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Mack is back – in the medium-duty truck market, that is. With typically modest fanfare, the OEM rolled out its new MD Series of Class 6 and 7 trucks during a Jan. 30 ceremony at its new Roanoke Valley Operations plant in Salem, Va.
Mack Trucks has planted its flag anew in the heavy end of medium-duty, having last offered a medium-duty truck (the Renault-based Freedom) back in 2002.
Now, nearly 20 years on, it has returned with two conventional-hood medium-heavies that draw their design cues from the OEM’s Class 8 stable. The new MD Series consists of two 4x2 configuration trucks: The Class 6 MD6 with a GVWR of 25,995 pounds and the Class 7 MD7 with a GVWR of 33,000 pounds.
The MD6 can be operated without a commercial driver’s license (except if hazardous materials are being hauled) and neither model is subject to Federal Excise Tax.
The key applications the MD is targeted for are dry van/reefer, stake/flatbed, dump, and tanker operations. During the event, a video detailed some of these applications, including last-mile delivery, a growing segment as e-commerce continues to boom.
Purpose-Built for Medium Duty
Mack executives at the rollout pointed out that while the development of the MD rested on the OEM’s foundational experience building Class 8 trucks, the MD Series is purpose-built for medium-duty applications.
Both models are powered by a Cummins B6.7L engine, rated 220 to 300 hp and 560 to 660 lb.-ft. of torque, driven through Allison 6-speed automatic transmissions, including one rated for PTO use. Also standard are Meritor front and rear axles and optionally available is Mack’s Maxlite cab air suspension.
The MD has a 103-inch-BBC dimension and will be offered in eight wheelbase lengths to support the upfitting of bodies ranging from 10 to 26 feet. A sharp wheel cut helps make the vehicle more maneuverable on crowded urban streets.
The cab rides on an all-new chassis that boasts a 120,000-psi rated steel frame with rails set at an industry-standard width of 34 inches.
Cab features aimed at drivers include reduced step-up height and short hood for better downward visibility. Inside, drivers are greeted by an ergonomic wraparound dash, tilt/telescopic steering column with a “flat-bottomed” wheel, and driver air-ride seat.
The cab is based on that of the over-the-road Class 8 Anthem. The boldly solid exterior design marks the new truck as unmistakably a Mack, even before one’s eye goes to the Bulldog bolted to the hood.
Both MD models are slated to go into full production in July; one Mack executive quipped that “orders are already being taken.”
A Mystery Solved
The big reveal brought to a close nearly a year of speculation on just what Mack was up to in Southwest Virginia, based on local reporting by The Morning Call. The Allentown, Pa., newspaper sniffed a story in the wind last February when it sighted some job listings posted by Volvo Group, Mack’s parent, seeking engineers for a project to be based in the Salem area.
The Bulldog clamped its lips shut until the rollout was literally underway, having even covered up the Mack name and logo outside the newly configured production plant in Salem. All told, according to the OEM, Mack has invested $13 million to establish its 280,000-square-foot Roanoke Valley Operations facility for producing the MD Series.
The site, nestled in the Southwestern Mountains outside of Roanoke, was chosen for several reasons, said James Chenier, senior vice president—strategy and business development. First off, Salem is only about a two-hour drive from Mack’s headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina. It’s also fairly close to Mack’s other manufacturing facilities in the Mid-Atlantic region and is situated so that it can take advantage of nearby Interstate 81 to allow “logistics flows to serve Mack’s existing industrial footprint.”
Gauging the Market
Why re-enter the medium-duty truck market in 2020? Jonathan Randall, senior vice president—North American sales and marketing, told reporters straight up: “Timing is everything. We’re re-entering a market in which we had a strong presence; we have a rich history in medium-duty.”
Pointing out that Mack already “covers the Class 8 spectrum,” he said “now we believe our family portrait is complete with [adding] Class 6 and 7 trucks. This makes [Mack] a single-source supplier for all our clients.”
Randall told HDT that the roots of the MD project stretch back about two years ago “when some engineers offered some ideas. From those first ideas, we developed what we introduced here today." He noted that when he joined Mack in 2016, dealers were already clamoring for a medium-duty model.
“When we revealed them at a dealer meeting last year,” he added, “[the trucks] were met with much appreciation.” He credited the investments made by Mack dealers in recent years with helping smooth the way for launching a new truck line as “dealers are looking for ways to expand given their investments.”
Going deeper, Randall explained, “medium-duty is a great market [to enter now] as it tends to be steady, running at 90,000 to 100,000 units each year for the U.S. and Canada, and is now showing signs of growth.”
Where might the MD go from here? While stressing that the company is focused right now on launching the new trucks, Randall said, “We’re always looking at advanced technology. We see electric [power] as [suitable for] delivery and other urban duty cycles with stop-and-go operations.”
Summing up, he said that with the MD, “Mack is coming to market with ‘name’ component suppliers and to meet customer demand for this truck. And it’s competitively priced.”


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Fans of Sturgill Simpson will soon have the opportunity to add something new to their vinyl collection, and it’s all for a good cause. His 2014 breakthrough release, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, will be released in pink vinyl to raise money for a cancer support organization.
The album will be rereleased for Ten Bands One Cause, a yearly effort during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month that raises money for Gilda’s Club NYC, which provides support and counseling for cancer patients and their families. The organization was named in honor of Saturday Night Live comedian Gilda Radner, who died from cancer in 1989 at the age of 42.
Other artists that are involved in this year’s campaign include Chet Faker, Al Green, Run the Jewels, Between the Buried and Me, Clutch, Joey Bada$$ and Pierce the Veil. Last year’s campaign, which included a special edition release from Jason Isbell, raised over $30,000.
The special edition of Metamodern Sounds in Country Music will be available in retailers nationwide on Sept. 29.

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Unfortunately for BlackBerry Reinventing Itself Isn't Enough
This morning at the BlackBerry event in New York City, the company unveiled several new things starting with a new name and then new software and hardware. Our excellent and in-depth coverage of everything announced the BlackBerry event can fill you in on all the specifics, but I want to discuss the possibility of BlackBerry achieving major success with its new line of products.
It’s clear that BlackBerry is trying to reinvent itself here, they are trying very hard to be cool and hip and perhaps most importantly they want everyone to think they are cool. Cool enough to compete with an iPhone, at least, because as you may be aware, recently BlackBerry smartphones have been anything but cool. In fact, we recently wrote about how BlackBerry smartphones are an embarrassment and how no one wants to be seen with one in hand.
And while that whole cool factor is a major obstacle for BlackBerry to overcome (perhaps why they brought on Alicia Keys as the company’s Creative Director), there is one other giant hurdle that BlackBerry will have to face, especially in the consumer market: getting people to drop everything and buy a BlackBerry.
What do I mean?
Buying a smartphone is an investment and a commitment from someone. It’s an investment because you’re not just buying a phone, you’re buying into an entire ecosystem of apps and accessories. Every paid app you ever purchased on your iPhone would need to be re-purchased on a BlackBerry (if they even have the app at all), your iPhone 5 case will not fit on your new BlackBerry, and all of those other accessories such as external speakers, your alarm clock, etc will not work with a new BlackBerry. So as you can see, switching to a BlackBerry will cost you a lot more than $199.
As for where commitment comes in? Well, when you buy a smartphone you’re locked into a contract (most of the time) with your wireless carrier, meaning once you buy it you’re stuck with it, unless you want to sell a kidney to afford the cost of breaking your contract or buying an unsubsidized smartphone. I doubt many people will be breaking contracts to buy the new BlackBerry smartphones.
Another thing worth noting is that neither Apple or Google have done anything terribly wrong with either of their products. Android is doing extremely well, as are iOS products — people love them. So there is no real reason for people to switch away from them.
The way I think about it is like this: the real reason why those Mac vs PC commercials run by Apple worked was because Microsoft royally screwed the pooch with Windows Vista. It gave Apple a real opening to lure people in to a new ecosystem and it worked. Apple is selling millions of Mac computers every quarter now and getting people to switch away from the Mac now is much tougher due to the fact people are locked into the Apple ecosystem of apps and accessories.
So while BlackBerry’s new products look and probably are much better, I don’t think it’s enough to save the company. It’ll be interesting to watch everything unfold though.


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The Village of Homewood will begin its summer-long celebration of local farm bounty on Saturday with the launch of a new Farmers' Market season.The market will be held every Saturday through Oct. 13 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Martin Avenue Square, 18020 Martin Ave. The popular Wednesday night market, beginning its second year, will open June 6 from 4 to 9 p.m. Both markets feature a wide assortment of regional farmers, non-profit organization booths, PopUp Science activities sponsored by the Homewood Science Center (HSC), live music and more.Opening day . . .
You have reached content available exclusively to Homewood-Flossmoor Chronicle digital subscribers.


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U.S. global meat protein exports have continued to evolve in 2020. Some of the changes this year reflect ongoing trends in global meat markets but the COVID-19 pandemic has also affected protein trade.
Continuing COVID-19 impacts, global recession, political tensions and exchange rates will all be important in determining global beef trade in the coming weeks and months.
Trade data for May shows sharply lower beef exports, likely due to COVID-19 related disruptions in beef production and also in part due to decreased international beef demand.
Agricultural markets will be impacted by world population growth, economic growth and the expanding middle class, African Swine Fever and the development of alternative proteins.
The new year brings with it several changes in ongoing market dynamics, some new opportunities, and some new risks and continuing challenges for cattle and beef markets.
Preliminary GDP data suggest the U.S. experienced an unprecedented economic decline during the second quarter of 2020, leading to uncertainty about consumer beef demand for the remainder of the year.
Cattle prices are on a historic ride. Producers are trying to make sense of it all, as well as industry insiders, as the COVID-19 story is far from over.
U.S. beef exports were down year-over-year in 2019 but could see a bump this year. Imports in 2019 were up slightly compared to the previous year.


