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By Sacha Delfosse – editor bars&clubs
Entries are now open for Monin’s global cocktail competition that tasks bartenders with coming up with a creative twist on a classic cocktail using one of the brand’s flavoured syrups.
Bartenders have until December 9 to upload their recipes to the competition’s website, where people will be able to vote for their favourite entries. The top 20 recipes will then be judged by an international industry panel that includes Australian bartender, Luke Ashton.
“When making your twist just think of the 120 available Monin flavours and then start thinking of what you can do with an Old Fashioned, Collins, Moscow Mule, Daiquiri, Margarita etc. Plenty of great and simple ideas can be used here,” said Tomas Vikario, beverage innovation manager at distributor Stuart Alexander.
Last year’s competition attracted several hundred entries and thousands of votes, Vikario said. Recipes need to include at least one Monin product and cannot contain more than eight ingredients, including any garnish, and must be uploaded with a picture of the drink.
“Last year was first year of this ‘virtual’ competition with great results. As the Monin brand was in the process of changing the distributor here in Australia [it] was not communicated properly to this market,” he said.
“This is why I am inviting all Australian bartenders to join the competition and contribute with their voice supporting fellow bartenders and friends.”
The winner will receive a trip to one of five Monin global studios – located in Malaysia, China, France and two in the US – where they spend time with Monin’s beverage innovation director.
“It’s a great opportunity to sharpen your taste buds and taste some different flavours not available in the Australian market, and also earn some new techniques, check the local trade and extend networking. If you like what you do, this is a nice professional experience,” Vikario said.


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Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) has been no stranger to the apps rush that has swept through the mobile world, and now there are signs that it is looking to redouble its tablet efforts with a new HTML5 product. PaidContent understands that it is preparing for an autumn launch, possibly as soon as this week, for Livestand, a mobile web, tablet-focused digital newsstand project that it first announced back in February this year.
According to a source close to Yahoo, the company will be using the annual Advertising Week event, taking place October 3-7 in New York, for another update on the project. That could include the actual launch: a Yahoo spokesperson only confirmed to paidContent that it is on track to go live “this autumn.”
Yahoo is giving an Advertising Week press conference this morning Monday. [Update: That was to announce the latest ABC News-Yahoo News partnership.]
But although former-CEO Carol Bartz demonstrated Livestand during a keynote at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona back in February (one week after the company started to brief journalists about the product), don’t take that as a sign that Yahoo plans for a global launch from day-one. When asked for details about Livestand, the spokesperson referred only to a “U.S. launch” of the product.
In an interview in Media Week in September, Blake Irving, chief product officer, noted that Livestand might not reach other markets until some time in 2012.
Livestand, which is being created to work specifically on tablets, is part of Yahoo’s strategy for leveraging the growing audience of consumers that are turning to tablets. It has a window of opportunity at the moment: Unlike other tablet-friendly aggregated-reading products like Flipboard, Pulse or Zite, it appears that Yahoo will be taking the web route with its product and publishing it as an HTML5 app. The other products, in contrast, are distributed as apps through app stores (in the case of Flipboard and Zite, only on iPad; Pulse publishes for Android devices, too).
Like other digital newsstand providers, Yahoo’s big hope is that it will be able to use the format to sell more advertising around the offering. It hopes to entice publishers to the platform by proposing an easier route to the tablet market without the need to think of different platforms, app stores and respective commission rates; and users a more convenient, one-stop shop for getting all the publications they like to read. (See our digital newsstand comparison table for more details.)
Even without a permanent CEO in place at the moment since Bartz was fired in September — which she coincidentally broadcast to employees via an iPad tablet — the company looks like it will be staying on that course for the time being.
But as we pointed out when Bartz first left the company, Yahoo’s record in mobile has not been stellar. The company has been slipping behind in terms of rankings for mobile advertising revenue; and it has lost a string of mobile executives to other companies like Zynga and Groupon, which could not have had a positive effect on how it has focused and invested in the space.
But don’t count Yahoo out. Last week, the company unveiled a host of new mobile-friendly features for its photo-sharing site, Flickr, including (finally) and Android app. It already had an app for iPhones.
It also has a track record for developing for HTML5 already. For example, in August 2010 the company launched an iPad-friendly HTML5 client for its popular Yahoo Mail service.

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A tourism boom on the Central Coast is driving demand for hotels in Atascadero.
A brand new 131-room, four-story hotel just got the go-ahead in Atascadero.
This hotel brings the number to three. That’s how many hotels are in the works in Atascadero.
It’s an exciting time for the city because there’s a big demand.
“The Central Coast is highly desired,” said Clint Pearce, Madonna Enterprises President. “More and more people are discovering us and it’s just going to create a need for more and more places for people to stay.”
A rendering of the new hotel.
The newest hotel will be located right across from the SpringHill Suites on El Camino Real near the Home Depot parking lot.
The site was previously approved for two retail buildings but that plan was scrapped with an increase in demand for hotels.
“We have a tremendous need for new hotels, in fact, the occupancy is very high for the existing Marriott SpringHill Suites right now,” said Phil Dunsmore, City of Atascadero Community Development Director.
The SpringHill Suites is the newest hotel to go up in Atascadero, built in 2015.
The other hotels, the Bridgewalk in downtown near the Galaxy Theater, is set to be done by the end of 2020 and an extended stay Hilton north of Del Rio is now under construction.
“The reason that we decided to develop an extended stay hotel in Atascadero is because you’re in very close proximity to one of the best wine regions in the world,” Pearce said.
In total, more than 330 hotel rooms are slated to go up, all over the next handful of years.
When asked if the city has ever had these many hotels go up in a short time frame like this:
“No, this is definitely a trend right now and it’s a change in tourism and it’s a change in the overall economy away from retail and more towards these visitor-serving uses,” Dunsmore added.
The city says transient occupancy tax revenue was up nearly 3% from July 2017 to June 2018 and up 7.6% the year prior.
The city says the draw to Atascadero is the zoo nestled in its five-acre park and lake area plus the downtown with boutique shops and outdoor activities. Also, wine country and Downtown San Luis Obispo are all within a 20-minute drive.
The City of Atascadero is also spearheading a lot of community events that are drawing in visitors.
The Tamale Festival will be held this weekend at the Sunken Gardens, which is expected to be a big hit.
KSBY’s Alexa Bertola will be a judge so make sure you stop by and say hi.


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Whatsapp, the messaging company Facebook bought a couple years ago for $19 billion said monday it’ll no longer charge a $1 annual subscription fee. WhatsApp founder Jan Koum announced Monday that the company is dropping the service’s annual subscription fee in an effort to remove the barriers some users faced in using the service.
The company used to give users a free year of service, and then charge $1 annually. Its original reason for charging users was to keep the user experience ad-free. Now, WhatsApp says that it’s sticking with an ad-free model even though it’s no longer charging users for the privilege. If you have already paid the annual subscription fee for the year then there won’t be a refund, but subscription fees will cease immediately.
The messaging app-based company is now testing a notification process that would let airlines, restaurants and credit card companies directly interact with consumers on their smartphone’s notification layer.
Here’s what WhatsaApp is saying about that, according to a company blog post:
Naturally, people might wonder how we plan to keep WhatsApp running without subscription fees and if today’s announcement means we’re introducing third-party ads. The answer is no. Starting this year, we will test tools that allow you to use WhatsApp to communicate with businesses and organizations that you want to hear from. That could mean communicating with your bank about whether a recent transaction was fraudulent, or with an airline about a delayed flight. We all get these messages elsewhere today – through text messages and phone calls – so we want to test new tools to make this easier to do on WhatsApp, while still giving you an experience without third-party ads and spam.


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If you happened to be in Ann Arbor last Sunday for the first sales of recreational marijuana in the state, you may have noticed the sheer absence of vaping products.
Though unless you’ve been living in your parents’ basement with no internet access, this probably didn’t surprise you.
The scare this past year with vaping products was real.
So in anticipation of the big day on December 1st, the Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) made the move on November 22nd to halt the sale of any existing vaping products.
At least temporarily.
So the question is, when will there be a return of vaping in Michigan?
Existing Products Must Be Tested
Until it can be confirmed that there is no presence of vitamin E acetate in vaping products, you won’t be seeing them on the shelves.
Less reputable vaping cartridge manufacturers were using vitamin E acetate as a cutting agent to dilute extracted THC – enabling them to use less product and make more profit.
But it turns out that even though your digestion system can handle vitamin E, your respiratory system doesn’t have the chops to manage it. In fact, inhaling vitamin E can cause pneumonia.
And the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) suspects that it was vitamin E acetate that contributed to the 47 vape-related deaths this past year – one of which was in the fine state of Michigan.
As such, the MRA has also banned any future production of vaping products using vitamin E acetate. To ensure compliance, they will conduct inspections at processing facilities. Manufacturers will also be required to disclose all additives.
So even if you ARE able to find vaping products with THC, the state Department of Health and Human Services is advising the public not to use them. Particularly if they came from the black market.
Extensive Testing Is Well under Way
There is currently only one business in Michigan that’s licensed to test recreational marijuana products.
The test takes about 20 minutes to complete and is conducted independently of other vaping product tests that are required by the state.
But the testing lab was only approved last week, so there’s a lot of product to be tested. Since the business opened, they’ve been tearing through the backlogs. Thus far, they’ve only found vitamin E acetate in unlicensed, black-market vaping products.
So there’s that.
Just When Will Vaping in Michigan Return Then?
The truth is, no one can say for certain when vaping products will be widely available again.
Arbors Wellness in Ann Arbor is actually planning to have some of the tested products back on the shelves this week. And Exclusive Brands, also in Ann Arbor, is looking at a week to ten days before product returns to their store.
Meanwhile, Greenstone Provisions – a smaller dispensary than the two mentioned above – is still awaiting test results and has no clue when the process will be complete. This is a point of frustration given that they have numerous customers calling and asking about vaping products.
Finally, Michigan Supply and Provisions (a fourth retail location that opened on Sunday evening in Morenci, Michigan) have found themselves rotating stock back to the lab for retesting.
This can create additional complications and tie up vaping products for even longer.
In fact, in cases that involved batches separated and disturbed to dispensaries across the state, the testing can become so complicated that it ends up being more expensive to test it than to just dispose of it.
But at least the dangerous vitamin E acetate issue is being resolved.
As for the rest, we’ll just have to keep living with the growing pains.
Is Your Cannabis Company Experiencing Growing Pains?
If you have a cannabis business, the return of vaping in Michigan is bound to be good news.
Even so, if your business is struggling, then it’s time to look at your current marketing and public relations strategy.


