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SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The monthly data published by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) suggests notable decline in steel shipments during the month of November last year compared with the same month a year ago. Also, the shipments recorded decline over the prior month.
According to AISI data, the steel mills shipped 6.939 million net tons in November 2022. This is modestly down by 12.1% from the shipments of 7.894 million net tons in the same month a year before. The shipments during the month witnessed modest decline of 3.8% from the previous month. It must be noted that the shipments had totalled 7.210 million net tons in the month of October this year.
The cumulative shipments by U.S. domestic steel mills totalled 82.614 million net tons during the initial eleven-month period of the year. This is modestly down by 4.9% when matched with the year before. The steel shipments by these mills had totalled 86.848 million net tons during Jan-Nov ‘21.
The report provides year-on-year comparison of shipment volumes of various steel products during the first eleven months of 2022. The shipments of corrosion-resistant sheet and strip during this period declined heavily by nearly 9% over the previous year. Also, shipments of hot rolled sheet were down by 9%, whereas those of cold rolled sheet recorded the largest decline by 14% year-on-year, AISI noted.
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Apple is famously innovative on the product side, but what of the corporate accounting team? Not a discipline known for its “Think Different” ethos, right? Well, judging from this New York Times piece outlining in excruciating detail how the company reduces its tax liability, the accountants may be the most creative people on the payroll.
The numbers: Last year Apple reported $34.2 billion in profits and paid $3.3 billion in cash taxes globally, which works out to a tax rate around 9.8 percent. (Wal-Mart paid something more like 24 percent.) That stands out even among other technology companies on the S&P 500, who report something like a third less taxes than non-tech companies.
The difference, in large part, is due to creative maneuvers like the old “Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich,” which involves patent fees, multiple Irish subsidiaries, and a loop-de-loop through the Netherlands. The company helped engineer the strategy back in the 1980s, though due to a 2006 reorganization its not clear whether they’re still using it.
More current techniques involve things like Braeburn Capital, a Reno-based subsidiary that invests company revenue into stocks, bonds, and the like. Nevada, of course, has rather more generous tax policies than California. On a global scale, Apple also runs many of its iTunes transactions — as much as 20 percent of worldwide sales — through Luxembourg, which offers a more lenient rate.
Apple provided the Times with a statement claiming that the company “pays an enormous amount of taxes, which help our local, state and federal governments,” and insisting that it “has conducted all of its business with the highest of ethical standards, complying with applicable laws and accounting rules.” Anonymous executives also made the case that paying more would be unfair to shareholders.
Betabeat wonders whether it would perhaps be possible to hire an Apple accountant for some long-term personal financial planning? Asking for a friend.

domain: news


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THE WHAT? Shares in Kering rose at the close of last week as rumors that the owner of Gucci was in the running to acquire Tom Ford swirled around the markets, according to a report published by Reuters.
THE DETAILS The Wall Street Journal reported that Kering was the favourite in the race to acquire the luxury fashion and beauty brand. The Estee Lauder Companies has also been linked to the sale.
THE WHY? Tom Ford has worked as Creative Director for both Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent in the past and its expertise in both luxury beauty and fashion is thought to give it the edge over Lauder.
The post Kering could be entering the fray for Tom Ford and the markets like it appeared first on Global Cosmetics News.


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“The Federal Trade Commission has closed its nonpublic investigation of Facebook’s proposed acquisition of Instagram, Inc., without taking any action,” the FTC said in a bulletin. “Accordingly, the deal may now proceed as proposed.”
The social network agreed to purchase Instagram in early April for $300 million in cash with an additional 23 million shares of common stock. The FTC started its relatively routine probe a month later. The Commission was in search of any antitrust violations, and it pinged rivals Google and Twitter in the process.
Unfortunately for Instagram, the FTC’s due diligence has cost photo app makers Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, and co. a pretty penny — well actually it’s 25 billion pennies. The Facebook-Instagram deal, valued at $1 billion at the time of the original announcement, is now worth roughly $750 million. Facebook’s stock has fallen 50 percent since opening at $38 a share in May. The company’s shares closed at $19.44 Wednesday.
“We are pleased that the Federal Trade Commission has cleared the transaction after its careful and thorough review,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement to VentureBeat.
The deal is still pending final close.


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Norwich-based Virgin Wines reveals how independence has helped drive growth
- Credit: Archant
An online wine seller which broke away from its parent company two years ago has revealed how greater freedom has allowed it to target ambitious growth.
Norwich-based Virgin Wines, which employs 150 people, is set to reach the £40m turnover mark this year, with thousands of customers switching to online sales each year.
Now the company, which changed hands in a £15.9m management buy-out backed by Mobeus Equity Partners and Connection Capital in 2013, wants to become the 'Interflora' of the wine world.
Chief executive Jay Wright, who has been at the company for eight years, also wants wine bank – where customers pay into a fund and earn 20% on extra – to be at the heart of the business.
'It has been a really exciting couple of years,' he said. 'Independence gives you the opportunity to truly think about the strategy from a selfish perspective.
'You have to have compromises when you are in a larger group. We only need to think about what's right for Virgin Wines and for our customers. With sendagift.co.uk I thought 'there's a massive market for people who don't want flowers.'
Sales at the gift side of the business, which sells spirits, wines and beers, reached £400,000 in its first year, and just under £1m this year.
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Turnover at the firm, based in St James Mill, near the law courts, reached £37.1m for the year ending July 3, 2015, up 4.8% from £35.4m the year before. Pre-tax profits rose 65% to £2m for the same period.
Mr Wright said the aim was to reach £50m turnover within two years, but added: 'I am not wholly focused on that, I'm much more worried about doing the right thing. The sales take care of themselves.'
Mr Wright founded a company called Warehouse Wines in 2000 and sold it to Direct Wines in 2002, before merging it with Virgin Wines and becoming chief executive of the bigger business.
Under the new ownership, he said there were greater freedoms, including the option to export.
'It was an opportunity. Direct Wines needed to raise money to find some international expansion, and I wanted to take Virgin Wines out again.
'With independence we can do what we want now. We have investors and we have monthly board meetings but they are very supportive and proud of what we are achieving.'
Email your business stories to email@example.com


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EU may soon allow vegetable imports from India
The Dollar Business Bureau
After the European Union lifted the ban on Indian mango last year, it has indicated that it may also allow imports of bitter gourd, brinjal, colocasia and snake gourd from the country.
However, these exports consignments will undergo strict checks and supervision to ensure they are peat-free. The Indian government has taken a wide gamut of measures, such as registering farmers to make them traceable and implementing standard operating procedures for pack houses to ensure the shipped products meet the international standards.
The European Union (EU) has, however, said it will lift a complete ban on these vegetables only after assessing their quality. The EU had banned imports of Indian mango a few years ago, over quality issue.
The EU official visited India a few months ago to hold meetings with mango exporters. They also conducted a training workshop for the exporters and inspectors.
In order to make sure that the exported fruits and vegetable from India meet the EU quality standards, the government has also developed an exclusive standard operating procedure for exports to the EU. The framework of the procedure has been distributed among exporters and stakeholders for their opinion.
According to the procedure, the procurement of fruits and vegetables for EU will originate from registered farmers only. In affection, India has also formed a dedicated team to inspect the EU-bound fruits and vegetables packed.
Furthermore, the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) officials have urged the Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board officials to contemplate the hot water treatment protocol for mangoes, following undertaking all the necessary trials.
Keeping in mind stringent measures followed internationally, APEDA on its part has decided to give phytosanitary certificates only after consignments have adopted and implemented the hot water treatment.


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Johannesburg - The drop in retail sales growth since the second half of 2012 can be ascribed to a dramatic slowdown in unsecured credit extension, waning real disposable income growth and high unemployment figures, according to an Ernst & Young and Bureau for Economic Research quarterly survey released yesterday.
The survey showed that retail sales growth remained fairly weak during the second quarter. According to Statistics SA, retail trade sales grew by an average annual rate of only 3.2 percent year on year between January and March, down from 6.1 percent in 2011 and 4.7 percent in 2012.
The survey points to retail sales growth of between 2 percent and 3 percent during the second quarter.
Derek Engelbrecht, who leads the retail and consumer products practice at Ernst & Young, said the dip in sales was due to the slowdown in unsecured credit extension, declining disposable income on the back of weak growth in jobs and rising inflation.
Consumer inflation shot up to 6.6 percent last month from 6.1 percent in April, the highest in almost five years.
Engelbrecht said although trading conditions remained very challenging during the second quarter, the situation could have been worse given the overall economic effect of the prolonged mining strike and the ever-present electricity shortage. Rather than a further substantial deterioration in retail sales growth in the second quarter, the survey pointed to another quarter of modest growth in retail sales.
The survey added that business confidence levels of retailers recovered from 39 to 49 index points during the second quarter, suggesting that half of the retailers surveyed were satisfied with prevailing business conditions in the trade sector.
But household goods and furniture retailers were likely to experience more strain.
“Given the sensitivity of the demand for durable goods to the availability of credit, it is not surprising that retailers of household appliances suffered the largest slowdown in sales growth over the past two years, Engelbrecht said.
Despite this, most retailers expected a slight improvement in sales of furniture and appliances during the third quarter of this year, compared with the weak levels recorded last year.
In contrast to furniture retailers, hardware, paint and glass retailers reported robust growth last year, supported by an increase in activity in residential building.
Clothing and footwear retailers were the only other stores to report sustained strong growth in sales volumes during 2013 and in the first quarter of this year.
Growth in sales of non-durable goods such as food, beverages and tobacco declined over the past year.
“To be sure, the growth in non-durable goods sales volumes remained sub-par during the second quarter. However, most retailers reported that their sales volumes beat their earlier projections and that they anticipated a slight improvement in the next quarter,” Engelbrecht said.