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New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to hear Delhi Liquor Sales Association’s challenge to the Delhi government’s new Excise Policy 2021-22, saying the issue is already before the court.
Justice Rekha Palli noted that a similar challenge by Readymade Plaza India Pvt Ltd was being heard by the bench headed by the Chief Justice and directed that Association’s plea be also listed before that bench on July 22.
List on July 22 (before the bench headed by the Chief Justice) subject to the orders of the Chief Justice, the judge said.
The order was passed after senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi and advocate Santosh Kumar Tripathi, appearing for the Delhi government, informed the court that Readymade Plaza India Pvt Ltd’s petition against the new Excise Polict 2021-22 was pending before the bench headed by the Chief Justice and was coming up for hearing next on August 9.
That petition was heard for 20 minutes (earlier this month). Stay was declined , Singhvi said.
Advocate Arnav Chatterjee, appearing for the association, urged the court to list the matter before the Chief Justice on Thursday itself instead of on August 9.
The Association has submitted that the new policy is self-contradictory, self-destructive and ultra vires the Delhi Excise Act, 2009 and the Constitution of India.
The petition, filed through advocates Shailen Bhatia, Chatterjee, Vibhuti Sharma, also claimed that the policy is anti-poor, anti-lower strata and middle class members of the public of Delhi and also against the interests of stakeholders, workers, consumers and public at large.
On Monday, a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh had refused to stay the new Excise Policy which, according to retail shop owners, will lead to cartelisation.
The court had issued notice to the Delhi government on the petition and stay application and asked the authorities to respond to it.
The plea was filed by Readymade Plaza, a group of retail liquor vendors who said they were running retail liquor vends in Delhi for the past 15 years.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the petitioner, had said by the new Excise Policy, Delhi will be divided into 32 zones and a person can bid for two zones and the policy will lead to complete monopoly of the few big players.
All small retail vendors are left out. The entire thing is monopolised by the Delhi government for big people. This is the complete exclusion of small people who were having licences for the last various years. Cartelisation is eminent here, he had argued.
The counsel had said the minimum reserved price for one zone licence is around Rs 200 crore due to which the existing retail vendors are completely out of competition.
The plea had said the respondents divided Delhi in 32 zones, having 9-10 wards in each zone, for the purposes of issuance of liquor licence. Respondents have also introduced a new category of zonal licence, L-7Z, whereby holders of these licences shall run the retail vends. The scheme of the impugned Excise Policy is such that one L-7Z licence for each zone shall be granted and licence holder has to mandatorily run 18 retail vends.
On Tuesday, a bench headed by Justice Vipin Sanghi had also refused to hear Ashiana Towers and Promoters Pvt Ltd’s petition against the new policy and directed that the same be listed before the Chief Justice’s bench.


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Kenko Tokina acquires UK filter maker Formatt-Hitech
October 9, 2015
Formatt-Hitech, which is based in Aberdare, said it will continue to produce filters in the UK as an independent subsidiary of Kenko Tokina.
In a statement, Formatt-Hitech explained that its Firecrest filters have been on ‘backorder’ with most dealers throughout 2015.
‘The acquisition provides Formatt-Hitech with the financial stability to produce Firecrest in the volumes demanded by the market…
‘Kenko Tokina’s acquisition immediately rectifies the situation and it is expected that the backlog of Firecrest filters will be produced before the holiday season.’
Kenko Tokina has named Fuminari Izawa as CEO of the Formatt-Hitech division.
Formatt-Hitech’s outgoing CEO David Stamp, who will join Kenko Tokina in an executive advisory role, said: ‘We are very proud to have joined the Kenko Tokina family and to become part of the world’s leading filter group.
‘The undoubted manufacturing expertise and financial strength of Kenko Tokina will enable us to maximise the potential of our exciting Firecrest product line in both the photo and broadcast/cinema production markets.’
Kenko Tokina president Toru Yamanaka said: ‘I am thrilled to welcome Formatt-Hitech to the Kenko Tokina family of brands.
‘Formatt-Hitech’s technical knowledge in the development of advanced ND filters and their excellent reputation in both photo and cinema make them the perfect fit for our portfolio of world leading brands.’
Terms of the deal have not been announced.


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Air in the home can be heavily polluted just by daily household activities. Unfortunately, since many indoor air pollutants are colorless and odorless, people often fail to detect them.
A team of engineers at Michigan State University is perfecting new technology that not only warns of a problem with indoor air, but also identifies the source of the pollution and offers suggestions on how to remedy the situation.
Mi Zhang, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, is heading up the team that developed the new technology known as AirSense.
AirSense is an intelligent, home-based indoor air quality, or IAQ, monitoring and analytics system designed to increase people’s awareness of their IAQ and help manage it in their homes.
“Different pollution sources generate different types of pollutants in different ways,” Zhang said. “For example, oil-based cooking could generate remarkable amounts of harmful airborne particulate matter in a very short period of time that stay in the air for a long time. Household products such as disinfectants and pesticides contain and release numerous volatile organic compounds.
“Our technology leverages these differences to identify the source and forecast pollution levels to estimate the seriousness of the problem,” he said.
The technology also will provide a detailed weekly IAQ profiling report that helps people better understand how their household activities impact air quality.
Poor air quality could pose significant risks to people’s health and is the leading cause of respiratory infections, chronic lung diseases and cancers.
“Our technology would be very helpful for people who are vulnerable to poor air quality, such as the elderly and children with asthma,” Zhang said.
Although currently designed for home use, AirSense could eventually be applied in public spaces such as office buildings, shopping malls and subway stations.
Zhang said they hope the technology will be available for public use soon.
The work is published in the proceedings of the 2016 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing, held last September in Germany.
Other members of Zhang’s team include Biyi Fang and Taiwoo Park from Michigan State University and Qiumin Xu from University of Southern California.


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Inditex – the world’s largest clothes retailer by market value – added another 91 stores in the three months to April 30 as it continued to expand outside its economically challenged home market.
The group behind high street names including Pull & Bear and Massimo Dutti reported net income of 432 million euros (£348m) after sales lifted 15 per cent to 3.4 billion euros (£2.7bn).
It added that sales have continued their double digit ascent in the second quarter so far, up 14 per cent in local currencies since February 1.
“When you think of what is going on with the euro crisis, it’s amazing,” said Societe Generale analyst Anne Critchlow. “It highlights the lack of Inditex’s reliance on southern Europe.”
Inditex now has 5,618 stores and is only reliant on around 25 per cent of sales within ailing Spain after growing its overseas operations and increasing sales online.
The group has been focusing particularly on Asia in recent years, where it now has around 18 per cent of sales.
It is launching an online store in mainland China in September to add to more than 250 shops in the country.
There are around 95 stores in the UK, with Zara leading the way with 66, including five in Yorkshire. Inditex does not provide a regional breakdown of its figures.
Inditex launched in 1975 when it opened the first Zara store in Spain.
It initially expanded throughout Spain before setting its sights overseas, moving to the US in 1989 and the UK in 1998 along the way.
The firm is now present in 84 markets worldwide.
Inditex’s fortunes are in stark contrast to those of rival Esprit Holdings, which makes about 80 per cent of its sales in Europe.


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A beverage sponsored by rapper Travis Scott is becoming discontinued as the fallout from the Astroworld tragedy taints his popularity in the internet marketing sphere.
Alcoholic beverage titan Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) announced on Friday that experienced discontinued output of Cacti, a model of tricky seltzer made in partnership with Scott. The corporation initially confirmed the information to TMZ, and it was afterwards reported by AdAge as perfectly.
“Soon after careful evaluation, we have resolved to end all creation and brand name progress of CACTI Agave Spiked Seltzer,” a spokesperson for AB InBev explained to Newsweek in a statement. “We imagine brand lovers will recognize and regard this final decision.”
While AB InBev did not specify the Astroworld incident as the impetus for the final decision, the transfer arrived only a thirty day period immediately after 10 audience users died at Scott’s new music competition in Houston. The agave-flavored alcoholic seltzer model first hit store cabinets much less than a year in the past. Scott’s associates claimed to TMZ that the determination to pull the Cacti brand was a mutual 1 as the rapper pulls his focus absent from company ventures for the time being.
“Travis was very clear in his job interview that he is not targeted on organization ideal now and his precedence is aiding his local community and fans mend,” the agent reported. “CACTI requested AB InBev to notify their wholesalers there will not be products at this time.”
AB InBev is the newest branding partner to distance itself from Scott in the wake of the Astroworld tragedy on November 5. Nike, which experienced a profitable collaboration with the rapper starting in 2017, announced on November 15 that it was “postponing the launch of the Air Max 1 x Cactus Jack” in light of the situation.
Scott’s likeness and associated dance moves ended up pulled from Epic Games’ immensely preferred movie activity, Fortnite, adhering to the incident. Common Mills publically said that it experienced no long run strategies with Scott, who once graced bins of the firm’s Reese’s Puffs cereal. A venture involving Scott and movie manufacturing enterprise Mega64 was also canceled the working day just after Astroworld 2021.
This loss of sponsorships and organization companions arrives right after Scott experienced a hugely effective run of offers in 2020, including lucrative partnerships with McDonald’s, Sony and WarnerMedia. In whole, his company sponsorships previous yr totaled around $100 million.
Owing to his expansive and profitable portfolio of small business companions, some, like marketer Anthony Scott and XXL Magazine, at the time hailed the rapper as a “advertising genius.”
Some manufacturers have continued functioning with Scott. On line remedy application, Much better Support, partnered with him to supply totally free counseling to Astroworld attendees. Christian Dior also confirmed that its “Cactus Jack Dior” made by Scott would nonetheless make its way to stores in January.
Update 12/12/2021, 4:45 p.m. ET: This post was up-to-date to include things like a statement from AB InBev.


