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IPods stolen in similar burglaries
Police are investigating two burglaries at Grass Valley electronics stores that appear to be related, Grass Valley Police Capt. Rex Marks said Monday.
“The burglaries were very similar,” Marks said. “There’s got to be a relationship here.”
At least one person broke into the Radio Shack store on West McKnight Way early Monday morning and swiped several iPods and MP3 players, Marks said.
Police were alerted by an alarm at 2:28 a.m. and arrived to the store to find the front
door ajar, possibly pried open, he said.
In a similar incident Jan. 24, police responded to a 5:25 a.m. alarm at the Radio Shack on the 500 block of Sutton Way in Grass Valley to find the front window broken.
In that burglary, iPods and MP3 players were also targeted, he said.
“This doesn’t seem to be random,” Marks said.
Store managers have been working with police, providing inventories of their merchandise.
Police do not know how many people are involved in the burglaries, and they have no suspects, Marks said.
Investigators have been unsuccessful so far in obtaining any finger prints from the either Radio Shack, he said.
“I can’t say if it’s juveniles or adults responsible for this,” Marks said.
Crime statistics released by the Grass Valley Police Department last month show non-residential burglaries increased last year by 33 percent, from 40 incidents in
2006 to 53 incidents in 2007.
“Especially since commercial burglaries are up, we need to have awareness,” Marks said. “Business owners should be aware of neighboring businesses and contact us if they notice anything unusual.”
Marks asks anyone with information about either burglary to call to the Grass Valley Police Department at 477-4600.
To contact Staff writer Robyn Moormeister, e-mail rmoormeister@the
union.com or call 477-4236.
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ERLANGER, KY – Toyota announced it plans to expand its Huntsville, Ala. engine facility to increase North American production of V-6 engines. The company said this investment will increase engine production at the Huntsville plant to more than 700,000 annually, and will increase total Toyota engine production in the U.S. to more than 1.4 million per year. The automaker is investing approximately $80 million and will add 125 jobs at the plant.
The Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama (TMMAL) plant currently assembles four-cylinder, V-6 and V-8 engines for eight of 12 vehicles Toyota builds in North America. The automaker said TMMAL is the only one of its plants, globally, to produce these three types of engines in a single facility.
This announcement follows on the heels of other production increase announcements since February including at Toyota plants in Indiana, West Virginia, Canada, and Kentucky.
This investment is part of Toyota's strategy of transitioning its manufacturing of vehicles sold in the North American market to the region, shifting away from overseas manufacturing.

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Two bike-borne men snatched the chain of a woman, who was returning from her school, in Dholpur.
Usha Sharma, who works as a vice principal in a Government Senior Secondary School, was returning home when the incident happened on the busy Dusherra road, which was captured on CCTV.
The woman ran after the snatchers for some distance and even shouted for help but to no avail. The accused managed to escape through Bhamtipura locality.
Recalling the incident, Usha Sharma, the vice principal, said, “I was returning from school. On the way, I saw a man selling pomegranate. I stopped to buy pomegranate. That’s when two bike-borne youths came and started speaking with the man selling pomegranate. The two did not buy pomegranate, but snatched my chain and fled away.”
Meanwhile, the woman has filed a complaint with the police and it has collected CCTV footage from a liquor shop on the Dusherra road which captured the incident.
“The female teacher has filed a case of chain snatching. Have begun the search for the ruffians on the basis of CCTV footage,” Investigating officer Lakhan Singh said.


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Home >> News >> How Is Recycled Polyester Made?
Pet Bottle Flakes
Rather than using crude oil as the raw material, recycled polyester uses already produced polyester. This is usually in the form of plastic drink bottles and other easy to source and clean post-consumer materials, but can also include off-cuts of fabric and recycled clothing.
1. Your recycled bottles are collected, sorted & baled.
2. The bales are chopped into small pieces, called "flake".
3. Those pieces are then cleaned and the labels are removed.
4. The flake is then turned into more formed, smaller pieces called "chip".
5. The chip is melted and extruded into extremely thin filaments and bundled into a yarn.
6. The yarn is stretched over heated rubber rollers to change its molecular structure from being like dental floss to something closer to wool. From there, it is spooled together and ready to be woven into fabric.
One of the most significant benefits is that it creates a demand for post-consumer plastics, keeping them out of landfill. Each year, 51 billion plastic bottles go into landfill worldwide, with many of these later finding their way into our oceans. By the year 2050, scientists predict that there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by mass. Changing our consumer choices creates a demand for recycled product, which in turn can help reduce the amount of plastic diverted to landfill.
Aside from reducing landfill, the production of recycled polyester has significant environmental advantages over virgin polyester:
ㆍ90% less water is used in making recycled polyester versus polyester.
ㆍRPET requires 70 percent less energy than virgin fibre production.
ㆍRPET fabric has a 50% lower carbon footprint than organic cotton.
ㆍRPET polyester fabric has almost a 90% lower carbon footprint than nylon.
ㆍRPET polyester fabric has a 75% lower carbon footprint than polyester.
ㆍFirstly, because polyester accounts for over half of fibres used in the textile and apparel industry - replacing it with a recycled alternative is instantly going to be better at reducing dependency on fossil fuels. The development of a popular non-virgin alternative will have a positive impact on energy requirements in the future. This will act as a tool to help brands cut their greenhouse gas emissions across the supply chain.
ㆍSecondly, recycled polyester helps to reduce the seismic waste in the fashion industry that sees over 48 million mt of clothes disposed annually. It is an intuitive way to find value in waste and encourages positive recycling behaviours. It also introduces shoppers to the innovative possibilities of sustainable fabrics.
ㆍAnother benefit is that recycled polyester has a smaller carbon footprint than virgin polyester. A 2017 research study found that manufacturing rPET generates 79% less carbon emissions than producing its virgin counterpart. So, using recycled polyester may help brands meet their climate targets and contribute to the 2015 Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals.
Transforming plastic into fabric works as one way to help minimise the 8 million tons of plastic that find themselves in our oceans every year. This can help to protect marine ecosystems and underwater wildlife that is often endangered by plastic pollution.
ㆍFinally, adopting recycled fibres like recycled polyester, can foster collaboration within the fashion industry and promote change. For example, the Textile Exchange in 2019 challenged over 50 brands including Adidas, GAP and H & M to increase their use of recycled polyester by 25% by 2020. They achieved this before the deadline and increased their use by 36%. More organisations are joining the movement and have pledged to make 20% of all global polyester recycled by 2030 - a really important goal for curbing emissions and removing reliance on fossil fuels.
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The doors have now closed on the 2018 edition of Med-Tech Innovation Expo. This action-packed medical technology showcase offered the opportunity for thousands of eager visitors to experience multiple product launches and demonstrations from over one-hundred exhibiting companies on the show floor. More than 30 engaging presentations took place and a wealth of exciting show features educated and entertained in equal measure.
With an expansion of the show floor presenting more exhibitors than ever before, this high-octane event connected over 2,000 attendees (audit pending) with an exciting and varied range of businesses who stood ready to help them solve their medical design and manufacturing challenges.
“A really good show, The conference set up is very nice, I wish I’d had a chance to see more of it,” commented visitor Paul Wilcock (Digital Marketing Manager at The Blue Cube). “I think there’s just a lot of good innovative products here that are worth seeing.”
Those seeking future technologies and services ahead of the mainstream saw dynamic displays, exclusive product launches and hands-on demonstrations of all the latest innovations from the likes of Connect 2 Cleanrooms, the Centre for Process Innovation, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, XL Precision Technologies and Worrell Design.
“The show’s been great – a good number of people coming to us, but more importantly the quality of leads has been exactly what we were looking for. The type of people we want to target have been in here, so we’re really pleased,” said Mitsubishi Electric’s Neil Welch.
Across two conference stages, attendees saw presentations from a wide range of blue-chip users, government officials and industry experts. Innovate UK, MHRA, the Academy for Healthcare Science, NHS Digital and more offered insight and intelligence throughout the Med-Tech Innovation Conference (produced in association with Medilink UK), while event exhibitors delivered all the latest news on hardware, software, materials and services on the HealthTech Stage.
Ken Block, President of USA-based Ken Block Consulting presented on the HealthTech stage and exhibited at the event. Of his experience, he said; “It’s been a great first show for us. To be able to come to the UK and for the first time meet folks in this market, a market that we’re hoping to serve in the future. I also had the opportunity to speak at the conference yesterday, it was great to share the US FDA perspective.”
In addition to the packed conference and seminar programme, visitors experienced a range of exciting show features including the GTMA Pavilion, Inspex, which focuses on providers of measurement and inspection technologies/services and the Medilink UK Pavilion which gave a range of Medilink member businesses including IHN Insurance Brokers, TBAT Innovation and GX Group a platform to highlight their solutions to industry challenges.
Merle Harrison, Marketing and Events at Medilink commented; “We’ve had lots of enquiries, it’s been a really great show with a lovely atmosphere.”
Read the full article here.


