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“Tacoma’s a tech town,” proclaims the subject line of an emailed newsletter from the Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County, touting the community’s latest wins and accomplishments.
The immediate reaction among the jaded and cynical — like the proprietor of this column — might be found somewhere between eye-rolling and resignation for another round of disappointment. Ever since someone thought up the concept of technology as a distinct industry, like steel or cars or ag, and saw how certain parts of the country, like Silicon Valley or Seattle, were getting rich off it, every American community has pined for and lusted after a piece of that action.
More often than not, those efforts came to naught. It takes a precise and still poorly understood combination of luck, history, foundation companies and academic institutions to create tech hubs, and most communities lacked those ingredients or had them in insufficient proportions. Tech hubs are also rarely planned; they seem to spontaneously combust.
Thus the notion of Tacoma being a recognized tech hub prompts responses of “here we go again” and expectations that this won’t produce anything more than being “America’s No. 1 Wired City” did.
But is that fair?
The EDB cites as evidence of Tacoma’s emergence as a tech town the recruitment of Oxford Global Resources, a staffing and consulting firm specializing in the tech industry. The Massachusetts-based company is relocating its regional office from Federal Way (apparently Tacoma and FWay are going to be swapping companies with each other) to downtown.
Other signs that Tacoma is "fast becoming a center for inspiring high-tech startups and training future professionals,” according to the EDB, include a life-science innovation incubator and development of co-working space.
Not a lot to inspire the idea of Tacoma as the nation’s latest tech hot spot, admittedly. Tacoma doesn’t have major medical-research institutions of the sort that biotech companies cluster around. Incubators have been around for decades. Co-working spaces are updated incubators and are such a trendy thing that they’re sprouting like Starbucks stores in every city (some consolidation seems inevitable).
The Oxford Global office, meanwhile, represents all of 25 employees, hardly on the order of the growth in new tech jobs that Seattle seems to get without even trying.
Before sounding the “abandon all hope” warning, let’s poke and prod at this a bit more.
The reference to biotech’s potential in Tacoma (in the form of the Readiness Acceleration & Innovation Network) comes at an interesting stage in that sector’s evolution in the Northwest.
Biotech was heralded as the next big thing for this region, and Seattle did get a core of companies out of it, but it never developed into the mega-cluster here proponents thought it would. That’s partly a product of the sector’s high-risk nature, with long development lead times and frequent research failures.
Two events are quite telling of how biotech’s potential is regarded now. The giant Amgen campus in Seattle, expensively outfitted with research-lab space, is getting a new tenant —not another biotech but the online travel agency Expedia. Meanwhile, the state shut down a fund that provided financing for biotech startups.
So why expect anything out of biotech or tech in general for that matter? Research and development prowess matters as does having a core of sizable companies spinning off ideas and talented employees. On those ledger items Tacoma is lacking.
But Tacoma has some other competitive elements to its advantage.
To quote from a LinkedIn posting from Oxford Global on why it picked Tacoma: “Taking living expenses into account, it was important that the surrounding housing districts be financially appealing to our employees. As noted in Sperling’s Best Places, housing in Tacoma is 61 percent cheaper than in Seattle. Also factoring in the cost of meals, transportation and more, Tacoma is 36 percent cheaper overall.”
Every company and industry can claim to be in high tech these days; they’d better be if they want to survive. This cranky columnist has argued before that Tacoma has an established presence in several sectors which it can leverage to build a high-tech base focused on those. Logistics and trade is one. Advanced manufacturing, a sector that Seattle is doing its darnedest to push out of town, is another.
If by design or by unintended consequence Seattle chases away or discourages startups, innovators and small companies with big ideas, Tacoma can position itself to catch the spillover (provided it avoids the municipal “how can we whack business today?” operating philosophy that is a hallmark of Seattle today).
And there’s a lesson for building a tech-centric economic-development strategy: If you can’t build your own tech hub, at least be in close proximity to someone else’s.


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- News tagged "huawei"
Sunday, 5 Jun 2016
A Huawei executive reportedly revealed that the company is releasing another Nexus phone this year.
Wednesday, 25 May 2016
Huawei is pursuing legal action against Samsung in both China and the US for allegedly violating its patents on a number of cellular technologies and software.
Thursday, 12 May 2016
Pre-order for the Huawei P9 will start on 12 May from 12 noon at Lazada Singapore. Read on to find out more!
Friday, 6 May 2016
Chinese site MyDrivers claims that Huawei and Xiaomi are releasing smartphones with curved displays in September.
Friday, 29 Apr 2016
Preliminary report of smartphone sales show Samsung sitting in the top, followed by Apple. Lenovo and Xiaomi fell out of top five.
Saturday, 23 Apr 2016
Huawei and Leica issued a joint statement to clarify the latter's involvement in the development of the camera module for the P9 and P9 Plus smartphones. Hit the link to find out more.
Thursday, 21 Apr 2016
The latest report from market research and analysis firm TrendForce is another sign that global smartphone market growth is stagnating.
Monday, 11 Apr 2016
Huawei and StarHub demonstrated new technology today that will soon give customers up to 1Gbps indoor 4G LTE speeds, thanks to a number of breakthrough technologies.
Tuesday, 8 Mar 2016
Huawei didn't just launch a new phablet today, it also has a new high-end 10-inch tablet. The MediaPad M2 10.0 boasts a full-metal build, a Full HD display, stylus support, four speakers tuned by Harman Kardon with SWS 2.0 surround sound, and a surprisingly good 13-megapixel rear camera.
Building on the success of last year's Huawei Watch, Huawei announced a new pair of Android Wear smartwatches designed especially for ladies today. Both watches sport rose gold-plated cases and premium leather straps. The more expensive Jewel model also has 68 Swarovski crystals embedded around the bezel.

domain: news


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A passion for traditional paints has lead to a business partnership with one of the UK’s top visitor attractions.
Earlier this year (2008) international business consultant Ross Harling set up Naturepaint – which makes environmentally friendly decorating paints – at premises in Hayle. Working closely with China clay suppliers in Par, Naturepaint has now launched a ‘Colours of Eden’ line in partnership with the Eden Project.
Mr Harling explained: “As makers one of the world’s safest and most eco-friendly decorating paints, it is natural that we should want to work closely with a world-class environmental education organisation such as the Eden Project.”
In launching Naturepaint Mr Harling was supported by three strands of Objective One investment: The Eden Project Supply Chain, SWIG (South West Investment Group) and Finance Cornwall.
Mark Beeley, Eden Project retail director, said: “This concept really caught our attention. We think it has tremendous potential and it meets with our ethos – it is predominantly made from Cornish materials, using plant extracts for colour and it’s very environmentally friendly.”
Carleen Kelemen, Director of the Objective One Partnership Office, added: “This business delivers an environmentally sustainable, quality product and its expansion will open up specialist job opportunities in Cornwall. This is a welcomed example of our unique Cornish environment driving economic opportunity.”
In the 1900’s, the UK had a diverse paint industry based on local materials until synthetic and petrochemical paint making took over. However, some paints sold in the UK can contain potentially harmful chemicals that require hazardous and expensive disposal treatment by local authorities.
Mr Harling worked closely with Imerys and the Paint Research Establishment to develop his product and Naturepaint uses 50% China Clay. The product, which is simple to use, arrives as powder paint which reduces packaging and is 100% recyclable – any leftovers can be disposed of on a compost heap. Mr Harling aims to create up to ten full time, skilled jobs within the next three years.
Mr Beeley added: “In the Colours of Eden range there are currently some 25 colours and all are inspired by the natural colours and shades to be found around the Eden site”.
The paint is available now in the Eden retail shop or via the website: www.edenproject.com/shop


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With the Maharashtra government ordering closure of all multiplexes and theatres in Mumbai till August 16 due to fast spreading swine flu, the film exhibition business may incur an overall financial loss of at least Rs 25 crore (Rs 250 million) from the upcoming long weekend holiday on account of Janmashtami and Independence Day.
This is because the film exhibitors are expecting a lower occupancy rates in the multiplexes in all major centers as a direct fall out of swine-flue spreading at a fast pace.
However, the much awaited Bollywood film, Kaminey, (starring Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra) remains on-schedule for an all-India release on August 14 along with another new film, Life Partner, also releasing on August 14.
The Saif Ali Khan-Deepika Padukone starrer, Love Aaj Kal, has already done brisk business in the past week, may suffer from lower theatre occupancy the coming weekend, say film trade analysts.
UTV, the producers of, Kaminey, have clarified that it is going ahead with the release despite the closure of theatres in Mumbai region. The Maharashtra government has already ordered the closure of around 10 multiplexes in Pune.
With the 30-odd multiplexes in Mumbai region, that contribute around 25 per cent of the overall weekly box office collections in the country remaining closed during the weekend, trade analyst are fearing the worst for the overall financial health of the Bollywood business that is already coping with the adverse impact of the two-month strike during April and May when no new films were release in the theatres.
"I do not wish to speculate on the financial implications on the business due to the closure of theatres in Mumbai. Public health comes first. We hope that the swine-flu virus gets contained fast. We are taking all precautions in our multiplexes across the country," says Alok Tandon, CEO, Inox Leisure, a leading multiplex chain.
According to Anand Shah, an analyst with Angel Broking, "The weekend collections alone contribute up to 60-70 per cent of the overall collections for new Bollywood releases. Once the weekend is lost due to theatre closure, it will be bad for the business."
Meanwhile the multiplexes across Mumbai will make full refund to the consumers on any advance bookings done for the films scheduled for the weekend.
According to bookmyshow.com, an online movie booking website, swine flu and the 'verified by visa' directive from the Reserve Bank of India on all online credit card transactions together have contributed to at least 5-10 per cent reduction in the online bookings.
Industry sources say, around 10,000 tickets have already been booked for August 13 to August 16. " We will make full refund for all tickets booked for multiplexes in Mumbai," says Roopesh Shah, head of marketing at Bookmyshow.com.