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Prompt ratification of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is critical to North America — and Texas in particular — remaining competitive with producers in Europe and Asia, according to an expert at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
“While (the) USMCA is far from perfect, its approval will maintain most of the advantages of (the) North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for the continent’s industry, advantages which have generated annual trade of over $1.2 trillion in goods and services,” said David Gantz, the Will Clayton Fellow in Trade and International Economics at the Baker Institute.
The USMCA was signed in late 2018 but has not been ratified by the three countries. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Texas exports to Mexico and Canada totaled nearly $116 billion in 2017 — eight times more than its exports to China — and were responsible for more than 910,000 Texas jobs.
When NAFTA was negotiated more than 25 years ago, one of its most important goals in eliminating regional tariffs for “originating” goods was to allow American manufacturers of autos, household appliances, machinery and other products to compete effectively with rivals in the European Union and Japan, South Korea and later China, said Gantz, who is also the Samuel M. Fegtly Professor of Law at the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law and director emeritus of its international trade and business law program.
“Producers in Western Europe had lower cost labor available in Eastern Europe; Japan and Korea had lower wage cost labor in China and the ASEAN nations to rely upon in forming efficient supply chains in an increasingly global marketplace,” Gantz said. “With NAFTA, Canadian and American manufacturers acquired and have maintained similar advantages in Mexico.
“A quarter of a century later, the revised and modernized version of NAFTA should be submitted to the Canadian Parliament and U.S. and Mexican congresses as soon as possible to assure that the essential competitiveness of North American business and labor is preserved.”


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The Penang Hindu Association (PHA) and the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CHA) have released the statement that, compared to last year, Hindu religious products have increased up to 56%, causing a significant economic burden on the Hindus in Malaysia, who are predominantly from the B40 category. As surveyed by the association, prices for items such as jasmine flowers, lotuses, roses, balsamic resin, incense sticks, betel leaves, betel nuts, coconuts, clay prayer lamps, prayer oil, and shikakai have all increased.
This Deepavali season has already seen an increase in prices, which has caused the Indian Hindu community to ration their buying, causing them to have an incredibly budgeted holiday celebration. The upcoming religious observance of Kanda Shashti on November 18 and Karthigai Deepam on November 26, along with the upcoming Thaipusam festival on January 25 next year, will only present the Hindu working class with more prayer items to buy, which will further financially harm them if prices are not controlled and continue to soar without regulation.
Both PHA and CHA have urged the relevant authorities, who have the power to implement change, to place a fixed price for these important items so their prices do not increase during religiously important seasons when many working-class Hindus would be in need of them. The association also stressed the importance of the Domestic Trade and Costs of Living Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Department in monitoring importers, manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers, to prevent the prices of items from being changed without any form of regulation.
Source: ThisaigalTV Malaysia


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PHOENIX– Attorney General Mark Brnovich filed a Consumer Fraud Lawsuit against a Prescott Valley business accused of placing numerous telemarketing calls to Arizonans listed on the National Do Not Call Registry. The lawsuit alleges AJ’s Auto Glass, LLC made unwanted phone calls to consumers in order to advertise windshield repair and replacement services.
"This lawsuit should serve as a warning to telemarketers who ignore the law and continue to harass Arizonans on the Do Not Call list," said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. "This office will take action against any business that blatantly violates Arizona's telephone solicitation laws."
The Attorney General’s Office Consumer Fraud Lawsuit alleges the telephone calls continued even after consumers asked AJ’s Auto Glass not to be called again. Consumers claim they tried to block AJ’s Auto Glass telephone solicitations and could not do so, since the continuing telephone calls would show up as different telephone numbers on the consumers’ caller ID.
The Attorney General is asking the Court to order AJ’s Auto Glass to stop the alleged illegal telephone solicitations and to order the business to pay civil penalties associated with the investigation and litigation.
The case is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Cherie Howe.
For additional information, members of the media may contact Mia Garcia, Director of Media Relations at (602) 339-5895 or [email protected].
Full copy of the Consumer Fraud Lawsuit.


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NPD survey shows more prefer outdoor entertaining
July 30, 2007,
The main reason for the overwhelming preference is simple – 84% of survey respondents said they enjoy entertaining outdoors. Three quarters of these consumers said, “It feels more laid back than formal entertaining.”
“This indicates consumers like the more casual entertaining approach the outside has to offer, but they still want to make their outdoor space more formal by giving it an added sense of ambiance and comfort,” said Mark Delaney, director, home improvement.
As people migrate their entertaining outdoors, they look to dress up their outdoor living space with items such as outdoor fireplaces and gazebos. According to the survey, 23% of homeowners reported owning a fire pit or outdoor fireplace, with another 14% saying they plan to purchase one. Nearly one-third of consumers reported owning or planning to buy a gazebo or canopy, while another 14% either own or plan to buy an outdoor refrigerator.
“These results are significant given the widespread merchandising of gazebos only really began in the past year or two, while outdoor refrigerators may have gotten a boost in sales as wine coolers gained popularity,” Delaney said.
Additionally, NPD asked consumers how they would rate retailers’ overall efforts in providing a good selection of outdoor entertaining products; the majority rated them from good to fair. “This may indicate retailers’ product selection is not entirely what they’re looking for and spells opportunity for retailers and manufacturers,” Delaney said. “In order to appeal to consumers ‘trendy outdoor living approach’, retailers need to carry more of the higher quality or ‘trendy’ items and re-examine how they push summer items out of their stores so early in the season. It seems by the Fourth of July most stores are clearing out their inventory and selection is limited, thereby frustrating the consumer. Keeping their shelves well-stocked even after the Fourth of July weekend is crucial if they want to maximize on their return.”
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August Digital Edition
Check out the August digital edition of Casual Living, covering a broad array of trends, personalities and insights. You’ll get an inside look at retailer Clive Daniel Home, as well as a conversation with Greg Voorhis, design director at Glen Raven, about the dedicated design team at Sunbrella. We also prepare you for Las Vegas Market with a preview of the hottest casual products, and take a first look at outdoor buyers who got a head start on the latest casual intros at the ICFA Preview Show.


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IRVINE, California (NewsNation) — The Metaverse is a futuristic new frontier, and an estimated 64 million Americans will be venturing through virtual reality by the end of 2022. However, many describe the metaverse as a “wild west” for privacy and can cause personal data problems in this reality.
It metaverse often described as an immersive internet and a virtual reality boom is underway in gaming, fitness, education, and commerce.
“You know it’s just going to be another version of humanity doing interesting things with technology — both good and bad,” said Don Heider, executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. “It’s the ‘wild west’ now, so the question is, how will it be regulated? How responsible will the company be?”
According to research by the University of California, Berkeley, the company has collected a lot of data from people in the metaverse.
“What VR is basically, what the metaverse is at its core, is a stream of data about yourself that comes out into the world,” said Vivek Nair, a student at the University of California, Berkeley.
Nair and the Berkeley research team confirmed that by developing what appeared to be a harmless game.
“On my journey through a series of virtual spaces, vast amounts of personal data are revealed through my every move, reaction and response.”
Developers can also determine the dimensions of the room you’re actually in in real life and even the type of computer you’re using.
Meanwhile, security experts warn that anyone who wears this gear to enter the metaverse will soon be exposed to a whole new world of potential adversaries.”
“If I were an enemy, I could use the image I have of you to understand your age, your gender, your location, all of your demographics, and maybe even pinpoint who you are,” Nair explains.
Students in the Santa Clara University Imaginarium lab developing a VR program, well aware that targeted advertising is driven by data collection. Most who venture into the metaverse often agree to the terms without a second thought.
“Even in terms of service because it’s been so long, many of us skim,” says Trisha Nguyen, a Santa Clara University student.
The various metaverse communities are thriving, with new users joining every day.
“Pandora’s box has been opened and it’s been a great adventure, but you have to be a little careful,” said Anthony Lupo, chairman of law firm ArentFox Schiff.
There are no set laws or signs of enforcement, but many virtual law firms are setting up shop and seeking new clients.
“We have to figure out how to navigate this Wild West to figure out who to chase,” said Lupo. “Say you have a decision against someone, you don’t even know who that person is; they could be in North Korea for all you know. Good luck implementing it.”
Heider explains: “We think the metaverse is fair, oh we could just go in there and understand it and get a culture and sell a lot of products, but we’re not going to do that by moving to another country, right? And on the one hand, VR is another country.”
As a first line of protection, Berkeley researchers are developing MetaGuarda tool that allows users to use incognito.
“There’s enough randomness added to the process that the adversary can’t make precise enough measurements to tell exactly who you are,” Nair said.
Since the metaverse is still in its infancy, guardrails and security tools are still in development but to come.
“If we get to that point, then we will be in a very similar situation to the web where there are still risks but they are manageable and the benefits outweigh them,” Nair said.
Meta declined an interview request but responded with a link to a blog post outlining its security tools and features.
It is estimated that by 2026, one in four people will spend at least an hour in the metaverse every day.


