text:
Covid-19 is still rampant across the world. Infection rates are soaring in countries including the UK, France, the US and Indonesia, to name just a few. Despite this, we are moving into a post-Covid world, thanks largely to vaccine roll-outs weakening the links between infections, hospitalisations and deaths. Many countries are throwing off the shackles of Covid restrictions, with governments hoping that citizens will leave their homes and spend their countries back to economic health. Brands from all sectors will of course be hoping to benefit from this uptick in consumer spend. They will be investing in marketing strategies in anticipation. This will have an impact on media pricing; indeed, the cost of media, as well as the amount spent on it, is often a good indicator of economic recovery, or lack thereof. So what does the post-pandemic media market look like?
Global recovery will remain uneven
According to the OECD, global prospects are improving, but are strongly dependent on countries’ individual situations. Unlike the global recovery following the 2008-2009 global recession, the post-pandemic recovery will be ‘uneven and dependent on the effectiveness of vaccination programmes and public health policies’. Some countries are recovering much more quickly than others. South Korea and the US are reaching pre-pandemic per-capita income levels after about 18 months. Many European countries are expected to take three years to recover, while in others such as Mexico and South Africa it could take up to five years. Countries with effective public health strategies are seeing their economies recover more quickly – a ‘more jabs, more jobs’ scenario. The dependency on different sectors such as tourism is also a key factor.
Consumer confidence is crucial
As the pandemic is wrestled under control, consumer confidence and spending will increase, bringing relief to hard-hit industries. The pandemic deeply impacted consumer spending. There were a lack of opportunities to spend but also concerns around job security and future uncertainty. Real personal consumption expenditure (PCE) in the US contracted by 3.9% in 2020, compared to 2.45% expansion in 2019.
Meanwhile, savings increased as even people in secure employment avoided spending. The US personal savings rate ended 2020 at 14.25%, nearly double what it was in December 2019. In the UK, consumers are estimated to have amassed an extra £180 billion ($245 billion) in their bank accounts over the course of lockdowns, equivalent to almost 10% of the country’s annual GDP. Experts agree that the easing of restrictions will spark a surge in consumer spending, especially by wealthier households. Deloitte estimates that US consumers have saved around $1.6 trillion more than if there been no pandemic.
Alongside the increased spending power are higher confidence and a change in mood as health-related anxieties ease. In the US and elsewhere, there is likely to be a huge rebound in spending on services in the coming months. Consumers will be eager to go on vacation, eat at restaurants and go to sporting events, for example. In March, PCE on services grew year-on-year for the first time in 13 months, rising to 19.3% in April. That’s still 4.7% lower than what it was in February 2020, but a reassuring rise.
A boost to the advertising industry
Anticipating the rise in confidence and resultant unleashing of latent savings, advertisers are investing heavily in media strategies to encourage consumers to spend those savings and celebrate the easing of lockdown with their brands. This has led to an uptick in media pricing, as ECI Media Management predicted in January in our annual Inflation Report – an update will be released in September. Both Magna and GroupM revised their previous projections for the post-pandemic media market upwards.
GroupM predicted in June that global advertising will grow by 19% in 2021, a significant increase on their December forecast. This represents a level of ad revenue 15% higher than 2019, and high growth should persist into the foreseeable future. Remarkably, GroupM anticipates that global advertising will exceed $1 trillion in 2026, a huge increase on 2020’s $641 billion. Regions including the UK, India, China and Brazil could see growth of over 20% in 2021 versus 2020. The US, Australia and Canada could see an uptick in the high teens.
The Magna report forecasts that digital ad formats will be the big winners of the post-pandemic media market, capturing two-thirds of total ad sales for the first time. This is down to a 13% growth expected from digital ad sales, including search, social, video, display and audio. While linear ad spend has suffered as much as it did in the recession of 2008 and 2009, the market is recovering much more quickly. Spend on linear channels are expected to have grown in Q2 after four negative quarters. The last recession led to 11 consecutive negative quarters.
Learning from previous downturns
The global recession of 2008 and 2009 was very different in nature to the one caused by the pandemic. The economic depression caused by Covid-19 has been very sharp, but is also expected to be ‘v-shaped’. Experts predict that the global economy should be back above pre-Covid levels soon, while the recovery after the 2008-2009 recession was much slower. However, the last recession offered brands some valuable lessons in how to handle the current situation and recover more quickly. Millward Brown found in 2008 that 60% of brands that spent nothing on TV for six months saw brand use decrease 24%. Brands that cut their ad budgets more than their competitors were at a greater risk of share loss. Businesses that continued to maintain share of voice and share of market during the downturn showed longer-term improvement in profitability that outweighed short-term savings.
Specific strategies for a pandemic
While those lessons continue to be relevant in the challenging times advertisers face today, the specific nature of this downturn, driven by a global health pandemic that has affected almost every single person in the world, should be addressed in a very specific way. Kantar found that 77% of consumers want brands to talk about how they can be helpful in their everyday lives. 75% want brands to showcase their efforts to face the situation. 70% want brands to offer a reassuring tone.
Many advertisers have moved their focus away from performance-based, sales-focused channels and metrics and investing in long-term brand-building strategies. Meanwhile, caused-based marketing is on the rise, as brands seek to position themselves as socially and environmentally responsible.
The answer, as always, is to focus on the consumer
By learning from previous downturns and focusing on brand loyalty and the consumer, many brands will emerge stronger, better and with a more loyal following than ever. These will be the perfect conditions to capitalize on the economic recovery and consumers’ appetite to spend. The post-pandemic media market will be stronger and more resilient than ever.
Header image: Dean Drobot / Shutterstock


text:
How to apply To apply for a post, select the 'Apply now' option within the relevant??job advert or alternatively??please go to www.asics outlets in los angeles What's compelling about this for me is that it demonstrates that designers don't just make things pretty there's real, tangible proof that we help to drive traffic and engagement, even for companies which you wouldn't immediately consider as visual content types of companies. Inadequate' Ebola preparations created unreasonable moral dilemmas, research reveals Scientific uncertainty around the 2014 Ebola outbreak??forced Australian healthcare workers to decide for themselves the risks they were prepared to take to treat patients, UNSW research shows.
s largest ship and the first in its Breakaway Plus Class - was christened on Monday 9th November in a stunning ceremony worthy of her size and status.asics outlets in los angeles This includes any promotional materials, URLs or any other form of unauthorized solicitation that you may upload, post, email, transmit, or otherwise make available. If you are a subscriber and have time left on your subscription, it will be deleted with your records and cannot be refunded or applied to other (future) profiles.asics outlets in los angeles
Filed Under: Uncategorized Sexy Babe July 21, 2015 by admin Attractive and arousing brunette is slowly taking off her pink lingerie. We'd guess the share awaits some news as, despite some recent grotty market conditions, it would have made sense for the price to droop to 30p, perhaps even a secondary of 23p, but the price has firmly refused to go down. Another friend of mine, Caitlin, started a new blog recently which I urge you to check out fully too.asics outlets in los angeles

domain: news


text:
Slave trade in us today kiged852176427
The report has drawn attention to an issue that aid , migrant groups say has gone on for years Why is there a slave trade in Libya Libya is the main transit point. Over the period of the Atlantic Slave Trade, 10 7 million had arrived in., , from approximately 1526 to 1867, some 12 5 million slaves had been shipped from Africa
The Arab slave trade was the practice of slavery in the Arab world, North Africa, Europe This barter., the Horn of Africa, Southeast Africa , mainly in Western Asia
Known as Gustavus Vassa for most of his life, its., his autobiography helped in the creation of the Slave Trade Act 1807 which ended the African trade for Britain
Today, these facts might be hard to deal with Especially as you reach the., you are going to learn some shocking facts about slave trade A little bit of a warning
The Atlantic slave trade , transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, , ., mainly from Africa to the Americas
Nov 21, adopted a resolution Tuesday designed to crack down on human trafficking , citing reports of slave auctions in Libya, slavery., 2017 The UN Slave trade in us today. Jan 05, we now know that slave voyages left from almost every port , 2011 Within the United States, that although Rhode Island might be well known as a slave.
A non commercial resource on slavery , scholars , the Atlantic slave trade for students, vides a comprehensive list of slavery sources., teachers While much has been written concerning the Trans Atlantic slave trade, surprisingly little attention has been given to the Islamic slave trade across the Sahara, the.
Jewish Involvement In Black Slave Trade To The Americas By Rabbi Marc Lee Raphael 2 24 6


text:
Alejandro Cao de Benós can help you explore mining interests—or tell you that Kim Jong Un is in perfectly good health.
How Much Is 0.009 Bitcoins In Usd Facebook’s new Libra cryptocurrency has drawn a lot of attention and many comparisons to the very first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin Newsletter 12 May 2020. Bitcoin's halving even made the headline of a popular email newsletter delivered to over 2 million subscribers each day. For those needing a refresher, a blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger that
Spaniard Alejandro Cao de Benós found his calling in socialist North Korea – not least because of a shared ideology – and is.
Following this announcement the local banks closed the accounts of several cryptocurrency exchanges.. In March of 2018 the.
Manufacturing production figures show that the economic downturn has gathered pace in Central Europe in March. This downturn.
The legal status of bitcoin (and related crypto instruments) varies substantially from state to.
If money services businesses, including cryptocurrency exchanges, money transmitters, and anonymizing services.
As of March 2015, an official statement of the Romanian National Bank mentioned that "using digital currencies.
Coinvertit is an exchange based in Romania.
especially after the oldest Romanian cryptocurrency exchange BTCxChange closed shop on 1 May 2018.
FIAT <> CRYPTO API accepting bank and major credit cards payments & withdrawals for customers from all around the world.
Convert Romanian Leus to Bitcoins with a conversion calculator, or Leus to Bitcoins conversion tables. Also, view Leu to Bitcoin currency charts. Get also a Leu.
FTSE 100 index closes at 5,849; German court raps ECB and ECJ across the knuckles; Oil stocks top Footsie leader board; 5pm;.


