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Laurel Grove Capital LLC increased its stake in FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX) by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,710 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,170 shares during the quarter. FedEx comprises about 2.9% of Laurel Grove Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Laurel Grove Capital LLC’s holdings in FedEx were worth $5,709,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FDX. Vigilant Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in FedEx during the second quarter worth about $114,000. Lenox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in FedEx during the third quarter worth about $120,000. Fortis Advisors LLC grew its position in FedEx by 278.2% during the second quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 503 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in FedEx during the second quarter worth about $129,000. Finally, IMA Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in FedEx during the second quarter worth about $136,000. Institutional investors own 72.77% of the company’s stock.
In other news, Director John A. Edwardson sold 1,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.35, for a total value of $281,126.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,949,080. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 8.50% of the company’s stock.
FDX opened at $221.00 on Friday. FedEx Co. has a 12-month low of $214.17 and a 12-month high of $274.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.44.
FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, September 17th. The shipping service provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.78 by ($0.32). FedEx had a return on equity of 23.71% and a net margin of 7.16%. The firm had revenue of $17.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 earnings per share. FedEx’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that FedEx Co. will post 17.36 EPS for the current year.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 10th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 7th. FedEx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.98%.
Several equities analysts recently commented on FDX shares. Zacks Investment Research cut FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 21st. Berenberg Bank started coverage on FedEx in a research report on Friday, September 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley restated a “hold” rating and set a $242.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of FedEx in a research report on Tuesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of FedEx in a research report on Tuesday, September 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $275.00 target price on FedEx and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.27.
FedEx Corporation provides transportation, e-commerce, and business services worldwide. The company's FedEx Express segment offers shipping services for delivery of packages and freight. Its FedEx Ground segment provides business and residential money-back guaranteed ground package delivery services; and consolidates and delivers low-weight and less time-sensitive business-to-consumer packages.
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It’s happening! The first PSVR2 trophies hit Sony’s servers
We are now weeks away from the release of Sony’s next-generation virtual reality headset PSVR2, and the first trophies are starting to hit the platform holder’s servers. Arcade-inspired American football outing 2MD: VR Football Unleashed All-Stars is the first to have its gongs published – and yes, there’s a Platinum to try if you think you’re a master of the two-minute drill.
In total, there are 25 trinkets to collect, many of which revolve around scoring touchdowns, scoring points and winning matches. We had a problem PSVR The original ramped up a bit at later levels, but assuming this version isn’t hard enough, earning Platinum shouldn’t bother you too much – especially if you consider yourself a potential Patrick Mahomes.
Check the latest gaming news here.

domain: news


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This week while writing about Internet advertising I came across quite a few statistics – it seems like many of the market research firms may have been timing the release of their data to coincide with the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) Annual Conference being held in Arizona. Here’s a roundup and links to the highlights:
IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report: Internet advertising revenues in the U.S. totaled nearly $10 billion for the first six months of 2007, with Q1 accounting for approximately $4.9 billion and Q2 totaling approximately $5.1 billion; Internet advertising revenues for the first six months of 2007 increased 26.4% from the same period in 2006; Search revenue accounted for 40% of 2007 second-quarter revenues; 2007 revenues for Internet advertising estimated to hit $20-21 billion.
Marketing & Media Ecosystem 2010 study by ANA & Booz Allen Hamilton: 90% percent of marketers plan to increase their digital marketing spending by 2010; only 24% of the 250 survey respondents think their organizations are digitally savvy; barriers to making bigger digital investments are insufficient metrics (62%), lack of organization support (51%) and lack of experience in new media (59%).
Forrester Research’s U.S. Interactive Marketing Forecast 2007-2012: marketing spend will grow to $61 billion by 2012, an increase driven by marketers who will leverage a distribution of channels rather than pour new spends into a single place; Interactive marketing will top $61 billion By 2012; Search marketing will triple in five years; Social media will drive emerging channels to $10.6 billion by 2012.
eMarketer: Online advertising will hit $21.7 billion in 2007, surpassing radio for the first time ever; $44 billion for Internet advertising by 2011.
Data Centre of China Internet: China’s internet advertising sector is expected to increase by 53.07% in 2007.
And this isn’t a statistic, but Steve Ballmer, president of Microsoft had this to say at the ANA Conference, as reported by CNET: “In world search and advertising, Google is the leader; we’re an aspirant. We have a lot of work to do in search and advertising.”
~ Stairs & Railing ~
Popularity: unranked [?]


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ZTE the Chinese telecom giant rescued from collapse by the Trump administration, eked out a profit in its most recent quarter and said business is “rapidly recovering” after a ban on it buying from U.S. suppliers ended earlier this year.
The Shenzhen, China, company reported a net income of 564 million yuan ($81 million) for the third quarter, down 65% from the period a year ago.
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It’s a new financial year and despite the adverse market conditions the Indian automobile industry has made a successful transition from BS4 to BS6 emission norms. In its order back in 2018 the Supreme Court had mandated that post 31st March 2020, no BS4 compliant vehicles would be registered in the country. From now only cars and bikes with BS6 compliant and therefore more environment-friendly engines can be registered in the country. In the process, automobile companies have decided to pull the plug on many vehicles as they haven’t been given BS6 upgrades and that is a pretty long list. It has cars that include everything from small hatches to big SUVs. Let’s tell you more about some significant set of wheels which won’t be seen in the showrooms anymore.
Tata Safari Storme
The iconic Safari Storme managed to build a cult status for itself over the years, the list of admirers is long and the SUV is no less than a legend for many. The car was originally christened the Safari and was first launched way back in 1998. It was the 2012 facelift of the SUV which was called the Safari Storme. Owing to its varied capabilities of taking on varied terrains the SUV was a darling of civilians and defence forces alike. But with arrival of SUVs like the Harrier and the Hexa, the Storme had to make way.
Toyota Corolla Altis
The Toyota Corolla Altis has been one of most consistent performers in the segment mid-sized sedan segment for a long time. Even at a time when there has been a huge shift towards all kinds of SUVs, the car has clocked decent sales. Then came the Yaris which was feature loaded product and was more affordable for the consumer too and Toyota thought the former would be the better bet in the rapidly changing market dynamics.
The seven-seater BR-V was launched as a cross version of Honda Mobilio and met with instant success in the Indian car market when it came in 2016. It was an affordable MPV with great looks, was loaded with features and came from a reputed brand and that made it quite popular with the customers. The car had Petrol and Diesel engine options along with a CVT variant and that only helped its fortunes. Too bad Honda decided it didn’t deserve a BS upgrade.
This Renault Lodgy MPV also showed a lot of promise when it was launched five years ago. It was an affordable seven-seater that just about had the features expected in the segment. It also came with a frugal and fuel-efficient diesel engine. The frequent comparisons with the Toyota Innova though didn’t help as the car just wasn’t in the same league. With Renault deciding against making their Diesel engine BS6 compatible, the Lodgy story unfortunately saw an uneventful end.
Launched way back in 2014, the Zest compact sedan from Tata Motors was one of the first cars to come with company’s new Impact design philosophy. But the going was tough right from the start as this — with cars like Maruti Suzuki Dzire and Hyundai Xcent — certainly was one of the toughest segments to be in. A few years later came the more advanced Tigor that looked better and had more features. And it was Tigor that was chosen by Tata Motors for a BS6 upgrade.
Another late entrant to the competitive sub-compact sedan was the Volkswagen Ameo. It had some lovely engines and a fantastic gearbox which the enthusiasts still swear by, but the car could just not set the cash registers ringing for Volkswagen. It was also priced slightly on the higher side and some well performing rivals meant the Ameo just could not take off.
The sale numbers the Toyota Etios sedan or the Liva hatchback garnered were consistent but never to Toyota’s liking. These were the most affordable cars from the brand in India, yet were never able to see runaway success. For one they were overpriced for what they offered in terms of quality. And then the Etios became popular in the taxi segment which pulled personal car buyers further away from it. A facelift was attempted and even that couldn’t pull consumers towards it in big numbers.