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GAME: "We can't stock absolutely everything"
Retailer insists recent stocking problems are "the exception, not the rule"
Specialist retailer GAME has said that it's unable to stock all new releases, in part due to shelf space in stores.
Yesterday it was revealed that the retailer would not be stocking any of Ubisoft's PlayStation Vita games at launch, and it also cancelled pre-orders for the Special Edition of Wii game The Last Story days before release.
The company is negotiation releases on a case-by-case basis with games publishers, following a troubled year in which it expects to make an £18 million loss.
But GAME's marketing director Anna-Marie Mason told our sister site Eurogamer.net that "there's no one specific catch-all reason" why the retailer isn't able to offer new releases to customers.
"With regards to the Ubisoft titles, that is one moment in time. It doesn't mean to say we won't have that title or that part of our proposition on an on-going basis.
"We can't stock absolutely everything. That's just not possible."
"The same applies in a rational way to our online business," she added. "There isn't a definitive reason why we haven't been able to stock those two things most recently. But that may well change."
Last week the store did not have copies of Namco's Tekken 3D Prime Edition, meaning it was not available on sale at over 350 UK stores. The game did not chart in the official UK sales charts as a result.
Mason also said that consumers who place pre-orders shouldn't lose faith in the retailer, as recent situations are exceptions and not an indication of forthcoming problems with other titles.
"We know our customers really well. Most of them have a really long history with us, and they know as a business we are absolutely committed to giving the best possible range as much of the time as we possibly can.
"The instances we've had in the last couple of weeks are absolutely the exception, not the rule."


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Visa Europe today announced that six of Germany's leading banks are launching new contactless services enabled by Visa payWave in the very near future.
BW Bank, comdirect, DKB, Landesbank Berlin, TARGOBANK and Volkswagen Bank have all confirmed their plans to roll out Visa Europe's industry leading contactless service by the middle of 2012. This marks the largest milestone yet in Germany's journey towards the acceptance of new payment technologies.
"The retail industry in Germany has almost completed its switch to EMV technology. The implementation of contactless and NFC represent the next step in our journey towards the future of payments," says Ottmar Bloching, General Manager Germany for Visa Europe. "Visa Europe's work in other European markets has shown that contactless technology reduces queuing time and helps customers pay more quickly, conveniently and above all, securely."
Contactless payments are based on EMV technology, where a card terminal at the point of sale reads the secure EMV chip on a credit or debit card with a near field communication (NFC) reader. During this process, the cardholder does not have to hand over his or her payWave card, instead holding it in front of the reader in a distance of a maximum of 4 centimeters. Within a fraction of a second, the terminal processes the transaction and the payment is made.
For amounts of less than 25 Euros, the transaction is processed without PIN or signature. For amounts of more than 25 Euros, the cardholder confirms the transaction as usual with either a signature or the use of a PIN number.


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Equifax Canada just released the latest survey numbers on credit card balances, and the picture isn’t rosy. The average credit card balance across Canada is just over $2,100. This may not seem like much, but Canadians generally have very good credit, pay their credit cards down, and clear their balances. 70% of Canadians pay all of their credit card balances off each month, and pay no interest, but the worsening economic environment is putting pressure on more and more people. There are almost 80 million credit cards circulating in Canada, that’s basically 2 for every Canadian. Through the pandemic, credit card debt was paid off and savings rates soared as folks peeled back on spending and built up their financial storehouses to get through the crisis. All of that progress is being whittled away by inflationary pressures and rising prices. Total non-mortgage debt is up to over $21,000 per person. This is a number not seen since Q1 of 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic kicked in with a force.
The evaporation of savings and the overreliance on debt is being matched with a fall in home equity values and in the average net worth of Canadian households. Inflation is biting into wallets, but also biting into consumer confidence. Equifax’s data shows that 53% of Canadians said they had a lot of anxiety over their level of debt and only half said they felt comfortable with their personal economic outlook, down from 61% from last year. The recent surge in gas prices and persistently high food prices continue to take a severe toll on people. The bad news is that these credit card balances are likely to keep rising. Interest rates are going to keep going up, we don’t know how many more rate hikes are in the cards, but we know that the inflation rate is still stubbornly high. Higher interest rates means more expensive money for banks and lenders, and that means higher interest rates on debt products. Anyone anxious about their credit card balance should know that there is a way out of that anxiety, high interest costs, and pressure on your credit score; the answer is a debt consolidation loan from Tembo!
A Tembo debt consolidation loan is a great option if you have multiple debt products that you need to clear (lines of credit, credit cards, car loans, etc.). You can exchange multiple payments and products into one simple, clear, and convenient payment. Your credit score can improve greatly, and you can save on interest payments – especially as rates keep rising! It’s not just credit card rates and debts that are rising, HELOC balances are going up too. In June, HELOC debt nationwide passed the $170 billion mark, that’s more than the entire annual economic output of a country like Kuwait or Hungary. HELOC debt peaked in early 2013, when it hit $200 billion, and Canadians have been paying down their HELOC balances, but amounts are going up again. A Tembo debt consolidation loan can help you clear your credit cards and HELOC in one go. Another debt product is student loans. A federally guaranteed student loan is not the worst line of debt, and has less of an impact on credit scores, but can also slow a young person’s financial situation down. If you are a student with multiple debt products, or a child that needs help, a Tembo debt consolidation can be enlarged to clear those balances down as well.


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Adobe Photoshop Express is one of the more popular photo editors on Android. It recently passed 100 million downloads from the Play Store, leaving competitors like VSCO and Snapseed in the dust. The app has also picked up a few new tricks, including that most important of photo-editing features: stickers. Read More
Adobe Photoshop Express has added a handful of useful new features. In an update this week, the mobile photo editor got the ability to automatically adjust the perspective of wonky photos with a single tap, as well as a vignette slider and a couple of quality-of-life improvements. Read More
Adobe's Max 2017 event was today, where the company announced plenty of new apps and updates for its Creative Cloud suite. While the spotlight was mainly on the desktop, the mobile apps have also received a few improvements as well. Lightroom for Android was updated with a tablet UI and enhanced search abilities, but the Photoshop Express app is receiving a few new features as well. Read More
Adobe has multiple Photoshop apps on the Play Store, and the simplest of the bunch has received an update to version 2.3 bringing in a number of new features. Adobe Photoshop Express now expands on the basic editing options it provides. For starters, the latest release lets users vary the intensity of filters.
Blemish removal is another standard photo editing feature introduced in version 2.3. Using the tool is as simple as poking on the spot you want to remove and tapping it again if the first time didn't do a good enough job. Here's a quick before and after shot I made with only a little tinkering around (watch the mole). Read More


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Wachovia Corporation (NYSE:WB) announced today that it ranked number one in Change Science's Customer Experience benchmarking report.
More than 20 financial services Web sites were analyzed measuring the ease of use for performing online banking functions, customers' ability to enroll in online banking, the prominence of information about fraud prevention, and the ability to quickly communicate with a customer service representative.
"This recognition is the culmination of Wachovia's tireless efforts to provide a first-rate experience to our online customers, said Gloria Chance, Wachovia's chief eCommerce officer. "This is also validation that Wachovia has raised the standard for online excellence and we will continue to find ways to improve and enhance the site to meet our customers' needs."
Last year, Wachovia introduced a new site design that featured prominent links to customer service in addition to privacy and security information, as well as easy access to areas customers visit most, including loan rates and retirement information. Additionally, the home page features a log-in section that allows customers to quickly and conveniently access their online banking, brokerage and retirement plan accounts.
Two months ago, Wachovia launched its new online banking and BillPay platform that introduced a new level of usability by providing simpler and swifter navigation and seamless integration of various money management functions.


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Rihanna’s new album ‘Unapologetic’ may not be released until Nov. 19, but snippets of several tracks have made their way onto the internet! Read on for more details and to listen to the samples.
Rihanna is mighty excited about the release of her seventh studio album Unapologetic on Nov. 19. The pop princess released a handwritten track listing on Tuesday, Nov. 6 — and shortly after a sampler of the album appeared online as well!
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UPS to set up Southern Europe operation center in Barcelona and create 400 jobs
Shipping multinational DHS will also invest €7.5 million in new facility near the Catalan capital
Two shipping multinational companies are to expand their operations in Catalonia.
American UPS is to set up in Barcelona its new Southern Europe operation center, according to information published by Catalan TV.
The new UPS facility in Barcelona is to be 60,000 square meters in size.
UPS will be based at the Zona Franca area in the Catalan capital.
The company expects to create 400 new jobs in the city.
Meanwhile, German DHS has also announced a €7.5 million investment in a new facility in Castellbisbal, near the Catalan capital.
The new European shipping company will open summer next year and is expected to be 3,000 square meters in size.
The new investments come after big companies from the sector such as Amazon or FedEx also expanded their operations in Catalonia.
The number of contract rents signed for logistic facilities in Catalonia have been up 74.4% during the first quarter of 2018 in comparison to the same period last year.