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Aug 17, 2013, 02.48 PM | Source: PTI
State-owned Bank of Baroda has sought capital infusion of Rs 1,800 crore from the government, its chairman and managing director S S Mundra said today.
Also read: Chidambaram says expects calm to return to domestic markets
Government holding in the bank stood at 55.4 percent.
Mundra said that the focus of the bank was retail lending, agriculture and MSME sectors.
In retail, advances grew by 17 percent last fiscal, 14 percent in agriculture and 23 percent in MSME, he said.
"We expect advances to grow by 18 percent to 20 percent in the three sectors this fiscal," Mundra said.
About overseas operations, he said that bank's 30 percent of total business generated was in 24 countries where it had presence.
Nearly 30 percent of the gross profit was from overseas operations, he said.
"We will expand overseas where we have our presence and know the environment," Mundra said.
Bank of Baroda stock price
On February 08, 2016, at 14:02 hrs Bank Of Baroda was quoting at Rs 134.20, up Rs 7.30, or 5.75 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 216.25 and the 52-week low was Rs 116.30.
The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 9.13 per share as per the quarter ended September 2015. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 14.7. The latest book value of the company is Rs 172.49 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 0.78.
Buy Bank of Baroda, Tata Motors: Nooresh Merani
Nooresh Merani of Asian Market Securities is of th
In talks with BoB, PNB and BoI for refinance: Mudra Bank, CEO
In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Jiji Mammen, CEO o
Bank of Baroda's Q3 results on Feb 13, 2016
Bank of Baroda has informed BSE that a meeting of
Sell BoB; buy ICICI Bank: Rajat Bose
Rajat Bose of rajatkbose.com recommends selling Ba
CBI registers FIR in Rs 374cr fraud at Bank of Baroda
The CBI has registered a case of criminal conspira
Super Six: Top chart picks for January 28
Gaurav Bissa of LKP Securities advises selling Mar
Negative on PSU banks, says Dipan Mehta
Dipan Mehta, Member at BSE & NSE has a negative vi
Sensex, Nifty consolidate; Midcap outperforms, banks rally
Banks stocks continued to lead markets with ICICI


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Nicki Minaj has been dragged to court by her former stylist, Maher Jridiis who is known for being the man behind the rapper’s famous wardrobe during 2017’s Paris Fashion Week.
The stylist claimed that the Ganja Burn crooner borrowed and wore his clothes from his expensive wardrobe items and didn’t return them.
The stylist further added that he rented the pieces for thousands of dollars from a company called Cloak Wardrobe.
The stylist also claims he is on the hook for $13,000 to replace the gear. He claimed to have made several attempts to resolve the issue out of court, but claims Nicki has ignored him.
Jridi also alleges that the rapper has not fully paid him for his services and it is why he is now seeking a total of $73,000.


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Molly-Mae Hague has shared a stunning make-up free selfie that's had her fans swooning. The ex-Love Islander posted the natural snap to her 6.2m Instagram followers while enjoying a takeaway coffee.
The Pretty Little Thing creative director, 22, from Hitchin was soaking up some sunshine and captioned the post: "Moisturise and go kinda Friday." Her social media fans have been full of praise for the bare-faced pic and have fallen head over heels.
One commented: "Perfect role model" followed by four love heart emojis. Another added: "More beautiful than ever"
A third echoed: "Love the natural look". A fourth admired: "Natural beauty."
Meanwhile, the social media influencer says she lived off a diet of chips and bread on her trip to Mexico over food poisoning fears. She was so worried about catching a stomach bug on her luxury trip that she was "a little bit scared" of eating meat.
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The model spent more than a week in Mexico after extending her trip to the country, as she stayed in the £500-a-night Casa Malca resort. The star described the country as "magical". She had jetted-off with friend Stephanie Lam to shoot a new campaign for her fake tan brand, Filter By Molly-Mae.
She told her YouTube fans: "One thing I am a little bit iffy about here, is that I'm a little bit scared to eat meat here. All of the stuff we keep going to eat is like meat, chicken, the guys are eating a lot of fish but I keep saying 'please by careful' because I know a lot of people that have come out to Tulum and have got food poisoning.
"To be fair, it's not even food poisoning, even the water is so different out here, we have been advised to not use the taps to brush our teeth, you can't have ice in your drink. It's one of those things, you've just got to be really careful."
Contact us with your stories.
In Your Area has news for a postcode of your choosing, be it where you live or work.


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Some pretty sad news for shoppers in Australia. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) have confirmed that all of its remaining GAME stores in Australia will close.
16 of the stores will shut down immediately with the remaining 15 expected to shut within the coming weeks.
Administrator Kate Warwick said in a statement:
“This is a difficult time for employees, and closing the stores was not a decision we made easily. Despite exploring available opportunities for continued trading, the ongoing trading performance and absence of viable offers for the purchase of the business has resulted in these closures.”
The GAME retailer franchise had been facing financial troubles for quite some time. Despite efforts to try and keep the stores open, they were unsuccessful.
A closing down sale has commenced. Both in-store and on GAME’s website you can catch yourself discounts of up to 60% off the normal RRP.


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Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Monday.
- Business Insider talked to 20 recent and former WeWork employees, executives, and business partners about life inside one the most controversial and fastest-growing startups of all time. Under cofounder and now-ousted CEO Adam Neumann, they described an atmosphere where the boundary between work and play did not exist.
- Elon Musk unveiled SpaceX's audacious new plan to build cities on Mars with giant Starship rockets. Starship is a roughly 40-storey rocket, designed to send up to 100 people to the surface of Mars.
- Google is facing yet more antitrust scrutiny over its plans to introduce a new internet protocol, the Wall Street Journal reports. Investigators are reportedly concerned the new protocol would make it harder for other companies to access consumer data.
- Tech companies discovered 45 million instances of child sexual abuse last year, the New York Times reports. This represents more than double the amount they found last year.
- Influencer Caroline Calloway took the stage at a Brooklyn podcast taping to "spill the tea" on her ghostwriter controversy. Calloway disputed a viral tell-all essay written by her former friend Natalie Beach, which accused Calloway of being a manipulative friend.
- Researchers studying information ahead of the 2020 election say they don't have enough access to data from Facebook. According to The New York Times, Facebook has struggled to share data for research while maintaining user privacy.
- The US is zeroing in on marijuana vapes as it investigates a spate of mysterious illnesses and deaths tied to vaping. The Center for Disease Control said that of about 500 people who experienced an illness linked to vaping, about 77% reported having used products containing THC, the main psychoactive compound in cannabis.
- Amazon may soon be able to track your phone's location even if you don't use any of its products or services. Amazon's new mesh network could enable the company to track your phone's location, even if you don't use its WiFi or products.
- A California judge ruled Friday that Tesla and Elon Musk broke federal labor law with union-busting activity, the Washington Post reports. One of the violations included a tweet from Musk arguing that employees didn't need a union.
- Facebook is testing hiding users' "likes" in Australia, CNN reports. The company has toyed with eliminating like counts in the past, the idea to get rid of the element of social media one-upmanship between users.
Have an Amazon Alexa device? Now you can hear 10 Things in Tech each morning. Just search for "Business Insider" in your Alexa's flash briefing settings.
You can also subscribe to this newsletter here — just tick "10 Things in Tech You Need to Know.


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Denuvo is bringing its anti-cheat know-how to PS5 sport builders and publishers, having now joined the PlayStation 5 Instruments and Middleware program.
Denuvo coming to PS5 is a fairly large deal. The corporate is on the forefront of video games safety, with some two billion distinctive sport installs projected throughout all codecs and over 1,000 titles secured by its know-how. In supporting Sony’s new console, it permits builders to guard their video games from hackers and cheaters.
The anti-cheat measures make use of superior know-how to safe on-line gameplay, plus ‘securely reward offline progress.’ It additionally helps builders protected guard sport logic or information, blocking cheaters from altering delicate variables. Varied PS5 launch video games featured Denuvo’s anti-cheat tech at launch.
Reinhard Blaukovitsch, managing director of Denuvo, Irdeto, commented:
Dishonest ruins video video games for sincere gamers. This will result in decrease engagement, sport visitors and shrinking revenues for sport publishers. We’re actually proud have the ability to assist the world’s most gifted builders to carry wealthy experiences for avid gamers on Ps®5.
Denuvo has been doing the rounds for over a decade now, defending AAA titles and collaborating with builders of all sizes. It affords cross-platform applied sciences on PC, consoles, iOS and Android, securing software program towards piracy safeguarding the integrity of a gaming expertise.
Associated Content material – Sony PS5 Full Information – A Whole Useful resource On PlayStation 5


