text:
At first, even the internet experts gathered in Las Vegas for the world’s biggest cloud-computing event thought it was nothing more than a huge joke when Andy Jassy, chief executive of Amazon Web Services (AWS), presented his company’s latest solution for managing the world’s increasingly unmanageable torrent of digital data.
But the 14-metre lorry-hauled “ruggedised” shipping container that rumbled on stage at The Venetian Hotel on November 30 was no joke. Rather, it was an admission that the arteries of the internet are close to being clogged.
The AWS Snowmobile is for companies that have accumulated so much data that it would take decades to upload it to the cloud. The container, a vast hard-drive on wheels, is driven to a company’s data centre and connected by cable. It sucks up the data and, accompanied by guards, delivers it to one of Amazon’s many cloud centres around the world.
In essence, Amazon has resorted to a clunky analogue solution to a growing digital problem. It will come and collect your network-choking digital waste in a large metal bucket.
Mr Jassy told his Vegas audience that when Amazon launched its AWS cloud division in 2006, “the notion of an exabyte of data was completely out there”. Today, “you would not believe how many companies have an exabyte of data they want to move to the cloud”.
An exabyte is a billion billion bytes or the equivalent to all audio, printed and video material held by the United States Library of Congress, 500 times over.
The problem is that uploading this much data to the cloud via even a fast network connection would take about 25 years. Using 10 Snowmobiles, each capable of holding 100 petabytes of data (one tenth of an exabyte), it would take “only” six months, said Mr Jassy.
The Snowmobile is evidence that our commercially driven obsession with digitising every aspect of our existence is out of control. As of October 2016, internet archive The Wayback Machine, a depository of more than 279 billion web pages, held “only” 15 petabytes of data. That there are now companies out there holding data equivalent to 66 copies of the entire internet is mind-boggling.
Like the actual universe following the Big Bang, the digital universe, of which the internet is but a fraction, is expanding rapidly. It is doubling in size every two years. According to market research company International Data Corporation (IDC), in 2013 that universe consisted of 4.4 zettabytes of data (one zettabyte being a thousand exabytes, equivalent to streaming high-definition video for 36,000 years). Over the next five years it will expand to 44 zettabytes (binge-watching Netflix for more than 1.5 million years).
If all the world’s data in 2013 were stored on 128GB iPad Airs stacked one on top of the other, says IDC, the pile would extend two-thirds of the way to the Moon. By 2020, there will be more than six such piles, each reaching all the way to the Moon.
Companies are amassing ever greater volumes of data, hoarding and analysing every trace of our digital lives, the better to sell us products and control our thoughts and behaviours. We are, of course, willing parties to this extraordinary manipulation of our existence.
Much of this data is, after all, generated by us, from using mobile phones, sending emails, posting on Facebook and tweeting, to online banking and shopping, watching YouTube videos or Netflix films and blithely, if uncomprehendingly, uploading every photograph we take to the cloud. (A neat trick. We now pay to access pictures we once happily held on our own hard drives.)
Our digital incontinence is only going to get worse. This is the year we embrace en masse the “internet of things”, the largely pointless but commercially lucrative connectivity of everything from kettles and fridges to home lighting and security systems, not to mention the soon-to-be ubiquitous “conversational interfaces” of Amazon Echo and Google Home.
Is there a benefit to this extraordinary revolution? Certainly, for the companies driving it. According to IDC, the value of the global “big data and business analytics market” will grow from $130 billion (Dh477 bn) at the end of 2016 to $203 billion by 2020.
But what is this unprecedented accretion of intelligence going to do for those of us without shares in Amazon, Google, Apple and the rest? Big data is, after all, in the hands of big corporations and it is already clear that the main purpose of mining and analysing it is to better part us from our money – the Google ads that seem to know your mind are just the start.
That’s fine. The world has always revolved around the relationships between makers, sellers and buyers of stuff. But big data is different. It gives those who control it the ability to shape every aspect of our intellectual and cultural outlooks.
By default, the manipulation of big data is about parting us from our imaginations and the mind-broadening benefits of serendipity. Thumb through a newspaper, for example, and you might well stumble upon something that challenges your preconceptions and makes you think differently about the world and your place in it.
Rely on algorithms for your news and views, and you will be fed a steady diet of your own cultural and political prejudices, in a spiral of narrowing perspective.
We should not, in other words, embrace the wholesale digitisation of human existence as the unalloyed good thing that the purveyors of the Amazon Echo and other toys would have us believe it to be.
IBM likes to say that 90 per cent of all the data in the world today, including all the books, art and films and so on generated in the previous history of the human race, has been created in the past two years alone.
Think about that – all the countless works of art you could never possibly see, the tens of millions of books you will never read, the music you will never hear. Now imagine, in digital form, 10 times everything that has ever been created by human hand being generated in just the past two years, and then wonder about the value of this vast data-berg we are creating.
Before the digital era, the record of human existence was curatable, as witnessed by the world’s great libraries and museums. For millennia, human beings have left records of their existence for the benefit and wonder of future generations, from the 18,000-year-old Stone Age cave paintings in south-west France and the surviving fragments of cuneiform script of ancient Mesopotamia to the art and literature of modern times.
Yet such traces of humanity have, by definition, always been selective. Not everyone could write or draw and not very aspect of every person’s life was considered worthy of archiving. Now, however, it is clear that to future historians we are bequeathing not a priceless treasure trove that will allow them to make perfect sense of our time, so much as a vast digital landfill problem, a databank of trivia beyond curating.
This will be the year that big data comes of age, aided and abetted by our embrace of the burgeoning internet of things and, through the vanity-serving medium of social media, our seemingly inexhaustible fascination with the tedious minutiae of our generally not very fascinating lives.
If we aren’t more selective about what we commit by the truckload to the digital universe, historians may one day look back on 2017 as the year we stuck our heads in the cloud and lost both our imaginations and our minds.
Jonathan Gornall is a regular contributor to The National


text:
Hotelier confidential: Save yourselves!
Insights from the news desk at Hotelier Towers
The month of May is behind us and that means, yes, we survived! With the events following in quick succession last month — AHIC, ATM, HOTEC, Domotex and The Hotel Show — many of you may have seen members of the Hotelier team scurrying around Dubai World Trade Centre, which became our temporary home for the month.
Throughout the events, we broke a series of stories and announcements online at HotelierMiddleEast.com, with our special daily updates bringing you a news summary as it happened.
But pipelines and projects aside, we promised to bring you some of the gossip, so here is a taster.
At ATM, Dubailand claimed it would be completed in 2025, but one highly-respected chef spotted hovering outside its stand told us in no uncertain terms that this was a complete lie. Meanwhile, one of the hotel operators promising to deliver several hotels in Dubai this year, which are already delayed, fell victim to one disgruntled supplier, who said a certain Palm Jumeirah based hotel had been canned.
The Hotel Show was, according to some “a disaster”, but others said if the leads they had generated resulted in business, that would cover the cost of exhibiting, while for one, the expense was justified as a marketing expense alone. Hotelier just hopes that some of the amenities companies from China that attended will rethink their strategy next year, as we were told on more than one occasion, quite adamantly, that “we don’t target hotels”.
And you just can’t stop gossiping about Jumeirah Group, which is planning a major overhaul of some of its outlets and an expansion of its Restaurants arm in partnership with Caprice Holdings. From celeb hang out The Ivy to nightclub Annabel’s, it seems that Dubai and Abu Dhabi are set to host some of London’s finest night spots. An annoucement is imminent, so check out the July issue of Hotelier Middle East.
While the events were exciting, it was only when we got back into the office that the industry seemed to reveal its quirkier side.
Firstly, Emirates Palace launched the world’s first gold vending machine. Developed by TG Gold-Super-Markt, a computer inside the machine ensures that the real-time prices are updated in line with the online shop at Gold-Super-Markt.de. In addition to 1g, 5g and 10g bars of gold, the machine also dispenses gold coins, which are sold in gift boxes at real-time prices.
The press release provided the following quote: ‘“We wanted the Emirates Palace to play a pioneering role and be the first hotel in the world to offer its guests this golden service,” general manager Hans Olbertz states with pride’.
It certainly got the hotel attention on a global scale, which was not quite the case for the other odd announcement of the month. Not for the first time, Four Points by Sheraton invited Dubai’s media to a “fun, exciting and very realistic” mock fire drill at its Sheikh Zayed Road hotel, which the lovely PR “guaranteed” to be newsworthy. Here at Hotelier, we hope that hotels would keep their fire safety up to scratch as a matter of course, which means for us, it was quite the opposite, and we declined to attend.
However, had we realised what a photo opportunity it would provide, we might have chosen otherwise.
In total, we were sent 913 photos to choose from and so decided to bring you our favourite this issue…

domain: news


text:
December 7, 2023
Abacus sells a slate of documentaries from Award-Winning Producer Peninsula Television
Amcomri Entertainment Inc has announced the acquisition of a majority stake in UK-based 101 Films.
AMG brings financial support and retail experience to 101 Films, enabling it to expand its content libraries and compete for the best independent movies for distribution in the UK.
Paul McGowan, Chairman of AMG, said, “101 Films is the perfect platform for us to enter the world of movie distribution as we seek to take advantage of the rapidly changing environment for both physical and digital distribution not only in the UK but across the globe. Managing Director, Larry Howard, will support the excellent team at 101 Films to take the business to the next level.”
101 Films has been distributing independent production content in the UK since 2011 and currently holds the rights to 122 movies. This year, it is expecting to sell 500,000 DVD and Blu-ray units, representing a 35 per cent increase on 2013 sales.
The team at 101 Films is excited about the potential to grow with the support of AMG. CEO Andy Lyon anticipates growth in both the quality and quantity of titles that can be accessed and distributed.
“The commitment to moving outside of the UK and into the market for global distribution rights is a fantastic step forward for the business and we look forward to the journey,” he said.


