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Welcome to 99Bitcoins’ latest weekly round up with the most important news of the week.
Nasdaq adopts Bitcoin’s blockchain technology to improve stock trading
Following the examples of digital giant IBM and Swiss bank UBS, Nasdaq – the favourite exchange in the fintech space – also plans to explore Bitcoin’s blockchain within a pilot project announced this Monday (11th).
Inside 21’s plans to bring Bitcoin to the masses
Secretive Bitcoin startup 21 Inc has performed tests illustrating how its technology could enable machine-to-machine Bitcoin transactions as part of a company overview created during the fundraising of its $75m Series C.
In its pitch, 21 Inc, then still operating under original moniker 21e6, showcased both slides and video that demonstrate how Bitcoin could be used to facilitate real-time marketplaces for Internet bandwidth. Using three proxy users, a Vimeo demonstration (now removed) outlines how a service can parcel out its download capacity through the use of Bitcoin payments.
MIT calls out ‘critical flaws’ in New York’s BitLicense
MIT Digital Currency Initiative director Brian Forde has issued a new blog post in which he aims to draw attention to four “critical flaws” in the approach so far taken by the state of New York to regulate the digital currency industry.
Coming one month after his appointment to the position, the piece finds Forde seeking to voice the leading US university’s interest in Bitcoin and the blockchain as technologies that could contribute to the global good. The DCI was announced in April following a year of additional grassroots efforts on campus.
Bank of England and London School of Economics join Bitcoin forum
Representatives from major financial institutions like the Bank of England and the London School of Economics will be attending an inaugural Bitcoin panel discussion hosted on Thursday (14th) by the Social Media Leadership Forum.
‘The Bitcoin & Blockchain Leadership Forum – Exploring the Next Generation Internet’ will happen at Allen and Overy, in London. The panel will focus on Bitcoin, its core technology known as the blockchain and how digital money and financial innovation are changing the current economic paradigm.
Venom VM bug called “perfect” for NSA, or for stealing Bitcoins and passwords
The just-patched critical vulnerability in widely used virtualization software is an ideal exploitation target for state-sponsored spies and criminals alike fishing for passwords, cryptography keys, or Bitcoins, a researcher who has dissected one of the fixes said.
The bug, which is known to affect the Xen, KVM, and native QEMU virtual machine platforms and appliances, makes it possible for attackers to break out of protected guest environments and take full control of the operating system hosting them, security researchers warned Wednesday. In the hours following Wednesday morning’s disclosure of the vulnerability, many security professionals have publicly said its severity is being exaggerated.
Bitcoin platform Coinify expands service to 34 countries
Denmark-based Bitcoin platform Coinify has announced its expansion within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) network, enabling customers in 34 countries to buy and sell the digital currency.
SEPA is a European Union (EU) payment integration scheme that aims to ease euro denominated bank transfers between 28 EU member countries as well as Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Monaco and San Marino.
You can now tip musicians with Bitcoin on SoundCloud thanks to ChangeTip
The digital platform, used to send and receive payments or tips instantly, used SoundCloud’s open API (application program interface) to build the new tipping option after receiving numerous requests from users.
‘CSI: Cyber’ ends with a Bitcoin bounty hunter and creepy revenge hack
CSI: Cyber’s double-header finale has everything wonderfully horrible about this incoherent, paranoid baloney sandwich of a show: Overwrought melodrama, gargled tech jargon, comical graphics, an extensive array of stylish vests, and Oscar winner Patricia Arquette grimacing her way through a hefty career mistake with aplomb.
I have to break some very bad news about one core element of CSI:Cyber nuttiness. This is the last we’ll see of television’s most aggressively inept high-ranking federal agent. Peter MacNicol will no longer pick up a paycheck for playing a character who has done literally nothing to deserve one, and/or the writers finally realized Sifter served no purpose other than fulfilling the show’s befuddlement close-up quota.
Bitcoin Capital attracts over 300 investors and $500,000 in first week
A new fund, managed by Max Keiser and Simon Dixon, has been launched on equity CrowdFunding platform BnkToTheFuture.com that allows investors to benefit from the growth of the Crypto Currency sector.
The price of Bitcoin is down, yet professional investors are flocking to Bitcoin businesses. Last week a group of investors led by Goldman Sachs invested $50m in Bitcoin startup – Circle, after another group invested $75m into Bitcoin exchange – Coinbase, including an investment from the New York Stock Exchange, bringing the total reported venture capital investment into the sector to over $700m and forecasted to surpass one billion dollars shortly.
iGot impostors launch phishing attack to access Google accounts
The “From” email address was from Rick Day’s actual email address and the message only had one sentence in it – it was a link to a YouTube Video.
The New York Times thinks it’s identified mysterious bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto
The myth surrounding Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto may be larger than the reality. The search for Nakamoto’s identity has lasted years, with myriad theories, but new evidence suggests that a man who has long been considered a possible Nakamoto may indeed be the inventor behind Bitcoin.
The New York Times has published a new longform piece (which features material from a soon-to-be-released book) aimed precisely at this question and this man.
Rock band Queen drives first Bitcoin sale for Argentina ticket startup
An Argentinian fan of the classic rock band Queen has become the first customer to buy tickets with Bitcoin through EntradaFan, according to the company.
Launched in April, EntradaFan is a peer-to-peer online ticket marketplace seeking to compete with market leader Ticketek. The announcement follows EntradaFan’s decision to accept Bitcoin through a partnership with processor BitPagos, an Argentinian Bitcoin firm that allows merchants to accept Bitcoin as payment and settle fiat purchases in Bitcoin.
Bitcoin sites blockade in Russia deemed illegal by local court
The Bitcoin sites blocked by the Russian media authority Roskomnadzor in January are back online in the country. The regional court of Sverdlovsk Oblast, located in Nevyansk, has deemed the blockade of sites containing information about cryptocurrency illegal.
The initial decision to cut all access to the websites was implemented in the beginning of this year by the same court, following Roskomnadzor’s (Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom, Information Technologies and Mass Communications) decision to block the platforms.
Chip Chap lets you buy Bitcoin from 5,000 major retailers
Making Bitcoin more accessible to everyday consumers is one of the great hurdles to overcome if we want to kickstart the digital currency revolution. In saying that, I do mean literally walking into a store and purchasing Bitcoin with local fiat currency. Chip Chap has made that dream come true for Mexican residents, as they can now buy Bitcoin at 5,000 brick-and-mortar locations.
To put things into perspective a bit, you can not simply walk into a participating brick-and-mortar shop and purchase Bitcoin over the counter. That being said, the actual process involved is not that much different and still very user friendly. In Mexico, it is rather common for retailers to offer an E-Money converting service on their premises.
Philippines rides the emerging Bitcoin wave
The practically non-existent start-up ecosystem in Philippines has suddenly sprung to life. Thanks to the bitcoin revolution, the number of start-ups, particularly cryptocurrency related ones is increasing from the past couple of years. The success of Bitcoin in Philippines can be attributed to the social and economic factors.
The two main factors that has led to a bitcoin boom in Philippines: Philippines has a huge remittance market. Like China and India, there are many Filipino emigrant workers employed across the world.
Websites of two Hong Kong banks fall victim to Bitcoin ransomware
Two of Hong Kong’s largest banks were recently targeted by hackers. The digital criminals threatened to launch cyber attacks against the websites belonging to the Bank of China and Bank of East Asia, unless the victims paid a ransom in Bitcoin.
The local authorities confirmed the banks have filed reports with the Hong Kong police, claiming their websites were hacked. The distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks resulted in unstable service.
Bitcoin Dark Wallet has a new challenger: Samourai
Ever since Dark Wallet was first announced, in September of 2013, it has hogged the spotlight as Bitcoin’s underground wallet. Made for dark web users and those otherwise concerned with staying private online, user friendliness was one of it’s central features.
But, few people missed that this wallet was being created for the central purpose of keeping your identity as private as it possibly could while making bitcoin transactions. Instantly hailed by privacy advocates and simultaneously demonized in the press, Dark Wallet has remained the undisputed bad boy of Bitcoin wallets, at least until now.
Dark Net weapons bust leads to 17 arrests and a $80,000 Bitcoin seizure
A recent series of busts has shaken the world of dark net weapons commerce. A six-month joint investigation between law enforcement in Australia and the United States, which involved law enforcement going undercover as weapons dealers, has resulted in 17 arrests internationally.
In September 2014, the US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) identified a 33-year-old US-baseddark net seller of weapons to a “worldwide client base,” according to a press release from the Australian Federal Police (AFP).


