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The Nokia 8 will be launched on August 16, at an event in London. Although the device is not named in the invite it is certain this phone is the Nokia 8, a high-end Android phone that will join the Nokia 6, Nokia 5 and the Nokia 3 in the company's product line-up. Few rumours claimed that the phone would be officially unveiled on July 31, but that's not the case now.
From what we know so far, the Nokia 8 will be a true Android flagship, with specifications to rival other big names.
One of the most talked about devices of this year, the Nokia 8, has been the subject of many leaks, including one which was clearly not intended. The rumoured specs is quite in line with other flagship devices like the Samsung Galaxy S8, HTC U11, and the OnePlus 5.
Nokia's ultra-budget smartphone dubbed as "Nokia 2" has allegedly surfaced in a recent GeekBench listing via Twitter.
NY kayak killer pleads guilty to homicide in fiance's death
A U.S. woman has pleaded guilty to sabotaging her fiancé's kayak, causing him to drown in New York's Hudson River. She told a local TV news programme after the incident, "I just saw him flip, right in front of me".
Snopes, in Heated Legal Battle, Asks Readers for Money to Survive
In a response to Snopes' call for donations, Proper Media asks for a fact check to be run on Snopes' fundraising plea. Snopes also noted that donations to the GoFundMe campaign do not give those who donate any rights to the website .
Baby killer whale 'Kyara' dies at SeaWorld San Antonio
The last killer whale born in captivity under SeaWorld's former orca-breeding program has died at the company's San Antonio park. None of the other whales at the park are exhibiting symptoms of illness, SeaWorld's statement said.
Apart from the color that is perhaps among the most prominent feature that has been leaked through the image the device can also be seen featuring a traditional design. The latter had once powered all Nokia handsets and after the partnership, the camera brand will once again back all optics for Nokia smartphones. We're expecting a dual-lens 13-megapixel camera, but this hasn't been confirmed and doesn't yet have enough leaked evidence to support the claims.
Android 7.1.1 (Nougat) OS.
Until today, we had no confirmation on when the phone will launch.


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Brain Tumor Survivor: ''World Was in Technicolor''
Indie Lee loved working in her garden. That is, until the rheumatoid arthritis set in. In her thirties and health-conscious, Lee couldn't believe the diagnosis. "It's impossible!" she recalls telling her doctor in disbelief.
But the New York native was in for an even bigger shock: her doctors discovered a brain tumor pushing on her frontal lobe and optic nerve.
"Everything in my world changed at that moment," she said.
Because Indie was a conscientious consumer — she ate homegrown organic food from a greenhouse she built in her backyard — she was more than a little startled when her doctors told her the tumor was probably caused by environmental toxins.
"We’re so uber-aware of this organic movement when it comes to food, but we don’t really take the time to recognize what we put on our skin — and it's our largest organ," she said.
After surgery to remove the tumor, Indie's mission became crystal clear: "When I woke up, the world was in Technicolor," she said. Since the operation, she has dedicated her life to educating the community about the dangers of cosmetic products — and has started her own product line.
The hazards of cosmetics have been relatively well documented by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit that raises awareness about environmental toxins and has evaluated the safety of over 65,000 beauty products. A study conducted by the group in 2008 revealed that teenage girls had toxins in their bodies found in many of the cosmetics they use.
"While the FDA has taken pains to research and account for the still-maturing decision-making abilities of teens using over-the-counter medications, they have made no attempt to protect teens from the deceptive marketing practices used in the cosmetics industry," the EWG study states. The FDA admits to having little regulator control over cosmetics, and their website states that they do not have to pre-approve products before they hit the market.
Currently, Lee's site offers baby products and skin-care products. Make-up will hopefully come in the future, she said. The cosmetics range in cost, from $6 for a cleansing bar to $89 for an anti-aging serum. The cost, Indie said, is largely dependent on the product. Rare ingredients — like the Swiss apples found in the serum — cost more. For those who may not be able to afford her products, Indie has a DIY section on her site that provides at-home beauty secrets.

domain: news


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Ken Levine is still pushing for a BioShock game on the PlayStation Vita, according to a recent tweet from the game designer.
In response to a question about the status of BioShock Vita, Levine said he had recently spoken with both Sony and developer Irrational Games' parent publisher 2K Games about the title. Levine stated he is currently "trying to make a match." When pressed for details, Levine clarified that he is trying to get both companies to sign off on the game.
In February, Levine told Polygon the PS Vita BioShock game was in the hands of "business guys," and that there had been no movement on the title.
"I have business guys who are talking about it," Levine said. "At this point, until they have something, I can't talk [about it]. It's like any business negotiation. If they can find numbers that work [we'll do it]."
BioShock Vita was announced at E3 2011 during Sony's press conference as a new, original game set in the BioShock universe. No movement has been made on the game since, with no development details announced to date.
Polygon has reached out to Levine for more details on the status of BioShock Vita, and will share more information as we have it.
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The major stock indices soared Thursday on word that the U.S. and China would hold high-level trade talks next month. Despite investors’ optimism, the Trump administration’s trade war with China has already hit Minnesota retailers and consumers.
A new round of tariffs took effect this week, and the prospect of further hikes has some Minnesota retailers on edge.
As of Sunday, a 15 percent charge began applying to $110 billion of mostly consumer goods imported from China. Trump has also announced that existing tariffs on another group of $250 billion of goods will go up to 30 percent next month.
Many consumer products contain components or originate from abroad — often China.
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This far into the trade war with China, retailers' only remaining option is to raise prices, said Bruce Nustad, president of the Minnesota Retailers Association.
"Retailers have worked hard over the past few months amid other tariffs to try to absorb those price increases that are a result from tariffs,” he said. “It’s getting to the point where things are stretched fairly thin and it’ll be more difficult to absorb those tariffs.”
Nustad says whether they sell appliances, shoes or clothes, retailers — big and small — are feeling the effects. Tariffs on electronics are set to begin in December.
But as the holiday season approaches, some retailers have already put their orders in, as they've done in previous years. Nustad says the tariffs will now apply to those orders that include shoes, clothing and kitchenware, which will make for a more expensive holiday shopping season.
"The retailers that I've talked to want to see trade imbalances fixed, some of our trade agreements addressed,” he said. “This particular tactic is actually a tax on American consumers as opposed to a tax on a foreign operation that might be selling products to America."
And even though trade talks are resuming, there’s no guarantee where President Trump's upcoming negotiations with China will lead.
That uncertainty hobbles American companies' ability to make plans and strategic investments, said Timothy Kehoe, a University of Minnesota economist.
China’s retaliation against U.S. agricultural products also is likely costing American farmers important markets, he said.
"There is a lot of other producers waiting, particularly in countries like Brazil and Argentina who can take the place that the Minnesota farmers had,” Kehoe said. “Once they pay the cost of shifting to our competitors, they're not going to be in a rush to come back to buying from Minnesota."
Kehoe added that there is a reason trade wars like these haven't taken place since the Great Depression of the 1930s. It's good study material for him as a professor, but not for his finances as a citizen.


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Reiss unveils AW19 campaign as it posts 23.7% sales growth
Reiss has unveiled its AW19 campaign, the centre-piece of which will be a giant installation at Piccadilly Circus, at the same time as it posted a 23.7% sales increase for the 26 weeks to 3 August.
The premium fashion retailer achieved total sales of £102.9m for the period with like for like sales in constant currency up by +25.6%.
CEO Christos Anglelides said: “I am very pleased with Reiss’s first half performance and encouraged by the promising start we have made to the Autumn/Winter ’19 season. Our customers are clearly responding to the investment we have made in people, product, brand and infrastructure.
"I am also excited at the opportunity to further raise awareness of the Reiss brand by launching an Autumn/Winter ’19 campaign across a series of marketing initiatives, some of which are a first for the brand, starting in the heart of London with Piccadilly Lights.”
The advertising deal with out-of-home media company Ocean Outdoor, sees the AW19 campaign set to launch on Piccadilly Lights across a four-week period starting from 26 August.
The campaign itself celebrates the brand’s London roots, featuring several iconic locations across the city including: The Barbican, Southbank, Old Marylebone Town Hall and the British Transport Museum.
When discussing the inspiration behind the campaign, Creative Director, James Spreckley, said: “AW19 evokes a cinematic, euphoric view of London’s creativity, art and culture. A celebration of the city’s unexpected backdrops, we wanted the campaign to showcase portraits of people in their truest, most confident forms. We call it, ‘beauty untamed’.”
Piccadilly Lights attract 100m visitors a year and are are marketed and operated by Ocean Outdoor on behalf of Landsec.
Rosalyn Mackway, Ocean’s business director in Brand Partnerships, said: “The Piccadilly Lights are an integral part of the London fashion scene and British led design. This campaign by Reiss brings together a much photographed icon with other city landmarks to celebrate the cultural diversity, flair and optimist confidence of London. A truly Instagrammable campaign.”


