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Author: Allison LeCain
Beer is the most widely consumed alcoholic beverage in the world, and with all the micro-breweries in Ft. Collins, CSU students have the chance to sample many delectable beers.
Most bars in town feature the same six beers at a time.Â They have the standards, such as Bud Light and Coors, and a few seasonal beers from local breweries. The Mayor of Old Town offers a different beer experience.
Voted best place to get a beer by CSU students this fall, The Mayor of Old Town has 100 beers at a time on tap.Â They feature beers from around the country and around the world, as well as local beers.
Owner Kevin Bolin said that only 30 of their beers are fixed and the other 70 are rotators that change monthly. Â At any given time, their selection is approximately 33 percent local beers, 33 percent national and 33 percent international. Â That makes for a lot of choices.
â€œTheyâ€™re all so good, thatâ€™s the problem,â€ said Austen Miller, senior natural resource recreation and tourism student. â€œYouâ€™re sitting here for like half an hour trying to think what beer youâ€™re going to get next. No matter what, thereâ€™s always a solid beer to go for.â€
Bolin and his wife opened The Mayor of Old Town in July of 2011.Â After selling their renting business, Kevco, Bolin said they were on the hunt around the country to find a new place to live and open a new business doing something different.
After some soul searching and traveling, they realized that there is no place better than Ft. Collins. In their travels, the Bolins had seen a lot of great beer bars.
â€œTo have such an awesome beer culture here, and to have the same six beers at every bar, it seemed very apparent that we could stay here to take on our next kind of business,â€ Bolin said.
The concept of this beer bar has been heavily accepted throughout the community, as Bolin said the support has far exceeded his expectations.
In the past year The Mayor of Old Town has won top five beer bars by Playboy, top 15 beer bars in the nation by craftbeer.com, and top 100 beer bars in the nation.
While The Mayor caters to people of all ages, young people enjoy the alternative atmosphere that they experience there.
â€œThey bring in a lot of beers from all over the country. You canâ€™t find that anywhere else,â€ said Derick Burton, who graduated from CSU in May 2012. â€œI guess this place is like a beer aficionado.â€
With so many beers to choose from, Burton recommends the Goose Island Matilda from Chicago as one of his latest discoveries at The Mayor. Since 70 of the taps are always changing, thereâ€™s always something new to try.
â€œItâ€™s always changing, always evolving, always adjusting and that keeps people interested and makes them try things they havenâ€™tâ€™ before,â€ Bolin said.
While The Mayor does attract college students with their many beers and cafÃ© meals served all day, the atmosphere is very different than most college bars. Instead of a crazy place to get drunk and dance, itâ€™s more of a relaxing spot to enjoy a beer and have a conversation with a friend, according to Miller.
Miller said he thinks the prices are not bad, ranging from $4 to $6 for a nice beer. In addition to fair prices, Miller said the servers are friendly and knowledgeable about beer.
â€œThis place has really kept drawing me back to it, so Iâ€™ve started coming here more and more,â€ Miller said. â€œYou just canâ€™t beat it.â€
As the weather turns colder, people can expect to see more browns and stouts at The Mayor.Â Bolin said the bar manager has a great pallet and good taste in beers, so she heads up the selections.
Bolin believes that this local beer bar is a place that students can feel proud of since it is a unique, more relaxed vibe than other beer spots in town. At The Mayor, thereâ€™s always something new to try.
â€œI like it because itâ€™s not like everybody comes here to get a Bud Light,â€ Miller said. â€œPeople come here to branch out.â€
632 S. Mason St.
Fort Collins, CO 80524
Mon – Fri 11 a.m. to 12 a.m.
Sat – Sun 9 a.m. to 12 a.m.


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Entireworld, the direct-to-consumer apparel brand that made a name for itself as the It-brand of early pandemic life, announced on its Instagram on Wednesday it would wind down operations and launch a liquidation sale. In the post, founder Scott Sternberg explains the difficulties the brand faced operating as an independent label, chasing “unsuccessful fundraising” and eventually an almost-acquisition that, after it fell apart, forced the brand to close.
“Entireworld is a big idea, a massive undertaking, which would require significant capital to be able to compete with the countless brands out there,” Sternberg wrote in the post.
Sternberg launched Entireworld in 2018, his next chapter after menswear brand Band of Outsiders (which sold men’s button-downs for up to $325 and relied on a wholesale model) closed. At the beginning of the pandemic, Entireworld’s success was chronicled in BoF as well as in The New York Times, as it became the poster brand for a feature on the future of the fashion industry called “Sweatpants Forever.” The article explored how near-instantaneous shifts in consumer preferences left fashion brands desperate to make a single sale, while those that were able to pivot were able to ride the loungewear wave of success.
As the world recalibrated and life outside the home resumed, however, consumers hurled themselves into “revenge shopping” for products like going-out clothes and party shoes. While loungewear and athleisure continue to be growing segments, the challenges that plagued independent brands before the pandemic have not disappeared.
Sternberg did not immediately respond to BoF’s request for comment.
“Operating at a loss and hoping for investment isn’t a sound business plan, it’s a disaster waiting to happen,” said Gary Wassner, chief executive of factoring firm Hilldun Corporation. Startups today often operate at a loss in the hopes that they will overcome deficit spending with new funding rounds rather than by generating healthy cash flow, ignoring margins in favour of drumming up top-line sales to drive further investment, Wassner said.
Entireworld’s downfall also highlights the limits of PR in propping up a business. Sternberg’s direct communication with customers in long, earnest Instagram captions about the struggles Entireworld faced at the beginning of the pandemic humanised the brand. (He also used the platform to announce the brand’s closure.) But goodwill does not a healthy business make.
”If [a brand has] been working on the proper margins needed to accommodate their overheads and [cost of goods sold], they can adjust to a downturn more easily and quickly,” Wassner said. “During Covid, smaller brands immediately sought to preserve cash by right-sizing their companies and getting out of inventory commitments. The larger companies cannot turn on a dime. The bleeding lasted longer.”

domain: news


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By: Joleene DesRosiers Moody
It was when Amazon introduced the Kindle e-reader in 2007 that the technological concept of the e-book really took off.
Despite the fact that the Sony Data Discman and other early e-readers made their appearance in the early 1990s, it wasn’t until this decade that e-books became commonplace with booklovers and researchers across the globe.
And, while many felt the electronic device would cause the demise of all bookstores as we know them, some shop owners recognized they only way to survive the technological surge was to stand up and ride the wave.
That’s the philosophy of Bill Reilly, proprietor of the rivers end bookstore in Oswego.
“When I first opened the bookstore, one of the best pieces of advice I was given was that I should make it easy for my customers to buy books from me. So whatever form my customers want their reading material in, I make it available to them,” Reilly said. “When e-readers started selling, there was no question in my mind that we needed to jump on board. We embraced it. And I think the bookstores that haven’t embraced it aren’t doing so well.”
Reilly is so on board with the electronic reading option, that he hosts a series of events at his bookstore to help educate his customers on how to download content.
“We have an e-reader night where we invite our friends from Barnes and Noble to the store to put on a presentation and show our customers how to use their Nook to purchase from the rivers end bookstore website,” he added.
Time and Again Books and Tea 18 E. Utica St., Oswego, doesn’t subscribe to the e-book option.
As a bookstore that houses rare and out-of-print books, owner Deborah Engelke says the technology doesn’t cater to her customers, even though today’s print-on-demand options make such titles and rarities readily available.
“The price of an e-reader is little prohibitive for my customers, which is why they buy used books,” Engelke said. “It’s within their budget. They may be upper-middle class, but have an interest in physically holding and owning a rare book. Or they may be middle class and have children in soccer or other activities, and that can exhaust a salary. So they take a back seat to brand new books.”
But, how does the electronic trend affect today’s authors?
How does it affect their sales? Is it worth making their book available for e-readers?
Dee Marie, local author of Sons Of Avalon: Merlin’s Prophecy, believes so.
“I think the e-reader is fantastic,” she said. “And actually, authors get more money from their e-sales then they do from their printed sales. We get a higher percentage because there is no printing and no shipping involved. So we get a bigger chunk of the pie than we would with a printed book.”
Regina Edwards Drumm, local romance author of Fancy Pants, says e-books have saved the publishing industry.
“I think e-books have been good for the market. With the way the economy has been over the last several years, the publishing industry has taken a huge hit. With the Kindle, Nook, and apps you can download to your ipad and smartphone, people are still able to afford books. Personally, my books are available for Nook, Kindle and in print,” said Drumm. “I have sold more e-books than print books and actually make more money from e-books because there are no costs for printing it.”
So authors thrive and bookstore owners contemplate. Nonetheless, the written word is still king, whether it be electronically or traditionally.
“I think we’re seeing a plateau of e-book sales at the moment, “Reilly said. “They’ve got a piece of the pie, maybe 16% or so, which is not insignificant. But that means that 84% of the books that are purchased are traditionally bound books. Will that change? I suspect it will continue to move in a digital direction, yes. I think there will be a balance at some point, too.”


text: In what might be its latest move to take over another industry, Amazon may be getting ready to launch an online pharmacy. Rumors about the move sent shares of companies such as CVS, Rite-Aid, and Walgreens falling. We're also watching shares of Tesla after the company pushed back the unveiling of its all-electric semi truck. We also preview Samsung's earnings guidance report, out Friday and Facebook's Oculus Connect event. And Harvey Weinstein is fired from the company he founded.