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(Bloomberg) — The rally that’s added roughly $400 billion to Nvidia Corp.’s market value this year is about to be put to the test.
Most Read from Bloomberg
The chipmaker has been at the heart of this year’s stock market frenzy around artificial intelligence and quarterly earnings due after markets close on Wednesday will be scrutinized for evidence that spending on artificial intelligence computing is boosting sales.
“It’s going to be less about the actual results and more about what they put out there in terms of context for continued growth in the space,” said Mike Akins, founding partner of ETF Action, whose Amplify Thematic All-Stars ETF holds Nvidia.
After Nvidia shares doubled this year, boosting its market value to $759 billion, investors have a lot at stake. The company, whose semiconductors are used in computers powering AI applications, has emerged as one of the most popular ways to gain exposure amid an investor frenzy spawned by the success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The stock is the top performer in both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes this year, even as conditions in its core markets of personal computing and data centers remain tough.
Now comes the hard part: Providing evidence that AI-related demand is translating into enough revenue to justify the stock gains.
“Investors are going to demand to see some more in terms of specifics about the outlook for profitability at some point,” said Matthew Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co., LLC.
All eyes will be trained on results from Nvidia’s data center business, which is the dominant provider of AI accelerator chips. Cloud computing giants such as Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. have reined in spending in general and analysts expect that some of the slowing is the result of a shift in budgets toward hardware specifically for AI.
Nvidia’s data center revenue in the first quarter is expected to be $3.9 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, an increase of just 4% from the same period a year ago.
For Bank of America Corp. analyst Vivek Arya, stepped-up spending on components for AI computing might not show up until the current quarter, making the company’s guidance a key signpost for whether the AI surge is having a real impact. Nvidia’s revenue forecast for that quarter is likely to top the average estimate on Wall Street by about $200 million to $300 million thanks to AI-related demand, he said.
Such a boost would be welcome after estimates barely budged so far this year. Analyst projections for revenue in Nvidia’s current fiscal year have risen just 1.6% in the past six months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Net income estimates under generally accepted accounting principles have increased even less, at 0.4%.
The result is a stock priced at 61 times profits expected over the next 12 months, making it one of the most expensive in the Nasdaq 100, which has an average multiple of about 25 times, according to Bloomberg data. The rally, however, has paused in recent days, with the chipmaker’s stock falling for the fourth straight session on Wednesday.
“As we learned from 2000-2003, companies that are going to change the world still have valuation limits,” said Miller Tabak’s Maley.
Tech Chart of the Day
Big tech stocks have outperformed to such an extent this year that the Nasdaq 100 Index, when measured as a ratio to an equal-weighted version of the gauge, is trading near its highest in more than a year. Supported by stellar gains in major stocks like Apple Inc., Microsoft, Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com, Nvidia, Tesla Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc., the index is up 25% in 2023 to date, while an equal-weight version has risen just 12%.
Top Tech Stories
Lenovo Group Ltd. posted its first quarterly profit miss in more than six years as a slump in global personal computer demand showed no signs of easing.
Sony Group Corp. is gearing up for a push into cloud gaming in the coming months as it works to expand its reach beyond consoles.
Intuit Inc. declined in extended trading after reporting tax season revenue that fell just short of estimates on fewer-than-anticipated filings.
The UK’s telecommunications regulator Ofcom said it won’t stop BT Group Plc, the owner of the country’s only national broadband network, from rolling out a new pricing plan that had dawn criticism from competitors.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has made Japan’s leading taxi-hailing provider, Go Inc., a unicorn with its biggest startup investment in the country.
SoftBank Group Corp. issued a sharp rebuke after S&P Global Ratings cut its long-term credit rating a notch further into junk territory, citing the Japanese tech conglomerate’s exposure to private market valuations and other external risk factors.
India plans to overhaul rules governing use of the internet, potentially altering business practices for Silicon Valley giants operating in the world’s biggest market.
–With assistance from Ryan Vlastelica.
(Updates stock move.)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.


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The NYC-based brand management company announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2018 on Friday, reporting narrowed losses despite tumbling sales dragged down by the group’s men’s segment.
The Paris Commercial Court will deliver its decision on 12 October, but Carven seems to have found its savior in the Chinese group Icicle, with all in favour of a total takeover, FashionNetwork.com has learned.
Lee Cooper has unveiled a collection of premium-priced selvedge denim built around its heritage as a London brand. Called the Cooper Collection, after founder Morris Cooper, it has a pop-up shop and music collaboration.
Neil Cole has left the group he founded in 2005. In 10 years, he built a worldwide giant specialised in brands under licence. He's replaced by Peter Cuneo, who becomes Board Chairman and CEO ad interim.


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Suited for Change’s D.C. Insider Fashion Sale, on the second Tuesday of every month, now includes a happy hour and a drawing for a $100 T.J. Maxx/Home Goods gift card. Among the clothing offerings will be items donated from Tracy Reese’s sample sale last fall priced at $10 each. Money raised supports the organization’s mission to provide free professional attire, image consulting and job-readiness skills and training to low-income women throughout the Washington area. Sept. 11. 4-7 p.m. 1000 Vermont Ave. NW, Suite 420. 202-365-0990. www.suitedforchange.org.
A new Nordstrom Rack, the off-price division of Nordstrom, opens Thursday at 9 a.m. in Tysons Corner. The store offers on-trend clearance apparel, shoes and accessories. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. 8027 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, 703-206-7100. www.nordstromrack.com.


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AUSTRALIA will become one of just a few countries with 4K TV broadcasts this weekend with the launch of Foxtel’s new dedicated channel. Here’s what you need to know.
GET the popcorn ready, turn your phone on silent and ignore all pleas to go outside. It’s that time of the month again.
LG HAS rolled out new smart TV capabilities and it promises to make the remote control a thing of the past.
FOR the past year, Apple has poured more than a billion dollars into original TV content as it plans to launch a bold new product.
NETFLIX makes you happy, provides exciting new releases and warm, fuzzy classics. But just as fast it rips them away, ghosts you and lets you down.
DRAW those blinds and mute your phone. There’s no reason to ever leave the house with the new slate of movies and TV shows for the month.
THE resolution is so good that it’s been dubbed “perfect reality” by the biggest maker of televisions in the world.
SAMSUNG and LG have launched a new battle for television supremacy with both companies to unveil 8K televisions at Europe’s biggest consumer electronics show.
SOME customers are threatening to abandon Netflix over a new feature, but the company says it’s just trying to help users.
KEEPING up with the Joneses is one thing but keeping up with the Joosse’s is near impossible, at least when it comes to technology.
THE future of television is finally arriving but the best equipment is critical. These are the 4K-ready marvels you should consider when preparing your lounge to meet a new era.
IT will be in your car. Your fridge. It may even be your entire living room wall. The technology is evolving fast, and it’s causing a massive stir in the TV industry.
AUSTRALIAN TV addicts are hitting stores with big wishlists for their next screen. But they have one thing in common.
WE are set to become one of the world’s leading authorities on the next generation of television with Foxtel announcing a dedicated 4K channel, which will feature ultra high-definition coverage of Australian cricket matches.
AUSSIE viewers are in a for a real treat as their favourite TV shows and movies get a makeover. This is where you can find it.
AUSTRALIAN streaming TV subscriptions could double in the next two years due to the “insatiable” appetite of viewers for new television shows.
IT’S the entertainment revolution that’s about to change our TV viewing forever. This is what you need so you don’t miss out.
THIS is the brave new world of watching sport — in particular live sport. This is why it’ll be more fun than what you see now.
THE antics of the entire Friends gang haven’t aged well, but there’s a strange reason the show is still a juggernaut.
YOU might not think you need a 4K razor sharp image. But once you’ve seen it you won’t want to give it back.
IN A move to stem the rise of Netflix, audiences can now see the latest cinematic releases with 270-degree views across three big screens instead of one.
YOUR favourite sport and entertainment is about to be delivered like you’ve never seen it before – in whopping 4K.
US broadcaster CBS has announced it will expand its subscription services to Australia by December, 2018.
NEW research shows the number of Aussies who have access to streaming services and a local Netflix rival is building momentum.
JUST cancel all your plans for August. There’s no point going out when you can stay inside and watch these shows and movies.
WITH a raft of rivals including Apple gunning for it, Netflix’s latest numbers reveal an unlikely problem for the streaming giant.
NETFLIX has been closely monitoring the behaviour of its customers, and has decided we need this nifty new feature.
BECAUSE winter is the perfect time to hibernate, you’ll need a lot of TV to entertain you. Here’s everything new to streaming in July.
ONE of the world’s biggest TV makers misled Australian buyers on their warranty rights, the Federal Court has found.
IF YOU want to replace your TV or totally transform a room in your house, this gadget is definitely worth checking out.
WITH so many streaming services competing for your hard-earned dollars, should you be shelling out money for this?
IF YOU’RE in the market for a new TV but don’t want to fork out too much money, why not consider this Chinese product.
IF YOU’RE looking to purchase a new TV, you should make sure it has this new technology. Here’s everything you need to know.
WITH a raft of new TV shows coming to Stan, including a couple of original Australian productions, you’ll find some familiar faces back on your screen.
ON PAPER this popular product promises to match the quality of premium models for a just fraction of the cost. But does it work?
IF YOU’RE tired of scrolling through your Netflix library looking for something new, there’s actually something you can do about it. The thing is, no one knows the solution is there.
BOTH the mobile and desktop versions of Netflix have some secret controls you may not have realised even exist.
THOUSANDS of Australians have been using this sneaky new method to watch pay TV for free — but the crackdown is coming.
JUNE is almost here and that means a stack of new content is coming. Here are the shows and films you shouldn’t miss.
THIS TV is thinner than most mobile phones, has ridiculous picture quality and can do things you never thought possible.
IF YOU’RE in the market for a new TV, this helpful guide could ensure you have the best streaming experience available.
AN analysis of peak electricity use shows our nightly habits are changing. We might be in the bedroom but it’s more House of Cards than house of carnal.
AFTER months of secrecy, we finally got our hands on Samsung’s latest product and its game-changing feature.
IT COMES with a whopping a price tag, but once you experience this product, you will find yourself wanting to buy one anyway.
WITH May just around the corner, here’s everything being added next month, with the best picks highlighted.
WANT a top-shelf new TV? Here’s how to upgrade to a premium model, while saving thousands.
SONY’S latest premium TV has a beautiful display giving it one of the best pictures on the market. But it’s let down by one enormous failing.
WITH April just around the corner, here’s everything being added next month, with the best picks highlighted.
THERE is a new feature being tested that gives rewards for watching certain shows on the service but not everyone is impressed.
WITH shows including “Meet a Scientologist”, it’s probably only a matter if time before Tom Cruise gets a gig on the controversial religion’s new TV venture.
THE Australian telco giant is being asked to please explain why it’s charging vulnerable people for a free service.
If you’re baffled by all the jargon when you walk into the TV section of an electronics store, this guide will help.
SECRET codes can unlock shows and movies you never knew were hiding in the Netflix library. Here’s how to find them.
AFTER months of secrecy, Samsung has held a massive event to unveil its latest product and its game-changing feature.
APPLE is best known for its iPhone, but it wants to add something equally as impressive to its repertoire with the help of a Hollywood heavyweight.
GET excited because March is only days away and that means a stack of awesome content is coming to all of your streaming services.
WITH so many ways to stream your favourite shows and movies, we don’t blame you if you’re confused about your options. Let us sort them out for you.
WHILE binge-watching has become a byword for watching TV, there was a time when it wasn’t the norm. I remember my first time well, do you remember yours?
AS ANOTHER month comes to an end, get ready to have a whole lot of new content added to your streaming services.
THE latest figures from Netflix have wowed the market as the streaming service smashed expectations, but there was one noticeable black eye in the earnings report.
WANT to clear some space in your lounge room? The latest TVs can be rolled up and put away when you’re not watching them.
AS ANOTHER year comes to an end, get ready to have a whole lot of new content added to your streaming services.
FILMS will vanish from your Netflix library and you will end up paying more as the streaming giant faces a big new threat.
WE HAVE reached the halfway mark of December, but there is still plenty of content coming this month. Here’s what to expect.
A NEWS anchor who was called the N-word in an abusive email from a disgruntled viewer hit back with a powerful statement on live TV.
THE actor behind one of The Simpsons’ best-loved characters has spoken out about a new documentary which claims Apu is a “racist stereotype” of Indian people.
WE ALREADY know about Netflix’s “secret codes” that reveal hidden content, but that hack seems minuscule compared to what one internet user just discovered.
NETFLIX might be stepping up its war against online pirates, but its going to make very little difference according to a new study.
FOXTEL has launched a product that’s designed to solve one of its customers’ biggest obstacles to fully embracing its streaming service. Is it worth your money?
IF YOU’RE thinking of buying a new TV this Christmas, there’s a lot to consider when it comes to getting the best streaming experience.
FORGET Big Bang Theory repeats and cricket matches: three tech giants are launching gadgets to keep you entertained.
AMAZON recently secured a highly anticipated TV show for $A325 million, but it’s just the latest move in a war involving Netflix, Apple and Disney.
AUSTRALIANS love a good binge. But we can all agree that there is a time and place for it and this certainly isn’t it.
ONE of the world’s largest companies has given a “blank cheque” to help create content to take down Netflix.
FOXTEL will launch its very own streaming device as it prepares to release a host of homegrown shows in the new year.
NETFLIX customers have been warned to look out for a scam designed to steal their identity and credit card information.
IN THE increasingly competitive streaming wars technology is harnessed in interesting ways to keep you watching.
IF YOU think the streaming wars are just about competing to produce the most popular original content, think again.
THESE are the secret codes to use to unlock the shows and movies you never knew were hiding in the Netflix library.
WE ALL know that Netflix and streaming has changed the way we watch TV, but this is extreme. Are you one of these 8.4 million viewers?
CLEARLY frustrated by its original content being illegally downloaded and streamed millions of times, Netflix is escalating its efforts to corner pirates.
EXCLUSIVE: South Park isn’t anything like other comedy shows — in more ways than one. Behind the scenes, it is absolutely insane. Warning: Graphic.
AUSTRALIANS might be getting it a year later than the Americans but at least it’s finally here. And you need to start watching it, immediately.
AS September comes to an end, get ready for lots of new content added to your streaming services. Here are the big ones to watch.
APPLE made a huge promise to customers for one of its products that just went on sale, only there are some major strings attached.
THE streaming giants have approached the English Premier League’s top clubs to reportedly seek a new content deal.
THE moment Netflix realised the key to its success can be traced back to an infamous nip slip, a former employee says.
TV STREAMING pioneer Roku is stepping up its war against rivals Amazon, Apple and Google, and it’s aiming very high.
APPLE is reportedly trying to strike deal with movie studios over the price of 4K movies before it launches it 5th generation Apple TV device next month.
SURE, you could go out and get a life or read a book. But what you really want to know is what TV shows should you watch now that Thrones is done for another year.
TCL has released its first ultra high definition TVs powered by Android in Australia and they are seriously good value for money.
AS ANOTHER month comes to an end, get ready to have a whole lot of new content added to your streaming services. Here are the big additions.
ONE of the world’s biggest tech companies has committed $1.2 billion to get and produce original content in 2018, hoping to take down Netflix.
HBO has proved its anti-piracy efforts are no joke, with the company’s subsidiary partner bringing four Game of Thrones pirates to justice.
A SYDNEY man has been convicted of selling unauthorised Foxtel services to thousands of people, marking a significant victory for the company.
GET ready for lots of content to disappear from Netflix as Disney has announced it will starts its own streaming service for movies and live sport.
STREAMING giant Netflix has made its first purchase, acquiring a comics publisher and a host of character franchises it can mine for TV shows and movies.


