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Uber’s ‘flying cars’ coming to Australia
Exclusive: A Jetsons-style vision of the future could arrive in Australia next year after Uber named Melbourne as the first international base for its flying car project, Uber Air, this morning.
The Australian city will become one of just three centres worldwide to host the ambitious transportation venture that will let passengers hail an aircraft from a smartphone app and fly to their destinations for the cost of a car ride.
That could see a flight from Melbourne's CBD to the airport cost as little as $86 - the same price as its luxury offering, Uber Black. Cab rides, by comparison, currently cost just $20 less.
Test flights are expected to begin in Melbourne next year before a commercial launch in 2023.
Uber is yet to reveal the exact aircraft that will run the flights or their weight and luggage limitations but, if testing is successful, the company is likely to roll the project out in Sydney next, with potential flights between the Central Coast and CBD.
Uber Air could also become even more futuristic after its launch, with plans to eventually have aircraft fly autonomously, avoiding potential pilot shortages.
The ride-sharing firm revealed its Australian choice at the third Uber Elevate Summit in Washington DC, choosing Melbourne over cities in short-listed countries Japan, France, Brazil and India.
Uber Australia and New Zealand general manager Susan Anderson said the company picked Melbourne as it was "confident" it could work with Australian federal, state and local governments, safety authorities, and property groups to deliver the service.
"This is a win for Australia and I think it reflects the fact that this is one of the most forward-thinking countries in the world," she told News Corp.
"Some of the things we were looking for were regulators that we could work with and would help us build it, and a population who would embrace this enterprise."
As part of the venture, Uber has partnered with Australian firms including Melbourne Airport, Telstra, Scentre Group, and Macquarie Capital to develop launch pads around the city, dubbed Skyports, as well as a connected air traffic system.
Ms Anderson said the route between Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport and the city would be one of the first targeted by Uber Air, as the 19km ride could be cut from one hour on the road to just 10 minutes in the air.
It's not known what demand there would be for the service but Uber's "surge pricing" policy could raise the cost of its early flights.
Future routes could include travel from Geelong to the city, with the journey taking 14 minutes by air, but Ms Anderson said Uber would expand the project to other Australian cities as soon as feasible.
"When we look at the growth that's come into Australia over the past few years, we need alternative traffic solutions," she said.
"Once we have regulations in place, we're keen to make this available in as many places as possible."
But Uber will have to overcome several hurdles before launching its air service in Australia, such as choosing a vertical take-off-and-landing (VTOL) aircraft, having the vehicles certified by the Civil Aviation and Safety Authority, getting approval for air routes, and implementing safety measures to avoid other low-altitude aircraft and drones.
CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said it had held initial talks with Uber but there was still "a lot of safety work to be done" before Uber Air was ready for takeoff.
"It is cutting-edge stuff. It's a world first for aviation," he said.
"At the same time, what they've got to do is not a million miles away from if someone wanted to start up a new airline tomorrow. It's the same sort of process."
Mr Gibson said Uber Air's timetable of a commercial launch by 2023 was "not impossible" but the company would need to do more to operate aircraft autonomously in Australian air space.
"The aim is for these things to fly themselves but, of course, they won't be doing that from day one," he said.
"Uber fully recognise they have to have people monitoring the systems for quite a while to prove they can operate safely before they move to full autonomous mode."
Melbourne will join Dallas and Los Angeles as testbeds for Uber's latest venture, and Ms Anderson said even though the Australian launch site "started the process slightly later," the company was still aiming to hold test flights next year.
"A key aim for us is we want this to not be something for the elite, super wealthy but something that is accessible for a large portion of the population," she said.
Today's Uber Air announcement followed the company's recent month-long foray into a ride-sharing submarine, dubbed scUber, on Queensland's Great Barrier Reef.
Uber has also revealed plans to launch a helicopter service in New York next month, dubbed Uber Copter, that will fly passengers from Manhattan to John F. Kennedy Airport for up to $US225 per person.
**Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson travelled to Washington DC as a guest of Uber.


text: Turbonetics also got a chance to check the car out. Marketing Manager Tyler Tanaka told us, "The consumer excitement surrounding the release of the new Dodge Challenger has prompted Turbonetics to explore the feasibility of creating a new bolt-on turbo system for the Challenger." Expect a package similar to the '05-and-up Ford Mustang kit that Turbonetics already has for sale. While packaging is the greatest challenge involving this car, initially a single-turbo configuration is likely in the works. That configuration will allow the factory catalytic converters to remain in place to help meet California Air Resources Board approval. If their Mustang experience is any indication ('05-to-current Mustang GT rear wheel performance measures 450 hp and 495 lb-ft), expect serious gains for the Hemi.

domain: news


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Wearable, 3D Printed Tech Could Become Physio Tool
A flexible, 3D-printed device that could help physiotherapy patients exercise more effectively is being refined and tested at the University of Canterbury.
Stretchy and with built-in sensing capability, the interactive surfaces that act like fabric are being developed by Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) Computer Science and Software Engineering Lecturer Dr Aluna Everitt.
She developed the original prototype during a research visit to Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada and is now exploring how it could be improved and potentially used in the physiotherapy and healthcare fields.
“There’s already been quite a bit of work in the digital wearables area and I’m keen to keep working on a new approach to the way this technology is designed and built,” Dr Everitt says.
“I’m hoping to create a device that can be easily worn on the body and even attached to clothing. I’m currently exploring how it can be applied to applications in the real world, and how it could track our bodies and the way they bend and move.
“Often people having physiotherapy will do their exercises correctly when they’re in the physio appointment but it can be difficult to keep doing them properly once they get home. This device might be able to help people perform their exercises correctly without the need for physio supervision.”
Created using a desktop multi-material 3D printer, the dynamic material is made up of small, connected 3D printed tiles and features interactive capabilities embedded during the printing process. Electronic components connected by conductive thread react to body shape and movement and can be customised to individual needs.
The digital fabric materials could be integrated into clothing, such as a knee strap. There are small LED lights with batteries that light up when they sense the correct angle and right amount of contact with human skin. Dr Everitt plans to use “haptic feedback”, or vibrations, from tiny motor discs embedded in the material, in her upcoming work.
Dr Everitt, who specialises in Human Computer Interaction, was a researcher at a number of universities across the United Kingdom before joining the University of Canterbury, including the University of Oxford, the University of Bristol and Lancaster University where she completed her PhD.
“My research focus is on democratising design and developing emerging technologies such as wearables, robotics, and tangible user interfaces so that it’s cheap, simple and accessible to build and test them,” she says.
“My multi-material 3D printing approach focuses on an affordable and accessible fabrication process that does not require highly technical or expensive tools and components.”
Dr Everitt collaborated with Alexander Keith Eady and Professor Audrey Girouard at Carleton University on her prototype device. The work was supported and funded by the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and Amazon Web Services.
She is currently applying for New Zealand funding to continue work on the project with a focus on digital health applications. She is looking for PhD students to join a University of Canterbury research group she is setting up.


