text:
Downtown business owners are asking the town to do something about people abusing parking spaces on the Milford Oval.
Led by Kevin Stevens, owner and chef of the Union Street Grill, a group of downtown business owners told selectmen Monday night that something needs to be done. Stevens estimated that losses from cars staying longer than two hours in each parking spot costs business owners $15,000 each year per parking spot, a total that includes thousands in tips lost for each tip-earning employee at the restaurants on the Oval.
A two-hour parking ordinance was removed in 2002 when budget concerns led to the elimination of the town’s part-time parking enforcement officer, making enforcement all but impossible.
Selectmen said they have received e-mails against reinstituting time limits, but the audience Monday was unanimously for having some type of restrictions. Some business owners, however, said they require customers for time periods longer than the proposed two-hour limit.
Selectmen will discuss the issue again Monday, June 22.


text:
There’s a lot to love about muscle cars, high horsepower, great looks, high horsepower. However, a recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has recently concluded that the Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger, and Ford Mustang have high fatality rates in the event of an accident. And it’s not so much to do with their crash safety ratings as it does the speed at which collisions are happening.
At this juncture, we at MC&T need to state that we do not condone street racing, street takeovers, lane swimming, or other dangerous driving behaviors that lead to collisions, pedestrian casualties, or worse. The reputation of the muscle car has always been a a controversial one, and any behavior that further paints them in an unfavorable light needs to be disavowed. In short: have fun out there, but carefully and with better judgement.
Muscle Cars High Up In Crash Fatalities,
According to Newsweek, IIHS examined 2020 model year data, comparing death rates against each other, and concluded that sports car drivers are at the highest risk. Meanwhile, drivers of minivans and SUVs have the lowest death rate due to a traffic collision. This type of study is conducted every three years. However, this is the first time IIHS has calculated the best and worst models using data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and IHS Markit. For a vehicle to be included in the study, it must have had at least 100,000 registered vehicle years of exposure from 2018 to 2021, or at least 20 deaths.
Unsurprisingly, smaller vehicles have a higher death toll than larger ones. Still, the reason muscle cars have a high fatality rate is apparently due to how the vehicles are being driven. For example, Dodge muscle cars have among the highest driver death rates; they are also among the worst performers regarding other-driver deaths due to an accident. IIHS states that this indicates that these vehicles are being driven in an “aggressive manner.”
Based on the conclusion made by IIHS, the inexpensive Mitsubishi Mirage subcompact car has the highest driver death rate of all models at around 200 per 100,000 registrations, depending on trim level. That is followed by the Dodge Challenger with 154 per 100,000 registrations, the Hyundai Accent (152), Chevrolet Spark (151), and Kia Rio (122). The two-wheel drive Charger with a Hemi engine(115), Nissan Altima (113), Chevrolet Camaro convertible (113), Kia Forte (111), and Chevrolet Camaro coupe (110) make up the top ten spots for the listing. Finally, Dodge’s two-wheel drive Charger and the Ford Mustang sit in the 14th and 15th positions on the list behind the Chrysler 300, Chevrolet Sonic, and Hyundai Elantra.
Each muscle car comes with an assortment of safety features from the 2020 model year up, but that can only do so much when driving the vehicle at high speeds on public roads. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) crash-tested all American muscle cars in the report, with the Ford Mustang earning a five-star crash test rating. At the same time, the Chevy Camaro and Dodge Charger received five-star marks in all tests minus the frontal collision category, where they got four out of five. Finally, the Dodge Challenger did the worst with four-star marks in frontal and rollover crash tests but fives in all other categories.
These crash tests took place in 2020, and since then, the standards for tests have adjusted, making it even more difficult for cars to pass. Though, that should incentivize manufacturers to adapt their vehicles, resulting in (hopefully) fewer deaths in the future.
Coincidence or not, the Dodge Charger, Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger, and Chevrolet Camaro as we know them are all going away soon. Maybe automakers will bring them back when everybody’s calmed down a bit.

domain: news


text:
Jet2.com has added more flights to Grenoble from Manchester Airport this winter, giving skiers and snowboarders even more choice and flexibility when it comes to sloping off to the popular ski destination – and what’s more the leading leisure airline has also launched a fantastic half price ski carriage offer.
Jet2.com has responded to increased demand for the slopes of Chamrousse, Alpe d’Huez and Les Deux Alpes by putting on an additional Saturday service from 21st December through to 18th April. This means the company will offer four weekly services to Grenoble from Manchester Airport this winter, with two services on Saturdays and Sundays.
The announcement means that there are now over 135,000 ski seats on sale for Winter 19/20 to eight top ski destinations from Manchester Airport.
These include Innsbruck, Geneva, Salzburg, Turin, Lyon, Verona and Barcelona (Andorra), giving skiers and snowboarders direct access to the French, Austrian, Swiss and Italian Alps as well as the Pyrenees, with over 20 weekly departures to the slopes.
Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said: “We are delighted to announce the addition of more weekly flights to Grenoble from Manchester Airport, offering even more choice and flexibility to skiers and snowboarders looking to hit the slopes this winter. As well as being able to reach well-known ski resorts such as Chamrousse, Alpe d’Huez and Les Deux Alpes for a weekend or short break, skiers and snowboarders can now take advantage of our fantastic half price ski carriage offer, meaning they can enjoy 22kg of ski allowance for just £30 return.”
*Some dates are excluded, and full terms and conditions can be found here: https://www.jet2.com/promotions


text:
Whatever Happened to GE's Electric Cars?
On Nov. 11, 2010, General Electric (NYS: GE) made an announcement that shocked the automotive world: Over the next five years, the industrial powerhouse would convert half of its global corporate car fleet to electric power. At $1 billion in estimated value, GE noted that its commitment to purchase 25,000 electric cars -- that's what it worked out to -- was "the largest single EV commitment ever."
It was not, however, an entirely altruistic decision. As GE explained, the whole idea behind making this commitment was to help jump-start the electric vehicle industry. Corporate partner FedEx (NYS: FDX) quickly endorsed the idea, pointing out that corporate fleets in America comprise some 16.3 million vehicles. Converting these fleets to electric, en masse, would be one of the quickest way to "drive initial ramp-up scale in the battery industry and OEM supply chains," and help get the e-car industry off the ground.
And once that happens, predicted GE: "From renewable power generation to smart grid transformers to EV chargers -- GE estimates that a wide-scale EV transformation will lead to up to $500 million in near-term business for GE." So not only would GE help "green up" the environment. Not only would it save money by switching from gasoline power to electric. The company would also quickly get back half its investment in the form of other e-car users buying infrastructure products from GE. In the process, GE would grab pole position in the race to build an infrastructure for a new wave of electric vehicles -- Ford's (NYS: F) electric Focus and C-Max, Tesla's (NAS: TSLA) Model S, Toyota's electric RAV4 (also made by Tesla), and on and on.
|<< PREVIOUS||NEXT >>|
blog comments powered by Disqus