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Singer offers special deals this Avurudu season on www.megapola.lk for popular brands such as Singer, Dell, Sisil, Hitachi, Moulinex, Whirlpool, Prestige, Beko and many more. You can simply log on to the Megapola site and purchase products at your convenience with a greater variety.
Avurudu Megapola”, is an online shopping platform that will last up to 20 days till 10th April 2016 and will offer amazing discounts exclusively online on smart phones, home appliances, electronics, consumer durables during the promotional offers valid till 10th April. Singer Sri Lanka joined hands with Google and partnered to be the electronic partner for Google’s ‘Avurudu Megapola’. Google is working with Wow.lk and Dialog as the e-commerce partner for this event.
Commenting on this, Chandana Samarasinghe, Director - Operations of Singer Sri Lanka stated “ We have given our customers the best deals for this Avurudu season by joining as the electronic partner for this online initiative. Most digital consumers are already researching products and services online for the best deals for the season. The country is primed for an e-commerce revolution and we hope that initiatives like ‘Avurudu Megapola’ will help catalyse the booming e-commerce industry in Sri Lanka” We are always looking for opportunities to expand in many digital platforms”.
Singer products on Avurudu Megapola offers an array of exciting deals online and this initiative is receiving a greater response from the Sri Lankan online community and will help enhance the online shopping experience to wider audiences.


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Apple has run into delays again surrounding its 5G modem for the iPhone series.
Mark Gurman of Bloomberg reported that the Cupertino-based company is facing troubles regarding its in-house 5G modem. The modem chip launch will be postponed until 2025 or 2026 for the iPhone lineup, while another variant is being developed for the budget SE version. Gurman believes development is ‘in early stages’, saying that the chip will ‘lag behind the competition by many years’. Apple has been having issues with Intel code and mmWave technology. Moreover, the Cupertino-based company is making steps to ensure it does not violate any Qualcomm patents.
Apple is seeking to break away from Qualcomm and having to rely on the company to produce its modem chips. In 2019, Apple bought most of Intel’s smartphone business and began an effort to creating in-house modem chips for its smartphone. There is no exact date on when the in-house modem will appear on future iPhones.


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Hyundai is equipping every new car with built-in navigation in Europe with HERE's latest map services.
Bouygues Telecom has signed the first transatlantic roaming agreement for LoRa-based IoT devices.
Vodafone is expecting an "imminent" launch of the NB-IoT standard and said it believes the technology could be deployed more rapidly than any other it has ever worked with.
Fibre backbone provider Telia Carrier is providing backhaul and interconnect solutions to Ericsson's Device Connection Platform in a bid to boost security and reliability.
Telefónica is aiming to speed up application development, connectivity and analytics capabilities of its Internet of Things networks by deploying a new platform for enterprises.
Finland will become the 19th country to have a Sigfox network, after the Internet of Things player announced plans to deploy there this summer.
IoT player Sigfox has partnered with Atari to develop a new range of connected devices featuring the videogame pioneer's brand.
Consumers are pretending to know what new technology means, Samsung has found, as it launched a LoRa network in Korea.
Telefónica Business Solution has signed a deal to provide connected car company Automatic Labs with a range of solutions, including its Global SIM service (GSS).
Tele2 is building a LoRa network in Gothenberg, which it hopes will offer low bandwidth and long battery life applications to enterprise customers.
Flexibility will be critical if telcos are to play a central role in smart city networks, a new report from the Global mobile Suppliers Association has claimed.
Orange has increased its backing for LoRa technology by becoming a board member of the industry alliance trying to foster its adoption.
Vending machines and cars seem at opposite ends of the connectivity scale, with one static and other as mobile as they come, but together both products have been at the centre of attempts to make an IoT solution global.
City authorities and technology partners could lose hundreds of billions of dollars if they choose to build smart cities with non-standardised technology, a new report has claimed.
LPWAN player Sigfox is deploying its network across 100 cities in the United States, as its expansion plans continue.
Samsung's SmartThings Internet of Things network is open to abuse, with hackers potentially able to break their way into a house through its front door, new research has claimed.
Cypress has bought Broadcom's Internet of Things wireless business for $550 million, as it looks to strengthen its automotive, industrial and consumer IoT offers.
Proximus and Flemish digital research centre iMinds are collaborating on standardising and developing LoRa technology.
Smart meters have been boosted by new deployments and contract wins by Telekom Austria and Telefónica.
Ericsson has launched Internet of Things as a service as it seeks to increase the adoption of connected networks.
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EE TV customers will be able to control their set-top boxes through voice commands[…]
Swisscom reported a 10 percent rise in net profits in the second quarter and[…]
KPN has acquired an IT services provider as it looks to strengthen its offering[…]


