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Spotify is a major music-streaming service that launched in 2008. The service is available in more than 50 countries, and in both free and premium formats. It’s also been a major talking point in the discussion about how artists are compensated.
Spotify says 'Hamilton' soundtrack is on track to smash records
Alexander Hamilton—America streams for you.
Lin-Manuel Miranda at last unsheathes 'The Hamilton Mixtape'
CD, vinyl, and cassette versions are on the way.
Drake ruled Spotify in 2016 with a whopping 4.7 billion streams
All summer '16. (Fall, winter, and spring, too.)
Spotify launches weekly 'Singles' playlists featuring exclusive recordings and covers
The first release features songs from John Legend, Juanes, and more.


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Premier Foods considering sale of meat substitute Quorn
Hovis-to-Mr Kipling group Premier Foods has confirmed it is considering a sale of meat substitute Quorn in an effort to speed up plans to reduce its £1.4bn debt mountain.
Britain’s largest food producer said it had received several approaches for its vegetarian Quorn business, which is valued at up to £250million.
The pressure for Premier Foods to sell off prized brands comes as it faces increasing calls from shareholders to accelerate its debt reduction plan, with shares plunging close to all-time lows last week.
Under pressure: Premier faces increasing calls from shareholders to accelerate its debt reduction plan which may lead to the sale of more prized brands
Analysts have speculated that it could be forced to sell off its Hovis bread brand, while talks over the sale of Mr Kipling, abandoned last year, could also be revisited.
But sources close to the company said it would not be pushed into a fire sale, adding that Quorn was the only brand on the block.
The firm’s debts have soared on the back of a five-year long spending spree that saw it snap up some of the best-known names in British food.
In 2007, Premier Foods completed the acquisition of RHM, including Hovis, Mr Kipling and Lyons, just months after buying Campbell’s Soup for £460million and Quorn, which cost the firm £172million.
A £404million rights issue in 2009 went some way to addressing the debt it built up to fund the acquisition, which began to weigh on the stock market’s confidence in the business amid the depths of the recession.
But its £1.4billion debt mountain is nearly four times as large as a rolling profit figure of £354m issued at its half-year results.
Premier Foods, which has a market value of £392million, hopes to bring the debt down closer to three times the size of annual profits
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domain: news


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Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Vizio: 280,000 HDTVs Sold On Black Friday
Irvine-based HDTV maker VIZIO reported Tuesday that it sold over 280,000 of its HDTVs on Black Friday, or 40 percent more over its sales in 2008. The firm attributed the boost in sales to its wide product range of HDTVs, as well as retail partners such as Costco Wholesale, Sam's Club, Walmart, Target, and others. Vizio is one of the largest makers of HDTVs.


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Later this month, Diabetes UK is launching an ambitious advertising campaign together with Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and the British Heart Foundation (BHF), as part of the Government's Change4Life campaign.
This advertising represents an exciting step for the charity. We were invited by the Department of Health to be a partner in its ambitious healthy living social marketing campaign, and have been working with CRUK and BHF in a unique partnership for the first time to support Change4Life activity.
About the ad campaign
Joint advertising targeting parents with kids under 11 will raise awareness of the impact that diet and lifestyle can have on future risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
The advertising is running in consumer magazines from the end of February for four weeks.
Differentiating between Type 1 and Type 2
As a charity, we are very aware of the criticism the Department of Health campaign attracted at the start of the year from parents of young people with Type 1 diabetes, as it did not initially differentiate between Type 1 and Type 2.
Our opportunity to get the right message across
The joint charity campaign, however, is our opportunity to ensure that messages are correctly communicated about the different types and to raise awareness of the risk factors of Type 2 diabetes.


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Demystifying India’s electric vehicle ambition
Globally, the automotive industry is on the verge of major transformations. Ever-growing urbanization expedites the demand for vehicles. And this increase in vehicles is significantly creating environmental impact. While countries around the world are exploring sustainable ways to address such challenges, the introduction of electric vehicles seems to bring sustainable mobility. India is leapfrogging in the electrification of its transport landscape, requiring a robust ecosystem and conducive environment.
Urbanization in India is currently on the rise as rural populations move to cities in the hunt for employment. This significantly puts pressure upon the energy and transport infrastructure leading to congestion and pollution. Robust EV policy can boost the country’s economy and reduce pollutions in cities.
Currently, the electric vehicle revolution in India is largely being led by two-wheelers and three-wheelers. A KPMG report predicts that there will be 25-35 percent electric two-wheeler penetration, and 65- 75 percent in electric three-wheelers by 2030, with passenger vehicle electrification following. The report further noted that to drive EV adoption in the country, OEMs and the government, both at the state and central levels, need to work collaboratively to build an integrated policy, creating a conducive ecosystem for India’s electric mobility vision.
India’s EV Policy
India’s transport sector accounts for 18 percent of total energy consumption. It also contributes an estimated 142 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, of which 123 million tonnes is contributed by road transportation alone. Thus, to meet the country’s pledge taken at the COP21 to lessen emissions by 33-35 percent by 2030, the government needs to view electric mobility as a viable alternative to climate change impacts.
Currently, more than ten states in India have final or draft EV policies that support the national electric mobility policies. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, New Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh have approved EV policies. On the other hand, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab have draft policies. Almost all of these state EV policies stress two and three-wheelers, public transportation, and job creation.
Through its EV policy that was approved in 2018, Andhra Pradesh aims to deploy 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2024, with 1 lakh slow and fast charging stations establishments. Bihar where EV policy was drafted in June 2019 and the approval is awaiting prioritizes electrification of rickshaws by 2022. Gujarat also plans to have 1 lakh EVs on the road by 2022. The policy in the state, which was drafted in September 2019, is still waiting for approval.
State of EVs in India
According to the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles, EV sales in India, excluding e-rickshaws, raised by 20 percent in 2019-20. It reported that over 1.56 lakh EVs – 3,400 electric cars and 600 electric buses, were sold in the country during FY2019-20, compared to 1.3 lakh units in the last FY.
The government’s steps into the EV revolution in the country are crucial. They have undertaken multiple initiatives to promote the manufacturing and adoption of electric vehicles in India. The current ruling government has set a target of 30 percent adoption of EVs by 2030.
If the country will succeed in achieving its 2030 EV ambitions, the EV market in India will top US$206 billion, according to CEEW Centre for Energy Finance (CEEW-CEF). The Centre estimated a cumulative investment need of US$180 billion in vehicle production and charging infrastructure until 2030 to meet the ambition. It also predicts that the cumulative EV sales in all vehicle segments could cross over 100 million units by the projected timeframe, an increase of 200 times its current market size. Conversely, NITI Aayog projects that the Indian EV industry can add around US$300 billion by 2030 cumulatively.
Tata Motors, Hero Electric, Mahindra Electric, Ather Energy, Hyundai Kona electric, Ashok Leyland, MG Motor, among others are the leading players in all-electric vehicles in India. The recent entry of Tesla is now expected to revolutionize EV adoption in the country.


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A massive 21.4 million Christmas presents given in the UK this year will be unwanted, according to new research. Each of us will receive around £40 worth of gifts we just don’t want.
And what’s more, a fifth of us won’t even remember who gave us what – whether we appreciated the gift or not!
The 10 most unappreciated gifts are:
1. Smellies/ beauty products (31 per cent)
2. Christmas novelty gifts (23 per cent)
3. Hat/scarf/gloves (17 per cent)
4. Woolly jumper (14 per cent)
5. Book (13 per cent)
6. Box of chocolates (12 per cent)
7. Socks (11 per cent)
8. Slippers (nine per cent)
9. CDs/DVDs (nine per cent)
10. A new bag (six per cent)
The poll of more than 2,000 people by charity Sightsavers also found that a fifth of us manage to get rid of offending presents within two months, with a further fifth burying them in the back of the wardrobe or even chucking them out.
[Related: The 10 must-have Christmas toys for 2012]
The charity conducted the survey to highlight how much money goes to waste each Christmas and encourage people to consider charity presents instead.
Sightsavers’ ambassador Lorraine Kelly, who visited the charity’s sight saving work in Kenya, said: “For a small amount of money you can transform someone’s life – taking them from the misery of blindness to a future of independence, often for as little as £8. That’s why I’m supporting the Gift of Sight this Christmas.
"Each and every gift really does have the power to make an incredible difference to someone’s sight and life.”
Do you give charity Christmas presents? Are they appreciated? Tell us your thoughts on Twitter.


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ZTE Axon 7 turned out to be a truly nice premium inexpensive providing in the Chinese company and was well-received by the users globally. Currently, the company is all set to launch its successor as it has managed to purchase the ban lifted which barred it in doing business with US-based companies.
Earlier, the manufacturer had sent out media invites for the IFA 2018 in Berlin in August 31 to 5th September. Presently, the company has sent out formal invites for the Axon 9 launch occasion on August 30 and has also shared the invite of the release through Weibo. The invite has a massive ‘9’ written on it, clearly hinting at the Axon 9.
The image Furthermore mentions 5G, hinting that the cameraphone could be a 5G-enabled device. The smartphone is In addition expected to come with the trendy full-screen show having 18:9 aspect ratio. There’s In addition dual-camera setup on the back, for better imaging capabilities.
Based on the previous information, the Axon 9 is expected to arrive with a 6-inch QHD+ panel and will be powered by Qualcomm‘s flagship Snapdragon 845 processor. It can arrive in 2 variants, one with 4GB RAM and another with 6GB RAM.
As for the internal memory, it’ll start with 64GB onboard memory and will max out at 256GB. The gadget, which is expected to be 5G-enabled, will be operating Android Oreo running system out-of-the-box. Presently, with no much more details are in the world regarding the phone.
Apart from the Axon 9, the company is In addition expected to release a fresh Blade series smartphone at the IFA 2018. To know much more about the devices having released by ZTE at IFA, we’ll have to wait for the formal announcement.