text:
December 2022 direct property market update
Investing | 7 minute read
A combination of factors is driving increased interest in logistics real estate assets, including the continued growth of e-commerce and ongoing improvements to last-mile logistics, technology and the push towards automation.
Logistics is the part of supply chain management that plans, implements and controls the efficient forward and reverse flow and storage of goods and information between the point of origin and the point of consumption.
In conjunction with the cyclical drivers that have positioned the current logistics landscape, there are also structural drivers shaping the sector, such as more demanding consumers, the evolution of e-commerce in retail, urbanisation, robotics and global investment in logistics real estate assets.
Recent years have seen a surge in popularity for logistics assets. This is perhaps unsurprising, given that 2017 saw an estimated US$2.23 trillion in worldwide e-commerce sales, up from US$1.3 trillion just three years previously.
Consumer spending is increasing at its fastest rate since the GFC, providing a tailwind for overall growth, with the proportion of this expenditure accounted for by e-commerce increasing even faster. For the first time, last year e-commerce comprised more than 10% of global retail sales, with this figure set to grow to 17.5% by 2021 while total sales are forecast to exceed US$4.8 trillion.
The uptake of e-commerce varies by country. The UK is leading the way, as e-commerce accounts for 12% of retail sales. The US sits at 10%, but Australia lags with only about 7-8% of retail sales coming from e-commerce, perhaps showing the immediate opportunity ahead, and also the challenges faced by traditional retailers such as Myer and David Jones.
Millennials will comprise 75% of the workforce by 2030. As such, their lifestyle patterns and demand for instant fulfilment will increasingly impact commercial real estate investment into the logistics sector. Broadly, customer expectations are increasing, with the focus now placed on goods arriving faster, more flexibly, and often with little to no delivery costs.
The shift towards urban logistics is therefore underpinned by greater supply chain management, facilitated by constantly evolving technology. While the need for buffer stock is less, e-commerce operators require an estimated three times more space than traditional warehouses, due to the greater diversity of products and the need to have them readily available.
Big data is also having an impact. Companies are analysing the vast, unstructured data sets produced by internet-connected devices to gain a greater understanding of who buys what, from where, and then how best to optimise route planning and minimise the cost of delivery.
These insights are ultimately useful for customer retention, as on-time delivery motivates 72% of consumers to make repeat purchases. Similarly, a significant proportion of online shoppers will abandon their purchases if shipping costs appear excessive. All of these considerations have implications for both the location and size of logistics assets.
Technological innovation continues to exert significant, overwhelmingly positive effects on the sector. Broad trends include widespread automated and intelligent manufacturing processes, storage and retrieval systems, and delivery.
The prospects of full automation are appealing. Where land can be expensive, autonomous warehouses that can utilise vertical space efficiently may be the future. However, as it stands, partial automation rules the sector, as occupiers consider operational flexibility and return on investment.
While the trend to acquire urban logistics real estate is in full swing, there is still a place for traditional logistics assets. Infrastructure investment has always been one of the primary contributors to growth and major road and transport investment continues to open up less accessible land and locations. This is evident through China’s Belt and Road Initiative (see breakout below).
Global real estate investment activity rose to US$953 billion in 2017, up slightly from US$941 billion in 2016, with economic conditions set to remain favourable through 2018. Logistics assets are the most popular amongst investors in 2018, with 36% of respondents across EMEA, the Americas and APAC scoring it as their most attractive sector in CBRE’s Investor Intentions Survey. This is up 4% on 2017.
Technological, demographic and economic changes are nothing new. However, the logistics sector has never before experienced the structural shifts spurred on by the continued rise of e-commerce and automation, as well as the need for last-mile logistics. This has meant a blurring of the lines between logistics and retail, a transformation in worldwide supply chains, and has resulted in increasing levels of capital investment.
As of early 2017, the world’s largest online retailer, Amazon, employed 45,000 robots in 20 of its US distribution centres. Additionally, British online-only supermarket, Ocado, has recently opened a largely automated distribution facility that allows it to process 3.5 million items or roughly 65,000 orders each week.
Chinese e-commerce, retail and technology conglomerate, Alibaba, has committed to investing US$15 billion over the next five years to increase research and development in logistics data technology, as well as for the development of smart warehousing, smart delivery and global logistics infrastructure. Alibaba considers this core to building the global logistics network of the future.
Automation along the supply chain also extends outside of the warehouse. Route optimisation to better serve the last-mile logistics process have been in effect as far back as 2013, with UPS developing a predictive system called ORION to shorten routes for drivers, saving the company millions of dollars in fuel costs.
Driverless delivery vehicles may be the next wave of innovation. In late-2017, Tesla unveiled an autonomous truck, which can drive 800 kilometres on a single charge of its lithium-ion battery pack. On a smaller scale, earlier this year tech startup, Nuro, received US$92 million of funding to develop fully autonomous self-driving vehicles designed to bring items from local businesses directly to a customer’s home.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was launched by China in 2013 as a means of providing a platform for multilateral cooperation to create new trade routes, economic links and business networks.
The development of the built environment across the BRI, whether infrastructure-related, logistics, townships or new urban settlements over the coming decades will be considerable. As it stands, US$1 trillion worth of projects have already been initiated, with another US$5 trillion worth of projects expected to begin over the next five years.
The BRI will involve 65 countries with a total population of 4.4 billion and 30% share of the global economy. In comparative terms, the project is more than seven times the scale of the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after WWII.
The benefits of the BRI include filling infrastructure gaps in developing countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan, who see it as a pathway from poverty. It is likely to accelerate economic growth in the countries involved, as well as China, as it increases trade and facilitates the transit of goods and international cooperation.
Michael Nijdam, Port of Rotterdam’s (the world’s busiest port) Corporate Strategist, said in an interview with IPE that freight trains already carry laptops and other higher-value products from China to Germany, travelling through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and Poland in the process.
The trains currently haul about 80,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers a year, with this expected to rise to 300,000 TEUs a year.
Transporting goods between China and Germany via train takes approximately 16 days, which is less than half of the 36 days required for maritime freight.
Nijdam says there will be increased cargo movement from China to production centres in Eastern Europe, to Western Europe, then to the UK, and beyond to the US. “We are already working on improving rail links from the Port of Rotterdam, back to Southern Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland,” said Mr Nidjam.


text:
One of the leading inhibitors of IoT adoption is, of course, cybersecurity. Most enterprises list this as their primary concern when considering IoT deployments, and they’re not wrong. The cybersecurity threat landscape continues to evolve at a rapid pace and IoT devices are a popular hacking target. Fish tank temperature gauges, printers, and other seemingly innocuous IoT devices have already seen their vulnerabilities exploited with unpleasant results. Security is a priority.
Added to this is the reality that IoT is an emerging technology – the organisation is still trying to establish how to get business value out of any potential IoT deployment. This is further impacted by weak value propositions from service providers as they are currently not speaking to a specific business or sector needs, vaguely pointing their IoT solutions in the direction of efficiencies and improved decision making. Service providers have yet to demonstrate that IoT will deliver value within their client’s specific environment. Organisations want and need tangible results that align to their business priorities.
Another issue that has impacted IoT, until recently, has been the high cost of connectivity. Particularly relevant within the South African space, connectivity has inhibited uptake and innovation. However, recent investments and deployments of low power wide area networks (LPWANs) have meant that IoT is poised to flourish. These LPWANs are optimised for low-cost IoT applications and are eroding the barriers that have slowed IoT adoption. Vodacom has shown strong leadership in this space, reporting 55,000 new IoT connections per month on its narrowband IoT network (NB-IoT) that are anchored on its LPWAN technologies.
Huawei and Microsoft are also heading the IoT charge in South Africa with their focused investment and solution development. Huawei has established an innovation and experience centre that’s designed to encourage technology development and capacity building in the ICT sector, and Microsoft Azure has been actively involved in the creation of IoT platforms that are open to local developers. The latter is focused on encouraging the development of new IoT applications and solutions within the local market and the company provides consulting and sales support to service providers around go-to-market strategies.
Most of the larger players in the IoT market are focusing on establishing IoT platforms that deliver end-to-end IoT solutions. These span device management, application development, integration and support, data management and analytics, security, go-to-market support, consulting and more. Dell EMC, AMD, and VMware have also created an open-access platform that allows for plug & play connectivity and the development of secure and scalable IoT solutions. There is a marked trend towards enabling development and innovation by providing service providers and vendors with the tools and access they need to enhance and drive the potential of IoT. The big guns are using these platforms and their deep enterprise IT experience to explore ways in which to differentiate themselves in the market. It’s worth noting, that this is the right time and opportunity for these vendors to use their unique vertical understanding and expertise to overcome one of the primary key inhibitors impacting on IoT uptake as a whole – sector relevance.
Ultimately, the IoT sector is starting to gain momentum as vendors, developers and service providers actively focus on the challenges that affect its adoption. IoT success depends on its ability to deliver business value and industry relevance while assuring organisations that it is secure enough to meet compliance mandates and internal protocols. IoT will ultimately flourish, but it still needs work.
Millennials turning 40: NOW will you stop targeting them?
It’s one of the most overused terms in youth marketing, and probably the most inaccurate, writes ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK
One of the most irritating buzzwords embraced by marketers in recent years is the term “millennial”. Most are clueless about its true meaning, and use it as a supposedly cool synonym for “young adults”. The flaw in this targeting – and the word “flaw” here is like calling the Grand Canyon a trench – is that it utterly ignores the meaning of the term. “Millennials” are formally defined as anyone born from 1980 to 2000, meaning they have typically come of age after the dawn of the millennium, or during the 21st century.
Think about that for a moment. Next year, the millennial will be formally defined as anyone aged from 20 to 40. So here you have an entire advertising, marketing and public relations industry hanging onto a cool definition, while in effect arguing that 40-year-olds are youths who want the same thing as newly-minted university graduates or job entrants.
When the communications industry discovers just how embarrassing its glib use of the term really is, it will no doubt pivot – millennial-speak for “changing your business model when it proves to be a disaster, but you still appear to be cool” – to the next big thing in generational theory.
That next big thing is currently Generation Z, or people born after the turn of the century. It’s very convenient to lump them all together and claim they have a different set of values and expectations to those who went before. Allegedly, they are engaged in a quest for experience, compared to millennials – the 19-year-olds and 39-olds alike – supposedly all on a quest for relevance.
In reality, all are part of Generation #, latching onto the latest hashtag trend that sweeps social media, desperate to go viral if they are producers of social content, desperate to have caught onto the trend before their peers.
The irony is that marketers’ quest for cutting edge target markets is, in reality, a hangover from the days when there was no such thing as generational theory, and marketing was all about clearly defined target markets. In the era of big data and mass personalization, that idea seems rather quaint.
Indeed, according to Grant Lapping, managing director of DataCore Media, it no longer matters who brands think their target market is.
“The reason for this is simple: with the technology and data digital marketers have access to today, we no longer need to limit our potential target audience to a set of personas or segments derived through customer research. While this type of customer segmentation was – and remains – important for engagements across traditional above-the-line engagements in mass media, digital marketing gives us the tools we need to target customers on a far more granular and personalised level.
“Where customer research gives us an indication of who the audience is, data can tell us exactly what they want and how they may behave.”
Netflix, he points out, is an example of a company that is changing its industry by avoiding audience segmentation, once the holy grail of entertainment.
In other words, it understands that 20-year-olds and 40-year-olds are very different – but so is everyone in between.
* Arthur Goldstuck is founder of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram on @art2gee
Robots coming to IFA
Robotics is no longer about mechanical humanoids, but rather becoming an interface between man and machine. That is a key message being delivered at next month’s IFA consumer electronics expo in Berlin. An entire hall will be devoted to IFA Next, which will not only offer a look into the future, but also show what form it will take.
The concepts are as varied as the exhibitors themselves. However, there are similarities in the various products, some more human than others, in the fascinating ways in which they establish a link between fun, learning and programming. In many cases, they are aimed at children and young people.
The following will be among the exhibitors making Hall 26 a must-visit:
Leju Robotics (Stand 115) from China is featuring what we all imagine a robot to be. The bipedal Aelos 1s can walk, dance and play football. And in carrying out all these actions it responds to spoken commands. But it also challenges young researchers to apply their creativity in programming it and teaching it new actions. And conversely, it also imparts scholastic knowledge.
Cubroid (Stand 231, KIRIA) from Korea starts off by promoting an independent approach to the way it deals with tasks. Multi-functional cubes, glowing as they play music, or equipped with a tiny rotating motor, join together like Lego pieces. Configuration and programming are thus combined, providing a basic idea of what constitutes artificial intelligence.
Spain is represented by Ebotics (Stand 218). This company is presenting an entire portfolio of building components, including the “Mint” educational program. The modular system explains about modern construction, programming and the entire field of robotics.
Elematec Corporation (Stand 208) from Japan is presenting the two-armed SCARA, which is not intended to deal with any tasks, but in particular to assist people with their work.
Everybot (Stand 231, KIRIA) from Japan approaches the concept of robotics by introducing an autonomous floor-cleaning machine, similar to a robot vacuum cleaner.
And Segway (Stand 222) is using a number of products to explain the modern approach to battery-powered locomotion.
IFA will take place at the Berlin Exhibition Grounds (ExpoCenter City) from 6 to 11 September 2019. For more information, visit www.ifa-berlin.com