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Speaking to The Grocer before the annual shareholders’ convention in Bentonville, international president John Menzer said there was potential for an imminent move.
And in a U-turn on previous statements, he hinted Asda could become the backbone for some of the retailer’s future international expansion, fuelling speculation that a deal in the Irish Republic could be sealed within months and mark Asda’s first foray on to the international scene. “It is possible that Asda
could go beyond the UK,” said Menzer. “It is a good brand.”
According to trade sources in Dublin, Asda officials have already carried out soundings south of the border. There have
been unconfirmed reports of an approach to one chain and of contacts with logistics operators. The trade sources suggest Asda’s strategy would be to buy an established player and then expand organically. In recent years, Wal-Mart has been linked with a possible takeover of Dunnes, the family-owned chain that is number two in the Irish Republic with a 22.7% share.
A more likely target, say observers, is Superquinn, with 20 stores and 9% market share, and recently purchased for E450m from the Quinn family by Irish investor consortium Select Holdings. With some of its members involved in property rather than retail, a profitable resale could be on the cards.
With an economy growing at over 5% - the highest in the EU - the Republic would represent an attractive proposition for Asda. Its E6.5bn grocery market is dominated by Tesco, which has a 26% share. Its Irish sales rose 12% last year to E2.14bn.
Meanwhile, Asda’s trading and marketing director Angela Spindler said the retailer intended to use its recent experience with smaller store formats to bring a wide offer, including George, to its new customers in Northern Ireland following its £73.6m deal for 12 of Morrisons’ 13 stores. It chose not to include Downpatrick because of its poor condition.
The stores range from 14,000 to 30,000 sq ft. Asda plans to spend £30m refurbishing them before opening the first four in September. The rest will be trading by Christmas.
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Laurent is the Senior News Editor at Thurrott.com and the Editorial Manager at Petri.com. He's been covering the tech industry for many years and he loves to write about desktop and mobile apps, operating systems, and gaming.
Laurent Giret's Recent Posts
Recent September, 2022 Stories
Discord Voice chat is now available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S consoles.
Amazon's new Kindle comes with a 6-inch 330 PPI high-resolution display, 16GB of storage, and a USB-C port for charging.
Apple is planning to add a new Clean Energy Charging feature to iOS 16 later this fall.
iOS 16 is now available on the iPhone 8 or newer, and the main new feature is a redesigned lock screen that will have always-on capabilities on the iPhone 14 Pro.
Microsoft has just released the Windows 11 Insider builds 22621.598 and 22622.598 for Insiders on the Dev Channel.
Zoom unveiled a new logo today and is also rebranding Zoom Chat to "Zoom Team Chat."
Google has a cheaper version of its Chromecast with Google TV in the pipeline, and more details about it are starting to leak.
Microsoft has opened registrations for its Ignite conference for IT pros on October 12-14, and you'll be able to attend the event digitally and in-person.
Instagram will soon copy Twitter's Retweet feature and let users reshare posts in their feed.
Microsoft will start testing a new Xbox Home Screen with Xbox Insiders, and it's aiming for a 2023 release.
The Windows 11 Insider build 25197 brings back the tablet-optimized taskbar that Microsoft had removed in a recent flight.
Nvidia is expected to unveil its next-gen GPU architecture during its "GeForce Beyond" keynote on September 20.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said yesterday that he’s not seeing RCS support being a top-requested feature from iPhone users.
Apple's second-gen AirPods Pro come with an unchanged design, but the company's new H2 chip delivers improved active noise cancellation and personalized spatial audio.
Apple kicked off its Fall keynote today by unveiling the Apple Watch Series 8, a 2nd-gen Apple Watch SE, and the brand new Apple Watch Ultra.
The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max introduce a new always-on display and a “Dynamic Island” feature replacing the notch.
Apple officially announced its new iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus models today during an event that was pretty light on surprises.
Microsoft unveiled today a cheaper version of its Xbox Elite Series 2 Controller starting at $129.99.
Meta will be holding a new Connect event on October 11 to share updates on its various metaverse projects.
Google is enabling eco-friendly routing in its Maps app across 40 European countries.
Google will hold a hardware event on October 6 where we should see the Pixel 7 and the new Pixel Watch.
Today's Xbox update brings a new noise suppression feature for Xbox Party Chat on Xbox Series X|S consoles.
Train Sim World 3 and Metal: Hellsinger headline the first wave of games coming to the Game Pass library in September.
Google released an update for its Chrome browser last week to fix a serious zero-day vulnerability.
Netflix reportedly wants to launch its new ad-supported tier a full month before Disney+ does the same.
The US army is about to receive a first batch of HoloLens headsets customized by Microsoft for military troops.
Microsoft Edge 105 brings WebAssembly support for Edge’s Enhanced security mode for 64-bit versions of Windows.


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When rich companies with politically-connected lobbyists and seats on government-appointed bodies bend policies for their own ends, we are in serious trouble. In the US, many senior figures from the Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) industry have moved with ease to take up positions with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In 1998, senior Monsanto figure Phil Angell stated in the New York Times Magazine that Monsanto should not have to vouch for the safety of biotech food and that its interest is in selling as much of it as possible, while assuring its safety is the FDA’s job.
The revolving door between top figures at Monsanto and positions at the FDA, however, makes it very difficult to see just how the safety of biotech food can be independently guaranteed. As will be shown, this may well have important implications for India.
The onus has been placed on the likes of Prof Seralini at the University of Caen in France to test previously independently untested GMOs that are already on the market. Consequently, he has been accused of ‘deceit’ simply because his research has raised serious questions about GMOs and health. A prominent figure within the industry recently told me that ‘anti-GM brigade’ (which apparently includes Professor Seralini) comprises ‘disgusting enemies’ of poor farmers by trying to block a safe product of a ‘frontier technology.’
Little mention there of the tens of thousands of ‘poor farmers’ who took their own lives because of this frontier technology. Little mention too of farmer suicides as a result of falling global commodity prices due to policies that have benefited the same US agribusiness companies. If there is a disgusting enemy, surely it is profiteering corporate-controlled terminator seed technology that has resulted in mass suicides and the destruction of traditional farmer-controlled agricultural practices developed over thousands of years.
The GMO agenda represents the so-called ‘Green Revolution’s’ second coming. Environmentalist Vandana Shiva notes that after the Second World War, chemical weapons’ manufacturers turned their attention to farming. ‘Dwarf seeds’ were purposively created to specifically respond to their chemicals and agriculture soon became transformed into a chemical-dependent industry that has, among other things, negatively impacted biodiversity.
This type of agriculture has proved extremely lucrative for the oil and chemicals manufacturing industries and has served to maintain sestern hegemony, not least via ‘structural adjustment’ policies and the consequent uprooting of traditional farming practices in favour of single-crop export-oriented policies, dam building to cater for what became a highly water intensive industry, debt and dependency.
Apart from tying poorer countries into an unequal system of global trade and reinforcing global inequalities, the corporate hijacking of food and agriculture has had many other implications, not least where health is concerned.
Dr Meryl Hammond of the Campaign for Alternatives to Pesticides told a Canadian parliament committee in 2009 that a raft of studies published in prestigious peer-reviewed journals point to strong associations between chemical pesticides and a vast range of serious life-threatening health consequences.
But anyone who questions the safety of GMOs can expect a bumpy ride. The same prominent GMO sector figure referred to earlier says that certain ‘scientific jokers’ (credible scientists like Seralini) would not be allowed to set foot in the ‘real world of science’ in North America and that they have an impact in countries like India because of ‘ignoramuses.’
But can we expect much better of an industry that has a record of smearing people who criticise it? Not only that, sections of the industry have bullied farmers with lawsuits in North America, have been charged with and often found guilty of contaminating the environment and seriously damaging health with PCBs and dioxins and have been complicit in concealing the deadly impact of GM corn on animals. The industry has also been associated with bribery, linked with human rights violations in Brazil and will not label its foods in the US as containing GMOs.
India’s Knowledge Initiative on agriculture was drawn up with the full and direct participation of representatives from various companies, including Monsanto, Cargill and Walmart. Unsurprisingly, the pressure is now building to release GM food onto the market. It is interesting that the Supreme Court has not banned open field trials of GM food crops. Contamination of traditional crops by GM crops thus remains a serious issue.
In 2001, Don Westfall, a leading biotech industry figure, was quoted in the Toronto Star as saying that the hope of the industry is that over time the market is so flooded with GMOs that there’s nothing you can do about it. Open field planting is but one way of achieving this. The European Commission has already suspected GMO contamination in exported basmati rice from India.
Robert Fraley, a senior Monsanto figure in 1996, was quoted at the time in Farm Journal as stating that what we are seeing is not just a consolidation of seed companies, but a consolidation of the entire food chain. As US agribusiness seeks to “consolidate the entire food chain,” it is clear that it’s not just our health that is at stake, but the global control of food, countries and populations too.