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What appeared to be a store closing in the South East neighborhood of Washington DC, returns to be a new store opening with a new name and some of the same owners. The Yes Marketplace located at 2323 pennsylvania Ave. sold off unused merchandise at great 50 to 75% discount in the middle of December. The store's owner was telling the press it was going out of business due to the loss of profit that the store's imported and gormet food selections produced. Just a few days before Christmas Eve, the fairlawn Market started to reshelve new items. The new store held a Grand Opening on Dec. 22nd, 2012.
The idea for changing names and store owners was intended to met the demand of it's customers. Curtis of DC, the new store's owner, stated that a total of 5 investors own the stores. It is himself, Gary, Kathy, Mike, and Gene. A new location of the Yes Market moved instead a few miles away nearby to the prestigious Capital Hill neighborhood to a corner on Barracks Row. The two stores are meeting more customer's demand and trying to met the likes of those who buy from them. The high priced "organic food' is now available only at the new Yes Market. Products such as " Marine Coast Sea Vegatables Kelp", that come with a USDA certified Organic sticker, will not be available at the new store any longer. The changes made in store stock is " geared for the neighborhood", says Curtis.
The area where the Fairlawn Market place is now is also has the largest population of welfare receiveng household for the entire city. At a rate between 35 - 45 %, that is nearly half of all resident living in Ward 8. The need for affordable food is with in an understood tactic of budgeting. People learn to live what they can have less than two hundread a month to buy all groceries for each person receiving food stamps. The store still accepts EBT benefits as a form of payment for food items. But now it offers more reasonable prices.
A change in what is sold and the overal price rating is appealing to the same old customers. The alcohal sales now stock in more than just imports. All types of beer are available there. But the competions is just a few doors down at a nearby liquer store. Regular white eggs are on sale for a $1.49. Much less than the prices offered at area chain grocery stores. The corner store is still open it is just providing new products that people can afford.


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( CNBC ) Apple continued a blitz of investment announcements on Wednesday with a stock-based compensation award for some employees.
The iPhone maker will grant $2,500 in restricted stock units over the coming months. Restricted stock units are valued in company stock, but vest over time. Apple’s stock hit an all-time intraday high of $179.39 a share on Tuesday.
Bloomberg previously reported the news, citing anonymous sources. An email obtained by Axios said the stock awards would be available “to all individual contributors and management up to and including Senior Managers worldwide, [b]oth full-time and part-time.”
It’s not clear exactly how many employees that includes, or if new employees would be included. Nor is it clear when the award would vest, or whether the $2,500 sum is more or less than would usually be awarded to employees at that level. But the RSUs are likely to apply to most employees worldwide, including retail.
The stock awards follow Apple’s announcement of a large-scale commitment to the U.S. economy, albeit thin on details. The company said it will add $350 billion in support of the U.S. economy over the next five years, with contributions from a new campus, payments to suppliers, job creation, capital expenditures, and taxes on overseas cash.


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In Trident Seafoods Corporation v Trident Foods Pty Ltd, the Full Federal Court of Australia has provided useful guidance on the control of trademark use in a corporate group to ensure the maintenance of registered trademark validity.
The landmark EU-Vietnam Trade Agreement has been officially signed. Talking to WTR, IP practitioners claim that the agreement will lead to significant changes to the trademark, design and GI system in Vietnam.
In our latest round-up, we look at the Lazada Group joining Alibaba’s IP protection platform, UKIPO granting its first multimedia mark, new Benelux director general begins, and much more.
In Royal Dryfruit Range v Royal Suvidha, the Bombay High Court has ruled in favour of plaintiff Royal Dryfruit Range and restrained defendant Royal Suvidha from using the trademark/trade name ROYAL SUVIDHA in respect of dry fruits.
An understanding of the law is just the first step to successful brand protection in China. WTR talked to local in-house counsel and private practitioners to get the inside track on how to craft a multifaceted trademark strategy for the region.
Alibaba Vice President Matthew Bassiur invites brands to collaborate with the company in the fight against fakes as the group collects WTR’s award for Asia-Pacific Team of the Year.
The eminent Jack Chang sits down with WTR to give an insight into his varied career. From establishing the China Anti-counterfeiting Coalition and the Quality Brands Protection Committee to being personally thanked by Vice Premier Madam Wu Yi for his work, Chang has significantly altered the trademark landscape in China.
The National Assembly of Vietnam has passed a law amending a number of provisions of the Intellectual Property Law, which is expected to be greatly beneficial to rights holders.
Speaking exclusively to WTR, Raymond Marshall, general counsel for Guinness World Records, reveals how he juggles the family-friendly brand’s reputation and the threat of genericide.
The China National Intellectual Property Administration has recently recognised a decision involving the invalidation of a registered trademark based on forged application documents as a model case for 2018.
In Sun Pharma Laboratories Ltd v Ajanta Pharma Ltd, the Delhi High Court has held that the strict similarity test for pharmaceutical brands set forth in Cadila also applies to nutraceutical brands.
A Singapore boutique cake shop has successfully defended its registration for the mark THE PATISSIER (the French word ‘pâtissier’ means ‘pastry chef’) for a range of goods and services relating to bakery products.
The Malaysian Parliament has tabled a new Trademarks Bill 2019 which could bring about significant changes to the existing regime for trademark protection and enforcement in the country.
Uzbekistan has adopted a new law which introduces fines for the infringement of copyright and related rights, patents, utility models, industrial designs and company names, and doubles the existing fines for trademark infringement.
In proceedings involving the ‘Hao Yao Shi’ logo mark, the Chinese Trademark Review and Adjudication Board has agreed for the first time to conduct an oral hearing for an appeal in a non-use cancellation action.


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SEAT is aiming to make a mark in the upper-medium market with its new ‘high-value’ Exeo model.
Unveiled at the Paris Motor Show earlier this month, the Exeo is SEAT’s first foray into the core fleet market, and the manufacturer is adding plenty of standard equipment in a bid to lure user-choosers away from Ford Mondeo and the forthcoming Vauxhall Insignia.
According to SEAT’s information, the Exeo is based on the Volkswagen Group premium platform, which is a very grand way of saying it is a rebadged old-shape Audi A4. However, new front and rear styling gives the car at least some SEAT identity.
The Exeo is due to go on sale in the UK in the first half of next year and SEAT claims every Exeo will come with a generous level of equipment as standard, including USB connectivity to link MP3 music players to the car, cruise control, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, dual-zone climate control and alloy wheels.
SEAT UK Exeo product manager James Buckell said: “In today’s challenging market, we know car buyers are looking for the very best value possible and, to that end, are doing our utmost to make the forthcoming Exeo the class leader in terms of both price and equipment.
“The fitting of luxurious features such as dual-zone climate control across the entire range, as well as convenience additions such as USB connectivity, underlines our determination to make our new saloon a particularly well-specified drive.”
SEAT has yet to announce prices for the new model but expect an entry-level price of around £16,000.


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In typical ostentatious fashion, Apple rolled out a number of new products at its Worldwide Developers Conference. While many were enthusiastic about the new tech, some online couldnt help having fun at the companys expense.
Apple introduced its new iOS 13 software at Mondays conference, as well as the latest iteration of its high-end desktop, the Mac Pro. Many were quick to note the computers striking resemblance to a certain kitchen appliance.
While its cheese-grater-inspired design has become the butt of jokes on Twitter, some pointed out that its still an upgrade on the trash-can-shaped 2013 Mac Pro.
The tech giant also turned heads in its promotional material for the new computer, advertising the Mac Pros display stand – just the stand – with a $999 price tag. Some argued the ad contained an error, and that the stand was being offered for a fraction of that.
Woah now, whoever made this clearly screwed up. Look at one of the presentations from WWDC, It's $199 not $999. Pretty pricey but not *that* bad.
— Aemilia (@WingarScarlett) June 3, 2019
It may be an unfortunate mistake, but wouldn't it be cool to have $999 (approximately the price of an iPhone XS) worth of functions in just your display stand?
Or perhaps Apple simply thought it would be small potatoes for someone already dishing out $6,000 on the Pro itself and another $5,000 on the display. The computer may only stand a foot tall, but one tech outlet jokingly deemed it the “iLadder,” as the expensive piece of technology “lets you look down on your poor friends.”
While one part of Twitter was jeering and sneering at Apples new creations, another was in a much more somber mood, mourning the phasing out of iTunes. The iconic music platform will be replaced by three desktop apps: Music, TV and Podcasts.
i cant believe iTunes is over and future kids wont ever experience the anxiety of which song to spend $0.99 or $1.29 on, or how frustrating only 30 second previews of songs on albums are…. RIP to a legendary era https://t.co/H0TOdH7jIF
— caitlyn rae (@xc8lyn) June 4, 2019
In addition to the Pro, Apple also rolled out a new login feature to compete with similar tools already offered by Facebook and Google, hoping to speed up the sign-in process on its devices for third party apps.


