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AUCTIONEERS ELR said the first sale to be held at the company’s new Sheffield home was a big success.
The firm, which moved to a new building in Heeley, from premises at Shalesmoor, sold two large collections at the opening sale – with 100 paintings from Museums Sheffield going under the hammer, followed by items once owned by a drug dealer and sold on behalf of South Yorkshire Police.
The premises were opened by Sheffield Assay Master, Ashley Carson, and the sale was run by auctioneer Robert Lea.
Liz Dashper, director of ELR Auctioneers, said: “The first auction saw huge pre-sale interest.
“On behalf of Museums Sheffield, there was a large collection of 100 lots of paintings and limited edition prints, by artists such as Edward Bawden, Albert Goodwin, Mary Potter and Winifred Wilson.
“These works were formerly part of the picture loan schemes which operated prior to 1998.
“They were bought specifically for the schemes and were not part of the City’s permanent collections.
“They generated many enquiries and a number of specialist buyers commented that hammer prices on the day for many of the works realised London retail prices. Proceeds from the sale of these works will directly benefit Sheffield’s impressive visual arts collection.”
The Museums Sheffield sale raised just under £25,000.
The police auction raised more than £48,000, involving 130 items seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act, from Philip Meadows, 70, jailed for nine-and-a-half years in 2008 at Doncaster Crown Court for his role in a drug dealing conspiracy.
Miss Dashper said: “Works included ivories, silver, paintings and a particularly fine early 20th century small secretaire bookcase by Druce & Co, London.
“The auction room was packed with bidders as the auction got under way.”


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- Farmers shut out of online services by new identity scheme
- Facebook says you can be social and secure, acquires .onion address for Tor users
- Swedish hacker finds 'serious' vulnerability in OS X Yosemite
- Court rules cops can demand fingerprints, not passcodes, to unlock smartphones
- Twitter's MoPub ad exchange grabs Verizon tracking cookies, and more may follow
Servers News, Features, and Interviews
Larry Ellison may no longer be CEO of Oracle, but he's not going anywhere anytime soon. Indeed, as executive chairman and CTO, Ellison is now in a position to focus solely on creating new products and services that will cement his legacy as he enters the twilight of a legendary career in tech.
Hewlett-Packard's efforts to usher in an entirely new computer architecture, one potentially much faster and simpler, may bear fruit by the end of 2016, when the company's lab expects to have the first prototype machine based on its design.
Sharp is developing a "color memory LCD panel" for wearables that has dramatically lower power consumption, allowing smartbands, smartwatches and other devices with small displays to be used far longer.
HP's announcement this week that it's entering the 3D printing market with an industrial machine that is 10 times faster and 50% cheaper than current systems, immediately brought out the online snark.
After partnering with Apple and Twitter for the enterprise market, IBM is doing the same in China with local Internet giant Tencent in a deal targeting growing businesses in the country.
The corporate shakeup at Google continues and now it's Andy Rubin, the former head of the company's Android business and the current head of its robotics arm, who's out.
Finding new sources of oil underground is an expensive and risky undertaking. Now IBM is working with energy company Repsol to look for ways in which new cognitive computing techniques could help reduce the uncertainty and improve production.
Capriza, a startup that helps enterprises convert their legacy apps into mobile- and cloud-based ones, Thursday announced it has racked up an additional $27 million in venture funding. That should be enough to help Capriza scale its business on the marketing and sales side, and maybe even have enough left over to afford a drummer and bassist to form a company band (more on that later...).
HP has announced a new 3D printing technology called Multi Jet Fusion that it said will enable mass production of parts with a technology traditionally reserved for rapid prototyping.
The Cleveland Clinic is beginning a pilot program with a cloud service based on IBM's Watson cognitive computing technology to aid its research into new cancer treatments.

domain: news


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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has dropped its investigation into World Acceptance Corp., which had been accused of taking advantage of low-income borrowers.
According to American Banker, the Greenville, South Carolina-based company announced it received a letter from the consumer agency "indicating the investigation into the company's marketing and lending practices has been completed."
"The CFPB noted it does not intend to recommend enforcement action," the company said in a press release.
“This is a significant step forward for the company,” stated interim President and CEO Jim Wanserski. “During the investigation, I understand our team fully cooperated with the bureau and responded to every request for information within the specified deadlines."
In 2014, the CFPB issued a civil investigative demand against World Acceptance, which is one of the largest small-loan consumer finance companies in North America, operating 1,331 offices in 15 U.S. states and Mexico.
The investigation was sparked by a ProPublica report alleging that the company took advantage of low-income consumers, convincing them to become repeat borrowers so they would become stuck in a “debt cycle.”
While the CFPB declined to comment on the decision to drop the investigation, consumer advocates were quick to speak up in opposition. It was pointed out that CFPB’s acting director Mick Mulvaney, who hails from South Carolina, received at least $4,500 from the company’s political action committee as a lawmaker.
“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was established to protect consumers from predatory lenders like World Acceptance Corporation, but under Mick Mulvaney’s control, the Bureau is undermining that important mission,” Karl Frisch, executive director of Allied Progress, said in a news release, according to The State. “Worse still, Mulvaney’s CFPB appears to be rewarding bad financial actors who also happen to be his campaign contributors.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren went on to say that "dropping this case is more evidence that Mick Mulvaney is just using his time at CFPB to pay back the donors who funded his political career."
Shares of the company jumped almost 6 percent after the announcement.


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Posted on: 07 January 2015 by Mark Howells
Finnair has signed a Letter of Intent with StaffPoint Holding Ltd and G.W. Sohlberg Ltd for the two companies to take Flybe’s 60% stake in Flybe Nordic.
The sale of the shares is conditional upon approval being received from the Finnish competition authorities. Upon completion of the sale, StaffPoint’s ownership in the joint venture would be 45%, GWS’s 15% and Finnair’s 40%.
Flights operated by Flybe Finland will continue normally.
“We are pleased that we will have Finnish companies StaffPoint and GWS as partners. When the deal is realised, Flybe Finland and its board of directors will start jointly developing a business model for the company and improving the effectiveness and profitability of regional flying,” explained Pekka Vauramo, Finnair CEO.
Mika Kiljunen, CEO of StaffPoint Group, commented, “We have been analysing this industry for some time, and we see potential in it. The industry is growing, and it is labour intensive. Air traffic has a strong positive impact on the Finnish economy and supports Finnish employment. With our experience in human resources, we want to play a role in the future of the industry. We employ over 14,000 people every year, and we believe that as shareholders we can add value to Flybe Finland.”
The transaction price is the previously announced €1.
StaffPoint Group offers capabilities in staffing and recruiting expertise, coaching, training and HR software, while G.W. Sohlberg Ltd, founded in 1876, is a Finnish family-owned company, which invests in the leading companies of their field.
The ownership change of Flybe Nordic does not have any immediate financial impact on Finnair as it had previously written down the value of its Flybe Nordic AB shares.


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Norsworthy oil palms set to revive Delta agric sector
The groundbreaking of 3,000-hectare (ha) oil palm plantation and processing plant owned by Norsworthy Farms, has taken place at Akwukwu-Igbo, Delta State.In his speech at the ceremony, Ogbechie hinted that the country currently consumes an estimated 2.7m metric tonnes of palm oil with estimated demand-supply gap ranging from one million mt to 1.7million, noting that with the shortfall, there is room for additional investment.
Thus Norsworthy management has set the stage for the cultivation of a 3,000-ha plantation with a 10-tonnes per hour palm oil processing mill and a vegetable oil refinery for producing palm kernel and palm kernel cake for animal feeds.
Palm oil is a key ingredient in the production of several items, which include soap, cosmetics, biscuits, pharmaceuticals, margarine, detergent, lubricants, candles, feed stock and many more.
In 2014, the global palm oil market demand was estimated at 74m mt and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) predicted that global demand for palm oil would double by 2020 and triple by 2050.Currently, about N700b worth of investment is required for the country to achieve self-sufficiency in palm oil production and according to available statistics, over two million hectare of the product is required to bridge the current supply deficit.
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As hyperinflation brings sky-high prices to Venezuela, its currency–the bolivar–has become almost worthless. Venezuelans stand in line for hours outside banks and ATMS to withdraw cash. Those withdrawals are often limited to just 20 bolivars per day, which is not enough money to buy even one piece of hard candy.
People in Venezuela are learning to rely less and less on cash and more and more on electronic payments.
CGTN’s Juan Carlos Lamos reports.
Four years ago, four enterprising friends developed a digital and mobile platform to help solve the problem. Called PagoFlash, it offers several payment methods and targets small to medium-sized enterprises who need help updating their technology.
PagoFlash Founder and CEO Danhalit Zamalloa explains, “We are a payment method. We work online and our focus is to create simple solutions for people to pay through websites, email, social networks and even WhatsApp.”
One early adopter of PagoFlash is Erika Glenn, founder and owner of a the cupcake company Sponcakes. When she first started using PagoFlash, Glenn had not yet developed a Sponcakes website.
Glenn says PagoFlash allowed her customers to pay through their social networks and WhatsApp. “Cash is no longer a priority. Prices go up daily and cash payments cannot cope with it. That’s why I decided to use PagoFlash two years ago. It’s easier for my clients to pay through the PagoFlash app.”
PagoFlash user Reinaldo Mozo says he’s grateful to be able to do his shopping from the comfort of his sofa. “I hope more companies in Venezuela start to use electronic payment methods. It’s clear the government won’t solve the cash crisis, which is out of control. The internet is unexplored territory in Venezuela and it can make our payments way easier.”
PagoFlash is one of several electronic payment systems operating in Venezuela right now. With more than 600 merchants and thousands of customers using it, PagoFlash is making plans to expand to Peru later this year. For this company, an economy in crisis has provided opportunity.
PagoFlash CEO Danhalit Zamalloa discusses Venezuela’s fintech trend
CGTN’s Juan Carlos Lamas discusses electronic payment systems with PagoFlash CEO Danhalit Zamalloa.