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Xi3 Piston, the first device revealed when Valve admitted it was getting into hardware, is not a Steam Machine - because "if you can play it on a computer you should be able to play it on a Piston".
UPDATE: The team at Xi3 have contacted VG247 to state that the Piston is in fact an upgradable machine, stating: "by using three interconnected boards within the PISTON Console to replace the standard single-piece motherboard found in PCs and gaming consoles, each of these three miniaturized boards is designed to be replaced to upgrade the PISTON in the future."
Original story: “We believe, and I think the market’s very clear about this, that the biggest concentration today is in the Windows marketplace,” Xi3 CMO David Politis told PC Gamer.
“We’re still friends. We still love Valve, we love Steam," he added.
"We’ve gone separate directions today - that doesn’t mean we’re not supporting Valve. They’ve got 50+ million users on Steam. Why wouldn’t you support them?
"But the thing is, so does EA, with Origin. So we support Origin as well. In fact, we believe that if you can play it on a computer you should be able to play it on a Piston - and that’s our whole viewpoint.”
Xi3's Piston was one of the first systems to be announced when Valve began making public forays into hardware at CES 2013, but the two companies parted ways just a few months later, even though Xi3 said Valve has specifically commissioned the system.
Xi3 forged on regardless, and the Piston was released in November for $999. It isn't modular, so users can't upgrade components, but it does allow for Linux installs as well as Windows and a custom environment.
When Valve's hardware plans resurfaced, the company had distanced itself from the "SteamBox" name, opting for Steam Machines. Its new plan involved multiple manufacturers creating systems compatible with SteamOS, a custom, Linux-based operating system.


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LAST UPDATED : Jul 03, 2018, 07:57 AM IST
- E-waste recyclers join hands to ensure proper disposal in Bengaluru
With citizens replacing their electronic items at a quicker rate than before, the amount of e-waste India generates is increasing rapidly. To ensure the waste, which contains heavy metals, is disposed of properly, recyclers came together earlier this month to form All India e-Waste Recyclers’ Association (AEWRA).
- Tech boon for collection of garbage from houses
From recycling e-water, paper, plastic and even metal, an innovative technology platform is changing the way waste is collected from households across Hyderabad. Toter, a Waste Ventures India service, offers households an uncomplicated method of waste collection and recycling.
- Plastic reappears in Basai 1 month after clampdown
Plastic bottles started reappearing in Basai wetlands barely a month after the authorities cleared the area of garbage and served a notice to a recycling unit for dumping plastic materials. The dumping of thousands of used bottles has created a giant mound of plastic on the fringes of the wetland in Gurugram, not far from the controversial plant to treat construction and demolition waste.


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How much profit do newsagents make on newspapers?
The October newspaper ABC figures were recently published and revealed that the core daily newspaper sales were 9.6 million Monday to Saturday, and 10.3 million on Sundays. A further decline and nearly 5 million copies per day less than 1995.
The October newspaper ABC figures were recently published and revealed that the core daily sales were 9.6 million Monday to Saturday, and 10.3 million on Sundays. A further decline and nearly 5 million copies per day less than 1995.
Newspaper are sold from around 54,000 and this means that the average newspaper retailer sells 177 papers each day. That's 55 copies of the Sun, 35 Daily Mails, and 29 Daily Mirrors.
The annual gross profit for the average newsagent for newspapers sold Monday to Friday is just over £5000 a year with Saturday's contributing £1400 and Sunday's £2500. So for 364 days of selling newspapers, the average retailer shows a gross profit of £9250.
They then have the costs of running their business such as staff, rent, rate, lighting etc. In my shop, the daily cost of providing a space for one facing of a national newspaper is around 50p, or £190 per year. With 12 facings that's £2200 – nearly a quarter of the average newsagents' gross profit.
The recent reduction in the cash per copy terms of the Sun coupled with the continued falls in newspaper sales figures has forced me to evaluate how newspapers work in my business. I would suggest that any retailer that wants to stay in the business of selling newspapers should take a look at what they are really worth to them.


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This is the Economic Gps Takeaway
I'm Thaddeus Cummins.
Today is March 24, 2022 Thursday NY, NY USA
#Yen Index - #USDJPY #GBPJPY #EURJPY
The Yen Index has higher highs and higher lows this Thursday.
#Global Trade News
The US has agreed to ease tariffs on UK steel and aluminium products as the countries attempt to resolve a Trump-era trade dispute.
Bank of England warns Ukraine war puts strain on borrowers.


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A major Hollywood studio is accused of deceiving millions of fans and the government is cracking down because of it.
The Federal Trade Commission says Warner Brothers Home Entertainment misled consumers by failing to clearly disclose it paid popular online "influencers" thousands of dollars to post positive reviews of one of its video games.
Earlier this year, the NBC4 I-Team uncovered many social media personalities aren't properly disclosing the fact that they're being paid to endorse products.
Local news from across Southern California
Under a proposed FTC order announced Monday, Warner Brothers is barred from failing to make such disclosures in the future.
Failure to comply could result in thousands of dollars in fines. Warner Brothers has settled the charges.
A company spokeswoman told the I-Team Monday that "Warner Bros. Home Entertainment always strives to be transparent with our customers and fans when working with social influencers, and we are committed to complying with the related ftc guidelines."


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Intel has announced price cuts across its mobile and desktop chip lines, including a 40 percent drop for its quad-core chips.
The move could be a response to price pressure from AMD, which recently cut the price of its Phenom II quad-core processors. The high-end desktop PC chips now cost between $235 and $275 (£170 and (£195).
Intel's Core 2 Quad Q9650 chips, which are used in high-end gaming desktops, now cost $316, a 40 percent reduction from December. Other Core 2 Quad chip prices were cut by between 16 percent and 20 percent.
Intel's Xeon server chips and entry-level Celeron processors have also been reduced. The quad-core Xeon 3370 is now priced at $316, a 40 percent drop from December, while the Celeron 570 chip was cut by 48 percent from $134 to $70.
Intel announced last week that its fourth-quarter profit plunged 90 percent from a year earlier, as the chip maker battled a worsening economy and recorded a steep loss from investments.
The company recorded net profit of $234m for the quarter ending December 27, compared to $2.27bn in last year's fourth quarter.
The bright spot for Intel was the sales of Atom chips that go into netbooks, small laptops designed for web surfing and productivity applications. Revenue from Atom microprocessors and chipsets was up 50 percent sequentially to $300m.


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Passerelles Agency, with offices in Bordeaux and Paris, just signed three new clients, Pavillon France, Regional Council of Aquitaine and Nexity Aquitaine, and is looking forward to a very busy autumn
• Pavillon France is the first French mass market brand of fresh fishery products created to encourage consumers to buy French produce. The launch and the media campaign has been orchestrated by Passerelles.
• Nexity Aquitaine : Passerelles will provide media relations for the regional office of the national leader for real-estate property
• The Regional Council of Aquitaine has chosen Passerelles to handle press relations for all its main events. The first major event was the International exhibition Lascaux, which will remain in Bordeaux for three months before travelling all around the world.


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Jay Leno takes us back in time when Elon Musk visited his garage with the first-ever production Tesla Roadster.
FSD Beta 188.8.131.52 (2023.27.6) gets mostly positive reviews from testers, Tesla adds a new Data Sharing agreement prompt in the update
Tesla started rolling out the new FSD Beta update version 184.108.40.206 (firmware build 2023.27.6) yesterday. According to an initial...
Tesla shares Optimus robot’s AI progress, Elon Musk pledges to make it safer with convenient switch-off mechanisms
Tesla (TSLA) shared the development progress of its humanoid robot Optimus on Sunday. In a short video, Tesla showcased...
Multiple developments took place today at Tesla's Gigafactory in Austin, Texas. After almost a 1 month closure for upgrades,...


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EV push by Joe Biden may hit roadblock within even as Canada, Mexico up pressure
US President Joe Biden wants to offer tax credits to union-made electric vehicles in the country but while his plans have come under heavy criticism from Canada and Mexico due to allegations of ‘protectionism’, the policy bill could also face roadblock in the US Senate. This after Reuters reported that a Senate Democrat has voiced his opposition to the bill.
Reuters reported that West Virginia's Joe Manchin is against supporting the bill which is also called Build Back Better. He is believed to have called it ‘wrong’ and ‘not American’.
Manchin's opposition could delver a fatal blow to Biden's plans which have anyway come under scrutiny from neighboring countries as well as EV players within the US, Tesla being the most notable.
Also check these Vehicles
At present, an amount up to $7,500 is offered as EV tax credit but the bill Biden wants to push through aims to take this up to $12,500 for union-made US EVs. The eventual aim is for 50% of all new vehicles sold within the US to be either electric or plug-in hybrid by 2030.
But Canada and Mexico have warned of retaliatory measures if US pushes through with the bill. This is possibly because a number of car brands have plants in these two countries and a special incentive within the US for union-made EVs here could see demand for such EVs replacing demand for units coming in from Canada and Mexico.
Earlier this month, Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, in a letter to US senators, stated that Ottawa is 'deeply concerned' by the EV tax credit. The letter said that this move violets the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and is being seen as a major threat to the Canadian automotive industry.
Mexico isn't smiling either. "This bill is not consistent with the US obligations under the TMC and the rules of World Trade Organization. We would apply trade reprisals," said Tatiana Clouthier, Mexico's Secretary of the Economy. (Read full report here)
There have been opposition in varying degree from Japan and European Union too.
The likes of Tesla and Toyota too aren't gung ho about the tax credit proposal either. Tesla does not have unions representing assembly workers. Toyota does have a plant in West Virginia but its employees aren't union members. The opposition, therefore, is understandable.


