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At the end of 2017, Liu Qiangdong, the founder of Jingdong Group, sent a message in the micro-headlines: “Jingdong smart drug dispensers have officially begun to deploy, and each pharmacy in the future can realize 24-hour unmanned drug sales”. It seems that the news is not shocking, but it has drawn a lot of people’s hearts, and even pharmaceutical companies think that “the wolf is coming.”
Since Liu Qiangdong released the micro-headline, Jingdong intelligent drug-selling cabinets have disappeared. A person close to Jingdong told the “Chinese Entrepreneur” that “(this new project) basically hangs out without taking the first step.”
The discount of the intelligent drug sales cabinet project is only a partial failure of Jingdong in the field of medical E-Commerce. In fact, since China’s pharmaceutical E-Commerce began to enter the exploration stage in 1999, this new market has attracted the attention of many giants and entrepreneurs. Jingdong and Ali, both tested water and medicine E-Commerce in 2011.
In the circulation of medicine, the imagination of the Internet + is huge. According to the data of the Ministry of Commerce, the total sales of seven major medical products (drugs, medical devices, chemical reagents, glassware, proprietary Chinese medicines, Chinese herbal medicines and others) in the country in 2017 totaled 201.6 billion yuan, of which the pharmaceutical retail market was 400.3 billion yuan. In terms of pharmaceutical E-Commerce, the sales volume in 2012 was only 13.3 billion yuan, and in 2017 it was 121.1 billion yuan. The proportion of online shopping for drugs was even less than 10%.
By 2018, the field of medical E-Commerce has finally emerged. On September 12th, Beijing time, the 111 group of the 1 drug network parent company, which was spun off from the No. 1 store, was listed on NASDAQ in the United States and became the first share of Internet medicine health. In early September, Jianke announced that it had invested US$130 million in the B round. It is planned to go public in the US in 2019; for the safe doctors who have listed Hong Kong stocks soon, medical E-Commerce has become its main source of income in recent years.
However, a well-known medical expert told the “Chinese Entrepreneur” that the Chinese pharmaceutical E-Commerce market has been occupied by two major E-Commerce giants Jingdong and Ali. “The two together account for about 70% of the national online drug trading market.” Zhang Dingding, the marketing director of the online pharmacy pharmacist, believes that under the two offensives, small and medium-sized players in the pharmaceutical E-Commerce industry have basically no chance, and listing is only their A means of conducting capital operations.
It’s only these seven years, Jingdong and Ali are not easy.
Hard to test the water
In the past, the medical E-Commerce industry has been popularized as saying that “the license is difficult to get to the sky.” Because the government implements license management for Internet drug trading services, there are three certificates: A, B, and C. Their main applicants are medical third-party trading platforms. Pharmaceutical production/wholesale enterprises and chain pharmacies can provide Internet platform services for medical transactions, Internet drug wholesale services (B2B), and Internet drug retail services (B2C).
These three certificates have existed for many years. They have rejected most of the E-Commerce, and they have allowed Jingdong and Ali to fight for this and suffered many twists and turns.
In July 2011, Jingdong had obtained a qualified management right by establishing a joint venture company “Jingdong Good Pharmacist” with Jiuzhou Tong (acquired C certificate in 2009). Two years later, Jingdong withdrew from the equity of “Jingdong Good Pharmacist”. An important reason for the breakup between the two sides is that they all want to control and dispute. Although according to the agreement, Kyushu accounts for 51%, and Jingdong accounts for 49%.
Zhang Dingding joined the pharmacist at the end of 2013, which coincided with the termination of cooperation between Kyushu and Jingdong. “At that time, there were only a few dozen pharmacists, basically new employees.” Zhang Dingding revealed to the “Chinese Entrepreneur”.
Jingdong has also brewed a new medical B2C platform “Jingdong Medical City”. At the 2013 China Pharmaceutical E-Commerce Annual Meeting, Cui Wei, then CEO of Jingdong Medical City, revealed that Jingdong Medical City will be launched at the end of August and announced the first eight chain brands that exclusively cooperate in eight cities, including Desheng. Tang, Fumei, Jingwei Pharmacy, etc.
However, Jingdong Medical City is still aborted. “Without a license, on the one hand, Jingdong has also seen executives fighting in this business.” People familiar with the matter told China Entrepreneur.
Also in this year, Jingdong Shanyuan (Qingdao) E-Commerce Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Jingdong, acquired the Qingdao Anjitang Pharmacy at a price of several hundred thousand yuan, and later renamed it Jingdong Pharmacy. In July 2015, Jingdong applied for the online sales of medical qualifications to the regulatory authorities for the first time. Four months later, JD received a C certificate issued by the Shandong Food and Drug Administration, which sells medicines to individual consumers as an online pharmacy.
The insiders revealed to the “Chinese Entrepreneur” that at the same time that Kyushu and Jingdong were in contact with each other, Fumei Pharmacy also found Ali to pursue similar cooperation. Ali refused because it valued the platform business. However, Ali digs the head of the re-American pharmacy at the time, Jin Feng.
In June 2011, Tmall tested the water and medicine business, and only operated for 18 days, it was negotiated and rectified by the Zhejiang Food and Drug Administration under the name of “no online drug sales qualification”. On February 1, 2012, Tmall once again adjusted the pharmaceutical business to go online. After 8 days, the service was suspended again. On February 28, 2012, the Tmall Medical Museum was officially launched, but only the drug information display was provided. After the consumers selected the required products, they will jump to the official website of the corresponding pharmaceutical company to complete the transaction.
In order to get a license, Ali did not hesitate to pay a lot of money. In January 2014, it purchased Hebei Huiyan Medical Technology (hereinafter referred to as Hebei Huiyan) for 3 million yuan.
Hebei Huiyan was the first to obtain a third-party platform online drug retail pilot qualification in November 2013 (the resident merchants on the platform provide pharmaceutical retail services for individual consumers). After the completion of the acquisition, Tmall has a “pilot B2C platform license”.
In May 2016, Tmall Medical Center received a notice from Hebei Food and Drug Administration and no longer continued the third-party platform drug retail pilot qualification. This time, it was not only Tmall that was stopped, but also the 800 and 1 stores that were qualified for this pilot in July 2014.
The article posted on the CFDA official website shows that “the Internet third-party platform drug online retail pilot work is over”, and said that the third-party platform and the entity pharmacy main body responsibility is unclear during the pilot process, and it is difficult to effectively supervise the sale of prescription drugs and drug quality and safety. It is not conducive to protecting the interests of consumers and the safety of medication.
Since then, the Internet third-party platform can only display drug information, and can not involve online drug transactions. In order for consumers to purchase drugs on the Internet’s third-party platform, they must first submit the demand and transfer the order to the online pharmacy. This means that platform companies can only achieve profit sharing by means of other E-Commerce traffic, and can not achieve real platform sales (of course, there are still many platforms in the edge).
Ali’s attempts in the medical field are not limited to the Tmall Medical Museum. At the same time as the acquisition of Hebei Huiyan in January 2014, Ali United Yunfeng Fund invested 1.3 billion Hong Kong dollars in the Hong Kong listed company CITIC 21st Century (00241.HK). In October of the same year, CITIC changed its name to Ali Health in the 21st century. After the third-party platform drug retail pilot ended, in July 2016, Ali Health acquired the entire equity of Guangzhou Wujiu Pharmaceutical Chain Co., Ltd. for 16.8 million yuan, thus obtaining the C certificate. In less than a month, Ali Health renamed the 5,000-year online pharmacy conscience pharmacy to Ali Health Pharmacy.
At this point, Jingdong and Ali are involved in medical E-Commerce, which is a big step. However, when Jingdong and Ali were like the Western Heaven, they finally got the license, and the licenses of the medical E-Commerce were all released. In 2017, the three certificates of Internet drug trading services B, C and A were successively cancelled by the State Council.
In November 2014, Ma Yun mentioned at the first World Internet Conference that “the biggest opportunity for China after 10 years is health and happiness”. In less than half a year, Ali Health began major business restructuring and high-level personnel adjustment.
On April 15, 2015, Ali Group announced the transfer of the Tmall Online Pharmacy Platform business to Ali Health in exchange for the newly issued shares and convertible bonds of Ali Health. Upon completion of the transaction, Ali Health will become a subsidiary of Alibaba Group and serve as the flagship platform for the health and health of the Ali Group’s “Double H” (Health and Happiness) strategy.
On the 17th, Ali announced that one of the group’s 18 founders and partner Wu Yongming will serve as the chairman of Ali Health’s board of directors. Wang Lei, former general manager of the Group’s Taodian Point, will serve as Ali Health CEO. In September of that year, the former CST 21st Century CTO and Ali Health President Wang Yaqing resigned from Ali and had nothing to do with this matter.
But what happened next made Ali’s health in crisis.
Zhang Lei, senior public relations director of Ali Group, entered Ali Health after entering the CITIC 21st century. She told China Entrepreneur that Ali’s health revenue source was only electronically regulated, which was much lower than Tmall‘s online pharmaceutical business. The former was financially considered a reverse takeover and approved by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The process and cycle are long.
Until the beginning of 2016, Hunan Yangtian and the big pharmacy will appeal to the court of the State Food and Drug Administration, saying that its enforcement of the drug electronic supervision code is illegal. Electronic drug supervision refers to the posting of electronic supervision codes on the packaging of drugs to realize the management and tracking of drug circulation information.
Since 2006, the State Food and Drug Administration has established a nationwide unified drug electronic supervision network in three phases. At the beginning of 2015, the State Food and Drug Administration issued an announcement requiring all pharmaceutical preparations, wholesale and retail enterprises to be included in the China Drug Electronic Regulatory Network by December 31, 2015. Such a technical service provider for government projects is CITIC’s 21st century.
19 chain drugstores, such as ordinary people, Yixintang and Yifeng Pharmacy, also issued a joint statement, suggesting that the current drug electronic supervision code should be completely abolished, and that Ali Health should completely withdraw from drug information supervision. They believe that Ali Health, after entering the 21st century and accepting Tmall‘s online pharmaceutical business, will not only hold the national drug regulatory network but also sell drugs, such as “both referees and athletes”, and it is suspected of selling data.
Ali Health denied these allegations, but the State Food and Drug Administration has stopped the regulations of the aforementioned pharmaceutical companies to be included in the drug electronic regulatory network, and said that it is necessary to recover the technical operation and maintenance rights of the electronic code of drugs. At that time, Ali’s health stock price fell by about 30%. “Do you know what this feeling is? Crazy! The stock price is like this, what should I do in the future?” To this day, Ali health insiders are still worried.
To make matters worse, the future of Ali’s core business is unclear, which directly affects the transaction process of its acquisition of Tmall‘s online pharmaceutical business.
In the face of these sudden changes, Ali Health has adjusted its thinking and changed its acquisition into a generational operation – providing related categories of outsourcing and value-added services to the Tmall Medical Museum and charging for it. On the other hand, Ali Health has launched a third-party traceability platform that is compatible with the electronic regulatory code of drugs. The platform is a private platform for Ali Health, which is more open than the pharmaceutical electronic regulatory network previously affiliated with the State Food and Drug Administration. Marketization (Enterprises are no longer forced to join, but can be selectively added).
The B2C medical platform business was blocked and did not affect the pace of Ali Health’s acquisition of other businesses in the Tmall Medical Museum. In May 2017, Ali Health acquired Tmall “Blue Hat” health care products for HK$3.8 billion. A year later, Ali Health acquired Tmall medical equipment and health products, adult products, medical and health services for HK$10.6 billion.
“Now most of the assets of Tmall Medical Museum are already owned by Ali Health. The remaining assets, Ali Health is operating on behalf of the company.” Zhang Lei said.
According to the financial report, the GMV (total trading volume) of Tmall Medical Museum in FY 2018 (April 2017~March 2018) is close to 40 billion yuan, including the provision of outsourcing and value-added services by Ali Health. GMV, and the GMV of Ali Health’s health food category E-Commerce platform service business acquired from Alibaba Group in 2017, totaled more than RMB 30 billion.
In addition to the Tmall Medical Museum, other resources of the Ali Department are also working with Ali Health. An Ali insider told the “Chinese Entrepreneur” that Alipay’s medical portals such as Alipay, Nail, and UC have gradually opened up with Ali Health. Under the guidance of Ali Group’s “Double H” strategy, Ali Health also conducted explorations in online hospitals and smart medical services.
In addition, in March of this year, Ali Health released a new appointment: Wang Lei returned to the Ali Group to work, no longer served as the CEO of Ali Health, the position of the former Alibaba AliExpress general manager Shen Difan. From March to April, Ali Health and Ali Group, Tmall, Rookie, Ali Mama, Aliyun and other renewed a series of agreements covering E-Commerce, logistics, advertising, technology and many other aspects.
Jingdong‘s traffic business
Regarding the dystocia of Jingdong intelligent drug sales cabinet project, the above-mentioned people close to Jingdong have learned a number of reasons: “Firstly, the departments for technology research and development and implementation are Jingdong Intelligent and Jingdong Medical Health, respectively. The starting point of the two is different. Secondly, the product The unit price is over 100,000 yuan, and the average market price is only 30,000 to 50,000 yuan. In addition, its technology has not completely passed the test. For example, users buy medicine, the machine does not take medicine, or buy a box out of two boxes.”
In the opinion of this person, the most important reason for the failure of Jingdong intelligent drug dispenser to test the water is that Jingdong regards it as a product for sale, and has no interest in the pharmacy. In this regard, what is hungry is in contrast to it.
In the first half of 2018, when I was hungry, I also launched a smart medicine cabinet, hoping to give the pharmacy a 24-hour empowerment. Online delivery through O2O, the drug store brings traffic; offline, through the automatic drug dispenser to take orders for pharmacies. In addition to its sales, the way it works with pharmacies also includes joint operations. According to the official, more than 200 smart medicine cabinets have been laid in major pharmacies.
Jingdong also had O2O business – Jingdong arrived home, and its medical and health O2O business was home to Jingdong Health. In April 2016, after Jingdong arrived at home and merged with the crowdsourcing logistics platform Dada, it was stripped from the Jingdong Group. The above-mentioned people close to Jingdong believe that the separation of Jingdong from home is a loss for Jingdong. “Either Shang Chao or medicine, regardless of Ma Yun’s new retail or Liu Qiangdong’s unbounded retail, O2O is an important empowerment tool.”
The insiders revealed to the “Chinese Entrepreneur” that although the starting time in the medical field is basically the same, there are still a large gap between Jingdong and Ali in many data. On the one hand, determined by their genes, Jingdong started its own business, and Ali is good at making platforms. On the other hand, it is also related to their positioning of medicine.
“Jingdong is doing traffic business. Perhaps in Jingdong’s view, medicine is not much different from other categories, but Ali regards it as a strategy.” The above-mentioned medical experts pointed out to Chinese Entrepreneur.
This logic revealed the clues when Jingdong and Kyushu were joint ventures. Analysts said that Jingdong‘s role in this cooperation is an IT enterprise, and there is a fundamental difference in the way of thinking with pharmaceutical companies. “Liu Qiangdong hopes to make use of the flow advantage to be a pharmaceutical trading platform, and Kyushu General wants to take advantage of the advantages of medical resources to do vertical and closed loop.”
Jingdong’s recent emphasis on medical care has increased. In June, Liu Qiangdong said in an interview with CCTV Finance that the essence of unbounded retail is the integration of supply chain. In the future, JD’s layout of supply chain service business will focus on the fields of automobile, real estate and medical care. In September, Jingdong Cloud released the “Medical Health Strategy” and planned to build an ecological closed loop covering the life, old, sick and full-cycle cycles with partners. In June 2017, Jingdong also established the Yinchuan Jingdong Internet Hospital.
According to “Chinese Entrepreneur”, Jingdong‘s pharmaceutical business is scattered in different departments. For example, Jingdong Medicine Health and Medical City is a parallel department of the Home Life Division (within the Jingdong three business group system). The former is responsible for Jingdong Pharmacy (self-operated B2C), home medical care, nutrition and health care, etc. Responsible for prescription drugs, B2B, Internet hospitals and other services. Jingdong Cloud is the business unit outside the three business clusters of Jingdong Mall, and the O2O business has been divested. “If JD is determined to make a difference in the medical field, it should integrate different medical resources like Ali,” said the medical expert.
Hungry, the person in charge of medicine, Shao Qingjian, built a WeChat group called “Medicine E-Commerce Social Responsibility Group”, which brought together 25 medical practitioners, including Jingdong and Ali’s medical leaders. Shao was responsible for the pharmaceutical business for many years in Jingdong, and later went to Baidu for takeaway. With Baidu take-out being hungry, M&A, hungry and Ali, M&A, he is now in the Ali system.
Shao Qing told the “Chinese Entrepreneur” that the establishment of the WeChat group represented them in reflection. “The original intention of medical E-Commerce is to ease the problem of buying medicines, but then gradually transferred to selling goods, and how to make more money or more money by selling goods, even at the price war, but many user scenarios still have not done it is good.”
“The price war on the Internet has not stopped, we often have to deal with it,” Wei Kaishen, general manager of Jingdong Pharmaceutical Health, shares the same feeling. Because whether it is medicines, or health care products, medical equipment, adult products, etc. covered by medical E-Commerce in a broad sense, most of them are standard products, and the pharmacies and platforms sell a high degree of coincidence.
The industry generally believes that in the past two years, the industry has become more rational, more service and user satisfaction, which can be seen from the dynamics of the two companies Jingdong and Ali.
In May and September this year, Jingdong Pharmacy and Ali Health Pharmacy were launched for the second anniversary. Jingdong launched the “Kingxin Care Plan” for the pain points of brand parties and consumers, including integrated marketing, big data opening, drug repurchase scene reconstruction, and smart cloud pharmacist platform. In order to make pharmacies better serve users, Ali issued the “Super Pharmacy 1.0” standard, which is the global operation process of finding goods, big data selection, sampling inspection, full-line monitoring, drug traceability and licensed pharmacists all-weather service.
At the press conference, Wei Kai gave an example: Jingdong has a licensed pharmacist named Jiang, who refused to use thousands of irrational medications for the health of the people. “This makes me feel very proud.” Wei Kai revealed to “Chinese Entrepreneur” that Jingdong is working on building a consumer health file to prepare for the next stage of accurate drug use. In the future, consumers will also get more professional and humanized help from nutritionists and physicians.
“Online and offline integration must be a trend.” Zhang Lei said that although a small number of pharmacies “have a lot of trouble”, Ali Health still hopes to cooperate with them and gradually deepen through different combinations of light and heavy assets.
In May 2016, Ali Health and Deshengtang and other 65 chain pharmacies (including one of the aforementioned chain pharmacies that boycotted Ali Health) launched the China Pharmaceutical O2O Pioneer Alliance, which exported Ali’s brand, membership, traffic, and technology to help pharmacies sell. Provide services on the basis of goods; optimize the supply chain of pharmacies on drug collection.
In August 2018, Ali Health teamed up with a number of offline chain pharmacies in Hangzhou. With the support of the rookie point, I opened the 24-hour drug delivery service for the first time and made a delivery within 30 minutes during the day and 1 hour during the night. Commitment, timeout must be compensated.
Zhang Lei told the “Chinese Entrepreneur” that the Chinese Medicine O2O Pioneer Alliance had been established for more than two years, and the delivery of O2O had already been realized, but the delivery of personnel and time was not standardized. Ali Health hopes to proof in Hangzhou, and will copy the standards and capabilities of fast drug delivery to the country in the future.
From June to August 2018, Ali Health successively invested in Shandong Yuyu Civilian Pharmacy, Anhui Guosheng Pharmacy, and Guizhou Yishu. The three are the largest pharmaceutical retailers in their respective provinces, with a total of nearly 3,000 pharmacies. They will have a new retail of medicine in the area with Ali Health Test.
It is worth mentioning that, regardless of price or service, the current competition of pharmaceutical E-Commerce mainly focuses on non-prescription drugs for consumers, namely medicine B2C, while medicine B2B is compared with “blue sea”. According to industry insiders, even Jingdong and Ali, the market share of their pharmaceutical B2B is still very small.
On the other hand, the “Opinions on Promoting the Development of “Internet + Medical Health” issued by the State Council on April 28 this year proposed that “prescriptions for common diseases and chronic diseases can be issued online. After examination by pharmacists, medical institutions and pharmaceutical companies can Entrusting qualified third-party agencies to deliver,” which means that online prescription drugs are available or banned.
These will be the new battlefield for medical E-Commerce.