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JD says that a $2 billion price tag for Skype is “low”: he refuses to say what valuation eBay would be looking for but “I think it’s worth a lot and I think the numbers speak for themselves.”
David Spitz looks at the rise in shoppers looking for coupon codes: it’s certainly worth setting a few of these free into the wild if you have an ecommerce site to promote. [Disclosure: David is the COO of ChannelAdvisor, who are advertisers with TameBay.]
Should Meg Whitman’s time at eBay help or hinder her bid to become CA’s governor? The eBayers in the comments think they know the answer.


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For several years pundits have been predicting the demise of bricks and mortar retailers, especially in the technology and electronics space.
Last weekend we attended a dinner. The average age of the dinner guests was 56 and seven out of eight guests remarked they did some or all of their Christmas shopping online this year.
That’s an online shopping rate of 88% for our dinner group. What’s most surprising is none of the guests was under the age of 50.
According to recent surveys 3 out of 4 Canadians will shop for Christmas gifts online this year. Compare that to just three years ago when the same report 1 in 3 Canadians will shop online and you see a 42% growth in online shopping over the past three years, assuming the 75% ratio is right. Personally I think the number might even be higher.
Online shopping was once reserved for Tech Savvy buyers and millennials but Baby Boomers and Gen Xer’s have now embraced e-commerce as their preferred method of shopping and the number of consumers shopping online continues to grow at an increasing rate.
Wether it’s ordering Pizza, buying tech gadgets or purchasing new furniture online shoppers love the convenience, product selection and home delivery offered when buying online. Sites like Amazon have become the Gold Standard for online shoppers and even retailers who have their own private sites are now selling on Amazon in addition to their own sites because of Amazon’s enormous drawing power. Axe Music and Memory Express are just two examples of retailers who have their own e-commerce websites but are now selling on Amazon too.
Brick and Mortar stores will continue to exist although the number and size of physical stores will continue to decline as e-commerce continues to grow. There will always be a need for Bricks and Mortar stores. Many shoppers, for example, don’t want to purchase clothing online, but prefer to go to a store and try on clothes to to see how they look and feel. The most successful physical retailers will be those who off value added services with their products.
Whether you purchase goods online or from a bricks and mortar retailer most consumers are benefiting from the changing retail landscape by having more choice, convenience and lower prices.


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Younger retail investors should back the British stock market and buy shares in Natwest rather than just pumping cash into cryptocurrency, the City minister has told City A.M.’s new Bonds & Ballots podcast.
In an interview at the Treasury this week, Bim Afolami said the demand for digital assets showed an appetite for risk among investors but ministers and regulators needed to divert that towards the stock market.
“We haven’t lost the energy of wanting to own assets – we haven’t lost that, particularly younger people. [But] they haven’t seen the ‘traditional markets’ as somewhere where they can do that,” Afolami, told Bonds & Ballots.
“That’s one of the things that I want to change – to say, don’t just own crypto, own a share of NatWest, don’t just own crypto, invest with your savings through automatic enrollment, invest in Britain, the British stock market. That is the shift that we need to see.”
As part of plans to boost the culture of retail investment in the UK, the government is preparing to offload its remaining stake in the bank into the hands of the public this year. At the Autumn statement in November the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said “it’s time to get Sid investing again” in reference to the state backed share-ownership campaign under Thatcher in the 80s.
Natwest was rescued by the government during the financial crisis in 2008 and the state has since been feeding shares back into the market. The government’s stake in the bank sits at around 37 per cent after two recent share sales.
In an interview with Bloomberg yesterday, Afolami said the retail offer for the remaining stake was “looking good” and he expects market conditions to be right this year.
The Natwest sale would help catalyse “animal spirits” in the wider market, he said.
The drive to get retail investors into the market comes amid a wider push to try and breathe life into the London market after a drop off in new listings and questions over the City’s health as a financial centre.
New IPOs cratered to a 13 year low last year as the the London Stock Exchange saw just 23 new firms listing on the market, a 49 per cent slide from the 45 registered in an already quiet 2022, EY found in its latest IPO Eye report.


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Fast-Food Ban in L.A. Fails to Curb Obesity
An ordinance ban on fast-food stores opening in the Los Angeles area has done little to curb the rising obesity rate in low-income areas.
The obesity epidemic isn't just one problem; it's a multitude of issues in health education and food available that have manifested themselves in the growing waistlines of the American population. The RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research group, has seen first-hand that eliminating one aspect of the problem does not stop an issue from growing. Exhibit A: A Los Angeles ordinance passed in 2008, designed to curb the obesity epidemic from growing in low-income areas has done nothing to curb the weight gain in those locations.
Roland Sturm, lead author of the study, said in a press release:
"The South Los Angeles fast-food ban may have symbolic value, but it has had no measurable impact in improving diets or reducing obesity. This should not come as a surprise: Most food outlets in the area are small food stores or small restaurants with limited seating that are not affected by the policy."
While the opportunity to open any standalone fast-food restaurants or renovate existing ones had been denied from the LA area, the city may have neglected to consider the small storefronts, convenience stores packed with food of little nutritious value.
The researchers examined data collected from the California Health Interview Survey in order to observe weight trends across the city from 2007 to 2012. They found that regardless of the ordinance, fast-food consumption and the rate of obesity had increased in that span of time. But consumption of soft drinks had gone down.
This insight shows that the obesity epidemic is a beast with many heads — cut off one and there are still others to contend with. Cities and policymakers have the task of addressing issues in health education, poverty, and accessibility of healthy foods in low-income areas.
Read more about the study at EurekAlert!.
Photo Credit: Joey/Flickr
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Even some teachers suffer from anxiety about math.
I teach people how to teach math, and I've been working in this field for 30 years. Across those decades, I've met many people who suffer from varying degrees of math trauma – a form of debilitating mental shutdown when it comes to doing mathematics.
She met mere mortals with and without the Vatican's approval.
- For centuries, the Virgin Mary has appeared to the faithful, requesting devotion and promising comfort.
- These maps show the geography of Marian apparitions – the handful approved by the Vatican, and many others.
- Historically, Europe is where most apparitions have been reported, but the U.S. is pretty fertile ground too.
The legacy of Felix Dzerzhinsky, who led Soviet secret police in the "Red Terror," still confounds Russia.
- Felix Dzerzhinsky led the Cheka, Soviet Union's first secret police.
- The Cheka was infamous for executing thousands during the Red Terror of 1918.
- The Cheka later became the KGB, the spy organization where Russia's President Putin served for years.
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Ethics Ex Machina: Designing A Future With A Conscience
Volkswagen designed an unethical solution to a global and customer problem. It cost them $30 BILLION literal dollars, and who knows how much more in PR.
Cambridge Analytica is now a shuttered entity after unethical, if not illegal usage of our personal data.
Facebook’s CEO had to testify before Congress, and Microsoft’s AI bot “Tay” became a slanderous racist in less than 16 hours.
Forbes found that “Millennials prefer to do business with corporations and brands with pro-social messages, sustainable manufacturing methods and ethical business standards.”
In this talk, we’ll dive into how we can begin to think about our work through the lens of what Alan Cooper calls being a good ancestor. How we can inject ethics and standards into our daily efforts to ensure we’re designing the future we want, and our children deserve.


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The Food Standard Agency have issued a statement recalling a selection of Greenyard Frozen UK products.
Supermarkets including Tesco, Lidl, Aldi, Waitrose, Iceland, Sainsbury’s are recalling and removing all potentially contaminated products from their shelves following the statement.
You can find the full list of products being recalled on the Food Standard Agency’s website.
The Food Standard Agency state on their website: “The products listed above might be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
“Symptoms caused by this organism can be similar to flu and include high temperature, muscle ache or pain, chills, feeling or being sick and diarrhoea.”
They continue: “Some people are more vulnerable to listeria infections, including those over 65 years of age, pregnant women and their unborn babies, babies less than one month old and people with weakened immune systems.”
They state Greenyard Frozen UK Ltd are taking the “precautionary step” of “voluntarily recalling,” the products.
They add that point of sale notices will be displayed in all stores selling these products.
The website advices anyone who have bought any of the products to not consume them, and return them to the store they bought them from, where they will be issued a full refund.
So, what is listeria and what are the risks?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describe Listeriosis as a: “serious infection usually caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes.”
An estimated 1,600 people get listeriosis each year, and about 260 die, according to the CDC.


