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ThirdEye Data Founder Dj Das Featured in New Conversational AI Survey Report
Consumers indicate distrust toward the abilities of conversational AI tools like Google Duplex, but that trust will likely build as usage increases, according to a new survey report.
Clutch, a B2B ratings and reviews firm, and Ciklum, a global digital solutions company, conducted a survey of more than 500 people to gauge consumer comfort level with conversational AI.
Dj Das, Founder and CEO of ThirdEye Data, provided expert commentary on the data.
Distrust of Conversational AI Follows Similar Pattern
The survey found that 73% of people are unlikely to trust conversational AI tools like Google Duplex to make simple calls for them correctly.
Initial distrust of new technology isn’t a new phenomenon, though. Das described how the public reacted similarly when ATMs were first introduced – and these are now widely used.
“When ATMs first came to this world, people were so scared,” Das said. “They didn’t trust ATMs. At that time, I was in India. We never went to the ATM because we didn’t trust it.”
The pattern was the same for another now commonplace technology – self-checkout lines.
“I remember when they were introducing it…” Das said. “Those cues would always be empty because nobody would actually go to that automated cue to checkout because they didn’t want to scan their own items … They didn’t know how to deal with it.”
Das explained how the technology must prove itself before it’s more widely trusted and adopted.
“Whenever a new technology comes in, people always have this aversion…” Das said. “Once they understand how the technology is going to help them, and that it can really make their lives better, then they’ll start to adopt it.”
Conversational AI Can Benefit Businesses
Conversational artificial intelligence can benefit businesses, especially once consumers overcome any initial distrust.
For example, Das believes that conversational AI will offer a new frontier for revolutionizing call center services.
“In the next 20 years, call centers will go away,” Das said. “These call centers will probably handle only level 2 or level 3 support. Everything else will be done by the AI systems.”
He elaborated: “You’d call in and an AI system will understand who you are, what you’re talking about, and what they can do. It can understand the tone of your voice. It can understand if you’re angry or if you’re okay.”
The technology still has a long way to go to successfully complete these types of complex responsibilities. Yet, Das is optimistic about the future of conversational AI: “A lot of things have come together at the right time and the right place to get this bubble of AI happening … Decades of hard work by many people around the world have led to today’s euphoria about AI.”
Conversational AI Can Pose Security Risks
Clutch and Ciklum’s survey reports explores the potential security risks of conversational AI, including how it can be used to automate increasingly personalized scam calls.
While robocalls can pester thousands of people at once, they are often recognizably robotic, limiting their effectiveness. A tool as human-like as Duplex could more effectively dupe unsuspecting victims out of their personal information, while maintaining the automation of a robocall.
Yet, Das is optimistic that regulations will keep up with potential cybersecurity risks: “Whenever a new technology comes, people don’t know how to handle it … That’s very common,” Das said. “As things mature, we’ll understand what’s what and we’ll come up with data privacy and security laws.”


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An Australian couple is such big fans of Costco they got married at one. 24/7 News reports Sue Berkely and Eli Bob tied the knot over the weekend at a Costco location in a Sydney suburb. The bride walked down the tire aisle to meet the groom, who was waiting in the food court. The store provided pizza, soft drinks and a huge Costco cake for the celebration, which drew 90 guests who paid ten dollars a piece to attend.
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People Tree, the sustainable and Fair Trade fashion brand, has teamed up with actress Emma Watson to create a capsule lifestyle collection aimed at a younger audience.
Fashion designer Jeff Banks, Burberry creative director Christopher Bailey and online shopping visionary Natalie Massenet are among the fashion names listed in this year’s Queen's Birthday Honours list.
New plans by the British government to make clothing more sustainable and less environmentally damaging has been criticised by one of the leading pioneers of fair-trade fashion for being superficial and lacking focus.
Former Topshop brand director Jane Shepherdson has today (28 January) struck a deal with Baugur to purchase fashion brand Whistles from its Mosaic Fashions subsidiary with immediate effect.
Jane Shepherdson, the former brand director of Topshop, is in talks with Icelandic investor Baugur to head its Whistles women’s wear chain according to UK media reports today (7 December).
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- Chinese firm to invest in Ethiopian textile plant
- Textile value chain making Africa more competitive
- US and EU apparel groups set out stance on TTIP
- Cambodia garment worker wage talks stagnate


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- 2 min read
Razorpay acquires lending firm TERA Finlabs; strengthens MSME play
TERA Finlabs is an Indian subsidiary of GAIN Credit, a UK digital lender launched in 2018.
BANGALORE: Razorpay, on Monday, announced its acquisition of TERA Finlabs, an AI-based risk tech SaaS platform, for an undisclosed amount. TERA Finlabs is a Bengaluru-based startup that provides technology, risk and capital solutions to enable financing solutions for businesses. TERA Finlabs is an Indian subsidiary of GAIN Credit, a UK digital lender launched in 2018.
Amidst the difficult last year, small businesses have struggled to arrange short-term funding to meet expenses, as their lenders have responded cautiously. During the lockdown, Razorpay has launched lending products such as Cash Advance and Credit solutions with instant settlements aiming to help SMEs solve cash flow problems.
TERA Finlabs has been providing customized credit products with the aim to make consumer loans affordable for customers and profitable for lenders. Razorpay Capital along with TERA Finlab’s technology capabilities will be able to service the credit needs of over 10,000 businesses in India by the next year.
Harshil Mathur, CEO and Co-Founder, Razorpay said in a statement, “In India, banks are wary of providing business loans to startups and new SMEs due to the risks attached to new revenue models of startups. Through Razorpay Capital, we have been striving to solve these cash flow challenges, making it easier for businesses to get finance and grow. And progressing in that journey, an acquisition such as this fits perfectly with our vision of developing tailor-made affordable credit solutions for the underbanked small businesses across industries so that they can digitally transform and disrupt. Together, we are looking forward to addressing newer working capital issues faced by MSMEs and soon create a major dent in the credit space in the next few years."
Pradeep Rathnam, Co-Founder and CEO, TERA Finlabs said in a statement, "MSMEs were an underserved market for a long time. However, in the last 16 months, they have started to show rapid growth with their adoption of digital. And this has created an opportunity for significant disruptions in the lending sector - Embedded Credit is one such innovation that I'm certain will transform this space. There couldn't have been a better time than now for us to join hands with Razorpay and its technological capabilities to support the MSME segment."
This marks Razorpay’s third acquisition and comes following its foray into the B2B SME lending space with the launch of Razorpay Capital in 2019.
Prior to this, Razorpay acquired Thirdwatch (an Artificial Intelligence-driven company that helps reduce Return-to-Origin (RTO) fraud losses in e-commerce) in 2018 and Opfin (a payroll management software company) in 2019.


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Icebox.com Put on Ice
Icebox executive co-founder Steve Sanford said the California-based company's fate was sealed earlier this week when workers were unable to secure an additional round of financing in the neighborhood of $10 million.
Over the past few months, the company had already trimmed its staff by 60 workers in a last-ditch effort to cut costs.
"We could have raised a small round of financing, but we didn't think it was appropriate to run the company for three or four more months and have to be back out raising even more money," Sanford said.
Icebox, which pumped an estimated $15 million into the company, joins a growing number of entertainment-laden sites that have watched their plans go up in flames recently. Much heralded start-ups Psuedo.com, Pop.com and Riffage.com have all closed their virtual doors over the past few months after burning through large caches of cash.
The company had been in business for 14 months and, all things considered, had been able to develop a loyal following among college students who immediately took to some of its animated short features, Sanford said.
Plans now call for the company to find a single buyer for its sizable library of that material.
"If we can't keep it intact, we have a lot of offers for specific properties," he said.
January marked the seventh month in a row that Internet-related layoffs increased from the previous month. In all, 13,000 dot-com layoffs were announced last month, compared with just 303 in January 2000, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., Chicago, an outplacement firm that tracks layoff notices.


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Erie police seek to ID man in hit-and-run accident
Erie police are attempting to identify a man accused of hitting a parked car outside of a Walmart store and fleeing from the accident scene on Friday afternoon.
The accident happened on Friday at about 12:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Walmart store at 2711 Elm St., when an unknown sport-utility vehicle hit a yellow Honda Civic that was parked, police said Monday. The Honda was heavily damaged, but there were no injuries, police said.
Anyone with information on the man is asked to call Erie police Sgt. Jeff Annunziata at 870-1419.


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ANZ Insights Report: COVID-19 Looking Beyond the Subsidies
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on New Zealand business. Government support packages have provided a buffer in the short term but there will continue to be a period of financial difficulty for many as they navigate through these challenges. Ongoing support will be needed as businesses find new ways of working.
This report explores some of the key market developments and models the potential earnings implications for some of New Zealand’s key sectors as we move beyond the period of government wage subsidy and business loan support.


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By Staff writer
Rashid Al Bloosh, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange CEO, said it will not have a significant impact on businesses and financial markets
The UAE will use the money generated from value-added tax (VAT) to launch new developments projects, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange chief executive officer has said.
The five percent consumer tax will be introduced in the UAE in early 2018 and will reflect positively on the economy and the government's financial stability.
“The proposed five percent VAT will be applied to consumption and not on savings or investments. It will not have a significant impact on businesses and financial markets," Emirates News Agency (WAM) quoted Rashid Al Blooshi as saying, without giving details on the development plans.
On Monday, Danny Sebright, president, Washington-based US-UAE Business Council said VAT will not have a significant impact on US trade, as the bilateral trade reached $26 billion in 2015.
A panel discussion on the implications of introducing VAT for businesses in the UAE will be organised by ADX and the Canadian Business Council-Abu Dhabi at Dusit Thani Hotel on November 23.