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Retail News Breaks Archives
Major milestone reached by Lewis Drugs
August 13th, 2012
by David Pinto
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Lewis Drugs, one of America’s most successfully innovative drug chains, is celebrating its 70th anniversary.
The first Lewis drug store — the first self-service drug store to open its doors in the Upper Midwest — rang up its first sale in February 1942 in downtown Sioux Falls. Today, 32 drug stores in three Prairie states carry the Lewis banner, combining to generate annual sales in excess of $150 million. Equally impressive, the drug chain has entered its third generation of family ownership and management.
Lewis is impressive on many levels. For one, it is the dominant drug chain — and one of the major retailers — in South Dakota, a state that offers consumers the considerable presence of Walgreens, Walmart and Hy-Vee, the leading grocery chain in the Midwest.
For another, though 22 of Lewis’ stores can be classified as traditional drug stores, 10 cannot. Those 10 average over 40,000 square feet, and they successfully sell, in addition to the standard drug store product assortment, all manner of general merchandise, from food, wine and liquor to an outdoor living mix that often includes extensive assortments of horticulture products, sold from a greenhouse adjacent to the store.
As for the other 22 Lewis stores, they include 18 traditional drug stores, two clinical pharmacies and two long-term care pharmacies.
Then, too, Lewis has developed a close relationship with South Dakota’s leading medical group, Sanford Health, which has partnered with Lewis to provide Sanford patients with prescription drugs and other drug store-delivered health care services. Indeed, the Lewis-Sanford alliance is among the most progressive partnerships yet formed by a U.S. drug chain.
But perhaps the element that most dramatically sets Lewis apart from most other U.S. drug chains is the longevity, consistency and quality of its management. The company is led today by 30-year Lewis veteran Mark Griffin, who began his Lewis career in 1978 as vice president of inventory control. Mark is the son of John Griffin, who founded the company 70 years ago, after apprenticing in the drug store business with O.P. Skaggs, one of six legendary Skaggs brothers who collectively exerted a stronger and more permanent influence on retailing in America and the way it has developed and prospered than any family in the industry’s history.
Griffin has surrounded himself with a cadre of homegrown senior managers who collectively run the company and make all major decisions — with the exception of those that Griffin, as president and chief executive officer, has reserved for himself. Apparently, however, this will not go on indefinitely. Griffin has already brought on board the company’s third generation of family managers: Nikki Griffin, Mark’s daughter, who is currently Lewis’ corporate counsel and is in the process of learning all facets of the business.
Two other elements set Lewis apart. For one, Mark Griffin has emerged as one of the leading figures in chain drug retailing, a visionary whose opinions are eagerly sought and closely considered by the board of directors of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, on which he sits. Indeed, rarely in the industry’s history has the head of a regional drug chain risen to command the respect in which Griffin is held. But he comes by his reputation honestly, having served as an NACDS board member since 1997, and as the association’s chairman in 2002 and 2003.
At the same time, Lewis’ CEO has justly earned a reputation in his home state as a thought leader in both the business and health care communities. As one of the larger employers in South Dakota — Lewis employs about 1,000 workers — Griffin is routinely included in discussions of the state’s economic issues. As head of the state’s leading community pharmacy retailer — Lewis’ annual prescription drug volume is some $110 million — Griffin is accurately viewed as an authority on health care in South Dakota — and beyond.
Withal, it is the stores that constitute Griffin’s most impressive accomplishment. Rare is the resident of eastern South Dakota who doesn’t routinely shop a Lewis drug store for prescriptions and basic health and beauty products — and much more.
Indeed, the retailer’s 40,000-square-foot stores can more accurately be described as general merchandise emporiums than drug stores, offering a range of merchandise more suited to a Walmart discount store than a conventional drug store. Products the retailer sells on an everyday basis include name brand outdoor grills with retail prices that often exceed $500; high-end outdoor furniture sets; a variety of plants (kept fresh, by the way, by some of the most modern and innovative cooling and lighting systems in use anywhere) and garden supplies and accessories to rival any in town; extensive assortments of home and office furniture; a variety of sporting goods; and all manner of merchandise in between — sold by an in-store staff whose twin assignments are to master the merchandise and engage the customer.
So Lewis, on the occasion of its 70th anniversary, has much to celebrate. Indeed, this past May the company enjoyed the most successful month in its history. To thank the people most responsible for this performance, Griffin bought some 30 staff members lunch at the local country club. Characteristically, the chairman spent five minutes thanking his managers for their contributions, then allowed them the opportunity to enjoy their lunch. As is true for every visionary leader, he understands who’s really responsible for his company’s success.
But Mark Griffin gets much in return: the universal respect of the people who work for him — and the certainty that he has the best job in America.


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The Commerce Department said yesterday it has delayed imposing penalty duties on Korean television makers for unfair trade practices in a case that has raised concerns among U.S. manufacturers that trade complaints are being stalled for foreign policy reasons.
Trade specialists for American companies in a host of industries are focusing on this case to see if the Commerce Department bows to what has been described as "an enormous amount of pressure" exerted by the Korean government, which has pressed for an indefinite delay on any penalty duties. The Koreans fear that high duties could cripple a growing, $300-million export earner.
Zenith Electronics Corp., which brought the trade complaint along with organized labor, argued that the new dumping duties should be imposed Wednesday, as originally set by the Commerce Department.
The case has taken on political overtones in Korea, where some politicians and newspaper editorialists see it as a test of the country's security relationship with the United States.
But two influental congressional committee chairmen from Zenith's home state of Illinois -- Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Charles Percy (R) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski (D) -- attacked the government of Korea for trying to exert undue influence in the case and urged Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige not to delay the duties.
Baldrige, though, agreed to a 45-day delay, until Dec. 15, to clarify "difficult issues" raised by Korean and American companies, he said in a letter written to Korean Trade Minister Kum Jin-Ho.
"The TV case is a good example of the inability of our two societies to understand each other," said one long-time expert on Korea with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "Koreans don't understand our insistence on fair trade. They don't understand the open market process. But they do understand cash flow and dumping to build sales."
Three Korean TV makers -- Daewoo, Gold Star and Samsung -- were found in February to have "dumped" color television sets on the U.S. market at prices that were between 13 and 15 percent below the cost of production, and charged a penalty duty that erased the difference. In May, the companies -- apparently believing they could get lower penalty duties -- asked for an expedited review of the original finding.
Instead of lowering the dumping penalties, however, the new Commerce investigation found Samsun was selling its sets at more than 50 percent under production costs. The other two companies also had higher dumping margins, though only about half ofSamsun's -- 25 percent for Daewoo and 20 percent for Gold Star. As a result of the extreme competition between Korean TV makers, Gold Star opposed an extension while Daewoo has no taken no position on that issue.


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The private equity company which purchased Italian chain Prezzo in December is reportedly mulling putting the restaurant team as a result of an insolvency approach.
Sky News described that Cain International was thinking of a amount of possibilities, together with pre-pack administration, as uncertainty about the potential of the informal dining sector goes on.
The agency, which also owns Swingers nuts golf, is at the moment in talks with various landlords about potential lease preparations and the payment of arrears.
It is reportedly doing the job with FTI Consulting on what option to just take, depending on the outcomes of the talks.
Cain Worldwide purchased up Prezzo in December in what was viewed as a vote of self-assurance in the sector, which has been laid lower by the pandemic.
At the time, the company explained that it would aid Prezzo’s ambition to come to be the “UK’s favourite Italian” and assist reinvigorate high streets as they commence to get better from the Covid-19 disaster.
But with the Uk at the moment in the midst of a 3rd national lockdown, and information of the lifting of constraints nonetheless to materialise, issues around the long run of substantial street stalwarts like Prezzo goes on.
As a result of the pandemic, numerousprominent chains, which include the homeowners of Request Italian, Pizza Express, Leon and Wahaca, made use of insolvency processes final year.
A spokesperson for Cain Global explained: “The recent, open up-finished lockdown, enforced in January 2021, resulted in the needed closure of all Prezzo’s 178 eating places.
“As these, we are continuing our discussions with stakeholders these kinds of as our landlords, to guard the long run of this brilliant model and its dedicated group.”
Metropolis A.M. has contacted Prezzo for remark.
The post Cain International mulling insolvency course of action for Italian chain Prezzo – report appeared first on CityAM.


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Victorians who have been working from home will be banned from returning to work — with employers facing potentially hefty...
29th May 2020 12:05 PM
More restrictions will be eased in NSW from Monday, with more people allowed in clubs, and at weddings and funerals. But...
29th May 2020 9:05 AM
After a nine-week wait, two Sunshine Coast pubs will reopen today with three more to open on Wednesday.
25th May 2020 11:05 AM
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has promised to meet tourism industry figureheads and is considering upping patron limits.
23rd May 2020 8:05 PM
One of Queensland’s largest pub operators will start reopening its 61 hotels on Monday, with an offer many socially-starved...
23rd May 2020 3:05 PM
You can finally take home a fresh haul of library books as of Monday!
23rd May 2020 11:05 AM
National Park facilities and beach access on this island will not reopen this weekend despite the easing of COVID-19...
22nd May 2020 7:05 PM
Missing your weekend trip to the markets? A popular Sunshine Coast market will reopen this Sunday and is relying on the...
21st May 2020 11:05 AM
Whitsunday Regional Council has the perfect solution for those itching for a getaway.
21st May 2020 5:05 AM
Coast residents will be able to shop at their local Myer soon as the Sunshine Plaza store trials its opening.
20th May 2020 4:05 PM


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The list of new Game Pass titles is expected to be released in the coming days, but it appears that one of them has already been made public on the game service. In addition to the previously planned Midnight Fight Express and Immorality, two games have appeared in the “Coming soon” section. Immortals Fenyx Rising and Commandos 3 – HD Remaster may soon be available on Xbox Game Pass.
Last month, a leaker, Aggiornamenti Lumia, predicted Immortals Fenyx Rising could be coming to Xbox Game Pass. However, he didn’t give a specific release date. He said it would just be available for PC, suggesting it may also launch on the cloud and consoles.
After that, there hasn’t been much buzz around this rumor. However, that changed when well-known Xbox user Idle Sloth published a screenshot of Immortals Fenyx Rising on Xbox Game Pass. According to the leak, the game will be available on August 30. If this information is accurate, Microsoft should make an announcement this week based on the usual schedule.
This would also support the strategy that has emerged in recent months when several Ubisoft games have been gradually added to the Xbox service. The most recent Ubisoft title for Game Pass is Ghost Recon Wildlands, although this might not be the last with the Immortals Fenyx Rising rumors.
Immortals Fenyx Rising has revealed on December 3, 2020, and is available on Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Switch, and cloud services. The game follows the protagonist, who tries to stop the evil Typhon after escaping the underworld. According to the official description, “Immortals Fenyx Rising brings grand mythological adventure to life.”
On the other hand, the Coming Soon section also includes Commandos 3 – HD Remaster, which has a release date of August 29. Players are transported to the ruthless European battlefields in Commandos 3 – HD Remaster.
For now, these games will come to Game Pass is just a rumor. So, all that remains to be done is to wait for official confirmation via the Xbox Wire newsletter.


