text: Vehicles have upgraded to include in-dash displays that play music, show the rearview camera, and other helpful features. Tesla owners had an added bonus. They can enjoy a variety of games within the in-dash display. \n \nOver the past few months, there have been several updated games added to Tesla vehicles. One of those games is a popular farming simulator game, Stardew Valley. \n \n \n \nThe official Steam page summaries Stardew Valley: "You've inherited your grandfather's old farm plot in Stardew Valley. Armed with hand-me-down tools and a few coins, you set out to begin your new life. Can you learn to live off the land and turn these overgrown fields into a thriving home? It won't be easy. Ever since Joja Corporation came to town, the old ways of life have all but disappeared. The community center, once the town's most vibrant hub of activity, now lies in shambles. But the valley seems full of opportunity. With a little dedication, you might just be the one to restore Stardew Valley to greatness!" \n \nStardew Valley has been published on multiple platforms since its release in February 2016. There was recently a massive update earlier in December. The 1.4 update included fixing some gameplay issues, new cosmetic items, events, mine content, and more. \n \nElon Musk announced the news first on Twitter earlier this month, but the update was not immediate. Along with Stardew Valley is Lost Backgammon, a preview of Full Self-Driving mode, plus "a few other things." \n \nThe update officially rolled out a few days ago, so fans can immediately begin playing Stardew Valley within their Tesla vehicles. \n \nIt's unknown if the game will include the multiplayer elements of Stardew Valley, but luckily there's plenty of solo content to enjoy. \n \nThere are a few well-known games already available on the in-dash display such as Cuphead and Fallout Shelter. Last month, Rocket League players created a petition to have the game added in the newly revealed Cybertruck. \n \nTo those unfamiliar with Tesla's in-dash display, games are only playable when the car is in park. The games help drivers pass the time when they're recharging their vehicle at supercharger locations. The games are also free to play and aren't a subscription-based service. \n \nWith the game updates over the past few months, Tesla owners are sure to have access to even more games in the future.


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They didn't have much to say about the elephants that day at the San Diego Zoo, in 2005, but the images that Yakov Lapitsky and his friends recorded were worth thousands and thousands of words.
Turned out, they were making the first-ever YouTube video and their efforts amounted to one of the most consequential moments in Internet history.
Lapitsky, now a chemical and environmental engineering professor at the University of Toledo, doesn't recall much about that day, but when a friend handed him a digital camera and he pressed "record," he was unwittingly participating in an experiment that would change the world.
"It's neat, but I don't think that much of it," Lapitsky told the Daily News.
His friend was Jawed Karim and their video, titled"Me at the Zoo,"became the first ever uploaded to YouTube, on April 23, 2005. It has since been viewed more than 17 million times.
Karim and two colleagues then working at PayPal, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, had registered domain name www.YouTube.com on Feb. 14, 2005.
Lapitsky, then a doctoral student at the University of Delaware, doesn't recall when he first learned about his friend's venture. At the time, he had no idea that the site, as everybody now knows, would revolutionize the way videos could be shown online. In many ways, YouTube revolutionized the entire entertainment industry.
"I didn't think much of it other than it was pretty adorable," the 34-year-old said.
YouTube launched its experimental site in May, and officially launched six months later. Within a year it was sold to Google for $1.5 billion.
Many people didn't even have the capability to stream video at the time, but technology was becoming more widespread and the site's growth was rapid.
By July 20, 2006, YouTube reported one million viewers per month, who were watching more than 100 million videos per day on the site, the company said.
YouTube quickly dominated the market for online videos, accounting for 60% of all videos watched online, according to news reports at the time.
And its growth over the years has been staggering.
The site now boasts 1 billion unique users who watch more than 6 billion hours of video each month, the company said. Every passing minute means another 100 hours of video was uploaded to the website.
The three founders are no longer with the company and did not return messages seeking comment. Chen is now an entrepreneur in residence at Google Ventures, Hurley founded the video editing company MixBit and Karim is a founder and partner at Y Ventures, a venture capital firm in Palo Alto,Calif.
YouTube will officially celebrate its 10th anniversary in May — and its evolution, business-wise and creatively, since that initial trip to the zoo has been nothing less than staggering.
The earliest videos on YouTube give only a hint of its seemingly unlimited dimensions and possibilities as both a repository and a forum for creativity expression.
The site would be a godsend to a excited group of people with a passion for making videos. Though the first batch of content on the site was definitely crude by today's standards, their creators were ecstatic to finally have a means of sharing their work on a worldwide scale.
In the site's first week, Adam Quirk, then 25, posted a video, "Vernal Lullaby," recorded in his Hoboken neighborhood.
Quirk, who now lives in Bloomington, Ind., said he loved to make videos but his audience was limited to a 100-person Internet forum on Yahoo.
He first heard about the new venture when he attended a presentation by Hurley, at the Apple store in SoHo, in which they shot and uploaded a video. The co-founder wasn't presenting his billion dollar idea as "this is going to change the world" but more that he was excited there was this neat tool.
"It kind of blew us away," Quirk said. "The videos just went straight up there to YouTube. It was pretty big for me."
Quirk's own production didn't exactly go viral — it now has only 17,000 views — but when he saw the excitement of others on his Yahoo video forum, he knew YouTube was going to be big.
Quirk, who made videos for companies professionally for a few years and is now opening a craft distillery, said it was exciting to be able to share his work so easily, but he knew changes were ahead.
"It was kind of bittersweet," he said. "When other people started doing it, it was cool to see the idea of a personal video spreading. But I also felt like it was not ours anymore."
With News Wire Services

domain: news


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India had finally sorted out its broadcast audience research at the start of 2016 when a joint venture between Nielsen and WPP merged with a subsidiary of BARC India (Broadcasting Audience Research Council) to create a people meter based audience research system. BARC controls this by owning 51%.
Previous efforts from Nielsen and WPP’s Kantor had used too few people meters, because in India the industry does not earn much from each viewer, so they were was reluctant to spend enough to measure audiences properly.
But this week BARC has decided to embrace the Nielsen system for measuring digital viewing, which has been universally panned as too little too late. India anyway has a unique problem – while there are just over 17 million fixed broadband lines, India has 1 billion phone users and 300 million of them are smartphone users with WiFi connections. Cellular data is exceptionally cheap and there are government initiatives to promote WiFi. So people watch TV on their phones, or on one of the 100 million satellite TV homes out of India’s 248 million homes.
Cable is still watched, but on a falling number of homes, a touch above 60 million from a height of 78 million a few years ago. It tends to be analog with no return path and no broadband or two way amplifiers.
So this leave 68 million homes without any kind of TV, and these are more likely to watch video on a phone, over a cellular network. The only thing that is required to track this, rather than all the broadband sessions from the handful of fixed broadband lines, is an app on each phone – so why is the expensive and largely disliked Nielsen system being selected?
BARC said that it began the process with an RFI (Request for Information) then an RFP and a rigorous Proof of Concept (POC) using 3 shortlisted companies over 6 months. So how come India managed to choose the same system that is universally disliked, and which is regularly beaten in the market by rivals from the US? Would it have anything to do with pressure applied across the joint venture? God forbid.
We have an alternative suggestion to straight bribery. Perhaps the Broadcasting Foundation which set up BARC, has a vested interest in preventing all the video advertising impact being achieved on phones, in which it has little interest. So this is just a case of the Status Quo being endorsed, and do not expect video advertising on phones to be highly valued under this regime. However, Vodafone and Reliance and a few other MNOs might have a thing or two to say about their ad inventory being undervalued, as we are sure it will be. Look out for them opting to use a rival technology from BARC at some future point.
From here on in BARC India’s digital products will be powered by Nielsen, which will “eventually” integrate TV viewing and Digital viewing, but not yet. It is to be called the EKAM suite of products and it will measure all video including adverts, played across TV and Digital platforms.
Apparently a Digital Technical Committee was set up including representation from Google, Facebook, Hotstar, Voot, Ditto, P&G, HUL, Group M, IPG and Omnicom Media Group. And yet we are to believe they all agreed to using Nielsen? Unlikely we feel.