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“Practice owners are becoming more aware of the need to pay attention to the business side of veterinary medicine,” Dr. Andy Roark says. “The rise of corporate practices are really forcing business to the forefront.”
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (PRWEB)
January 11, 2018
Petplan pet insurance is responding to the rapidly changing nature of the veterinary industry by launching the Business of Veterinary Medicine Conference in partnership with VMX on February 2. The speaker series is designed to help independent veterinary practice owners answer the challenge posed by the increase in marketing-savvy, corporate-owned hospital networks.
To prepare for the conference, Petplan tapped Dr. Andy Roark, speaker, author and media personality, for his thoughts on the business of veterinary medicine.
“Practice owners are becoming more aware of the need to pay attention to the business side of veterinary medicine,” Roark says. “The rise of corporate practices are really forcing business to the forefront.”
Roark says the most important business principles that practice owners and staff should focus on are:
Strategy – where they are going as a practice
- Operations – efficiency in providing services
- Marketing – how to tell their story to find clients
- Client experience – how the practice makes people feel
“Vets have always done a good job with operations and efficiency. The area that has the potential to make the biggest impact now is a practice’s specific strategy for its clientele,” says Roark. “Veterinarians are coming to the understanding that different clients want different things, and they can’t be all things to all…


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Innovation Centre clients triumph at Exeter Business Awards
Published on: 20 May 2015
Robin Campbell (Technical Director) and Richard Willmott (Finance Director) of Frigesco Ltd receiving the Environmental Award at the Exeter Business Awards.
Past and present clients of the University of Exeter’s Innovation Centre have been successful at the Express and Echo Business Awards.
Frigesco, known for their Innovative flash defrost technology, scooped the environmental award adding to their impressive collection of technology industry awards including the recent Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (ACR) News Awards, Cooling Industry Awards and National ACR Awards 2015.
Frigesco’s Defrost System uses a phase-change material – a substance that changes its state with a change in temperature and is capable of storing heat energy. The system captures waste heat from refrigeration systems and carries out high efficiency defrosts of evaporators. The technology improves energy efficiency of refrigeration systems by eliminating the need for external energy in the defrost process. This can save up to 20 per cent of the costs of running supermarket cold rooms and frozen food display cabinets. The system is currently being trialled in major UK supermarket chains, fast food outlets and internationally in the US, Ireland and South Africa. It is also being developed for use in air-source heat pumps.
eCow who were previously based at the centre and have said they would like to move to Exeter Science Park, won the Innovation Award for their pioneering digital device used for dairy cow monitoring, the farmBolus. The device offers reliable and robust detection of lameness and reduced wellbeing in cows.
The team have developed the farmBolus to wirelessly monitor the pH and temperature of a cow’s rumen over a six month period. This helps with management decisions regarding the cow’s diet and movement routines. Data is presented on a desktop client with easily viewable graphs and the ability to customise and compare data to give a comprehensive picture of the cow’s health.
Crowdcube took the coveted Business of the Year Award. The company was started in the Innovation Centre in 2010 by Darren Westlake and his partner, Luke Lang. The crowdfunding platform provides people with the opportunity to buy equity in unlisted UK registered businesses in exchange for their investment.
Having successfully funded their first project in July 2010 the company has gone from strength to strength, and has since successfully raised more than £70 million for 209 businesses from more than than 150,000 members.
To complete the night, Crowdcube co-founder Darren Westlake also picked up the Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Darren was recently named one of Britain’s most influential entrepreneurs in the prestigious Debrett’s 500 list.
The competition now in its fifth year attracted 133 entries amongst businesses and entrepreneurs in Exeter and the surrounding area.


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Original production of the hybrid 949hp LaFerrari hypercar was limited to 499 coupés. In response to the devastating earthquakes that rocked Central Italy earlier this year, Ferrari Chairman and CEO, Sergio Marchionne, announced that one additional example would be built and auctioned with proceeds benefiting the reconstruction of Central Italy, which was devastated by earthquakes in 2016. The sale presents an unexpected opportunity for a collector to acquire a LaFerrari coupé from new. The car has unique paint and interior, and a plaque to commemorate its special purpose.
In addition to RM Sotheby’s and Ferrari working together on the special charity sale, the auction will be held in collaboration with the National Italian American Foundation’s Earthquake Relief Fund. RM Sotheby’s will offer telephone and absentee bidding for bidders unable to attend. Daytona will be hosting the finals of the Ferrari Challenge World Finals the same weekend. There will also be a Guinness World Record speed attempt during the weekend. The video below should give you some idea what to expect if you attend. The auction takes place Saturday, December 3, 2016 at 8:00 pm at Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida.


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If you watch logos you’ve probably seen this trend: boring logos with only one or two colors, overly simple graphics and very little text. This article will go through a few notable logos that have recently simplify and why.
Comedy Central recently switched to a very simple black and white logo. Comedy Central watches gave the logo an initial thumb down calling it boring. Logo’s need to do more than look pretty in print and the marketers at Comedy Central know it. The static, one-piece logo just wasn’t functional for all the digital platforms Comedy Central is present on. Alicia Johnson, co-creator of the lab said, “The way a brand moves in a digital space — where everything moves — is as relevant to your experience as a static logo.”
Another trend we’re seeing a lot of recently is removal of text in logos, especially for large companies. In 2011, Starbucks decided that the company was big enough to not need a name in the logo. Again, consumers screamed that the change was boring. For a company with the amazing brand recognition of Starbucks, the simplicity of a two-color no-text logo works. But from a marketing standpoint, the new logo just makes sense.
Olive Garden joined team “simplified logo” almost two years ago. Again, this logo change comes as the company is trying to reposition itself in the market. Olive Garden saw falling customer traffic and sales in 2013 so they decided to reposition. This came with lower prices, an updated menu and a new logo. The new logo is simple but without the added scalability benefits of the Comedy Central or KFC logos. Despite the explosion of dislike for the logo after its release in 2014, business seems to be doing better for Olive Garden. In 2015, Olive Garden had four quarters of steady sales growth. While we like the redesign, we’re betting the growth had to do with the promotions and new menu items more than the new logo.


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We are impact entrepreneurs, and we generate purpose-driven profits
Lincoln Method supports SDGs
According to Forbes, David Bainbridge forecasts that the EdTech industry will reach a global value of $252 billion by the year 2020.
According to Tech Crunch, IBIS Capital projects that after-school tutoring in China will grow from $50 billion to $90 billion by 2020.
Furthermore the EdTech industry in China, on the whole, is forecast to grow at a rate of nearly 20% annually. To foster this growth, global investors put over $8 billion into the industry over the first 10 months of 2017. Investments into Chinese EdTech companies reached $1 billion for the first time in 2017.
While in Singapore, parents spend more than $70,000 per year on the education of their children. That is nearly twice the global average.
According to EdSurge, in the first six months of 2018, 62 companies raised $739 million in venture capital.
According to Technavio, the EdTech market in North America is expected to continue growing rapidly, with a 9% CAGR forecast through 2019.
According to Business Wire, the global EdTech market globally reached nearly $18 billion in revenues by 2017. Forecasts through 2022 have the CAGR reaching 18.3% for the industry.
Australian Trade and Investment Commission reported that the educational apps market in the United States was valued at $2.5 billion in 2016.
It further mentioned that the U.S. portion of the EdTech market was valued at $33 billion in 2016, and then forecast to reach $43 billion by 2019.