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On a test route in Berlin traffic, an experimental Jeep Grand Cherokee slams on its brakes every few hundred yards, like a nervous teenager with a learner’s permit. In a sense, that’s exactly what the robo-car is.
Even after months of navigating the same 11-kilometer (7-mile) set of roads, the sport utility vehicle that’s kitted out with an array of radars and sensors gets spooked frequently. Whether it’s grass, street litter or a political billboard, there are endless surprises that overwhelm the auto and show just how complex self-driving is in real life.
“The car is like a beginning driver,” said Joern Ihlenburg, a manager at auto-parts maker Magna International Inc.’s research and development unit. “It doesn’t have any experience. Last week a blue balloon flew past and the car didn’t know what it was and braked.”
The Jeep’s trip isn’t wholly stop-and-start. The vehicle moves steadily around a multilane traffic circle with an impatiently driven truck following close behind, which would be unsettling to many human operators. Yet the overall performance shows how difficult it’ll be for self-driving autos to master an ever-changing city, even as hands-free operation on highways comes into view.
The car industry has developed a ranking for vehicle automation, with future models capable of fully driverless trips topping the list at Level 5. Luxury-auto makers BMW AG and Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz brand currently compete with level 2 features, while Volkswagen AG’s Audi offers a car with close to Level 3 autonomy. Suppliers including Magna, Continental AG and Delphi Automotive Plc are in an equally tight battle to provide the components — cameras, sensors, radar — and the software to integrate them all and push the technology forward.
Aurora, Ontario-based Magna, the world’s third-biggest auto-components maker, estimates revenue from its autonomous-driving unit will double to about $1 billion by 2020, according to Chief Technology Officer Swamy Kotagiri. But while science-fiction images of people riding in wholly driverless vehicles grab headlines, he expects few customers to adopt the top technology in the foreseeable future.
“I’m confident” highly or fully automated cars will be operating in “geo-constrained areas quite soon,” Kotagiri told reporters in Berlin. But in areas with lots of people or vehicles moving at different speeds and in different directions? “No.”
The Jeep carries Magna’s MAX4 self-driving unit underneath its rear storage area, and its trips are programmed through the navigation system on the dashboard. Its struggles to coexist with other road users become clear when a truck at a comfortable distance in front drifts slightly into the SUV’s lane, and the passengers are jolted with another hit to the brakes. It’s also the slowest-moving vehicle on the road as the computer must stick to the 50-kilometer-an-hour city speed limit.
Magna expects just 4 percent of cars by 2025 to be equipped with Level 4 technology like the MAX4. That system will be ready for test integration into cars on standard production lines starting in late 2018, with another two to three years needed until it’s available commercially, Kotagiri said. The technology’s development will help Magna fine-tune other products that are closer to coming to market soon, he said.
“We are of the firm belief that if you don’t do Level 4 and 5, you cannot make Level 2 and 3 effective,” he said. “If you don’t understand the whole thing, you cannot do pieces properly.”
Nissan Motor Co. conducted urban automated-driving trials in London earlier this year of an electric Leaf city car that also showed the technology’s difficulties. BMW will start trials late this year with 40 vehicles, including in its hometown of Munich, and it plans a fleet of 230 cars by 2021 that’ll collect data daily for a total 240 million kilometers of testing to develop the safest systems, according to the company.
Magna sees more opportunity in offering systems that make cars smart enough to drive by themselves on the highway, Kotagiri said, predicting nearly a fifth of vehicles will carry features at that level by 2025. The company is in talks with two carmakers for a platform for advanced highway driving that’ll be ready as early as 2020, he said, declining to name the customers.
“With city driving, it’s still at baby steps,” Ihlenburg said. “It’s almost like driving into an unknown town in the dark and in the rain.”


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Dramatically reduced overhead
Apple announced their new technology, called Metal, today during their press conference in San Francisco. Metal reduces the overhead between game and hardware with up to ten times faster draw recall rates for A7-powered Apple devices. They’ve been working with leading providers like Unity, Crytek, Epic and more to bring console-quality graphics to these devices..
Metal let PopCap port the Frostbite console engine to iOS to bring Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare to the platform. Another demonstration featuring the Crytek engine was also shown. Crytek was able to bring their console engine to iOS as well, allowing them to hit ten times the performance before.
Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney took the stage to show off a tech demo they created with Metal, called Zen Garden. A demonstration of this app, running on iPad, showed just how much graphical power is gained from Metal with its lush environmental effects, water shimmering, and lighting.
A “huge amount” of materials are available with no impact, says Sweeney. A tree covered with blossoms featured 5,000 individual petals that each freely fell to the ground, responding to user touch. A koi poind with hundreds of fish had each with its own AI that allowed them to react to a finger dragging through the water; Metal cleared up enough resources to make this possible. A final display had water turning into hundreds of individually animated butterflies. Thousands more joined in the fluttering soon after, filling the screen.
Sweeney said that this could not have been done before Metal.
The Zen Garden app will be free on the App Store once iOS launches later this fall.


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Redmi TV India launch date is ready for March 17, the model revealed on Monday. The Chinese language firm additionally despatched invitations for the launch occasion. The brand new growth comes days after Xiaomi India Managing Director and International Vice President Manu Kumar Jain teased the launch of Redmi TVs within the nation. Xiaomi sells a variety of Redmi TVs in China. The corporate has to this point introduced smartphones, energy banks, audio equipment, and wearables underneath the Redmi model to the Indian market.
With out offering any particular particulars, the Redmi India Twitter account announced the launch date of the Redmi TV within the nation. In mailed invitations, the model is teasing that it’s bringing an “XL” expertise. Nonetheless, it’s unclear whether or not it plans to launch a number of Redmi TV fashions within the nation directly.
Final week, Manu Kumar Jain revealed plans to launch the Redmi TVs within the nation — through the launch of the Redmi Notice 10 collection.
“Final yr, our Redmi model took an enormous step ahead in the direction of its journey into new classes,” Jain had stated through the occasion. “We started our phone-plus technique and we launched many new product classes comparable to energy banks, TWS, and the health band. And this yr, in 2021, we’re proud to introduce one thing greater!”
In China, the Redmi model has a listing of good TV fashions with the newest one being the Redmi Max 86-inch that comes with a 120Hz show refresh fee.
Xiaomi already has its Mi TV vary in India that has taken on the likes of Samsung, Sony, and LG in addition to Vu, TCL, and different well-liked good TV makers within the nation.
The Redmi TV launch will happen at 12pm (midday) on March 17. The launch is predicted to be held by a digital briefing that could possibly be streamed stay by way of Xiaomi’s social media channels.
Are Amazonbasics TVs Good Sufficient to Beat Mi TVs in India? We mentioned this on Orbital, our weekly expertise podcast, which you’ll be able to subscribe to by way of Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or simply hit the play button beneath.


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Entrepreneurs plan ‘concept paper’ on tourism industry
Kathmandu, February 21:
With government’s continuous lackadaisical attitudes towards ‘sick’ tourism industry that is a bread and butter for thousands, tourism related people have come up with an idea of issuing ‘concept paper’ incorporating all tourism related organisations’ views along with strategies to revive the sector.
Under the leadership of Prakash Shrestha, president of Hotel Association Nepal (HAN), Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA),Trekking Agents Association of Nepal (TAAN), Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO) and Nepal Association of Rafting Agents (NARA), discussed exclusively today the contribution of tourism sector to the national economy and in creating employment opportunities, states a press release.
According to HAN, they discussed tourism industry’s role in economy, government’s ignorance to name it a priority industry along with facilities to boost the se-ctor considering its multiplier impact on all economic sectors.
The presidents of respective associations, Dhruba Narayan Shr-estha (NATO), Surya Joshi (NA-RA), Ang Chhiring Sherpa (NM-A), Ganesh Neupane (secretary of TAAN) and Yadav Khanal executive member of NATO took part in the discussion.
Other 20 members of different associations also participated and expressed their problems in operating ‘travel and tourism’ businesses.


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Metallica Talks Guitar Hero: Metallica
As soon as we heard about Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, we knew it was just the beginning. Than we started hearing rumors about Guitar Hero: Metallica, which just received a massive unveiling via the band in question and USA Today.
Lead designer Adam Flores and Metallica's Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett spoke with USA Today and confirmed several important details. First of all, the game is coming sooner than we might've expected (early 2009), and you shouldn't expect a walk in the park. The guys talk about providing plastic guitarists with a challenging experience that will push even veterans of the Guitar Hero franchise. Flores said specifically that it's "a lot harder all around," as most of the songs included "have a higher level of difficulty, certainly at the end of the game when you are playing the old-school Metallica stuff." As the article points out, this is a good time to release a game based on the legendary heavy metal group; Metallica's new album, "Death Magnetic," has already gone platinum after debuting at #1 on Billboard's Top 200 chart. If you're wondering, that's the fifth consecutive album of theirs that has performed this well, and the current album received four Grammy nominations. Furthermore, with so many millions of fans around the world, this will be the perfect title for those who always wanted to tear it up, true Metallica style.
The band talks at length about the game in that USA Today interview so make sure you read their replies. We hope to have a soundtrack list soon, and an exact release date as well.
Related Game(s): Guitar Hero: Metallica
12/16/2008 Ben Dutka


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Trump to meet Indian CEOs' who create Manufacturing Jobs in US
February 24, 2020
President of America is going to meet few CEO’s in India whose company has invested in manufacturing sectors in US.
According to the sources, “Kenneth Juster is going to host the meeting between CEO’s and US President and the main focus is on the companies who created manufacturing jobs”.
Anand Mahindra, Baba Kalyani, N Chandrasekaran are among 12 CEO’s of companies who are invited for the meeting. Main focus of US president is to create domestic jobs in US which have been valid to some extent after the investment of Indian companies.