text:
The first of three major furniture shipments has come in for the Center for Education and Economic Development. The building, which will serve as a networking hub and office for the Mission Economic Development Corporation, has slowly been transitioning from an abandoned building to a fully-functioning co-working space for business professionals.
MEDC Chief Operating Officer Daniel Silva said he and CEO Alex Meade are pushing for an Aug. 1 furniture completion date. One of the furniture pieces is on backorder until September, but once the seating, table tops and wiring is in place, Silva said the facility should be open to the public by mid September.
I think by mid September it gives us a good cushion and we can make sure that everything is functioning properly.”
The 55,000-square foot location will include 285 open seats, which includes various types of table setups. Office spaces will be available, as well as classrooms, conference rooms, a lecture hall and audio and sound production room. Similar to a gym membership, the CEED will require a monthly fee that can range from $35 to $200. Each fee level grants access to different CEED services.
“We try to provide as many options as possible,” Silva said. “Kind of like a gym, you’re not given a specific piece of equipment you can work on, but you can work on what is available, based on your level of membership.”
The MEDC is also working out a partnership with a coffee shop to be housed inside the building. The revenue from the office space, memberships and coffee shop should generate enough to pay rent and to pay off the $2 million loan.
“We’ve been working on this for about two years — the thinking and architectural renderings and finally the construction and now that we’re seeing it, it’s fun,” Silva said. “We’re anxious to get started, but once it’s up and running we know that we need to fill it up.”


text:
Luxent will showcase its Sales to Service Solution at the May 4-7, 2015 event in San Jose, CA
April 23, 2015 – Aliso Viejo, CA: Luxent, the leading ERP and CRM solution and service provider that brings the best of the cloud to companies, today announced that it plans to exhibit at the 2015 SuiteWorld user conference hosted by NetSuite, one of Luxent’s key technology partners.
“We’re very excited about our partnership with NetSuite and believe that exhibiting at SuiteWorld will give us a great opportunity to meet with everyday users and key NetSuite team members,” said Vivian Keena, Luxent CEO. The SuiteWorld event will take place May 4-7 in San Jose, California.
At SuiteWorld, Luxent will debut its Sales to Service solution for NetSuite users, which brings together proven leaders in cloud technology applications to enable a more efficient and holistic way to support and serve customers. Utilizing Luxent’s iQ Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) application, NetSuite Cloud ERP, and the NextService field service application, Sales to Service makes it easier to quote, fulfill, and service through an integrated NetSuite user experience.
“We all know the stats that it’s easier and cheaper to maintain a customer versus earn a new one, and Sales to Service holistically addresses the gaps in the sales and service process that can stop a new customer from becoming a repeat customer,” explained Aaron Korsen, EVP Sales and Marketing. “iQ and NextService complement the core fulfillment and production managed out of the NetSuite Cloud ERP platform to deliver a seamless experience from start to finish.”
Luxent brings extensive ERP, manufacturing, and cloud technology expertise to the NetSuite customer base. “In our business consulting group alone, each team member averages 15 years of ERP experience,” explained Keena. “We’ve worked hard to build a team that understands the needs of our customers as well as the technology they use every day so that we provide the solutions, services, and support that helps them see more return on their technology investments.”
Laura Monn Ginsburg


text:
More than 150,000 have viewed the above video since 2010. Had you?
Our own Tom Jacobs recently reported compelling findings that liberals are more likely to stereotype conservatives, than the reverse. This week we're seeing anecdotal evidence for why that might be so.
Below, some selected results from a Twitter search for "Cheaper Than Dirt." If those words don't ring a bell for you, you're probably not a gun owner. CTD, as enthusiasts call the shop, is one of the largest and most successful online gun dealers in the country—the Amazon.com of firearms, including controversial assault weapons like the AR-15 used in the Newtown massacre. Earlier this week, the company announced it was suspending all firearms sales to review its procedures. Somewhere, someone is surely praising the decision—but their voice is certainly drowned out by the voices of dismay from customers and firearm enthusiasts, who have an active online presence—and probably like a deal as much as the next person. A selection of responses from the past few hours:
Compare that to responses from about the same time, to an identical decision by Dick's Sporting Goods, a retailer that's better known outside the gun community.
Two Americas? Hard to say. Two Twitters, at least.


text:
Billings-based agency payments are now in terminal decline, according to figures released yesterday by the New York-based Association of National Advertisers.
Data collected from 136 corporate respondents during the period December 2000-January 2001 indicates that over two thirds now operate agency agreements with payment based on performance or incentives. A similar study carried out in 1997 showed only 53% of major clients using this method.
Says ANA president and chief executive John J Sarsen Jnr: “Advertisers are asking their agencies to act differently, to proactively identify a broad cross section of solutions for profitable brand growth. Agencies are becoming consumer driven and not traditional-media driven.”
Co-author of the study, David Beals, president and chief executive of Chicago review consultancy Jones Lundin Beals, confirmed the supremacy of the trend: “The fifteen percent - the standard for a century - has largely been supplanted.”
“The interest in non-traditional media and marketing methods,” Beals continued, “is absolutely the trend [behind the shift from the billings method], in part because less traditional media - website design, event marketing, direct response, public relations - are harder to compensate on a commission basis.”
The latest survey indicates that only 21 % of respondents employed billings-based agreements last year, compared with 35% in 1997/8 - “a pretty dramatic shift over a short period,” Beals opined.
News source: New York Times


text:
The state government had earlier decided to sell its 39.99 per cent shareholding in HPL through an auction.
Jajodia said major petrochem players like Reliance Industries, Indian Oil and Gail are not in a position to compensate the shortage completely.
Reliance Industries will save about $450 million annually by importing 1.5 million tons ethane from US for its petrochemical plant, says a report.
With Essar Oil, the country’s second largest private refiner, trudging back to profitability in FY’14, the plans are back on track.
RIL is expected to post a flat performance for the April – Jun ’14 quarter compared to year ago period, but which will be weak when compared to immediately preceding quarter.
The Q1 consolidated sales were reported at Rs 104,640 crore versus Rs 97,503 crore YoY. The Q1 petrochemicals EBIT margin came in at 7.33%.
Siemens Ltd has bagged orders worth Rs 228 crore from Reliance Industries for supplying steam turbine generation units to its Jamnagar refinery.
RIL is currently getting 30-40 cents lower than average Henry Hub price of about USD 4.5 per million British thermal unit in the last quarter.


text:
Fiat 500 TwinAir to be exempt from London congestion charge
posted on - 28/10/2010 11:59
A popular Fiat model will be exempt from London's congestion charge next year.
According to the manufacturer, the Fiat 500 TwinAir will become one of the only petrol cars entitled to travel in restricted areas without paying a daily fee of £10 when the new rules come into force on January 4th.
The model emits 95g of carbon per kilometre and has a combined fuel consumption of 68.9mpg, meaning owners will only be required to pay an annual registration fee of £10.
Elena Bernardelli, marketing director at Fiat Group Automobiles UK, said the change in the law could make the Fiat 500 even more popular among economical motorists.
"This is a good decision by Transport for London, which recognises the dramatic steps some manufacturers have made in reducing the emissions their cars produce," Ms Bernardelli commented.
She added that individuals and firms who drive environmentally-friendly vehicles should be rewarded.
Fiat currently manufactures the TwinAir Pop and the convertible 500C TwinAir byDIESEL.
The former features the lowest carbon emission petrol car engine in the world, according to New European Driving Cycle standards, Fiat notes.


text:
Websites offering illegal copyrighted material could see their advertising revenue cut under a new initiative.
Police have created an online database of websites “verified” as being illegal.
It is hoped that firms that handle advertising will use the resource to make sure they do not serve advertising on those sites, cutting off revenue.
Top piracy sites generate millions of pounds thanks to advertising.
One estimate, from the Digital Citizens Alliance – a group backed by rights holders – suggested that piracy websites worldwide generated $227m (£137m) from advertising revenue each year.
Even smaller sites commanded revenues into the hundreds of thousands, the group said.
Most brands hire third parties to distribute their online advertising to hundreds of websites at once, which can sometimes lead to them unintentionally appearing against unfavourable content.
The Infringing Website List (IWL) will be an “up-to-date list of copyright infringing sites” that can be cross-referenced by those third parties, in the hope that they will pull their advertising from those sites.
“If an advert from an established brand appears on an infringing website not only does it lend the site a look of legitimacy, but inadvertently the brand and advertiser are funding online crime,” said Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fyfe from the City of London Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (Pipcu).
“Therefore the IWL also serves as a safety tool, ensuring the reputation of advertisers and brands are not discredited through association with illegal websites.”
But Ernesto Van Der Sar, editor of Torrentfreak, a news site that covers issues around online piracy, said there could be worrying implications that arise from the IWL.
“As with all blocklists there is a serious risk of overblocking,” he told the BBC.
“Without proper oversight perfectly legal sites may end up losing good advertising opportunities if they are wrongfully included.”
The City of London police said any sites listed would be notifiied in advance – but it was unable to tell the BBC how many sites would be on the list at launch.
Following the money
The battle against online piracy has seen content creators attempt many different strategies in order to stem the flow of illegal downloading.
In the UK, the courts have ordered internet service providers to block almost 50 different websites offering pirated content, either by direct download or through peer-to-peer sharing.
While effective in lowering the traffic of these sites, filtering is a flawed prevention method – many internet users are adept in using different technologies to circumvent the court-imposed restrictions.
This latest attempt looks to hit the owners of these websites in a more painful way – by stopping advertising revenues from coming in.
The City of London said a pilot of the IWL carried out last year resulted in a 2% reduction in advertising from major household brands on the identified illegal websites.
Mr Van Der Sar said the IWL may take away some advertising from these kind of websites, but argued that the effects would be minimal.
“As long as there is money to be made, there will be plenty of advertising companies who are happy to work with these sites.”
Creative industries minister Ed Vaizey said: “It is essential we protect our creative industries from people ripping off their content online.
“Disrupting the money unlawful websites make from advertising could make a real difference to the fight against copyright infringement.”