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Some companies are offering their own stimulus packages to their small-business customers.
Intuit Inc., maker of QuickBooks financial software, has launched a “Small Business United” campaign, which includes:
- Free Intuit software and services valued at nearly $1,000 per small business to help them succeed. Four out of five Intuit customers agree that using QuickBooks helps their business succeed.
- $315,000 in small-business grants to give entrepreneurs the extra boost needed during a tough economic climate.
- $50,000 in donations to organizations that help budding entrepreneurs get started and advise existing businesses looking to grow.
Among the freebies Intuit is offering are QuickBooks Fast Start, Online Payroll and Intuit Websites. Click here for more information.
Staples office superstores has expanded its ink and toner cartridge recycling program, which allow customers in Orange County to earn $3 back in Staples Rewards on any brand or type of ink or toner just for choosing to recycle these products instead of throwing them away.
Staples expects to recycle more than 30 million cartridges in 2009 – up from 22 million in 2008 – and become the world’s largest ink and toner recycler. To date, only 30% of used cartridges are recycled.
Recent studies have shown that seventy percent of cartridges used worldwide are thrown away and almost eight cartridges are discarded per second in the United States alone. In 2008, Staples recycled more than 22 million ink and toner cartridges.
And even franchisors are getting into the act. Pizza Inn, for example is offering lower royalty rates to new and existing franchisees to encourage them to ope more buffet-style restaurants. include no royalty for the first full year of operation, 2% royalty for the second year and 4% for the remainder of the franchise agreement. In better times, 6% royalties were common. Click here for details.
Competitor Papa John’s International has offered loans and some royalty rate relief to its franchises so they can buy financially troubled competitors.
MORE BUSINESS STORIES….
- State must borrow to continue unemployment checks
- Small-business mood sends mixed signals
- Fortune’s ‘best workplaces’ includes O.C. locations
- January sales of O.C. businesses tumble 60.4%
- Career advice for women: how to create your own Web page
- Author watches ‘1,800 mph financial catastrophe’
- O.C. auto sales fall to 20-year low


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Samsung Group started the process of streamlining its corporate structure earlier this week, with Samsung Life Insurance Co Ltd selling approximately $1 billion worth of Samsung Electronics stock yesterday. The sale was completed before the firm's shares started trading on Thursday and the tech giant's plans for the move were first reported in April. Samsung Life Insurance still owns some $25 billion worth of Samsung Electronics stock, with that circular ownership structure being one of the reasons why the conglomerate as a whole is severely undervalued, according to some investors.
The new development marks a weakening of the corporate pull of Jay Y. Lee, Samsung Group Vice Chairman and grandson of the firm's founder Lee Byung-chul. Mr. Lee is said to have personally approved the move shortly after having his five-year prison sentence for corruption suspended earlier this year. His father and Chairman Lee Kun-hee has reportedly been in a comatose state since suffering a stroke in 2014 and after he dies, the younger Mr. Lee is facing a 50-percent inheritance tax on his wealth. Media in the Far Eastern country previously speculated that the 49-year-old would cover that tax by offloading some of his directly and indirectly owned shares. Samsung's corporate structure is currently under scrutiny from Seoul, with Korea's antitrust watchdog recently criticizing it as "not sustainable."
Ever since being introduced in the '90s, circular ownership schemes allowed Samsung and many other family-run conglomerates in the country — also known as chaebols — to tap into the capital offered by the public markets without giving up on too much corporate power. Samsung is still on the path of growth, having recorded an operating profit of $14.49 billion in the first quarter of the year, up more than 58 percentage points annually. Its sales rose some 20-percent to $56 billion over the same period, though some analysts remain skeptical about the company's ability to maintain that aggressive growth in the medium term, especially given its reliance on the semiconductor industry.


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IBM takes on Google in business Web-mail market
IBM is introducing an inexpensive Web-based corporate email service that will compete with Google Inc's Google Apps, which has recently suffered several high-profile outages. Read Full Article here.
GE looking at partnership, IPO for NBC Universal: CEO
General Electric Co is holding discussions on partnerships or an IPO for its NBC Universal unit, Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt said, amid expectations about a deal with cable operator Comcast Corp. Read Full Article here.
Eminem and Apple settle lawsuit
Apple and Eminem’s music publisher, Eight Mile Style LLC, reached a settlement agreement on Thursday, putting an end to a lawsuit alleging that Apple was never authorized to digitally sell 93 of Eminem’s songs on iTunes. Read Full Article here.
Amazon settles Kindle lawsuit over 1984 copy
Amazon.com Inc has settled for $150,000 a lawsuit brought by a high school student and another consumer who claimed the online retailer illegally deleted from their Kindle devices digital copies of George Orwell's 1984. Read Full Article here.


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Fantasy sports and esports platform Good Gamer Corporation declared the official launch of its GoodGamer Fantasy Gaming App. The tech organization is based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and works through a subsidiary called Good Gamer India Pvt Ltd. based out of Bengaluru, India. The application is depicted as a “daily fantasy sports and true esports gaming platform.”
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a major fascination for cricket fans and fantasy sports platforms, for example, Dream11, Paytm First Games, and GoodGamer have made big pushes to capture the Indian market. While most types of sports betting are illicit in India, these products have posed themselves as vital games. Be that as it may, they actually aren’t accessible through the Google Play Store for Android gadgets as they don’t agree to its terms of service.
While fantasy sports has been the selling point for these platforms, they have additionally differentiated into gaming and esports as often as possible. GoodGamer additionally advertises fantasy betting in titles, for example, VALORANT, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, and Dota 2 on its own platform. The platform has likewise signed two prominent Indian cricketers as brand ambassadors – Umesh Yadav and Kuldeep Yadav. GoodGamer has additionally signed an advertising agreement with Disney+Hotstar that will permit it to market the platform to a large number of watchers checking out competitions like the IPL. Around 18.6M peak concurrent watchers tuned in for the finals of the IPL in 2019. On the esports side of things, the platform is working with Chennai based competition organizers, Skyesports.
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Buzz Illustrated journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.


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The Costa Group has announced that it is upping its capacity in Asia starting in April 2017 with the year-round deployment of Costa neoRomantica out of Shanghai.
The ship, which has a capacity of 1,800 guests, will be the fifth for Costa regularly deployed in Asia and operated by the Costa Asia brand, offering cruises marketed for local guests.
The Costa neoRomanticawill arrive in Shanghai on April 10, 2017, after a 23-day positioning cruise departing on March 18, 2017, from Port Louis, Mauritius; and calling at Port Victoria, Seychelles; Malè, Maldives; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Phuket, Thailand; Singapore; Da Nang, Vietnam; and Hong Kong, China.
Then, Costa neoRomantica will be dry docked in Shanghai, to perform renewal works that will customize the ship for its new Asian guests. The first cruise dedicated to the local market is scheduled to sail from Shanghai April 24.
At present there are four Costa ships already cruising in Asia following the April 22 arrival of Costa Fortuna in Shanghai. In addition, the Costa Group recently announced an order for two new ships for Costa Asia, to be built by Fincantieri in Italy, with delivery in 2019 and 2020.


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British tourism slumped during London Olympics
The Olympics brought less tourist money to recession-hit Britain than officials expected, a trade group said Monday, with a majority of tourist businesses reporting losses from last year.
A survey of more than 250 tour operators, hoteliers and visitor attractions found that tourist traffic fell all over Britain, not just London, said UKinbound, a leading trade association representing British tour operators, shops and hotels. The survey said 88 per cent of British tourism-oriented businesses reported some losses during the games compared to the same period last year.
"As an industry we knew the games would have a negative impact on international visitor numbers to London but the impact on the rest of the U.K., combined with domestic visitors staying away, has been deeply disappointing," said Rita Beckwith, chief executive of London's City Cruises, a member of UKinbound.
Data being tallied
Officials are still tallying up the total number of tourists who came to — or avoided — London this summer. The capital normally sees about 1.5 million tourists on average in August, but UKinbound and other trade groups say a significant number have chosen to steer clear of London, and even the rest of Britain because they thought it would be too busy.
The official visitor figures won't be available until September.
Tourism officials say that international Olympics visitors to London, including athletes, officials and tourists, totalled about 300,000. Domestic spectators from Britain made up the majority of people visiting games venues.
Restaurants and shops have complained that these games visitors did not spend as much money on food and shopping as typical summer tourists.
"The people who came to the games really didn't do very much sightseeing, didn't do very much shopping, didn't do very much eating out," said Miles Quest, a spokesman for the British Hospitality Association.
London's hotels have hit about 80 per cent occupancy, which is not higher than typical August rates, Quest added.
There were some positive signs. Visa, the only credit card accepted at the Olympics venues, reported that international visitors to Britain spent more than 450 million pounds ($705 million) on their cards during the first week of the games, up by 8 per cent on the same time last year.
Around 12.7 million pounds were spent on Visa cards in London restaurants last week, an increase of almost 20 per cent on a year ago.


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Donald Trump made $7.15 million this week when he sold his custom built Rancho Palos Verdes estate.
The mansion which sits on the Trump National Golf Course occupies 11,000-square-feet and features a game room with a full bar that replicates the same bar found at the courses restaurant.
Among the homes other features are five-bedrooms, nine-bathrooms, a 1,000-square-foot kitchen and a wine room enclosed in glass. For $7.15 million the new home owner also receives an infinity pool in the courtyard along with marble flooring.
Trump won’t be at a loss for a new home at the resort as he has completed five homes and sold three with lots available for 75 homes on the property. Trump currently spends most of his time at homes in Beverly Hills, New York and Los Angeles.
The buyer who purchased the home got it for a steal as it was listed in 2010 for a selling price of $12 million.


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This week is the most important E3 conference since they opened to the public. It is all about the next generation of gaming. The conference just opened its doors for the second day, and I'll be watching for the biggest and best gaming announcements.
Over the last two days, with pre-conference press conferences on Monday and day one of E3 yesterday, a lot of very exciting announcements came out. The Xbox One will be $499, and the PS4 will be $399. Exciting new IPs like Watch Dogs, Destiny, Titanfall, Spark, and Ryse: Son of Rome were announced. Equally exciting continuations of old franchises came out, too: Star Wars: Battlefront, Metal Gear Solid V, Kingdom Hearts III, Battlefield, and Halo.
More to come!