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SURGING OUTPUT and an influx of orders helped manufacturing activity grow last month at a much faster rate than expected, a survey showed on Thursday, boding well for the swift economic recovery.
The Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose in April to 57.3, its highest reading since November, compared a March reading of 55.8 that was revised up from 55.3. Readings above 50 denote growth.
In further signs of strength in manufacturing, which accounts for around a tenth of the economy, factories took on staff at a faster pace last month.
The output index rose sharply to an eight-month high, while new orders grew at a faster rate thanks to improved demand from domestic and export markets.
“This places the sector perfectly to build on the robust 1.3 percent expansion in manufacturing production reported by the first estimate of Q1 GDP,” said Rob Dobson, senior economist at survey compiler Markit.
Britain’s economy grew 0.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of the year, and 3.1 per cent compared with the same period a year ago - its best showing in more than six years.
Inflation fell to its lowest in over four years in March, and the latest PMI showed price pressures in manufacturing eased further in April.
“The backdrop ... remains one of generally subdued inflationary pressures in the UK, meaning that the Bank of England will likely maintain a wait-and-see track until later in the year,” said Mr Dobson.
Martin Beck, senior economic adviser to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club, said the survey pointed to broad-based economic expansion with the consumer, intermediate and investment goods sectors all seeing strong growth.
He added: “Despite sterling climbing even higher over the last month, April’s survey pointed to an increase in manufacturing export orders.
“And the strong pound may be providing some offsetting benefits, with average purchase prices paid by manufacturers falling for the second successive month, driven in part by lower import costs.
“With the most recent CBI Industrial Trends Survey finding optimism among businesses at its highest level since 1973, momentum in manufacturing output looks set to continue.
“All in all, it looks like the sector is set for a bright spring and summer.”


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If gas prices have fallen, why haven't energy bills?
Last updated at 19:24 11 April 2007
At least 23million households are still waiting for the savings to be passed on.
While wholesale gas costs have dropped by 50 per cent since June last year, energy bills, typically £1,000 a year, have failed to fall by a single pence.
Just two of the six energy giants, British Gas and Scottish and Southern Energy, have cut their prices.
Two others, Npower and Powergen, have announced plans to reduce bills, but they have delayed the cuts until April 30 when many families will have turned down their heating.
Consumer groups criticised the remaining two companies, EDF Energy and Scottish Power, for failing to cut prices at all.
A spokesman for Energywatch said: "They are always very quick to increase prices when their wholesale costs go up.
"But they are always rather slow to cut them when the wholesale prices come down.
"Even the companies which have cut their prices should have cut them more than they have."
British Gas had raised its bills five times since 2004 before finally cutting them last month.
For many pensioners on a tight budget, the inflation-busting rises have forced them to choose between heating and eating.
For hard-working families, the bills have created additional financial pressures at a time when they are dealing with rising mortgage payments and council tax.
The energy regulator Ofgem has threatened to investigate any firm which fails to cut bills if wholesale prices are dropping. Chief executive
Alistair Buchanan said: "If companies are tempted to keep some of the jam on their fingers, they might in effect be triggering us into having a look at what is going on."
Energywatch urged consumers to shop around to save themselves hundreds of pounds.
For example, an EDF customer in London is typically paying £942 a year for gas and electricity if they have a "dual fuel" deal.
Similar deals are available that would save them £200, according to price comparison website Simplyswitch.com.
A University of Warwick study into electricity prices between 1999 and 2006 confirms that bills do not fall as quickly as wholesale prices.
The report also reveals many people are "reluctant" to switch, even if they can save a lot of money by moving to a cheaper provider.
Yesterday EDF Energy and Scottish Power said they were still considering a price cut.
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Amazon is sending out a full $45 credit over the coming days.
About a week ago, Amazon announced a big change for its Prime Exclusive line of phones. Rather than shipping them at discounted prices with advertisements on their lock screens, Amazon would simply kick the price of all phones up by $20 and remove these ads from each and every device. The move was received with mostly open arms, but there was one question that remained to be answered.
Prior to this change, customers that bought Prime Exclusive Phones had the option of removing the lock screen ads by paying a one-time fee of $45. It was a nice alternative at the time, but anyone that did this could feel cheated out seeing as how all phones ship ad-free now. Thankfully, Amazon will be crediting these customers soon.
If you purchased an Amazon Prime Exclusive phone and paid for the removal of their lock screen ads, you should be receiving an email from Amazon anytime now saying that you’ll get a refund for the full $45 amount in the form of an Amazon gift card. This will be applied directly to your account, and you should see the credit arrive within 2-3 days of receiving said email.
I imagine some folks would prefer the option of being credited with cash, but I also can’t see anyone complaining about an extra $45 to blow on Amazon.
February 13, 2018 at 03:44AM


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The Bend Visitor & Convention Bureau has launched an edgy, animated online marketing campaign featuring a video the bureau hopes is so entertaining that viewers will e-mail it to friends, family and colleagues.
The video is sort of like Bend meets The Simpsons.
Locals will recognize scenes in the lighthearted production and presumably chuckle at the characters and lyrics.
The three-minute video begins with a ladybug lolling amid wide-open spaces with Mount Bachelor and the Deschutes River in the background.
But that tranquil scene doesn't last long.
Immediately, two geese appear, one smoking a cigar while the other goose chomps down on the wide-eyed ladybug. The groggy geese, fresh from a ”Bend-er,” then ask themselves, ”Where the hell are we?”
Out of nowhere, a casually dressed businessman appears, and the video launches into song.
A cast of characters - ranging from a hippie to a buxom German bartender and angelic children - join in the musical video parodying Bend without actually saying it by name.
By the end of the video, viewers have the option to watch the video again or to pass it along to a friend. There's also a link to the Bend Visitor & Convention Bureau's Web site, where visitors can find more information about restaurants, lodging, recreation and shopping opportunities around the greater Bend area.
Even longtime residents will need to watch the video a few times to catch its subtle humor, said Mike Glover, executive director of the bureau.
”The video is funny and entertaining,” Glover said. ”But, there's also a message that shows what we have here - the river, rafting, skiing, etc. We hope that people will be entertained, then watch it again or pass it along via e-mail.”
Ultimately, the video's goal is to interest more people in visiting Bend.
According to Glover, the video is the first of its kind to market a destination such as Bend through an emerging form of advertising known as viral marketing.
The idea of viral marketing is that viewers will spread the message - in this case, a link to the video - by e-mail to people they know. The hoped-for effect is exponential exposure for the message as it gets passed from inbox to inbox.
Viral marketing first gained national attention during the 2004 presidential campaign, when countless visitors turned to the JibJab.com Web site to watch an animated video that parodied President Bush and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., to the tune of Woody Guthrie's song, ”This Land is Your Land.”
The site received national media exposure to put viral marketing on the national map.
The Bend campaign, which cost about $35,000 to produce and will run at least a year, relies upon word of mouth or at least the mass influence of e-mail to promote the city in a nontraditional way. The cost is about 8 percent of the Bend Visitor & Convention Bureau's annual advertising and marketing budget of $450,000.
The bureau is competing with other tourist destinations such as Park City, Utah, and Lake Tahoe to promote Bend as a destination among a national audience and capture a greater number of national travelers.
”We're using a lot of the same methods to reach people, such as direct e-mail, that they are,” Glover said. ”But I haven't seen anyone use a viral campaign to attract visitors to a destination yet.”
According to Glover, the campaign will complement the bureau's national public relations efforts. It's also a more affordable way to reach a national audience, ”something we could not do through traditional channels,” he wrote in an e-mail.
”We have seen through our research that the national audience now constitutes a larger percentage of visitors (coming to Bend) than in years past,” he continued.
Visitors are a key component in the economy of Bend and the region. Tourism's annual economic impact in Central Oregon is estimated at about $500 million, according to the Central Oregon Visitors Association.
Younger, male consumers between the ages of 18 and 35 are more likely to be influenced by word-of-mouth behavior than radio or television ads, according to Justin Yax, public relations manager at DVA Advertising & Public Relations, the Bend firm that created the campaign.
”This type of advertising targets a younger and more male-oriented audience than traditional print media,” he said. ”We want to grab the ... people who want to be first at everything.”
Yax added, ”They're the tech-savvy people who own iPods and they're the ones who would watch something like this and pass it along to their friends. This is the direction that marketing is going.”
According to Yax, viral marketing is growing in popularity because of the ease of executing the campaign, its cost compared to direct mail, and its high and rapid response rate.
But, most importantly, it works because it's funny.
”People don't want to feel that they're being advertised to,” said Ted Pate, co-creative director at DVA who created the site with Gary Fulkerson. ”Our goal is to entertain them and lead them indirectly to the Web site.”
The animated video targets the 82 percent of travelers who plan or book their trips online. More than 64 million Americans purchased or reserved an airline ticket, hotel room, rental car or package tour online in 2005, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Travel Industry Association of America.
Glover already considers the campaign a winner, thanks to a marketing coup that will allow friendster.com, a video downloading site popular among iPod owners, to send links to the video with endorsements to more than 1.25 million of its subscribers.
”Just through that, the campaign is a success,” Glover said.
”Our ultimate goal is to increase awareness, get (people) to our Web site and ultimately visit Bend,” Glover said.


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Keyword: Australia Tourism
The cruise company's 26th annual "Ancient Dynasties & World Wonders" voyage, a nearly 140-day route, is available for booking. Here's a quick preview.
Cunard’s expanded program includes new voyages to the Norwegian Fjords, Japan and Australia. Find out more here.
Silversea’s 140-day, 62-port world cruise on the Silver Whisper will offer events, excursions, and unique experiences on all seven continents. Learn more.
Buenos Aires is going to create tax incentives for the city’s hospitality industry to accommodate the destination's projected tourism growth. Here's a look at what's planned.
Although there are few places in the world today that cannot be explored by ship, cruise lines manage to find new options (and bragging rights) for guests. Here's where.
Germany's Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and others spoke at the keel-laying ceremony for Crystal Endeavor. Here's our photologue and follow-ups, including more on advance bookings.
Seabourn has released its latest brochure, which details 180 Seabourn cruises visiting more than 450 destinations in nearly 100 countries. Check it out.
This month marks five years since Emerald Waterways launched its first collection of European river cruises. Here's the latest from the cruise line.
Contiki’s new trips explore South Africa, Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Kenya. Experiences include climbing Mt Kilimanjaro or getting up close to gorillas in Uganda. Take a look.
Seabourn introduced its lineup of cruises to Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific for the 2018-19 season. Destinations include natural wonders, historic sites and more.