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There have been several reports about the arrival of the HTC Droid Incredible 4G to Verizon for quite some time now. But as of today, there’s still no official announcement about its release date. However, we did heard that the pricing for the handset might go as high as $299.99.
We now have some good news trickling in. While we’ll have to wait some more to learn the official release date of the phone, the HTC Droid Incredible 4G might not cost a hefty $299.99 after all.
According to a leaked copy of a Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) list from Verizon, the price of the the HTC Droid Incredible 4G will actually be just $149.99 on-contract. According to [...]
Any hope that HTC will get to breathe easily after successfully bringing the HTC EVO 4G LTE and the HTC One X back into the US market – following a temporary ban — can be squashed.
Clearly unhappy with the way things aren’t going in their favor, Apple has asked the International Trade Commission to once again ban HTC devices from passing through the Customs’ door. This time Cupertino is requesting for a full blanket ban on ALL of the Taiwan manufacturer’s handsets that allegedly infringed Apple’s patent — all 29 of them.
HTC phones and tablets that have made it safely into the country aren’t safe from Apple’s wrath as well, as Apple wants to see the [...]
Well, color us surprised! We know that HTC is releasing the entry-level Desire C soon. It turns out there are two more Desire models that the Taiwanese phone maker is preparing to push into the market. Seemingly coming out of nowhere, the Desire C is set to receive the company of the HTC Desire V and Desire VC. What of their specs?
There’s definitely some good surprises waiting for those who lament HTC’s decision to pack the Desire C with a 600MHz processor (in 2012, really?). Both the HTC Desire V and Desire VC will ship with a single-core 1GHz processor, which puts it nearer to the One V’s territory in terms of performance. [...]
Android gamers yearning for a Sony gaming handset weren’t exactly pleased when all they got was the Xperia Play. The Play wasn’t a completely bad phone-portable console hybrid at all, but the specs just weren’t as good as expected. While Sony quickly tried to sweep the Xperia Play under the rug after the dismal response from the gaming masses, the Japanese didn’t give up on bringing the PlayStation phenomenon to the Android world.
Now Sony has announced that it has given the Taiwanese phone maker HTC the seal of approval to create Android devices that can run PlayStation games. The partnership was announced during Sony’s keynote at the E3 2012 conference, [...]
Sprint’s HTC EVO 4G LTE is basically an HTC One X version, customized for the nation’s third largest carrier. The handset was supposed to be available in Sprint stores already, but the launch was delayed by the U.S. Customs, which held various HTC devices for quite a while in order to verify whether those devices were infringing a certain patent. While the EVO 4G LTE and his twin One X were cleared, American Android fans can only purchase the CDMA/LTE version, as there’s no release date yet for AT&T’s model.
Just as previously announced, the Sprint EVO 4G LTE can finally be purchased starting today and the device costs $199.99 with new [...]
It might not be “designed for humans” and it doesn’t come from the most popular and successful Android manufacturer of the moment, but the HTC One X is one heck of a phone and some even consider it the greatest out there.
There was, however, one thing missing to make the One X truly amazing, and that was a custom ROM to tickle the imagination of amateur (and professional) rooters. Less than a week ago, we found out that the phone’s bootloader was finally unlocked, so it was only a matter of time until we could flash some tweaked software goodness on HTC’s flagship.
Modaco forum’s “TripNRaVer” user is officially the first dev to crack the One X’ software and [...]
Both the Galaxy S3 and the HTC One X are beautiful pieces of gear, no doubt. Both are powered by powerful chips and both lead the benchmark rankings. Both are built with utmost attention to detail, by the two most prestigious Android manufacturers in the world.
So, how could one pick a side in this epic battle? How can one say, with confidence, that the Galaxy S3 is superior to the One X, or the other way? Taking sides it’s hard to do, especially since doing so will bring upon you the ire of countless fans of the “losing” side. But we did it anyway in our Galaxy S3 vs. One X review, that we published just hours after we first got our hands on Samsung’s new hero [...]
Despite its home court advantage, the good folks in Taiwan haven’t been able to get their paws on the HTC One S, even though the phone was rolled out internationally months ago. But that is about to change, as HTC has finally announced the coming of HTC One S for the local, and possibly, regional market. Aside from the delayed availability, the phone has apparently undergone some internal makeover.
Different from its international counterpart, which is sporting a dual core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, the HTC One S that will be sold in Taiwan will have a dual-core 1.7GHz processor instead. Even though it’s clocked at a higher speed, it is of the Snapdragon [...]
Some people use their smartphone to text, browse, watch video, listen to music, even — in the rare occasions — to make phone calls. But this guy right here was probably bored out of his mind or just didn’t really like his HTC One X that much. Can using one’s HTC One X to repeatedly hammer a nail be considered a crime against gadgets? If so, please notify the gadget police straight away!
To be fair, he’s probably just taking the concept of durability test to a new extreme level. And we’re not sure if it’s even real? If there’s anything we can learn from the video, is that the HTC One X won’t really make a good replacement for a hammer. And the other thing is [...]
Who says that nothing good ever comes out of a tragedy? Calling it one might be an exaggeration, but that’s probably how Sprint’s customers felt when they found the launch of the HTC Evo 4G LTE had been pushed back. Now that the debacle is almost behind us, in order to win back the hearts of many disappointed customers over the shipment delay of the HTC Evo 4G LTE, Sprint decided to ship an extra box to those who pre-ordered the phone and have been waiting for it to arrive at their doorsteps since May 18.
Inside the extra box is a gel cover for the HTC Evo 4G LTE. There’s also a note that says ”HTC and Sprint want to thank you for your [...]


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The outlook for casual restaurant stocks is improving these days. After many years of steep traffic declines for casual restaurant chains, we finally started to see some flattening out in the 12 months ended February 2015.
Better news? Casual dining customers spent more — the segment saw an overall 3% rise in sales during the same period.
And that’s not a trend being seen across the board. Casual restaurant chains saw the growth in customer traffic, but independent casual restaurant visits actually declined.
Casual chain restaurants Chuy Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CHUY), Bloomin’ Brands Inc (NASDAQ:BLMN) and Texas Roadhouse Inc (NASDAQ:TXRH) are all looking to secure their hold in the segment. But are any of these restaurant stocks worth buying?
We’ll take a closer look at all three casual restaurants and determine whether any of them might give you some extra oomph in your portfolio.
Casual Restaurant Stocks: Chuy Holdings Inc (CHUY)
Chuy Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CHUY) didn’t exactly thrill investors with its quarterly report. While quarterly revenues grew by 19.4% year-over-year to $66.8 million, same-store sales improved by just less than 2%.
The mild comps growth was blamed on poor winter weather. CHUY reported a 3.3% growth in average check orders that was offset by a 1.4% decrease in foot traffic.
Still, even amid tepid same-store sales growth, Chuy did manage to beat the streets with earnings of 19 cents per share; the Street was expecting earnings of 3 cents.
Looking to improve on sales growth, CHUY executives are exploring opening stores in larger metropolitan areas. Chuy’s CEO Steve Hislop said, “While we have in recent years grown our restaurants in a sequential manner from our existing hubs … we believe our entire restaurant base will benefit from greater brand awareness by ramping up development in new, larger markets more quickly before backfilling into medium and smaller markets.” The Mexican eatery added a new director of real estate and a second broker to scout out store locations in the larger markets.
CHUY opened a store in 2014 in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area that’s doing well, Hislop says. Next on the radar are Miami and Chicago, the latter of which is expected to have a Chuy’s buy 2016. Chuy’s 2015 guidance has it opening 10 or 11 new stores.
CHUY is a pricey stock, trading at 35 times earnings, but I believe the price premium is based on Chuy’s future increased revenue growth and store expansion plans. It’s hard to see that kind of promise now, considering that that CHUY has only begun to execute its plans to open in larger markets. Given Chuy’s 2014 annual return on assets of 6.9%, Chuy’s management is not generating remarkable performance with current assets. In short, CHUY stock has not yet justified its stock price.
If you own CHUY stock currently, keep holding on. If you’re looking to invest new money, wait until there are better signals that Chuy’s openings in larger markets are effective. If CHUY is successful in its new larger markets, shares will certainly head higher.
Casual Restaurant Stocks: Bloomin’ Brands Inc (BLMN)
While Bloomin’ Brands Inc (NASDAQ:BLMN) had better results than its Mexican eatery counterpart, BLMN’s quarterly financials still didn’t entice investors.
Bloomin’ Brands reported quarterly revenues of $1.2 billion, a 3.8% increase from the same period last year. Quarterly same-store sales grew by 3.8% with traffic growth of 0.7%. Earnings came to 54 cents per share, which matched Zacks analyst estimates.
However, BLMN faces a few challenges in the foreseeable future. Bloomin’ lowered its projected 2015 revenues to $4.43 billion from $4.49 billion thanks to foreign currency translation. This is significant as BLMN has a large international presence — out of its 1,305 stores, 206 are based outside of the U.S., including 75 stores in South Korea and 64 in Brazil.
The lowered projected revenues spooked investors, who sold off BLMN stock to the tune of more than 4% shortly after the announcement. Shares are now off 7% year-to-date.
Bloomin’ Brands is taking steps to reverse this trend. Its major brand, Outback Steakhouse, recently expanded its services to include lunch at 70% of its stores. While it is early, BLMN projects that Outback’s lunch service can ”add $1 billion in sales if it can achieve the 10-percent market share it has at dinner.” That would more than offset the loss of the revenues due to currency weaknesses from foreign sales.
Like CHUY, I think BLMN’s valuation (it trades at a P/E of 29) is a reflection of its future growth plans.
Investors shouldn’t have to wait long to see how Outback’s lunch service pans out. Success in this area would instantly improve Bloomin’s outlook and make BLMN stock a buy.
Casual Restaurant Stocks: Texas Roadhouse Inc (TXRH)
Texas Roadhouse Inc (NASDAQ:TXRH) gave its investors plenty of cheer as it reported 16% revenue growth to $460 million on same-store sales growth of 8.9%. Meanwhile, earnings of 46 cents per share beat analyst estimates by 2 cents. The news gave TXRH stock a much-needed boost after more than two months’ worth of selling.
While TXRH shares have held steady since the start of the year, its stock has jumped up by 32% in the last 12 months. It is now trading close to $34 per share.
Texas Roadhouse’s future plans are straightforward: stay the course. TXRH plans to open 25 to 30 more stores in 2015 to its existing base of 455 locations. CEO Kent Taylor already hinted that the first four weeks of the second quarter went well as far as same-store sales are concerned, growing by 8.4%.
TXRH also is piloting the Bubba’s 33 brand, a family sports restaurant that serves burgers, sandwiches and pizza. There are only four Bubba’s 33 locations now, but Texas Roadhouse plans on opening three more. Despite the fact that Bubba’s 33 locations are actually in close proximity to Texas Roadhouse stores, Kent says the chain is doing well, and there has been no evidence that Bubba’s is taking any sales away.
Given the small scale of the Bubba’s 33 project, it has little current impact on Texas Roadhouse’s financials, but the new brand does look promising and could be a driver of TXRH stock in the future.
TXRH shares are the cheapest of all three stocks we’ve looked at today, trading at 26 times earnings. It also has the most straightforward course – slowly expand its namesake brand while trying to grow its pilot brand. Texas Roadhouse looks the most promising from here.
As of this writing, Johnny Chen did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.