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B&M, which sells everything from toys to frozen food and garden furniture, reported adjusted core profit of £573 million (€663.8 million) for the year ended March 25, down 7.4% from last year.
The company had expected 2023 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation of between £560 million (€648.7 million) and £580 million (€671.9 million).
Total group revenue for the year stood at £4.98 billion (€5.77 billion), which the company said was close to a third (+30.3%) ahead of pre-pandemic levels on a constant currency basis.
The period also saw the departure of longstanding chief executive Simon Arora, who was replaced as CEO by Alejandro Russo.
'Strong Underlying Progress'
"FY23 has been another year of strong underlying progress for B&M and the long-term future looks very positive," Russo commented. "It has also been a year of planned management transition. Simon Arora has stepped down after 19 years of leading this business and we thank him and wish him well for the future."
Looking ahead, Russo said that he was confident that the discount retailer could continue to drive growth through its four channels – existing B&M UK stores, new B&M UK stores, its France business and Heron Foods.
"In delivering this growth, B&M will generate cash and compound earnings growth for our shareholders, he said. "We are actively responding to the short-term pressure on consumers from the cost-of-living crisis, with a relentless focus on price and value."


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Microsoft has finally admitted that it strategy with Windows Phone is not working and it needs to change its game plan. Even with a slew of releases in the last couple of months Windows Phone still hasn’t cracked the double digit market share except for in some markets. Whatever foothold it had managed to gain in markets like India in the entry level segment has been washed away by cheap Androids will flagship specs (and certainly better than anything that Microsoft has to offer at the moment) from China. In such a market, Microsoft’s current strategy of having umpteen phones that are hard to differentiate from one another would never have worked and it seems like Satya Nadella’s decision to write-off Nokia’s acquisition was a smart one.
With the new approach, Microsoft will be targeting entry level, high level and business class customers. It’s giving a pass to the mid tier segment, where the competition is just too hot to handle. The move makes sense, since Microsoft has been traditionally strong in the entry level segment with offerings like the Lumia 520 being massive hits. With less number of devices on the table, it can clearly announce that unlike Android, its entry level phones don’t struggle and don’t need tons of RAM and processing power to function smoothly. An yearly update would also be sufficient to keep the hardware up to date.
On the business side, Microsoft hopes to make it big with Windows 10 and Windows Phone could further strengthen its case. The OS is already seeing adoption on the enterprise side and more hardware towards that cause could turn out to be wise. However, such phones won’t usually be crowd pullers and would only serve enterprises. Microsoft should make sure these are not entry level devices and offer decent hardware to be compelling enough for employees to use as their daily drivers.
Windows Phone has been absent from the high end for months now and needs to make a strong comeback in that space. Microsoft shouldn’t just couple the phones in this segment with killer specs, but should add enough additional capabilities to make these phones different from other offerings. Polycarbonate bodies won’t just cut it anymore and the phones would need to shout premium to appease the normal crowd. That means use of premium materials like metal and glass to make them pleasing to the eye for everybody and not just Nokia fans.
However, even if these steps fail to turn the tide for Windows Phone, it will sadly be the end of it for the 3rd ecosystem. While the new strategy makes more sense, it’s failure would mean that Microsoft would be shipping even less phones than it currently does. This would further erode developer interest and it won’t take long for Windows Phone to go down the BlackBerry’s path from there on.
It’s a tight place Microsoft finds itself in right now. Windows 10 is the company’s last resort in the mobile space. It cannot take things for granted anymore (we mean things like that abyssal Windows Phone Store search) and will always have to be on the edge if it wants its platform to succeed. Otherwise, get ready to see almost all of Microsoft’s services coming to iOS and Android in the coming months.


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Tokyo — Sony reported double-digit decreases in operating and net income and flat sales for its fiscal first quarter due in part to price competition in cellphones and digital cameras.
For the first quarter, ended June 30, sales were flat at $18.7 billion, with operating income down 39.5 percent to $693 million and net income down 47.4 percent to $330 million. Sony added that the higher value of the yen vs. the U.S. dollar also took its toll.
In its electronics business segment, Sony reported sales and operating revenue of $13.6 billion, up 0.7 percent, while operating income was down 57.2 percent to $418 million.
Sales of Bravia LCD TVs, which increased worldwide, partially offset the negative impact from the appreciation of the yen against the U.S. dollar.
Operating income took a hit due to increased price competition faced by Sony Ericsson in cellphones and in its Cyber-shot digital cameras and Handycam camcorders. Vaio PC sales also slowed during the quarter.
In its games segment, sales were up 16.8 percent to $2.17 billion and operating income of $51 million vs. a loss for the same quarter last year. The segment posted a profit during the quarter due to an improvement in the PlayStation3’s operating performance as a result of hardware cost reductions and increased sales of PS3 software and hardware.
Sony is projecting a 17 percent lower net profit for the fiscal year that ends March 31, 2009, but a 2 percent gain in sales.
- DEG Honors Dolby, Sony And Warner At Annual CES Awards Event - January 11, 2019
- LG’s CES Keynote: AI Is ‘Opportunity Of Our Lifetime’ - January 9, 2019
- Memories Of Our Friend John - April 12, 2018


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Today, the bitcoin rate has overcome another psychological barrier. This time a mark of $ 7,000 per bitcoin has been taken by storm.
Thus, since the beginning of the year the growth of the virtual currency has amounted to 640%.
The positive news from CME Group, a futures exchange operator, had an impact on such an increase during the trading session. The matter is that the exchange announced its readiness to trade futures for bitcoins.
Market analysts admit that if the CME Group starts trading, the skepticism of the global financial elite regarding the cryptocurrencies will calm down. This step can be considered the beginning of the official recognition of bitcoin as a full-fledged currency.
The material was prepared with the participation of Andrey Majorov,
a leading analyst of the brokerage company CT Trade


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A technology-powered South African home cleaning start-up, SweepSouth, has become the first local company to be selected by 500 Startups, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital fund and start-up accelerator.
It’s the first time a South African company has been selected into the accelerator programme, with only a handful of African companies being chosen previously, 500 Startups said in a statement on Monday.
“Of thousands of applicants for each batch, only 2% are successful, and the prestigious and effective four-month accelerator programme also comes with US$125 000 in funding,” it said.
500 Startups is led by Silicon Valley veteran Dave McClure, who has consulted to Microsoft, Intel and other technology companies. He is also a former marketing director at PayPal.
The company has invested in a thousand start-ups in the past five years, including TaskRabbit, Twilio and Gyft.
SweepSouth was launched in 2014 and creates opportunities for cleaners in South Africa to find work. It said it has completed thousands of bookings in homes and offices in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria. It uses an “advanced matching and rating algorithm” to do this.
The start-up has already attracted a number of angel investments, led by Gyft founder Vinny Lingham and Llew Claasen’s Newtown Partners, with Pule Taukobong’s Africa Angels Network and Polo Leteka Radebe’s Identity Development Fund, it said.
“The focus of the next four months is clear – achieve exponential growth and present our achievements in front of some of the top investors and media houses in the world, said SweepSouth CEO Aisha Pandor in a statement.
“SweepSouth’s acceptance into 500 Startups validates the quality and global recognition African start-ups are starting to receive and hopefully motivates more to follow,” added Silicon Cape chairman Dan Guasco.
“While there have been a number of substantial exits to global companies like Visa, Garmin, Groupon, Verisign, General Electric, First Data, and WPP, there has been little recognition or support for early-stage start-ups.” — © 2015 NewsCentral Media


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BioWare Wanted to Procedurally Generate Mass Effect Andromeda’s Universe; Didn’t Fit the Game’s Narrative
BioWare wanted to develop a procedurally generated universe for Mass Effect Andromeda.
Developers and publishers always set out to make their projects as ambitious as possible, and procedurally generated worlds can indeed turn a game into a masterpiece if done correctly, allowing players to never experience the same moment twice.
BioWare’s Lead Designer Ian Frazier revealed in a recent interview with IBTimes UK that they initially set out to develop Mass Effect Andromeda’s world as a procedurally generated universe. However, the studio decided to ditch the idea as it took away from the game’s narrative nature.
We were looking at a game that used a lot more procedural tools to have a vast swathe of planets and places to go. We spent a lot of time developing down that road, and tailoring the story towards it and so forth, and we quickly found it wasn’t yielding the results we wanted.
You can make a giant procedural game, but we were finding that the giant procedural game wasn’t the narrative experience or the moment-to-moment experience we wanted players to have.
He continued to say that there are some procedurally generated bits in Andromeda’s universe, however, planets like “Eledin or Eos, those are handbuilt planets.”