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The company has kicked off its first brand campaign, with an outdoor installation, print and digital ads.
Hero MotoCorp has launched its first ever electric scooter - the Vida V1. To mark the occasion, the company teamed up with Wieden+Kennedy to launch a campaign spanning Delhi, Bengaluru and Jaipur. The campaign’s tagline, ‘Make Way’, has been created by Wieden’s new office in Delhi.
The campaign is live online as well as offline. The launch of the vehicle was accompanied by an outdoor installation at DLF CyberHub, Gurugram. The Hero Vida V1 is available in two variants - the V1 Plus and V1 Pro, which are priced at Rs 1.45 lakh and Rs 1.59 lakh respectively.
Over a video call, Chandrasekar Radhakrishnan, head of business growth (emerging mobility), Hero MotoCorp, mentions that the intent behind the tagline (‘Make Way’) was to drive change and create an inclusive brand.
“A truly global brand resonates with customers from Bengaluru to Bogotá, Delhi to Dhaka, and Lucknow to London. Vida is a distinct brand powered by Hero MotoCorp and the endeavour is to create something truly global.”
Radhakrishnan says that the company isn’t in a rush to be the first brand in the market, but it wanted to get things right. “This was the brief to Wieden too. This is where the creative line of ‘Not India’s first electric scooter’ came from.”
He adds that the first campaign wanted to highlight how rigorously it has been tested - for almost 2 lakh hours with around 1,006 prototypes. “One of the conversations we had, while speaking to the agency, was about how we can bring these numbers to life. That’s why we created the outdoor installation in Gurugram, which had all the prototypes, spare parts, scooter types, etc. This is to reinforce that we would rather be right, than be first.”
The company wanted to use ‘Make Way’ as a point to drive change. It is a call to action for global change makers. This essentially talks about how one drives change in this ecosystem.
“We wanted to create disruption in this category, with our product offering, but we also wanted to create a complete ecosystem - complete with product, platform and after-sales services. Our platform comes to life with the digital assets we have - the website and the customer app. This is how we plan to grow the EV category, which is nascent in India,” Radhakrishnan explains.
He says that the digital assets are designed to help the customers in their journey - right from experiencing the product at experience centres, to accessing after sales services, if the customer runs into any problems with the product.
Moreover, an engineer can service the vehicle’s problems remotely, via an app that the company has designed.
Another feature that Hero MotoCorp offers with Vida is that it allows customers to test drive the vehicle for three days, not just half-an-hour or so.
Creative Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, India
Creative team: Santosh Padhi (Paddy), Amrish Kondurkar, Sunayna Sabharwal, Rebecca Wright,
Prakhar Khandelwal, Anirban Sengupta, Vipasha D Chauhan and Muskaan Jain
Account management team: Gautham Narayanan, Ayesha Ghosh, Aparna Battoo, Nick Gold, Joanna
Grover, Priya Meher Master and Devika Khurana
Planning team: Dan Hill, Ned Hodge, Divyanshu Bhadoria and Shweta Kaul
Media Agency: Dentsu


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SciQuest, a Morrisville-based software company, is being acquired and taken private by private equity firm Accel-KKR for $509 million.
Accel-KKR is paying $17.75 per share for SciQuest, a 34 percent premium over the closing price of the company’s stock on Friday. The deal, which was announced Tuesday, is expected to close in the third quarter.
Under the terms of the acquisition, SciQuest may solicit other bids for the company during a 25-day “go-shop” period.
Publicly-traded Accel-KKR invests in software and IT businesses. It has owned SciQuest stock since 2014, and currently owns about 4.9 percent of the company’s outstanding shares. Accel-KKR has offices in Menlo Park, Calif., Atlanta and London.
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SciQuest will continue to operate as a standalone business based in Morrisville. CEO Stephen Wiehe and his management team will remain in place.
“They see a lot of opportunity for acquisitions and they are looking to invest in the business to continue to grow it,” Wiehe said of Accel-KKR. “They are very concerned about retaining all the employees.”
SciQuest has 510 employees, including 327 in Morrisville.
SciQuest’s procurement technology enables customers to buy goods and services online more efficiently. Wiehe said the company continues to have strong growth among higher education and public sector customers. Its stable of commercial customers has also been growing faster than the overall business.
“We are getting bigger customers, bigger contracts,” he said.
SciQuest had revenue of $105.4 million last year, up 3.4 percent compared with the previous year. The company said in April that it is on track to record mid-to-high single-digit revenue growth in the fourth quarter of this year.
Wiehe attributed much of the growth to acquisitions the company has made in recent years, which has allowed it to add products and functionality to its core technology platform.
“We feel we have a very unique technology,” he said.
Founded in 1995, SciQuest went public in 1999 at the height of the dot-com boom. After the stock tanked, a California investment firm bought it in 2004 and took it private again.
Under Wiehe’s leadership, SciQuest slashed costs and jobs and revamped its business model.
Wiehe said he sees advantages in becoming a private company again.
“As a public company, there’s very much kind of a short-term focus on quarter-to-quarter revenue growth and quarterly results. With an investor like Accel-KKR their focus is very much more on the longer term,” Wiehe said. “It allows us as a company to focus more on what we can do over a longer period of time rather than trying to meet short-term Wall Street commitments.”


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In an attempt to boost trade and investment opportunities abroad, India has welcomed heads of state, policymakers, and businessmen from every country in Africa, marking the largest ever India-Africa summit.
Leaders from some 54 nations descended on New Delhi this week for a summit aimed at ushering in a ‘partnership of prosperity’ for Africa and Africans.
In contrast to the economic powerhouse China, which has been accused of exploiting the continent’s vast mineral and energy resources, India positioned itself as a fairer partner to a continent tipped as the global economic growth engine of the coming decades.
With an estimated population of 1.1 billion, Africa’s total GDP is worth over $2.8tn and has been growing at over 5 percent every year.
And with India’s trade with the continent worth $71bn a year, it believes Africa will help its economy grow faster and is targeting around $90bn by the end of 2015.
Razia Khan, an economist and head of Africa research at Standard Chartered Bank, joins Counting the Cost to discuss India’s pragmatic approach to Africa.
Volkswagen’s first quarterly loss in 15 years
The scandal at Volkswagen has failed to die down more than one month after the German car giant admitted to rigging its diesel vehicles with software capable of tricking emissions tests.
This week, Europe’s biggest car maker announced its first quarterly loss in at least 15 years, with operating losses of about $3.9bn.
Sparking a massive loss of faith in the brand, millions of drivers could demand further compensation over the cheating scandal.
Arndt Ellinghorst, the Senior Managing Director Global Automotive Research at the advisory firm Evercore, joins the programme to discuss the crisis.


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The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has welcomed the Government’s decision to launch a programme of rebates for advisers who are hit by new interim consumer credit licence charges.
A paper released by the Financial Conduct Authority last week also confirmed a 30 per cent discount for all sole traders and firms who apply for an interim licence before 30 November.
Mortgage Strategy’s sister title Money Marketing revealed in July the FCA had written to firms with a consumer credit licence requiring them to pay up to £350 for interim permissions as part of the new FCA-regulated consumer credit market.
The news angered advisers, many of whom had already paid for “indefinite” licences.
The 30 per cent discount will see firms pay £245 for interim permissions while sole traders would pay £105 instead of £150 with the discount.
Proposed interim charges relate to the period when regulation for consumer credit regulation is handed from the Office of Fair Trading to the FCA between April 2014 and April 2016.
AMI chief executive Robert Sinclair says: “We are grateful that the government recognised the issues raised and will offer rebates to those firms that have already incurred the substantial cost of obtaining a new consumer credit license since 2008. These broker firms should not be unfairly disadvantaged because of unforeseen changes to the regulatory architecture.”
“We would encourage firms not to delay in checking that their license details are correct and registering with the FCA to take advantage of the 30 per cent discount.”
Details of the rebate system will be released in the regulator’s consultation paper due to be published in October.
Since 2008 most applications for consumer credit licences have been granted on an indefinite basis with firms expected to make a one-off payment to be granted a CCL, alongside five-yearly maintenance charges.
The cost for these licences was increased to £670 from £575 for sole traders from 1 April this year and to £1,466 from £1,215 for partnerships or companies. This is accompanied by a maintenance charge every five years, costing £208 for sole traders or £505 for partnerships or companies.
Most of those who advise on mortgages or provide debt advice will hold a consumer credit licence.


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It’s true Malikca Cummings had a lot going for her when she was starting an electronic-waste recycling company in Barbados. First, her background: She came from a family of entrepreneurs. Second, the managerial experience she had gained at a recycling company before starting her own firm. Third, no competition — at the time, recycling e-waste was unheard of in the Caribbean.
In 2008, when she launched Caribbean E-Waste Management Inc. in St. Michael, Barbados, with limited savings and help from friends, everything seemed to line up well in her plan to reduce toxic waste.
But soon some customers failed to pay and precious materials were stolen. “That was the beginning of the learning curve for me,” she says.
A local entrepreneurship program helped her get through those early setbacks, and today, her startup is thriving, as it offers a range of services. The company collects e-waste, refurbishes computers, educates and consults with stakeholders and even sells precious metals harvested from the waste.
Cummings said satisfying customers — businesses, government, households and schools — is a key to her success. It’s with customers in mind that she tinkers with innovative ideas and keeps tabs on business integrity.
She plans to expand her company throughout the Caribbean. “I would like to become an industry leader in the next five years,” Cummings says.
Cummings was selected to attend the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Silicon Valley, California.


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U.S. stock index futures turned sharply higher Thursday morning after China reportedly said the world’s two largest economies had agreed to cancel additional tariffs imposed in their months-long trade war.
China said Thursday that both sides must simultaneously cancel some existing tariffs on one another’s goods in order to reach a “phase one” trade agreement, Reuters reported, citing a spokesperson at the commerce ministry. The report also said the proportion of tariffs scrapped must be the same.
It comes after reports that a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could be postponed until December — delaying a chance for the two leaders to sign an interim trade deal.
The U.S. and China have imposed tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of one another’s goods since the start of 2018, battering financial markets and souring business and consumer sentiment.
On the data front, the latest weekly jobless claims will be released at around 8:30 a.m., with consumer credit figures for September due to be published later in the session.


