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2020 Nissan Frontier pickup goes on sale in July with a starting price of $26,790USD. Available in King Cab, Crew Cab Short Wheelbase and Crew Cab Long Wheelbase body designs and a choice of 4x2 and 4x4 drive configuration.
All 2020 Frontier models feature a revised 3.8-liter V6 unit and a 9-speed gearbox. This particular engine develops a total of 310hp, which marks an increase of 49hp over the previous V6, while also providing improved fuel efficiency and emission performance. As it comes to the transmission,
The contemporary design concept for new vehicles includes a large and bulky tablet-like digital screens that are placed somewhere on the dashboard. Although such super-sized displays may grab attention and are designed to be easy to use, Nissan team has decided to try something new – in order to retain the balance in the design and technology, brand’s engineers and designers try out something new. Let’s find out what!
For its Ariya Conce
Leading consumer advocate J.D. Power has recognized Nissan LEAF and Nissan Frontier with top honors in their 2020 US Vehicle Dependability StudySM (VDS).
The three-year-in-service study surveyed owners about their 2017 model year vehicles, with a lower score reflecting fewer issues per machine.
As expected, Nissan LEAF was ranked as the top-performing non-premium vehicle and at the top of the compact car segment with a score of 83 problems
Kelley Blue Book has awarded Nissan LEAF as the best electric car in its “5-Year Cost to Own Awards” for the third consecutive year. As you might know, the award recognizes vehicles in each segment for their appealing price-to-value ratio over a period of five years.
The awards, based on Kelley Blue Book’s ext
Nissan team has revealed the 2020 Frontier model lineup, which features a new and more powerful 3.8-liter direct-injection V6 engine and a revised 9-speed automatic gearbox - both of which will be vital for the upcoming model generations.
2020 Frontier, which marks the last model year of the current generation, will also feature best-in-class horsepower output, alongside enhanced fuel efficiency and emission reduction. 2020 Frontier is expecte
Nissan has unveiled an updated version of its most capable Navara yet – the OFF-ROADER AT32. Based on the previous limited editions, a new family member has been manufactured to be the more efficient and more agile machine in any off-road situation.
Created through an ongoing partnership between Nissan and world-famous Icelandic off-road experts, Arctic Trucks, the updated Navara OFF-ROADER AT32 comes with a full underbody shield that has be
Nissan LEAF remains one of the best-selling electric vehicles of all time with more than 440,000 global sales. And now for 2020 model year, the prominent brand reveals a new version of the LEAF, with added safety and convenience features including standard Nissan Safety Shield 360 technology. Furthermore, new models fe
Nissan is elevating the performance capability of electric vehicles with its new twin-motor AWD control technology called e-4ORCE. The technology ensures instant torque to all four wheels and ensures balanced and predictable power and handling on par with numerous premium sports cars.
The “e” represents Nissan’s technologies enabled by a 100 per cent electric motor drive system. “4ORCE”, pronounced “force” evokes physical power and energy with the “4” standing for the AWD control driving capabi
Nissan announces details about the all-new 2020 Sentra, which goes on sale on January 28, 2020 at Nissan dealers worldwide. The new family member represents a breakthrough for Nissan’s popular compact sedan – with its appealing exterior design, comprehensive suite of advanced driving technologies and next-gen safet
2020 Nissan Kicks compact SUV is on sale at brand’s dealers worldwide with a pretty comfortable starting price - $18,870. The front-wheel-drive Kicks is available in three trim levels – S, SV, and SR. Let’s check out more, shall we?
This compact SUV is designed in order to fit the needs of singles or couples looking for expressive styling, advanced technologies, and comprehensive safety features.
For the 2020 model year, Kicks comes with Nissan Safety Shield 360 technology and incorp
Nissan announced US pricing for the newly redesigned 2020 Rogue Sport, which is already on sale at Nissan dealers worldwide. 2020 Rogue is available in three well-equipped grade levels S, SV and SL, each coming with a front-wheel drive and Intelligent All-Wheel Drive configurations.
Slotted between Nissan Kicks and Rogue, Rogue Sport is a key vehicle in the CUV lineup. Vehicle’s most notable features include revised exterior design and entirely new front-end appearance, along with revised rear tail lamps.
On the eve of the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show, Nissan unveiled its all-new 2020 Nissan Sentra model. The new addition to the lineup, which goes on sale in late January, transforms the storied nameplate into a head-turning compact sedan with numerous upgrades, cutting-edge technologies and seamless connectivity and perfo
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P&G recalls 2 Pringles flavors
Cheeseburger and "Taco Night" flavors pulled back amid salmonella fears
March 9, 2010 3:06AM (UTC)
Procter & Gamble Co. has recalled two versions of Pringles chips because of concerns about potential Salmonella exposure.
The Cincinnati-based consumer products maker says the Cheeseburger and "Taco Night" versions of the snack are being recalled. The company is offering replacement coupons or refunds.
P&G says the two varieties represent only one-half of 1 percent of Pringles U.S volume. The company says there have been no reports of illnesses.
P&G is the latest company to recall products with flavor-enhancing hydrolyzed vegetable protein made by Las Vegas-based Basic Food Flavors Inc.
Federal authorities say Salmonella, an organism that can cause serious infections in young children and others with weakened immune systems, was found on Basic Food's processing equipment.
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Fairies and maypoles will flank Burton Drive in Cambria’s East Village Saturday, April 28, as Heart’s Ease Herb Shop and Gardens and the Cambria Historical Museum renew annual celebrations of spring.
The 18th annual Faerie Festival runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Heart’s Ease, 4101 Burton Drive. The festival features storytelling with Susan Pendergast, crafts, food, music, magic. For details, call 927-5224 or go to www.heartseaseshop.com.
The May Day celebration starts at noon, also at the corner of Center Street and Burton Drive. Maypole dances start at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. The public is welcome to watch or take part.
The museum and book store will be open as usual, and a special sale of heirloom plants raised on site will be available for purchase.
For details, call 927-1442 or go to www.cambriahistoricalsociety.com.
Both events are free, with some items available for purchase — including root beer floats offered by the Native Daughters of the Golden West at the museum.


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Hyundai Kona Electric
Hyundai’s electric SUV makes a strong first impression but doesn’t come cheap.
Hyundai has revealed its new cut-price Venue SUV and is daring customers to make the jump from city car to high-rider.
Starting at $19,990 before on-road costs, the Venue drastically undercuts rivals. The Korean brand will launch a three-tier range with base Go grade, mid-spec Active and, topping out at $25,490, Elite.
The Venue will sit under the brand’s current entry-level Kona SUV. It is a similar size to other SUVs based on city cars such as the Mazda CX-3 and Ford EcoSport, which each start at about $23,000.
It is also much smaller than other compact SUVs, such as the Honda HR-V and Toyota C-HR.
Even at the bargain entry point, buyers get access to vital safety equipment as standard, including autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane keep assist, rear view camera, cruise control and driver fatigue warning.
Higher spec models add parking distance warning, blind spot detection and rear cross traffic alert.
Younger buyers will appreciate the eight-inch display compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The smartphone apps enable access to phone maps and music apps usually banned for those not holding a full licence.
Go versions get 15-inch steel wheels, while Active and Elite score more glamorous 15 and 17-inch alloys respectively.
Hyundai Australia chief JW Lee believes the Venue has a competitive advantage.
“The new Venue is ahead of the curve, offering customers a high level of value in a practical and well-equipped compact SUV,” says Lee.
He says the Venue “combines the rugged looks and practical benefits of an SUV and a light car, with advanced safety technology at an attractive price point”.
All versions are front-drive, with power coming from a 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine (90kW/151Nm). Transmission options are six-speed manual or, for another $2000, six-speed auto (the Elite is auto-only).
Premium paint adds $495. The Venue is due in showrooms later this month.


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Ford issued a recall for nearly 2.2 million vehicles in the U.S. from model years 2011 to 2016 to replace faulty door latches, which can become unlatched while driving.
The recall, involving numerous models of Ford and Lincoln sedans, crossovers, and vans, covers vehicles that were recalled in 2015 and 2016 for the same issue but may have not had all of the latches replaced or, if they were replaced, it may have been done incorrectly.
The recall population was determined based on a Ford investigation that found that some latches were not replaced or replaced correctly during recalls 15S16 and 16S30. Ford will be providing the means for the customers to self-inspect and report via a website or an inspection at a dealership to determine if the door latches were replaced correctly.
The affected vehicles include 2011–2014 Fiesta, 2013–2014 Fusion, 2015 Mustang, 2013–2015 Escape, 2013–2015 C-Max, 2012–2015 Focus, 2014–2016 Transit Connect, 2013–2014 Lincoln MKZ, and 2015 MKC vehicles.
Owners can inspect the latches on their vehicle and submit the latch date codes online to see if they need to be replaced. They can also bring their vehicles to their local Ford dealer where they can have the latches inspected.
Ford will replace defective latches free of charge. Ford owners can contact Ford customer service at 866–436–7332 or check the NHTSA recalls website to see if their vehicle is involved in the recall.