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Since it was launched three weeks ago, USD Coin (USDC) has seen significant increases in daily volumes, growth in its global market cap, and widespread adoption across the crypto industry. These trends have accelerated because market participants are seeking a more transparent and compliant USD token.
Here’s a snapshot of the growth for USDC across the ecosystem (including Circle activity):
- Trading volume on exchange platforms in the last 24 hours has surpassed the volume for all of last week, with 2,000% growth week over week
- Market capitalization has grown 85% in the last week, now surpassing $25M
- More than 40 companies across the crypto ecosystem support USDC
Dozens of companies across the crypto ecosystem supported USDC when it was launched in late September and more companies announce support each week: In fact, nearly 10 new companies have announced support for USDC since it was launched on September 26.
You can see more USDC supporters here.
Investors and traders need seamless on and off-ramps for fiat currency into the exchange ecosystem, need to hedge in and out of volatile crypto assets, and need to move stable value across exchange venues to seek arbitrage and liquidity opportunities. USDC helps make all of that possible.
Because fiat tokens are foundational requirements for enabling powerful new global financial contracts, products, and services on the internet, we expect to see widespread adoption for USDC in the months and years ahead. USDC is the first of several fiat tokens CENTRE expects to deliver, and Circle is the first of a number of forthcoming CENTRE members to launch USDC issuance.
Learn more about USDC and sign up or sign in to tokenize and redeem USD here.


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The only moment in last Wednesday’s presidential debate that grabbed my attention was when Mitt Romney called Tesla a loser, and implied that the government’s $450 million loan to the automaker was the worst government investment since the days of $11,000 toilet seats.
Romney’s remarks come as Tesla is rolling out its Model S, a car that Dan Neil described in the Wall Street Journal this way, “This Tesla Model S thing you’ve heard so much about? You know, all-electric sedan, Silicon Valley, that guy from SpaceX? This is one amazing car. I mean, hard-core amazing. But first and foremost, gentle reader, it goes like the very stink of hell.”
Heck, that’s never going to catch on.
Kim Reynolds, writing in Motor Trend, observed, “There just might be a revenge of the electric car after all, courtesy of the only major electric car builder producing EVs without being forced to: Tesla.”
Reynolds’ review ended this way, “Tesla — like Apple in the electronic device realm — is the sort of ambitious and fearlessly innovative company this country needs a thousand more of.”
That’s what I was thinking just after Romney dumped on Tesla. If I had to name the next Apple, the next company capable of utterly redefining the customer experience, it would be Tesla.
This potential is all the more remarkable when you consider that the car industry has been around for more than a century. It is an industry that almost by necessity moves slowly and that demands huge amounts of capital. Quick — name the last truly revolutionary car.
The electric Model S has no engine. None. The Signature Performance version can go from zero to 60 in 4.4 seconds. (Competing electrics like Ford’s Focus EV are more like 9 seconds.) The entire car is built on top a giant battery that stretches the length and width of the car, giving it an unprecedented 300-mile range between charges. Nissan’s frugal Leaf, by comparison, is lucky to make it 138 miles under perfect circumstances.
On nearly every important metric, the Model S not only leads, it laps the competition. This graph from Motor Trend puts it into perspective.
Each measurement corner of the graph represents a metric, such as range or acceleration. The closer to the outer edges, the better. The Model S stats are in dark blue, at the outer edges of the chart. No other electric car comes close.
To top it all off, the car comes with a 17-inch touchscreen. Anton Wahlman, writing for The Street, put it this way. “Forget all other cars you’ve experienced to date — this 17-inch screen feels like a 100-year jump in automotive technology.”
The last time I saw as many positive reviews as the Model S has received was, well, when Apple released a new phone.
This might be a good time for a reality check. The Model S is expensive, with a base price of $49,900 that leaps upwards when you increase power and range. Tesla expects to deliver just 3,225 of these cars this year. The firm isn’t going to be mass market anytime soon.
But that’s the path Apple followed, too. Its products have long been more expensive than the competition’s. When the Apple Lisa launched in 1983, it sold for $9,995. In 1983 dollars. Of course, it was also the first personal computer to offer a graphical user interface, a quantum leap forward in design that we’re still using today.
When Apple started to open retail stores, lots of people — myself included — wondered how the hell Apple could hope to use so much floor space when all they sold was a few digital devices. Last week I walked through an Apple store near Hartford, CT and it was jammed. This is no surprise; Apple stores are always jammed.
Guess what? Tesla isn’t opening traditional parking lot-style auto dealerships. Instead it’s opening sleek retail stores that bring to mind, yep, Apple.
Justin Hyde, the first journalist to test-drive a Model S, observed that the “last successful American startup automaker was Chrysler, founded 87 years ago. Every genius, huckster, and combination thereof who’s tried since has been ground into a fine powder by massive up-front costs combined with meager profits and ruthless competition.”
Tesla has already beat them all. It’s a far smarter company than most, and I’d gladly bet on them. Now if I can only convince my wife to let me sell our SUV and minivan…
Bruce Kasanoff is a speaker, author and innovation strategist who tracks sensor-driven innovation at Sense of the Future. Kasanoff and co-author Michael Hinshaw teamed up to explore more of the opportunities unearthed by disruptive forces in Smart Customers, Stupid Companies.
The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not reflect the beliefs of Digital Trends.
- The best electric cars for 2020
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- The best electric SUVs of 2020
- How to buy a Tesla online


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Intelligent Mechatronic Systems Inc. has modified its flagship iLane platform — an in-car device which gives users the ability to operate their BlackBerry via voice commands — for specialized use in the “for-hire” vehicle industry.
The Waterloo, Ont.-based firm officially launched Prompt on Tuesday, which it said gives taxi and limo drivers a “hands-free,” voice-activated tool to communicate with their dispatch centres. The portable unit works via a vehicle’s cigarette lighter or 12V outlet.
“This is not the same as iLane,” said Tony Cassetta, chief operating officer at IMS. “It’s modified to essentially be custom fit for the for-hire vehicle market.”
Functionality includes the ability for drivers to securely sign into central control, receive job information, accept and decline jobs, communicate estimated time of arrival back to dispatch, and provide load/unload confirmation.
The tool, which supports BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices, uses Bluetooth technology to link a driver’s smart phone with the Prompt device. The only other accessory needed is a sound-enabled device to transmit commands into Prompt.
IMS teamed up with New York-based solution provider Tecorien to engage in a Prompt pilot project with select black car and limo service drivers in New York.
The project was created in wake of the strict hands-free driving laws being enacted throughout North America recently. With the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission specifically, drivers can have their licences revoked for three violations within a 15-month period.
Cassetta said the pilot will help IMS add new features and functions to the platform.
One use-case for Prompt discovered through the pilot is the ability for drivers to say a codeword that notifies central dispatch when they’re in trouble. Cassetta said the emergency signal that many taxi companies typically use has been found ineffective because the public too often ignores the distress signal.
Gene Sorkin, chief operating officer with Tecorien, said the device can be modified within a matter of minutes and was specifically created to work with the New York limo service’s existing software.
“As far as the dispatching centre, everything looks the same,” he said. The only difference on the drivers’ end is they verbally issue their commands as opposed to dangerous typing them into their smart phones, he added.
Sorkin added that Prompt received approval from New York’s TLC as a legal product.
In addition to its applicability to “for-hire” vehicle services, both Cassetta and Sorkin said the platform could quickly be spun off for any company with a significant fleet management division. He said a large courier company has already expressed interest in a specialized version of the product.
IMS has also worked with companies to modify its iLane platform.
Currently the unmodified device allows users to hook their BlackBerry into their car, and once plugged in, reads out e-mail and weather reports to the user. The platform also allows customers to compose SMS messages and operate their phone’s calendar functionality via voice commands.
Upon iLane’s release in late 2008, Info-Tech Research Group Ltd. analyst Mark Tauschek said the platform’s steep price tag would hinder it from gaining penetration among many consumers and businesses.
“It’s neat and everything, but it’s a pretty expensive neat, if you ask me,” he said.
The suggested retail price has dropped about $200 in price since that time, and now costs $400. IMS has also expanded beyond BlackBerry devices to support Windows Mobile phones.
While companies will have to purchase modified iLane devices to roll out the product themselves, Sorkin said the company will be flexible for organizations looking to make bulk purchases.


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The South Australian government has pledged to invest an excellent $2 million dollars into local game development, with $1.55 million going towards new developments while the remaining $450,000 will go towards Game Plus, a new working space.
The full announcement outlines how the $1.55 million is being divided up between grants for skills development, marketing and production.
Funded under the South Australian Game Development Fund (SAGDF), the strategy was developed in response to industry feedback and outlines a three-tiered grant program with grants of up to $50,000 available.
The grants will help game development companies to produce globally competitive content, execute marketing plans for their games in target markets, and create original, South Australian-owned intellectual property.
The South Australian Government has also invested $450,000 to help establish Game Plus, a game development co-working space on Pirie Street, which provides a hub for digital entrepreneurs to co-locate and share knowledge, resources and opportunities.
Game Plus anchor tenant, Mighty Kingdom, has recently relocated to the new premises with the company set to launch its new Kitty Keeper digital game on to the United States market with support from a $480,000 Future Jobs Fund State Government grant.
The government grant will assist Mighty Kingdom with the completion, marketing and regular content updates of the Kitty Keeper game, which has created 16 new jobs.
The State Government’s Innovation Showcase will be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre and will invite key industry leaders, start-ups and researchers to network and learn about the world-leading ideas, products and services being developed in South Australia. The event will feature 12 exhibitors spanning health and medical, space, animation, mixed reality, gaming, 3D volumetric and defence and drone technology.
The SAGDF has been established to support South Australia’s entrepreneurs and businesses to create high quality digital games and target new markets.
The fund is expected to create up to 500 new local jobs and position South Australia as a national leader in the growing industry.
A total of $1.55 million will be available across three grant categories:
Production – Grants from $15,000 up to $50,000 to employ additional staff with specialist skills, acquire hardware or software, or cover other genuine production-associated costs for creating new content. Production grants must be matched on a 2:1 basis.
Marketing – Grants from $5,000 up to $15,000 to develop and execute marketing plans for games in target markets.
Skills development – Grants of up to $20,000 for game developers to attend conferences and speaker events and to grow their industry capability through training, scholarships, mentorships and event sponsorship.
If you’re a developer or belong to a studio interesting in pursuing a grant, more information can be found here.