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Russia bestows Hyundai with quality management prizeHyundai Motor Manufacturing Russia won a quality management award from the Russian government yesterday, the first of its kind given to a foreign company.
The automaker received the grand prize in the large-company category - consisting of companies with more than 1,000 employees - at the government complex in Moscow. The awards ceremony was led by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, while other high-level officials attended.
Hyundai received the award just three years after opening a production line in Russia. The company was praised for the quality of its cars, as well as its corporate leadership, customer service and corporate social responsibility efforts.
With the award, Hyundai hopes to boost its brand awareness, not only in Russia but elsewhere in Eastern Europe, too. A flagship model of Hyundai Motor Russia, Solaris, also called Accent in Korea, is the best-selling imported compact car in the country, holding almost 15 percent of the market share. The model was also chosen as the best compact car at the Russian Car of the Year awards.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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One thing is for sure, marketers still need to keep a visible presence on Twitter to promote their products or services. But since April 29th the “Twitter rules” have changed.
After Twitter’s announcement that it would no longer offer its API for free, some social management tools chose not to support the platform anymore.
These apps were often smaller or less established companies that could not afford the new pricing structure. But also big corporations like Microsoft (more on that later).
This article will explore four popular tools that stopped the Twitter integration, the reasons behind this change, and what options you have moving forward.
Reasons Why Some Tools Stopped Supporting Twitter
For these businesses, declining Twitter integration from their application was not an easy decision. Here are three main reasons for dropping Twitter.
First off, with $42,000 per month, the new pricing structure was simply too expensive to justify. These companies may have relied on Twitter data in the past, but the increased cost made it difficult to continue to provide the service.
As a result, some businesses decided to focus their efforts on other social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram that offered a more affordable API.
The second issue is that it is getting more and more difficult to stay competitive. With the new pricing structure, only larger companies can invest in the Twitter API, allowing them to provide more advanced and feature-rich services.
Smaller businesses will find it difficult to compete with these more established players and may choose to focus on other areas of their business.
Low Customer Data Value
Last, some companies may have felt that the value of Twitter data had decreased.
With the increased cost of the API, it is more challenging to extract value from Twitter information, making it less attractive to some businesses.
In some cases, businesses may have found that the data provided by other social media like Facebook or LinkedIn were more valuable and chose to focus their efforts on them.
4 Tools That Stopped the Twitter Integration
Below we will explore four software that has stopped offering Twitter integration and why they made this decision.
Microsoft announced that from April 25, 2023, Smart Campaigns with Multi-platform will no longer support Twitter integration.
Thus, users will no longer be able to use the social media management tool within the Digital Marketing Center to access their Twitter accounts. This includes scheduling, creating, and managing tweets or tweet drafts, as well as viewing past tweets and engagement on the Microsoft Advertising platform.
One of the tools that stopped the Twitter integration was FeedHive. In a recent tweet, Simon Hoiberg expressed his concern over the new cost for Twitter API. He went on to explain that such a hefty price tag was a lot of money for his company, but he remained optimistic about the future.
Despite the financial setback, Hoiberg stated that he was willing to step down and move on from using the Twitter API. He acknowledged that FeedHive redirected its resources towards other areas of expansion.
After a recent decision to discontinue its support for Twitter, Flipboard has announced that it will be transitioning to the Mastodon platform. The company’s decision to make this shift was based on several factors, including their belief that Mastodon is an emerging microblogging service that is similar to Twitter, but with some important differences.
In addition to these technical features, Flipboard also believes that Mastodon is a more profitable platform than Twitter.
JetPack Social also does not support Twitter integration anymore. They announced that they experienced an unexpected suspension from Twitter API. Despite their efforts to negotiate with Twitter, the company was unable to reach an agreement with the social media platform.
As a result, now you will not be able to automatically share your blog posts on Twitter. However, the company has provided a workaround for users who still want to share their posts on Twitter. You can insert the link manually to share your posts.
Importance of Twitter Integration
Twitter’s API changes highlighted the importance of cost and value in the third-party application market, but that doesn’t mean Twitter is no longer an attractive platform for marketers.
Here will explore the importance of Twitter integration from third-party apps and how it can benefit businesses.
- Twitter has over 330 million active users, making it one of the largest social media platforms in the world.
- It allows businesses to connect with customers on a more personal level, providing a platform for engagement and conversation.
- You can monitor industry trends and gain valuable insights into customer behavior.
- It provides businesses with a platform for real-time marketing and customer service, allowing them to respond quickly to customer inquiries and complaints.
- Twitter’s hashtag system lets businesses increase their reach and visibility by joining relevant conversations.
- Twitter’s advertising platform provides businesses with the ability to target specific audiences and increase their visibility on the platform.
- You can use Twitter to drive website traffic and increase brand awareness.
If you want to know more interesting Twitter statistics, read more in this article.
Keep Tweeting with Publer or Happy Tweeting with Publer
Knowing the importance of Twitter as a social media platform, Publer has made the decision to switch to the Enterprise tier. Despite the costs associated with using Twitter’s API, Publer remains committed to providing a free plan to its users.
However, in order to access the Twitter integration, you need to upgrade to at least one of Publer’s paid plans.
At Publer, we are constantly striving to improve our platform and always adding new features, with a focus on providing our 200,000 users with the best possible experience.
If you are interested in learning more about Publer’s features, we encourage you to explore our platform and take advantage of our detailed documentation and support resources.
Our goal is to provide a comprehensive social media management solution that meets the needs of businesses and individuals of all sizes, and we are committed to continuing to innovate and improve our platform over time.
It might interest you: 5 Tools that Support Twitter Integration in 2023
Now that you know more about the social management tools that stopped the Twitter integration, let’s do a quick recap.
- Social management tools have left Twitter’s API due to the high cost of accessing Twitter data.
- Small businesses are limited in their access to Enterprise features because of the new price, which only large companies can afford.
- Despite this, Twitter remains crucial for marketing strategy due to its extensive user base, advertising capabilities, and customer service.
- Publer still integrates Twitter into its social network management tool (available in paid version).
Now it’s your turn. We would love to hear your feedback on our article.
Did you have any experience using any of these tools for your social media management? Be the first to comment below!


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Facebook abuses a phone number in a form not intended by the user
Facebook has frequently been criticized for handling personal information since one case where user data of 50 million people was illegally used . Such Facebook was criticized as "It is using the user's telephone number for the target advertisement", but it is receiving additional criticism that it is "misusing it even in a form not intended by the user" newly.
Facebook Doubles Down On Misusing Your Phone Number | Electronic Frontier Foundation
In order to improve security of account using Facebook on 2 element authentication and to have warning of new login information for your own account, the user needs to link his / her phone number with account information. It has been revealed that Facebook uses this phone number for targeted advertisement, and many criticisms have gathered against it.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has launched a project called " Fix It Already " seeking consumer privacy protection and security enhancement for nine services provided by major IT companies, among which "Facebook is a user I'd like to return my phone number to its original location "from the end of February 2019.
Facebook should should leave your phone number where you put it - Fix It Already
In addition to these criticisms, EFF points out that Facebook is exploiting the user's phone number information in another way. How Facebook tries to exploit phone number information is that "phone number that the user provided for two-factor authentication" can be used as "information for searching for other users" on the service I was designing it. In other words, EFF asserts that the phone number you have registered to improve the security of your account is used for another purpose.
In " Privacy setting of Facebook", "Search and contact settings" → "People who can search me by using a phone number" can search for their own account by telephone number as "Everyone" "Friends of Friends" You can choose from three of "Friends". However, EFF pointed out, "You can not completely exclude the option to search accounts by phone number".
"Over the years Facebook has claimed that adding a phone number with two factor authentication is only for security but still it is possible to search users from phone numbers and disable it There is no way to point out "There are users who point out.
Now it can be searched and there there is no way to disable that. Pic.twitter.com/zpYhuwADMS- Jeremy Burge ???????? (@ jeremyburge) March 1, 2019
Nothing has been pointed out now that Facebook has problems with search function by phone number . Following the scandal by Cambridge Analytica , Facebook shows a policy of modifying the use of personal information in April 2018.
Mr. Zuckerberg suggests that the majority of 2 billion Facebook users may have acquired some personal information - GIGAZINE
As a result, at the time of article creation, other users can not directly enter the phone number on the search bar to find a profile of a specific individual on Facebook. However, "other methods, for example, someone such as when you upload to Facebook your contact information from their mobile phone" instead in, the Facebook spokesman and it is possible to look for the user from the telephone number story It is. Regarding this, EFF also said that even with the method of "entering a phone number directly into the search bar of Facebook", "by uploading a phone number from a contact and searching for a user" It is possible to find a specific account "is not changed" is written.
It was in the summer of 2018 that Facebook began asking users to enable two-factor authentication. More people are using new security features, and at the same time the number of users who wonder how to handle Facebook phone numbers is also increasing. Facebook has stopped seeking registration of a phone number to validate two-factor authentication in May 2018, but it still points out that two-factor authentication remains the most convenient option for many users There is also.
The way users use their phone numbers on Facebook is extensive and contrary to users' expectations and security best practices, it can be said that users have published phone numbers registered for two-factor authentication to advertisers and every Facebook user And that. EFF points out that Facebook has to fix this before more people are at risk.
in Web Service, Posted by logu_ii