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“If someone has invested in cryptocurrencies 10 years ago, they probably have a fortune now. Nine million - this kind of percentage increase was recorded by Bitcoin over the last decade (since July 2010), according to Bloomberg. At the same time, the main US market indexes grew by 300%, gold by 25%, and WIG20, the index of the largest Polish companies, fell by about 8%,” writes Bartosz Grejner, Conotoxia Analyst.
Up until the end of 2019, Bitcoin has shown robust growth, even though its price of around 7.2 thousand USD at the end of 2019 represents just above a third of the high recorded in December 2017.
That won't happen again?
These substantial increases can, however, be extremely hard-to-repeat, if even possible. It is already known that many of the hopes fuelling this 9-million profit will not come true. There is no rapid widespread adoption of Bitcoin, and at the same time, cryptocurrencies alternatives are multiplying. There are currently nearly 5.000 of them - according to CoinMarketCap.
Bitcoin supporters can seek hope in 2020 in the halving phenomenon, i.e. reduction of a reward for adding a new block. This will happen in May, and the reward will fall from 12.5 to 6.25 Bitcoins. The two previous halvings reinforce hope. According to Bloomberg's data, after the first one in 2012, the cryptocurrency price increased by nearly 8.2 thousand in a year, and after the second one in 2016 by about 2.2 thousand in a year and a half.
The data sample is obviously pretty small, and there is no guarantee that the same story will be repeated for the third time. The market situation is also rather different than in previous years. Bitcoin, as well as probably all the cryptocurrencies in general, do not have as much media exposure as they had two years ago. Their limited scale of use in everyday transactions has discouraged many financial institutions from increasing interest in Bitcoin or other altcoins.
A competition that is hard to beat
A couple of years ago, there was not as broad a discussion as today about the so-called stablecoins, i.e. cryptocurrencies linked to traditional assets, such as dollars. This is the basis of, among other things, the Libra created by Facebook, which, however, still encounters major problems in the USA and the EU, and the largest partners have already withdrawn from the project.
There are emerging ideas of creating one' own cryptocurrencies by the biggest central banks in the world. If the CBDC (central bank digital currency) were introduced in various countries or groups of countries, they could be a huge blow to Bitcoin. These projects are contrary to the idea behind the 9 million percent appreciation of Bitcoin in the last decade. After all, the most popular cryptocurrency remains outside the financial system and does not depend on any central bank or government.
Stabilization? It won't be easy even to achieve that…
Perhaps the best thing to wish Bitcoin in 2020 is stability. Though, it won't even be easy to get it. It may turn out that the aforementioned Bitcoin halving, planned for May, has already been fully included in its valuation. If this is the case, then the current level may be a little too optimistic. The exchange rate around 7,220 USD on the last day of 2019 has been below three significant levels of long-term moving average prices - 50-day, 100-day and 200-day. Without a positive stimulus for the market, the current downward trend may bring the Bitcoin price back to 3-4 thousand USD, around the levels seen in Q1 2019. Hopes of wider adaptation, rebound and return of growth may support demand and consequently the Bitcoin value at a relatively high level and continue to cause strong fluctuations in value. However, the dream of a seven-digit increase is unlikely to happen again, especially in the case of Bitcoin.


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The famous Italian design house is going it alone – and going at-out electric – with its first proper car, says Simon de Burton
The atmosphere at the Geneva Motor Show in March was truly electric, with many marques showcasing the latest battery-powered or hybrid drivetrains that will be fitted to the next generation of cars. But it was a new manufacturer that truly stole the electric show with the car pictured above: the exotic-looking, fabulously fast, beautifully engineered and emission-free Battista from Automobili Pininfarina – a car penned on the very drawing boards where boats such as the Princess Yachts R35 and X95 were conceived.
Since the founding of the design house in 1930 by Battista “Pinin” Farina, the Pininfarina studios have created some of the most famous shapes in the history of the automobile, from the Alfa Romeo 6C Berlinetta of 1935 to modern classics such as Ferrari’s 599 GTB Fiorano, Scaglietti and California. But only now has the firm established itself as a maker of cars in its own right. And it appears to have hit the ground running with the Battista, which is due to arrive on our streets next year as “the world’s first electric, luxury hyper GT”.
Set to be the most powerful road car ever built by an Italian manufacturer, the Battista’s battery powertrain will be supplied by class- leading firm Rimac and is expected to produce 1,900hp to give the car a top speed of 350km/h and a zero-to-100km/h time of less than two seconds. An innovative, T-shaped battery pack promises to optimise weight distribution, while four independent motors will provide separate power to each wheel. This creates a “torque vectoring” system that, combined with huge carbon-ceramic brakes that regenerate the batteries and adjustable, electronic suspension, promises to make the Battista a truly thrilling driver’s car.
SPECS: PININFARINA BATTISTA
Powertrain: Four electric motors, one per wheel
Acceleration: 0-100km/h: 1.9sec
Range: up to 450km
Top: speed 350km/h
Price: €2 million


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What would you do for coffee?
The Fix Café in Harrisburg is hoping you’ll donate a Christmas gift for a child in need in exchange for 25% off a steaming cup.
From now until Dec. 12, the coffee shop is collecting new, unwrapped toys to give to low-income families in the city, explained The Fix co-owner Liz Albayero.
“There are so many kids that aren’t going to have access to Christmas toys because of the pandemic,” she said.
She hopes will people donate with their community in mind, but the discounted coffee is a nice incentive.
“Everyone drinks coffee,” she said. “It’s a way to give back to the community.”
The Fix Café opened during the pandemic and despite the challenges, has managed to make it work. Business has been picking up, Albayero said.
“We were able to survive a whole year because of the support of the downtown Harrisburg community,” she said. “That meant a lot to us and that’s the reason we made it through. That’s why we continue to give back.”
After posting on social media about their “Caffeinated Santa” toy drive, Albayero received a message from Andrea Grove, owner of Elementary Coffee Co. She said that she would love to participate and collect donations at her coffee shop on North Street, as well.
“It meant a lot that another coffee shop wanted to do it too,” Albayero said.
The goal is to collect 60 toys at each drop-off location. The Fix will distribute toys, with help from the Latino Club at Penn State Harrisburg, to children in Allison Hill. Elementary will distribute in Uptown Harrisburg.
Albayero said that they have already received toys, and she expects to exceed the goal.
“I think because of how people have supported us, they will support the kids,” she said.
The Fix Café is located at 403 Walnut St., Harrisburg. Elementary Coffee Co. is located at 256 North St., Harrisburg.
If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!


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Oh I haven’t grown up of Galaxy S3 and its annoying ‘inspired by nature’ kindness yet and the world has already gotten the news of Samsung Galaxy S4 coming in March 2013. It’s not surprising yeah, we can all guess Samsung will be launching the next generation phone of Galaxy S series next year, but it’s too early and unexpected and exciting to already hear the rumors of the ‘next big thing’ by Samsung.
Reported by Korea Times, the Galaxy S4 is expected to be unveiled at MWC in Barcelona next year and will have a larger 5-inch OLED display (.2 inches more than Galaxy S3’s display size). The phone may or may not feature the flexible display technology, which in my opinion will be more on the ‘not-gonna-feature’ side because that’s simply not happening anytime soon – atleast, not with the great hardware Galaxy S4 is going to feature.
About the processor it’s only said that it’ll feature Samsung’s in-house quad-core Exynos processor chip. And the phone will ‘definitely use’ LTE networks. No official word on RAM but we can expect it to be 2GB, at-least.
The Galaxy S4 will have the same design philosophy of ‘too-much’ rounded corners which in their terms is ‘made for humans’ and ‘inspired by nature’. The Galaxy S3 design-wise and software-wise was a huge huge disappointment and it didn’t have the kindness of nature’s serenity which they seem to claim so proudly in their Ads or everywhere we read read a designed by Samsung Galaxy S3 board.
Anyway, the Galaxy S3 sold out well with 20 million phones already in the hands of people around the world. And Samsung expects to pass the 30 million mark by the end of year.
So what are your expectations from the Galaxy S4? Sure we all want it to be not ‘inspired by nature’ but what else? Hardware and software-wise. Do tell us in the comments.
Samsung Galaxy S4 Specs
- Quad-core Exynos 5450 processor clocked at 2.0 GHz and based on ARM A15 architecture
- GPU: Mali-T658 GPU
- 2 GB RAM
- 5-inch Super AMOLED Dull HD 1080p display (1920 x 1080 pixels) — same resolution as that of world’s first HTC Droid DNA/HTC Butterfly
- 13 megapixel camera in back and 2 megapixel on the front
- Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean pre-installed


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Watch Seattle Week on Living808 all week long, Monday through Friday, May 14-18, at 4 p.m. on KHON2 and 9 p.m. on Hawaii’s CW.
SEATTLE (KHON2) – Going on a food tour is a great way to experience what makes Seattle a foodie destination known around the world.
Savor Seattle is a walking food tour founded in 2007 by Angela Shen. Its mission is to “serve joy,” which means connecting people, locals, and visitors to Seattle food in unique and unexpected ways.
Shen started the company as a new resident in Seattle. “I always appreciated the power that food has to bring people together. So I thought why not create a business that shows off Seattle’s best food and bar scene?” she said.
The Booze ‘n Bites tour highlights the city’s abundance of fresh, local seafood, produce, meats, and cheese, and their use in the pursuit of culinary and cocktail perfection. Featured “booze ‘n bites” include fresh ginger beer Montana Mules, carne asada tacos, and mushroom muffuletta sliders.
Savor Seattle is also the first in the U.S. to launch a self-guided tasting experience via an app platform. Customers who download the Savor Seattle app and purchase the Seattle Wine Passport will have access to 25-plus area wineries, of which they can select 10 locations of their choosing, with a flight of wine tastings at each stop.
If you want to go to Seattle, do what Living808’s Trini Kaopuiki and John Veneri did and hop on an Alaska Airlines flight. The airline offers daily nonstop service to Seattle from Lihue, Honolulu, Kahului, and Kona.
To plan your next trip, visit http://alaskaair.com.