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Apple CEO Steve Jobs Resigns
Posted on Aug 24, 2011
Steve Jobs, who has been on medical leave since January, has stepped down as CEO of Apple Inc. and has “strongly recommended” the board name Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook as his successor.
Jobs was immediately named chairman of the board, and Cook, who had been handling the day-to-day operations of the company during Jobs’ leave of absence, also joined the board.
The urgency with which the change in command was made on Wednesday raises questions about Jobs’ health. He was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer in 2004 and two years ago received a liver transplant. —BF
The Wall Street Journal:
Mr. Cook faces a big challenge in stepping into Mr. Jobs’s shoes because he must prove that Apple can succeed without Mr. Jobs. Mr. Jobs not only co-founded the company, but brought Apple back from near bankruptcy when he returned to the company in 1997. He is considered the visionary behind the company and has played a key role in reviving the Macintosh computer business and developing new products like the iPod, iPhone and iPad.
“Great companies rarely go from strength to strength,” said Charles O’Reilly, a management expert, at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, adding that Apple faces a particular challenge in that Mr. Jobs has had an unusually strong influence in setting Apple’s corporate culture and strategy.
Flickr / marcopako ? (CC-BY-SA)
Steve Jobs gives a keynote speech in 2008.


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Increasing acceptance of mobile technologies in the healthcare sector is likely to boost mobile healthcare (mHealth) market in the coming years, a latest report from RNR Market Research showed.
Driven by the thriving ecosystem, the research firm estimates that the mHealth market will account for over $23 billion in 2017 alone.
The firm also foresees that total mHealth market would represent $370 billion in annual healthcare cost savings worldwide by 2017.
For the next three years, the market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 35 percent.
However, players need to address regulatory barriers, patient acceptance and privacy concerns to achieve this growth.
Today, the use of mHealth devices and apps is widespread in clinical trials. Pharmaceutical companies are now setting their sights on connected drug delivery platforms that will automatically detect and log patients’ medication use to improve adherence.
Recent global e-Health alliance expansion by Teva Pharmaceuticals and IBM is an example. Using Teva’s therapeutic technologies and Watson’s cognitive computing, the companies aim to enable patients, healthcare providers, and payers to better understand and control chronic conditions, and track treatments.
The collaboration will combine cloud-connected drug delivery and app technology with more than six billion data points processed by Watson to provide actionable insights.
As the world go more digital in the years to come, demand for this kind of technologies will rise.
ALSO READ: Wearable sensors market forecast to swell
mHealth centric wearable devices
The RNR research report further estimates that mHealth centric wearable devices will account for over 60 million unit shipments by the end of 2017.
According to a report released by Gartner, 274.6 million wearable electronic devices will be sold worldwide in 2016, an increase of 18.4 percent from 232.0 million units in 2015.
Sales of wearable electronic devices will generate revenue of $28.7 billion in 2016. Of that, $11.5 billion will be from smartwatches.
Apple had significant contribution in popularising wearables as a lifestyle device. It had 7.5 percent market share in the first quarter of 2016, according to research firm IDC. Fitbit, Xiaomi are also in a close competition with Apple.
Big Data in mHealth
In order to gain valuable insights from the data generated by these devices, healthcare service providers and other stakeholders are increasingly investing in Big Data and analytics technology.
A recent research report from Transparency Market Research (TMR) is worth to note in this context. The research found that global IT Spending on Clinical Analytics will expand at a 12.3 percent CAGR over the period between 2016 and 2024.
In currency terms, the IT spending on clinical analytics is projected to reach $32.422 billion by 2024 from $11.650 billion in 2015.
Generation of highly refined data in short spans encouraged adoption of clinical analytics tools. It has helped to improve clinical outcomes and led to a significant reduction in hospital readmission rates.
mHealth has the potential to dramatically reduce the costs of healthcare operations, while improving the quality of healthcare.
A survey conducted by Research2guidance unveiled that mHealth apps have reduced hospital readmission expenses in UK and duration of stay.
RNR Market Research also estimates that telemedicine, telehealth, and M-health markets are set to reach $45.4 billion by 2021.
M-Health markets related to telemedicine will grow the fastest, leveraging 9.5 billion smart phones and 5 billion connected tablet devices installed all over the world by 2021.


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FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - Private equity group IK Investment Partners is planning the sale of German-based fire extinguisher maker Minimax, which generated 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in sales last year, four people familiar with the situation said.
The private equity house, which focuses on buying mid-sized companies in Northern Europe, aims to pick advisory banks early next year with a view to launching the sale process within the first half of the year, the people added.
Minimax, which employs over 6,200 people and makes a range of fire extinguishing and detection systems, could attract U.S. technology groups Honeywell (HON.N) and United Technologies (UTX.N) as well as rival private equity groups, two of the people said.
An initial public share offer of the business is also an option, one of the people said.
A spokeswoman for IK declined to comment.
IK bought Minimax in 2006 from Investcorp for an undisclosed amount, financing the deal with 530 million euros in bank lending, according to data from Thomson Reuters LPC.
At that point the company had revenues of less than 500 million euros a year, but it has since grown considerably, taking over U.S. rival Viking Group in 2009.
It is now the world’s third largest fire equipment supplier, and is market leader in the United States and China, generating the vast majority of sales from industrial fire protection systems.
The prospective sale comes at an important time for IK Investment Partners as it asks investors to back its latest buyout fund, for which it has raised about half of the 1.7 billion euros it is after.
However, recent efforts to sell companies have gone poorly. It was forced to shelve the sales of industrials firm Schenck Process, sports pitch maker Sport Group and glass manufacturer Flabeg when bids fell short of targets, people had previously said.
IK, with roots in the Nordic region, has also been at the centre of a long-running tax investigation by Sweden’s Tax Agency.
Those investigations have resulted in bills for hundreds of millions of dollars in back taxes for the firm’s dealmakers, including a bill and penalty of more than $100 million for IK’s executive chairman Bjorn Saven.
Editing by Greg Mahlich


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Leading global payment services company Western Union will soon launch a Russian online translation service in collaboration with Moskomprivatbank, which is part of the Privat banking group.
Russian customers can send fast, reliable and convenient Western Union money transfers through WesternUnion.ru. The service is available 24 hours, seven days a week.
Western Union will be expanding its electronic service delivery channels to meet customer needs, according to Alexander Badulesku, the regional vice president of Western Union in Eastern Europe and the CIS. Badulesku views Russia as a key market, adding that the new internet service is in line with the company's global growth strategy.
Customers will be able to make online transfers from Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards and can transfer at any of the 515,000 points around the world, including 43,000 outlets in Russia and the CIS.
- MINISTRY OF FINANCE OF GEORGIA: The European Code of Customs Code will be launched in Georgia
- MINISTRY OF FINANCE OF UKRAINE: Ministry of Finance launches second module of "E-Data" project - open "Budget for citizens"
- EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK: Investment Plan for Europe: the EIB and Grifols sign a new loan agreement to advance research on rare and chronic diseases
- EURASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK: The Eurasian Development Bank and Kazyna Capital Management signed an agreement on cooperation
- BANK ZENIT - RUSSIA: Banking Group ZENIT announced its financial results under IFRS for the six months of 2018
- BNP PARIBAS - UKRAINE: UKRSIBBANK Remotely Refines its Personal Data
- BANK OF GEORGIA: With the general partnership of the Bank of Georgia, the traditional horse racing "Baccharo Cup 2018" was held to popularize the resort Bakhmaro
- ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK: Philippine PPP Policy Gets a Boost from ADB's $300 Million Loan
- AG BANK: AGBank congratulates the people of Azerbaijan with the state attribute on the 26th anniversary of manat!
- ABN AMRO SERVICES COMPANY: New ABN AMRO campaign highlights sustainable business