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The appointment of Chris Morgan as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for Stratasys this week marks a watershed moment for the 3D printer giant as Morgan is a 25-year veteran of HP.
It's a significant hire as HP is now touting their Multi Jet Fusion, said to be capable of building objects 10 times faster than current SLS and FDM 3D printers in internal testing, and Hewlett-Packard says they're about to entirely disrupt 3D printing technology with this computer system and printer.
While the Multi Jet Fusion printers aren't aimed at consumer users, HP says their target markets of commercial, architectural and industrial design users are sure to be interested.
That's what makes the hiring of Morgan at Stratasys an interesting moment in time.
From 2004 through 2009, Morgan served as a senior vice president for HP's imaging and printing business in the Asia Pacific and Japan regions. Between 2001 and 2004, He led the worldwide marketing strategy and sales departments of HP's imaging and printing business.
"As a senior vice president of HP's multi-billion dollar graphics solutions business in the Printing and Personal Systems Group, Morgan was responsible for several thousand employees worldwide and helped drive HP from challenger to established market leader," said Stratasys Executive Vice President, Dan Yalon.
Morgan, while on board at HP, directed brand and demand activities worldwide and developed channels and routes to market while serving as a critical force in leading strategy development for the entire business.
"His experience and skills are what we sought in a marketing leader," Yalon added.
Morgan will assume responsibility for Stratasys' global marketing activities, including developing strategy and building a global team that will support the company's worldwide expansion and rapid growth.
Stratasys CEO, David Reis, said the appointment came as a result of Morgan's status as an "accomplished senior executive with an impressive background of building and growing multi-billion dollar businesses."
"At HP, (Morgan) was instrumental in helping shape the transition from analogue to digital in the 2D printer world," Reis added.


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Unions have warned the Federal Government to clamp down on cheap illegal imports, which are harming Australia's manufacturing sector.
Union and business leaders have called for stricter laws to combat dumping of cheap goods in Australia by nations such as China, which may jeopardize Australia’s manufacturing future.
Dumping occurs when an overseas company exports its products to a country below the cost at which they sell at home, a practice that runs counter to World Trade Organisation rules.
Australian Workers Union national secretary Paul Howes said the Government must limit the sale of dumped goods in Australia or risk a harder debate over its planned controversial carbon emissions tax.
''If we don't get this right, if we don't have an anti-dumping system that works, if we don't have a realistic and sensible approach to trade, it makes the carbon debate that much harder,'' says Mr Howes.
''We're not going to be able to transform our economy and transform our industries without proper industry planning, without proper approaches to the realities in terms of global trade.''
Prime Minister Julia Gillard is facing increasing criticism over the lack of detail in her proposed carbon tax, which was floated early this year.
Anti-dumping groups are also concerned the tax will disadvantage local manufacturers even more, because it will raise the price of goods.
Mr Howes was speaking at the Trade Hall Auditorium in Sydney after a discussion with other union groups, business leaders and Independent federal politicians Nick Xenophon and Bob Katter.
The AWU will submit an anti-dumping discussion paper Don't Dump on Australia to the Federal Government. The document will invite comment from Australian manufacturers and exporters.


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A former administrator at Yale University School of Medicine has pleaded guilty to stealing $40 million from the school in a nearly decade-long computer and electronics purchase scam.
Federal prosecutors say Jamie Petrone, 42, used the money to buy a fleet of luxury cars including Mercedes, Land Rover and Cadillac Escalades, numerous properties in several states and to pay for lavish travel.
She pleaded guilty Monday to counts of wire fraud and filing false tax returns. If she is convicted in June, she faces up to 30 years in prison. Until then, she’s free on a $1 million bond. Her attorney did not immediately respond for comment.
“ “90% of their computer-related purchases were fraudulent.” ”
Petrone began working for Yale in 1999 and for the medical school in 2008. Most recently, she served as finance director for the Department of Emergency Medicine. As part of her job, she could authorize equipment purchases without additional permits as long as orders were under $10,000, prosecutors said.
In 2013, according to prosecutors, Petrone began taking numerous small orders of tablet computers and other devices that the school was billed for. She then sold them to a company in upstate New York and had them deposited money into the account of a wedding photography and videography company she controlled.
Prosecutors say she bought more than 8,000 tablet computers in 2021 alone, all in orders less than $10,000. In a 10-week period that year, she ordered $2.1 million worth of equipment.
During the eight years that authorities say she carried out the scam, Petrone told investigators that “90% of her computer-related purchases were fraudulent,” according to court documents.
Explaining the purchases to university officials, Petrone claimed that the equipment was needed for certain medical studies being conducted at the school, according to court filings.
In a statement, Yale said it first alerted authorities last year after finding “evidence of suspected criminal conduct.”
“Since the incident, Yale has worked to identify and address gaps in its internal financial controls,” the school said.
In all, prosecutors say Petrone caused Yale losses of $40,504,200. They also say Petrone never declared any income on their taxes, filed false returns for 2013 through 2016, and made no returns at all between 2017 and 2020. In all, she defrauded the IRS of over $6 million, according to prosecutors.
As part of her guilty plea, Petrone agreed to forfeit $560,421.14 seized from her accounts, two $135,000 Mercedes-Benzes, a $90,000 Range Rover, two Cadillac Escalades and a Dodge Charger. She has also agreed to surrender three properties in Connecticut and another in Georgia of which she co-owns.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/former-yale-administrator-stole-40-million-pretending-to-buy-computer-equipment-for-the-university-instead-she-bought-a-fleet-of-luxury-cars-and-three-houses-11648578254?rss=1&siteid=rss The former Yale administrator stole $40 million and pretended to buy computer equipment for the university. Instead, she bought a fleet of luxury cars and three houses


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Ads are part of the Web, and something we are likely to never truly get away from. But that's not going to stop users from trying to rid browsing sessions from the (sometimes) annoying ads.
By installing plug-ins such as Adblock Plus (ABP), users are able to eliminate some of the more distracting ads on sites. Until recently Adblock Plus wasn't available for Apple's Safari browser. That changed earlier this month when Adblock Plus announced it was releasing a Safari extension in beta.
Installing the beta extension is simple and only takes a few seconds of your … Read more


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Northridge Lumber Co. is selling its family-owned lumber yard to Anaheim-based Ganahl Lumber Co. The sale is expected to be finalized in about two weeks. The selling price was not disclosed, according to the local news outlet Los Angeles Daily.
Ganahl operates 10 lumber yards throughout Southern California but this will be the company’s first San Fernando Valley location. It will operate under the Ganahl name.
Ganahl’s current locations are Anaheim, Buena Park, Capistrano Beach, Corona, Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach, Lake Forest, Los Alamitos, Pasadena and Torrance.
Patrick Hawthorne, who co-owns Northridge Lumber with his brother Tim, said Ganahl plans to retain all of the 20-plus Northridge workers, which made the offer even more appealing.
Northridge Lumber, a family-owned business, provides top quality lumber and building materials for contractors and homeowners.
Ganahl Lumber provides quality hardware, lumber and building materials for professional contractors and homeowners throughout Southern California.
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Bermuda-based Bacardi has made its first foray into Indian whisky with the launch of a new blend, called Legacy.
The new brand is described as Bacardi’s first ‘made-in-India whisky innovation’ and the only premium Indian whisky in the company’s portfolio.
The launch of Legacy aims to further strengthen Bacardi’s growth strategy in India and create a value price segment for its consumers, the company said.
Bacardi said India is one of its fastest-growing markets, with the company ‘rapidly investing behind its strategic and ambitious vision’ for the country.
Legacy, which is said to symbolise the ‘culture and passion’ of India, has been made with select Indian grains, and combines Indian and Scottish malt whiskies.
The resulting liquid offers subtle peaty notes, fruity notes, and undertones of toasted oaks and a ‘delicate vanilla smoky’ finish.
Sanjit Singh Randhawa, managing director, Bacardi India, said: “Consumers are at the heart of everything we do at Bacardi India, and in line with this, we continue to focus on innovating our offerings to best serve them.
“Bacardi holds an undisputed ‘legacy’ in the white spirits segment in India. Now, we aim to win big in the high-growth Indian-made whisky category as well.
“India presents an exciting growth opportunity for us, as it is the number-one market globally for whisky, and our first-ever ‘made-in-India’ whisky, Legacy, will enable us to scale operations nationally as we continue to grow the brand manifold by the end of this decade.”
India is one of the fastest-growing markets for alcohol globally, with an estimated size of $52.5 billion in 2020, Bacardi said. The market is expected to rise by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8% between 2020 and 2023 (ICRIER 2022).
IWSR 2021 figures cited by Bacardi estimates that the Indian whisky category could exceed 250 million nine-litre cases by 2026.
Ayaesha Gooptu, category head, domestic browns, Bacardi India, added: “With its distinctively Indian taste and positioning, our newest innovation Legacy will aid our efforts in enhancing our diverse portfolio of offerings.
“Catering to a large audience of whisky lovers in the country, Legacy is truly made in India and made for India. Legacy aims to connect with consumers who are trying to ‘build their own legacy, in their own way’, and that’s what the brand will stand for.”
Legacy will launch in three formats: 750ml, 375ml, and 180ml. It will be available on shelves in Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh initially.
Following the first phase of the launch, the whisky will be sold in Karnataka, Delhi, Punjab, Odisha, West Bengal, and Rajasthan.
Bacardi moved into the brown spirits segment in India with the launch of its Good Man brandy earlier this year.