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The first few months of the new year are no fun for Apple fans: Android and Windows enthusiasts get to check out all sorts of new gear at CES and MWC, while everybody goes gaga over Samsung’s latest flagships. But this year, maybe more than most, there’s been hope of some big Apple news in the spring: for months now, we’ve been hearing rumors about a new four-inch iPhone, and now it finally seems ready to launch. Better still, it could be joined by new iPad hardware, bringing Apple Pencil support to a more traditionally sized tablet. But when could we actually hope to see these new devices launch? Sources late last month suggested Apple was eying a March 21 date, slightly pushed back from earlier March 15 rumors. Now that’s picking up official confirmation, as Apple sends out invites for just such a March 21 event.
As you can see from the invite up top, Apple’s offering to help “loop” us in – but what kind of tease is that? Well, this event is taking place at Apple’s Cupertino campus, with its 1 Infinite Loop street address. If we’re looking even harder, we suppose it could be a longshot hint at the rumored new bands for the Apple Watch – a reference to the existing Milanese Loop style.
But loops or no loops, we’re still expecting that four-inch iPhone SE (5se?), a new 9.7-inch iPad (that may pick up iPad Pro branding), and some sort of new Apple Watch hardware – even if that’s just new bands.
With just a week and change to go until March 21, we’ll be finding out for sure in no time at all.