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People increasingly rely on distributed forms of discovery like search engines and social media for finding and accessing news. Do they know where the news they consume in these ways come from? In a new article, Antonis Kalogeropoulos, Richard Fletcher, and I look more closely at this question, based on data from a tracking study we’ve written about previously with Nic Newman (in this report). We find that users are far more likely to correctly attribute a story to a news brand if they accessed it directly rather than via search or social, but with significant variation depending on whether it is their main brand (one they are already loyal to), how much of an article they read, as well as interest in news.
The “main brand” finding is particularly important for news organizations as it underlines how important it is to build a strong brand and a loyal audience to really make the most of the opportunities for increased reach via for example search and social, just as the finding that longer reading time helps with correct brand attribution is important, if people find your journalism interesting enough to actually engage with it, they are significantly more likely to remember who produced it.
Full article here, abstract below.
The digital media environment is increasingly characterized by distributed discovery, where media users find content produced by news media via platforms like search engines and social media. Here, we measure whether online news users correctly attribute stories they have accessed to the brands that have produced them. We call this “news brand attribution.” Based on a unique combination of passive tracking followed by surveys served to a panel of users after they had accessed news by identifiable means (direct, search, social) and controlling for demographic and media consumption variables, we find that users are far more likely to correctly attribute a story to a news brand if they accessed it directly rather than via search or social. We discuss the implications of our findings for the business of journalism, for our understanding of source cues in an increasingly distributed media environment and the potential of the novel research design developed.


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A Silicon Valley startup has developed a service that promises to guide self-storage operators in making better pricing decisions.
StorTrack is a new online subscription service that lets self-storage operators view real-time rental rates at nearby competitors.
Competing with the ‘top guys’
Users type their store location and the radius of miles for their market area into a browser-based application; a map then displays all of the storage facilities within the designated area. The application shows current and historical pricing information for various sizes of storage units.
StorTrack’s general manager, John Tilly, said the data give storage operators “an immediate view of the self-storage pricing market.”
“In the self-storage industry, the top guys are able to use their financial might to build sophisticated revenue management systems,” Tilly said.
Meanwhile, smaller operators take a more basic approach, typically calling competing facilities from time to time to see what they’re charging. “That is really a non-scientific approach, which can lead to inaccurate results that they build pricing on,” Tilly said.
With just a few clicks of a mouse, an operator using StorTrack can find out how much and how often competitors are raising or lowering their prices in a certain area. Tilly said this gives users more confidence in pricing decisions.
“If you make a random decision about pricing, who knows if you are leaving money on the table,” Tilly said.
Tilly owns San Mateo, CA-based information technology company 365 Media. A few years ago, 365 Media teamed up with another company to develop a revenue management platform for Sovran Self Storage, the REIT that operates Uncle Bob’s storage facilities.
“From that, we evolved the idea that the rest of the market could do [a lot] with this information as well,” Tilly said.
Tilly decided to create a product that the entire self-storage industry could use and spin it off as a separate venture. He said 365 Media is in the process of spinning off other pricing intelligence projects for other industries, such as hotels and event ticketing.
Tilly said he’s looking to hire someone to run StorTrack.
The price of pricing info
StorTrack has compiled pricing information for about 24,000 storage facilities in the U.S., or about half of the country’s entire storage inventory. The company obtains pricing information from various online sources, primarily facilities’ websites.
For small facilities that don’t have an online presence at all, the only way for StorTrack to obtain pricing information from them is by conducting additional research.
Within the first month of business, Tilly said, hundreds of operators signed up for a seven-day free trial offer from StorTrack. Tilly declined to say how many operators went on to buy full subscriptions.
The service starts at $49 a month for a single facility; the cost per location drops for an operator with at least two facilities.
Knowledge is power
Operators can boost their rental revenue by using the data to make more informed decisions about pricing, according to Tilly.
“For example, if you are 95 percent full but your average price is 50 percent of the market rate, you know you have room to increase your prices,” he said.
Tilly said the service also can help with development of new facilities.
“We’ve had a number of subscribers who are planning to launch or develop new territories. They are looking up locations to see what pricing conditions are like in that area,” Tilly said.
To download a free report about improving revenue management at your self-storage facility, visit selfstora.ge/revmgmt.


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Plans for the region’s first Pollo Tropical are moving forward at Fruitville Road and Honore Avenue.
The Miami-based, fast casual chicken chain has been rapidly expanding throughout the Sunshine State and has been eyeing the site of the former Shell station at Sarasota Crossing for nearly a year. Permits for the filling station’s demolition were issued in mid-December, and the restaurant chain has planted a “Coming Soon” sign outside the construction zone.
Officials with Pollo Tropical could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday, and it’s unclear when the restaurant plans to open its doors.
Sandra Pascual, the director of marketing for the chain, told the Herald-Tribune in an interview last February that Pollo Tropical has aggressive growth plans and she expected to open more stores in the Sarasota-Bradenton area within the next few years.
“The opportunities are limitless,” she said. “We’ll start with one and take it from there and look to open more. It all depends on real estate availability.”
The restaurant company is most well-known for its citrus marinated, flame-grilled chicken. The menu features boneless, skinless grilled chicken breast, mojo roast pork and grilled tropical wings along with made-from-scratch sides such as rice, beans, yuca with garlic sauce and sweet plantains.
“It takes that influence of the Caribbean and really brings it to life,” Pascual said.
The company was founded in 1988 and has grown to more than 120 restaurants in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas, according to the Pollo Tropical website. The chain also has more than 30 franchised restaurants throughout the Caribbean, Central America, South America and Puerto Rico.
The intersection at Fruitville Road and Honore Avenue has become a hotspot for fast casual dining in recent years. Pita’s Republic recently opened on the west side of Sarasota Crossing. Chipotle is expected to open on the other side of Fruitville Road next week, and a Five Guys Burgers and Fries is also under construction in that plaza.
— Maggie Menderski, the Herald-Tribune’s retail and tourism reporter, can be reached at 941-361-4951 or at firstname.lastname@example.org. Follow her on Twitter @MaggieMenderski, Instagram @MaggieMenderski and on Facebook. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.


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Just press "go" to drive and the "stop" button to stop -- that's the idea behind Google's newest vision for the future of driverless cars.
At the Re/code Code Conference, Google announced that it was exploring what the future of fully self-driving automobiles would look like. It might seem crazy, but the model Google unveiled has none of the controls of standard cars -- the steering wheel, brakes and gas pedals have all been eliminated.
Google says it hopes that by this time next year, 100 prototypes will be on the roads. The car would be a two-seater with a top speed, for now, of just 25 mph. Test versions of the car will have a steering wheel and pedals, because they must under California regulations. Compact and bubble-shaped, the electric vehicle will not be sold to the public.
Riding in one "reminded me of catching a chairlift by yourself, a bit of solitude I found really enjoyable," Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, told participants at the Re/Code tech conference Tuesday evening, according to a transcript.
The prototype driverless vehicle is a natural next step for Google, which already has driven its first generation of self-driving cars more than 700,000 miles in California since 2007, according to CNET. Those cars -- commonly Lexus SUVs and Toyota Priuses -- have been outfitted with a combination of sensors and computers, but human "safety drivers" were always behind the wheel in case of emergencies. The newer cars would eliminate the role of the driver completely.
Google is unlikely to go deeply into auto manufacturing on its own. In unveiling the prototype, the company emphasized partnering with other firms.
The biggest obstacle could be the law. By the end of this year, California's Department of Motor Vehicles must write regulations for the "operational" use of self-driving cars. Rules for their testing on public roads were just approved last week.
The state may have thought that reality was several years away, so it would have time to perfect the rules. But that clock just sped up, said the head of the DMV's driverless car program, Bernard Soriano.
"Because of what is potentially out there soon, we need to make sure that the regulations are in place that would keep the public safe but would not impede progress," Soriano said.
While at the forefront of developing autonomous vehicles, Google is far from alone. Established automobile manufacturers, such as Nissan, GM, Ford and Toyota, are all competing to achieve self-driving capabilities. Tesla Motors hopes to have its system handle 90 percent of driving duties by 2016 -- a year earlier than Google's reported rollout, according to CNET.


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Survey Shows Economy Affects Health Care
POSTED: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - 8:12am
UPDATED: Thursday, February 25, 2010 - 11:33am
In medical news, a new survey from the American Heart Association shows how the ailing economy is affecting health care.
Overall, nearly 60% of those surveyed said their personal health care has been impacted by the economy. Nearly a third said they buy fewer fresh fruits and vegetables and about 20% said they would skip routine check-ups at the doctor or dentist in the past six months and 25% also canceled their gym memberships.
The survey included 1,000 people and was conducted in March.


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Posted Tue May 8, 2012 at 12:30 PM PDT by Dick Ward
Microsoft will be using a cell phone style service that requires a 2 year commitment to Xbox Live.
The Xbox 360 isn't exactly an expensive system at this point, but it's still out of some people's price range. Casual gamers and parents may even shell out for a Wii simply because the cost is so low. Microsoft has a new way to combat that.
The company is set to offer an Xbox 360 and Kinect combo for just $99. The catch – and of course there's a catch – is that you'll have to sign up for two years of Xbox Live Gold at $15 a month – that's $360 over the course of two years.
It's not a fantastic deal if you're not planning on using Xbox Live, but if you are, that's a savings of $200, assuming you're paying $15 a month for your Xbox Live.
Source: Venture Beat
The latest news on all things 4K Ultra HD, blu-ray and Gear.