text:
Nokia on Tuesday announced that it was selling its mobile division for $7.17 billion (5.44 billion euros) to Microsoft. News about Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s beleaguered mobile phone unit has created ripples in the market and has set the rumor gong ringing. What plans does Microsoft have up its sleeves now? What is up next in the acquisition spree?
Is Microsoft trying to match up to Google’s move which acquired Motorola? The frenzy around these questions has touched new heights and speculations are rife.
Microsoft’s move is in keeping with the current restructuring it has undertaken to stem the fall in its product sales. Given that Microsoft’s products are behind Apple and Android-based handset devices, the move can be interpreted as a desperate attempt to arrest its falling shares and close the growing gap with the two leading market players. With this deal, Microsoft also hopes to turn around Nokia’s declining handset business. Interestingly, this is the second handset business Microsoft has bought after it acquired Danger, in February 2008.
Can we now say it is advantage Microsoft? It certainly is so. Microsoft will now be using the platform of a mobile company which arguably is the most well-known mobile brand around the world. Besides, Microsoft will stand to gain from Nokia’s well set-up supply chains in the world.
The immediate challenge before Microsoft is to integrate Nokia’s operations without disrupting its own business. Given the magnitude of the acquisition it is yet to be seen how Microsoft can ensure that staff are not weighed down by overwork; retaining Nokia’s staff and pushing into a new business front altogether. A major challenge for Microsoft now is to assuage the fears of few companies outside Nokia selling phones with its software.
What it means to competitors?
With easy access to abundant cash, Nokia will renew its attempts to revive its sinking fortunes. Given the volatile nature of the Smartphone market coupled with the high costs of Apple products, Nokia will make an all out effort to turn around its fortunes. Its ability to manufacture cheap phones will stand it in good stead. However, it has to seriously address consumer concern of lack of apps and security elements on Windows Phone.
As Apple enjoys a distinct advantage on both these fronts, Microsoft’s aim is to catch up catch up with its rival. But the key question is will Windows Phone pose any challenge to Android. It all depends on the acceptance of Windows Phone. A cheap Android or cheap iPhones may turn the scales against the merger, unless the team up comes with something revolutionary.


text:
Join John and Jay as they cover the latest in Toy News like Targets latest toy collector event “Fall Geek Out” which has new DC figures from McFarlane and NECA re-releasing hard to find Toon TMNT figures! There is a mysterious Deluxe Skeletor Masterverse Figure that is showing up as a listing on Amazon and BBTS what could it be? Toy Collector is a true blue print magazine dedicated to toy collectors, and founder Blake Wright will stop buy to talk about the first issue which reveals the latest NECA Gargoyles figure Coldstone!
Become a Patron today at:
Link to placeholder listings for NECA TMNT Fall Geek Out releases:
Link to subscribe to Toy Collectr:


text:
Refuse To Conform release the first line of their new collection, and oh my does it make us happy.
A little while ago we introduced our readers to the genderless fashion line Refuse To Conform via our chat with RTC’s founder Charlie Moss, and now, we are going a little giddy over the release of their brand new drop crotch joggers.
With a brand new collection in the pipeline, Refuse To Conform were pleased to release their new drop crotch joggers online after teasing its loyal customers via Facebook just last week via the post below.
Cheeky sneak preview of these drop crotch joggers, a part of the new Refuse to Conform Clothing collection coming soon, who would buy these? 🙂
Available in sizes S – XL – why not match the first release of their new collection with a Refuse To Conform hoody or t-shirt too?
Already eager where you can get yours? Check out RTC’s store now.
An Unknown Sauce
Not So Unknown // @TheSukiSays


text:
Who plans for new year’s eve a towns-short trip, you should look at the costs rather carefully. In many European cities, it is common that Hotels in the new year’s eve night to charge a surcharge. A recent study conducted by the Online comparison portal Check24 shows how different the price premium can vary.
Particularly expensive in the new year’s eve night, therefore, in Amsterdam. There is an overnight hotel stay cost in December, average 209 Euro. To is new year’s eve, an additional surcharge of an average of 107 euros, as the Statista graphic shows. Also in London and Dublin, it can be expensive. In Prague new year’s eve is expected in comparison to a normal hotel stay in December, even with more than double the cost.
Comparatively cheap Istanbul. Also in Stockholm, tourists can come away relatively cheap – there is calculated on new year’s eve, no extra charge.


text:
House of Fraser is looking at options for accelerating a restructuring initiative, threatening hundreds of jobs and fuelling expectations of store closures.
According to a report by Sky News, KPMG has been asked by the department store chain, which is controlled by China's Sanpower Group, to explore the possibility of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), months after it informally asked store landlords to agree to big rent cuts.
Also of interest: A turbulent year for House of Fraser and more to come
“The news of KPMG's appointment, which is understood to have been signed off in recent days, will fuel expectations that a substantial number of HoF's 59 outlets across the UK are facing the axe,” says Sky News. “Sources close to the company said it was not certain that HoF and its shareholders would pursue a CVA but conceded that one was a possibility.”


text:
Apple revealed today that orders for the new MacBook Air with the M2 chip will be accepted beginning on Friday, July 8 at 5 a.m. Pacific Time. Apple announced that customer deliveries and in-store availability would start on Friday, July 15.
Exclusive information suggested that Apple would introduce the new MacBook Air on July 15; Apple has since confirmed this information. The MacBook Air may be ordered from the Apple Store app or Apple.com.
With a slightly larger 13.6-inch display, a notch, flatter edges, and new Starlight and Midnight colour options, the new MacBook Air has undergone significant change. The laptop has four speakers, a high-impedance 3.5mm headphone connector, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, an improved 1080p camera, MagSafe charging, and more.
In comparison to the M1 processor, Apple says the M2 chip offers up to an 18% faster CPU, up to a 35% faster GPU, and up to a 40% faster Neural Engine. The MacBook Air can be configured with up to 24GB of unified memory using the M2 chip, as opposed to a maximum of 16GB with the M1 chip. The laptop can be ordered with an SSD of up to 2TB.
The new MacBook Air has a starting price of $1,199 in the US. The M1 chip MacBook Air from the previous model is still on sale for $999.
- Here is when you can play the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II beta when it launches next month - August 8, 2022
- ChromeOS 104 is coming with new features - August 6, 2022
- Toyota is currently offering to buy back recalled bZ4X EVs - August 6, 2022


text:
It seems Buick is interested in expanding into different markets, specifically the subcompact luxury market as word from AutomotiveNews suggests the Opel Adam is under consideration for North America, but as a Buick.
America’s Tri-Shield has a knack for slightly reengineering and rebadging Opels because, well, Opels in Europe today are good cars. So why not bring them to our shores? And they have, with the latest Regal. Next is the Opel Cascada, aptly named the Buick Cascada, and there’s even more to come.
But after speaking with Buick’s Duncan Aldred, Buick can’t use the current Adam since it is soon to be due for a replacement. That replacement could take shape as a new subcompact Buick. Timeframe, probably 2018.
Think Buick could pull off an entry-level subcompact?
Ford undoubtedly took the limelight when they revealed their new 2017 GT at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this month.
Now, the brand released a new video via Road&Track, where Ford explains how the GT’s design came to fruition.
The video features an interview with Ford Americas Design Director, Chris Svensson.
The Ford GT comes with a potent twin-turbocharged EcoBoost V6, said to be good for at least 600bhp mated to a new dual-clutch seven-speed automatic.
Porsche’s rumored to be prepping a performance-oriented Boxster, which will supposedly be called the Club Sport.
Much like its larger sibling, the 911, the high-strung Boxster should weigh less, get less amenities, and more power from its 3.4L flat-six.
Some spy shots of the model were spotted testing about, so the car is certainly on its way, since more aggressive bodywork was noticed on the test mule.
A launch date sometime in 2016 is expected.
It seems Nissan just gobbled down a massive serving of boring as AutomotiveNews reports the Japanese automaker put all of its rather exciting projects on hold. These include the Nissan IDx, Infiniti Q60 Eau Rouge, and their BladeGlider projects.
The plan is to focus their efforts on volume cars, meaning more awful things like the Versa, instead of cars that would otherwise define the brand’s character.
The Nissan IDx was originally slated to be a new rear-wheel drive entry-level sedan to compete with the likes of the Scion FR-S/Toyota GT-86–meaning, it would’ve most likely been really fun to drive. Another knock off the brand’s fun factor is the supposed cancellation of the Infiniti Q60 Eau Rouge, which was a pitch at a competitor to the BMW M3.
The Super Bowl TV ad onslaught for automobiles has begun and Toyota just threw another one into the mix.
It features Paralympic medalist Amy Purdy, who was also a Dancing with the Stars finalist and the star car–the 2015 Toyota Camry.
The Camry recently underwent a major refresh for the 2014 model year, and we mean major since it’s underpinnings are the same, but the exterior and interior are vastly different.
Check it out after the jump.
For a split second, it was as if we were beginning to worry for Aston Martin since they were struggling to secure some extra bolstering in the form of financial backing, following their liquidation from Ford a few years back.
Aston Martin is in dire need of money so they could revamp their aging lineup with new research and development and resources. This of course all costs a lot of money and their current sales just isn’t adequate enough to fund their future plans.
But now, Bloomberg says Investindustrial SpA out of Italy secured some rights to the brand by offering some financial support.
Details are sparse, but Aston could reveal their first concept as early as Geneva in March, thanks to the extra help. Alternatively, it could also be their highly-anticipated crossover, which will certainly help them increase numbers and their profits.
For those who seem to be making it in the world, the Volkswagen Tiguan is a perfect stepping stone into the more luxurious markets, especially those with kids or an active lifestyle.
So for fans of the ever so popular crossover, get excited, because a new Tiguan should be showing up at the Frankfurt Motor Show, according to Auto Motor und Sport.
Though because it’ll be revealed in Europe first, we’ll most likely get our version a little later, similarly to how the next generation Passat is already available in Europe.
Expect it to ride on VW’s usual MQB platform.
Source: Auto Motor und Sport
We’re in that lull period with auto show season, following the Detroit Auto Show, the Washington Auto Show, and then the Geneva Auto Show in March, which is the next biggest worldly automotive exhibition.
But for now, the next biggest network spectacle is the 2015 Super Bowl, which isn’t that far away. That said, automakers are just beginning to release their TV ads, yea, the ones they spend millions on just to get 30 seconds of fame.
This one here features Mercedes-AMG and their hot new AMG GT S, a perfect show-off for the affluent crowd watching the big game on their overpriced curved screen.
Check it out after the jump.
The Lexus IS entered its third generation recently and since then, it’s been praised as the best Lexus IS yet, winning the hearts and minds of even CARandDRIVER over the BMW 3-Series, in their last compact luxury sports sedan comparo.
So the latest Lexus IS good, actually, really good when equipped with its F-Sport package.
Power comes thanks to Toyota’s ubiquitous V6 in either 2.5L or 3.5L form, which carry over basically unchanged. The base IS250 produces 204hp and 185 lb-ft of torque while the IS350 produces 306hp and 277 lb-ft of torque, making it the clear choice in the lineup for those who like to drive–that is, until the new IS F comes about.
Transferring the power to the rear-wheels or all four, depending on which you choose, is a six-speed automatic while the rear-wheel drive IS350 is the only version that currently gets Lexus’ latest eight-speed automatic.
Check out the review here by our colleagues at AutoNation.
Mazda’s latest Mazda6 sedan is probably one of the best things to ever happen to the midsize sedan market and since its debut in 2012, we’ve quietly been waiting for new variants to pop up.
For instance, we’re still patiently waiting for the Mazda6 diesel, which the brand promised to launch with the new 6 back in 2012. But it’s since been delayed due to some unspecified technical difficulties.
Additionally, we’re still waiting to see if Mazda will produce a successor to the original MazdaSpeed6 with this generation, or if they’ll add any significant changes such as the addition of all-wheel drive. Well, for starters, they just introduced an all-wheel drive version of the latest 6, but it’s only for the Bosnian and Herzegovinan markets.