text:
Within a month, the so far exclusive PS4 game will be released.
4/15/2021 16:20 | Dino | Category: Game
Sony has recently changed its strategy, and several of its games, originally released exclusively on PlayStation, have announced that they will visit PCs as well. This was the case last year, for example Horizon Zero Dawn, Which has moved to PC after three and a half years of exclusivity, but originally PS exclusive titles, although not developed by Sony’s in-house studio, have been transferred to PC, like Quantic Dream gamesHeavy rainAnd the After that: two souls And the Detroit: Be a human) Or the Death by strand.
And soon there will be another PC port here, released two years ago Days passed You will receive your PC version soon, exactly on May 18th.
The PC version will also support 21: 9 widescreen displays, with a number of display parameters, we can adjust the graphic appearance (vegetation viewing distance and the like) to suit us (and our machine), in addition to the gamepad, you can even control mouse + keyboard. And in Photo mode, you can take high-resolution photos in-game. In addition, additional content added since the original PS4 release will be provided by the PC version.
The PC version of Days Gone will be released on May 18, 2021, and can now be pre-ordered on major digital stores. ■
Besides reading, would you like to write news?
»Contact us as a news editor! «
Suggestions for reading
“Communicator. Total coffee buff. Tv fan. Passionate twitter aficionado. Amateur bacon geek. Devoted internet expert. Avid analyst.”


text:
Japan's consumer prices fall for fourth year, prompting monetary easing
TOKYO (AP) - Japan's central bank governor reaffirmed today plans for aggressive monetary easing as data showed the consumer price index fell in 2012 for the fourth straight year, highlighting its challenge in fighting deflation.
Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa told reporters today that it would take substantial effort to achieve a 2 per cent inflation target, announced earlier this week, aimed at breaking a prolonged spell of falling prices that are thought to be discouraging business investment and stalling recovery for the world's third-largest economy.
The consumer price index (CPI), which excludes fresh foods, fell 0.1 per cent in 2012, adding to pressure on the central bank to make progress in re-energising the economy. The CPI also dipped 0.2 per cent in December, as expected.
The central bank has pledged to do everything it can to meet the new inflation target declared under pressure from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has made reviving the recession-stricken economy his top priority since taking office a month ago.


text:
Katy of Chichester Copywriter wrote a feature article for the June/July issue of Business First highlighting the likely affects of the London 2012 Olympics on business. Now that Team GB are pulling in gold medals left, right and centre it remains to be seen how this will really impact our economy…
Business First began as a B2B magazine in West Sussex and now covers the London market. Brainchild of Nick Peters, long-time journalist and foreign correspondent for the Sunday Times and BBC, the philosophy of Business First is simple. The magazine aims to inform, entertain and sometimes provoke its target readership, which consists largely of entrepreneurs and senior business folk at leading organisations.
Here is an extract from Katy’s article:
THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
Five years and billions of pounds later, the five ring Olympic circus is on our doorstep. Rarely has an event been met with such rejoicing at the start and so much scepticism as it came closer. The true accounting will not be made for years to come, as Katy Lassetter reports.
The Diamond Jubilee showed Britain at its best and that the British brand is in good shape. Businesses used bank holiday promotions and sales of merchandise to their advantage and a boost in turnover of as much as £509m was expected for retailers over the lengthy June weekend. Will London 2012 result in similar jubilation for business or is it actually going to have a negative impact, ultimately failing to deliver a return on our collective investment?…
You can read the June/July 2012 issue here where you’ll find Katy’s contributor mention on p8 and her article on pp18-21. Here are some images showing our South East copywriter’s feature article in Business First:
Should you require professional copywriting for a feature article, news or blog article? Don’t hesitate to contact Chichester Copywriter today.


text:
AVISTA OIL US has expanded further with the acceptance for the collection of used oils from the Walmart chain in Florida, and has been able to develop into market leaders in this state, too, within a time period of only five years.
In 2012, AVISTA OIL US in Florida began to collect used oils. “It was a hard market, and we also experienced difficult moments in 2014. However, we have a superb team of drivers. Many of these have been with us from the first day onwards; this generates a high degree of company loyalty”, says Juan Fritschy, CEO of AVISTA OIL US. And their efforts have paid off. The growth rate has accelerated so much within the past twelve months that a seventh vehicle is now required for Florida. In addition to the locations of Jacksonville, Ocala and Fort Lauderdale, the new location close to Tampa is now in operation.


text:
Estée Lauder’s Olivier Bottrie to retire
U.S. cosmetics group Estée Lauder announced on Monday the retirement of Olivier Bottrie, global president, travel retail and retail development.
After a 26-year career at the company, he will transition to a special advisor role effective May 1, 2022 and will depart the company on June 30. A successor is expected to be named in the coming days.
“Olivier is a strategic leader with clarity of vision, deep international expertise and a dynamic and inclusive leadership style,” said Fabrizio Freda, president and chief executive officer.
“He has been a driving force for innovation and growth, leveraging his strong relationships, commitment to excellence and laser focus on the traveling consumer’s needs to transform travel retail into a growth and profit driver for the company. Throughout his career, and especially over the last two years, Olivier has been a guiding force and mentor for his talented team, always leading with confidence and compassion. His presence will be greatly missed across the organization and throughout the industry.”
Since 2004, Bottrie has headed ELC’s global travel retail business where he is credited for growing the travel retail channel from approximately 6 percent of ELCs net sales in 2004 to approximately 28 percent in fiscal year 2021. In 2017, he expanded his role to include oversight of retail development, where he managed the company’s freestanding store portfolio, and strengthened retail excellence and efficiency.
He also spearheaded the creation of travel retail’s own sustainability goals in 2021, several programs to advance Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (ID&E), as well as co-founded Hand in Hand for Haiti in 2010 in response to the devastating earthquake that struck that year.
“We are grateful for Olivier’s tremendous contributions to our business over the past 26 years, and the many ground-breaking initiatives he has led for travel retail and the company,” added William P. Lauder, executive chairman.
“With his empathetic and inclusive leadership style, Olivier has made an enormous difference both within and beyond ELC through his passion for giving back. On behalf of the company and the Lauder family, I would like to wish Olivier the very best in his well-deserved retirement.”
Copyright © 2023 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.