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Google, U.S. regulators close to deal in patents dispute - sources
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators are near a settlement with Google Inc (GOOG.O) in a dispute over the search giant's efforts to stop the sale of products it says infringe essential patents, according to two sources close to the probe.
But the Federal Trade Commission is not expected to reach a deal soon on the larger, more contentious issue of whether Google tweaks its search results to disadvantage rivals in travel, shopping and other specialized searches.
Its rivals say Google fears the specialized sites will siphon away its most lucrative advertising and the revenue that goes with it.
Under the expected settlement, which could be announced this week or next, Google will be required to drop demands for injunctions in lawsuits filed using a special class of patents called standard essential patents, or SEPs, the sources said.
SEPs ensure, for example, that one brand of wireless phone can call another brand.
There would be an exception to the injunction ban, however. Google would be allowed to request injunctions if companies refuse to negotiate SEP licensing at all, the sources said.
SEPs are usually expected to be broadly licensed for a reasonable price. One view is that if a company convinces a standard-setting organization to name its patent as the standard, that company should be barred from asking for an injunction if there is infringement.
The larger investigation, which is more than a year old, addresses search bias as well as smaller items that aggravate Google's rivals in Silicon Valley and beyond.
These include taking data, such as hotel reviews, from non-Google web sites to use on Google products, and preventing the export of data on advertising effectiveness to non-Google software so ad campaigns can be evaluated.
The European Commission is investigating many of the same allegations.
Google's critics, disappointed with the trajectory of the FTC probe, appear prepared to take their grievances to the U.S. Justice Department.
At least one Google adversary met with Justice Department officials recently, pressing them to investigate if the FTC fails to get a satisfactory settlement on search or litigate against Google, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
The Texas attorney general's office is also leading a probe into Google's practices.
(Reporting By Diane Bartz; editing by John Wallace)
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Wychwood gets pounds 500,000 to expand Hobgoblinns: Producer of strong ales aims for flotation in 1997
Monday 01 November 1993
The company has just secured pounds 500,000 to expand its chain of Hobgoblinns - pubs themed on ghouls and ghosties.
Wychwood, whose headquarters are in Witney, Oxfordshire, started life in 1983 as the Glenny Brewery, named after Paddy Glenny, who has since decided that his true vocation lies in moose hunting in Canada.
The first Hobgoblinn opened a year ago in Staines, Surrey, and has been joined by others in Bristol, Bath, Brighton and High Wycombe. It is planned to open a further four by next spring.
Backing for expansion is coming from 3i, which is investing pounds 350,000, and from National Westminster Bank, which is providing pounds 150,000.
Over the past four years, beer production has quadrupled at Wychwood, which is now churning out 70 barrels, or 20,000 pints, a week of some very potent real ales. Turnover in the past year has increased sevenfold to stand at pounds 3.5m.
The company spends about pounds 50,000 on rebranding pubs under the Hobgoblinns name. The pubs are targeted at the student and the real-ale enthusiast, and have bare floorboards, old wooden furniture, wood-burning fires and strong beers.
Wychwood's beers include Dr Thirstys at 5.2 per cent, Wychwood Hobgoblin at 6 per cent, and one with 6.5 per cent alcoholic strength, aimed at students.
Paul Adams, formerly finance director of the Firkin chain of pubs, is one of the men behind the expansion at Wychwood. The company wants to have 50 pubs by its 1997 target date for flotation on the stock market.
Growth at the bottom end of the brewing industry is becoming a familar tale, with more than 30 breweries opening in the last year alone.
However, Ian Rogers, the managing director of Wychwood, believes that many new entrants will not survive.
'Following a 12-month boom in the beer brewing business the opportunites for independent brews to appear in tenanted pubs owned by the big six (breweries) has narrowed considerably.'
Unless the small breweries have their own pubs, Mr Rogers doubts they can compete against the big discounts being offered on barrels of beer by the likes of Bass and Courage.
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A day after Fb’s Cellphone experience, its Inventory value showed a hike of greater than Three%. And this came about for the first time considering mid-march that its Stock price shot up to $27 a share. Looking Forward To the adventure this week, the Stock worth hovered round $26.Sixty Five. The Situation is being compared to ultimate time, when Facebook made an announcement and its Inventory worth went down as analysts were not impressed with that. Anticipators have been anticipating something big from this experience reminiscent of Google getting a competition and Fb rolled out with a Fb Cellphone.
Rumours about Fb arising with its smartphone had been all time excessive, alternatively there were steady denials coming from CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. On Thursday, Facebook rolled out with an android app often called Fb Residence. This Will Likely permit its consumer to reorient the display of their mobiles around folks now not around apps.
Ahead Of unveiling the app, Zuckerberg said that they don’t seem to be just building a Cellphone or an running device but in truth the speculation is to build something a long way extra beyond just an app.
Fb Residence will first be launched for HTC and AT&T, and it’s working on the plan to unfold its diameter to different producers also. So, Facebook seems to plan something giant in coming days within the cellular world. There are possibilities that Fb may open up a new platform for its users the place they can display their commercials.


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This week sees the second of 2, apparently conflicting publications, one saying that having domestic pets is good because it reduces the risks of allergy – the other warning that they pose an infection risk. The studies show how important it is to keep new research findings in perspective. Having pets in our home may be good because it helps us to become exposed to friendly microbes which regulate our immune system, but it’s equally important that that we practice good hygiene to ensure we are not exposed to harmful microbes they may also carry.
In the first study, of 1278 children in Sweden, it was found that, as the number of pets recorded as living with the child during its first year of life increased from zero 5 pets, subsequent development of allergic disease (asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, or eczema) in these children at age 7–9 years decreased. It is thought that exposure to microbes from the natural environment are important for regulating the immune system so that it does not overreact to allergens causing allergies, and that pets help to bring these organisms into the home.
In the second study, published today, researchers sampled 60 packs of raw meat products, intended for dogs, bought from retail stores. Raw meat-based diets have become popular for dogs in recent years, because it is seen as a ‘healthier’ and more ‘natural alternative’. Unlike commercial feeds, they are not heat treated or freeze dried to pasteurise their content. The products originated from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany or England.
Salmonella species were found in 4 (7%) of the 60 samples, while Campylobacter species were found in three samples. All 60 samples contained Enterobacteriaceae species, which are indicators of poor hygiene standards. Of the 60 samples 31 contained levels exceeding thresholds set by EU regulations of 5000 bacteria/g.
The authors conclude that pet owners who choose a raw food diet for their animals must be made aware of the risks and take full precautions while storing and handling the food. Bacteria in the juices from dog food can splash and spread to other foods and surfaces, and dogs can transfer potentially harmful bacteria by ‘kissing’ faces immediately after eating. Pets, fed with these foods can also shed these organisms in their faeces into their environment, so there is a risk to owners both in handling the food and coming into contact with the animal. Hand washing after handling animals and foods, before touching or eating food intended for family consumption is vital and it is important to keep and clean pet feeding utensils totally separate from family utensils.
The key to addressing this problem is targeted hygiene – targeting in our practices at the times (food hygiene, toilet hygiene, respiratory hygiene, caring for pets) and in the places (hands, hand contact usrfaces, food contact surfaces, cl;eaning cloths) that matter to protect against exposure to infectious microbes, whilst sustaining exspoure to our enviromental microbes


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Posts Tagged «14nm»
Intel confirms 14nm Broadwell shipping in time for the holidays May 19, 2014 at 3:37 pm
Intel’s CEO has promised that 14nm chips are coming by the end of the year, but the 14nm upgrades are fairly modest. Will they be enough to close the gap with ARM-based hardware?
Samsung and GlobalFoundries buddy up for 14nm, while IBM heads for the exit April 23, 2014 at 5:48 am
GlobalFoundries has signed an agreement to license Samsung’s 14nm technology, but IBM is nowhere to be seen. Has the pivotal third leg of the vaunted Common Platform collapsed?
Perils of a paper launch: AMD’s A8-7600 pushed back to late 2014 April 9, 2014 at 4:04 pm
AMD has pushed back its already “launched” A8-7600 to the second half of the year for retail availability. For now, Kaveri is confined to the high-end of AMD’s price stack.
TSMC, ARM announce first 16nm FinFET tapeout of big.LITTLE Cortex-A57 SoC February 25, 2014 at 11:45 am
ARM and TSMC have announced the first asynchronous big.LITTLE chip taping out on 16nm FinFET, but full production is still some time away.
Broadwell bombshell: Has Intel delayed 14nm deployments until Q4 2014? February 13, 2014 at 7:30 am
Recent rumors from DigiTimes point to a delay for Intel’s Broadwell, possibly of several quarters. This could sucker-punch the PC industry at the worst possible time.
Intel cancels 14nm Fab 42 in Arizona, due to increasing competition from ARM January 15, 2014 at 2:40 pm
Intel announced today that it would delay opening its Fab 42 in Arizona, with no word for when it would finish upgrading the facility and ramp up its production. Intel spokesperson Chuck Malloy characterized the decision as a minor course correction, noting that Intel’s fab utilization remains at 80%. “If we can maintain that 80 percent capacity with the existing space, why spend the additional capital?” Mulloy said. Why indeed?
Mobile computing in 2014: Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Samsung go head-to-head January 2, 2014 at 12:36 pm
2014 will see a number of major innovations from the key mobile players as they grapple for market share in the rapidly maturing smartphone industry. Nvidia, Samsung, and Qualcomm are pushing different advantages in the industry — we walk through the details.
Medfield, two years in: What killed Intel’s mobile phone ambitions? November 29, 2013 at 10:30 am
At Intel’s Analyst Day last week, the company spoke a great deal about its plans for the future of tablets and its belief that the PC market was done contracting. Along the way, almost incidentally, Intel gave notice that the company’s old plans for the mobile phone market were dead in the water.
Intel unveils 72-core x86 Knights Landing CPU for exascale supercomputing November 26, 2013 at 3:01 pm
Intel has taken the wraps off Knights Landing, its next-gen, up-to-72-core Xeon Phi supercomputing chip. The main change is that Knights Landing will be a standalone processor, rather than a slot-in coprocessor that must be paired with standard x86 CPU. Furthermore, Knights Landing will have up to 16GB of DRAM 3D stacked on-package, providing up to 500GB/sec of memory bandwidth. Knights Landing will debut in 2015 on Intel’s 14nm process, and with a promise of 3 teraflops (double precision) per socket it will almost certainly be used to build some monster 100+ petaflop x86 supercomputers.
Intel’s Bay Trail will go 64-bit next year and hit a new level of performance November 25, 2013 at 4:45 pm
At its Analyst Day last week, Intel finally gave notice that it would be scrapping the 32-bit limit and launching a 64-bit platform for the new 22nm chip. According to Intel, 64-bit support will arrive for Windows first, followed by Android tablets. This is likely (at least partly) a response to strong uptake for the new Apple processors.