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Ixaris, the business payments technology expert, today announced its cooperation with AirPlus, the leading specialist in corporate payments solutions, to develop second generation virtual payments capability enabling AirPlus to enhance the services it delivers to the travel payment industry.
AirPlus has more than ten years’ experience deploying virtual credit cards and is convinced of the continued strategic relevance of its virtual payment solution. With the aim of optimising their corporate and travel agency customers’ payment processes, AirPlus is investing in a new and innovative virtual card solution, building the future of travel payment.
Alex Mifsud, Chief Executive Officer at Ixaris comments, “I am delighted that AirPlus has chosen Ixaris for this important project. Our strong track record within travel and commercial payments, along with our payments technology expertise is again being recognised by a leading global player”.
He continues “this is an important milestone for Ixaris and another strong proof point for our strategy, and for our continued focus on bringing greater payments efficiency to corporate users”
Joachim V. Brockmann, Chief Marketing Officer of AirPlus adds “We are looking forward to working with Ixaris and bringing an enhanced user experience for our customers. We see the payment landscape changing and expect virtual cards to become key in future payment technologies. Ixaris has shown high commitment to understanding our needs and those of our customers, and we therefore believe that Ixaris is the right specialist to make our ambitions come true.”


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DV Studio Technologies will exhibit its real time Mpeg-2 encoder at Cebit in Hanover this week, which analysts say may pave the way for products combining Dvd Ram with realtime video editing and compression.
The company hopes that Apollo Expert will create a lot of interest at the show, particularly for its price, which comes in at less than $2,000. A system that handles Dolby Digital audio and professional Mpeg-2 compression, which has become the primary compression format for distributing video, typically costs up to $250,000.
But one of Apollo Expert?s key features, according to DV Studio, is its ease of use. Customers no longer require multiple workstations with several ultra long Isa cards that usually come with noisy fans because the device is half the size of a PCI card and can be easily installed in any Pentium based computer, making it easy for consumers to use.
Werner Glinka, Hitachi America?s senior director of marketing, optical and multimedia products, said: "The Apollo Expert from DV Studio Technologies is a big step in the convergence of digital media products for professional and consumer applications.''
For more Cebit coverage in text and audio click here.
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The former employee says that Tesla fired him for bringing the accusations to management internally


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Australia AiG Performance of Services Index dropped sharply by -5.3 pts to 48.0 in September, back in contraction. Looking at some details, sales tumbled by -10.1 to 41.8. Employment edged down by -0.6 to 52.6. New orders dropped -7.1 to 50.2. Input prices rose 4.7 to 73.4. Selling prices dropped -2.9 to 58.3. Average wages dropped -1.7 to 65.9.
Innes Willox, Chief Executive of Ai Group, said: “The increasingly uncertain economic environment is dragging on service industries. The sector has fallen into contraction in September, and all services activity indicators have worsened in the last month. Low consumer and business confidence – following repeated interest rate rises and persistent inflation – were major factors in this decline. The indicators for sales, new orders, and selling prices all fell, while input prices continued their upward march adding to inflationary pressures.


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Lucia Pizza of Avenue X, a slice shop that first opened in 2022 and garnered a Pete Wells review, is expanding beyond Sheepshead Bay. Owner Salvatore Carlino confirms a Manhattan follow-up is in the works at 375 Canal Street, near West Broadway, in Soho, aiming for a fall 2023 opening. “Gaining space in Manhattan brings us to an even newer world of accessibility for people who feel Sheepshead Bay is a little hard to get to,” he says. “I’m just trying to focus on bringing a solid slice and price point to Soho and Tribeca.” Lucia is one of several heavy-hitter, new-school slice shops, adding a lower Manhattan location this year, joining L’Industrie Pizza and Mama’s Too, which are both opening outposts in the West Village. Carlino grew up in the pizza business: for decades his parents owned Papa Leone’s in nearby Manhattan Beach.
West Village team adds a Catskills restaurant to its portfolio
Natalie Freihon’s Strange Bird Hospitality (behind Nat’s on Bleecker, Nat’s on Bank, and Orchard Townhouse), is set to debut a new restaurant on June 23. Nat’s Mountain House is opening in Tannersville, New York, with a menu that looks to summer camps for inspiration: cheeseburgers, a French dip, brunch buffets, and more can be expected.
A Feast for the Books returns to Housing Works
The annual stacked food event to raise money for Housing Works is back. This year, held on Thursday, June 15, a ticket will get you bites from the likes of Superiority Burger pastry chef Darcy Spence, Vietnamese American pop-up Ha’s Dac Biet, the Yellow Rose team, and Dhamaka, among others.
That’s it for I Sodi on Christopher Street
Grub Street reported on the last call at lasagna haven I Sodi, before it relocates to 314 Bleecker, at Grove Street. Meanwhile, L’Artusi is slated to take over Rita Sodi’s original location. I Sodi will reopen at its new home sometime in the coming weeks.


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Smartphone price cuts to drive internet in Africa
INTERNETBy BiztechAfrica - Oct. 24, 2012, 8:12 a.m.
The rapid drop in smartphone pricing will play a major role in bringing internet connectivity to Africans over the next five to 10 years, uplifting economies throughout the continent in the process. This is according to Aidan Baigrie, Head of Business Development at SEACOM.
He says that with some smartphones already dropping below the USD100 threshold and sub USD50 devices inbound, smartphones are rapidly falling to price levels that make them accessible to a larger market in Africa.
"There is mobile phone penetration of around 70% across Africa, but smartphone penetration is only 10% to 15%," says Baigrie. "The question is how do we lift smartphone penetration closer to the 70% level, so that as many Africans can enjoy mobile broadband services as the current numbers that have access to basic GSM services.”
Baigrie says the key lies in the falling prices of smartphones and other smart devices. Huawei's USD80 IDEOS Android smartphone has been a hit in the Kenyan market and similar examples can be found in other parts of the continent, showing that the market for data services is there once consumers can afford smart devices. He also predicts that there will be an increase in smart devices such as smart readers, tablets and hybrids being launched into the market in 2013.
China's firm Spreadtrum Communications recently released two new low-cost, 600MHz Android smartphone platforms aimed at ultra-cheap smartphones in the USD40 range. "These devices are having a massive effect on the African market, bringing Internet services in reach for more people than ever before," says Baigrie.
In more mature markets such as South Africa, operators are already reporting that they are shipping more smartphones than cellphones or feature phones, a trend that will soon become apparent in the rest of the continent. In the process, many Africans are gaining access to services such as social networking, the Web, and email for the first time, says Baigrie. Africa will leapfrog the PC era to the mobile, post-PC world, he adds.
"Like users in the rest of the world, Africans want Internet access via smartphones for entertainment, shopping, social networking and commercial applications," he adds. "This is leading to an explosion in demand for mobile data on African telecommunications networks. And the fact that mobile data prices have fallen dramatically in the past few years has also helped to spur demand."
Baigrie notes that this sort of mobile connectivity will be important in helping African countries to grow their economies by promoting access to information, communication, education and commerce. It will also challenge the telecommunications industry to rapidly grow its infrastructure and capacity to keep up with demand, he says.
SEACOM says it is constantly growing its longhaul fibre capability, but African operators will also need to keep investing in national backbones and last-mile connectivity to cater for the extra strain put on their networks by the millions of smart devices that will enter the market in the next few years. The internet is on Africa’s doorstep, the key to unlocking this opportunity is getting it from the doorstep and into our home.
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Today, the pink puff crossed a significant milestone -- and one that is extremely fitting for his anniversary year. According to Nintendo of Japan's latest financial results, Kirby and the Forgotten Land for the Nintendo Switch surpassed 5.27 million copies sold, making it the best-selling Kirby game of all time.
The previous record holder for the best-selling Kirby game was Kirby's Dream Land for the Game Boy, which launched over thirty years ago in 1992 and accumulated total lifetime sales of 5.13 million copies.
When Kirby and the Forgotten Land launched last March, the game was able to move an impressive 4.53 million copies by May. From April to September 2022, Kirby and the Forgotten Land sold 2.61 million copies.
While total sales numbers for Kirby's Dream Buffet were not provided by Nintendo of Japan, the company did report strong sales growth in its exclusive digital content. Nintendo labeled the game as one example of the driving factors in the rising number alongside Nintendo Switch Online memberships and the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's DLC Booster Course Pass.
When more financial information regarding Kirby is released by Nintendo and HAL Laboratory, we will be sure to keep you all updated.