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The brand kicked off a review through AAR in February. Zenith will replace incumbent MediaCom, which handled the offline media, was involved in the pitch, in July. Digital media was previously handled by the online retail agency Summit.
Carpetright has charged Zenith with deepening engagement with its core target audience as it looks to expand the range of services and products it sells to its customers.
Helen Vinken, marketing director at Carpetright, said: "Carpetright is in the middle of an exciting journey, as the business moves from just ‘selling carpets’ to advising people on how to transform their homes, offering an end-to-end service and making it easy for our customers.
"We were looking for the right media partnership to support this and were highly impressed by Zenith’s credentials and proven ability in brand transformation."
Different handles Carpetright's creative account in the UK. It retained the business in 2015 following a competitive pitch, which was also through AAR.
Carpetright is in the process of a major refurbishment and rebranding of its stores. When it reported a return to like-for-like sales growth in the three months to 28 January 2017, Carpetright’s chief executive Wilf Walsh said the refurbished shops were "outperforming" the older estate.
Natalie Cummins, managing director at Zenith, said: "We are delighted to have been appointed by Carpetright to join them in a transformation journey that they’re deadly serious about.
"We’re excited to have the opportunity to make Carpetright famous for home transformation, developing their online and offline consumer journey and supporting their brand values as a consumer-led organisation."


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In its new location, Dollar General will
said Dan Nieser, Dollar General’s senior vice president of real estate and store"offer area residents a convenient new place to shop for everyday essentials at low prices,"
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Outram may seem like an unlikely spot to find the cheapest petrol in the Dunedin area, but the owner of Outram Garage Ltd believes he probably offers the lowest prices in town.
Outram Garage owner-operator Ray Warnoch said he tried to keep his fuel prices 3c below the competition.
A litre of 91 sells for $2.19 at Outram Garage Ltd, 95 at $2.27 and diesel at $1.549.
He said he was yet to find anyone in the Dunedin area with cheaper prices and it was quite likely his were the cheapest in Otago.
"I've never said it is the cheapest in Otago, but you will probably find it is anyhow," he said.
He hoped record petrol prices would attract more "bargain hunters", but said a lot of customers would remain oblivious to the price.
"Half of our regular customers wouldn't have a clue what the price of petrol is. They work on the theory that they need it and [so] they buy it."
A "big reason" why he sold his petrol at reduced rates was to increase turnover.
"When [Challenge] drop 20,000 litres in the ground for me, it's got to be paid for in four working days and if the volume is very low I've got to find the money to pay for that [when] I've still probably got $10,000 sitting in the ground unsold."
He previously advertised his prices by putting up a blackboard sign saying "cheapest fuel on the Taieri" and was about to put up a sign saying "save 3c per litre".


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When President Barack Obama joined Silicon Valley's top luminaries for dinner in California last February, each guest was asked to come with a question for the president.
But as Steve Jobs of Apple spoke, Obama interrupted with an inquiry of his own: What would it take to make iPhones in the United States?
Not long ago, Apple boasted that its products were made in America. Today, few are. Almost all of the 70 million iPhones, 30 million iPads and 59 million other products Apple sold last year were manufactured overseas.
Why can't that work come home? Obama asked.
Jobs' reply was unambiguous. "Those jobs aren't coming back," he said, according to another dinner guest.
The president's question touched upon a central conviction at Apple. It isn't just that workers are cheaper abroad. Rather, Apple's executives believe the vast scale of overseas factories as well as the flexibility, diligence and industrial skills of foreign workers have so outpaced their U.S. counterparts that "Made in the USA" is no longer a viable option for most Apple products.
What has vexed Obama as well as economists and policymakers is that Apple — like many of its high-technology peers — is not nearly as avid in creating U.S. jobs as other famous companies were in their heydays.
Apple employs 43,000 people in the United States and 20,000 overseas, a small fraction of the more than 400,000 U.S. workers at General Motors in the 1950s, or the hundreds of thousands at General Electric in the 1980s. Many more people work for Apple's contractors: An additional 700,000 people engineer, build and assemble iPads, iPhones and Apple's other products. But almost none of them work in the United States.
"Apple's an example of why it's so hard to create middle-class jobs in the U.S. now," said Jared Bernstein, who until last year was an economic adviser to the White House.
"If it's the pinnacle of capitalism, we should be worried."
Apple executives say that going overseas, at this point, is their only option. One former executive described how the company relied upon a Chinese factory to revamp iPhone manufacturing just weeks before the device was due on shelves. Apple had redesigned the iPhone's screen at the last minute, forcing an assembly line overhaul. New screens began arriving at the plant near midnight.
A foreman immediately roused 8,000 workers inside the company's dormitories, according to the executive. Each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames. Within 96 hours, the plant was producing over 10,000 iPhones a day.
"The speed and flexibility is breathtaking," the executive said. "There's no American plant that can match that."
Apple's decisions pose broad questions about what corporate America owes Americans as the global and national economies are increasingly intertwined.
To thrive, companies argue they need to move work where it can generate enough profits to keep paying for innovation. Doing otherwise risks losing even more U.S. jobs over time, as evidenced by the legions of once-proud domestic manufacturers — including GM and others — that have shrunk as nimble competitors have emerged.
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"We sell iPhones in over a hundred countries," a current Apple executive said. "We don't have an obligation to solve America's problems. Our only obligation is making the best product possible."
In 2007, a little over a month before the iPhone was scheduled to appear in stores, Jobs beckoned a handful of lieutenants into an office. For weeks, he had been carrying a prototype of the device in his pocket.
Jobs angrily held up his iPhone, angling it so everyone could see the dozens of tiny scratches marring its plastic screen, according to someone who attended the meeting. He then pulled his keys from his jeans.
People will carry this phone in their pocket, he said. People also carry their keys in their pocket. "I won't sell a product that gets scratched," he said tensely. The only solution was using unscratchable glass instead. "I want a glass screen, and I want it perfect in six weeks."
For more than two years, the company had been working on a project — code-named Purple 2 — that presented the same questions at every turn: How do you completely reimagine the cell phone? And how do you design it at the highest quality — with an unscratchable screen, for instance — while also ensuring that millions can be manufactured quickly and inexpensively enough to earn a significant profit?
The answers, almost every time, were found outside the United States. Though components differ between versions, all iPhones contain hundreds of parts, an estimated 90 percent of which are manufactured abroad.
In part, Asia was attractive because the semiskilled workers there were cheaper. But that wasn't driving Apple. For technology companies, the cost of labor is minimal compared with the expense of buying parts and managing supply chains that bring together components and services from hundreds of companies.
For new CEO Tim Cook, the focus on Asia "came down to two things," said one former Apple executive. Factories in Asia "can scale up and down faster" and "Asian supply chains have surpassed what's in the U.S." The result is that "we can't compete at this point," the executive said.
The impact of such advantages became obvious as soon as Jobs demanded glass screens in 2007.
For years, cellphone makers had avoided using glass because it required precision in cutting and grinding that was extremely difficult to achieve. Apple had already selected a U.S. company, Corning Inc., to manufacture large panes of strengthened glass. But figuring out how to cut those panes into millions of iPhone screens required finding an empty cutting plant, hundreds of pieces of glass to use in experiments and an army of midlevel engineers. It would cost a fortune simply to prepare.
Then a bid for the work arrived from a Chinese factory.
When an Apple team visited, the Chinese plant's owners were already constructing a new wing. "This is in case you give us the contract," the manager said, according to a former Apple executive. The Chinese government had agreed to underwrite costs for numerous industries, and those subsidies had trickled down to the glass-cutting factory. It had a warehouse filled with glass samples available to Apple, free of charge. The owners made engineers available at almost no cost. They had built on-site dormitories so employees would be available 24 hours a day.
The Chinese plant got the job.
"The entire supply chain is in China now," said another former high-ranking Apple executive. "You need a thousand rubber gaskets? That's the factory next door. You need a million screws? That factory is a block away. You need that screw made a little bit different? It will take three hours."
An eight-hour drive from that glass factory is a complex, known informally as Foxconn City, where the iPhone is assembled. To Apple executives, Foxconn City was further evidence that China could deliver workers — and diligence — that outpaced their U.S. counterparts.
That's because nothing like Foxconn City exists in the United States.
The facility has 230,000 employees, many working six days a week, often spending up to 12 hours a day at the plant. More than a quarter of Foxconn's workforce lives in company barracks and many workers earn less than $17 a day.
Foxconn Technology has dozens of facilities in Asia and Eastern Europe, and in Mexico and Brazil, and it assembles an estimated 40 percent of the world's consumer electronics for customers like Amazon, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Nintendo, Nokia, Samsung and Sony.
"They could hire 3,000 people overnight," said Jennifer Rigoni, who was Apple's worldwide supply demand manager until 2010, but declined to discuss specifics of her work. "What U.S. plant can find 3,000 people overnight and convince them to live in dorms?"
Another critical advantage for Apple was that China provided engineers at a scale the United States could not match. Apple's executives had estimated that about 8,700 industrial engineers were needed to oversee and guide the 200,000 assembly-line workers eventually involved in manufacturing iPhones. The company's analysts had forecast it would take as long as nine months to find that many qualified engineers in the United States. In China, it took 15 days.
Companies like Apple "say the challenge in setting up U.S. plants is finding a technical workforce," said Martin Schmidt, associate provost at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In particular, companies say they need engineers with more than high school, but not necessarily a bachelor's degree. Americans at that skill level are hard to find, executives contend. "They're good jobs, but the country doesn't have enough to feed the demand," Schmidt said.
Some aspects of the iPhone are uniquely American. The device's software, for instance, and its innovative marketing campaigns were largely created in the United States. Apple recently built a $500 million data center in North Carolina. Crucial semiconductors inside the iPhone 4 and 4S are manufactured in an Austin, Texas, factory by Samsung of South Korea.
But even those facilities are not enormous sources of jobs. Apple's North Carolina center, for instance, has only 100 full-time employees. The Samsung plant has an estimated 2,400 workers.
"If you scale up from selling 1 million phones to 30 million phones, you don't really need more programmers," said Jean-Louis Gassee, who oversaw product development and marketing for Apple until he left in 1990. "All these new companies — Facebook, Google, Twitter — benefit from this. They grow, but they don't really need to hire much."
The first time Eric Saragoza stepped into Apple's manufacturing plant in Elk Grove, Calif., he felt as if he were entering an engineering wonderland.
It was 1995, and the facility near Sacramento employed more than 1,500 workers. It was a kaleidoscope of robotic arms, conveyor belts ferrying circuit boards and, eventually, candy-colored iMacs in various stages of assembly. Saragoza, an engineer, quickly moved up the plant's ranks and joined an elite diagnostic team. His salary climbed to $50,000. He and his wife had three children. They bought a home with a pool.
"It felt like, finally, school was paying off," he said. "I knew the world needed people who can build things."
At the same time, however, the electronics industry was changing, and Apple — with products that were declining in popularity — was struggling to remake itself. One focus was improving manufacturing. A few years after Saragoza started his job, his bosses explained how the California plant stacked up against overseas factories: the cost, excluding the materials, of building a $1,500 computer in Elk Grove was $22 a machine. In Singapore, it was $6. In Taiwan, $4.85. Wages weren't the major reason for the disparities. Rather, it was costs like inventory and how long it took workers to finish a task.
"We were told we would have to do 12-hour days, and come in on Saturdays," Saragoza said. "I had a family. I wanted to see my kids play soccer."