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Psa group's opel plans to start exporting cars to tunisia and morocco from france's psa agreed in march to buy opel from general motors in a deal the move was aimed at helping the group to challenge european psa has given opel until 2020 to return to profit as part of a recovery plan aimed at. France's psa group plans to buy opel from general motors in a deal be turned around using lessons from the french group's own recovery.
General motors is selling its unprofitable european car business to the the takeover of general motors' european subsidiary opel by french gm will take proceeds from the sale and to accelerate its stock buyback program the deal marks a major recovery for psa, rescued out just three years ago. Creates sound european foundation for psa to support its worldwide all of opel/vauxhall's european and uk pension plans, funded and.
Psa acquired vauxhall and opel last year when it bought general motors' money -losing european arm, and has been pursuing a restructuring. Opel and vauxhall were big money losers for general motors brands on the road to recovery, psa is now looking beyond europe to grow gm's cast-offs psa plans to export opel cars to 20 new countries within five years.
The situation is grim for the european car market, even for previously thriving premium brands the gm subsidiary has reached a low from which it might never recover in 2009, opel's american parent company, general motors (gm) , internal gm plan foresees plant closures in europe (03/26/2012. It was feared that ellesmere port could shut under a gm restructuring plan that may still see a european plant close vauxhall chairman duncan. Psa plans to export opel cars globally after general motors deal gm only sells opel cars in europe, but mr tavares told a press conference: “it's mr tavares, a renowned cost-cutter, seeks to restore the business to profit.
for psa to fix the ailing company, bought from general motors last year opel sold vehicles in mainland europe and vauxhall sold the same opel-vauxhall's recovery plan calls for a 2% operating profit margin in 2020. Peugeot struck a deal to buy general motors' unprofitable european operations, a daring move by a french auto maker that is still early in its own financial recovery us auto maker's sale of opel and vauxhall brands marks retreat up about $2 billion in cash, which it plans to use for share buybacks.
Opel's lohscheller is copying psa's recovery plan his success with opel, which psa bought from general motors in august, after gm tired of. The automotive industry crisis of 2008–2010 was a part of a global financial downturn the crisis affected european and asian automobile manufacturers, but it was in response, the company has announced plans to idle its truck plants, while general motors uk subsidiary vauxhall motors, whose brand is the second. A year after general motors co gave up on european automaker opel, the brand is tavares discusses psa's first-half profit, plans to return to north psa's own recovery included a 2014 bailout, freezing pay, weeding out.
Irish sales still struggling, but plans are in place for a turnaround gillian whittall, opel ireland's general manager: “the brand share has grown cumulatively struggled to stay in the black, under the ownership of american giant general motors china trade fears end european shares' recovery 18:48. The uk's decision to leave the eu certainly didn't help matters the sharp devaluation of sterling threw gm's recovery plans off course.


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Back in October of '11, Motorola confirmed the first devices set to receive Android 4.0: the RAZR, Bionic, and the XOOM. While the Wi-Fi XOOM is the only of the mentioned devices to have already received the update, Moto just added a slew of other devices to that list, including:
- RAZR MAXX
- Droid 4
- Photon 4G
- Atrix 4G
- Atrix 2
- XOOM Family Edition
- XOOM 2
- XOOM (3G)
- Xyboard 8.2 (Wi-Fi and LTE)
- Xyboard 10.1 (Wi-Fi and LTE)
- Droid 3
- Droid X2
- Milestone 3
- MT917 (China)
- XT928 (China)
- MT870 (China)
- XT605 (China)
- XT822 (China)
While the bulk of those devices are still "in evaluation and planning" (which means that they could be deemed too "underpowered" for ICS and dropped from the upgrade path altogether), an approximate release schedule is available for some. Read More
Okay, so Redditastic isn't technically an app, but it is a pretty sweet widget that lets you throw your favorite subreddits on one of your homescreens. Unfortunately it's only currently available for devices running Honeycomb or ICS, and it probably won't see any previous builds of Android simply because scrollable widgets aren't supported by them unless you use a custom launcher. That being said, if you do own a supported device, this Reddit widget is definitely one to check out. Read More
Earlier today, Ricardo Cerqueira (aka RC of the CM team) posted on Google+, teasing that a CM9 build for LG's Optimus 2x (P990) would be available soon. For some time now, the CM team has been keeping a spreadsheet on Google Docs, tracking the P990 build's progress, which indicates that, as of 2/9, ICS for the Optimus 2x is all but fully functional, carrying only "partial" functionality for the phone's camera and video playback capabilities. Read More
Earlier today, when I read comments from Motorola executive Christy Wyatt over on PCMag explaining that lagging software updates could be blamed in large part on hardware variation, my first response was "really?" Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Motorola has iterated so much hardware in the last year that it has actually promised to cut down on the number of versions of Android handsets it will make.
Specifically, Wyatt made a point of the obvious fact that when Google releases the source code for Android, the only devices it will readily compile on fall into the "Nexus" category. Read More
HTC just posted on its Facebook page some details regarding the upcoming Android 4.0 update for many devices:
HTC has been working hard to get its Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades ready, and we’re excited to announce that our first round of ICS upgrades will roll out by the end of March for the HTC Sensation, HTC Sensation 4G and HTC Sensation XE, followed soon there after by the HTC Sensation XL.
Chrome for Android. Those are three words that many Android fans have been patiently waiting to hear for quite a while (aside from speculation and rumor, that is), and it's finally here. I've spent the biggest part of the day playing with the new browser, and it's already the default browser on both my Transformer Prime and Galaxy Nexus. Yeah, it's that good.
Before we take a closer look, though, I want you to keep in mind that it's wearing the beta tag, so it is a bit buggy. Read More
Steve Kondik (aka Cyanogen) put out a public update to the situation with CyanogenMod 9 earlier today, and revealed a few interesting tidbits about Team Douche's progress. Here's a few excerpts we thought were particularly important:
Android 4.0 contains many internal changes that require updated graphics drivers. Unfortunately, these drivers are almost always closed-source and don’t appear until a device or devkit is released with them. For many devices, our hands are tied...
Just days after hearing about the leaked release of Android 4.0.4 for the Nexus 4G, French mobile phone company SFR has not only announced (Google Translate) which devices will be getting ICS in the coming months, it has also confirmed the existence of Android 4.0.5.
According to its post, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S will be receiving an OTA update to Android 4.0.5 sometime in March, while the HTC Sensation and Galaxy SII will be updated to Android 4.0. Read More


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NEW ALBANY — Officials from Worthington Cylinders, a Worthington Industries company and a global supplier of pressure tanks and pressure cylinders, is expanding operations at its facility in New Albany.
The expansion represents a company investment of more than $11 million and will create 80 new jobs over the next five years; 30 of those jobs will be added this year. Currently, the New Albany facility employs 165 workers.
In June 2009, Worthington acquired Piper Metal Forming of New Albany. The company recently acquired Virginia-based Hy-Mark Cylinders and will be relocating Hy-Mark’s physical assets to its New Albany facility, where it will be increasing production of existing products and adding new product lines.
“We made a significant investment in New Albany with the Piper acquisition last year, and we are making a very substantial additional commitment now,” said Harry Goussetis, president of Worthington Cylinders. “We are committed to growing our business, and this additional investment will expand our existing medical cylinder product line and will also add new products such as scuba tanks and cylinders for carbon dioxide used in beverage service applications.”
The Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) worked with company and local officials to help facilitate the expansion using Momentum Mississippi incentives. The state also provided workforce training assistance to the company.
Worthington Cylinders is a division of Worthington Industries, a diversified metals manufacturing company that employs 6,400 workers in 64 facilities in 11 countries. Worthington Cylinders, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, is the world’s leading global supplier of pressure cylinders. With 10 facilities in the U.S., Canada and Europe, Worthington Cylinders offers a complete line of pressure cylinders in the industry,. Balloon Time and Worthington Pro Grade products are available at retailers nationwide and provide consumers products for grilling, party planning, outdoor leisure activities and home repair.
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Good news wearable fans, a new low power Bluetooth chip claims it can deliver up to two times longer battery life for your smartwatches and fitness trackers.
Created by NXP, the QN 9080 Bluetooth Low Energy system-on-a-chip solution (what a mouthful) is the firm's most power efficient offering to date.
Many smartwatches currently struggle to see out two full days on a single charge, while fitness trackers generally last around a week. NXP claims that in some cases its new chip will allow devices to last for up to a month on a single charge. We really hope it rings true when devices hit the market.
Longer life and more power
There's also an increase in performance too, which makes the chip even more enticing, with NXP senior vice president Asit Goel saying "this is the dawn of new, super energy efficient, smart wearables."
The chip is now available to manufacturers, but it's not clear when the first wearables sporting it will hit the market. Fingers crossed it's soon!


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Turnover was up but profits halved at Stewarts of Tayside last year, partly because of the costs incurred in making the Glencarse workplace Covid-secure for hundreds of employees.
In its annual report the leading soft fruit and swede producer says it succeeded “under extreme pressure” in delivering to all its customers on time and in full in the year ending May 31, 2021.
It added that it would not be immune to potential shut downs if the infection was introduced to the site, so it has taken “strong and robust” measures to try to prevent that happening.
Trading conditions during the year were heavily influenced by the pandemic as well as challenging growing and harvesting conditions for swedes.
That resulted in turnover rising 9.9% to £29.22 million (£26.58 in 2020) while pre-tax profit fell to £1.025 million (2020: £2.167 million).
Company chairman Will Stewart reported that while labour is becoming increasingly expensive, prices for produce remain flat, which has led the company to invest in technology and find efficiencies.
Mr Stewart said: “Exiting the European Union has greatly added to this challenge.”
The average number of people employed by Stewarts during 2021 was 458 (2020: 433), and seasonal labour has traditionally been sourced from the EU.
Mr Stewart called on the UK Government to introduce a “robust and functioning” Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme.
”This would need to allow for a higher number of permits on a year-round basis than the current temporary scheme provides for,” he said.
”Without this it is clear that there will be significant disruption in the food supply chains in 2022 and beyond.”
Mr Stewart said the company had adopted measures to mitigate these risks, but emphasised that the general level of uncertainty is unhelpful for the sector as it works to keep food shelves stocked across Great Britain.