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From scraps to snacks: 150-year-old Japan firm Keishindo turning waste into sustainable shrimp crackers
Japanese snack maker Keishindo is transforming discarded foods such as shrimp heads and udon noodle scraps into sustainable shrimp crackers.
Established in 1866, Nagoya-based Keishindo is known for its shrimp crackers made from shrimp surimi (paste), wheat and soy, as well as whole grilled shrimps.
Typically, only the flesh of shrimps are used when making the surimi, and the shrimp heads are usually discarded. But now Keishindo wants to transform these discarded prawn waste into value-added products.
Nestle Japan is promoting the wider use of its powdered creamer for coffee and tea by promoting its use for cooking applications.
Nestle Brite was first launched in 1969, as the first vegetable-based creaming powder in Japan. It was marketed to enhance creaminess when added to beverages such as coffee and tea, while not imparting any additional flavour
Since Brite is soluble in warm or hot beverages, the firm decided it would be suitable for foods such as soup, and has worked with Japanese video creator Haruan to promote its use it more applications.
Naoko Ogawa, assistant manager of media relations at Nestle Japan, told FoodNavigator-Asia: “While Brite is traditionally known to be the best partner for coffee, we would like to broaden the usage to cooking, so consumers can discover a new taste of enhanced creaminess.”
Japanese snack giant Calbee is revamping its energy policy at its Kagamihara factory, leading to the firm emitting zero greenhouse gases through its electricity consumption.
The manufacturer has opted to purchase electricity directly from Chubu Electric Power, which comes from renewable hydro and solar sources, instead of using the government’s the J-credit system to offset its greenhouse gas emissions.
The Kagamihara factory mainly produces potato chips, kataage potato, Jagarico and Jagabee.
According to Satoshi Yoshida, manager at Calbee’s public relations department, it means that the Kagamihara factory will now emit zero greenhouse gas through its electricity consumption.
Looking inwards: COVID-19 driving Japanese consumers and food firms to prioritise local products – Government data
Japanese consumers and food firms have gained an increased appreciation for local food products and raw materials as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic with many more looking to ‘support local’ although there are still multiple challenges to be overcome, according to government data.
The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture , Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) recently published a feature report on ‘Impacts and Responses to COVID-19’ as part of its 2020 analysis on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas, highlighting how the pandemic has incentivised both local consumers and food and beverage businesses to go local.
“One of the major new movements with regards to food and agricultural demand has been [increased support] of local food products and ingredients,” said MAFF via the report.
“[Our surveys found that] 10% of consumers said they will carry out ‘supporting consumption’ and purchase products from domestic companies who have lost their sales channels; and 30% of the food industry has said they intend to increase transactions with domestic food producers.
Sleep and sprout: Broccoli extract increases melatonin in Japanese adults experiencing poor sleep - Trial
Consumption of broccoli sprout extract increased melatonin production and may enhance sleep quality among Japanese adults, according to a study conducted by Kagome.
Sleep is regulated by hormones such as melatonin, prostaglandin D2 (PGD2), and glutathione, which are influenced by oxidative stress and inflammation, resulting in abnormal sleep regulation.
Broccoli sprouts contained several antioxidants including glucoraphanin, vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, and sulphur compounds. Of which, sulforaphane is a compound of interest, derived from glucoraphanin. It has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, although there are no other intervention studies to examine the effect of sulforaphane on sleep quality.
Researchers in Japan and Kagome’s innovation division conducted a small, randomised, double-blind, parallel-group trial.
“For the first time it was shown that sulforaphane intake for four weeks may increase melatonin production. It was suggested that the increased melatonin production and anti-inflammatory effect of sulforaphane treatment may improve the quality of sleep.”


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One97 Communications, owner of mobile payment platform Paytm, has asked Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to increase the limit on money that can be kept in a mobile wallet to Rs 25,000 (US$393) from Rs 10,000 (US$157). “One97 Communications, which has investment from the Alibaba group, is also building a mobile marketplace and aims to have half a billion Indians on the Paytm platform before 2020,” Times of India reports.
- Gatwick Airport installs 2,000 BLE beacons for augmented reality wayfinding
- Lotte Card introduces ‘pay with your palm’
- Debit cards set to overtake cash in 2018, three years earlier than expected
- Digital, decisive and drone-ready: American Express commissioned study shows Gen Z’s customer experience expectations
- EU agency calls for action on IoT security


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EE, the UK’s largest mobile network have challenged Three mobile’s claim on the TV advert that it is ‘the undisputed and ‘most reliable network’. As a result of this challenge, the advertising watchdog has banned Three’ s Muppet-themed ad campaign.
Many of our readers will be familiar with the advert which features Jackson, a Muppet-like creation of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, in boxing gloves along with the strapline: “The undisputed. UK’s most reliable network. Again.”
Rival network EE initially took to social media to discuss the claims on the ad, posting a tweet with the dictionary definition of the word “undisputed” and challenged whether the wording was misleading.
Three UK said the ad’s claims were based on a YouGov report in which it had beaten rivals in five consecutive quarters in a comparison about network reliability. The company also said that there was no standard, objective industry test for network reliability, so the best way to determine it was to ask customers.
The Advertising Standards Authority said the ad did not make it clear that the claim “undisputed” was based on consumer views, and that those who saw the ad would think it was based on fact and “robust objective measures”.
“Because we understood that there were no commonly agreed objective measures of network reliability against which 3 UK had undisputedly scored higher than their competitors, we concluded that the claim ‘The undisputed’ as used in the context of the ad was likely to mislead,” said the ASA.
“The ad must not appear again in its current form. We also told them not to state or imply that Three was the UK’s most reliable network unless they made clear that the claim was based solely on a survey of consumer opinions.”
Further to the decision, a spokesman for Three UK protected the company’s track record and said “We have been recognised by consumers, based on their direct feedback to YouGov, as the UK’s most reliable network for an incredible seven quarters in a row. Technical tests conducted by Rootmetrics have also recently named us as the most reliable network, so we are naturally surprised and disappointed by the ASA’s decision. We are analysing the ruling before deciding our next step.”


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To celebrate dads and help them kick back and relax with their loved ones this Father’s Day, El Pollo Loco, the nation’s leading fire-grilled chicken restaurant chain, is offering a special Family Meal promotion, daily $20 e-gift card giveaways and the chance to win a $6,000 custom El Pollo Loco backyard Imperial Grill.
“This time last year, many families were forced to stay apart due to COVID-19 restrictions, so it’s no surprise that 2021’s most sought-after Father’s Day gift is to gather with family members in person and enjoy quality time together,” El Pollo Loco President and Chief Executive Officer Bernard Acoca says. “El Pollo Loco is offering special deals and giveaways to make meal planning easy and give dads the chance to step away from their grilling responsibilities so they can focus on spending time with family.”
El Pollo Loco will be giving away $20 limited-edition Father’s Day e-gift cards throughout the week leading up to June 20. To win, customers simply have to follow El Pollo Loco on Instagram and tag a dad in the comments. At the end of the week, one lucky contestant will win the Ultimate Grilling Package, which includes a $6,000 custom El Pollo Loco backyard grill made by Imperial Commercial Cooking Equipment, the company that makes the grills that have been used to cook El Pollo Loco’s famous fire-grilled chicken for the past 41 years.
In addition to the giveaways, every $50 e-gift card purchase made between June 14 and June 20 will come with a free 8-piece Family Meal, and Loco Rewards members can purchase a 12-piece Family Meal for just $20 throughout Father’s Day weekend.
To purchase a limited-edition Father’s Day e-gift card, visit ElPolloLoco.com/Gift-Cards.


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March is a big month for women around the world! In addition to celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8, the entire month is also Women’s History Month. So, we thought it would be the perfect time to introduce you to some of the strong, powerful, and inspiring women in pharmacy.
Meet four female CEOs who are changing the industry for the better!
Roz Brewer, CEO of Walgreens
According to an article published by Forbes, Roz Brewer was recently named the CEO of Walgreens. She’ll begin her new role on March 15, 2021.
In addition to being one of just a few female executives to lead a major drug store chain, she is also the “first African American female executive to head up a Fortune 500 company,” according to Forbes.
Brewer began her career working as a scientist. Over time, she climbed the ranks and joined the leadership and executive teams within a variety of companies—both in pharmacy and in other industries.
Through her varied experience, she has gained skills and knowledge that she plans to use to continue evolving and improving the healthcare and pharmacy industries.
Heyward Donigan, CEO of Rite Aid
Back in August of 2019, she was named as the CEO of Rite Aid, according to an article published by Chief Executive.
Before accepting the role at Rite Aid, Donigan spent a great deal of time working in a variety of areas within the healthcare industry. Other leadership roles included Executive VP at Premera Blue Cross, CEO at ValueOptions, and CEO at Sapphire Digital.
According to Chief Executive, Donigan hopes to “expand traditional pharmacy services and extend their reach into provider services, both digitally, and through walk-in clinics and urgent care centers” during her time leading the company.
Karen Lynch, CEO of CVS
Karen Lynch was announced as CVS Health’s next CEO back in November of 2020. Her new role became effective as of February 2021, according to an article published by Insider.
The pharmacy chain is now officially the largest Fortune 500 company to be run by a woman. But, Lynch is no stranger to the industry!
Before taking on the CEO role at CVS, Lynch worked as the president of Aetna and the executive vice president of CVS Health. So, she was very familiar with the inner workings of the organization.
According to Insider, Lynch expressed that she is honored to lead CVS Health in it’s “journey to meet America’s health care needs.” This is especially important given the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the role the pharmacy chain is playing in vaccination.
Emma Walmsley, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline
When Emma Walmsley was announced as the new CEO of GlaxoSmithKline back in April 2017, she became the first woman to run a major pharmaceutical company, according to her Forbes profile.
During her time as CEO, Walmsley has contributed a great deal to the pharmaceutical industry. In fact, according to her GSK profile, she “was appointed Dame (DBE) for services to the pharmaceutical industry and business in the 2020 British Honours.”
According to an article published by European CEO, Walmsley used her past “management expertise to begin a process of revitalising [GSK’s] stagnating consumer business.”
Get to Know Other Women in Pharmacy
As you can see, there are so many incredible women working in the field of pharmacy! These women serve as inspiration for future female pharmacists and pharmacy industry professionals around the world.
To learn more about the career pathways and stories of numerous other women in pharmacy, we encourage you to check out our Pharmacist Bios page!
Sources for this article include:


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In Sharon Johnson's mind, eating to improve mental function is a no-brainer.
"It's eating foods that make you feel better, and then you think better."
Much like diet plans to prevent cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses, the consumption of natural, unprocessed foods is shown to prevent memory loss. Whole grains, legumes, nuts, seafood, lean meats, eggs, dark-green leafy vegetables and citrus fruits all support a healthy brain and noticeably affected cognition in a study of older adults by Oregon State University, says Johnson, an associate professor.
"What's good for your heart is good for your head."
Along with medications, physical activity and depression, memory difficulties and diet are significant issues for many aging adults, says Johnson. She plans to bring both memory and diet to the table for two April classes, titled "Feed Your Brain," at OSU Extension in Jackson and Josephine counties.
While memory difficulties can start as early as age 30, half of people over age 50 experience lapses, and all adults over age 65 report episodes of forgetfulness, says Johnson. The problem is pronounced for anyone taking prescription drugs or eating and sleeping poorly, she adds. Not surprisingly, anxiety mounts in anyone with a family history of Alzheimer's disease.
"Some of this is reversible," says Johnson. "Everything counts."
Even small amounts of foods high in the right nutrients can have a big impact. So Johnson's class doesn't focus just on healthful meals but also on wholesome snacks. Participants likely will sample a smoothie with spinach, the chickpea spread known as hummus, as well as kale chips, says Johnson.
"They are largely plant-based foods or seafood."
Salmon is the main dish in a brain-foods menu that Mary Shaw, culinary educator for Ashland Food Co-op, developed for Johnson. Working in tandem at a Co-op class more than a year ago, Johnson and Shaw scheduled a February repeat of "Feed Your Brain," which included a full Co-op dinner and sold out more than a month in advance.
"It's a really, really big topic right now because we know more about the brain," says Shaw.
Some dietary wisdom, however, is centuries old. Shaw cites traditional Chinese medicine's "doctrine of signatures," which advocates eating foods to support organs that they most resemble. For example, shelled, crinkly walnuts mimic the various bulges and creases of the human brain. Bulbous, bumpy cauliflower also evokes gray matter.
"It's so cool how much it looks like a brain," says Shaw.
Although modern-day medicine hasn't validated the ancient "doctrine of signatures," there is plenty of scientific evidence that the aforementioned foods are good for the brain, says Shaw.
Cauliflower is high in folate and vitamin C, both critical nutrients, along with vitamins D and E. High in vitamin E, walnuts exceed their counterparts in omega-3 fatty acids, the primary compound touted in many fish for enhancing mental function and preventing neurological diseases. Ten nuts supply the body's daily requirement for omega-3, says Shaw.
"It keeps the brain elastic," she says, explaining that both adults' aging brains and children's growing brains need good-quality fats.
Preserving the nutrients in foods is as important as making healthful choices, says Shaw. Slower cooking with gentler heat keeps more beneficial properties intact, she says. Shaw bakes salmon in a medium-temperature oven after encasing each fish fillet in a packet of seaweed, which infuses subtle flavor and an extra dose of minerals.
"All of the juices are sealed inside of the nori," says Shaw.
The dish also is ideal for a single serving. Many who attend her lectures, says Johnson, are women who live alone and resort to eating tea and toast.
The process of planning a menu, following recipes and practicing cooking techniques are yet more ways to engage the aging mind, says Johnson. And she suggests reading Michael Pollen's "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual," a short, commonsense guide to a healthful diet.
When the context is brainpower, says Johnson, the concept of "mindful eating" gains new meaning.


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Donatos Pizza has announced two development deals for Louisville, Kentucky and Orlando, Florida, according to a press release.
“It’s an exciting chapter in the Donatos Pizza story as we continue our growth momentum, expanding into two great American cities,” Jeff Baldwin, VP of franchise development at Donatos Pizza, said in the press release. “These cities are not only focus markets for growth but also share a deep appreciation for community and great food, which makes them strong additions to our brand’s ever-growing reach.”
The Louisville, Kentucky location will bring two locations to the suburbs of Middletown and Jeffersontown. The first site is slated to launch in 2024.
The second deal expands the brand’s presence in Orlando with an upcoming location in the Clermont or Hunters Creek areas.
“We are thrilled to reveal these new development deals, which mark a momentous step in our journey to bring the Donatos Pizza brand to more communities throughout the country,” Kevin King, president of Donatos Pizza, said in the press release. “Entering the Louisville market and enhancing our presence in Orlando is a testament to the strength of our brand and the appeal of our unique pizza experience. We look forward to providing our famous Edge to Edge toppings and warm hospitality to these communities.”
Donatos and its franchise partners operate 178 traditional restaurants in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Florida and Oklahoma. Donatos’ products are also served in 285 non-traditional locations (274 locations with Red Robin, nine sports and entertainment venues and two REEF Kitchens).


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In a move that has sadly been inevitable for some time, Nintendo announced late on Tuesday, February 15th, 2022, that they would begin the process of shutting down the eShops for both the 3DS and WiiU systems starting this year, and culminating in March of 2023, abandoning another console’s history to the eBay aftermarket. They also set up a cutesy little Spotify Wrapped-esque website for the dying consoles, so that you can “bring back your gaming memories.”
According to Nintendo, the timeline looks like this:
- May 23, 2022 – It will no longer be possible to use a credit card to add funds to an account in Nintendo eShop on Wii U or the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.
- August 29, 2022 – It will no longer be possible to use a Nintendo eShop Card to add funds to an account in Nintendo eShop on Wii U or the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.
- “Late” March 2023 – It will no longer be possible to redeem download codes.
So if you wanted to get in any last minute purchases, don’t go thinking you’ve got another whole year to do so. Credit card transactions shut down in just 3 short months, and all other transactions effectively shut down in August. After that point, it will no longer be possible to purchase 3DS or WiiU games from Nintendo. In a FAQ listing that Nintendo has since removed, they justified their decision thusly:
This has unfortunately become par for the course for older gaming systems with online shops. Sony backtracked from entirely shutting down its PS3 and Vita online shops (for now) after widespread backlash, but stopped accepting all card and PayPal transactions for those shops in October of last year. And of course, Nintendo themselves previously shut down the Wii Shop Channel back in 2019.
As more and more gaming companies, Nintendo included, pivot to subscription services, it’s becoming harder and harder to purchase and outright own older games. Nintendo’s excuse for shutting down the only place you can buy 3DS and WiiU games – and their respective Virtual Console offerings – at a reasonable price is essentially that they offer some retro games on Switch Online, so it’s fine. As if that makes up for it. They just added EarthBound literally last week. My hopes for the gargantuan DS/3DS/WiiU library are not high.
This is to say nothing of the fact that 3DS and WiiU games are unique to their hardware form factors, and in most cases very difficult or annoying to emulate. Those eShops are the last best place to experience these specific pieces of gaming history in their original forms.
There are those who might argue that Nintendo can’t just keep those servers running forever, since it most likely costs them An Amount of Money. But it probably does not cost anywhere near the ~$13 billion Nintendo has in cash on hand, though, so that’s bullshit. Why are we so willing to accept that keeping these services on indefinitely, that preserving gaming history, is too much to ask of major corporations?
I can see two motivations behind Nintendo shutting down their eShops, taking for granted that any financial burden of keeping them on is entirely negligible:
1. They have a vested interest in taking these games off the market (and driving prices on eBay to unreasonable heights) so that they can, in a handful of years, reintroduce some of them on new hardware, either via re-releases and remasters, or through their subscription service.
2. They simply don’t give a shit.
If option 1 is the case, then what about all the smaller titles that Nintendo doesn’t deign to offer on their platform du jour in the future, or that fall through the cracks of IP ownership? This is tantamount to the destruction of a vibrant, 15-year period of gaming history for the sake of maybe making some more money off of nostalgia and/or the scarcity they are currently manufacturing. Which is not out of character for Nintendo (or any corporation), it just sucks shit.
Honestly, option 2 seems much more likely to me. Companies like Nintendo do not exist to think about the history they leave behind, they exist to squeeze every possible ounce of profit out of their employees, the art they create, and their customers. If the 3DS and WiiU eShops are not generating revenue at an acceptable threshold, then they are no longer useful to Nintendo, and they’ll cut them loose no matter the cost of keeping their lights on because, at the end of the day, it is a cost.
As long as this is the way the games industry operates, without any mechanisms in place to preserve these games before the companies who own them decide to burn their own history books, we will lose things. And as long as companies like Nintendo and others continue to also employ a strategy of harsh legal penalties for anyone who tries to preserve their history for them, through emulation, homebrew, etc., many of the things that we lose will be lost permanently.
I’ll leave you with some tweets, and a reminder that if you know where to look, there are other ways to, as Nintendo says, “bring back your gaming memories.”