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Social media platforms, especially the video sharing platforms, are full of influencers with expertise in different categories, from food blogging to fashion to tech reviews and many more.
Now a new section of social media influencers is taking over the internet, and these are called "cleanfluencers." Millions of people watch them scour dirty houses and dish out cleaning tips, and they have a sizable fan base.
Auri Kananen, a cleanfluencer who has far more social media followers than Kondo, the Japanese tidying guru, says, "I love cleaning, I love dirt,".
Ms. Kananen travels around the world in search of "the dirtiest homes possible". "I remember when I had 19 followers. Even then, it felt really cool to have 19 strangers wanting to see me clean," she was quoted as saying by news agency AFP. She is known to her followers as Aurikatariina, and she has nine million TikTok followers and two million YouTube followers.
In her offbeat videos, she cleans the places while wearing miniature pink gloves, with music playing in the background. She also explains why the location is so filthy and unpleasant.
"Usually people have some mental health problem or other tragedy that has happened in their lives," Ms Kananen said.
According to them, most of the time, depressed people or people with mental disorders live in these miserable conditions. She herself has been through a depressed state, so she believes that she can relate to their condition.
"I know how overwhelming it is," she said.
As evidenced by the quality of her welfare work, the comment sections of her videos are filled with people saying how her videos have helped them cope with their difficulties, praising her non-judgemental manner.
Cleaning has always been an important part of human life. With the global rise of video sharing platforms, cleaning videos have become hugely popular on social media, inspiring a growing number of users to start posting content.
27-year-old Abbi, known as "clean with Abbi" to her two million followers, stated that "I was watching videos and I thought, that's what I do at home; I can just film myself doing it."
Now brands sponsor her to use their products, and she earns between $720 and $1,200 per video.
"It relaxes me; it's like therapy." "For me, it's like an escape from any worries I've got," she told AFP.
The cleanfluencers not only post their own videos but also share tips and hacks on how to clean properly with their followers.
Ann Russell, a 59-year-old full-time cleaner from the south of England, sits on her sofa and answers a question from her TikTok followers, holding her phone up to her face. To remove a felt-tip mark from a wooden table without removing the varnish, she recommends isopropyl alcohol. "Dip a cotton bud in it and just rub it gently."
Ms. Russell said people need to be taught how to clean properly.
"Washing your socks, pairing them up, and putting them in the drawer gives a sense of a job well done. It makes people feel in control. And because they feel in control of their personal lives, they feel that the outside world is a safer place," Ms Russell was quoted as saying by AFP.Click for more trending news


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Mahindra's new Thar has been grabbing eyeballs and playing with the hearts of aspiring customers ever since its launch in October. And if you were going back and forth on the purchase decision, now might be the opportune moment to sign on the dotted line before the prices go up.
Mahindra is all set to hike the prices for the new Thar on December 1. The move comes as the company will be doing away with the introductory prices for the Thar that saw the jeep being launched with prices ranging between Rs. 9.80 lakh to Rs. 13.75 lakh (ex-showroom India). Official information as to how much the Thar will cost from tomorrow is not known at the moment. What we do know is that the current prices for the Thar are applicable for all units booked so far, up until the 30th of November. So, if you were pondering the idea of buying one, now might be the opportune moment, before the new prices become applicable!
As informed by us earlier, the new Thar is available in a choice of petrol, diesel, manual and automatic models, with all variants being offered as standard with four-wheel drive. You can know more about the variant line-up here - New Mahindra Thar launched
While we haven’t had a chance to take the Thar off-road, we have rather unpredictably driven it on a race track and you can read the track test report here - 2020 Mahindra Thar: Track Test


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Hammerson is selling its UK retail parks to Canadian private equity firm Brookfield for around £350 million, according to one report. However, on Monday, Hammerson said any deal is far from being sealed.
April 12 sees the opening of McArthurGlen’s latest outlet centre with the debut of the £160m Designer Outlet West Midlands. The company said it’s the only standalone shopping centre to open in the UK this year.
China slapped a record 18 billion yuan ($2.75 billion) fine on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd on Saturday, after an anti-monopoly probe found the e-commerce giant had abused its dominant market position for several years.
A failed attempt to unionize Amazon.com warehouse workers shows why Congress needs to pass proposed legislation to protect labor unions against corporations’ anti-organizing efforts, Democratic lawmakers said Friday.
Amazon.com warehouse workers in Alabama voted against forming a union by a more than 2-to-1 margin in a major win for the retailer, but the union said it would challenge the results, citing election interference.


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Yuri's Revenge filming complete
Westwood wraps up filming on the cutscenes for the upcoming Command & Conquer expansion.
Westwood has announced that it has just completed filming for all of the cutscenes appearing in Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge, the official expansion to Red Alert 2, after a one-week session in Westwood's studio. Editing and postproduction of the cutscenes will continue through the end of July. "The filming for Yuri's Revenge was a little more challenging than what we've done for other games," said Producer Donny Miele. "We filmed over a full week, but it was rare for the main actors to be on the set at the same time. That's where the magic of postproduction comes in. We have to patch all the scenes together to make it look like the actors are talking to each other, when in reality, they may never have met."
Yuri's Revenge will add a number of new features to Red Aler 2, including an entirely new faction for Yuri's army--one that contains 13 new infantry units and six new structures. There are also four new Allied units and structures, as well as five new Soviet units and structures. In addition, Yuri's Revenge has 14 new single-player missions, 10 new cooperative missions, 20 skirmish maps, and new multiplayer modes.
Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge is scheduled for release at the end of October. For more information on the game, take a look at our previous coverage .
GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.


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Food prices stood at negative 3.36 per cent from a year earlier in the week to December 24,their first fall in nearly six years,as the costs of vegetables continued to fall from their high levels in the previous winter.
The Wholesale Price Index,published by the government on Thursday,showed food-price inflation at 0.42 per cent in the previous week. Food-price inflation had not turned negative since 2004-05 prices were adopted as the statistical base for the series.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was encouraged by the fall in food prices from their levels a year earlier,which were driven high by unseasonal rains in Maharashtra.
Mukherjee said,There has been substantial improvement. Food inflation has turned negative for the first time in the recent memory, he said.
Vegetables continued to grow cheaper,helped by a good monsoon,while inflation fell for cereals and milk. Cereal prices were 1.97 per cent higher than twelve months previously,having been 2.15 per cent higher than their levels a year ago in the week to December 17.
Vegetables were 50.22 per cent cheaper than a year earlier,having been 36.02 per cent cheaper in the previous week. Inflation shed 14.70 percentage points to -73.74 per cent for onions and 0.25 percentage points to -34.01 per cent for potatoes.
Milk was 9.49 per cent dearer than a year ago,having been 11.30 per cent dearer in the previous week. Inflation added 2.41 percentage points to 10.87 per cent for fruits and 2.26 percentage points to 13.82 per cent for eggs,fish and meat.
C Rangarajan,chairman of the Prime Ministers Council of Economic Advisers (PMEAC),said the government would wait for headline inflation figures before judging the direction of prices in the economy,which seemed to be leading the Reserve Bank of India towards cutting repo rates.
Rangarajan said: We have to wait for December inflation figures to see if the non-food manufacturing numbers have also followed the same path… the environment appears to be in favour of the Reserve Bank reversing its
monetary policy stance.


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Pymnts - 23 August 2022
Kenya’s GDPR-style legislation threatens US firms’ x-border data transfer model
Around the world, data protection legislation sets the rules for how companies collect and process personal information. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is often cited as a benchmark and model framework for data protection laws.
In Africa, very few countries have an advanced data privacy framework but one of the countries that is furthest ahead in the implementation of GDPR-style legislation is Kenya. Last month, the country imposed a requirement for startups that handle personal data to register with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC).
The beefing up of Kenya’s data protection regulation is the latest move in a journey that began with passage of the country’s Data Protection Act in 2019. And while the law shares a number of similarities with the EU’s GDPR, it also creates an opportunity for the East African nation to learn from the EU’s regulation, which has presented many challenges over the years.
For example, one of the criticisms of GDPR is that by requiring organizations to store information about EU citizens on servers located within the bloc, it risks interfering with the cross-border data flow that many international businesses currently rely on.
Meta’s continued warnings that it may have to pull its Facebook and Instagram platforms from Europe because EU regulators deem its current data transferal model illegal is a prime example of this.
In fact, ever since the EU-U.S. Privacy shield was struck down by the Court of Justice of the European Union in 2020, Meta has been in legal limbo in the region, with regional data protection watchdogs arguing that its wholesale exportation of EU user data to the U.S. doesn’t comply with GDPR.
But for the time being, Meta has been given some extra breathing room. After receiving input from other data protection watchdogs in the bloc, the Irish Data Protection Commission, which is leading the case against Meta, has had to put off its final decision on whether or not to prevent Meta’s EU-U.S. data exports.
Free Trade vs Data Sovereignty
In the Kenyan context, Meta’s GDPR woes may be avoided if the U.S. gets its way in a proposed free trade deal between the two countries which is currently in discussions.
Among other objectives that relate to the free movement of data, U.S. negotiators have explicitly stated their demand for “commitments to ensure that Kenya refrains from imposing measures in the financial services sector that restrict cross-border data flows or that require the use or installation of local computing facilities.”
But the assurances being sought in the anticipated free trade agreement seem to stand in direct opposition to Kenya’s Data Protection Act.
Like GDPR, that act sets strict consent requirements for any organization that wants to transfer personal data outside of the country, requirements that the Irish Data Protection Commission has found Meta doesn’t meet.
How this plays out could set a precedent for other countries engaged in similar talks with the U.S. and will be especially critical as issues pertaining to cross-border data flows become increasingly important in the negotiation of trade deals.
The EU, for instance, can afford to be bullheaded in their approach to American Big Tech. But not all economies have that luxury considering the significant economic benefits they could potentially gain from a free trade deal with the U.S.
At the end of the day, no matter which side of the coin they fall on, it will not all be smooth sailing.
For Kenya, pursuing the kind of strong data protection rules that have been implemented in the EU could cost them important deals, and at the same time precipitate further trouble for the U.S.-centric data transfer model currently favored by Meta and other U.S. Big Tech companies.