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Octomedia, Publisher of Inside Retail, has launched the 2015 Inside Retail World Retail Congress delegation.
ACRS to present valuable retail findings from this month’s World Retail Congress at Sydney and Melbourne events.
Fangsuo Commune, Costco, Ikea top 2012 World Retail Awards.
ACRS to hold breakfast briefings relaying the highlights of this year’s World Retail Congress in Berlin.
Department store rebuild wins World Retail Awards honour.
Three world beating retailers to be inducted into the World Retail Hall of Fame.


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Byers reveals minutes to defend BMW role
STEPHEN BYERS, the Trade and Industry Secretary, took the rare step of releasing minutes of a private conversation with BMW executives yesterday as he tried to shore up his ministerial authority amid union unease and Conservative demands for his dismissal. Mr Byers authorised officials from his Department of Trade and Industry to go public on the talks six days before the sale of Rover was announced, in an attempt to show that he could not have forseen the decision. He had promised to lay the details before the Trade and Industry Select Committee next week, and his decision to go public earlier was seized on by the Tories as evidence of his nervousness. He won room for manoeuvre when BMW admitted that it had not warned Mr Byers that Rover's future was in jeopardy, despite the firm's earlier insistence that it had. Joachim Milberg, BMW's chairman, said he had told Mr Byers that BMW would have to reconsider the development of a new model at Longbridge if the company did not get European Union approval for £152 million of grant aid. He had told Mr Byers: "If the structural aid is not approved, the BMW Group has to reconsider its investment plans for the R30 at Longbridge." But he stopped short of saying that BMW could quit the UK. However, Tories said that "R30" was bound up with the future of Longbridge, and that Mr Byers should have known what the warning meant. John Redwood, the former Tory industry spokesman, said the Trade and Industry Secretary was "clearly a very rattled man". Trade unions also failed to give Mr Byers a vote of confidence over his handling of the issue when they went into Downing Street for talks with the Prime Minister yesterday. John Edmonds, general secretary of the general GMB union, urged Mr Blair to "personally get a grip" of the Rover issue. Mr Edmonds, in advance of the meeting, said: "This issue has become of such great importance to the economic programme of the Government that it needs Blair personally to take control." Officials said that Mr Byers had met Professor Werner Samman, head of Rover UK, on March 10, when the executive had laid out four steps that BMW could take to stem the losses of £2 million a day being suffered by Rover. They included increasing production dramatically, taking more components from overseas suppliers, concentrating on car assembly, and reducing production of the Rover 25 and 75 models. However, they also revealed that Mr Byers had not asked directly whether BMW were considering selling Rover. A DTI official said that it would have taken a "leap of imagination" to pose such a question when BMW's four options had been outlined.
Written By: ROLAND WATSON AND CHRISTINE BUCKLEY
Article Date: Mar 30, 2000
Article Date: Mar 30, 2000


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Lightning Systems, a Colorado-based developer of efficiency and emissions improvement solutions for fleets, has announced Mark McGrew as its director of sales for North America.
In this position, McGrew will be responsible for leading sales and business development efforts for all Lightning Systems’ products in North America. His primary responsibilities will include identifying and securing business opportunities with commercial and government fleets throughout North America.
McGrew joins Lightning Systems with an 18-year background in national account sales, marketing, sales management and customer service, with vehicle manufacturers serving refuse, food and beverage delivery, package delivery and government fleets. Most recently, McGrew was the vice president of sales for Parker’s Hybrid Drive Systems division, where he sold more than $10 million in hybrid transmissions into the Class 8 refuse market. Prior to Parker, Mark was director of sales for Navistar International Corp., where he was responsible for sales of The company’s all-electric step vans.
“Mark understands commercial and government fleets and their need for uptime, vehicle efficiency, and sustainability,” says David Brosky, vice president of sales for Lightning Systems. “He’s been on the front line of bringing sustainable transportation solutions to the commercial and government fleet market, and he’s poised to help us lead the transformation as the industry moves to cleaner, more responsible vehicle technologies that get the job done.”
Lightning Systems notes that it recently announced its new LightningElectric zero-emissions package for the heavy-duty Ford Transit as part of Ford’s eQVM program. Conversions and service are performed by Ford QVM partners and dealers around the world. Orders are being taken for the LightningElectric Ford Transit now, with limited-time rebates available, and delivery of first orders in March and April.
Lightning Systems, formerly known as Lightning Hybrids, is a fast-growing, global fleet solutions company with headquarters in Loveland, Colo. A variety of new Lightning Systems’ efficiency and emissions improvement innovations, including a fleet-tracking analytics system called LightningAnalytics, are being introduced over the next two years to support commercial and government fleets.


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New Delhi: Amid the ongoing political outcry over demonetisation, the government on Wednesday announced more steps to help farmers to meet their cash needs during the ongoing rabi season and directed banks to waive debit card transaction charges to encourage digital payment.
To ensure quick and unhindered flow of credit and cash to farmers during the current rabi season to deal with ban of Rs 500/1,000 notes, the government has allowed Nabard to disburse Rs 21,000 crore through cooperative banks to farmers.
Listing various measures taken by the government to incentivise digital transactions, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said the Railways has already waived service charges on online booking of tickets and telecom operators have agreed to make mobile banking services in feature phones free of cost till December 31.
While government departments and PSUs have been asked to make electronic payment to contractors and its employees, the road transport ministry has asked automobile manufacturers to install digital RFID tag on all new vehicles to enable cashless payment at toll plazas and checkposts.
Similarly, the government has doubled the monthly transaction limit through e-wallets to Rs 20,000.
"All these measures are meant to promote digital penetration. It will also help farmers in the current rabi season to ensure a normal rabi crop on the back of good monsoon," he said.
Das said: "Public sector banks, some of the private banks and some of the service providers that provide switching services have agreed to waive the service charges on the use of debit cards up to December 31, 2016."
As of now, Rupay debit cards have already waived the switching charges. Other debit cards that operate through international card network companies like Mastercard and Visa currently charge transaction charges.
"The MDR (merchant discount rate) charges on use of debit cards, the charges being levied by banks and the switching charges will stand completely waived. So, there will be no charge on use of debit cards," he said, adding that banks will make announcement in this regard individually.
With regard to the farm sector, Das said Nabard will disburse Rs 21,000 crore to District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) for onward lending to farmers through Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies. Over 40 percent small farmers get crop loans from cooperative institutions.
Das said RBI and the banks have been advised to make the required cash available to the District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) to ensure quick and unhindered flow of credit and required cash to farmers, especially for sowing and other agricultural operations during the current rabi season.
He further said PSU banks have started getting queries from private corporates for giving prepaid cards to employees.
"We expect that the private sector companies will make payment to their employees through digital payments. CMDs of several banks have told me that in last 2-3 days, there has been a huge demand for pre-paid cards from the corporate sector," Das said.
He further said telecom operators have also made mobile short code messages -- used mainly for banking services in feature phones -- free till December 31, 2016, in an attempt to promote mobile banking and cashless transactions.
"This will provide a very cost-effective method of digital financial transaction, especially to the poor people with feature phones (which are currently 65 percent of the total phones in the country)," a finance ministry statement read.
Das said that following the cancellation of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, the government has taken a number of measures for farmers like higher cash drawal limits for farmers and registered traders in APMC markets / mandis, extension of time limit for payment of crop insurance premium, purchase of seeds with old notes from certain select government centres.
Steps have been taken to ensure availability of cash in rural branches of banks and 1.55 lakh post offices. Network of banking correspondents has also been activated with higher cash holding limits to meet requirements of people in rural areas, the ministry said.
As a relief to small borrowers taking loans up to Rs 1 crore, RBI has already decided to provide additional 60 days time for repayment of dues.
"This will be applicable to personal and crop loans, including housing and agricultural loans, taken from banks, NBFCs, DCCBs, primary agriculture cooperative societies (PACS) or NBFC-MFIs," the statement added.
It said Indian Railways has decided not to levy service charges of Rs 20 for second class and Rs 40 for upper classes on purchase of reserved e-tickets up to December 31, 2016. "This would facilitate and encourage passengers to buy e-tickets instead of across the counter purchase through cash," it added.
About 58 percent of the railway tickets are purchased online and the effort now is to increase the purchase of e-tickets.
"It is expected that the above measure will encourage people to migrate to cashless transactions," the ministry added.