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In these times of the coronavirus ruling the state of the world economy, emerging entrepreneurs are facing an even harder start to their entrepreneurial journey than prior to the COVID19 outbreak.
$2 Billion Investment
The American venture capital firm Index Ventures have therefore at this crucial time announced a 2 billion dollar investment in new funds to support emerging entrepreneurs.
Referring to the corona crisis, Index Ventures writes in a blog post: "As we navigate these choppy waters, we are witnessing the emergence of a new generation of exceptional leaders who, by doing the right thing not only for their business, but for the people it touches, will inspire the long-term loyalty of colleagues, customers and others they work with."
Index Ventures Wanting to Play Their Part
A pandemic such as COVID19 will need gifted leaders and entrepreneurial minds to get society through the crisis and to the next generation.
Index Ventures understand the importance they play and stated along with their announcement of the 2 billion dollars in new funds:
"Innovation is often born out of adversity, and we have no doubt that the vision of future founders will be critical to the world’s social and economic recovery," Index Ventures wrote.
They added that they are proud to have raised 2 billion dollars in new funds to support this next generation of entrepreneurs.
"We recognise that the path to building a great company is rarely a straight line and has many obstacles and forks along the way. Those embarking on a new venture in the aftermath of this global crisis may face even greater challenges than their predecessors." Index Ventures writes.
"And so we remain as committed as ever to supporting these entrepreneurs with the backing of our limited partners."
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Lithuania Economic Outlook
According to available data, the economy posted the EU’s largest year-on-year contraction in Q1 2023, weakening sharply from Q4. Initial data suggests the deterioration was driven by falling output in the manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, transportation and storage, and real estate sectors. Additionally, Q1 merchandise exports fell for the first time since Q2 2020 amid the EU-wide economic lull. In the current quarter, our panelists expect brighter economic prospects, with GDP seen declining only marginally year on year. In April, inflation fell to a 14-month low, and consumer confidence strengthened to levels not seen since October 2021, boding well for private spending. Meanwhile, the downturn in the industrial sector softened in the same month, likely amid declining producer prices. Less positively, the ECB’s rate hike in May should further cap investment and spending.
In April, harmonized inflation moderated to an over one-year low of 13.3% (March: 15.2%) on cooling price pressures for food, and housing and utilities. Higher interest rates and softer domestic demand should sustain the disinflationary trend this year. Nevertheless, the average rate will remain firmly above the ECB’s 2.0% target. Energy prices are a key factor to watch.


text: Afternoon Coffee: DuPont Cuts Jobs Before Dow Chemical Merger, UPS Delivered On Time During Holiday Kaitlyn McAvoy - December 30, 2015 12:16 PM | Categories: Afternoon Coffee | Tags: General News DuPont is reportedly cutting 1,700 jobs in Delaware as preparation for its merger with Dow Chemical. DuPont CEO Ed Breen notified employees Dec. 29 of the layoffs. UPS was able to deliver holiday packages on time this year, reaching a 97-98% on-time delivery rate during the week of Christmas. FedEx, however, was delivering holiday packages late on Dec. 26. China fined seven major international shipping companies from Korea, Japan and Europe $65 million for price fixing. South Korea’s Eukor Car Carriers faces the largest single fine of $45 million. Shipping companies carrying commodities in large unpackaged amounts, or dry bulk, are expected to face a tough 2016, as demand for coal and iron ore from China falls and the number of vessels for hire rises. SIGN UP for the Spend Matters newsletter Dirty Rotten Spendrels Discuss this: Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment Name * Email * Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email.


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It may have seemed the show was over, but Apple TV+ has picked up more Mythic Quest, and the show is expected to return later
Tag: Ashly Burch
Mythic Quest is Back with New Teaser from Apple TV
Mythic Quest has come out to be a hidden gem in Apple TV’s programming library, and the show has been greenlit up to Season 4.
Horizon Forbidden West Allegedly Delayed to 2022
Guerilla Games’ Horizon Zero Dawn was one of the best reviewed PlayStation exclusives when it came out, and fans were teased Aloy’s next adventure with


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What devices will support iOS 13?
In late January of 2019 in the Network there was information that in iOS 13 Apple refuses to support a range of devices. This was reported by “trusted” sources of Israeli site The Verifier, and many Russian media presented it as almost official information. We immediately warned our readers that this information is most likely unsubstantiated. Now we understand the situation and learned exactly what to worry about the lack of support for iOS 13 users of most of the listed devices is not necessary.
What started the panic?
The Verifier wrote, citing “trusted” sources that support iOS 13 lose: iPhone 5s, iPhone 6/6 Plus, iPhone 6s/6s Plus, and iPhone SE, iPad mini 2/3, iPad Air, iPad Air 2 and iPod touch 6G. Quite the list of devices that are quite atypical for Apple.
This information is picked up by the media. Bona fide resources stressed that this is nothing more than a rumor. Most news sites have advised owners of these iPhone and iPad models to think about upgrading. And many users, of course, believed it.
IPhone 6s/SE have nothing to worry about
Usually, a company ceases to support iPhone and iPad in 5-6 years after their release. And every year support period, on the contrary, increases as more new models are equipped with more advanced features and work safely with the new firmware.
In this regard, the devices list from The Verifier, who allegedly will not be upgraded to iOS 13, is frankly embarrassing.
We have noticed other exclusives this resource. And this is what showed up.
1. April 2017. Exclusive: the iPhone 8 is connector Smart Connector as the iPad Pro
It does not appear even in the iPhone XS/XS Max.
2. March 2017. Exclusive: Siri in iOS 11 will be the integration in iMessage
“Sources” have stated that Siri will be able to analyze messages and provide smart answers to them. Yes, Apple has a patent that describes a technology, but a similar function is not even in iOS 12.
3. January 2017. Exclusive: group calls on FaceTime just appear in iOS 11
They only appeared in iOS 12.1. And before the announcement of iOS 11 of the possibility of group calls on the iPhone and iPad did not say just lazy.
In other words, even if The Verifier and there are some sources in Apple, they clearly do not share the most reliable information.
iOS 13: supported devices
At the moment the list of supported iOS devices 13 can only predict. If Apple will act in a familiar pattern of running updates, then iOS 13 not only gets the iPhone 5s, iPad Air, iPad mini 2 and iPad mini 3. All of these devices run on A7 chip, which was created almost six years ago.
What devices will support iOS 13
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone X
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone 6s
- iPhone 6s Plus
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus
- iPhone SE
- iPad Pro 12.9 inch (3rd generation)
- iPad Pro 12.9 inch (2nd gen)
- iPad Pro 12.9 inch (1st generation)
- iPad Pro 11 inch
- iPad Pro 10.5 inch
- iPad Pro 9.7 inch
- iPad 6th generation
- iPad 5th generation
- iPad Air 2
- iPad Air
- iPad mini 4
- iPod touch sixth generation
It is important to emphasize that this is not official information, but only the prediction based on a conventional scheme for Apple launch new versions of iOS. And while no change in the scheme from really reliable sources were not reported.


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Macy's latest layoffs, store closings won't hit Charlotte
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Macy’s Inc.'s (NYSE:M) plan to lay off 2,500 workers and close five underperforming stores spares its Charlotte locations.
The Cincinnati-based retailer said Wednesday it will close one store each in Arizona, Kansas, Missouri, New York and Utah by spring to save about $100 million a year. Closing sales will kick off in those locations on Jan. 13.
The Business Courier of Cincinnati, our sister publication, has a report on other organizational changes being made by the company.
Macy’s tempered the news of the closings by including already released information about eight new stores planned or under construction. Again, Charlotte wasn’t on that list.
Macy’s has three stores in the Charlotte area, located at Northlake Mall, Carolina Place mall and SouthPark mall. Overall, the retailer operates more than 800 stores in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam.
The announcements came the same day Macy’s said its comparable store sales for the holiday shopping season rose 4.3 percent from last year.
Jen Wilson coordinates the Charlotte Business Journal's online operations and social-media efforts, chronicles local events for CBJ Seen and takes photographs.
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A complaint unsealed by the Department of Justice on Thursday alleges a New York firm engineered a years-long scheme to deceive the U.S. government: selling Chinese manufactured cameras and other gear to the U.S. Military, the Department of Energy and other government agencies that it claimed were “Made in the U.S.A”.
In this week’s episode, #142: we continue our series on Life after Passwords: the Future of Online Identity as we are joined by Ophir Gaathon, the CEO of the firm Dust Identity.
Supply chain hacks like ME Docs and ASUS aren’t inevitable. In this Spotlight Podcast, sponsored by Trusted Computing Group, I speak with Dennis Mattoon, a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research and the Chairman of the Trusted Computing Group’s DICE Architectures Working Group* about how strong device identities for IoT endpoints can stop supply chain compromises.
The compromise of device maker Asus Live Update Utility is just the latest evidence that sophisticated attackers have software supply chains in the crosshairs.
Though the companies named in a blockbuster Bloomberg story have denied that China hacked into Supermicro hardware that shipped to Amazon, Apple and nearly 30 other firms, a recent demonstration at hacking conference in Germany proves the plausibility of the alleged hack.