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Gov. Lamont Welcomes Ideas for Safe Reopening
Governor Ned Lamont and DECD Commissioner David Lehman joined the Chamber’s Board of Directors meeting on April 28 with updates on state’s COVID-19 response and reopening Connecticut’s economy. We would like to thank them for their time and appreciate their reaching out for input on solutions from our local business leaders.
Reports of declining hospital admissions over the past week are an important metric for reopening businesses. Gov. Lamont noted significant numbers in Boston and suggested caution in eastern Connecticut, which has seen the lowest number of cases in the state.
Gov. Lamont noted that approximately two-thirds of the state’s economy remained open as Connecticut closed down much less than neighboring states. Defense manufacturing and its supply chain as well as all private manufacturing and construction continue to operate.
Commissioner Lehman reported that he is shifting the majority of his focus from triaging the crisis to reopening the state, quickly but responsibly.
Testing Key to COVID Management
Broad-based testing is a key component of reopening the economy. The state is ramping up testing and companies are making investments to increase capacity as well as identify new technologies related to antibody testing and testing procedures.
Health monitoring will be incorporated into protocols for businesses and consumers to manage the spread of COVID as part of reopening. The state is bringing shipments of thermometers and employing smart technology to monitor flare ups in geographic areas.
Welcoming Ideas from Businesses for Reopening
The service industries present specific challenges in regard to maintaining social distancing measures during the reopening. Representatives from restaurant, retail and hospitality are on the Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group, including Dan Meiser, Chairman of the CT Restaurant Association, and Rodney Butler, Chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.
Gov. Lamont invited ideas from all sectors as the state navigates the safest way to reopen businesses, and he suggested that businesses look at their own facilities to evaluate how they can safely open. He encapsulated the balance we are all struggling to find: “I know how urgent people feel about getting everything open. I also know how anxious people are about opening too early.”
Share Your Ideas with the Chamber and the Governor
If you have helpful ideas on reopening, or are facing special circumstances to reopen your business or organization, please contact the Chamber at (860) 701-9113 or Info@ChamberECT.com so we can relay it to the Governor’s Advisory Group.


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Online retailer Amazon published its third annual Brand Protection Report last week, revealing the highest number of criminal referrals and industry partnerships than ever before, which are linked to the company’s efforts to protect customers, brands and selling partners from counterfeit products.
The report highlights four main areas: robust proactive controls to protect its store, powerful tools to protect brands, holding bad actors accountable, and protecting and educating customers.
On top of that it reveals its accomplishment of identifying, seizing and “properly” disposing of over six million counterfeit products in 2022 through “the strategic combination of industry-leading technology and experts”, as explained in the press release.
Products were intercepted before reaching any customers and being resold elsewhere in the supply chain, stopping bad actors and having an impact beyond Amazon's store.
“We take pride in the progress our organisation has made this past year, specifically further evolving our technology to stay ahead of bad actors and doubling down on our criminal referral and litigation efforts,” said Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s vice president of Worldwide Selling Partner Services.
The full report can be found online.


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Feature: Game Changer. AT&T Mobility chief Ralph de la Vega forever transformed the mobile phone business without the iconic iPhone. Here's a look inside his wireless worlds constant innovation, collaboration and overcoming obstacles.
Feature: Gridlocked. Traffic is costing the region millions of dollars in lost time, lost income and lost chances to land future business. What will it take to overcome this economic roadblock.
Feature: The New Rules of Engagement. In the last six fiscal quarters, human resource execs have waged a war on sinking employee moorle, decreased compensation packages and growing cost cutting measures. In BtoB's 7th annual Human Resource study conducted in coordination with Towers Perrin, business writer Allison Shirreffs reports on what exactly HR execs are doing to engage, develop and retain employees.
Feature: State of our Union. The Employee Fair Choice Act is gearing up to be one of the hottest debates of the summer. If passed, what will this legislation do for your business?


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High-end Afterpay rival takes its fight international
Afterpay Touch will face increased competition across the Tasman as its up-market buy now, pay later (BNPL) rival Payright sets up shop in New Zealand.
The competitor to the high performing WAAAX stock targets a different customer segment to that of Afterpay and other BNPL schemes like Zip and Humm, aiming for those with more expensive tastes.
Payright founders Myles and Piers Redward have expanded their business to New Zealand, yet are coy about the future for the company beyond this development.
Payright, which is associated with high-end services like professional photography or home renovations, serves customers with a $20,000 spending limit.
Its founders – brothers Myles Redward and Piers Redward – believe this high-end focus will ultimately give them an edge over other BNPL operators.
“More retail-focused BNPL players see an average transaction size of between $100 and $200,” Myles Redward said. “For us … the average transaction size is closer to $2500.
“It does lend itself to a different type of purchase and purchaser than you would typically work with at the other providers,” Piers Redward added.
To this end, the demographics of Payright users are also distinct from the Millennial market traditionally associated with the sector.
More than two-thirds of Payright’s users are over 35 years old. By comparison, Afterpay’s average customer is aged 33.
“I guess for that reason we’re finding that our product, rather than competing with others … sits well alongside and, indeed, compliments existing BNPL schemes,” Myles Redward said.
The brothers have now turned their attention to New Zealand after building a business focused on Australia with a $30 million fundraising earlier this year.
It is yet another departure from the norm as other BNPL providers storm into the US market. However, the brothers said an outpost in New Zealand makes the most sense for their business.
“It’s really off the back of demand from both our existing and prospective merchants here in Australia that have operations in New Zealand,” Myles Redward said.
“They were pushing us quite hard to integrate Payright into their New Zealand operations … now that we’re over there we see that demand momentum continue.”
The pair says they have seen a stable uptake of Payright in New Zealand-based merchants since they launched in the country in late October.
“The focus for us at the moment is to continue to grow and scale to find other merchants and get them up and transacting,” Piers Redward said. “A lot of the other BNPL players are listed … it’s hard to ignore the valuations that some of the other players have seen in a listed context.
“But the focus at the moment is very much on growing and scaling the business here and in New Zealand.”Back to News


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A three-year-old NYC company specializing in home cooked food delivery is expanding to Philadelphia this month, with plans to enter more US markets this year.
Oren Saar, cofounder and CEO of WoodSpoon, launched the company with Merav Kalish Rozengarten while getting his MBA at MIT. He often cooked Israeli food for himself and his roommate, but wondered if there was a way he could order home-cooked food for himself the way he could order from restaurants off Uber Eats or Doordash. Together with Rozengarten, Saar began work on the platform, and they launched in March 2019.
“Together we shared the craving for food that brought us the feeling of home,” Saar said. “After thorough research, we realized that there is a real desire for authentic, homemade food on demand in a lot of communities. We built a solution both for home chefs, who were looking for a way to share their homemade food but did not know how to start a business, and also for food lovers.”
The service allows for chefs to prep food in their own homes and sell it to others in their city through a the WoodSpoon platform. The chefs, who are interviewed and vetted by the WoodSpoon team, are in control of their own menu and pricing. They have full “creative freedom,” Saar said. WoodSpoon’s platform handles the ordering logistics, payments, provides chefs sustainable packaging and drivers to complete the delivery. The chefs also undergo the comprehensive food safety training program in compliance with the Food and Drug Administration’s Good Manufacturing Practice requirements.
The pandemic expedited the company’s growth, Saar said, as the demand for at-home food delivery rose. It also gave people who had lost their jobs in the restaurant industry a way to make money through food while staying at home. In August 2021, the company raised a $14 million Series A, and began to look toward national expansion.
In January, the platform launched in New Jersey, and on Tuesday, it became available for Philadelphia customers. (As of this writing, the location icon at the top only names Brooklyn, but you can type in your address to see Philly chefs.) The company also recently announced it would begin catering services for companies to provide their employees home-cooked meal options.
“Philadelphia is attractive to us for many reasons,” Saar said. “Like NYC, the city is full of diverse, talented cooks and there are tons of chefs and consumers who are looking for home-cooked meals that celebrate their cultures.”
WoodSpoon chefs are able to create their own webpage and community of followers, and switch up their menu items at any time. Many of the chefs on the platform are immigrants, the cofounder said, and have been able to strengthen a sense of community amid the pandemic through food.
“What started as an idea has grown into something that we’re seeing a huge demand for in just a few years — comforting, home-cooked meals that remind people of friends, family and loved ones,” Saar said.-30-