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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- I took a severe beating by readers last week for having described technology giant Apple (AAPL) as a company that is shrewd and offers no apologies. What these readers failed to realize is that it was said with a great deal of respect and admiration.Name me a company that is neither shrewd nor unapologetic and I will show you either its bankruptcy papers or those that are pending. The fact of the matter is, Apple remembers being taken out to the woodshed several times by several of its rivals, including Microsoft ( MSFT), during some of the companies darkest periods. However, this time the company is reveling in the moment as it offers merciless punishment of its own to the likes of Research in Motion ( RIMM), Hewlett-Packard ( HPQ) and even its new chief rival, Google ( GOOG), if it gets in its way. The fact of the matter is, when it comes to business competition, there is no "right way to win." Although Apple often projects a somewhat angelic image, it knows that it has to have venom in its veins in order to withstand the onslaught from rivals who want nothing more than to put it out of business. It operates in a cut-throat environment. Apple understands that the only guarantee on Wall Street for market leaders is that they don't remain market leaders forever -- only the length of reign varies. Both Research in Motion and Microsoft are prime examples. However, Apple continues to show that it is far from ready to give up the driver's seat on innovation in exchange for its market leader position. The company continues to push in its endeavor to provide consumers what they haven't realized that they need. In the process, it either creates new markets or, like a Roman army, it collapses those that previously existed -- currently by having its sights set on the dashboard. This area is now dominated by Sirius XM ( SIRI), Pandora ( P) and whatever "standard control feature" provided by the car manufacturer helps you manage your air conditioning. However, Apple along with its Siri voice control technology plans to take this a step further.
It doesn't take a genius to see where this is heading. Within 24 months, its mobile IOS will likely be a standard in each vehicle. I mean just think about it, it's called "mobile IOS." This is precisely the reason that the company has finally adopted social media giant Facebook ( FB) into its operating system while having also spoken positively about Twitter. Apple understands that the automobile or "the smartcar" is the next huge market once smartphones are saturated. So while it battles the likes of Google, Nokia ( NOK) and Samsung in the courts and in the stores as the constant fight for device supremacy continues, Apple has already answered the question that market leaders struggle with each day -- what's next? Its rivals are chasing a ghost that has already moved on -- essentially proving how shrewd the company is and how it has become the puppet master of its competition.


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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 24, 2018 / Motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson was in the red on Tuesday after reporting earnings and announcing how much tariffs would cost the company this year. Shares of Tesla were exploding ahead of its own financial report and positive remarks now from a once bearish Citron Research.
RDI Initiates Coverage on:
Tesla, Inc. shares were up almost 13% yesterday with around 18.8 million shares traded. The electric vehicle maker was seeing its shares explode ahead of its financial report today after the markets close. Traders are eager for the report as CEO Elon Musk had promised that Tesla would report a net profit and positive cash. It was also encouraging that short seller Citron Research did a U-turn on its bearish outlook on the stock and said in a research note that the company's Model 3 sedan is a "proven hit" and is serious competition against
Access RDI’s Tesla, Inc. Research Report at:
Harley-Davidson, Inc. shares were down 2.22% on Tuesday with roughly 7.7 million shares traded as Wall Street learned just how much tariffs would cost the motorcycle company this year. The company said after reporting
Access RDI’s Harley-Davidson, Inc. Research Report at:
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- Albertsons posted strong e-commerce sales growth of 52% for the fourth financial quarter and 83% for fiscal year 2018, according to a company release. During a conference call Wednesday, executives said the company plans to continue expanding services — including its Drive Up & Go store pickup program — while also driving innovation and deepening its partnerships with digital firms.
- Outgoing president and CEO Jim Donald, who will be replaced Thursday by former Pepsico North America CEO Vivek Sankaran, said Albertsons will also remodel more stores and open more new locations this year. He declined to give specific numbers but told analysts company plans to update more than 250 stores compared to 128 in 2018, and to open between 12 and 14 stores compared to six openings last year. Albertsons’ capital expenditures totaled $1.4 billion in fiscal year 2018.
- For the fourth quarter, Albertsons reported a same-store sales increase of 1.1% and net sales of $14 billion. Gross profit margins increased to 29%, up from 28.1% during the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $727 million, or 5.2% of sales, compared to $712 million, or 5.1% of sales, last year, reflecting better-than-expected fuel margins and identical sales performance. Full-year adjusted EBITDA totaled $2.74 billion, up 14%.
Amazon has Whole Foods, Target has Shipt, Kroger has Ocado, Ahold Delhaize has Peapod and Walmart has Jet.com along with more than 2,000 stores nationwide offering its popular grocery pickup service.
Albertsons, on the other hand, hasn’t laid down a transformative acquisition or partnership, or otherwise established a program that differentiates its online grocery program from other large competitors. This could hamper the Boise-based grocer, which operates 19 banners, as companies jockey for consumers’ e-commerce dollars and the need to drive down costs grows.
Seeming to respond to this very point, Donald said during Wednesday’s earnings call that "small moves are adding up" for Albertsons. This includes a delivery tie-up with Instacart that touches nearly 2,000 stores, a click-and-collect service that’s only at 250 stores but quickly growing, an online marketplace and a digital marketing asset that launched last year.
"The industry may think we’re playing catch-up with e-commerce … but when you look at the whole picture, we’re changing the game for customers in small, simple ways," Donald said on the call.
Albertsons also has a few initiatives in testing mode, including a deal to place two micro-fulfillment centers in the San Francisco Bay Area this September. That deal, if successful, could quickly scale to additional locations, Donald said.
In an interview with Grocery Dive late last year, Narayan Iyengar, Albertsons' senior vice president of digital and e-commerce, said the company doesn’t need a headline-grabbing deal to move the dial on e-commerce. What’s important, he said, is that it has the right tools in place for the right stores and markets. Albertsons relies on Instacart as well as its own fleet of delivery vehicles to fulfill orders. Store pickup works in some markets but not others. And as fulfillment needs increase, some markets will be suited to automated micro-warehouses while others might be best served by traditional fulfillment centers.
Albertsons' strong e-commerce growth over the past year validates Iyengar’s outlook. In addition, the Boise-based retailer is focused on improving its physical stores. It’s stepping up the pace of remodels, bringing in more self-checkouts and rolling out mobile scan-and-go technology at more stores and fuel stations.
Like all other major grocers, Albertsons is also building out its private label portfolio. It now operates four billion-dollar brands, Donald said, with considerable growth coming through its all-natural labels. Sales of Open Nature and O Organics grew by 14% in Q4 and, combined, now account for a quarter of all natural and organic sales.
Competitive pressures and the rapid pace of change mean incoming CEO Vivek Sankaran will have to hit the ground running. Further complicating matters is the pressure to eventually go public following last year's failed Rite Aid merger. With continued growth, debt reduction and the right market conditions, Albertsons could go public in the next 12 to 18 months, Donald estimated, noting the company’s debt-to-EBITDA ratio needs to come down to 3x from its current 3.5x.


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Rene Ritchie for iMore:
In the wake of the devastation wrought by recent hurricanes and earthquakes, politicians in the U.S. are calling for Apple and other manufacturers to turn on the FM radios that they presume are lying dormant in iPhones and other phones. I really wish — and I suspect Apple and other manufacturers really wish — it was that as simple. But it’s not. And, unfortunately, politicians aren’t often well versed in technology, and they often don’t ask before they soundbite.
Statement from Apple provided to Rene:
“Apple cares deeply about the safety of our users, especially during times of crisis and that’s why we have engineered modern safety solutions into our products,” Apple told iMore. “Users can dial emergency services and access Medical ID card information directly from the Lock Screen, and we enable government emergency notifications, ranging from Weather Advisories to AMBER alerts. iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models do not have FM radio chips in them nor do they have antennas designed to support FM signals, so it is not possible to enable FM reception in these products.”
Rene on older iPhones and other phones:
For older iPhones and other phones, even if it was possible to just “flip a switch” and enable FM on the chipset, significant additional roadblocks remain. Those chips may not be connected in a way that makes FM radio even possible. Assuming they were, changes would likely require an update to the wireless chipset firmware (Apple rolls its own, other manufacturers would need to request updates from Broadcom, Qualcomm, Intel, or whichever company manufactured the chip).
It’s a nice sentiment, but politicians don’t know what the hell they are talking about in regards to technology. What else is new, right? I’m increasingly convinced we need way more technology-minded folks in office.