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New York state briefs
Firefighter killed after being ejected from firetruck
ELMIRA — Ryan T. Barker spent much of his adult life fighting fires and responding to emergencies. On Tuesday, that job took his life.
A West Hill volunteer firefighter, Barker, 25, was killed Tuesday when he was ejected from the pumper engine he was driving. The engine crashed after Barker failed to negotiate a curve in the roadway at about 6 p.m., police said.
The accident occurred just north of Vanherhoff Road on West Hill Road A in Big Flats. Barker was alone in the vehicle and was returning from a grill fire on Harris Hill Road, police said.
“He brought a lot of enthusiasm to our department,” said Joseph Sullivan, chief of the West Hill Fire Department. “He was a very energetic firefighter.”
Chemung County Sheriff Christopher Moss said it could be weeks before authorities complete their investigation. He refused to speculate what caused the accident. No one witnessed the accident, he said.
Barker was trained to drive fire apparatus, officials said. The 1978 GMC pumper he was driving was carrying approximately 750 gallons, or 6,600 pounds, of water when it crashed. Officials would not say if weight was a factor.
The pumper engine was destroyed, officials said. Nearby departments are helping to provide coverage in the West Hill District.
Fate of Steve & Barry’s unknown
UTICA — A spokesman for Steve & Barry’s, a low-priced fashion retail store that filed for Chapter 11 this week, said the company has not made any decisions concerning store closings. The company operates a store at Riverside Center in Utica.
“The company is carefully analyzing all of its operations,” said company spokesman Jim Fingeroth. Officials also said the company will sell all or some of its assets to satisfy debt and eliminate 172 positions immediately.
Other stores in upstate cities include Albany, Auburn, Cheektogwa, Geneva, Henrietta, Ithaca, Kingston, Massena, Middletown, Niagara Falls, Olean, Rochester, Syracuse, Watertown and West Nyack.


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The European Union has called on Europe's music industry to create EU-wide copyright licences for online music, saying this would boost demand for legal downloads.
"These licences will make it easier for new European-based online services to take off," EU internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy said.
Music copyrights are collected by national agencies, but the emergence of online music services such as Apple's iTunes means there is growing demand for a licence that covers all 25 EU nations.
The European Commission said the absence of bloc-wide copyright licenses has been one factor that has made it difficult for new Internet-based music services to develop their full potential.
Apple has to obtain separate licenses for each song in every EU country to offer it to all Europeans, which could cost it up to €475,000 ($A755,855) per song, the commission said. In practice, this means that users in some countries have a much smaller catalogue to choose from.
However, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said the music business is already working hard to license online music by tackling problems negotiating rights with copyright holders.
"There are over 300 legal music sites in Europe now, some of them with over 2 million tracks," it said.
Germany is Europe's biggest online user of both legal and pirated music with 9.5 million people downloading, according to a Forrester Research report from August 2004. Some 89 per cent of people questioned said they never paid to download music or video.
Last year, online music sales in the EU reached €27 million, far below the booming US market which reported $US248 million ($A328 million) in sales.
Research group Enders Analysis predicts European sales to surge to €900 million by 2010, but foresees a continued lag behind the United States, where sales should reach €1.4 billion that year.
McCreevy warned the music industry that, at this stage, he was merely asking them to develop licences.
"I will be monitoring the situation closely and, if I am not satisfied that sufficient progress is being made, I will take tougher action," he said.
The commission said it wants to give rights holders and commercial users of copyright material the choice between two options.
It said commercial users and rights managers backed the first option allowing the national agencies that collect copyright payments to grant an EU-wide licence.
Music publishers, independent record labels and some collective rights managers wanted to give copyright holders the choice to appoint a rights manager for online use in the EU.
McCreevy said last week he saw music copyrights as a test case which could lead to single licences for books and films.


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Endomondo has revealed some worrying statistics which show that while we're all for embracing this new tech-focused fitness regime we struggle after the first week
Fitness tracking app Endomondo stats taken from mid-December to the end of January have shown that while the UK public were some of the most enthusiastic to take up a New Year fitness regime the commitment quickly dropped after just two weeks.
Oddly the fitness app saw the number of UK workouts double in the week after Christmas however just a few days later a quarter had given up and were back on the red wine and cheese.
On the contrary Norway, Poland and the US were up at the top with users in those countries staying the most commited to working out after January with Norway seeing its figures double.
If you're struggling to find the motivation now that Christmas is over and 2013 is upon us then pay attention as T3 is giving away an iPad Mini as some motivation.
All you have to do to win is join the T3 Endomondo Fitness Challenge, pick a team and then start burning those calories.


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FRESNO, Ca.— For the first time, the United States has beaten France in overall wine sales, according to the Wine Institute. To meet this increased demand, schools like Fresno State University are creating future wine makers through their viticulture and enology programs.
What makes Fresno State special , according to school officials, is that it’s the only university in the country that can grow, and sell, its own wine.
“We are the San Joaquin Valley, the engine for the wine industry in the United States,” said James Kennedy, c hair and p rofessor of the Department of Viticulture and Enology.
Last year, U.S. wine exports rose 26% to a record of $1.14 billion in revenue , according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Much of that wine is coming from this area of Central California.
“Well over 50% of the volume of wine produced in the United States is produced within 100 miles of Fresno State University,” said Kennedy.
Lydia Wessner came from Texas to study at Fresno State to gain real experience.
“ [You get] very good hands - on experience for the students here that you can’t get anywhere else,” Wessner said.
The university says it produces over 100 barrels of wine each year. The wine usually sits in the barrel for up to 18 months before it’s ready to be bottled. Fresno State reports an average of over $500,000 in annual sales and profits around $50,000 a year. All of the money goes back to the school to fund the program.
But the school says it isn’t in it for the money—the selling is just another important part of the learning.
“We actually have to sell this wine, the students see that. The business doesn’t stop with wine production you have to get that wine sold to the consumer,” said Kennedy.
The act of marketing the wine and making it available for purchase allows students to be exposed to the all-important business and advertising side of the wine industry.
“This winery wouldn’t be possible without the help of the industry. We give back to the industry by doing research for them, and providing very well-trained students to get hired once they graduate,” said Joe Joralemon, marketing intern for Fresno State Winery.


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MasterCard has selected diamond provenance startup Everledger for its summer startup incubator.
One of seven companies to join the 2016 Start Path Global program, Everledger will receive assistance from MasterCard to scale its operations and enter new markets.
The startups will begin the program by working with MasterCard during a week-long immersion in London, followed by the six-month virtual program that ends with the Start Path Global Partner summit in New York this November.
Advisors include Rakuten, TSYS and Royal Bank of Canada.
Founded in 2015, London-based Everledger uses blockchain technology to track the history of diamond ownership to help ensure the ethical extraction of the gems.
CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.


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Just three days ago, we brought you news that Ferragamo‘s Creative Director had left the brand after 16 years and hinted on rumours that Creative Director at Saint Laurent, Hedi Slimane, would leave too. Click here if you missed it.
Well, It was announced yesterday that after his arrival in 2012, Hedi Slimane has now left the luxury French brand owned by Kering.
According to Vogue.com, the house confirmed Slimane’s departure via press release, stating that,
at the end of a four-year mission, which has led to the complete repositioning of the brand, the Maison Yves Saint Laurent announces the departure of Hedi Slimane as its creative and image director.
This announcement comes after 4 years of Hedi’s introduction of a new facet to the Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) brand. Hedi who was also creative director of Dior Homme from 2000 to 2007, was the first menswear designer to receive the CFDA award for International Designer in 2002. Popularly known for his controversial powers as a scene-maker, rule-breaker, his rock ‘n’ roll influences and glam-rock style made the YSL brand a little more grunge than the classic Parisienne cool the brand was known for.
François-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of Kering, added:
What Yves Saint Laurent has achieved over the past four years represents a unique chapter in the history of the house. I am very grateful to Hedi Slimane, and the whole Yves Saint Laurent team, for having set the path that the house has successfully embraced, and which will grant longevity to this legendary brand.” The release notes that a new creative organization “will be communicated in due course.
At the end of his last show in LA, Slimane emerged from behind a mirrored screen, kissed Pierre Bergé, the late Yves Saint Laurent’s former partner, who was sitting in the front row, and it was over. We believe this will go on to later become a very significant moment to his departure and fashion history.
Slimane’s exit from Saint Laurent comes after other high profile departures like Alber Elbaz leaving Lanvin, Raf Simons’s departure from Dior and Massimiliano Giornetti‘s farewell to Ferragamo.
Our only question is who could be next?