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Bright dreams for hua hin at high end mall launch
The launch party for retail development Bluport brought out some of Bangkok's leading socialites who heard co-developer and former deputy prime minister Suwat Liptapanlop expound on the dazzling visions he has for the seaside city's future
Hua Hin is about to become even more cosmopolitan with the launch of new resort mall Bluport. A recent contract signing ceremony for Bluport and launch party with the theme "The Voyage to the Port of Pleasure in the Heart of Hua Hin" gave a glimpse of Hua Hin's future.
Grisana and Supaluck Umpujh and Jaraspim, Sangvorn and Proudputh Liptapanlop.
The Bluport launch was held at the glamourous Intercontinental Hua Hin Resort, owned by former deputy prime minister Suwat Liptapanlop. Mr Suwat's family also owns Prayoonwitt Group, which together with The Mall group is developing the resort mall on a 25-rai property directly opposite the hotel. The shopping mall will include a department store, gourmet market, cinemas and a splash park.
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EU Must Clear Infrastructure Bottleneck Stifling Transition to Greener Road Haulage
EUROPE – The European Clean Trucking Alliance (ECTA), a coalition of key players in the continent’s road freight industry, is urging the European Union (EU) to accelerate the transition to clean trucks by scaling up the availability of infrastructure and strengthening the CO2 standards to enable emission-free road transport. The landscape of road transport decarbonisation is changing, truck makers are coming out with pledges and sales targets and many transport actors such as members of the Alliance are ramping up their efforts to green their fleets. Zero emission trucks and vans are arriving on the market but the infrastructure to operate these vehicles is largely missing.
As this is creating a bottleneck that hampers the transition to a greener freight mobility, the deployment of adequate and reliable charging infrastructure should start now. In its position paper, the ECTA calls on the European Commission to grab the opportunity of the upcoming proposals under the ‘Fit-for-55 Package‘ and come up with an ambitious policy framework to make zero emission freight a reality. The Fit for 55 Package looks to shape several decisive regulations for the future of road transport: the expected review of Europe’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive (AFID), the TEN-T and TEN-E regulations, the Energy Taxation Directive and CO2 emission performance standards for light commercial vehicles.
There are approximately 40 million vehicles delivering across Europe, with trucks carrying more than three quarters of all freight transported across the continent. The upcoming revision of the TEN-T Regulation should be the opportunity to identify road freight urban nodes as hotspots of freight activity in Europe. Kristin Kahl, a spokesperson for the ECTA said:
“The availability of infrastructure for zero-emission trucks and vans is one of the biggest challenges to decarbonising our fleets, only ambitious regulations with AFID and policy support can turn this into the greatest opportunity of the decade. “Developing a network of safe and secure truck parking areas goes hand in hand with the reinforcement of the electricity grid to provide high power to the charging infrastructure as well as green hydrogen refuelling infrastructure.” To ensure seamless cross-border operations and regional delivery operations, the Alliance calls on the Commission to establish binding targets in the AFID legislation for infrastructure in all EU member states.
A minimum of 2 public charging stations per freight urban node by 2025, to be increased to a minimum of 10 charging stations by 2030, are needed to make the transition to zero-emission trucks a reality in every member state. The TEN-T core network corridors should become zero-emission freight corridors, with sufficient charging and green hydrogen refuelling infrastructure deployed at the latest by 2027 and completed by 2030 to enable zero-emission long haul trips. In Europe, transport is the biggest source of emissions at around 28% and is the sector with the highest emissions increase since 1990.
Despite this alarming situation, the current CO2 emission performance standards for vans are not driving the market towards zero-emission: only 1.4% of new vans registered in the EU in 2019 was electric and according to preliminary data only 2% in 2020. To stay on course for zero emissions by 2050, the upcoming CO2 performance standards revision is the opportunity to strengthen the standards in order to boost supply of zero-emission vehicles. The Alliance recommends having at least 50% of new vans sold in 2030 zero-emission and by 2035 all new vans sold to be zero-emission.
The Alliance says that this is a golden opportunity to make almost CO2 -free city logistics in major urban centres by 2030, with a proper policy framework to ensure a steady and increasing supply of zero-emission vans with sufficient infrastructure.
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A dozen legislators and other Democrats say New Mexico shouldn't go overboard in granting tax breaks to Tesla Motors so the electric car company locates a battery plant in the state.
In a letter to the Albuquerque Journal (http://bit.ly/QIGb0h ), the Democrats said any bid to attract the plant shouldn't rely solely on tax breaks.
Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas also are trying to win the $5 billion battery plant.
The New Mexico Democrats' letter said the state can't afford to give up so much future tax revenue to Tesla that education and other needs aren't met. It also says incentives for Tesla shouldn't cause other taxpayers to pay more.
While the letter described Tesla as a cutting-edge carmaker that could have a positive impact on New Mexico's economy, it argued that the state has lost money in previous deals with out-of-state corporations.
Republican Gov. Susana Martinez has said she might consider calling a special legislative session on economic incentives to make New Mexico more appealing to Tesla.


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Upfield Canada is expanding its Canadian operations with a new production facility in Brantford, Ont. for plant-based spreads and vegan cheese. The new facility is expected to open at the end of 2021.
"Upfield is investing and innovating to expand our plant-based business in Canada and introduce a new product line here, our plant-based cheese product, Violife,” says Dan Bajor, president of Upfield Canada Inc. "Our new state-of-the art facility will supply our spreads and plant-based cheese product to Canadian consumers and support the export of Violife to the United States and eventually to markets in Latin America."
The new facility will feature technical improvements that will support Upfield's expanding spreads and margarine product portfolio, including Becel margarine and plant-based bricks, as well as a scaled-up manufacturing platform that will support new innovations.
Upfield has purchased an existing 164,000 sq ft building in Brantford that it will revamp for its purposes. Upfield operates another operation in Etobicoke, Ont.