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17 Oct Attorney General wants to shut down residential customer choice in Illinois; Supplier offers products tied to seasonal price fluctuations
Illinois AG wants to shut down residential electricity choice. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said state legislators should act to end electricity competition residential market. The demand to shut down the residential market in Illinois came as Madigan announced a $2.65 million settlement with Sperian Energy, a competitive retail energy supplier charged with deceptive marketing practices.“My settlement with Sperian Energy refunds all Illinois customers deceived by the company’s fraudulent marketing,” Madigan said in a press release. “Alternative retail electric suppliers have a terrible track record of deceptive marketing tactics and selling overpriced electricity. This settlement is another step in reforming the ARES industry that the legislature should ban in the residential market.” The settlement calls for Sperian to provide $2.65 million in refunds to customers and would ban Sperian from marketing to Illinois consumers for two years. “This is the first time an ARES has faced an extended marketing ban, setting a new standard for ensuring deceptive companies reform their practices,” the press release said.
Retail energy supplier offers seasonal buying strategies. Patriot Energy Group has launched two new hybrid energy strategies for businesses looking to take advantage of seasonal price fluctuations to better manage energy costs, the company said in a press release. The plans will allow customers to “harness the power of aggregate purchasing” to get advantageous pricing from suppliers, the company said. “Clients locked into long-term fixed rates lose the opportunity for the ability to take advantage of pricing at times when rates dip during the ‘shoulder months’ of fall and spring,” said Patriot Energy’s Craig Wall. “Because rates are typically lower in the fall and spring, many clients locked into year-round fixed rate plans lose the ability to take advantage of these market conditions. In addition, these new plans help minimize the exposure to price spikes during the most volatile periods during the winter and summer.”
Today’s Daily Energy News is brought to you by Electric Industry News, your comprehensive daily summary of developments affecting the retail electric industry.


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A lot less out, a lot less in
Exports and imports decreased 9.9 per cent and 7.4 per cent respectively in December and the trade surplus fell to EUR 143 million, the Central Statistical Office announced on Monday. For all 2012 the volume of external trade declined EUR 237 million to EUR 6.8 billion.
The export volume of telecommunications equipment dropped 20 per cent in 2012 and, in accordance with the change in domestic demand, imports of fuels and electric energy diminished (-5.3 per cent). The export volume of machinery and transport equipment fell 3.3 per cent, but the trade of road vehicles and general industrial machinery and equipment increased dynamically in both directions.
Hungary’s main foreign trade partner last year remained Germany for imports and exports, followed by, in order, Romania, Slovakia, Austria and Italy for exports, and Russia, Austria, China and Slovakia for imports. In the case of these countries, the largest export and import growth was in road vehicles, with Germany. Compared to 2011, the largest decrease was in imports of telecommunications equipment from China and in the exports of this same commodity to France.
Reading economy’s entrails
Analysts polled by state news agency MTI agreed that Hungary’s foreign trade performed weakly in 2012 but different opinions were voiced on what the future may bring. “This is the smallest annual surplus since 2009,” Bálint Török of brokerage house Buda-Cash said. The trade balance will likely stay in the black in 2013 but its volume will be heavily influenced by the performance of Germany as well as domestic automotive investments, he said.
Takarékbank senior analyst Gergely Suppan was more optimistic about this year: “The outlook of Hungary’s foreign trade is better than it was in 2012. The German economy clearly shows signs of expansion, which will have a positive effect on the country’s trade balance.”


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With the collapse of Lehman Bros., the Merrill Lynch fire sale and the threatened toppling of AIG, casual business-news consumers will be looking for a cheat sheet to help them make sense of those screaming page-one headlines and ominous CNBC rumblings. Those are the sorts of readers that The Big Money is primarily targeting. "Yes, we want harried Wall Street traders to find wisdom here, but, equally, we hope people will enjoy The Big Money's stories even if they haven't traditionally thought of themselves as business-news readers," writes editor Jim Ledbetter in a welcome note. (In a former life, Ledbetter was an editor at dot-com era sensation The Industry Standard, an experience he later chronicled in a book.)
I could give you a rundown of The Big Money's offerings, but fortunately they've already made a video for that purpose:
Sign up to receive Upstart Business Journal’s free daily email newsletter, weekend edition and breaking news alerts.