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Before, if customers wanted to sample the delights of the upmarket food brand, they would have had to travel nearly 19 miles to Plymouth in Devon.
The new food hall will launch on Wednesday, November 29 and there will be a celebratory ribbon cutting just before the store officially opens at 10am.
The store will be giving away special ‘Welcome to M&S Launceston’ tote bags for the first customers through the doors.
The food hall will stock festive fare – from classic turkey crown with pork, chestnut, bacon and thyme stuffing to a new vegetarian and vegan range. There will also be star mince pies – recently named as the nation’s favourite by Which? - and a bakery with breads, pastries, cookies and cakes as well as everyday essentials, treats, beers, wines and spirits.
Customers will also be able to take advantage of the click and collect service which provides the option of having M&S.com orders delivered to the store the next day free of charge.
The Hurdon Retail Park offers 224 free parking spaces.
Plenty of variety at Hurdon Retail Park
The new M&S is next to a recently-opened B&M and Costa which are in the former B&Q building.
“I think it will have a positive impact"
Launceston man Jim Edwards said: “I have been to all the shop openings up here for the past 20 years.
“On this site there used to be an egg packing station which was here in 1947.
“Then it was Norman’s food, that was taken down and then they had Focus followed by B&Q.
“I think it will have a positive impact. The biggest one was Argos because people came up from Saltash because it has free parking. Across the road you have Maunders and they sell almost everything. The traffic isn’t too bad as long as people are sensible. Lots of people are excited about M&S. B&M is doing well too.
“I don’t think it will make much difference to the town centre.”
"Stores have changed beyond belief"
A member of staff named Judith who has worked for M&S for 42 years said: “I have worked in three different stores and outside warehouse. In that time the stores have changed beyond belief. We used to record things on paper but now we have handheld devices to use. I only moved down to Launceston at the weekend and was desperately wanted to be here for the opening. The buzz is great, there were lots of people outside this morning.”
Some of the first shoppers have been inside
Denise Heydinrych and her daughter Siddhran. She said: The store looks absolutely beautiful, you can see the quality. I live just outside Launceston and will be a regular shopper. We quite often take a trip to Plymouth and for a Sunday treat we will buy something for tea from M&S it’s good now because we won’t have to go quite so far.”
"Everything you would need" - except one thing
Jacki Ellis Martin said: “There was nothing when we first moved here and we’ve been here for years. Now there a shopping centre with everything you would need except DIY.”
People are excited to get in
Jan Sullivan, Jackie Bateman and Jacki Ellis-Martin are eagerly awaiting the opening.
"We can’t wait to open"
The newly-recruited local team will be led by store manager Holly Drew, who started her career as a Christmas temp at M&S eight years ago.
Ms Drew said: “After months of preparation, we can’t wait to open the new store and get to know our local customers.


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Switzerland-based food manufacturer Orior is set to buy a 35% stake in Germany-based travel catering specialist Casualfood.
Casualfood operates small-scale food islands, mobile carts and brand concepts that offer prepared to-go food such as sandwiches, salads, muesli and smoothies for travellers.
The travel catering company currently operates 58 food islands, with the majority at airports.
This deal allows Orior to enter the foodservice to-go market, as well as strengthen its foodservice competencies and create new business opportunities.
As part of the agreement, Orior will have the opportunity to completely acquire the Casualfood business by increasing its interest in several stages over the next few years.
Orior will finance the deal with freely available cash and existing lines of credit. It will also hold a majority interest in Casualfood.
Following the transaction, Casualfood will operate as an independent business by joining the Orior international segment.
Read Original Article


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"Several attendees took advantage of the payment plan last year and told us how much they appreciated it," said SAF CEO
With the Easy Payment Plan, only one third of the convention fee is charged at the time of registration. The second and third payments are charged on
"The installment plan allows floral business owners to register early and start making their convention plans even if they may be experiencing tighter cash flow during summer months," Moran said. "We want to give everyone flexibility so they'll join us for convention."
For more convention information, visit safnow.org/annual-convention, or call (800) 336-4743.
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5G launched in the UK on May 30th, 2019.
The super-fast mobile network is being pioneered by EE; although Vodafone, O2 and Three won’t be far behind.
This guide will look at the technology driving 5G, as well as real-world usage and the 5G mobile phones currently available.
As the name suggests, 5G is the fifth (5) generation (G) of mobile data.
Unlike the jump from 3G to 4G, though, this new technology will not totally replace its predecessor.
Instead, 5G will add another “layer” to the 4G network, which will remain the foundation of the UK’s mobile data system. Connecting to 5G through EE, in fact, will mean connecting to 4G and 5G at the same time.
This may not be the case forever, but 4G will be a big part of mobile communications for at least a few more years.
The idea is that 5G will increase reliability in the busiest spots of the UK: city centres.
You might be surprised to know that 5G’s ancestry goes back a long way:
The 5G network will use higher radio frequencies to transmit signals. That means much faster data transfer.
However, it will operate over a shorter range. So, countries that want widely available 5G will have to get infrastructure such as mini antennae.
No. The 5G launched by EE is still sharing a signal with 4G networks. The shiny new standalone systems won’t be around until at least 2022.
That means that some of the features listed below – particularly the low latency – might not be available for a few years.
For now, at least, 5G will supplement 4G, rather than replace it entirely. That said, it’s worth comparing the two to see what kind of improvements we can expect as the new mobile technology gains ground.
Note: Mbps stands for Mega bit per second. It’s not the same as MB/s, which is Mega byte per second. 1 MB/s = 8Mbps. It’s a tad confusing.
5G could reach peak download speeds of around 10Gbps. You could download a series of Black Mirror to your phone in a fraction of a second.
That makes 5G’s download potential 100x faster than 4G, which has a maximum 100Mb/s download speed.
Peak download is the ‘ideal world’ scenario, of course. In reality, it’ll depend on your device, connection strength and so on – but things are only going to get better as more phone manufacturers hone their 5G tech.
Even now, things are looking super speedy. The Verge, using a OnePlus 7 Pro 5G phone, reported an average download speed of around 200Mbps on the first day of launch, compared to around 25Mbps in the same spots using 4G. Speeds like that mean flawless streaming, scrubbing and video chatting – plus, of course, much faster downloads.
So, here are some real-world examples, using current real-world speeds:
|Item to download||Using 4G (25Mbps)||Using 5G (200Mbps)|
|Spotify album (60MB)||20 seconds||2 seconds|
|Android Pie (2GB)||11 minutes 27 seconds||1 minute 25 seconds|
|Ultra HD 4K movie (30GB)||2 hours 51 minutes||21 minutes 28 seconds|
Part of the speed boost is because 5G has a larger bandwidth than 4G. That means that it can support more devices at the same time. In theory, this should help with the infuriatingly slow data speeds you get at concerts, football matches and so on.
Another benefit is that the connection is quicker, so it responds to commands without as much delay. Lag times are reduced, which is a big deal for mobile gamers, augmented reality and virtual reality.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer confined to sci-fi. It’s a big part of modern tech – included in everything from phone cameras to self-driving cars.
We can already see AI in our mobile phones. It lives in personal assistants (“Hey, Siri!”), facial recognition and smart camera features. But the processing for these features are either kept in the cloud or spread across several chips in the phone.
AI needs a lot of data to meet its full potential; machine learning is driven by data-hungry algorithms. It’s easy to see why 5G could be a boon for this sector of technology.
The new wave of smartphone AI tech comes in a dedicated processor, helped along by faster data. A local chip is more efficient and resolves some of the security concerns posed by cloud-based personal assistants.
It’s not a one-way street, either. AI will also help 5G, as the new mobile networks are far more complicated and dynamic than the old ones. AI will help navigate the multiple aims of 5G (high speeds, low latency, better communications) and the ambitious context-aware delivery (performance depending on location, time etc.).
EE’s initial launch rolled out 5G to six UK cities:
EE have a tool to check coverage so you can see if you’re on your way to 5G connectivity.
In 2019, the company will introduce 5G in ten more cities:
…followed by another ten in 2020, including Aberdeen, Cambridge, Plymouth and Wolverhampton.
Vodafone’s network status checker will keep an updated map of its 5G coverage.
The firm will launch its 5G service in seven cities on 3 July 2019:
Vodafone says they will then bring 5G to Birkenhead, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Guildford, Newbury, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Reading, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Warrington and Wolverhampton “later this year” (2019).
Vodafone will also be the first UK network to offer 5G roaming, which will launch sometime in summer 2019. So, frequent travellers may wish to hold out for the carrier rather than going straight to EE.
Three haven’t announced a set launch date for their 5G service, but they say that 25 towns and cities will benefit from their “sweet 5G spread” (um…) in 2019, with the rollout beginning in August.
The planned locations include the usual suspects: London, Cardiff, Edinburgh etc. They’re also targeting places like Brighton, Milton Keynes, Slough and Sunderland, which could give them an edge outside of the biggest UK hubs.
Three say theirs will be the only “true” 5G in the UK, as they’re the only network who can offer 100MHz of 5G spectrum. So, while they’re behind EE and Vodafone on release date, they might make a bigger splash in the tech pool when they dive in.
O2’s 5G launch seems modest in comparison to its competitors. It will arrive in 2019, but only in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London.
The company says it will go to other areas of the UK in 2020, “to coincide with the wider availability of 5G handsets”. It’s a fair point, as the small number of 5G phones will mean take-up of early 5G is likely to be limited.
Er…maybe. Annoyingly, the UK’s decision on whether Huawei will be able to help with 5G infrastructure development has been delayed. Again.
Basically, the United States have blacklisted the Chinese telecoms manufacturer. The UK government was already discussing Huawei’s role within the upcoming 5G upgrades, and this development has complicated things even further.
However, even if Huawei isn’t allowed to help with 5G, the upgrades will happen eventually. They just might take longer. The real stagnation is because the government hasn’t made up its mind either way.
For the time being, EE is still using Huawei tech, despite concerns of supply chain problems.
EE have released details of their 5G plans. They say they aren’t charging more for 5G network access, but the fact that their new pricing system is based on “Smart Plans”, featuring swappable benefits and different upfront phone costs, muddies the waters a bit.
For instance, those wanting the LG V50 ThinQ 5G with 10GB data can choose between three plans:
|Plan||Swappable benefits||Per month cost (24 months)||Phone cost|
|4G Smart Plan (10GB)||1||£69||£70|
|5G Smart Plan (10GB)||2||£69||£170|
|5G Smart Plan (10GB)||2||£74||£70|
So, at least in this case, customers who don’t care about 5G will be paying less overall. Other plans aren’t so easily comparable; but, for people who really want 5G, any extra cost is reasonably low considering the expected speed boost.
Another thing to consider is whether you’ll be taking advantage of 5G’s speedy downloads. If so, will your mobile data package hold up? Getting hit with end-of-month data charges is a nightmare, so consider a more generous GB allowance with your new 5G mobile.
As you’d expect, the few 5G phones on the market are pricey. They’re the latest technology, so they come at a premium. But, as with all tech, you can expect a gradual price decline at the entry level.
There are only a few 5G-ready handsets at the time of writing (June 2019), but watch this space for frequent updates.
Phone manufacturers have concentrated their first 5G efforts into flagship phones. That means high prices but fantastic features. They’re all phablets with barely-there bezels, impressive cameras, a decent chunk of RAM and everything else the companies could rustle up.
Samsung’s latest flagship phone is a real beauty. Its 6.7” Dynamic AMOLED display, set in an almost-frameless handset, is vivid enough for any video streamer. Combined with 5G speeds, the phablet should make for gorgeous visual media.
A particularly intriguing feature of the Galaxy S10 is wireless PowerShare, which allows users to share their phone’s power with other wireless charge compatible devices. As Samsung are pushing 5G’s benefits for wearable tech, this is a smart move.
OnePlus’s 5G handset features a pop-out selfie camera and an impressive triple-lens rear camera (48MP main, 16MP wide-angle, 8MP telephoto). It’s definitely a flagship phone, but it comes in considerably cheaper than the Galaxy.
YouTube addicts and other battery-draining users will appreciate the Warp Charge 30 tech. It’s quick (OnePlus says 20 minutes) and safe to do while using the phone. The handset isolates the heat generated while charging, which means that even gamers should be able to continue normal usage while plugged in.
A solid all-rounder, LG’s first 5G phone has a 6.4” screen and boasts beautiful audio from DTS:X-boosted stereo speakers. Audiophiles should enjoy the combination of seamless streaming and high-quality sound.
The ThinQ also has a stand-out display feature: DualScreen, which is an optional accessory allowing the user to clip a second, 6.2”, screen to the phone.
The Oppo Reno 5G is yet another flagship handset that’s all screen – this time, 6.6” of AMOLED display. Its triple-lens rear camera is made remarkable by a 13MP telephone lens, capable of 10x lossless zoom.
Reno’s marketing team are pushing the phone’s “intelligent connectivity”, which means 5G, Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things working together in all sorts of sci-fi ways.
EE is Reno’s exclusive UK network partner, so if you want this phone there’s no point waiting for other networks to launch their 5G services.
The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 has been around since 2018, but this 5G model is brand new.
The Chinese manufacturer has launched the handset with a focus on high-performance stability. It features a cooling system which should help with the demands of VR/AR gaming.
Even more bad news for Huawei lovers: the manufacturer’s phones weren’t included in EE’s May 2019 launch for 5G. The network has “paused” the launch of Huawei 5G handsets until things have cleared up.
If you’re one of the lucky few with 5G UK access (or if you will be soon), it’s worth considering a cutting-edge smartphone.
Although 5G-ready handsets are limited, there are a few to choose from. Druwl’s mobile phone comparison tool is the simplest way to have a quick, comprehensive look at the best deals on the UK market.
As it refreshes daily, it saves bargain-hunters hours of research time. This is particularly important in a fast-changing time like this when carriers are racing each other to roll out network access and new deals on mobile phones.
We’ve listed all the tech details in plain English, so you don’t get mired down in mobile jargon. See all the important factors in one place, then make an informed decision.
Druwl is also pleasant to use, which we’re told is a welcome change amongst comparison tools. We haven’t stuffed it full of flashing banner ads or insistent marketing messages – we’ve just laid out the facts, along with a link to each deal. Pure and simple.
Tweet @druwl_ with your experiences of 5G, as well as any feedback about our mobile comparison tool. We’ll work with you to keep up the best experience possible.