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October 24, 2017
(pictured above: Extreme Networks’ Bob Gault on stage at the company’s Global Partner Summit in Orlando, Oct. 24.)
**Editor’s Note: Click here for our most recent list of important channel-program changes you should know.**
EXTREME NETWORKS GLOBAL PARTNER SUMMIT — Extreme Networks on Tuesday unveiled a new unified partner program while executives asked partners to pursue more cross-sale and up-sale opportunities with the company and its expanded portfolio.
The announcements were made during this week’s Extreme’s Global Partner Summit in Orlando, Florida. With more than $1 billion in annual revenue, Extreme now has more than 6,000 partners, and more than 500 partners from 50 countries are attending the conference.
Bob Gault, Extreme’s chief revenue and services officer, said his company has more to offer the channel than both Cisco and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE). Extreme now is the third-largest end-to-end network vendor, with 30,000 customers in 80 countries, he said.
“Capturing new revenue streams will be a gold mine in 2018,” he said. “With the right vision, strategy, team, partners and execution, we can take this networking world by storm. We can do it — and that’s exactly what’s happening. Extreme is back and now is the time for us to take advantage of it.”
The unified partner program, which combines existing and acquired programs and technologies, is designed to expand the end-user value proposition for global channel partners, allowing them to make more money and differentiate themselves by “leveraging a broader portfolio of solutions to sell and deliver,” according to Extreme. It follows Extreme’s recent acquisitions of Zebra Technologies’ WLAN business, Avaya’s networking business and its intent to acquire Brocade Communications Systems’ data center networking business, which is expected to close by the end of this month.
Extreme’s goals for fiscal year 2018 include $1.1 billion in year-over-year revenue growth, including $488 million in the Americas, up from $327.3 million for 2017; $316 million in EMEA, up from $216.8 million; and $88 million in APJC (Asia Pacific, Japan and China), up from $54.1 million. The path to $1.1 billion includes cross-sell and up-sell, verticals, channels, services, cloud and software, Gault said.
“There is huge transformation, huge consolidation in the marketplace, and Extreme is right in the middle of it,” he said. “And as a partner, you’re right in the middle of it. It used to be that our portfolio was a bit of a challenge, but now we’re second to none in the industry. Market awareness used to be an issue … but look at all the new logos we have. We believe we’re driving disruptive change and we’re asking you to come along for the ride.”
In the new program, partners will be rewarded for their investments in software, access, campus and data center. By combining new and existing capabilities, Extreme said it is building on its channel-focused strategy of …
… driving partner and company growth while strengthening its go-to-market initiatives in new and existing verticals.
Extreme Networks’ Gordon Mackintosh
Gordon Mackintosh, Extreme’s senior director of worldwide partner program and sales business development, said if partners want to be more profitable over the next few years, Extreme “is the place to be.”
“There’s new technology to sell coming from the acquisitions,” he said. “We designed the new unified program in consultation with our partners by equipping them with leading solutions and incentives that make it rewarding to work with Extreme while helping them stay competitive within the market. Under our new unified program, we’re demonstrating our commitment to partner profitability and product innovation by helping our partners grow their businesses and expand their client bases.”
New and existing partners can take advantage of an enhanced partner profitability program, four new specialization programs to reward value and solution selling, and upfront discounts by partner level to improve ease of doing business, the company said. It also accepts existing certifications to ensure investment protection for partners.
Mackintosh also announed a new invitation-only Black Diamond partner level, which allows partners to set customized growth goals and incentives to further personalize the experience. It requires a $1 million commitment from partners, he said.
Also, an updated Ultimate Warrior Program provides incentives for partners looking to sell technologies across the portfolio and rewards top achievers with Black Diamond status.
Cleveland-based Chi Corp., a networking, storage, data security and virtualization integration provider, has been selling Extreme’s products for several years. John Thome Jr., its vice president, said the acquisitions have helped his company with the addition of WiNG Access Points technology and getting into the retail market, “and the (secure) fabric is also a very exciting new addition that we have a lot of interest in.”
“It opens up new markets that we can sell into, and gives us new features and functionality that we can offer our customers,” he said. “We won the Ultimate Warrior contest last year. You had sales goals that you had to reach in the different product categories and we were able to do it.”
Mexico-based RT4 has been an Avaya networking partner and is now becoming an Extreme partner. Dafne Meymar, its managing director, said the partnership will mean new customers for her company and opportunities to sell more VoIP and contact center offerings.
“Until Dec. 31, we are still buying from Avaya and all the support … but we’ll start with Extreme in January,” she said. “I think there are a lot of opportunities in the up-selling and cross-selling, and … in the wireless solutions because wireless solutions with Avaya were weak, and as far as I’ve heard from here, they have a very strong solution. Also, the Extreme network management application — we didn’t have that product so there will be an up-selling there.”
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By Ian Bush
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Mac owners aren’t used to dealing with viruses. But that’s changing, now, with the biggest-ever threat, affecting hundreds of thousands of Apple computers.READ MORE: Philadelphia Weather: Blast Of Frigid Air Makes Parts Of Region Colder Than Alaska
It’s malware called ‘Flashback.’
“It’s not a worm that spreads by itself,” explained Pierre-Marc Bureau.
Pierre-Marc Bureau, a security intelligence program manager with the anti-virus firm ESET, says you can get it by browsing to a malicious website.
It works by exploiting a vulnerability in Java. Oracle has released a patch, but Apple hasn’t ported it for use with its operating system.
“One component of the malware keeps the door open for attackers to do whatever they want with your computer.”READ MORE: Bucks County DJ Service Raises Money To Buy Smoke Detectors For Local Families
But so far, Bureau says, it hasn’t shown any keystroke-logging capability. Instead, it’s sending details on your web-surfing habits to a server — maybe to sell to advertisers.
Macs traditionally haven’t been a prime target for computer criminals, but that’s changing as Apple grows above and beyond the PC industry.
Bureau says it doesn’t matter which computer you use: everyone is at risk.
“If you have good habits — for example, keeping your computer up-to-date, or using security software — then you’re more protected than by your choice of operating system,” he says.
The anti-virus firm Kaspersky Lab has built a site where Mac users can easily see whether they’ve been infected — and to clean your machine.MORE NEWS: Schuylkill Dredging Project Gets $5 Million From Federal Infrastructure Bill