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A Consumer Reports investigation reveals a scary occurrence with no known cause.
Have you ever wondered whether those glass sunroofs and panoramic roofs that are now so popular in new cars could, perhaps, explode? Like literally shatter into countless pieces of sharp glass scattered all over you, your passengers, and the entire interior. You can stop wondering because this is actually a thing, according to a Consumer Reports study that also cites the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration. It's more common than you think and automakers aren't doing much about it, at least not yet.
CR cites NHTSA data showing 859 cases of exploding sunroofs that were reported since 1995. That doesn't sound like much, but the problem actually got worse over time. An alarming 71 percent increase of exploding sunroof was reported since 2011, and industry experts still don't have enough information in order to figure out why this is happening. There is one theory, however. Because the size of the glass sunroof has increased (panoramic sunroofs, for example), too much heat may be getting trapped, preventing the glass from expanding as it should. CR's own investigation found that not only are automakers not taking this seriously, but that they're not even acknowledging it to begin with.
Another disturbing point is that "safety standards and regulatory oversight of sunroofs have not kept pace with those dramatic size and design changes and that more needs to be done to guarantee they are safe." Experts currently don't agree on the exact cause of shattering sunroofs, but they all concur on this: "The bigger the expanse of glass, the harder to ensure that it won't shatter." Which automakers topped CR's list for most exploding sunroof complaints? That would be Hyundai followed by Ford, with 119 and 85 cases, respectively, since 1995. Nissan was third on the list with 82 reported cases. However, it was the Scion tC with the highest number (71) of reported incidents during that time period.
The tC and the entire Scion brand has been discontinued, but that's not the point; there are still a lot of Scion tCs still on the road. Following the tC on the list is the Hyundai Veloster at 54. One Veloster owner whose sunroof suddenly shattered for no apparent reason described the experience like this: "A shower of glass fell on me. I managed to get to work with a bloody arm and forehead, and thank God I had no other cars close to me when it happened." Ford, for example, denied the warranty claim from the owner of an F-150 whose sunroof exploded. The guy had to have it repaired under his own insurance. But the bottom line here is that automakers need to start investigating what's going on.


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A new episode of Nintendo Direct will be broadcast online this Wednesday, June 26 and will focus on Pikmin 3, the company announced today.
The Nintendo Direct broadcast for Japan will begin at 4 a.m. PT / 7 a.m. ET on Nintendo.co.jp. Details for possible U.K. and U.S. broadcasts are not yet available.
Pikmin creator Shigeru Miyamoto and comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto will play and discuss Pikmin 3 during the direct. The real-time strategy game is slated to release on July 13 in Japan, July 26 in Europe and Aug. 4 in North America for the Wii U. Be sure to read our Pikmin 3 preview from E3 2013 and take a look at our feature where we have an in-depth discussion with Miyamoto about the game.
Nintendo revealed in April that it planned to pass on its traditional E3 press conference to do smaller events and Nintendo Directs. According to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, the hands-on approach was caused by a specific set of circumstances and that a full-blown Nintendo press conference may see a return at future E3s.


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Drizzy went to Instagram Monday (August 20) to confirm plans for a highly-anticipated day party.
Barring any setbacks, the festivities are expected to run from Sunday (August 26) afternoon through 1 AM ET.
Sunday, August 26, we’re excited to invite you to The Day Party with Drake and fashion designer and DJ, Virgil Abloh. We bring you the Official Day Party with Platinum selling artist Drake, along with a special DJ set performance by Virgil Abloh, the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s men’s wear and Founder of the high-fashion, streetwear label Off-White. Additional music by Drake’s official DJ Spade and a variety of NYC’s best renown DJ’s playing industry’s hits. Also in attendance will be the newly famed Youtube star, Shiggy to perform his Viral “Shiggy Dance” to Drake’s song, “In My Feelings”. (Event Brite)
Back in June, Drizzy’s rival rap star Kanye West shared an emotional reunion moment with Virgil at a Louis Vuitton France show.
I love you brother congratulations pic.twitter.com/bHZApDf3Ol
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) June 22, 2018
A day prior, Kanye and his wife Kim Kardashian pulled through for the Paris Fashion Week showcase.
BTW … it’s a huge moment for Kanye too, who broke down in tears meeting up with a longtime friend, Virgil Abloh — Louis Vuitton’s new artistic director of menswear. They go way back, and Virgil even worked with Kanye before taking on his most prominent role yet … becoming the first black artistic director in the company’s 164-year history. (TMZ)


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Three major heart disease in the listed week
beijingshangbao· 2016-11-02 07:21:18
" has already submitted a prospectus of week coot International Holdings Limited (hereinafter referred to as the "week coot") finally opened in November 1st prospectus, 10 days later, week coot is scheduled to Hongkong stock exchange listing. According to the plan, Zhou Heiya this time up to 3 billion 311 million Hong Kong dollars, for the development of processing facilities, logistics and warehousing and other hardware and marketing promotion, research and development capabilities, such as the promotion of soft power. The listing has meant more smooth financing channels, but in front after the listing of Zhou Heiya has direct mode extension store slow, food safety, central market dependence and fake flood affected reputation waiting for solving problems.
. Food safety released prior to the
prospectus in Zhou Heiya will be "food safety problems" as the first element, and said the company's risk, ensure that in the future do not have any food pollution complaints or related administrative penalties, strictly control the operation of normative system of each link. However, in the November 1st issue of the global sale of the book, but Zhou Heiya said, although in the whole week black duck products processing in the process of the implementation of some quality assurance standards and measures, but still can not guarantee the quality assurance system of week coot will remain valid, or can find any defect in quality assurance system.
food safety issues not previously, week coot is located in Weakness lends wings to rumours., several stores in Nanchang, Shenzhen and Guangzhou by the local market Management Bureau of the local food and Drug Administration or the Administration for Industry and Commerce shall impose administrative penalties, mainly due to the sampling inspection for product sale stores halogen bacteria failed to pass the food and Drug Administration bureau. Zhou Heiya believes that failure to pass the sampling inspection is mainly due to the sampling of products mainly for the packaging and shelf life of the product is relatively short, and there is no proper storage temperature in the specified storage.
China Brand Research Institute of food and beverage industry researcher Zhu Zhu believes that in recent years, the development of meat halogen products fast, which also brought a good market expectations for Zhou Heiya's listing. Although already on the market and will be listed on the three meat stewed products in the enterprise, the food safety risk of week coot is the smallest, but in food enterprises, food safety is the lifeblood, once lost, it is difficult to recover. Zhou Heiya after the listing, the internal control of the enterprise as well as the overall product quality inspection and spot checks, is the most important in the future.
on the central market of week coot compared to before submitting the prospectus must taste, from the current coverage, visibility and influence is higher than that of week coot. Data show that the vast taste has been in the country 28 provinces and autonomous regions have a shop, while the week only in 12 provinces, there are shops. In addition, week coot stores are mainly concentrated in the central region, the central market, especially the market in Hubei Province, Zhou Heiya said, this regional market dependence is strong.
Beijing Daily reporter by viewing the duck week released data, 2013, 2014, 2015 and ended June 30, 2016, which contributed from the central market stores revenue 82.9%, 77.8%, 70.1% and 69.3%, of which Hubei province (the local market of week coot) contributed most. Zhou Heiya will also be on the central market dependence is high for a risk factor, Zhou Heiya said, although Zhou Heiya has been active in the network expanded to other regional markets, however, China will be in the future market is still mainly of week coot. In addition, the main production facilities of week coot is located in Wuhan, revenue and operating results are dependent on the situation in the region to a great extent.
based on this, the industry also pointed out that once the central China market problems, or a contender for the performance against duck week will be huge, Zhu Dan Peng said, in the week after the first company listed them to strengthen the internal control system, then it should strengthen the market layout, business development and city coverage at the same time to expand, it can spread the risk to a certain extent.
"Li Gui" a thorn
Beijing Daily reporter for issues related to call the duck week, but as of press time failed to connect. Relative to the market dependence, fake shop is also currently a problem for the week to get a headache. Duck week to take direct and less part of the business mode of distribution, which helps to keep the original duck week and a good reputation to maintain. But the straight camp shop is not allowed to join in, see the famous duck week, some businesses will open up copycat stores. These copycat stores, not only secretly scattered weeks black duck store customers, and because the product taste and quality problems is difficult to guarantee, but also indirectly on the week black duck reputation and brand image damage.
in January this year, the State Food and Drug Administration issued a notice that found 35 food suppliers (including two Anhui and Zhou Heiya name related shops) containing illegal additives in food supply. After the event, although Zhou issued to clarify that the two stores are fake shops, but the week of the company's image also inevitably affected by the resulting.
Zhou himself was aware of the "Li Gui" brought about by the injury. In January this year, the Shanghai Stock Exchange issued in November 1st Hong Kong's announcement, the company mainly through the search engine according to the location by weeks black duck brand name keyword research online, found more than 900 fake stores. Zhou black duck said, in the future will regularly fake stores and shops logo recognition upgrade, through a number of publicity and Promotion Week coot shop. At the same time, in the week of coot micro shop to bid for a store information and place of week coot, so that customers can find genuine instant store location. Zhou Heiya has also set up a task force of about 15 employees to deal with counterfeit matters, and regularly conduct on-site inspections.
in Zhu Danpeng's view, the copycat stores short period still obscure, the duck should fake listed through good communication with local governments frequently, and should put manpower, the inspection team building more, the formation of a more comprehensive inspection system, which is the maintenance of a listed company and brand image.
Beijing Chinese commercial news reporters Wang Ziyang and Sun Qixiang