text:
Playstation 4 sales beat the competition into the dust
Playstation 4 sales beat the competition into the dust
Despite not releasing any new hardware this year, 2017 has proven to be a big year for Sony's gaming operation.
As of December 6th 2017, the Japanese electronics firm has shipped more than 70.6 million PS4 consoles to customers right around the world.
The company also revealed a range of other impressive milestones for its gaming business, covering PlayStation 4, PlayStation VR and various games.
In terms of games, it's sold more than 617.8 million copies at retail stores globally and through digital copies bought from the PlayStation Store.
Following the success of the PS4, customers have also been flocking to the PS VR. According to the firm, it's shipped 2 million units to date.
As well as this, companies have created 150 titles for the virtual reality entertainment system. It's seen 12.2 million copies of them sold globally, too.
While Sony hasn't announced any plans for new gaming hardware, it confirmed that it's planning to expand its range of PS4 games. It'll be adding God of War, Detroit: Become Human and Marvel's Spider-Man to its store soon.
Sony said that 130 highly anticipated entertainment content and games are planned for PlayStation VR. They'll launch by the end of 2018.
Andrew House, chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment, said: "We are delighted that so many people are enjoying the unique entertainment proposition of PlayStation 4, and that an emerging technology like PlayStation VR continues to gain traction.
"I cannot thank our fans and partners enough. Their support, since the launch of the very first PlayStation in 1994, has helped to make PlayStation one of the biggest console gaming networks in the world.
"We will continue to work closely with partners to maintain this momentum, and remain steadfast in making PS4 the best place to play."
Of course, Sony isn't the only gaming giant that's seen impressive sales figures in 2017. Microsoft has also had an impressive year of growth.
According to statistics from VGChartz, Microsoft has sold more than 30 million Xbox One units as of October 2017. And it's also sold nearly 200 million games for the console.
Many feared that Nintendo was beginning to lose its way, but the Switch has redeemed the company's fate. It, too, has had a stellar year.
A report by Forbes claims that the company has shipped 7.63 million Switch consoles around the globe. That's pretty impressive considering it was only released in March.
In celebration of the holiday season, grocery store chain Aldi is being lauded for announcing a plan to donate all unsold fresh food to various nonprofits and charitable organizations on the afternoon before Christmas.
The company first published news of their philanthropic endeavor on social media and called for their fellow corporations to follow suit.
“Aldi is offering local organizations the opportunity to receive surplus food from their stores on the afternoon of Christmas Eve,” said the company in a statement.
“As Aldi stores will shut at 4pm on Christmas Eve until December 27, they will have a variety of good quality surplus food products that they will wish to redistribute in support of less fortunate individuals and to prevent food going to waste.”
Aldi, a global discount supermarket chain with over 10,000 stores in 18 countries, is unable to deliver so organizations would have to collect the bounty themselves.
They will expect the level of food available to vary. However, estimates of around 20 to 30 crates will be expected from each store.
Make Sure Your Volunteering Friends Know About This: Click To Share… OR,
CBOE trading saw the Bitcoin futures contract expiring in January rise 17% from $15,000 to above $18,000. The contract is based on the price of Bitcoin as quoted on the Gemini exchange.
The Gemini exchange was set up by the Winklevoss twins, who were early fans of the crypto-currency and who have been called the first Bitcoin billionaires.
A CBOE insider said its start was low key, with "no champagne". However, CBOE tweeted to warn that its website was running slowly and could be temporarily unavailable.
Anticipation of the first mainstream listings have helped the controversial currency soar past $10,000 and then over $17,000 on Thursday before retreating. The price of Bitcoin stood at about $16,600 on Monday, according to Coindesk.com.
What are futures?
Futures are contracts that allow investors to bet on the price of something at a future date.
Investors can now bet on Bitcoin rising or falling in price without actually owning them.
Futures are typically based on the price of a real commodity - such as oil.
One of the controversial aspects of Bitcoin is that some do not see it as a "thing". Although it is called a currency, it can be argued it is an asset, or commodity, without any actual use or real assessable value.
'Out of the shadows'
Nick Colas, of Data Trek research, said the futures listings gave Bitcoin "legitimacy - it recognises that it's an asset you can trade".
Chris Ralph, chief investment officer at St James's Place told the BBC's Today programme that he remained cautious about the currency.
"I refuse to use the word legitimate, but it's probably moved out of the shadows into the open," he said.
"But what I think it means is more people in the conventional investment banking market will take a look at Bitcoin.
"It has been described as the asset class of 2017 but when we went into the year no one would have called it an asset class."
Analysis: Laurence Knight, business reporter
Bitcoin futures will make it easier for more investors to buy the crypto-currency, by removing the need for them to set up a special digital Bitcoin wallet.
Sceptics argue that the CBOE futures will simply draw more naïve investors into perpetuating a bubble in a financial asset that Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz has accused of having no intrinsic value beyond supporting money laundering and tax avoidance.
And on top of the alleged bubble, there is another risk that futures investors may need to be wary of. Is the "reference rate" used to calculate the value of the CBOE futures open to manipulation, in the same way that Libor and currency futures have been in the recent past?
'High volatility and risk'
The CBOE and CME launches were made possible following approval by the US Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
However, the regulator has warned investors about the "potentially high level of volatility and risk in trading these contracts".
The Futures Industry Association, which includes some of the world's biggest derivatives brokerages, has criticised the CFTC's decision, arguing that insufficient attention has been paid to the risks involved.
Bitcoin is not regulated by any country's central bank and has no universally recognised exchange rate.
CBOE rules suspend trading if Bitcoin prices rise or fall by 10%, in an attempt to reduce wild fluctuations. They kicked in twice in this first session.
"We are committed to continue to work closely with the CFTC to monitor trading and foster the growth of a transparent, liquid and fair Bitcoin futures market," CBOE said.
What is Bitcoin?
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image captionCameron and Tyler Winklevoss were early Bitcoin investors
It is a digital "alternative" currency that mostly exists online and is not printed or regulated by central banks
Bitcoins are created through a complex process known as "mining" and then monitored by a global network of computers
About 3,600 new Bitcoins are created each day, with about 16.5 million now in circulation
Like all currencies, its value is determined by how much people are willing to buy and sell it for
All her life Sarah Corbett has been a campaigner for causes she believes in, but in her mid-20s she had had enough of carrying banners and shouting. She decided to take a gentler approach and became a craftivist - using handicrafts to send a message.
I'm standing with Corbett in a central London clothes shop famous for its fast fashion - and frequently accused of buying from sweatshops - watching her slip tiny handmade scrolls into PVC macs.
In delicate swirly writing, each scroll reads: "Clothes maketh the person" - that's quite a responsibility, isn't it?
Sarah works quickly, pretending to scrutinise the garments before depositing a scroll from the deep pockets of her trenchcoat. It makes her nervous - she doesn't get a buzz from it. But she's doing it anyway.
This clandestine "shop-drop" is the just the latest escapade in a lifetime of activism. She was just 16 when she organised her first campaign, to get lockers installed for the pupils at her school.
The head teacher told her it wasn't possible on "health and safety grounds".
"I was dubious so I asked the caretaker, Mr Gilbert, if it was a health and safety issue and he looked confused," Corbett remembers. "We spent some break times quietly together measuring the rooms and corridors and found out that it was not a health and safety issue."
Next, she and an influential parent governor put the idea to the teachers and other governors - and this led to lockers that are still being used by students today, 17 years later.
"What it taught me about campaigning was that to 'win' a campaign you didn't have to protest publicly like a performance, you don't always need petitions signed," she says. "It made me see campaigning as much broader and creative than we often think."
Her next campaign was against gym knickers, which she and many other girls at the school - in an area of Everton known for prostitutes and kerb crawlers - detested.
"Running around the outdoor grounds in gym knickers felt exposing, degrading and we would see men in cars parked up watching us," she says.
"We lost that fight because one PE Teacher was extremely stubborn and refused to meet to discuss the issue and was very intimidating. I wish I had had more courage to work around her, mobilising the students and governors, but I was scared of that teacher. I learned a lot from both campaigns."
It's no surprise, perhaps, that Corbett later became a professional campaigner for charities such as Oxfam and Christian Aid, as well as an activist for other causes.
But by the time she reached her mid-20s she felt burnt out.
"As an introvert most activism drained me of energy, whereas my extroverted sister gained energy from the same activism actions such as going on marches chanting, taking part in demonstrations outside embassies and businesses, sometime dressing up and acting or performing in costumes and asking people to sign our petitions."
During a Lovebox festival in London, where Sarah's role was to get as many people as possible to sign a climate justice petition, she found herself standing in a Portaloo.
"I thought, what am I doing? I'm hiding in a smelly festival toilet so that I don't have to talk to people about global warming and so colleagues don't see me slacking."
The result of that moment of crisis in a Portaloo was the Craftivist Collective - a social enterprise, founded by Corbett to encourage people to combine craft with activism for social justice causes. The shop-drop I witness in the London clothes shop, is a quintessentially craftivist act.
Each of the delicate scrolls is neatly written on embossed paper and tied up with a colourful bow. They say "please open me" rather than OPEN ME NOW.
"They are designed to encourage people to be curious about who made their clothes," Corbett says. "It is about provoking questions in a gentle way, rather than preaching."
The term "craftivism" was first made popular by US writer and crafter Betsy Greer in 2003, and the movement has steadily gained momentum since then. The "pussy hats" knitted for the women's march a day after Donald Trump's inauguration are a famous example of the craftivist's art - combined in this case with a conventional street protest.
Craftivism is not meant to replace conventional forms of activism entirely, she says, just add another tool to the toolkit.
The Craftivist Collective has recently collaborated with the mental health charity, Mind, to make craft kits that help people to stitch a letter to their MP, reminding them not to cut funding for mental health services. The hope is that the letters will be embellished with decorations to make them beautiful - the kind of thing an MP might want to put on display, rather than just another manila envelope or angry email.
It's the ultimate non-threatening action, and this is entirely deliberate.
Image captionOrigami birds in a WWF campaign inspired by Craftivist Collective
"In every other area of life we know that demonising people, shouting at people, guilt-tripping people, shaming people, doesn't work," says Corbett, who has just published a book, How to be a Craftivist: the Art of Gentle Protest .
"But gentle protest doesn't mean weak or passive. You can use something that is kitsch and colourful to challenge people with quite strong messages - it is disarming."
Sparking intrigue is often a big part of Corbett's strategy - with the scrolls, for example. Her messages may need to be found - they're usually hidden away or placed somewhere that isn't at eye level.
A few years ago, Sarah affixed a mini-banner to the bottom of a fence around a basketball pitch - a hang-out for young men, in a part of South London notorious for gang violence.
On it was stitched a quotation from the film director, Martin Scorsese: "It seems to me that any sensible person must see that violence does not change the world, and if it does, then only temporarily."
She hoped the kids would notice it, find it surprising and understand that someone cared about them.
Corbett and Grenfell
Corbett and her family lived on the 14th storey of a tower block, which used to sway in the wind to the point where water would slosh out of the toilet bowl. "The lift was often broken and small fires would happen," she says. It was this that propelled her mother into local politics.
"My mum asked the firefighters what to do if a fire happened and they said they had ladders up to the 10th floor. When she said that we lived on the 14th floor they had no answer to give her.," Corbett says.
"When Grenfell happened I called my mum and we both got really upset and angry that something like that could still happen. I still get so angry and emotional thinking about it."
Only 33, it's already 30 years since she first stood on a picket line with her parents - a vicar and a local politician - to protest against the demolition of social housing near their home.
She grew up with mugs bearing messages such as Free Nelson Mandela, or Coal not Dole.
In some ways she's already a veteran of the activist world, one who has spent many years finding her own distinctive voice.
"I hope people don't find it smug or passive-aggressive, I've worked really hard on sending the right message and I hope people are excited about finding them," says Corbett. "I think craftivism can engage people in a transformative and respectful way - it plants a seed in people's minds."
Your PC is the core of your gaming experience, whether it’s a desktop or a laptop. But like a Reece’s cup full of chocolate, it’s not complete without the tasty peanut butter. You need a mouse for reliable, accurate targeting, and a great keyboard for handling your movements and commands. Sure, gaming laptops can provide decent keyboards for on-the-go gaming, but when you’re sitting at the desk, a full-featured standalone mechanical keyboard is simply the best way to go.
There are more game-focused models on the market than we can count, but we have a batch we’ve put together that we highly recommend. It should be noted that all models listed below are “mechanical,” meaning they rely on spring-activated switches versus the pressure pads used in “membrane” keyboards. If you’re a gamer, you already know why mechanical keyboards are the only serious option.
Finally, our list comprises of three categories: full-sized keyboards packing everything under the sun, compact models without the number pad (tenkeyless), compact models with a number pad, and budget keyboards you can get for under $100.
We totally get that this keyboard has a high price tag, but it’s definitely worth every penny. In fact, some of us use it on a daily basis even outside of gaming due to its sturdy design, built-in multimedia keys, and key “sensitivity.” That latter aspect is due to the peripheral’s use of Cherry MX Speed RGB mechanical switches that provide a key actuation distance of 1.2mm versus the typical 2mm distance in standard mechanical keyboards. That 0.8mm difference does make a difference, and we love it.
Outside the speed aspect, the switches support 16.8 million colors that are customizable through Corsair’s desktop utility. There are six multimedia keys in all (one of which is a volume up-down roller), and a USB pass-though port for connecting a headset or mouse that can’t reach the back of your PC. There are no dedicated macro keys, but you can assign commands to any key using profiles created in Corsair’s desktop software. The keyboard even includes a separate set of special WASD key caps.
What’s a gaming keyboard roundup without a product by Razer? Like Logitech, Razer takes the proprietary road with this keyboard by using its in-house “Green” mechanical switches. Built specifically for gaming, they provide a distinct audible click and a tactile bump for gamers who require feedback from key presses. Razer also sells the BlackWidow Chroma V2 with its silent “Orange” (tactile) and “Yellow” (linear) switches too.
Feature-wise, Razer’s keyboard includes five dedicated macro keys, but no media keys. But it does include a USB pass-through port that’s complemented by jacks for audio output and microphone input. All keys can be programmed through the company’s Synapse desktop software along with Chroma-branded backlighting supporting 16.8 million colors. The keyboard includes a detachable ergonomic wrist rest for long gaming marathons.
The difference between the two appears to be only cosmetic. The Spectrum includes a single palm rest spanning its width, and cylindrical keycaps for fast key presses. Meanwhile, the Spark features two uniquely-angled palm rests, and special indented key caps to “prevent mistyping.” Otherwise, both feature the same number of dedicated macro keys (nine), maximum key rollover (over 26), and dedicated audio controls.
The two G910 keyboards include a holder for your smartphone so the device can serve as a second screen, This is accomplished through the Arx Control app that provides in-game controls in supporting titles, in-game information, system statistics, and more. The keyboards are also based on Logitech’s proprietary Romer-G switches designed and optimized for gaming. These switches provide RGB illumination, an actuation distance of 1.5mm, and promise a duration of 70 million key presses.
Here’s another portable mechanical keyboard without the number pad. The company’s primary focus was to improve the duration between touching the key caps, and the parent PC’s receipt of the keystroke command. That journey starts with using Logitech’s proprietary Romer-G mechanical switches with a 1.5mm actuation point, then moves to converting that signal into USB-based data, and ends with the data transferring to the host PC at a rate of 1,000 times per second.
Logitech says this keyboard is ideal for eSports professionals. Notable features include a detachable USB cable, 26-key rollover (meaning it can identify 26 simultaneously-pressed keys), per-key RGB lighting supporting 16.8 million colors, and profiles for more than 300 games already created via the Logitech Gaming Software desktop program. There are no dedicated macro keys, but you can assign macros to the keyboard’s function keys (F1 to F12).
Here’s a highly-solid, highly-popular mechanical keyboard from Razer without the number pad. It’s based on the company’s proprietary “Green” switches sporting a tactile and “clicky” feedback. These switches are backed by per-key RGB illumination, and a durability of 80 million keystrokes. They’re installed in a military-grade metal foundation for an attractive, sturdy solution that will last for years to come.
Unlike its larger BlackWidow brothers, this model doesn’t include dedicated macro keys. Instead, you can assign these commands through Razer’s Synapse desktop software. There are no media keys either, so all media-related functions are pushed through the function keys. Other notable features include 1,000Hz ultrapolling, 10 key roll-over, cable management routing, and support for Razer’s Chroma illumination platform, which synchronizes colors and lighting effects across all supported Razer devices.
Here’s another keyboard we like to use in-house. It’s a solid mechanical solution built for easy transportation, and relies on Cherry MX Red switches complemented by a sole red per-key illumination. There’s nothing wrong with having a single color versus a palate of millions: red illumination is better than no lighting at all. The K63’s red lighting is backed by key caps with large fonts so you’re not fighting to locate keys instead of the on-screen opponents.
Due to its size, you won’t find dedicated macro keys. Instead, you can record macros using Corsair’s desktop software called Corsair Utility Engine (CUE). You can also use this software to create profiles that load when assigned to your favorite games, such as pre-determined key illumination, lighting effects, event assignments, key remapping, and more. But Corsair’s keyboard does provide a button to lock the Windows key, a button for setting the illumination at various brightness levels, and dedicated media keys.
Technically, keyboards without the number pad (tenkeyless) are compact, but this model is seemingly in its own class. It includes a number pad, but it’s shorter in width than the full-size “large” Pro L RGB version, but wider than the “small” Pro S RGB version. Thus, this “medium” Pro M version seemingly combines the best of both worlds by merging the number pad, arrow keys, and the INS/DEL/END keys together into one solution.
With the Pro M, there are no dedicated macro or media keys. On the macro front, you can assign commands to any key using the built-in “on-the-fly” system as seen with the other two models, or use Cooler Master’s “hassle free” software. Meanwhile, all media controls are piped through the function keys. But like the Pro L and Pro S versions, you get RGB per-key backlighting, a 32-bit processor handling your keystrokes, and silent tactile feedback via Cherry MX Brown switches. Versions served up with Cherry MX Blue, Red, and Silver switches are available as well.
What's the cyber-security policy in your organisation? Is it common to share login passwords with your colleagues? Because that's how it works in the House of Commons - according to one MP at least.
Responding to the row over just who might have had access to Damian Green's computer - and therefore potentially used it to view pornography - Nadine Dorries tweeted this:
"My staff log onto my computer on my desk with my login everyday. Including interns on exchange programmes. For the officer on @BBCNews just now to claim that the computer on Greens desk was accessed and therefore it was Green is utterly preposterous !!"
Later she went on: "All my staff have my login details. A frequent shout when I manage to sit at my desk myself is, 'what is the password?'"
Cyber-security Twitter was horrified. "Nobody, whatever their seniority, should have anyone else's login details," said technology writer Kate Bevan.
"I'm going to assume UK MP @NadineDorries didn't admit to such crazy infosec practices, and instead just had someone else use her Twitter account instead," said security blogger Graham Cluley.
Ms Dorries explained that MPs dealt with vast amounts of email, so had to give staff the ability to read them and respond. But plenty of people pointed out that you can give an assistant access to your email without handing over your password to the whole system.
Image copyrightUK PARLIAMENT
Image captionMP Nadine Dorries says she shares her login details with her staff
Troy Hunt, an Australian cyber-security researcher, says: "This illustrates a fundamental lack of privacy and security education. All the subsequent reasons given for why it's necessary have technology solutions which provide traceability back to individual, identifiable users."
Now this all begs the question - does the House of Commons have a cyber-security policy? And if so, what does it say about logins? After all, this summer Parliament was hit by what was described as a "sustained and serious" cyber-attack by hackers trying to access MPs' email accounts.
It turns out there is a chapter in the House of Commons staff handbook which is very clear on this matter, and on the care needed to be taken with sensitive information stored on computers. Among a list of things it says "You MUST NOT" do is "share your password".
Pretty clear then? Ah, but that applies to staff, not their bosses.
'Arrogance, entitlement and ignorance'
I consulted a couple of MPs - one Conservative, one Labour - about their attitudes to cyber-security.
Both said that they would not dream of sharing their computer login - but admitted that most of their colleagues were far more lax.
One told me that in general House of Commons cyber-security had been "really really bad", although had improved since the July attack.
The MP went on: "Most MPs have that fatal combination of arrogance, entitlement and ignorance, which mean they don't think codes of practice are for them."
The other member - who had by the way come under attack from Russian hackers - said that it would be hard to enforce any code: "Ultimately this is a result of each MP and their office functioning as entirely independent small businesses. If one person wants to make daft decisions there is no way of forcing them not to."
Every year on Safer Internet Day we are lectured about ways of securing our computers from the growing threat from criminal hackers. Perhaps next year the organisers need to make the House of Commons their first stop.
Microsoft is making an interesting move today that will impact users who currently access Skype with their Facebook credentials. The company is ending support for this feature and starting in early January, you will no longer be able to login to the messaging platform using this authentication method.
The company says that they are ending support for the feature on January 10th to push users towards authenticating with a Microsoft account to create a single sign-on experience across all of the company’s services. At this time, the feature is not supported on Skype for Windows 10, the new Skype for Android and iPhone, and the new Skype for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
What this means is that if you are using one of the newer versions of Skype, this change will not impact you but this announcement is a bit odd. Considering, from an outsider perspective, that Skype has very slow (if any at all) user growth, removing an option to streamline the onboarding process feels backwards.
Microsoft loves to proclaim that they have 300 million users of the platform, saying this as recently as of 2017 in interviews with various outlets, including myself, but that figure has been used as far back as 2013. By removing Facebook login support, surely that will not help grow the user base of the platform.
This is an interesting move and there may be more to the story than simply wanting to help promote the single sign-on scenario. For example, by using Facebook’s tools, that company knows exactly how many people are using Skype via it’s platform and not to mention that Facebook has its own competing messaging platform as well; this may be a story of competing interests.
For now, know that if you are using Facebook to login to Skype, you need to switch to a Microsoft account in the near future if you do not want to lose access to your account.
This is software to save lives. Facebook’s new “proactive detection” artificial intelligence technology will scan all posts for patterns of suicidal thoughts, and when necessary send mental health resources to the user at risk or their friends, or contact local first-responders. By using AI to flag worrisome posts to human moderators instead of waiting for user reports, Facebook can decrease how long it takes to send help.
Facebook also will use AI to prioritize particularly risky or urgent user reports so they’re more quickly addressed by moderators, and tools to instantly surface local language resources and first-responder contact info. It’s also dedicating more moderators to suicide prevention, training them to deal with the cases 24/7, and now has 80 local partners like Save.org, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and Forefront from which to provide resources to at-risk users and their networks.
“This is about shaving off minutes at every single step of the process, especially in Facebook Live,” says VP of product management Guy Rosen. Over the past month of testing, Facebook has initiated more than 100 “wellness checks” with first-responders visiting affected users. “There have been cases where the first-responder has arrived and the person is still broadcasting.”
The idea of Facebook proactively scanning the content of people’s posts could trigger some dystopian fears about how else the technology could be applied. Facebook didn’t have answers about how it would avoid scanning for political dissent or petty crime, with Rosen merely saying “we have an opportunity to help here so we’re going to invest in that.” There are certainly massive beneficial aspects about the technology, but it’s another space where we have little choice but to hope Facebook doesn’t go too far.
[Update: Facebook’s chief security officer Alex Stamos responded to these concerns with a heartening tweet signaling that Facebook does take seriously responsible use of AI.
The creepy/scary/malicious use of AI will be a risk forever, which is why it's important to set good norms today around weighing data use versus utility and be thoughtful about bias creeping in. Also, Guy Rosen and team are amazing, great opportunity for ML engs to have impact. https://twitter.com/JoshConstine/status/935177132350648320 …
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg praised the product update in a post today, writing that “In the future, AI will be able to understand more of the subtle nuances of language, and will be able to identify different issues beyond suicide as well, including quickly spotting more kinds of bullying and hate.”
Unfortunately, after TechCrunch asked if there was a way for users to opt out, of having their posts a Facebook spokesperson responded that users cannot opt out. They noted that the feature is designed to enhance user safety, and that support resources offered by Facebook can be quickly dismissed if a user doesn’t want to see them.]
Facebook trained the AI by finding patterns in the words and imagery used in posts that have been manually reported for suicide risk in the past. It also looks for comments like “are you OK?” and “Do you need help?”
“We’ve talked to mental health experts, and one of the best ways to help prevent suicide is for people in need to hear from friends or family that care about them,” Rosen says. “This puts Facebook in a really unique position. We can help connect people who are in distress connect to friends and to organizations that can help them.”
How suicide reporting works on Facebook now
Through the combination of AI, human moderators and crowdsourced reports, Facebook could try to prevent tragedies like when a father killed himself on Facebook Live last month. Live broadcasts in particular have the power to wrongly glorify suicide, hence the necessary new precautions, and also to affect a large audience, as everyone sees the content simultaneously unlike recorded Facebook videos that can be flagged and brought down before they’re viewed by many people.
Now, if someone is expressing thoughts of suicide in any type of Facebook post, Facebook’s AI will both proactively detect it and flag it to prevention-trained human moderators, and make reporting options for viewers more accessible.
When a report comes in, Facebook’s tech can highlight the part of the post or video that matches suicide-risk patterns or that’s receiving concerned comments. That avoids moderators having to skim through a whole video themselves. AI prioritizes users reports as more urgent than other types of content-policy violations, like depicting violence or nudity. Facebook says that these accelerated reports get escalated to local authorities twice as fast as unaccelerated reports.
Facebook’s tools then bring up local language resources from its partners, including telephone hotlines for suicide prevention and nearby authorities. The moderator can then contact the responders and try to send them to the at-risk user’s location, surface the mental health resources to the at-risk user themselves or send them to friends who can talk to the user. “One of our goals is to ensure that our team can respond worldwide in any language we support,” says Rosen.
Back in February, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote that “There have been terribly tragic events — like suicides, some live streamed — that perhaps could have been prevented if someone had realized what was happening and reported them sooner . . . Artificial intelligence can help provide a better approach.”
With more than 2 billion users, it’s good to see Facebook stepping up here. Not only has Facebook created a way for users to get in touch with and care for each other. It’s also unfortunately created an unmediated real-time distribution channel in Facebook Live that can appeal to people who want an audience for violence they inflict on themselves or others.
Creating a ubiquitous global communication utility comes with responsibilities beyond those of most tech companies, which Facebook seems to be coming to terms with.