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Gaming ban could stifle interest in STEM, says UK body
Restricting online gaming would further stifle children’s interest in STEM subjects, according to BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.
The warning comes days after the Chinese government banned online gamers under the age of 18 from playing on weekdays, imposing a three-hour limit on weekends and bank holidays, as well as temporarily suspending approval for all new online games.
The regulation was imposed following concerns of rising rates of gaming addiction, known professionally as Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD), which last year was found to affect almost one in five (17%) Chinese adolescents.
However, BCS said that the gaming limit introduced by Chinese authorities “risks harming children’s education and should not be introduced in the UK”, due to fears that it could further stifle young children’s development of STEM skills. The ban could also lead to fewer children wanting to pursue a career in video game development, an industry which is now estimated to be worth $162 billion worldwide.
Heavily restricting access to online gaming could escalate this issue further, as performing tasks in Minecraft or Roblox encourage children’s interest in STEM subjects, according to Professor Andy Phippen, digital rights specialist and fellow of BCS. His warning comes after members of the UK government previously considered restricting children’s access to social media.
“It just seems such an odd thing to do and very unworkable,” he said. “While we are a little way off this in the UK, [former Health Secretary] Matt Hancock previously said social media companies should regulate the amount of time children spend on these platforms. It is, therefore, not such a massive step to see government-mandated screen time here in the UK which makes me concerned.”
China isn’t the only country restricting online gaming for children and teenagers. Since 2011, South Koreans under the age of 16 have been banned from gaming between midnight and 6 am. However, last month it was announced that the regulation, known as the Cinderella Law, will be abolished by the end of the year.
© Dennis Publishing


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Netflix set to raise prices for UK users
The monthly cost of a basic will remain at £5.99, however, standard and premium membership prices are set to rise.
Standard membership will jump from £7.49 to £7.99 a month, and Premium membership set to rise from £8.99 to £9.99 for users.
New subscribers to Netflix will immediately pay the new rates whereas existing customers will see price increases from 19 October and be given 30 days notice of the change
New content for 2018
Netflix have released a statement regarding the price hikes:
“From time to time, Netflix plans and pricing are adjusted as we add more exclusive TV shows and movies, introduce new product features and improve the overall Netflix experience to help members find something great to watch even faster.”
Netflix is set to provide more original content in 2018 and already has a budget of $6 billion for new productions.
The new money generated from the subscription price rises is expected to contribute towards the production of new original content.


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Can a 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Keep up With a 1400-Hp Hoonicorn?
The Shelby GT500 Mustang is undoubtedly one fast Ford. And it more than lives up to its classic forebearer’s legacy. But it’s not the only quick Mustang. Racer and drifter Ken Block has crafted his own super ‘Stang: the Hoonicorn V2. So, does the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 have what it takes to keep up?
The 2020 Shelby GT500 and Ken Block’s Hoonicorn V2 are two flavors of crazy Ford Mustang
The 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 is certainly no slouch in the horsepower department. Under its hood is a 5.2-liter supercharged V8 rated at 760 hp and 625 lb-ft. That output goes to the rear wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The GT500 also has standard launch control, multiple driving modes, adaptive suspension, and Recaro seats, Roadshow reports. Plus, an optional Track Package that adds extra aero features, carbon-fiber wheels, a rear wing, and track-oriented tires.
However, the Shelby GT500 is actually faster on the standard tires, Car and Driver reports. On the track tires, 0-60 mph comes in 3.6 seconds, while the street tires drop that to 3.4 seconds. And on the street tires, it runs the ¼-mile in 11.4 seconds.
Ken Block’s 1965 Ford Mustang Hoonicorn RTR, aka the Hoonicorn V2, is a bit more extreme, though. It’s a follow-up to the original Hoonicorn, which had an 845-hp 6.7-liter V8. The latest version, though, has a 6.6-liter twin-turbocharged V8, which thanks to methanol injection, makes 1400 hp, MotorTrend reports. Oh, and the dual exhausts exit from the hood. And that’s just the start of the madness.
As with the original, the Hoonicorn V2 has carbon-fiber body panels laid out over a custom tube-frame chassis. The entire body is reinforced, the chassis is seam-welded for strength, and the car rides on custom ASD suspension. The inside is stripped down, featuring little more than a roll cage and Recaro racing seats. Unlike the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, the Hoonicorn has a 6-speed sequential manual transmission. And instead of RWD, Block’s car has AWD.
How did these two cars race?
The Hoonicorn V2 has already dispatched several production-spec and modified cars, Road & Track reports. It’s beaten the McLaren Senna and the Ford GT, a four-rotor Mazda RX-7, and even an actual drag-race car. So, it may seem like it’s the Shelby GT500’s race to lose. Especially since it weighs about 1100 pounds more than the Hoonicorn.
Or, rather, races. The Hoonigan team had the two Mustangs compete in several 1500-ft (roughly ¼-mile) drag races. First, from a standing start, and later in a rolling race, similar to the previous Hoonicorn races, Motor1 reports. And to give the Shelby the best possible chance, it would be the one rolling, not Block’s car.
Does the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 even have a chance? On paper, it doesn’t seem that way. However, it does have launch control. And even though sequential transmission can be shifted quickly, a computer’s reaction time out-paces a human one. Plus, AWD cars can sometimes be tricky to launch, due to their extra traction.
Did the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 keep pace with the Hoonicorn V2?
Turns out, the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 can keep up with the Hoonicorn V2. Provided it has a few advantages.
From a standing start, the Hoonicorn simply walked the Shelby, due to its weight, power, and traction advantage. However, with the GT500 getting a rolling start, it managed to beat Block’s car. But the first time the team tried the rolling start, it turned out the Hoonicorn was running out of fuel. Yet even with the Hoonicorn’s tank filled, the Shelby managed to eke out a win with a rolling start.
So, yes, the Shelby GT500 can keep up with the Hoonicorn V2. But only if the latter is standing still at the time.
Follow more updates from MotorBiscuit on our Facebook page.