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The Obama and Romney campaigns spent Tuesday sniping over whether the President deserves an "incomplete" grade, as Mr. Obama put it, for fixing the economy. The more revealing news was the Department of Agriculture report, released on the Friday before Labor Day weekend, that 46,670,373 Americans are now on food stamps.
That's an all-time record, at an annual cost of $71.8 billion, $770 billion over a decade. Mull over that one for a minute. That's nearly one of out every seven people—46 million citizens—who depend on taxpayers to buy one of life's most basic responsibilities. It's a good thing breathing air is free.
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You may have spotted some stories in the newspapers lately, about revolutionary battery technologies for electric vehicles. Distance anxiety will be a thing of the past, EVs will be recharged in a matter of minutes, and so on.
Do the complaints hold up? Seems like the alternatives to what we have today are well understood and several companies are saying they are close to a breakthrough.
There appear to be two key changes that could improve the capacity and charging speed of lithium-ion batteries if they can work. One is a change in the material used for the battery’s negative electrode, the anode, and the other is a more radical shift to solid-state technology.
The anodes are largely made of carbon in the form of graphite, where lithium ions are stored when the battery is fully charged. This is not the ideal material, as others store more energy, but their use has so far proved technically unfeasible. Switching to an alternative such as a silicon-based material can increase charging speed and capacity, meaning that the existing lithium-ion battery format can be significantly improved – if battery developers can find a way. to make it work in mass production.
The other approach is to switch to a new design, the lithium-ion solid-state battery. In this case, the flammable liquid electrolyte is replaced by a thin solid electrolyte which takes up less space and is flammable. It also means that the graphite anode could be replaced with a lithium metal anode, increasing the capacity and speeding up the charging process.
Lithium metal anodes cannot be used for the existing battery format because they produce tentacle-shaped dendrites that propagate through the liquid electrolyte to the cathode, causing a short circuit and fire. In a solid-state battery, the solid electrolyte prevents this.
Either approach could be a game-changer, provided solid-state batteries are lighter and safer than the existing format. Battery tech developers have been working on the case for at least a decade, and Toyota and Volkswagen recently said they are on the cusp of producing viable EV batteries.
So yes, it’s likely that many players are close to a breakthrough, not just one or two headliners. Let’s just hope that the charging infrastructure can keep up.
Under the Skin: Solid State Batteries Could Be EV Gaming Levers
BMW promises solid-state battery by 2025
On the road to 2030: the state of current technology and what is needed for the future
More about this article: Read More
This notice was published: 2021-05-26 23:01:24


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Ministry of Health, said that activities that do not achieve physical spacing, such as beauty and barber salons and sports clubs, will not return until the Corona pandemic is completely controlled.
They affirmed that they face multiple difficulties due to the suspension of their activities, In addition to that they are obliged to pay rents, electricity bills and salaries to workers, and they face additional costs due to the damage of products inside the shops with the rise of temperature.
Talal Al-Kaabi explained; “Previously,” one of the owners of barber shops, the extent of the damage suffered as an owner of men’s barber shops and said: “We have lost a lot during the past three months, especially as it coincides with the most important seasons of the year for us.”
He added: “We hope that we will be allowed to resume our activities, just like other similar activities such as dental clinics and others.”
And he added: “We welcome any organizational or preventive decisions in the event that we are allowed to resume our activity, and in the event that we are not allowed, we hope that we will be exempt from commercial license fees, social insurance, residency fees and all other fees.”
The affected people made some preventive suggestions, including: “canceling the waiting chairs and adopting the appointment system, in addition to requiring the hairdressers to wear gloves and masks all the time and replace them after each customer, and to provide good ventilation to the shops and other preventive measures.”


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When archaeologists in Mongolia stumbled across the remains of a 1,100-year-old mummy, they were surprised that the corpse was still wearing footwear that was in remarkable condition.
However, a full restoration of the mummy was still needed to get a closer look, so the remains were sent to the Centre of Cultural Heritage of Mongolia.
After a full restoration, researchers were baffled to see that the footwear still had plenty of colors and a rather similar design to modern footwear – various stripes, just like Adidas!
These aren’t the earliest designs for Adidas sneakers of course, but they did turn to be knee-high boots made from felt and leather, with an eye-catching red and black striped pattern.
“With these stripes, when the find was made public, they were dubbed as similar to Adidas shoes with the three stripes,” explains Galbadrakh Enkhbat, director of the Centre of Cultural Heritage of Mongolia.
“In this sense, they are an interesting object of study for ethnographers, especially so when the style is very modern.”
Researchers also unearthed more about the mummified remains, which turned out to be a Turkic female seamstress, and it’s believed she died somewhere in the Altai mountains of Mongolia due to head trauma, due to huge wound present on her skull.
Further tests will unlock more secrets about the ancient woman’s life, as well giving more insight into the period she lived in.
The fine pair of boots wasn’t all the was discovered, as various items were unearthed along with the remains, including a comb, knife, and bag, as well as the remains of a horse and saddle!
The Mongolian Observer/The Center of Cultural Heritage of Mongolia


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Konstantinos Antonopoulus has already designed the brand’s AW11 range.
Hot Diamonds has announced the return of Konstantinos Antonopoulus to the position of its creative director, after a two year sabbatical from the brand.
Antonopoulus has already overseen a new creative direction for Hot Diamonds, which will be unveiled in an AW11 re-launch which takes place in July.
"I am thrilled to be driving the creative department of Hot Diamonds once again. The brand strategy of fresh appeal at key price points, combined with an aspirational solution for the more design-led consumer, is absolutely perfect for today’s challenging retail climate. My job is to support this strategy with irresistible creative, and I look forward to rising to the challenge over the coming months and years!" said Antonopoulus.
A still-life photographic campaign has already been produced to support the brand’s new concepts, as well as existing best-seller ranges. Antonopoulus enlisted the expertise of leading fashion photographer Graeme Montgomery, whose recent clients include Burberry and Prada, to shoot the new campaign.
Sanford Simpson, managing director of Hot Diamonds said: "Konstantinos brings great expertise and energy to the Hot Diamonds creative team, and all at Hot Diamonds are very pleased to welcome his return to our brand."


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Mobile phone sales in Brazil have been showing signs of recovery in 2017 after the decline seen as a result of the economic slowdown, according to a new study by analyst firm IDC.
Some 12,8 million devices sold in the second quarter, up 5,9 percent on the same period in 2016. The number is in line with first quarter figures, which grew by 3,7 percent on Q1 2016, with 12,3 million devices sold.
"The mobile market has returned to very expressive numbers, mainly because Brazilians is replacing handsets bought at least three years ago, since this has been the average lifespan of the battery and screen," says Leonardo Munin, IDC research analyst for the Latin American mobile market.
"And this [growth] trend is set to continue in the coming months," he adds.
Brazilians are also choosing more robust devices when buying new mobile phones, according to IDC. Of the total 12,8 million units sold in Q2, 12,1 million were smartphones, the remainder being feature phones.
There has been a decline of 44 percent in feature phone sales during the second quarter of 2017 in relation to the same period of 2016.
The increased consumer demand for smartphones has prompted manufacturers to significantly lower prices due to competition, says the analyst, with discounts reaching up to R$300 ($95). The average ticket for devices in Brazil dropped from R$1067 ($339) in Q1 to R$1044 ($332) in Q2.
"This is great for those wanting to buy, but for the industry as a whole it is really bad, since the market is concentrated in a smaller pool of manufacturers, with a reduction in growth prospects in terms of pricing," says IDC's Munin.
However, the analyst firm's predictions for the mobile market in Brazil for the whole of 2017 are positive. The forecast is that sales will increase 12,6 percent this year in relation to 2016 with 49 million units sold.