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1974 Porsche 914 EV conversion still looks good
Many of the cars are throwbacks to a previous time and we found a prime example of that, a converted 1974 Porsche 914 (EV Album page here) this week. Now powered by a Prestolite MTC4001 Series Wound DC motor and some flooded nickel-cadmium batteries, the 914 has a top speed of 80 miles per hour and a range of 35 miles. But only "if you are taking it easy," of course. The motor has a peak output of 60 horsepower and 25 hp continuous. Converted over 600 hours (!) to electric power at a cost of $10,000, it is now owned by Charlie Garlow of Maryland. The car is on display at the Washington Auto Show this week and serves as a great reminder of what most EV drivers used to have to do to drive emissions free.
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In February 2012, game developer Double Fine embarked upon a risky project: It turned to Kickstarter to raise a huge amount of money so it could create a game without needing a publisher. Kickstarter had worked for smaller projects with tiny budgets, but the idea of an established game developer, whose last games had been funded by industry powerhouses like Electronic Arts and THQ, using crowdfunding to raise $400,000 was a little crazy.
But Double Fine started a revolution. Since its adventure game was funded to the tune of $3.3 million, Double Fine has inspired more and more developers to turn to Kickstarter to finance big projects. The Kickstarter gold rush has seen many success stories, but the final measure of success isn't when the developers get their money -- it's when players get the final product.
At the end of 2012, WIRED named "all of the Kickstarters" among the things we most looked forward to seeing in 2013, given the number of projects expected to ship this year. With the year almost over, we check in with the 10 biggest Kickstarter games of 2012 to see where they are today.
Tim Schafer and Double Fine provided precious little information about their project in the initial Kickstarter pitch. The adventure game, now known as Broken Age, became something of a victim of its own success.
"When we launched, all we said we wanted to do was make an adventure game with Tim writing, and to let the backers watch that unfold," said Greg Rice, producer of Broken Age.
With the original goal of $400,000, the studio planned to make a small game with a small team on a quick timeline. But after the immense response from the fans, Double Fine decided to use the extra money to scale things up and deliver something far more ambitious. "The game is definitely much better than it would have been," Rice told WIRED, "but it means that pretty quickly the plan of shipping a game six months after the Kickstarter ended went out the window."
Broken Age follows two characters — a young boy on an AI-controlled spaceship whose every need is catered to but who is growing bored, and a girl who decides being chosen as a human sacrifice to a monster isn't the honor her town considers it. It's a coming of age story about breaking out of societal norms. Naturally, there is ample room for Schafer's sense of humor to run wild. Visually, it uses modern techniques to blend the hand-drawn 2-D look of classic adventure games with 3-D elements in the background.
But as Rice said, the game's expanding scope means a much later delivery date. Double Fine ran out of money to finish Broken Age, even though it made more than 800 percent of the original goal. Double Fine's solution is to sell the first half of the game in January, use the proceeds to finish it, and deliver the final product later next year.
Update: Since the original publication of this story, Rice contacted WIRED to let us know that it has been able to secure development funds to finish Broken Age through sales of its other products. While the Early Access sales will "supplement the extra budget," he said, "we already have the extra money and won't be relying on those early sales."
Image: Double Fine Productions
Interplay's post-apocalyptic RPG Wasteland doesn't seem like the most logical choice for a sequel. Sure it was critically acclaimed and the spiritual predecessor to the Fallout series, but it came out in 1988, more than 25 years ago. But for Brian Fargo, co-founder of Interplay and the creator of Wasteland, a sequel always had been part of the plan. After forming inXile Entertainment with several fellow ex-Interplay employees, he pursued the more traditional publisher route to little avail. There just wasn't much interest in the sort of classic PC role playing game that he had in mind.
When Double Fine Adventure hit it big, Fargo saw an opportunity to return to a project that had long eluded him. The day after Schafer's Kickstarter went live, Fargo sent a company-wide email. "This is our chance," it read. "This is our chance for Wasteland."
"I stopped everything I was doing," Fargo later told WIRED, "and threw 100 percent of my energy into getting a website up right away so we could get fan feedback about not only what was important to them in the game, but what was important to them in the Kickstarter, in terms of stretch goals and backer rewards." A month later, Wasteland 2's Kickstarter went live, raising nearly $3 million, three times its $900,000 goal.
"When you bring in extra money," Fargo said, "you have two choices. One is to make the small game that you pitched and pocket the money, or two, you make a bigger game."
Now, $2.4 million -- what Fargo says inXile had to work with after Kickstarter fees and taxes -- might seem like a lot, but it depends on what you're doing. "If you're a small indie developer, you look at $2.4 million and say, 'What are they going to do with all that money,' while a larger guy will look at it and say, 'Our audio budget is twice that much, how are they going to do it?' In reality, that kind of money doesn't go a long way, so you have to be very clever in how you approach development."
What's the status now?
Wasteland 2's original Kickstarter pitch named this month as an estimated delivery date. "It's funny, because you have to put your date down on Kickstarter not knowing the scope of the game," Fargo said. "So we put a date down, but that was a very small project. Once we triple fund, and everybody says, 'Make the game much bigger,' does that date really apply anymore?"
When Fargo realized an October ship date wasn't going to happen, he decided instead to push for having a beta ready by then, opting to get at least something into backers' hands on time. The beta will deliver roughly 90 percent of the game's feature set, he says, albeit with some missing skills, sound effects, and animations here and there. But Wasteland is a narrative game, and inXile doesn't intend to give away the entire experience before release. Players will be able to explore most, if not all, of post-apocalyptic Arizona, but a large portion of the game takes place in Los Angeles — none of which will be accessible until the final release.
"It's such a transparent process," Fargo said. "I think that people aren't worried about you being late as long as you're showing updates, and you're communicating, and you're letting them touch and see things — as long as it's moving along, everybody's happy."
The Banner Saga
Coming from former BioWare developers Alex Thomas, Arnie Jorgensen and John Watson, The Banner Saga is a story-driven, Viking-themed, tactical turn-based strategy game. Its Kickstarter campaign asked for a mere $100,000 and was funded more than seven times over.
But it hasn't been smooth sailing. Creative director Alex Thomas lamented the difficulty of creating a Kickstarter project in an interview with WIRED GeekDad just after the campaign completed.
"We spent three days writing, filming, scoring and editing our Kickstarter video and we all sat down, watched it and... it suuuucked," Thomas said. "We decided to scrap the whole thing, hit it harder the next day and instead of trying to be clever, we just talked about what we wanted to do as honestly and passionately as we actually are."
What's the status now?
The game's Kickstarter success meant it would be able to scale up in quality, but it's never as easy as it sounds, says Thomas.
"It is interesting to see how people correlate money with content," he said, "as if you just liquify a vat of cash and pour it into a computer and voila, another set of characters!" Thomas said the extra cash did allow the team to hire more, and more talented, people.
Banner Saga's multiplayer combat portion was released as a free, standalone title called The Banner Saga: Factions in February of 2013. Meanwhile, the single-player campaign has been pushed back a number of times. While the original hope was for the first part of the single-player trilogy to land by the end of 2012, it was soon delayed well into 2013, and may possibly even slip to January 2014.
Image: Stoic Studio
A PC and tablet adaptation of the 1989 science-fiction/fantasy pen-and-paper roleplaying game of the same name, Shadowrun Returns raised more than $1.8 million for its tactical turn-based combat.
What's the status now?
While the Kickstarter set an estimated delivery of January 2013, the game's overfunding meant, like many others, a later release date. A bit behind schedule, Shadowrun Returns launched on PC, iOS, Android, and Linux on July 25, 2013, to mostly favorable reviews. It currently holds a rating of 76 on Metacritic.
In August 2012, Uber Entertainment, the studio behind arena fighter Monday Night Combat, launched a Kickstarter to fund Planetary Annihilation, a galactic-scale real-time-strategy game and the spiritual successor to the beloved 1990's real time strategy game Total Annihilation.
"I just think [the traditional publishing] model is deader than dead," Uber Entertainment CTO and Planetary Annihilation lead designer Jon Mavor said. "The kind of deals where you create and launch an original IP, like what we're doing with Planetary, they're just very rare. And when they do exist, they tend to be huge projects where there's tens of millions of dollars invested and it's a go-big-or-go-home type of situation. This game is just not designed to have that kind of mass market appeal."
But while developing without a publisher affords autonomy and the ability to "make the game you want," it also means that money will be tight, Mavor said. "When I originally conceived Planetary Annihilation, I did it within the context of knowing that we'd have to deliver it quickly," he said. "A lot of the decisions made were to keep the cost reasonable for the game, but still stick to the core principle of what would make the game fun."
Mavor and Uber Entertainment maximized the bang for their buck in a number of ways. First off, rather than each faction having its own set of units, such as in StarCraft, PA's factions are determined by their political ideology. One single set of units for all the factions kept the total number of units down, and the total cost with it. Another tactic was was the choice to use procedurally generated maps — that is, maps are generated at random rather than drawing from a pre-built set. Finally, Uber drastically cut down on development time by opting for no single-player campaign, a feature which essentially needs the rest of the game to be complete before proper work can even begin, which would be devastating on the piggy bank.
What's the status now?