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So, at this point it’s pretty safe to say touchscreen handsets are big. Like, really big. Every major mobile phone manufacturer is basically knee deep in touchscreens right now, or well on its way to being knee deep at least, and for good reason: everyone wants one. Of the major players in the handset game right now, Samsung and LG both jumped head first into the touchscreen trend over two years ago — for a while there it seemed like they forgot how to make a hardware button. It’s no mystery that touchscreens have been paying off for the manufacturers but this morning we learn Samsung and LG have each surpassed the 20 million mark where touchscreen device sales are concerned. In other words, each company is selling approximately 1.6 million touchscreen handsets per month. With people this hungry for touchscreens, those who have been slow to embrace them would be well served to jump on board; the global market for touchscreen smartphones is estimated to reach about 500 million by 2012. It’s anyone’s guess who the major touchscreen players will be by then but for the time being, it’s pretty safe to call South Korea the touchscreen capital of the world.
[Via Unwired View]
When we showed you some exclusive pics of the LG enV Touch aka Voyager 2 we didn’t know a whole lot about the Verizon-bound device. Don’t worry though, as some new details have now emerged thanks to a leaked Verizon Equipment Guide. The handset will sport dual WVGA touchscreen displays, a full-QWERTY keypad, stereo speakers, Bluetooth, microSDHC support and a 3.2 megapixel camera with not only auto-focus and flash but a Schneider-Kreuznach lens as well. The enV Touch will also feature a UI that is quite similar to its predecessor the Voyager in many ways, with one of the most notable improvements being the Shortcut Menu that stores up to 15 shortcuts. As for when the enV Touch will hit the shelves, it’s anyone’s guess at this point. The fact that it was left off of the latest Verizon rebate sheet that is in effect until June 4th however, probably isn’t too comforting for those who have their hopes set of landing this device ASAP. Hit the jump for a few more shots from the Equipment Guide.
A press release has yet to cross the wire, but a few of our eagle-eyed readers have sent us links to Rogers’ website which is now listing the LG Xenon. The Xenon becomes the latest addition to Rogers’ rapidly growing Quick Messaging line-up, which also includes the LG Neon, Samsung Gravity and Propel. The Xenon however, is arguably the pick of the pack as it features a 2.8-inch 240×400 resolution touchscreen display, sliding QWERTY keypad, 2 megapixel camera with video recording, Bluetooth 2.0, 80MB of internal memory, microSDHC support, an accelerometer and dual-band HSPA with quad-band EDGE connectivity. Not bad at all, especially given that the Xenon is going for $79.99 on contract and $279.99 contract-free.
LG’s popular GSM KP500 “Cookie” may be making its debut in the Asia Pacific region as the CDMA-toting KX500. Thus far, the GSM Cookie has been a huge success for LG — selling over 2 million handsets worldwide since its launch in October 2008 — and its extension into the CDMA market will only help to boost those sales figures. The CDMA2000 1x-compatible Cookie appears to be similar to the GSM version in terms of specifications with the same 3-inch touchscreen display, 3 megapixel camera, accelerometer, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and FM radio. It’s also compatible with Verizon Wireless and Sprint networks of course, though there’s currently no word on the handset being carried by either. According to retailer ePrice, the KX500 will be available by the end of May with a $276 price point.
[Via Unwired View]
Uh oh. The often accurate Carphone Warehouse has just updated its site to include the LG GD900, tagged as the GD900 Crystal, complete with an expected arrival time frame in mid-May. Yeah, we’re excited. While LG hasn’t yet announced an official release date for any region, we can only hope that other areas are slated for around the same — though we doubt any US availability would fall into that time frame. As you might recall from our brief but entrancing encounter with this sexy little piece of kit, the GD900 is the world’s first handset to feature an illuminated transparent keypad with multitouch gesture support. Coupled with LG’s new S-Class UI under a nice bright touchscreen display, we can’t get our hands on it quickly enough. Everything else — like the slim form and class-topping 8 megapixel camera — is just gravy.
Color us impressed. Projections put LG in a pretty fair place as Q1 was wrapping up and in the midst of a global recession spelling big trouble for just about everyone, the Korean electronics company turned in some pretty good numbers. Save for its business solutions division, every major area of LG’s business saw pretty impressive growth year over year. Kicking things off with the mobile division, LG’s handset shipments dropped 7 percent YoY (12 percent QoQ) to 22.6 million units but the company still managed to record $3.02 billion in sales — an increase of 16.8 percent YoY. The mobile division’s profits slid in at $181 million with a margin of 6 percent. Home entertainment sales rose an even more impressive 18.6 percent YoY and shipments rose a whopping 40 percent to 3,538,000 units. LG’s home appliance business also grew 16 percent YoY to $1.57 billion and its air conditioning division posted $900 million in sales, an 8.9 percent increase YoY. Business solutions, as mentioned above, was the only unit to report a decline with sales coming in at $780 million, a 6.6 percent drop YoY. All divisions accounted for, LG reported $9.12 billion in unaudited sales in the quarter — a 14.6 percent increase from Q1 2008 — and profit margin rose 2.8 percent QoQ to 3.5 percent. Results did dip a bit from Q4 2008, but solid year over year performance is hardly something to be scoffed at in this day and age. Golf claps, please.
Preliminary FCC documents covering the LG CF750 were first discovered back in October of last year, but it looks like some rummaging through newly-available additions to the filing has revealed some important new details. Namely, this North Americanized version of the LG Secret will indeed be making its way to AT&T. The presence of an AT&T-compatible 3G radio (850/1900 MHz) was a pretty good indicator that the handset was bound for the country’s largest GSM carrier and further digging has unearthed a draft of the user manual chocked full of AT&T references. Mentioning value-adds such as AT&T GPS, AT&T Music, Yellow Pages, MEdia Net and MEdia Mall doesn’t really leave much to the imagination. So, AT&T customers, expect to have another touchscreen option from LG coming your way soon.
[Via Phone Scoop]
Made slightly less impressive by earlier news this morning regarding Nokia’s reported claim of having shipped 13 million 5800 XMs 5310 XMs, LG has some news of its own today: 20 million QWERTY handsets sold worldwide. Considering the wide range of QWERTY handsets the company has produced over the years, the number 20 million might not seem overly staggering. What we find most impressive however, is LGs rate of growth when it comes to QWERTY sales. Have a look:
- 2005: 350,000 units sold
- 2006: 600,000 units sold
- 2007: 2.7 million units sold
- 2008: 12.7 million units sold
In other words, in the midst of the most severe economic downturn in decades, LG surged from nearly 3 million QWERTY handsets sold in 2007 to nearly 13 million handsets sold in 2008. Wow. There’s no question that a battle is taking place as far as handset trends are concerned. Design-wise, QWERTY and full touchscreen handsets are probably the two most desirable form factors right now; surprising perhaps, considering these two builds are on opposite ends of the spectrum. LG’s success with QWERTYs is good news for all you button lovers out there however… Despite the increasing numbers of new full touchscreen designs, don’t expect manufacturers to do away with buttons any time soon.
Released in Europe last month, the LG Arena is a handset that easily can get lost amongst the 6,472,891 other full touchscreen handsets spread throughout the show floor this year. While it doesn’t exactly fill any gaps in that realm, it does come with an admirable spec sheet and LG’s new S-Class UI, which is most certainly an upgrade from the company’s earlier efforts. We already saw a bit of LG’s revamped UI on our new phone-crush, the LG GD900, and we really do like it as a supplement for a true smartphone OS. In terms of functionality, it’s not quite what Motorola has achieved with the Evoke’s new Linux-based OS but what it lacks in go it certainly makes up for in show. Sort of. Regardless, the great look of the handset and UI along with the 5 megapixel camera, 3-inch WVGA display, FM transmitter, aGPS, Wi-Fi and the rest of the specs on this able handset will surely appeal to plenty of casual users. Hit the jump for more shots.
One of ninjas just came through with pics of LG’s update to the popular but oh so craptastic Voyager. The LG Voyager 2 (original, huh?) is obviously going to hit Verizon soon, and for an extra treat, we’ve got pictures of the handset with the LG EnV3 as well. We’re working on specs and release dates, so bear with us ok? In the meantime, hit the bounce to check out the rest of the shots!
Thanks, to my ninja #/1!


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Cadbury Schweppes’ decision to sell its soft-drinks brands outside
the US to Coca-Cola will allow the company to concentrate on its core
The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, will see Schweppes,
Dr Pepper, Canada Dry, Crush, plus UK brands including Kia-Ora and Oasis
move over to the cola giant in more than 120 countries from the middle
of next year. The pounds 1.12bn deal excludes South Africa and France,
pending Coca-Cola’s attempted acquisition of Orangina.
The deal has already thrown into question Cadbury Schweppes’ Sunkist
brand, which competes with Coca-Cola’s Fanta. Coke is keen to buy
Sunkist, although this is subject to agreement. However, it is not known
if Sunkist would survive as a sister brand to Fanta.
All 450 Schweppes employees are to be offered jobs with Coca-Cola.
However, approval may take months; if granted, Coca-Cola would then have
to decide how best to integrate managements.
Ad arrangements have not, as yet, been considered. Dr Pepper is handled
by the US office of Young & Rubicam and adapted to the UK. The agency
also creates ads for Schweppes. Last week, TBWA GGT Simons Palmer was
appointed to handle Oasis.
However, insiders are pointing to the fact that Coca-Cola likes to keep
its agency assignments within its roster of Lowe & Partners in New York,
Edge Creative, Publicis and Wieden & Kennedy.
The rationale is clear. Cadbury Schweppes’ pounds 56m trading profits
from drinks last year contributed 9% to the group’s profits. However,
the market share of beverages within Europe averages just 3%.
’Our market share outside the US is low. We do not have the critical
mass to set up the infrastructure for further development,’ said David
Kappler, Cadbury Schweppes’ finance director.
One of the problems has been the complex route to market.
Cadbury Schweppes sold its 51% stake in UK bottler Coca-Cola Schweppes
Beverages to Coke in February. Despite EU restrictions on CCSB to ensure
that Cadbury Schweppes could market through its distribution network,
the relationship has been fraught.
Of Cadbury Schweppes’ production, 33% is distributed by Coke bottlers,
29% by itself, 22% by independents and 16% by Pepsi.
Cadbury argues that the business is of greater value to Coca-Cola with
its distribution structure. It also offers Coke a portfolio of non-colas
’These agreements will allow Coca-Cola to participate in segments of the
beverage business where it currently does not have meaningful entries,’
said M. Douglas Ivester, Coca-Cola CEO.
Cadbury Schweppes argues that the deal lets it concentrate on its
European confectionery market and on its US beverages. Dr Pepper
Seven-Up (DPSU) is the third biggest soft-drink vendor with a 15% US
Although the company denied that it would eventually dispose of its US
business to become solely a food operation, it admitted that the shift
in emphasis across Europe may lead to a name change.
The agreement, which also puts non-US bottling operations up for sale
with a value of pounds 500m, gives Cadbury Schweppes the resources to
make acquisitions in confectionery - a market it perceives as offering
more opportunities in Europe than soft drinks.
’Expansion, development and acquisition lie more with the global
confectionery market, where there are more opportunities for
consolidation,’ said chief executive officer, John Sunderland.
Sir Dominic Cadbury added that certain family-owned confectionery brands
would find a natural home within the family culture of Cadbury
Such brands may include Ferrero Rocher.
The company also sees sugar confectionery as a growth market and is
concentrating on Trebor Allan in Canada - a major supplier to the US
UK BRANDS MOVING TO COKE
- Schweppes and Canada Dry Mixers.
- Dr Pepper.
- Malvern water.