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Sweet Angel Eva, an augmented reality (AR) character designed for children, recently got promoted to lead Arcona, a new project that will enable developers to deposit virtual objects anywhere in the world. Her responsibilities include dealing with investors and the crypto community, as well as representing Arcona at a variety of virtual events.
Sweet Angel Eva was created in 2016 at the request of the main investor of Piligrim XXI, the company behind Arcona. Piligrim XXI has been developing AR solutions for the travel industry for more than four years. The company has already created the first network of outdoor AR parks with a total area of 12 miles in France, Italy, Russia, Latvia, Estonia and Bulgaria.
“The investor’s children were afraid to sleep by themselves, so he told them there was a guardian angel in their bedroom,” said Ilya Korguzalov, co-founder of Piligrim XXI. “But his kids didn’t believe him because they couldn’t see the angel. That’s why we created Sweet Eva.”
When the time came to select the face for Arcona’s initial coin offering (ICO) campaign, Eva was the obvious choice because of her wonderful essence and buoyant personality. Before her most recent promotion, Eva spent most of her time in a fluffy cloud. She can fly around the room, laugh when a child tickles her and fill any space with magical butterflies.
The tech entrepreneur and musician Eyal Hertzog, the founder of Bancor, an exchange protocol of tokens based on smart contracts, was the first person to congratulate Sweet Eva on her new position. Hertzog welcomed the AR angel to his office in Tel Aviv.
“Just because Eva is an angel doesn’t mean she can’t do the job,” said Korguzalov. “We believe that someone who can work well with kids can also be a tremendous success in business. She has already proven herself, so our next step will be developing the AI to give Eva the ability to make her own executive decisions.”
Arcona integrates the virtual and real worlds, providing a link between an augmented reality layer called the Digital Land and natural landmarks on the Earth’s surface. The project will allow users to position and manage content remotely. Arcona’s ICO is scheduled to take place from January 25 – February 25 with pieces of Digital Land starting at just $1 per square meter.
The first digitized zones will appear next year in New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Beijing, Rome, Mexico City, St. Petersburg, Istanbul and Barcelona. It is planned that a layer of AR will cover the Earth’s surface by 2019.
Arcona will operate as a peer-to-peer network and an open marketplace, where producers and consumers of AR will exchange resources and pay for services using the platform’s internal tokens. Users will be able to sell content, software and the AR Digital Land layer via Arcona’s online platform.
The project is based on blockchain technology to increase transparency and identify who owns what, as well as who controls transfer rights. Through Arcona, Piligrim XXI will make its unique remote positioning algorithms and other technologies available to owners of the AR layer free of charge.


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Electric Microbus: Diesel gate Riddled Volkswagen’s Image Recovery Stunt
By Staff Writer
Volkswagen (VW) is seriously planning to plug a new generation of the legendary Microbus back into its lineup, as an all-electric plug-in van. Debut of a new concept vehicle at the ongoing Consumer Electric Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the boosted German carmaker has portrayed the features of a new electric car in its CES keynote.
While facing a civil suit in the US for violating the Federal emissions laws, presenting the keynote, VW has initiated its voyage to boost eco profile. The company showed off the BUDD-e new concept bus packed with technology based gadgets unlike other concept cars, reports CarBuzz.
The Budd-e is a multi-tool, designed to function as a home auxiliary power unit and communicating with a Smart Home or office setup. It may also turn the vehicle into a mobile mailbox for package delivery, using a digital key.
Terming Budd-e as the first car in the internet of things, Volkswagen CEO Hertbert Diess has demoed opening the car through the front door of a house. He has also staged checking a fridge camera to define the household shopping requirements.
VW's Modular Electric Platform (MEB) has been featured as the future of electric vehicles. Batteries of the vehicle are projected to get an 80% charge in 15 minutes. Not as quick as a filing up with gas, but pretty quick. Currently a Tesla Supercharger replenishes 50 percent of a battery in about 20 minutes, reports Engadget.
The MEB platform has been designed for plug-in vehicles with completely new 101 kilo-watt per hour battery pack. Front and rear motors have been forecast to provide all-wheel drive and a top speed of 93 miles per hour, according to a report published in the Motor Authority.
The battery packs are placed flat on the vehicle floor and believed to reduce their required space. Thus the MEB platform gets more space for the compact engine components and increases cabin space. With a projected range of 373 miles, VW may hit market with electricity-driven bus by 2019.
Inside the car, the Active Info Display turns the dash into a giant display that may be connected to tablets, smartphones and IoT devices. It may be controlled via gestures, touch screens and voice and passengers will enjoy interacting with their smart homes.
Facing a huge blow for Diesel gate controversy, tattered Volkswagen has presented a keynote while demonstrating an electricity run microbus. The demonstrations have been made in the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and are believed to be automaker's desperate bid for boosting its eco prophylactic efforts. Batteries of the microbus are believed to get charged fully by around 20 minutes, somewhat less compared to Tesla Supercharger.


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A report from Bloomberg this morning indicates that Apple is planning to launch the TV service with little of its own original content TV shows, which are still in development and targeting a fall launch ‘at the earliest’.
Bloomberg says Apple is rushing to finalize deals with networks like HBO, Showtime and Starz ahead of the March 25 event. There is apparently a Friday deadline, with Apple ‘offering concessions’ to secure deals. The report also implies that Apple will debut its new Apple credit card offering on stage, alongside the TV and magazine/news subscription service.
The report says Apple has invited payment industry journalists to the event, heavily suggesting that the credit card project will feature. The Apple credit card is apparently codenamed ‘Project Cookie’.
Bloomberg unsurprisingly describes the Apple News subscription as a similar product to Texture, with customers able to access a bundle of current newspapers and magazine issues. The report says Apple intends to sell the TV and news service separately but it is possible Apple could offer a discount if a customer buys into multiple services. It’s unclear if Apple Music would be rolled into that promotion.
As usual with deals like this, Apple and its TV partners are negotiating up to the last minute on terms:
HBO, Showtime and Starz are among the most-popular premium cable TV networks and all expect to reach a deal with the company, according to the people. But they’re still haggling over various points, including marketing, promotion and the user experience.
The fact that Apple will launch its TV service with mostly content from external partners makes for an interesting twist in the narrative of the rumor mill. The focus of reporting has been on Apple’s original content but today’s Bloomberg report pits programming from existing cable networks as a critical part of the offering.
Apple has dozens of its own TV shows in development or in the planning stages, but only a few appear to be complete and ready to air.
Read the full report over at Bloomberg.
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Are SME's prepared for Google updates?
Over the past 18 months Google has quietly been revolutionising the way search engine results have been determined and all too often small business owners are unaware of the pitfalls.
This latest update is reminiscent of Penguin 1.0 which struck in April 2012 which caused major shock waves through the SEO community, and like several smaller ‘tremors’ in between, this latest update continues Google’s efforts to decrease the search engine visibility of sites that violate Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.
You may have noticed your sites rankings fluctuating a bit over the last month, but this pattern is starting to settle down revealing a continue pattern of progression.
While the real formula for rankings are unknown to all but those in Google’s inner sanctum, a rough yardstick approach can be applied to what Google considered as beyond “normal” optimisation patterns. Avoiding the same anchor text on back links, having lots of poor quality, unrelated links back to your website, copying content from other sites or stuffing keywords on web pages are all tactics that the search engine giant has found out.
There’s no getting away from it. Google is rewarding sites that offer fresh, unique and relevant content, better still content shared across social media as their metric for ranking sites. Plus there is increasing evidence that the user experience of a site will help determine rankings so check up on responsive design. As predicted in our digital trends for SME preview at the start of the year, mobile and tablet is fast becoming the most used form of internet browsing, and many websites giving users an awkward experience on these platforms will soon be in need of an upgrade to maintain visibility on Google. Neil Baker, Marketing lead at Manchester based Addpeople,


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Topshop to remove display barriers from Irish stores following tragic death of boy (10) in England
Topshop are removing all till barrier units from their Irish stores following the tragic death of a young boy in England.
The move comes after a 10-year-old boy died at a store in Reading after he suffered serious head injuries in an incident involving one of the display barriers, police said.
The youngster was taken to the Royal Berkshire Hospital after the incident in the Oracle shopping centre at 4.15pm on Monday, but was pronounced dead.
The boy, who was from the Reading area, has not been named and the coroner's office in the town said an inquest had not yet been opened as police were still investigating.
A spokesperson for Topshop told Independent.ie that till barrier units will now be removed from all Topshop stores, including those in Ireland.
“Further to the recent incident in Reading, as a safety precaution we have decided to remove all the till barrier units in question from our stores with immediate effect," a spokesperson said.
They confirmed that this measure will take place in Irish stores located in Dublin, Drogheda, Galway, Athlone, Waterford and Cork.
Speaking about the death of the boy, Detective Superintendent Paul Hayles said: "We are supporting the boy's family to assist them at this very difficult time.
"We continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding this death.
"A scene watch is in place at the Topshop store and is likely to be in place for some time.
"Detectives are now working with the local authority and the store owners to gather all of the information on how this incident happened."
The store was closed on Tuesday as investigations inside continued.
Police staff could be seen inside the shop through the door.
Bunches of flowers were left against the shop's closed shutters and passers by paused to look at the tributes.
One card, which was unsigned, read: "RIP little man."