text:
Company Plans to Hire Up to 9,000 Seasonal Associates
PITTSBURGH, Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- DICK'S Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) announced today that it will hire up to 9,000 seasonal associates for the 2022 holiday season. DICK'S fifth-annual "National Signing Day" on September 28 kicks off holiday recruiting efforts for positions at DICK'S Sporting Goods, Public Lands, Field & Stream and Going, Going, Gone! stores across the country.
Experience the full interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8858257-dicks-sporting-goods-national-signing-day/
DICK'S Sporting Goods' seasonal associates will have the opportunity to join a company that has consistently received accolades for its workplace culture, including one of FORTUNE'S Best Places to Work in Retail in 2021 and 2022, a Great Place to Work in 2021 and 2022, and one of PEOPLE'S Companies That Care.
All of the company's store locations and distribution centers will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2022, allowing associates to spend the holiday with their families. Customers can shop online on Thanksgiving Day with stores re-opening on Black Friday.
DICK'S is seeking applicants who are passionate about customer service and working with the leading sports and outdoor brands. Associates will benefit from competitive pay, optional DailyPay and an associate discount of up to 25% off.
Interested applicants should first apply online at dicks.com/jobs and then visit their local store or distribution center on National Signing Day to be interviewed and meet the team. Holiday hiring will continue beyond National Signing Day until all positions are filled.
About DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc.
DICK'S Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) creates confidence and excitement by personally equipping all athletes to achieve their dreams. Founded in 1948 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, the leading omnichannel retailer serves athletes and outdoor enthusiasts in more than 850 DICK'S Sporting Goods, Golf Galaxy, Field & Stream, Public Lands, Going Going Gone! and Warehouse Sale stores, online, and through the DICK'S mobile app. DICK'S also owns and operates DICK'S House of Sport and Golf Galaxy Performance Center, as well as GameChanger, a youth sports mobile app for scheduling, communications, live scorekeeping and video streaming.
Driven by its belief that sports make people better, DICK'S has been a longtime champion for youth sports and, together with its Foundation, has donated millions of dollars to support under-resourced teams and athletes through the Sports Matter program and other community-based initiatives. Additional information about DICK'S business, corporate giving, sustainability efforts and employment opportunities can be found on dicks.com, investors.dicks.com, sportsmatter.org, dickssportinggoods.jobs and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
CONTACT: DICK'S Sporting Goods, 724-273-5552, [email protected]
SOURCE DICK'S Sporting Goods


text:
Thailand will allow people from India and Taiwan to visit the country visa-free from next month until May 2024. They are doing this to attract more tourists during the peak season. Before this, they did the same with tourists from China, which they used to visit long before the pandemic.
According to official data, Thailand received around 22 million visitors in the first ten months of this year, and they earned around 25.67 billion dollars from these visitors.
The Thai government relies on foreign tourists to boost its economy. For Chinese tourists, the Thai government allowed visa-free entry from the end of September to the end of February 2024. Before this, Chinese visitors could obtain a visa on arrival, but had to present travel insurance, reservations hotel, and proof of enough money for a stay of up to 15 days.
Thailand relies heavily on its tourism sector, which accounts for almost 20% of the country’s GDP. However, the COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges. Chinese tourist arrivals decreased significantly last year, with around 11 million Chinese tourists in 2019 before the pandemic.
The government expected to receive 5 million Chinese tourists this year, but the actual figure was much lower: only about 1.4 million Chinese tourists visited the country in the first half of the year. Overall, foreign tourist arrivals to Thailand have also decreased, with 9.47 million visitors from January to mid-May, down from 11.15 million for the full year 2022.


text:
Google has been updating Google Maps for a while now, a new feature announced by Google Maps will let users message directly businesses listed on Google Maps.
Google has rolled out Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) sharing with users on Google Maps last month, a month earlier Google introduced group planning feature on Google maps for Android users, in August Google introduced 3D earth view of Google Maps, and in the same month it rolled out location sharing with battery life, which lets users know how much time you have left to communicate to your passenger.
Now Google Maps introduced business messaging a direct mode of communication with businesses which becomes handy when you are heading towards a specific business and wish to ask some questions before you reach there or place an order beforehand.
The message button on Google Maps will be available soon on Android and iOS it will also provide you an inbox to view your conversation threads with businesses, shops, restaurants that have profiles on Google. Google will show a message button on the profiles of businesses where users can directly ask questions.
The businesses can receive messages within the revamped Google My Business app.
Digital marketing enthusiast and industry professional in Digital technologies, Technology News, Mobile phones, software, gadgets with vast experience in the tech industry, I have a keen interest in technology, News breaking.


text:
CME announced Tuesday it plans to launch bitcoin futures in the fourth quarter, pending regulatory review.
Bitcoin rose to a record high above $6,400 Tuesday morning, according to CoinDesk, after the announcement by the world’s largest futures exchange.
“Given increasing client interest in the evolving cryptocurrency markets, we have decided to introduce a bitcoin futures contract,” Terry Duffy, CME Group chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
Duffy added on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” that he is “confident” the CME’s self-certification process at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and full application process will go through. “We’ve been working with the regulator. They understand our application. And they understand our model very, very well,” Duffy said.
The leading global exchange for options and futures trading is the latest entrant into the business of offering derivatives for bitcoin, the volatile digital currency, which is not listed on a major exchange.
Bitcoin over the last 12 months
The bitcoin futures contract will be cash-settled and based on the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate (BRR), which CME launched in November 2016 with London-based digital trading platform Crypto Facilities. The reference rate is a daily settlement price published at 4 p.m. London time, currently noon ET.
In less than 10 years, bitcoin has come a long way from being “mined” in homes and predominately used to buy illegal goods online. An entire industry has emerged to mine bitcoin, sell digital mining equipment and offer bitcoin trading services.
The growth of bitcoin derivatives is another step toward the development of the digital currency as a more established asset class. Fundstrat’s Tom Lee said his call for bitcoin to top $20,000 by 2022 is based partly on expectations that bitcoin derivatives products will launch.


text:
At this time in human history, there are two types of people in this world. Those who religiously watch Game of Thrones. And, those who have never seen it. While we are as much at odds as the humans and White Walkers, we somehow coexist in a world in which the former group is talking on social media and in real life on Sunday nights through the next week, impatiently awaiting the next episode. We debate theories. We have watch parties. We text all week about it. The latter group, often finds themselves wondering what the hell half of their News Feed and office is even talking about, and doesn’t understand the hype.
With the highly anticipated series finale coming this Sunday, Game of Thrones is easily one of HBO’s most popular series of all time, and the show has amassed a global following of super fans. But, one group of fans has emerged as a leading voice on social media. A huge and relevant subculture of Game of Thrones fans are having a completely separate (and the best) conversation during the show. Black Twitter, a subculture of Twitter power users that is an extension of the Black experience, is driving this conversation, and major media is taking notice.
On Sundays, while some are following #GameOfThrones, Black Twitter started its own hashtag – #DemThrones. And when it comes to reacting to a situation in real time, there is no group of social media influencers who can turn a topic into a viral trend like Black Twitter. We’ve seen this happen with every topic of conversation from social issues like #BlackLivesMatter, to brand fails, and pop culture moments.
For this particular pop culture moment, Black Game of Thrones fans have repurposed culturally relevant memes, and flipped them for this season using #DemThrones. This hilarious content includes a recent JAY-Z and Beyoncé meme, and a trending NBA Playoffs meme, demonstrating the cultural relevance and timeliness of Black Twitter. The conversation has carried over from social media and Black media to mainstream media, including Mashable, BuzzFeed, and Elle, highlighting this timely trending topic.
#DemThrones is a trending conversation that started years ago and will drive social media chatter, with only one episode left until the show closes the curtain. The tweets and memes are generating tens of thousands of likes and RTs.
While GoT will come to a close in a few short days, here are five ways that brands can prepare to respond/react in real time to the show’s finale, or next big cultural phenomenon (shout out The Legendary Roots Crew).
- Social listening. While there’s no way to really predict upcoming episodes, brands can stay ready to respond to major show moments with a series of culturally relevant tweets that use #DemThrones as way to engage a whole other audience of key consumers. In order to do so, brands must listen to social conversations outside of the mainstream to uncover and act on these opportunities in an authentic way.
- Less traffic, more bandwidth. While many brands tweeting about #GameOfThrones are looking for a way into the conversation, the #DemThrones lane is much less congested with brand traffic, and gives brands the opportunity to show cultural relevance with strategically planned content that will build brand street cred and create engagement. To ensure this is authentic to the audience, brands must work closely with their multicultural partners in crafting the messaging and content – or Black Twitter will eat your brand up, and spit it out.
- Writers, not biters. To effectively engage with Black Twitter and its influential voices, brands need multicultural minds to shape their social media strategy. With brands awkwardly hijacking Black slang, or trying to create colorblind ads that instead come off as totally tone deaf, brands need to realize that they must have diverse voices at the table to inform, guide and shape their marketing strategies. If brands and companies don’t provide that seat, they will have people writing tweets in a voice that is not their own, and will then have to deal with the backlash from cultural appropriation, as well as getting dragged all across the Interwebs.
- Cultural calendar. Brands should develop and regularly update a cultural calendar, outlining trending moments in time that can be anticipated, like the Super Bowl, the GRAMMYs, and March Madness. This pre-planning allows brands to be agile when monitoring social chatter, and gives brands an arsenal of culturally relevant content that can be adjusted in real time to unleash at peak pop culture moments – kind of like an arsenal that Daenerys could’ve used in Episode 4.
- The takeaway. The key learning here is that brands have to be culturally aware, and strategically prepared. This readies your brand proactively, so when an opportunity presents itself your brand isn’t scrambling like Randall with his to respond reactively. Preparation is a major key, and that starts with having diverse team members on deck who can inform and educate your brand on multicultural trends and diverse issues, to set you up for success vs. social media clapbacks. So, be that brand that’s ready for whatever. A wise man once said “If you stay ready, you ain’t got to get ready.” That wise man was Suga Free. Listen to Suga Free.