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Consumers continue to sock away their money, even though they’re making more these days. Incomes rose by $167.1 billion in May, and disposable income rose even more, $178.1 billion, according to the Commerce Department. But consumer spending rose only 0.3 percent in May. The savings rate is now 6.9 percent, the highest level since December […] [Read More]
(Photo courtesy of Associated Press) Retail sales unexpectedly fell in March. All this talk about “glimmers of hope” in the economy and “tentative signs” of improvement don’t really seem to matter much when retail sales continue to be bad, and even worse than expectations. The Commerce Department reported that retail sales dropped 1.1 percent in […] [Read More]


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Posted Wed Dec 11, 2013 at 11:00 AM PST by Steven Cohen
The smartphone that can convert into a tablet will make its way to the US next year.
In an interview with Engadget, ASUS has announced plans to release a premium version of its unique PadFone mobile device in the United States. The transformable smartphones are capable of being docked into larger display shells, allowing them to convert into tablets.
Up until now, the company has concentrated its PadFone products in Asian markets, but the recently released PadFone Infinity is currently available in several European countries as well. Thanks to their growing success, ASUS is poised to bring an updated model to the United States next year. The US variant is expected to be a high-end version of the PadFone Infinity. The current model features a 5-inch 1080p screen when in smartphone mode and can then be docked into the included PadFone Infinity Station to become a 10.1-inch tablet. Under the hood, the device is powered by a 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor and an Adreno 320 GPU all running Android 4.2.
Exact specs, pricing, and availability for the US PadFone model have not been detailed yet, but ASUS did reveal that it is partnering with a "big operator" for the device and that it is expected to launch in Q2 2014.
The latest news on all things 4K Ultra HD, blu-ray and Gear.


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Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024|
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Six fire units, including the HAZMAT company, responded to the downtown Hilo Sack N Save supermarket Tuesday afternoon.
Because of the store’s proximity to the Hilo Central Fire Station, it took just a minute for the first unit to arrive on scene after the 3:30 p.m. alarm of white smoke in the store.
There were no signs of heat or fire, nor were there any complaints of illness or injury.
The store was safely evacuated, and the source of the white haze turned out to be Freon gas escaping from a damaged refrigerator system compressor.
The store was closed to complete repairs and reopened this morning.
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Infineon Technologies, best known for their memory products, has recently filed two patents (1, 2) for technology meant to deliberately interfere with voice over IP transmissions. New Scientist Magazine's patent news blog, Invention, reports that the German company has filed a patent application for a method of artificially creating a bottleneck for VoIP transmissions, effectively degrading the signal.
Infineon's second patent application is for a method of mangling the transmission of speech data over WiFi hot spots.
Infineon's patent applications come at a particularly relevant time as net neutrality debates rage around the web. The thought of this type of technology getting into the hands of a large telecommunications company that opposes net neutrality is chilling to say the least.
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Last year, ZTE released a smartphone with two displays called the Axon M. This phone has a hinge sandwiched between the displays, enabling it to fold like a clamshell phone. ZTE calls this a folding phone, though it doesn’t quite meet the folding definition — it has two displays, not one flexible folding display, which is the primary goal for some phone makers. The Axon M, ZTE has said, is only the first among the company’s folding handsets.
Confirmation came from ZTE VP of Marketing Jeff Yee, who revealed the info during an interview with Engadget. According to Yee, ZTE considers the Axon M a foldable phone, not a dual-screen phone, though it is technically a dual-screen phone. As well, Yee indicated that ZTE is planning to release a successor to the Axon M, one that may have very slim bezels.
That is apparently just the start of ZTE’s folding phone ambitions; the company ultimately plans to release a foldable phone that has one flexible display rather than two separate screens. We’re probably not going to see that single flexible display used in the next Axon M iteration, but one can hope.
Samsung brought the flexible folding phone concept to the public’s attention years ago, and we’ve seen various flexible panels from the company (and others) since. An increasing number of patents have appeared over recent months showing various phone concepts that revolve around a flexible panel.
Whether consumers will ultimately embrace a phone that unfolds into a tablet-like device is unclear, but it’s easy to see where the benefits could lie. The phone could be folded and compact when used as a phone, but it could open up into a larger device when, for example, the user wants to stream a movie or edit a photo.


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Effects of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic on world copyright issues was a key focus at WIPO’s 42nd SCCR meetings.
The two-year ‘Inspire’ project report from the IPA highlights solidarity and a need for common reporting standards.
In 2021, Finland’s consumer base bought two digital books for every one print book sold, the Finnish Literature Exchange, FILI, reports.
The ‘IPA Academy’ now is active for exploration by publishers in the International Publishers Association’s member-organizations.
The ‘IPA Academy’ program being opened with Sharjah Book Authority, is geared to support publishers with digital skills and advancement.
Digital acceleration: Growth outlined in Edinburgh University Press’ annual report includes a 49-percent gain in ebook sales, year over year.
The Association of American Publishers finds international backing for its lawsuit of Maryland’s new library digital book licensing law.
Before the pandemic, only 5 percent of Peru’s publishers and booksellers had made digital sales. Peru was guest of honor at Guadalajara.
As the Malaysian Book Council promotes international rights availabilities for books from its market, one publisher there talks about his company’s pandemic experience. (Sponsored)
Urban revitalization efforts and funding opportunities for publishers are encouraged by the Börsenverein as the country’s political parties debate initiatives.


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Donald Trump is apparently using his trip to Tokyo as yet another opportunity to whinge about the U.S. trade deficit while raising questions about his familiarity with basic facts about the American economy.
Speaking before a group of business executives on Monday, the president criticized Japan for taking advantage of the U.S. on trade, particularly when it comes to cars. This was itself nothing new. Trump has long complained about the fact that while Japan’s automakers sell millions of cars in the U.S. every year, Detroit’s big three are essentially shut out of Japan, where just 15,000 American vehicles were sold last year.
Then, because this is 2017, things got dumb. According to Bloomberg, the president of the United States started begging Japan’s car companies to consider making their vehicles on American shores—something they’ve been doing since the 1980s. “Try building your cars in the United States instead of shipping them over. That’s not too much to ask,” Trump said. “Is that rude to ask?”
I mean, it’s not rude. It’s just strange—because Japanese car companies already build an enormous number of vehicles stateside. Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and their brethren have dozens of manufacturing plants across the country, and according to the Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association, 75 percent of Japanese brand vehicle sold stateside were assembled in North America. (Some percentage of those come from Mexico, which wouldn’t exactly satisfy Trump, but you get the idea.)
It’s not as if this is a recent development, either. Usually, the knock on Trump’s understanding of Washington-Tokyo relations is that they’re locked in the 1980s, when Japan was considered the rising threat to U.S. manufacturing supremacy. But the country’s automakers started setting up shop here back in the 1980s, after President Reagan strong-armed Japan’s government into limiting its car exports. Here’s what the New York Times had to say about the trend back in 1985:
Instead of flooding America with cars made at home, and risking new protectionist measures, the Japanese are ”going native” - opening up American plants and moving quickly toward the day when they will be, collectively, the nation’s fourth major auto maker, ranking with General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.
Trump presumably understands that Japan’s carmakers have some manufacturing presence in the United States—he bragged on Twitter when Toyota and Mazda announced they would build a joint plant here and thanked Toyota for investing $1.3 billion in a Kentucky facility. But it’s not at all clear he understands the extent of the production that happens in the U.S. Back in 2015, he suggested to the Detroit News that he’d essentially browbeat the Japanese into manufacturing cars here, as if they weren’t already. “Until you open your markets, you’re not selling any more cars over here,” Trump said. “That’s going to force people to build in the United States.”
Perhaps someone should ask Trump where he thinks Toyota builds all those Camrys it sells in California. He might be pleasantly surprised to learn the answer.
Update, Nov. 6, 2017: With a full transcript of Trump’s remarks now available, Aaron Blake of the Washington Post has accused me of unfairly cherry-picking a quote that is less bizarre in context. Here are the key paragraphs (I am bolding the same passages as Blake).
When you want to build your auto plants, you will have your approvals almost immediately. When you want to expand your plants, you will have your approvals almost immediately. And in the room, we have a couple of the great folks from two of the biggest auto companies in the world that are building new plants and doing expansions of other plants. And you know who you are, and I want to just thank you very much. I want to thank you.
I also want to recognize the business leaders in the room whose confidence in the United States — they’ve been creating jobs — you have such confidence in the United States, and you’ve been creating jobs for our country for a long, long time. Several Japanese automobile industry firms have been really doing a job. And we love it when you build cars — if you’re a Japanese firm, we love it — try building your cars in the United States instead of shipping them over. Is that possible to ask? That’s not rude. Is that rude? I don’t think so. (Laughter.) If you could build them. But I must say, Toyota and Mazda — where are you? Are you here, anybody? Toyota? Mazda? I thought so. Oh, I thought that was you. That’s big stuff. Congratulations. Come on, let me shake your hand. (Applause.) They’re going to invest $1.6 billion in building a new manufacturing plant, which will create as many as 4,000 new jobs in the United States. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
So, what do we learn from the full quotes? Not much new. Trump understands that the Japanese make some of their vehicles here. Yet he tells the assembled executives to “try building your cars in the United States instead of shipping them over,” suggesting that some have not tried it. This is odd, given that almost every major Japanese carmaker that sells in the U.S.—Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Subaru, and Mitsubishi—already has at least one manufacturing plant on American soil. The exception, Mazda, is planning a joint facility with Toyota that Trump himself is very excited about. If Trump is in fact aware of all this, and is still telling a bunch of auto execs to “try” building their cars in America, it’s weird. But even based on the full quote, it’s simply unclear whether Trump understands the extent of the Japanese auto industry’s U.S. manufacturing presence, which has implications for our trade policy.
This all brings up a larger question of how we should read the president’s statements. The most charitable way to interpret Trump’s comment was assume he really meant “try building more of your cars in the U.S.” But at this point, it’s not clear what we gain by giving Trump the benefit of the doubt. The president has repeatedly shown a lack of basic familiarity with major economic and public policy issues, and I think it’s generally incumbent on journalists to point out instances where he may, yet again, be out of his depth, rather than offer him an excuse by reinterpreting his sentences to make sense.