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Celcom Axiata Berhad strengthened its position and performed better than the industry’s average growth as its quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) service revenue and total revenue stood at RM1.495 billion and RM1.621 billion – an increase of 1.4% and 0.7%, respectively.
Despite industry challenges, Celcom continued to stabilise with a strong overall data performance in 2017. Its data revenue soared 27.6% year-on-year (YoY) to RM706mil, contributing 43.5% to the company’s total revenue.
Additionally, data consumption rose 23.2% QoQ to 6.2GB, per month per active data user, compared to 5.0GB. This was supported by a higher smartphone penetration of 69% from 66% QoQ.
• Increase in service revenue to RM1.495 billion (1.4%), total revenue at RM1.621 billion (+0.7%)quarter-on-quarter (QoQ)
• Data revenue soared 27.6.% year-on-year (YoY) to RM706 million
• Data consumption up by 23.2% to 6.2GB per month QoQ
• Postpaid revenue grew by 8.2% year-to-date (YTD)
• Normalised PATAMI up 22.9% while normalised EBITDA margin improved by 2.3% QoQ
• Maintained guidance of RM1billion investment for continued network upgrades
Continuous drive on data offerings under Celcom’s FIRST™ Gold, FIRST™ Gold Plus and FIRST™ Platinum with higher Internet data allowance, contributed positively to the postpaid revenue with an 8.2% year-to-date (YTD).
Normalised EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) totalled RM630 million, a 7.2% increase QoQ from RM587 million. Celcom delivered normalised PATAMI (profit after tax, amortisation and minority interests) at RM331 million, a 22.9% increase from RM269 million QoQ.
For the quarter under review, Celcom saw a 3.1% decline in its subscriber base, with a total of 9.93 million subscribers, down from its 10.25 million subscribers in Q117.
CAPEX guidance (capital expenditure) remains at RM1.5 billion for this year, of which investments for ongoing network expansion will be around RM1billion within the approved budget.
Michael Kuehner, Chief Executive Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad said he was pleased with the quarterly performance as it showed positive signs of further stabilisation in an increasingly saturated industry.
“We are making steady progress, further cementing our position in the market. We have improved the way we approach our consumers’ needs and have streamlined our financial and operational management – measures that will sustain Celcom’s continued growth,” he said.
On factors influencing the improved quarter, Michael said the Celcom sales and distribution ecosystem played a role, as it was continuously strengthened throughout the quarter, resulting in an improvement of Celcom’s base of active dealership.
“We had also initiated the dealer digitisation programme which not only improved the availability overall, but also enabled a better dealer experience in terms of acquisition and mobile internet provisioning at retail outlets,” he said.
For network updates, Michael said Celcom will deliver on its promise for best video experience, noting that Celcom’s LTE population coverage has reached 77%, at the end of the second quarter.
On the recent spectrum refarming project, Michael said it was successfully completed by a high-calibre cross-functional team, ahead of the deadlines set by Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
“The first phase was delivered in March and second phase, by the end of June – both phases two weeks ahead of the stipulated deadlines. Extreme care was taken to re-plan the network as per the new frequency allocation to ensure continuous superior consumer experience and unmatched service quality.
“The telecommunication spectrum refarming of 900MHz and 1800MHz frequencies, will deliver enhanced network services at affordable rates in the urban and the rural areas in future,” he said adding that both refarming exercises covered 7,400 sites in six regions.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Wong, Chief Financial Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad said the ongoing cost optimisation efforts under the transformational Accelerated Cost Efficiency (ACE) programme, is expected to further strengthen the company’s profitability.
Successful initiatives that complemented the improved quarter:
• The biggest internet plans up to 70GB from Celcom FIRST™ can be easily shared, with GBSHARE™;
• Easy and affordable ownership of smartphones for the festive season with EasyPhone™;
• Being first in Malaysia to adopt Rich Communication Services (RCS), an Android messaging service by Celcom in partnership with Google;
• Entertainment pack, Video Walla™ and Music Walla™, a dedicated feature to provide the best entertainment content and further enhancing overall mobile experience;
• Xpax Introduces KAWKAW™ Squad Exclusively for Students – more data without additional charge;
• In April, Celcom was the first telco in the country to unveil Lightning Fast LTE, where its LTE Advanced network saw transmission speeds up to and beyond 400Mbps, supporting extremely high speeds in connectivity, high-quality access to multimedia services and the best digital customer experience ever.
Michael said the company is optimistic for improved business performance with a firm focus on consumer experience, and regaining some of the market share, by the year end.
“People, innovation, technology and processes are essential for Celcom to provide an awesome consumer experience. We are determined to mobilise all our resources to drive our transformation initiative and achieve our ambitious consumer experience goals. Stay tuned,” he concluded.
For more info, visit: http://axiata.listedcompany.com/misc/Axiata_Presentation_2Q17.pdf
About Celcom Axiata Berhad
Celcom is Malaysia’s leading data network provider, with almost 10 million customers. Established in 1988, it boasts the widest national 2G, 3G and 4G LTE networks, covering over 98% of the population. Currently the largest mobile broadband and corporate services provider, Celcom is now moving towards integrated multi-access and multimedia services, in line with evolving technologies and consumer behaviour in Malaysia. A culture that places the customer FIRST™ is reflected in our award-winning customer service, products, and other corporate accolades at a regional level. Celcom is part of the Axiata Group of Companies, one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies, with close to 300 million customers across 10 Asian markets. For more information on Celcom, log on to http://www.celcom.com.my


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Britain's famous plasticine pair celebrate their 20th anniversary with a special gift from search giant Google.
Wallace, the absent-minded inventor, and his gifted dog Gromit first graced our screens in 1989 with their short film, A Grand Day Out, and since then their animated series has spawned two spin-off shows and a handful of feature-length episodes. Their Christmas special last year was considered a highlight on the BBC's winter schedule and they've proved so popular over the years that they're often described as icons of British culture. Cementing their prominent status, as they celebrate two decades of creation, Google -- the world's most visited website -- is now honouring their anniversary with a special doodle design on their homepage. This is big news. No, honestly, it is.
The Google Doodle design celebrates special events, such as the Olympics, national holidays and milestone birthdays and anniversaries but Wallace and Gromit, which is filmed entirely through timely stop motion clay animation, is one of the first British shows to be featured as a design on the search page. It follows in the footsteps of one of the world's most famous pacifists, Mahatma Gandhi, whose 140th birthday was celebrated by Google last month.
By clicking the design you will be taken to search results about the show, the first of which continues to celebrate its landmark anniversary, but to save you the trouble here are some clips from our favourite Wallace and Gromit moments:
Who knew penguins could be so scary:
Wallace falls in love:
We love their gadgets! If only they were real:
While the UK version of Google marks the anniversary of the famous animated series the American one is celebrating the 40th birthday of children's classic, Sesame Street. We're glad to see that the search giant appreciates good TV when it sees it. Bravo!


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Figures from a new study by ABI Research reveal that annual global sales of “dual-mode” mobile phones – clever-clogs handsets that can connect to either a conventional cellular service or a Wi-Fi network – are likely to exceed 100 million during the final year of this decade.
Currently, such dual mode devices are as familiar to the public as the five headed Dongo Worm, with most of the enterprise sector equally clueless.
But according to ABI Research senior analyst Philip Solis, some of the King Dongs of global telecommunications – notably British Telecom and Korea Telecom – plan to roll out dual-mode services as soon as the end of 2005.
“The advantages of dual mode handsets and services, when they arrive, can be summed up in two words: seamless and economical,” he said.
In the wonderful future world of dual mode phones, seamless network switching between networks is promised, although all the groovy stuff is unlikely to appear in the first generation of products.
When the technology is mature, users should be able to ring up a chum and start rabbiting at home, with the phone connecting via the residential Wi-Fi network, in turn connected to a broadband VoIP phone service.
The nattering can continue uninterrupted in the car to work, with the phone automatically switching to a cellular network, and there’d be no need for the marathon chinwag to come to an end upon arrival at work, as the phone could switch to the company’s 802.11 LAN, and VoIP.
Despite all the travelling through different locations, the smartypants handset would sense the available signals and switch automatically from one network mode to another, keeping the user connected at the lowest cost.
With the Digital Lifestyle office currently sporting a desk-hogging, charger-needing collection of mobile phones, DECT phones and Skype phones, we can’t wait for the telecoms convergence revolution to happen.
Elsewhere, Infonetics Research has predicted that VoIP service revenues will jump from 2004’s US$1.3 billion (~€1.01bn~£690m) to US$19.9 billion (~€15.5bn~£10.5bn) in 2009 – a 1,431% jump.
Infonetics directing analyst Kevin Mitchell commented that part of this growth can be attributed to the technology’s newness, noting that with VoIP services representing less than 1% of wireline carrier revenue in North America last year, the market can’t really go anywhere but up.
“Growth is driven by carrier footprint and solution expansion, marketing, and service bundling, leading to more adoption by new business/government/education and residential/SOHO customers and increased usage at more sites,” Mitchell said in a statement. “Our forecast also assumes that revenue growth is due to incremental revenue from add-on VoIP applications, such as conferencing, remote office integration, presence/location-based services, and collaboration.”
Infonetics also expects the number of residential and small office/home office VoIP subscribers to rocket from 1.1 million in the last year to 20.8 million in 2008.


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Marijuana could soon be legalised in Copenhagen, after the city voted overwhelmingly in favour of a scheme that would see the drug sold through a network of state-run shops and cafes.
The scheme, if approved by the Danish parliament at the start of next year, could make the city the first to fully legalise, rather than simply tolerate, marijuana consumption.
The drug is already sold openly on the streets of Christiania, a self-proclaimed ‘free town’ in the city centre, despite the closure of the neighbourhood’s Amsterdam-style coffee shops in 2004.
But marijuana has never been officially decriminalised and those caught in possession of even small amounts face fines of up to £450.
“We are thinking of perhaps 30 to 40 public sales houses, where the people aren’t interested in selling you more, they’re interested in you,” said Mikkel Warming, the Mayor in charge of Social Affairs at Copenhagen City Council. “Who is it better for youngsters to buy marijuana from? A drug pusher, who wants them to use more, who wants them to buy hard drugs, or a civil servant?”