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iPhone 5 To Be a Significant Redesign in August?
Now that the WWDC is done, it looks like all eyes have shifted over to the iPhone 5. Right now, the greater curiosity is what will it look like. Whether the redesign will be significant. Whether or not we’ll still recognize her when she’s out from under the knife, so to speak.
The latest rumors coming from Boy Genius Report seem to suggest it will be a major shift. Obviously nobody knows for sure but the concept pieces being done right now suggest a slimmer design overall. This speculation comes after news that apparently the cases for the iPhone 5 will be significantly different in some way.
What’s more interesting, however, is that they’re claiming that we can expect a notice of some kind from Apple in August, rather than in September.
BGR has independently confirmed that the next-generation iPhone will not merely be an upgraded iPhone 4 as had been previously rumored. We have been told by a reliable source to expect a radical new case design for the upcoming iPhone, though we have not been given any additional details surrounding the design of the new iPhone case.
It would be interesting, because for Apple it would represent a break from tradition. Normally they unpack everything all at once. But given that it’s the iPhone, they may decide it’s worth it to make an exception.
Still, earlier is never worse.


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Chef Stephan Pyles' Stampede 66 in Dallas has made the list of "The 33 Best New Restaurants in America," released by the Thrillist website.
The latest restaurant opened by the renowned Pyles, Stampede 66 features "Modern Texas" cuisine that the website said could have failed in the hands of a lesser chef.
"The space is eccentric and a bit kitschy, and the food, playing this 'modern remix of classics' game we see so often nowadays, could flat-out fail in the hands of someone less capable," the website said of the restaurant at 1717 McKinney Ave. in Uptown.
The website said the "musts" from the restaurant's menu are the Ms. Corbitt's popover with pimento cheese, the "Freeto-Chili Pie," and the chicken-fried buffalo steak.
Stampede 66 joined Qui in Austin and the Houston restaurants The Pass & Provisions and Underbelly as the only Texas restaurants to make the list.
Thrillist is a website that offers recommendations to its readers.


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Developers Cease Work On 'Star Trek Online'By T'Bonz
January 14, 2008 - 9:38 PM
P2 (formerly known as Perpetual Entertainment) has stopped working on Star Trek Online for unknown reasons.
As reported at Wired, more changes have occurred that will impact, but not halt, development of the multi-player online game.
In November, as reported in this article, Perpetual had undergone a change of ownership. It was expected at the time that work on the online game would not stop even though it was also expected that there would be a change in format, changing from subscription based to charging money for optional in-game items, as used in some Korean multiplayer online games.
The work has supposedly been transferred to another unnamed developer. P2 is in the midst of legal woes and is being sued for breach of contract during the advertisement of many of their games. In addition, there was an exodus of employees from P2 who were dissatisfied with the changes to Star Trek Online.
To read more, head to the article located here.


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The road to Miss Africa 2015 has already started with the scouting of Miss Africa Botswana 2014 set for next month.
Miss Africa Botswana is a build up to the first ever Miss Africa beauty pageant, which will be hosted in the country next year. Every country participating in the Miss Africa beauty pageant will this year host Miss Africa national beauty pageant in their respective countries. Miss Africa CEO Bruce Nkgakile said a nationwide tour would be conducted in ten cities and towns around the country, from May until July 2015.
The scouting team consists of modeling pundits Boingotlo Motlalekgosi, Betty Seatlholo, Gabriel Tlagae and Motamma Sesinyi. Nkagile also said that they opted for individuals with vast modeling experience when selecting the scouting team.
The models should be between the ages of 17 and 27, and must be 1.65m tall and above. Models with children are also welcome to audition.
Miss Africa will be launched on April 30 at a venue to be announced in due course
Scouting dates for miss Africa- Botswana pageant are as follows:
30 May 2015- Molepolole
31 May 2015- Kanye
06 June 2015- Francistown
07 June 2015- Palapye
13 June 2015- Maun
14 June 2015- Kasane
20 June 2015- Phikwe
21 June 2015- Lobatse
27 June 2015- Gantsi
04 July 2015- Gaborone


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But the company suffered some difficulties in the fourth quarter. Although revenue and net profit increased year-on-year in the quarter, there was also a downward trend. Smartphone shipments also declined year-on-year and ring-on-year in the quarter, which Millet explained as a result of the active adjustment of the business structure of smartphones.
Mobile phone business restructuring fluctuated in the fourth quarter
In 2018, millet smartphone revenue was 113.8 billion yuan, an increase of 41.3% over the same period last year. During the reporting period, the shipment of millet smartphones reached 119 million units, an increase of 29.8% over the same period last year.
In addition, the average price of millet mobile phone (ASP) increased from 881.3 yuan in 2017 to 958.1 yuan in 2018, the average price of mobile phone in mainland China increased by 17% compared with the same period last year, and the average price of smartphone in overseas market increased by 9.7% compared with the same period last year.
From a global perspective, the performance of millet smartphone business in 2018 is also bright enough. According to data released by IDC, global smartphone shipments fell by 4.1% in 2018 from a year earlier. For the top five manufacturers, millet and rice aloneHUAWEIDouble-digit year-on-year growth was achieved, OPPO only increased slightly, while Apple and Samsung both showed year-on-year declines.
But Mimi's smartphone business is not a bed of roses.
As far as the fourth quarter of 2018 is concerned, millet's smartphone business revenue and shipments are declining annually. Among them, quarterly shipments even hit a six-quarter low, with only 25 million units.
According to the data of China smartphone market published by IDC in 2018, the sales of millet in China in the fourth quarter and the whole year showed a year-on-year decline.
Millet CFO Weekly Capital said in a media conference call that the main reason is that millet made adjustments to the mobile phone product mix in the quarter, focusing on the high-end market. In the fourth quarter of 2018, millet released only two products, one was MIX3 released in October, and the other was Play released only in December. Zhou Shengzi believes that millet MIX3 is a high-end product, and the shipment volume will not be particularly large, while millet Play did not show up in the quarter due to its late release.
In an interview at the Millet 9 conference, Lei Jun also disclosed a key message. He said that in the fourth quarter of 2018, the sales of millet products had already accounted for the vast majority in China, not in China.Red rice。
After the adjustment in the fourth quarter of 2018, millet will separate the red rice brand in 2019. According to the data released by millet, the first product released by the red rice brand after its independenceRedmiNote7 has shipped more than 1 million units in less than a month, and Zhou said he expects shipments to reach 4 million units by the end of March. The millet 9 series, released in February, could also reach 1.5 million units by the end of March.
In addition, the offline channel of millet also made rapid progress in 2018. As of December 31, 2018, there are 586 millet homes in mainland China, mainly distributed in first, second and third-tier cities. In order to further penetrate into small and medium-sized cities and rural areas in China, millet has accelerated the expansion of authorized stores network. As of December 31, 2018, 1378 authorized stores were established, compared with 62 a year ago.
With the improvement of millet offline channel, as well as the adjustment of mobile phone brand and product structure, it is worth looking forward to whether millet mobile phone business can make new breakthroughs in China and the global market in 2019.
IoT Business as a Bright Spot to Seek Expansion Advantage
In 2018, the revenue of Millet IoT and Consumer Products Branch was 43.8 billion yuan, an increase of 86.9% over last year. It also became the fastest growing business of Millet in 2018.
In terms of the proportion of the business in total revenue, it reached 25.1% in 2018 and 20.5% in 2017, and even 33.6% in the fourth quarter of 2018, compared with 24.2% in the same period of 2017. IoT business undoubtedly became the highlight of the fourth quarter of 2018 and the whole year.
According to the data released in the financial report, as of December 31, 2018, the number of IoT devices (excluding smartphones and laptops) connected to the millet IoT platform was about 151 million, an increase of 193.2% over the same period last year. The number of users with more than five millet IoT devices (excluding smartphones and laptops) is about 2.3 million, an increase of 109.1% over the same period last year.
In addition, the cumulative shipment of Xiaoai speakers exceeded 9 million units, and the global shipment of millet TV was 8.4 million, an increase of 225.5% over the same period last year. During the reporting period, millet also began to enter the field of white power. In July and December 2018, millet air conditioner and Internet washing and drying machine were launched respectively.
In 2018, millet began to expand its IoT business overseas. In February 2018, smart TV entered the Indian market and ranked fourth in the fourth quarter of 2018.
IoT business has also become the target of many mobile phone manufacturers. In 2018, OPPO and vivo jointly established the IoT Open Ecology Alliance with several household appliances enterprises. Huawei announced its strategy of upgrading IoT at the AWE recently. Yu Chengdong also set a target of winning one third of China's IoT equipment in three years.
Millet is also increasing its IoT business.
In order to meet the rise of IoT business, millet has made many major adjustments in its organizational structure. Not long ago, Cui Baoqiu was appointed Vice President of the Group and Chairman of the Technical Committee of the Group, and a new Ministry of Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Platform and Big Data was established. The AIoT Strategic Committee was announced to promote the collaboration of relevant business and technical departments of AIoT and promote the implementation of the strategy.
Recently, after independence, Red Rice has also announced its entry into the field of IoT, launching its first large electrical products: Redmi fully automatic wave wheel washing 1A. From the current information, red rice will also build its own ecological chain model compared with millet, which will undoubtedly further enrich the overall IoT ecology of millet.
Internet revenue declined in the fourth quarter but diversified
In 2018, the revenue of Millet Internet Service Branch increased 61.2% to 16 billion yuan. Among them, advertising revenue amounted to 10.1 billion yuan, an increase of 79.9% over the previous year; Internet value-added services revenue amounted to 5.9 billion yuan, an increase of 36.7% over the previous year, of which game revenue amounted to 2.7 billion yuan, an increase of 7.3% over the previous year. Income from other Internet value-added services reached 3.2 billion yuan, an increase of 79.9% over the same period last year.
In the fourth quarter, the size and proportion of millet's Internet service revenue declined annually. Internet revenue accounted for 9.1% in the quarter, up from 8.3% in the same period last year, but it was 9.3% in the third quarter of 2018. From the quarter-to-quarter comparison of this year, this proportion also recurs frequently, with 9.4% in the first quarter of 2018 and 8.8% in the second quarter. At the same time, the overall proportion of Internet service revenue is still at a low level.
In the third quarter of the conference call, Millet CFO Weekly funded once explained that the size of millet Internet service revenue has been considerable, while achieving high-speed growth year-on-year, while other businesses are also growing rapidly, so millet is not concerned about the proportion, but whether the revenue growth.
This time, Zhou Shenzhen said that the Internet business in the quarter also had good news, that the business has made a very important breakthrough in diversification. In 2018, Millet's Internet revenue from mobile advertising and games in China accounted for more than 30% of Internet revenue.
In the fourth quarter of 2018, the contribution of TV and Internet revenue to Internet revenue has reached 8.3%, up 119.1% year on year; overseas Internet revenue accounts for 6.3% of Internet revenue, up 1295.6% year on year; Commodity E-commerce accounts for 4.1% of Internet revenue, up 427.6% year on year; millet finance accounts for 11.9% of Internet revenue, up 80.5% year on year. "We are confident that in the future, our Internet services will become more and more diversified."
In addition, the number of active users per month of MIUI increased from 171 million in 2017 to 242 million in 2018, an increase of 41.7% over the same period of last year, and the average income per Internet user increased from 57.9 yuan in 2017 to 65.9 yuan in 2018.
Speeding up the Development of Overseas Markets and Increasing R&D Investment Gradually
In 2018, the international market income of millet increased by 118.1% to 70 billion yuan, accounting for 40.0% of the total income in 2018, up from 28.0% in 2017. In the third quarter of 2018, the share of millet international market income reached its highest level of 43.9% in that year.
This is indispensable to the internationalization of Xiaomi's mobile phone business. According to Canalys's report, millet's smartphone shipments in India remained the first for six consecutive quarters, with a 59.6% year-on-year increase in the reporting period; shipments in Indonesia grew 299.6% year-on-year, ranking second in terms of market share in terms of shipments; and shipments in Western Europe grew 415.2% year-on-year, ranking fourth in terms of market share in terms of shipments.
In an interview at the Millet 9 conference, Lei Jun said that this year's focus of Millet's work must be to win over Europe. He expects the millet international market to soon surpass China's revenue. In addition, Lu Weibing, Vice President of Millet and General Manager of Red Rice Brand, revealed that independent Red Rice Brand should also undertake the international mission, and this year will also increase the expansion of internationalization.
To expand overseas market, patent and R&D investment are indispensable links, but also an important support to strengthen the mobile phone business.
In 2018, the overall R&D investment of millet was 5.8 billion yuan, an increase of 83.3% over the previous year of 3.2 billion yuan in 2017, compared with 2.1 billion yuan in 2016 and a compound annual growth rate of 66.2% in three years.
At present, the increase in R&D investment of millet has achieved initial results, such as the progress of millet mobile phones at the camera level; Nikkei China Net recently published a global list of AI-related patents for private enterprises, and the number of AI patents applied for by millet has risen from 85 last year to 11.