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Pediatricians say they are seeing alarming weight gains in children and adolescents as many return for in-person visits for the first time since the pandemic began.
Doctors say they are seeing normal-weight children become overweight or even obese, overweight children become obese, and obese children add more weight. Doctors also report increases in weight-related health conditions, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and fatty liver disease. And some children with prediabetes are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
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Crypto News & ICO Reviews
At least ten ‘Bitcoin ATMs’, also known as Bitcoin transaction machines, have been reported stolen in the last two years. Most recently, in a first for Canada, a Lamassu Bitcoin transaction machine was stolen last Sunday night from its Montreal location. Altogether, the ten machines approximate $40,000 worth of hardware.
Bitcoin ATM Theft In Montreal
At least one suspect broke into an Ahuntsic-Cartierville grocery store where a Lamassu-produced machine was located on January 22 at approximately 10:30 PM. The thief(s) broke the glass door of grocer Euromarché Latina 80, located at Laurentien Boulevard and Rue de Louisbourg, then loaded the Lamassu machine into a vehicle before fleeing.
Lamassu representative Neal Conner told Bitcoin.com: “This machine was subject to a common attack vector against traditional ATMs: a chain was wrapped around it and a vehicle dragged it out of the floor in which it had been anchored.” The ATM apparently busted through the grocer’s front doors.
Montreal has grown into somewhat of a “blockchain hub.” The city’s Bitcoin Embassy dubs itself “the world’s first blockchain technology hub.” There are 32 bitcoin machines in Montreal dispersed throughout the city. Most of them are located in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough, where the stolen Bitcoin ATM could be found until last night.
10 Bitcoin ATMs Reported Stolen
Bitcoin ATMs stolen in the past include at least three other Lamassu machines, three General Bytes machines and two BitAccess machines, according to data made available to Bitcoin.com by industry information portal Coinatmradar.
A Lamassu machine located at Village Smoke in Atlanta, operated by Coinfucius, was stolen in an incident in late 2015 involving shots fired, but no injuries. The assailant can be seen scoping out the small Bitcoin machine, unplugging it and carrying it out before a co-conspirator fires a warning shot at the ground to ward off any would-be vigilantes. See the video below:
Another Lamassu machine was stolen from the Stadscafe de Waag in the Netherlands. Also, a machine not available to the public in the Netherlands Bitpay office, was stolen according to Coinatmradar.
Three ATMs by General Bytes, a European-based producer, have been stolen. One, located in Norwalk and operated by Coinplug, was stolen from a Boost Mobile location. Two General Bytes machines were stolen in Dallas, both operated by ‘BTC Vending.’ One was located in Better Bright LED Lighting, while another at a Shell station.
Two Bitaccess machines have been stolen in the U.S. and in Europe. One machine, operated by Easybit, was stolen from Warie’s Thai Restaurant in the Netherlands. A second, operated by Coin Cloud, was stolen from 1 Stop Smoke Shop Vapor and Accessories in Albuquerque.
Lamassu and Instacoin
The Bitcoin ATM industry itself is comprised of those who design software and hardware applications to buy and sell bitcoins locally (producers) and those who buy machines from producers and deploy networks of Bitcoin ATMs (operators).
With 191 machines deployed globally (not all of which are currently operational), Lamassu represents the second largest Bitcoin ATM producer in the world. The company’s operators have bitcoin machines deployed across the world, including Canada, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam, and other regions, located in gas stations, grocery stores and cafes. Operators have “full control” of a machine’s back-end and private keys.
Instacoin operated the machine stolen Sunday. The Canada-based company has machines deployed solely in Canada, allowing you to buy and sell bitcoins for Canadian dollars. Lamassu told Bitcoin.com it is offering full-support to Instacoin in the theft’s wake.
Bitcoin ATMs are a Growing Industry
Altogether, the ten Bitcoin ATMs stolen, based on Coinatmradar data provided exclusively to Bitcoin.com, cost a lot of money. That is upwards of $40,000 worth of Bitcoin ATMs stolen since 2015, when the data begins. Bitcoin transaction machines have also been the victims of vandals in the midwestern section of the U.S. as of late.
Mr. Conner noted: “As Bitcoin ATMs are a growing industry, there will undoubtedly be further such instances as they become more widespread. With each, we and operators learn better practices for overall security and deterrence.”
What do you think of Bitcoin ATMs being stolen? Let us know in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Pascal Girard/AGENCE QMI, Atlanta Police Department
Bitcoin.com is a unique online destination in the bitcoin universe. Buying bitcoin? Do it here. Want to speak your mind to other bitcoin users? Our forum is always open and censorship-free. Like to gamble? We even have a casino.


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Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) is going to invest $1,4 billion in Bolivia’s lithium reserves. As reported by the president Luis Arce following a meeting held last Sunday with the executives of Catl, the agreement commits the Chinese company to build two plants for the extraction of lithium from the salt pans of Uyuni and Oruro, in the south-west of the country.
According to the Bolivian Ministry of Energy, construction of the plants could start as early as next month.
The CATL project is part of a partnership agreement signed on 20 January with the state-owned company Yacimientos del Litio Bolivianos (Ylb), which ensures the development rights for the two plants to the Chinese conglomerate. Each is expected to produce up to 25 tonnes of lithium carbonate for batteries annually.


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of Kansas City.
When Constans retired from running a travel agency and a remodeling company and launched a soup business in April 2013, he started cold — literally. His first lineup consisted of four chilled soups, sold in local supermarkets under the nameSoupe Glacée
Constans, whose father is Greek, frequently visits cousins in Greece. There he sampled avgolemono, an egg-lemon soup that is an iconic Greek dish, served hot in the winter and cold in summer. On visits to France he encountered vichyssoise, a chilled potato-leek soup, and in Spain he swooned for gazpacho, a cold tomato-based soup.
Thinking he could turn Kansas Citians on to cold soups, Constans developed four recipes at the Ennovation Center in Independence: cucumber dill, carrot with sweet curry and coconut milk, vichyssoise and golden heirloom tomato gazpacho.
The soups were a hit at a dozen area supermarkets, including Hy-Vee at 95th and Antioch streets in Overland Park. From mid-May through mid-September, Constans sold more than 3,000 24-ounce containers of cold soup.
At first, Constans planned for his business to be seasonal, producing soup only in summer. But a store manager at Hy-Vee convinced him to come up with a cold-weather offering. Since Hy-Vee has its own line of winter soups and carried soup from other producers as well, Constans went in a different direction: chili.
Recipe development was easy, because he had won a chili cook-off in Lenexa a few years earlier with a red, Cincinnati-style offering laced with cinnamon. He also created a white chili made with ground turkey and Great Northern beans.
The two varieties of chili, brandedChiliLicious, are sold at just five stores. The chili costs $6.99 per container, cold soups are $5.99. This summer will bring a new addition to the Soupe Glacée line: roasted red pepper with sundried tomato. The company keeps an updated list of where to find its soups on its Facebook page.