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UI-based competition brings ideas for technology reuse, recycling
CHAMPAIGN — Got an old 35-mm film camera stuffed in a drawer somewhere? Don't junk it just yet.
Some enterprising students have come up with a potential way to convert it to a digital camera.
Or turn a computer scanner into an inexpensive microscope that can diagnose skin cancer and other diseases.
Or design a cloud-based mobile phone that you can update, restyle and keep forever.
Those were among the winning ideas in the 2012 International E-Waste Competition sponsored by the Sustainable Electronics Initiative at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, a division of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois.
The annual competition started in 2009 as part of a class taught by William Bullock, a UI professor of industrial design, to encourage students to think of ways to reuse electronic components that would otherwise end up in landfills. Students were asked to create mockups of their ideas — not necessarily working prototypes — and display them on the UI Quad.
The following year, the competition was expanded to include contestants from around the world who submitted ideas through online videos, said Joy Scrogum, project coordinator for the competition and co-coordinator for the Sustainable Electronics Initiative. Industrial design professors at other universities also have assigned the contest to their students.
Corporate sponsors provide prize money, and winners receive cash awards.
"It's been really interesting and sort of amazing and inspiring to see these students from all over the world come together and present ideas," Scrogum said.
This year's winners were announced in December. A team from the UI took third place in the "reuse" category for a fluorescence microscope made out of a recycled scanner.
The concept was submitted by a recent graduate in electrical engineering, Dustin Gallegos, and two current students, Lillian Hislop, a biomedical engineering major, and Zhan Hao "Charley" Xi, who is in general studies.
Fluorescence microscopy is a technique widely used in medical practice and research to detect proteins and cell cultures, allowing doctors to diagnose malaria, skin cancer and other diseases, the students said. Biological specimens are labeled with fluorescence to visually track them, so scientists can monitor how tissues grow or test if certain types of cells are present, Hislop said in a recent interview.
The typical computer scanner has a lens, lamp and mirror, which are also the basic components for a microscope. A fluorescence microscope essentially works the same way as a scanner, by shining a light and then analyzing the reflected light, Hislop said.
The students engineered the scanner with lenses and filters necessary to read and interpret the fluorescent signals.
"Flatbed scanners are very common items. Most households have at least one, and thousands of perfectly usable scanners are disposed of every year. There is very little alteration needed to turn a scanner into a fluorescence microscope since they essentially preform the same function," Hislop said.
"Our design could allow more communities to enter the forefront of medical technology," improving health while reducing waste, according to the group's video presentation. The UI team received a $1,000 prize.
Taking the $3,000 first prize in that category was a pair of industrial design students from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, J. Makai Catudio and Ryan Barnes.
They submitted a concept for a digitizer that would turn a film-based camera into a digital camera using the latest image-sensor technology. It would replace the film capsule in the camera with a digitizer made from reprocessed printed circuit boards, among the most difficult components to recycle, the team said. The digitizer would have an image sensor card and USB port.
The device would repurpose aging cameras, reduce future digital camera waste and reuse materials otherwise headed to landfills, the team said.
The "EverCloud" phone system, designed by a team from Auburn University, took first place in the "prevention" category. The five students — Sean Kennedy, Christi Talbert, Dylan Piper-Kaiser, Sarah Caudle and Daniel Piquero — designed a modular phone platform based on cloud computing that could be personalized and easily updated so that phones wouldn't become outmoded so quickly.
The modular design would make it easier to replace broken parts or swap them out for a new style. And the user's contacts, games and other information would be stored on a central server rather than the handset, speeding up processing time.
Not all the students plan to take their ideas to market, but some winners from past years have begun to develop them into products — including the Boombottle (http://bit.ly/S7BCvV), a portable audio system made out of discarded plastic, reused speaker components and LED lights.
"Coming up with these ideas prepares them well to go out into the world, particularly as industrial designers, where they will be making products and pitching them to clients," Scrogum said.
To see videos and more information on the winning designs: http://www.sustainelectronics.illinois.edu/
Here are some of the other winners in the 2012 International E-Waste Design Competition:
— The Loopbook, third place in the "prevention" category, by Damian Coughlan of the University of Limerick, Ireland.
Made entirely from recycled materials, this combination notebook/tablet computer would be upgradable and easy to repair, its designer says. The core computing module, containing the processor, memory and storage, is upgradable and removable, so it could be used in a new computer body. It also features a telescopic stem that allows the screen to slide out, revealing a keyboard underneath, and be raised up and used as a laptop or notebook computer.
— The Energy Efficient Electricity (E3) Power Outlet, second place in "prevention," by John Lee, Soyoung Bae and Sam Sauceda from California State University at Long Beach.
E3 is a home monitoring energy system designed to help homeowners lower energy bills and prolong the life of their appliances. By installing a home meter and specialized outlets made of recycled plastic and electronic components, homeowners can monitor the energy use of appliances and electronics. Using a smart phone app, a homeowner can disconnect chargers and other devices when they're not in use to avoid "phantom" energy use, thus reducing CO2 emissions. The lifespan of cell phone batteries and other devices are often shortened through overcharging and overheating. The app can also determine the best times to use an appliance or device to avoid peak hours.
— The Wake Up Project, second place "reuse," by Danny Kopren, Sam Wellskopf and Lennon TeRonde from the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
This "smart clock" concept features an alarm clock made almost entirely of old cell phone parts, clocks and plastic from recycled e-waste, and a web interface that tracks a user's wake-up times using software on a reused Internet router.
The user can set a time for the clock to sound every morning. The website would also have information about e-waste and how the consumer could play a role in solving the e-waste problem.


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MANILA - Philippine Airlines said it has refunded about 80 percent of requests and would fulfill all obligations related to canceled bookings due to restrictions imposed to stem the spread of COVID-19.
A total of 60,000 flights were canceled since March affecting 1.3 million passengers which resulted in a "massive deluge of refund requests," the flag carrier said in a Facebook post over the weekend.
The total requests is over $300 million (P15.9 billion), it said.
"We have so far refunded about 80 percent of the more than $300 million (PHP15.9 billion) COVID-related refund requests," PAL said.
"We assure our customers of Philippine Airlines' commitment to fulfill all refund obligations, and we sincerely apologize for the long processing time many of you have experienced," PAL said.
Loss of revenue hampered "prompt" refund payments, but processing capacity has since "stepped up" to address backlogs, it said.
PAL said it has restored about 15 percent of its domestic and global network.
Its rival, Cebu Pacific earlier said it has also refunded some P2.4 billion in canceled booking requests, equivalent to 50 percent of the refund requests it has received.
The global aviation industry is one of the most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, grounding planes worldwide with some airlines reducing staff to stay afloat.


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Smartphone prices have skyrocketed over the years, crossing even $1000 mark. But do those insanely priced phones sell in proportionate volume? The answer lies in the recent market research in which Apple’s iPhone XR has emerged as the top-selling phone in the first half of 2019.
At $749 the iPhone XR is the cheapest compared to the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max but still not that cheap. However, the customers worldwide have showered their love on it more than any other phones across different manufacturers.
According to IHS Market Research, the iPhone XR in the first six months of 2019 have shipped nearly 30 million units- 13.6 million units in the first quarter and 13.3 million units in the second quarter. The iPhone XR beats the Galaxy A10 and Galaxy A50 from Samsung to second and third place, respectively by a huge margin.
The Galaxy A10 sold 13.4 million units and the Galaxy A50 sold 12 million units in the first half of the current year. This is despite them being greatly cheaper than the iPhone XR. IHS Market Research and Analyst Director Jusy Hong has an answer for this.
According to him, Apple maintains a small model lineup hence a few of its models account for the vast majority of sales compared to its Android counterparts those keep on releasing phones throughout the year. Their sales get divided in many models of Android smartphones, thus showing a low volume of shipment for each model.
Apple is used to launch two iPhones every year,comprising a regular iPhone and another a Pro version of it. However, in 2018 the Cupertino giant thought to add a third iPhone, the iPhone XR as an affordable option over the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. And it seems the decision has worked for the company with the iPhone XR trumping all other smartphones out there in the wild in terms of shipment.
Apple’s other two iPhones that found a place among the top 10 selling phones in the IHS Market Research list are the iPhone 8 and iPhone XS Max notching up fourth and ninth spots, respectively. Other phones making it to the list are the Redmi 6A (5th), the Redmi Note 7 (6th), the Galaxy J2 Core (7th), the OPPO A5 (8th), and the Galaxy A30 (10th). A point to note, none of the Galaxy S- and Note-series phones has made the cut.


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Last year Nissan gave the Maxima a facelift, so the changes to the 2020 Maxima are minimal.
Nissan has announced that the 2020 Maxima now comes standard with the Nissan Safety Shield 360 safety tech. The SR trim level also now comes standard with a panoramic moonroof and the Intelligent Around View Monitor.
The 2020 Nissan Maxima is offered in S, SV, SL, SR and Platinum trim levels. It comes standard with a 300-hp 3.5L V6 that’s mated to a CVT. The 2020 Maxima starts at $35,145.


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Car2Go, ABB, Tesla, incentives, Electric Circuit.
Car2Go electrifies Madrid: The carsharing scheme set up shop in the Spanish city with an all-electric fleet. Customers will not need to charge themselves. The service team will collect the electric Smarts and charge them at one of the city’s four hubs. After Stuttgart, Amsterdam, and San Diego, Madrid is the fourth city to get an all-electric Car2Go fleet.
daimler.com (in German), elmundo.es (in Spanish), youtube.com (video)
Visa or Mastercard? ABB has added a credit card option for its Terra 53 fast-charger. The technology also supports contactless payment options, such as Apple Pay or Android Pay. Previously installed models can also be retrofitted with the credit card terminal.
Destination China: Tesla says it completed its charging infrastructure grid in North and Northeast China. Most charge points are ‘Destination Charger.’ By adding to its infrastructure, Tesla hopes to make its EV more attractive to potential buyers, as sales in China remain below the company’s expectations.
Incentive: According to a recent study by the University of California, LA (UCLA), 40% of all purchases of plug-in vehicles made between 2010 and 2013 in California were motivated by the possibility of using HOV lanes. The law is up for review in 2019.
Dorval doubles chargers: The Canadian city now hast two new EV charging stations at its sport complex that are part of the country’s Electric Circuit. Dorval had already installed two charge points at the Pierre-Elliott Trudeau Airport.