text:
Blood donation: The most precious Lunar New Year gift
This holiday period is when there are critical blood shortages because of increased traffic accidents and other emergency cases. Moreover, Vietnam’s expansion of health care coverage in recent years has further increased these demands. In efforts to close the gap, voluntary blood donation has become the most important supply, accounting for 90% of the total blood units collected. TRG International is also lending a helping hand by organising a blood donation event in collaboration with HCM City’s Humanitarian Blood Donation Centre on Feb 1st 2013.
TRG believes that it is the best gift to give people - the gift of life. With 3 annual blood donation drives, TRG strongly encourages voluntary employees to come back and become regular donors. This way, TRG can help ensure the reliability and safety of blood supply.
TRG is a market-leading global professional services firm focused on delivering technical excellence. TRG adds value in a challenging and dynamic market by delivering the right IT solutions that work quietly and brilliantly in the background, freeing our customers up to focus on their core. We do this by hiring people we believe in, and who believe in TRG, and empowering them with the skills and processes to outthink our competitors and deliver genuinely better solutions for our customers. We are a genuine consultant and partner who deeply understands the challenges of our customers’ business and is always ready to go the extra mile to deliver exactly the right solution for them. It is not about what we sell, it is all about how we think.
Our solutions include: Financial Management, Enterprise Performance Management, Retail Management, Virtualisation, Hospitality and People Performance Management.
To discover more about TRG, please visit http://trginternational.com
Name of the company: TRG
Postal address: 5th Floor, Central Plaza Building, 17 Le Duan St., Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Contact information: Ms. Trang Nguyen, Marketing Assistant
Press contact: email@example.com
This release was published on openPR.
Permanent link to this press release:
Please set a link in the press area of your homepage to this press release on openPR. openPR disclaims liability for any content contained in this release.
You can edit or delete your press release Blood donation: The most precious Lunar New Year gift here
News-ID: 250088 • Views: 1135
More Releases from TRG International
The Undeniable Impact of Technology in Hospitality Industry
“Transformation in Hospitality - Southeast Asia 2019” hosted by TRG International is a 2-day event that aimed at providing hoteliers with an in-depth understanding of the latest emerging technologies as well as the potential impact that these technologies can have on the entire hotel industry. The event marked the first time ever the participation of leading IT experts from TRG International, Infor, VinaData, HotTab and many more as well as prestigious
Hotel Technology 2020: Which Trends Will Drive the Changes?
More people travel now than ever. In a study conducted by Amadeus, 83 per cent of respondents strongly agreed or agreed that “People will view travel as a right rather than a luxury and consider it an increasingly important part of their lives.” This in conjunction with the fact that one-third of the world’s hotel guests today are tech-savvy Millennials who have strong desires for truly unique travel experiences. From now
The next generation of Hotel technology is not just for the guests
Over the last few years, there has been a significant focus on technologies that can enhance the guest experience. In-room Wi-Fi, mobile check-in, and guest interaction are all aimed at providing a smooth and stress-free experience throughout their stay. Much of the hotel technology investment has been focused in this area. But what about the hotel owners and operators themselves? What advances are available that they can benefit from? With a
What Does It Take to Transform the Booking Experience?
Modern travellers expect a seamless journey, from destination research to hotel booking, flight confirmation, and local hangout suggestions, up until when they reach their homes. However, the hospitality industry has been slow in adopting new technologies. Hotel solutions are neither intuitive nor capable of making full use of the abundant customer data. Will the hospitality industry continue relying on Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) to bring in more revenue? Or there will be service
More Releases for Vietnam
Vietnam Agriculture Market, Vietnam Agriculture Industry, Vietnam Agriculture Li …
Agriculture has always been of pronounced importance for Vietnam, as feeding the realm’s largest population is not a relaxed task. The Vietnam government has been associate the agriculture industry with a number of policies, demanding to alleviate the output and seeking methods to ensure the sector is developing healthily and sustainably. The Vietnam federal government has been decidedly supportive of agriculture for decades, and there is extensive political consensus as
Vietnam automobile lubricant market beckons
With automotive lubricant demand rising from 2.6 million liters (in 2015) to 4.1 million liters (in 2021), global and regional manufacturers are taking notice of the Vietnam market. How can brands win in this market? Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights on key trends in the Lube Report Asia magazine. With many players competing in the Southeast Asia market for motorcycle lubricants, leaders will
Agrochemicals Market in Vietnam
ReportsWorldwide has announced the addition of a new report title Vietnam: Agrochemicals: Market Intelligence (2016-2021) to its growing collection of premium market research reports. The report “Vietnam: Agrochemicals: Market Intelligence (2016-2021)” provides market intelligence on the different market segments, based on type, active ingredient, formulation, crop, and pest. Market size and forecast (2016-2021) has been provided in terms of both, value (000 USD) and volume (000 KG) in the report. A
Environmental disaster in Vietnam
In Vietnam occurred the biggest environmental disaster since the deployment of Agent Orange by the Americans during the Vietnam War. It happened almost unnoticed by the world while Europe was busy with the refugee crisis and America with the forthcoming presidential elections of the USA. The perpetrators of the environmental disaster come from abroad and are supported by the Vietnamese politicians, similar as it was happen at the Vietnam War. "
Tourists killed in Vietnam
Vietnam belongs for tourists to the most popular and safest travel destinations in the world, as long as one can believe officially widespread reports. However, this information may not been longer current since a long time. More and more tourists in Vietnam were killed at criminal offenses as well by tragic accidents. These accidents occur mostly due to insufficient checking for compliance with statutory safety regulations by the Vietnamese authorities.
Booming Tourism Sector in Vietnam
RNCOS has recently added a new Market Research Report titled, “Booming Tourism Sector in Vietnam” to its report gallery. Vietnam has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the South-east region. The country’s tourism industry has been growing unprecedentedly over the past few years with rising domestic as well as international tourists. The travel & tourism industry accounted for 10% of the GDP in the Vietnamese economy during


text:
Accessories complement the attire. But in the midst of need-based segments like apparel, food and grocery, automobiles; accessories have the risk of being sidelined. Here we have experts take on how accessories market can grow via penetration within the s
Brand awareness is growing in small cities and so is the disposable income. The lifestyle of people is improving and which is the most significant factor boosting the accessory market accessory market can in smaller towns in India. Harkirat Singh, MD, Woodland India says, “The so-called small towns are no more smaller; rather have huge potential. In the last four to five years, we have grown exponentially in smaller towns and have got a great response. Currently, at least 45% of our stores are in non-metros. However, there are few locations that might not be viable as a virgin territory at this moment and time. For places like these, we are open to invite franchise stores. We have just opted for this route to strengthen reach and address ever-growing demand.” Baggit also unfolded its plans to spread wings across tier II and III cities, which it intends doing via facilitating more franchise stores across India.
The booming North East region
North East region accounts for diversifying growth opportunities for entrepreneurs as it been declared as Special Economic Zone (SEZ) by the government. For Woodland, North East is a world in itself. “We have seen a lot of demand from that market and have also supplemented the same through a series of Above The Line (ATL) and Below The Line (BTL) activations that had got us recognition and encouraging response. At present, Woodland has a total of 60 stores across Eastern India and we aim to make it 100 in the next one or two years,” opines Harkirat Singh of Woodland India. Baggit is also eyeing expansion in this zone. Nina Lekhi, Founder and Owner, Baggit says, “We are opening 12 to 15 stores this year in the North–East region. These stores will be set up in high street, centres and malls in tier I and II cities like Bhubaneswar and Kolkata. Average area required to open each store will be of 200-250 sq. ft with an investment of Rs 50 lakh per store.”
Brand extension as a means to grow
Not limiting to one particular commodity, franchisors are seeking diversification to generate opportunity for the investors and expand customer base at the same time. Dilip Kapur, President, Hidesign says, “We are looking at brand extensions such as footwear, pens and stationery that appeal to the same consumer base. We are also looking to expand our airport stores and seeking international expansion majorly in the USA, Gulf and Singapore.”
Growing demand for travel gear
A recently released study shows that adventure travel has been growing 65% year over year since 2009 in India. Presently, it is a $263 billion industry and is still growing. “The growing trend in this market has created a platform for brands like us to experiment with new launches and reproduce gears, products and accessories to complement and enhance the travellers’ outdoor experience,” adds Harkirat Singh of Woodland India.