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The companies will create big data centers that researchers can tap for internet-wide research. The initiative will promote collaboration among industry, academia and government by removing the financial and logistical barriers to research in data-intensive, large scale computing. Researchers can use the internet-wide testing environment to explore cloud-computing software, data center management and hardware needs.
“We will foster a sense of an intellectual commons, where we all contribute and benefit from a pipe that is larger,” said Prabhakar Raghavan, (pictured left) head of Yahoo Research, in a conference call. “It’s about what kinds of interesting projects you can do, once you take the cloud for granted, as if it were a utility.”
While everyone will benefit from the test bed, the research will clearly pit Intel, HP and Yahoo against IBM and Google, which have their own cloud-computing research underway. Andrew Chien, vice president at Intel Research (pictured at bottom), said that this effort is broader in terms of its availability to researchers. It also allows for research on all levels, not just on the application level as Google and IBM are doing.
The companies have partnered with the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany to form the research initiative. The partnership with Illinois also includes the National Science Foundation.
The test bed will initially consist of six research centers at IDA, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Steinbuch Centre for Computing of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, HP Labs, Intel Research and Yahoo. Each location will host a cloud computing infrastructure. The machines will use HP hardware and Intel processors — 1,000 to 4,000 processor cores. The test bed locations are expected to be available to researchers worldwide through a selection process later this year. Prith Banerjee, head of HP Labs (pictured left), said each company would contribute researchers and data centers.
HP said it will focus on five research projects. One, dubbed “cells as a service,” is a prototype management system for the cloud infrastructure. It creates “service cells,” or secure self-contained virtual infrastructure, that are isolated from the rest of a cloud. Such cells can expand as needed and be automated. Banerjee also said HP is working on another project to cut the costs and improve the service of future data centers.
The test bed will run Apache Hadoop –- an open source, distributed computing project of the Apache Software Foundation -– and other open source, distributed computing software such as Pig, the parallel programming language developed by Yahoo Research.
HP Labs recently sharpened its focus to help HP and its customers capitalize on the industry’s shift toward cloud computing, a driving force behind HP’s vision of Everything as a Service. Under that vision, internet devices and services will interact seamlessly through the cloud, and businesses and individuals will use services that anticipate their needs based on location, preferences, calendar and communities.
In November 2007, Yahoo! announced a data center, called M45, for cloud computing research; Carnegie Mellon University was the first institution to take advantage of this supercomputer. Yahoo also announced this year an agreement with Computational Research Laboratories (CRL) to jointly support cloud computing research and make one of the 10 fastest supercomputers in the world available to academic institutions in India.
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The South African economy is contracting and slowing down with the effects being felt in every single sector – the most important barometers of the nation being the Ctrack Transport and Freight Index and the monthly vehicles sales reported by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA).
The Index continues to reflect the slowing nature of the South African economy and all logistics sub sectors measured in South Africa, except road freight, recorded declines between August and October 2019 compared to the same three months in 2018.
Concerns must be mounting in boardrooms across the country as the economy struggles with slowdowns in manufacturing, mining and retail.
NAAMSA said the overall new vehicle market declined further in November 2019 and Domestic sales figures, particularly in commercial vehicle sales, had been disappointing. However, passenger cars sales, with strong support provided by the car rental industry, showed a welcome uptick.
It confirmed aggregate domestic new vehicle sales, at 44 738 units, reflected a decline of 2 740 units or 5,8% from the 47 478 vehicles sold in November last year. Although monthly export sales had registered a marginal decline during the month, a new annual record had been set with still one month to go until year-end.
Overall, out of the total reported industry sales of 44 738 vehicles, an estimated 35 168 units or 78,6% represented dealer sales, an estimated 15,9% represented sales to the vehicle rental industry, 3,1% to industry corporate fleets, and 2,4% to government.
The November 2019 new passenger car market registered a modest but welcomed increase of 392 cars or 1,3% to 31 444 units compared to the 31 052 new cars sold in November last year. The car rental industry once again supported domestic volumes, accounting for a substantial 21,9% of new cars sales in November 2019.
Domestic sales of new light commercial vehicles, bakkies and minibuses at 10 679 units during November 2019 showed a decline of 3 038 units or a fall of 22,1% from the 13 717 light commercial vehicles sold during the corresponding month last year.
Sales in the low volume medium and heavy truck segments of the industry both performed weaker during the month and at 733 units and 1 882 units, respectively, reflected a decline of 60 vehicles or a fall of 7,6%, in the case of medium commercial vehicles, and, in the case of heavy trucks and buses, a decline of 34 units, or a fall of 1,8% compared to the corresponding month last year.
Road freight, the largest sector in South Africa by volume and value, increased 1% during the period from August to October 2019 versus the same time in 2018.
Short distance transport volumes of retail goods and FMCG are still expanding, while the continuous shift to online shopping is helping parcel delivery volumes. Black Friday and Cyber Monday propped up this category.
However, the strongest road freight income growth has come from the small furniture transport sector, which may have to do with emigration and families moving to more secure locations – even while home sales remain subdued.
Off the rails
Rail freight volumes declined -1,8% between August and October 2019 compared to the same period in 2018, which indicates primary mining products are not being exported or used as much.
Furthermore, metal products have seen the largest decrease as a few medium-sized firms have closed in the last 12 months. The decline in metal products income in nominal terms was -6% and, although not all of this was in the rail sector, the knock-on effect to mining would have hurt the rail freight industry.
Air and sea freight volumes declined by -2,4% and -3,4% respectively between August and October 2019 compared to the same period in 2018. This reiterates the impact of a weak global economy and the trade war between China, the world’s largest manufacturer and the USA, the world’s largest consumer. Bulk commodity and container shipping are also in decline.
But, by far the worst performing sub sector has been storage. Manufacturers and internal traders are keeping stocks low as they expect trading conditions to worsen. Both the ABSA PMI and the Trade Activity Index from SACCI, show that role-players are concerned about the strength of the economy.
Added to this is the decline in the international storage of containers transhipped in South African ports. Transhipments declined a massive -19,3% between August and October 2019 versus the same period a year ago. While big shifts are not uncommon in the storage sector, it is concerning when all categories in this subsector are so negative.
The total decline of -14,3% in the amount of goods warehoused between August and October 2019 compared to the same period last year, is a relative indicator of the poor confidence that firms have of short-term economic performance.
Thankfully, interest rates are lower than before and are likely to drop further, reducing the cost of storage. Moreover, the shift to online shopping means that at least from that perspective (albeit small) the warehousing sector has a few positives to draw from.
However, the biggest factor in the broader logistics sector is the lack of confidence that goods will be sold relatively quickly, and that quick refilling of shelves will have to take place.
Retail price increases have remained below overall consumer price adjustments for about four years. In fact, retail prices have not increased over 3% for more than three years consecutively. This best reflects the fight that exists for the consumer’s pocket.
“In tough economic times, the cost of operating fleets can become a very difficult task,” says Hein Jordt, MD of Ctrack SA. “The need to provide competitive rates, while part of a fleet is not moving, presents transport and freight companies with additional challenges.
“The trends presented in this month’s Freight and Transport Index show government must look even closer at the supply chain industry and support transport and freight companies with cost-effective road regulation policies.
“Improved safety measures and economic policy that supports efficiency improvements, in conjunction with well-planned integration with our country’s transport and economic infrastructure, will allow us to be competitive in the global logistics market.”
Table: The Ctrack Transport and Freight Index numbers % change
|Percentage Change between||Rail||Road||Pipeline||Sea||Air||Storage & Handling||Ctrack Transport Freight Index|
|October: 2019 vs October 2018||-2,4%||-0,2%||-9,8%||-1,7%||-4,5%||-14,3%||-3,3%|
|August – October 2019 vs August – October 2018||-1,8%||1,0%||-7,1%||-3,4%||-2,4%||-14,3%||-2,6%|
|September 2019 vs October 2019||-0,3%||-1,1%||2,8%||-3,6%||-4,2%||-0,1%||-1,1%|
|August – October 2019 vs May – July 2019


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Greetings and welcome back to the Friday Five, ELITE’s weekly collection of the five most relevant and interesting security related news tidbits! Let’s get to it.
2012 Norton Cybercrime report, a worrying scenario
Norton releases their annual report on cyber criminal activities, and the results are scary! In the past 12 months 556 million adults have experienced cyber crime. This number is equal to 46% of all online adults. The price tag? $110 BILLION. The author of this article doesn’t seem to be a native English speaker, so some of the grammar is a bit off, but the message is right on target!
Sony Allegedly Hacked By NullCrew
If true Sony should be truly embarrassed. Back in 2011 Sony suffered a massive security breach exposing up to 77 million members of the PlayStation Network’s credit card data. Sony took the PlayStation network offline to plug the security holes, but were hacked again shortly after the service was brought back online. Almost a year later we see yet another report that a Sony service was compromised… not so good. Big companies need to do a better job protecting consumer information.
Another layer of security for your Dropbox account
Dropbox is no stranger to security problems. In fact, the product has been so insecure that ELITE wrote this review of the service: http://elitesecurityauditors.com/2012/08/as-the-name-indicates-team-dropbox-is-not-for-corporations/
Dropbox has finally added an awesome security feature, which we at ELITE also wrote about: http://elitesecurityauditors.com/2012/08/2-factor-authentication-why-you-need-it/. 2 factor authentication has been around for a while now, but we’re glad to see Dropbox adopt the technology. Now, hopefully the users of Dropbox will use this important security function.
ISC StormCast for Thursday, September 6th 2012
A bit technical, but the daily StormCast goes over breaking stories on security. This podcast is only about 5 minutes each day, and is a great way to keep up to date with information security stories.
OK, a little bit of self promotion here… ELITE wrote a Security 101 entry about Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday this week. You’ll find the link discussing how and why Patch Tuesday is so important here:
So that’s it for this week folks. We at ELITE would love to see some comments and retweets, so please spread this article around!