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Popular Sprint PCS Articles for 2007
Evidence is mounting that Sprint will begin offering a new Pocket PC phone in the near future. This will supposedly offer a built-in keyboard, Wi-Fi b/g, and be upgradable to[...]
A rumor indicates that Sprint will be launching a new smartphone from Palm, Inc. in a few months.
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UPDATED: Microsoft was forced by circumstances to pre-announce Windows Mobile 6 several days before it had intended to, but the the formal announcement went off as scheduled.
Sprint has announced what it expects to charge for monthly access to its upcoming fourth generation (4G) nationwide cellular-wireless network.
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Microsoft has taken the wraps off the latest version of its operating system for handhelds and smartphones, and big-name companies are quickly stepping forward to support it including Palm, HP,[...]
According to an anonymous source, Palm is going to release a smartphone late this year with some cutting-edge features.
Sprint is teaming with TeleNav to offer a service that will give users turn-by-turn voice and on-screen directions.
Some new information has emerged on the device that's supposed to be the next CDMA smartphone from Palm, Inc.
T-Mobile Dash - get $25 back New Discounts - Palm Treo 700p - $94.90 HP iPAQ rx5915 Travel Companion - $499 no rebates Many more...[...]
After pre-announcing its plans months ago, Sprint has just officially promised that it will begin offering the Motorola Q before the end of January.
Users of the Treo 700p have complained about problems with Bluetooth wireless networking, and for months Palm has been promising a system software update to deal with these. This is[...]
An unconfirmed report says Verizon will soon begin offering the Treo 700wx, an improved version of the Treo smartphone this carrier has been selling since early last year.


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A New Culture at Microsoft? Only Time Will Tell by Trevor Bauknight
It was like a refreshing breeze on a stifling summer day this past Friday as news of Microsoft’s plans for IE7 spilled out onto the Web. An IEBlog entry by Chris Wilson, a member of the IE development team, finally dropped two details that may change website development permanently. That is to say, it’s refreshing, if you believe it, and it may change website development permanently, if it actually happens.
The announcement that Microsoft would include proper (AKA the way spelled out in the standard everybody else has chosen to follow) PNG support and would remove the “major inconsistencies” in its CSS implementation may actually, for the first time since the divisive release of Internet Explorer, make it possible for web designers to create a page that looks and works the same on all browsers without resorting to crazy tricks to make it work.
The first beta version of the new browser is due out sometime this summer, and Wilson states that he and the rest of the development team are looking forward to the feedback they’ll get when they do the release. Judging by the feedback the brief announcement generated, I can only say that I hope they get it right with the release.
It used to be easier to be skeptical of Microsoft’s intentions. After all, IE6 is undoubtedly one of the most hated pieces of software ever to be foisted on the Internet population. Its inclusion as “part of the OS” in the initial release of Windows XP in 2001 only served to muddy the waters of website development and its widespread adoption-by-default ensured that creating a website that conformed to the standards set forth by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) was useful to about 15% of the people who might actually see it and that your work had just begun.
So What’s Actually Happening?
We won’t know until summer, it appears. A March 9 posting by Wilson hinted that the development team would be posting some details later and solicited feedback on specific things people wanted to see. The 4,000-odd responses that generated (many of them unhappy in tone) made it pretty clear that people wanted to see a relatively small set of improvements. Almost everyone who responded seriously asked for improvement to PNG support, so that transparency would finally work and the Web could finally move away from GIFs. Most also demanded changes to the support of Cascading Style Sheets in some way.
So Wilson says that’s what they’ll be doing. Well, that’s not all. They do have a few small security matters to address; but that should be child’s play after nearly five years of what looked for all the world like the abandonment of the program. According to Wilson, the PNG fix is already coded. According to Wilson, it had been “on our radar for a long time.” Small wonder. The first PNG standard was adopted nine years ago and was supported by other browsers prior to the release of IE5.
Microsoft has the luxury of moving slow and doing what it wants to do with respect to standards. They ship the browser with every copy of the OS, and practically every PC maker ships a copy of the OS with the hardware; so most people end up with IE by default and moving over to something else has been a pretty big hassle prior to the development of Firefox, the stand-alone browser component of the Mozilla project that grew out of the open-sourcing of Netscape. One begins to suspect that the recent buzz about Firefox may be spurring action in Redmond; and like another recent pleasant development, Microsoft appears to be planning to retaliate by actually improving its offering rather than by destroying the competition by sheer economic might.
Changing Culture At Microsoft?
A few months ago, at the height of the malware onslaught, Microsoft bought a company called GIANT, which made what was considered to be the top-of-the-line anti-spyware utility on the market. MS rebranded the GIANT program, and released a beta version to the public without announcing how future updates to the program would be conveyed. There was a good deal of speculation and skepticism surrounding it, and many (myself included) wondered aloud if it wasn’t a cynical ploy to generate income from a problem caused initially by the innate lack of system security in Windows. But Microsoft came through, and eventually announced that future upgrades to the program would be frëe (at least to anyone running a legitimate copy of Windows, which leaves out a lot of people).
Microsoft may have finally awoken to the realization that its customers would be far better served by actually being able to use their computers without having to pay for extra third-party software to protect them. Maybe someone in Redmond is forced to use an unprotected Windows box with an always-on, non-firewalled connection to the Internet just to see how sick a computer can get. Or maybe they just realized that the Open Source Software community not only isn’t going away, but is also releasing some great software.
But whether it’s the recent press about Firefox or something else, this all seems like a positive development at this point. We’re just glad that the possibility of finally separating our content from our style and being able to present it consistently to visitors is just over the horizon. Moving the CafeID website from tables to CSS was relatively easy. Getting it to look the same in both IE and the family of Other Browsers is still not fully accomplished. We’re looking forward to that day.
After years of ignoring the Open Source community (for fear of giving them legitimacy, I suppose), Microsoft seems to have finally realized that it has competition. Apple, while providing much of the inspirational and R&D muscle in the PC industry, is safely locked away on a different hardware platform (currently) with no apparent intention of going head-to-head with MS. Only Linux has presented itself as a legitimate alternative for PC owners, and what little it lacks in usability it more than makes up in reliability, speed and security. Firefox is just another in a long line of Open Source projects getting it right, adding polish to a solid core. And in spite of its 85% market share, MS has an uphill road when it comes to making a better browser.
At the same time, it looks as if the sleeping giant may be stirring. We just hope the new browser wars don’t hold back the Web for another ten years.
About The Author
Trevor Bauknight is a web designer and writer with over 15 years of experience on the Internet. He specializes in the creation and maintenance of business and personal identity online and can be reached at email@example.com. Stop by CafeID.com for a frëe tryout of the revolutionary SiteBuildingSystem and checkout our Flash-based website and IMAP e-mail hostïng solutions, complete with live support.


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Lynn shop owners rally against road plans
Owners of shops and businesses along a stretch of London Road are up in arms after learning that parking bays outside their premises could be removed.
They say that without them their businesses will not be viable and they could have to close and lose their livelihoods.
Officials have said there are no imminent plans but the worried shop owners are not convinced and have already launched a petition demanding the parking facilities stay.
“We will fight this all the way” said Mandy Bahar, who sold her house five years ago to start the Daily Grind Cafe on London Road.
“We all rely on customers and delivery drivers being able to park outside.”
There are eight shops and businesses on London Road close to the South Gate, including a post office, and a similar number of 30-minute parking bays.
The possibility they might be removed was muted in the Southgates masterplan which is looking at changing the road layout at the southern end of London Road.
The shop owners claim that they have just been made aware of proposals which could affect parking arrangements
Mandy Bahar described it as “sneaky” and said they only found out about it last week.
“The outside parking was one reason why I chose to come here. I get a lot of passing trade and the business has been thriving, like everyone else along here. With no parking I would probably have to close.”
Tranquility, at number 50, is a crystal, holistic and new age shop run by Robin and Bernice Talbot for the last three years.
Robin said: “This is a unique shop and we have customers drive to us from a long way away. If we lose these bays we lose viability. It is as simple as that.”
He also claims that the single line relating to the future of the parking bays is “squirrelled away” in the masterplan documents.
Residents views were made clear at a meeting of the local Regeneration Panel this week when the South Gate changes were discussed.
Ward councillor Lesley Bambridge told the panel: “We cannot ruin these businesses.”
Earlier she had said that she would be very unhappy if the bays were removed and commented that the plans seemed to be more about people coming into and out of the town rather than looking after the residents.
An officer told the panel there were no plans to change the present parking arrangements, saying: "None of them are anywhere near being implemented."