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Taco Bell hasn't been afraid of pushing the bottomless envelope of daring dishes but this time, things are getting a tad extreme.
On Jan. 26, the brand will launch the Naked Chicken Chalupa nationwide, according to USA Today's For The Win.
In other words, you can soon get your hands on a taco with a fried-chicken shell.
According to a news release, it's "the first taco shell made entirely of marinated, all-white crispy chicken." The chicken is apparently seasoned with "bold Mexican spices" and the taco is topped with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and an avocado ranch sauce.
But wait, there's more.
For The Win also reports that Taco Bell is working on fried chicken chips. They're essentially triangular chicken nuggets that will be served with "Lava Sauce" for dipping.


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- Author: Myriam Grajales-Hall
The study, How America Shops MegaTrends report, Moving On 2012, reports that Hispanic women are the most passionate and proactive shopper segment searching for the best. Hispanic women are more actively using mobile devices, coupons, online searches, dollar stores and deep discount retailers to save money, as compared to other female demographics.
According to the researchers, "To achieve the American Dream of having it all, Hispanic women shop more creatively than other demographics, utilizing every savings opportunity to get what their families need at the lowest price."
Here are some of the findings:
- More than half of Hispanic women search online before going shopping.
- Nearly 60 percent use apps to search for the lowest price.
- Three out of four use coupons to get the lowest sale price
- Sixty-three percent will travel further to shop at a store where they can save money.
- More than half (53 percent) are using their mobile devices in the store to find electronic coupons, sales and discount codes.
- Fifty-four percent only buy items that are on sale.
WSL/Strategic Retail conducted an internet survey, that included 1,950 respondents drawn from a nationally representative online sample.
Source: HispanicBusiness.com, Hispanic Women Are Smartest Shoppers: Study, June 5, 2012./span>


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PALO ALTO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/16/13 -- Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) announced today that it will post its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2013, after market close on Wednesday, August 7, 2013. At that time, Tesla will issue a brief advisory release via Marketwire containing a link to the second quarter 2013 Shareholder Letter, available on the company website. Tesla management will hold a live question & answer (Q&A) webcast at 2:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (5:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time) to discuss the company's financial and business results and outlook.
What: Tesla Motors, Inc. Second Quarter 2013 Financial Results Q&A Webcast
When: Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Time: 2:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time / 5:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
Shareholder Letter: http://ir.teslamotors.com
Webcast: http://ir.teslamotors.com (live and replay)
Approximately two hours after the Q&A session, an archived version of the webcast will be available on the Company's website for a period of one year.
About Tesla Motors
Tesla Motors' (NASDAQ: TSLA) goal is to accelerate the world's transition to electric mobility with a full range of increasingly affordable electric cars. California-based Tesla designs and manufactures EVs, as well as EV powertrain components for partners such as Toyota and Daimler. As of March 31, 2013, Tesla has delivered more than 10,000 electric vehicles to customers in 31 countries.
For additional information, please visit http://ir.teslamotors.com.
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By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Tuesday banned Sheesha smoking across Pakistan.
As per details, the sale of sheesha will be banned in hotels, restaurants and public spaces. The opening of new sheesha cafes and the import and making of ingredients are also banned across the country. The sources within the health ministry said that through appropriate amendments the ban will be strictly implemented. After the amendment the official order on the sheesha ban will be issued, sources added. In 2016, the government has completely banned the import of tobacco used in sheesha.


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Betsson AB has announced that it intends to purchase private gaming firm Nordic Gaming Group for €65 million. The Nordic Gaming Group is the operator of the NordicBet, ToBet and TrioBet sportsbook brands.
"Through this transaction, Betsson continues to strengthen its Nordic operations and its leading position among private gaming company alternatives in the Nordic region," said Magnus Silfverberg, CEO for President for Betsson. "In addition, Betsson’s brand portfolio is strengthened significantly within the betting segment as Nordic Gaming Group receives approximately 50 percent of its revenues from sportsbook."
Betsson stated that it will acquire Nordic Gaming Group from ‘a number of individuals including both the founders of the company, members of management and employees as well as from external investors’ with €5 million of the purchase price due to be paid via shares at a historical ten-day average price or in cash with the remaining €60 million due in cash.
"For Nordic Gaming Group, this is an attractive solution as the company can incorporate Betsson’s global strength into its operations and it strengthens our possibilities to continue to grow rapidly and with good profitability in the Nordic region, the Baltics and Poland," said Per Hellberg, CEO for Nordic Gaming Group. "The two companies have similar cultures and we foresee a smooth integration and we believe that we can quickly benefit from each other’s strengths."
Nordic Gaming Group increased its net gaming revenues by 37 percent when compared to the previous twelve-month period while revenues from the beginning of April 2011 to the end of last month totaled €50 million with earnings before interest and tax of €111 million.