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“Data-Driven Thinking” is written by members of the media community and contains fresh ideas on the digital revolution in media.
Today’s column is written by Tim Webster, co-founder and chief strategy officer at The Exchange Lab.
Technology advancements over the past 10 years have without question transformed the digital advertising landscape. What was once a marketing activity driven by creative and mass media is now a far more sophisticated and targeted marketing communication due to the evolution of programmatic technology.
But is programmatic really the holy grail of effective marketing?
I recently deliberated whether programmatic is the future of media at Cannes Lions with Patrick Muir, CMO at Sherpa, John Beasley, CMO at Vero, and Dan Benedict, chief client officer at Maxus. Both sides of the debate agreed that programmatic, or some version of it, is the future, but as with any new technology, there are challenges surrounding it that need to be addressed.
From the early days of direct and network buys, programmatic advertising has advanced to connect consumers with brands across a myriad of sites, devices and content types. But with business goals being primarily focused on driving awareness and ROI, the objective of delivering exciting creative is getting lost.
The beauty of programmatic advertising is that it provides unprecedented access and insight into consumer data and behavior, which to date has not been possible with traditional media.
Using these insights, brands can more accurately target their desired audiences and monitor campaign success against set performance metrics. They can then optimize their advertising and reinvest ad spend in the most effective areas.
With programmatic growth set to reach $33 billion this year, it’s not surprising its effectiveness has come under continued scrutiny. Programmatic gets blamed for several things, including challenges around viewability and the loss of creativity in advertising. But this is an issue across digital media and not exclusive to programmatic.
Programmatic has changed the face of media buying, but the apparent lack of creative in advertising has not necessarily been lost because of it. Great creative is possible, and as Benedict of Maxus said, “Programmatic technology has simply grown exponentially, and it’s the creative development that needs to catch up.”
Consumers don’t care how an ad is delivered. They care about whether it was engaging and additive to their consumption experience. Programmatic allows marketers to effectively reach their target audience at scale, but creative needs to work in harmony with programmatic to maximize advertising effectiveness. Producing engaging, inspiring and even disruptive ads is a different skill set and one that needs to be delivered against a creative objective.
Today, delivering ads programmatically is the most effective and efficient way to interact with an audience and measure success against business objectives at scale. As Muir of Sherpa said, “What programmatic does in digital is share that black-box thinking with the team trying to produce the creative and put the rubber on the road. It’s replacing the Excel spreadsheet presentation containing the media laydown to something you can interact with, come up with the right answer for customers and connect it with the rest of the business.”
It’s insight that is not possible through manual advertising.
However, as the technology continues to grow, the industry needs to keep enhancing its effectiveness to fit with the ever-changing digital landscape and address the challenges that come with it. One of the most prominent challenges is creativity.
“How exciting we’ve got an opportunity [with programmatic] to be able to learn and know so much about consumer behavior,” Benedict said. “Let’s put it back into the way in which programmatic advertising is reaching people on a daily basis and make the most out of the fact that we are now understanding what their journey is … and exploit it. Make it fun and inspiring.”
The effectiveness of programmatic cannot be disputed. Programmatic allows us to understand the media journey better than ever before and have one-to-one conversations with individuals. But, like any new tech, it’s continually developing and adapting to changing consumer needs and environments. As an industry, the effectiveness of creative needs to be addressed and progressed – this is the next stage in the evolution of digital advertising we would all like to see happen.


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It is discussed that after the OnePlus 8 series, the company is now planning to launch a new smartphone OnePlus Z. So far, many leaks and revelations have come to light about this smartphone. According to the leaks revealed, OnePlus 8 Lite can only be launched in the market in July under the name OnePlus Z. By the way, the company has not given any official information about its upcoming smartphone at the moment. But before the launch date, some special features of this smartphone have been revealed.
Tipster Max J has informed through his Twitter account that OnePlus Z smartphone will be introduced on Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 chipset. While earlier leaks revealed that this smartphone could be introduced on the MediaTek chipset. The Twitter post did not provide any information about the feature other than the chipset.
According to the leaks surfaced recently, a 6.4-inch display can be given in OnePlus Z which will come with a 90Hz refresh rate. This phone will be based on Android 10 OS and will have a triple rear camera setup for photography. A 48MP primary sensor can be given on the phone. While the secondary sensor can be 16MP and the third sensor can be of 12MP. At present, the details of the front camera of the phone have not been revealed.
For power backup, a 4000mAh battery can be given in it. According to Leaks, the company can launch OnePlus Z in two storage variants. One variant of the phone can be given 128GB internal memory with 8GB of RAM. While the second variant will have 256GB of internal storage with 8GB of RAM.
Let us know that the recently launched OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro have become available for pre-booking in the Indian market. Users can pre-book these smartphones by visiting the official website of OnePlus and Amazon India. Some attractive offers are also being offered during pre-booking. Cashback of Rs 1,000 is being given with pre-booking. The starting price of OnePlus 8 Series is Rs 41,999.


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Entrepreneurial impact on Ninth District economy grows
Published July 1, 1991 | July 1991 issue
As a sales and marketing executive for a large biomedical firm, Robert L. Young found himself frustrated. He was certain that a market existed for a new product that would measure oxygen levels in blood, but he could not convince his company to commit to the idea.
The company was unable to move the product, Young says, because in a large company with many managers, nobody was willing to take a risk "that might hurt their own domain."
So, with his company unwilling to take a chance on a new product, Young made the biggest decision of his 11-year professional career: He took the risk himself. In March of last year, Sensor Devices Inc. (SDI) of Waukesha, Wis., began with just Young and a part-time secretary. SDI now has five full-time employees and soon plans to open a new manufacturing facility.
For Young, who says he is competitive by nature, the decision to make the leap from the relative security of the corporate life to entrepreneurial uncertainty was primarily one of personal character. "It has a lot to do with the spirit of the person," he says. "You have to be willing to take risks and make decisions."
In an economic age when the Upper Midwest is best known for the farm crisis of the mid-'80s and the drought of the late '80s, Robert Young's risk- taking is reflective of an entrepreneurial spirit that is working to create the majority of the region's jobs.
A recent report by US West, based on a study by Cognetics Consultants Inc., a Massachusetts business research firm, shows that recent job growth in Western statesincluding most of the Ninth Federal Reserve Districtwas largely fueled by the formation of small businesses (100 employees or fewer). Nowhere is this more true than in Montana, where net employment change went from -0.9 percent in 1986-88 to 9.8 percent in 1988-90, and where 82.5 percent of all businesses employ fewer than 10 people. Montana's entrepreneurial growth caused the state Legislature this year to create a unique state agency that is charged with financing start-up companies.
Whether this entrepreneurial activity exists despite economic hardships or because of them is a matter of conjecture, but Fortune magazine recently proclaimed these post-recessionary times to be "A Golden Age for Entrepreneurs" and suggested that a big wave of entrepreneurial activity will persist in the coming years. During the 1980s, the number of non-farm business tax returns in the United States increased about 50 percent, to about 20 million.
Such optimism doesn't belie the fact that many start-up businesses fail, however: Small Business Administration figures show that 60 percent of new companies close their doors within six years.
Growth in new businesses has drawn attention to a particular breed of business people about whom little is known, except anecdotally. In this issue of the fedgazette, we examine the nature of entrepreneurs, the impact of the Upper Midwest region on their development and the role of government in the formation of new businesses. We also provide brief stories about the successes and hardships of Ninth District entrepreneurs who, as one Montana businessman says, have taken "the great leap into space."
The nature of an entrepreneur
Dr. Rajiv Tandon, who teaches MBA-level courses in venture management and franchising at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, can look out over his classroom and just about tell who the entrepreneurs will eventually be. Tandon has his beginning students complete a sort of entrepreneurial assessment, and, after reading those results, the former corporate executive says he can accurately predict which students will ultimately drop out of the program.
Those who stay in the program, according to Tandon, possess the primary determinant of an entrepreneurial character: flexibility. The structured studentthe kind who needs a detailed syllabus of the entire semesterwill likely never become an entrepreneur, he says. The entrepreneur must be ready for an 18-hour day on any day of the week, and must be able to live with an uncertain source of income and an ad hoc schedule, among other things.
"It can be exhilarating, frustrating, delightful and terrible all in a matter of hours," Bob Thornberg says about starting a business. Thornberg is president of SweetPro in Walhalla, N.D.
Daryl Erdman, director of the St. Thomas entrepreneurship program, says that an entrepreneur doesn't consider long working hours and uncertain income levels as a source of anxiety, but rather as a source of freedom and opportunity. As one St. Thomas student told the teachers: He wanted to become an entrepreneur because he thought it would be easier to create a job than to find one.
"That is the kernel [of entrepreneurship] that can't be taught," Erdman says. But there is much about entrepreneurship that St. Thomas believes can be taught. The school offers the only MBA program in the nation for both franchising and entrepreneurship, and also offers an MBA in family business, as well as an undergraduate degree in entrepreneurship. Tandon believes St. Thomas' entrepreneurship program is answering a growing need. "Twenty-five years ago," he says, "the dream was to get a job with AT&T; now, I have sense that that is not necessarily the case anymore."
Dana Gleason would likely agree with that assessment. A persistent entrepreneur, he is an avid Montana outdoorsman whose third attempt at a start-up business, Dana Design of Bozeman, Mont., has made him one of the nation's top manufacturers of advanced mountaineering equipmentnamely, backpacks.
From annual sales of $50,000 in 1985 and a staff of five, Dana Design has grown to $3 million in sales and 80 employees between two plants in Bozeman and Livingston. And Gleason has achieved those sales while eschewing one of the highly touted principles of corporate businessmarketing.
"I don't consider marketing a dirty word," Gleason says, but he blames the death of his two earlier businesses (backpacks and camera bags) on the "short-sighted" selling techniques of marketing persons who were more concerned about lowering the price of his products to increase sales, than they were about the actual quality of the product. In his current venture he sells specially fitted backpacks for $300 to $400, a premium price in the current market. In most companies, he says, the heroes are the sales people; at Dana Design, "the heroes are the production workers."
Aside from a wariness of marketing techniques, Gleason's advice to budding entrepreneurs is to be extremely careful when choosing partners. Practical humility is a virtue, he says: "The worst mistakes get made when you're dealing with someone who thinks they know what they're doing."
Also, like so many others, Gleason started his venture with little money, a condition he says is beneficial to entrepreneurs for two reasons:
- There is not much money to lose.
- You can't afford to lose.
Geographic impetus for entrepreneurism
That notion of being "unable to afford to lose" may be what inspired some of the region's earliest entrepreneurs, according to John Borchert, professor of geography at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Writing in a 1975 paper, Borchert describes a relationship between entrepreneurs and the land that began as early as the mid-19th century: "In Minnesota local entrepreneurship may well be even more necessary for local job creation than it is in some other parts of the United States. For this region has always lacked important resources or energy; it is on the geographical margin of the national market; and it is not a geographical concentration of low-priced labor."
He still holds those views today, but adds that Minnesota, and especially the Twin Cities, benefits from a high degree of centralization within the Upper Midwest. There has been a migration of people, industry, retailers, professionals and academia over the past 100 years to the Twin Cities that has helped create ideal circumstances for entrepreneurs, he says.
A number of wealthy, successful families helped form the large corporations that would be the cornerstone of present-day Minnesota, Borchert says, but many of those companies owed much of their success to the centralization of the Upper Midwest toward the Twin Cities.
A case for that centralization is made by Brett Johnson, one of the founders of the Minnesota New Venture Collaborativean entrepreneurial support group in the Twin Citieswho says that the recent wave of computer and biomedical entrepreneurial activity in Minnesota can be traced to the formation of Control Data Corp. and Medtronic, and to the research support of the University of Minnesota.
"Legions of knowledgeable middle managers came from those companies and created many successful spin-offs," he says; and it's a process that continues today.
The key to the entrepreneurial success of the Twin Citiesand, by proxy, the rest of the regionis that it is "information rich," according to Borchert. The historically intensive interaction between the Twin Cities and the land, the visibility of the Twin Cities in America, the mobility of the people, and the presence of world-class companies and a top-notch university have created a region that is wise in the ways of the world as well as in the ways of its next-door neighbors, he says.
"Anything that fosters economic, social and educational mobility increases the chances of creativity within a population," he says, referring also to other Upper Midwest states, as well as Minnesota. Borchert, who thinks area citizens should consider themselves as citizens of the Upper Midwest rather than of a particular statesays that the quality of life in North Dakota, for example, is higher because of the Twin Cities (although he admits that such an idea may be a tough sell in the Dakotas).
The role of government
That may also be a tough sell in Montana, a state, as mentioned earlier, that has become increasingly dependent on small business for its employment growth. The state's growth in "micro" businesses (those with fewer than 10 employees) has ranked it near the top in the nation; and rather than allowing that trend to continue on its own, the Montana Legislature has decided to help micro businesses by creating the Micro-Business Finance Program (MBFP).
The MBFP will use $3.25 million from the state's Coal Tax Fund to lend money at 4 percent to 12 Regional Revolving Loan Funds, which will then lend up to $20,000 to qualified businesses. Loans will be made at the market rate plus a premium to help ensure that businesses will first apply to conventional lenders. Those businesses must employ 10 people or fewer and have an annual gross income of less than $500,000. The state will also provide training and management oversight as needed.
Bob Heffner, chief administrator of the project for the state's Department of Commerce, says Montana's venture into small business financing is one of the first of its kind in the country, and he believes it is the right role for the state. After examining the growth of micro businesses in the state and considering the need for additional capital, Heffner says the state eventually came to the conclusion that there is a definite link between capital availability and job growth.
"We get calls daily from small businesses that need debt capital," he says. Capital is not provided by local lenders, Heffner says, because the cost to the lender of evaluating such small loans doesn't justify the transaction.
One 1990 economic study may give credence to Montana's plans. In a working paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research, economists David Blanchflower and Andrew Oswald of Dartmouth College primarily use British data because of the lack of information on American entrepreneurs, but their conclusions are given in a broad context. "What is it that makes a young entrepreneur? Our empirical analysis identifies many factors, but one stands out. These British data support the hypothesisrecently examined by U.S. economiststhat entrepreneurs face capital and liquidity constraints. It appears that the effect is large." The authors suggest that a gift or inheritance approximately doubles a person's probability of establishing a new business.
"The conclusion that capital and liquidity constraints are influential has implications for economic policy," the economists write. "Although any econometric result should be treated cautiously, the estimates in this paper are consistent with the idea that entrepreneurship can be fostered by financial grants, and they provide tentative information about the size of the response to different levels of such transfers."
But Rajiv Tandon of St. Thomas is highly skeptical of a governmental role. "Sometimes the government, in its effort to do good, does more harm," he says, speaking of government's general role and not Montana's particular plan. Tandon says that government's role should be reserved for the macro level, to help create a positive economic climate and to provide informational services, as well as to do what government does bestinvest in infrastructure.
As for direct business investment by government, Tandon is blunt: "Government has always been lousy at it and will always be lousy at it." Among other reasons, Tandon says that politics invariably enters into questions of economic investment, and he cites the former Greater Minnesota Corp., a state-sponsored economic development commission, as an example of how political bickering and bureaucratic ineptness can foil the most honorable intentions.
Montana's Heffner, however, is confident that his state will avoid such problems, primarily through the creation of its regional funds, which will bring some local control to the process and will mean that all areas of the state will benefit from the funding. "This is not risky business," Heffner says. "Micro business is the real Montana economy. The state will get job creation, stability and diversification."
Established this spring by the state Legislature, Montana's Micro-Business Finance Program expects to make its first business loan before the year's end.