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Casey Hudson rose to gaming fame through his work at BioWare. For 15 years he worked for a company that produced some of the industry's best-known titles such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, where he served as project director, and most recently, the Mass Effect series, which he also directed.
Despite the high profile position, Hudson left BioWare last August, but now he has a new employer. Microsoft hired Hudson as a creative director for Microsoft Studios, the company's gaming division.
Hudson explained that most of his efforts at his new job will be focused on the "creative direction of HoloLens Experiences," which means he'll have a heavy hand in not only creating some of the demos at events, but some of the content that will come from Microsoft when HoloLens is ready for the public. Additionally, Hudson will be working with other Xbox and Windows gaming titles by providing what he calls "clear direction and creative vision."
With this recent hiring, it's obvious that Microsoft is looking at providing more gaming-related content for HoloLens. What we saw at BUILD a few weeks ago wasn't exactly something that would delight gamers, but Hudson's experience in the industry could change that in the coming months. There could be some exclusive HoloLens content, just like some of Valve's demos with Vive at GDC, and even a slight possibility of HoloLens working with the Xbox One. Unfortunately, it's still too early in the process to see what's down the road for HoloLens.
What will be interesting to see is what happens to Hudson's role when HoloLens is launched. The fact that he works in Microsoft Studios will probably mean that he gets to dip his hand into multiple gaming projects other than HoloLens. Depending on its success, Hudson could be leading a team of developers in creating some very unique content for HoloLens.


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The Bitcoin-focused payments firm Strike recently made an announcement that it plans to expand its app from the current base of the United States, El Salvador, and Argentina to over 65 countries. Revealed at the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami Beach, Florida, the app expansion aims to provide global payment and remittance services to a broader audience. By utilizing both Bitcoin and Lightning – a secondary network that facilitates faster, more affordable bitcoin transactions – Strike aims to tap into a nearly 3 billion strong addressable market.
The expansion presents the potential for numerous benefits for users worldwide. Strike’s new user interface also enables users to hold funds in BTC and tether (USDT), providing increased versatility for digital asset management. “Our end goal is to address the 7 to 8 billion people in every single country,” said Manuela Rios, Strike’s vice president of product, in an interview with CoinDesk.
However, despite the ambitious plan for global expansion, integrating the app into new markets may pose several challenges. The varying regulatory environments within different countries could create obstacles for Strike, while potential skepticism from consumers may take time to overcome.
One of the essential aspects of the app, as mentioned by Rios, is its seamless onboarding experience. “If you are in the United States, the apps are gorgeous; there’s a really high bar for design,” Rios explained. “Unfortunately, that’s not the case when you download apps abroad.” This approach to the app’s user interface emphasizes the importance of striking a balance between function and design to ensure a user-friendly experience for customers around the world.
While Strike’s expansion plans may hold the promise of financial freedom and greater control over digital assets for global users, it is crucial to consider the potential downsides and risks associated with using the app. These factors include technological glitches, security vulnerabilities, and unforeseen regulatory challenges. Nevertheless, Strike’s vision of connecting people worldwide and providing accessible financial services hints at the continuous evolution of blockchain technology and its potential to transform traditional financial systems.
In conclusion, Strike’s plan to expand its app to more than 65 countries is an exciting prospect for the blockchain and cryptocurrency community. The move presents the potential to increase accessibility to payment services and foster control over digital assets for global users. However, understanding potential risks and challenges in adopting such a service is crucial. As the company heralds a new era in payments technology, the potential impact of this expansion on users, markets, and the broader financial sector remains to be seen.


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Well, to a point. Level 50 to be exact. Boy did some of us see this coming. After setting a free-to-play cap at level 15 earlier this year, EA has decided to extend it all the way to level 50 (or, most of the game), with the subscription system staying for those that want premium features:
This comes in light of EA’s recent admission that The Old Republic has fallen under 1 million subscribers with 40 percent of those leaving citing the subscription system as the reason.


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The rise of Starbucks as an international coffee corporation has also created a steep increase in customers. To efficiently identify orders while also creating a personalized environment, Starbucks resorts to writing names on cups.
This is not news. It’s also very well known that Starbucks often takes the cake when it comes to misspelling and misinterpreting names that we all thought were common.
Well, one Starbucks employee decided to raise the bar in a Florida location by writing “Diabetes Here I Come” on the label, as opposed to the customer’s name. The manager of the location said this behavior is not condoned and will be investigated.
Well, it turns out that the customer who received the cup actually has two family members who suffer from diabetes.
When the corporate office of the coffee chain found out about the incident, they sent an email that read, “We strive to provide an inclusive and positive experience for our customers, and we're disappointed to learn of this incident.”
Surely working as a barista isn’t a dream job for many, but when your job is to write someone’s name on a cup, then that is what you should be doing. Save the jokes for your SNL audition.
TRENDING IN NEWS


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For the first time in the country’s luxury car industry, Mercedes-Benz will set up a directly-run online platform that will cater to the entire gamut of used cars, new cars and collectibles for customers.
The company will start to sell used cars (October 2019) and new cars (from January 2020) on a new website, through a partnership with American online seller Roadster Inc.
Officials say the idea is to make ordering a car “as easy as ordering a book online.”
In addition to the Internet channel that will work with dealers for delivery, owners of Mercs made between 2007 and 2018 can also get their cars hooked on to the cloud – with the purchase of a recently-released adapter device that operates on bluetooth through their phones and syncs up with the cloud – which Mercedes-Benz retails.
These offerings will be part of a three-phase programme that will be introduced in a phased manner starting November and include more futuristic AI-driven add-ons specific to different cars that are launched.
Is the lead up to the connected car akin to a mobile phone on wheels?
Martin Schwenk, Mercedes-India’s managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) says that is one interpretation but that everything will be executed and rolled out in accordance with data privacy laws and governance.
Presently, all of Mercedes-Benz’s connected features in use worldwide are in compliance with European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws.
While several companies do offer degrees of internet connectivity via the cloud and to an owners’ mobile, the depths of features vary according to the carmaker concerned. So, another manufacturer may inform an owner about an accident with its latest SUV but Mercedes-Benz will go to the point of letting the owner know how many people were in the car, Schwenk says.
With the adapter that Mercedes-Benz is selling, owners will have access to at least 14 different services that include vehicle diagnostics, refuelling updates, roadside breakdown management, online appointment bookings and more. The company’s digital push for phase 1 (Mercedes Me Adapter) and phase 2 (Mercedes Me Connect) and phase 3 (MBUX/Hey Mercedes) will roll out in the next six months and offer features such as remote retrieval of vehicle status, parked vehicle locator and a virtual assistant (Hey Mercedes).
Mercedes-Benz India manufactures passenger luxury cars in Chakan, near Pune, at a factory which was set up in 2009, and the site also plays a key role in production for the company's network in Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
In India, the company sells cars across 94 outlets in 47 cities. Mercedes-Benz has led luxury car sales in India over the last four years, staying ahead of BMW India, Audi India and Jaguar with total sales of 15,538 units in 2018.
“If and when luxury car stores don’t have the traction they have had in the past, then an e-commerce channel is an enabler that could enhance awareness and bring in more customers, says Lalit Choudari, managing director of Infinity Cars.” He said that the hybrid model was becoming more accepted worldwide.


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Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and PSA Group merged under the Stellantis umbrella in early 2021 to achieve economies of scale, and this could lead to Dodge racing a rebadged Peugeot Hypercar in IMSA. Executives are debating whether to give Dodge its own version of Peugeot’s recently-unveiled 9×8 hypercar to race in America, according to a recent report.
“While we only heard [the new rules] confirmed a week ago, it has certainly led to some very open discussion, not only about whether Peugeot might add races in the United States, but also about whether the spine of this car might have opportunities with other brands in the Stellantis Group. There are no conclusions yet, but there are now open discussions,” affirmed Jean-Marc Finot, the Senior Vice President of Stellantis, in an interview with Racer.
On the surface, this means Peugeot could enter its 9X8 (pictured above) in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as soon as the 2023 season. While this is seemingly under consideration, Peugeot has little to gain from winning a major race in the United States. It hasn’t sold cars here since 1991, and its long-mooted comeback was canned after PSA merged with FCA. Giving a variant of the 9X8 to Dodge is a more credible possibility, according to Racer.