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ARISTOTLE ENGINEERING FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Peoria, Arizona October 7, 2016 – ARISTOTLE ENGINEERING, a leading manufacturer of Precision Rifle Mount products, accessories and apparel, announces the launch of their new company brand and website at https://aristotle-engineering.com/. Aristotle Engineering’s feature products, LOC JAW and Rifle Railz have also been incorporated into the project to better feature these cutting edge branded designs. The new overall brand and website poise the company to strategically go to the next level as more and invite more partners join forces with them to participate in its growth.
“We are excited about the new direction we are taking. We are gearing up to make more big things happen for our company and our products. With the innovative design and technology behind our signature products– LOC JAW and Rifle Railz, we have positioned ourselves as a leader in the market and we are now better positioned to offer our customers and our dealers more,” said David Frank, CEO of ARISTOTLE ENGINEERING.
Further Frank added, “We will continue to strive for excellent innovation and solutions for those interested in the pursuit of hunting and shooting sports. Our goal is to design, create and manufacture the products you seek to give you the results you want when you shoot.”
ABOUT ARISTOTLE ENGINEERING:
Aristotle Engineering was founded in 2010 through the development of its’ signature product the LOC JAW. Since that time, the company has continued to design and develop other cutting edge devices to assist in the optimal performance of shooting AR style and Bolt Action rifles. Aristotle Engineering has a worldwide customer base, as far away as Australia and continues to grow and become more widely recognize within both the hunting and shooting industries.
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Junior Maia Gagar poses in front of the mirror. She leans forward slightly, changing the position of her shoulders to get a better angle. With a click, she’s done. However, the star of the show isn’t her, but the clothes she’s wearing. They are to be uploaded onto her Instagram shop.
As an avid lover of fashion, Gagar has accumulated a collection of clothes over the years. These, along with the clothes she finds on her shopping trips to Goodwill or Savers, are sold on an account titled “maiazcloset.” At the thrift stores, Gagar looks for on-trend items, such as crop tops, vintage clothing, jeans or accessories.
“I’m always really excited to find accessories like belts, chains or hats. Accessories are really fun; I feel like they always help to put together an outfit or make an outfit complete,” Gagar said.
Beginning in January 2019, Gagar was inspired to open a shop by a friend. Although Gagar has made quite a few sales, she operates without a posting schedule. With the arrival of school, it has become more difficult for Gagar to find time to run her store.
“School has been a priority because grades are really important, but I try to set aside time for posting on the weekends,” Gagar said. “During the summer, it was a lot easier because I had all the time.”
The summer of 2019 also marked a humanitarian crisis for the Sudanese. The news had extensive social media and news coverage, and Gagar became aware of the struggles of the Sudanese children. With her shop up and running, Gagar decided to help out by donating 30 percent of her sales.
“I felt like I needed to do something, especially because I had this shop and I was making money,” Gagar said. “I can use [the money], not just for myself as an income, but for things that I feel are important.”
Other than her donations to the charity Children of Sudan, Gagar has seen the environmental impact of recycling clothes. With climate change as a substantive current issue, the trend of thrifting and flipping clothes has become prevalent. Combined with the far-reaching influence of Instagram in today’s social scene, a market for social media shops has been created.
“My favorite thing about doing this Instagram shop is that it’s good for the environment because of the sustainability,” Gagar said. “It’s a really good way to clean out your closet or give your clothes a new home to someone who would wear them a lot more.”
While Gagar enjoys running her Instagram page and sees no foreseeable end to her shop, she occasionally has issues with customers, similar to any other retail environment. She combats this by posting the rules of her account as a story highlight and instructing all customers to read through them before contacting her.
“Sometimes, it’s hard to deal with people that are rude because you always have to be nice. Customer service is important,” Gagar said. “You need to be aware of people who try to lowball you on prices when you don’t want to sell it for that price.”
In the future, Gagar is considering going into retail or some other fashion-related occupation.
“It’s not that difficult. I feel like it would be really fun for my future, and I’d enjoy that,” Gagar said.
Without a doubt, Gagar has improved the world with style.
By Nicole Chiang, Manager and Copy editor-in-chief
Photo by Isaac Le


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Arriving in 2022 and 2023.
During the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, 505 Games and Rabbit & Bear Studios confirmed two RPG games would be coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows 10 PC and Game Pass.
The first is Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes – coming in 2023 and before this will be the release of Eiyuden Chronicle Rising in 2022. No exact dates have been locked in just yet, but again they’ll both be coming to Game Pass.
Read the full article on purexbox.com


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Google Cast? Chromecast Built-In — new name, same great taste?
“What’s a Google Cast, huh?”
Well, you might not get too far with using the Chromecast name, either, but it’s the name of the product and more in-your-face than “Google Cast.”
That’s mostly the reason Google gave to VARIETY for Google Cast’s name change to “Chromecast Built-in”.
First, nothing about the technology has changed. We’re rebranding Google Cast to “Chromecast built-in” to help users identify the technology that they’ve come to enjoy and appreciate. The new branding officially starts in 2017, which is why you’ll see it slowly rolling out in the meantime.
And with a new brand name comes a new Twitter handle.
— Google Chromecast (@Chromecast) November 22, 2016
The Google Cast app has gone the way of the do-do, too, as the Google Home name replaces it.


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May 19, 2006 |
There's a foreign body in Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE). John Brock, former CEO of the beer company, InBev, has now been inducted into Coke's biggest bottling company as President and CEO and will be the first "outsider" to run CCE. The 57-year-old Brock, a veteran of the beverage industry, is replacing interim CEO Lowry Kline, who says, "John's insight and strategic leadership , honed over almost three decades of managing international companies, has...
August 29, 2012 |
Coca-Cola isn't used to trailing the competition. Yet that's the position the beverage giant is in when it comes to the fast-growing ready-to-drink tea category - and it's gearing up to do something about it, according to Ad Age. Its weapon is Fuze, the juice-and-tea brand Coca-Cola acquired in 2007 for an estimated $250 million. The marketer is planning a major first-quarter marketing campaign for Fuze, which is also getting a new-product infusion. This summer Fuze rolled out five new flavors...
August 18, 2002 |
ATLANTA: Coca-Cola is abandoning the 'splash graphic' design it unveiled two years ago and returning to the familiar Coca-Cola ribbons for a look on cans and bottles that is traditional, but updated, the company said. The intertwined white and yellow ribbons run underneath the familiar 'Coca-Cola' script, with a trail of bubbles in the background. The new packaging will appear on products in 2003. "It's a significant change because it cleans up substantially the look of the...
December 16, 2008 |
NEW YORK: PepsiCo's CEO has said that the No. 2 US soft drink company plans no new acquisitions of North American drink manufacturers in the current economic climate, but instead will focus resources on expanding markets for drinks it has developed on its own. "I'd like us not to make any more beverage acquisitions, tuck-in type acquisitions," Chief Executive Indra Nooyi said yesterday at a Beverage Digest conference in New York. "I think our R&D pipeline is well-primed.
March 18, 2011 |
NEW YORK: Food and drinks giant PepsiCo Inc plans to spend 30 per cent more to pitch its beverages on US television in 2011 than in recent years, says a media report. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company "plans to spend 30 per cent more to pitch its beverages on US television in 2011 than in recent years-- with much of the money aimed at propping up the sagging Pepsi-Cola brand. " Besides, PepsiCo is also working overtime...


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Policymakers in many countries in which we operate are confronting the loss of jobs to automation. One recent estimate has artificial intelligence potentially replacing between one third and nearly half of jobs in the US, UK and Japan within a few decades. Even as technology overhauls many workplaces, Airbnb remains a people-to-people platform.
Empowering hosts in a time of automation
As policymakers in many countries in which we operate confront the loss of jobs to automation, Airbnb is all about people. One recent estimate covered by The Economist has artificial intelligence and machine learning potentially replacing up to 47 percent of US jobs within the next 20 years. Estimates for the UK and Japan range from one third of jobs to nearly half, respectively.
But the act of home sharing is a people-to-people exchange, as is the act of helping travelers immerse themselves in the communities they are visiting. Through our Trips Platform, launched in November, Airbnb brings together where you stay, what you do and the people you meet, all in one place and all powered by people. Even as technology begins replacing people in many workplaces, Airbnb empowers our hosts to do more for their guests and for themselves.
“A lot of technology companies tend to talk about the magic being in the technology, making things really easy,” Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said in announcing our Trips Platform. (Watch Brian’s announcement here.) “But the magic is, always was and always will be in the people. And if you have a passion, if you have an interest, or if you have a hobby, you can share your community with others in the world.”
Two of our tours in South Africa illustrate how powerful and automation-defying these personal interactions can be. Airbnb has partnered with the Nelson Mandela Foundation to create a special tour—called an “Experience” in our Trips program—led by Jack Swart, who was Mandela’s warden at the notorious Robben Island prison, and Mandela’s cook and warden during his final 18 months in jail, which he spent at Victor Verster Prison.
When you sign up for Swart’s Experience, he’ll take you not only to Robben Island but to Victor Verster Prison, where you will gain access to areas not open to the public. While showing you what life was like at the prisons, Swart also will talk with you about his time as a warder and recount how his most famous prisoner transformed the way he understood the world.
In Cape Town, Experience Host Delecia Forbes guides a poignant tour of the city’s arts community that begins at her home and includes a visit with a local artist who was the first person of color in Cape Town to get an arts degree. “This is delivering people out of the city center, into the other side of Cape Town where history was really fought and made, and to me, that’s the beauty of this initiative,” says Patricia de Lille, the city’s executive mayor. A peek at Delecia’s tour makes it obvious why this travel experience, so personal to the host as well as for the guest, could never be run by robots.
The kind of experiences provided by Airbnb Trips reflect the way people increasingly want to travel. A recent study of Millennial attitudes toward travel, conducted by GfK for Airbnb, found that Millennials want to build their own itineraries and create their own adventures which are local and authentic. More than eight in 10 Millennials surveyed across the United States, the United Kingdom and China say they are always looking for a unique travel experience. By 2025, Millennials will make up 75 percent of consumers and travelers.
According to a study conducted for Airbnb by the Land Econ Group, of the $13.35 million in earnings for Experience Hosts for every 100,000 trips, approximately $5.19 million will go toward their rent or mortgage, helping these Hosts use their homes to reduce the the cost of keeping them.