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General Motors is recalling 73,424 Chevrolet Cobalt small cars in the U.S. and Canada because improper wiring could prevent the roof-mounted driver's side airbag from deploying after a crash.
Prices charged by producers rose more slowly in July, reflecting declines in both food and energy.
A new study by Illinois researchers estimates that reduced federal gasoline blending standards would produce the same impact on carbon emissions as nearly one million additional passenger vehicles.
The report asks: How will companies use 3D printing over the next couple years?
Pernod Ricard is doubling down with Absolut Elyx in a quest to dethrone Grey Goose.
When Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus was founded in 2013, critics doubted that people would buy its flagship phone, OnePlus One. But co-founder Carl Pei found an unconventional way to help the company survive.
In this episode, a smarter showerhead and an IoT super pact.
Symantec will sell its Veritas information management business for $8 billion in cash with plans to funnel proceeds back into its main line of work, cybersecurity, and to buy back shares.
A new report anticipates a dramatic jump in the need for data analysis as the Industrial Internet of Things continues to expand.
Already facing falling sales and lawsuits from its ousted founder, shares of American Apparel plunged further Wednesday after the retailer said it doesn't have enough financing to keep operating for the next year, meaning it will need to raise money or find new financing.
Dr. Pepper Snapple is making a $20 million investment in BodyArmor, a rival of PepsiCo's Gatorade brand.
A forthcoming ruling from federal labor officials could dramatically alter the status of employees in a wide range of industries.
The eurozone's hopes for a strong economic recovery this year have soured over the past couple months, partly because of the crisis over Greece's future in the currency zone and fading growth in China.
A Swiss packaging company recently debuted its paper-based bottle in the U.S.
More people sought U.S. unemployment aid last week, but the average for the past month fell to the lowest level in 15 years, a sign that few employers are cutting jobs.
In the follow-up segment to last week's discussion, Bob Barr of Acquity Group reviews the three dimensions e-marketplaces bring to industrial distribution online, outlining key questions businesses should ask themselves about their own value proposition.
Less than a month after the historic Iran nuclear deal, western businesses are looking with interest at the Iranian market.
Cloud-based time and attendance is a critical tool for businesses looking to reduce timekeeping errors and create efficiencies. Smart manufacturers are using the system to streamline operations, boost productivity and position themselves competitively for the future.
Kraft Heinz says it is cutting about 2,500 jobs as part of its plan to slash costs after the food companies combined.
Fiat Chrysler said Tuesday it is appealing a Georgia court's order to pay $40 million to the family of a child who died in a Jeep fire.


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The company is talking about the ways it is at the forefront of Industry 4.0 this week, with several collaborations highlighted at Hannover Messe 2016.
In an official blog post coinciding with its presence at Hannover Messe 2016, Microsoft has said it plans to be at the forefront of the fourth Industrial Revolution.
Known as Industry 4.0, Microsoft will be discussing its position at the largest industry tech exhibition, where CEO Satya Nadella held a keynote on Sunday. In its blog post the company said:
“We will demonstrate how Microsoft together with its customers and partners are building ecosystems of intelligence – business ecosystems for interconnected services, people and things.”
Windows 10 is the driver for this development the company says, from tiny Internet of Things devices to larger devices and systems.
Microsoft details a number of growing technology firms that are using Windows 10 as a platform foundation for growing new services.
Engineering services firm IAV is known for its automated vehicle technology and is using Microsoft’s Continuum feature through Windows 10 to deliver the platform directly to the dashboard. This allows occupants to access important data and information regarding the vehicle and roads, while also featuring apps like Mail, Maps, Cortana, and Skype Business.
Sticking with the traffic theme, SM!GHT is a corporate startup of EnBW, which has developed smart city traffic lights that work through Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform. Azure Stream Analytics monitor data such as pollution, congestion, and weather to help planners understand vehicle movement. A Windows 10 Universal App lets users see all the data.
“In an instant, cities can determine which neighborhoods or routes have the highest pollution or traffic and send drivers in a different and better direction. Drivers have the possibility to avoid traffic jams, air quality improves and commuters are happier because they’re getting to their destination more quickly and less frazzled.”
Liebherr Group, a growing fridge manufacturer, is using Microsoft products to power its line of smart fridges, which are marketed for pharmaceutical clients. Windows IoT provides a platform background for regulators to manage data and for companies to ensure they are keeping storages at the correct temperatures.
Even the industrial process can benefit from a smart and connected world, with Microsoft aiding in the development of smart buildings. Connected buildings use Microsoft’s Azure cloud technology and Internet of Things systems to help reduce costs, increase energy efficiency, and maintain security. Smart technology within a building can include heating and air conditioning systems, lighting, and elevators.
Microsoft says it is helping to make history in the manufacturing process, with factories in Mexico and Malaysia in conjunction with manufacturer Jabil. The company is creating connected and predictive factories based off Microsoft’s technology, using machine learning to manage equipment failures ahead of time.
“It’s exciting. For the first time we have been able to predict, say a solder defect, or some type of component defect, on our printed circuit board assembly before it’s occurred,” says Clint Belinsky, Jabil vice president for Global Quality.
Microsoft discusses some of the other uses for Windows and Azure in the manufacturing business in its official post and will be talking about its features at Hannover Messe this week.


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The creator of viral sensation Wordle says he sold it to the New York Times because he feared he was going to spend time and money stopping others from making a fortune from the game.
Josh Wardle, who created the game for his puzzle-loving partner, told a Game Developers Conference that getting rid of his creation was a way to avoid the pressure he felt was inevitable.
After the game drew the attention of millions of users, clones popped up on Apple's App Store with quite a few charging either for the game or ongoing subscriptions.
One of those who ripped off Wardle was Jack Shakked, who boasted on Twitter about how much money he was going to make - before a backlash forced him to apologise.
The whole experience left Wardle "pretty stressed out, truthfully".
"That isn't money that I would have made, because I said I don't want to make money, but something about that felt really deeply unpleasant for me," he said.
"And so selling to the New York Times was a way for me to walk away from that. I didn't want to be paying a lawyer to issue cease and desists on the game that I'm not making money from.
"It felt like it was all going to get really, really complicated."
According to reports, the Times paid between US$1 million and US$3 million (NZ$1.45 million to $4.35 million) for rights to the game.
During the talk, Wardle revealed he was able to scale up the game for millions of users for around US$100 (NZ$145) per month.
He also shared some feedback he had received from players whose lives were changed positively by the game, including one from Nebraska.
"Both my parents play now. We don't have a lot in common, even though we love each other a lot. I'm gay; they're conservative Christians," the person wrote.
"Wordle has given us a way to come together every day. [My mother] loves that regular contact with me. And it's something I enjoy too that distracts me from all the difficult differences that are between us."
Another said how it helped their relationship with their mum after she embraced QAnon, the extremist conspiracy theory group.
"To read this is really heartwarming. It's also incredibly tragic, I think. Right now we are more connected than ever, yet people want [for] connection," Wardle said.
There were fears that the game would end up behind a paywall once purchased by the New York Times, but that hasn't happened yet.
Reports in the media suggest, however, that the number of users has dropped, with the Times claiming around 300,000 are playing each day.
In the meantime, new clones have appeared on the App Store and Google's Play Store while there are others online which have adapted the original in different ways.
This includes Worldle, where users have to guess the country based on its outline and Framed, which offers stills of a movie getting increasingly easier as the game progresses.
Word-based games Quorlde and Octordle have also increased the complexity of the original by making users guess four and eight words respectively, albeit with more attempts to guess.