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We don’t have a chance to report on good news very often these days, so when the Fabless Semiconductor Association (FSA) says that investments in fabless semiconductor startups for the first half of this year have surpassed the number of deals for the same period last year, it’s time to celebrate. What’s more, deal pace in the first three weeks of the third quarter has gone through the roof.
For the first six months of the year, a total of 62 fabless chip startups raised $758 million in venture funding, according to Austin, Texas-based FSA and data analysis by Venture Capital Journal. That’s 9% of the $8.4 billion raised by all VC-backed companies in the first half, as reported by PwC/ThomsonVE/NVCA Money Tree survey. Investments in fabless startups were well ahead of those in biotechnology ($639 million) and second only to investments in software ($864 million).
It’s true that the total funds raised for fabless investments is down from the same period last year, when 58 companies raised $940 million, but you’d be hard pressed to identify a sector in which investors are paying less while getting more equity for their money; valuations are down in all sectors. The important point is that more fabless startups are receiving funds this year, and the pace of deals is accelerating. In the first three weeks of the third quarter, VCs pumped $200 million into 20 fabless deals. “The industry is on track to pass the  fabless startups funded in 2002,” says Jodi Shelton, executive director of the FSA.
A closer look reveals that two areas of fabless startups are dominating VC interest. The No. 1 category is wireless companies, with 28 investments totaling more than $285 million and. The No. 2 category is imaging, with 12 investments totaling more than $200 million. The two segments pulled in two-thirds (more than 40% and 25%, respectively) of VC investments in fabless companies in the first half of the year. Smaller segments of investing include startups in storage, optoelectronics and power management.
There is little surprise in the enthusiasm for wireless, which also dominated fabless investment in the last six months of 2002. The opportunities in cell phones, cellular infrastructure and multifunction devices (formerly known as PDAs) have attracted a Who’s Who of venture firms. There are five important sub-categories of investment within wireless: network processors, wireless LANS, infrastructure, modems and dual-mode chips, as well as two smaller areas-audio processing chips (two deals) and integrated circuits for mixed-signal applications (two deals). The most active VCs that made multiple investments in the wireless sector were careful to spread their dollars around the sub-categories.
Venture interest in imaging startups is somewhat more surprising, given assertions by some analysts that the sector is already over-invested. Twelve such companies received first-half funding, the majority of which went into follow-on rounds.
Opinion is divided as to whether too much money is flowing into imaging deals. One camp of analysts believes the imaging market is headed for the kind of me-too investing that led to the meltdown of fabless semiconductor startups in 3D graphics during the mid-1990s. But another camp says that the companies that have raised venture money are fairly evenly distributed across applications markets, technology segments and opportunities.
In the past two years, funds for imaging startups have flowed into either sensor technology – traditionally dominated by charged couple device (CCD) startups – or image processing technology (so-called back-end processors). And while that separation continues, there are two important new areas of investment. One is sensors built in CMOS. Companies in that sector – most prominently Foveon – will compete with CCDs on cost of manufacturing and soon compete for resolution performance.
The other area pulling in new venture dollars is system-on-a-chip (SoC) startups, which integrate multiple functions on single semiconductors to serve mobile telephony or multifunction devices markets. Venture-backed startups in this space include Xelerated, a wireless network processor company, and Cradle Technologies, whose products support data, voice, images and video.
Not So Fab
All of the activity in fabless startups contrasts with the doldrums of the mainstream semiconductor industry. There were hopes for a recovery this year, but it stalled, says Doug Andre, principal analyst for the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) in San Jose, Calif. “First there was the Iraq War, then SARS, and both of those had an impact on the sale of handsets,” Andre says.
That’s bad news. The cellular telephone market is now the largest consumer of the products of the semiconductor industry, ahead of personal computers, for which, Andre says, “IDC and others are reporting the highest growth rates since 2000.” But that’s not saying much. Neither the consumer nor corporate market for personal computers provides the kind of growth it once did for semiconductor manufacturers. In any case, the personal computer market is dominated by two players, Intel and AMD, which are locked in a death struggle over performance, functionality and price. That doesn’t leave much room in the sector for venture-backed startups.
That leaves cellular telephony as the fastest growing market, dominated by captive semiconductor production from the manufacturers of handsets, base station equipment providers and the most nimble of the public fabless semiconductor companies on one side. On the other side is a fast-growing group of Asian suppliers who copy and replicate the work of the first group of companies with astonishing speed. In between those two groups are fabless semiconductor startups. It’s the place where the venture capital industry funds the innovations that keep the U.S. semiconductor industry on the leading edge of technology.
Times Have Changed
So what’s the fascination with fabless semiconductor companies? The market space between huge entrenched manufacturers and the shameless intellectual property thieves of Asia sounds like a tough place to find oneself as a startup company.
John Michaelson, president of Needham Investment Management, whose firm has made 16 investments in fabless semiconductor startups over the last eight years, explains why his firm remains enthusiastic about fabless: “Many of the barriers to entry have been lowered. Design tools have standardized. There are more design centers and the access to fabs is easier with the increase in the number of foundries that support fabless design companies.”
On top of that, the model for building fabless design companies and ramping successful ones to $100 million in annual sales is well understood. It’s one of the few technology markets in which venture-backed firms can still build a business that allows VCs to earn 5x or 6x on their original investments, says Graham O’Keefe, senior principal analyst at Atlas Venture.
It’s the kind of space where smart VCs can make money quickly. Because “two-thirds of all ICs today go into consumer products, and because manufacturers of consumer products are very cost sensitive, there is intense price pressure,” Michaelson says. That means manufacturers are always looking for ways to save money, add features and get to market fast; a succinct summary of what fabless semiconductor startups offer to their customers.
“Speed, is the key,” Michaelson adds. “These companies have to get their products designed and into the market to exploit any new technology [niche] before cheaper manufacturers get out even cheaper products.”
O’Keefe agrees with Michaelson. With VCs locked out of the mainstream semiconductor industry by the high cost of building a new fab (the average cost ranges from $2 billion to $3 billion), all interest naturally flows into the fabless sector where innovation – and profits – are possible.
There is risk, of course, that too many VCs are betting on too many companies. Analysts say that may very well be the case with startups that make imaging chips. Some cheerleaders say the sky’s the limit, citing research saying that the market for cellular camera phones is expected to hit 140 million units in 2005. But Brian Alger, a senior equity analyst at Pacific Growth Equities urges caution: “Anytime you see projections going from zero to 140 million, there is a lot of hype,” he says.
If history is an indicator, VCs are overestimating the market. A similar cycle of investment took place in the mid-1990s around 3D graphics chip startups. Nearly 50 companies were funded. Most were absorbed into other companies. Now, only a half-dozen companies remain and three of them-NVIDIA, ATI Technologies and Intel-hold 85% of the current graphics chip market.
“Lots of these startups have nifty technology solutions, but there are a ton of companies targeting the market,” says Alger of Pacific Growth. He adds that few of the startups have inked crucial OEM deals to ensure their long-term viability.
Moreover, the market is growing more competitive as publicly traded chipmakers eye the cell phone camera market – companies like Genesis Microchip, STMicroelectronics, NeoMagic, Cirrus Logic and Zoran. And many consumer electronics manufacturers already make their own imaging chips, including NEC, Nikon, Sony, Canon, Samsung and Philips.
Imaging startups are bullish about their own prospects. Saul Altabet, senior director of marketing with NuCORE, which produces back-end image processing chips, says the mainstream graphics chips and cell-phone imaging chip markets are different. Yes, it’s harder to get into the cell phone space because the technology hurdles are higher, but it’s also “harder to get designed out,” Altabet says. His point being that the volatility in the earlier graphics market is not necessarily relevant to imaging chips.
Whether any of these startups can grow up to be long-lasting public companies with sales in excess of $1 billion per year is anyone’s guess. As always the ladies and gentlemen of the VC industry are placing their bets.


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Samsung lawyer John Quinn made a statement regarding the brand new Apple case against the Galaxy Nexus for infringement on Siri-related patents. He said that Apple, wasn’t harmed by sales of the Galaxy Nexus, because they were “minuscule.” That’s right. He said that Apple’s suit for losses was bogus due to the apparent fact that Galaxy Nexus sales were insignificant.
Analysts have been wondering about Galaxy Nexus sales since its launch late in 2011. It was Google’s third Nexus device after two relative sales failures, and the early availability of Android 4.0 was expected to boost the phone’s retail rankings. Still, with Verizon pushing the DROID RAZR and other devices over the Nexus, sales numbers ended up “minuscule.”
Samsung reported specifically that $250 million worth of Galaxy Nexus devices were sold in its first two quarters on the market. Quinn relayed, “This is a product that, at most, captured 0.5 percent of the market.”