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CES 2011: What's of interest to government users?
Tablets, phones, televisions and perhaps even Microsoft Windows 8 are coming to CES 2011. Is there anything to expect for your federal agency?
The International Consumer Electronics Show kicks off in Las Vegas this week and there are sure to be a few devices on the display floor this year that could make its ways into your agency within the next few years.
Whether it comes in the form of commercial off-the-shelf products and services or the technology that powers various smart devices, there is always a little something for everyone, including the government, at CES. Let’s take a look at some of the top products expected to be revealed this week.
This is not the sexy portion of the show, but the new entrants in the microchip wars have the most likelihood of infiltrating your agency. Expected announcements this week come from the two most entrenched PC and server chip makers, Intel and AMD.
Intel has announced a new line of PC chips that go by the name Sandy Bridge. The chips are the second generation of the i3, i5 and i7 Intel Core CPU chips that debuted last year and aim to replace the Nehalem architecture based chips of previous models dating to 2008. According to the Crave blog at CNET.co.uk, the chips will be quad-core processors and feature improved graphic capabilities, greater speed and efficiency.
On the other end, perpetual runner-up in the PC chip market, AMD, will unveil its Fusion Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) family of chips. These multi-core processors are said to combine CPU and GPU capabilities and are aimed at desktop and laptop PCs. AMD expects major technology makers (Asus, Acer, Dell, Samsung etc.) to deploy Fusion APU products within the next year in the more affordable range of the market, which could make for interesting new equipment available to federal COTS purchasers.
In the mobile sector, it's all about ARM-based architecture, with major players Qualcomm (Snapdragon processor), Nvidia (Tegra 2) and Texas Instruments (Open Multimedia Application Platform) all fighting for dominance in the market. Intel’s mobile chip, the Atom, is also struggling to compete in this market. Smart phones and tablet devices in the near future will run on dual-core processors, some of which may debut this week at CES.
If you follow the tech world, it seems like everyone and their cousin should be toting an uber-cool tablet computer by now. While that is nowhere near the case, the CES showroom floor should be filled with all manner of slate devices from the fringe players in the technology industry as well as some of the major players.
Of interest to government users will be if Research in Motion (RIM) addresses any updates to its forthcoming Playbook tablet. During RIM’s most recent earnings call, the company said that it did not expect any revenues from the Playbook in its next quarter, which puts the release date of the BlackBerry tablet somewhere around April or May at this point. There have been reports of RIM having issues with battery power, something the company has denied. RIM has released another demo of the Playbook, this time featuring browser, video and social media capabilities.
Blackberry Playbook tablet delayed till spring
Are tablets the tombstone for Microsoft?
Of the most interest in the consumer tablet sector is the Motorola tab featuring Honeycomb -- Android version 3.0. Honeycomb is the first version of Google’s mobile operating system that has been optimized for a tablet-sized device the same way that Apple optimized its iOS to the iPad. Motorola has been a strong player in the Android ecosystem (along with HTC and Samsung) and its Droid line of phones are near the top of market. Other Android tablets generating buzz have included Vizio’s surprise entry. The company will show off a bunch of new products during the week .
Hewlett-Packard could surprise at CES with a tablet version of the webOS software it acquired when it bought Palm last year, though there have only been minor rumors thus far about what products HP has in that department.
Verizon Wireless and 4G devices
Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless networks are becoming more ubiquitous as Verizon and AT&T invest in bandwidth and infrastructure support. Verizon is expected to announce perhaps a half-dozen 4G devices to come out later this year, and CEO Ivan Seidenberg has a keynote address on Thursday. For the most part right now, the only phones that are truly 4G capable have been Android devices and nearly all of those are from Sprint or T-Mobile (HTC Evo, Samsung Galaxy S Epic, respectively). Sprint’s “4G” network is based on of its investment in Clearwire and its bandwidth. Clearwire employs WiMax standard 4G, which has been the first to hit the market in any meaningful way but it looks like the carriers, possibly including Sprint, are going to focus on LTE as the future of mobile broadband connections.
Seidenberg’s keynote could be of interest to federal agencies that rely on commercial bandwidth for employees’ mobile phones. At the same time, Apple has not yet released an LTE-capable phone and there have not even been any substantial rumors of any type of BlackBerry device ready to run LTE or WiMax.
As BlackBerry is the most common smart device among federal users, it does not look good in the near future for high(er) speed mobile broadband for the rank-and-file federal employee. Apple will probably be the best choice, as the company does have specific devices being tested for Federal Information Processing Standard 140-2 security protocols at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. It is doubtful that Seidenberg will intimate anything about a possible Verizon iPhone (or fear the wrath of Apple CEO Steve Jobs) and Apple will not even be present at CES because the company traditionally holds its own product announcement event later in the month.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gives the traditional CES keynote before the show floor opens and it is expected that he will give consumers a very early glance at Microsoft Windows 8. Considering that Windows 7 is still being implemented in enterprise environments and that its marketing campaign is still in full bore, do not expect Windows 8 to appear any time before the end of 2011, more likely sometime in 2012.
Ballmer is also expected to talk tablets with possible Windows 7 (and perhaps Windows Phone 7) versions coming from companies such as Dell and Samsung.
Internet and 3-D televisions will be ubiquitous on the show room floor and there is a little buzz going around about what kind of new technology will be in the vehicular showroom. There will be a plethora of new smart phones with a couple running Android’s newest phone Version 2.3, Gingerbread.
What are you curious to see at CES 2011?


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Softlanding is proud to be included on Business in Vancouver's 2014 list of the top 100 technology companies in B.C. Softlanding was previously listed on BIV's fastest-growing companies in B.C. in 2013.
We are honoured to be listed alongside the many standout technology companies included on this years' list. The quality of the organizations represented on the 2014 rendition of the list is a testament to BC’s vibrant and growing technology sector and its’ increasing positive impact on the BC economy.
Thanks to Business in Vancouver for continuing to celebrate the technology sector’s growing contribution to our fantastic province.


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This weekend, the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York (TECO) will present the 2015 Taiwan Design Cutting Edge Fashion Show in its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan. The first-of-its-kind event brings together 28 young and talented student designers, some from New York’s top fashion schools, including the Fashion Institute of Technology, Parsons the New School for Design, Pratt Institute, and School of Visual Art. Various aspects of fashion, including fashion accessories, jewelry design, textile design, and fashion illustration will be featured in the exhibition which runs from February 13-15. So, for all fashion lovers and admirers, whether they’re into needlepoint products or designer couture, head down, and watch the fabulous show! The runway fashion show on the Feb 13 opening night will be a highlight, showcasing sixty-eight unique designs from spring/summer and fall collections by twelve student designers. With any luck, the fashion on display at the show will make its way to stores soon. The appetite for designer clothing is showing little sign of waning in the US and so it’s likely pieces like these will grace the hangars of Macy’s and other department stores in the near future. Those who see the price of such garments and are instantly put off may want to consider first heading online in search of coupons so they can get a discount on the latest fashions.
For some, like jewelry designer Youning Cheng, the show is a chance to show their talent and is an achievement of a dream. “I was a business major before I found my true calling in jewelry design by looking through a bunch of them online and admiring the designs. That’s why I moved to New York and had a fresh start in the fashion industry,” she explained. She had to do a lot of work to prove herself in the industry – she took time to read about the qualities and uses of gems like emeralds, using the information on sites like haruni so she could include them in her designs.
According to Charlin Chang, Education Director of TECO, by providing a platform where emerging Taiwanese designers working in the United States can share their creative designs, the exhibition aims to encourage them to make waves in the fashion industry, where many overseas Taiwanese have long been established. Because the participants themselves are also involved with the planning and execution of the exhibition, the experience goes beyond showing their designs. Emily Peng, a designer and the organizer of the runway show, considers the event as a good opportunity for students to practice curatorial skills and to build a strong team spirit.
Visit the exhibition Facebook page for designer profiles, more information, and updates.
Exhibition: February 13 – 15
Opening Reception / Runway Fashion Show: February 13, 7 PM
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, 1 East 42nd Street
Free, RSVP requested for Opening Reception
A sneak peek of Taiwanese students’ fashion designs:
All photos by Hansi Liao
Andrew Shiue contributed to this article


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Escalating the world's largest computer chip maker's legal woes, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has opened a formal probe into Intel's...
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Escalating the world’s largest computer chip maker’s legal woes, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has opened a formal probe into Intel’s sales tactics, a victory for its much smaller rival, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
Intel disclosed Friday that it has received a subpoena from the FTC for records about Intel’s microprocessor sales, which dominate the world market with a roughly 80 percent share.
The FTC’s two-year investigation had been considered “informal” until that point, and Intel, which is already fighting antitrust charges in the European Union and was fined this week by antitrust regulators in South Korea, said it had been cooperating.
By opening a formal investigation, Intel said, the FTC will be able to get access to documents revealing Intel’s communications with certain customers — documents Intel couldn’t voluntarily provide because of a protective order that is part of a sweeping antitrust lawsuit AMD filed in 2005 that isn’t expected to go to trial until 2010.
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“From our perspective, it’s not a surprising event nor is there any really substantive change in the relationship we’ve had with the FTC,” Bruce Sewell, Intel’s general counsel, said.
The FTC’s intensifying look at Intel’s business practices is a result of AMD’s long-running campaign to convince antitrust regulators around the world that its business has been hurt by Intel’s aggressive tactics. AMD also said Friday that it received a subpoena this week from the FTC — though the company said it is not a target of the investigation.
The two companies have been fighting for years over what AMD claims is Intel’s intimidation of computer makers into striking exclusive deals for the chips they use in their new machines.
AMD claims the rebates and financial incentives Intel offers to those companies for buying more Intel chips are designed to prevent AMD from gaining market share — and that Intel threatens those manufacturers that it will retaliate if they introduce models based on AMD’s chips.
AMD argues that Intel’s volume discounts are sometimes so steep that AMD can’t cut its own prices enough to compete without losing money on the sales.
Intel has repeatedly denied breaking any laws.
In an interview last week before the company received the subpoena, Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini noted that Intel has been investigated by the FTC and the Department of Justice before, and he said he stands by the company’s actions.
“I think there’s nothing we’ve done that warrants further investigation by the U.S. government,” Otellini said.
Should the FTC find Intel violated federal law, Intel could face severe fines, and the way the world’s computer chips are bought and sold could change.
AMD said the probe helps it hold Intel accountable for sales strategies that it argues have hurt AMD’s business and technology consumers.
“Intel must now answer to the Federal Trade Commission, which is the appropriate way to determine the impact of Intel practices on U.S. consumers and technology businesses,” Tom McCoy, AMD’s executive vice president and chief administrative officer, said.
“In every country around the world where Intel’s business practices have been investigated, including the decision by South Korea this week, antitrust regulators have taken action.”