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Leading manufacturing services provider, Columbus, along with sister company, To Increase, explain how companies can stay competitive and innovate by embracing servitization.
Precursors, in every industry, field and sector, are usually called innovators.
Although sometimes, more than creating, what some people really do is steer and shift in a new direction.
Steve Jobs said, “People don’t know what they want until you show them,” and this might be true for a supplier-customer focused approach, but not for all.
For today’s manufacturers, innovation needs to be driven by customer needs in order to have business value.
What has been proven over recent years is that the manufacturing sector has been subject to all sorts of trends and changes in implementation of services, production techniques and practices.
Many makers of complex, typically high-cost items also see that they lose out on revenue and competitive opportunities if they limit their customer-focused efforts to the early stages of the product lifecycle, when they design, build, and deliver machinery or other products.
For them as well as their customers, it becomes more effective to extend a productive engagement and product innovation throughout the product lifecycle, and equipment-as-a-service (EaaS) or servitization as a natural next step.
“When product ownership remains with the manufacturer, and the customer benefits from machinery or other complex products within an EaaS agreement, it becomes easier for manufacturers and their customers to collaborate on product innovation,” said Bjorn Kuijt, vice president of product management at To Increase.
“Within this framework, customers’ risk is low, because they pay only for the value they receive and the innovation that makes sense for them, and they can avoid investing in assets that will sooner or later become obsolete.
“For the manufacturers, servitization provides a constant stream of additional, incremental revenue, while together with their customers they create new product features that help them to become more competitive,” added Kuijt.
Columbus’ most innovative manufacturing customers have rapidly made inroads in combining the internet of things (IoT), the cloud, and mobility to ensure they understand the performance of their products on customer sites and maintain a high level of responsiveness in their servitization model.
“The industrial manufacturer, is getting demand from their clients and they’re trying to supply that experience, but at the same time they’re trying to figure out a different way of monetizing their products,” said Luciano Cunha, vice president of sales at To Increase.
Columbus has been operating various levels of servitization for many years developing among others, a component called ‘asset service management’ that allows industrial manufacturers to provide services to their customers.
According to To Increase, “It’s not a question of ‘should it’ or ‘shouldn’t it be implemented’, the simple fact is, demand is already there.”
As Cunha stated: “Servitization should be embraced by manufacturers. Both the product manufacturers and the industrial manufacturers.
“The very end customers, are demanding better products at a lower cost. The manufacturers need to focus on differentiation and strategic advantage at all costs in order to create and innovate new products to bring to market.”


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Apple is supposed to introduce a new color to its iPhone range. However, it will only introduce the new color in its 8 and 8 Plus iPhones. Red, is the new color and the company is introducing it in partnership with RED, an activists group from Africa fighting against AIDS. It was founded in 2006 by Bono (who is a frontman for U2 ) and Bobby Shriver (who is an activist from ONE Campaign) to ‘harness the power of people and companies to help fight AIDS.’
The group has a partnership with several international companies selling sundry of things starting from electronic products to makeup and fashion items. Interestingly, whatever products it sells in collaboration with world’s top business houses, they are always made available in color red! Whether it is a piece of furniture or just a T-shirt!
Thus, Apple will launch its iPhone in this unique and so (unprofessional looking) color! If the report from MacRumors is to be believed, Apple is to announce its all-new sassy colored handset today, on 9th April. Interestingly, MacRumors claims that it has viewed a memo from Virgin Mobile that has the information about the upcoming announcement from Apple. The memo suggests that the phone will be available for pre-order. But it only mentions iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus and it is hard to say whether the new color will be available on iPhone X or not!
Product RED licenses its name to several popular brands for combating HIV/AIDS in several African countries that include – Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Rwada, Swaziland, Tanzania, South Africa, and Zambia. Apple already had been a part of a collaboration with the activist group and has already licensed its name for many of its products such as iPods, iPads. And the RED editions of these products have been available for over several years. However, it released its iPhone only last year. iPhone 7 was its first iPhone to come up in its RED edition. And now it is coming up with its 8 and 8+.
Once any product launches in collaboration with the social activist group, buyers also have an option to buy the product directly from the group’s official site. Every purchase raises a global fund to help people suffering from the deadly disease as well as towards research and development for better medication to fight the disease. If you are one of those funky color lovers, you’d surely like this special edition smartphone! And ordering it will also serve as a contribution to the noble cause!


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The Wii U hasn’t performed as well as Nintendo hoped last year after a strong launch, but that hasn’t stopped Nintendo from reassuring current and potential customers. Nintendo of America tweeted today that a Nintendo Direct before the start of E3 will address the three main games most people are looking forward to, including the new Smash Bros., 3D Mario, and Mario Kart.
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 17, 2013
This Nintendo Direct will air sometime before the E3 trade show that begins on June 10th. The Nintendo Direct will probably coincide with the promotion that Nintendo has revealed, where certain E3 demos for unreleased games will be playable in select Best Buy locations across the country.
- New info released for Mario Kart 8 DLC
- Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem crossover trailer
- Amiibo Tap is Nintendo's newest demo system for amiibo
- Mewtwo and Lucas coming to Super Smash Bros. as DLC
TAGS: mario kart, nintendo of america, Smash Bros


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Bosch embraces Dante
Bosch Communications has adopted the Dante audio networking solution across all its brands, according to an announcement from Dante creator, Audinate. Dante is currently patent pending and provides digital audio network using standard internet protocols.
The agreement allows all Bosch brands including Electro-Voice (EV), Dynacord, Telex, Midas, Klark Teknik and Bosch to incorporate Dante.
“Dante will become the foundation of our Common Audio Protocol (CAP) communications solution across the Bosch Communication Systems companies,” said Bill Scott, vice president of Engineering and Technology, Bosch Communications Systems. “We selected Dante because of its ease-of-use, lower latency and scalability.”
Dante is a scalable solution that works on both 100Mbits and 1Gigabit Ethernet. Dante combines low latency and sample-accurate playback timing with the convenience and economy of using today’s standard computer networking hardware.
David Myers, COO of Audinate, said he was pleased that Bosch Communications Systems would be incorporating Dante into its solutions.


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The Two Wheelers Helmet Manufacturers Association has appreciated the Haryana Government’s decision to implement Section 138 and welcomed it. Haryana Government has made it mandatory to supply BIS certified helmets while buying two wheelers to ensure road safety for the residents of the state. The association said that the implementation of this rule will go a long way in reducing the death toll of two wheeler riders in road accidents in the state.
All the registered dealers will have to compulsorily follow the new rule. With the coming into force of this new rule, two wheelers are bound to supply the helmet as prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards Act while selling the vehicle.
This move is a step in the right direction for road safety and safety of two wheeler riders as helmet is mandatory as per law. Further, to ensure its effective implementation, Haryana Government will take strict action against those who do not follow this rule. All registered dealers will compulsorily put up a flex board outside their dealership informing the buyer that the helmet is compulsorily supplied at the time of purchase of the two wheeler. Transport Department Headquarters will have to be informed with a proof, photo of the flex board set up will have to be submitted. Those dealers who will not follow this new policy of the state government and will not supply helmets or install flex boards, their license can be rejected.
Responding to this big step taken by the state government towards road safety, Rajeev Kapoor, President, Two Wheeler Helmet Manufacturers Association said, “The new rule is the result of a lot of efforts. Helmets are a life-saving device like vaccination, and should not and cannot be compromised. The government wants all new motorcycles and scooters to come with helmets and we also know that the government has made wearing of helmets compulsory across India. Hence, with the new rule there will be no dearth of helmets in India as the manufacturers will confidently ramp up production capacity due to such new steps.”


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Happening NowThursday, March 23
- Giga Computing Announces Entry-Level AMD Ryzen-based Servers by GIGABYTE
- Intel Labs Advances Computer Vision Development with 2 New AI Models
- Ireland’s Largest Managed Cloud Services Provider Selects HPE GreenLake to Modernize Its Private Cloud
- COMPUTEX 2023 Visitor Registration Now Open
- Dataiku Joins NVIDIA DGX-Ready Software Program to Simplify Enterprise AI
- GIGABYTE Joins NVIDIA GTC 2023 and Supports New NVIDIA L4 Tensor Core GPU and NVIDIA OVX 3.0
- SUSE Appoints Dirk-Peter van Leeuwen as New CEO
- BrainChip’s Neuromorphic Tech Enables Intellisense Systems to Address Needs for Next-Gen Cognitive Radio Solutions
- TYAN’s AI Inference-Optimized Platforms Add Support for NVIDIA L4 Tensor Core GPU
- Weights & Biases Announces Integrations with NVIDIA AI
- Supermicro Expands GPU Solutions Portfolio with Deskside Liquid-Cooled AI Development Platform, Powered by NVIDIA
- Vultr Announces Availability of NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPU and Partnerships with Domino Data Lab and Anaconda
- AnswerRocket Introduces Max, an AI Assistant for Data Analysis
- Intel Appoints Stuart Pann to Lead Intel Foundry Services
- Samsung Announces Ultra-Wideband Chipset with Centimeter-Level Accuracy for Mobile and Automotive Devices
- NVIDIA and Google Cloud Deliver New Generative AI Platform, Built on the New L4 GPU and Vertex AI
- Adobe and NVIDIA Partner to Unlock the Power of Generative AI
- Shutterstock Partners with NVIDIA to Build AI Foundation Models for Generative 3D Artist Tools
- AWS and NVIDIA Collaborate on Next-Gen Infrastructure for Training Large Machine Learning Models and Building Generative AI Applications
- DDN Announces Compatibility with NVIDIA DGX H100 Systems and New Partnership with Lambda
Nvidia’s Metaverse Gets New Hardware
March 21, 2023
AI Career Notes: March 2023 Edition
March 8, 2023
ContributorsOliver PeckhamEditorTiffany TraderEditorial DirectorJohn RussellContributing EditorAlex WoodieContributing EditorJaime HamptonStaff Writer
Memory Con (MemCon)March 28 - March 29
MLconf NYC 2023March 30 @ 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
2023 Swiss Conference & HPCXXLApril 3 @ 8:00 am - April 6 @ 5:00 pm
World Summit AI Americas 2023April 19 @ 8:00 am - April 20 @ 5:00 pm
AI in Finance Summit NYApril 20 @ 8:00 am - April 21 @ 5:00 pm
Author Archives: Agam Shah
Nvidia’s Metaverse Gets New Hardware
March 21st, 2023 (0)Nvidia's grand plan to populate a parallel universe with digital versions of humans and objects will be powered by new hardware. The chip maker introduced a new server called OVX 3 that is built to create and operate the ...
Microsoft’s Rent-a-server Program Now Doing Generative AI
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How Tesla Uses and Improves Its AI for Autonomous Driving
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Researchers Can Get Free Access to World’s Largest Chip Supporting GPT-3
February 28th, 2023 (0)Since ChatGPT took the world by storm, companies opened pocketbooks to explore the tech. It also brought attention to OpenAI’s GPT-3, the large-language model behind that hot chatbot that provides human-like responses to queries. But the hardware – which ...
Google Creates AI that Can Generate Music from User Text
February 15th, 2023 (0)Google researchers have created an AI that can generate music based on a text description provided by a user. Research on the Noise2music program, which was published last week and is still in its early days, adds a new ...
Microsoft, Google Set AI Paths for Search Engines in Historic Week
February 8th, 2023 (0)This week could go down as a disruptive moment in technology and the first major transition in close to 30 years in the way people search for information on their devices. Over back-to-back days, Microsoft and Google announced their ...
Sony’s Computer Vision AI Stack Takes Pixel Analysis to the Edge
February 8th, 2023 (0)Computer vision was among the earliest technologies to wow audiences on the capabilities of artificial intelligence. But the collective public awe shifted with the emergence of large language models that power ChatGPT and search engines from Microsoft and Google. ...
Google Will Take on Microsoft in AI Search
February 3rd, 2023 (0)Google's search engine dominance has been threatened overnight by an obscure AI technology that came out of the blue, and the tech giant is now taking steps to catch up. Since its introduction late last year, the ChatGPT chatbot ...
Nvidia Uses AI to Detect Insider Threats
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January 11th, 2023 (0)Intel will provide a one-stop shop for customers to measure the performance of their AI applications on their different chips. The company later this year will arm its Intel Developer Cloud service with the ability to run head-to-head comparisons ...