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The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is like the Super Bowl, New York Fashion Week and the Detroit Auto Show all rolled into one for the video games business. Now entering its 21st year, the show serves as the games industry’s premier occasion to make a big noise about all the latest games and associated technology. Though traditionally a trade-only affair, it’s a huge production. Each year it fills the cavernous Los Angeles Convention Center to its bursting point, and routinely sees more than 50,000 attendees.
What’s the deal with E3 2016?
This year things are changing, though. While the show runs from Tuesday, June 14th, through Thursday, June 16th, the news stories will start coming thick and fast this weekend. Sony, Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft and Bethesda are all holding huge, splashy press conferences and media events, which kick off on Sunday afternoon. There’s a public component this time too, dubbed E3 Live. Lucky gamers that were able to snag a ticket in time will be able to check out the show floor until 10 p.m. and get their hands on games that won’t be available until much later this year, or early 2017.
Big publishers, like Electronic Arts and Activision, are also changing their approach to the event. This year, Activision isn’t showing anything on the main floor, choosing to book meetings in private rooms, while EA is moving out of the convention center entirely, and setting up a public event right next door at the The Novo in L.A. Live where fans can check out Titanfall 2, Battlefield 1, Madden, FIFA and NHL.
Nathan Vella, president of independent studio Capy Games, sees parallels between the way the whole games business is changing, and the necessary shift that the event is seeing. “To me, it seems that E3 is in a transition that matches the transition games promotion is going through,” he says. “We want to build community, to speak directly to fans, to invite players into our development and offer them a chance to know more about our games and our teams. We see the value in traditional media, but we also want to see our games in players’ hands. E3 isn’t that type of show, and I don’t even know if it wants to become it.”
What’s all this we hear about new consoles?
The biggest stories of the event will no doubt concern new hardware announcements from both Sony and Microsoft. For a deeper look at why this is happening less than three years after the current consoles were launched, you can check out our story here.
Sony has confirmed the existence of a “high-end” PlayStation 4, but PlayStation boss Andrew House told the Financial Times that no announcements will actually be made at E3. Software support for the system will begin later this year, suggesting a release around the same time as the PlayStation VR headset, maybe in October. “We want to ensure we have a full range of the best experiences on the new system that we can showcase in their entirety,” House said. As expected, the new console will be more expensive than the current PS4, House said, but it is not a replacement. “It is intended to sit alongside and complement the standard PS4,” he continued. “We will be selling both [versions] through the life cycle. All games will support the standard PS4 and we anticipate all or a very large majority of games will also support the high-end PS4.”
Meanwhile, rumor has it that Microsoft may very well have two console-specific announcements to roll out at its media event on the morning of June 13th. Less exciting of the pair is a slimmed-down version of the Xbox One. The company trimmed some fat off the original 360 back in 2010, releasing it as the much more svelte and shiny Xbox 360 S. Given that the Xbox One is often criticized for being especially bulky, and the constituent technology is now cheaper and easier to produce, don’t be surprised to see a leaner new case to accompany the recently announced price drop to $299.
Much more exciting is the prospect of an upgraded Xbox One, designed to battle Sony’s new box. Rumors suggest that we won’t see this until next year, so what details we get may be vague, but given the arms-race that’s developing, you can bet that Microsoft won’t let it’s chief rival hog the limelight.
Sadly, the new hardware that we won’t see is arguably the most exciting. Nintendo has already confirmed that it won’t be showing its upcoming console, codename “NX,” at E3 this year. Instead, it’ll focus squarely on the next Zelda game.
“There’s going to be a lot of angst over what a console is in the modern era,” says The Guardian‘s Keith Stuart. “We may see more traction for VR and augmented reality tech, peripherals and applications, and this will all contribute to a general feeling that the traditional idea of games machines is coming to an end.”
What about Virtual Reality?
While some companies are moving out of the main halls of E3, the Entertainment Software Association, which organizes the event, has been keen to attract more virtual reality and mobile games. This year there will be more than 90 mobile games exhibitors, and more than 50 parties showing virtual reality software and technology.
“2016 is the dawn of the VR revolution and this year’s E3 will be a milestone event,” says Paul Bettner, the CEO of Playful – the studio behind the Oculus Rift pack-in game Lucky’s Tale. Bettner is also the co-creator of the breakout mobile hit Words with Friends, so he knows a thing or two about discerning zeitgeisty moments. “I expect we’ll see the biggest publishers and platforms that have yet to announce their VR strategy use E3 as that opportunity, announcing huge franchises coming to VR in the next few years.” This would certainly be welcome if true, as there have been very few big name triple-A franchises announced for VR outside of Star Wars. While most of us understand the potential of VR, there have yet to be any games shown that are candidates for system-sellers. On this subject, Bettner is emphatic. “E3 2016 is going to be the event that convinces the majority of gamers that VR is a must-have.”
IGN’s Schneider is similarly bullish, particularly about Sony’s PlayStation VR. “It’s Sony’s time to convince the world that virtual reality gaming is ready for prime time,” he says.
But Rami Ismail, the co-founder of noted indie game studio Vlambeer isn’t so convinced. “I think everybody is cautious,” he says, remarking that 3D TV stirred up a similar fervor a few years ago. “PlayStation VR has the strongest consumer case, but even that is a peripheral, and the history of console peripherals is… discouraging. Combine that with how hard it is to promote or communicate VR, and you quickly realize that it’s nearing a make-or-break moment in the next few years. Either it’ll remain and flourish in the world of corporate use, or it’ll become the hit consumer product everybody is hoping for. Either way, I don’t think we’ll know for the next year or two.”
What games are we all going to be talking about?
Nintendo isn’t normally a company that you’d accuse of hubris, but this year might be different. So confident is it in the power of its most beloved franchise, the company is devoting almost all of its gigantic booth space to The Legend of Zelda for Wii U and, until last week, had no public plans to show third-party games at all. Based on past performance, there’s a reasonably good chance that a ton of attendees will come away from the event declaring it the game of the show.
While there are surely dozens of surprises awaiting us at E3, many of the highest profile games have already been announced. In some cases, they’re games that were revealed at the event last year.
Microsoft’s Gears of War 4 will surely garner a lot of attention, particularly as a multiplayer game, as will Activision’s Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and Electronic Arts’ Battlefield 1. Sony’s recently-delayed Horizon Zero Dawn will no doubt score yet more accolades for its stunning visuals, and the endlessly postponed The Last Guardian (it has been in development since 2007) will get a huge amount of attention, due in large part to the fact that it’s nothing short of incredible that the thing still exists at all at this point.
The games business, much like the movie business, never passes up the opportunity to put out a sequel. Or two. Or in some cases 14. Titanfall 2, designed by much of the team that brought us the first and best Call of Duty games, will generate a huge amount of attention as will a long list of other major follow-ups including Civilization VI, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Dishonored 2, Injustice 2, Forza Motorsport 6, Final Fantasy XV, Pokemon Sun and Moon, Ghost Recon: Wildlands, the new South Park game and Watch Dogs 2.
If you’re looking for juicy rumors of things we might see, there’s plenty of speculation. Top of that list is a remastered version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for PS4 and Xbox One, along with rumblings that Bethesda’s previously canceled Prey 2 may be reemerging as a completely rebooted concept in the vein of a System Shock or Deus Ex style sci-fi RPG.
Although Rockstar Games has mostly stayed away from E3 in recent years, there’s plenty of chatter about a Red Dead Redemption sequel, which could make a brief appearance at one of the pre-E3 media events. If it were to happen, our money would be on it being shown at the Sony event on Monday night.
One title we’re almost certain not to see, is the next game from CD Projekt Red, the Polish company behind the all-conquering The Witcher 3. Unsurprisingly, following that game’s enormous critical success, sci-fi RPG Cyberpunk 2077 is top of just about every wish list but won’t be shown at all at E3. Still, you never know – CDP may surprise us all with another incredible teaser trailer.


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ABC will live-stream the 2014 Academy Awards presentations, but to a limited number of markets through a limited selection of services.
Barnes & Noble has apparently reversed its trend toward partnering on Nook hardware and will keep building (and cutting the prices of) its e-readers.
Microsoft can't seem to catch a break with gamers; every bit of good news seems to be followed by bad. Let's review.
The new speed offerings underscore the need for there to be more competition in the cable TV and Internet service space.
One young journalist learned the power of social networking over the weekend. Said lesson ended with him out of a job.
Analysis: More speculation seeps out about a skinny, 10-inch Amazon tablet and more robust Kindle Fire to be unveiled in July.
Analysis: Word is that Sony will be first to market with the PlayStation 4, and that Microsoft's Xbox 720 has 16 cores to entice gamers.
Crowdsourcing site enables fans and friends to finance development of the next chapter of favorite but stalled games.
Analysis: The new iPad's Retina display has ruined Android for me. Here's the deal.
If this rumor is true, the big question is: Can a Nexus Tablet compete with the Kindle Fire and the next iPad?
A Samsung exec says the company isn't finding much success with tablets, a day before their latest overpriced device launch date is announced.
In 2012 you're going to eat better, lose weight and exercise your body, right? Well don't forget about exercising your brain! I took brain-training service Lumosity for a test drive, and enjoyed the experience.
Analysis: Its users are unhappy with Reader changes, the iOS Gmail app is pulled; what next?
Articles by Peter SmithNext Page


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We had recently done a long interview with Roger Ver, alias “Bitcoin Jesus”, thanks to Sami. We learn today that the controversial Bitcoin Cash (BCH) fan now wants to create his own crypto-exchange, whose main trading pair would be… the BCH!
In an interview in Malta with Bloomberg, Roger Ver gave some information on the future development of the services available via his website Bitcoin.com (which angers more than one maximalist Bitcoin, which can be understood).
Roger Ver said he was considering finding a partner to produce a cryptocurrency exchange platform, or that they could “build one internally” with his team.
He further added that:
“If we build it ourselves, we can make it really, really cheap, and we will get exactly what we want (…) But we don’t have the security of a proven exchange that has existed for a while.”
Roger Ver also explains that Bitcoin Cash would be the basic currency of this exchange, which will not surprise anyone.
As Blockmanity reminds us, CoinEx is so far the only major exchange to have chosen the BCH as its main trading pair.
Very optimistic, Roger Ver also states that the exchange “will be put online on Bitcoin.com, so we will have thousands, even tens of thousands of new users every day”.
Since the August 2017 hard fork, splitting the Bitcoin blockchain into two separate blocks (Bitcoin/BTC on the one hand and Bitcoin Cash/BCH on the other), war has been raging to find out what the “real” Bitcoin wanted by Satoshi Nakamoto is.
If Roger Ver is able to create his own cryptographic exchange platform, it is likely that this will help to increase the use of BCH. We will not enter into the debate as to whether or not this is a good thing for the world of cryptocurrencies, there is no need to add oil to this fire, already quite enough – sadly – cleaving.