text:
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Dow component 3M early Monday is expected to unveil a sharp year-over-year increase in third-quarter profit due partly to improving performances by its health-care products and security devices divisions.
The Thomson First Call analysts' average estimate for the company
In the year earlier quarter, the St. Paul-based diversified technology company reported earnings per share of 83 cents.
First Call also projects quarterly revenue of $5.04 billion for 3M.
Merrill Lynch industrial analyst John Inch, who also projects quarterly EPS of 98 cents, expects the new 3M report to reveal sequential improvement in the health-care business, thanks largely to recent launches of immune-response-modifier treatments.
Inch said the report also should reveal growth in the company's safety, security and protection products division.
The report's "wild card," according to Inch, will be the results of the flat panel monitor display and graphics group, which previously was one of 3M's highest margin and fastest growing segments.
But 3M in its second-quarter conference call warned of a possible inventory correction for flat panel screen products and Inch said these goods experienced price deterioration during the recent quarter.


text:
Hats off to Pippa, the happy aunt-in-waiting: Middleton sister has every reason to look jaunty at friend's wedding in Northern Ireland
Being told you’re soon to become an aunt is a feather in any girl’s cap – especially when the expected child will be a future monarch.
That’s why Pippa Middleton had every reason to adopt a jaunty look as she attended the wedding of friend Emma Logue in Northern Ireland yesterday.
The younger sister of the Duchess of Cambridge was wearing a tweed button pillbox hat with pheasant feather trim, thought to be a £400 gift from society milliner Gina Foster.
Pippa Middleton wrapped herself up in fur to keep warm at the wedding of
her close friends fashion designer Emma Logue and Alex Roupell in
Northern Ireland yesterday
The sister of the Duchess of Cambridge wore a blue dress for the ceremony at St Philip and St James in Holywood, County Down
Pippa picked it up last week from the designer’s showroom close to Kate’s home at Kensington Palace.
Pippa also wore a stunning blue satin dress and matching high heels and warded off the winter chill in a snug stole.
Pippa walked arm-in-arm with a friend
after the ceremony at the St Philip and St James Holywood parish church
in Co Down, where Emma married software developer Alex Roupell.
Pippa and Emma – a banker-turned-designer who recently launched the fashion label Logue London – have been friends since their college days.
The party planner and author was in good spirits despite recent reports that her book Party Pieces is already clogging up the bargain bins in many a bookshop
Making an entrance: Pippa looks glamorous stepping out of a yellow minibus as she arrived for the wedding ceremony
Pippa seemed relaxed and in high spirits as she smiled for the cameras and chatted with friends outside the church
Special guest: Pippa Middleton walks arm in arm with a friend after the ceremony
Bride and groom: Banker turned Fashion designer Emma Logue and her new husband Alex Roupell smile for the cameras as they step out of the church
Happy couple: Alex Roupell and fashion designer Emma Logue, pictured at a society event earlier this year, are close friends of Pippa
Most watched News videos
- Moment furious motorist pulls out HAND GUN during road rage
- Adorable twin sisters tell dad off in hilarious hunger rant
- Heart-stopping footage captures attempt to avoid horror crash
- Newsagent risks his life to help boy chased by knife-wielding maniac
- 'NO CHRIS!' moment Chris Hansen recognized by sexual predator
- Is this the creepy moment the corpse of a girl OPENS her eyes?
- Shocking moment Kumbuka tries to smash glass at London Zoo
- Shocking moment evil cat makes toddler trip with furry paw
- Teacher punched during brutal classroom fight caught on camera
- Mother shaves daughters hair after she 'bullies cancer girl'
- Unsettling moment 'poltergeist' disturbs clairvoyant's TV show
- Chimpanzee befriends an adorable kitten in Russian zoo
The comments below have not been moderated.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
We are no longer accepting comments on this article.


text:
Estonian startup Asper Biotech has cleared the way to market its microarray-based Genorama genotyping system in the US, through securing a license to the SNP-IT primer extension technology from Orchid Biosciences of Princeton, NJ.
Asper, which is based in Estonia’s academic capital of Tartu, paid Orchid a one-time license fee in addition to yielding somewhere around 10 percent of royalties for the genotyping technology, said Orchid’s communications vice president Barbara Lindheim.
The SNP-IT primer extension technology is based on hybridization of two oligonucleotides in which the strands are designed so the target sequence is one base longer, and the exact nucleotide at which the SNP occurs is extending upwards like a chemical flag.
The hybridized oligos are then primed with fluorescently labeled terminators of four different colors that bind to these single-base flags. Each differently colored terminator binds to a specific and different base. The color of the signal at the hybridization site then indicates whether a variation from the expected nucleotide is present, and what kind of variation it is.
Asper has adapted this process to glass slide microarrays. The company markets both catalog and custom microarrays with oligonucleotides designed to detect different mutations, and has developed four-color laser instruments and computer programs for reading and analyzing the chip results.
“What Asper has designed is a detection system, software, and hardware that’s much less expensive than scanners and standard microscopy can offer,” said Kalev Kask, Asper’s director of strategic development.
Because of this purported price advantage—the whole system costs about $75,000—the company is initially targeting the academic market.
“We want to capture that part of the market, and we have to get a foothold,” said Kask.
Last August, the company sold a system to Columbia University as part of a year-long collaboration on SNP screening. Currently Asper also offers catalog p53 mutation chips and custom arrays for different mutations.
To sell more systems in the US, Asper knew it had to license the SNP-IT technology from Orchid: as a result, the licensing negotiations were friendly, said both companies.
Asper founder Andreas Metsalpu was an early pioneer in primer extension technology and enjoyed a collegial relationship with Michael Boyce-Jacino, Orchid’s chief technology officer, said Lindheim. “Along the line somewhere he realized that the primer extension technology he was using was covered by our patents and they contacted us,” she said.
Orchid was not threatened by this rival genotyping technology, because it sees Asper’s technology as complementary rather than competitive to its automated high-throughput genotyping systems that can do over 100,000 SNPs in a day. “The university lab would be a good customer for them,” Lindheim said.
Over the long-term, though, Asper has higher aspirations. “This technology is very amenable for diagnostics,” said Kask. “We continue to work in that direction.”
In addition to the p53 chip, Asper has finished validating a beta thalassemia chip to detect the genetic mutations involved in this inherited blood disorder, which involves quantitative defects in the synthesis of beta chains of hemoglobin.
Currently, the company is a whipper-SNPper of an operation, with 35 employees in Tartu, $1.1 million in venture funding, and the equivalent of $1 million from the Estonian government; as well as a brisk business selling its coated microarray printing slides. Kask is anchoring US marketing efforts from Northern California, where he hopes to snag co-marketing partners and expand its collaborations in diagnostics.
“We would like to work with cystic fibrosis and eye diseases as well,” said Kask. — MMJ


text:
Natural wines are having a moment in Brooklyn.
Bars and wine shops all over the borough have launched in the past year with a focus on sustainable, biodynamic and organic wines, including bars like Bushwick's Cherry on Top and Ten Bells, and Judy's in Sunset Park.
Wine stores are also part of this shift, including stores with a large natural wine presence like Fermented Grapes in Prospect Heights, or Heart's Wine and Spirits in Bushwick.
While it may seem like a new trend to some, wine expert Kilolo Strobert — a lifelong Crown Heights resident — said the process was as old as the industry itself, and it only really came down to differences in marketing and certification.
"It may seem like, 'Oh this is a new thing,' but there are a lot of wines that have always been made organically or naturally — even the established and expensive ones," Strobert said.
Natural wine is an umbrella term for wines that are produced using organic or sustainable agricultural practices and receive minimal chemical intervention during the fermentation process.
This process requires more time and smaller batches than larger, more commercial wines, but more natural wine producers are getting into the market lately, which is why it's all over Brooklyn's shelves.
For many winemakers, natural processes are ideal as they work in harmony with nature, but, Strobert says, occasionally interventions need to be made to protect investments.
"A lot of wines were just never marketed as organic or biodynamic or even sustainable when they already were and have been for a long time," Strobert said.
"It's also harder to get organic certification and things like that, but that doesn't mean the process isn't."
This month, Strobert opened a wine shop and tasting room in Prospect Heights with her business partner Max Katzenberg, appropriately called Fermented Grapes. She bought the shop from its first owners, who she once worked for in her first wine industry job.
In addition to natural wines, Strobert said two other trends dominating the industry are largely due to changing tastes — customers who loved rosé are now leaning toward orange wine, and the pinot grigio crowd has embraced sauvignon blanc.
"It has to be a palate shift," Strobert said.
Strobert, who hand-selects all the wines on the shelves, evaluates each beverage on how balanced the flavor profile is. Previous to Fermented Grapes, Strobert worked for Zagat, and has both food marketing and culinary degrees.
About 60% of Strobert's inventory are natural wines, she says, in line with local trends and her palate preferences.
Part of what makes Fermented Grapes such a gem, is its personality — which it gets from Strobert herself.
"Being a Black woman from this area, I've seen the neighborhood change — but being a part of that change and getting to shape the palates of people is pretty cool," Strobert said.
"The people that we serve come from all different backgrounds and different socioeconomic statuses. We're consistently moving in and out of different cuisines and different cultures and different tastes. It's fun."
When it comes to stocking the shelves at Fermented Grapes, Strobert said it was important to evaluate wine on a variety of qualities, adding that bigger brands that don't technically qualify as 'natural' can still have sustainable, biodynamic or organic agricultural processes. Most importantly, the wine she sells has to be 'balanced'.
"I'm not specifically into natural wine," Strobert said. "I'm into really good, well-made wine. The store has a heavy presence of natural organic and biodynamic wines, but it's just not a fully natural store."
The reason why she does like natural wine is that when it comes to interventions in food, she said that the less chemical intervention a product has, the healthier it is.
"Health is wealth, so for me to sit here and say that an organic or biodynamic wine wouldn't be healthier for you than one that is not doesn't make sense to me. That's why the trend is here to stay — it's important to talk about farming, it's important to talk about what we're putting in our bodies and natural wine speaks to that."
In the next few weeks, Strobert is going to put her tasting area together and continue to stock the shelves with carefully handpicked libations.
Fermented Grapes is open Tuesday through Saturday from 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
"We're really trying to be approachable. We don't want to be stuffy. And, we're able to help you in a New York minute."