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Britain’s oldest brewer has outshone its competitors after a revamp of its pubs and a shift to seaside resorts drove a steep rise in sales.
Shepherd Neame recorded like-for-like sales of 8.1pc in the year to June 24 compared to growth of just 1.4pc across the wider sector, as recorded by industry monitor Peach Coffer.
Chief executive Jonathan Neame said the brewer's decision to invest heavily in its pubs had succeeded in attracting customers and that its shift away from drink-led pubs in small rural communities towards larger sites in high footfall areas and seaside towns had paid off.
The company spent £10.7m sprucing up the interiors and exteriors of some of its sites, compared to roughly £6m it spent in the prior year. Mr Neame said he expected the amount of investment to stay at around the £10m mark as it planned to keep improving the quality of its estate.
A total of 22 properties have been acquired in the past five years but 49 have been sold in that period as Shepherd Neame shifted the focus of its business to include some larger properties with space for accommodation.
Occupancy in its 294-room accommodation division hit a record 79pc and while it remains what Mr Neame called an "incremental revenue stream", it is likely to grow.
The company also bucked the brewing trend by registering a 3.9pc growth rate in its own beer volumes compared to a 0.2pc decline across the industry.
In February Shepherd Neame will lose an exclusive contract it has had to brew and sell Japanese beer Asahi in the UK but it will not be seeking to replace this with another global beer name.
Instead Mr Neame said it would focus on developing its own recipes, including new iterations of existing brands as well as entirely fresh beers. However the contract loss will be significant given that Asahi makes up 23pc of Shepherd Neame’s brewing volume.
Mr Neame said the company would modernise its brewery to cut costs and focus on its own brands.
“There’s a premium trend going on in brewing,” Mr Neame said. “Historically everyone said you needed a world lager but I don’t think that’s the case now. Consumers want premium British with great taste and flavour and I think we have a great opportunity to modernise our beer portfolio.”
Broker Peel Hunt has initiated coverage of the company on the back of the results, claiming the pub group's own-run and leased and tenanted estates are "orientated to the outperforming premium end of the market, and have substantial scope to grow average profits".
Shares in the company rose by 3.6pc to £12.75 on the back of the numbers and are up 1.4pc in the past year.


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March 20, 2023
Philippines’ leading fiber internet service provider, Converge ICT Solutions Inc. (PSE:CNVRG), announced that it’s ready to serve the residents and businesses of the island of Bohol.
Converge and BAHRR (Bohol Association of Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants) shares the same vision of making Bohol a reputable tourism destination through Converge’s wide range of business-grade connectivity solutions. The event has allowed the members and clients to have a glimpse of products and services that will help them augment their needs.
“It is our commitment to bring better internet solutions to the market,” Romero said. He also added, “and as a testament to such commitment, Converge has upgraded its residential plan speed offerings for free via our Dinoble Na! campaign. Doubling plan speeds from 100 Mbps to 200 Mbps, Converge has changed the game in pure fiber internet connectivity experience”.
The pure fiber internet service provider has also strengthened its product lineup for the business sector. With new products such as Converge Homebase, Workplace Solutions and Device Solutions, to go along with Converge FlexiBiz for the SME segment and the continuous augmentation of its offerings for Converge Business - Enterprise Solutions.
“We inch closer, one fiber at a time, to fulfil our promise to bring fast, reliable, and affordable internet to the unserved and underserved. More than that, we want to provide relevant solutions that address true customer needs.” Romero said.
With all these upgrades and expansions, the arrival of Converge in the island will provide a shift in doing business. The Boholanos and hospitality industry will be the major recipients of the award-winning and innovative products. Along with the benefits of dedicated, hyper-secured, and uninterrupted connectivity services for continuous business productivity, which will lead to increased profit and customer loyalty.
For more information on FiberX and Converge’s other products and offerings, visit https://www.convergeict.com/.


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Despite having launched their flagship Xperia Z2 smartphone back in February, Sony has yet to release the device to the public, with May 4th being the expected date. Nonetheless, the company is doing what they can to drum up interest before the launch, and they're offering $350 in goodies as a result.
According to a press release by Sony, owners of the Xperia Z1, Z1s and Z2 are eligible to download a number of free software applications, starting from May 1st all the way till the end of July. A three-month subscription to Evernote Premium, 50GB of lifetime data on Box and a full subscription to OfficeSuite Pro highlight the offer, along with 1TB of Bitcasa storage for 3 months and a number of exclusive apps and themes.
Sony is also pitching in access to the full Garmin suite, but unfortunately that will be exclusively for Xperia Z2 owners upon its launch. The entire package can be accessed through the Xperia Lounge app on the Google Play Store, and Xperia owners have nothing to lose by capitalizing on this offer.


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| Oct 1, 2014
| 10:37 AM
CVS pharmacy, Chick-fil-A and Nalley Fresh will open locations at the Inner Harbor, joining Shake Shack and M&T Bank in a ground floor retail expansion at 400 East Pratt Street, the building's brokerage firm said today.
The office tower's owner...
| Sep 30, 2014
| 10:18 AM
Online marketplace EBay Inc. is bowing to investor pressure by spinning off its payment business PayPal into a separate publicly-traded company by 2015.
Wall Street cheered the news Tuesday and pushed up shares of EBay by 6.8% to $56.24 in morning...
| Sep 29, 2014
| 5:28 AM
Willowbrook trustees decided to permit medical marijuana dispensaries in industrial zoning districts but also asked the plan commission to reconsider allowing them in retail districts.
"I think some of the board members feel that (dispensaries) are...
| Sep 26, 2014
| 10:40 AM
(Reuters) - Caremark LLC, a unit of CVS Health Corp, will pay $6 million to settle U.S. allegations that it knowingly failed to reimburse Medicaid for prescription drug costs paid on behalf of patients who were also covered by private health plans it...
| Sep 22, 2014
| 9:29 AM
Is it time to bail out of your CVS stock investment, as their business faces a $2 billion annual reduction in revenue by ceasing the legal sale of tobacco products?
For a stock-founded corporation, the primary fiduciary duty of the CEO is to skillfully...
| Sep 21, 2014
| 6:30 PM
BARRETT TOWNSHIP, Monroe County — Combing the dense, hilly woods on the Monroe-Pike county border, state police say they have found one of the two rifles Eric Frein had with him when he allegedly opened fire on two Pennsylvania state troopers,...
| Sep 24, 2014
| 7:53 AM
Walgreen Co. is exploring the sale of a majority stake in its infusion services business in a deal that could value that division at about $1.5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Deerfield-based company has hired Bank of...
| Sep 12, 2014
| 7:41 PM
When undercover detectives approached a security guard at Beach Place in Fort Lauderdale, she told them they were in the "right place" to buy drugs and ultimately sold to them, according to detectives.
Security guard Leslie Geffard, 28, is one of four...
| Sep 23, 2014
| 4:35 PM
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. drugstore chain operator Walgreen Co is exploring the sale of a majority stake in its infusion services business, in a deal that could value that division at around $1.5 billion, according to four people familiar with the matter....
| Sep 21, 2014
| 9:16 AM
"The whole place started spinning around us. I was in a daze. I don't know what's happening," Sarah Muscella said of her first night in France on a high school music tour.
"I think we were all running on adrenalin" after staying up all night on their...
| Sep 19, 2014
| 4:56 PM
The following items were taken from Barrington police reports:
A 26-year-old from Hoffman Estates was arrested for driving under the influence, and improper lane usage at Barrington Road and Cornell Avenue on Sept. 7. That person was scheduled to be...