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Flipboard, the most popular iPad app for browsing multiple news sources, was updated Thursday with features that drive more attention to individual newspaper and magazine sections. First-time users now start with a content guide to well-known websites, rather than being asked to set up their own social networks and feeds first. The app has a search function to find new content sources and now integrates with LinkedIn for industry news. Perhaps most interesting, though, is what will come in the next version of the app. Flipboard CEO Mike McCue told ReadWriteWeb that the product will include personalization and recommendation tools, which will help it compete with iPad aggregators like Zite and News.me. || Related: Apps, websites personalize news delivery through social data. || Next: A Flipboard iPhone app is due this summer.
New version of Flipboard highlights newspaper, magazine feeds


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The Government of Canada is committed to providing Canadian businesses, especially small and medium sized enterprises, with the tools and the support to allow them to realize their full export potential.
ITAC members are invited to join International Trade Minister Ed Fast at a unique e-commerce workshop, delivered by the Government of Canada in partnership with Google.
When: July 20, 2015 at 7:30 a.m.
Where: Google Office, 111 Richmond Road West, 14th fl.Toronto, ON
Registration is required
|7:30 – 8:30||Arrival, Light Breakfast and Networking|
|8:30 – 9:10||Kick off session by International Trade Minister Ed Fast|
|9:10 – 10:30||What is e-commerce and how can SMEs take advantage of the internet to Go Global?|
|10:30 – 11:00||Networking session|
|11:00 – 12:00||Expertise Panel on e-commerce opportunities for small businesses|


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Thrift store holiday hours
BRATTLEBORO - Experienced Goods Thrift Shop, located in the C. F. Church Building, 80 Flat Street, will be closed Sunday, December 25 to Tuesday, January 2. The store will be open regular hours through Saturday, December 24 - Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm. Donations will be accepted Tuesday to Saturday, 11 am to 3 pm. Do not leave donations outside the store during holiday break.


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Watch Dogs creative director Jonathan Morin has been answering questions about the upcoming open-world hacking shooter on Twitter and this one caught our eye. According to Mr. Morin the new game could take players 35 to 40 hours on a typical play through but doing everything could take about 100 hours.
It's been a growing complaint from gamers who are tired of shelling out cash for what they perceive are relatively short games; six to eight hours in some cases. Well it looks like gamers will get their money's worth if what Morin says is true.
@vytla102 I would say the average player which does free roam a bit tend to reach the end within 35-40h. But doing everything is close 100h.— Jonathan Morin (@Design_Cave) March 15, 2014
Watch Dogs was delayed last year which gave developers, Ubisoft Montreal, extra time to beef-up the game. The storyline also grabbed it some 18+ ratings as it's known to involve the dark world of human trafficking.
Watch Dogs is set to drop on May 27 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Windows PC with a much delayed Wii U version still in the pipe for later this year.


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It looks like those that'll accept no less than an IPS
panel in their monitor now have another option from Dell, which has just debuted its new 24-inch U2410 monitor in Japan. The big selling point here, of course, is the monitor's color reproduction, which promises to reach 96% coverage of the Adobe RGB color space, and 100% coverage of the sRGB color space. Otherwise, you can expect some suitably high-end specs across the board, including a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution, a 6ms response time, a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, a full range of ports including DVI, DisplayPort, and HDMI, not to mention a built-in 4-port USB hub. No word on a release over here, unfortunately, but folks in Japan can grab one now for ¥72,450, or about $760.


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The Mobile Marketing Association announced Tuesday the appointment of two new hires to “further raise its expertise and commitment” to membership development and value.
Adam Gold will now serve as the new SVP of Global Membership and Sponsorships, While Erica DeLorenzo will serve as Senior Director of Global Membership.
Previously, Gold was VP of North American sales for Scanbuy, Inc. DeLorenzo was formerly VP of business development at WildTangent Media.
“With over 800 existing members from Fortune 500 brands to media and technology companies, MMA members are collaboratively shaping the future of the mobile industry,” says Greg Stuart, CEO at the MMA. “I am very excited about the expansion of our membership team especially with the fantastic energy and dedication of Adam and Erica. As marketers are realizing the transformational power of mobile, the MMA is committed to meeting the increased demands of our diverse membership and the industry-at-large.”
DeLorenzo reports to MMA chief strategy officer, Sheryl Daija. Gold now reports directly to Greg Stuart.


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In response to the increased demand for ammunition at its stores, Wal-Mart revealed that it will begin to limit the amount of ammunition a customer can purchase on any given day.
A spokeswoman for the retailer stated that stores would be instructed to limit the number of ammunition boxes to three per customer, per day. The move was brought on due to shrinking supplies in the wake of the shooting in Newtown, Conn.
"In order to take care of as many customers as possible, starting Thursday, January 24, all ammunition sales were limited to three boxes per customer, per day as supply is limited at this time," spokeswoman Ashley Hardie told Reuters.
There has been a gun rush in the time since tragedy struck Newtown. Gun regulation along with proposals to limit the sale of military style assault weapons and hig- capacity magazines were introduced
President Obama, in keeping with his promise to bring about real gun control regulations, recently signed 23 executive orders which ranged from strengthening the federal back ground check system to improving the mental health care system in the country.
Wal-Mart U.S. is the largest branch of the Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which currently is the largest retailer in the world and the largest gun seller in the United States.
The company has continued to state in the face of stiff criticism that they are working to ensure that they provide firearms and accessories in a safe and responsible manner to customers without infringing on a customer's right to own firearms.
Yesterday, former congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford and her Husband Mark Kelly testified before a Senate committee on gun control and urged members of the panel to act.
"Speaking is difficult, but I need to say something important," Giffords began. "Violence is a big problem. Too many children are dying, too many children. We must do something. It will be hard, but the time is now. You must act. Be bold, be courageous, Americans are counting on you. Thank you," she concluded.