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Melita prepares takeover bid for Vodafone Malta
Malta’s quad play telecommunications operator Melita is currently in the process of preparing a bid to acquire Vodafone Malta, according to industry sources.
Back in February 2016, the French firm Apax Partners acquired a majority of shares in Melita, 86% in total while Belgian company Fortino Capital also gained 12% last year and the remainder 2% went to management. While talks have gone on in the past between the two companies about the potential of a merger, it was Apax Partners who were the initiators of this latest move to attain Vodafone.
Vodafone Malta is wholly owned by the Vodafone Group and currently offers mobile phone services and nationwide Wi-Fi internet coverage.
According to the TMT Finance, a reputable industry journal, unnamed sources quoted that Melita is preparing a takeover bid unlike any in the past. It stated that Apax was in a fairly advanced stage of negotiations with a few banks about a loan deal to back the acquisition.
TMT Finance went on to say that little is still known of the details and valuation, however, the deal appeared to be the results of bilateral talks.
No comment is being made at the moment by either Melita or Vodafone representatives but sources believe that a takeover like this makes absolute sense seeing that Melita’s mobile offering is currently the weakest in its portfolio.
As explained by industry sources, it is expected that Melita would carry more value with Apax expecting a better return should it decide to sell its shares in the future if this deal goes through. Apax, like many investment companies, make acquisitions keeping an eye on long-term gains in the future when they sell out.
Seeing that the mobile phone sector in Malta currently comprises of three companies, this deal, if it transpires, will have to be cleared by the regulator as it will be reducing the competition.
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Under the conditions of globalization, mutual respect and tolerance of different national cultures has become mainstream. Communism has used this to arbitrarily expand the concept of tolerance and make value neutrality a “global consensus,” thereby advocating deviant ideas. In particular, homosexuality and sexual liberation have developed rapidly through globalization, seriously impacting and corroding the moral values of traditional society.
In 2016, a large global chain retailer announced that the locker rooms and restrooms in the store would be “friendly to transgender people,” meaning that any man could enter women’s restrooms or locker rooms at will because he could claim that he was actually a woman. The American Family Association called on consumers to boycott the company because of the harm the policy could bring to women and children. Indeed, in 2018, a man entered the store’s women’s bathroom and exposed himself to a young girl.
Amid resistance by consumers who obey traditional values, journalists tallied up the hundreds of large multinational companies that have obtained full scores on the Corporate Equality Index (a measure of attitudes toward LGBTQ issues) and found that the companies with the same policies as the chain store covered all aspects of ordinary people’s lives, making a boycott unrealistic. The companies covered almost all major airlines, major brand-name auto factories, chain fast-food restaurants, coffee shops, major department stores, banks, major film-production companies, mobile phone and computer companies, and so on. These values have become ubiquitous and mainstream through globalization via the corporate culture of multinational corporations.
From Chapter Seventeen: Globalization: Communism at Its Core


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There has been a flurry of activity in the Savant ecosphere lately, much of it causing a buzz in the industry. Over the last few weeks, I’ve had several integrators reaching out to let me know about some of these changes. Not all felt they were positive and many questioned the motivations behind the moves. Accordingly, I reached out to Savant to see if I could get some insight into just what is going on. The company responded by making President JC Murphy available to update me on a few of their recent moves.
Within a span of just minutes today, we began hearing from multiple sources around the country that something was afoot at Savant Systems, LLC. Word quickly spread that the company was terminating salespeople around the country, a move that was occurring in the wake of founder Robert Madonna’s return to the company to replace former CEO William Lynch.
What’s going on at Savant? Strata-gee digs deeper… [Read more…] about Savant Reorganizes Its Sales Force
Sharp Corp., as we have previously reported, is going through some seriously tough times. Earlier this month, company-connected sources had told the Japanese media that the company would announce drastic restructuring measures, including significant staff cutbacks – not just in export markets, but on their home turf of Japan as well. And while the company went on to officially announce these cuts, it did not take any additional steps to fundamentally restructure their company, disappointing investors who were looking for much more.
Shareholders in Japan have slammed Sharp for its weak-kneed restructuring…See more… [Read more…] about Shareholders Slam Sharp’s Stock
Out of Osaka, Japan we learn that Sharp Corp. is about to embark on a major restructuring of its business that will likely change the company in fundamental ways. Plans call for closing domestic factories – a first for Sharp – staff cuts, and a possible exit from a major business segment for the company. Sharp is also seeking to raise capital, something that is not easy for a struggling company.


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British model Oliver Cheshire dons the cover of Men Folio's October 2014 issue in colorful knits from Louis Vuitton and underwear from Dolce&Gabbana, shot by the magazine's Arseto Adiputra and styled by Suhadi Budiman.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Brazilian model Francisco Lachowski returns to front Turkish label Mavi's Fall/Winter 2014 campaign. Shot on location in Istanbul, Francisco dons the label's high end denim and ready to wear, highlighting its great fit.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Tim Schuhmacher covers the latest issue of Série Limitée | Les Echos Seriesin a sport-cum-tailored look that melds denim with high end suiting in luxe fabrics to create a new type of modern men's uniform, courtesy of designs from Kris Van Assche for Dior Homme, all shot by Johan Sandberg and styled by Mauricio Nardi.


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Retail inflation in India surged to a 17-month high of 6.95% in March on the back of costlier food items, according to government data. The previous high was recorded in October 2020 (7.61%).
This is much higher than the Reserve Bank of India’s tolerance limit of 4% with a margin of 2% on either side. It was also the third consecutive month of Consumer Price Index-based inflation crossing the 6% mark. Retail inflation in March 2021 was 5.52%.
According to data by the National Statistical Office, food inflation shot up to 7.68% in March 2022, from 5.85% in the preceding month. Food prices contribute nearly half of the consumer price index.
In the same period last year, food inflation was 4.87%. Meat and fish prices recorded 9.63% inflation, up from 7.4% in February. Clothing and footwear inflation touched a combined 9.4%, with footwear alone hitting almost 11.3%.
Fuel inflation moderated to 7.5% from 8.7% in February, as domestic prices of gasoline, diesel and gas were only raised after March 10. Gasoline and diesel rates have increased by more than 10 rupees as global crude prices hardened after Russia invaded Ukraine.
As a ripple effect, producers started passing on higher commodity prices and input costs to consumers across goods and services. Market analysts expect the full impact of the heightened fuel prices to be visible in April.
While announcing the bi-monthly monetary policy last week, the Reserve Bank of India raised the retail inflation projection for the current fiscal year to 5.7%, from an earlier forecast of 4.5%.
The central bank said that given the excessive volatility in global crude oil prices since late February and the uncertainty over geopolitical tensions, any projection of growth and inflation is fraught with risk. It is largely contingent upon future oil and commodity price developments.
The Reserve Bank had kept interest rates low and it has remained unchanged for the last two years. Its earlier stance was to focus on growth, and inflation was considered transitory.
But in the last meeting, it conceded that inflation needed to be brought under control. Analysts feel that if inflation continues to remain high in April, the central bank may consider raising interest rates.
Meanwhile, a survey has shown that about nine out of every 10 households in India are “feeling the pinch” of rising prices of vegetables in the last 30 days. Marketing firm LocalCircles conducted a countrywide survey covering 311 districts and claimed that about 87% of Indian households have been “affected” by the rising prices of vegetables since March.
The sharp rise in the prices of edible oils such as sunflower oil, peanut oil, canola oil, sesame oil, coconut oil, mustard oil and palm oil, which are primarily used for cooking, has forced many households to either cut down on consumption or use the same amount after reducing other discretionary expenditure.


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Korea’s ET News reports that the so-called iPhone 8 will feature a ‘water drop design’ with curves similar to the original iPhone 10 years ago. While reports have previously claimed the new design will feature an all-glass front and back like the flat iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s, the latest rumor expects curved glass on both sides.
From the ET News translation:
Apple’s next iPhone is expected to be closer to ‘water drop design’. It embodies the back side design with curved emphasis, resembling the initial iPhone. This year, the 10th anniversary of the birth of the iPhone, it also shows the character of ‘Omaju’ for the early works.
“Apple’s next iPhone will have a rear case made of glass,” an industry official said. “This glass case is a curved wall surrounded by four sides.”
Also mentioned in the new report is Apple’s use of 3D glass with soft curves and a metal frame around the iPhone 8’s border. ET News specifies that the back glass is expected to be more dramatically curved than the front glass, too, while noting KGI Securities expects 2.5D glass for the front.
Other rumored features include wireless charging, a new 5.8-inch display with a function area, and a revolutionary 3D sensing front camera. Some reports believe the dramatically different iPhone will ship later in the year than usual and carry a premium price over previous models.
Apple is also expected to introduce spec-bumped iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus models without OLED displays and new designs.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.


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In talks with Warner Bros. to make a movie based on the game
Mojang boss and creator of Minecraft Marcus Persson aka Notch, has just revealed that he's working with Warner Bros. to create a Minecraft movie.
In his Twitter post, Notch says "Someone is trying leak the fact that we're working with Warner Brothers on a potential Minecraft Movie. I wanted to be the leak!" Emphasis on 'potential' there, as there are no iron clad guarantees it's being made, or if it'll hit cinemas or go straight to DVD.
However, entertainment news website Deadline reports that the producers for The Lego Movie, Roy Lee and Dan Lin, are involved in making the live-action movie. Seems they know a few things about movies that stack bricks and blocks, as The Lego Movie has grossed just over US$280mil worldwide thus far.m1.jpgm2.jpgm3.jpgm4.jpgMinecraft has proven itself to be a runaway hit, with a massive 100 million registered PC users and 10 million copies sold on Xbox 360, so a movie tie-in is the next step in printing even more money.
An Xbox One version of Minecraft will also be released.