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IKEA Centres is unveiling major new modern parks and outdoor spaces across its portfolio of Russian malls. The state of the art parks and outdoor spaces mark a key milestone in IKEA Centres vision to transform its 14 MEGA branded Russian retail destinations into vibrant meeting places for the next generation and a more omni channel world.
A new MEGA Park has just opened at MEGA Rostov-on-Don following the opening of a MEGA Park at MEGA Dybenko last summer, and more are scheduled to open at other MEGAs in the coming months, including at MEGA Ekaterinburg and MEGA Khimki this autumn. A brand new 2,700 sqm public square was also unveiled at MEGA Kazan in 2016 These new spaces are significant local leisure destinations in their own right, and are a key part of IKEA Centres €2 billion investment programme to upgrade its Russian malls.
MEGA Parks are specially designed to be family friendly community destinations with something for everyone. Each park benefits from large areas for playing sports, work out zones and children’s playgrounds. Most MEGA Parks also have extensive event space ensuring local people can enjoy festivals and concerts in their leisure time. In addition, emphasis has been placed on creating much sought after attractive green spaces for walks, socialising and relaxing outdoors.
MEGA Khimki’s 9,500 sqm MEGA Park is a particularly exciting place for sporty types. The park has its own multifunctional sports area with ideal space for multiple sports from basketball to mini football, and in the winter months will transform into an ice rink. There is also a special running area good enough for professionals, and major spaces for exercise and yoga classes. An attractively designed central boulevard intelligently connects the park’s extensive facilities.
MEGA Rostov-on-Don’s 20,000 sqm MEGA Park is another impressive outside space where visitors can relax, meet friends and play sports all year round. Over 1,800 trees and bushes have been planted within attractive walkways providing the surrounding community with an inspiring new green destination for relaxing walks. A multifunctional sports area will also open soon, along with a skate park. MEGA URBAN FEST, an urban festival with artists, DJs and dancers has also just taken place and was extremely popular with locals.
Finally, an enormous new park is set to launch at MEGA Ekaterinburg this autumn. Spread over 100,000 sqm it will be a significant new leisure destination with considerable space for sports and events like concerts, family festivals and open air cinemas. But IKEA Centres isn’t just building new parks, a new square has just been unveiled at MEGA Kazan. Specially designed to host a multitude of family activities and events all year round with a striking illuminated fountain at its heart, the square is set to become one of Kazan’s most popular new locations for recreation.
IKEA Centres is also looking to undertake commercial partnerships and co-creation initiatives with MEGA tenants and other relevant businesses at its new outdoor spaces. For example, at MEGA Dybenko’s new park telecommunications operator TELE2, has arranged a summer cinema season. Visitors can watch films for free and experience the quality of mobile 4G Internet from TELE2. Sports brands are another example, who will host their own themed events at MEGA Parks to promote their products.
Milen Gentchev of IKEA Centres Russia commented: “Our Russian malls are becoming stimulating new destinations for our 250 million annual visitors. Anticipating guest expectations and constantly surprising them is fundamental to the long term successful development of our business in a more omnichannel world. We believe in this vision, which is why we are upgrading our shopping centres to become meeting places for recreation, leisure and entertainment. As well as parks we are incorporating new F&B, cinemas, open air cafes, kids play areas, flexible workspace, and are extending malls to further improve our tenant mix.”
Upgrade works to transform MEGA malls with extensions and refurbishments are also well underway. Earlier this year, it was announced that MEGA Adygea-Kuban located in southern Russia near the Black Sea will receive a major extension. The GLA of the shopping centre is being more than doubled to 190,000 sqm, along with a new lakeside alfresco dining concept for the 14 million people who visit MEGA Adygea-Kuban every year.


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Minority L.A. marijuana business entrepreneurs have a chance to receive a big boost through $30 million worth of grant funding. The California Bureau of Cannabis Control and the Governor’s Business Office of Economic Development has announced they will be assisting bud businesses owned by those in communities that were unevenly impacted by the failed War on Drugs. More than $6 million of that is going directly to cannabis companies in L.A.
The money will be earmarked to:
- Extend technical assistance.


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Peloton to sell bikes, treadmills at Dick’s Sporting Goods stores
© Reuters. A Dick’s Sporting Goods store is closed due to the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Washington, DC, U.S. April 10, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
(Reuters) – Peloton Interactive (NASDAQ:) Inc said on Thursday it will start selling its bikes, treadmills and other products in Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE:) Inc stores, as the exercise bike maker looks to expand its customer base to lift sagging sales.
Peloton’s shares rose 2% to $8.40 in premarket trading.
Following the partnership, Peloton’s products will be available in more than 100 Dick’s Sporting Goods stores and also on its e-commerce platform, according to the statement.
The companies said the rollout is expected early in the holiday season.
Last month, Peloton struck a partnership with Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:) to sell some of its fitness equipment on the online retailer’s U.S. platform.