text:
"MARIO" content on TweakTown - Page 1
We found 41 items for the tag: MARIO
Mario game sales leap after Super Mario Bros. film success
Nintendo's plan works wonders as Mario game sales leap to multi-million sales in the six-month period after the Super Mario Bros. movie release in April.
The 10 Best Black Friday 2023 Game and Console Deals for Nintendo Switch
Save big on Nintendo Switch console bundles, controllers, headsets, microSD storage and more. It's out Nintendo Switch Black Friday Deals!
Adobe co-founder Dr. John Warnock passes away, CEO expresses sadness
Charles Martinet, the voice actor and original voice of Mario in Nintendo games, will no longer be voicing Nintendo's iconic character.
The Super Mario Bros Movie 4K Blu-ray Review
The animated Super Mario Bros. Movie was a smash success in theatres earlier this year, but how does it fare at home and in 4K? Ben takes a look.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie Cinema Review
It took 30 years for Nintendo's crown jewel to return to cinemas, but was it worth the wait? Ben takes a dive into the Mushroom Kingdom.
Rarest Mario game in existence sells for $660,000
Someone left a copy of Mario Bros. sitting in a desk for 35 years, and it's turned out to be the rarest Mario game in existence.
Developer: Mario 3D All-Stars removed to drive FOMO sales
One Switch game developer gives more context on why Nintendo is removing Mario 3D All-Stars, and it's exactly why you think.
New Mario NES LEGO set has a CRT TV where images actually move
The Nintendo x LEGO partnership will create a special NES set with a CRT TV that actually scrolls images and lets you 'play' a Mario game.
Nintendo files new 'Mario & Luigi' trademark, the series isn't dead?
Nintendo America has just filed a new trademark for 'Mario & Luigi' suggesting a new game is the works.
Mario's personality will change, Nintendo plans to usurp Mickey Mouse
Nintendo to combat Disney with Mario going head-to-head with media star Mickey Mouse.
Luigi in Super Mario Odyssey almost had a 'drastic costume change'
The character art lead for Super Mario Oddysey almost gave Luigi a full makeover outfit.
Mario Kart Tour drifted onto 123.9 million unique devices in Oct/Sept
Mario Kart Tour download statistics have been released and they are more than impressive.
Super Mario Maker 2 full website information 'coming soon'
The Super Mario Maker 2 website will soon be updated with information, and hopefully a release date.
Mario's voice enters Guinness World Record, 100 performances
Charles Martinet has entered the Guinness World Record book for most video game voiceover performances.
Three new themed GameCube controllers arrive for the Switch
Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon themed GameCube controllers are coming to the Nintendo Switch.
Super Mario Odyssey leads in the speedrunning community
Super Mario Odyssey becomes the leading game in the speedrunning community.
Super Mario 64 now available in FPS mode with ROM hack
Super Mario 64 is now available in first-person mode thanks to a romhack mod.
Super Mario Land 2 gets color makeover thanks to hacker
A classic gaming hacker injects some color into a beloved handheld Mario game.
Nintendo games to be featured on the Chinese NVIDIA Shield
Nintendo will be featuring their games on the Chinese NVIDIA Shield.
Modders release a multiplayer Super Mario 64 Online
Multiplayer Super Mario 64? Take my money!
Watch Shigeru Miyamoto play Mario's theme song on guitar
Mario's creator shows up on The Tonight Show to play a little jingle that defined our childhood.
Nintendo's Super Mario Run mobile game is online-only
Nintendo's unique one-handed Mario mobile platformer requires a persistent internet connection to play.
Rule the streets on this official 'Mario Kart' bike
Blue shell incoming!
Mario jumps to Apple iOS with exclusive platformer
Nintendo's famous plumber jumps over to Apple's iOS platform in new smartphone exclusive.
Super Mario Galaxy OG coming to Wii U Virtual Console
Super Mario Galaxy, the OG, is available now on the Wii U's Virtual Console. So get ready to relive some memories in their ported glory.
Unreal Engine 4 demo sees an appearance from Mario, looks glorious
Mario goes for a run in Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4 tech demo 'A Boy And His Kite'
Gaming has changed the way we spend time with friends - here's how
Gaming of all kinds has become mainstream. Chris takes a look into how playing games with friends has become the 'normal' way to hang out.
Yoshi's New Island Nintendo 3DS Review
Simon thinks Yoshi's New Island for the 3DS is one of the most uninspiring and unimaginative games that Nintendo has produced in a long time. Let's see.
Mario Party: Island Tour Nintendo 3DS Review
Nintendo takes one of its beloved console party games, and shrinks it down for the handheld. Perhaps they shouldn't have though. Let's find out.
Nintendo confirms Black 3DS XL American launch on August 11
Nintendo says the Black 3DS XL will arrive for retail sales on August 11, just in time to play the new Mario & Luigi: Dream Team game.
Nintendo confirms new '3D' Mario, Zelda games coming to Wii U
Nintendo's global President Satoru Iwata revealed a new Mario and Zelda game were in production.
Top 5 games of all time and every platform
The top 5 games of all time, from all platforms, in the author's opinion.
Nintendo reports first annual loss in 30 years
Nintendo reports first loss in 30 years as it reports its finances through March 31.
Super Mario 3D Land Nintendo 3DS Review
Super Mario goes 3D and shows us all how it's done.
Super Mario 3D Land sells 500,000 copies, becomes fastest-selling Mario game in Nintendo's history
Super Mario 3D Land becomes fastest-selling Mario game in Nintendo's history.
Mario & Sonic Team Up For The 2012 Olympics
One runs fast, one makes sure toilets run: Sonic & Mario, together again for the 2012 Olympics.
Yesterday at GDC 2011: Nintendo Keynote is Key
GDC 2011 Nintendo Keynote brings news of 3DS, Netflix and AT&T co-ops, new games.
Donkey Kong Country Returns Wii Review
A classic returns to the motion controlled Wii. Does it make the jump well?
Super Mario Galaxy 2 Wii Review
One of, if not the greatest Mario game of all time!
Great Giana Sisters Nintendo DS Review
Mario Brothers with Girls? That's what you get with Great Giana Sisters.


text:
Taking a page from Snapchat’s book, Facebook introduced the Stories feature to the Instagram platform in August 2016 and then to the Facebook platform in March 2017. Stories is an increasingly popular feature that allows users to share vertical photos and videos that can be altered with filters and text and also disappear after 24 hours. Facebook is betting big on Stories; CEO, Mark Zuckerberg predicts that Stories will soon surpass feed posts on Facebook.
To capitalize on this shift, Facebook extended advertising into Instagram Stories in January 2017, and about one year later, doubled down by introducing its popular “Carousel” ad format to Instagram Stories.
This month, Facebook rolled out Stories Advertising into the Facebook platform in a closed beta. Because the introductory ad format is intended for branding, it is currently only available on a reach objective with no click-through feature yet. Facebook plans to add a call to action component along with additional objectives in the coming months. It will support both static and video creative types that includes a skippable 5 to 15 second video ad format.
Our take on why this matters for Marketers…
Facebook Stories brings immediate reach and scale to advertisers looking to extend their Instagram Stories or even Snapchat Stories creative. Marketers need to consider how users think of the Facebook platform differently.
While Facebook has 1.4B daily active users, younger audiences especially Gen Z’s are no longer flocking to this channel. For those younger users that are already on Facebook, the platform is less personal. And though the average user has 155 friends, they would only trust four of them in a crisis. The Stories feature on Snapchat and Instagram has been a more personal experience because those social platforms offer a more intimate network of close friends. Arguably this is the reason that these networks have driven more usage from younger audiences. It remains to be seen however, if Millennials and especially Gen Z’s will embrace Facebook Stories and broadcast their personal stories to a broader audience of contacts the same way they do on Instagram and Snap.
Scale, or lack thereof, is the most important factor for most of the new ad placements that Facebook introduces. We witnessed this with ads in Messenger and also with Facebook Audience Network when these first launched. With 150 million daily active users already embracing Facebook Stories, scale should not be a problem. Advertisers will follow the eyeballs, as Facebook will be able to deliver reach and scale, as well as its superior targeting, to those advertisers who test this new format.
The Facebook user is evolving rapidly, as younger people leave their parents on Facebook and follow their friends to other social networks. Facebook’s advantage is that it will introduce Stories as a concept to a broader demographic, thereby expanding the audience that advertisers can reach. What we do not yet understand is who the Facebook Stories audience is and how they compare to the largely Millennial and Gen Z audience on Instagram and Snapchat. This is something we are watching very closely as the social media landscape continues to shift and evolve.
Article by Aditi Joshi, Paid Social Media Director


text:
Largest Retail Park in North Africa
The commercial area is located on the road between Tétouan and M’diq, near Cabo Negro, and is intended to give the region a commercial appeal and address the particular demands of summer visitors. The first phase will be developed on 30 Ha and will include retail stores, restaurants, and an outlet project.
This zone will allow national and international brands looking to develop their operations to position themselves in a region with strong economic potential and will create thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the region.
IKEA to open its second megastore in Morocco in Tetouan
The new IKEA store will be located in the commercial zone developed by «Tanger Med Zones”. The operation will create 500 direct jobs and 1000 indirect jobs in the region.
World leader in furniture and decorative furnishings, IKEA announced in mid-June the upcoming opening of its second megastore in the Kingdom. The establishment of this new store represents an investment of nearly 38 million euros, which will further boost the economy of the northern region of Morocco.
With a surface area of 16,100 m2, the store will include a 3,700 m2 showroom, a 3,450m2 market concourse and IKEA’s first restaurant with a terrace, which can accommodate up to 250 people. It will also offer a unique outdoor exhibition space in the IKEA universe and in Morocco, in the form of a 500 m2 glass roof, which will house its outdoor furniture selection throughout the year.