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The “stars” were massively removed from the hotels of Egypt, South Sinai suffered the most, and in particular, Sharm el-Sheikh. Meanwhile, the hotels themselves, with the support of the ministry, are looking for ways to return Russian tourists, and in particular, a possible payment in rubles. The exact data was provided by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of the country.
According to the source, over 70% of all resort hotels have been checked at the moment – this is 71 hotels in the resort area of Hurghada and 64 objects in the province of South Sinai, mainly in Sharm El Sheikh. It appears that most of those tested were affected and their star rating was downgraded.
In Hurghada, the star rating was reduced to 47 hotels or 66% of the tested hotels, and in Sharm el-Sheikh – 50 or 78% of the tested hotels. And all the “stars” lost 97 hotels. Mostly among the victims are the “four”, who are still instructed to “put the relevant documents in order so as not to mislead foreign tour operators and tourists.”
Only 15 hotels were “irrevocably” affected – seven of them in Hurghada and eight in Sharm el-Sheikh. They have been ordered to close in general, their hotel licenses revoked “due to failure to comply with sanitary and other requirements for the safe stay of tourists.” In general, testing of hotels is expected to be completed in the middle of summer, and they will have to prove or lower their stars by the winter season.
In general, hotels are in a difficult situation – due to a decrease in tourist flow, including Russian, occupancy is falling , and with it the opportunity to earn money – including for maintaining the proper level and “renovation”. As a result, local authorities are trying to achieve the return of Russian tourists. In particular, in Egypt, the “hot issue” of transferring payments from Russia is on the agenda. Recall that Alyaa Akyl, chairman of the governing committee of the Egyptian Chamber of Hotel Business, said that the Ministry of Finance, in coordination with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, is studying the possibility of paying for hotels in the country's resorts by Russian companies in rubles. Read the details here.
For those who value a healthy lifestyle, we recommend reading: “The Russians were told how magnesium is washed out of the body and how to replenish it.”


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Buying a certified pre-owned vehicle here in St. Cloud, Minnesota, should connect you with a reliable vehicle at a low price — at least, that’s what Vincentric believes. That’s why the organization publishes its annual Best Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) Value in America Awards.
For the past nine years, the organization has assessed the average cost of ownership for CPO vehicles in the U.S. based on actual customer ownership and statistical calculations. By looking at costs like depreciation, taxes, loan financing, maintenance, insurance, and repairs, the number-crunching judges were able to identify the models in all major automotive classes that had the lowest average cost of ownership.
The model that offered the best value in the subcompact car category was the Mitsubishi Mirage G4. As Vincentric President David Wurster explained, “The Mitsubishi Mirage G4 outperformed seven other subcompact competitors to earn Lowest Cost of Ownership in its class.” The organization also noted the model’s efficient fuel economy, thanks to its 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine.
A new Mirage G4 is already priced quite low, with a starting MSRP below $16,000, so you can imagine how affordable a CPO Mirage G4 could be that already has a few years of prior ownership under its belt.
To find great deals on certified pre-owned Mitsubishi models like the Mirage G4 in St. Cloud, we invite you to browse our inventory here at Don Robinson Mitsubishi.
 Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price excludes destination/handling, tax, title, license etc. Retailer price, terms and vehicle availability may vary. Vehicle MSRP does not include Destination/Handling Charge of $995 (Alaska/Hawaii $1,120).
On the heels of Ford’s first-ever mobile Escape the Room game in the 2017 Ford Escape, Mitsubishi too is trying to hook young drivers through innovative test driving programs. Mitsubishi has launched “Night Drive,” a campaign that invites drivers to virtually test drive the new Mirage G4.
The website turns the user’s smartphone into a steering wheel and lets gives them feel like they’re driving the car from home. Mitsubishi says their target audience with the affordable, feature-packed Mirage G4 is young buyers, who are more environmentally conscious when it comes to fuel use and want smaller cars they can easily drive in cities.
The Mitsubishi Night Drive campaign asks testers to use both their smartphone and laptop to test specific features in the Mitsubishi Mirage G4. Tapping the gas pedal button on your smartphone starts a demonstration of the Hill Start Assist feature that helps the car move up a steep incline.
Mitsubishi says this program is a “new marketing launch for us” and that this could be a smart alternative to trying to get buyers to the dealership for initial test driving. This way, buyers can experience the car from their homes and get an idea of what they want, making them more likely to come to the dealership.
To drive one of the new Mitsubishi Mirage G4’s in person, stop by Don Robinson Mitsubishi today!


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Amazon, Netflix and studios sue subscription service over piracy
SET TV allegedly asks you to pay for bootlegged material.
AT&T sued for pilfering news-streaming technology
My24hournews.com says AT&T backed out $100 million deal.
DNC sues Russia, Trump campaign and WikiLeaks over 2016 hack
Dems are seeking millions of dollars in restitution and punitive damages.
German court says ad-blocking is legal
Much to the dismay of the publishers who fought the case.
Judge mostly dismisses Uber lawsuit over its Hell program
The judge will allow the plaintiff to amend the complaint.
Facebook class action lawsuit over facial recognition OK'd by judge
Plaintiffs accuse the social network of violating an Illinois law.
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Cupertino has been battling VirnetX's lawsuit for the past eight years.
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What to do if you're tyred of your noisy car
WHEN the tyres on his Audi A4 needed replacement, entertainment manager Gary Sim decided to give his car the silent treatment. He replaced the worn Michelin Pilot Sport tyres with a set from Yokohama designed specifically to cut noise.
The tyres are "good beyond words," he said. "The car has never been so silent while on the road."
Tyres engineered for silence are something of a Japanese speciality. Yokohama claims the Advan dB V522, the tyre that Mr Sim chose for his Audi, is the quietest tyre it has ever produced.
This weekend, Bridgestone is launching the Turanza T005A, a new tyre that is also designed for a quiet ride.
Tyres can produce a large amount of noise as they roll along the road, and at cruising speeds are often louder than a car's engine.
To silence them, engineers rely on a number of subtle, but meaningful construction techniques. The grooves on the Yokohama V522s are offset by a few millimetres, for example. This helps the tread blocks hit the road at slightly different intervals, which keeps noise from building up at a certain frequency.
Its inner belts are wider than those of a normal tyre, in order to minimise the vibrations that produce noise.
The real challenge for tyre engineers is to create products that are quiet without sacrificing grip. Much of that involves chemistry - what is usually thought of as rubber on a tyre is usually a silica-based compound, and tweaks to its formulation can improve tyre performance.
Yokohama says a new compound for the V552 means it provides better braking and handling in wet conditions than its predecessor, the V551. It also improves fuel efficiency.
Likewise, Bridgestone says the new compound for the Turanza T005A improves wet weather performance.
The new tyres effectively allow drivers to make their cars more refined, especially if they value quietness on the move.
Audi driver Mr Sim said his car's old tyres drowned out conversation and music in the cabin, which he found annoying. "My previous tyres sounded like I was grinding stones."


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At its launch event for the Mate 30 series, Huawei has also launched the Huawei Vision TV. The TV has a Quantum Dot 4K screen, which means users can expect excellent image quality from Huawei Vision. It runs on the company’s very own Harmony OS software.
The 4K Quantum Dot screen on Huawei Vision has a 100% NTSC color gamut for better color reproduction and offers refresh rates up to 120Hz, so you can expect smoother animations. In addition to that, an AI mode will filter blue light in order to protect the eyes of young viewers.
The TV’s remote features a touchpad and can be charged over USB-C.
Apart from that, Huawei Vision will also serve as a smart home hub for users and will allow them to control their HiLink-compatible smart home devices. The TV will apparently “always listen” even when it’s in standby mode – a feature I am quite sure some people might find somewhat unsettling.
For audio, the TV is supplied with a professional 8 + 1 + 1 audio system and creates a 5.1 sound system with features such as sound field modeling and beam control.
That being said, one of the distinguishing features of Huawei Vision TV is definitely the pop-up camera the company has set up on the upper frame, which can be used to make video calls with Huawei’s AI video call feature. The camera is also equipped with face detection, face recognition and tracking capabilities. When not in use, it will lower its down into the television.
Huawei Vision will be available in three variants: 55 inches, 65 inches and 75 inches but the company said more dimensions will be added in the future.
Details on pricing and availability for Huawei Vision have not yet been announced but, considering Huawei’s sub-brand Honor has only launched its TV models in China, it’s unlikely we will see the Huawei Vision make an appearance outside the country but Huawei will most likely release more information soon enough.