text:
A “gear head” and a filmmaker since “way back when,” Edward Boettcher is merging his two childhood passions with the founding of Cinema Perfecto, a local startup that is hoping to take the filmmaking world by storm.
The company, which Boettcher describes as “an online home for digital filmmakers and professional videographers,” includes an e-commerce store selling filmmaking equipment, editing computers and data storage devices; a free (advertising supported) online magazine; a free (advertising supported) member forum; and a production company, as well as an educational component with distance learning and filmmaker education consulting services.
Boettcher has definitely come a long way from his first film: a stop-action movie featuring toy dinosaurs. He worked for more than a decade in high-tech industries — primarily in online advertising and marketing for companies like Microsoft, AudienceScience, ValueClick Media and Fastclick — and observed what he calls the “pre-echoes of the digital revolution in film.”
“When you go to Vimeo you start to see ... people are taking these new tools and high-powered, less-expensive desktop editing solutions,” he said. “Lighter weight equipment, carbon fiber tripods, smaller crews, etc.”
It fascinated him.
“We are at the event horizon for a significant shift in how films and video content are created, edited and distributed,” Boettcher explained. “A complete reset for the industry has taken place, brought about by the filmic look of this new generation of affordable, video-enabled, high-definition digital SLR cameras; more powerful and less expensive editing workstations; and the proliferation of online distribution channels.
“While the traditional Hollywood model has plateaued in recent years, the indie film scene, professional videography and online content creation is exploding. Film schools like USC are seeing year-over-year increases in applicants of over 71 percent.”
Adopting a philosophy of “if you want to be a leader, find a parade and get in front of it,” Boettcher saw his opportunity in online advertising, video advertising and streaming video advertising.
“It was $200 million four years ago and now it’s a billion dollars a year going into video online advertising,” he said.
Cinema Perfecto aims to put all of the pieces together through the online magazine, with filmmaker/managing editor Karen Nedivi at the helm.
“We want to write about the stories from a perspective that nobody else is doing,” Nedivi said. “We’re not just writing about this stuff, we’re using it out in the field.”
“I think everybody can be a filmmaker,” added Boettcher, a Montecito resident whose favorite subject at the moment is his almost 2-year-old daughter, Alia.
“Anybody who is telling a story with anything that’s capturing video is a filmmaker, so if you are shooting your friends at a skateboard park and you’re 17 years old with an iPhone, you’re a filmmaker. We want to help them be better filmmakers. ... It’s a hobby that anyone can do. If you’re 16 years old up to 80 years old, you can take a camera and you can tell a story with it.”
Not everyone is as quick to grasp how powerful that is.
“I talk to a lot of angel investors and that kind of investment community and ... a lot of times the first thing they’ll ask me is, ‘What problem are you trying to solve?’” he said. “I always find that a hard question for me to answer because this isn’t a problem. This is an opportunity, this is an amazing thing.”
Cinema Perfecto uses a “guidance system” to break information and equipment into three separate segments. Level E is entry level, level P is professional videographers and level I is independent filmmakers, Boettcher explains.
“There’s definitely crossover, but we’re trying to guide people to say, ‘Well, this is a good place to start.’ If you’re an entry-level filmmaker you don’t need our Everest Series workstation ... but you do need a workstation that does certain things that you are definitely going to need it to do. We tailor the equipment for what you are trying to do.”
Showing off his impressive warehouse full of “gear” at the company’s Goleta headquarters, Boettcher’s excitement is contagious.
“I love this stuff,” he exclaimed. “Much to the chagrin of my wife (Rebekah Altman, a writer and editor), there’s always more and more gear for me to learn about and buy and use.”
Boettcher said the store has a “member-driven philosophy” that allows the company to do things larger companies can’t.
“We can keep things really lean,” he said. “We’re just going to offer the best the stuff that’s really in demand.”
Boettcher grew up in Boston, went to the University of Vermont and started a software company Back East before moving to Santa Barbara in 2001. He sees the South Coast location as an advantage for his new business.
“The whole concept of Cinema Perfecto is that Santa Barbara is on the fringe of L.A.,” he said. “We’re close enough that when we have our film festival, we get top name stars, but we’re not L.A. With Cinema Perfecto, we’re close enough to the film industry to be able to learn from it ... but we also think there’s an opportunity here for fresh perspectives in filmmaking.
“What’s really exciting is the fact that there are going to be 100,000 new filmmakers in the next five years. Even if 90,000 are terrible filmmakers, we’re going to have 10,000 amazing filmmakers. Any time you get a massive expansion in an art form, you’re going to get a different way of looking at it. I’m looking forward to seeing some of that.”


text:
A South Carolina father is accusing a Myrtle Beach store owner of racially profiling his son and his friends while they were shopping.
Chris Carraway, of Columbia, said he accompanied his son and his friends on a boys trip for their “senior week” instead of allowing them to travel alone.
“Myrtle Beach has a reputation, and I didn’t feel comfortable with my 18-year-olds going down there without supervision,” Carraway told The Root. “So I took the week off and went down there with them to just hang out.”
During the trip, Carraway and the boys went to Myrtle Beach Mall for some shopping. When the group entered the Fun Wear Sports store, Carraway said he began to feel like he was being watched.
“From the time we walked in, we could tell immediately the person that was in charge, he was staring at us,” Carraway told local news outlet WPDE.
According to Carraway, store owner Michael Means racially profiled him and the boys after they began laughing loudly at an inside joke.
“One of the guys, we were talking and I started laughing, and he looked at me and he said, ‘What are you all laughing at?’” Carraway told the outlet.
When Carraway told Means it was none of his business, the store owner allegedly told the group to stay in one place so he could “keep an eye” on all of them while he called mall security.
Carraway’s son Jonathan then pulled out his phone and recorded the conversation Means had with the mall security guards.
“To listen to him on the phone, if you listen to my clip, he literally says, ‘six of them.' Six of what? ‘Six to eight of them,’ that’s what he said,” Carraway told WPDE.
Security eventually arrived at the store and told the group, “Nobody touch anything unless you wanna buy."
The guard then told the group to leave the store.
Carraway said they stood outside and watched as white customers entered and exited the store with no issues.
“I’m one to call a spade a spade and I’m a very overprotective dad. I always tell them that they have to preserve their family’s name in public. But when they went in the store, they weren’t making noise. They weren’t acting belligerent. None of the boys—not that it matters—were walking around with their pants hanging halfway off their behinds ... I was wearing sweats because I was on vacation,” Carraway told the Root.
“I had to sit in my car for 30 to 45 minutes to calm down because I was so upset that my kids had to encounter such ignorance,” Carraway added.
On June 12, Carraway posted videos of the incident to Facebook, where it went viral.
In a phone call with WPDE, Michael Means said he thought the group was being too loud and scaring customers away. He also admitted he took issue with Carraway telling the kids to ignore him.


text:
Berlin, 18.07.2011 - For more than 10 years Internet users have been able to report illegal content they stumble upon on the Internet to "no abuse in internet" (naiin). This non-profit non-governmental organization reviews these reports and cooperates with Internet service providers and judicial authorities in taking action against such content. French speaking Internet users can now access the hotline in their native language and submit reports to naiin with just a few clicks. A French version of the naiin website and Internet hotline has been launched to accommodate francophone users.
The organization, which is supported by the Internet community and Internet companies, is reacting to the growing interest in francophone countries to be able to report illegal Internet content quickly and without changing media. "We have been receiving more and more reports from francophone regions for several years. We want to make it easier for French speaking Internet users to use our Internet hotline and to help overcome the language barrier with this new version of the website," explains Dennis Grabowski, chairman of naiin.
Surveys conducted by naiin have shown that 94% of those who provide information do not report content found by chance and suspected to be illegal to judicial authorities. Only 2% report such content to both the naiin hotline and to the police.
The French version of the naiin website and Internet hotline is now available at www.naiin.org/fr/.
Für den Inhalt der Pressemitteilung ist der Einsteller, PresseBox.de, verantwortlich.
Es wurde noch kein Kommentar zu diesem Thema abgegeben.