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Montblanc is challenging mobile users around the world to use their phones to take a photo at precisely the same second. Sixty such challenges are scheduled in the Montblanc Worldsecond campaign, whose resulting images will be curated and shared on a microsite. "We are passionate about arts, culture and craftsmanship, and our target audience shares this passion," said Terry Dean Pepper, director of international brand communications and licensing at Montblanc.
Montblanc calls on mobile users to snap photos at same moment
SmartBrief Job Listings for Media
|Marketing Director, Mobile||
NXP Semiconductors N.V.
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Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
|Data Entry and Integrity Coordinator||
Interactive Advertising Bureau
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|Director of Business Development - Denver/New York||


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Free Newsletters for the Channel
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Samsung is pushing beyond Android-based Galaxy tablets and smartphones to develop software for schools, financial services, health care, retail and hospitality, The VAR Guy has learned. Actually: All the facts are public. But nobody else has snapped the puzzle pieces together to share the bigger picture...
March 20, 2014
Samsung Channel Chief Richard Hutton
Samsung, pioneer of Galaxy tablets and smartphones running Google Android, is branching out aggressively into vertical market software for schools, health care, financial services, retail and hospitality opportunities. While Apple sells direct to consumers, Samsung will lean heavily on channel partners to win the vertical market wars vs. other device makers.
Samsung's strategy is on display at the company's New Jersey offices — which The VAR Guy toured earlier this week. During the two-hour visit, our resident blogger heard how Samsung was partnering with a range of ISVs and also writing its own software. The result could help Samsung — and its channel partners — far deeper into at least five vertical markets.
One key example: The Samsung School software platform ties Galaxy tablets into educational workgroups. Without physically visiting each desk, a teacher can use his or her own tablet to quickly see what each student is viewing on his or her desk-side tablet.
Of course, Samsung will need savvy channel partners for the vertical market push. That's where Richard Hutton, director of channel marketing for Samsung Electronics America, enters the picture. Hutton joined Samsung in 2005 after 15 years at Ingram Micro.
During his first few years at Samsung, Hutton helped VARs to promote flat panel displays and other basic infrastructure. But now, Hutton is helping channel partners to master a range of Samsung hardware and software solutions.
What channel moves is Hutton preparing to make next? Keep a close eye on The VAR Guy's coverage. Our resident blogger has a few hunches… but mum's the word for now…
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The Iotty Light Switch, an Italian smart switch, has launched on Indiegogo. The campaign has brought on Funded Today to help bring their product to a wider audience and increase pledges for the remaining months of the campaign. —
The Iotty Light Switch allows users to control the lights in their home through a smartphone application. The beautiful and sleek Italian design fits perfectly in any room, and the device is simple to set up. Iotty allows users to monitor power consumption, turn on/off multiple lights at once, and even share access with other users. Iotty uses the cloud to stay connected, so users don’t need a home hub system to activate or run the switches.
Pricing and Availability
Iotty comes in multiple colors, and is available to back now on Indiegogo. The campaign has reached just over half of their initial funding goal, and hopes to see an increase in pledges with the help of Funded Today and their team. Once the campaign ends, the switches are set to be produced and shipped to all backers by November 2017. The starting price for one unit is $59.
To learn more about Iotty or to back the campaign, you can visit their Indiegogo page here:
Release ID: 209840


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Kate del Castillo wants to make sure that this is the last time that the Ringling Bros.’ “Cruelest Show on Earth” comes to her country.
Check out this new ad featuring The Voice's Christina Grimmie and her adopted dog, Chloe, and watch her exclusive interview!
We’ve known for a long time that Sia Furler is kindhearted, but now she’s making us (and animals) fall even more in love with her.
PETA joins fast-food workers’ day-of-action protest in typical flamboyant style.
Orange may be “the new black,” but star Jason Biggs thinks SeaWorld is the new enemy. Watch Jason speak his mind, and show his … everything.
Chances are good that the list of top companies that have banned angora wool reads a lot like the list of labels in your closet.


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Japan's Itochu agrees to buy Dole food assets
The Japanese conglomerate has signed a deal to buy the US produce giant's global packaged food and Asian fresh assets for US$1.7bn.
Dole Food Co. has said the sale of its global packaged food and Asian fresh businesses to Itochu Corp. will cut its debt and allow it more "flexibility" to look at growth opportunities.
US produce group Dole Food Co. has sold its global packaged food and Asian fresh businesses to Japanese conglomerate Itochu Corp. for US$1.7bn.
A chunk of Dole Food Co.'s business could end up in the hands of one of Japan's largest trading houses it was announced this week - and China appears to be central to the potential deal.
US food group Dole Food Co. has admitted it is in talks to sell two units, including its packaged food arm, to Japanese conglomerate Itochu Corp.
Dole Food Co. has admitted it is considering selling its global packaged foods business and could complete the move by the end of the year.
US produce giant Dole Food Co. is looking at potentially spinning off one or more of its businesses.
US fresh produce giant Dole Food Co. moved back into profit in 2011 thanks, in part, to cost control, higher sales and improved earnings from its fresh fruit and vegetable divisions.
Lower profits from bananas and fresh pineapples hit Dole Food Co.'s earnings in the company's last financial year, the US firm has revealed.
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PARIS — Gigi Hadid is joining the committee of experts for the seventh edition of the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers, and will act as ambassador for its showroom in February, where the semifinalists will show their collections to the panel made up of major industry figures.
The model, who has 51.4 million followers on Instagram, follows in the footsteps of Chiara Ferragni, who last year became the first official ambassador of the initiative as part of organizers’ efforts to ramp up the prize’s digital presence.
Hadid joins influencers Caroline Daur and Leaf Greener, alongside six other newcomers, drawn from the worlds of media, e-commerce and activism, on the prize panel.
They include Irish writer, academic and advocate Sinéad Burke; art director Ronnie Cooke Newhouse, the owner of fashion advertising agency House + Holme; Natalie Kingham, fashion and buying director at Matchesfashion.com, and Lauren Santo Domingo, cofounder and chief brand officer of Moda Operandi.
Also new are Jo Ellison, editor of How to Spend It, and Ibrahim Kamara, senior fashion editor at large for i-D. Delphine Arnault, second-in-command at Louis Vuitton and a member of LVMH’s executive committee, welcomed the newcomers.
“They are witnesses and essential actors of fashion. Their vision helps to discover the most promising talents. I would like to thank them warmly for their loyalty and commitment to our cause,” she said in a statement.
The panel now counts a total of 68 experts, including Sarah Andelman, Fabien Baron, Alexandre de Betak, Carmen Busquets, Edward Enninful, Linda Fargo, Stephen Gan, Michel Gaubert, Julie Gilhart, Adrian Joffe, Pat McGrath, Suzy Menkes, Carla Sozzani and Natalia Vodianova.
The winner, decided by a jury including LVMH’s top designers, will walk away with a cash prize of 300,000 euros plus a year of coaching from experts at LVMH. Arnault, a key talent scout at the luxury group her family controls, said she would reveal the composition of the jury soon.
The prize is open to designers under age 40 who have presented and sold at least two collections of women’s, men’s or unisex ready-to-wear. Past winners include Thomas Tait, Grace Wales Bonner, Marine Serre and Thebe Magugu.
“I am pleased to see how the LVMH Prize, imagined by the LVMH group as a real support for young creatives, has grown since its launch in 2013. It is the responsibility of the LVMH group, as the industry leader in fashion and luxury, to support and follow the great designers of tomorrow,” Arnault said.