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A world-first smoke taint detection system will be launched this year to better protect wineries from bushfire damage.
- The taint detection system has taken seven years to develop
- One hundred detectors will be installed across Victoria's north-east
- Millions of dollars' worth of wine grapes were destroyed after the Black Summer bushfires
Smoke from bushfires can taint grapes, making wine taste ashy and unsuitable for sale.
Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of wine grapes were dumped after the Black Summer bushfires due to concerns over smoke taint.
It is hoped the new system, the first of its kind, will be able to tell growers in real time if smoke from fires is damaging their crop.
"The bit that got me going was the personal anguish, seeing growers who didn't know what to do with their crop," LaTrobe University research professor Ian Porter said.
"They were looking at a million dollars out there and when a bushfire came through they were advised to throw it on the ground."
Dr Porter and his team took seven years to develop the theory of how much smoke it takes to taint wine.
Traffic light system
Not knowing how much smoke it takes to damage wine grape crops was costly to producers.
"For people who are selling grapes, a lot of the sale contracts have very defined terms for when they are able to be rejected," North East Wine Zone group chair Robert Hawkings said.
"For example, our contract for our grapes says if there is smoke in the air [for three days], all the crop can be rejected."
Mr Hawkings's group represents wine grape growers in Victoria's Alpine Valley, Beechworth, Glenrowan, Rutherglen and King Valley wine regions.
One hundred sensors will be installed across five wine regions in north-east Victoria this year under a bushfire recovery project funded by the federal and Victorian governments and Wine Australia.
"It's measuring the particulate matter in the air and it is using the dose [of smoke] and the cumulative dose above a certain level of the smoke that causes the taint and that is lined up [with established research] and we predict the risk," Dr Porter said.
"The risk will be a traffic light system on an app for a phone that allows wine grape growers to rest easy when it is green, react when it is orange and then when it is red you've got a problem — avoid putting in costs or inputs and go away and have a holiday."
'We can't fail'
The sensor system will not solve the issue of smoke damaging grapes but it can alert the grower if damage has occurred or if the crop can still be used to make wine.
"When there is smoke in the air, anyone who is growing grapes cringes," Mr Hawkings, who grows grapes at the Indigo Vineyard near Beechworth, said.
In demystifying the unknown, it is expected to save growers and winemakers money and in some cases save their valuable crop too.
Dr Porter is feeling the pressure to get it right.
"We don't want to make one mistake — we can't fail," he said.
"Having growers save money and rest easy is the best thing we can do in the world."


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A Tesla Model 3 car is becoming available in Singapore. Tesla Inc on January 2, 2022, reported quarterly deliveries that far surpassed Wall Street estimates, riding out the global chip shortages as it increased its China production. That was the sixth consecutive quarter that the world’s most valuable automaker posted some record deliveries.
Tesla, which is led by billionaire CEO Elon Musk, delivered 308,600 vehicles in Q4, 2021, far more than analysts’ projections of 263,026 vehicles. The company’s October-December deliveries increased by around 70% from a year earlier and almost 30% higher from the record deliveries in the preceding quarter.
Musk wrote on Twitter:
“Great work by Tesla team worldwide!”
His electric car-making firm increased production in China although competition increased and regulatory pressure surged after consumer complaints about product safety. Tesla now ships China-made models to Europe and some of the Asian nations.
Yearly, the carmaker increased its deliveries by 87% from a year earlier to reach 936,172 vehicles in 2021. Elon Musk said in October 2021 that Tesla will manage to maintain a yearly growth rate of over 50% for “quite a while.”
New Tesla Factories
The managing partner at venture capital firm Loup Ventures, Gene Munster, said on January 2, 2022:
“They have beaten all the odds. The first is the demand for their products is through the roof. And the second is they’re doing a great job of meeting that demand.”
He believed that Tesla’s deliveries will reach 1.3 million vehicles in 2022 despite headwinds in production at its new factories and supply chain issues. Zachary Kirkhorn, Tesla Chief Financial Officer (CFO), said in October 2021 that it was challenging to forecast how rapidly the firm can boost production at the new factories set up in Berlin and Texas where new vehicle technologies and new teams will be used in the production process.
Tesla confirmed in October 2021 that it wanted to build its first production cars at these facilities by the end of last year. However, it is not clear whether the company met that target. The company is yet to respond to questions asked about the two plants.
The Berlin factory had originally been scheduled to start production last summer. In a December 31, 2021 report, Deutsche Bank said that it expected Tesla to make around 1.5 million vehicle deliveries in 2022, although the current challenges of chip shortages remain a major risk to the company’s vehicle production rate.
Last year, vehicle makers cut chip orders as the pandemic and lockdown restrictions hit demand. However, Tesla did not reduce its production projection with suppliers to support the quick growth plan that enabled it to survive through the chip shortage, as highlighted by Musk.
Tesla designs some of its chips in-house unlike many of the other automakers, and it reprogrammed software to use the less scarce chips, according to a statement by Elon Musk. Previously, he said that “2021 has been the year of super crazy supply chain shortages.” However, his October statement showed that he was optimistic that these issues would pass this year.
The strong sales came even after Tesla increased US vehicle prices steeply this year to offset increased supply chain costs.
In October last year, Tesla surpassed $1 trillion in market capitalization after rental Car Company Hertz confirmed that it ordered 100,000 of the Tesla vehicles. The firm’s shares lost some ground after Elon Musk tweeted in November that he was considering selling 10% of his stake in Tesla. But in general, the company shares gained 50% in 2021.


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Foodservice has become a differentiator in today's hospitals. Progressive facilities competing for patients are instituting revolutionary room service programs; installing serveries with a variety of offerings; providing upscale, seasonal fare; and even creating destination restaurants with takeout programs rivaling the top chains.
"Many chefs are moving to the healthcare arena, and it has become important to have someone with culinary experience on staff," says Elizabeth Yesford, senior director at Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C. Yesford is also an Association for Healthcare Foodservice (AHF) board member and its 2012 president-elect. "Hospital foodservice is like hotel foodservice on a diet, due to the clinical needs involved." These changes are no surprise, considering retail sales in the healthcare foodservice segment have more than doubled in the last 20 years. For 2011, this segment is expected to reach retail sales of more than $22 billion, according to Technomic, a Chicago-based foodservice industry research firm. Retail sales in hospitals are forecasted at $10 billion for this year, an increase from approximately $8.5 billion a decade ago.
"The healthcare retail component has arrived and is here to stay," says Marsha Diamond, MA, RD, foodservice business development consultant with M. Diamond, LLC., in New York City. That's because hospitals are looking for additional revenue streams.
"Many hospitals found the best way to accomplish this is with a better brand," Diamond says. "This trend of branding healthcare foodservice as an image has been coupled with patient foodservice."
The goal of these initiatives is to transcend the former hospital cafeteria stigma and create a retail environment that exceeds the expectations of employees, visitors and patients. As a result, more hospital foodservice programs are looking at overall trends and adjusting menus to better suit customers. For example, more operations have incorporated healthier options, seasonal ingredients, flavor fusions and updated comfort foods.
In an effort to create healthier offerings, Providence Hospital has instituted Meatless Mondays, Fryless Fridays and 500-calorie meals for $5. Broilers have become more predominant for food preparation.
"Dieticians also are more involved with foodservice operations than in the past," Yesford says. "There are now more synergies between hospitals' culinary and nutrition staff." Speed of service remains a top priority in this segment. "Hospitals not only have to be more accommodating with timelines in terms of providing patient meals, but retail customers also are in a hurry to get in and out," Yesford says. To address this need, Providence Hospital has created a to-go menu for phone-in orders.
Because controlling cost and waste is a big factor in the hospital foodservice segment, as it is for restaurants, portion control awareness has become more prevalent.
Although many hospital foodservice programs are still contracted out, those that are self-operated continue to raise the bar when it comes to performance and food quality. "Self-operated operations are taking more pride in their programs," Diamond says. "These programs have taken foodservice to the next level. Not only will an improved foodservice operations increase patient satisfaction and hospital brand recognition, but it could provide comfort to guests and families, help patients heal and save hospitals money in the long run."
- Combi oven
- Convection oven
- Steam jacketed kettle
- Versatility: Space is at a premium in hospitals, especially in retail servery operations. Versatile equipment that can be easily changed out provides added menu flexibility.
- Cleanability: Sanitation and food safety are paramount in a hospital setting, so it is imperative that equipment can be easily cleaned.
- Speed of Service: For both patient meals and retail operations, time is of the essence. For this reason, equipment that helps expedite service has become essential in hospital kitchens.