text:
VAUGHAN, Ont. — Until September 5, the Harvey’s RV will be visiting 12 towns across Ontario as well as free burger giveaways in Alberta and Quebec, providing another 100,000 free Better Together Burgers.
“The last few summers have been hard on everyone and Harvey’s burgers are synonymous with Canadian summer eats,” says David Colebrook, president, Harvey’s Canada. “Our goal is to celebrate by bringing everyone together again, and what better way than over delicious Harvey’s burgers.”
Previously, all government healthcare workers, frontline works and their families received 50 per cent off their orders at all Harvey’s locations. In summer 2020, the Harvey’s RV went on a cross-Canada tour to thank frontline workers with free burgers, giving away more than 100,000. Last summer, Harvey’s teamed up with Ontario Health teams at pop-up vaccination clinics around the GTA, offering free burgers for those that came out to get vaccinated.
“Giving away free burgers to Canadians and offering frontline workers Harvey’s discounts was our way of saying thank you for doing your part in keeping everyone safe,” says Chelsea Kellock, vice-president, Marketing, Harvey’s Canada. “Now that restrictions are lifted, Harvey’s wants Canadians to celebrate being able to reconnect with friends and family over free burgers.”


text:
The Justice Department gears up for a battle against Apple and e-book publishers.
Before Apple execs could finish patting each other on the back for their performance at the new iPad unveiling, rumors started swirling that the DoJ plans to sue them over e-book pricing. Problems for Apple and other e-book publishers started to pop up around the release of the first iPad back in 2010. In order to get a book into the iBook store, then on to the fancy, new, shiny iPad, publishers were asked to sign an “agency pricing” contract, which basically said that publishers could set the price of their books, and Apple would skim 30% off the top for the “privilege” of getting the book on the iTunes sales floor. So far so good.
The contract also stipulated that titles could not be sold elsewhere for less than the publisher was going to sell it on iTunes. What this does, potentially, is raise the price of e-books for you, because when the next Stephen King book comes out and sells for $15.99 on iTunes, you’re not going to find it on sale at, say, Amazon for $9.99, which is what Amazon likes to do (take a loss on selling you one thing, then keep you shopping to buy more things).
The Wall Street Journal reports: “The Justice Department believes that Apple and the publishers acted in concert to raise prices across the industry, and is prepared to sue them for violating federal antitrust laws, the people familiar with the matter said.” Publishers argue that agency pricing fosters competitiveness, since no one store can have the advantage of selling a book for less than another. It’s pretty easy to see, though, how a publisher might raise the price of a book by a couple bucks to make up for Apple’s cut, knowing people will have to pay that price no matter what.
If you’ve made it this far, you deserve a Calgon break. Take me away…
News and information you need, from a source you trust.
In a world where it’s easier to find disinformation than real information, trustworthy journalism is critical to our democracy and our everyday lives. And you rely on Marketplace to be that objective, credible source, each and every day.
This vital work isn’t possible without you. Marketplace is sustained by our community of Investors—listeners, readers, and donors like you who believe that a free press is essential – and worth supporting.


text:
CropBioLife Certified as Organic Input in India
We are thrilled to announce that CropBioLife has received approval to be sold as a certified organic input for agriculture in India. This is a major milestone for our company and a significant step forward for sustainable agriculture in India.
For us at CropBioLife, this approval is a validation of our commitment to providing farmers with safe and effective solutions to support crop health and productivity. We have worked tirelessly to develop a product that is not only effective but also environmentally friendly and safe for use. This approval is a recognition of our efforts and a testament to the quality of our product.
But what does this mean for Indian agriculture? This approval comes at a crucial time when the agriculture sector in India is facing numerous challenges, including soil degradation, low crop yields, and a growing demand for organic produce. With CropBioLife now available as a certified organic input, farmers in India can access a product that will help them improve the health of their soil, increase crop yields, and meet the growing demand for organic produce.
At CropBioLife, we believe that sustainable agriculture is the way forward. Our product is designed to support the natural biological processes in the plant and crop and build the health of the soil, resulting in healthier crops and higher yields. With this approval, we are excited to be able to support sustainable agriculture across India and contribute to the development of improved farming practices in the country.
We are grateful to the regulatory authorities in India for their approval and support. We are also thankful to our customers and partners who have put their trust in us and our product. This approval is a significant achievement for CropBioLife, and we look forward to continuing to work towards a more sustainable future for agriculture.


text:
Brand Licensing Europe is kicking off its 15th event with a new show layout and more focused brand presentation for attendees.
Moxie & Co has appointed Boom Licensing to expand the licensing program for designer Lotta Jansdotter into the U.K.
The Brand Liaison has signed on to rep the designer and artist Debbie Brooks Designs for licensing.
Wild Pumpkin Licensing has signed on to represent Bubble Gum Interactive’s online kids’ world “Space Heroes Universe!.”
Dimensional Branding Group has appointed two new sub-agents for the app property Temple Run in China and Australia.
ZeptoLab U.K. and ITV Studios Global Entertainment have appointed a series of new agents for “Cut the Rope.”
41 Entertainment has appointed Zodiak Kids to represent “Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures” in France and French-speaking Belgium and Switzerland.
The Von Dutch clothing brand is expanding its reach around the world with newly established licensing programs and agent appointments in Latin America and India.
Brand Central has been appointed as the exclusive licensing agency for the award-winning blog Cupcakes and Cashmere, written by Emily Schuman.
Discovery Communications has teamed up with Bischoff Hervey Entertainment Television to license the Discovery Channel series “The Devils Ride.”
The British Olympic Association has appointed IMG Licensing to create a licensing program for its Team GB brand.
Indian preschool brand Purple Turtle has appointed The Licensing Group as its agent in North America.
The Brand Liaison has been appointed to represent artist and designer Debra Valencia.
Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing has tapped King Features Syndicate to represent its brand.
Spanish tapas restaurant La Tasca has appointed Beanstalk to extend its brand into mainstream retail in the U.K.
Licensing agent Metrostar has been appointed to represent the classic French novella The Little Prince in the U.K. and Eire.
IMG Licensing has signed on to expand Novamex’s beverage brand Jarritos into new categories.
Frequent licensee Junk Food Clothing has tapped the brand management agency Artestar to license its own brand.
JELC has signed on to represent the U.K. charity Crimestoppers, which helps the police solve crimes.
BrandSlam, the licensing division of agency Parham Santana, has signed on to represent the United Nations Children’s Fund in the U.S.
©2013 ADVANSTAR COMMUNICATIONS INC. All rights reserved.


text:
Forel will be at Fensterbau Frontale 2018 with some of its edge processing solutions and IGU lines.
SolarWindow Technologies has announced that it will be releasing independently-validated data and power performance results in upcoming weeks.
Bsolution will be taking part in the upcoming edition of Eurasia Glass, taking place 7-10 March 2018, with its machines, automation systems and special lines.
Reports Monitor has published the Global Soft Drink Packaging Market 2018, dealing with products and applications, providing an in-depth analysis of the different verticals.
Bavelloni will be at Eurasia Glass 2018 with its products, offering live demos and meeting with customers.
Growth in sales and personnel; investments; 40 years of activities. These are the main points of 2017 for FOREL, which also carried out important projects during last year.
Two Evolution Ultimate 4 machines from IRIS Inspection machines have been installed on the flint cosmetics line of Heinz-Glas in Dzialdowo, Poland.
EnduroShield’s X-Line has been voted the most significant low maintenance coating machine of 2017in the US Glass Magazine’s annual Readers' Choice Award.
Heye’s self-learning system - Ranger 2 - is scalable for horizontal, vertical, shoulder or bottom checks. It is fully available in every country without any legal restriction.
The combination of AGC’s Planibel Clearsight with Thermobel Scena enables building envelops to literally become “invisible”.
A new office building with a unique façade is being built in Zurich. The building’s extremely interesting, powerful undulating glass envelope creates the overall effect of a glass skin.
At this year’s Vitrum show, Forel had on show its top machinery with an IG line, vertical processing, washing machine, flat press, and an automatic sealing robot.
At this year’s edition of Vitrum, four major Italian companies: Cugher Glass, Iocco, Mappi International and Triulzi, joined forces to created what they call the ‘4x4.0 project’. We spoke to some of t...
Speaking to Paolo De Borzatti, we got an idea of how Fratelli Pezza started in the 70s developing sandblasting machines, to move up to invent the automatic sandblaster for flat glass.
The Italian company is presenting its product at the event in Bogotà.
At this year’s Vitrum show, which took place 3-6 October in Milan, northern Italy, the Bavelloni stand was visited by professionals coming from all over the world, attracting interest in its products ...
Glassry informs operators about the semi-new machinery it offers to the glass industry.
SORG has developed a new burner holder with integrated angle adjustment to simplify burner set up, which eliminate the disadvantages of all previous burner holders.
SolarWindow Technologies will be releasing important production details regarding the company's first-ever electricity-generating windows on 7 September 2017.
Amazon’s new headquarters in Milan, northern Italy, has a new façade that includes more than 10,000 square metres of functional glazing and over 1,100 glass fins supplied by ISOLAR® partner Tvi...


text:
"Most people do not get digestive changes"
"Columbus is about to become the diarrhea capital of the nation"
When the FDA approved the fat substitute Olestra in January, it appeared to be a triumph for the synthetic chemical's manufacturer and a boon for dieters across the nation. After spending 25 years and $250 million developing Olestra (trade name Olean), Proctor & Gamble could now use the substance to offer weight-conscious Americans fat-free potato chips, tortilla chips, crackers and other salty snacks.
Olestra molecules, made of sugar and vegetable oil, are too big to be digested, so they leave behind no calories. The artificial fat slides through the body without stopping to clog arteries or pad waistlines.
Unfortunately, critics said, it could slide through the body without stopping at all. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) warned of something it referred to as "anal leakage;" the FDA required a label warning of "abdominal cramping and loose stools." A test launch of an Olestra product in Columbus, Ohio, prompted CSPI's executive director to declare, "Columbus is about to become the diarrhea capitol of the nation."
CSPI Olestra commercial -- 869K QuickTime movie
The indelicate concerns prompted a round of jokes on late-night television talk shows and seemed to mute enthusiasm for the product. But a more important concern, hinted at in the FDA warning label, was no laughing matter to nutritionists. The label states that Olestra "inhibits absorption of some vitamins and other nutrients."
Olestra's woes could soon be compounded. Another fat substitute, Z-Trim, is thought to have fewer, if any, side effects. It is expected to receive quick FDA approval and could be competing with Olestra on store shelves in 1997.
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
CNN INTERACTIVE REPORTS
- January 25 -- Fake fat: Dieters' dream?
- April 10 -- Health Briefs: Olestra makers ask FDA to tone down warning labels
- July 2 -- Health Briefs: Fat substitute may be bad for health
- August 25 -- New fake fat: tastes good, less filling
- October 1 -- Olestra prompts a fat-free food fight
© 1996 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.