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No one is calling the recent hurricanes that have battered Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico good news. But as a consequence of those major storms, the NextRadio service from Indianapolis-based Emmis Communication Corp. could get a big boost.
In a nutshell, NextRadio turns smartphones into FM radios. The NextRadio app captures FM signals via a chip that’s already in all smartphones but isn’t automatically activated.
Emmis Chairman Jeff Smulyan has been trying to broker deals for several years to get smartphone makers and cell carriers to activate the chip.
Apple, which appears more interested in selling its own music rather than allowing iPhone users to simply turn on the radio, has resisted Emmis’ efforts, despite Smulyan’s contention that activating the radio chip is important for public safety. He recently told IBJ that the need was demonstrated during the recent rash of hurricanes that rocked parts of the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
“When the power grid is down, there’s no way to get emergency information through a cell phone network or the internet,” Smulyan said, adding that getting television through cable providers is also impossible in those situations. “But commercial radio operators have emergency generators, and if a phone has its FM chip activated, it can be a vital tool for people to get information in the time of a disaster or other emergency.”
On Sept. 28, with the recent hurricanes clearly on his mind, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai strongly urged Apple to flip on the FM chip in its iPhones. It’s the first time Pai, who was recently confirmed by Congress to serve through 2021, has made such a hard push.
Pai isn’t requiring Apple to flip the switch, but that’s something radio industry officials think he might consider. Emmis has been willing to broker financial deals with other cell phone makers for them to turn their chips on, but Smulyan said that it’s been “quite a while” since he or his staff have had any conversations with Apple.
Apple officials did not respond to requests for an interview for this story.
Emmis has been able to broker deals with many of the nation’s top cell carriers—including AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint—and smartphone makers such as Samsung, LG and HTC. Together, the agreements make most Android phones capable of capturing FM radio through the NextRadio app. (For a list of supported devices, click here.)
Now it appears Emmis is getting a major assist from Pai and at least one Florida senator.
“In recent years, I have repeatedly called on the wireless industry to activate the FM chips that are already installed in almost all smartphones sold in the United States. And I’ve specifically pointed out the public safety benefits of doing so,” Pai said in a statement released last week.
“Apple is the one major phone manufacturer that has resisted doing so,” Pai added. “But I hope the company will reconsider its position, given the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. That’s why I am asking Apple to activate the FM chips that are in its iPhones. It is time for Apple to step up to the plate and put the safety of the American people first.”
Florida Sen. Bill Nelson also called on Apple to turn on FM chips in iPhones, which account for more than one-fourth of all U.S. cell phones. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, a Chicago-based investment research firm, estimated more than 95 million Americans use iPhones.
While surveying the damage caused by Hurricane Irma, Nelson told WBBH-TV in Fort Myers, “There’s got to be a way we can activate the [FM] chip [in iPhones]. … Consumers need critical information in times of emergency.”
While Smulyan insists emergency preparedness is the No. 1 issue here, he admits it would be good for NextRadio to have all those iPhone chips turned on.
“If Apple flips the switch on the FM chip, it would make it universal,” Smulyan said. “From that standpoint, it would be a big deal.”
Radio stations are eager to reduce their reliance on streaming their programming over the internet, because the service is costly for them. And they of course welcome any new avenue to bring ears to terrestrial stations and increase listenership.
NextRadio is more than just a conduit for FM signals. Its software uses just a sliver of wireless data to give listeners an interactive experience, allowing them to do everything from tracking which songs stations are playing to buying concert tickets. Emmis officials and others say the service encourages radio listening throughout the day, expanding far beyond morning and evening rush hours.
Emmis is also hopeful that once a big enough mass of people download the app, the company will be able to sell advertising on it.
Fifteen million people have downloaded the NextRadio app, Smulyan told IBJ this week, and 15,000 to 20,000 per day continue to do so. That rate would certainly accelerate if Apple complies with Pai’s plea.
“If the FM chips in iPhones were activated, that could pretty easily mean hundreds of thousands more people downloading the NextRadio app,” said Robert Unmacht, a partner at RTK Media Inc., a Tennessee-based investment banking consultancy focused on broadcasting and technology. “And that could happen in pretty short order.”


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Catherine Dawes is joining Packaging News as features editor.
Dawes will start at Packaging News on 7 November, leaving her position as subeditor of PrintWeek. She replaces Tess Raine, who left last month. A replacement subeditor at PrintWeek has not yet been named.
Haymarket’s Packaging News covers news from all areas of the packaging industry, including marketing and brand insights, new product developments, as well as in-depth analysis of areas of concern, such as environmental issues.


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Total pre-tax profits at the UK’s Top 100 restaurant groups fell from £194m 12 months ago to just £37m, says UHY Hacker Young, based on accounts filed with Companies House as of September 30 2018, compared with those filed the previous year.
Of the UK’s Top 100 restaurant groups, 37 are now loss making.
The drop means that pre-tax profits at the UK’s top 100 restaurant groups have now fallen 89% from £345m since the first quarter of 2017, says UHY Hacker Young.
The fall in profit highlights the ongoing challenges faced by the casual dining sector, including higher business rates, a rising minimum wage and increasing utility costs.
The figures come amid a turbulent year for a number of casual and mid-market restaurant groups, with high-profile casualties including Jamie’s Italian, Carluccio’s and Gourmet Burger Kitchen, all of which have initiated company voluntary arrangements (CVA).
“The downward spiral in profits of restaurant groups reflects the severe difficulties that continue to impact the sector,” says Peter Kubik, partner at UHY Hacker Young.
“Despite the long-term benefits, closing down restaurants is often hugely expensive in the short term. For some struggling restaurant groups that means things will get worse before they get better.”
The company points to a number of restaurant businesses that are defying the downturn, including Wagamama, which opened seven new UK restaurants this year, and Leon, which is expanding into Europe. It insists consumer demand for casual dining is ‘still present’.
“The restaurants that are doing better are those who are innovating by offering their customers something unique,” says Kubik.
Despite the pain being felt by many major restaurant operators, branded restaurants are continuing to grow their share of the market, according to a recent report from research agency MCA Insight.
It reports that group restaurant operators are growing their businesses at a time when the overall restaurant market is seeing turnover decline.


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STMicroelectronics has announced that the company has developed an orientation and motion human interface device sensor in collaboration with Microsoft.
The sensor solution runs on Windows 8 operating system and will be on display at the Microsoft BUILD conference being held at Anaheim from 13-16 September, 2011.
The collaboration with Microsoft further is a testimony to STMicroelectronics’ capability to develop a comprehensive sensor solution with dedicated software and processing capabilities in one unit. Currently in mass production stage, the iNEMO features a three-axis digital accelerometer, digital magnetometer and digital gyroscope, along with sensors to measure barometric pressure and calculate proximity. An STM32 microcontroller uses an Intelligent Interface Controller protocol to control the human interface device (HID) and the iNEMO Engine sensor-fusion algorithms.
The Corporate Vice President, MEMS & Sensor Product Group at STMicroelectronics, Benedetto Vigna stated that by collaborating with Microsoft to enable the sensors run on Windows 8 operating system, the sensor solution is capable of delivering plug-and-play benefits as well as turn-key advantages on both ARM and x86 processors Vigna explained that Windows 8-based sensor scenarios such as indoor location or screen rotation will provide better end user experience since the sensor-controller firmware and Microsoft’s sensor driver stack eliminates the need for external drivers. Additionally, by using the STM32 microcontroller, power saving feature will be integrated into the iNEMO module.


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Kakao Talk unveils digital content shop
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Kakao Talk, a popular mobile messenger in South Korea, will launch an online music and electronic book shop next year as it continues to grow beyond its original mission to provide a simple messaging service.
The shop named "Kakao Page" will provide publishing tools for artists, writers, musicians and other creative types to sell and market their songs, music videos and electronic books to Kakao Talk users, which number 66 million, CEO Sirgoo Lee said Tuesday.
Kakao Inc. has built on the success of its mobile messaging service, which was launched in March 2010, to expand into online games, advertising and other forms of electronic commerce. The company has lost money since being founded in late 2006 but expects to make a profit this year.
The company plans to take a 20 percent cut from Kakao Page sales after giving 30 percent to application store operators like Google or Apple and 50 percent to the content creator.
When launched next year, Kakao Page will be available only in South Korea where roughly half of its users are based, Lee said.
Kakao has been trying to increase its overseas Kakao Talk users by partnering with companies in other markets. Last month, Kakao sold a 50 percent stake in Kakao Japan to Yahoo! Japan, hoping to achieve more growth in Asia's second-largest economy where rival Line messenger by NHN Japan has been expanding rapidly.
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(CNN) – Every year, Carol Suchman donates toys to some of the city’s poorest children.
So when she walked by this shuttered toy and stationery store in the west village with a for rent sign in the window, she had an idea, “When I saw this toy store, I just realized I could just do it on a grander scale for this one year.”
She contacted the owner of Hudson party store and proposed buying everything inside, “We talked and negotiated and bought the entire toy store.”
By store, she means thousands of toys and stuffed animals, and boxes of school supplies too.
She bagged it all up and donated it to the city’s department of homeless services, just in time for the holidays.
“I’ve been doing this for many years and we have many generous sponsors. And people do toy drives and do a lot of giving. But I have to say, that this is the first time anybody ever bought out an entire store and donated to the children of shelters,” said Antonio Rodriguez.
Suchman says she usually donates hundreds of toys each year to give as birthday gifts to foster kids in Brooklyn.
The west village philanthropist has the means to do it, she and her husband once owned a successful technology company, “Children are always my focus. So that’s why I realized a lot of foster kids get a lot of used things and I realized probably a lot of them never had, um, a birthday gift that they actually wanted.”
Thanks to Suchman’s toy-buying spree, thousands of homeless children in the city will have at least one present to open.
Copyright CNN 2015