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Tech giant Samsung has reported its lowest quarterly profit in eight years this week an indicator to the weakened global economy to hit PC…
The OnePlus 5 has only just been launched, but international reviewers have had it for a while now.
So what do they think of the new smartphone then? We’ve gathered a few thoughts…
The website’s Ron Amadeo noted that it was the “best sub-$500 phone you can buy” right now.
The writer points to the great “near-stock” Android software, speedier scrolling than the Galaxy S8 and US$479 price tag as being some of the upsides.
However, Amadeo notes that the camera post-processing can be finicky (adding that low-light focusing is a problem) and that you’ll be waiting for software updates that might not come.
The writer also praised the durable design, but noted that it was effectively a clone of the iPhone.
Meanwhile, Max Parker of Trusted Reviews gave it 4.5 stars, noting that it wasn’t as cheap as previous models but still made for great value.
Praised was given to the dash charging functionality, as well as the dual-camera setup, which sees the phone pack a 12MP f/1.7 main camera and 20MP f/2.6 telephoto lens.
As for concerns, the publication also noted the iPhone-like design, but added that poor WiFi and audio performance were issues as well. Parker also noted the lack of high-end features for the price, such as a sharper screen and water-resistance.
The publication’s David Pierce also noted the similarities to the iPhone 7 Plus, but framed it as a compliment instead.
Other compliments included the “class-leading specs” and performance, speedy fingerprint scanner and the dash charge technology.
Pierce was underwhelmed by the camera department though, saying it was unpredictable in quality (even in “great” light) and low-light performance resulted in plenty of noise. He added that OnePlus could fix these issues in a software update though.
Another popular outlet got to review the OnePlus 5 as well, in the form of Engadget and Chris Velazco.
The writer gave the phone a score of 90%, pointing to great performance (yet solid battery life), the implementation of Android, an attractive price tag and capable dual camera setup.
Otherwise, Velazco criticised the generic iPhone-inspired design, lack of expandable storage and grainy low light camera output.


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An Australian record label may have picked a fight with the wrong guy. The label sent a standard takedown notice threatening to sue after YouTube computers spotted its music in a video. It turns out that video was posted by one of the most famous copyright attorneys in the world, and Lawrence Lessig is suing back. … Lessig is suing Liberation Music because he wants labels to stop relying on automated systems to send out takedown notices, he says.
Our Chicago First Amendment and free speech lawyers concentrate in this area of the law and in protecting consumers from frivolous libel and defamation suits that try to take away their First Amendment rights. We have defended or prosecuted a number of defamation and libel cases, including cases representing a consumer sued by a large luxury used car dealer in federal court for hundreds of negative internet reviews and videos which resulted in substantial media coverage of the suit; one of Loyola University’s largest contributors when the head basketball coach sued him for libel after he was fired; and a lawyer who was falsely accused of committing fraud with the false allegation published to the Dean of the University of Illinois School of Law, where the lawyer attended law school and the President of the University of Illinois. One of our partners also participated in representing a high profile athlete against a well-known radio shock jock.
Our Chicago defamation lawyers defend individuals’ First Amendment and free speech rights to post on Facebook, Yelp and other websites information that criticizes businesses and addresses matters of public concern. Our Chicago Cybersquatting attorneys also represent and prosecute claims on behalf of businesses throughout the Chicago area including in Evanston and Burr Ridge, who have been unfairly and falsely criticized by consumers and competitors in defamatory publications in the online and offline media. We have successfully represented businesses who have been the victim of competitors setting up false rating sites and pretend consumer rating sites that are simply forums to falsely bash our business clients. We have also represented and defended consumers First Amendment and free speech rights to criticize businesses who are guilty of consumer fraud and false advertising.
Super Lawyers named Chicago and Oak Brook business trial attorneys Peter Lubin a Super Lawyer in the Categories of Class Action, Business Litigation, and Consumer Rights Litigation. Lubin Austermuehle’s Oak Brook and Chicago business trial lawyers have over a quarter of a century of experience in litigating complex class action, consumer rights, and business and commercial litigation disputes. We handle emergency business lawsuits involving injunctions, and TROS, defamation, libel, and covenant not to compete, franchise, distributor and dealer wrongful termination and trade secret lawsuits and many different kinds of business disputes involving shareholders, partnerships, closely held businesses and employee breaches of fiduciary duty. We also assist businesses and business owners who are victims of fraud or defamatory attacks on their business and reputations.
Lubin Austermuehle’s Lisle and Elmhurst litigation attorneys have more than two and half decades of experience helping business clients unravel the complexities of Illinois and out-of-state business laws. Our Chicago business, commercial, class-action, and consumer litigation lawyers represent individuals, family businesses and enterprises of all sizes in a variety of legal disputes, including disputes among partners and shareholders as well as lawsuits between businesses and consumer rights, auto fraud, and wage claim individual and class action cases. In every case, our goal is to resolve disputes as quickly and successfully as possible, helping business clients protect their investments and get back to business as usual. From offices in Oak Brook, near Aurora and Orland Park, we serve clients throughout Illinois and the Midwest.
If you are the victim of a defamatory attack on your business or a consumer who has been sued to stop you from posting criticism of a business online at Yelp or anywhere else, contact one of our Oak Brook and Chicago defamation lawyers for a free consultation at 630-333-0333 or online by filling out our contact us form.


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As we inch closer and closer to a prospective release date for the Samsung Galaxy S5, the rumour mill is churning out hints left, right and centre. But taking a look at the differences between the new release and its S4 predecessor: is the Galaxy S5 worth the cost?
S5 diamond-coated metal: as expensive as it sounds?
The Samsung Galaxy flagship handsets have always had a similar look and feel about them, but the S5 is set to change all that.
First of all there’s the size of the handset; the S4 features a 5” display, with the S5 is upping that to a rumoured 5.3” screen, obviously making the handset slightly larger as a result.
Most importantly, the casing is the key change on the S5’s design. Moving away from the plastic casing of the S4, Samsung is supposedly overhauling the S5 with a premium metal cover.
If this is the case, we imagine the cost of the Galaxy S5 will be passed straight onto the user, with metal-coated smartphones like the iPhone sporting much higher price tags than their plastic counterparts.
However, rumour has it that Samsung will be releasing not one but two S5 handsets, in line with Apple’s plan of attack with the 5s and 5c.
If this is the case, we could well see a metal-cased and a plastic-bounded smartphone hitting our shelves, giving users the chance to choose between a premium device at one end and an affordable smartphone at the other.
On top of the metal case makeover, we could well see the last of the home screen button that the Galaxy S range is famous for. Samsung has been rumoured to be working on a seamless system of just touch icons as with most other Android smartphones.
On the plus side, it will help the screen size grow without making the handset much bigger, and the overall design of the Galaxy S5 will look a lot smoother without the button for sure. But will having a smartphone without any physical buttons make it worth paying more for? Probably not…
Galaxy S4 vs S5 under the hood
While the S4 offered a dramatic change in terms of features, the S5’s most notable difference will be in its user interface.
Samsung’s S5 will introduce the new TouchWiz user interface, a bright new change offering plenty of new features to help the S5 user out, from one-finger control, to a more friendly design compared to the S4.
There is talk of the new UI being a more intuitive and social version of the previous instalment, offering users the ability to share their thoughts seamlessly with other S5 users, something that we love the sound of.
As mentioned previously, the S5’s display is also set for an upgrade in size and sharpness compared with the S4.
This is being pushed up from 5″ to 5.3”, and boasting an astonishing 556 pixels per inch- over 100 more than the S4, turning an already superb screen to another level.
A 64-bit processor is also being rumoured for the new Samsung smartphone, and whilst Apple has done this before, this would be new ground for the S5, speeding the phone up even more than the previous S4.
Finally, the S4’s 13 megapixel camera is seeing an improvement, being pushed up to a solid 16 megapixels. This may be lower than the likes of Sony and Nokia releases over the past year, but it isn’t all about megapixels, and Samsung has proved this time and time again with recent releases.
Users are far more likely to pay more for a handset packed full of improved features; but will it be worth paying more for the S5 compared to the S4? With a 20MP camera and a 64-bit processor, there’s no doubt that you’ll be getting your money’s worth with the Galaxy S5.
Are the S5’s features worth the price?
With impressive features such as Group Play, Story Album and S Translator, the Galaxy S4 changed the game when it came to smartphone features. As a result, the S5 will have to step it up if it’s to offer more value to new users and seasoned Samsung fans alike.
There’s an iris scanner allegedly in the works, which would allow users to open the phone simply by looking at it. This is surely a feature existing only in the dreams of James Bond fanatics and could crank up the appeal for smartphone users everywhere.
The world was blown away with the iPhone 5s’ in-built fingerprint scanner, so we imagine an ultra futuristic iris scanner would send prospective S5 owners running for the nearest Samsung store. And the cost of having the most advanced technology on a smartphone? Priceless, even if it’s just to pretend you work for MI6 for the day.
How much will the Samsung Galaxy S5 cost?
The S5 offers a whole host of new features and a better design compared to its predecessor, and with more power under the hood you should definitely consider upgrading if you have the S3.
The S5 is set to be the best Samsung smartphone of 2014, and, packed full of future-proof features, an incredible rear-facing snapper and mighty specs under the hood, there’s no doubt that forking out for the brand new Samsung Galaxy S5 will be worth it.