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This summer, American parents are expected to spend $34.4 billion, or about $661 per child, on back-to-school shopping, according to a Deloitte survey. A big portion is going toward fashion: apparel sales are predicted to jump by 18 percent from the same period in 2021. It’s a 180-degree turn from last year, when parents splurged on laptops and other technology, while clothing spending remains roughly flat. In 2022, their kids may not need another new tablet, but they’ve outgrown last year’s shirts, shorts and sneakers.
The unusually unpredictable back-to-school shopping season is just the latest example of how the pandemic has radically changed what people want to buy, and when. Last year, consumers abruptly dropped their sweatpants obsession for going-out clothes and work-from-home wardrobes. Now they’re splurging on travel, luxury goods and children’s clothing.
Retailers are still catching up — and bracing for more surprises this fall.
Inflation is one area that’s especially hard to predict. A National Retail Federation survey found that 80 percent of back-to-school shoppers had noticed higher prices on clothing, but far fewer said they were cutting back on those purchases as a result (the opposite may be true; parents are more likely to clean out the kids’ section now if they’re worried those clothes will cost 10 percent more next year). The NRF did find, however, that back-to-school shoppers were choosing to reduce spending in other areas, or devote more time to bargain hunting.
Back-to-school shopping could be a last hurrah for retailers. Spending tends to peak in late July and early August. After that, the real effects of inflation and the slowing economy could become even more apparent. Walmart warned last week of slowing sales heading into the fall. The same Deloitte survey that found parents were going to spend big on their kids this summer found that 54 percent were pessimistic about the economy over the next six months. Retailers that ordered too much of the wrong inventory, or are worried they’ll be stuck with unsold goods and shrinking demand this fall, are rolling out some of the most aggressive discounting the industry has seen since the pandemic.
What to Watch This Week
Fashion is entering its usual August doldrums, after closing out July with earnings from most big European luxury brands, plus Walmart, Shopify and Amazon and a host of key data on inflation and economic growth on both sides of the Atlantic.
This coming week is lighter on bellwethers, with Adidas the biggest fashion company reporting earnings, and fewer major economic indicators. While the official calendar is light, we can likely expect more major retailers to announce layoffs, cut back on fall orders and issue profit warnings. Luxury brands are also solidifying their fashion week plans, and the September hype cycle should be kicking into gear soon.
Love Island airs its finale, ushering in a new generation of UK fashion and beauty influencers
The US Senate is expected to vote on major climate and health care legislation sometime this week. We’ll likely know by this point if all 50 Democratic senators are on board, or if negotiations will extend into August.
Revolve, elf and Hugo Boss report quarterly results
Adidas reports quarterly results
US unemployment data for July released
The Week Ahead wants to hear from you! Send tips, suggestions, complaints and compliments to [email protected].


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There’s a declare Apple has canned building of AR glasses. This is senseless to me – I believe it approach they’re coming quicker than we concept.
Via an (augmented) glass darkly
“Apple has suspended the improvement of head-mounted show (HMD) AR/VR headsets, and already disbanded its workforce for the improvement of AR/VR HMDs,” Digitimes claims in a document nearly no one believes.
The e-newsletter additionally mentioned building were ceased quickly, with other people concerned within the mission diverted in other places.
The document additionally issues out that the person who headed the mission, Avi Bar-Zeev, has now left Apple, regardless that maximum Apple watchers consider paintings on AR glasses has been ongoing since no less than 2006, and most likely ahead of.
What if he has left Apple as a result of his paintings used to be achieved?
You spot, what’s fascinating is the focal point at the phrase “building” within the Digitimes declare.
Has Apple truly ceased building, or has it now not reached a brand new level in building known as “manufacturing”?
If the latter, wouldn’t it now not make eminent sense to seed the product building workforce throughout the remainder of the corporate with a purpose to lend a hand convey Apple’s many alternative platforms and applied sciences in keeping with the brand new platform invention.
We don’t know the solution, in fact.
A reputable dedication
However we do know sufficient to suppose it extremely not likely Apple has ceased product building.
Take into consideration Apple’s focus on AR.
The company has spent millions to create an ecosystem to support AR experiences.
There was not sign whatsoever of any fading commitment to the tech at WWDC 2019. AR was very much in the public eye with a huge area given over to live AR gaming. You could hear AR gamers whooping all across the front of the event. And Tim Cook always stresses the “profound” difference he thinks AR will make.
We know Apple is investing in the tech to drive these glasses.
Apple’s own developers file patent after patent after patent (and there are many more) that seem to directly relate to such devices. It recently won a patent that could be used in an AR glasses version of a Minority Report UI.
Technologies like Voice Control and Look Around in Maps also open up the possibility for voice first user interfaces, as I discussed recently.
Apple has the teams
Apple has many staff working on AR, including long-time executive, Frank Casanova, who I have always seen as one of the first Apple insiders to develop a vision for mobile that eventually led to iPhone.
Now he leads teams figuring out what problems AR needs to solve.
There is also no indication that Apple has pulled back on AR-related talent recruitment.
In April, Apple hired serial entrepreneur Arthur van Hoff, a founding executive of the Disney-backed VR startup Jaunt.
One month later in May, Joshua Fruhlinger wrote about a big rise in the number of AR-related jobs at Apple:
“The hiring upswing is a clear sign that the Cupertino tech giant is looking to make AR a major part of its mobile iOS devices moving forward. A word-cloud analysis of openings for AR since 2016 shows a clear move from R&D to market research, resale, and retail applications.”
And the secrets are already in the code
There’s even proof that Apple is developing AR glasses of some kind hidden in iOS 13’s code, as spotted by smart and sleuthy software sage, Steve Troughton-Smith.
He went so far as to Tweet that he concept the proof he’s discovered suggests Apple’s AR glasses is also “coming even quicker than we concept”.
“What sort of proof?,” he added.
“ARDisplayDevice.framework; ARDisplayDeviceRemoteExtensionContext, stereo AR in GameController framework. Does turns out to again up the ‘iPhone accent’ claims from Bloomberg some time again if AR apps are an Extension level like WatchKit used to be..”
The standard of discussion
At the present time it handiest takes a couple of rumors to spark up the standard groaning, embittered refrain of Apple critics.
Those have a tendency to indulge themselves in muttering in regards to the non-appearance of AirPower and vituperative nonsense about Tim Prepare dinner now not being a ‘product man’.
I at all times have this feeling that those that maximum castigate Prepare dinner are males of a undeniable kind cursed with a delicate sense of their very own masculinity. In all probability that is true — it’s not relevant.
However you’ll be able to forget about each units of grievance.
You’ll be certain as night time follows day, AR glasses will sooner or later seem and Apple will sooner or later ship an answer for wi-fi charging.
We simply don’t know when.
Or possibly we do
Spookily correct analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo shared his expectation that Apple might start production AR glasses once This fall 2019.
Upload Voice Regulate in iOS 13 to that declare and upload just a little spice of Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade, and you’ll be able to start to see a platform rising.
To not point out the huge implications for such generation in well being.
I will be able to’t lend a hand however stay extremely skeptical at Digitimes claims.
Studying between the strains and brooding about the to be had proof – and taking into account the course of trip for such a lot of strands of the corporate’s huge empire now seems to combining, I’m minded to suppose we’re having a look at a brand new and extremely viable platform alternative.
Which is what that is.
I believe it’s a long term this is nearer than we expect.
Please apply me on Twitter, or sign up for me within the AppleHolic’s bar & grill and Apple Discussions teams on MeWe.


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Activision Announces Call Of Duty 2 Plans For Multiplayer Maps And PC Update
Santa Monica, CA - Dec. 21, 2005 - Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) and Infinity Ward today announced plans to release new multiplayer maps as part of a Call of Duty® 2 Windows® PC update that will also include PunkBusterTM anti-cheat software and additional support enhancements. The download is currently scheduled for release in early 2006 and will be available at www.callofduty.com.
"Our team at Infinity Ward is committed to supporting Call of Duty fans," said Grant Collier, president, Infinity Ward. "We've worked hard to deliver the most epic and immersive experience ever with Call of Duty 2 and look forward to delivering new content such as multiplayer maps, tools and anti-cheat software that will further enhance the gameplay experience."
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Founded in 1979, Activision posted net revenues of $1.4 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005. Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Australia, Scandinavia, Spain and the Netherlands. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's World Wide Web site, which is located at www.activision.com.


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18. Window to the Heart – A Valentine in Times Square
Renderings courtesy of Aranda\Lasch + Marcelo Coelho with Formlabs
This year, the Times Square Valentine Heart Design Competition will celebrate its 10th anniversary with its winning submission, Window to the Heart, a 12-foot in diameter Fresnel lens sculpture, created by Aranda\Lasch design studio and computation artist Mercelo Coelho. The installation, designed with Formlabs, a 3D printing manufacturer, is described as the world’s largest lens, and will feature a heart-shaped window at its center that visitors can look through, while the reflective surface of the installation captures a magically distorted view of Times Square.
Window to the Heart will be unveiled on February 1st at 11am, at Father Duffy Square between 46th and 47th Streets, at the intersection of Broadway and Seventh Avenue, and will be on view through the month of February.