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Xiaomi may be planning to launch its first true smartwatch, and it could run on Google's Wear OS operating system.
That speculation comes courtesy of some digging done around in files of the latest Wear OS companion app by the folks at 9to5 Google.
Essential reading: Best Wear OS watches to buy now
It initially found references to a 'Mi Wear' companion app with further digging also uncovering mentions of a 'Mi Watch', which could be the name of the upcoming smartwatch.
While most Wear OS watches generally run through Google's own companion smartphone app to get things set up, we have seen in the past some smartwatch makers also produce their own companion apps to add extra functionality.
The references follow evidence of a companion app that was discovered back in July that development of the software was previously codenamed Baiji. It seems that codename has now been replaced with the Mi Wear name.
In the wearable realms, Xiaomi is best known for its Mi Band fitness tracker, though it has dabbled in smartwatches, too, largely through its Mi Bunny kids smartwatch range.
Sub-brand Amazfit does offer more in the way of connected timepieces, like the Verge 2 (pictured) and Bip, though this represent an an interesting partnership between two tech heavyweights.
We haven't seen a new company build smartwatches running Google's operating system for some time now, given that the likes of LG, Motorola and Asus have stepped away from the Wear OS platform.
Huawei's two latest watches also ran on its own operating system, with TicWatch makers Mobvoi the only really notable tech name making Wear watches with the Fossil Group.
So, that considered, it would actually be a big deal if Xiaomi is making a Wear OS smartwatch. It's been well documented that Google's platform continues to struggle against the Apple Watch, as well as the growth in sales from Samsung, Fitbit and Garmin.
Xiaomi has managed to dominate on the fitness tracker front with the Mi Band, so could it have the same impact with smartwatches and improving Wear OS?
If a Xiaomi smartwatch is indeed in the works, we imagine Google will be hoping it could be the start of a turnaround.
How we test


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However, Mazda's goal of creating more fuel efficient vehicles won't stop at hybrids and EVs. According to Yamanouchi, "Our new gasoline engines will achieve the same fuel economy as current diesel engines, and our diesel engines will achieve similar fuel economy as existing hybrids." This new engine tech will be unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show this October.
Yamanouchi said that Mazda "will be able to offer affordable eco-friendly vehicles to 90 percent of the car-buying public, not to just a limited segment of the market." This line of eco models will feature reduced weight, improved aerodynamics, start-stop engine technology and lower rolling resistances. Mazda hasn't decided to begin offering a diesel engine in the States, but it could be in the cards, and Yamanouchi made it clear that the new engines and their corresponding technology wouldn't be shared with Ford, although Mazda is open to selling the technology to the Blue Oval.
[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]


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(TECHNOLOGY) In the market for a voice-controlled assistant? Let's check out what Amazon Echo can do that competitor Google Home can't.
(FINANCE) If you quit your job or get laid off, money can be a tremendous stressor. Here are some ways you can...
(NEWS) Soon you won't be able to shop for Bebe in person because of their new business plan.
(TECH NEWS) Google Maps has added a feature that is sure to keep you safer when using Maps.
(NEWS) Hyperloop has made its first passenger car bringing us closer to actualizing the hyperloop system.
(TECH NEWS) Samsung plans to launch new, incredibly-helpful, virtual assistant, Bixby, with new Galaxy phone.
(NEWS) Airbnbs provide growth opportunities for other emerging businesses.
(NEWS) Target plans to remodel stores that will overwhelmingly transform the shopping experience.
(TECH NEWS) Apple is being blackmailed by a crime gang willing to trade bitcoin for not hacking 300 million iPhones.
(NEWS) A feature on Amazon's website recently came under scrutiny for being misleading but we doubt it creates too many waves.
Itty bitty microdrone inspired by dragonflies (and you can’t have one)
Hope you’re not job hunting over the age of 40…
The Senate just voted to sell your privacy
Interviews can be tricky, after the interview can be even trickier
Uber, a company of masochists that just can’t stop self-sabotaging
Leaked Apple patents show new products using old products
Apple blackmail saga: Apple denies that there is a breach, mostly
You’re worth more than your wallet: Crowd raising time, not money
Why tech companies suck at protecting your privacy
Printer cartridges may change your life, even if you don’t have a printer


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Giift shakes up the Indian loyalty market through its new GiiftBuzz Solution, affirming an ambitious acquisition target of over five millio
We are immensely proud to announce the new first-of-its-kind Joint Venture with CardBuzz, India, to launch GiiftBuzz India. Giift has joined hands with CardBuzz India to explore and expand its roots in the Indian Market.
GiiftBuzz India will be the first-of-its-kind extension of GiiftBox in India. It will drive growth through the Indian Retail Market by offering a state-of-the-art customer engagement platform to MSMEs and SMEs retail segments. It will empower them to boost customer engagement and forge customer loyalty through customized digital offers within minutes. This collaboration will help unveil the power of Giift Solutions in India and drive digitally enhanced technology in the Indian retail markets through an extensive network of CardBuzz agents spread strategically throughout the Indian territory.
"This ingenious joint venture giving rise to GiiftBuzz India is a milestone step towards Giift's global expansion initiatives. Giift's disruptive loyalty technology and CardBuzz's extensive distribution strength throughout the Indian retail market will expand and amplify our offerings in the Indian retail loyalty space," says Laurent Xatart, Co-Founder & CEO at Giift.
"Giift's end-to-end loyalty solutions paired with CardBuzz's most powerful, yet simplest-to-use payment methods is the recipe to success. This collaboration will help us drive disruption in the Indian Retail Market loyalty space," says Prem Pal Singh, Founder & CEO of CardBuzz.


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Hello everyone, I'm Manish and today I will share something which is must needed for the Advertisers to show off their products as Augmented reality ads (Ar Ads) in the facebook newsfeed.
There would be a F8 developer conference earlier this year, Facebook have announced that they were working with businesses/Advertisers to use Augmented Reality Ads (AR Ads) to show off products in Messenger.
Here marketer's can easily place their ads and Facebook sells ads in Newsfeed that connect to Messenger conversations. Also, Messenger is trying to attract Advertisers in other ways, such as automated chat bots that can reply to any of the customer inquiries or questions. There are more than nearly 300,000 bots on Messenger, three times more than a year ago, Marcus said.
So finally, a similar experience to start appearing in the News Feed with a select group of businesses/advertisers testing out AR ads.
How Augmented Reality Ads work ?
Augmented ads (Ar Ads) looks like normal in-feed ads at first, but the new part they included is a “Tap to try it on” option, which opens up the AR capabilities. Well, And its like the reality look and if you like the way it looks in AR, you can go ahead and buy the product.
With that Facebook announced a new Video Creation Kit, which will allow the advertisers to incorporate existing images into templates for mobile video ads which is the plus point for advertisers. According to the resuls of videos performed is 77 percent better than the static images.
Also, Shopping for Instagram Stories will also be expanding in the months. It made shopping tag and to put stickers on a instagram story. It will enable a user to purchase. Only a few select brands were able to start using the stickers then, the program will begin rolling out globally today.
Augmented Reality Marketing
What is AR Ads ?
Augmented reality Ads test on Facebook
Video Creation Kit Facebook
Instagram Story Shopping Tags


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Vietnam, Laos strengthen regional connectivity of East-West logistics corridors
|Lieutenant Colonel Bui Van Quy, Deputy General Director of Saigon Newport Corporation addresses the event (Photo: VNA)
According to the organising committee, located in the centre of the route connecting China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar, Laos has great potential to become a transport hub of the region.
The Kunming-Vientiane railway route, the waterway transport connections on the Mekong Delta River, as well as roads and borders with Vietnam and Thailand are also among good conditions for Laos to develop the East-West logistic corridor, experts held.
Somvixay Vongthirath, Vice Director of the Trade Promotion Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Laos, highlighted the importance of logistics in promoting trade and import-export activities of Laos.
A landlocked country, yet Laos has received support from Vietnam in maritime transport, he said, adding that in the future, Laos will continue to strengthen border trade cooperation and logistics connections with Vietnam.
Bui Van Quy, Deputy General Director of Saigon Newport Corporation, expressed his hope that through the conference, logistics firms of Laos will recognise the great potential of the regional market and their advantages to expand operations to nearby countries, affirming the role Laos plays in the common development of the ASEAN Community.
He underscored the huge opportunities for Vietnam and Laos to beef up logistics cooperation through the East-West logistics corridors, underlining that his firm hopes to make contributions to the development of Laos’ transport sector by developing solutions to connect it with the ecosystem of seaports and inland container depots, warehouse and logistics services of Saigon Newport Corporation.
At the event, participants discussed the situation and potential in logistics development as well as market connection in the region, and difficulties that Lao logistics enterprises are facing. Representatives of the Lao International Truck and Forwarder Association (LITFA) said that the association will develop strategic partnership with logistics businesses and associations in regional countries, especially Vietnam.
Participants also pointed to existing problems in import-export activities in the region.
Following the conference, the Saigon Newport Corporation, LITFA, and the Association of Vietnamese Businesses in Laos signed a memorandum of understanding on their cooperation.


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Whenever a monolithic company concocts a rewards program, the inclination is to view it with a skeptical eye, as a Trojan Horse that will surely lead to exploitation. But at first glance, it’s tough to find fault with Microsoft’s seemingly benevolent Xbox Live Rewards program.
The program’s site says it will hand out Microsoft Points — Xbox Live’s online currency — to gamers who take surveys, buy downloadable games, activate and use the Netflix streaming feature and renew their memberships. Rewards are greater for paying Xbox Live Gold members than they are for those who stick with the free service.
If you sign up for the service, let us know how it works out for you.


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Transnational Corp. of Nigeria Plc, which has investments in hotels, agriculture and oil, declined for a third day, reaching a four-week low.
The stock fell 4.6 percent to close at 1.03 naira in Lagos, the commercial capital, the lowest since June 4. The shares almost tripled from May 10 to June 14, declining just one trading day in that period.
“Some investors who bought it when the price started going up are now selling because they have realized that the gestation period could be longer than they anticipated,” Raheem Mohammed, chief operating officer of Lagos-based Kundila Finance Ltd., said by phone today.
Transcorp plans to build eight hotels that trade under the Hilton brand in Africa’s most populous country to take advantage of a surge in business visitors, Chief Executive Officer Obinna Ufudo said on May 25. First-quarter net income rose 62 percent to 518.6 million naira ($3.2 million), the company said on May 24.