text:
VeriSign posts loss after $4.6bn charge
Swimming in the Red Sea
VeriSign Inc yesterday reported a loss for the second quarter to June 30 of $4.8bn, compared to a loss of $11.2bn a year ago, on revenue that was up 37% at $317.4m. The company said the loss was mostly due to a $4.6bn acquisition write-down charge.
The company's enterprise and service provider division, which includes its recently acquired telecom concerns along with registry lookup and security services, delivered 67% of total revenue, the remainder coming from its mass markets division, which includes retail domain name and security services.
The VeriSign domain name registry had 27.3 million names in it at the end of the quarter, the company reported, up 2.7 million during the period. The registrar unit grossed 550,000 of these new domains, and renewed or transferred an additional 660,000, ending the period with 10.3 million domains, 9.6 million in .com/.net/.org, under management.
The digital certificate business issued 105,000 new and renewed certs, closing the quarter at a total of about 400,000, 275,000 of which came from its mass markets division. The payments gateway business added 5,000 customers to close the quarter with 75,000 paying users, processing about $3.4bn in the quarter.


text:
Tesla cuts 9 percent of workforce in bid to post profit
Tesla cuts 9 percent of workforce in bid to post profit
Tesla to Cut Workforce by 9% Musk Says It Won’t Affect Model 3 Production
12 June, 2018, 22:51
We made these decisions by evaluating the criticality of each position, whether certain jobs could be done more efficiently and productively, and by assessing the specific skills and abilities of each individual in the company. That is a valid and fair criticism of Tesla's history to date.
Home Depot's relationship with Tesla will continue through the end of the year, and the company "plans to continue offering solar options to our customers", according to an emailed statement from Steve Holmes, a spokesman for the retailer.
Last month Mr Musk said the company was planning a wide-ranging reorganisation that would flatten its management structure.
Model 3 production has been viewed as a critical bellwether of Tesla's near-term profitability. The company let go of 400 to 700 workers last fall after completing annual performance reviews, and it laid off a small number of workers back in 2008.
Based on conversations with Tesla dealers, KeyBanc Capital analysts raised their expectations for second-quarter delivery of Model 3 vehicles to 30,000 from 20,000.
Trump and Merkel: A study in contrasting G7 images
While many said that the picture sums up Trump's time at G-7, several others called it a "power dynamic". National Security Adviser John Bolton and other aides also look on what appears to be a tense moment.
Musk wrote in the email that the company will never achieve its mission to help move the world to cleaner energy "unless we eventually demonstrate that we can be sustainably profitable".
Tesla shares rose 2.5 percent to $340.34 in afternoon trading, after reaching as high as $354.97 around noon.
Tesla shares pared an earlier gain of as much as 6.9 per cent and were up 3.2 per cent to US$342.81 as of 2:21 p.m.in NY trading.
Tesla has been burning cash nearly continuously since it was founded 15 years ago.
"These cuts were entirely from our salaried population and no production associates were included, so this will not affect our ability to reach Model 3 production targets in the coming months". But Musk has promised an acceleration of Model 3 manufacturing, which will allow the company to bring in a lot more revenue.
On top of that, the gameplay trailer also introduces the five villains that will be in the game - and one mysterious one. An achingly attractive trailer was debuted on the Sony stage last night, showing off the new title set in feudal Japan.
It has not put an exact figure on the level of investment in the Solihull plant, but it runs into hundreds of millions of pounds. The Discovery has been made at Solihull since it was first launched by Land Rover in 1989 and is now in its fifth generation.
Legendary fried chicken purveyor Church's Chicken posted an Instagram photo that poked fun at the IHOP name change buzz. In case you haven't heard, IHOP has officially changed their name (and EVERYTHING ABOUT THEMSELVES) to IHOB .
In a series of tweets, the USA president called him "very dishonest and weak" and accused him of making false statements . Canada's House of Commons Monday condemned the personal attacks on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by U.S.
The victor of 10 French, three US Open, two Wimbledon and one Australian Open titles has won 87 of his 89 matches at the French. This second break was not just decisive, it was a intuitive point from the Austrian that showed his match awareness.
Actor Arjun Kapoor , who is the half-brother of Janhvi, also extended his support to her in an Instagram post. Speaking about the concept, director saab added, "I am a Marwari so it was easier for me to adapt".
Right now, The Boring Company's website says they are sold out of "not a flamethrower", but you may want to check back soon. The electric sled would allow for cars to be transported at 150 miles per hour through the tunnel, Musk has said.
United's executive vice chairman Ed Woodward has long-dreamed of luring the five-time Ballon d'Or victor back to Old Trafford. Ronaldo is likely to look out for clubs in France's Ligue 1, Premier League and also Italy's Serie A, according to ESPN FC .
Starting today, Domino's is asking customers to nominate their town for pothole repairs at the Paving for Pizza website. When a town is selected , the customer is notified and the city receives funds to help with the repairs.
Less than a month later, Justify became the first Kentucky Derby victor to go unraced as a 2-year-old since Apollo in 1882. Justify is the first horse to win the Crown since American Pharaoh broke a decades-long drought in 2015.
There are a still a lot of questions we have about this title, but Microsoft and 343 Studios also have some time to answer them. At E3, Microsoft confirmed officially previous reports that there will be a successor to the current Xbox One console.
Category 3 Hurricane Bud threatens Mexico, Southwest US
The worst drought in the U.S.is in the Southwest, with the most severe conditions in Arizona, New Mexico , Utah and Colorado. Newly formed Tropical Depression Three-E will likely become a tropical storm this weekend south of the Mexican Riviera.
China urges 'full denuclearization' as Kim, Trump meet
Bush after the USA accused North Korea of having an enriched uranium program, a major step in the nuclear weapon building process. However, relations with North Korea, which had seemed to go well, broke down under former President George W.
Apple bans cryptocurrency mining from its app stores
Apple also has an existing section addressing cryptocurrency apps on its App Store that's been in place since about 2014. That's actually what happened in the case of an app called Calendar 2 , according to Apple Insider .


text:
A vast array of new products will be showcased when the doors to PATS Sandown open on Tuesday, March 17.
The large number of entries to the popular New Product Showcase is a positive sign that PATS exhibitors are really excited about their latest products and can?t wait to show them to visiting retailers and buyers.
All the products entered into the Showcase will be judged by a panel of independent pet retailers on the first day of the show, and the winners of each category will be announced at lunchtime.
?It?s great to see so many exhibitors putting their new products forward,? said organiser Annie Foord. ?Speaking to visitors, we know that a lot of them head to the Showcase first. They can see all the latest items in one place, and once they?ve seen what they like, they then head off to the stand of the manufacturer or supplier of that product to discuss it in more detail.?
There are seven categories in the New Product Showcase ? cat, dog accessory, dog food or treat, bird, small animal, pet care, and grooming ? and past winners admit that winning an award can certainly increase the profile of the items to the trade.
Irish company Christies Global have won an award at the past three PATS shows and their marketing manager Lindy Harper knows the importance of such an accolade. ?Christies Global has always prided itself in bringing innovative products to the grooming market and these awards recognise this work,? said Lindy. ?Given the high standard of competition in the market, we feel truly honoured to have won three consecutive awards.?
Supa Ltd are another company to recognise the prestige of a New Product Award, having won one with their stylish Gloucester range of bird feeders at PATS in September. ?The award has certainly focused attention on Supa and has led to some new listings with current customers and also the opening of some new accounts who have wanted to stock this new and dynamic range,? said managing director Chris Goodlad.
The Showcase is designed to help visitors to find easily the latest and most exciting products to hit the pet trade, as they are gathered together in one, extensive display near the entrance to the Esher Hall. There is an information card beside each product, giving details such as suggested retail price and where in the show you?ll find the item?s exhibitor.
With so many new products on show and more than 140 exhibitors attending PATS Sandown this year, the exhibition is set to draw an equally impressive amount of visitors.
The organisers have also secured a strong line-up of speakers for two days of seminars designed to give pet retailers ahead-of-the-game ideas on new lines, new approaches and new profit potential.
The free-to-attend series of seminars will cover topics including: retailing RAW pet foods; using social media to build a loyal customer base; 20 business tips in 20 minutes; getting more online visitors to your website; and what customers are saying about your pet business online. There is also a chance to earn Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points for those people attending a special seminar by animal healthcare specialists Merial.
Other PATS features aimed at making it a great day out include free entry, free catalogue, free tea and coffee, and free parking. Visitors still have time to register online at the new and improved PATS website www.patshow.co.uk.
A full and up-to-date list of exhibitors is available on the website?together with information on how to reach both venues and regularly updated show news.
Tuesday, 17th March, 2015:?9.00am-5.00pm
Wednesday, 18th March, 2015:?9.00am-4.00pm