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June 17, 2008
Tulsa-Based Bluefrog Interactive: A Venture into the World of Mobile Web Site Building
By Brian Brus
Jeff Beasley is trying to bring big business to tiny, portable screens.Beasley's company, Tulsa-based Bluefrog Interactive, announced earlier this month the official launch of its subsidiary unit, mobiManage, a fully hosted mobile technology Web site builder, which allows anyone to design, launch and manage an Internet presence with just a few computer mouse clicks.
"The use of mobile devices among consumers is growing at a rapid rate," said Beasley, Bluefrog's founder and chief executive. "Having a mobile site is quickly going to become as ubiquitous as having a traditional Web site."
With mobile device sales consistently outpacing desktops and laptops combined, the need for effective mobile sites are becoming increasingly important, Beasley said. Industry experts estimate that more than 1.3 billion people worldwide can access the Internet on their mobile devices, but only a fraction of 1 percent of those online sites are adapted for cell phones, handheld organizers and similar gadgets.
"The advent of the iPhone and higher Internet speeds has really driven this development. The mobile Web has so many more applications than traditional portals," he said. "You can click on a phone number from a Web site and call it directly, for example. But we've still got to educate people on that new medium and what it can do for them."
Web site pages are designed primarily for full-size computer screens and browser programs. Portable technology requires thinking on a different scale and simpler interactive controls. MobiManage provides for an easy content translation for most users with a few clicks and design choices, a process that takes less than 10 minutes. More elaborate corporate needs can buy into a more expensive design package for assistance.
Beasley is also an associate member of the dotMobi Advisory Group, a nonprofit advisory forum with the goal of setting commerce standards for the use of ".mobi" Internet domain addresses. The group reviews technical style guides and best practices, domain policies and commercialization initiatives.
"We saw opportunity in the hundreds of different devices out there, each with their own systems and screen size and whatnot," he said. "Over the last several years as standards have developed, our involvement with the committee has provided a very good understanding and competitive advantage to helping bring about this service."
Beasley said he's been funding mobiManage primarily through custom development applications. The company also recently received a $100,000 matching-funds grant through i2e, the nonprofit technology industry development agency under the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology.
"We are also talking with several investors who are interested," he said. "Those investments are really going to help us take this to market in a big way."
Originally published by Brian Brus.
(c) 2008 Journal Record - Oklahoma City. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.


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Apple introduced the latest version of its iOS operating system, iOS 13, on June 3 at the keynote event of the 2019 Worldwide Developers Conference. iOS 13 is a next big release for iOS, with a long list of new features.
Below are the features in iOS13👇🏻
Probably the single most anticipated change, and the biggest visual update Apple’s made to iOS since it introduced the current software design in iOS 7, iOS 13 is finally offering a true, system-wide dark mode.
All of Apple’s first-party apps are supported, and even notifications and the dock get new dark hues to go with it.
NEW SWIPING KEYBOARD
While Apple has offered support for third-party keyboards on iOS for years, it’s updating its own default keyboard with a new feature: a swiping function that should be familiar to anyone who’s used SwiftKey, Swype, or Gboard over the years, which Apple’s calling the “Quick Path” keyboard. It’s not a huge upgrade, but it’s nice to see Apple finally getting with the times.
Long overdue for an update, Apple is redoing the Reminders app entirely in iOS 13, adding new “Today,” “Scheduled,” “Flagged,” and “All” filtering options for sorting your tasks, along with a whole new visual look. Apple’s also pushing big AI integration here — you can type and Reminders will automatically suggest when you’d like to be reminded, and you’ll be able to tag contacts and be reminded when you open up their thread in Messages.
Also gone is the weird, paper-like texture that had been a mainstay of the old skeuomorphic iOS design since the original version of iOS.
UPDATES TO APPLE MAIL, NOTES, AND SAFARI
Apple’s also tweaking a few of its core applications on iOS 13. Apple Mail is set to get new desktop formatting. Safari is getting per-website preferences, and Notes is getting a new gallery view for looking at all your notes at once.
Apple is completely redoing Apple Maps with iOS 13. The company says that it’s rebuilt the app from the ground up, with more comprehensive map data and a new mode that’s… basically just Google Street View(right image). The new map will be available in select cities and states to start (left image), and will roll out across the US by the end of 2019 and internationally in 2020.
As is expected for Apple, privacy is a big part of the announcement here: now, you can choose to give your location data to an app “just once,” preventing it from constantly being able to ping your location when you’re using it.
Apple is also launching a new “Sign in with Apple” privacy feature, that gives you a convenient and data safe way to sign into apps and websites. Your Apple ID will be able to authenticate your account via Touch ID or Face ID, and developers will see a unique random ID rather than your real info.
Apple accounts will also be able to automatically create new, private email addresses on a per-app basis that forward to your real email, preventing apps from getting access to your email or spamming you.
IMESSAGE PROFILE PICTURES
iOS is getting WhatsApp- and Facebook Messenger-style profile pictures and display names that let users share their name and photos with other users for Messages — in other words, Apple will make your phone look like its product demos where all the contacts have proper names and pictures. It lets you share your name and photo with people, and Apple has added a ton of new Memoji options along with three new Animoji, the octopus, cow, and mouse. Memoji stickers, another new feature, turns your Memoji into sticker packs built into the iOS keyboard so you can use them in Messages, Mail, and more.
NEW PHOTO AND VIDEO EDITING TOOLS
Apple’s adding a new editing interface to iOS for photos — and for the first time, videos. You’ll be able to edit brilliance, highlights, shadows, contrast, saturation, white balance, sharpness, definition, vignette, and noise reduction on your content. And for videos in particular, you’ll finally be able to rotate them directly on the device. The Photos app is also getting a new UI, which will use machine learning to remove duplicates and weird clutter like screenshots for easy browsing.
Apple is combining Find My Friends and Find My iPhone in iOS 13, and the union lets you locate your friends and missing gadgets with a faster, easier-to-use interface. What’s really neat is that it’ll use a crowd-sourced encrypted Bluetooth signal to help you track down devices that are not connected to Wi-Fi or cellular. That’s mostly a big help for Macs, but it could also help with an iPhone in rare cases, too.
Finally, iOS will be able to pull files from SD cards and USB flash drives to import into the Files app. iOS 13 will be available to iPhone devices (starting with the iPhone 6S, meaning that iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 users will be left behind). A developer preview will go live today following the keynote, with a public beta program later this month.


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It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player ...
Readers may remember when Apple was sued by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) over its unauthorized use of the iconic SBB clock in its iPad Clock app. Apple and SSB eventually worked out a licensing agreement and the lawsuit was dropped. Now, however, Apple is being sued by another railway ...
At this point, we practically expect to see a new legal charge brought against Apple every day of the week, and oftentimes that is indeed the case, but this one is particularly interesting: TechCrunch reports that Russian Railways is charging Apple with trademark infringement, seeking 2 million ...
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Incoming CEO Kazuo Hirai aims to re-shape Sony Corp by linking hardware and software through online networks -- a model he used at its PlayStation unit -- dismissing any suggestion the battered brand would revert to a gadget-centered strategy under his management.
In the meantime, he said, he would focus on paring costs at its TV unit and look to squeeze expenses elsewhere to return Sony to profit.
The Sony Computer Entertainment model "is a bigger concept we can grow into a bigger space," Hirai, 51, said in a group interview at the company's Tokyo headquarters. "Hardware drives software and software drives hardware," he added, referring to online sales of games and other content PlayStation owners.
Hirai oversaw the phenomenal rise of the PlayStation gaming system in the United States and since last March headed Sony's consumer products and services business.
"They're finding themselves cornered right now," said Andrew Millroy, Singapore-based vice president of Asia Pacific ICT for Frost & Sullivan. "A company that was once ahead of its peers is finding that gaming is the only area where they're an innovative player."
Hirai didn't say what impact the wider application of his strategy would have on Sony, which unlike its consumer electronics rivals such as Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc, owns significant content in movies, music and games software.
It could mean he wants to build a unified network to connect multiple platforms rather than separate ones incorporating only games, music or movies, an analyst in Tokyo said, declining to be identified because he isn't authorized to talk to the media. Once Sony goes beyond the PlayStation into the realm of Android and Windows operating systems, it is going to face stiff competition, he added.
"Sony has historically done a lousy job of leveraging its broader assets outside of the PlayStation and other gaming assets," said Danielle Levitas, group vice president of consumer, PCs, broadband and new media at IDC. "So there's a lot of credibility hearing this from Hirai. Now the hard work is pushing the broader culture to break down those walls."
A more immediate task for Hirai, however, is to stem losses with cost savings that will add to cuts made by outgoing boss, Howard Stringer.
Hirai formally succeeds Stringer as CEO on April 1, with the once-stellar consumer electronics brand heading for what it warned last week would be a much bigger-than-expected $2.9 billion annual loss, its fourth in a row.
The surge of red ink has put Hirai under intense pressure from investors and ratings agencies to quickly staunch losses at the sprawling electronics group. Hirai pledged not to flinch from tough decisions to trim costs and renewed a promise to return the TV business to profit in two years.
"We have to make some hard decisions on where there are some redundancies and reduce the fixed costs in a variety of different areas," he said, pointing to sales units in Japan, Europe and the United States, supply chains and Tokyo headquarters functions as areas where cuts could be made.
Credit rating agency Standard and Poor's on Wednesday cut its long-term debt rating on Sony and warned it may drop it another notch within a year if Hirai fails to stem TV losses and deliver a significant boost to profitability. Sony was also downgraded by Moody's last month.
The TV division has lost more than $11 billion over eight fiscal years. Together, Sony, Panasonic and Sharp expect to lose $17 billion this year alone, highlighting the savaging of Japan's electronics industry by foreign rivals led by Samsung, weak demand and a strong yen.
A goal for Sony to end that bleeding in two years was "tracking where we said it would be at the end of the year, or a little ahead of that," Hirai said.
Better products would, he said, add as much as 40 billion yen ($520 million) in profit, with cost improvements adding another 50 billion yen, as part of a strategy he described as "defense and offense."
As well as weak global TV demand, Sony has been hammered by last year's flooding in Thailand that ruptured supply chains, a big one-off charge for exiting a flat-panel joint venture with Samsung, and smart competition from Apple and Samsung that has squeezed market share in TVs, smartphones and other gadgets.
Hirai predicted that LCD technology would remain the main battlefield in TVs for at least three years, before next generation technology takes hold.
Hirai has yet to reveal his management line-up, naming only Tadashi Saito, a former Sony chief financial officer at Sony Electronics in the United States, as the company's first chief strategy officer since 2005.
Saito will work with senior managers "to formulate strategies for group companies overall, as well as giving us a lot of input and advice on M&A activity," Hirai said.
Hiroshi Yoshioka, previously identified by Stringer as one of "Four Musketeers" who could succeed him, along with Hirai, will take Sony into the medical imaging business and head up the group's innovation center, "seeking out new business opportunities," Hirai said.
As of Thursday's close, Sony shares had gained 13 percent to a 14-week high of 1,544 yen since Hirai was named as the next CEO, outperforming a 2.1 percent gain on the benchmark Nikkei average.
The stock, which slumped more than 60 percent during Stringer's seven-year reign, was down 0.7 percent in late trading Friday.
A Sony veteran of 28 years, Hirai was credited with reviving the PlayStation gaming operations through aggressive cost-cutting, in competition with Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox.
A year ago, Hirai, a fluent English speaker, was promoted to head the consumer products and services business, overseeing Sony's network operations. He was also at the forefront of efforts to counter hackers who accessed Sony customers' personal details.
He takes over after a period of cost-cutting by Stringer, a rare foreign CEO in Japan who sold off TV factories in Spain, Slovakia and Mexico and outsourced more than half of the group's production to outside companies, including Hon Hai Precision Industry, a Taiwanese contract electronics maker whose key customer is Apple.
($1 = 76.8950 Japanese yen) (Additional reporting by Jeremy Wagstaff)