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Spirit of Christmas starts early
The Lions Clubs of Bermuda showed their traditional festive spirit as they launched a campaign to collect food hampers for needy families.
The Christmas Spirit programme was kicked off for the 31st year at MarketPlace on Church Street, Hamilton, yesterday.
Under the scheme, customers buy or bring tins of non-perishable food, which goes on display at MarketPlace stores across the island before being assembled into food hampers by the Lions Clubs.
Soldier left fighting for his life
Recovery more than a year away, says Hayward
Argus acquires two medical practices
Search dog recruited to help find Chavelle
Coral Coast offers Cup Match-themed masks
Could that actually happen to my son?
What does Bermuda mean to me?
Take Our Poll


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Perusing a smoke shop in a non-legalized state will lead to some funny conversation. No matter the vibe — whether it be professional or an aesthetic that hasn’t changed from the ’70s — shop managers will show off glassware and vaporizers adpeating one phrase. “This is for tobacco use only.” But the truth is that tech companies are embracing marijuana over tobacco.
Not a single company that mentioned tobacco, cigarettes or e-cigarettes in its Crunchbase profile raised a disclosed funding round in the past year. By contrast, at least 45 self-described marijuana and cannabis companies did.
The story also goes on to detail that funding and money hasn’t exactly been bursting in the e-cigarette sector, but that there’s still been substantial funding and exits over the years. That’s now changing, partly due to the FDA finalizing tighter regulations on e-cigarettes. Previously that market hoped for lighter rules, as e-cigarettes were pitched as an alternative to smoking.
Part of the funding dearth may be due to lack of VC interest. It’s hard to find a cigarette smoker in Silicon Valley, where caffeine and alcohol are the preferred indulgences and addictions (with cannabis not far behind). Thus, it’s not entirely surprising that the venture industry hasn’t been a big backer of e-cigarettes.


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The EA Sports Madden NFL Facebook page has a live UStream feed set up for July 26th during the Madden NFL Pigskin Pro-Am Eve Event which will shed some light on the upcoming demo for Madden NFL 12.
You won稚 want to miss our live coverage from the Madden NFL Pigskin Pro-Am Eve Event on Tuesday July 26th at 7pm ET and here痴 why:
- The Madden NFL 12 demo release date will be revealed
- The Madden NFL 12 demo details will also be revealed (Teams, settings, etc)
- We値l show you exclusive LIVE gameplay from the Madden NFL 12 demo
- YOU will have the chance to ask questions directly to members of the Madden NFL 12 development team including Football GM Cam Weber, Online Communities Designer Anthony DiMento, Ratings Czar Donny Moore, Online Producer Ryan Ferwerda, and Creative Director Mike Young!
- We値l have exclusive interviews and video walkthroughs with the developers behind the Online Communities feature that you値l hear more about on Monday, July 25th!
- And we値l be giving you the ONLY behind the scenes coverage from the Madden NFL Pigskin Pro-Am
Did I mention that there will be prize giveaways just for tuning in?
Our EXCLUSIVE coverage will run from 7-9pm ET! RSVP today!


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Sir James Dyson talks tech trends and how the appliance maker stays on top of its game.
A knighted engineer most famous for inventing a vacuum cleaner, Sir James Dyson defies assumptions typically associated with boring old Brits.
Talking about everything from engineering design to electric cars, he instead sounds like a startup founder, operating his business like one too.
He sees tech devices becoming ever more sophisticated by virtue of having more complex software and sensors, but feels that’s not the Dyson way.
“The problem is that you end up with something that looks like a television controller and is complicated to use,” he says.
He adds that companies have the tendency to create their own ‘vernacular’ – a unique arrangement of menus and buttons – requiring customers to relearn how to use devices from different brands.
“I think this makes our lives really complex, and we haven’t got the time for it. I want to go slightly in the opposite direction, where you have no controller for the product, but it magically does all you want without you even speaking to it,” he says.
As for IoT (Internet of things) devices, Dyson answers using the same philosophy – technology isn’t about overloading customers with more data but rather helping them by making sense of it.
“IoT can be useful for customers and useful for us to get feedback from our machines without being intrusive,” he says.
He gave the example of how Dyson’s heaters and air purifiers measure air pollution data which customers can check on their phones and the data also informs the company that its devices are performing up to expectations.
However, when it comes to autonomous driving, Dyson believes a more hands on approach is still preferable for now.
“I think totally autonomous driving is some ways off. That doesn’t mean we can’t use all the technology from autonomous driving to make driving safer though,” he says.
He warns that while driver-assistance systems can benefit drivers, the danger is that the reaction speed of the person who is supposed to be in charge of the vehicle will become much slower if he or she gets too complacent.
His eponymous company Dyson Ltd, best known for bag-less vacuums, and hand and hair driers, is also entering the electric car game, applying its existing technologies – from ‘digital’ engines, solid-state batteries and aerodynamics – to making vehicles.
He explains that an invention naturally leads to functions beyond the initial idea. The more the technology is developed, the more uses can be found for it, like how his electric motors for vacuums were miniaturised for hair dryers.
“Sometimes someone has a brilliant idea, sometimes it’s a brainwave in the bath, but usually it’s from developing the technology.
“If you’re developing technology every day, your brain is thinking and you suddenly see the opportunity to apply your tech in a different field,” he says.
It appears that new field for Dyson is electric cars, as he got the go ahead from board members to build the company’s first car manufacturing plant in Singapore which is due for completion in 2020.
The company is making a £2.5bil (RM13.49bil) investment globally and plans to have its first car on the road by 2021.
With electric cars in the works, it’s no wonder that the company with a 30-year history in making household appliances, has a work culture closer to a startup than a stodgy corporation.
Its Malaysia Development Centre (MDC) has cubicle-free open offices, where its mostly 20-something engineers talk about disrupting existing household technologies.
Dyson who is 71 years old says the company makes a point of recruiting students and fresh graduates into its ranks of engineers to uphold the value of “the naive but curious”.
“We don’t particularly value experience. Although experience may be a wonderful thing to have, it can be an inhibitor if you want to do something differently, since it tells you how things should be done.
“We are much more interested in how it shouldn’t be done,” he says during an interview at the MDC in Senai, Johor.
Talking about the company’s practice of using contract manufacturers in Malaysia to produce parts and assemble products, Dyson makes a point to differentiate his company from others that outsource manufacturing to third parties.
“We don’t work like that: we design the production line and control production, because almost everything we make is unique,” he says.
While the MDC is primarily for research, design and development, the engineers there also work with contract manufacturers to produce components for Dyson.
He gives the example of a manufacturer of tent poles that the company trained and equipped so it could make the lightweight anodised aluminium tubes used in Dyson vacuums.
Dyson also says the company avoids complacency by staying in a permanent state of flux by constantly trying new things and reinventing itself.
“We don’t sit on a product and make it year after year. We don’t just modify an existing product, we bring in new ones all the time,” he says with chuckle, taking a veiled dig at a certain California technology company.
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Statement following the remarks of US CTO Michael Kratsios
Huawei statement following the remarks of Michael Kratsios, the Chief Technology Officer to US President Donald Trump, at the Web Summit in Lisbon (7 November 2019)
Euronews interview with Ren Zhengfei
Euronews met up with Huawei’s founder at the company's headquarters in Shenzhen.
"We might have been misunderstood as a capitalist company, which was not in line with socialism" - #Huawei founder #RenZhengfei tells @euronews how government's distrust towards the company turned into confidence. Watch the full interview: https://t.co/zm14H4ebs6 https://t.co/8qtzEo7XB2
EP Debate focuses on Huawei's leading role in 5G security
Huawei Launches AI Ecosystem Program in Europe, with 100M Euros Investment in 5 Years
At HUAWEI ECO-CONNECT EUROPE 2019, Huawei officially released the AI Ecosystem Program in Europe and announced an investment of 100 million euros in the next 5 years.
Huawei wins Best 5G Voice Solution at Berlin conference
Also awarded Communications Innovator of the Year
Interview | 🎙 #Huawei founder and CEO #RenZhengfei says US woes not hardest crisis. Read more on the @nytimes 👇 https://t.co/8C0DbXr21H
💪🚀 #Huawei achieves new 'world record' #5G speed for a single user smartphone (via @techradar) - Read more 👇 https://t.co/keHroyZTZH
We play no part in politics. We are a technology company which focuses on its business #Huawei #ACoffeeWithRen https://t.co/DaNl2pwiUy
🇭🇺🇪🇺 #Huawei Building #5G Network in Hungary, says Trade Minister - via @HungaryToday. Read more 👇 https://t.co/TbqT5CGGBd


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Carriers - News, Features, and Slideshows
In the debate over net neutrality, AT&T and Cisco are warning that fiber optic cable rollouts could be delayed -- and revenues lost -- if President Obama's recently proposed rules move ahead.
Anyone who dreads hearing one end of a loud phone call all the way from Anchorage to Miami, take heart: The plan to allow cellphones on planes could fail in more ways than an overbooked flight at a snowbound airport on Christmas Eve.
LTE is simultaneously being pushed forward on several fronts, and the result for users will be faster networks, better coverage and the ability to access networks while travelling abroad.
Nokia's is rebooting its U.S. Windows Phone push with the arrival of the low-cost Lumia 521 on T-Mobile and Lumia 928 for Verizon Wireless, but increasing sales to meaningful volumes in the very competitive U.S. market will not be easy.
Operators and telecom equipment vendors are showing a growing interest in small cells, which aim to give users improved coverage and speeds.
More subscribers, networks with better coverage and devices that can be used in more countries are converging to make LTE roaming a more viable proposition, with some operators already offering such services on a limited scale and more on the way.
A number of different technologies are being developed or improved to offer higher speeds for fixed and mobile broadband networks, as operators are preparing to compete with each other and carry video traffic in 3D and at higher resolutions, which is expected to happen in the coming year.
- EU data protection reform 'badly broken,' civil liberty groups warn
- China defends cybersecurity demands, amid complaints from U.S.
- Blackphone 2 will be a secure smartphone for business. Mystery tablet also touted
- iPhone theft victims tricked into unlocking devices
- Is data on your new Lollipop Android device encrypted? Maybe not
- Changing culture key to achieving digital agility
- OpenText CMO: Role of marketing technologist will be short lived
- Adshel to deploy beacon technology across outdoor advertising panels nationally
- CIO, CMO take top two posts at Myer following Brookes' departure
- CommBank CMO adds strategy to her executive marketing responsibilities