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Here’s a first look at the ’19 Mustang Bullitt in Shadow Black.
This is the ’19 Nissan Murano, caught testing for the first time in Arizona.
Land Rover Defender Mule: It is expected that the Defender will utilize parts from other Land Rover vehicles and be built alongside other cars from the range.
’19 GMC Sierra 1500: The Sierra will get a major redo for 2019, with a significant revision that keeps some conservative construction methods but adds new technology and refinement.
Jeep Renegade: The Renegade will receive modifications to the bumpers, grille, headlights, taillights and a slight update to the cabin and dash.
Land Rover is just one year away from revealing its second-generation Evoque, which has now been spotted undergoing high-speed tests at the German Nürburgring race track—well ahead of its launch.
It appears that GMC will get its own version of the Silverado Trail Boss and, according to a source in the know, expect it to arrive under the All-Terrain nameplate.
Based on the camo on this prototype, the front end on standard models will receive some comprehensive changes from the A-pillar forward.
This is the new Buick Encore, caught testing for the first time in Metro Detroit.
This is a mule for the U.S.-spec KIA Sorento Diesel, caught while testing near Ann Arbor, Michigan
’19 Chevrolet Silverado 1500: GM is expected to make radical changes to its fullsize pickups in the form of aluminum-intensive construction to shed weight and improve efficiency.
’19 Ford Ranger XLT: It is now confirmed that the XLT will receive its own unique grille (following in the footsteps of the F-150 lineup).
’19 RAM: Continuing with the steel body for the RAM 1500 is a break from Ford’s pattern for weight savings on a fullsize truck.
’19 Jeep Scrambler Pickup: The truck is expected to be based on the long-wheelbase Wrangler Unlimited platform, with similar front-end styling and traditional Jeep styling toward the rear.
The Fiat 500X will get a few new features for the new year.


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The following article by the Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda outlines the renewed focus Toyota has on quality. It’s called “Back to Basics for Toyota” and was published in the Wall Street Journal opinion section today.
Toyota is testifying in front of congress today for quality missteps that have rarely happened before. The quality of their product has been second to none for decades and clearly is what differentiated them in the market place. Mr. Toyoda apologizes for these missteps and outlines what is in store for the future at Toyota.
This is a great example of how flawed strategy can lead to disastrous outcomes. Toyota still has the best quality improvement system in the world(The Toyota Production System). But when senior leaders at Toyota decided a few years ago to become the biggest car company in the world they abandoned their core principles according to Mr. Toyoda, “When my grandfather brought Toyota into the auto business in 1937, he created a set of principles that has always guided how we operate. We call it the Toyota Way, and its pillars are “respect for people” and “continuous improvement.” I believe in these core principles. And I am convinced that the only way for Toyota to emerge stronger from this experience is to adhere more closely to them.”
Because of the strength of the the Toyota culture and the Toyota Production System methodology the company will survive and prosper again but the lesson for the rest of us is that strategy not consistent with an organization’s core principles can have markedly negative consequences. The real question is what is the standard work necessary for leaders to avoid these types of culturally inconsistent decisions in the future?


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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - America Movil, Latin America’s top mobile phone operator, plans to concentrate on boosting profit margins this year, switching its focus away from a wave of acquisitions in the region, its chief financial officer said on Thursday.
Carlos Garcia-Moreno said America Movil (AMX.N)(AMXL.MX) would see its Brazilian unit’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) margin rise to the “high teens or even as high as 20 percent” this year, up from 12.7 percent last year.
Controlled by Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, the world’s third-richest man, America Movil is also interested in entering the mobile phone market in Panama.
“It is a country that interests us,” Garcia-Moreno said, speaking at the Reuters Latin American Investment Summit in Mexico City, adding that America Movil could apply or bid for a license there.
In 2007, America Movil’s total sales will rise 20 percent, Garcia-Moreno forecast, growth that includes a recently concluded acquisition in the Dominican Republic and an acquisition in Puerto Rico that will be consolidated shortly.
The company plans a 10 billion-peso extension to its share buyback scheme that will take its total fund to 14 billion pesos for 2007, Garcia-Moreno said.
Also, by the end of this year, America Movil expects to launch 3G services in several major Latin American cities, the chief financial officer said.
But America Movil had no near-term plans for moving into Canada, one market in the Americas where it has no presence, Garcia-Moreno said.


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Motorola has announced a new Moto Mod accessory for its Moto Z series of smartphones — Moto Smart Speaker with Amazon Alexa. Moto Mod is a
As the name itself suggests, the snap-to-connect mod accessory features its own dedicated speaker. It also has that blue illumination ring that we saw on Amazon Echo or Echo Dot.
The speaker comes with four mics, ensuring that it picks up the voice in relatively noisy environments. It delivers across-the-room sound in a way that a smartphone can’t by itself.
Powered by Amazon Alexa, it allows users to trigger the smart assistant with voice and can be used to play music, get news, ask questions, pull up to-do lists, provide weather forecast, and more. It comes with same features that Amazon’s Echo smart speaker has.
This new accessory from Motorola comes with a built-in battery, which as per the company, can last for around 15 hours on single charge.
While this newly announced Mod boosts one feature on the phone — speaker, it blocks another feature — camera. It is designed in such a way that it completely hides the rear camera on the phone.
The Moto Smart Speaker with Amazon Alexa will be available for $149.99 from November in markets where Amazon Alexa is available.


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Watch exclusive behind the scenes footage of the second Lisk Amsterdam Blockchain Meetup of 2018, held on November 27 at TQ. The Lisk team officially announced the opening of the first Lisk Center in Utrecht in 2019—a community-driven initiative that’ll serve as a blockchain incubator for enabling the adoption of Lisk-based applications. Enjoy the video and leave a comment below!
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Matthew Wadiak, Cooks Venture CEO & Founder, joins Yahoo Finance's Zack Guzman to discuss how COVID-19 is impacting American food security.
ZACK GUZMAN: Since this pandemic has roiled the economy here in the US, we've noted a few things in the way that Americans have been changing their spending habits. And one of those has been a result of rising grocery costs as more Americans are eating at home. And we've seen production restraints here, specifically when it comes to meat, also playing a factor in all this. So let's dig a little bit more into that.
Our next guest is the CEO and Founder of Cooks Venture. Matthew Wadiak joins us now. The company is a next-generation ag tech and food company committed to regenerative agriculture, supply chain transparency. And Matthew, I mean, we've been discussing this problem on the meat front. I mean, myself as a meat-eater, I've noticed prices rising.
But when you back up and look at the cost of all of these things, a C+R Research survey-- I think more than 2,000 consumers-- noted that 85%, a majority of American consumers, say that they've been spending more on groceries. The average weekly bill, $139. So talk to me about what you're seeing play out here as some of these things get more costly.
MATTHEW WADIAK: Yeah, well that makes perfect sense. You know, we've seen obviously, you know, folks who are dining out decrease and people cooking at home increase. So it's only logical that folks would be spending more at the grocery store to get the equivalent amount of food. So those prices have increased.
But you know, the price of meat is also increasing, primarily due to the fact that you know cost of processing is increasing, you know, taking considerations around spacing folks out who are working in food manufacturing and fulfillment. Trucking is obviously increasing, with scarcity of resources available on the market. And as we've seen just the general variable costs associated with fulfilling to grocery demand and meat specifically, increase that's going to get passed, on to some degree, to consumers.
ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah. I mean, whether you look at beef, poultry, eggs, water, pork, those are some of the largest increases reported in this report. I know you guys are focused a lot on poultry. You guys work on that a while here.
I mean, talk to me about some of the production side elements of this too, because you're a business. You see this. You have insight into how hard it is to work on that front. We've seen-- we've covered the issues in some of these larger-scale meat processing facilities, having to deal with PPE problems as well as outbreaks in all this. I mean, how hard has it been to keep production up?
MATTHEW WADIAK: In our case, we haven't had the same kind of problems that some of the larger facilities have had nationally. And I think a big part of that is, you know, we're part of a regional food system. And we support regional food systems and quality jobs.
So on our end, we've had very, very low issues of absenteeism or problems with health. And I think that is also partially attributed to the fact that going into the pandemic, utilizing PPE aggressively from the start, doing a lot of the sort of like obvious stuff that we know today early on was very preventative. And it really does work in the kind of environments where we're focused on manufacturing.
You know, in the industry, obviously, we've seen widespread issues which have led to a lot of absentee issues and health issues across the board-- which of course, you know, when you're short on staffing in a large, you know, meat processing facility, that trickles down to the actual animals themselves that are on the ground. And if you can't process animals because you're short on labor, they're stuck in barns and have to be euthanized. So that's been some of the issues with meat scarcity early on, is just the fact that we've been euthanizing a lot of animals.
ZACK GUZMAN: It seems like that happened right when the pandemic hit. But in the weeks and months after we saw that first happen earlier in the spring, it seems like the industry itself got a better handle on it. But when you think about what Americans are bracing for prices potentially still rising in the latter half of 2020, but then also next year, a lot of them on the same survey reported eating less meat, seeking discounts, eating less poultry, avoiding organic items, and buying in bulk.
So I mean, when you look at it and think about maybe the industry adapting to some of those issues, what do you see in terms of maybe supply and demand coming back into equilibrium here starting next year? What should we expect?
MATTHEW WADIAK: I think some consumers are focused on those things, certainly. But we've also seen an inverse trend in e-commerce spend over the course of the last few months during coronavirus and an influx and about 125% increase in e-commerce spending for meat specifically for higher-margin items. So there's a little bit of a disconnect in what folks are saying and what consumer behavior is actually happening in the marketplace.
We have some data from the '08 recession. And it showed that during times of recession when people are focused more on staying at home, even during low-income the thing that people spend most on is actually food and alcohol-- so high-end food and alcohol, which is a little counterintuitive. But I think some of those creature comforts come back to us in the home as we're sort of bracing for the next winter.