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California’s Proposition 37, a ballot initiative aiming to label genetically modified ingredients in food, was many things, depending on who you ask: an opportunity for consumers to get transparency in their food products; an affront on family farmers, food companies, and grocers; a lawyer’s dream; a chance for the U.S. to catch up to the 50-plus countries that already label GMO foods; and a fear-mongering initiative propagated by people and companies that are against science.
In the end, the public was swayed by the No on Prop 37 campaign, which convinced people that the economic costs were too high and the science didn’t make sense. As of November 6, Prop 37 is dead. The deck was stacked against Prop 37, funded by companies like Nature’s Path Foods and Amy’s Kitchen, from the start. It just wasn’t as well-funded; the No on Prop 37 movement saw pesticide companies like Monsanto and Bayer Cropscience sinking millions of dollars into the campaign. In the last 20 days before the election, No on Prop 37 spent an average of over $1 million each day on an ad blitz, killing the proposition’s momentum–it dropped from 67% support in September to 39% support by the time voters had their say.
If the measure had passed, it’s likely that GMO labeling would have become a federal issue–California is so large that many companies would have just started labeling products for elsewhere in the country too. Now the organizations and companies that fought to get the proposition on the state’s ballot have to look elsewhere. “We’re not going to give up: 4.2 million Californians voted for Prop 37. This should be a wake-up call, a signal to [President] Obama,” says Arran Stephens, CEO and cofounder of Nature’s Path (the company gave $660,000 to the Prop 37 campaign).
The next stop for the GMO labeling movement is Washington State, where I-522 (also known as “The People’s Right To Know Genetically Engineered Food Act”) is heading to the November 2013 ballot if it garners enough signatures. “It’s a new law in Washington that wants to do the same thing but with simpler language,” explains Stephens. There was some sticky language that got the Yes on Prop 37 camp in trouble in California–namely, labeling exemptions for alcohol and meat products that come from animals who eat GMO feed as well as a stipulation that .5% of microingredients in a product could contain GMOs and still be labeled GMO-free.
Says Stephens: “Some people misinterpreted that to say ‘Oh, you have a different standard than the European standard of .9%.’ In Prop 37 it was .5% for each microingredient so the total aggregate could be higher, but it was a point that was argued in great hairsplitting detail to the extent where the bigger prize was forgotten or bypassed.” I-522 will take out the exemptions and clarify the microingredient issue. There’s no question, however, that the big pesticide companies will fight just as hard to make sure it doesn’t pass.
While most of Nature’s Path’s business is in the U.S., Stephens lives in Canada. He hopes to take on labeling there as well. “The Canadian situation is worse than the U.S,” he explains. “In the U.S, in certain states, you can pass state laws that give consumers protection independent from the federal government, but in Canada that’s not the case. We’re getting our ducks in a row and tackling bureaucracy in Canada.”
There are plenty of people who don’t care about labeling, as evidenced by the fact that Prop 37 didn’t pass. And in fact, GMO foods might be 100% safe for human consumption. We just don’t know. The FDA doesn’t require GMO foods to go through a safety assessment process, and the pesticide industry has used patent control of its GMO crops to stop independent research.
Here’s what we do know: Between 1996 and 2011, toxic herbicide use increased by 527 million pounds due to the growing use of herbicide-resistant GMO crops. And continued use of GMO crops (and associated herbicides) is breeding superweeds and superpests.
Labeling isn’t the same thing as taking GMO food off the market, but it has proven in other countries to make consumers wary. In fact, companies like Monsanto initially supported labeling in Europe, but “found that consumers didn’t buy products that were labeled, so they switched tactics,” according to Stephens. There’s reason for them to be skittish.
Whatever happens in Washington, the pro-labeling movement will press on. “I’ll never give up on this thing. I’m going to go down with my boots on,” says Stephens. “Even though we may lose a couple of battles, this is a far bigger struggle and it’s not over by any means.”


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LG Energy signs second offtake agreement with WesCEF to secure stable supply of lithium
LG Energy Solutions, one of the leading producers of lithium-ion batteries for automotive, IT, and energy storage systems on Wednesday announced that it has signed an offtake agreement with Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy and Fertilisers (WesCEF) to secure a stable supply of lithium for its North American market.
Under the agreement, WesCEF will supply LG Energy Solution with up to 85,000 tons of lithium concentrate, which could be utilized in producing around 11,000 tons of lithium hydroxide, a crucial raw material for cathodes. This is the second offtake agreement signed between the two companies, with the first signed in 2022, for securing a total of 50,000 tons of battery-grade lithium hydroxide from WesCEF for a period of five years.
"As an industry leader, in line with the global trend of electrification and corresponding clean energy policies, we are upholding the value of sustainability in not just our products but every aspect of our business, including the supply chain," said Kang Yeol Lee, Senior Vice President of Procurement Center at LG Energy Solution.
"Partnering with major suppliers with great potentials like WesCEF, we will ensure stable procurement of key raw materials, thereby delivering advanced battery technologies at competitive prices."
WesCEF's lithium hydroxide will be produced from the Mt. Holland lithium project in Western Australia -- one of the largest hard-rock lithium projects globally. The production at the Mt. Holland lithium project is expected to begin in the first half of the calendar year 2025.
As part of its efforts to further enhance its lithium supply chain, LG Energy Solution has also secured a partnership with SQM, a global mining company based in Chile and an investor in the Mt. Holland lithium project. SQM and LG Energy signed a new long-term supply agreement for lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide last year, which superseded the previous one in force. This new offtake amount nearly tripled from the remaining contract volume (36,000 tons) to 100,000 tons over seven years, ensuring a more stable supply of IRA-compliant lithium to drive LG Energy's business expansion into the North American market.
The critical minerals and raw materials secured through these robust supply chains will be assembled into lithium-ion batteries at the manufacturing facilities in North America, making them IRA-compliant power solutions that will propel clean energy transition in the region, LG Energy said in a statement.


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A foodservice supplier to the likes of Domino’s Pizza, Wagamama, Mitchells & Butlers and P&O Ferries has collapsed following the UK-wide shutdown of the hospitality industry during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Baraka Foods, which formed in Wales back in 1989, appointed administrators from recovery firms Carter Clark and Leonard Curtis on 20 July 2020.
Headquartered in Mid Glamorgan, the business supplied cooked meat lines to restaurant customers such as Wagamama, Angus Steakhouse, Benugo and Las Iguanas, which is currently in administration itself.
It also worked with Domino’s and pub groups Mitchells & Butlers and Stonegate, as well as a number of other big names, such as P&O Ferries.
The company employed more than 80 staff from its facility in Gelli in the Valleys.
Baraka owner Charles Newham said in a statement: “Baraka Foods has gone into administration, with the loss of all jobs.
“This is a tragedy, as Baraka Foods moved to the Rhondda in 1992 with one employee. Many of our staff of 84 have worked together for decades.”
The business had rebranded in 2018 and invested in expanding its premises in anticipation of future growth.
Annual revenues at the supplier stood at £9.3m in the year ended 30 November 2018, according to the most recent accounts available at Companies House.
Carter Clark and Leonard Curtis declined to comment on the case.


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The wild, minute-by-minute chart of bitcoin trading today
Why Bitcoin Matters - The New York Times
Bitcoin Price Volatile; Opportunity Today - NEWSBTC.COM
Investing in Bitcoin - wealthdaily.comRead the free guide in our information centre and learn about bitcoin today.
They believe in its inherent value or, more frequently, cannot.While many venture capitalists remain enthusiastic about the crypto-currency, this has not been a good season.Seven years ago, the value of a single bitcoin was worth a quarter-of-a-cent.
After the 2013 bubble the Bitcoin price drop is really good news for the digital currency in terms of real value, demand adjustment and consumer adoption.What does the Bitcoin price prediction chart say about its value in.Launched in 2013, Unocoin lets customers buy, sell, store, use and accept bitcoins.
Does the Price of Bitcoin Matter? - Nasdaq.comAs it stands on September 12, a single Bitcoin is valued at.
Move Over, Bitcoin. Ether Is the Digital Currency of the
Today, all eyes are on Bitcoin. The only difference now lies in how exactly Bitcoin and gold are used as a store of value.
Bitcoin - The Internet of MoneyBitcoin futures briefly fell in response, but by Tuesday afternoon, they appear to be slightly.
Ether Is the Digital Currency of the Moment. The price of Bitcoin has hit record highs in recent months,.Bandeira Construction launched Bandeira Coin after 2 years of intense research.Just to the top right of this article you can see the value of bitcoin today according to bitcoinaverage.com, which averages the price of bitcoin.
Value of Bitcoin – "Grab Your Bitcoin Value today."
You are at: Home » News » Opinion » Why is Bitcoin Going Up? (And will it Continue. the currency was designed from the basic code on up to gain value over the...
Bitcoin Price Watch; Breakout Is On Today - The Bitcoin
Bitcoin Cash Price Chart (BCH/USD) | CoinGeckoBitcoins have the ability to act as a new currency and a store of value.Marc Kenigsberg, CEO of Jamworx thinks the recent Bitcoin price dip is a minor retreat from the highs of 2017.
Charts providing a snapshot of the Bitcoin ecosystem. Charts. The Bitcoin ecosystem at a glance — Bitcoin Price.There are a number of factors that impact Bitcoin price over the course of time.View the latest Bitcoin price with our interactive and live Bitcoin price chart including buy and sell volumes.
If you’d bought $1,000 of Bitcoin in 2010, you’d be worthBitcoin will likely split. in that range while the value of bitcoin would witness a decline. of the cryptocurrency we know today.The Bitcoin price is falling today following a statement by a Chinese central bank official.
THE controversial digital currency bitcoin has soared in value and is worth more than a nugget of gold.