text:
Deciding on the right internet service for your business means evaluating both employees’ and customers’ needs. Your choice comes down to a combination of availability, budget and internet speed requirements. Generally speaking, the more data flowing through your connection, the more you should prioritize high-speed broadband access.
Even if you need to connect to the internet only to process customer payments through point-of-sale (POS) devices, the combination of speed and reliability offered by cable and fiber-optic service providers makes it worth considering the upgrade from dial-up, DSL or satellite. However, thanks in part to innovations from technology companies such as SpaceX, satellite internet could eventually offer the best option for businesses to transmit and receive data all over the world.
Here’s what you need to know about internet connection types and speeds, and how to choose the right service for your organization.
Before we explain internet service types, it’s essential to understand internet speeds and what you can accomplish at varying levels.
Anytime you hear about internet speeds, you’ll likely hear the term “broadband.” According to a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) broadband deployment report, a standard broadband internet connection has a minimum download speed of 25 megabits per second (Mbps) and a minimum upload speed of 3 Mbps. However, many businesses in small towns across rural America struggle to find reliable high-speed service.
The most recent FCC data shows that 94.4% of Americans have access to fixed broadband internet of at least 25 Mbps (download) and 3 Mbps (upload), but those speeds are increasingly considered insufficient by 2021 standards, as some members of Congress have argued recently.
“Going forward, we should make every effort to spend limited federal dollars on broadband networks capable of providing sufficient download and upload speeds and quality,” Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Angus King (I-ME) and Rob Portman (R-OH) wrote to the FCC and other agencies in March. “There is no reason federal funding to rural areas should not support the type of speeds used by households in typical well-served urban and suburban areas.”
It can be difficult to ascertain your business’s internet bandwidth needs. For small and midsize businesses (SMBs) with a growing reliance on video conferencing and other data-heavy activities, the current federal broadband benchmark of 25 Mbps is considered insufficient.
With so much commerce activity and communication occurring online these days, the majority of SMBs should seek out cable and fiber-optic internet connections with a minimum speed of 100 Mbps. This speed enables small teams to manage online communications and tasks without interruptions or dropped conference calls.
As a general guideline, here’s what you can expect to accomplish with an available range of internet speeds.
Dial-up internet uses a standard phone line and an external or internal modem to convert an analog signal to digital, connecting to the internet with speeds ranging between 28 kilobits per second (Kbps) and 56 Kbps. Traditional telephone companies still manage dial-up internet service across the country. Since the data moves along the same telephone landline, phone calls and internet access can’t occur simultaneously.
If you accessed the internet in the early 1990s, you probably remember the sound of dialing up as well as the incredibly slow speeds by today’s standards. While dial-up is the least expensive option, the latest U.S. household internet subscription data shows that only 0.3% of U.S. households still use dial-up to access the internet.
For business purposes, connecting to the internet through a dial-up modem is not recommended due to its exceedingly slow speeds and lack of reliability. This obsolete technology has been replaced by broadband internet.
|Dial-up internet pricing||About $10 per month for dial-up service|
|Dial-up internet speed||Up to 56 Kbps (which is considered too slow for business use)|
Research and development funding efforts are currently pouring into satellite internet, an older technology that still has the best potential to deliver high-speed, low-latency broadband to every corner of the world. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is currently deploying a low-orbit satellite internet constellation with plans to place thousands of mass-produced satellites into space. These satellites will work in combination with ground transceivers to connect anyone with clear access to the sky.
While SpaceX’s Starlink is still in its open public beta phase, connection speeds reportedly vary from 50 Mbps to 150 Mbps. The company expects to invest $10 billion to launch its fleet of satellites and install more ground stations, at which point the data speeds will improve dramatically. Even in its early-adoption phase, Starlink is an excellent option for rural businesses without access to cable or fiber-optic internet connections.
Small businesses can also find several other established satellite internet providers servicing small-town America with varying degrees of success. HughesNet and Viasat (formerly Exede) are two examples of providers offering broadband internet service at reasonable speeds to many rural areas across the country. While these service providers both have data caps at lower prices, they’re still often a better option for broadband service for many businesses that operate off the beaten path.
|Satellite internet pricing||Around $100 per month for service, plus setup and equipment fees|
|Satellite internet speed||Up to 150 Mbps (with much higher speeds expected soon)|
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) introduced the general population to broadband internet in the early 2000s and remains the only high-speed internet service option for many rural and small-town businesses and homes today.
While DSL runs through the same telephone lines as dial-up, it’s more than 100 times faster and is “always on,” unlike dial-up. DSL relies on a different frequency than dial-up, which means you can use the phone line for talk and data at the same time without interference. Considered an older technology by today’s standards, DSL is reasonably reliable and tops out at around 100 Mbps. However, most users should expect speeds of around 25 Mbps with consistency.
DSL data speeds are physically limited by the distance the phone line runs from the main distribution point. The closer you are to the main distribution point, the faster the available service will be.
|DSL internet pricing||Around $40 per month for service, plus setup and equipment fees|
|DSL internet speed||Up to 100 Mbps (however, most users should expect only 25 to 50 Mbps)|
Fixed wireless internet technology requires a directional radio antenna on both ends of the signal to send and receive data. Its speeds typically range from 5 Mbps to 20 Mbps.
Unlike most standard home and office Wi-Fi antennas, fixed wireless technology is designed for outdoor use with large broadcast towers and receivers. Several different radio antennas can better accommodate different signal distances, weather conditions and bandwidths to optimize performance.
Fixed wireless internet service is increasing in popularity for businesses operating in select small towns and rural areas outside the reach of traditional broadband services like DSL, cable and fiber optic.
|Fixed wireless internet pricing||Around $50 per month, with data limits for service|
|Fixed wireless internet speed||Up to 20 Mbps|
For retail-focused businesses with internet needs limited to customer transactions through POS systems, cellular can be an attractive and convenient option. Wireless internet performance through a cell phone may vary depending on your service provider and device, with speeds typically available at 4G and 5G levels.
The term “4G” refers to the fourth generation of cellular networks, which can reach speeds of 100 Mbps; however, the typical speed is closer to 20 Mbps. The term “5G” refers to the fifth generation of cellular networks, which can reach speeds of more than 1 Gbps, but the typical speed is closer to 70 Mbps through most major cell phone service providers. Square, Lightspeed and Clover are several of the best mobile POS systems and service solutions that work perfectly with cellular internet service for small retail businesses.
|Cellular internet pricing||Varies, but around $70 per device monthly for unlimited data plans|
|Cellular internet speed||Over 1 Gbps (however, most users should expect only 70 Mbps)|
Cable internet grew from the existing coaxial cable television infrastructure to deliver reliable high-speed internet access to homes and businesses across the country, much like DSL piggybacks off dial-up.
Referred to as a last-mile technology, cable internet systems transmit data through a modem at the customer’s physical location and a cable modem termination system located at a cable provider’s facility, often grouped into hubs for efficiency.
For the last decade, cable internet has dominated the high-speed broadband landscape. While entering the end of its dominance as the gold standard in true high-speed broadband access, cable is still a very good option for businesses operating where access to fiber is not yet available.
For daily use at SMBs, a cable connection is the ideal minimum technology requirement for sufficient download speeds up to 2,000 Mbps, with slower upload speeds. With so many different options for speed and data limits measured by the gigabyte, prices for cable internet service can vary a great deal.
|Cable internet pricing||From $35 per month to more than $500 per month for service, plus setup and equipment fees|
|Cable internet speed||Up to 2,000 Mbps|
If you’re deciding between business DSL and cable, DSL may be satisfactory if your internet needs are minimal and you don’t have any plans to expand. Cable is a better option if you use cloud software and plan to add more employees and devices to your workplace.
You may be wondering if your business should get fiber-optic internet. While satellites may be making the most headlines, today’s best internet service providers are connecting their customers to the world with data download and upload speeds up to 940 Mbps, something that only fiber-optic providers can deliver commercially.
Each fiber-optic cable houses hundreds of optical fibers made by stretching glass or plastic to a diameter that’s only 1/10 the diameter of a human hair. Each fiber can transmit data at roughly 70% the speed of light. Fiber internet signals also benefit from not being dependent on electricity, unlike the copper coaxial cables used to support cable broadband internet access.
The result is that power outages will have little or even no effect on fiber internet performance. There’s also no need to worry about electromagnetic interference from any nearby powerful electrical equipment.
While the current leading data-transmission technology is widely available in many urban centers across the country, the Fiber Broadband Association estimates that we’re on pace to deliver fiber-optic internet service to only 50% of the U.S. by 2025. It’s expected that 90% of Americans will have access to fiber-optic broadband to connect to the internet by 2029.
Google, Verizon, AT&T and Spectrum are among the companies continuously growing their fiber infrastructure across the country. Pricing for fiber is similar to cable at higher speeds and could even be less expensive than cable packages above 100 Mbps.
If you operate an internet-reliant business in an area with existing fiber internet infrastructure, especially if you need to purchase any office hardware or equipment for long-term use, a fiber-optic connection is the best choice.
|Fiber-optic internet pricing||About $60 per month for basic service, with higher prices for top speeds|
|Fiber-optic internet speed||Up to 940 Mbps|