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Cryptocurrencies may not be at the top of the “to do” list for casualty insurance professionals and risk and benefits managers — but they should be on their list.
That’s primarily due to the increasing consumer and commercial demand for all things crypto, including payment tools like bitcoin, Ethereum and dogecoin, among others.
Case in point. According to a new survey of 1,500 U.S. adults by Survey Monkey, “a majority plan to buy more cryptocurrencies in the next three months.” Additionally, with Tesla’s recent announcement a $1.5 billion bitcoin purchase, and its intent to use cryptos as an acceptable form of payment, cryptocurrency is shifting into higher gear.
Read More from www.wbap.com


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While in-store buying continues to be popular – even with youth – the rapid growth of e-commerce and outsized influence of Amazon has wreaked havoc on many brick-and-mortar retailers. In fact, most public retailers are now averaging $325 in sales per square foot in recent years, according to CoStar and eMarketer, down from $375 in the early 2000s.
Nevertheless, some retailers continue to buck the trend and register some impressive sales-per-square-foot figures, according to the report.
Chief among those is Apple, which has enjoyed huge success from its brick-and-mortar stores. With its $5,546 in sales per square foot, Apple is more than 3 times more profitable on this measure than the leading apparel retailer, lululemon Athletica ($1,560 per square foot), which sees the 5th-largest sales per square foot.
It seems that Apple has been growing in those earnings: in 2015, eMarketer pegged its earnings at $5,009 per square foot.
Second on the list in this latest report is Generation Next Franchise Brands, perhaps known better for its Reis & Irvy frozen yogurt vending kiosks, which register $3,970 in sales per square foot.
Close behind, national gas station and convenience chain Murphy USA’s roughly 1,400 retail stores bring in an average of $3,721 per square foot.
Finally, Tiffany & Co. comes in 4th with sales of almost $3,000 ($2,951) per square foot, according to the report.
In other retail store news, a report from JLL [download page] reveals that apparel retailers have been the hardest hit, with 1,643 announced store closures. Apparel & Accessories also happens to be the top e-commerce product category, per comScore, with sustained online sales growth that have seen it reach 1 in 6 retail dollars spent online.
rue21 has announced the most store closures this year of any apparel retailer, per the JLL report, having disclosed that it will shutter 400 stores. The Limited is next with 250 stores closures, followed by Wet Seal (171) and Bebe (17).


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In California, the nation’s leading solar market, there were twelve Tesla roof systems connected to the grid as of May 31, all in Northern California, according to records from the state’s three investor-owned utilities. The cost per watt for those systems was listed at nearly $6, according to the records. That’s about double the national average for solar systems. Tesla began accepting $1,000 deposits from customers for the Solar Roofs in May 2017, seven months after it unveiled a prototype.
Tesla confirmed in a statement to Reuters that it has been seeking to improve on its production process for the solar roof at the New York plant, “We are steadily ramping corkscrew wine cufflinks | uk up Solar Roof production in Buffalo and are also continuing to iterate on the product design and production process,” the company said in the statement, “We plan to ramp production more toward the end of 2018.”, The company did not detail its current production and did not comment on its component purchases from partner Panasonic, which shares space in the factory and plans to produce Tesla solar panels and photovoltaic cells for the roofs..
Panasonic has been selling some of the solar panels it produces in Buffalo under its own brand instead of selling them to Tesla, Panasonic said in a statement. It has also been shipping a large volume of the photovoltaic cells it produces in Buffalo as samples to prospective buyers because of low demand from Tesla, according to the Panasonic employee and a former Tesla employee. Panasonic declined to comment on the shipments of cell samples to other customers but said in a statement that it has not yet completed sales to buyers other than Tesla or signed alternate supply deals.
“We believe Tesla will use Panasonic cells when it mass-markets the Solar Roof,” the company said in a statement, Some New York state lawmakers worry Tesla may fail to hold up its end of the bargain, The state provided $350 million to build the factory, along with $274.7 million for equipment corkscrew wine cufflinks | uk and $125.3 million “for additional specified scope costs,” according to a Tesla filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, The subsidy package requires Tesla to employ 1,460 people in Buffalo, including 500 at the plant, within two years of the facility’s completion, and to spend $5 billion in the state over a decade..
Empire State Development, the state’s economic development arm, is overseeing the agreement. The agency believes Tesla is currently meeting its obligations, said spokeswoman Pamm Lent, adding that the company would face penalties of $41.2 million a year if it falters. Republican New York state Assemblyman Ray Walter, who represents a district near the factory, said it concerned him that only a small portion of the plant appeared functional when he toured it in March. “After investing $750 million of taxpayer money, we want it to work out,” he said. “It just does not look like it’s heading down that path.”.
Tesla said in its statement that the facility now employs about 600 people and is on track to meet all of its commitments, None of the Tesla sources could provide a production figure for the solar roof, saying only that output was low and frequently interrupted, They said only the textured black version of the solar roof had been produced so far, one of four varieties Tesla is marketing, Several of the sources at the plant said Musk had never visited the site; Tesla declined to comment, Panasonic recently produced about 1,900 conventional 325-watt solar panels per day at the plant, meant to be sold under the Tesla brand, and about corkscrew wine cufflinks | uk 2,000 5.5-watt photovoltaic cells per day that were intended for the solar roof, according to two Panasonic sources, one who recently left the company..
That would put annualized production at about a quarter of Tesla’s target for the plant, which is 1 gigawatt per year by 2019. And Tesla isn’t buying most of the cells being produced, according to the Panasonic employee. “We have been entertaining outside customers,” the employee said. Tesla is also turning to other suppliers to deal with the aesthetic concerns, using cells from JA Solar because they reflect light differently, said a current Tesla employee and a former Tesla employee. The current employee said a similar Panasonic cell was now undergoing testing and would be used in future versions of the solar roof.
JA Solar declined to comment, Panasonic started cell production at the factory in February, but recently shut down manufacturing to install new equipment on its production lines, the Panasonic employee said, Full production will restart in September, the employee said, For now, wooden crates filled with unused equipment are sitting around the factory, according to the Panasonic employee and three other employees with knowledge of the plant operations, Some of that equipment has become obsolete over the corkscrew wine cufflinks | uk past couple of years as technology has changed, two of the workers said..
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text: Neumsy writes " IBM has offically announced that it is releasing Linux-Based Server, Software Packages. Yahoo! News has the story . According to IBM, this will expand the use of Linux. It's a good overview article. Not too much in depth, but still nice to see Linux getting out there more and more."


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‘I have a lot of hope’ for crypto, says world’s biggest podcaster Joe Rogan
Link copied to
Joe Rogan, American comedian, UFC commentator and host of the world’s most popular podcast, “has a lot of hope” for cryptocurrencies.
In the latest episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Rogan discussed the future of the nascent, disruptive crypto industry with Adam Curry, a fellow podcaster and somewhat polarising media personality in the United States.
Rogan indicated that cryptocurrencies could become a powerful financial tool and force for positive change, but also left open the possibility that the industry could “fall apart completely”.
Joe Rogan and Adam Curry talk crypto and NFTs pic.twitter.com/0l74FwCsMp
— Blazzord NFT⚡ (@BlazzordNFT) January 11, 2022
It’s not the first time Rogan has discussed crypto, or more specifically Bitcoin, on his podcast. In fact, he promoted his mate Jack Dorsey’s Bitcoin-as-payment-enabling Cash App last year and also reportedly accepted US$100,000 worth of Bitcoin in November as part-payment in a separate exclusive deal.
But his latest podcast appears to be the most in-depth he’s gone into the subject so far, which is significant for the crypto industry as Rogan’s podcast is the most popular on Spotify, with an estimated 11 million listeners.
“I have a lot of hope for cryptocurrencies, I really do,” said the popular podcaster. “I don’t know much about them, but Bitcoin and Ethereum seem to be the ones people talk the most.”
Envisioning only two possible scenarios for the future of crypto, he stated:
“It’s either going to fall apart completely, or we’re going to use this as an opportunity to right the ship and come up with a better way to live our lives. It’s going to be one or the other.”
Curry, meanwhile pointed to a “whole slew of young people opting out” of the traditional financial system and building “parallel systems and networks”, adding that he’s into Bitcoin because he believes his money is safer there.
“The money system is broken,” explained Curry. “It causes inflation; it causes misery; it causes wars because it is linked to oil.”
Rogan also touched on where he see NFTs (non-fungible tokens) heading, and their role within what he envisions being a “Silicon Valley-controlled” metaverse.
He said he thinks plenty of companies might look to launch their own digital collectibles as another means of obtaining their products.
“Apple could easily do that,” said Rogan. “It’s almost like another version of stocks or something.”
Curry, however, wasn’t so sure, instead seeing a crypto future revolving around CBDCs (central bank digital currencies):
“That’s not the plan…” he countered. “You will have crypto. You will have a digital wallet. It will be directly from the Federal Reserve to you. And there will be little retail banking – that just won’t happen anymore.”


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Conflicting reports confuse investors
NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers are starting to spend, but business owners aren't so sure their customers will keep coming back.
These conflicting signals confused investors, who first bought stocks and then sold them as the day progressed yesterday. It didn't help that there were fewer stock traders in the market as is common during the summer months, which led to lower-than-usual trading volume.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 2.71 points at 13,172.14. It was up as much as 53 points at midday. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 0.18 point to 1,403.93, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 5.54 points to 3,016.98.
Earlier, investors were energized by a surprise gain in retail sales in July. However, another report showed that U.S. companies weren't restocking their shelves or their warehouses fast enough, a signal that they believed shoppers weren't going to continue spending.