text:
Protecting Kids, Preserving the Planet Opportunities abound for entrepreneurs who can deliver safe, eco-friendly children's products.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Thanks to the massive green movement, the eco-friendly children's products industry is exploding. Other industry and demographic factors are at play, too. Toys from China are being recalled for lead violations, toxins have been found in plastic baby bottles, and the U.S. is experiencing its largest baby boom in 45 years. Combine all that, and you've got incredible opportunity, says Lauren Schnell Davison, an organic lifestyle coach and founder of OrganicGreenMommy.com, an all-in-one green parenting website.
For parents, safety ranks first. So organic and nontoxic food, apparel, feeding products, diapers and toys top the list. Even in an economic slump, Schnell Davison says there will always be a demand for these everyday items. "You can't raise a child without these must-haves,"?she says. "Just make sure they're safe and nontoxic."
Memorial Day Sale - Save 20%! Unlock this premium article & so much more with Entrepreneur+
Join the internet’s leading entrepreneur community with our Memorial Day sale! With your subscription, you'll get:
- Digestible insight on how to be a better entrepreneur and leader
- Lessons for starting and growing a business from our expert network of CEOs and founders
- Meaningful content to help you make sharper decisions
- Business and life hacks to help you stay ahead of the curve
Use code SAVE20 at checkout.