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Nawa Technologies has presented a new motorcycle prototype called ‘Nawa Racer’, which is the world’s first-ever hybrid battery-ultracapacitor bike. This system is meant to serve as a demonstration of the technology, showing its amazing potential to the world.
Electric bikes are typically heavy, as they need to carry around battery cells to power their motors. By using the ‘NAWACap’ ultracapacitor, which is a device for storing electrical energy, not as many batteries are required, so the bike’s overall weight is kept to a relatively meager 150 kg (330 lbs).
Of course, ultracapacitors are ideal for quick bursts of acceleration, motor starts, and short distance traveling, but it appears that Nawa has stricken a balance in the configuration, promising an urban range of 300 km (185 miles). The mixed range figure is a still respectable 150 km.
In terms of performance, the Nawa Racer features a 100PS hubless rim motor that is capable of taking the rider up to a max speed of 160 km/h (100 mph).
The NAWACap offers ten times more power and five times more energy than existing ultracapacitors. The product relies upon 15 years of R&D work at Nawa Technologies, and is the fruit of the work of 25 nanomaterial experts.
The company is also working on carbon batteries and has produced promising high-energy prototypes on its pilot production line. However, that tech hasn’t matured enough to find a place inside the Nawa Racer.
As the firm explains in its press release, the Racer was created to demonstrate the world’s first hybrid battery system, its versatility, and scalability. The company hopes that other e-bike manufacturers or even EV carmakers will license the technology to make lighter electric vehicles.
Unfortunately, there are no plans to build the Nawa Racer in volumes, but you never know. AKKA Technologies was the entity that built the real-life prototype, and for now, they put it on display at the EICMA 2021 show in Milan.


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Filed under: Green
Lincoln is Ford's only remaining premium brand after jettisoning Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo. For many, Lincoln is the car that takes them to the airtport, or the cemetery. But Ford has been adding to the Lincoln lineup in the last couple of years in the hopes of changing minds about the storied brand.
The latest addition to the lineup is the MKZ Hybrid, a full-electric version of the MKZ that has been out in the market for a few years. But Ford, hoping to capture some excitement around the hybrid package, just as it did with its Ford Fusion last year, the MKZ has had several interior upgrades that make it a worthy entry in the lower rungs of premium/luxury sedans.
The fuel economy is impressive. It is rated at 39 mpg combined city and highway driving, and 41 mpg in the city, and I got close to that level.


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Plans to sell tobacco products in plain wrapping are on hold for the moment. Mandelsnake has realised something important.
It is understood government ministers will talk about the huge impact the ban would have on the profitability of the tobacco industry, which spends billions of pounds every year developing glossy brands based around colourful designs and distinctive logos.The impact on the tobacco industry is that it will save billions of pounds a year and sell the stuff anyway. We smokers all have our particular favourite brands. We aren't diverted by shiny packets on other brands, we ask for the brand we want and putting them all in plain wrappers under the counter won't affect that one bit. The tobacco industry knows this, which is why they aren't kicking up a big stink.
In fact, the tobacco industry loves this idea. Plain wrappers are cheap and since everyone has to do it, there's no need to spend billions trying to attract smokers of other brands to move.
So what has Mandelson noticed? It's not the tobacco companies who lose out here.
It's the advertising agencies, the brand consultants, the logo designers, all his pals in the City. They stand to lose billions because the tobacco companies will have no further use for their services. Soon, neither will the booze companies or the fast food companies because that plain packaging 'for the cheeldren' is coming their way too.
Unintended consequences. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
Meanwhile the smokers, banned from everywhere, forced to look at pictures of pre-pubescent sweet-ravaged teeth, baffled by the claims that smoking makes you impotent and also damages sperm (if it makes you impotent, what would it matter if it damages sperm?) when a whole generation of smoking fathers seemed to manage perfectly well, those smokers, ah, they just keep puffing away.
Increasingly, from packs that aren't in plain wrappers and have more to do with the inside of a suitcase than the underside of a counter.
Tobacco companies don't care. They make the same money no matter where you buy it.
The price difference is all tax.


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Dexatel Gains Glovo as an Enterprise Customer
Yerevan, Armenia, November 2021 — Food delivery giant Glovo chooses to collaborate with Dexatel for messaging solutions. This partnership will allow Glovo to enhance the customer journey for its vast user base and improve the overall customer experience.
Ever since its inception in 2015, Glovo has become a key player in the food delivery industry by expanding its catalog of services. In addition to restaurants, Glovo’s categories include groceries, pharmacy and beauty, shops and gifts, as well as custom deliveries. With its rich network of services, Glovo has sealed its status as an industry leader across three continents.
Dexatel’s commitment to equipping businesses with state-of-the-art business messaging solutions is the cornerstone of this strategic business relationship. Glovo will be able to use Dexatel’s platform to send delivery alerts to its customers, enhancing the customer experience. In turn, this will allow Dexatel to shape a key aspect of the customer journey while provisioning its services to Glovo.
This collaboration underlines Dexatel’s devotion to delivering quality text messaging solutions. By having a major global business like Glovo as its customer, Dexatel highlights its role as an industry-leading platform.
Founded in 2015 by Oscar Pierre and Sacha Michaud, Glovo is a multi-category app headquartered in Barcelona, Spain. As of 2019, the app is available in 25 countries, including Armenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Spain, and Tunisia. Glovo offers deliveries from select restaurants, shops, pharmacies, grocery stores, and more. Rooted in technology, the company develops innovative solutions by connecting customers, couriers, and businesses.


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3Com beats the street, plans spin-off
3Com did better than expected with its earnings losses and plans a spin-off as well.
Excluding one-time costs, 3Com announced a second-quarter loss of $52.4 million, or 15 cents a share, on revenue of $789.5 million. The revenue includes $22.8 million the company earned from businesses it recently exited.
3Com executives blamed the shortfall on slower sales of networking equipment to telecommunications carriers and Internet service providers. Lucent has announced profit warnings for its current quarters, and blames its shortfall on slower equipment sales to telecommunications service providers.
3Com says it will spin off its high-end carrier equipment business, which serves customers such as America Online, AT&T and WorldCom. The new wholly-owned subsidiary, formerly called the Carrier Network Business, will now be known as CommWorks and will be led by current 3Com executive Irfan Ali, who was named president.
After a major reorganization earlier this year, when the company spun off Palm and shed its slow-growing businesses, 3Com posted strong earnings last quarter. The company lost $41.3 million, or 12 cents a share, beating analysts' predictions of a 33-cent loss.
In its March reorganization, 3Com exited the high-end corporate networking business to focus on small and medium-sized businesses and consumers, areas the company has historically dominated.


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Of all the cases MediaPost and OMMA have reviewed over the years, Huge's new AI-powered conversational interface Dakota is the purest embodiment we've seen to date of our three primary Agency of the Year awards criteria: vision, innovation and industry leadership. It leverages AI, design, institutional and human knowledge in a way that anticipates what users -- agencies, clients, consumers, and in the case of this year's pick, trade publication editors -- need before they know they even need it.
First, let's dispense with some elephants in the room of this year's Media Agency Holding Company of the Year pick, Dentsu Aegis Network. While some might see it as a surprise because of some issues involving Japanese parent Dentsu -- including the disclosure of billings improprieties and the resignation of CEO Tadashi Ishii following an employee's suicide, ostensibly related to the agency's working conditions -- our rationale was based on how the network reorganized its media operations in the U.S., especially some key acquisitions that transform it around the most important factor in media today: It's the data, stupid. Two ...
In 2014, MediaPost named The Media Kitchen our "Search (Programmatic) Agency of the Year," our first ever recognition for that category, largely because it did away with a siloed way of thinking about media. By fusing its search and programmatic practices under one integrated view of a "biddable media" marketplace, TMK hit all our core criteria -- vision, innovation and leadership -- simply by seeing and implementing a better way. In a similar way, we are recognizing TMK as our "Mobile Agency of the Year" for 2016, not because of what it did to treat mobile as a standalone media ...
At a time when big brands and agencies have been struggling to adapt to the declining efficacy of television advertising, BBDO reinvented itself as a "video" agency and shifted its focus from broadcast and cable to the world's biggest social media platform -- Facebook. The strategy was built on a key insight that while Facebook's overall reach continues to expand, the relative effectiveness of "organic" reach for big brands as been diminishing proportionately.
While the use of ad blockers has been reaching a critical mass for years, no supplier has become more associated with the phenomenon on Madison Avenue than Adblock Plus. That's partly because it's penetrated the most deeply into the marketplace to become the best known ad-blocking application - but also because it has been leveraging that position to create a new gatekeeping paradigm in the ad marketplace.
Martin Cass may joke about being mistaken for that other Martin -- Sorrell -- but he's actually CEO of Assembly and MDC Media Partners, the media agency umbrella group responsible for expanding MDC's media business from 4% to 14% of its total revenue in a little more than two years. This growth marks an appropriate milestone and a perfect time to name Cass MediaPost's Media Agency Executive of the Year.
What sets Hearts & Science apart is its ability to pair human insights and creativity with data -- not just machine-to-machine, data-driven audience acquisition. At its core, the agency focuses on connections between data and emotion. It combines data-driven media planning and buying practices with what CEO Scott Hagedorn calls "orchestrated" content creation, delivery and optimization.
It was a great accomplishment for Acronym to get a patent for a mapping system in secure search -- a feat that the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office called "impossible." But it takes more than technology to earn the distinction of MediaPost Agency of the Year for search. It takes the courage and the ability to offer brands an innovative business model.
John Moore, global president, MullenLowe Mediahub, said in a recent interview that "my favorite media is inventing it. Media is everywhere and only limited by your imagination." In 2016, MullenLowe Mediahub, which is MediaPost's Creative Agency of the Year, did an extraordinary job of inventing media, highlighted by a campaign it developed for the Netflix program "Black Mirror."
There had been augmented-reality games before. Even Niantic, the Google-spun-off company behind Pokemon Go, had created their own game, Ingress, in 2012, that also melded the real world with an enhanced one. But it was Pokemon Go that caught on. Two months after its release, the game had been installed 500 million times.