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Burberry hires Kaitlyn Wilkins to replace departed social media head Musa Tariq
Burberry has hired Kaitlyn Wilkins, a director of Ogilvy's social media business, to become its global director of social media following the departure of Musa Tariq in October.
Burberry: 2013 campaign starring Romeo Beckham
Wilkins was previously the EMEA regional director at Social@Ogilvy, where she worked on brands including PepsiCo and Ford.
Burberry has been seeking a replacement for Tariq since September, when Marketing revealed he was leaving the company to head Nike’s social media efforts.
While at Burberry, Tariq led a number of high profile social media campaigns, including a "tweetwalk" that allowed the brand to reveal its new collection on Twitter moments before the models hit the runway.
News of Tariq’s departure followed shortly after it emerged Justin Cooke, Burberry’s vice president of public relations, was joining Topshop in order to become its marketing director and transform the brand’s social media presence.
Wilkins left New Media Strategies in July 2007 to join Ogilvy, where she served as vice president of Ogilvy PR’s 360 Digital Influence Group in North America before moving to Europe to work with Social@Ogilvy.
At Ogilvy, Wilkins helped PepsiCo execute its first blogger immersion event in early 2009 and launched the Ford Explorer on Facebook, which represented Ford’s first "non-automotive show vehicle reveal".
Burberry was unavailable for comment.Follow @mattchapmanuk
This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk
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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — When economists wring their hands over higher gasoline prices, they are usually worried about the negative effect on consumers. But as Mitt Romney might say: When it comes to energy, “corporations are consumers, my friend.”
Just like consumers, businesses are having a hard time coping with higher energy bills. Increased costs are squeezing profit margins and also diverting money away from other expenditures, including adding new workers.
Nationally, gasoline prices hit $3.997 a gallon in early April, according to the Energy Information Administration. Diesel is up to $4.148. Both prices are below the highs posted in 2008, but represent a spike compared to year-ago levels.
As a result, companies are paying more to run machinery and ship goods.
As reported in The Wall Street Journal, aluminum maker Alcoa
The energy impact also shows up in the latest survey of small businesses, conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business.
The report noted that high energy costs are hurting small firms, and in February and March, the% of owners reporting inflation as their No. 1 business problem stood at 9%, up from 6% in January.
Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, has noticed a short-run relationship between gasoline prices and the NFIB expectation indexes on the economy, sales and earnings. Consequently, he thinks the April NFIB index “could easily nudge down a bit further.”
Of course, the corporate problems with energy are related to consumer problems as well. Non-energy companies are dealing with less demand since consumers are spending more at the pump and less elsewhere. And the diversion of business spending toward energy and away from hiring sends the business-related burden of fuel costs onto the backs of workers.
The interplay between the two private sectors highlight that the trend in gasoline prices remains a key risk to how the U.S. economy performs over the summer.
This column originally ran on Dow Jones Newswires.


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May 21, 2013
Charlottesville's Southern Living Showcase Home is having a silent auction to benefit Alex's Lemonade Stand and Operation Finally Home.
The auction will take place on Thursday, May 23, and will feature many of the home's furnishings, donated by local designers, with proceeds going to those two charities.
Tickets to the auction are $25 per person, and there will be refreshments.
The auction will go from 6 PM to 9 PM on Thursday at the showcase home on Ragged View Court in Charlottesville.
Tickets, and other information, can be found


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This post was first published by Naomi Barry, on Escapade PR’s blog
As we head into November, and with just two pay days left until the big day, at Escapade our minds cannot help but drift towards the right Christmas gift for our nearest and dearest.
What is on trend? And is anything actually within our budget?
When it comes to kids, you can’t go far wrong with the top ten list from Hamleys, with gifts priced from £25 to £200+. Interestingly, this year, it is full of tech gifts featuring a Barbie Colour Change Bag, a LeapFrog LeapTV and a Kiddizoom Smart Watch featuring games, alarm and camera functionality.
For the grown-ups, Currys and PC World unveiled its top 10 predictions for Christmas tech back in July (afterall that’s prime Christmas season in our world) with wearable tech forecast to be the gift of choice for many.
According to an article by Retail Week Samsung Gear Fit is set to top the sales charts, followed by Fitbit Force, Garmin Forerunner 15 and the celebrity tweeters favourite (and my new best friend) the NutriBullet.
To help avoid a Jingle All the Way Arnie-style disaster, we’ve asked some of our favourite tech journalists what they think will be hot this Christmas and beyond.
James Stables from new wearable tech news and reviews site Wareable
What’s at the top of your Christmas tech wish list? The Withings Activite and LG G Watch R have to be at the top of the list this Christmas list, although I’m secretly hoping to find FIFA 15 and an Xbox One in my stocking – it’s definitely time to go next gen.
What do you think will be the big tech seller this Christmas? The Misfit Flash is going to be a huge seller this Christmas. Wearable tech is going to be the big tech story, and Misfit has just got the price right.
Which brands have won out in 2014 – and who will lead the way in 2015? For me, the small brands have really come through in 2014. Withings, Misfit and Jawbone haven’t been sunk by the big tech names as we thought they might, and it looks as if they’re here to stay. Intel’s doing some really cool stuff as well.
What do you think is the next big tech trend for 2015? The first half of 2015 is going to be all about the Apple Watch. How that bears out will dictate the next half, but smart tech is going to evolve even more. Car tech didn’t evolve as much in late 2014 as I expected, so let’s chalk that up for 2015, too.
Victoria Woollaston, UK Deputy Science Editor, Mail Online
What’s at the top of your Christmas tech wishlist? An iRoomba or similar that will hoover my flat.
What do you think will be the big tech seller this Christmas? The Nexus 9, or an Oculus Rift consumer version if it is released before the end of the year (although that’s unlikely) and smartwatches will also be popular.
Which brands have won out in 2014 – and who will lead the way in 2015? I think Motorola has stood out this year, as has Dyson. Next year, I think Google will continue to dominate and Oculus VR.
What do you think is the next big tech trend for 2015? Truly flexible devices and screens, and smart contact lenses.
Seth Barton, Editor, Expert Reviews
What’s at the top of your Christmas tech wishlist? Apple’s 5K Retina iMac – it’s brilliant for any image-based work (though not really justifiable for everyone).
What do you think will be the big tech seller this Christmas? Tesco Hudl 2 is very good for the money.
Which brands have won out in 2014 – and who will lead the way in 2015? Motorola has done brilliantly after being bought by Lenovo, great handsets, great prices, unmodified Android. The new games consoles will have a huge year, with many truly massive, next-gen games arriving on both.
What do you think is the next big tech trend for 2015? Wearables will boom or die in 2015, it’s make or break time. Phones and tablets have had their day, it’s more about price now, as no one seems able to differentiate their product otherwise.
Sami Mughal, Chief Editor and Founder, OxGadgets
What’s at the top of your Christmas tech wishlist? The LG 4K OLED TV is on top of my tech want list for this Christmas!
What do you think will be the big tech seller this Christmas? This Christmas will probably be about wearables, things like fitness devices I reckon.
Which brands have won out in 2014 – and who will lead the way in 2015? Brands who have done well this year: Apple, though not as much as always, Samsung and LG. I’ll keep my eye on these three again, and maybe Microsoft with the Lumia range.
What do you think is the next big tech trend for 2015? Wearables, they will only get better!
Ben Pitt, Freelance Journalist, Expert Reviews, PC Pro, Computer Active
What’s at the top of your Christmas tech wishlist? Ebola vaccine. And a BlackMagic 4K Production Camera.
What do you think will be the big tech seller this Christmas? iPad Air mk1
Which brands have won out in 2014 – and who will lead the way in 2015? For cameras, Sony is having a great year.
What do you think is the next big tech trend for 2015? Quadrocopters!
So, there you have it. It’s pretty clear from everyone we’ve spoken to that wearables are set to dominate the market in the coming months.
Just this week, Wareable also reported that Samsung are predicting a ‘whopping wearable holiday season’, with the UK market set to spend almost £105 million on wearable tech from fitness trackers, health care products and smartwatches, with several other big brand launches predicted in the first half of 2015.
These big launches will be complemented by the smaller brands which will continue to innovate and hold their own by creating design and technical points of differentiation.
2015 is shaping up to be another hot technology year. But for now, what are the Escaladies after this year? Well seeing as you asked so nicely…
Charlotte: a new car – preferably a new shape Mercedes A-Class
Esther: a cream Kitchen Aid
Leanne: a new dining table and chairs from Heals and a month in Australia
Lizzy: a PENTAX K-S1 and snowboots!
Lynne: a Névo watch or similar
And for me: a shiny new MacBook and an Apple Watch in the New Year, please.