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Burger (Thailand) Co, the operator of Burger King in Thailand, is adopting digital transformation as consumer behaviour shifts, in a bid to grow its brand affinity.
General manager Tanawat Damnernthong said the company had significantly increased its budget allocation for digital assets this year and next. The substantial investment is intended to fortify the company's infrastructure, enabling it to serve customers through new channels, he said.
The overarching goal is to future-proof the brand, ensuring it remains adaptable to emerging solutions such as smart device-based food ordering and augmented reality, said Mr Tanawat.
He said Burger King makes consistent investments in its proprietary mobile application, with a major upgrade in the first quarter of this year.
The company has introduced a "self pick-up" channel, which has grown by double digits since its inception, said Mr Tanawat.
The eatery's self-ordering kiosk integrates loyalty programme features as well as membership services, and is user-friendly. This service is scheduled to launch within two months, Mr Tanawat said.
The company aims to deploy these new Burger King kiosks in a third of its 106 outlets.
"We can gain deeper insights into our customer profiles through this initiative. Armed with this knowledge, we can tailor enticing offers that boost customer visit frequency or entice them back with special promotions," Mr Tanawat said, adding that in addition to increasing sales through regular memberships, ordering via kiosks also helps reduce labour costs.
"In South Korea and Singapore, Burger King boasts over 60% of digital sales via kiosks, delivery, and its dedicated application, and there's no reason why Thailand can't follow suit."
According to Mr Tanawat, in a move to acquaint more customers with its digital services, the company has rolled out cashless payment options at 10 Burger King establishments located in urban lifestyle hubs like Thong Lor, Sukhumvit, and Ratchadapisek.
"With our digital initiatives, we anticipate that Burger King's digital channel sales will contribute 50% of the total next year, up from the current 30-40%," he said.
Furthermore, Mr Tanawat said the company has reintroduced "The Black and Pink Burger", a menu item that was once a sensation. This revival is a response to the dynamic shifts in consumer behaviour, which now encompass a wide array of preferences and needs.
Consumers today are yearning for innovation and are increasingly open to investing in products and services that cater to their unique needs, actively seeking satisfaction through fresh and distinctive experiences, Mr Tanawat said.
According to Mr Tanawat, the reintroduction of the Black and Pink Burger is expected to generate a positive reception once more, driving increased sales and expanding the customer base, especially among the younger generation.
"In our pursuit of becoming the most cherished brand for individuals of all genders and age groups, Burger King is committed to aligning its business models with contemporary lifestyles. Through the introduction of various trendy marketing strategies, Burger King has achieved remarkable success, increasing its customer base by more than 50% in the first eight months of this year," said Mr Tanawat.


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Some huge developments have very recently happening in the tech world, that the public is, by and large, blissfully unaware of.
- Oct 2021 – Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, announces that his company will be changing its name to Meta Platforms Inc, or Meta for short.
- January 2022 – Microsoft announces its largest acquisition in it’s history, with the $68 billion purchase of gaming development company Activision Blizzard.
Big deal, you may say … Well actually it is.
Facebook predicts more than 1 billion people will join the Metaverse in the coming decade. and they’ve recently hired over 1000 people dedicated to expanding their meta vision. Zuckerburg, when asked about the rebranding of his company, said that ‘Meta’ encompasses its virtual reality vision for the future.
With Microsoft’s acquisition, they have made it clear that they view gaming being at the centre of how the Metaverse will evolve.
So what is the Metaverse?
‘Meta’ comes from the Greek word ‘beyond.’
Think of the Metaverse as a ‘catch-all’ term for an immersive experience blending the physical and virtual worlds. It is envisaged that entering the Metaverse may be achieved by putting a digital layer, (eg, Augmented Reality (AR) glasses, or a Virtual Reality headset) over what the participant sees in the real world.
Whilst no-one knows for certain how the Metaverse will evolve, an educated guess would be that each participant in the Metaverse will be represented by their avatar, or animated character, of which they can then socialise with friends, build and interact within virtual communities, perform jobs, or take part in video games.
But how does the Metaverse relate to NoRuleBook?
The Metaverse, like cryptourrencies, is decentralised and therefore not centrally controlled by any government, organisation, or country. The technology is fast evolving, but what is abundantly clear is that the Metaverse will not be governed, or restricted, by the rules of the real world, of which it will mirror.
In the Metaverse of the future there will be no rules.
There will also be much less society pressure to feel you must conform.
Metaverse is yet another example of the increasing global movement towards decentralisation and giving control to the user. With Microsoft Corp and Meta Inc (formerly Facebook), many large companies, including Nvidia, Unity, Roblox, and even Snap, are investing a large part of their war chest, to build the infrastructure that might become the Metaverse. Thus, whilst in its infancy, the Metaverse as a concept, cannot be discounted in regard to the potential impact it may have on all our lives into the future.


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Sailing World is pleased to announce that Helly Hansen, a global leader in technical sailing apparel with more than 135 years of experience in the industry, signed on as title sponsor for the brand’s elite sailing series, the NOOD Regattas. The national regatta series kicks off with its first event in February, at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club in Florida. In its 27th consecutive year after beginning in 1988, the National Offshore One Design Regattas, also known as the “NOODs,” are the longest-running and most popular sailboat racing series in North America.
“We are ecstatic to make a splash in sailing in 2015 as the title sponsor of the NOOD Regatta Series. Ever since Captain Helly Juell Hansen created the first supple waterproof fabrics for his crew in 1877, sailing has been a part of our DNA,” said Filip Francke, vice president and general manager of Helly Hansen’s US Sport & Work Wear division. “We’re excited about building on our rich history in the sport with our highly-innovative 2015 sailing product line and our partnership with the NOOD Regatta Series. We look forward to a record year, and a fantastic season of racing with the NOOD Regatta Series.”
The 2015 Helly Hansen NOOD Regattas will sail into five cities including:
- St. Petersburg, FL: February 13-15 at St Petersburg Yacht Club
- San Diego, CA: March 13-15 at San Diego Yacht Club and Coronado Yacht Club
- Annapolis, MD: May 1-3 at Annapolis Yacht Club
- Chicago, IL: June 12-14 at Chicago Yacht Club
- Marblehead, MA: July 23-26 at Eastern Yacht Club
“As one of the global leaders in technical sailing apparel who has a distinct history in the sport and beyond, we are proud to have Helly Hansen at the helm of the NOOD Regattas,” said Sally Helme, group publisher of Cruising World, Sailing World and the NOOD Regattas. “This opens up fresh possibilities for the sailing series and supports our commitment to providing outstanding competition and a quality experience on the water and on shore.”
Francke also noted that Helly Hansen is proud to showcase long-term commitment by supporting sailing at all levels from around-the-world racing to offshore, one-design, cruising, local youth programs, and to those just trying the sport for the first time.
Helly Hansen is joining a long list of remarkable title sponsors including IBM, GMC Yukon, Jeep, Lands’ End, and most recently Sperry Top-Sider. Other 2015 sponsors include North Sails, Mount Gay Rum, West Marine and Sunsail.


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- 1 min read
UK launches new £4.6 bn plan to help virus-hit firms
The UK government has already pumped out billions of pounds in support since early 2020 when the nation went into a first lockdown over the coronavirus.
The UK government on Tuesday launched an extra £4.6-billion package for virus-battered businesses as England began a fresh lockdown set to last weeks.
The financial support, equivalent to $6.3 billion or 5.1 billion euros, "will help businesses to get through the months ahead -- and crucially it will help sustain jobs, so workers can be ready to return when they are able to reopen", finance minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement.
Sunak announced grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the Spring.
Other impacted businesses would share £594 million.
At the heart of this is a state furlough scheme paying the bulk of wages for private sector workers.
The Bank of England is also pumping out vast sums of cash to prop up the economy.
"Throughout the pandemic we've taken swift action to protect lives and livelihoods and today we're announcing a further cash injection to support businesses and jobs until the Spring," Sunak said.
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Latest Video podcast Stories
Last week, some of the fine folks at appadvice.com noticed something strange in their developer build of iOS 6 - the podcasts tab was missing from the iTunes store. Also missing were the “genius,” “iTunes U,” and “more” tabs.
LOS ANGELES, Feb 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CreativeCOW.net (Communities of the World), the leading online peer-to-peer hub for media production professionals in film, broadcast, and related fields, is setting the industry benchmark with its array of free Video Podcasts available on Apple's iTunes.
MT. LAUREL, N.J., Oct. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The New Jersey Technology Council, a non-profit membership trade organization dedicated to the growth and support of the various technology sectors in the region, added a new multimedia component to its already successful website www.njtc.org.
TAIPEI, Taiwan, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- esobi Inc., an innovative Internet information navigator, announced addition of "podcast" features to its existing multi-functional Internet application.
LOS ANGELES, July 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Of the thousands of podcasts available on iTunes, "The Gold Show" radio program featuring Capital Gold Group, Inc. CEO, Jonathan Rose, is the most listened to podcast about gold investing.
NEW YORK, April 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Carnegie Council is pleased to announce a new service: free video podcasts on ethical issues in international affairs. Along with the Council's popular audio podcasts, video podcasts are available on iTunes and on Really Simple Syndication (RSS).
Winners represent the range of podcasters from independent to mainstream media CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Treedia Labs, a leading media aggregation and distribution company, announced today the Top Podcasts of 2008 as reported by site statistics of Podcast.com.
LONDON, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Channels.com launched a series of enhancements that will provide dramatic improvements in the availability of Web video podcasts & video RSS feeds to non-English speaking Web users.
The Jenson Group of RE/MAX CENTRAL (www.TheJensonGroup.com), a leading Las Vegas luxury real estate agency specializing in high-end residential property, today announced that its high-definition video home tours may now be downloaded as podcasts onto, and viewed using, Apple(R) iPods(R) and iPhones(R), among other portable QuickTime(TM)-compatible devices.
- The abrogation of a law by a higher authority; annulment.