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Shanghai closes Xiangyang Road market
Updated: 2006-07-01 10:42
The Xiangyang Road market, a downtown outdoor bazaar famous for cheap fake
brand goods in Shanghai, was ordered to close Friday, said the municipal
The market, located off the main Huaihai Road in downtown Shanghai, has
attracted buyers from both home and abroad looking for deals on
counterfeit goods of such world-famous brands as Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Chanel
Business transactions were ordered to end at 9:30 p.m. Friday, and all stalls
in the market will be cleared out by July 7, according to the city's government.
The market has about 800 shops and had an annual trade volume worth more than
400 million yuan (US$50 million).
member closes the door of Xiangyang market which was closed at half past nine on
Friday evening in Shanghai June 30, 2006. [Reuters]
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)


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Never mind that gold is posting year-to-date losses and never mind that gold mining stocks are already in a bear market. Is this the start of bad things to come for gold investors?
Gold volatility (^GVZ) spiked over 18.03% in trading on Feb. 20 and the bumpy ride in gold is getting even bumpier. Although gold registered its 12th consecutive yearly gain in 2012, it’s actually been in correction mode since September 2011. Is there too much money chasing precious metals?
On the supply/demand side, the investment demand for gold has been declining. The 17% drop in demand for bars and coins was offset by a 51% gain in ETFs, but still resulted in a 10% demand reduction, according to the World Gold Council. India, the largest consumer of gold, experienced a 12% decline last year in gold demand to 864.2 tonnes.
One positive growth area was central bank purchases. In Q4 2013, global gold investments by bankers topped 145 tonnes, second only to the peak achieved toward the tail end of the credit crisis in Q2 2009.
Taxation on imported gold is another factor that’s weighing on the precious metals sector. To reduce its account deficit, India wants to increase taxes on gold coming from outside its boundaries.
The current gold import tax is just 6% but that may go up. “There’s a feeling that the government is looking at increasing the duty again, maybe to 8%,” said Bachhraj Bamalwa, chairman of the All India Gem and Jewellery Trade Federation.
As the world’s largest gold buyer, this may cut India’s future demand for bullion in jewelry and investment. India’s 2012 drop in gold demand was the second straight year of decline, after consumption was curbed by a jewelers’ strike for three weeks to protest a 1% excise duty on non-branded ornaments. While the excise duty was later abandoned, the shutdown cost the industry $3.7 billion in revenue, according to the jewelers’ federation.
Although gold gets most of the attention, other precious metals have recently outperformed it on a relative basis. Despite these short-term discrepancies, metals tend to imitate each other. And it’s interesting to see how silver (SLV), palladium (PALL), and platinum (PPLT)—all areas of outperformance—have trended lower just like gold.
The trend of lower prices for metals is extremely problematic for one particular industry sector: Mining stocks. Since August 2012, the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) has fallen 19.75%. Conversely, inverse funds like the Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bear 3x Shares (DUST) have soared 44.15% in value.
Decelerating metal prices when the costs of mining are increasing make a bad combination.
Gold in Portfolios


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A group of teenagers stormed into a restaurant in Queens and caused mayhem by wildly flipping tables and chairs, video footage showed.
Saturday night at the third-floor dining establishment Fish Village in College Point, a neighborhood shopping center. Through a translator, manager Tony Hu, who cannot speak English, described how more than a dozen teenagers trashed in, began making a mess and disrupted customers as plates and glass broke.
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The teenagers rushed through the main dining room while sporting masks and hooded sweatshirts. In the frenzied assault, they flipped tables and chairs and left a broken window and about $20,000 in damages.
Hu claimed that nobody was injured, but the incident, which lasted just over a minute, left everyone in the restaurant shaken. The manager claimed that to protect his staff’s safety, he hid behind the counter while dialing 911 and calling the authorities.
Curtis Sliwa, the founder of Guardian Angels, responded to the incident by calling the rowdy group “a wolfpack” and announcing that his community-watch team would intervene and patrol the restaurant.
Vickie Paladino, a councilwoman, visited the eatery on Monday to see how things were going. She stated that although 50 new NYPD officers have recently been added to her area, more are still required.
Although the staff maintains an eye on the door, the restaurant is trying to move on. Hu claimed he is worried the group might show up again but is sure the police are in control of the situation. The community-watch team will now attempt to support the eatery by patrolling the area around it, even though more officers were anticipated to keep watch outside the area.
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According to specialists at California State University, anti-Asian crime increased dramatically in 2021, increasing by 96% in New York and reaching a century-high level. To decrease shoplifting, Mayor Eric Adams announced on Monday that he is requesting that customers take off their facial masks before entering stores. Adams observed that thieves used masks to conduct crimes, taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic response measures.
No arrests have been made yet. The gang that caused the chaos fled down 127th street, police said.
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Suspect in the killing of tourists in Mexico is apprehended as the US promises “justice will be done.”


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Hasbro has promoted John Frascotti to the position of president at the toy firm.
Within his new role, Frascotti will continue to report to Brian Goldner who, with today’s appointment, becomes chairman and CEO of Hasbro.
Frascotti first joined the company in 2008 as chief marketing officer, and went on to become president of Hasbro brands in 2014.
During his tenure, he has played a critical role in the re-invention of various brands from Transformers and Nerf to My Little Pony and Play-Doh.
"I am humbled and honoured to take on the role of president of this phenomenal company,” said Frascotti.
“I believe the strength of our brands and the quality of our teams around the world is unparalleled, and there remains enormous potential in both to drive further momentum in our business and develop our brands across platforms to meet the evolving needs of our global consumers.”
Prior to joining the toy firm, Frascotti worked at Rebok International as SVP, while also serving on the board of directors of Corus Entertainment.
Goldner added: "He has been a critical member of our senior management team for nearly 10 years and I look forward to continuing to work alongside him as we, together with our leadership and teams around the world, take Hasbro to new levels of success into the future.”


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A world that nurtures connectivity
IT World Canada | January 04, 2021 -- Top cybersecurity predictions from over 40 experts.Robert Capps, vice president of market innovation at NuData Security shares his thoughts on remote work and how organizations can manage employees remotely and securely. For the complete article, go here.
Security Boulevard | October 30, 2020 -- With criminals taking advantage of the COVID-19 crisis, security experts show how health systems can respond to a cyber crisis at the same time.Many of them use advanced software that can reduce days of drudgery to mere hours of research and collecting insecure private information for their own use. For the complete article, go here.
SC Media | October 29, 2020 -- In an uncommon move, WordPress developers earlier this month automatically pushed an important security update for the popular Loginizer plug-in to roughly 1 million people, which caught some unsuspecting users off-guard in the process. The decision, which was made to ensure a significant vulnerability didn't wreak havoc, is one all software and app developers wrestle with themselves when establishing patching policies: under what circumstances should software updates be taken out of the hands of …
Threatpost | October 28, 2020 -- How a retail sector reeling from COVID-19 can lock down their online systems to prevent fraud during the upcoming holiday shopping spike.The raging pandemic has forced many retailers to re-imagine their businesses, shifting from in-person to contactless interactions through online sales. This new socially distanced reality is colliding with the crush of an upcoming holiday shopping season, creating an unprecedented opportunity for cybercriminals to capitalize. For the complete article, go here.
Healthcare IT News | September 30, 2020 -- With criminals taking advantage of the COVID-19 crisis, security experts show how health systems can respond to a cyber crisis at the same time.Rapid IT deployments, newly launched telehealth programs, sophisticated and fear-based phishing techniques, untested platforms and employees shifting to a work-from-home model have combined to make healthcare systems especially juicy targets for bad actors. For the complete article, go here.


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Medicines have become scarce lately. Pediatricians in particular are currently sounding the alarm because antibiotic juices for children are in short supply. In the pharmacies where the medicines are dispensed, problems are noticeable early on. Pharmacists have therefore been warning of supply bottlenecks for medicines for ten years.
The Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) listed 270 supply shortage reports in August last year (as of August 10, 2022). There are currently 479 (as of May 3, 2023). Since the summer of last year, the situation has worsened due to delivery bottlenecks in the pharmacies, says Thomas Preis in an interview with the star. He is a pharmacist in Cologne and chairman of the North Rhine-Westphalia Association of Pharmacists. He reported to the star in August 2022 about the situation in the pharmacies.
Already last year there were supply bottlenecks for numerous medicines, including fever syrups for children and medicines for the treatment of cancer. But the large number of delivery bottlenecks has meanwhile spread further and carried more and more manufacturers with it: "If an active ingredient is not available from a manufacturer, we turn to the next manufacturer with the same active ingredient - and then this is sold out after a short time. The next step is to take action we pharmacists have to resort to medicines with a similar active ingredient. Their manufacturers are also unable to cope with the high demand and can no longer deliver very quickly," says Thomas Preis, describing the situation.
At the moment, in addition to antibiotics for children, insulin preparations that diabetics need are difficult or impossible to obtain for pharmacies. "In such cases, we have to switch to other preparations," says the pharmacist. For patients in such cases, this can mean that their therapy has to be changed – to a new drug. That was the case in the past with the breast cancer drug tamoxifen. Since there is no alternative to the drug, breast cancer patients had to be switched to another drug for follow-up care if tamoxifen was not available.
Another reason for a tense situation at the moment is the infection process. "Since last summer there have been a lot of infections - especially among children. And they have actually lasted all year. We can only hope that it will be warmer soon and that fewer antibiotic juices will have to be prescribed, otherwise we will go into the next one ill-prepared Winter."
Whether fever syrups, antibiotics, blood pressure medication or cholesterol pills - it is not very lucrative for manufacturers to produce such basic medicines. But precisely those drugs are needed by many people in Germany. "Due to the energy crisis, the shortage of skilled workers and rising labor costs, the manufacture of such drugs is becoming less and less attractive and manufacturers are sometimes working at a loss." Some manufacturers would remain in the market out of a sense of responsibility, but Thomas Preis sees little hope that other pharmaceutical companies will produce basic drugs in the future.
The problems of supply bottlenecks have been apparent for some time - pharmacists have been warning for ten years that Germany is poorly positioned to ensure the long-term supply of medicines. "At the end of 2018, 197 delivery bottlenecks were listed at the BfArM and now there are 479 - that's an increase of over 150 percent in five years." In addition: The problem is likely to be much larger than the BfArM list shows. "The list only takes into account so-called supply-relevant medicines. In addition, the medicines on the list must also be prescription-only. So many medicines don't even appear there."
The management of delivery bottlenecks is very complex and would make emergency and night services more difficult for pharmacists: "The emergency services are very difficult for us because there are many prescriptions for medicines that patients really need immediately. Is a If the drug is not available, the search for alternatives becomes a real feat for us pharmacists." In the emergency service, action must be taken very quickly and pharmacists lack the necessary freedom to do so, criticizes Thomas Preis. If a prescription drug cannot be obtained, doctors must issue a new prescription for a drug with a similar active ingredient.
"Technically, we pharmacists are able to dispense medicines with a similar active ingredient. There is agreement between doctors and pharmacists as to which active ingredients can be exchanged with each other," says the pharmacist. But without more freedom, it will probably continue for a while that he and his colleagues go to the emergency service with a queasy feeling, knowing full well that urgently needed antibiotics are in short supply. "Some pharmacies produce antibiotic juices for children themselves, but this cannot compensate for the losses, especially since there is also a lack of the necessary active ingredients."
Generics are imitation products of a drug. If the patent protection for an original drug expires, other manufacturers may also sell drugs with the active ingredient in the same active ingredient strength and dosage form under a different name. Because multiple manufacturers can now offer a drug with the same active ingredient, the price of generics is usually lower than the originator.
At the beginning of April, the federal government passed a draft law that is intended to bring more security to the delivery of medicines. "We have overdone the economization of the drug supply," said Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach at the federal press conference. Germany should again be more attractive as a production location for generics.
The draft law of the Ministry of Health still has to go through the Bundestag. If Karl Lauterbach has his way, the law should come into force as soon as possible. It currently looks like it could come into force at the beginning of August. Among other things, the draft plans to abolish fixed and discount contracts for children's medication. Pharmaceutical companies are therefore allowed to raise prices once by up to 50 percent of the last applicable fixed amount. The health insurance companies would compensate for the price increases. According to plans by the health minister, this should make it more attractive for pharmaceutical companies to produce children's medicines.
In addition, the production of medicines will increasingly take place in Europe in the future. Pharmacies should be able to communicate more easily with one another when medicines are scarce. And for certain medicines, a three-month stockpiling at pharmacies is to become mandatory. Criticism of the draft law comes from the Central Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds (GKV). There it is feared that the elimination of fixed amounts could make medicines more expensive for consumers.
The pharmacists also have doubts about the health minister's plans: "The pharmacists' assessment is that these long-term projects will not lead to an improvement in supply in the short term. We also do not believe that the structurally caused supply bottlenecks can be eliminated that quickly ", says Thomas Preis about the proposed legislation. "Germany used to be the pharmacy of the world" and production was relocated to China and India for decades - this cannot be reversed so quickly. "The way to produce in Europe is the right one. But it must also be clear that the future supply of medicines will cost much more money if we want to have enough medicines in Germany."
As long as certain medicines are not available, consumers will not always be able to get the medicine they want from the pharmacy around the corner on the same day. But how should people who depend on their medication deal with it?
Thomas Preis advises all consumers who need medication regularly to take care of supplies at an early stage. So: Don't just get a new prescription from the doctor's office when the last tablet is in the blister. Because: "More and more products are affected by the delivery bottlenecks and depending on the drug, patients cannot be sure that it will be available in the pharmacy on the same day."
Sources: BfArM, Ministry of Health, Pharmaceutical Newspaper, GKV