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Over the past few weeks, we have been looking at farming post the Kaikoura Earthquake and how communities have rallied together and come out the other the end of such a devastating event.
This week, we are looking at how agri-tourism is adding diversification and resilience to farming businesses - and the challenges COVID-19 is bringing.
Agri tourism has taken a heavy knock with the border lockdown. For many years, and with increasing momentum, agri-tourism had been growing and expanding but based on international visitors and offering them a very unique, Kiwi rural experience.
But the border closure has upended that.
It is a new industry segment built on experimentation, and the new challenges demand quite different approaches.
The North Canterbury Bamford Farm provides a ‘real’ on-farm experience among livestock and landscapes that are themselves unique.
The connection to the land and the connection to the provenance of the food and wool produced there is a core attraction for both the tourist and the farmer.
But starting with the Australian bush fires, and then COVID-19, the whole investment and focus on international visitors has had to be unwound. Now the focus is on reconnecting local city dwellers to these same delights.
Lincoln University researcher Joanna Fountain is part of the infrastructure that is building a professional community background to support agri-tourism, from research to marketing support.
This work has identified community collaboration within the farming community as a key driver building these assets.
That work and the infrastructure that is developed needs to be matched with what the visitor really seeks. It includes not only farm-based farm stays and onfarm experiences, but also the wider landscape appreciation demand (which can include hiking and cycling).
And then there is the specific area of food tourism, of which a core part is wine tourism. The wine sector has an easier time linking tourism tasting to eventual market demand through ‘brand ambassadors’. For red meat products there are substantial regulatory hurdles and farm tour operators risk making large promotional effort that can’t result in market demand for their products when the visitors return home. Often that demand is picked up by other suppliers.
COVID-19 means agri-tourism will need to tell its provenance story to local tourists, a much more challenging proposition. But done right, it will hold and build the marketing skills and operational resilience, ready for when international visitors return.
What started out decades ago as a farm income diversification strategy, is now a real and growing industry that can be profitable in its own right. But it is one that is having to rapidly adjust to sudden new constraints and directions.
Angus Kebbell is the Producer at Tailwind Media. We are hoping this will become a regular series.


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Refrigerated vans firm reports strong annual results progress
Annual revenues and profits have shown strong progress at CoolKit, the Burnley-based temperature-controlled van manufacturer.
Results for the year ending June 2022, showed a 50% boost to sales, of £17.5m, while pre-tax profits of more than £1m represent a 233% improvement.
CoolKit converts light commercial vans into temperature-controlled vehicles and provides temperature management products and services for fleet operators within the foodservice, food testing and wholesaling, pharmaceutical, clinical and home delivery industries, where maintaining precise load temperatures is critical.
The company is pioneering new manufacturing methods and introducing new, more sustainable materials to optimise van productivity.
Founder and CEO, Rupert Gatty, says growth can be attributed to further penetration of the specialist markets that the company serves, as well as resurgence in demand for its products as customers recover from the pandemic.
He said: “Demand over the past 12 months was particularly strong for van conversions for fleet operators.
“We placed express focus on growing our larger fleet customers within key target markets, which has paid off in two significant pharmaceutical contract wins.
“Orders for our ready-converted vans also reached a record high, particularly from the foodservice industry.”
He added: “We anticipate that had it have not been for the global supply chain issues impacting the vehicle industry at large, that this would have been even higher.
“Departments within the company continued to exceed expectations. These include a team of mobile technicians which support van operators by providing service maintenance and repair of transport refrigeration, and the sale of the Melform range of transportable refrigerated containers, of which we have the UK & Ireland distribution rights.”
CoolKit has revamped its operations over the past year, including the creation of numerous additional roles, to ensure it can meet its ambitious growth goals.
This resulted in a doubling of production capacity from the existing facilities, strengthening its senior management team with a number of key appointments and focusing on the sustainability of its products and manufacturing processes.
Gatty says the business is well placed to continue to grow by continuing to innovate in its field and by exploiting the cross-selling opportunities presented by its product portfolio.
He added: “We expect our growth to continue whilst we focus intensely on our sustainability agenda.
“Tackling the challenges of the net zero carbon world by way of addressing our energy consumption, whilst evaluating the Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions arising from our value chain and their impact on our customers are priorities for us.”


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Samsung’s Smart Widgets are coming to its Android tablets. According to a 9to5Google report, the feature is now available on the Galaxy Tab S8 for select users. Reddit user Timb1044 also claims to have it on their Galaxy tab S7. But availability seems to be quite limited at the moment. We expect Smart Widgets to roll out to more Samsung tablet users in the coming weeks.
Smart widgets, as the name suggests, make your home screen widgets smarter. Instead of cluttering the home screen with various widgets, this feature allows you to combine multiple widgets of similar size and place them all in one place. This frees up screen space for other widgets, or just for a cleaner look. Grouped widgets automatically rotate to display one at a time, although you can disable auto-rotation. You can also swipe left or right to quickly find the one you need. An indicator at the bottom will show how many widgets are in that group.
Like a single widget, grouped Smart Widgets are also resizable. You can long press on a group to resize it, add more widgets, move it to another location, or delete it. According to the new report, you can choose from three sizes: 2×2, 4×1, and 4×2.
Smart widgets appear on some Galaxy tablets
Introduced as part of One UI 4.1 earlier this year, Samsung initially kept Smart Widgets exclusive to flagship Galaxy S22 series smartphones. The Galaxy Tab S8 series also debuted with One UI 4.1, but the feature was lacking on tablets. The Korean firm even omitted Smart Widgets from the One UI 4.1 update for some other devices. The Galaxy S21 series got it, but no other device did.
Samsung hasn’t explained why Smart Widgets aren’t built into other Galaxy smartphones and tablets. After all, it wasn’t a very complex feature. But in recent weeks, Smart Widgets have started rolling out to some older Samsung devices with the One UI 4.1 update. It looks like the Galaxy Tab S8 series is also earning it. Maybe the company had some work to do and delayed the feature until now.
The new report speculates that a recent update for the Galaxy Tab S8 may have added Smart Widgets. Samsung’s latest flagship tablets are currently receiving the May security update in Europe. For users who haven’t gotten the Smart Widgets yet, this update might bring it. Galaxy Tab S7 series users may also receive Smart Widgets with a new update in the coming weeks.


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Ni-Oh, the action-adventure samurai game first announced by Koei seven long years ago at E3 2005 is, amazingly, still in development. According to Andriasang, Tecmo Koei’s CEO Yoichi Erikawa told Famitsu that development has finally been completed on the game’s alpha version. Ni-Oh is currently being developed by Team Ninja, and is making steady progress, Erikawa said in the interview.
The story is based on a once-lost script by acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, and that alone is reason to be interested in this game. Add in Team Ninja and a long development cycle, and there’s potential here for unparalleled excellence.


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SOUTH ORANGE/MAPLEWOOD, NJ — South Orange and Maplewood each were recognized for achievements in placemaking in their downtowns during the pandemic. Downtown New Jersey (DNJ) gave their first-ever awards to celebrate placemaking projects and initiatives intended to help New Jersey small businesses and downtowns survive and thrive during the shutdown and capacity limitations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The awards were presented at a virtual ceremony during the New Jersey Downtown Conference last month.
Nominations were accepted in two categories — early action and winning winter. Nominee categories also acknowledged the varying capacity of downtown districts, from all-volunteer led groups to business improvement districts with more significant staff and budgetary resources.
The South Orange restaurant The Fox and theFalcon earned an honorable mention in the early action/merchant category for creating an attractive and engaging outdoor space that spurred more restaurants to follow suit in what became known as South Orange’s “Restaurant Row.”
At the last South Orange Board of Trustees meeting, Trustee Steven Schnall praised The Fox and Falcon. He noted the outdoor dining has “beautiful warming stations, all done in an attractive and socially distant outdoor setting that was safe.”
The South Orange Village Center Alliance (SOVCA) received first place for the winning winter small organization category for the South Orange Open Air Holiday Market during the 2020 holiday shopping season. “Set in the central downtown parking lot the market was surrounded by restaurants offering seasonal beverages and food options,” said the award description. “The market provided the community with great gift shopping while offering an outdoor, socially distanced holiday shopping experience. The market featured between 20 and 35 rotating vendors, a weekly surprise gift including hand warmers, Hanukkah gelt, candy canes, holiday cookies, and shopping bags.”
Live music was included at every market and seasonal décor set the stage. Julie Doran, SOVCA’s executive director said, “Holding the market during evening hours allowed us to transform the parking lot into a winter wonderland of sorts, offering a festive and inviting atmosphere that was as much an attraction as it was a place for holiday shopping.”
“It was great in this terrible pandemic,” said Schnall. Being in quarantine and not seeing friends and neighbors was difficult and “we missed each other,” he noted. The weekly market “was an opportunity at least to get out there and be somewhat community oriented.”
Trustee Bob Zuckerman, currently president of Downtown New Jersey, praised the winners while laughing that “I was not on the selection committee. I had nothing to do with South Orange winning those fabulous awards.”
Maplewood's SpringfieldAvenue Partnership earned an honorable mention in the same category, winning winter, for its Open-Air Market, which activated a vacant lot with an outdoor shopping experience that included area makers and crafters, and local musicians.
Downtown New Jersey is a non-profit membership organization which provides advocacy, education, and technical assistance resources dedicated to ensuring the vitality of New Jersey downtowns. AARP New Jersey sponsored the event.
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