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It is a sign of the growing professionalism of the cargo bike sector that companies in the sector are now embracing possible European standards and regulations as a symbol of maturity.
The consumer segment was the fastest growing category until recently, but our 2020 market survey showed that growth in commercial sales now matches consumer sales across Europe. With strong support from the EU and governments in terms of both policy and financing the sector is targeting the category of light commercial vehicles for urban deliveries and services, a category that has been dominated by diesel powered vans until recently. This is part of a longer-term cultural shift in cargo bike sector moving away from its roots as a craft industry and into the mainstream of cycling and logistics businesses.
Until recently the only large-scale purchasers of delivery bikes were national postal services, using designs that would be familiar to a postman or delivery worker over 50 years ago. Now there is potential for larger scale take up in many service and delivery areas. But this explosion of interest in cargo bikes and cycle logistics services brings a need for consistency across the sector.
When the Swedish Government announced in 2017 that they had a €125million subsidy fund for e-bikes and cargo bikes the cycling world was delighted. What they didn’t see was the frantic phone calls when someone at the ministry said “how do you define a cargo bike, is there a standard?” in order to release the money. There wasn’t, so some rapid improvisation had to be done by the national associations.
Then there is our collective commitment to road safety. If there are going to be hundreds of thousands of cargo bikes on the streets, is there anything we need to do to reassure regulators and the public about our products? This was brought into sharp focus in 2018 when the cargo bike world was shocked by a story that flew round the internet that several Dutch children had been killed in a cargo bike accident. The story was corrected when it was found that the vehicle involved was an electrically powered child carrier called a Stint, but to this day Wikipedia still calls it a “cargo bike style” vehicle. The accident became a highly-charged political story in the Netherlands when the vehicles were banned and since then the Dutch government started reviewing the safety of related vehicles with a view to regulation. Add a whole layer of new machines such as step scooters, mono-wheels and hover boards and many more governments started complaining to the EU about lack of consistent regulations.
And as we move into a business cycle where more of our member companies are selling to commercial fleet managers they are no longer speaking to cargo bike enthusiasts and early adopters, they are talking to professionals who expect to get the same answers from suppliers that they get from automotive companies. “What’s the maximum loading?”; “What are the regulations?”; “What’s the maintenance regime?”; “What’s the safety record?”. They don’t care if a cargo bike has 2,3,4 wheels or how it compares to other cargo bikes, they want to compare it to fleets they already manage. Some companies can provide the information, but others have struggled, and none of them have a consistent format to use.
Which brings us to where we are now. Industry associations and companies in a few countries have started work on cargo bike standards in the last few years, but the need for a consistent European approach has really come together in 2020 under the umbrella of CIE’s partnership with the European Cycle Logistics Federation. With this umbrella view, coordinated by our joint Expert Group, we can see that there is little consistency in the national approaches, and even worse some of the proposals could seriously damage the growth of some cargo bike and commercial vehicle services.
In November 2020 the expert group made its first proposal on how cargo bikes could be regulated to an EU review of mobility devices, an achievement celebrated as a major milestone in the development of the sector. Together with the proposals were results of a comprehensive survey on cargo bikes in commercial use, the first of its kind at the international level. This showed that cargo bikes are possibly the safest bikes in the world, because after millions of kilometres of use in commercial fleets not a single fatal accident had been reported, and few injuries to riders or the public. That allowed the new proposals for cargo bike regulation to be compared confidently to bikes and e-bikes.
What the expert group proposes is three categories of cargo bikes.
The route forward for two of the classes is reaching wide agreement.
Class A are built around the smaller cargo bikes that have been on the market for the longest time and are most familiar in Europe. Used for private or commercial use they are very much part of the bicycle market and used for light commercial work and daily activities such as child carriage. The EU standards’ body CEN has agreed to work on EU standards for these bikes as part of their bicycle work programme.
Class C are the biggest and heaviest light commercial vehicles with pedal assistance, really competing with vans. They have a big advantage over vans in clean city access, but with weights over 800kg and loads up to 250cm wide they have to be built to higher specifications and could have higher power motors than the smaller bikes. This will lead them into the same regulatory category as mopeds and speed pedelecs, which means passing a process called Type Approval, normally for motorised vehicles. The only problem is that the existing type approval for this category is almost impossible for a bike to pass, so the main lobby task for the future will be to secure a process that works.
The challenging category falls in between. Commercial logistics and services companies need to know that the bikes can access city centres, can carry a wide variety of loads including pallets and that they can find a workforce who don’t have to be super athletes to move the bikes, especially in hilly cities. The CIE/ECLF analyses shows that proposed Class B cargo bikes can safely be covered by bicycle regulations and standards and that this approach will preserve access to cities. But some disagree, worried that the machines will be to wide, to slow or just too far removed from familiar bicycles and they would push the class B into Type Approval. There is now a detailed discussion going on inside and outside the industry to reach a compromise which will not jeopardise the potential for these bikes to transform cities, and build exciting business opportunities in manufacturing, sales and services.
There may be some disagreement, but what is so clear is the quality of the arguments, the emergence of well substantiated evidence and the commitment of a whole sector of companies working together in common interests. That is really exciting for all of us and promises well for the future.
To learn more about the CIE/ECLF Cargo Bike and Cycle Logistics Experts Group click here.
The work of the Expert Group is supported by the City Changer Cargo Bike Project (CCCB). Disclaimer on behalf of the CCCB project: This article reflects only the author’s view and the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.Share on Linkedin Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Subscribe to our newsletter


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Self-Publishing Movement Continues Strong Growth in U.S. says Bowker- 2012 ISBNs show nearly 60% more self-published works than in 2011
New Providence, NJ — October 9, 2013 — A new analysis of U.S. ISBN data by ProQuest affiliate Bowker reveals that the number of self-published titles in 2012 jumped to more than 391,000, up 59 percent over 2011 and 422 percent over 2007. Ebooks continue to gain on print, comprising 40 percent of the ISBNs that were self-published in 2012, up from just 11 percent in 2007.
“The most successful self-publishers don’t view themselves as writers only, but as business owners,” said Beat Barblan, Bowker Director of Identifier Services. “They invest in their businesses, hiring experts to fill skill gaps and that’s building a thriving new service infrastructure in publishing.”
The analysis shows the growing prominence of a handful of companies that offer publishing services to individual authors. More than 80 percent of self-published titles came to market with support from just eight companies, including Smashwords and CreateSpace. Continue reading Self-Publishing soars in 2012 – 60% more works than in 2011 according to Bowker
Received this via email today: Bowker released its annual report on U.S. print book publishing, compiled from its Books In Print® database. Based on preliminary figures from U.S. publishers, Bowker is projecting that despite the popularity of e-books, traditional U.S. print title output in 2010 increased 5%. Output of new titles and editions increased from 302,410 in 2009 to a projected 316,480 in 2010. The 5% increase comes on the heels of a 4% increase the previous year based on the final 2008-2009 figures.
The non-traditional sector continues its explosive growth, increasing 169% from 1,033,065 in 2009 to an amazing 2,776,260 in 2010. These books, marketed almost exclusively on the web, are largely on-demand titles produced by reprint houses specializing in public domain works and by presses catering to self-publishers and “micro-niche” publications. Continue reading Bowker study shows print is NOT dead
Making the Case for Digital Printing – Tools of Change Conference – Feb. 22, 1:30 – 3:30
Brian O’Leary and Ashley Gordon
This session was directed to publishers who are thinking about digital printing opportunities. The speakers were obviously pro-digital printing and provided many examples of the benefits of digital printing for publishers. But, libraries should take note. Digital printing could be a good source of revenue for libraries who have large digital collections. I particular like the idea of “chunking” and creating keepsake books from public domain material (discussed below). Consortia could purchase a POD machine and member libraries could use this for a variety of projects, just think of the number of digital collections in one consortia. What great revenue! The speakers discussed 3 overlapping segments in digital printing- digital printing vendors, onsite services, and author services
Digital printing is more than print on demand (POD). POD is a strategy in digital printing.
Content: Think in terms of content, not the physical book Continue reading Tools of Change – Making the Case for Digital Printing


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BMW confirms leaked images of M3 & M4 are real
Leaked pictures of next-generation BMW M models have circulated recently. Now, BMW M president Markus Flasch has confirmed that the pictures show the new M3 and the new M4. He acknowledged that the “the pictures didn’t leak on purpose,” but that they do show pre-production versions of the models.
It looks like the M3 will escape the polarizing big-mouth grill design that the M4 will feature. He also confirmed reports on the specifics of the cars, adding that “We haven’t officially confirmed it, but I can tell you we are very likely to offer rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, manual and automatic for both models.” While there’s still some time to wait for the new M models, we now know what they’ll look like.