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Fashion brand Balenciaga is now accepting cryptocurrency as a means of payment. As a result, the brand’s main locations in Los Angeles and New York, as well as its online sites, will now offer Balenciaga products in return for crypto.
Press statement from Balenciaga emphasized that the brand’s long-term thinking about crypto & currency fluctuations is nothing new. However, it is clear that Balenciaga will not just accept cryptocurrencies.
For now, there is no word on how Balenciaga plans to utilize crypto or which digital asset it will accept. Having said that, it did state that it will initially be taking just BTC and ETH for the time being. There has been an increasing number of high-end stores turning to cryptocurrency in recent months, such as Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
Luxury fashion house Balenciaga has become the latest to accept crypto as a form of payment. One of the world’s most famous watchmakers, Tag Heuer, has also decided to accept cryptocurrency. In light of Arnault’s support for NFTs and Web3, Tag Heuer’s adoption of cryptocurrency is not a surprise. The CEO of Tag Heuer, Laurent de Vos, is a major fan of NFTs, as indicated by his engagement with Clone X PFP by Rtfkt, which was made in partnership with Takashi Murakami and Invisible Friends by Markus Magnusson.
Luxury businesses are increasingly utilizing cryptocurrency as a form of payment. With this, they seek to attract a more wealthy, tech-savvy clientele that’s well-versed with the use of digital assets. This is just the latest addition to a long line of fashion brands getting on board with blockchain technology.
In conclusion, to view the 10 best-performing cryptocurrency this month, get crypto market updates and crypto exchange news, click here. And don’t forget to follow our Youtube channel to view useful investing videos.
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The Cabinet of
Ministers of Ukraine adopted a decision which introduced a new procedure for
the passage of goods in ports. It meets European standards and will
take an hour, in contrast to today’s terms up to 15 hours. Prime Minister of
Ukraine ArseniyYatsenyuk said this at a government
meeting on Wednesday, July 8.
implementation of initiatives of the Infrastructure Ministry approved by the
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine will allow to reduce the time
of stay in port, increase port capacity by 15-20%, and eliminate
conditions for corruption schemes, the scale of which is estimated at UAH 3
billion per year.
seaports will see a reduction in the number of procedures and supervisory
authorities involved in the registration of cargo ships.
The new scheme of
carrying out cargo in Ukrainian ports that meets European standards will be
implemented within 45 days. Term of registration of transit
cargo will decrease from 10-15 hours (in some cases - up to several days) to 1


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According to the latest rumor flying off the mill, a battery electric i8 version is expected to reach the market, though only after the regular model gets the mid life-cycle rework.
The pure electric BMW i8, which is tipped to harness power from as many as three electric motors, is going to be first declined into a prototype used for testing purposes. The interesting fact is the all-electric model could sport an adaptation of the carbon fiber structure developed for the i8 hydrogen fuel cell prototype that was showcased around a year ago. The latter deployed a larger central tunnel in comparison to the plug-in hybrid as it needed space for the cylindrical hydrogen tanks. And for the electric version, the cylinders would make room for the larger battery pack. While the number of cells will be significantly higher than in the regular i8, sources claim the electric i8 is not going to be heavier than its standard sibling, which tips the scales at 3,273 pounds (1,485 kilograms).
Power is reportedly coming from three all-new electric motors – one placed up front and the other two in the space previously occupied by the three-cylinder, 1.5-liter turbo engine. There are no specific details about these new motors, but allegedly they should each bring to the table up to 268 hp. But first up will be the facelifted plug in hybrid i8, which is going for a power upgrade. With modifications to the electric motor as well, the combined total output should surge about ten percent to at least 390 hp.


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May 11 (Reuters) – Revian Automotive Inc. (RIVN.O) on Wednesday reaffirmed its annual production forecast of 25,000 units, saying disruptions in the ongoing supply chain and material costs prevented electric vehicle manufacturers from reaching their original target of 50,000 vehicles.
Shares of Irvine, a California-based company, rose 5% in extended trading after closing the day down 9.6%.
“We are focused on increasing production throughout 2022. We believe that supply chain constraints will continue to be a limiting factor in our production,” Rivian said in a letter to shareholders, adding that it would be able to double its annual output missing supply. Limitations
Rivian halved its 2022 forecast in March as it struggled to secure the chips needed to build an electric delivery van for its R1T pickup truck, R1S SUV and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O).
It delivered 1,227 vehicles in the first quarter, up from 909 units in the previous quarter.
Rivian says it has received more than 90,000 pre-orders in the United States and Canada for its R1S SUV and R1T pickup truck as of May 9.
The company’s first-quarter revenue came in at $ 95 million, well below analysts’ estimates of $ 130.5 million, according to refinitiv data.
Its net loss rose to $ 1.59 billion from $ 414 million a year ago.
Wall Street investors have been frustrated with the company’s progress and car order numbers, and the company’s post-IPO lockup expiration has put Rivian shares under increasing pressure this week. Ford Motor Co. (FN) offloaded eight million Ravenian shares worth 4 124 million, according to filing Tuesday.
At about $ 18.5 billion, Revian’s market valuation has plummeted since it went public in November. The company is now valued at approximately এবং 17 billion in cash and cash equivalents.
Revian, which currently operates a single plant in Illinois, plans to invest 5 billion to build a new manufacturing plant in Georgia. A company spokesman said last week that Rivian aims to open the plant by the end of 2024, but Rivian said Wednesday that it has set a 2025 launch date.


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Huawei, SlumCode invest in skills transfer for youth in slums
COMPUTINGBy BiztechAfrica - June 7, 2013, 2:22 p.m.
Huawei and the SlumCode Group, an organisation founded by the youth to change their community through access to information and digital literacy, have signed a partnership that will see emerging entrepreneurs transforming their business processes through ICT. The two parties will build partnership throughout the year to encourage the youth on taking up technology in their day to day business.
The collaboration seeks to empower the youth and create a platform where they can explore their options and learn how to integrate ICT into their business to make it more efficient and create a competitive edge for their products and services. The targeted youth are from universities, business schools, talented out of school youth, underprivileged but innovative and creative youth.
“We believe in empowering the youth and creating an opportunity for them to grow as individuals and contribute to the development of this country. We acknowledge the steps the government is taking to promote the Kenyan youth through various sectors” said Wind Li, Chief Executive Officer for Huawei Kenya. He added in 2011, Huawei started the Telecom Seeds for the Future initiative, which bridges digital divide between the academia and industry and promotes local talent.
The selected youth will undergo wholistic three-month training in ICT for business, financial literacy and entrepreneurship, business law and life skills.
At the end of the three-month training the two organizations will hold the Grand Slumfest 7 ICT Summit where participants will be awarded. In addition they will experience through expert speakers to inspire business processes for emerging enterprise in the procurement, human resource, supply chain, research, design and education, interactive showcase and networking space on smart technology and opportunities for youth employment and entrepreneurship.
Huawei Kenya says as it continues to expand its market, the company will continue to support the ICT industry by bridging the digital divide between the industry and academia and promote local talent. Since the inception of the telecom seeds for the future initiative, Huawei has trained and given internship opportunity to approximately 130 students over a period of four years.
MORE COMPUTING NEWS
Africa needs more technical, engineering hands-on skillsMost technical and engineering graduates do not fit standards required by the job market, says Samsung Electronics East Africa, which has opened academies across Africa to fill the gap. Read More
3D Printers for home use to exceed 1m unit sales by 2018New findings from leading hi-tech analysts, Juniper Research, reveal that sales of consumer 3D printers will exceed 1 million units by 2018, rising from just over an estimated 44,000 this year. Read More
Custom built venue to wow Saphila 2014 delegatesSaphila 2014 will be taking the term “innovation” to new levels across all aspects of the conference – from the speakers and sessions, to the purpose built, open air conference and exhibition venue, called “Saphilatown”. Read More
Celebrate Earth Day in 5 eco-friendly stepsGünther Jünger, Director Corporate Affairs, Europe, Middle East and Africa at Intel shares five easy eco-friendly tips to mark Earth Day. Read More
Smart home connected appliances to exceed 10 million installed by 2017A new report from Juniper Research forecasts that the installed base of connected appliances in Smart Homes will beat the 10 million mark by 2017, rising from 4 million in 2013. Read More
Acer steps up southern African education agendaAcer for Education is stepping up its activity in southern Africa, with new education devices being launched, a growing content partnership programme, and plans to extend its partner network into more southern African countries. Read More
Kenyan shift to Green Economy would generate USD 45bn by 2030Kenya’s transition to a green economy could produce major economic benefits equivalent to an estimated USD 45 billion by 2030, a new study shows. Read More
Kenswitch unveils system for instant cash transfersKenswitch Ltd has launched a system that will allow users to transfer cash between banks registered on its shared network on a real-time basis. Read More
E-waste threatens Ghana’s beachesMany beaches in Ghana, already stressed by pollution and poor maintenance, are now facing a new threat: e-waste. Read More
African education successes in focus at eLearning Africa conferenceThe eLearning Africa International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training gets underway from 28 – 30 May at Speke Resort and Conference Centre, Munyonyo, Kampala, Uganda. Read More
FEATURED STORYKenyan shift to Green Economy would generate USD 45bn by 2030
Kenya’s transition to a green economy could produce major economic benefits equivalent to an estimated USD 45 billion by 2030, a new study shows.
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IN DEPTHE-waste threatens Ghana’s beaches
Many beaches in Ghana, already stressed by pollution and poor maintenance, are now facing a new threat: e-waste.
COMPANY NEWSVMware Reports First Quarter 2014 Results
VMWare has announced Year-over-Year revenue growth of 14% to $1.36 Billion in its Q114 results.


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The “Resident Evil” line of game are, even fans of the series must admit, kinda bizarre, what with its emphasis on superhuman mutant dogs and bizarre zombie-plant people with all sorts of tentacles and the like. And yet somehow this new promotional event Capcom is throwing for “Resident Evil 6″ still seem pretty strange.
Capcom hired food artist Sharon Baker to help them create turn London’s Smithfield Meat Market into a real horror show chock full of human-looking body parts, all of them edible. The shop even includes a full-scale meat model of Baker herself. The display will be open through Saturday night.
The notoriously gory zombie-themed games have always made all sorts of shocking dismemberments a centerpiece, but the butcher shop is admittly quite odd. Capcom said proceeds from the sales of its human-shaped meats would go to support the Limbless Association charity.
That means diehard “Resident Evil” fans in London will actually be able to purchase the means to make their own “Jill sandwich” (a nod to an awful line of dialogue from the first game) if they so choose.
Fans and everyone else will have to wait until October 2 to play the game.
This video is from Reuters, published Friday, Sept. 28, 2012.
Stephen C. Webster
Stephen C. Webster is the senior editor of Raw Story, and is based out of Austin, Texas. He previously worked as the associate editor of The Lone Star Iconoclast in Crawford, Texas, where he covered state politics and the peace movement’s resurgence at the start of the Iraq war. Webster has also contributed to publications such as True/Slant, Austin Monthly, The Dallas Business Journal, The Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Weekly, The News Connection and others. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenCWebster.
Raw Story is a progressive news site that focuses on stories often ignored in the mainstream media. While giving coverage to the big stories of the day, we also bring our readers' attention to policy, politics, legal and human rights stories that get ignored in an infotainment culture driven solely by pageviews.
Founded in 2004, Raw Story reaches 9 million unique readers per month and serves more than 30 million pageviews.