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The UK's financial regulatory body has approved new rules allowing people to apply for temporary financial relief amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Millions of households facing difficulties will be granted relief from loan and credit card repayments under the measures announced by City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The new support acts as an urgent stop-gap to protect users and prevent people at risk of falling into arrears due to a loss of income, sickness or a sudden change in their circumstances, reports the Mirror.
The emergency proposals were was fast-tracked through by the regulator and come into force today (Thursday April 9) - but the full range of measures will not apply until Tuesday 14 April 2020 to allow firms time to prepare for customer requests.
Here's everything you need to know:
How can I apply for help?
The FCA are advising consumers to check firm websites and, where possible, use online services to request assistance to reduce pressure on firm call centres.
What loans are included?
In particular, the FCA said that the following products will be covered:
Home collected credit
Loan issued by Community Development Finance Institution
Some loans issued by credit unions, but only where these are regulated.
People with an existing arranged overdraft will be able to ask for their interest charges to be wiped on up to £500 for the next three months.
To apply for this, you must be able to show that you have been financially impacted by COVID-19 - the account will also have to be your main current account.
Consumers who have dipped into unauthorised overdrafts will also benefit from the new measures.
While most banks are now charging a single interest rate of 39.9% on all overdrafts in a bid to standardise charges, some users could see their interest rates slashes as under new FCA customers must be “no worse off” due to the changes.
However, it's worth be aware that even if you apply for a three-month break lenders will still be allowed to charge interest after £500 - but the FCA insist that costs should remain "reasonable".
Credit cards, store cards and catalogue credit
Customers struggling financially due to COVID-19 will be able to ask for a three-month payment freeze, or for the right to pay a nominal payment on their credit cards, store cards and catalogue credit for the duration of the outbreak.
Firms could consider also consider other emergency measures, such as reductions in monthly payments, where appropriate.
Customers with personal loans who face difficulties with their finances as a result of coronavirus will also be able to ask for a three-month freeze on their personal loans. You'll need to make a request to your lender to apply for this.
'There is still more work to be done'
Christopher Woolard, chief executive of the FCA, said: "We know many people are suffering financial pressures brought on as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
"The measures we’ve announced are designed to provide people affected with short-term financial support through what could be a very difficult time. The changes will provide support for consumers with credit cards, loans and overdrafts, facing temporary financial difficulties because of the pandemic.
"Customers should think carefully before making use of these measures and only do so if they need immediate help. Where they can still afford to make payments, they should continue to do so.
"We know there is still more work to be done, and we will be announcing further measures to support consumers in other parts of the credit market in the future, including in the motor finance sector next week."
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Jack3d and OxyElite Pro have become popular with athletes because they contain dimethylamylamine (DMAA), an ingredient that is allegedly capable of increasing energy, concentration and metabolism. However, these dietary supplements have been linked to the deaths of two soldiers in the United States Army. Both soldiers, each of whom took the ambiguous dietary supplements, suffered fatal heart attacks last year during fitness exercises. As a result, regulators placed a temporary moratorium on the sales of each dietary supplement until further evidence dictated whether or not the products are safe. Subsequently, the Army is currently conducting its own investigation as to whether or not Jack3d and OxyElite Pro played a role in the deaths of the soldiers.
Jack3d and OxyELITE were each developed with the intentions of assisting in the development of muscle mass and weight gain. However, the mechanism of action in which results are achieved has become the subject of great concern. There is an ongoing debate whether DMAA, the active ingredient found in these supplements, is a constituent of geranium or synthetically produced. In a statement recently issued by Health Canada, officials acknowledged that DMAA is synthetically manufactured and not a derivative of geranium plants.
If these allegations are true, dietary supplements that contain DMAA are required to receive a drug authorization via federal law. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to act on the recent findings, they are currently in the process of determining whether future regulations are necessary. The ambiguous nature of products such as these has already been responsible for countless dietary supplement lawsuits.
Compounding the situation further are two reported deaths in the U.S. Army. Mr. Graves, the Army spokesman, said that DMAA had been identified in the toxicology reports of the two soldiers who suffered fatal heart attacks during physical exercise. In addition to the two deaths, Graves acknowledged a possible link between Products with DMAA and an influx of kidney failure, seizures, loss of consciousness and rapid heartbeat in other military personnel. As a result, the Army is currently evaluating whether the potential link warrants further action.
Contributing to the already ambiguous nature of DMAA products, are the opinions of several healthcare officials. Evidence suggests that DMAA is the product of synthetic adulterated substances that are disguising themselves as geranium extract to avoid FDA regulations. Ed Wyszumiala, the general manager of dietary supplements at NSF International, acknowledged that “if somebody shows him the evidence proving that DMAA is extracted from geranium oil, stems or leaves, he would love to see it.” According to Wyszumiala, DMAA is similar to that of an amphetamine. Dr. Cohen, an internist at the Cambridge Health Alliance, that DMAA products have “pharmacological levels of an amphetamine derivative easily available.”
Contradictory to the opinions of several medical professionals, are the those of industry representatives. Greg Miller, a spokesman for GNC, said that a variety of retailers in the United States have sold DMAA and that “there is absolutely no reason to believe there are any safety issues.” Kerri Toloczko, a USPlabs spokeswoman, said in a statement that “there have been over one billion doses of DMAA-containing products taken without a single corroborated serious” health problem among people who used the products as directed.
While the debate continues as to whether DMAA is a naturally occurring substance or a synthetic derivative, the deaths of two soldiers looms heavily. Last summer, a 22-year-old soldier collapsed at an Army base in the Southwest during a training run with his unit. The subsequent fall witnessed a 32-year-old soldier at the same base collapse after taking a physical fitness test. Toxicology reports identified traces of DMAA in each.
Due to the unfortunate deaths of these soldiers, and the ambiguous nature of DMAA, the Army is currently conducting its own investigation. Though conclusive evidence has yet to be acknowledged, results of the Army’s investigation may have overwhelming ramifications on the future sales of dietary supplements and their regulatory practices. The already questionable regulations may witness a reform that calls for stricter precautionary measures to reduce the presence of drugs in dietary supplements.
Do I Have a Dietary Supplement Lawsuit?
The trial lawyers at The Senators (Ret.) Firm, LLP have decades of experience navigating through complex legislative and regulatory issues and litigating high stakes cases all over the nation. Our law firm focuses on the representation of plaintiffs in dietary supplement lawsuits. We are currently accepting new cases in all 50 states.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a dietary supplement, you may be entitled to financial compensation. For a free case review, please click the link below or call toll free 24 hrs/day 1-(949) 557-5800.


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Graph Expo: Binding and Finishing -- Outperforming ExpectationsNovember 2008 By Erik Cagle
Well, most of this is true, to an extent. The economy tanked in October, but those who had planned on making an investment had their financial ducks in a row before the Dow Jones hit the fan. As for credit, several lending institutions had high-visibility booths; they aggressively pursued show-goers and made it known they had capital to offer.
As for the printers who hedged their bets, well, that group has existed since Johannes Gutenberg churned out his first yard sale fliers. And they were easily out-pointed by company executives looking to not only bolster their binding and finishing capabilities, but take advantage of the bonus depreciation offered in this year’s economic stimulus package.
But don’t take our word for it. Countless binding and finishing technology providers were candid in their positive assessments of how the scene went down in McCormick Place South. It wasn’t all cartwheels and champagne popping, but this year’s Graph Expo did exceed the expectations of many.
Dave Ellen, sales vice president for Domino Amjet’s North American commercial printing division, expected to book $1 million in sales, and points out the company has already booked a bigger booth for PRINT 09. The high expectations are a result of a wildly successful 2008 for Domino.
“We’ve grown our machine line by 70 percent this year,” he said. “When times get tough, people look at automation and integration. They want to improve throughput. They want to compete without spending vast amounts of money.”
One of the focal points at the Domino booth was its drop-on-demand K150 ink-jet printing system for the mailing and addressing sector. It uses both UV and low-VOC solvent inks.
Sunday has always been a mixed bag in terms of floor traffic, but some onlookers found the first day to be brisk. “Compared to last year, we’ve been more busier for a Sunday,” noted Tim Palmer, graphic sales engineer for Videojet. “And the expectation is that it would pick up on Monday. We’ve already had five prospects come out.”


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It's surprising how little we really know about Red Dead Redemption 2 despite its new October release date. Sure, we have a handful of trailers, but most we know about the game are surface level. However, a nearly unveiled leak suggest that there's a lot going on in Red Dead Redemption 2.
Trusted Reviews recently felt comfortable sharing some leaks the publication received. Neither the site nor USgamer could substantiate the information, so please be sure to get a heaping of salt to take alongside these rumors.
The supposed leaks already predicted the game's main characters, Arthur Morgan and Dutch Van Der Linde, but they also say that the single-player campaign will take place over a huge open world including locations like Armadillo and Ridgewood. Trains will become a mode of transportation alongside horse drawn carriages, inecarts, and handcarts.
Gambling returns in the form of poker, alongside other side activities like horsemanship challenges, and a pretty in-depth fishing system.
Like with Grand Theft Auto V, there will be a first-person mode for both single-player and online multiplayer in Red Dead Redemption 2. The leaks mention bespoke animations for the perspective.
Online play will also be included, but perhaps the biggest reveal is that alongside competitive multiplayer modes like Revive, Survive, and Money Grab, there will be a Battle Royale mode. No word on whether this is similar to the ones found in games like PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, but if true then this is pretty big news.
Red Dead Redemption 2 will also have an open-world online mode with sophisticated NPCs that will decorate storefronts in the morning, and pack them at night. There are a variety of ways to earn XP in online mode and you can even purchase your own customizable tent.
Lastly, there is mention of a companion Red Dead Redemption 2 mobile app that will include "social elements" and a poke minigame.
These details are still unconfirmed, and despite receiving these leaks in August 2017, Trusted Reviews only felt comfortable publishing them recently. So again, we'll have to wait and see if these details end up coming true.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is scheduled to come out on October 26 for PS4 and Xbox One.