text:
Shares of Apollo Micro Systems jumped over 8% in early trade on Monday as the company announced bagging several orders.
What Happened: The company on Saturday informed the exchanges that it had been declared the lowest bidder for several orders from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and another government sector company.
The company added that the orders were worth around ₹28.15 crore. “This significant development occurred within the past week,” the exchange filing read.
The company also announced on Saturday that it had signed several important agreements with DRDO. The company signed transfer of technology (ToT) Agreements for Guidance and Navigation Technology, Rotary Electro-Mechanical Actuator, for Weaponisation of Hand-Held Thermal Imager with LRF (WHHTI), and Unified Avionics Computer.
The company had last week announced the incorporation of a subsidiary for its defence business. Apollo Defence Industries Pvt Ltd.
Get all the latest Share Market trends and news to set you up for the week ahead.
Price Action: Shares of Apollo Micro Systems were up 7.43% to trade at ₹57.85 in the early hours of trading on Monday.
© 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.


text:
Indian apparel industry has again urged the Government to support and provide package as the industry is currently undergoing one of its worst phases owing to COVID-19.
As per the leading apparel exporters, 75 per cent of Indian apparel exporters are now exposed to cancellation of orders and postponement of shipment. The uncertainty is expected to linger for at least next 2 months, impacting nearly US S 1 billion worth of shipments.
Around 13 million direct workers and their families will also get affected due to this, which will ultimately impact the entire economy.
Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi for immediate financial stimulus package for the apparel sector.
Dr. A. Sakthivel, Chairman, AEPC, informed, “Indian apparel sector has been one of the worst-hit due to Coronavirus as it is deeply engaged with the global value chain. There are other issues also like severe cash flow crunch, rising inventories and shipment cancellations. So, we need urgent support from the Government.”
Enhancement of the existing limits for advances of exporters may be automatically enhanced by 25 per cent without insisting on additional collateral and minimum 6 months moratorium on payment of interest on all loans/facilities from banks.
Earlier, apparel exporters also requested for an ‘Amnesty Scheme’ to be introduced in Foreign Trade Policy, restoration of MEIS benefits that were retrospectively withdrawn for the sector from March 2019 and creation of a ‘Corpus Fund’ for exporting industry.


text:
Now would be a good time for legislation that would provide federal tax credits for purchases of flex-fuel vehicles, according to the head of the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC).
Sen. John Thune (R-SD) plans to introduce a bill this week that would let buyers of cars or trucks capable of running on up to 85 percent ethanol enriched fuel claim a $1,000 tax credit.
“As the ethanol industry approaches the pending ‘blend wall,’ Senator Thune’s legislation may be an idea whose time has come,” says NEVC executive director Phil Lampert.
According to Lampert, NEVC has discussed the idea in the past considering the federal income tax credits that are provided to vehicles that are capable of operating on propane, natural gas, electricity, and hybrid vehicles but had decided not to push the issue since “automakers producing FFVs don’t currently add additional costs to the retail price of these products.”
Thune, who was among a bipartisan group of Senators that sent a letter last week to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson supporting the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), says his legislation would encourage consumers to buy more flex-fuel vehicles, which would in turn increase demand for E-85 and blender pumps.


text:
Intel has been one of the most operative and active companies at the CES 2021, where Alder Lake was one of the four new families of processors launch announced by Intel. At the CES press conference, the company announced that Alder Lake would be due around the second half of 2021. Intel has dropped some mad hints, which has provided us with a clear idea of what enthusiastic features and innovations we can expect from their 12 generation desktop chips quoted as Alder Lake.
Compared to other chips, Alder Lake seems to have a unique perspective and approach to intrigue the consumers. This product conveys some major vibes as Intel has quoted that this single product will exhibit a combination of high performance and efficiency cores that sound promising. Intel hopes for these to be the most proficient and competent processors you can find on any laptop. The long battery life of alder lake-powered PCs is what we can expect from it.
Intel has also revealed a significant advancement in their x86 architecture, suggesting that it will overcome the existing CPUs compatibility issues. The only other official news is that it will have a 10nm process and a faster transistor. A fascinating feature is the golden core cove design which sounds super cool. Intel has also stated it as a brilliant improvement of up to 20%in single-core and up to 2x for multithread. Some sources also confirmed that it would support gen 4 and gen 5PCIe Express and Thunderbolt 4 and DDR4/DDR5 memory.
DDR5 memory is also in restricted supply and might not have fully ramped up by the time Alder Lake launches anyways, so we expect only high-end motherboards to feature this. A few articles also conclude that the new LGA 1700 socket will be different from its predecessors, meaning Alder Lake will require new coolers. Development of the latest and updated RAM standard gives us high hopes for faster speed with double bandwidth. Some resources also leak that Alder Lake will hit a maximum frequency of 4.0GHz, which is convincing to hear.
The uplifting signs from the Alder lakes gaming test reveal that it can hit a maximum FPS of over 549, averaging over 120fps. Though the settings and resolutions used to record these figures are still unknown. It is absolute to say that the newest alder lake is a benchmark against the equivalence AMD chips, so a pc user considering a high-end CPU should surely contemplate this. Intel's Alder Lake is also to feature the big. LITTLE design philosophy.
From the disclosed information, we cannot deny that Alder Lake is somehow going to be the successor to 2020's Tiger Lake. With the year almost coming to its end, the excitement level is literally at its peak. Some competing stuff is about to hit the PC market, and we can't wait to see what they have in for us. Let's all hope for the best.