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According to the statement published by Apple, “the iPhone has already passed several of the required certification tests and its availability is scheduled for next June as planned. We really want users to be able to put their hands (and fingers) on the device so they can experience how revolutionary and magical it is. “
However, the fact that the product is ready for launch in June has had an unexpected consequence. The quality department and some key software engineering resources assigned to Mac OS X have been derived from his work to finalize the iPhone. As a result, Apple will not publish Leopard as part of the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) to be held in June, as originally planned.
The statement continues, “While the Leopard features will be complete on that date, we cannot perform the quality tests that our users have come to expect from us. We plan to show our developers a near final version of Leopard during the conference, providing them with a beta version so they can do final testing. We think the wait will be worth it. “


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Apple raises UK iTunes App Store prices in line with EU ruling
The cheapest apps and games now start at 79p rather than 69p
Apple has raised the prices of the apps sold in its iTunes App Store.
The move was widely predicted, however it hasn’t hiked pricing across the board, instead concentrating only on the cheapest paid apps: these will now set you back 79p rather than 69p.
The change comes as a response to a new European Union ruling that states that VAT on digital sales must be calculated by the country in which the purchaser is located – not the retailer. Apple’s EU operation is based in Luxembourg, where tax rates are relatively low, and this is why UK app shoppers are seeing the price nudge up slightly.
Apple says prices are increasing across all EU countries, as well in Norway and Canada. They’ll “change” in Russia, while Iceland will actually see a decrease in pricing.
READ MORE: See all our iOS app coverage here


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Cheese producer Wyke Farms has opened a facility in Somerset to recover up to 95% of its wastewater and reduce its ecological footprint, as part of a £10m sustainability drive.
The measure is part of the farm’s 100% Green Initiative, aimed at making the business more sustainable by using renewable electricity and develop anaerobic digestion plants.
The new water facility will allow the farm to reuse over 70% and up to 95% of the water employed for its operations, saving it 850,000 litres of water a day.
Energy and climate change minister Lady Verma, who cut the ribbon on the plant, said, “Harnessing power from farm waste and the sun has not only helped Wyke Farms reduce carbon emissions, it has helped them cut costs and save money on their energy bills.
“Wyke’s new cutting edge water recovery system will now help save thousands of litres of water a day, ensuring the business is self-sufficient in this valuable resource. It’s great to see Wyke leading the way in the south-west and beyond, and I wish them every success as they drive forward their ‘100% Green’ plans.”
Next year the farm plans to open up its £2m of upgraded biogas per year and slowly become the first cheddar brand to be 100% self-sufficient in green energy.
Richard Clothier, managing director at Wyke Farms, said, “We are excited to be communicating our ‘green message’ this year alongside all of the other Wyke brand values that shoppers are familiar with. This will ensure that the Wyke Farms will remain a national grocery brand with a unique point of difference.”
The agriculture and food sector has come increasingly under scrutiny, with scientists and MPs warning that unsustainable carbon-intensive diets based on meat and dairy and shortage of agricultural land are threatening food security and the environment.


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Holiday Window displays judged: Holiday window displays were judged for the best display of the 2012 Downtown Staunton Holiday theme, "Tinseltown Christmas" for store front windows. Sixteen Downtown businesses entered the contest and designed beautiful windows in hopes of winning $1000, $500, $250 advertising packages donated by the News Leader.
The winners and prizes are listed as follows:
First Prize: Vintage Wedding Gifts, 7 E. Beverley St.
Second Prize: Pufferbellies Toys and Books, 15 W. Johnson St.
Third Prize: Turtle Lane, 10 E. Beverley St.
Honorable Mention: Design@ Nine, 9 E. Beverley St.
Honorable Mention: Monica Wilson Photography, 36 1/2 Middlebrook
Holiday Market announced: Frontier Culture Museum will host its Frontier Holiday Market from 11 a.m to 7 p.m. Friday at 1290 Richmond Road. This event is presented by the American Frontier Culture Foundation, Artisans and vendors will offer unique gifts. For more information, visit www.afc-foundation.org/news-holiday-market.php or call 332-7850.
Library announces event: Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum is inviting children for a morning of fun with a visit to a Victorian home decorated for the holidays and to make Christmas snap crackers. The event, scheduled for 10 a.m. Dec. 1, also will feature a visit by cast members of "The Nutcracker" ballet from Shenandoah Civic Dance Co. This event is for children ages 4-6. The cost is $12 per child. Reservations are required. Call 885-0897, ext. 110, or email email@example.com.
Blood Drive announced: American Red Cross announces a blood drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Waynesboro Unitarian/Universalist Fellowship at 565 Pine Ave. Donors will be automatically entered to win a $1000 gift card. Walk-ins welcome. For more information, call (800)733-2767 or visit www.redcrossblood.org.
Breakfast with Santa announced: Greenville United Methodist Church will host "Breakfast With Santa" Saturday. Breakfast will be served from 8 to 10:30 a.m. and will consist of pancakes, sausage, eggs, fruit and juice. The cost for adults is $5 and children under 11 years of age is $3. Santa will arrive at 9 a.m. by Classic Carriage. Pictures will be taken with Santa at a cost of $3. There also will be crafts, canned goods, baked goods and a silent auction. Lunch consisting of soup and sandwich will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at a cost of $4. For more information, call 337-0118.


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This morning, Schneider Electric has introduced a pre-configured system for eight to ten racks, with integrated power, cooling, cabling, software management and thermal containment: the HyperPod.
The new product is part of the company’s EcoStruxure brand, which is dedicated to IoT, mobility, sensing, cloud, analytics, and cybersecurity, proposing, amongst other things, DCIM-as-a-service with its recently launched EcoStruxture IT. It is being formally launched at the DCD>Zettastructure event in London today.
The HyperPod promises to reduce data center deployment time by up to a fifth, and allow customers to save between 15 and 20 percent in terms of costs and time. It is compatible with both 19” in and 21 in rack standards.
Other vendors have introduced such products, including Panduit and Huawei, but true to form, Schneider has made its own a marvel of engineering.
The company’s senior director of innovation, Steven Carlini, said the HyperPod is a response to the market demands.
“Our customers wanted a streamlined and more cost-efficient way to deploy IT, one that keeps up with the pace of business, and we listened.”
As part of its service, the company allows its clients to customize their pod before it is shipped, with a wide choice of cable trays, distribution cabinets, roofs, windows, blanking panels, doors, lighting kits and power raceways.


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Alibaba Group and COFCO Group Signed a Memorandum of Cooperation through Blockchain Technology
According to XINHUANET, on June 5, Alibaba Group and COFCO Group, China’s largest food processing company, signed a memorandum of cooperation through blockchain technology to jointly open the prelude to the digital transformation of China's exhibition industry.
After China’s President Xi Jinping’s speech on blockchain technology at the study session of the Politburo held On Oct. 25, 2019, many Chinese giants of the industry began accelerating their development into blockchain and the emergent technologies of the fourth industrial revolution.
The blockchain-based memorandum between Alibaba and COFCO is one of the recent examples of utilizing blockchain features which are increasingly being recognized by global giants of industry for their various fields of application.
Leveraging blockchain technology, the process of signing a contract can be significantly simplified due to the reduction use of paper use and fewer paper certificates.
Another key advantage that blockchain brings is its ability to safeguard information and keep it tamper-proof, thus making a blockchain contract much more secure than that of a duplicated paper contract. These key features can also be applied to all kinds of applications like identity verification, academic certificates, and more.
Image source: Xinhua


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"The Morning Briefing" is SmartPlanet's daily roundup of must-reads from the web. This morning we're reading about the electric vehicle industry.
1.) Batteries dead on China's electric vehicle push? Not so fast. Foreign auto makers are feeling a whole lot better about China’s drive for electric vehicles, thanks to a set of new guidelines released by Beijing last week.
2.) 20-minute EV charger to debut from German, U.S. automakers. When it comes to fast-charging technology, U.S. and German automakers are on the same team. Many of them have agreed to share a common EV charger in hopes of accelerating the push toward electric vehicles.
3.) Electric cars to account for 10% TIV by 2020. Electric vehicles are expected to account for 10% of the local total industry volume (TIV) by 2020 due to the growing awareness of zero-emission four-wheelers, said Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Malaysia.
4.) BMW drives London Olympics with electric cars, hybrids. BMW will have 240 electric and hybrid cars at the London Olympics this summer as part of the fleet of 4,000 vehicles the German automaker is supplying to the Games.
5.) Ford announces Focus Electric launch details (US). The Focus Electric is priced from $39,200 and features a 143 hp (107 kW / 145 PS) electric motor that is powered by a 23 kWh lithium-ion battery.
Image credit: Ford
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com