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Commonwealth urged member countries to speak out about bitcoin’s legal statusbr>
The Commonwealth is urging member countries to confirm the legal status of Bitcoin and other digital currencies.
A new Commonwealth report – the result of research conducted by the Commonwealth Virtual Currencies Working Group – has broadly spoken toward the impact of virtual currencies like Bitcoin and called for member nations to acknowledge and legislate virtual currencies.
The report said: “Member countries should be encouraged to foster an awareness of virtual currencies within their jurisdictions and the potential risks involved in their use and to consider the application of their existing legal frameworks to virtual currencies and, where appropriate, should adapt them or enact new legislation to regulate virtual currencies.”
The Commonwealth of Nations comprises of 59 countries spread across several continents such as Africa, Asia, Europe and North America (the Caribbean).


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US BILLIONAIRE investor Warren Buffet and 3G Capital have swooped in to buy Heinz in a $28bn (£18bn) deal that marks one of the food industry’s largest ever acquisitions.
Buffett’s investment firm Berkshire Hathaway and the Brazilian-backed private equity firm will pay $72.50 per share for the baked beans and ketchup maker, a 20 per cent premium to Heinz’s closing share price of $60.48 on Wednesday.
Heinz said the takeover would be financed with $23bn in cash from Berkshire and 3G, debt rollover and debt financing from JP Morgan and Wells Fargo.
Buffett, whose smart investments have earned him the nickname the sage of Omaha, is putting up about $12bn-$13bn in cash, he told CNBC, adding that Berkshire will be an equal equity partner with 3G, which will also operate the business.
The joint deal is a departure for Buffett, who in the past has preferred to buy companies outright. He told CNBC yesterday: “It’s my kind of deal and it’s my kind of partner.”
Berkshire already owns several food brands including the Dairy Queen ice cream chain as well as stakes in Tesco, Coca-Cola and Kraft. Meanwhile 3G owns fast-food chain Burger King, which it took private in late 2010.
Heinz shares soared 19.87 per cent to $72.50 on the New York Stock Exchange last night after the unexpected deal. The buyout is the latest in a stream of mega-deals that have lit up the market since the New Year, including Liberty Global’s £13.96bn bid for Virgin Media.
Heinz said the takeover has been approved by the board but still needs to be voted on by shareholders. It is expected to close in the third quarter of this financial year.
3G Capital’s co-founder Alex Behring stressed that Pittsburgh would remain as the company’s global headquarters, adding that the condition was part of the deal.
He said is was too early to talk about cost cutting but said in contrast with some companies that 3G has bought in the past, “Heinz is doing extremely well”.
It is not immediately clear if Bill Johnson, Heinz’s chief executive for 15 years, will stay on. Johnson is widely credited with driving Heinz’s recent strong growth. Heinz’s shareholders include US Secretary of State John Kerry’s wife Teresa, who is the widow of HJ Heinz and the heiress to the ketchup empire. The size of her holdings is unclear.
THE BRAZILIAN WITH A TASTE FOR BEANS
WARREN Buffett may have had one eye on Heinz since 1980, but it took an airborne chat with influential Brazilian investor Jorge Lemann to really open his eyes to the possibilities lying at the bottom of the ketchup bottle. The US business magnate said yesterday that he and 3G founder Lemann have known each other since the pair served on the board of Gillette in the 1990s and that Lemann first approached him with the idea in December. “We were on a plane together, so I followed – I have a file on Heinz that goes back to 1980 – But, he is the one that got me going on this in early December.” Lemann, a globe-trotting financier with Swiss roots, made his money in banking and gained notoriety for helping to pull together the deals that ultimately formed the brewing giant AB InBev. The 73-year-old began his career as a talented tennis player and made it to Wimbledon before turning to finance, graduating from Harvard in 1961 and training at Credit Suisse before founding investment banking firm Banco Garantia.


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The Pros and Cons of Downsizing in the Tech Industry
This time of uncertainty, Amazon’s decision to trim its workforce is a sad truth. It is a sad reality that around 18,000 of our beloved colleagues are going to be laid off. Amazon has always considered it our number one priority to do right by our workers. This news can be difficult and unexpected for many affected. The people who have been affected will be deeply appreciated and well-supported by us. People who are affected by the current crisis will get a few months of pay and benefits to aid them in their to transition into their next stage.
1. What number of employees does Amazon.com Inc. lay off?
Amazon.com Inc. has announced that it will lay off over 18,000 people in its effort to reduce the workforce reduction. The move is part of an effort to improve management and operations. This move will impact approximately 1.4% of Amazon’s current workforce which is 1.3 million. Amazon isn’t just the one company who has been forced to trim the size of its workforce. In the month of January, the company laid off about 3,000 employees and then in April 2020 it layoff another 7,000 in its retail business. The latest round of layoffs, which may be the worst in the past, has a lot to say about the present state of technology amid the ongoing epidemic.
2. What’s the message to staff regarding the layoffs?
Following the recent report of Salesforce or Amazon’s recent decision to reduce the size of their staff, the note for employees on the cuts is a sign of the economy in the company’s current situation. Numerous businesses have had to take difficult financial decisions in the wake of the current economy’s crisis. A lot of people were stunned and disappointed to hear about the news of reductions in staff. The memo addressed at employees is an attempt to explain and give some perspective to all those affected. It’s vital to realize that the layoffs don’t an assessment of the performance of the employees however, rather a reflection on the current state of the economy.
3. What’s the reason behind the slump in tech industry?
Recent weeks have seen headlines have been filled with accounts of tech giants, such as Salesforce and Amazon making layoffs of employees due to the slowing technological industry. This abrupt shift in the industry has caused many to be skeptical about the reason for this slump. The general consensus is that the current tech sector slump can be traced to many causes, ranging from the global pandemic , to the present economic recession. Numerous companies are forced to review their workforce requirements due to the pandemic. The companies are also seeking at ways to reduce costs as a result of the downturn in the economy. The result has been the sacking of many tech firms.
4. What was the process that helped Amazon.com Inc. achieve its annual goals?
Amazon.com Inc. announced plans to remove more than 18,000 of its employees in their annual plans. This is 3.5 percent of Amazon’s employees across the globe. The COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in significant economic harm to a variety of businesses and has led to a decline in the sales of specific products and services. All business units will be affected by reduction in jobs, including Amazon Web Services (Amazon’s cloud computing business) as well as physical retail stores. A majority of the cuts are expected to be within the US as well as Europe although Amazon is also reducing the number of employees in other nations.
5. Amazon.com Inc. has taken the appropriate measures?
Amazon.com Inc. has taken a number of initiatives to shrink its workforce by more than 18,000 employees in the course of its recent technological employee purge. Amazon is working to save money and revamp itself in order to remain at the top of the marketplace. The company introduced a voluntary plan for early retirement which will allow eligible employees to receive a severance payment and also a cut in personnel, which could lead to job losses. Furthermore, the firm is also implementing the hiring freeze, which prohibits any new positions from creating new positions, as well as a restricted hiring freeze, which allows for only some hiring. Furthermore, Amazon.com Inc.
A Brief Summary
Tech industry job losses by 2020 will be a reminder how even large companies can be affected by recession in the economy. In the past, businesses like Amazon are being forced downsizing their workforce in order in order to withstand the current economic climate and maintain their financial viability. But, technology giants such as Amazon have demonstrated resilience and adaptability for the sake of thriving even in an uncertain business landscape. This can be an example for other companies that are trying to cope with the next storm.


