentralized apps (dapps), including NFT projects.
The following day, OpenSea said that it would also continue to enforce royalties on all NFT projects that were minted before that date, following backlash from creators over prospective changes. But any project that deployed on or after November 8 without the Operator Filter tool implemented would no longer receive royalties from trades on OpenSea.
That detail may have been unclear to some creators. In other cases, creators have opted not to utilize the tool, as they see it as an affront to decentralization or a monopolistic move by a market leader acting against rivals that were threatening its dominance.
Earlier Thursday, Art Blocks founder and CEO Erick Calderon described OpenSea’s approach as a “bully move” in a tweet thread, and called the tool “malware.” An Art Blocks project launched this week without the tool equipped, and OpenSea had not required traders to pay creator fees, prompting Calderon’s response.
OpenSea said today that it will instead adjust its enforcement deadline to January 2, 2023, which means that new projects launched on or after November 8 that did not implement the blocklist tool will now have creator royalties enforced on the marketplace anyway.
OpenSea specifically mentioned Manifold, a partner in the formation of CORI, as a smart contract maker that had been negatively impacted by the changes. Manifold recently tweeted that it was “working with OpenSea and fighting to get creators’ royalties enabled” on projects that were deployed between November 8-30 using its contract code.
“This has been a very hard month for the community, and we acknowledge that at times the choices we made were hasty and unaccommodating to some creators’ needs,” OpenSea tweeted in the thread. “There are ultimately no perfect solutions to the industry’s drift away from respecting creator fees.”
If NFT creators launch projects on or after January 2 without the Operator Filter tool enabled, then they will be able to set a royalty fee that will be “optional for collectors to comply with,” OpenSea tweeted. That will mark the first time that OpenSea has made royalties optional for traders, albeit solely for that particular subset of future collections.
The Operator Filter tool will also be updated to require creators to use Ethereum’s EIP-2981 standard to be “their objective source of truth for creator fee preferences,” OpenSea tweeted. That requirement will take effect as of January 2.
OpenSea acknowledged in the thread that it had “heard compelling pushback from creators on the lack of an alternative mechanism for earning creator fees on OpenSea outside of leveraging our enforcement tool.”
Creator royalties have been under attack in the NFT space in recent months. New platforms cut out royalty fees or made them optional in an effort to attract traders, and the growing momentum cut into the market share of leaders that had already enforced them. Top Solana marketplace Magic Eden followed suit and made royalties optional for buyers to pay instead.
Last week, Magic Eden launched its own similar Solana blocklist tool, saying that it would enforce royalties for only those collections—while blocking marketplaces that don’t support it. Existing projects on Solana still do not have royalties enforcement protection on Magic Eden.
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Robert J. Moore came to the UP Startup Conference, held at Waterfront Ventures (Camden) on January 14, to tell his story about the growth of his startup RJMetrics (Philadelphia), which culminated in the sale of the company’s CloudBI division to Magento Commerce.
Moore stayed on to run his business, renamed “Magento Analytics,” while his cofounder, Jake Stein, is now the CEO of Stitch (Philadelphia), which is what remains of the RJMetrics Pipeline division. Moore is also chairman of that entity.
His description of how the business (which started in an attic in Collingswood, grew at some inexpensive offices at Waterfront Ventures, and ended up in Philadelphia) progressed to the point of sale captivated the audience.
He traced the story of RJMetrics back to the lessons he learned when selling software that he had developed in college to help poker players determine the statistical odds of winning. However, the real story began at Insight Venture Partners (New York), where, after a stint cold-calling CEOs, he became more of an analyst, researching businesses that Insight wanted to fund, finding out who their best customers were and how these businesses could get more customers like them.
Moore and Stein met at Insight, and decided that they’d prefer to be at the other end of those cold calls. They wanted to become entrepreneurs themselves. While still at Insight, they spent a lot of their spare time proposing ideas for all sorts of businesses, and failing at them. This was before the days of Lean Startup, but that method was essentially the one they used to find new opportunities.
Finally, Moore realized that everyone they spoke to about their ideas said something like, “I really wish I could just know who my most valuable customers are, and how to get more like them.” Moore told the audience, “RJMetrics came from the sense of the market pull I was getting.”
The two founders quit their jobs on Friday, Sept. 13, 2008, and the very next business day Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy. The country went into a deep recession. Cash had dried up, but they were going to have to make their business work, anyway.
At this point, they realized that they could continue to live in New York and have a business for six weeks or they could move to the greater Philadelphia area (where Moore was from and Stein had gone to school) and operate for six months. Moore moved to Collingswood and Stein to Philadelphia, and the business was started in an attic in Collingswood.
“For the next two years we did the grind,” he said. “I went into debt, but took no outside financing. Every month we added one new customer, two new customers, and just kept it going. Over the course of those two years, we got to the point where we could hire employees.” Moore recalled that the Collingswood attic had no air conditioning, so the when the company had some money it moved to Waterfront Ventures, at 200 Federal Street in Camden. “It was awesome. I think it was a great spot to actually start this business. It gave us things that made us look like a larger company.”