After more than doubling its funding goal by bringing in around $2.2 million on Kickstarter, Uber faced the same overfunding conundrum as the other big Kickstarter games. However, it actually managed to stay in front of the estimated July 2013 delivery date by opening Alpha access to backers in June. Beta access followed, opening earlier this month, and Uber plans to ship the full game in December.
"I'm definitely proud of what we've done so far, and in the time frame we've done it," Mavor said. "In terms of being on track, I think we're as good as we can possibly be."
Broken Sword: The Serpent's Curse
The first new Broken Sword game in approximately six years, The Serpent's Curse aims to return the popular adventure game series to its 2-D roots. The game, like its predecessors, follows American tourist George Stobbart and French journalist Nico Collard on a conspiracy-laden globetrotting adventure.
Broken Sword creator Revolution Software said in its original pitch that the traditional publisher model has prevented the studio from collecting enough royalties on the success of its past games in order to fund the development of new ones. The Serpent's Curse was the company's first attempt at self-funding a game, a move which was met with tremendous support from its fans.
What's the status now?
After achieving several stretch goals, Revolution Software moved its estimated delivery date from April to October or November of 2013. In August, it was announced that the game would be coming to PS Vita in addition to PC, Mac, Linux and mobile devices. All signs point to the game being available by the end of this year.
Homestuck Adventure Game
A bizarre hybrid of a web comics and a Flash game, Homestuck mimics old-school point-and-click adventure games in both its nature and its subject matter. It's also been called "the Ulysses of the Internet."
The goal of the Homestuck Kickstarter was to take the story and turn it into a fully interactive adventure game. The comic's millions of fans were keen on the idea, sending its funding up to $2.5 million.
What's the status now?
Andrew Hussie, Homestuck's creator, originally planned to begin work on the game in late 2013, following the conclusion of the webcomic's story. However, instead he put the comic on a two-month hiatus in April 2012, shortly following the Kickstarter's completion, in order to focus on the game.
Hussie said in a recent update that the comic would again be going on hiatus, but this time to complete its final chapters and animations. The status of the game, on the other hand, remains largely unknown. "It's coming along. I'll probably have a more substantive update on that before the end of the year," Hussie wrote recently. "There hasn't been much to report yet since it's mostly been in a high level planning and writing phase. And firming up tons of legal minutiae. Stuff like that." Doesn't sound like a June 2014 release date is in the cards if it's all still "high-level planning."
Image: MS Paint Adventures
While Obsidian Entertainment is most well-known today as the developer of Fallout: New Vegas, its roots lie in classic fantasy role-playing games, having been formed by members of Black Isle Studios, who developed such titles as Planescape: Torment and the Icewind Dale series as well as having published BioWare's classic PC RPG series Baldur's Gate.
In the summer of 2012, a few months after the Double Fine Adventure Kickstarter, the Obsidian team was kicking around ideas for a potential Kickstarter project of its own. It settled on a project in the same vein as these "Infinity Engine" games from Black Isle — that is, a classic-style fantasy RPG with a top-down isometric camera and tactical real-time party-based combat.
Project Eternity was an immediate success, hitting its funding goal of $1.1 million in approximately 27 hours, before going on to (factoring in PayPal and a few other sources) raise around $4.2 million. The Obsidian team dove straight into pre-production on everything from implementing all the different classes that the backers funded to figuring out how to make classic 2-D areas look more contemporary with features such as dynamic lighting.
What's the status now?
"We've tried to always stick to what we talked about in our Kickstarter pitch," Project Director Josh Sawyer told WIRED via phone. "We're making a game that's essentially about exploring a big beautiful world with a lot of tactical combat and a cool story with cool companions in it. Every so often we have some crazy idea for something neat that we could add, but we know that there's so much to do already that we don't really need to throw more difficulty on it for us."
Much like Double Fine Adventure, Obsidian's initial expectation was to make a modestly-sized Infinity Engine-style game with a very small cast of characters, classes and not a whole lot of extra features.
"But with the Kickstarter," Sawyer said, "the fans basically said 'please give us these extra doodads, we want them.' So we're making a game that is much larger in scope both in terms of size and also the variety of characters you can make and interact with."
The team, which shifts around in size but currently consists of around 20 people, is now deep into production developing the core game. But while everything is going relatively smoothly, Sawyer is reluctant to discuss a release schedule.
"We're really trying to really focus on making this game the size that our fans expect it to be, as deep of an RPG system as they really expect it to be, and as polished as they really need it to be," Sawyer said. "We've had games come out that have not been very polished, and we don't like that reputation. We've been improving it over time, so with something where the release is entirely under our control, we're going to make sure that is absolutely as good as it can be."
Image: Obsidian Entertainment
Star Citizen is a bit different than the rest of this list, since Kickstarter was not its primary method of funding. While it did raise a hefty $2.2 million on Kickstarter, it has so far pulled in a total of more than $23 million (and counting) in funding, making it the most successful project in crowdfunding history.
Coming from legendary designer Chris Roberts, the creator of the classic space simulator franchise Wing Commander, Star Citizen is a modern take on that same sort of epic space adventure, complete with trading, dogfighting, and a persistent online universe. Speaking to WIRED via phone, Roberts says his desire to make Star Citizen stemmed from his frustration that games designed for the lowest common denominator — that is, consoles — weren't taking full advantage of his high-end PC.
"I wanted to build a PC game for the PC audience — for the people who enjoyed playing my games," Roberts said.
His original plan was to take the Minecraft route, selling access to an early alpha version of the game and using the money to fund continued development. He began developing an early prototype by investing his own money and that of a few "angel investor" friends, but after the success of Double Fine Adventure, saw an opportunity to fund the game through crowdfunding instead.
His plan was to use a crowdfunding campaign as a measure of interest. If he raised more than $2 million, his investors would be in.
Roberts already had his prototype, so the next step was just getting the campaign up and running. He put together a website that would serve as a community portal for fans of the genre to congregate, discuss the game, and if they wanted, back it. The campaign kicked off on the Roberts Space Industries website on October 10, 2012 and a week later on Kickstarter. When the initial campaign ended — roughly a month later at the conclusion of the Kickstarter — and the dust had settled, Star Citizen had raised more than $6.2 million — $2.1 million on Kickstarter and another $4.1 million on the RSI website.
What's the status now?
Unlike most Kickstarted games, the conclusion of the initial crowdfunding campaign was just the beginning. The RSI website has remained active, serving both as the community portal Roberts envisioned as well as the base infrastructure upon which the game is being built. It also has served as a storefront. $30 buys the entry-level package — basic access to the game upon its eventual completion — but more money, as much as $275 in the case of one bundle, buys different spacecraft, in-game currency, and other features. Revenue from the RSI store goes directly into funding the game, which has allowed Roberts and his studio Cloud Imperium Games to totally eschew that initial crop of investors without, he says, sacrificing on quality.
"At the moment we're incredibly pure," Roberts said. "We're basically making a really high-end game that normally only a big publisher could afford to make, but we don't have a big publisher and instead are completely community funded."
In terms of the game itself, a bit of that Minecraft-style paid alpha has stuck around, albeit in a modified form. Cloud Imperium is taking a modular approach to Star Citizen, with individual sections of the game being developed and rolled out to players independently as they are completed. While Star Citizen as a full, complete game is far from being finished, its first module, a hanger which lets players walk around and get an in-engine look at the spacecraft they have purchased, launched at the end of August.
"It automatically patches the most recent version as we release new data and content," Roberts explained. "Essentially, the game is growing on your hard drive from now until it's finally finished."
He says the team is aiming for the next chunk of content — a dogfighting module that will allow players to take their ships into combat against AI or each other — to be complete by the end of this year. Modules for planetside interaction, first-person-shooter shipboarding, and the eventual single-player alpha are slated for throughout 2014.
"It's very different from pretty much any AAA, or really any game that's out there," Roberts said. "It's a bit risky, because we can't control things as much, and if things don't work or go wrong, it's obviously a lot more public. But the interaction so far has been really positive."
Shortly after launching the iPhone game Curiosity, Peter Molyneux's studio 22cans launched a Kickstarter for its next project: Godus. As it turned out, the two games were linked, as the "life changing experience" contained in the center of Curiosity's massive array of cubes was the chance to rule as god among gods in 22cans' next game.
As in many of Molyneux's past projects, such as Populous and Black and White, Godus will see players taking the role of a god, using their influence and actions to steer a civilization towards success or ruin.
What's the status now?
Molyneux isn't exactly known for delivering on his promises. The game named September 2013 as its estimated delivery, and despite not having the overfunding problem that some other games did, failed to make that release date. 22cans did launch a beta version through Steam Early Access, which it says is 41 percent complete.
"When you buy into the early access build, are you looking at a potentially interesting game that feels boring because it's still in development, or are you witnessing the development of a boring game that will never be particularly interesting anyway?" asks a writer for Eurogamer who played the build. Whatever the answer, it seems the full game is a while down the road.