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Thai manufacturing grew for the fifth consecutive month in May despite a fall in demand, with safety stock building one of the key factors driving the expansion.
The S&P Global Thailand Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) measured 51.9 in May, unchanged from April. The PMI figure represents manufacturing performance, and a number above 50 indicates expansion. The figure is calculated using Thai purchasing managers' responses to questions about their new orders, output, employment, suppliers' delivery times, and stocks of purchases.
But the increase did not reflect an improvement in demand as overall new orders, including new business from abroad, were depressed because of higher product costs.
Supply constraints also persisted with longer lead times and record price pressures, contributing to higher input purchases.
"Price pressures worsened in May, and alongside the lengthening of lead times highlighted the deterioration of supply chain performance. This likewise represented a negative development for Thailand's manufacturing sector outlook," said Jingyi Pan, economics associate director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
She added that May's PMI Suppliers' Delivery Times index indicated lead times were lengthening at the fastest rate since January.
But despite a volatile supply situation across the region, where shortages and fluctuating prices have caused this safety stock building behaviour, Thai purchasing managers anticipated strong output growth and the importance of safety stock building. As a result, Ms Pan said the managers increased their quantity and stock of purchases in May for current production needs.
Passing the cost to clients
Speaking about higher production costs, Poon Panichpibool, markets strategist at Krungthai Bank, said that the cost-push shock to inflation is becoming more important.
"As the latest PMI showed, there is increasing price pressure from higher input costs and supply chain disruption," he said. "Some manufacturers might still pass on their costs to their customers. Hence, we could see more of an impact from higher input costs to final goods prices, which could raise overall inflation."
The cost-push shock to inflation phenomenon happens when the product price increase stems from the rising cost of wages and raw materials.
"If we see more companies pass on their costs to final goods, it could lead to a broad-based rise in prices, which should attract attention from the Bank of Thailand so we could expect to see the central bank provide more comments on that aspect," Mr Poon added.
The Bank of Thailand recently said it may revise its inflation forecast at its next monetary policy committee on June 8, given the state of the economy.
Meanwhile, S&P's Ms Pan said manufacturers reported in May that they had shared their higher cost burdens, stemming from rising raw material, shipping and transportation expenses, with clients.
Nonetheless, she said that the easing of Covid-19 disruptions in mainland China should bode well for Thailand's manufacturing production activities in the coming months. However, she added that companies must again take care to manage costs, supply chains and labour issues.
As for the region, Thailand's PMI May figure of 51.9 is in the same positive territory as Vietnam, though others are still struggling to recover, including Malaysia, the Philippines and Australia.


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Englewood, CO (March 12, 2018) – Elements Massage®, one of the fastest-growing therapeutic massage franchises in the nation, is pleased to announce it has entered into an agreement with the Cortiva Institute, the largest single supplier of massage therapy graduates in the country, to facilitate job interviews between recent Cortiva graduates and participating Elements Massage franchisees. With more than 240 studios systemwide, Elements Massage anticipates that participating studios will hire up to 2,500 new massage therapists in the coming year to accommodate for member growth across new and existing franchise studios. Collectively, Elements Massage franchise studios across the United States currently employ approximately 3,600 massage therapists.
The millennial generation spans more than 20 years, so generalizing how to reach this market is not recommended anymore than generalizing marketing to any other generation. Instead, you must segment this generation as you would any other.
It’s no secret that brands today are making a concerted effort to get in the good graces of a previously shunned generation — millennials. But why?
Renowned Massage Industry Expert Eric Stephenson Will Implement Culture and Education Programs for the Brand Nationwide
Englewood, Colo. (February 6, 2018) – Elements Massage®, one of the nation’s fastest growing therapeutic massage franchises, is pleased to announce the hiring of Eric Stephenson as the brand’s first-ever “Chief Wellness Officer.” Stephenson brings 20 years of massage industry experience to Elements, where he will work closely with the brand’s 240 plus studios to implement system-wide continuing education and culture programs.
“Elements is the first national massage franchise brand to create the role of Chief Wellness Officer,” said Jeremy Morgan, CEO of Elements Massage. “We created this role to demonstrate our commitment to building an industry-leading culture and creating a world-class experience for all Elements’ studio members and their massage therapists. We’re thrilled that Eric has joined our team. As a Licensed Massage Therapist, Eric’s industry experience will be invaluable as we continue to grow the Element’s brand.”
Previously, Stephenson was a co-founder of imassage, Inc., a Florida-based education and consulting company dedicated to improving the careers of massage therapists and spa practitioners through customized programs focused on preventing injury and workers’ compensation claims. In this role, Stephenson counseled some of the biggest names in the industry, including the Wynn/Encore Las Vegas, Kamalaya Thailand, Sandals Resorts and Spas, Grove Park Inn Asheville, Glen Ivy Hot Springs Spa and Starwood Hotels & Resorts. Concurrently, Stephenson also worked closely with Elements Massage to develop “The Elements Way,” a series of experiential standards implemented within studios that resulted in a best-in-class 2017 Net Promoter Score comparable to leading consumer brands like Apple, Amazon and the Ritz-Carlton.
Stephenson will bring his trademark leadership approach to Elements Massage, helping studios create best-in-class culture and guest experiences. “We will continue to strengthen our recognition of being the ‘Employer of Choice’ in the industry by focusing on massage therapists’ health and career longevity, continued education and interpersonal skills. We believe in supporting our franchisees in their efforts to take excellent care of their massage therapists, so, in turn, they will take excellent care of clients,” remarked Stephenson. “This personalized, customized approach to all aspects of massage is what sets Elements apart.”
In addition to Stephenson’s internal responsibilities, he will also serve as a spokesperson for the brand, providing commentary and research surrounding a multitude of topics reinforcing the health and wellness benefits of massage.
“Research shows that massage can be an integral piece of one’s wellness regime- alongside diet and exercise,” said Stephenson. “It is my mission to enlighten and educate others on all of the positive impacts massage can have on daily life.”
Stephenson also serves on the Board of Directors for the International Spa Association (ISPA). He has been instrumental in positioning massage as a viable career path worldwide and in emerging countries such as India, where he was recently a keynote presenter at the “Health Professions of India Conference.”
About Elements Massage®
Elements Massage® is one of the nation’s premier massage therapy brand, with more than 240 independently-owned and operated locations across the United States and Canada. Elements differentiates itself by providing consumers with a highly customized and therapeutic massage through its industry-leading membership program, the Elements Wellness Program™. Members at each studio benefit from a highly-rated massage service on a month-to-month basis. As a high growth franchise brand, Elements Therapeutic Massage, LLC offers franchise ownership opportunities in select territories across the country. To learn more about Elements Massage® and franchise ownership opportunities, visit www.elementsfranchise.com or call (720) 457-1336.
Tyler Rathjen -- Decibel Blue on Behalf of Elements Massage
As a personal trainer and the manager of a big-box health club for nearly five years, Mehboob (Boo) Sadikot, reached a point where he wanted to do something for himself and ultimately be his own boss. He managed the personal and group training and maintenance of the club and hit a wall with his career. Through his job at the time, Boo had a client who had gone through a horrible divorce and some equally challenging obstacles in life. Through training, motivation, diet, etc., Boo was able to help change his client’s life around. Fast forward a few months, the client won the lottery and the first thing he did, was help Boo open a Fitness Together studio.
October 24, 2017 // ENGLEWOOD, CO. – WellBiz Brands, Inc – the manager of health and wellness brands Elements Massage®, Fitness Together® and FIT36® - has announced the appointment of Joseph Luongo as executive chairman, effective immediately. With over 400 combined U.S. locations across the three brands, Luongo will be instrumental in accelerating growth for the Company. Jeff Jervik, who has served as President and Chairman since 2008, recently resigned from the Company.
Adam Passarelli, Vice President of Marketing at Elements Massage®, will share his insider tips to franchisors and franchisees alike at this year’s Franchise Consumer Marketing Conference, as a panelist in the expert session, “Lead Generation to Drive Revenue.” The conference is a must-attend event for marketing executives and marketing service providers that covers everything necessary to build your franchise business and utilize the latest technology on the market.
Highlands Ranch, Colo. (April X, 2017) – Jeff Jervik, chairman and CEO of WellBiz Brands, Inc. – the manager of health and wellness brands Elements Massage®, Fitness Together® and FIT36® - has announced the appointment of Jeremy Morgan as chief executive officer of the Elements Massage brand, and Trever Ackerman as chief marketing officer, leading the marketing efforts for all three franchise brands. With nearly 400 combined U.S. locations across the three brands and an aggressive, strategic growth plan, Morgan and Ackerman will be instrumental in taking WellBiz Brands, Inc. (WellBiz Brands) to the next level.
Elements Massage® (Elements) had another year of double digit growth with revenues up 21 percent in 2016. The Elements franchise system added 21 new studios and is projecting an additional 30 studio openings this year. Driving that growth is Elements’ commitment to providing the most personalized and customized therapeutic massage in the industry and it is the cornerstone of the brand’s marketing efforts in 2017. The Elements brand is being revitalized with a new look and theme called “Welcome to Youtopia.”
FIT36® franchise owner Lisa Petersen knows firsthand about the support provided by FIT36®. For more than eight years, Lisa Petersen has owned two franchise locations with another brand supported by the FIT36® management team: Fitness Together®. In Lisa’s words, “I’ve been in the organization since 2008; if the support weren’t great, I wouldn’t have purchased a second and third franchise!”
Why Franchising and Why Elements Massage™?
Carly’s husband owned his own business for many years and later became a franchise owner. Having been business owners both with and without the support of an established franchisor, they would never go into business on their own again. For Carly, the support that she receives is invaluable, and to have hundreds of other franchise owners to reach out to makes a world of difference.