text:
As the price of Bitcoin plummets below $11,000 on CoinMarketCap, billionaire investor and CEO of crypto merchant bank Galaxy Digital, Mike Novogratz, is explaining his strategy in the current market.
He is long on Bitcoin.
In an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Thursday, Novogratz says he sold a bit of Bitcoin during Wednesday’s surge to nearly $13,800 and says he wishes he’d sold a lot more. According to the veteran trader, Bitcoin at $4,000 is a thing of the past, and he believes it will move into a trading range between $10,000 and $14,000.
“Bitcoin’s had a big run. If you were perfect, you’d have sold a whole bunch yesterday and then would be waiting to buy back at $10,000-$11,000…
I don’t actively trade that often but when you go parabolic you have to. Markets don’t go straight up like this forever.”
Novogratz says the crypto frenzy and high trading volumes are what caused exchanges, including Coinbase, to shut down temporarily on Wednesday.
He attributes the BTC surge to several factors including the crypto industry’s firm boost from players like Facebook and its corporate partners – Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, Stripe, eBay, Uber, among others – who have signed on to support and govern the tech giant’s upcoming digital asset Libra.
His best guess is that major corporations will dive all-in on crypto by 2022.
“First, this is a step function. First, they’re going to accept Libra coin. I would bet you within 18 months – Visa, Mastercard accept Bitcoin as payment as well.”
Novogratz affirms that institutional investors are getting more comfortable with blockchain as the foundational technology for a new global financial infrastructure.
“So if you’re an institutional investor who’s getting close and still worried about investing, it makes you that much more confident. And so we’re seeing institutions moving into this space. And this run wasn’t institutions. It’s people front-running them. But it’s also China. A huge amount of the volume and what’s going on in Bitcoin and other currencies is coming out of Asia. And it’s capital flight from China. It is harder and harder to get money out legally from China if you’re Chinese.”
In an interview with TechCrunch, Novogratz says Galaxy Digital has poured several hundred million dollars into blockchain and crypto investments and tokens. It most recently led a $5.5 million Series A round of funding for digital contract management platform Clause.
The startup facilitates dynamic contracts that allow users to connect documents in real-time to tools like Stripe, email and DocuSign. The company was also backed by DocuSign and Galaxy Digital’s EOS Venture Capital Fund.
Last year, Galaxy lost $97 million in the fourth quarter, largely on Bitcoin trading. The company posted a $272.7 million loss in 2018, according to its annual filing.
At that time, Novogratz said the company was well positioned to scale its business strategically over time.
“The first few months of 2019 have yielded a notable increase in activity across our business lines. We are already benefiting from both the strong foundation we laid in 2018 as well as the year-to-date rally in digital asset markets. We expect to continue to build upon this positive momentum through the remainder of 2019 and beyond.”[the_ad id="42537"] [the_ad id="42536"]


text:
LORAIN -- A teenager punched an Apples Market security officer Tuesday after the teen was caught stealing a $2.59 pack of Twizzlers.
The teen escaped with the goods from the Meister Road store with the help of another boy, police said.
The security officer told police he saw the teen stuffing the candy in his pocket. When the security officer stepped in front of the teen, the teen started swinging, hitting the security man in the head.
The accomplice then came to the teen's aid and they were able to flee the scene. Police were provided with video surveillance of the incident.


text:
Volvo Cars announces switch to all electric cars
Volvo Cars, the premium carmaker, has announced that every Volvo it launches from 2019 will have an electric motor, marking the historic end of cars that only have an internal combustion engine (ICE) and placing electrification at the core of its future business.
The announcement represents one of the most significant moves by any carmaker to embrace electrification and highlights how over a century after the invention of the internal combustion engine, electrification is paving the way for a new chapter in automotive history.
“This is about the customer,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive. “People increasingly demand electrified cars and we want to respond to our customers’ current and future needs. You can now pick and choose whichever electrified Volvo you wish.”
Volvo Cars will introduce a portfolio of electrified cars across its model range, embracing fully electric cars, plug-in hybrid cars and mild hybrid cars.
It will launch five fully electric cars between 2019 and 2021, three of which will be Volvo models and two of which will be high performance electrified cars from Polestar, Volvo Cars’ performance car arm. Full details of these models will be announced at a later date.
These five cars will be supplemented by a range of petrol and diesel plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid 48-volt options on all models, representing one of the broadest electrified car offerings of any car maker.
This means that in the future, there will be no Volvo cars without an electric motor, as pure ICE cars are gradually phased out and replaced by ICE cars that are enhanced with electrified options.
“This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car,” said Samuelsson. “Volvo Cars has stated that it plans to have sold a total of 1 million electrified cars by 2025. When we said it we meant it. This is how we are going to do it.”
The announcement underlines Volvo Cars’ commitment to minimising its environmental impact and making the cities of the future cleaner. Volvo Cars is focused on reducing the carbon emissions of both its products as well as its operations. It aims to have climate neutral manufacturing operations by 2025.
The decision also follows this month’s announcement that Volvo Cars will turn Polestar into a new separate branded electrified global high-performance car company. Thomas Ingenlath, senior vice president, Design at Volvo Cars, will lead Polestar as chief executive officer.
Volvo Cars is one of the most well-known and respected car brands in the world with sales of 534,332 cars in 2016 in about 100 countries. Volvo Cars has been under the ownership of the Zhejiang Geely Holding (Geely Holding) of China since 2010. It formed part of the Swedish Volvo Group until 1999, when the company was bought by American carmaker Ford Motor Company. In 2010, Geely Holding acquired Volvo Cars.
Volvo Cars’ head office, product development, marketing and administration functions are mainly located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Cars’ head office for China is located in Shanghai. The company’s main car production plants are located in Gothenburg, Sweden; Ghent, Belgium; Chengdu and Daqing, China; engines are manufactured in Skövde, Sweden, and Zhangjiakou, China, and body components in Olofström, Sweden.


text:
(CNN) — Walmart, America’s largest private employer, will raise pay for 425,000 US workers — more than a fourth of its workforce — to at least $13 an hour.
Starting March 13, hourly workers stocking shelves and fulfilling customers’ home delivery and curbside pickup orders in stores will receive a starting rate of $13 to $19 an hour, based on the store’s location and market, Walmart US CEO John Furner said in note to Walmart workers Thursday. Last year, the company raised wages for 165,000 store workers in management roles to a starting rate of $18 an hour.
Walmart said that the latest pay bumps will bring its average hourly wage to above $15 an hour. But Walmart will maintain its $11 minimum wage.
In recent years, many rival retailers and restaurant chains have moved to a $15 an hour minimum wage. Amazon raised its starting wage to $15 in 2018, while Target and Best Buy bumped up their minimum wages to $15 last year.
The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since 2009.
President Joe Biden included a $15 federal minimum wage in his $1.9 trillion stimulus proposal last month, and it’s part of the package working its way through the House. The legislation, which could be voted on as soon as next week, calls for hiking the hourly wage in stages until it hits $15 in 2025.
™ & © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
I have an idea for a future in-depth report. How do I tell you about it?
Today’s Top Stories
- Santa, reindeer granted permit to enter US on Christmas Eve
- Utah drivers licenses one step closer to going digital
- Pandemic pause ends in Susan Powell parents lawsuit trial
- U. Hospital’s Bridge Program gives opioid addicts more treatment options
- Giovanni Pangan, Philippines mission president, dies of heart attack
- Boxer Rocky Lockridge, “Best Cry Ever” meme man, has died at the age of 60
- Police make sixth arrest in the kidnapping and murder of Kearns woman
- Hey, Utahns over 70: Here’s everything to know about getting your COVID-19 vaccine
- Live Mic: lessons of 1968’s RFK Appalachia visit still echo today
- Diet soda doesn’t have to lead to weight loss, court rules


text:
Take the “Pope in a Coat” (please!). Via Ryan Broderick’s Garbage Day:
Over the weekend, a user on Reddit’s r/midjourney subreddit posted an AI-generated image of Pope Francis wearing a big parka (and looking sick). And it’s not an accident that it was an image of the pope wearing what looks like Balenciaga. Generative-AI art communities share different meta strategies for good prompts and aesthetics that these tools can work within and more than few users have recently figured out that Midjourney is actually really good at rendering stuff that looks like high fashion photography. For instance, last week, there was an AI video of Balenciaga Harry Potter that went viral, though I’m guessing the prompts for that were more “80s dark fantasy”.
Either way, the image above was then shared on Twitter by a user named @skyferrori who captioned it, “OKAAYYY”. And it went super viral. It was retweeted over 18,000 times. And a lot of those people thought it was real (myself included). The tell that it’s fake is that he’s carrying what looks like a Starbucks cup in his right hand.
And it seems like the believability of this image was a real wakeup call for a lot of folks. As writer Joel Golby succinctly put it in The Guardian this morning, “I thought I was immune to being fooled online. Then I saw the pope in a coat.”
There’s no reason to worry, certainly not as 01 April approaches.
Let’s imagine a world where the energy issues with blockchain (and I’ll refer to all digital ledgers that operate basically the same in that umbrella term) are resolved. Let’s say blockchain becomes divorced in peoples’ mind from NFTs and associated grifts. And let’s say blockchain becomes both ubiquitous and open like the World Wide Web.
Could blockchain solve the deepfake problem? It would not be fast — legitimate sources would need to register (?) on the blockchain and prove their identity through something … ugh, I hate myself for even typing this … non-fungible … gah, I was right – I hate myself for using that word … in the physical world. Governments and NGOs would be able to set themselves up, central banks could set up regular banks who would set up their clients, and so on.
I see legion problems with this approach. I’m tired and need to go to bed. But an imperfect system backed with some validation beyond buying a blue checkmark from a space Karen is better than a Wild West, which is what we may have now.


text:
Specialist bakery group IAWS is aiming to benefit from a renewed
focus on supplying in-store bakeries across the UK as the company
announces a strong profit rise, increasingly driven by canny
acquisitions and joint ventures abroad,...
Around one in ten supermarket bakery workers risk developing asthma
by breathing in dust from flour and bread mixes, according to a new
study which calls for greater awareness among retailers as the
number of in-store bakeries grows,...