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Massmart African retail and wholesale group, which owns Game Stores in Uganda has announced its plan to close its solo Kampala Game Store after the failure of finding potential local investors to buy the store.
In March 2021, the South African-based company Massmart announced that following a review of its Game Store portfolio in East and West Africa. The store management developed an idea that the Store Performance might improve under the management of investors and entrepreneurs with a better understanding of local market conditions.
The store management started a process over a 12-month period to investigate a preferred option, the opportunity to sell the Store in Uganda to local investors. It seems the efforts to find potential investors have not yielded fruits.
Neville Hatfield the Vice President of Merchandise, Tuesday, revealed that one possible way is now to consider closing Game Store in Uganda and the management has therefore initiated potential store closure consultations with their staff members in the potentially affected stores.
“From the very beginning of the process to explore alternative options for our store in Uganda we have been firmly committed, regardless of the decision taken, to honor our obligations to our staff members, customers, and business partners, and we would like to assure you that this remains the case,” said Neville
“Our present focus is to ensure a transparent consultation process with our staff members and their representatives after which we will update you about the agreed next steps. It is difficult to anticipate the timing of the consultation process but please be assured that we will revert to you as soon as we have collective clarity on the way forward.” He added.
Game stores are joining other retail stores that closed their operations in Uganda due to various reasons, and these other stores include Uchumi, Nakumatt, Tuskys and recently closed Shoprite.
Massmart is an African retail and wholesale group with widely recognized and differentiated formats, represented in 403 stores in 13 sub-Saharan countries. The company has market shares in the general merchandise, liquor, home improvement, and wholesale food markets.
Massmart, the parent company for Game Stores last year announced it was selling 14 stores across Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania as part of its exit plan from East Africa and West Africa.


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A new YouTube Android app update pairs Android devices and Google TV on the same Wi-Fi network and allows folks to stream videos from their mobile devices to the television.
“Just find a video on your YouTube app for Android — like the latest video from GoPro or H+ The Digital Series — click the TV icon that appears, and the video will play instantly on your Google TV,” wrote YouTube Product Manager Timbo Drayson on the official YouTube Blog, while further explaining the new feature is an idea Google toyed with for over two years.
Android users who update their YouTube app today, as it rolls out, will now see a new button that enables them to play videos from their devices to the television with just a tap. The new feature essentially streamlines the process of pairing the YouTube app with Google TV.
As the video streams, users can control actions, such as pause, scroll, or skip, with their mobile device, as if it were a remote control, and they can even connect multiple devices to create a playlist. Moreover, since the devices are cloud-connected, as Drayson noted, they can do things like “find the next video to watch from your tablet or browse around the web on your phone, all while the video plays on TV.”
The feature is akin to Apple’s AirPlay that allows videos to stream to an Apple TV from an iOS device, but Google’s offering is more of a remote control capability rather than push as it just dictates which YouTube videos to play.
Get more details at the YouTube blog.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.


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Alessandro Sartori debuts a strong—and sporty—collection to mark his return to Ermenegildo Zegna.
Models backstage at the Ermenegildo Zegna Couture fall 2017 runway show in Milan.
In today’s fashion landscape, where brands shuffle through designers like a deck of cards, it’s a refreshing rarity when a creative reconnects with a design house as Alessandro Sartori has recently done with his appointment as artistic director of Ermenegildo Zegna. Previously creative director of Z Zegna in the early aughts—the brand’s more performance-and athleisure-focused line—Sartori is now tasked with overseeing all three lines in the group’s collective: Ermenegildo Zegna Couture, Ermenegildo Zegna and Z Zegna.
“The only constant at Zegna is the appraisal of the finest craftsmanship,” states Sartori. “It is the key not only to the brand, but also to my design.” For his fall 2017 debut, this equated to tapping into the house’s family-owned wool mills by cutting its rich textiles into more modern and active silhouettes. Think densely woven tubular padded Jacquard separates underneath a light-asair felted cashmere overcoat with leather sleeves that have been quilted and waxed over.
However, where Sartori soars is in his ability to infuse these intricate creations with an everyday casualness. In this collection, this came in the form of more fluid tailoring, using drawstrings to define shapes and large rubberized zippers to top off classic pieces. This well-balanced juxtaposition of high tech merged with high luxury is what Sartori has made his signature over the years and what has found strong footing with consumers. “What I want to do at Zegna is build a vision for what men really need and what they want,” says Sartori. “I want to enhance rather than transform.”


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CD Projekt Red was cemented as a major name in the gaming industry following its work on 2015's Game of the Year, The Witcher 3.
That said, Cyberpunk 2077 is looking likely to become one of the biggest games of the year, with Mike Pondsmith's dystopian RPG set to provide an expansive single-player experience, much like in The Witcher 3.
However, fans are voicing concern over the game's development, as so many games and events have seen postponements over the last couple of weeks.
As is the case with the majority of businesses over the past week, CD Project Red has asked employees to continue working from remote locations as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak.
The studio has made the decision to ensure "the highest level of personal safety" for its team, but most importantly, it also doesn't expect that the shift will delay the release of Cyberpunk 2077.
It's nice to hear that Cyberpunk is still on track, although we are unsure of how long this air of positivity will last.
The fan responses to the above tweet are encouraging, though many members of the community have expressed their concerns, explaining that they do not mind if Cyberpunk is delayed.
Hopefully, remote work doesn’t prove to be too disruptive to the development team, but only time will tell.
That’s all we have for now but check back in for our updates on Cyberpunk’s progress.
For more articles like this, take a look at our Cyberpunk 2077 page.


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Denmark: Consumer confidence jumps up in July
July 20, 2017
The consumer confidence index released by Denmark Statistics came in at 10.5 points in July, which is up significantly from the previous month’s 7.1 points and the highest reading since May 2015.
The improvement was sufficiently broad-based as sentiment regarding nearly all sub-indices improved compared to June. Households held a more favorable view regarding their current and future financial situation as well as the present and future general economic situation of the country. However, consumers held a less optimistic view on price developments over the last and the next 12 months. Consumers also reported that they were less likely to save over the next 12 months and to make major purchases during the same time period. Finally, while consumers expect unemployment to improve compared to the previous month, their expectations are worse than a year ago.
Author: Jan Lammersen, Economist


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The Jaguar X-Type may be the entry-level model but it looks unmistakably like a Jaguar. Better still, the X-Type smells...
The 2014 Jaguar XKR-S GT may be the most supreme cat on the block, and on the latest episode of Ignition, the crew tests out the Jag's track cred.
Read This Article
Ever since being acquired by Tata Motors from Ford back in 2009, Jaguar has been going through its version of an extreme makeover.
Jaguar is pondering a move into the compact luxury sedan segment so it will fall in line with the EU's stringent CO2 emissions standards set to go into effect in 2020.
There has been a growing buzz surrounding Jaguar's C-X16 concept, and now we can finally see what it's all about thanks to the teaser sketch above.