Moore then explained the economics of running a company like RJMetrics. He noted that at the outset of the sales cycle, it’s very expensive. There is a sales person who talks to the customer, and someone who implements a free trial, hosting fees and technology outlays. Once a customer starts paying, the company recovers that outlay and eventually makes a profit from the customer. RJMetrics was losing money on more than half its customers because it was growing so quickly, but those customers would eventually become profitable.
The startup needed outside money to finance its growth, however. “If we lost any customers, we would have missed a payroll.” RJMetrics was a 10-employee company at that time, and the thought of missing payroll was terrifying, he said.
“What was happening to us is that we were unable to grow as quickly as we wanted to because of the unit economics of our customer growth. Now was the time to think about smarter capital and financing strategies, when we knew those dollars would go to a good place. …We were able to go to our customers and talk to their customers and investors and put together a seed round north of $1.25 million.” The startup then began investing in marketing and customer success and the growth kicked in, he said.
Moore stopped contributing code to the product, and began to focus instead on “critical stuff like recruiting, culture, team building, PR, content marketing, increasing our visibility outside the Philadelphia region, business development, board relations and venture capital relations,” while still staying very much involved in product strategy.
“The company continued to raise money, and in 2013 raised $6 million from Trinity Ventures, a Silicon Valley VC firm.” By the end of 2013 they had 40 people on the payroll. “Then we raised $6.5 million from August Capital, which is in the same building as Trinity Ventures,” on Sand Hill Road, he said.
“In 2015, the scaling broke for us,” Moore continued. “We had raised a lot of money in a short amount of time, unless you compare us to our competitors, who raised a lot more money in a short amount of time.” For example, GoodData (San Francisco) had raised more than $100 million. “The companies we were competing with were so flush in cash that they didn’t mind … spending three dollars to make one dollar.” The analytics and business intelligence market had become so hot that there was enormous pricing pressure on these companies to scale.
Moore said that for RJMetrics, the only channels that did scale were paid advertising and outbound sales; the company was doing market push instead of generating market pull. But it would have needed to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to make that approach work in the long run. “And by the time we realized this, no one wanted to put that much money into data analytics companies anymore because the market was flush and the economics didn’t make any sense,” he said.
“This is the moment when many VC backed-companies go to die. They run out of capital.”
The founders decided that, in order to survive, they had to make the company attractive to a suitor. They split their offerings into two distinct business lines, each with its own branding: RJ CloudBI and Pipeline. “We wanted it to be so if a profitable company acquired us, they wouldn’t have to worry about us making them unprofitable.”
Once they had done the preparation work, they started to talk to key partners about a merger. “The hardest day of my professional life was when we cut headcount at RJ. We had to let 25 people go in sales and sales support that were hired on the backs of the economic model we were pulling away from.” Moore noted that everyone who was laid off found new jobs within three months, but it was still a terrible ordeal for those 25 people.
Among the candidates for a merger was Magento, which had been one of RJMetrics’ best partners. In fact, more than a third of RJMetrics’ customers were also Magento customers. But Magento was part of eBay, a mammoth organization that would be impossible to crack. Coincidentally, however, eBay restructured and spun out Magento.
“That changed everything,” Moore said. The startup made sure to get its executive team in front of Magento’s board of directors and the relevant people who could make decisions at the private equity firm that had bought that company. After a period of courtship, the RJMetrics’ CloudBI business line was acquired by Magento and the Pipeline business line was spun out and became Stitch.
“This thing that we built is in the hands of an enormous ecosystem, and people will still be using the software 10 years from now. That was important to me. And we are still swinging the bat hard on a business that has newer technology, but doesn’t have the challenges in the market that we ran into with Cloud BI,” Moore concluded.


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Hellmann's launches three new vegan mayos – including vegan Baconnaise
The perfect condiment for Veganuary
Just in time for Veganuary, Hellmann's has launched three new vegan mayos, and we can't wait to try them.
If you're already vegan or you're looking to try out Veganuary, you now have Chipotle Vegan Mayo, Garlic Vegan Mayo and Vegan Baconnaise to look forward to. Yes, you read that right, vegan Baconnaise.
Photo from Hellmann's
To celebrate the launch of these plant based mayos, Hellmann's has come up with some fun ways of giving away early samples of Baconnaise.
The #BringHomeTheVeganBacon campaign has multiple ways for you to try and get a sample. If your last name is Bacon you can register to try a jar, and if you live on a Bacon Street, be on the lookout because Hellmann's will be making random deliveries to Bacon Street residents across the UK.
Senior Marketing Manager at Hellmann's UK & Ireland, Rachel Chambers, had this to say about the new products, "We know just how bacon-hungry our nation is, so we figured we couldn't hide this one from out British fans any longer. And who better than to try our all-new bacon flavored vegan mayo first than those that share the name of our all-time favorite meat?
"We're like pigs in mud with our new Baconnaise, and the just-as-tasty Chipotle and Garlic spreads. We can't wait for UK consumers to taste it for themselves – especially at a time when the bacon cravings might be hitting little piggies' homes the most. It might be rash to say it tastes just like the real thing - but we wouldn't be telling porkies if we did."
The Hellmann's Chipotle, Garlic Mayo and Baconnaise will be available at Asda, Amazon Fresh and Ocado nationwide at it will run you £2.50 a jar.
Will you guys be picking up any of these mayos? If you do let us know which one and how you like it.