text:
Farmer’s Market goes to the dogs
by Susan O’Neill
SUGAR GROVEâ€”Dog owners and dog lovers alike are invited to take part in the Sugar Grove Farmer’s Market Dog Days of Summer event on Saturday, Aug. 15.
Dog owners who believe they have the peppiest dog, the laziest dog, the best dressed dog or the cutest puppy should bring photos of their canine friends to enter them in the individual contests. Winners will receive a blue ribbon, a treat for their dog and a cookie for the owner.
Photo entries will be displayed at the information tent. Farmer’s Market volunteer Tina Cella said that visitors to the market will be asked to vote for their favorite photos as they enter the market, so entrants are encouraged to submit their entries ahead of time or first thing Saturday morning.
Entrants may sign up for the contests by completing an entry form on the Sugar Grove Chamber of Commerce & Industry website at www.sugargrovechamber.org or at the information tent at the Farmer’s Market before 9:45 a.m. Saturday.
A Stupid Pet Trick Contest will be held at 10 a.m. Audience reaction will determine the winner, who will receive a $20 gift certificate redeemable at any Sugar Grove Chamber member business.
Several specialty vendors and organizations will have booths, including Midwest Greyhound Adoption, Sugar Grove Animal Hospital, Bil Jac Dog Food, Barkaholics, Kilogi Dog Treats and Rover Rescue.
Event sponsor Mille Molitor of Millie’s Pet Sitting and More will be on hand to give out $1 gift certificates to the first 100 visitors to the market. The certificates are redeemable at any vendor at the market that day.
Millie, who offers in-home pet sitting services for all types of animals, vacation care, daily dog walking and emergency visits, is in her sixth year of business. Millie services the village of Sugar Grove and Prestbury.
â€œI’m very excited about the event, and I look forward to seeing everyone and their pets,â€ she said.
Dog Days of Summer
Saturday, Aug. 15
8 a.m. to noon
Parking lot of the
Sugar Grove Municipal Building
Route 30 and Municipal Drive


text:
- US Online Poker
- US Online Casinos
- US Online Sports Betting
With stalled expansion in the U.S., and the rise of alternative online gaming options, online casino and online poker have taken a backseat in recent years at G2E, and this year is no exception.
There are still plenty of iGaming vendors (and floor space set aside for iGaming specific companies) making the trek to Las Vegas at the end of September, and there are still many iGaming-related seminars to choose from … if you arrive early.
By early, I mean the day before the show officially begins. The G2E showroom officially opens its doors on Tuesday, but before the vendors hock their wares, there is a full slate of seminars on Monday during what G2E calls the iGaming Congress.
During the main G2E show (Tuesday and Wednesday), most of the iGaming talk centers around DFS and other emerging verticals, with a smattering of online casino and online poker talk mixed in.
A number of the 2015 seminars will cover the modern era of online gaming (such as social, mobile, and app usage) as it relates to land-based gaming, but the focus below is on the iGaming-specific seminars you’ll find at G2E 2015.
This session will examine the evolution of iGaming regulations in the U.S. and around the globe, including the best practices for compliance, and the current zeitgeist in regulation.
Thus far the only announced speaker is Gambling Compliance’s Kevin Cochran, but other speakers will likely be added.Speaker:
The other 9 AM session on Monday seems a bit redundant, but this session will focus more on new verticals and on the global gaming industry as a whole, not just online gaming.
Which 9 AM panel you attend will likely be determined by the lineup and whether you have a U.S. or international focus.Speakers:
This is an intriguing session as it doesn’t focus on social gaming, but rather how social gaming intersects with other forms of online gaming, and how iGaming operators in the U.S. can use social gaming to their advantage.Speakers:
This session will cover recent research by Dr. Heather Gray, who researched Iceland’s iLottery and the effects on public health.
Dr. Gray will likely challenge the conventional wisdom that says the ease of access of online gaming will create more problem gamblers, a trend in recent research on the topic.
This is one of the panels I’m most looking forward to. I expect the panelists to challenge the longstanding belief of the first-mover advantage in online gambling and explain some of the advantages second wave sites have in these nascent markets.Speakers:
eSports has quickly appeared on the online gaming radar, and G2E will close out its Monday iGaming Congress session with what should be a lively and informative talk on what is perhaps the most overlooked (up until now) vertical in iGaming.Speakers:
This session will explore how casino corporations and gaming companies are bringing multiple forms of gaming under a single tent (particularly online gaming verticals), creating companies that appeal to a vast array of potential customers and clients.Speakers:
I’m interested to find out who the panelists for this seminar will be.
This session has the potential for some serious fireworks, as operators in regulated markets and their competitors operating in gray markets don’t always see eye to eye. Everything from the risks of operating in these unregulated spaces to how a regulated company can compete with a gray market operator will be discussed.
This seminar will be heavy on speculation as the panelists look to the future and try to determine where the DFS and sports betting industries in the U.S. are headed.
This is another session that could lead to some heavy disagreement, particularly over the legality of DFS and whether or not it’s gambling or should be classified as something else.
If you didn’t get enough of the DFS versus sports betting debate before lunch, you’ll only have to wait until 2 PM before the conversation picks back up. This session will likely be less acerbic, as the focus is on the potential harmonies between sports betting, DFS, and established casinos.Speakers:
This is the perfect seminar to get you up to speed on the changes and advancements of regulated online gambling around the globe. This session seems like it will be a general overview, which should be a nice primer for people new to online gaming or anyone who’s not caught up on the latest global developments.Speakers:
Depending on the panelists, the lone iGaming session on Wednesday should be an interesting and perhaps contentious one, considering the varied opinions regarding online gaming among tribal casino operators.
Definitely keep an eye on who will be invited to speak, as the panelists could be the difference between an informative talk and a fiery debate.
Once again the G2E showroom will feature a smallish dedicated iGaming area (dubbed the “iGaming Zone”), but you’ll also find plenty of online gaming-centric products throughout the main showroom floor.
Among the vendors you’ll find on the show floor that might be of interest to the online-minded attendee are:
Image nito / Shutterstock.com


text:
Aug 07, 2018 · Bitcoin SV is the original Bitcoin It restores the original Bitcoin protocol, will keep it stable, and allow it to massively scale. Bitcoin SV will maintain the vision set out by Satoshi Nakamoto’s white paper in 2008: Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.
His last communication was in April 2011, two years after the network came Jan 28, 2020 · Much like Bitcoin SV, Bitcoin Gold is yet another hard fork of the Bitcoin Core software. Since early January 2020, BTG has grown over 80% versus BTC. At its height two weeks ago, the altcoin peaked close to 130%. Price now seems to be struggling to maintain its positive momentum. Jan 17, 2020 · Confirmed: Craig Wright doesn’t have keys to $8 billion of Bitcoin Craig Wright’s lawyer says he didn’t receive the private keys to $8 billion worth of Bitcoin and provides an update on the Dave Kleiman court case. Dec 16, 2020 · Bitcoin SV (BSV) is a hard fork of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) which was originally hard forked from Bitcoin (BTC). Designed to be lightweight in terms of both transaction data and the associated network fees, the BSV team has built a robust blockchain infrastructure that can handle far more than a payments network – although it does that masterfully The Reddit forum will be hoping that it doesn’t also get the attention of regulators. Bitcoin cools but will Twitter buy?
- Denní čepice opálová karta
- Cena akcie rfx plc
- Transakční poplatek za krypto
- Ceny podnikových dluhopisů dnes
- Nejlepší monero miner 2021
- Trezor peněz ve španělštině
BSV will maintain the vision laid out by Satoshi Nakamoto in the 2008 white paper - Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. Bitcoin SV is the original Bitcoin It restores the original Bitcoin protocol, will keep it stable, and allow it to massively scale. Bitcoin SV will maintain the vision set out by Satoshi Nakamoto’s white paper in 2008: Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. A community dedicated to Bitcoin, the currency of the Internet. Bitcoin is a distributed, worldwide, decentralized digital money. Bitcoins are issued and managed without any central authority whatsoever: there is no government, company, or bank in charge of Bitcoin.
We’ve already told you how to buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. But should you? In the video above, Coin Talk podcast hosts Aaron Lammer and Jay Caspian Kang say yesbut they have some caveats. (In further conversation, they compare
BSV will maintain the vision laid out by Satoshi Nakamoto in the 2008 white paper - Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. Bitcoin SV 24h $ 178.27-23.25%. Bitcoin SV 24h $ 178.27-54.15-23.25%.
Reddit community WallStreetBets became headline news last week Jan 14, 2020 · Bitcoin SV has been climbing for the last month after struggling for most of 2019 and over the last few weeks has leaped sharply higher—adding a staggering 200% in just the last week. Feb 15, 2019 · Coinbase has finally allowed its clients to withdraw their Bitcoin SV (BSV) balance to external wallets. Nevertheless, it is still impossible to buy or sell BSV on Coinbase platforms.
Apple Podcasts What is Bitcoin SV? Twice a year, the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network hard forks as part of scheduled protocol upgrades.
About the Dental Clinics; Meet the Doctors; Services . Dental Implants; Flexible Removable Complete Dentures Polkadot showed a bearish divergence in a shorter timeframe and saw a minor dip toward $38. Ontology appeared poised for a strong move upward once more while Bitcoin SV saw a level of support flipped to resistance at $240. Polkadot [DOT] Source: DOT/USDT on TradingView On the 1-hour timeframe, a bearish divergence between price and […] Aug 07, 2018 · Bitcoin SV is the original Bitcoin It restores the original Bitcoin protocol, will keep it stable, and allow it to massively scale.
The total number of Bitcoin SV mined by miners per block will reduce from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC in the next bitcoin halving. Jan 15, 2020 · Moreover, Bitcoin SV (BSV) soared to an all-time high at $435 USD in the early trading hours on Monday and the run does not look to die down anytime soon. Image: Coinmarketcap. Quickly analyzing the $10 million dollar transaction, you may see it as a dump of BTC in the market given the breach of the current key resistance level at $8,800 USD. Feb 01, 2021 · Bitcoin was first traded back in 2009. Back then, you could buy one of the new digital tokens for less than 1 cent. Prices steadily rose – albeit with some volatility over the years – and in Buy and sell Bitcoin SV instantly. Easily exchange Bitcoin SV for your favorite cryptos like Ethereum, Monero, Litecoin, and more right from your wallet, in seconds.
In this guide, we will walk you through the terminology, perks, and how to navigate the various communities of the popular social media site. If you spend a lot of time online, chances are you’ve heard of Reddit. The site bi Reddit can be intimidating for new users. Check out our helpful guide to get started. Reddit is a social media website where people gather links and share them with each other. Those links can be pictures, articles, or videos (really anythi Learn more about the Bitcoin SV fork and how to buy, sell and trade BSV, including a complete list of the exchanges that support it. Finder is committed to editorial independence.
On November 15th, both groups started creating blocks in their respective, separate blockchains. No, Bitcoin SV (BSV) price will not be downward based on our estimated prediction. In 1 year from now what will 1 Bitcoin SV be worth? The price of 1 Bitcoin SV (BSV) can roughly be upto $359.37 USD in 1 years time a 2X nearly from the current Bitcoin SV price. Digital assets—back in the days called “cryptocurrencies”—like Bitcoin SV (BSV), BTC or Ethereum are quite hard to measure concerning their value.When BTC hit US$10,000 and after that even US$20,000, people lost their minds. The media keeps saying WallStreetBets is going after silver; WallStreetBets members say it’s a campaign to co-opt and divide them.nefi starostlivosť o zákazníka
ako zavrieť môj účet v banke ameriky
najlepšie bitcoinové stránky
previesť bitcoin z coinbase do blockchain peňaženky
trafiť hru o mince
aký význam má ft
Data suggests that transacting on Bitcoin is almost 11,000 times more expensive than through Bitcoin SV – and this could be a crucial deciding factor for those who want to slash their costs. But the battle of the hard forks – Bitcoin Cash vs Bitcoin SV – has been ugly at times.
The people using Twetch are actual Bitcoin SV users, as any interaction on Twetch costs satoshis.
The current CoinMarketCap ranking is #24, with a live market cap of $3,573,924,424 USD. It has a circulating supply of 18,661,277 BSV coins and a max. supply of 21,000,000 BSV coins.The top exchanges for trading in Bitcoin SV are Bitcoin SV Daily Performance. Today's Bitcoin SV price is $245.01, which is up 8% over the last 24 hours. Bitcoin SV's market cap is $4.57B. 24 hour BSV volume is $2.57B.It has a market cap rank of 20 with a circulating supply of 18,653,833 and max supply of 21,000,000.
Huobi Global is the current most active market trading it.. Bitcoin SV is a full-node implementation for Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and will maintain the vision of Bitcoin set Bitcoin SV (Bitcoin Satoshi Vision) is a cryptocurrency. The declared goal of the project is to realize alleged vision of the creator of Bitcoin known as Satoshi Nakamoto by restoring the features of the original bitcoin protocol and by Show more [+] enabling unlimited sized blocks.