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Allstream Corp. announced a new service for enterprise dialup customers on Thursday that will give them access to a global Wi-Fi network by November.
The company is using MobileOffice software – a remote access and mobile office solution from GRIC Communications Inc. in Milpitas, Calif. – and GRIC’s global Wi-Fi services to enable its clients to access their networks while away from the office. Allstream will bundle global roaming into its dialup service, offering all corporate dialup users the option to use MobileOffice, which will be billed per usage.
GRIC is a network aggregator that has 35,000 wired and wireless access points in about 150 countries worldwide, said Richard Rossi, spokesperson for GRIC. This means GRIC aggregates Wi-Fi service into a single virtual network and uses its MobileOffice software to provide authentication and billing services. It is targeted at medium- to large-sized enterprises and the company has partnerships with about 300 service providers around the world.
However, GRIC isn’t the only company that provides global Wi-Fi services. iPass Inc. in Redwood Shores, Calif., for instance, has about 20,000 points of presence (POPs) including a broadband global access network with 2,500 Wi-Fi hotspots and about 1,000 Ethernet connections in outlets such as airports and restaurants.
Bell Canada Ltd. resells iPass to clients and so does iRoam Services Inc., an independent Wi-Fi provider based in Concord, Ont. iPass has similar software to GRIC – its biggest rival.
However, Allstream decided to use GRIC because its MobileOffice integrated easily into multiple types of access – dialup, Wi-Fi, digital subscriber line (DSL) and cable, said Eric Fletcher, vice-president, product management of connectivity services at Allstream in Toronto. He added that MobileOffice also integrates well into Allstream’s Internet Virtual Private Network (VPN) Service, and is easy to manage with the company’s customer base.
Roadpost Inc., in Mississauga, Ont. also signed a deal with GRIC in September to provide global Wi-Fi services.
However, Richard Earle, president and CEO of iRoam, isn’t worried about Allstream’s foray into the global enterprise Wi-Fi market.
“I think all it’s doing is proving the point that this sort of broker model is a good model [for Wi-Fi] and it’s gaining marketshare overall,” he said.
As for Fletcher, he said it’s impossible to tell which company is going to dominate the enterprise Wi-Fi market. “The Wi-Fi marketplace is embryonic at this point,” he said.
Regardless of how Wi-Fi access is achieved, it is something that business travellers require into today’s marketplace, according to one analyst.
“Having remote access for enterprise customers is obviously something that is becoming increasing important, not only for sales people who have to be on the road and need access to corporate e-mail and intranets, but for an increasing number of folks who find themselves taking work home at night,” said Mark Quigley, analyst at the Yankee Group Canada in Ottawa.
Quigley also noted that while useful for remote workers, the global network’s dialup components limit file sizes and the amount of work some employees can do. He added that despite this, having a connection is better than having no connection at all.
For more information visit www.allstream.com.


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Husqvarna Group division Husqvarna Professional Products has announced its decision to discontinue the Dixon brand name in North America.
That means Dixon's zero-turn mowers, walk-behind mowers and tractors will bow out from the market, though Husqvarna plans to manufacture similar products under alternative brands.
"The decision to phase out the Dixon brand is part of the Husqvarna Group's strategic plan, a strategy that seeks to reduce operational complexity, improve efficiency and give additional focus to the consumer," said Jeff Dewosky, VP dealer sales, Husqvarna.
As of the end of this year, the distribution of products under the Dixon brand name will cease in North America, but will continue internationally for the time being. The company will continue to process Dixon warranty claims and provide service parts for a period of time.
No jobs are expected to be lost in the transition, nor does Husqvarna expect a radical change in its financial standing.


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Not sure if this one slipped under the radar. Yesterday, the supreme court judge in India ruled that Android phones can now be sold with only the Play Store (Reuters article). It is no longer needed to bundle apps like Gmail, Chrome and YouTube. Also, it must be possible to uninstall any app. On top of that, Google was fined $161M.
This is a significant development for two specific reasons.
1) India is a key growth market for Google. Simply put, there is no way Google can turn its back on India.
2) This court case sets a precedent for other jurisdictions around the world. Even the DMA/DSA in the EU do not have such far reaching implications.
And rumor on the street is that Google will be sued in the US soon.


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Relocalize, a North American food-tech company, has announced the closing of a $1.4M pre-seed round to fund the development of the first-ever automated food micro-factory.
The round is led by grocery retail and industry leaders including senior executives from Slack, Emerson, ex-Sobeys and an undisclosed USA-based retail chain.
The company plans to deploy thousands of micro-factories at grocery distribution centres across North America. Its first micro-factory, which will produce packaged ice, will be deployed in November 2021.
Since the company's founding in November 2020, Relocalize has reportedly in-licensed, designed, patented, prototyped and tested its technology.
The company’s ice product purports to cut up to 90 per cent of road transportation and 50 per cent of water waste. Each robotic-enabled micro-factory produces, packages, palletizes and stores up to 1.6M bags of ice per year, supplying 100-200 local retail stores.


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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Dana Holding Corp. DAN, +0.07% said Thursday that it broke even in its second quarter, compared to a year-earlier loss of $122 million. On a per-share basis, the Toledo, Ohio-based axle maker lost 8 cents a share compared to a year-ago loss of $1.28 a share. Sales for the three months ended June 30 fell to $1.19 billion from $2.33 billion. "Our second-quarter revenues reflected the continued weak demand in all three of our market segments," said Dana Executive Chairman John Devine. "Despite this difficult environment, our aggressive efforts to resize our organization, implement permanent structural improvements, and address pricing continued to take hold. These actions resulted in substantial profit and cash flow improvements compared to the prior quarter, despite slightly lower sales."
Dana breaks even in second quarter


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FP Escape’s Dream Retreat Named ‘The New Wellness Retreat That’s Straight Out of a Photoshoot’
December 1, 2015
Our friends at Well + Good recently named Free People Escape’s Dream Retreat to Yelapa “The new wellness retreat that’s straight out of a photoshoot.” Check out their feature below:
Between the globally-inspired clothes and insanely gorgeous photoshoots (think remote beaches and dramatic sand dunes), travel and adventure are a major part of the Free People ethos. Now, the bohemian brand is recreating their dreamy imagery IRL with the launch of FP Escapes, a series of curated wellness retreats around the world.
“Through social media, we’ve seen how much our community loves connecting with one another and sharing their lifestyles with each other,” says Free People’s director of content development and brand marketing Abby Morgan. “The natural progression of that was to bring them together and let them fully immerse themselves in the essence of our brand.” To make it happen, they teamed up withYogascapes, and FP Escapes was born.
After testing the waters (literally and figuratively) with an invite-only trip to Moab and then an enter-to-win event in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, the first official, open-to-the-public escape will take place January 9 to 16, 2016, at Xinalani Eco-Resort—an apparently amazing spot that’s accessible only by boat, with rooms overlooking the white sand beach built right into the side of a mountain—in Yelapa, Mexico.
Led by New York City-based yoga teacher Aarona Ganesan (who may be known to Well+Good readers as Aarona Pichinson) and Los Angeles yogi, healthy eating expert, and Philosophie founder Sophie Jaffe, the seven-night retreat will include daily yoga classes, surfing instruction, to spa treatments.
In addition, Ganesan and Jaffe plan to lead a series of self-care and empowerment workshops specifically created for women—sorry guys, it’s a ladies-only retreat. “When women come together, I feel like there is a really special bonding that happens,” says Ganesan. “I’m excited to take that to the next level and really connect around wellness, yoga, nutrition, and self-love.” There’s also a three-day vegan food-based cleanse that’s optional (no pressure, but Jaffe is a total superfood pro).
The point is to leave you feeling like you’ve just done something amazing for yourself—not just limit that experience to Mexico: “I’ll be teaching people how to really adopt my healthy tips for eating and living for everyday,” says Jaffe. “I don’t want people to feel like the only time they can feel this good is when they go away on a yoga retreat.” She’ll be sending guests home with nutrient-rich recipes—including one for her raw, vegan ice cream, just saying.
Feeling inspired to book a little New Year’s me-time? Spots are filling up fast, Jaffe says. But, if you can’t make this one, don’t stress; they’re scoping destinations like Hawaii and southern Spain for the next escape. Or scan the Free People Instagram for what could amount to a sneak peek. —Victoria Lewis


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Here’s what Houzz’s research team found out about how much people are spending on kitchen renovations — and on what.
The kitchen is the most popular room of the home to renovate, according to Houzz research.
Here’s what Houzz’s research team found out about how much people are spending on kitchen renovations.
As we move into the new year, it’s time to look ahead and predict what’s in store for the retail industry as it races to stay relevant in the Age of Amazon.
The NKBA has reason to believe American taste in kitchen and bath design is shifting away from old, fusty norms.
Expect the housing market recovery to continue, says builder association's chief economist.
A record high for the total value of homes, according to research from a popular real estate web site.
A study finds that living with a parent is the most common young adult living arrangement for the first time on record. (Source: Pew Research Center)
Findings from GfK's FutureBuy study looks at how the next generation of shoppers combine bricks and clicks.


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When the Xbox One was announced last month, the fear that Microsoft instilled on every gamer’s mind was the idea that used games would become a thing of the past. It also raised privacy concerns due its always-online nature. But what if we’ve been worrying and arguing about the wrong thing this entire time?
You see, the Xbox One’s next-generation Kinect sensor is a pretty advanced piece of kit. The camera can not only see you and your surroundings in high-definition, but it can also do some crazy things like see your emotions, where you’re looking, and even your heart rate — yup, it can measure that by looking at changes in the pigmentations of your skin.
Now what if the Kinect actually turned out to be smart too? It would have pretty good chance at that, especially since it might even be able to gather your personal data. It all sounds straight out of a sci-fi movie, really. A sci-fi movie like, I don’t know, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
It looks like YouTube user GrittyReboots is way ahead of us, and has come up with this awesome video of what it’d be like if the Xbox One went all HAL 9000 on us humans. Check it out:
Microsoft acquired a home automation company earlier this year, you know. Just throwing that out there. (Hint: Don’t let Microsoft and the Xbox One have control of your house!)