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Discover more from Big Technology
Apple’s Mixed Reality Bet Comes Due
A project seven years in the making hits primetime, but not as Apple hoped.
On Monday, Tim Cook will take the stage at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference and introduce his company’s long-awaited mixed reality device. The Reality Pro, as it’s called, will seem extremely impressive at first. Its 4k resolution, 5,000+ nits of brightness, array of cameras, and innovative stare-and-pinch controls will send the room into a tizzy. And Cook, who needs this to work, will urge developers to partner with Apple, perhaps pointing to the apps that made the iPhone great.
Yet while the introduction will resemble Apple’s previous category-defining moments, the Reality Pro will be much different and riskier. The headset is reportedly far from the one Apple set out to build. Rather than perfecting an existing category — as it did with phones, watches, and headphones — it’s simply nudging mixed reality forward, capitulating to some of the same technical limitations holding back its peers. For a company accustomed to waiting until its product is just right, it’s a perilous move.
“This could be a mess the likes of which we haven't seen since Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997,” Michael Gartenberg, an ex-Apple executive, told me. “Quality materials, beautiful design, and an Apple logo still don't seem to provide a reason why consumers would want this.”
Priced somewhere between $2,000 and $3,000, the Reality Pro is a downgrade from what Apple initially imagined as a pair of lightweight, standalone AR glasses. The current device is “a headset that resembles a pair of ski goggles and requires a separate battery pack,” according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. (Gurman will appear on Big Technology Podcast next week.)
Apple’s bulkier version of its XR glasses will thus look like its peers in the space — making it something of a high-end version of Meta’s Quest 3 — and it won’t feel like the step change Apple typically delivers. That could be a hindrance in a category that hasn’t yet gained mass adoption.
Historically, Apple’s succeeded by pushing existing product categories well into the future. The iPod, Mac, iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch are all products of Apple management’s insistence that technological limitations are often artificial, and its engineers’ ability to prove them right. Yet that ended up impossible with the Reality Pro.
Try as they might to whittle down the XR device’s size, Apple’s engineers simply could not do it. Their glasses got hot, the components proved unshrinkable, and they needed an external battery. As a pair of lightweight glasses, Apple’s device could’ve ushered in a new era of computing. But as a ski goggle-style mask with an external battery pack, it won’t meaningfully extend the use cases beyond the current spectrum. Apple is a sexy company, a battery pack is sexless.
In a departure from tradition, Apple is still shipping the product, hoping developers and content programmers will brute force its mixed reality dreams into the future. There will be plenty of use cases to start. The device can take computing everywhere, some imagine, giving you a screen to watch TV and movies wherever you are, along with potential gaming, fitness, and productivity applications. Apple will open the device to developers and programmers to build these experiences, and it’s reportedly already enabling immersive video, “advanced” FaceTime, and the conversion of iPad apps into mixed reality. The company is effectively acknowledging it can’t move forward without the industry. It’s also just ready to ship something after seven years of work.
That very act of shipping is perhaps most intriguing here. Apple is a $2.83 trillion goliath and doesn’t appear to need a new category. It sold $191 billion in iPhones last year, and it’s poised to remain the smartphone leader for years to come. Technology changes fast though. And as Google is learning in the AI race, betting on your lead horse for too long is risky. Reinventing is not always pretty, but you must go forward nonetheless. And when you do, you learn what you are.
“This launch may well define the state of Apple,” said Gartenberg. ”Is this a company that can still innovate beyond what competitors can do? Or is management a group of caretakers? Ones that have grown the company into trillions of dollars of shareholder wealth but doing so iterating on the devices, software, and services that Jobs brought to market.”
“I guess we will see on Monday,” he said.
Pre-order OBVIOUS IN HINDSIGHT, the debut novel from Bradley Tusk (sponsored)
OBVIOUS IN HINDSIGHT is a satirical journey inside a ferocious campaign to legalize flying cars in New York City, Los Angeles, and Austin — led by some of the most narcissistic entrepreneurs and cutthroat political strategists in the nation. The book delivers a colorful and comical exploration of how venture capital, government, and tech intersect, and how the political battles for our skies may be won in the not-so-distant future.
What Else I’m Reading, Etc.
A lawyer outsourced work to ChatGPT, and it hallucinated a bunch of fake cases [Ars Technica]
Elizabeth Holmes started her 11-year prison sentence [NPR]
Reporters at the New York Times are still questioning its coverage of Holmes [Vanity Fair]
Breakdown of fees paid to drivers and apps on food delivery services [Washington Post]
Google’s comms head is leaving [Axios]
.Ai registrations are booming [Axios]
People are fed up with ‘QR code dining’ [New York Times]
Casinos are paying winners less [WSJ]
Nice piece on being a ‘Time Billionaire’ [Free Press]
See a story you like? Tweet it with “tip @bigtechnology” for consideration in this section.
Number Of The Week
Fidelity marked down its Twitter stake at a valuation one third of Elon Musk’s $44 billion purchase price.
Quote Of The Week
The bags of Doritos, cartons of Tropicana orange juice and bottles of Gatorade drinks sold by PepsiCo are now substantially pricier. Customers have grumbled, but they have largely kept buying. Shareholders have cheered. PepsiCo declined to comment.
Responding to market incentives, companies are keeping prices up as their costs drop, per the New York Times.
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This Week On Big Technology Podcast: TikTok's Uncertain Future, Twitter's 2024 Election Play, AI Regulation's Feasibility — With Ryan Mac and Bobby Allyn
Ryan Mac is a tech reporter at The New York Times, Bobby Allyn is a technology correspondent at NPR. The two join Big Technology Podcast for a wide-ranging discussion touching on: 1) TikTik's ban in Montana and its potential spillover effects. 2) The rise of Instagram Reels. 3) Twitter's Role in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. 4) Elon Musk as a Republican kingmaker. 5) Elizabeth Holmes reports to prison. 6) AI regulation's long road ahead.
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Consumers abandoning email accounts due to irrelevant marketingcreative44
There are 19 million ‘ghost’ email accounts that are active but no longer used in the UK, many having been abandoned after being bombarded with too much irrelevant or unwanted email, according to new research.
The Consumer Email Tracker 2016, a study by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), revealed that nearly half (45%) of UK consumers have email accounts of this nature.
62% of the 1,239 people surveyed said they have abandoned an email address or would consider doing so if they felt they were receiving too many emails.
Younger people are more likely to have abandoned email addresses for this reason before (58%) compared with older consumers (27%).
68% of respondents agreed with the statement ‘Most of the marketing emails I receive include no content or offers that are of interest to me’, while 84% of consumers said they find less than half of their emails ‘relevant or interesting’.
The research also found that more than two-thirds (68%) of consumers agreed or strongly agreed with the statement ‘Most of the emails from brands/shops/sites I receive include no information of offers that are of interest to me’. Additionally, three quarters of emails (74%) are deleted after one day in any inbox.
In email’s favour, the research highlights an increase in consumers’ willingness to click through and buy from an email, up to 65% of respondents from 58% in last year’s study.
The top reasons for consumers to share their email details with brands are money off discounts (45%), percentage discounts (41%), free samples (35%) and free delivery (35%).
DMA managing director Rachel Aldighieri said: “There are several reasons for the large number of ghost accounts. Firstly, consumers are often given email addresses, sometimes wanted, sometimes unwanted, when they sign up to new services such as broadband.
“Secondly, consumers may decide to actively abandon an account, usually because they receive too much unwanted email. Another reason could be that the consumer finds a new, better email service provider.”
“Only 16% of people said that more than half of their emails are ‘relevant or interesting’, a proportion that has halved since 2012. With so many irrelevant or uninteresting emails, it may be that consumers do miss the interesting, relevant ones.”
She added: “Both direct mail and email have their advantages. At the moment mail does seem to have an advantage because the doorstep is relatively uncluttered, so mail is more likely to be seen.
“For emails to stand out, we have a simple recipe: be relevant, be interesting, make emails work for mobile, be multi-channel – use other media, and make a credible offer.”
KJS Print to Mail Services managing director Stuart Speechley encourages his clients to use multi-channel to maximise the effectiveness of a campaign.
He said: “It’s about building brand recognition and using an email campaign hand in hand with a direct mail campaign to follow up one with the other. People are now realising how they can use it better.”
But Inc Direct chief executive Noel Warner believes direct mail is currently the most effective medium.
“Direct mail is more personalised, more relevant and more timely and people are now starting to engage more with it than they were with email,” he said.
“I think direct mail is having a resurgence; people are turning back to it as a trusted medium.”
By Richard Stuart-Turner – PrintWeek
Thursday 24 November 2016