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Tracy Morgan’s injuries in deadly crash were his fault, Wal-Mart says in response to lawsuit
Wal-Mart defended itself Monday against a lawsuit by former ‘SNL’ funnyman Tracy Morgan by filing papers that threw blame for his injuries back on him.
The comic created his own suffering by failing to wear a seat belt June 7, when the deadly crash occurred, Wal-Mart claimed.
Morgan, 45, had sued the retail giant in July in U.S. District Court in New Jersey.
He claimed Wal-Mart was negligent when a driver of one of its tractor-trailers rammed into Morgan’s limousine bus.
The wreck on the New Jersey Turnpike killed Morgan’s comedian friend Jimmy Mack, 62.
It also left the “30 Rock” star with a broken leg and broken ribs.
In its response Monday, Wal-Mart denied any responsibility for the auto accident — and said Morgan’s claim that the crash came from their negligence was bogus.
“Upon information and belief, plaintiffs’ injuries, if any, were caused, in whole or in part, by plaintiffs’ failure to properly wear an appropriate available seatbelt restraint device,” Wal-Mart’s court papers said.
Morgan failed to “exercise ordinary care in making use of available seatbelts … and acted unreasonably and in disregard of plaintiffs’ own best interests,” Wal-Mart alleged.
The retail giant also argued it didn’t owe any punitive damages to Morgan because he was negligent in failing to wear his seatbelt, as required by law.
Comedian Ardley Fuqua and Jeffrey and Krista Millea, who were passengers in the limo, were also named as plaintiffs in Morgan’s suit.
The truck driver, Kevin Roper, has pleaded not guilty to death by auto and other charges.
An attorney representing Morgan and the other plaintiffs hasn’t commented.
Authorities say the Georgia truck driver hadn’t slept for more than 24 hours before the crash.


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As per a report from Autocar, Allen Ko, the chairman of Kwang Yang Motor Co (KYMCO) announced that his company would enter the Indian market within three years.
KYMCO is a Taiwanese two-wheeler manufacturer and is the biggest in its home market. Their products primarily include scooters, big-capacity maxi-scooters, ATVs, apart from small-capacity motorcycles. The brand also has an international presence and is reportedly the fourth largest scooter company in Europe. The media site reports that Ko has visited the country a number of times and has interacted with the local two-wheeler players. The brand has been observing India’s market for nearly twenty years and has then decided on entering our shores.
At present KYMCO is looking to partner with a local player. However, the company is keen on entering the country within the stipulated time and will do so (as a standalone manufacturer) even if it does not find one. The brand at present does not have a clear roadmap of the portfolio, but expect more details as its deadline arrives. The company is reportedly looking to introduce premium electric vehicles and maxi-scooters.
The brand is open to the possibility of manufacturing products in the country but will do so only based on the market feasibility. In the UK market, KYMCO sells scooters ranging from 50 cc to 400 cc and a 125 cc motorcycle as well.
[Source: Autocar India]


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Billtrust Introduces Billtrust B2B Sales Index™
MARKETWATCH — Billtrust, the leading outsourced billing services provider, today announced its first release of the Billtrust B2B Sales Index™. The Index, to be published monthly, is an indicator of current and trending U.S. economic conditions, based on a reliable sampling of business-to-business invoice activity.
Currently serving more than 1,000 corporate customers that represent over 250 million transactions and over $200 billion in annual receivables, Billtrust is a pioneer in the fast-growing e-billing industry. Its menu of services spans a range of paper and online billing channels for the delivery and payment of invoices and statements.


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Rivenrock Capital has acquired educational toy manufacturer Small World Toys, after it filed for bankruptcy in August.
The new company’s CEO will be former president, John Nelson, who left the firm two years ago.
John Matisse will return as chief operating officer; David Adams will serve as CFO while Howard Bennett will take on the position of President. Eddy Goldwasser, who founded the firm 45 years ago, will serve as a consultant and board member.
Goldwasser said: “With this new entity, I’m proud to say the company is better capitalised than it ever has been in its history”.
The new team plans to re-establish itself in the industry.
Nelson said: “We know to succeed, we must deliver safe, innovative, specialty products when the customers need them. The faster we accomplish this objective, I believe the sooner we can regain the confidence of our customers and suppliers. If we can do that, we’ll regain respect and be back in the business of being successful again”.
The firm has continued to ship and deliver its products from China with the financial support from creditor Laurus Master Funds and supervision from Charles Moffit.
Nelson added: “In fact, we will be visiting factories in the next 30 days to strengthen our relationships with our strategic vendors and share with them our plans for the future”.


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Majority of Indians surveyed pliant to use of facial recognition tech
Over three-fourths of 1,000 people surveyed said they support the use of facial recognition for law enforcement, the survey by cybersecurity firm Nortonlifelock has said.
Fears about emergence of surveillance states are being expressed because of facial recognition attributes where cameras help establish the identity of a person through data bases and algorithms make subsequent profiling easier.The survey said 74 per cent of those surveyed are fine with the technology being used in schools and 69 per cent are fine with retailers deploying it, and added that nearly three-fourths believe the technology will improve products and services.
Public health concerns in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic have given usage of such a technology a legitimacy. Experts have called for withdrawal of any such technology after the pandemic ends.Over 80 per cent of those polled want businesses and the government to disclose "where or when" they resort to using facial recognition, the survey said.
Indians are more alarmed about their privacy than those in other countries, with selling of sensitive personal information to third parties and the personal information being exposed in a data breach and compromised by cyber criminals being the biggest concern areas, the survey found."While the report suggests Indian consumers are more concerned about the misuse of personal information, amongst those of other countries, it also reveals that they are complacent about sharing their data if they get something in return," the company's country director Ritesh Chopra said. Nearly 40 per cent of the respondents said they have experienced identity theft and ten per cent of them reported being impacted last year alone, it said. AA MRMR
(This story has not been edited by Business Insider and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed we subscribe to.)
- India now allows you to avail a discount on flight ticket if you are not carrying a check-in baggage
- Leader of Opposition, 4 other Cong MLAs suspended for rest of Budget session over alleged manhandling of Himachal Pradesh Governor. PTI DJI SMN ASH ASH
- Levi’s ad with global ambassador Deepika Padukone aims at inspiring a culture of sisterhood and celebrate individuality
- Property tax in Telangana can now be paid via WhatsApp
- Meesho's latest ad encourages women entrepreneurs to explore social commerce


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Android Car Dashboard Is Coming Courtesy Of Google And Fiat Chrysler
Vehicles have become part of the daily necessities of life. The same is true in terms of technology. Given this fact, the consumer demands for smart vehicles have steadily been on the rise. Android Auto is one of the infotainment systems that have a high demand and many consumers find themselves disappointed because the models they want do not offer the technology. Now, it appears that consumers have to worry no more as an Android car dashboard is coming thanks to Google and Fiat Chrysler.
The Dying Days Of Automaker Infotainment System
Given the rise in popularity of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, it appears that the built-in infotainment systems of different automakers are in their last days as reported by CNET. One of the reasons for this is because the Android Auto provides a more flexible option for users in terms of connectivity due to wider range of applications.
The Google And Chrysler Partnership
Fortune reported that the partnership between Google and Fiat Chrysler was just recently announced. It involves the two working on enabling the Chrysler 300 sedan to have a dashboard with an Android operating system for its infotainment. It was mentioned that this will be shown in the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
Why It Matters
The main purpose of the collaboration between the technology company and automaker is to make things more convenient for the consumers. "Google is committed to building Android as a turn-key automotive platform that integrates deeply with the vehicle in a safe and seamless way", said Patrick Brady, Director of Android Engineering at Google in a report. It was mentioned that the automaker also gains advantage in terms of keeping its customers happy.
A Concept For Now
Those that are interested to see what this partnership will bring can see things for themselves at the upcoming CES 2017. Given the fact that it is still a concept, consumers should not get their hopes up too high just yet. At this point, checking out what the concept really brings to the table first would be the wise thing to do.
HTC Will Build Another Flagship Phone, Even After Billion-Dollar Deal with Google
HTC is showing signs of revival with the announcement of $1.1 billion smartphone business deal with Google.
Google Replacing Defective Nexus 6Ps with Pixel XL for Free
Owners of defective Nexus 6P units in the US and Canada are now receiving Google Pixel XL as free replacement.
Google Pixel Users on Oreo Complain of Unexpected Mobile Data Shutdown
Google has acknowledged mobile data issues with Pixels running on Oreo update via its official product forums.
Google Announces Permanent Shut Down of Drive App for PC and Mac
Google Drive app gets its end of support date for December 11 and the end of life date for March 12, 2018.
Android O Launching Today As "Android Oreo," Suggests Leaked Image: How to Watch Livestream
Google is all set to release its next mobile operating system aka Android O today.
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