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The latest YouTube SA stats indicate that the internet video platform now has an average of four million playbacks per day, and yet it remains a largely untapped vehicle for South African marketers. As an online social medium, YouTube enables brands to reach more people, more consistently, for a longer period (and at a fraction of the cost) than the traditional advertising model permits.
Jerome Mouton 2 Sep 2013
The world is now flooded with screens, and those screens call for video. With lines blurring between entertainment and advertising, the online video boom offers excellent opportunities for brands to capitalise on this burgeoning trend.
Jerome Mouton 5 Nov 2012


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Levi's new line is inspired by the underground Louisville music scene in the '80s
An iconic clothing brand drew inspiration for its newest line from a scene that emerged decades ago in Louisville.
Think about '90s grunge -- bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden. This movement is mostly attributed to Seattle.
But Levi's Vintage Clothing says the road to that scene began "deep within the teenage bedrooms of Louisville."
"Teenagers were emerging from the local punk and hardcore scenes and forming bands. What they shared was an unorthodox songwriting approach and an uncompromising attitude," Levi's writes on its website. "On several occasions, these Louisville bands seemed ready to break out and become the next big thing. But an unwillingness to compromise kept them just below the surface, solidifying their place in music history as true underground originals."
They say those bands' uniform of choice was a pair of classic ’80s Levi’s 501 Jeans mixed with strong graphic elements -- inspiring a new line for fall/winter 2020.
It also features a lot dark reds, mustard yellows and purple.
The brand thanked Louisville Underground Music Archive, an extension of the University of Louisville's libraries, for help with the project.


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Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has teamed up with Bud Light as the company continues to face a right-wing boycott over their partnership with transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney.
The controversy started back in April, when Mulvaney announced she had become one of Bud Light’s endorsers. That non-controversial announcement triggered right-wingers to boycott Bud Light and put their bigotry on full display.
The two-time Super Bowl champ is starring in a brand new ad for the beleaguered beer company, and he just doesn’t seem to give a f*ck about the hysterical backlash he’s already starting to face.
The 15-second spot, titled “Grunts,” pokes fun at the audible noises men make when they pop open a cold brewski and plop down into their favorite chair.
Travis Kelce stars in a new Bud Light commercial 🍻
The 15-second spot pokes fun at the sounds people make when easing back into a chair or getting out of one.
— Sports Business Journal (@SBJ) July 5, 2023
As the Kansas City Star editorial board wrote this week: “Tying his reputation to a brand that has been the target of a widespread boycott takes courage, a character trait Kelce often exhibits on the field. In Kansas City, we learned some time ago Kelce was fearless: Over the course of his 10-year, record-setting career in the NFL, we’ve seen him run over hapless defenders with regularity. Kelce is never one to shy away from contact.”


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Katy Keene, the latest entry into the Archie franchise is due to premiere on The CW later this year. Will season 1 of Katy Keene be coming to Netflix like Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina? Let’s take a look.
The new series set in the Riverdale universe stars Lucy Hale who has been a regular on The CW with her most recent appearance being in the short-lived Life Sentence, currently streaming on Netflix, FYI.
The series is being developed by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa who is also behind Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina that airs exclusively on Netflix. Naturally, the show that’s set in the universe will make a perfect fit in the Netflix library but unlike previous years, it’s not guaranteed to be coming to Netflix.
The new series will see a group of aspiring artists trying to get to Broadway.
When will Katy Keene be on Netflix in the United States
In the United States, had the series released last year, it’d have definitely come to Netflix. Instead, each title is now been shipped to individual streaming networks. Batwoman which is also due to premiere this year is pegged for the new Warner streaming service.
A report from Deadline did say that Netflix was interested in picking up Katy Keene and the other The CW show, Nancy Drew.
So when would Katy Keene release on Netflix? At the moment, it’s not clear whether shows will continue to come to Netflix 7 days after the show’s finale or later as it did before 2016. In either case, we should see Katy Keene season 1 be on Netflix in 2020 at some point.
Will Katy Keene be on Netflix in other regions?
Much like the United States, it’s simply too early to tell. Again, it’d make sense as nearly all regions outside of the US carries the other two Archie comics shows. In fact, Riverdale is pitched as a Netflix Original in most regions too.
Again, it probably won’t be until closer to its release date in the fall when we hear of what the streaming plans are. In all cases of The CW shows on Netflix outside of the US right now, new episodes drop weekly.
Do you want to see Katy Keene come to Netflix? Let us know in the comments.


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Leading fiber broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc. once again topped video streaming giant Netflix’s ISP Speed Index in December 2022, demonstrating the best experience for Netflix users who may be binge watching Korean dramas or doing a family movie marathon. According to the Netflix Speed Index in December 2022, Converge garnered a speed rate […]Learn More
Converge ICT inaugurates first two business centers in Ilocos ProvinceBy: Converge Admin | 24 Nov 2021
Right after opening business centers in Cagayan and Nueva Vizcaya, Converge ICT Solutions has now landed in the province of Ilocos. Continuing its mission observing the unserved and underserved Filipinos, Converge opens two new business centers: one in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte and another in Candon City, Ilocos Sur.
“Aside from firming up our domestic backbone, establishing touchpoints, be it online or offline is all part of Converge’s broader ‘Go National’ strategy. We want to be able to serve our customers in ways that are fast and efficient for them,” said Converge Chief Operations Officer Jesus Romero.
In a back-to-back event last week, the country’s only pure fiber broadband provider heralded its entry in the Ilocos region with ribbon-cutting ceremonies, both graced by distinguished government officials and honorable guests including: Gov. Matthew Marcos Manotoc, Vice Gov. Cecilia Araneta-Marcos, Sandro Marcos, Mayor Ericson Singson, Vice Mayor Kristelle Singson, and Madam Grace Singson.
In addition to the celebration, Converge painted the streets of Candon purple as Pagatang riders, a local food delivery app in the region, traversed the town with FiberX banners and materials.
As an effort to sustain and support the tremendous growth in North Luzon customers, these two business centers will be accommodating new applications, customer service queries, and payment transactions via cash or card (visa/mastercard). Truly, every household and business can now have access to an end-to-end fiber internet.
Earlier this month, Converge announced the completion of its national digital highway. With this in place, we can expect Converge to reach the provinces, and soon serve more than half of the Philippines’ population.
About Converge ICT Solutions, Inc.
Converge Information and Communications Technology Solutions, Inc. (PSE:CNVRG) is the leading pure fiber data network and internet service provider in the country. It is the first to run a pure end-to-end fiber internet network, providing Filipinos simple, fast, and reliable internet connection. Converge is ISO 9001 and CE2.0 Certified.
Converge mascot, Conrad, leads the opening of the Laoag business center.
Converge Laoag Business Center is located at Unit 1B Upper Ground Floor RAGB Bldg General Segundo Avenue corner General Luna Laoag City. The business center is open Mondays to Saturdays, 8:30 am to 5:30 pm.You may book your appointment through the mobile numbers 0945-186-7302 (Globe) and 0968-444-1709 (Smart).
Present during the launch are the following distinguished guests: Gov. Matthew Marcos Manotoc, Vice Governor Cecilia Araneta-Marcos, Mr. Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” A. Marcos Economic Affairs Consultant PGIN and the Business Centers Operations Team headed by the Regional General Manager of North Luzon JP Aguilar.
Sea of FiberX purple riders during the Candon Business Center launch.
Event Host: John Mark Galantao, Mayor Ericson G. Singson MD, City Administrator Grace G. Singson, Regional Sales Manager Mr. Randy Ponce and Regional General Manager Mr. JP Aguilar
Converge Candon Business Center is located at 25 De Marzo St, Brgy. San Antonio, Candon City, Ilocos Sur 2710. It is open Mondays to Saturday, 8:30AM – 5:30PM.
Looking back at the year that changed the world, it would be an understatement to state that Covid-19 created a disruption in commerce, especially among retailers. However, this paved the way for many businesses to embrace digitalization in a new way and it became crucial for riding out the pandemic. Check out the stories […]Learn More
The 2023 PBA Governor’s Cup has just begun, but the Converge FiberXers already has everyone at the edge of their seats with thrilling performances only indicative of their determination to take their game to a whole other level this conference. The young team is off to a rousing start with three stunning back-to-back wins, starting […]Learn More


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Realme 9 India launch will choose area in 2022, and the cellphone will arrive with a “mainstream” processor, the business verified throughout the announcement of Realme 8i and Realme 8s 5G. The most recent revelation will come just days soon after a report recommended that Realme 9 would appear to the country as early as October. Realme is speculated to have numerous styles in options for its Realme 9 collection. The rumour mill has also prompt that there could be Realme Observe 9 designs in the is effective — together with the Realme 9 telephones.
At the virtual occasion on Thursday, Realme reported that Realme 9 will be launched next yr. The telephone is claimed to have a new processor, however there is no clarity on whether it would be a up coming-technology Qualcomm Snapdragon model or a MediaTek chip.
Realme India and Europe CMO Francis Wong last week tweeted to tease the “big announcement” of the Realme 9 launch at the Realme 8i and Realme 8s 5G announcement. The executive, nonetheless, did not verify any additional specifics.
Wong highlighted that Realme has adopted a sample of bringing two generations of its Number and Pro sequence each yr. It had introduced the Realme 3 and Realme 5 sequence in 2019 and the Realme 6 and Realme 7 styles past year. That development has been transformed this time as the corporation has brought only its Realme 8 assortment in 2021.
Before this thirty day period, tipster Yogesh Brar collaborated with 91Mobiles to report that the Realme 9 sequence would start in India in Oct, someday just before the festive year. That move is now not likely as Realme has verified a 2022 start schedule for Realme 9.
Realme also briefly talked about the ongoing chip lack that has impacted smartphones and own laptop marketplaces all-around the globe. The corporation said that it has partnered with 3rd-social gathering suppliers to meet up with the demand for its units.
Late last month, tipster Mukul Sharma suggested that Realme could be developing Realme Take note 9 designs — such as Realme Observe 9 Primary — along with the standard Realme 9, Realme 9 Pro, and Realme 9A. The enterprise has not still provided any official particulars about what types it would offer less than the Realme 9 series.