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How many animals are killed globally on fur farms?
Each year, around one hundred million animals are bred and killed to supply the fashion industry with not only traditional fur coats but, increasingly, real fur trim for hooded jackets, and real fur pompoms used on hats, gloves, shoes and a range of other clothing and accessories. It’s estimated that as many as half of all animals raised for their fur are killed to satisfy the market for fur trim.
The industry has seen a decline in recent years, as consumers, retailers, designers turn their backs on real fur, and politicians vote in favour of fur production bans and, increasingly, fur sales bans.
Annual fur production:
- 2014: Europe 43.6m, China 87m, North America 7.2m, Russia 1.7m
- 2018: Europe 38.3m, China 50.4m, North America 4.9m & Russia 1.9m
- 2021: Europe 12m, China 27m, North America 2.3m & Russia 600,000
(Figures shown are estimates focused on mink, foxes, raccoon dogs, chinchillas and sables. Rabbits and animals trapped for their fur are excluded.)
What about trapping in the wild?
In addition to fur farming, many millions of animals are trapped and killed for their fur in the wild. Most fur from wild-trapped animals comes from the USA, Canada and Russia. In 2018, almost 3 million animals were killed for their pelts by trapping in North America, including 647,000 raccoons and 363,000 coyotes. Traps inflict great pain and anguish, both to the target animals and to unintended victims such as pets and endangered species.
Often left for days, unable to seek shelter, food or water, these animals can cause serious injury to themselves in an attempt to escape. When the trappers finally arrive, they will often stomp or beat the animals to death.
Have any countries banned fur farming?
Yes, over the past two decades, 24 countries have either voted to ban the practice, have prohibited the farming of particular species, or have introduced stricter regulations that have effectively curtailed the practice. The Canadian province of British Columbia has also banned the farming of mink for their fur. Several other countries, including Romania, are also discussing the introduction of bans on fur farming. See the latest list at furfreealliance.com/fur-bans.
Have any countries banned fur sales?
Yes, in 2021 Israel became the first country in the world to ban real fur sales. In the United States, California became the first US state to ban the sale of fur in 2019 (the ban came into effect in January 2023) following similar bans in cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley and West Hollywood. To date, 12 towns and cities in the United States have banned fur sales and more US cities and states are looking to follow suit in the future. In the UK, the government is considering action on fur sales.
Is fur farming cruel?
Yes. Animals bred for their fur such as foxes, rabbits, raccoon dogs and mink are confined in small, barren, wire cages for their entire lives. Unable to express their basic natural behaviours such as digging, roaming large territories and, for semi-aquatic mink, swimming and diving, these naturally active and curious animals have been shown to display the stereotypical behaviour of mental distress such as repeated pacing and circling inside their cages. Such confined spaces can also result in animals self-mutilating and fighting with their cage mates.
Numerous recent investigations at so-called certified “high welfare” mink, fox and raccoon dog farms in Finland have revealed a catalogue of deplorable conditions and distressing suffering, including over-sized “monster foxes,” animals with open wounds, deformed feet, diseased eyes, and even incidents of mink being driven to cannibalism. HSI recently exposed the conditions suffered by chinchillas on fur farms in Romania , and the plight of baby foxes, mink and raccoon dogs in China.
How are animals on fur farms killed?
When their pelts are at their prime, before they are one year old, the animals are gassed, electrocuted, beaten or have their necks broken. In December 2015 HSI filmed foxes on a Chinese fur farm being beaten to death, and rabbits being given a blow to the head before being shackled from their back legs and their throats cut before being skinned. Instances of raccoon dogs being slammed against the ground then skinned whilst still showing signs of consciousness have also been documented in China.
See the evidence for yourself: Take a look at HSI’s investigation at a fox and raccoon dog fur farm in China, and our investigation at a rabbit fur farm in China, both December 2015. Warning: graphic footage.
Which designers and retailers are fur-free?
Increasingly, international designers, brands, department stores and luxury online retailers are turning their backs on cruel real fur. In recent years, Gucci, Prada, Chanel, Moncler, Dolce & Gabbana and Versace have gone fur free, as has well-known former-fur-using brand Canada Goose – to name just a few! By supporting fur-free designers, we can all help to put the business of animal cruelty out of fashion. For a full list, check out the Fur-Free Retailer website at furfreeretailer.com.


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Seagate Unveils Green Desktop Hard DriveBy eChannelLine | Print
Re-Imagining Linux Platforms to Meet the Needs of Cloud Service Providers
The new Seagate Barracuda line of desktop hard drives use 50 percent less power than conventional drives. Seagate says the new drives are designed to meet the growing demand for low-power storage in desktop systems.
Seagate Technology has released a new line of Barracuda desktop hard drives designed to use up to 50 per cent less power than standard desktop hard drives.
The Seagate Barracuda LP (Low Power) hard drive family is one of the major product launches the company has planned for the year, and it's the first time it's expanded the Barracuda family to include a whole new product family, said Anne Haggar, product marketing manager at Seagate Technology.
With more interest in green technology, the new green desktop hard drives are aimed at three specific markets -- the low-power PC market, external storage and SOHO NAS. Those markets are less interested in high-performance and more interested in really low power requirements, quiet running and, in the case of external drive vendors that would use the hard drives, shock tolerance.
"These are growing markets, and that's exactly who we're targeting," Haggar said.


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Netflix has announced it won't renew its content-licensing deal with Epix, which will cost it several blockbuster movies. Instead, Netflix says, it will focus on exclusive content.
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SEARCHED FOR:MAKE IN INDIA
Times Water Summit 2020: It’s still not late in saving India from becoming a waterless country if we start acting on it now!
The Times Water Summit 2020, a Times of India initiative under the banner of ‘Make India Water Positive’, is spearheading the need for stronger and unified water infrastructure by bringing key stakeholders of the ecosystem - the people, the policymakers, the corporates, and the agricultural community - all under one roof.
View: What India should do for rapid industrial development
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Govt working on multiple fronts to place India as global manufacturing hub: Kant
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Apple suppliers chose to make in India even amid Covid: Ravi Shankar Prasad
Prasad said during the pandemic, global smartphone manufacturers had committed investments of close to $1.5 billion (₹ 1.13 lakh crore) in local production, which will result in smartphones worth $140 billion being exported in the next five years.
Will have to work in PPP to make vaccine available to all: Piyush Goyal
“Will have to work in PPP (public private partnership) to make a vaccine available to all. It can’t be left to the government alone or the private sector… can’t be the responsibility of just a few,” he said at an event organised by CII.
View: Govt shouldn't repeat past blunders that make foreign investors feel unwelcome
"Our FDI policy woos investors in every international forum to India. Throwing bait to investors only for tax authorities to lay boobytraps and ambush them after putting their money in good faith is not just breach of trust. It scares away future investors too."
UP govt's decision to give sops to companies to diversify supply chains from China yield results
UP CM Yogi Adityanath had directed ministers and government officials in April to hold discussions with companies having their manufacturing bases in China, and find ways to offer them sops that would encourage them to shift their existing facilities out of China.
Govt makes it mandatory for foreign cos operating e-commerce platforms in India to have PAN
"An e-commerce operator will be a "non-resident who owns, operates or manages digital or electronic facility or platform for online sale of goods or online provision of services or both," the CBDT said in the notification.
A phased manufacturing plan for toys in works as India looks to become export hub
This follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann Ki Baat address on August 30 in which he had said India could become a big hub of toy production.
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New announcements under Aatmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 will make road to recovery stronger: Niranjan Hiranandani, ASSOCHAM
Niranjan Hiranandani, president ASSOCHAM, was reacting to the announcement of the 7th major stimulus package after pandemic by the Union finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday.
View: Reaching its economic goal should be India’s biggest strategic objective
But can India convert this convergence of opportunities into gains, like Japan did after World War II and China did after the Cold War? And, for that, the challenges remain internal, not that much external. New Delhi has responded with a policy of self-reliance: ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. But that would remain incomplete without a clearly articulated trade and economic strategy to engage with the world.
India needs to copy China better if it wants to be the next manufacturing powerhouse
To lure manufacturers away from the mainland, though, India is going to have to convince them that they’ll be able to operate just as easily and efficiently as they can in China.
New bill proposes allowing foreigners to own upto 49% stake in vessels flagged in India
The ports, shipping and waterways ministry has issued the draft Merchant Shipping Bill, 2020, making way for these changes.


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Visa is pushing deeper into the cryptocurrency space by piloting a new service allowing fintechs to add crypto features to their offerings, and its first partner is a neobank focused on the Black community.
On Wednesday, the payments giant announced Visa Crypto APIs, a set of application programming interfaces (APIs) that allow Visa’s fintech customers to offer the ability to buy, custody, and trade digital assets held by Anchorage, a federally-chartered digital asset bank.
First Boulevard, a digital-only bank with a goal of increasing financial empowerment in the Black community, is the first customer to use Visa Crypto APIs, which will start as a pilot program.
The payments giant expects to make a wider launch of the APIs later this year.
“It’s an important step to launch a broader suite of crypto API capabilities to Visa’s network of clients to help them integrate and interact with these new crypto assets and blockchain networks,” Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa, told Insider. “First Boulevard is the perfect partner to pilot this program. We love their focus on empowerment education for Black consumers that are increasingly interested in crypto.”
This partnership follows Visa’s commitment to revamp digital-currency services, and an increased focus on cryptocurrency across fintechs.
More than 35 crypto wallets already operate on Visa’s payments rails, including BlockFi and Coinbase. And Visa sees an opportunity to process crypto transactions similar to any other payment method.
“It goes without saying, to the extent a specific digital currency becomes a recognized means of exchange, there’s no reason why we cannot add it to our network, which already supports over 160 currencies today,” Al Kelly, Visa’s chairman and CEO, said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call in January.
Visa’s first partner on its new crypto initiative is First Boulevard
First Boulevard was founded by Donald Hawkins following the killing of George Floyd in an effort to drive change and build generational wealth in the Black community.
“When I look at all of the issues that Black America generally fights — education reform, police brutality, real estate issues — everything tends to point back to money, either us having a lack of it or a lack of understanding,” Donald Hawkins, founder and CEO of First Boulevard, told Insider.
“The piece that’s been missing is that relatable, brand-identified financial platform that really resonates with our specific affinity group — Black America,” Hawkins added.
Motivated by the systematic barriers Black Americans have long faced in understanding financial systems, Hawkins’ solution was building First Boulevard into a “financial platform that could really help Black America win.”
“Our north star at First Boulevard is really helping Black America reclaim its $1.4 trillion in economic impact,” said Hawkins.
As phase one of First Boulevard’s mission centers on helping Black Americans circulate funds within their community, the digital bank features a “Cash Back For Buying Black” incentive — earning customers up to 15% cash back when they spend money at black businesses.
The partnership will bridge the gap between Black America and cryptocurrency
The launch of First Boulevard came at the perfect time for Visa’s entry into the crypto space.
Sheffield noted that following the rise of fintechs incorporating Bitcoin into their products, many Visa clients we’re asking what the global payments company could do to help.
As Visa began exploring new capabilities in the crypto space, their focus was building a mission-driven partnership — aligned with company efforts to embed diversity and inclusion into offerings and its go-to-market strategy.
As the pilot program seeks to bridge the gap between Black America and the rapid growth of cryptocurrency, financial education will play a key role.
“We see cryptocurrency and Bitcoin as a gateway to financial literacy,” said Sheffield.
The pilot program will assess “the level of education that we need to provide the Black community to feel comfortable with jumping in, being mindful of effective ways and actionable ways that they can apply Bitcoin and other types of cryptocurrencies,” added Hawkins.
Visa’s launch comes as crypto becomes table stakes for fintechs
To be sure, Visa isn’t the only incumbent pushing into the crypto space. Bitcoin’s price surged as high as $40,000 earlier this year, nearly four times what it was worth the same time last year.
Square’s Cash App offers crypto trading, and it’s been a huge boost to the peer-to-peer payments app. Bitcoin accounted for nearly 80% of Cash App revenue in the third quarter of 2020. And last November, payments giant PayPal added crypto trading to its app.
Visa’s Crypto APIs will allow its fintech customers to embed crypto trading into their own apps, helping them compete with the likes of Cash App and PayPal without building their own offerings.
“It’s very hard to build yourself,” Sheffield said. “[Fintechs] want a global, neutral, trusted brand that they already have a close relationship with and can help provide best in class infrastructure.”
Visa will look to grow the functionality of its Crypto APIs beyond trading and holding cryptocurrencies, adding features like crypto rewards on cards and auto-buy functionalities. But as an infrastructure player, that will largely depend on what its clients want to build.
“We’re excited to see what entrepreneurs end up building, how they integrate it to the products, and what the consumer experiences are,” Sheffield said.
The crypto APIs are part of Visa’s broader developer center, a set of APIs that are part of what Visa calls its “value-added services.”
It’s all part of Visa’s effort to diversify beyond its bread-and-butter card processing business and bring fintechs on board its network.
“We see that as a tremendous opportunity for Visa,” Sheffield said.