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By Cara Waters
Miyo Fallshaw doesn't have plans to produce more runs of Oishi-m's clothing.
She's not bothered that some lines and sizes of the cult childrenswear brand sell out within minutes of release.
"Creating something magical and special, we thrive off that," the owner of Oishi-m says. "When the supply is less than the demand, it also increases the demand which makes us very, very different as a value proposition to a CottonOn or Kmart or Target or more mass-produced items. We love that our customers can feel unique and give expression to their styling."
Fallshaw started out just helping Oishi-m founder Fiona McPherson with marketing the business, established in 2006.
She joined as a co-owner when it was clear there was demand for Oishi-m's limited-edition clothes made from vintage and retro fabrics mixed with denim and cotton.
"Back in those days it was very much a blue, pinks and neutrals marketplace; there wasn't much that was quirky, fun, playful, colourful and bold," says Fallshaw.
A product with a difference meant the Australian designed and, largely, Australian made children's clothing line grew steadily to 18 mainly part-time and casual staff and a turnover of between $2 million and $3 million a year.
The exclusive nature of Oishi-m's small production runs creates so-called "unicorn" products in hot demand on various Oishi-m buy, swap and sell groups.
"I love it," says Fallshaw. "We have high resell value, and it's [being] in so much demand means that every little detail and the quality has to be there. Whilst it has been amazing to have such passionate customers, it has really kept us on our toes; there are such high expectations."
It's normal for customers to queue over night for Oishi-m's once-a-year samples sale, and a recent customer survey had more than 2000 respondents within a couple of hours.
"It was like an army coming at us with ideas and feedback," says Fallshaw. "It is very much a cult and we are very proud to have such passionate customers."
Surviving break-up day
All that passion can create pressure, and Fallshaw reached her limit a few years ago.
We don't want to be everywhere or everything to everyone.Miyo Fallshaw
"I was sitting in front of my computer for a lot of Christmas Eve and Christmas and realising this is ridiculous, this is a ball and chain around me," she says. "The whole point of having a business is giving me some flexibility, and this is not doing it."
Fallshaw and McPherson decided to close the wholesale arm of Oishi-m, allowing them to focus on one shop in Torquay as well as online sales.
"That led to break-up day," says Fallshaw. "We called all 100 of our retailers and broke up with them over the phone, which was incredibly hard as we had built great relationships and many of them were friends and peers."
As difficult as this was, Fallshaw says closing down Oishi-m's wholesale arm saved both her mental health and quite possibly the business as a whole.
"That was pre the global financial crisis," she says. "If we hadn't taken a stronger line then, it is quite possible we wouldn't have made it through that period where it was a bit touch and go."
A further break up came when Fallshaw bought McPherson out of Oishi-m last year as the business celebrated its 10-year anniversary.
"It was a bit of a milestone to reflect on the business and where we are and where we are going," Fallshaw says, "It was an opportunity for her, as she had been dabbling in women's wear up until then so it was a catalyst for her to exit the business."
Fallshaw is determined to keep on expanding the business, which now ships to 37 countries, while ensuring she is able to maintain some work/life balance.
That's where Oishi-m's limited production runs come into play again.


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$10,000 for an unopened iPhone
Yes, that's exactly what the organizer of the auction on eBay is asking for for a box with a brand new first-generation iPhone, popularly known as the iPhone 2G, iPhone Original or even iPhone GSM. 10 thousand dollars for the very first iPhone, introduced by Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, accompanied by an abundance of rumors and speculation, and became available for purchase on June 29 of the same year. No desire to acquire a piece of history for a modest amount?
The model for sale has 8 GB of memory on board and the box has never been opened. At least that's what the seller says:
Such "bazaar" cries attract the attention of the seller to his lot. So far this has not brought success and the lot has not received a single bid. So far, none. Who knows, maybe there will be a crazy buyer who will buy a rare device from a crazy seller for no less crazy money.
Do you think there will be a buyer for this old iPhone? Or maybe the buyer is already among us?


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Surfwear business Billabong International has bought Midlands-based boardsports retailer Two Seasons for an undisclosed sum.
Billabong International has bought the 13-store chain via one of its subsidiaries, GSM England Retail.
Two Seasons, which stocks brands such as Animal, Billabong, Roxy and Rip Curl, has written to suppliers to reassure them it is “business as usual” and said it would honour all spring 09 commitments.
Billabong said it would continue to develop the multi-brand format at Two Seasons and “stay true to the core” of the retailer’s concept.
Two Seasons offers men’s, women’s and kids’ wear, as well as accessories and boardsports equipment.
Its stores are located throughout the Midlands and East Anglia, including shops in Derby, Leicester and Cambridge.
Two Seasons said in a statement: “The sale will secure an exciting future for Two Seasons, delivering the capital structure, accelerated growth and shared vision to enable the business to enjoy continued multi-brand high street success throughout the UK and beyond.
Our understanding of the UK market combined with Billabong’s global expertise will provide an exceptional platform for growth.”
It is unclear whether any jobs have been affected but it is understood that Two Seasons’ senior management team, including Stuart Roberts, Adrian Flowers and Alun Roberts, will remain intact.


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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — As the pandemic continues, just 39% of Americans surveyed by Bankrate said they could comfortably cover an unexpected expense of $1,000.
Experts say they’re hopeful things will change for the better once the COVID-19 vaccine is widely distributed.
“If we get the virus under control fairly quickly I think things can return to normal fairly quickly,” said David Mitchell the director of Bureau of Economic Research at Missouri State University.
“And by that I mean people going out to eat at restaurants, traveling more.”
Mitchell says while some industries are doing well right now with the option of working from home it’s not the case for everyone.
“If the virus continues to become a problem then you’re going to continue to see this divergence where people who can not do work from home are going to continue to do poorly,” Mitchell said.
He says this is especially true as we see more restaurants, theatres and mom and pop shops closing their doors for good.
And while the pandemic is putting a financial strain on people, Mitchell says this is an on-going problem.
“Basically the high cost of living, budgeting, some things are a whole lot more expensive today than they were 20 to 30 years ago,” Mitchell said.
Business and economics professor at OTC, Dianna Parker, says with uncertainty consumers tend to save more money.
“There is a lot of inequality in that however it’s hard to save money if you spend everything you earn on necessities so a lot of the savings came from higher-income households,” Parker said.
Parker says the GDP is expected to grow about 3.8 percent this year.
That same survey also revealed that 44 percent say they expect their finances to improve this year, compared to 14% who expect it’ll get worse.


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The drug giant, which is the world's largest producer of AIDS treatments, is keen to protect Trizivir, a three-in-one combination pill, which has been identified by the US National Association of Boards of Pharmacy as particularly susceptible to counterfeiting.
Among other GSK products flagged by the association as prone to adulteration, counterfeiting or diversion are Combivir, Epivir, Retrovir, Ziagen - all HIV medicines - and Zofran, an anti-emetic used primarily for patients who experience nausea while undergoing chemotherapy.
After evaluating the packaging, packing lines and distribution networks of these drugs, GSK judged Trizivir to be the best candidate to assess RFID on.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked the pharmaceutical industry to develop standards and pilot processes for RFID that may lead in the next few years to broad adoption and use of the technology, yet its high costs make this prospect less likely.
"We believe the current costs will decline as reliance on RFID increases and we also believe that this technology has the potential to reduce costs in our supply chain," GSK spokeswoman Mary Anne Rhyne told In-PharmaTechnologist.com.
"The project has cost several million dollars."
The tags are placed on all bottles of Trizivir distributed in the US only and information from this trial will then determine the company's next steps.
GSK has worked with IBM to design and build the technology in the pilot program, which allows the firm to tag each bottle with a unique product code.
The code can be read by wholesalers and pharmacists with special scanners, allowing tight monitoring of drugs as they move through the supply chain.
This allows the manufacturers to more precisely account for medicine as it moves through the distribution chain and to authenticate medicine at the point of dispensing.
This trial follows in Pfizer's footsteps, which in January became the first pharmaceutical company to use RFID on a large scale by tagging shipments of Viagra, one of the world's most counterfeited medicines.
RFID tags have also been used on a smaller scale on opioid drugs, which are often targeted by criminals for diversion into the illegal market.
The FDA has reported that problems of counterfeit drugs are mounting and that in many countries, a quarter or even a half or more of the prescription drugs that people take are not legitimate products.
The governmental agency says that drugs for chronic conditions seem to be among the preferred targets of counterfeiters.
GSK is also looking at other measures, such as packaging design, to discourage counterfeit medicines.


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Yoba Frozen Yogurt launched on the right foot with the help of the Small Business Development Center at Wright State.
The center gave the yogurt shop, which opened in November in The Greene in Beavercreek, a free boost in the form of funding assistance and a revised business and marketing plan, according to owner Will Xue.
Yoba is one of hundreds of Dayton-area businesses that have received initial help or are back on a positive track because of the region’s Small Business Development Centers.
The SBDC at Wright State, run by the state and housed in Wright State University’s Raj Soin College of Business, is the most productive center of its kind in Ohio. The center, one of 40 total in the state, received the 2010 Ohio SBDC Productivity Award from the state of Ohio.
The Wright State location is one of four SBDC offices in the Southwest Ohio region, which is the most productive region among 11 regions in the state.
The Dayton region’s three other offices are located downtown at Tech Town, on Edison Street and in Springfield.
As a region, the local SBDC offices have assisted businesses in receiving more than $2.7 million in funding during this year’s first quarter, which ended March 31.
At the Small Business Development Center at Wright State, Director Earl Gregorich aims to accelerate the Dayton region’s economy by helping people start, sustain and grow their businesses. The center’s two-person staff also includes graduate student Tiffani Voisard.
Nearly all of the center’s services, from small business consulting to training classes, are free. The center is funded by the Small Business Administration and the state of Ohio.
SBDC helps businesses across industries — from startups to seasoned companies — that have gone stagnant or hit a wall.
“We not only grow and sustain businesses, but we create and sustain jobs,” Gregorich said.
Programs include how to launch a business and tips for writing a business plan, as well as one-on-one business counseling, financial analysis and marketing, accounting and legal training. The SBDC also has specialized resources, such as help from industry experts, Wright State student groups and graduate assistant researchers.
And the U.S. government’s Jobs Act Funding has allowed the center to expand those programs further. These latest programs are:
• Veteran Entrepreneurial Training Program;
• Ultralight Business Support; and
• Faith-based and Nonprofit Organization Strategic and Marketing Planning.
The center offers many of its programs as a different class each week. Class sizes range from 10 to 100 people and are held on Wright State’s campus. Typically, Gregorich strives to keep the class sizes between 10 to 15 people for maximum benefit for attendees.
“When you have a small roundtable of people, they share more and not only learn from the class but learn from each other,” Gregorich said.
The center does not have a marketing budget, so Gregorich spreads the word through free speaking events at Dayton-area organizations and through its Web site, sbdcwsu.org.
Prior to the recession, 65 percent of small businesses the center helped were existing companies and 35 percent were startup operations. Since the economic downturn, the ratio of existing businesses and startups is 50/50, Gregorich said.
Mass layoffs and limited job availability sparked many to start their own business — and they needed help.
Gregorich – a small business owner himself — can work with those business owners, as well as veteran company leaders, on a one-on-one basis.
For a startup, he strategizes with the future business owner on what company ideas would be the best pursuit for the individual. Then he works with them to write a business plan to potentially gain funding for the company’s launch.
For Yoba Frozen Yogurt, Gregorich worked with Xue on revising his business plan that helped gain a line of credit at a bank for the company.
Now, with the competition of Yogurt Mountain, also in The Greene, recently opening, Xue is getting a helping hand from a group of Wright State students to improve Yoba’s marketing plan. Previously, Xue has spent little on marketing and focused solely on advertising through social media sites such as Facebook and FourSquare.
He hopes the students, which will present a new marketing plan to him in June, will help boost his sales enough to expand his business to more locations in the Dayton region this summer and throughout Ohio in the future.
When a seasoned business owner comes to the SBDC with a problem at his or her company, Gregorich first focuses the discussion on what the company has been doing to make ends meet.
Then they strategize on how to get the business on a positive path toward an ultimate goal.
“A lot of times the problem is they don’t have an end-all goal,” Gregorich said.
He helps them get beyond the day-to-day rut by comparing their business to another similar business. He analyzes the struggling business’ past three years of financial data, compares it to a similar company and offers changes the business owner can make to get back on track. This can include changing its marketing strategy or increasing or decreasing inventory.
If the center does not have the resources to help the company, the business owner is referred to three industry experts.
Gregorich recommends struggling business owners or those looking to start a company call the center for an assessment or attend a class to get the ball rolling on a better or future business.
Nearly 100 percent of business owners who have requested funding through the center have landed it, ranging from $25,000 to $500,000.
“We have had more successes than we have had failures,” Gregorich said.