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Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the world’s largest contract electronics maker, is to invest US$30 million to set up a solar battery manufacturing plant in China.
In an announcement filed with the Taiwan Stock Exchange, Hon Hai said on Tuesday that the solar battery firm would be located in Funing, Jiangsu Province, but the company did not disclose further details about the new investment.
Market analysts said it is the first time Hon Hai has made inroads into the solar energy business, in line with many of its local counterparts, and the move is seen as a bid to boost its bottom line, which has been squeezed by fiercer than ever competition.
Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) said at an annual general meeting held in June that his company was determined to establish itself in the solar energy market after two years of careful assessment.
Gou said Hon Hai’s solar energy investment would be a long-term program and would take advantage of the company’s high-tech development and its abilities in supply-chain management.
An analyst said the particular US$30 million deal represented just a fraction of Hon Hai’s massive overseas investments, such a US$12 billion project to build a tablet computer and flat panel production base in Brazil.
Analysts said Hon Hai would use the Funing plant to test the waters in the solar energy arena, before coming up with further investments. They added the location of the new plant is expected to help Hon Hai gain access to potential customers in China.
In January, Hon Hai and its affiliates under Hon Hai Group (鴻海集團), which is also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), were planning to acquire a 44.78 percent stake in Taiwan-based solar battery supplier E-Ton Solar Tech Co (益通) through a private placement, but the deal fell apart.
Local media also reported Hon Hai might work with GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd (保利協鑫能源), one of China’s largest polysilicon manufacturers, on solar-energy investments.


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Conn Law, PC is investigating reports by California owners and lessees of 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 Jeep Wrangler 4xe vehicles that their Jeeps have died on them while driving.
Owners have complained of their hybrid electric jeeps continuing to shut down on them while driving. This puts the drivers and their passengers at serious risk.
Jeep buyers have complained that their cars will fail completely while on the highway and freeway. The drivers experience a complete power loss. The dashboard will go haywire with warning lights will come on.
Other owners have reported that their Jeep will go into coasting mode and slow down.
Drivers have reported warning messages come on such as: Performance Limited, Service Charging System, Depress Brake and Shift Out of P to Drive, or Brake and Push Button to Start. Other owners say that their Jeeps lose all speed without any check engine lights or notifications. And sometimes, after losing power, the vehicle will suddenly accelerate on its own. For some, the power steering will still work but in other instances, the power steering goes out too.
Often, once the Jeep comes to a stop, the driver cannot get it to restart on its own.
Hundreds of Jeep buyers have made complaints on the Jeep forums for these issues. However, often the problem will only happen periodically. When customers take their Jeeps in, the service advisors can have trouble diagnosing the issue. And while Jeep has issued some recalls, the problems remain and the electric Jeeps continue to fail.


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Chennai, May 2 (PTI) Two and three-wheeler manufacturer TVS Motor has clocked a 8.46 per cent growth in its sales, including exports, in April. The city-based company sold 2,46,310 vehicles during the month as against 2,27,096 units in the year-ago period. Total two wheeler sales grew by 8.39 per cent to 2,41,007 units last month from Rs 2,22,350 units, it said in a release here today. Sale of two wheeler in domestic market grew by 3.96 per cent to 2,05,522 units from 1,97,692 units sold in April 2016. Sale of scooters surged by 28.57 per cent to 81,443 units compared to 63,341 units sold in the same month last year. Motorcycles recorded a 10.38 per cent sales growth to 99,890 units from 90,491 units during April 2016. On the exports front, the sales grew by 41.8 per cent with a total shipment of 40,221 units last month from 28,354 units during April last year. Two-wheeler exports went up by 43.9 per cent to 35,485 units from 24,658 while three-wheeler rose 11.7 per cent to 5,303 units from 4,746 units shipped in April 2016, the release said. Shares of the company remained flat at Rs 494.70 apiece in Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today. PTI VIJ VS
TVS Motor posts 8.4% growth in April sales
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.
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Despite Amazon’s massive growth, Google is still maintaining a strong hold on digital advertising budgets overall, and it has shown accelerating ad revenue growth in the first half of 2018.
Last quarter, Google reported its ad business was up 23.8 percent year over year — that’s actually an acceleration from Q2 2017, when ad revenues went up only 18.4 percent from the previous year. The same trend happened in the first quarter of 2018, when ad revenues rose 24.4 percent from the previous year, compared with 18.8 percent year over year growth in Q1 2017.
There are several possible reasons for the discrepancy.
Not everything is sold on Amazon — yet. Large advertising categories such as auto, travel and some entertainment, including ticketed events such as movies or sporting events, still don’t conduct direct sales on the platform. Those companies don’t have any reason to advertise on Amazon, while Google search still drives a lot of direct sales. Money is moving over from television to Google for these categories, one agency executive noted.
Many agencies said Google is pushing its other ad products, especially video ads on YouTube. A lot of advertisers are spending more on the video service, with one executive noting clients can see above a 50 percent return on investment, or ROI, if the right ad shows up on the right category.
Google Search still provides a high ROI, and some companies, including Apple and Casper, prefer customers to buy from them directly rather than Amazon to save on fees. And Amazon’s business is a lot less developed outside the United States in certain regions, including some countries in the Asia/Pacific area.
Google is also taking the battle directly to Amazon, investing in tools that make purchasing online easier. Google Shopping, which competes against Amazon Marketplace, is a product search engine which helps people find items to purchase online, and counts Target, Walmart and Costco among its partners. Amazon temporarily stopped buying Google Shopping ads, but returned to the platform in July, according to Bloomberg.
But since Google is on top, growth will get harder, most agencies agreed.
“Google’s challenge is they have to find more money every year, and it’s harder and harder to find that in the ad business,” said Matt Mierzejewski, senior vice president and search capability lead at Merkle.
“They’re tweaking the search page, creating more automation, finding new retailers, and adding a lot of new ways as they try to edge out the next dollars.” Mierzejewski said Merkle is not seeing a shift in search budgets from Google to Amazon but that overall spending on Google is “flat.”
— Jillian D’Onfro contributed reporting.


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One in Four Americans Can't Afford a Summer Vacation This Year
While the stock market booms, ordinary Americans are struggling to afford family vacations this summer.
According to a new report from Bankrate.com, 39 million Americans (one in four) will skip taking time off this summer due to financial reasons. The reason? They simply can't afford to.
Bankrate found that only half (52%) of Americans are planning on taking a summer vacation this year, 26% are definitely not planning one, and 22% have yet to decide. And can you blame them? The average expected expense among those who are planning a vacation this summer is reportedly $1,979.
A whopping 44% of the 2,577 of respondents who claimed that they can't afford a summer vacation cited day-to-day bills as their primary obstacle, while 22% said that paying down debt is the biggest factor preventing them from being able afford a trip.
WATCH: This Tip Can Save You Up to $20 — or More! — a Day at Disney World
"Paying down debt is important, but make sure you do it right so this isn't the reason you miss out on a summer vacation next year," Bankrate's credit card analyst Ted Rossman told Travel Pulse. "A balance transfer credit card with zero percent interest for up to 21 months will help you pay down your debt faster so you can get back to spending your money on more rewarding things."


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Looks like Apple's got some other news going on besides all this iPad business, namely that they've lifted VoIP restrictions over 3G networks.
Up until now, iPhone users could only make VoIP calls over Wi-Fi networks. Well, Apple has swung open the cellular network doors and updated the smartphone's SDK to allow developers to take advantage of this new function.
And with this, iCall has become the first and only (for the moment) iPhone/iPod Touch app to have functionality over the 3G network (and they did that remarkably fast...). Will Skype, Truphone and other similar calling apps get on board soon?