text:
WASHINGTON (AP) — NASA and the National Academy of Sciences are joining the government’s effort to figure out what caused the sudden acceleration problems that led to Toyota’s recall of more than 8 million cars worldwide.
NASA scientists with expertise in electronics will help the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study potential electronic ties to unintended acceleration in Toyotas. NASA’s knowledge of electronics, computer hardware and software, and hazard analysis will ensure a comprehensive review, the Transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, said in a statement on Tuesday.
In a separate study, the National Academy of Sciences will examine unwanted acceleration and electronic vehicle controls in cars throughout the auto industry, Mr. LaHood said. The National Academy is an independent organization chartered by Congress.
The academy study, expected to take 15 months, will review acceleration problems and recommend how the government can ensure the safety of vehicle electronic control systems.
“We believe their outside expertise, fresh eyes and fresh research perhaps can tell us if electronics have played a role in these accelerations,” Mr. LaHood said.Continue reading the main story
Of the more than eight million vehicles that Toyota has recalled, six million are in the United States. Toyota said it was “confident in our vehicles and in our electronics” and would cooperate with the government review.
“These studies are just the kind of science-based examination we have been calling for. Bringing some sunshine to this subject is bound to separate fact from fiction, which will be good for Toyota, the industry and the motoring public,” the company said.
Mr. LaHood has told Congress the department will dig deeply into what has caused hundreds of complaints of unwanted acceleration in Toyotas. He said he has asked the Transportation Department’s inspector general to review whether the highway traffic safety agency’s Office of Defects Investigation has what it needs to identify and address safety defects.
The two studies together will cost about $3 million, including the expense of buying cars that have allegedly had unintended acceleration. Both studies will be peer reviewed by scientific experts, the Transportation Department said.
In Congressional hearings, Mr. LaHood defended the technical expertise of the engineers at the safety agency, which is set to get more employees under a budget proposal. But safety advocates and some members of Congress say the agency is understaffed and does not have the resources for investigations. Further, some lawmakers have accused the agency of being a "lapdog" for the industry in the past, by agreeing to let carmakers order minimal recalls or avoid them completely, a charge Mr. LaHood refutes.
Toyota has attributed the problem to sticking gas pedals and accelerators that can become jammed in floor mats, and has cited no evidence of an electrical problem. The company has noted that other manufacturers also have had reports of cars surging forward.
Consumer groups contend electronics could be the culprit, and dozens of Toyota owners who had their cars fixed in the recall have complained of more problems with their vehicles surging forward unexpectedly. Regulators have linked 52 deaths in Toyotas to crashes allegedly caused by accelerator problems.
Reviews of some recent high-profile crashes have failed to find a mechanical or electronic problem.Continue reading the main story


text:
Senate Democratic lawmakers known as Wednesday for the Federal Trade Commission to start a probe into Tesla’s “Autopilot” and “Comprehensive Self-Driving” devices, citing “major concerns” regarding what they described as the company’s “deceptive promoting” of their functions.
In a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan, Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ed Markey of Massachusetts argued Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk have “persistently misrepresented” the abilities of its autos. The lawmakers say the company’s promises pose a probable danger to motorists.
“Tesla and Mr. Musk’s recurring overstatements of their vehicle’s abilities – even with distinct and recurrent warnings – exhibit a deeply regarding disregard for the protection of people on the highway and call for genuine accountability,” the senators wrote in the letter. “Their statements set Tesla drivers – and all of the touring community – at possibility of major injury or loss of life.”
TESLA Stock DROPS AS US Federal government INVESTIGATES AUTOPILOT System
The senators identified as for an investigation just times after the National Freeway Website traffic Basic safety Administration opened a official probe into Tesla’s Autopilot procedure. Regulators stated they had recognized 11 crashes involving Tesla cars with Autopilot engaged considering that 2018.
Tesla and FTC representatives did not promptly answer to a request for remark. Tesla shares rose far more than 3% in investing Wednesday.
Tesla has consistently defended the protection of its Autopilot method. In April, Musk tweeted automobiles equipped with Autopilot have been “now approaching 10 moments lower chance of incident than ordinary car or truck.”
GET FOX Business enterprise ON THE GO BY CLICKING Listed here
The lawmakers expressed concern about video clips posted by Tesla touting its systems, as perfectly as general public remarks from Musk on the company’s advances in autonomous driving. Autopilot delivers lane-trying to keep assistance and adaptive cruise handle attributes but continue to involves human oversight.
“We dread that Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD features are not as mature and trusted as the business pitches to the public,” the senators extra.


text:
UK Steel Enterprise, the Corus subsidiary that helps the economic regeneration of communities affected by changes in the steel industry, has announced an £8.3M package of support measures in the wake of the job losses on Teesside.
The package will include -
- doubling the level of UKSE investment into new and growing businesses in the Northern region from £1.5M to £3M.
- a £4.7M expansion of The Innovation Centre on Hartlepool’s Queens Meadow Business Park, supported by One North East.
- a new Regeneration Fund, offering a combination of grants and loans designed specifically for start-up and fledgling businesses requiring a smaller amount than the usual UKSE minimum loan and struggling to find funding elsewhere.
- an extra £600k for UKSE’s special community support fund, which will back local projects and fund business support initiatives.
UK Steel Enterprise regional manager Simon Hamilton said: “This package is specifically designed to support and encourage former steelworkers and other entrepreneurs who have sound projects and want to set up their own businesses as well as existing companies who have expansion projects and could create new jobs for the area.”


text:
NEW YORK, June 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The 16th annual Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business Awards Dinner Gala will be held on June 20th at Cipriani Wall Street in New York. This year the top Pinnacle Awardee is Don H. Liu, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary for Target Corporation.
As in past years, the Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business Award Gala will include a wide array of Asian ethnicities that represent a microcosm of elite Asian American business owners, professionals and corporate executives across the United States. The award committee identifies and selects outstanding leaders who have built a successful business or who have distinguished themselves in their community. Of those, the committee also identifies top Pinnacle Award recipients who have reached the acme of their professional career and are widely acknowledged as leaders in their industry. This year, the award gala will cumulatively have honored over 700 successful Asian Americans representing over 50 industries and professions. In recognizing this year's role models from the Asian American business community, John Wang, president of AABDC is also highlighting the emergence of the New Majority as America's ethnic minorities are poised to become the biggest combined demographic bloc in coming years.
"We're proud to honor high-achieving Asian Americans in business, and excited to join with Latino, African American to form the new Mainstream Economy," Mr. Wang said.
The Keynote speaker is JuE Wong, former President of Elizabeth Arden, and accomplished global corporate executive and board member.
Asian American Business Development Center (AABDC):
The Asian American Business Development Center, Inc. is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization established in 1994. It assists Asian American businesses in strengthening their capacity to compete in the mainstream market, to expand business opportunities and to promote recognition of Asian American businesses' contributions to the general economy.
AABDC: www.aabdc.com Outstanding 50 Awards: www.outstanding50award.com
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation serves guests at 1,806 stores and at Target.com. Since 1946, Target has given 5 percent of its profit to communities, which today equals millions of dollars a week. For more information, visit Target.com/Pressroom. For a behind-the-scenes look at Target, visit Target.com/abullseyeview or follow @TargetNews on Twitter.
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2017-outstanding-50-asian-americans-in-business-award-300472052.html
SOURCE Asian American Business Development Center (AABDC)


text:
UK consumer prices rose 9.9 percent in August from a year earlier, a slight decline in inflation and the first decline in nearly a year, suggesting inflation has peaked or is close to it .
While this sign of a reversal in the inflation trajectory is likely to provide some relief for lawmakers and policymakers, it will provide only limited comfort to consumers. With prices rising at the fastest pace in 40 years, households are still feeling budget pressures and the Bank of England will continue to be under pressure to raise interest rates.
Inflation fell from 10.1 percent in July, the Office for National Statistics reported Wednesday. A fall in the price of motor fuels lowered inflation, as did smaller upward contributions from the price of food and clothing.
Inflation last fell in September 2021, when the effects of the end of widespread discounts in restaurants the previous summer eclipsed the annual calculations of price changes.
According to a Bank of England forecast last month, inflation in Britain would reach 13 percent in October and could rise again in January – each time owing to a rise in the government’s price cap on household energy bills to avoid rising wholesale prices for energy bills. natural gas. But those predictions were dashed last week when the newly installed Prime Minister, Liz Truss, announced she would freeze utility bills for the next two winters at an average of £2,500 ($2,880) a year.
Ms Truss said she expected the move to lower expected inflation by as much as five percentage points.
Analysts also quickly lowered their forecasts.
Inflation will peak slightly higher in October, at nearly 11 percent, and then “seem to fall sharply next year” due to the government’s new energy price cap, Samuel Tombs, an economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, wrote in a note to customers on Wednesday. .
In addition to dampening inflation, the policy is expected to put more money into people’s pockets and lessen the severity of an impending recession.
But the policy risks making high inflation more persistent, even if the general rate does not rise. The freeze on utility bills will allow households to set aside less money for gas and electricity, instead spending it on restaurants and travel. This keeps the pressure on the central bank to contain the economy with rate hikes in an attempt to eradicate high inflation. The bank aims for an inflation rate of 2 percent.
Core inflation, a measure of price increases excluding volatile energy and food prices, stood at 6.3 percent in August, up slightly from 6.2 percent in July.
What the Bank of England cares about, Huw Pill, the central bank’s chief economist, said earlier last week, is the medium-term impact of fiscal policy changes, as opposed to any short-term decline in key inflation.
Economists expect the bank to raise interest rates by another half a percentage point to 2.25 percent when policymakers meet next week. The meeting was postponed for a week, until after the national mourning period for Queen Elizabeth II.
But the more superficial outlook for inflation over the medium term makes it less likely that policymakers will have to “strangle the economy” by raising interest rates as high as 4 percent, which traders had recently expected, Mr Tombs wrote.
Inflation in Great Britain has been strongly influenced by energy prices, especially natural gas. But even if energy prices fall, the effect on inflation will persist. Over time, companies and workers will continue to adjust their prices and demand higher wages to make up for lost profits and reduced purchasing power due to higher inflation. This challenge, and the attempt to keep expectations about future inflation low, is why central banks have raised interest rates in larger increments.
On Tuesday, data showed that inflation in the United States did not decline as quickly as economists had expected. This keeps the pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates aggressively, and the S&P 500 index fell more than 4 percent, its worst day since June 2020, ahead of the central bank’s moves.
For many UK consumers, price increases are still painfully high. Food prices rose 13.1 percent in August from a year earlier, the fastest pace in 14 years, with milk, cheese and eggs in particular driving inflation.
Ocado, an online supermarket company, said on Tuesday that its customers were buying less and seeking “value for money” items in response to inflationary pressures. Food prices have risen by 7 percent in the past year.
Wages cannot keep up with these high prices. Wages, excluding bonuses and adjusted for inflation, fell 2.8 percent in the three months to July from a year earlier, one of the largest declines since comparable records began 20 years ago.
Across the country, workers in various industries have gone on strike to demand wage increases more in line with the rising cost of living. Another eight-day strike will begin later this month in the port of Felixstowe, Britain’s largest container ship dock, and overlap with strikers in the port of Liverpool.