text:
Whisky might be our national drink and the craze for craft gin may show little sign of abating, but distilleries across the North of Scotland are also producing a weird and wonderful array of spirits.
No-one could accuse David and Lara Beach of doing anything by halves. They’ve just got married, they’re preparing to direct a community pantomime production of Alice in Wonderland – and they’re starting their own rum distillery too.
“We originally thought about setting up a brewery – but there are already so many breweries around,” says Ms Beach. “What appealed about making beer is that you can experiment and add different ingredients – you can’t do that with whisky though.
“But you can with rum. We’re looking to bring some of the excitement and experimentation from craft beer and do it with spirits.
“Gin is still trending, but I think it’s saturated in some respects. So what’s the next thing? Rum. Rum will be another trend and will be the next spirit that kicks off.
“The advantage of focusing on spirits is that we can move around and follow trends. We could do a gin or a vodka or a brandy or even liqueurs.”
Beach Craft Spirit, which is currently based in Hopeman, aims to raise £65,000 through a crowd-funding scheme that is due to launch today on its website. Plans for its first products include a spiced rum, a sloe rum and an intense rum.
Mr Beach has been a distiller and brewer for the past 17 years – and has worked for companies including Diageo, Brewmeister, which is now Keith Brewery, and the Eccentric Gin Company in Wales – while Ms Beach has given up a career in social care to pursue their dream.
The Beaches are following in the footsteps of brothers Jim and John Ewen, who built Scotland’s first rum distillery in Banchory and last year launched their Dark Matter Rum.
Jim, a petroleum economist, came up with the idea while on holiday in 2011 in the Dominican Republic and convinced his brother, a fire and explosion engineer, to help setup the company.
Rum and other bespoke spirits are also on the agenda for the Royal Burgh of Nairn Craft Distillery, a project being promoted by a group of eight founding directors in the eastern gateway to the Highlands.
The company wants to turn the former burgh police station and its Victorian cells in Nairn into a craft distillery and start producing gin, vodka, rum and eventually whisky, with perhaps liqueurs such as cassis and kummel along the way.
The project aims to promote a wet-weather, year-round tourist attraction that will bring visitors into the heart of the town, as well as creating retail and production jobs. The directors are currently seeking a major investor to help get the project off the ground, having already committed more than £80,000 of their own money.
“Craft distilleries represent a fantastic opportunity for rural communities,” explains Colin Macaulay, one of the directors behind the project. “They give tourists a good reason to visit a town, which can then act as a boost for restaurants, shops and accommodation providers.”
Rum isn’t the only alternative spirit that’s being produced in Scottish distilleries either. Vodka is also proving popular.
When Martin and Claire Murray returned to their native Caithness to open the Dunnet Bay Distillery, they initially concentrated their efforts on their Rock Rose Gin, which was launched two years ago this month.
But Mr Murray already had an idea in his head for a vodka too.
“When I was carrying out research into the local botanicals that we could use in our gin, I came across the story of holy grass,” he remembers. “Robert Dick, who was a legendary botanist from Tullibody, lived in Thurso in the 1800s and discovered this rare plant growing along the banks of the River Thurso.
“This was the first accepted record in the UK for holy grass and so I wanted to celebrate that connection to the local area. The vanilla flavour holy grass gives when it’s distilled was too strong for the type of gin we wanted to make, but once we had our team in place and the business was up-and-running, I wanted to go back and try making a vodka.
“Our holy grass vodka is proving very popular down south. The gin market is pretty much saturated in England because there are so many distilleries, but a lot of shops want to stock our vodka because it’s something different.
“Once they’ve tasted our vodka then a lot of them also want to stock our gin as well. It’s opened a lot of doors for us.”
Mr Murray is also working on two “top secret” spirits that haven’t been produced before in Scotland. In the meantime, he’s also extending the range of seasonal gins that Dunnet Bay produces, including using botanicals like lemon thyme and pineapple sage to create a summer gin.
The distillery has planted a botanicals garden, which includes kidney vetch, a plant favoured by the rare small blue butterfly. The most northerly population of the insect lies on Dunnet Beach and so the Murrays are able to give a boost to an important species, an illustration of which appears on the back of each bottle of holy grass vodka.
Vodka is also in vogue outside the North of Scotland. In Angus, Ogilvy Spirits is making potato vodka at its farm in the East Sidlaw Hills and Arbikie Highland Estate is producing potato vodka and chilli vodka at its farm near Arbroath, while Strathleven Distillers is making Valt single malt vodka at Paisley and NB Gin has branched out into London dry citrus vodka in North Berwick.
One of the reasons why gin, rum and vodka are so attractive – especially to new distilleries – is the way in which they can help with a company’s cash flow. If a distiller wants to produce whisky then they either need deep pockets or some stepping stones along the way.
In order to be sold as “Scotch whisky”, new-make spirit needs to age in oak barrels in Scotland for at least three years. With most single malts traditionally carrying age statements of 10, 12 or 18 years, distillers can be left worrying about cash as their precious whisky slowly matures in its warehouse. Gin and vodka can be made one day and sold the next, providing much-needed cash to keep a distillery’s cogs and wheels turning.
Yet for some distillers, gin or vodka or rum will be the ultimate destination and not just a means to an end – after all, not everyone wants to make Scotch. A quick glance at the statistics will reveal why. At the last count, there were already 115 distilleries licensed to produce Scotch whisky and together they export nearly £4billion-worth of spirits each year.
Even with the growth of the spirit-drinking middle classes in emerging markets such as China and India, distribution and routes-to-market present challenges for even the largest companies, let alone craft distillers. Finding a niche in the domestic market will often seem like a more manageable task than trying to grab a slice of international trade.
A note of caution for those with whisky in their sights comes from Inverness-based economist Tony Mackay. Writing in his economic briefing last month, he said: “I continue to be bemused by the flood of plans for new whisky, gin and other alcohol distilleries in Scotland.
“The investors involved are not interested in the overall demand-supply balance. They believe they can realise their desired market shares even if overall whisky consumption declines. Some of them seem risky investments to me but good luck to them all.”
Yet Tony Reeman-Clark, owner of Strathearn Distillery in Perthshire and chairman of the Scottish Craft Distillers’ Association (SCDA), is more upbeat about the outlook for the industry. “As long as craft distillers are content with running lifestyle businesses and don’t try to take over the world then I think the market is still there,” he says.
“When I drew up the first business plan for Strathearn Distillery five or six years ago, craft breweries were opening at a rate of two a week and everybody said that it couldn’t continue. They were right – but in the wrong direction – because they’re now opening at a rate of four per week. Distilling is a lot more expensive to get into than brewing though.
“We’re lobbying the Treasury to give all alcohol producers the same tax relief that they give to craft brewers through the small brewers’ duty scheme. That would help craft distilleries, cider producers and wineries.”
The SCDA is also introducing an accreditation scheme for distilleries that meet its definition of “craft”. “That’s the first step to gaining protected geographical indication (PGI) status for Scottish craft gin and other products,” Mr Reeman-Clark adds.


text:
Verizon is teaming up with Google Cloud on a pilot to provide customers with what it hopes will be a more natural and streamlined digital experience. Verizon wants conversational artificial intelligence (AI) to help customer care agents respond to customer queries, as well as help consumers directly.
The goal of the pilot with Google Cloud Contact Center AI technology is to shorten wait call times, quicker resolutions, and improved outcomes. Whether through voice call or chat, customers will not need to go through menu prompts or option trees; they say or type their request, and the natural-language recognition feature finds the best way to help them.
“Verizon’s commitment to innovation extends to all aspects of the customer experience,” said Verizon Global CIO/SVP Shankar Arumugavelu. “These customer service enhancements, powered by the Verizon collaboration with Google Cloud, offer a faster and more personalized digital experience for our customers while empowering our customer support agents to provide a higher level of service.”
For live agent requests, the Contact Center AI Agent Assist feature offers Verizon’s customer care agents a real-time digital assistant that fetches relevant articles within the knowledge base. It also recommends personalized responses to agents at each turn of the conversation.
The machine learning model learns from millions of anonymized historical support logs about the type of questions customers ask and how they phrase their questions. It learns and evolves as new offers change or expand.
The post Verizon Adds Google AI-Based Technology to Speed Customer Service appeared first on Inside Towers.


text:
“In Romania we plan to invest around €4million over the next five years in the development of this channel”, said the deputy president of Uniqa Insurances, Alfred Vlcek.
The insurer expects gross premiums written to total 85 million lei (around €20 mln), via 200 operators (UNIQAgents) by the end of 2012. According to company’s estimates, sales are likely to hover near 0.5 million lei by year-end or 6 mln lei by the end of 2010. In 2011, the company projects 45mln lei in GPW and 100 agents.
The new sales channel has certain similarities with the concept of franchise. It offers to employees and experienced insurance brokers the opportunity of developing own business, by becoming exclusive Uniqa partners.
“The successful cases in Austria shows that an exclusive Uniqa partner can reach good sales and profit”, said the country director of Uniqa Insurances partner network, Florin Calin.
The new concept was launched in 1999 in Austria and proved to be very successful, feeding 40% to the company’s 2008 GPW volume.
Romania is the first emerging country where Uniqa will carry out the project.
Uniqa’s exclusive partners will enjoy full marketing and logistic support as well as assistance in staff training. The insurer will also cover all promotion, location, tech assistance and communication costs.
Apart from the opportunity of generating profit from a long-term personal and stable business, exclusive partners will also enjoy autonomy and independence in devising own business plan.
Uniqa operates in Romanian general insurance market via Uniqa Asigurari (formerly known as Unita) that has increased its quarterly profit 3.6-fold in Q1 this year up to 5.05 bln lei.
In lipsa unui acord scris din partea InternetCorp, puteti prelua maxim 500 de caractere din acest articol daca precizati sursa si daca inserati vizibil linkul articolului Uniqa Insurances sees EUR20mln in sales at end-2012.


text:
Penske announces new store plans, forms leadership team
Penske Auto Centers plans to open three new service centers by the end of 2001 and 30 to 40 new outlets next year.
"And that's just the beginning," says Penske President and CEO Jim Wheat.
In addition, Penske Auto Centers Inc. has named Scott Moss its chief administrative officer.
In his new position, Moss, who joined Penske three years ago, will be responsible for the management of key business issues like training, safety, risk management and human resources.
He also will continue to serve as the Troy, Mich.-based company's vice president of human resources.
Penske also has established "a centralized leadership executive team" that includes company veterans Peter Klein, chief operating officer and senior vice president of stores; J. Randall Lawrence, chief financial officer and senior vice president of finance; and William McStay, chief marketing officer and senior vice president of marketing and communications.
The group "will help guide Penske through its next phase which includes focusing on expansion, long-term growth and reconfirming our commitment to meeting customer expectations."
Penske also has extended its supply deal with Snap-On for the next five years, according to Wheat.
Penske Auto Centers Inc. is the largest independent tire dealership in North America with 630 retail locations and more than 4,000 employees, according to Modern Tire Dealer data.