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In the meantime, international funds are scooping up early winners and reaping the benefits of startups founded by Indians in the blockchain ecosystem. Sequoia Capital India, Lightspeed India, Elevation Capital and others are warming up to India’s cryptocurrency and blockchain industry.
Indian crypto companies have received less than 0.2% of the more than $5.5 billion invested globally in blockchain startups, according to a whitepaper published by IndiaTech, an industry association that represents the country’s consumer internet startups, unicorns and investors.
“By a conservative estimate, risk capital amounting to over $400 million is likely on the side lines of the Indian blockchain and crypto sector due to the uncertainty,” said Joel John, a principal at digital asset investment firm LedgerPrime.
Several international funds such as Pantera Capital and Coinbase Ventures, and entrepreneur investors like Mark Cuban, have been investing in blockchain and crypto startups founded by Indians.
Funding by Indian and international funds stood at $99.7 million as of June 15, according to data platform Tracxn.
While the absolute investment is modest compared to what high-growth Indian startups receive, what is notable is the interest shown by large VC funds in backing some of these companies.
Vaas Bhaskar of Elevation Capital, an investor in Paytm, Meesho and Swiggy, had a serendipitous encounter with crypto three years ago that got him hooked.
Bhaskar said he has been meeting with two to three blockchain and crypto entrepreneurs every week ever since the fund decided to invest in the sector a year ago. It is now looking to close a couple of “sizable” investments this year, he added. India’s blockchain industry has the same potential as its booming Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) sector, he added.
“The potential of the crypto and blockchain space is very evident and is something we've been keenly looking to invest in. It feels like the next paradigm shift,” Bhaskar told ET. “I think we have great talent here. We will find teams that come together and build something that can be used globally. This model has worked well in enterprise tech.”
Read our newsletter here for a detailed take on India's crypto industry
Heightened investor interest
India’s crypto industry has seen heightened interest from international and Indian investors over the past year, owing to a massive increase in retail investors and the generally bullish market.
The success of blockchain companies founded by Indians, such as Polygon and Instadapp, have put Indian players on the radar of domestic and international funds.
Polygon and Instadapp have received funding from the likes of Ethereum's co-creator Vitalik Buterin and Pantera Capital, respectively.
Lightspeed and Elevation Capital, meanwhile, are allocating time and resources to build their crypto expertise. Indian funds have sent analysts for blockchain fellowships and are reaching out to industry veterans to scout for early-stage deals.
“We have a small group of investors which builds depth and brings the rest of the partnership up to speed on specific areas as needed,” said Hemant Mohapatra, partner at Lightspeed.
The fund, which was an early backer of unicorns such as Oyo, Udaan and Sharechat, has invested in the space sparingly so far, but sees it “playing a very significant role in the future of global finance and trade”.
Sequoia India has backed crypto exchange Coinswitch Kuber and Singapore- and Thailand-based blockchain startup Band Protocol.
“The most exciting part of blockchain is the way it creates equality of opportunity and reward. Developers, collaborators, users, investors can all take part in the governance and growth of an organisation,” said Shailesh Lakhani, managing director at Sequoia India. "It’s a new model for the way organisations should be structured that is suited to the borderless online reality where we spend most of our time."
Indian VCs cautious
While the intent to invest is strong, several blockchain and crypto founders who have engaged with VCs said these funds were still not cutting cheques at an aggressive pace, given the regulatory uncertainty.
Funds are also taking time to understand various investment models for crypto and blockchain projects, not just equity investments.
Both Polygon and Instadapp received investments in lieu of their native tokens, which are subject to price fluctuations and investor sentiment.
A large fund, which makes late-stage bets and has several unicorns in its portfolio, is taking its time to familiarise itself with token investments.
A senior executive at the fund said this is because there are a lot of nuances to scaling token projects. “Tokens don't accrue any cash flow from the company, so investors need to spend time understanding the long-term benefits of such an investment.”
Blockchain and crypto founders engaged in such conversations with Indian funds said that talks are progressing slowly, owing to the time it takes to explain the intricacies of the technology.
“VCs are still averse to investing in token projects that have a public buy-in from Day One, unlike the IPOs that these funds plan for,” said another founder who runs a successful company in this space and informally advises Indian funds on crypto and blockchain investments.
International VC firms such as Andreessen Horowitz, which is dedicating $2 billion to crypto investments, have already adapted to the new ways and are making a combination of token, equity and hybrid investments, the person added.
Founders and VCs agree that Indian investors make up for a lack of domain expertise with years of experience in building and scaling companies, and product adoption.
Bhaskar from Elevation Capital said the rules for scaling a company remain the same across sectors, and that the fund also brings its experience from scaling several large fintech companies.
Jaynti Kanani, co-founder of Polygon, said the Indian crypto ecosystem has come a long way from 2017, when raising funds was a struggle. There is more awareness of and belief in Indian developers globally, he said. “But Indian investors have to up their game pretty quickly, otherwise they will lose this market completely.”


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Innovation key – companies join hands to benefit Myanmar’s market and tackle COVID challenges
iD Creative Solutions, one of Myanmar’s leading creative agencies, has joined forces with Misfit Technologies, a design, innovation & technology company in a strategic move to enable the country to cross the digital divide. With its expertise in AI and machine learning, digital KYC solution with Myanmar OCR, loyalty management system, audio/video communication and conference platform, market research and survey platform, other digital and social media innovation, Misfit Tech witnessed tremendous growth in Asia. The tech start-up has been rapidly expanding its portfolio by building complex technology solutions to high performing web and mobile app applications that are identified as game-changing, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic which has been affecting customer service and purchasing power globally.
The increased reliance on technology due to stay-at-home orders, lockdowns, and movement restrictions mean that an exponentially growing number of businesses are turning to social media as a means to communicate with their audiences, customers and clients for their survival.
Alice, the AI-Based omni-channel CRM platform of Alice Labs (a sister company of Misfit Tech) is a product trusted by many global brands and top FMCG companies in all the countries that Misfit operates in. Alice’s Natural Language Processing (NLP) powers multi-purpose chatbots, capable of sales, promotion, advisory, survey, social listening, customer service, and so on across different industries including FMCG, E-commerce, Telecommunication, Banking & Insurance, Retail, Food & Beverage, Social Media, etc. in multiple languages with localization. The omni-channel dashboard can be integrated with multiple social media and messaging channels such as Facebook, Messenger, Viber, Website, Whatsapp, etc, making it the perfect tool for companies trying to retain or grow their market share during these challenging times.
Headquartered in Singapore, with operations in Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal & Bangladesh, Misfit Technologies was chosen by iD creative solutions as a new partner because of its strong local presence and because it is one of the leading companies in Asia for providing a range of complex technology solutions. Since it was founded in Myanmar in 2014, iD Creative Solutions has garnered an excellent reputation among both local and international players in the market for its branding, events, and film activities – all geared towards helping the growth of brands and also the nation. Responsible for Myanmar’s first-ever global nation-branding strategy (aired on BBC World News, Channel News Asia, and CNN International), iD Creative Solutions has been committed to bringing world-class standards in creativity to the market, and in enhancing Myanmar’s reputation around the globe.
For enquiries please contact: firstname.lastname@example.org
Visit us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tech.Misfit
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/misfit-technologies-ltd


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Results from the 2015 World Championships, held October 23 through November 1 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Our live blog of the eighth WAG qualification subdivision at the 2015 World Championships.
The FIG released the full nominative list for this year’s World Championships. Check out who’s on it and read some of our thoughts!
A brief recap of the competition at this summer’s Games of the Small States of Europe, where Iceland had an exceptionally strong showing.
Results from the 2015 Games of the Small States, held from June 1-6 in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Results from the 2015 European Championships, held April 15 to April 19 in Montpellier, France.
Results from the 2015 Austrian Team Open, held on February 28 in Linz, Austria.
The Austrian federation has released the list of participants set to compete at the Austrian Team Open, to be held February 28 in Linz.
Results from the 2014 Commonwealth Games, held from July 28 through August 1 in Glasgow, Scotland.
A complete list of teams and athletes set to compete at the 2014 Commonwealth Games to be held in Glasgow, Scotland from July 28 to August 1.


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Analog ICs remain a critical component in nearly all of today’s digital-centric systems. Consumer, computing, communications, automotive, and industrial/medical systems rely on analog devices to manage power consumption and to help extend battery life in portable devices. IC Insights’ April Update to the 2021 McClean Report ranked the leading analog IC suppliers for 2020 (Figure 1). Collectively, these 10 companies accounted for $35.4 billion in analog IC sales and represented 62% of the total $57.0 billion analog market last year, the same share they held in 2019.
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Advanced Manufacturing International (AMI) has been awarded a $2M grant


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The technology vendor 3i Infotech Ltd. plans to use its acquisition of the Napa, Calif., lockbox operator and bill printer Regulus Group LLC to expand its operations in North America.
The Mumbai vendor also says it can expand Regulus' operations into other markets, in Asia and elsewhere around the world.
"Regulus gives us a very strong footprint in the U.S.," Vivek Malhotra, the chief operating officer of 3i Infotech North America, said in an interview last week.
Though much of the offshoring in recent years has gone in the opposite direction — with U.S. companies moving work to India — Mr. Malhotra said expanding in the U.S. makes perfect sense. "Not everything is offshoreable."
Regulus, which serves more than 4,000 clients, has 10 lockbox centers around the country and four statement-printing facilities, providing a large base for cross-selling 3i Infotech's other software development, consulting, and information technology infrastructure services, he said. "It more than doubled our presence in North America."
The Regulus acquisition, which closed in June, was 3i Infotech's second in the past year. In the fourth quarter it bought J&B Software Inc., a developer of payment processing software.
3i Infotech paid $80 million, for Regulus, and will pay up to $20 million more if Regulus achieves certain performance goals. Regulus had revenue of $148 million in 2007.
Despite the widely discussed decline of checks, Brian Mulford, Regulus' chief product and information technology officer, said he believes prospects are strong for his company, which processed 2.5 billion payments last year.
The check volume decline attributable to the ongoing shift to electronic payments is only 2% to 3% a year, Mr. Mulford said. "In the last decade we've seen almost no attrition due to electronic presentment."
The main competition for Regulus is not electronic payments, but companies that print their own bills or process payments in-house, he said, estimating that 50% to 80% of Fortune 1,000-scale companies do at least some part of that work themselves.
Josh Wendroff, Regulus' product marketing manager, said they present his business with a big opportunity.
Between check conversion and check truncation, the rising cost of printing statements, and the growing demand for electronic presentment, "all these choices equal a great headache," he said.
Both Regulus and 3i Infotech have their roots in the financial industry. Wells Fargo & Co. spun off Regulus in 1995 as it exited the retail lockbox business. Until 1999, 3i Infotech was an internal department of ICICI Bank Ltd.
Mr. Malhotra said 72% of 3i Infotech's revenue comes from the financial services industry.
In addition to using Regulus as a beachhead in North America, 3i Infotech wants to take the Regulus T2 processing platform to other markets, he said. "Our first choice, a natural target, is India," where 3i Infotech already has relationships with nine of the nation's 14 largest financial institutions, but the plan is too preliminary to put a time line on it.
Dana Gould, an analyst at Financial Insights, a unit of International Data Group Inc., said that with the acquisitions of Regulus and J&B, 3i Infotech has become a company for bankers to watch.
"It looks like they're positioning themselves to be a major player in the payments market," Mr. Gould said.
Payment processing is likely to become a growth business for specialized outsourcers, he said. "We have so many payment alternatives now, I don't think the banking industry is doing a good job of staying on top of it."


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Seatrade Highlights: H&S, Sustainability & Innovative Shorex
There were three big stories for Intercruises at Seatrade Cruise Virtual 2020, globally the most important virtual cruise trade event of the year – check out the video highlights below.
Intercruises became the first business to win the Innovative Shorex Award four times!
Paul Austin, Intercruises Head of Health & Safety, outlines how the industry is working together during a panel discussion with senior medical experts from Carnival Corporation, MSC, CLIA and DNV.
“Sustainability is the only option for the cruise industry” – Arantxa Garcia, Intercruises Head of Sustainability, sends strong message to the cruise industry
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