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Inflation is unavoidable and can have a drastic effect on the cost of food and other goods. Consumers everywhere have had to adjust to the rising prices of their favorite perishable staples. Thankfully, some companies have chosen to fight back against inflation and have kept the price of their goods the same for decades. Below, we discuss who they are and how they’ve been able to do so.
AriZona iced tea
The iconic and beloved AriZona iced tea 23-ounce can came out around 1992, and it has somehow managed to stay the same price for about 30 years. As inflation continues to drive the prices of everything else up high, consumers can trust and rely on the 99-cent price tag of the fan-favorite beverage.
How has the family-owned company kept the cost down for so long? Well, for starters, they sell about one billion cans of 99-cent iced tea a year. That’s no small matter. As well, their other products, including fruit drinks, energy drinks, and bottled teas, are priced higher than 99 cents, making profits roll in regardless of the price of the 23-ounce can staying the same all these years.
Of course, because of the rising costs of everything else, the revenue from the iced tea cans is down compared to previous years. Thankfully, the company’s 70-year-old founder, Don Vultaggio, has no intention of raising the 99-cent price tag. He said, “Consumers don’t need another price increase from a guy like me.” He feels that the short-term profit of raising prices isn’t worth the loss of loyal customers in the long run.
Costco hot dogs
Another family staple that has maintained a ridiculously low price tag is the Costco hot dog and soda meal, coming in at a meager $1.50. Introduced in the 1980s, families visiting the wholesaler could sit down after a long shopping trip to an affordable and delicious hot dog and soft drink at the Costco food court.
Over the years, costs have continued to rise, and current Costco CEO Craig Jelinek was scared that keeping the price the same was going to be a problem. After approaching co-founder Jim Sinegal about this fear, he was given a very clear and direct response. Sinegal said, “If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.” He seems pretty committed to keeping that $1.50 price tag.
The company has been able to keep the price the same for decades because they replaced their hot dog supplier with their internal Kirkland Signature brand. Keeping it in-house has helped costs stay low, and they also transitioned from 12-ounce soda cans to 20-ounce fountain drinks which cost significantly less for the business. In addition, other food court items have seen a price hike to offset the low cost of the hot dog and soda meal.
While the rest of the consumer world takes a price hike, we can always rely on the AriZona iced tea cans and the Costco hot dog and soda meal to keep their super low price tags… for now.


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New patent filings have revealed that Samsung may release two new smartwatches in the near future. One of them is expected to feature a foldable screen.
Smartwatch sales are plummeting and in order to attract smartphone makers are aiming to provide new and innovative features. Patently Mobile reports that the South Korean company has registered for two new patents for smartwatch with US Patent and Trademark Office.
The first one that features a regular display seems to be a fitness oriented device. The strap of the device is enabled with sensors. When the strap is moved sideways, its sensors can measure angle and position. Its screen can accordingly display UI elements.
An additional strap for the device can be seen for extended input control. The patent documents, the device can be used in multiple ways such as wrapping it around users’ neck and by hanging it over different objects.
The other one appears to be a foldable wearable that can turn into a bracelet as it features a wide band flexible display. The South Korean company has been working on it since 2013.
The publication is of the view that even though the company is pegged to launch a smartphone with foldable display, it may surprise its fans by introducing a superior smartphone with a bendable display that can allow it to function like a smartphone. Rumors have it that these two may be the variants of the upcoming Samsung Gear 4.
In the previous month, a patent of Samsung’s concept phone with foldable display was revealed. It showed that the display could be bent in the center to use it like a flip phone. The patent was granted for it by USPTO.
An interesting thing about the concept phone is that its display can bend automatically when a certain amount of voltage to either of the two electrodes layer that are respectively present on the upper and lower ends of the foldable display.


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Swiss luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer has joined the Porsche Esports Supercup as its title sponsor.
Alongside the sponsorship, the total prize pool for the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup has been doubled from $100,000 (£84,132) to $200,000 (£168,342).
Now in its second season, the competition was launched by the German car manufacturer in 2019 in co-operation with sim racing platform iRacing.
Kjell Gruner, Vice President of Marketing at Porsche, commented on the sponsorship in a release: “Porsche stands for exceptional experiences. Esports racing offers such an emotional Porsche experience to many fans of our brand and the ‘Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup’ is our most important virtual racing series.
“After a very successful premiere in 2019, we are now about to start the second season with a strong partner at our side. Porsche and TAG Heuer are already a great team in Formula E. Now TAG Heuer, as a brand with heritage, is helping to further establish the most aspirational competition in esports racing.”
2019 champion Josh Rogers, Maximilian Benecke, Sebastian Job, and Mitchell de Jong have all been invited back for the 2020 season having finished in the top four places last season. They will be joined by 36 other drivers who will compete for the prize money across ten events, beginning on May 2nd.
Stéphane Bianchi, CEO of TAG Heuer, spoke on the decision: “After joining forces in the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team this season we are excited to now extend our successful collaboration further into the Esports world. Both our brands are masters of challenges, innovation and precision.
“As an avantgarde watchmaker with historic ties to the track, esports is a fantastic new platform for us to showcase our values and support another dynamic and passionate community in the world of motor racing, where competitiveness comes alive in the digital age. We are looking forward to providing an unmatched Esports experience together with Porsche and iRacing and seeing the world’s elite road simracers push their limits.“
Esports Insider says: TAG Heuer has a very rich history in motorsports so it’s great to see it engaging in sim racing, an industry that has recently seen massive exposure for obvious reasons. We’re not surprised to see brands jumping over now that esports has proven it can continue through such an unfortunate time.


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Thomas Sedran heads VW commercials
The Volkswagen group has announced that Thomas Sedran to become CEO of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand from September 1, 2018. Hi is currently General Secretary and Senior Vice President Group Strategy at Volkswagen and in his new role he takes over from Eckhard Scholz, who is stepping down at his own request. Thomas Sedran’s successor will be announced at a later date.
Thomas Sedran worked as a management consultant from 1988 to 2012, for example holding responsibility on a global level for the Automotive Competence Center at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants until 2006. He then became managing director of the automotive industry section at management consultant AlixPartners in Munich. Sedran became the member of the Management Board of Adam Opel AG in charge of strategy and operations and interim CEO in 2012, and assumed responsibility for the Chevrolet and Cadillac brands in Europe as President and Managing Director in July 2013. Volkswagen appointed him Senior Vice President Group Strategy in 2015 and in addition, he was named General Secretary of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft in 2017.


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PALM OIL MALAYSIA INDIA
Palm oil imports from Malaysia may hit 9-year low in Jan
In the second week of January New Delhi privately urged palm oil importers to boycott Malaysian products after the country's Prime Minister criticised India's actions in Kashmir and its new citizenship law.
Malaysia to buy more Indian sugar to resolve palm oil spat: Sources
MSM Malaysia Holdings Berhad will buy 130,000 tonnes of raw sugar from In...
Indonesia to increase imports from India amid New Delhi-Malaysia spat: Sources
Indonesia, the world's biggest palm oil producer and exporter,...
$1.4 billion of Palm Oil is in the crossfire as Mahathir angers India
Tensions between the two countries began when Mahathir told the UN that India “invaded” Kashmir.
Palm oil falls more than 2% on weak India, China demand, stronger ringgit
Demand for Malaysian palm oil by its biggest importer India has taken a hit over the last few months.
Too small to fight against India: Malaysian PM on palm oil ban
India has been Malaysia's largest palm oil market for the past five years, presenting the Southeast Asian country with a major challenge in finding new buyers for its palm oil.
Palm oil prices remain firm, particularly in east India
On January 2, India had moved refined palm oil imports from free to restricted category to protect domestic refiners. The commerce ministry said the move would help India encourage import of more crude oils and facilitate better utilisation of the refining capacity of the domestic industry. India has been importing 150,000-200,000 tonnes of refined oil annually.
Davos diplomacy likely between India, Malaysia amid palm row
India's restrictions on palm oil has been seen as a retaliation for Mahathir's criticism of New Delhi's actions.
Malaysia's PM defends criticism of India despite palm oil backlash
India, the world's biggest buyer of edible oils, last week changed rules that traders say effectively ban imports of refined palm oil from Malaysia, the world's second-biggest producer and exporter of palm oil after Indonesia. The move came after New Delhi objected to Mahathir's criticism of India's new religion-based citizenship law.
India's palm imports seen falling on price rally, Malaysia curbs
"This will make supplies available for India in Indonesia," he said.
Malaysia talks to India over palm curbs as wider trade spat looms
Malaysia is talking to Indian government and trade officials in a bid to resolve concerns over New Delhi's new palm oil import restrictions, a minister in Kuala Lumpur said on Thursday amid a trade spat between the countries.
Edible oil industry body demands cap on import of refined palm oil
The Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA) also asked the government to restrict issue of licence for import of palm oil and refined palm oil.
India urges boycott of Malaysian palm oil after diplomatic row: Sources
It could also benefit Indonesia - the world’s largest exporter of crude palm oil (CPO).
India restricts imports of refined palm oil after Malaysia's criticism of Modi
The ban will hit Malaysia, the main supplier to India of refined palm oil, but is likely to help Indonesia.
Palm oil imports fall over 8% in Dec: SEA
The world's leading vegetable oil buyer, had imported 8,11,700 tonne palm oils in December 2018.
Copyright © 2020 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service