text:
Every weekday afternoon, CNET Update delivers the top tech stories of the day. The show keeps a close eye on emerging trends, hot devices and new apps. And it's all in less than three minutes.
In today's show, Kindle is king, Google's got Zergs and gamers are gabbing:
Amazon had a stellar start to 2012 with it's. And ComScore reports that there are . (The Galaxy Tab family of tablets come in second.)
The controversialand will now head to the Senate.
Do a Google search forand see what happens.
turns your iPad into a laptop/tablet hybrid.
Gamers can now. It runs in the background, and alerts you during a game when there's an incoming call.
And looking ahead, there's lots of smartphone news coming next week. BlackBerry World begins Tuesday, and expect to hear more about the Blackberry 10 operating system. Wireless trade show CTIA also takes place next week. And we'll be hearing more about the Samsung Galaxy S3.
Want to share your thoughts on a story? Your questions and comments can make it on the show! Use Tout to message Bridget with a 15 second video reply from your webcam or smartphone camera. Or, simply post a reply video to the CNET YouTube channel. You can also write to email@example.com. We'd love to hear from you.


text:
PETALING JAYA (Dec 22): With Christmas just around the corner and the New Year fast approaching, the festive season is felt everywhere with shopping malls in the Klang Valley having transformed their space into a Christmas wonderland.
With the relaxed measures, the holiday season this year seems more meaningful and livelier as we catch up with family and friends. However, as always, don’t forget to maintain the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in check. Safe distancing, after all, is key.
That aside, with the festive atmosphere palpable, EdgeProp.my paid a visit to the following shopping malls: Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, Suria KLCC, 1 Utama Shopping Centre and Pavilion Bukit Jalil.
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
While New York City has its annual Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center during this time of the year, Malaysia has its very own Pavilion Bukit Bintang when it comes to impressive Christmas decorations. Every year, Pavilion Bukit Bintang puts up a grand Christmas display; this year’s isn’t a letdown either. The mall’s decorations begin from its foyer where reindeers and gold-coloured polar bears greet you at the entrance. Entering the mall is akin to entering a Winter Wonderland with snowmen, reindeers, gingerbread houses and Christmas trees.
Pavilion Bukit Jalil
The newly-opened mall, which launched in early December this year, is just in time to flaunt its Christmas decorations amidst the fast-approaching Christmas season. Here, adorable penguins set the scene for a magical Christmas, while a snow tunnel offers the perfect spot for an Instagram-worthy picture. A whimsical carousel has also been set up for the public to enjoy.
At Suria KLCC, the Christmas decorations here gravitate towards the more traditional colour theme of red and green. Keeping in line with the theme, Suria KLCC’s decorations feature a log cabin, Santa’s cottage, as well as antique-style steam trains.
1 Utama Shopping Centre
Meanwhile in 1 Utama, the shopping mall shows us what it’s like to celebrate Christmas a community. Here, the mall has put up European-style cottages surrounded by Christmas trees. In the centre, a nearly-three-storey tall Christmas tree stands out from the crowd.
Get the latest news @ www.EdgeProp.my
Subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest stories and updates


text:
The yacht was held at an unreserved auction today with bidders from all over the world arriving at the Ritz-Carlton or logging on to the Ritchie Bros. site in order to take part in the auction.
Apoise is a widely celebrated superyacht with a powerful and sophisticated design from Espen Oeino. Built in 2006 and benefitting from a refit in 2009, the superyacht offers style, comfort and performance.
Evidently the auction for this particular yacht has proved a great success for the buyer with the sale coming in way below the estimated worth. When delivered, Apoise topped $90 million in 2006, before her refit in 2009. Sold for $46.6m the Apoise created a gap of $43.4m, going for almost half of its estimated worth before refit.
Kim Shultz, Manager of Commercial Communication with Ritchie Bros. Auction House reported “We really didn't have any expectations on what the Apoise will sell for ... A Wall Street Journal article speculated that it would sell for at least $40 million US dollars and noted that it could go for much less given the large number of yachts currently on the market. Apoise sold for $46.6 million US dollars at our unreserved auction today. So I'd say the auction was very successful.”
For those who sell a superyacht under the hammer there is always a risk, especially in an unreserved auction. Today's bids failed to reach the estimated worth, generally, a loss can be incurred at auction with the added cost of the auctioneer commission on top. However, Stephen Branch from Ritchie Bros. auction has stated that the auction was a success, following their belief in the auction system “It was very good for us, the owner is extremely happy with the outcome”.
Buyers who acquire a superyacht for a greatly reduced price through auction will clearly see the immediate benefits but a superyacht should be a personal acquisition that requires great consideration.
Jaime Edmiston from brokerage firm Edmiston Yacht Company commented "If he had gone through a broker he would have certainly achieved considerably more than €34million"
However, Apoise will not disappoint as her palatial interior and powerful performance make her an extraordinary superyacht, ready to traverse the seas.


text:
☛ Want the latest procurement and supply chain news delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the Supply Management Daily
3 March 2014 | Gurjit Degun
The UK manufacturing sector continued to see strong growth last month as levels of production and new business continued to rise at “robust and above-trend rates”.
The Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reached 56.9 in February, compared with 56.6 in January, above the baseline of 50. This signalled improved operating conditions for 11 months running.
The survey found the strengthening domestic market remained the primary driver of the manufacturing recovery. Consumer, intermediate and investment goods producers reported “robust increases” in output, new orders and employment during February, suggesting that the upturn remained broad-based by sector.
There was positive news from new export business which also posted a “solid gain” last month. But the rate of growth eased from January’s near three-year high. Manufacturers reported improved inflows of new work from clients in Europe, the US, China, the Middle East and Africa.
The improvements in the sector led to manufacturing employment rising at the fastest pace since May 2011. This followed signs of strain on the capacity of some firms, as highlighted by a slight gain in backlogs of work during February.
Average selling prices rose for the eighth consecutive month too, and to a greater extent than in January.
Rob Dobson, senior economist at Markit, said: “On the export front, a slower increase in new export orders was a bit disappointing, attributed in many cases to the recent appreciation of sterling. However, overseas contract wins should remain a spur to growth as conditions in key markets such as the US and eurozone improve further.”
CIPS group CEO David Noble added: “Input prices showed no change, giving factories some breathing space to increase their selling prices and allowing them to catch up on profitability, whilst protecting margins. Added to this, backlogs of works increased for the first time in over three years, keeping hopes of stability alive for the months ahead.”


text:
Bob Peterson, 26
Digital media director, Rosenthal Automotive
It isn't Hollywood. But Bob Peterson for now is happy drumming up business for Rosenthal Automotive with professional-quality videos.
Peterson studied film production and business administration at Southern Methodist University. And while in high school, he spent two weeks in Brazil shooting a Discovery Channel-style documentary on gemstone mining.
Peterson has made more than 100 videos and commercials since joining his maternal grandfather's 13-store dealership group in 2010. But these aren't the garden-variety, amateur walk-arounds of used vehicles.
Each video takes a month to shoot, edit and produce, Peterson said. He puts them up on the store's YouTube channel, where they often go viral.
For example, a test drive and review that Peterson made three years ago of the then-new BMW 5 series has garnered 983,676 views. One made seven months ago on the Audi RS5 has already logged 551,727 views.
All told, Peterson's videos have generated 10 million views on YouTube, helping to bring buyers to the showroom and boosting the group's position on Google, the influential search engine that owns YouTube. One commentator in the Midwest said he'd be "a customer for life if I didn't live so far away."
Peterson said he has learned how far he can push the creative envelope. He once had to take down a popular review of the 2011 Porsche Cayenne because the factory was offended by the host of the spot -- a dealership employee dressed like a godfather figure in red robe with cigar.
Peterson said that one day he'd like to try his hand in Hollywood.
-- David Barkholz