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Lenovo has announced three new tablets, with two running Android 3.1 Honeycomb on Nvidia Tegra 2 processors and a third running Windows 7 with an unspecificed 1.5GHz Intel processor - are these all but placeholders until Windows 8?
Apple's newest and 11th Australian store is set to open on Saturday, the 23rd of July at 9am in Penrith, perhaps revealing the date Apple will launch some new Macs and OS X Lion too, if they haven't all already launched by then!
Motorola's Android Honeycomb tablet, the Xoom, has finally been released in a cheaper Wi-Fi only version, on sale at the Wi-Fi-happy JB Hi-Fi - and other retailers.
This is an unbearably good headline :-)
Great Stuff Sam - I wish this could go out to a larger audience.
5G will save us, and the NBN will have to be redone anyway.
As always, a great article Sam.
I will never forgive him.


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Most soaps are eco-friendly these days, but only some advertise the fact
WHEN it comes to corporate citizenship, Method’s ambitions are sky-high. The maker of environmentally-friendly cleaning products, which opened its first factory, in Chicago, in April, wants to be “the most sustainable and the most socially beneficial company in the world,” says Adam Lowry, one of its founders. Method would like to set a new standard in urban revitalisation, while making its factory a paragon of sustainability.
The building that Mr Lowry, a chemical engineer, helped to design is partly powered by its own wind turbine and solar panels and has huge skylights to make as much use as possible of natural light. On its roof, what it claims is the world’s largest rooftop farm will soon open. Some of its produce will be donated to food banks.
To lure this pioneering green factory to Chicago, the city chipped in $8.1m through tax breaks. A community-development organisation contributed another $1.2m. In return they will get the 120 or so jobs that the factory is bringing to this long-neglected, poor part of Chicago—and perhaps more, as other firms follow. Walmart, a giant retailer, recently opened a shop in the area. Plans are afoot to build studios and living quarters for artists.
Method prides itself on making detergents and soaps that look fun and harm neither their users nor the environment. It uses 100% recycled-plastic bottles for its turquoise-, orange- and lavender-coloured detergents. On its website it discloses all the ingredients it uses, and it promises that it would not use any for which there was even a chance that it might not be safe or environmentally friendly. (Mr Lowry even insists that Method’s colourful liquids are safe enough to drink, though he stops short of a demonstration.) Every ingredient is evaluated by MDBC, an environmental-research outfit, and by Cradle to Cradle, a non-profit organisation that runs a certification scheme.
This all sounds lovely. But are Method’s products really any more virtuous than those sold by behemoths such as Procter & Gamble, S.C. Johnson or Clorox? Industry insiders say that ten to 15 years ago many makers of cleaning products, big and small, used some fairly vicious ingredients, such as chlorinated bleaches, phosphates and ammonia, especially in products to clean drains, ovens and toilets, that polluted the waterways they were eventually sluiced into. More than one-third of the fragrances they used were toxic if ingested. Eco-friendly products were also available at the time, but they were expensive, dowdily packaged and often a lot less effective than the regular stuff.
However, things have changed since then, as both chemistry and product design have made significant progress. Method and its peers, such as Seventh Generation or The Honest Company, realised that there was a substantial latent demand for greener and safer products among many consumers, if only they were good enough, and attractively presented. In 2010 less than 20% of American consumers surveyed said they had bought a green cleaning product in the past year; now the figure is almost 30%, says Scot Case of the Natural Marketing Institute, a consulting firm. In 2009 only 15% of consumers surveyed said they would be prepared to pay up to 20% extra for a greener cleaning product; last year the figure was 29%.
At the same time, under pressure from environmental groups and regulators, almost all big makers of cleaning products have tweaked their formulas to drop harmful ingredients, and have managed to do so without losing much effectiveness. “The industry has made great progress,” says Clive Davies of America’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), even if there are still a few manufacturers using ingredients the agency does not like.
To keep up the pressure, the EPA has just revamped its programme for evaluating cleaning products and encouraging manufacturers to clean up their acts. It awards grades to the various chemicals used in them. Green circles and half-circles indicate an ingredient is of low concern; a yellow triangle means it is not so safe; and a grey square means it is unacceptable. Grey-square ingredients disqualify products from gaining the EPA’s Safer Choice label.
The odd thing is that although many of the big manufacturers’ products would now qualify for the EPA’s seal of approval, and for eco-labels from other certifiers such as Green Seal and EcoLogo, the makers often do not bother to apply for them. Nor do they bother to advertise how their products (and for that matter their manufacturing processes) have been made greener. That’s because, although a growing proportion of consumers seek out green products, the majority are still more interested in how much they cost and how well they work. The soap giants have perfected their advertising messages over decades to concentrate on these factors, and are loth to change a successful formula.
As a result, producers of green-badged detergents, like Method, have the market for ostentatious virtue to themselves. They are being truthful in telling consumers that their products are safe and environmentally friendly, but most of their bigger rivals, if they chose to, could say just the same.
This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Green wash"
From the September 26th 2015 edition
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Raf Casert, Associated Press | Posted May 3rd - 6:30am
The European Union has trimmed its economic growth forecasts for the 19 countries that share the euro amid an unpredictable global outlook marked by political uncertainty and weakness in emerging markets.
Ride-hailing service Uber and the payment service of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group are expanding a partnership to allow Chinese travelers to summon and pay for a car in any country where Uber operates.
Brady McCombs, Associated Press | Posted May 3rd - 1:10am
The Salt Lake Tribune's pending sale to the wealthy Huntsman family unshackles the newspaper from cost-cutting corporate owners and resolves crippling financial uncertainty — but it also raises concerns about whether the influential family will meddle in the paper's coverage.


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The distinctive red Chicago Cupcake trucks cruise the streets Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Brendan Bolger, 39, owner of Chicago Cupcake, operates a pair of food trucks that ply Chicago's streets stocked with 30 varieties of cupcakes -- and only cupcakes -- every day.
Bolger first got involved in the food truck business three years ago.
"My background is in finance and development," he said. "Three years ago, I started on this path and two years ago, I started my first truck.
"Looking at what I was, the career I was in, the business path I was on, I wasn't too happy. I always had a penchant for baking. I thought I would chase my passion."
As a student at the University of Montana, Bolger said he always did a lot of cooking and baking, preferring to dabble in "the sweet stuff" over savory dishes.
Bolger employs 11 people, seven of them bakers who work off Bolger's recipes. The cupcakes are prepared at a commissary on the North Side, where they're also packaged and loaded onto the trucks. The baking is done late at night or early in the morning and the trucks are out Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Bolger opted to work out of a truck instead of a storefront because of the lower startup costs.
"We still have kitchen costs, but what it allowed us to do was start without having to put up $100,000 or $150,000 to build out a space," he said. "This gave us the chance to think and plan out where we'll have our storefront based on the response in the neighborhoods."
Bolger always planned to expand his business to a storefront and is considering opening a large retail space by September where he'll consolidate the baking and packaging operation with an eye toward opening smaller storefronts down the line. At the same time, the trucks will keep rolling.
Chicago Cupcake also caters weddings and wholesales its wares. Current production is 4,000 cupcakes a week, but Bolger says that will grow to 6,000 next month and 8,000 to 10,000 by midsummer. He also expects the number to spike to 20,000 for Taste of Chicago the second week of July, when his trucks will be parked in the special food truck section.
The confections sell for $3.47 plus tax from Bolger's red trucks, with red velvet and turtle the two most popular varieties. Bolger has developed a loyal following, partly thanks to social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
"(Social media) plays a big role for us; that's how we communicate with our customer base," Bolger said. "That's how we let them know where we are any given day, about special events. I'd say 80 percent of our customers, maybe even more, track us via Facebook and Twitter."
And Bolger has found those customers loyal, especially those who use Chicago Cupcake's loyalty card.
"Once a customer has purchased 12 cupcakes, they get the 13th free," Bolger said. "We collect the cards and that enables us to track our clients. We have definite repeat customers at all our stops."
Bolger said he's pretty good at gauging inventory and pretty much sells out every day. In fact, the trucks sometimes run low and need replenishing.
When there are leftovers, "They get eaten (by staff)!" he said.
Bolger is not too worried about competition.
He got into the cupcake/food-truck business early. There were "probably four or five" cupcake trucks on the street when he started and since then two or three more have popped up, he said.
"We've got kind of our own twist on the product," he said. "We just try to put forth the best product we can and people appreciate that."
Although customers are flocking to trucks, Chicago is not particularly friendly to food truck operators, Bolger says. He blames that on the restaurant lobby.
"They really don't want trucks here. They find them to be a threat. In most major cities, you see trucks and restaurants cohabitate just fine together. Here in Chicago, the restaurant lobby is very strong. They want to protect their interests. If someone is going to tell me a taco truck parked for two hours a day is going to destroy a business, that's absurd. If it is true, the business was out the door anyway."
Bolger's trucks generally don't spend more than two hours in any one spot.
"We try to park legally and feed the meter," Bolger said, adding he hasn't gotten any tickets.
Chicago's rule that food trucks cannot be parked within 200 feet of a restaurant can make finding spots that much harder.
"The 200-foot rule is ridiculous," Bolger said. "It was constructed to keep us out of the Loop. A fair compromise would be 100 feet. If I'm parked 100 feet from a steakhouse, I'm not affecting their business. In fact, the reverse happens. Someone coming to a food truck will spot a restaurant and say, 'I'll check that out later.'
"(Food trucks) are a very innovative way to market your product and your company. They should be embraced, not pushed away."
So far, Bolger is happy with his business plan. He says he's on pace to double revenues this year over last -- even without opening the storefront.
"We're not struggling," he said. "We're trying to grow as aggressively as we can without overextending ourselves."
Bolger realizes the cupcakes craze may wane.
"That's one reason why we want to open our storefront and extend the menu," he said. "We realize we can't just be a cupcake shop and (be) successful forever. That's a little shortsighted. We'll continue innovating."
(C) 2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC


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Nine out of ten film experts agree that Zombieland was the best movie to come out last year, and expect it to make a strong showing at the Academy Awards. It should already be a no-brainer that you're going to purchase the film when it's released next Tuesday, Feb. 2 -- however, the Blu-ray version...
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