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Taco Bell will soon begin testing a $100,000 annual salary for general managers in select locations in an attempt to attract and retain talent, the company said Thursday in a statement about its 2020 plans.
“As we grow the Taco Bell business, we’re really focused on managers,” Ferril Onyett, senior director of global training and international human resources at Taco Bell, said Friday. “They have a huge impact on restaurant performance. We hope through this test we can evaluate the effect on not only restaurant performance but team morale, customer experience and recruitment and retention.”
Taco Bell, which is owned by Yum Brands Inc., also announced that it would give employees at least 24 hours paid sick time per year and that it would make consumer packaging recyclable by 2025.
Salaries for general managers at company-owned stores range from $50,000 to $80,000, depending on time in the role, location and experience, Onyett said, adding that the corporation cannot mandate salaries for restaurants owned by franchisees.
It’s still unclear how long the test will run or which of the company’s more than 6,600 locations will be selected, but Onyett said the test will take place “later this year” and that the company is still in “planning phases.”
Taco Bell’s planned test demonstrates the company is prepared to put more money into its staff and into company-owned stores in an effort to boost performance, Neil Saunders, managing director of retail at GlobalData, said Friday. “It obviously feels confident enough to be able to really provide such a sharp increase in salaries of people running those outlets,” he said.
“I think it’s a necessary move because I think the labor market is now extremely tight,” Saunders said. In order to attract good talent, companies have to pay for it and give good benefits, he added.
“It’s certainly the case in the fast-food industry that there can be high turnover, even at management levels, and that has a detrimental impact on how stores are run,” he said. “A good manager in an outlet can make a difference between that store being really successful or being pretty mediocre in terms of performance.”
The test by Taco Bell could also create a ripple effect among fast-food companies.
“I think it does signal the costs of running fast-food outlets could be going up,” Saunders said, adding that if one company starts to make a move in terms of salaries, it could put pressure on everyone else to follow suit.
In-N-Out Burger, which has locations in the western United States, already pays its managers well, Saunders said. “It’s a really successful fast-food outlet because its managers are fully invested in running the stores well and efficiently.”
A request for comment from In-N-Out Burger regarding its salary range for managers was not immediately answered Friday. Neither were requests for manager salaries at McDonald’s, Burger King and KFC.
The fast-food industry has undergone a number of changes in recent years. Restaurants have started offering plant-based options to customers, and employees have pushed to raise the minimum wage. In 2019, a bill was introduced in Congress that would raise the federal hourly rate to $15 from $7.25 over five years. The bill passed in the House in July. In January, the minimum wage went up in 22 states, increasing pay for about 7 million workers, who will take home an extra $8.2 billion over the year.
Taco Bell’s manager salary announcement came the day before the Labor Department released its monthly jobs report.
The U.S. added 145,000 jobs in December, while analysts had expected about 160,000 to be gained. It ended a year of steady but slowing gains in employment. For wages, growth was disappointing at 2.9% over the last year, far below the 3.4% height it reached in February. Wage growth for managers in December also slowed.


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Article posted on March 1st, 2017
Toluna Announces Increased Respondent Community Capacity
Adds Senior Executive to Further Accelerate Respondent Acquisition
Toluna Continues to Disrupt Market Research by Blending Real-Time Research and Insights Technology with World’s Largest Social Voting Community
Wilton, Conn., March 1, 2017 – Toluna, the world’s leading provider of real-time digital consumer insights, today announced the company will increase its global survey respondent capacity by 20 percent during the second half of 2017. The Toluna.com community is already the world’s largest social voting community. Toluna plans to continue significant community growth and expansion efforts through 2017.
Toluna also announced Kyle Kim-Hays has joined the company as Executive Vice President for Global Digital Marketing, responsible for building the company’s panel community. Kim-Hays will oversee Toluna’s digital marketing strategies for acquisition, engagement and retention of the Toluna.com community and supporting the capacity needs to drive digital product growth through Toluna QuickSurveys. Kim-Hays has driven innovative marketing and product strategies as a senior executive at companies ranging from Microsoft and Verizon to Warner Bros. and American Express.
“Toluna’s fast-paced growth trajectory continues and in addition to advancing our real-time research platform, we’re make unprecedented investments in our panel community” said Frédéric-Charles Petit, Toluna CEO and Founder. “Bringing on Kyle to lead all aspects of our community digital marketing strategies will help Toluna continue to reshape market research through an innovative combination of technology and community that helps companies get the real-time answers they require from the right people to make great business decisions.”
The Toluna.com community expansion will provide companies with an even larger pool of community members to brainstorm ideas, uncover new business opportunities and answer questions. This initiative further enhances Toluna’s ability to deliver access to low-incidence, hard-to-reach audiences. It also expands Toluna’s worldwide reach, supporting the company’s recent launch into nine new markets across Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and North Africa.
“Toluna stands out in market research by our unique ability to find and engage with survey respondents in real time – from a single respondent group in one market to a large multinational respondent base,” said Jim Fredrickson, Chief Operating Officer, Toluna. “We’ve developed high-quality, global recruitment capabilities, as well as optimized incentive and engagement strategies, to ensure companies can tap well-profiled, active respondents.”
Toluna is a leading provider of real-time digital consumer insights and empowers companies to brainstorm ideas, uncover new business opportunities and answer their questions in real time. Toluna is transforming the way marketing decisions are made by bringing consumers and brands together via the world’s largest social voting community of more than 10 million members across 62 countries. This real-time access to consumers is coupled with its state-of-the-art, market research survey and analytics platform. Toluna has 21 offices in Europe, North America, APAC and the Middle East. For more information, please visit corporate.toluna.com.
Media Contact: Janice Caston, Vice President, Global Marketing


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judgecorp writes "Each generation of smartphones actually has more dropped calls and worse battery life than the last, because antenna design has fallen behind, says Edinburgh-based Sofant Technologies. The firm has made a tunable, steerable RF antenna using micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) which it says will change all that. It's based on research from Edinburgh University and is designed to get the best out of LTE/4G."
Real Programmers don't write in FORTRAN. FORTRAN is for pipe stress freaks and
crystallography weenies. FORTRAN is for wimp engineers who wear white socks.


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DMN rewinds to bring you the top 10 music industry stories this week.
1. The 13 Most Insidious, Pervasive Lies About Streaming Music.
There’s plenty of misinformation floating around about streaming music these days. We thought we’d clear some of it up. Streaming can be great for exposure, but for most artists, it’s not. Because without serious promotion and marketing, most stuff on platforms like Spotify stay buried. The real reason to be on a streaming platform is not to be invisible…Read more.
2. YouTube Finally Responds To Artists Demanding Fair Pay.
Is YouTube finally paying attention to demands for fair pay? YouTube has been under fire for some time over low royalty payments and not fairly paying artists, amongst other things. As that complaint chorus intensifies, YouTube has found it necessary to respond to the public complaints over fair pay. YouTube’s response…Read more.
3. Apple Says YouTube Is “Built On the Backs of Free, Stolen Content.”
YouTube faces its strongest accusations to date, from one of the biggest companies in the world. Apple has now joined a chorus of voices decrying YouTube, accusing the company of profiting enormously while ruthlessly exploiting artists. The tough accusations came during a roundtable interview with several top Apple executives at WWDC in San Francisco…Read more.
4. Turns Out Spotify Free Is Bigger Than Almost Every American Radio Station.
Spotify is facing relentless pressure to shut down its free access tier, based on industry concerns over low royalty payments. But Spotify is now distributing data showing that its free tier actually rivals the reach of most traditional radio stations. In major markets like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, Spotify Free is a top five station in terms of overall listeners and reach….Read more.
5. What the Orlando Massacre Means to an Openly Gay Musician.
As Americans try to make sense of the deadliest shooting in US history, musicians are also piecing together what the Orlando massacre means for them. The attacks in Paris started in La Bataclan, with Islamic extremists targeting the Western values and freedoms embodied by the musical scene around Eagles of Death Metal. But now, gay musicians have extra cause for concern…Read more.
6. Should You License Spotify? Try This Simple Decision Guide.
Should you license your music to Spotify, or any streaming channel for that matter? That’s an incredibly difficult question for any music artist, especially since formats like CDs, vinyl LPs, downloads, and even cassettes generate far greater revenue. And after talking to a lot of artists and labels, we found…Read more.
7. Jimmy Page Stumbles On the Stand In ‘Stairway To Heaven’ Case.
Yesterday was Jimmy Page’s turn to take the stand in the ‘Stairway To Heaven’ case. Page’s main claim since the beginning has been that he had never heard ‘Taurus’ — well not until recently anyway. According to Page he only heard the Spirit song when his son-in-law found it on the internet and apparently brought the song to his attention…Read more.
8. How to Master and Release a Digital Album With Just a Few Hundred Dollars.
The following guide comes from Zach Hangauer, owner of Range Life Records, home to artists like White Flight, Fourth Of July, Suzannah Johannes and Say My Name. You can get your digital album professionally Mastered and make it available on all the popular stores and streaming services. A ballpark budget starts at around $40 per song for Mastering, plus $50 to Digitally Distribute your album…Read more.
9. A Closer Look At Spotify’s Latest Moves.
DMN zooms in on what Spotify has been up to lately, and what this means for artists and fans. Spotify announced on March 21st that it had hit 30 million subscribers. DMN predicts that Spotify now has approximately 32 million paying users, based on a simple growth calculation of one million users per month…Read more.
10. Breaking: Apple Music Hits 15 Million Subscribers.
Today (June 13th) Apple announced that it has now surpassed 15 million subscribers. That’s half of Spotify.The news was revealed by Apple executive Eddy Cue, who announced the new number during a keynote at WWDC. What’s surprising about this milestone is just how quickly the service has managed to rack up millions of users…Read more.
(Image by Chris Marquardt, Creative Commons, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic, cc by-sa 2.0)