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Amazon will donate Kindles to promote digital reading
Its new program is now accepting requests for donations.
Doctors use ultrasound to jump-start coma patient's brain
Sonic stimulation could speed up coma recovery.
Startup uses algorithms to fund civil lawsuits
Legalist uses historical data to determine which cases are likely to pay off.
Olympics GIFs apparently did get someone banned from Twitter
No, it wasn't the Katie Ledecky / 'Smooth' mashup or any Usain Bolt pic.
Comedy Central is bringing a Snapchat show to prime time
Comedian James Davis brings his unique brand of humor to TV.
Italian earthquake victims asked to disable WiFi passwords
This will let Red Cross workers use WhatsApp and Skype to contact locals who need help.
The 'Battlefield 1' Premium Pass nets you four new expansions
The first batch of DLC includes the 'They Shall Not Pass' expansion.
French official threatens lawsuits over internet photos of police
Nice's deputy mayor doesn't seem to understand how the internet (or police accountability) works.
There's a potentially habitable planet just one star over
Proxima b is only four light years away, and it's about the same size as Earth.
Zika virus' effects are broader than first thought
Babies may have to deal with far more than small heads.
New York's Bryant Park is tracking visitor behavior
And it can guess if you'll be shopping at Macy's.
VR game developers prefer the HTC Vive, grapple with nausea
Oculus' headset isn't the front-runner despite massive hype.
Sun-powered bacteria turn nasty CO2 into helpful biofuel
The organisms reduce pollution and create fuel in one step.
Pandora's new internet radio station is curated by Questlove
The weekly show "Questlove Supreme" debuts September 7th at 1PM ET.
Adult Swim is publishing 'ToeJam and Earl: Back in the Groove'
After a successful Kickstarter, the cult classic Genesis game is getting another sequel.
Hackers target Leslie Jones, post nude photos to her site
The latest in a summer of online abuse the actor has suffered.
People will lie to robots to avoid hurting their feelings
The side effects of making machines more human.
Honor's latest dual-camera smartphone comes to Europe
The Honor 8 is much like Huawei's P9, but cheaper.
Uber partners with startup Betterment to offer retirement accounts
Drivers can choose between traditional or Roth Individual Retirement accounts via Betterment's online services.
The Engadget Back to School Guide
Google's Daydream VR could debut in the next few weeks
And the company is partnering with Hulu and YouTube stars for VR content.
Augmented reality power tool helps anyone craft things
Shaper's Origin uses visual markers to show you where to cut.
HoloLens' 24-core chip makes vivid AR possible
The "holographic processing unit" does a trillion operations per second.
Android 7.0 Nougat arrives today
Android 6.0 Marshmallow review: All about polish and power
Android 5.0 Lollipop review: Google's biggest mobile update in years
Android 4.4 KitKat lets you say 'OK Google' to activate touchless search
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean review: a look at what's changed in Google's mobile OS
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich now official, includes revamped design, enhancements galore
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review: Sleeker, simpler, better than ever
Basically, this is the best phone Samsung has ever made.
Samsung's new Gear VR is its most comfortable and immersive yet
It's still the best affordable option for virtual reality.
BlackBerry DTEK50 review: Cheap, secure and better than expected
That still doesn't mean it's for everyone.


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Big Lots beat a Wall Street estimate even as second quarter earnings slipped year over year amid a strategic repositioning that includes store changes, while enduring tariff effects.
For the quarter ended August 3, net income was $6.2 million, or 16 cents per diluted share, versus $24.2 million, or 59 cents per diluted share, in the period a year prior. Adjusted to exclude one-time charges, net income was $20.6 million, or 53 cents per diluted share, for the quarter. Big Lots didn’t record one-time charges applicable to its earnings in last year’s second quarter.
The off-price retailer’s adjusted diluted earnings per share topped a MarketBeat-published analyst consensus estimate of 40 cents.
Comparable sales advanced 1.2% from the quarter a year earlier. Net sales increased 2.5% to $1.25 billion versus the year-previous period with positive comps and sales growth in high-volume new stores partially offset by a lower store count versus the year-past quarter. Operating profit was $13.2 million versus $34.3 million in the quarter a year before.
Bruce Thorn, Big Lots president and CEO, said, “We are pleased with our performance for the second quarter, which was in line with our sales guidance and ahead on earnings. Going forward, despite the current tariff headwinds, we are confident we will be able to navigate through this environment to deliver a good outcome for 2019. More significantly, I am highly encouraged by the progress we have made over the last 90 days on our strategic transformation. Our existing initiatives are working, and we have important new strategies in progress to drive profitable long-term growth and deliver value to our shareholders.”


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A recent survey by Litera found that while IT pros understand the risks involved when employees bring their own devices (BYOD) to work, only a small percentage has considered encrypting email as a solution.
As employees bring more consumer devices into the work place, it places pressure on IT in terms of how to secure these devices, especially as documents begin to move off of the company servers and onto mobile devices.
Litera, a company that sells a content creation, collaboration and risk management software suite just completed a survey involving 303 mobile device users, two-thirds of whom were IT professionals. The respondents included employees across a variety of industries and business sizes including almost 40 percent with between 500 and 5000 employees.
Of the respondents, 36 percent were managers and 12 percent were C-level. Another 16.8 percent were directors, so we’re talking about an audience that should understand the importance of security.
Yet the results showed that in spite of this, respondents were surprisingly cavalier about security.
Let’s start with some background. 96 percent of respondents used their devices (whether tablets or mobile phones) on a daily basis to read business email with 86.1 percent doing it multiple times per day. (That it was even that low surprises me, but I suppose some people still do the majority of their work at a company desktop PC.)
35 percent of respondents read email attachments on their mobile devices with 14.2 percent reporting they do it multiple times per day. More than 40 percent read email attachments at least once a month. Again, this seems a bit low given how mobile today’s workers tend to be and how much the lines between work and private life have blurred.
A few more data points:
* 88 percent store business documents on their mobile devices.
* 39.7 percent attach documents to emails on their mobiles devices.
* 33.7 percent have access to an enterprise content repository from their mobile devices.
But Litera is interested in encryption and metadata scrubbing because that’s part of the services it sells.
When asked about encryption, 96 percent of those surveyed reported that they used their mobile devices to store, access and send sensitive without any encryption whatsoever. What’s more, while 91.7 percent of respondents stated they used a metadata scrubbing solution on their servers, just 31.6 percent have solutions that cover emails sent from mobile devices.
While I always give a big caveat when it comes to vendor surveys because they tend to ask the questions and report the data in the way that presents what they sell in the best possible light, the data shows that as you probably already knew, users are out there accessing and sharing content with their mobile devices — and too often it’s not protected.
If your company works with sensitive data — and most have some they must consider to be sensitive — you may want to consider email and other forms of encryption as a minimum level of protection for moving data from behind the safety of the firewall to mobile devices out in the world. For now though, most appear to be ignoring this simple security measure.
Photo by Ron Miller. Used under the Creative Commons Share Alike License.


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Spectra Premium Mobility Solutions announced a new version of its electronic catalogue. The announcement noted the company’s development team has worked on a major project to update its online catalogue for more than a year. The main goal was to facilitate the use of the catalogue for all our customers. The team also updated the design of the catalogue to be more attractive. Users can expect a new and clean interface focused on parts, with better optimization for mobile users. The new catalogue provides more information about parts. The company said it is faster than the previous version.
Have your say:


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An updated European law to control the use of hazardous materials in electronics equipment has come into force.
The updated Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive has been extended to include all electrical items, cables, and spares, apart from photovoltaic panels.
"Where there are alternatives available it is not acceptable to expose people or the planet to dangerous substances," Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said in a statement. "We all come into daily contact with products and these new rules increase further the level of safety we can expect."
RoHS are being gradually extended up to 2019, to give manufacturers time to implement the transition for new products, the European Commission said in the statement on Wednesday. Banned substances include lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium and the flame retardants Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE).
Solar panels are exempt from the ban as part of an effort to reach EU objectives for renewable energy.


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50 Lumads in Davao complete skills trainingPosted on
DAVAO CITY, Philippines–– A total of 50 members of the Matigsalug tribe in Marilog here will graduate on Thursday, June 8, from a series of skills training program sponsored by Therma South, Inc. (TSI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corporation (AboitizPower).
Harvey Lanticse, Branding and Communications Officer of AboitizPower in Mindanao, said the series of skills training is part of the comprehensive livelihood project dubbed as “Indigenous Crafts Project for CSMP Beneficiaries” of the company.
The livelihood project is being implemented in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry in Davao Region (DTI-XI) and the Davao Designers Pool.
The program aims to capacitate a group of Matigsalug trainees in Marilog District and organize them into a viable community-based enterprise.
It also involves identification and production of viable indigenous products that can be produced locally using available indigenous materials and applying colorful ethnic designs with the help of famous local craft designers and established exporters, Lanticse added. (Alexander Lopez/PNA)


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If you want to purchase a phone or tablet that can withstand the some abuse, you have to check out its IP rating. Maybe the Archos’ CEO found this out the hard way when he accidentally killed one of the company’s phones during a demo. That had to be a bit embarrassing.
The company’s CEO, Loic Poirier, wanted to demonstrate the water resistance of the phone, a Quechua Phone that was unveiled last year. The phone was a collaboration between Archos and the Quechua outdoors brand. To demonstrate its water resistance, Poirier put the device in a glass and filled it with water. After he had already dropped the phone to prove it’s toughness.
Sadly for him, when he pulled the phone out, it was DOA. Someone did not inform the CEO that the Quechua Phone was not IP57 rated, but IP54. According to the phone’s website, “The Quechua 5” Phone complies with the IP54 standard. Developed to withstand the most demanding outdoor conditions. It is designed to withstand splattering with water from all directions as well the harmful effects of dust and sand.”
Sadly for him this was caught on camera too. It pays to brush up on your phones IP rating first.
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