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The co-founder and Chief Operation Officer (COO) of ScholarX, Damilola Emuze and two other Nigerian entrepreneurs have been selected for the Westerwelle Young Founders Programme 2020.
The Entrepreneurs were among 12 African founders selected to participate in the next edition of the founders’ program.
Over 1,500 applicants applied for Westerwelle Young Founders Programme
The Westerwelle Young Founders Programme, run by the Westerwelle Foundation for International Understanding, is a six-month programme that aims to offer business mentoring to outstanding young entrepreneurs from developing and emerging countries.
The programme includes the Young Founders Conference which held in Berlin this week.
After the conference, the programme will continue remotely as the entrepreneurs will participate in monthly peer-mentoring calls held in smaller groups, along with monthly expert sessions and webinars.
Also, the founders will be given mentors whom they will be able to schedule regular calls with.
The 25 entrepreneurs participating in the programme this year were selected from about 1500 applications received.
The 3 Nigerian entrepreneurs include Damilola Emuze, co-founder and COO of ScholarX; Jide Ayegbusi, founder and CEO of Edusko.com; and Luther Lawoyin who is the founder and CEO of Pricepally.com.
Meet the 3 Nigerian Entrepreneur shortlisted for the program
Jide Ayegbusi is the founder and CEO of Edusko.com, an edtech startup based in Lagos. Established in 2016 by Ayegbusi, Edusko is a startup that helps African parents access suitable schools and financing to give their children access to quality education.
Edusko’s web-based application allows parents to compare good schools, and make informed decisions on their prefered choice of school. It also provides access to finance to pay for school fees.
Edusko was a finalist at the Seedstars World event in Lagos, Nigeria in 2019. it was also one of five startups selected by the Nigerian Economy Summit Group in 2017.
Damilola Emuze is the co-founder and COO of ScholarX, an edtech startup based in Lagos. Founded by Emuze in 2016, ScholarX creates better access to quality education for high potential youths in Africa irrespective of their socio-economic background.
ScholarX uses its education financing solutions to link students and youths global funding opportunities that ensure access to quality education.
ScholarX participated in Google Launchpad Accelerator Class 3 and was one of 6 Startups Selected to Pitch at the Stanford Africa Business Forum. It won the World Summit Award for Education in Nigeria in 2017.
Luther Lawoyin is the founder and CEO of Pricepally.com, an e-commerce company based in Lagos. Founded in 2019 by himself, Pricepally is an e-commerce platform that provides access to affordable, nutritious, traceable and secure food items.
The startup offers wholesale services that enables people to buy food in bulk. It also allows sharing of bulk food items with others online to leverage their collective bargaining power.
Pricepally participated in the French-German AyadaLab incubator and accelerator programme. It has also been part of the venture scaling bootcamp at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston.
Pricepally won Foodtech500 global company by Forward Fooding.
Other African countries represented in the Westerwelle Young Founders Programme include; Nambia, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya.
The foundation does not invest in businesses of the entrepreneurs that participate in the programme. However, they will provide them with relevant investment from its network if possible.
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March 30th, 2020 - Insight Leadership Sponsoring the Frans Paradise Windsurfing Center in Bonaire
It seems very clear to me that the COVID-19 global pandemic and its impact on the world economy will be unprecedented. As the world grapples with how to deal with the medical implications by closing everything from retails shops to country borders, millions of people are finding their income threatened, reduced, or lost.
It is not often in life that one can mix work ambition with a favorite hobby. I am a lifelong windsurfer aficionado, and I am absolutely delighted to announce that Insight Leadership will be sponsoring two world-class windsurfers, Elton (Taty) Frans and Everon (Tonky) Frans. Both windsurfers hail from the island paradise of Bonaire in the Dutch Caribbean.


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The afternoon session of the Infrachain Summit 2021 started with an opening speech by Gianluca Ortolani, CEO of Net Service SpA, explaining that, “Net Service is very proud to be an active member of Infrachain and to host for the second time their international summit. We have found in Infrachain a strong organization and a network of reliable partners.” Ortolani further talked about Etherna, a platform developed by Net Service that makes the use of Blockchain technology simple and transparent for any application and process integration.
The opening was followed by the Infrachain Summit 2021 Blockchain Leader sponsor Nomadic Labs featuring Frédéric Hubin, Tech Lead at Green Earth Trading. He presented a use case on ensuring sustainability of commodities with the Tezos blockchain. Green Earth Trading is a sustainable palm oil producer based in Ghana and in operation for 5 years. “To produce provable sustainable products, Farm to Fork, bi-directional traceability and openness and temper-proof are required. This is why DLTs were the obvious choice,” Hubin explained.
Prof. Massimiliano Mazzanti from the University of Ferrara opened the circular economy track with a keynote speech on the first survey on circular innovation in Italian manufacturing enterprises. Prof. Mazzanti explored the challenges encountered in the circular economy and how eco-innovations are solving issues such as the reduction of water use, the reuse of waste, …
The first circular economy use case was presented by Antoine Le Feuvre, CEO Digital Solutions for Citizens, Consumers and Companies (3C) of SUEZ, Smart & Environmental Solutions. He introduced CircularChain: a concrete example of how blockchain can be used to support the circular economy. “CircularChain, the circular economy blockchain, is the solution to an increased need for trust in sludge sanitary and environmental quality,” Le Feuvre explained. CircularChain leverages blockchain to provide reporting on all wastewater treatment plant transactions.
“CircularChain, the circular economy blockchain, is the solution to an increased need for trust in sludge sanitary and environmental quality,”
– Antoine Le Feuvre, CEO Digital Solutions for Citizens, Consumers and Companies (3C) of SUEZ, Smart & Environmental
The next use case on blockchain-based digital product passports (DPP) was presented by Lorenzo Zullo, Co-Founder & Managing Director of ChemChain. He revealed that the overall idea of ChemChain is to solve the problem of exchanging information along the supply chain. Zullo explained that “by embedding info about the different manufacturing steps into the product & collecting them, companies arrive to an article that embeds some information which enables to distinguish which product cannot be recycled.”
Lastly, Wilhelm Myrer, CEO & Founder of Empower introduced the digital infrastructure for the circular economy developed by Empower. “The Empower circular platform empowers collectors and aggregators to be a valuable part of the value chain and as a result making sourcing traceable, recycled plastics easy & efficient,” Myrer explained. The use case revealed a digital deposit system where the collected plastic waste is delivered in exchange of tokens which are then used or exchanged for local currency, thereby creating jobs.
The circular economy track was concluded by a panel discussion on “Blockchain: the missing link in the circular economy?” The panel comprised the use case presenters and Jérôme Petry, Projet Leader DG Industry, New Technologies and Research at the Ministry of the Economy – (LU). The discussion was moderated by Fabio Fabbi, Digital Pioneer at BIG BO – Boost Innovation Garage Bologna.