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Avantes, a manufacturer of fibre optic spectroscopy instruments and systems, has introduced its smallest instrument ever, the AvaSpec-Micro.
The Micro, which measures only 38.5ml, about the size of a matchbox, will make its worldwide debut at the Laser show in Munich, Germany, from 13 to 16 May.
This newest addition to the CompactLine family of spectrometers comes soon after the launch of the AvaSpec-Mini. The new AvaSpec-Micro is only 30 per cent of the size of the Mini.
It boasts a resolution of up to 0.8nm with a 2500 pixel detector. Available wavelength ranges are 370 to 750nm for visible light and 225 to 850nm for UV/VIS measurements.
Benno Oderkerk, Avantes' founder and CEO, said: 'We're really giving a new meaning to 'miniature spectrometer'. This device fits in any application, any location. My vision of having a spectrometer the size of a watch is getting closer every day.'
The AvaSpec-Micro is suitable for OEM applications and is powered by a standard USB 2.0 connection, which is also used for data transfer. For industry applications, four configurable digital I/O ports are available. It weighs only 58 grams, and comes standard with a 20 micrometer entrance slit.


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At the rate the gaming population is growing among kids ages 2-17, it won't be long before there will be more child and teen gamers than there are children and teens. Wait, that can't be right. But what is right, according to The NPD Group, is that the population growth of kids ages 2-17 increased 1.54 percent in the U.S. since 2009, while the gaming population of that same age group grew 12.68 percent.
More than 9 out of 10 kids (91 percent, or 64 million) are gamers living in the U.S., NPD says. That's an increase of 9 points overall since 2009, with kids ages 2-5 jumping 17 points in gaming incidence.
"Year-to-date through August 2011, kids comprised 44 percent of new physical software dollar sales, representing a vitally important consumer segment for the games industry," said Anita Frazier , industry analyst, The NPD Group. "Knowing how kids are spending their gaming time and dollars in both traditional and non-traditional outlets is key to staying relevant to this highly engaged audience."
Gaming on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets jumped 8 percent to 38 percent, compared to traditional portable gaming devices, which grew from 38 percent to 45 percent. The other popular platform? Computers, according to NPD.


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The following is the At present, 18% of bitcoin has been lost From Copper recommended by recordtrend.com. And this article belongs to the classification: Bitcoin.
According to London cryptocurrency trustee Copper.co According to a new study by, the recent price rise of bitcoin is the result of the steady increase in demand for bitcoin and the increasing scarcity of bitcoin. It is estimated that by 2140, this cryptocurrency will reach the maximum supply of 21 million. The researchers also found that investors in North America, especially in the United States, are most interested in the newly mined bitcoin.
So far, about 18.625 million bitcoins have been excavated in the world, but a considerable part of them have been lost.
Copper estimates that 56% of bitcoin is currently held by investors, 18% has been lost, 15% is held by so-called traders, and the rest has not yet been mined.
Since most bitcoin holders (80 per cent) are long-term investors and will not easily sell their bitcoin, Cooper said, interest in the digital asset is rising, which could have a huge impact on its price.
Cooper also found an interesting phenomenon. Nearly one third of bitcoin trading volume occurred during the opening of the New York Stock Exchange. Investors should pay attention to the trading of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S & P 500.
So much bitcoin trading takes place between 9:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. in U.S. stock trading, which may explain why the S & P 500 is sometimes seen as related to the price of bitcoin.
More reading: blockchain: 17 million bitcoin have been dug up in April 2018 Google Trends: data show that the search volume of “buying bitcoin with credit card” has reached an all-time high : Customer Relationship Management (CRM) survey report in 2018 (full text attached) bitcoin market value evaporated by US $44 billion in January 2018? Japan’s bitcoin trading volume accounts for 47% of the global market Management: research finds that up to 95% of bitcoin transactions are fake BofA Securities: bitcoin becomes the best investment in the past decade PwC: bitcoin power consumption may increase to 0.5% by the end of 2018 Bitcoin hit Wall Street: research found that nearly 4 million bitcoins were lost
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Iconic Canadian restaurant Tim Hortons has announced it will open its first ever restaurant in the South West later this month.
Diners will finally be able to get their hands on freshly baked donuts, coffee and delicious meals from 7am on Monday, November 16 at Eastern Avenue Retail Park in Gloucester.
The new restaurant will be open from 6am to midnight, seven days a week.
The Gloucester venue will showcase the Canadian brand's new menu which includes beef burgers, hot dogs and lattice fries.
To celebrate the opening, the first customer in the drive-thru and restaurant queue will be given free drinks for a whole year - a prize worth £3100.
The first 100 customers through the doors will also receive a free breakfast meal.
In addition, Tim Hortons will run a series of giveaways including free drinks and donuts for those who activate a 'Tim Hortons digital wallet'.
Kevin Hydes, chief commercial officer of Tim Hortons franchise in the UK, said: “Gloucester is a big opening for us as it will be first time Tim Hortons will be available in the South West and we are so looking forward to bringing it to the community.
"Now that the opening date has been revealed we can also let fans and those new to the brand, know that we will certainly be delivering on the celebration that usually comes with a Tim Hortons launch, as there are plenty of amazing prizes to be won through out the day.”
Get all the stories you love straight to your inbox. Sign up to the Gloucestershire daily newsletter today right here.


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The winners of the highly anticipated 2024 World Nature Photography Awards have been announced, showcasing the unparalleled beauty of the natural world. Among the standout entries was British photographer Tracey Lund, whose mesmerizing portrait of underwater gannets off the coast of the Shetland Islands earned her the prestigious top prize.
Lund’s winning image, taken while on holiday in Shetland, captures a remarkable moment as thousands of gannets plunge into the sea in pursuit of fish. Despite taking a staggering 1,800 photos that day, Lund expressed that only two images met her high standards. Her dedication and patience paid off, resulting in a breathtaking photograph that showcases the underwater world of these majestic birds.
Adrian Dinsdale, co-founder of the World Nature Photography Awards, expressed delight in the caliber of this year’s entries and praised the winners for their remarkable images. He also announced an exciting new development for photography enthusiasts and nature lovers alike: a dedicated online store where selected winning images, including those from previous years, can be purchased as wall art. Additionally, for every piece of wall art sold, a tree will be planted, promoting environmental sustainability and allowing individuals to bring the beauty of nature into their homes.
Photographers around the world are encouraged to submit their best work for next year’s contest. To learn more about the entry details and rules, visit the official website of the World Nature Photography Awards. This prestigious competition offers an incredible platform to showcase the artistry and magnificence of nature through the lens of talented photographers.
Nature has a way of captivating our hearts and minds, and these award-winning photographs remind us of the boundless beauty and wonder that surrounds us. Through the lens of these talented photographers, we are able to glimpse rare moments and exquisite details that might otherwise go unnoticed. The World Nature Photography Awards continue to celebrate and recognize the extraordinary work of photographers who have the unique ability to transport us into the enchanting world of nature.
FAQ Section: World Nature Photography Awards
1. Who won the prestigious top prize at the 2024 World Nature Photography Awards?
British photographer Tracey Lund won the prestigious top prize at the 2024 World Nature Photography Awards for her mesmerizing portrait of underwater gannets off the coast of the Shetland Islands.
2. What is the winning photograph about?
The winning photograph captures a remarkable moment as thousands of gannets plunge into the sea in pursuit of fish.
3. How many photos did Tracey Lund take that day?
Tracey Lund took a total of 1,800 photos that day, but only two images met her high standards.
4. What new development was announced by Adrian Dinsdale, the co-founder of the World Nature Photography Awards?
Adrian Dinsdale announced the launch of a dedicated online store where selected winning images, including those from previous years, can be purchased as wall art. For every piece of wall art sold, a tree will be planted, promoting environmental sustainability.
5. How can photographers submit their work for next year’s contest?
Photographers can submit their best work for next year’s contest by visiting the official website of the World Nature Photography Awards for entry details and rules.
– Gannets: Large seabirds of the family Sulidae, known for their diving and fishing abilities.
– Photography Enthusiasts: Individuals who have a passion for photography and enjoy capturing images.
– Nature Lovers: People who have a deep appreciation and affinity for the natural world.
– World Nature Photography Awards Official Website: The official website of the World Nature Photography Awards where photographers can learn more about the competition.
– Trees for the Future: A non-profit organization that plants trees to promote environmental sustainability.


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There are a lot of people who are not satisfied with their new iPhone 4S. Its not because its a bad device, its because the iPhone 4S has a battery issue that Apple needs to fix. For that purpose, Apple engineers have contacted an iPhone 4S users in a bid to solve this battery drain issue on iPhone 4S.
Actually, Apple engineers are reaching out to a lot of iPhone 4S users and are using data collected through their devices, with permission of user of course, in order to find a fix for this battery drain issue on iPhone 4S. One such iPhone 4S user who was contacted by Apple engineers spoke with the Guardian and revealed how Apple engineers are collaborating with users to find a fix.
This particular fellow was experiencing battery drain at 10% every hour of standby, even when the device was not being used. This basically means that the battery on his iPhone 4S was performing far worse than it's supposed to do. He tried turning off Siri and location services but that too didn't help in fixing battery drain issue on iPhone 4S. He then tried setting the iPhone 4S as a completely new device and did not restore from any previous backups nevertheless, the issue persisted.
Then, he explains that he received a call from a senior Apple engineer who admitted that this really is an issue with the iPhone 4S. The engineer mentioned that they were reaching out to customers in order to find a fix and asked him if he could install a monitoring program on his iPhone 4S. Apart from that, the engineer asked a lot of questions about his usage of iPhone 4S and the effects it had on the battery.
Many iPhone 4S users have been caught off guard by the under-performing battery of iPhone 4S. On paper, the iPhone 4S battery has 0.05 Wh more capacity than the battery on iPhone 4 but Apple has mentioned in its spec sheet of iPhone 4S a standby time of 200 hours. The standby time for iPhone 4 was 300 hours and no reason has been given as to why the same battery is offering less standby time on the new iPhone 4S.
There are a number of factors that can contribute to iPhone 4S battery drain issue. First, this device has the dual-core A5 processor which is definitely power hungry. Then there's Siri, the improved camera and a host of new processors that run in the background however that does not mean the battery should perform as bad as losing 10% charge per hour of standby. Hopefully, Apple engineers will soon find a fix for iPhone 4S battery drain issue.