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My secret account is now not so private after Facebook updated its search engine without warning, and there’s nothing I can do about it Quietly, over the last year, Facebook has killed the concept of a private account.
Good news, everyone! Remember how we never used to have the technology to be able to just automatically disable the photographic capabilities of the cell phones held by everyone in a giant crowd? No longer: Stereogum reports five years of hard paperwork for Apple has finally paid off, and the compan
Spotify has accused Apple of “causing grave harm to Spotify and its customers” by rejecting an update to Spotify’s iOS app, Spotify’s legal chief wrote in a letter to his counterpart at Apple, Recode reports.
A Tesla Model S with the Autopilot system activated was involved in a fatal crash, the first known fatality in a Tesla where Autopilot was active.


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CNET News senior writer Dawn Kawamoto contributed to this report.
Time Warner has taken a step closer to splitting up AOL's business, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Time Warner is expected to announce Wednesday that it has completed the internal process of separating AOL's dial-up Internet access business from its advertising business, the newspaper said.
Time Warner has beeninto two different entities for a while now. And it's been a main focus of Time Warner Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes, who took over as CEO seven months ago. AOL has long been viewed as a problem for Time Warner, as its dial-up business declines and its advertising business struggles to compete.
Time Warner has been examining several options with respect to splitting up the company, including selling off both pieces of the business or partnering with other companies.
But separating the business hasn't been as easy as it sounds as the company tries to figure out how to divide revenue, staff, and liabilities. Earlier, Bewkes had said he expected to have the process completed by the end of the second quarter. Time Warner will announce second-quarter results on Wednesday.
Once the separation of AOL's advertising-content and dial-up businesses is concluded, it may aid potential suitors like Yahoo and Microsoft in sizing up an offer price.
AOL has continued to talk with Yahoo as the on-again-off-again Yahoo-Microsoft buyout talks plodded along, and later.
In the past few weeks, the hubbub of an AOL-Yahoo, or AOL-Microsoft deal has quieted down, following a, who was .
And in the latest AOL-Yahoo turn of events, Time Warner, citing his no-compete clause.
EarthLink CEO Rolla Huff said last week when the company announced its second-quarter earnings that it is. He didn't give specifics, but he said that AOL's 8.7 million subscribers would provide a big revenue boost to the company. EarthLink currently has only 2.2 million dial-up subscribers.
Even though dial-up is a dying business, it still generates cash and a predictable revenue stream, which makes AOL's dial-up business particularly attractive to EarthLink and potentially other dial-up providers.


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“Other Lightning port products (e.g., AirPods, Magic Keyboard/Trackpad/Mouse, MagSafe Battery) would also switch to USB-C in the foreseeable future,” Kuo says
Apple is seemingly planning to kill off the Lightning port in its entirety sometime within the next 2 years, following a long and painful run after being first introduced in 2012
Sam’s take: This is, like the iPhone switching to USB-C, also too good to be true? Just seeing a rumor about this makes me laugh at how ridiculous Lightning is is…that keyboards and mouses, products designed to be used with Macs, Macs that only feature USB ports, ever featured a Lightning connector. It’s just nonsensical and silly. It looks like 2023 could be the end of that tomfoolery.
The proposal states that all smartphones, tablets, and headphones that are sold in the UK must use a USB-C connector
EU politicians have petitioned for a standard connector, citing that more than 11,000 tonnes of unused charging cables are thrown out per year
USB-C is already on a number of Apple devices such as Mac, iPad Pro and iPad Air…plus the benefits include faster charging and transfer speed
Ian’s take: While this is exciting news, I’m not that confident in its validity. We have heard from many sources that Apple’s long-term goal is a portless iPhone, and if they do make the switch to USB-C, it would only be for a few years (something uncharacteristic for Apple). I also believe that the Made For iPhone program (MFI) has a massive role in Apple’s persistence to keep Lightning. MFI is a licensing program that guarantees the compatibility of accessories with iPhones and gives accessory makers tools to make these accessories. When one of these millions of 3rd-party products is sold, Apple gets a cut. With USB-C, they could not have this program because USB-C is a universal connector, unlike Lightning. It would be fantastic if Apple switched to USB-C, and while I can’t see it happening, I would love to eat my words.
Considering how small this looks, I would almost guarantee that it’s powered by gallium-nitride (GaN) charging technology that runs cooler and packs more power into a smaller form-factor
Sam’s take: This is the most Apple charger I have ever seen, and I would bet almost anything that these are real. The folding design is sure to be a hit for a lot of folks (even though I’ve never been the biggest fan) and the 2 USB-C ports sitting side-by-side is pretty unique. Something tells me this could be for the new MacBook Air?
You just missed your chance to own “the world’s first USB-C iPhone,” which is actually a modded iPhone X with a custom USB-C port instead of Lightning on the bottom…it could have been yours for just $86,001 USD
The project, which was done by Kenny Pi, has garnered widespread attention due to the fact that the iPhone remains the last major smartphone in the market without a standard USB port
Our take: Listen, I want a USB-C iPhone more than anyone else in the world. But paying $86k for a four year old phone that can be updated or restored or used in any serious capacity? That’s a whole different level.
The news: A possible 5.5-inch iPhone prototype for release in 2021 has surfaced, according to Macotakara (67.4% accurate).
The notch has been removed, presumably due to in-display Touch ID replacing it
Also present on this prototype is USB-C (something most sources have said will never materialize)
Our take: Like the last iPhone 13 leaks, these should be taken as entertainment over anything else. The final design for this year’s iPhone lineup reportedly isn’t even complete. Yet, we’ve been hearing more and more about the removal of the notch on at least one 2021 model…so this is a good sign.


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iPhone MMORPG Fantasia Coming to the U.S.
Lemon, a Korean MMORPG developer, announced that their Smart Phone MMORPG Fantasia will be coming to Western markets with a closed beta scheduled sometime in late 2010 and a launch in early 2011. The game itself, Fantasia, cost $4.5 million and took four years to develop. Even though the game will be playable on SmartPhones, it features PvP, Guilds, Equipment, Maps, Items and pretty much everything else you’d expect to see in an actual client based MMORPG.
Fantasia Screenshot – Low Quality. I know. It’s all they Released.
The game will be playable on Apple’s Iphone at launch and will hopefully support other platforms in the future. Even though the game’s graphics aren’t that great, it’s interesting to see how well the game does as it’s one of the first few iPhone MMORPGs out there. There has been no word on whether the game will be free to play or pay to play.
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U.S. containerboard production in September increased 2 Percent; boxboard production down 4.2%
(Washington DC, USA, Oct. 20, 2016) The American Forest & Paper Association released its September 2016 U.S. Containerboard Statistics Report which said containerboard production was 2 percent higher compared to September 2015. The month-over-month average daily production compared to August 2016 was 1.4 percent lower.
The containerboard operating rate for September increased to 97.4 percent, while the year-to-date operating rate of 95 percent was 1 percentage point lower compared to year-to-date 2015.
As per the American Forest & Paper Association’s September 2016 U.S. Paperboard Report, total boxboard production decreased 4.2 percent when compared to September 2015 and decreased 6.6 percent from last month.
Unbleached Kraft Boxboard production decreased over the same month as last year and decreased compared to last month.
Total Solid Bleached Boxboard & Liner production decreased when compared to September 2015 and decreased compared to last month.
The production of Recycled Boxboard decreased compared to September 2015 and decreased when compared to last month. (Source: AF&PA)