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Cuba reassures with plans for cooperatives to start at year-end
By Peter Orsi, AP
July 25, 2012, 12:13 am TWN
HAVANA--Cuba's economy czar said Monday that plans are in place to begin an experimental phase of non-state cooperatives in sectors ranging from food services to transportation by the end of the year.
While cooperative farming has already begun, Cubans have been waiting for regulations allowing them to form worker-owned co-ops in other sectors. The pilot program announced by Marino Murillo in a session of Cuba's parliament will include 222 cooperatives.
The creation of midsize cooperatives is a long-promised lynchpin of President Raul Castro's economic reforms, and Cuba's economy czar promised state support to jump-start the pilot program. Murillo said some will be converted state-run enterprises, and co-ops will be given preference over private single-owner businesses.
"For these cooperatives and the non-state entities, in the coming year US$100 million is being budgeted which is the financing necessary so they can be assured production, because if we create them and there is no financing, they won't work," Murillo told laawmakers in one of the parliament's twice-a-year sessions.
He also reiterated that Cuba must also make its state-run enterprises more efficient and productive, since they will continue to dominate.
"The most important part of our economy will be the socialist state enterprise," Murillo said. "Don't think that all of a sudden the private-sector workers will generate US$40 billion, US$50 billion in GDP."
Castro's five-year plan to overhaul the economy has already legalized the sale of homes and cars and swelled the ranks of private-sector entrepreneurs by a quarter-million since 2010.
Nearly all are small mom-and-pop shops, however, the likes of restaurants, cell-phone repair shops and jewelers.
Cuba insists that the reforms are not are not a wholesale embrace of capitalism but rather an "updating" of the nation's socialist model, and most key sectors will remain under government control.
Other than a statute on taxation, no new laws were announced Monday. Foreign journalists were not allowed access to the session of the National Assembly, but state television aired Murillo's speech in the evening.
For islanders wondering whether the assembly would take action on long-promised reform of travel restrictions, it was another disappointment.
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What makes this issue even worse is the fact that the hackers were able to breach the system in exactly the same way they did three months ago. They used a technique known as Credential Stuffing.
It’s not a sophisticated form of attack, but it is surprisingly effective. Basically, hackers will take combinations of user names and passwords gleaned from other data breaches and try them to see if any work on other sites.
It’s effective, because to this day, a shocking percentage of people use the same password across multiple web properties. That’s even if their user names vary slightly. Unfortunately, when a hacker gains access to a DD Perks account, he or she can see all the details of that user’s profile, which include the user’s first name, last name, email address, and their DD Perks account code.
While that’s not enough on its own to steal someone’s identity, the information certainly has value on the Dark Web, and is probably being sold there as you’re reading these words. Of course, it also allows the hackers, or anyone who buys the account information, to start using the victim’s hard-earned DD Perks points, getting freebies for themselves and denying them to the rightful account holder.
A Dunkin’ Donuts spokesman had this to say about the matter: “Dunkin’ continues to work aggressively in combatting credential stuffing attacks, which have become increasingly prevalent across the retail industry given the massive volume of stolen credentials now widely available online.”
The spokesman reiterated that this was not a breach of the company’s system, but of course, that’s small consolation to those who have had their accounts compromised.


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When it’s time to select a faucet or plumbing fixture for your kitchen or bathroom remodeling project, master bathroom renovation or new custom built home, make certain that it makes sense – WaterSense that is.
WaterSense is a program pioneered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2006 to encourage manufacturing innovations that promote water efficiency. Products and services that earn the WaterSense label have been certified to be at least 20% more efficient than conventional products without sacrificing performance.
Recently, two leading manufacturers were honored with 2013 WaterSense awards. Delta Faucet Company was named WaterSense Partner of the Year while Kohler Co. captured the inaugural WaterSense Sustained Excellence Award. Kohler, which has won many WaterSense awards, has made a concerted effort to increase the efficiency of the majority of its toilets, bathroom faucets, urinals and many of its showerheads. They also pioneered innovative ways to promote water efficiency across their social media channels. Delta, which also was a past award recipient, scored kudos for ensuring that every one of its bathroom collections offered a faucet and showerhead that met the EPA’s efficiency and performance criteria. It also launched a new line of WaterSense labeled toilets.
What does this mean for the average consumer? Aside from the good you’ll do by selecting a more efficient fixture for your remodeling or renovation project or new custom built home, you can also save your family some cold hard cash. The EPA notes that simply twisting on a WaterSense labeled aerator and upgrading to a WaterSense labeled faucet could save the average household 11,000 gallons of water over the life of the faucet. (That’s enough water to do an astonishing 308 loads of laundry and is approaching the 12,000 gallons that the average family of four uses each and every month!) So while you’re considering the fit and finish of your next faucet, take a minute to check its efficiency; you’ll ultimately be glad that you did!


text: Mitsubishi has confirmed that it is working on a new rear-wheel-drive, entry-level model for sale in world markets, including Europe.President Osamu Masuko said the new car, due by the end of 2010 and expected to challenge the Smart ForTwo and Toyota iQ, will conform to Japan’s strict Kei jidosha (K-car) regulations. That means it will be no longer than 3400mm and no wider than 1480mm. The new microcar, which is expected to follow the example laid down by the larger Mitsubishi i by using a rear-mounted engine, will get a 63bhp, 660cc, three-cylinder petrol engine for the domestic Japanese market. K-car regulations stipulate engines no larger than 660cc and no more powerful than 64bhp.However, export versions are likely to receive the same 1000cc, three-cylinder unit that Mitsubishi supplies to Smart for the ForTwo in 61bhp, 74bhp, 84bhp and 98bhp formats. There’s no word yet on a diesel option, but the car could yet use the ForTwo’s 45bhp, 800cc, three-cylinder oil-burner.


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Pot industry putting food farmland under pressure
Published Friday, October 26, 2018 4:33PM PDT
Last Updated Friday, October 26, 2018 6:26PM PDT
Many farmers in B.C.'s Lower Mainland are looking to cash in on the budding cannabis industry by swapping out traditional crops for legal marijuana.
While legalization could benefit those struggling to earn a living, it raises concerns that too much farmland is going green.
Michael DeGiglio, CEO of Village Farms in Delta, is among those planting pot.
"Cannabis is just another crop for us, and it is a more lucrative crop," he told CTV News Friday.
He said the agriculture business is challenging when produce being shipped north is often cheaper.
"It's really the pricing pressure out of Mexico," he said, so his company looked to diversify.
"We've only shifted 10 per cent of the assets we own into cannabis and we'll see if we're doing to make further expansions going forward."
He says the returns from pot products are 10 times as great as from other crops.
"We used to do north of 20 per cent on tomatoes. We're down to about five or six, and cannabis at these prices are closer to 50 per cent," DeGiglio said.
But it might not be great for everyone. Outgoing Delta mayor Lois Jackson said she's concerned about use of designated farmland.
"If we take all our best land, and Delta is some of the best we have in this province, and we turn it into recreational pot growing that takes away from our ability to grow food," she said.
And it's not an issue isolated to B.C.
"It just makes our agricultural economy a bit more vulnerable from a food security perspective," said Dalhousie University's Sylvain Charlebois, a professor in food distribution and policy.
According to Statistics Canada, grocery prices are trending up over the past several years, so leaning on Mexico and the U.S. for produce could mean spending more at the till.
"The other bump we may see within the next 12 months is the arrival of edibles," he said.
Charlebois says demand could climb, but those in the business are cautious.
"I think it's going to taper off more so than increase," DeGiglio said.
"I think the train left the station, because we can see as companies start to execute over the next few years on their plan of production, we will get to a point of capacity meeting supply."
With a report from CTV Vancouver's Allison Hurst