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On 15 June, Prof Yipeng Liu presented a detailed review of the impact of the COVID pandemic on Chinese SMEs and the entrepreneurial spirit. Speaking at an online event organised by the Interntional Council for Small Business (ICSB) and based on research from multiple sources, Prof Liu highlighted that the commercial impact of the pandemic had hit the smaller businesses harder than the larger ones, and while anxiety, fear and worry among entrepreneurs had risen, optimism was still present.
By 15 February 2020, even before COVID was declared a pandemic, the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises released a report reviewing almost 6,500 SMEs across the whole of China. Only 1.5% of SMEs reported that COVID had had “no significant impact” on their business. The effect was huge, and it was fast and it was felt right across China. 86% of SMEs were classed as “greatly affected” (comprising 39% suffering “serious” impact with business temporarily suspended, 29% suffering “particularly severe” impact which will result in loss and 18% “barely operating”).
The single biggest cause of difficulties faced by SMEs was shrinking market demand and customer churn. 31% of them saw orders fall, 27% reported a loss of customers. We also learned that in that short time, overseas orders fell 70%. As a result, 68% of SMEs saw income fall, with 34% having only enough cash to continue operations for one month and 22% unable to meet their debt obligations.
However, by May 2020, 91% of SMEs had resumed work and China’s Small and Medium Enterprises Development Index, a measure of economic performance of SMEs, was up from 76 to 87 – good progress where the three-year high was 93.
Perhaps the biggest upshot is the way new technology has become even more embedded in SME business practices, and Chinese culture, as a result of the pandemic.
Digital technology, the internet and data intelligence has helped research and testing, information services, epidemic prevention and control, supplies and donations. It greatly enhanced the efficiency of epidemic prevention and control and new online behaviours and services such as life services, online healthcare and work learning have become embedded as a result of the new digital economy ecosystem.
China took what Liu calls a “wartime response” to the pandemic which was seen as an “external shock” that broke locked-in thinking about old ways of doing things and was a major factor in further promoting the digital economy. COVID-19 led to changes in how consumers learned, it changed management practices in business and changed the decision-making process in the public sector. It gave a noticeable push to some industries to reach critical scale and get to profitable operations quickly and accelerate remote office working, online education and online medical care: all key elements of the new digital economy which have now taken firm root. All of this was helped by an accelerated commitment from Government down to SMEs to cloud computing, AI and big data infrastructure.


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Taking a look back at seven days of news and headlines across the world of Android, this week’s Android Circuit includes an extensive Galaxy S8 review, record pre-orders for the S8 family, new issues in Samsung’s hardware, details on the Pixel 2 family, why the LG G6 is the equal of the S8, the BlackBerry KeyONE launch, Alphabet’s increased earnings, 2017’s best Android apps, and some stunning night-time images from the first Pixel smartphone.
Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many things that have happened around Android in the last week (and you can find the weekly Apple news digest here).
Reviewing The Galaxy S8
As the Galaxy S8 hits the retail shelves, Forbes’ Gordon Kelly has been taking an extensive and in-depth look at Samsung’s new handset. While the first impressions are amazing, he’s spent time getting to understand the flagship for his 3,500 word review:
Samsung has launched the Galaxy S8 and it might be the most beautiful smartphone ever made. It appears to be something a hyper-intelligent alien race accidentally dropped and we now get to study it. But under the microscope you’ll find it is clearly and frustratingly human, its perfection marred by series of bizarre and occasionally facepalm-worthy flaws.
The Galaxy S8 is Samsung at its most Samsung-y. It’s a heartbreaking work of staggering genius...
Strong Pre-Orders For Galaxy S8
Samsung has confirmed that pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are thirty percent higher than those for the S7 family. Given the S7 pre-orders were a record at that time, the year-on-year increase is good news for the South Korean company:
This suggests that Samsung has retained the confidence of consumers following the incendiary Galaxy Note 7. The global recalls and eventual dropping of the flagship phablet was a painful period for Samsung Mobile that could have had a long-term impact on the brand. Surveys at the start of 2017 suggested this would not be the case and the Galaxy S8 would not have to carry the ballast of the battery fires.
Samsung can point to the increased pre-sales if anyone questions the brand power.
First Galaxy S8 Handsets Have Hardware Issues
With memories of the Note 7 debacle, Samsung will be hoping that the Galaxy S8 does not have any major issues ‘out of the box’ Two minor issues have popped up - an issue with wi-fi monitoring and a red tint showing up on some screens - but Samsung has proved that it has learned something from the Note 7… how to react publicly to these issue:
What is important in these cases is not that they have happened (every consumer electronics production line will have small issues) but how Samsung has reacted to the issues. It has been open and forthcoming not just in acknowledging the flaws, but also provided clear information on what steps are being taken to address the errors.
If you want to know something that Samsung has learned from the fiery Note 7, then this is it. These flaws may be embarrassing, but the response shows that the South Korean company has decided how to address any problems with the Galaxy S8 family.
New Pixel Details Leak
More details on Google’s 2017 handsets are coming to light, as Gordon Kelly reports on the new information surrounding the upcoming Pixel 2 family. Code analysis on the open source side of Android reveal three potential handsets:
…the references show all three use Qualcomm’s cutting edge ‘MSM8998 chip’ (more commonly known as the Snapdragon 835), the hardware used inside the US edition of the brilliant but flawed Galaxy S8. All of which tells us two key things.
Firstly, Google is not making a budget Pixel this year as no affordable smartphone will use a top of the range Snapdragon 835. Secondly, this is the third independent confirmation of the codenames in Google’s own code, and historically the company has always used fish/aquatic mammals to both brand its smartphones and use them as hints to size:
The LG G6 Holds The Line Against Samsung’s Flaghips
The Galaxy S8 family are not the only flagships in the market that are catching reviewers eyes. LG has picked up critical acclaim since the launch of the G6 and Forbes’ David Phelan is arguing why the LG G6 is the equal of the Galaxy S8, starting with the flat screen:
Like the Samsung phone, the G6 has a different screen proportion to previous smartphones, opting for a ratio of 18:9 instead of the more common 16:9. This means it doesn’t stretch the hand while still managing to squeeze in a big display – 5.7 inches. The display on the S8 has an 18.5:9 ratio and a 5.8 inch measurement. But let’s remember that the S8 has curved edges so some of that visible screen slopes off to the side.
…Some say that having sloping edges on a phone mean you need to hold it in a different way which can be less comfortable over time. It can also lead to more erroneous touches, according to an ergonomics professor wheeled out at the phone’s MWC launch. If you don’t like curved edges, and not everybody does, you are a bit stuffed when it comes to the S8. In which case, LG’s straight edges may suit your grip
Numbers Are Up!
Alphabet’s Earnings Show strong year-on-year growth both for the company overall and for the hardware division (which includes the Google Pixel smartphones alongside the Store). Abner Li covers the news:
Revenue is up 22% from $20.25 billion in Q1 2016, with net income at $5.42 billion for this quarter. For comparison, Alphabet reported $26 billion in revenue and $5.3 billion in net income last quarter.
Hardware sales of the Google Pixel and Home are grouped together with the Play Store, enterprise efforts, and more in “Other Revenues.” This quarter it is at $3 billion, compared to $2 billion the same quarter last year, but lower than the $3.4 billion from the last quarter that included the holiday season.
BlackBerry Prepares A Classic Look For Sale
The Blackberry KeyONE has been launched in the UK. Sporting a 4.5 inch touchscreen above the traditional BlackBerry keyboard, the device will go on sale in May in the rest of the world. TechRadar’s John McCann has the details:
In terms of specs you're looking at a Snapdragon 625 chipset, 3GB of RAM, 12MP rear camera, 8MP front camera, Android 7.1 and a 3,505mAh battery. That's a solid line up, but it doesn't quite match the flagship power of the Samsung Galaxy S8, LG G6 or Huawei P10.
…[the physical keyboard is] a niche, but one that still has a passionate following, plus with the added levels of security BlackBerry has baked into the KeyOne it will also be pushing it at businesses looking for secure devices for employees.
2017’s Best Apps Find A Shortlist
Ahead of the Google I/O Conference the shortlisted applications for the Google Play Awards have been announced in a specific Google Play collection. Abner Li reports:
There is also the more general best app and game category, and more specific rankings, like best app for kids, multiplayer game, accessibility experience, and social impact.
Besides prominent Play Store placement, winning developers will also receive a physical trophy. From the teaser video, it appears that this year’s hardware has been redesigned.
The Google Play Awards presentation will also be livestreamed on May 18th at 6:30 pm for those not attending I/O in person. In the mean time, checkout the entire list of apps on Google Play.
Just how far can you push the camera on the Google Pixel? Google engineer Florian Kainz decided to find out, in challenging low-light long-exposure conditions, with a mix of built-in apps and personal tools. Kevin Murnane reports:
Kainz used an experimental app for HDR called SeeInTheDark. He coupled it with an app he wrote for Android that allowed him to control exposure time, shutter speed and focus distance for bursts of up to 64 exposures. The raw exposures were captured as DNG (Digital Negative) files and downloaded to a PC for processing. The processing involved averaging the exposed images and then subtracting an equal number of pure black images to eliminate some faint visual noise effects.
Android Circuit rounds up the news from the Android world every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future, and of course read the sister column in Apple Loop! Last week’s Android Circuit can be found here, and if you have any news and links you’d like to see featured in Android Circuit, get in touch!