text:
Going Shopping? You May Be In A Lock Down Situation
Do you prefer online shopping, or are you more of the brick-and-mortar type?
Both ways have their pros and cons, benefits and setbacks. I like to actually touch and/or try on what I am purchasing but the inconvenience of actually leaving my abode to deal with society can sometimes be cumbersome. However, once I have my purchase in my hands, I know I am safe from being invaded by porch pirates.
With that being said, as of this article being written, Wednesday, February 23, 2022, if you plan on heading out to The Walden Galleria be aware that the Cheektowaga Police will be conducting a lockdown of the shopping center, Thursday, February 24, 2022.
Do not worry, or be alarmed, this will only be a drill according to WGRZ
Again, this is only a drill. But if you are shopping around 11:15 am, lasting approximately 15 minutes, there will be announcements over the public address system notifying everybody already practicing their rights as consumers that it is only a drill. This will be one of four sets of drills conducted by the Cheektowaga Police,
It is no secret that the Walden Galleria has been the focal point of having some issues with the mod rules mentality, recently instating the Parental Escort Policy - (PEP) - MB-18. Anyone 18 years of age or younger must be accompanied by an adult.
So again, if you are out in the area, be mindful that this simulation will be going on being conducted by the local authorities. Be safe and aware out there and happy shopping.
Stores In Buffalo Your Parents Took You as a Kid, But Aren't Around Anymore
12 WNY Words That Out-Of-Towners Struggle To Pronounce
The Best Places To Live In Western New York


text:
Moray SNP News
Moray’s MP Angus Robertson has visited recently launched Elgin business ‘Pencil Me In’, which sells high quality and unique stationery items, in the town’s Batchen Street where he discussed concerns over delivery charges with entreprenurial business owner Sarah Holmes.
As a small retail business that is generally placing smaller orders with suppliers Sarah says business growth and success is made all the more challenging by unfair delivery charges.
The long-running issue affects many thousands of individuals and businesses right across Moray, who experience delivery surcharges that add significantly to the cost of items.
Angus Robertson MP said:
“The Scottish Government, SNP MP at Westminsters and other organisations such as Citizens Advice Scotland continue to put pressure on online sellers, delivery companies and the UK Government, which retains responsibility for regulation of mail and parcel delivery. There has been some success with a number of companies offering alternatives such as standard Royal Mail prices, which can often be cheaper than their normal courier for areas like Moray and the Highlands but there are still far too many examples of excessive delivery charges.
“It is hard to see how some delivery companies can courier items at a very reasonable rate, while others slap on outrageous surcharges for the same journey to what is a well populated area between two major cities.
“Business owners like Sarah are working extremely hard to get exciting new businesses like ‘Pencil Me In’ off the ground and it is obstacles like excessive delivery charges that really put pressure on that. Pencil Me In has been shortlisted for the British Business Awards Sole Trader of the Year Award, which is a fantastic accolade but good businesses like this are being seriously undermined by high delivery charges.
“This continues to be an issue that comes up regularly in my mailbag and along with SNP colleagues at Westminster such as neighbouring Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey MP, Drew Hendry, I am committed to maintaining pressure on the UK Government to better regulate the sector and make delivery charging fair for everyone.”
‘Pencil Me In’ owner Sarah Holmes said:
“Unfair delivery charges are a real challenges for small businesses like mine. When you are placing smaller orders from a number of different suppliers these excessive delivery charges can really hammer your profit margin, making it harder to compete with established businesses, especially large chain stores.
“I want to offer a range of unique design led products that people can’t get in other places but you still have to sell at a reasonable price to get customers through the door. A system where you can get such a wide variety of delivery charges - often with no choice from suppliers of which delivery company is used - makes it hard to plan ahead and give customers a consistent and high quality offer.
“We need to see changes to this unfair system if we want to support entrepreneurs who are trying to get businesses off the ground, grow them and provide wider employment.”
The SNP’s Mr Robertson has raised the issue previously with UK Ministers and is raising the issue again with the newly appointed Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility. Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey MP, Drew Hendry has also tabled recent motions in parliament on the ongoing issue.


text:
Including ViacomCBS Consumer Products UK teaming with Osper to bring a range of Nickelodeon propert
Genius Brands’ Marc Rosenberg on how 2020 was a year of change and breakthrough
Including Disney and Lucasfilm revealing ‘Mando Mondays’ in celebration of The Mandalorian.
Genius Brands’ Lloyd Mintz on positioning the company to sprint out of the gate
Including Disney+ lining up new original content to mark Star Wars Day on May 4.
Including Rocket Licensing continuing to welcome partners for the classic Beano brand.
Including Start Licensing to represent British artist Julie Dodsworth.
Including the first ever Peaky Blinders VR game being prepped for 2020 arrival.
Including BLE revealing Nadiya Hussain Q&A and BLE Kitchen plans for 2018 show.


text:
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 25 – Kenya could be losing billions of shillings in term of tax revenues owing to bureaucracy at customs which is encouraging illegal importations.
According to DHL’s Country Managing Director Alan Cassels, clearance of goods at various points of entry including Mombasa port and airports is still taking up to six days, hence frustrating traders.
Cassels is calling on the government to ensure this is reduced as promised by President Uhuru Kenyatta to less than three days and encourage easier movement of goods.
“If you make life very difficult from a bureaucratic point of view with paper work, I use the analogy of water that has to reach the dam; the water will find its way downhill somehow. And this is what happens, if you make it very complicated, there will be informal ways in which people will do it,” he says.
He argues that despite heavy investments on infrastructure at the port of Mombasa and airports, “bureaucracy is still suffocating businesses.”
Apart from the time wasted while getting clearance, Cassels laments that traders are also being subjected to numerous charges of up to six different type of fees which contributes to high cost of imported goods in the country.
Some of the charges include Import Duty, VAT, what he terms as government fees, Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) fee, Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) and the newly introduced 1.5percent Standard Gauge Railway levy.
“What happens is that your Sh3,000 items now becomes Sh12,000 item at the end of the day and that is before you pay for any transport. So what this means, one will prefer flying to Dubai, put a lot of stuff the suitcase and bring them here and the chances of you being stopped at the customs is very slim,” he says.
He says apart from discouraging investors to come and do business in the country, Kenya is also losing in terms of revenue as well as increasing the prices of goods for the end consumer.
Meanwhile Cassels says high investment in technology will play a great role in smoothening clearance at the points of entry where importers could be fulfilling a lot of requirements online and avoid backlog.
“We must look for a way to avoid a lot of human interactions. This is not only easier but it also minimizes any cases of corruption,” Cassels argues.


text: Digitimes Research reports 5% growth in global smartphone market in 2017. Approximately, 1.43 billion smartphones have been shipped in 2017. In 2018, shipment growth is expected to be slightly lower, at 4.8% with more than 1.5 billion units shipped. Kodak announces its entry to the 3D professional market. Kodak’s new Portrait 3D Printer is now available for pre-order at a significant discount, and will begin shipping in March 2018. Silicon Valley newspaper — The Mercury reports that about 400 hours of videos are uploaded to YouTube every minute. That’s 24,000 hours of upload per hour and 5,76,000 hours a day. Apple pushes back the launch date for its smart speakers - HomePod, beyond 2017, making it the latest (new) product to miss the promised shipping date.


text:
A leaked image seems to suggest that Intel's latest Silvermont Atom processor can easily outperform Qualcomm's quad-core 800 CPU, all while keeping power usage to a minimum.
...of Microsoft money, ARM's acquisition, and Windows 10 updates
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Lens Cover
Expanding mobile photography with Aukey's wide-angle lenses
JESBOD QY13 sports Bluetooth earphones
Time is running out to claim your free Windows 10 upgrade
windows 10 upgrade
Insider build 14393.3 for PC and Mobile released to Fast ring
Intel plans to use its upcoming Bay Trail processor design in upcoming Celeron and Pentium chips, in addition to Atom chips, that will be made for low end PCs and tablets.
Paul Otellini, Intel's soon-to-be ex-CEO, looks back at his years at Intel and points to the iPhone: missing out on it was the only thing he regrets and one of the companies biggest mistakes.
Intel has revealed the first details of Silvermont, its new low-power microarchitecture that will be used as the basis for a number of products, including the upcoming Bay Trail processor.