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Hill’s Minnow Farm Homemade Ice Cream is a Big Hit
This is an archived article and the information in the article may be out of date. Please look at the history’s timestamp to see when it was last updated.
ROWAN COUNTY, North Carolina – The sound of a successful 1930s engine has become a real draw outside Hill’s Minnow Farm on Bringle Ferry Road.
âYou have to go as fast as the machine goes, you have to keep up,â said Lisa Hill, who you will find, along with her husband Ben, every Friday and Saturday making ice cream outside the store at the closed.
âMy grandfather started the business with a little bait shop behind the store,â she said.
They still sell minnows and pretty much anything you can imagine.
âI think when you walk into the store I think you are amazed at how much we have,â Hill said. “We kind of started making ice cream to save money for our wedding and after our wedding we just kept making ice cream because everyone wanted it.”
So much so that they can hardly meet demand.
âWe make the ice cream as fast as it comes out,â said Hill, who came up with about 30 different recipes. “Our two best ice creams are Peach Ice Cream and Cheerwine Ice Cream.”
No matter which one you choose, it will delight your taste buds.
âI like telling people the flavor comes out and slaps you in the face,â she said. âThe best thing about ice cream is how happy it makes people. “
IF YOU ARE GOING TO :
Hill’s Minnow Farm is located on Bringle Ferry Road on the Rowan County side of High Rock Lake just past Dan Nichols Park. They make ice cream on Friday and Saturday and are usually full on Monday.
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Ford Motor Co. is adding a new level of rewards to its Ford Professional Service Network (PSN) wholesale parts program for independent repair facilities.
Telle Tire & Auto Service Inc. has acquired its 10th location, and owner Aaron Telle says his tire dealership will spend 2019 improving operations, creating and implementing a new point-of-sale system and adjusting to the company's new five-day workweek.
CEMB USA/BL Systems Inc. has added the McCourt Marketing Group to its growing roster of independent representatives.
GCommerce Inc., a provider of cloud-based automation solutions, has named the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance Inc. to its GCommerce Hall of Fame.
In less than a decade, Tire Discounters Inc. has more than doubled the number of stores it operates. In the last year it has upgraded its digital platforms from the warehouse to the sales counter. And the company has recently reorganized its leadership team with an eye on even more growth.
VIP Inc. dba VIP Tires & Service has opened its fourth store in Massachusetts, and 59th location overall.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. will post its first quarter results on April 26, 2019.
Felix Canestri has moved from one top-10 tire dealer to another. Canestri has joined Belle Tire Distributors Inc. as director of procurement.
It’s almost time to reveal Modern Tire Dealer’s latest edition of the Top Retreaders list. In that spirit, we've compiled an overview of the retreading industry from 2018, covering everything from the double-digit change in overall sales to the average cost of a casing.
Yokohama Tire Corp. has earned Caterpillar Inc.'s platinum supplier award for the seventh straight year.
Trelleborg Wheel Systems has unveiled three new tire compounds — two for material handling applications, and a third for the equipment used in the metals processing industry.
Retreading veteran John Cox will work with ContiLifeCycle retreaders across the globe in a newly created role for Continental AG.
On March 18, 2019, Myers Industries Inc. officially committed to restructuring its distribution segment. In an 8K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Myers said the transformation initiatives “are intended to increase sales force effectiveness, reduce costs, and improve contribution margins.”
The Automotive Parts Services Group (the Group) presented its Co-Man Vendor of the Year award to KYB Americas Corp.
When National Tire Safety Week returns May 20-27, consumers will be prompted to "know your roll" and perform basic tire maintenance.


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VCONCERT 2015 line-up featuring renowned composer of Kingdom Hearts and Street Fighter II, Yoko Shimomura, who will be joined by top acts in the game music cover band scene including The OneUps (who will perform a special tribute to late Nintendo President and CEO, Satoru Iwata), Metroid Metal, and Royal Corneria Airforce.
The fourth annual VCONCERT event is sponsored by Spotify and will take place in Mexico City, Mexico at the Plaza Condesa on November 28, 2015 where tickets are still available.
Past VCON performers including Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill), Manami Matsumae (Mega Man), Michiru Yamane (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night), Jake “virt” Kaufman (Shovel Knight), Jim Guthrie (Superbrothers: Swords & Sworcery EP), and several returning acts including The OneUps and Metroid Metal.
“VCONCERT 2015 is all about celebrating the classics. We have the 25th anniversary of Star Fox, the 30th anniversary of Metroid and the 25th Anniversary of Street Fighter II, so the biggest worldwide party celebrating these awesome games will be starting right here at VCONCERT 2015.”
In addition to several hours of live musical performances, those who attend the event in Mexico City, Mexico, will also enjoy the V-Coin Arcade Gallery featuring custom arcade cabinet artwork and a long list of fighting games to enjoy.
VCONCERT was started in 2012 by passionate gamers and game music fans Mariano Latapi di Carlo and Poulette Roel through their videogame promotion agency, Mariachi Games, and is celebrating its fourth year with its 2015 performance set to take place in Mexico City, Mexico on November 28, 2015.
Learn more about VCON and this year’s performers on the official VCONCERT 2015 website.


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After 97 years of fixing all kinds of footwear, Stevenson’s Shoe Clinic has closed the doors of its shop for good.
The small shoe repair located in downtown Victoria has gone through different owners, experienced multiple world events, and if you ask owner John Phillion, has stayed open thanks to his dedicated staff.
“The staff, they’ve been instrumental,” said Phillion.
Phillion has been involved with the shoe clinic for nearly 50 years and went on to own the shop in the 1980s. The shop has operated through four generations, first opening up in 1925.
“Back in those days you only worked a couple of days a week. They actually fixed during the war for the army and they were only opened to the public, in the 40s, just a couple of days a week,” said Phillion.
Heels, boots, and dress shoes are the typical footwear that the shop deals with, but with the prominent rise of online shopping and fewer shoe repair shops remaining operational, Phillion shifted their services offered and what products they can help with.
“From luggage, to orthotics, to purses, horse saddles, dog leashes, all sorts of things like that,” said Phillion.
But with much of the staff at retirement age and Phillion unable to find someone qualified to take over, the 69-year-old owner is closing. Along with other factors, he says the art of shoe repair is being lost.
“Believe it or not, it takes three, four years to learn the full gamut of it. And certainly at least a year and a half to be left alone without destroying yourself or the footwear you’re working on,” said Phillion.
Though the shop’s owners have stayed within Phillion’s family, the staff who joined the team quickly turned into his extended family. Some of who went on to work at Stevenson’s Shoe Clinic for over 20 years.
“I said I’d work til 70 and I’ve passed that. I’m glad [Phillion] asked me to come and stay around for a while,” said Russel Hunt, who has worked for the shop for over 40 years.
The employees have grown together over the years and say they’ll continue to be apart of each other’s lives.
“It’s going to be a different morning, tomorrow morning. Today, it still doesn’t quite feel real,” said Deborah Jury, who worked for the shop for more than 25 years.
Phillion says he doesn’t know what will happen to the location. He’s spoken with his landlord and they’ve spoken about possibly offering the space at a low-cost for incoming Ukrainian refugees.
After closing the doors for the last time, the owner says he’s taking his wife out to a lake for a glass of wine. He plans to take up golf and tennis more, and travel with his wife.


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Apple has announced a new encryption system called PQ3 for iMessage security, designed to combat potential threats from advanced quantum computing. The new system is currently in beta versions of iOS 17.4, iPadOS 17.4, macOS 17.4, and watchOS 10.4, with plans to roll out to all users in the coming weeks and become the standard security protocol for all iMessage chats by the end of 2024.
Here are the key points to know about Apple’s PQ3 system:
– Quantum computing poses a potential threat to today’s encryption methods used for securing messages.
– Apple’s PQ3 system is designed to protect against “harvest now, decrypt later” attacks that could exploit quantum computing to decrypt encrypted messaging data.
– The upgrade is a response to future threats and aims to enhance the security of iMessage chats.
– Apple claims that its PQ3 system offers “the strongest security properties of any at-scale messaging protocol in the world,” surpassing other widely deployed messaging apps like Signal, WhatsApp, Telegram, Skype, QQ, and WeChat.
– Additionally, Apple announced that its Contact Key Verification system will be extended to its Vision Pro headset as part of the upcoming visionOS 1.1 update.
Apple’s announcement marks a significant upgrade in iMessage’s cryptographic security and sets a new standard for secure messaging protocols. With compromise-resilient encryption and extensive defenses against sophisticated quantum attacks, PQ3 is poised to provide unmatched security for iMessage users.
For more updates on telecommunications technology and industry news, stay tuned to Phones Canada’s blog.