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With Independence Day arriving Tuesday, retailers expect a surge in one of the things Americans do best – eat.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts Americans will spend more than $7.1 billion for Independence Day weekend on food items for picnics, barbecues and other celebrations. That’s an increase of about $2 in per-person spending over 2016.
Numbers from the NRF annual survey, conducted by Prosper Insight & Analytics, note that as many as 88 percent of those surveyed (an estimated 219 million Americans) will be celebrating Independence Day weekend, with 162 million of them — 66 percent — taking part in a cookout or picnic, spending an average of $73.42 per person, up from $71.34 last year.
Americans will be showing their patriotic spirit with flags and clothing. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. consumers — 65 percent — own an American flag, while more than half (53 percent) will wear some sort of patriotic themed clothing like T-shirts, bathing suits or shoes. Forty percent own some other patriotic themed decorations, and 28 percent say they plan to buy additional patriotic items.
Fireworks are another popular Independence Day activity, despite July 4 falling on a weekday in 2017. Less than half of Americans — 44 percent — plan to watch fireworks Tuesday night, while 14 percent will watch a parade.
Lower gas prices will also have a noticeable impact on Independence Day activities, with nearly 33 million Americans planning to head out-of-town for the long weekend, up from 31 million last year. The NRF survey found just 18 percent of Americans are concerned about gas prices, down from 21 percent last year; it is at the lowest level since the survey began in 2004.
Worries about gas prices for Independence Day peaked in 2008 when 59 percent of Americans said they were concerned over the cost of gas.


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Fond du Lac theologian's startup aims to save the planet with footprint-less food
Editor’s note: Since the posting of this story, Benjamin Staffeldt of Art Garden Growing Systems approached USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, saying he has a patent pending on the unit. The Network is working to verify Staffeldt's statements and will update the story once more information is available.
FOND DU LAC – For Bradley Seibel, starting a business is a moral crusade more than anything else.
Given his background, that's less surprising. He graduated in May with a degree in theology from Marian University in Fond du Lac. However, he's throwing that energy towards a detour for now: urban farming.
His thesis is simple: Why buy vegetables if you can grow them at home? To do that, Seibel has devised a contraption that he hopes will replace coffee tables and kitchen islands. It's a 55-gallon drum wrapped in reflective material, with 42 slots that can grow plants of all kinds.
Armed with an array of troubling statistics about climate change, Seibel recently unveiled his invention before a crowd of a dozen or so, at the Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts in Fond du Lac.
"We have the knowledge to meet these challenges, we can do it," Seibel said. "We just have to open our minds to it."
Though his degree at Marian University puts him on-track to become a pastor, Seibel feels compelled to make an honest effort to encourage people to grow their own food, eliminating the need for vegetables to be trucked to grocery stores, he said.
But Seibel wasn't always driven to save the planet.
As a "rebellious" teenager out of high school, Seibel lived as an atheist and had never eaten homegrown vegetables, he said. He was unhappy and searching for a change.
He found his way to a spiritual retreat, called Bumpity Road in Portage. During his three months there, he found God and tasted his first vegetable.
Both were a revelation.
"That was the first time I had food straight from the garden," Seibel said. "When you've only had food at a store, it's like night and day. I was just amazed at how good everything tasted and how good it made me feel."
Seibel's business, Aero Abundance, relies on a process called aeroponics, where plants feed on nutrients from mist. The pump is mounted into a hexagon-shaped coffee table that delivers nutrients through a series to plastic tubes to the plants. Seeds aren't planted in soil, but a wool made from coconut husk fibers.
He's worked with groups in Milwaukee and Portland, Oregon that advocate sustainable farming. And during his presentation, he found a receptive ear in Fond du Lac's Farm2Table Co-Op, who listened intently as he outlined his proposal.
He's still tinkering with the design of the product. While the prototype he shows off for the crowd is shaped like a cylinder, he's considering building a cone-shaped contraption that can better-catch light.
So far, light is the biggest challenge. He uses a searing red and blue LED light that mimics UV rays to light the contraption. That throws the tomatoes, herbs and lettuce into a faster growing cycle.
In all, the contraption cost Seibel about $500 to build. It whirs to life after Seibel plugs it into an outlet, pumping nutrients to the 42 plants poking out of tubes on the side of the barrel. The machine is self-sufficient, he said, and can produce a stream of vegetables without regular watering or attention.
A business model might entail Seibel building a machine for a client, then checking up on it. He's assembling a board of directors now to chart a path forward.
Realizing his dream will take plenty of work, Seibel is still enthralled.
"I had this vision for this self-contained system and It's just consumed me," Seibel said. "It's (about) reducing greenhouse gas emissions (and) reducing food insecurity."
Strengths: In industries like agriculture, there's plenty of expertise to consult in Fond du Lac County
Weaknesses: Like much of Wisconsin, Fond du Lac County is reliant on just a few legacy industries
Opportunities: As awareness for the necessity of sustainable living improves, demand and business opportunities could too


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In DepthFrom OLED to audio, we pull back the curtain on the future of home entertainment.
Sony finally pulls the trigger on availability for its 55- and 65-inch 4K Ultra HD sets, plus details on that 4K media player.
Gary MarshallThere's no money in home entertainment, says Philips, and ailing electronics firms would agree. The money is moving, and it's moving into mobile.
UpdatedThere'll be no more speakers, Blu-ray players or headphones from Philips as the company has sold off its audio and video business.
InterviewBlu-ray Disc Association's Marty Gordon explains why Blu-ray is still essential in the home-ent market.
Even the world's most sophisticated computers couldn't sink Titanic the way it sank back in April 1912.


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China should complete its transition to a market economy — through enterprise, land, labor, and financial sector reforms — strengthen its private sector, open its markets to greater competition and innovation, and ensure equality of opportunity to help achieve its goal of a new structure for economic growth.
Property protests have been erupting in China. Unhappy people were picketing outside a developer’s office in Shanghai Friday, while a blockaded village mourned the death of a local man who’d been leading a fight against land seizure
[youtubeplaylist PL9AB3E7A1B3F0A214 400 300]
The Labor Ministry is coordinating with companies to temporarily hire over 300,000 workers who have been left jobless by the flooding. The Labor Ministry’s flood relief center reported that approximately 8,450 companies and 320,000 workers have been affected by the flooding between October 1 and 13.
The Federation of Thai Industries president has indicated that the cost of flood damage to the industrial sector in Ayutthaya Province stands at between 70 and 80 billion baht. He urges the government to provide extra help to flood-hit SMEs. Federation of Thai Industries, or FTI, President Payungsak Chartsuthipol said the current floods have badly affected the industrial sector in Ayutthaya Province, which has over 100,000 workers and more than 500 factories. These factories are mostly involved in the auto parts, electrical appliances and electronics, textiles and rubber goods industries.
The Commerce Ministry reports that Thailand’s export in May picked up 17.6 percent from the same period last year. Despite risk factors like political instability in Thailand and in the Middle East, the strengthening baht and rising oil prices, the ministry believes this year’s export will grow by 15 percent as targeted. Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai stated that export for May was worth 19.4 billion US dollars, or a 17.6-percent rise year-on-year, while import saw a 33.8-percent expansion, worth 19.1 billion US dollars, leaving a surplus of 278 million dollars.
Thailand Business News In the “land of smiles”, the real estate market is really attractive and the requirements to buy or rent an apartment or a condo are easier. Welcome to Thailand where more than 8,000 French and over 15,000 American expats have been attracted by the quality of life, the strong purchasing power and the amazing tropical climate. Share this Article
Thailand Business News According to the latest Condominium Market Report from Colliers International Thailand approximately 10,800 units were launched in Q1 2011 with slightly more coming from suburban Bangkok . Share this Article


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The second edition of international conference on Fisheries and Aquaculture exhibition 2015 organized by the International Institute of Knowledge Management will be held from August 25 - 26, 2015 at Hotel Galadari.
The conference is co-hosted by World Aquaculture Society, National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency and Export Development Board.
The event will see the participation of more than 100 representatives from 40 countries.
Around 50 research reports in the fields of advances in seafood processing, Crustacean culture, emerging issues in Aquaculture, Aquaculture standards and certifications, and more will be discussed.
The main objectives of the exhibition will be to develop direct relationship with foreign buyers and to raise the profile of company and products in the international industry.
Fish and fishery product sector contributes for about 9% of the total agricultural exports from Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan Fish and fishery product sector has shown a 8% growth over the last five years.
In 2014, Sri Lanka managed to secure the third place in the world's fresh and chilled tuna export sector with 10% market share.
In 2014, total exports of fish and fishery products reached US$ 253 million and the USA, Japan, Italy, UK, the Netherlands were the main export markets.
In 2014, total exports of ornamental fish reached US$ 13 million.


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Steam Sees 100 Percent Growth in 2011News
Valve says that Steam has enjoyed 100 percent growth in 2011, marking the seventh consecutive year the digital retail and distribution platform has doubled its sales. In 2011 Steam’s catalogue of titles grew to 18,000 titles and its user base grew to over 40 million. The company also claimed that 780 Petabytes of data was purchased by customers.
Over 14.5 million Steamworks-enabled games were registered in 2011, a 67 percent increase over 2010. Steamworks is included in over 400 individual titles.
“Steam and Steamworks continues to evolve to keep up with customer and developer demands for new services and content,” Valve’s co-founder and president Gabe Newell said. “Support for in-game item trading prompted the exchange of over 19m items. Support for free-to-play (FTP) games, launched in June, has spurred the launch of 18 FTP titles on Steam, with more coming in 2012.”
Newell went on to say that the company is looking forward to the launch of the Big Picture UI mode, which he says will allow “gamers to experience Steam on large displays and in more rooms of the house.”
As many of you know, Valve/Steam are known for their constant sells on games. But especially during the Holiday seasons. Do you think this added into their growth? Why or why not? Also, did you partake in these sales during the past seasons? Let us know, and also let us know the titles you bought!