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The Chinese tech giant is now the world’s top wearables maker.
Xiaomi is raising money for smartwatches under the Haylou brand on its crowdfunding platform Youpin. The new device looks like Apple Watch, but costs only $15 (99.9 yuan)! Specifications The watch received a 1.34-inch IPS display with a soft strap and a 210 mAh battery, one charge of which may last up to 14 days. […]
Xiaomi has officially unveiled the new Watch Color smartwatch. They got a metal case and a round AMOLED display with a diagonal of 1.39 inches and a resolution of 454 × 454 pixels. Source: Xiaomi Mi Watch Color UNBOXING & FIRST LOOK | AmazBlog


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Red Dead Redemption 2 was released in October to critical acclaim and staggering sales. Like its predecessor, it allows the player to control the protagonist in a sandbox environment. The player can interact with other non-playable characters in a variety of ways, and the game even has an honor system that reflects the moral values of the player.
Just like with Grand Theft Auto and many similar games, this freedom can allow the protagonist to carry out seemingly violent action against non-playable characters, or NPCs. Some of these actions may seem distasteful.
After the release of Red Dead Redemption 2, plenty of videos of gameplay footage flooded to YouTube as can be expected. Some videos were of the protagonist assaulting or killing an NPC suffragette.
The BBC News website clearly took offense to this footage and went as far as to question YouTube about the videos. As a result, YouTube deleted eight of ten videos the BBC complained about. Furthermore, an unnamed YouTuber with over 470,000 subscribers reportedly had his YouTube account deleted after the BBC complaint.
"YouTube's Community Guidelines prohibit among other things, gratuitous violence, nudity, dangerous and illegal activities, and hate speech," a spokeswoman reportedly told the BBC.
YouTube's actions seem about as strange as its guidelines are deliberately vague. Surely, if these videos have to go and an account is even deleted, then what of the thousands upon thousands of hours of video game footage depicting "violence" that exists on the service?
Was YouTube correct, or in error, to respond to the BBC complaints with these actions?
Source: BBC News
Written by: James Delahunty @ 7 Nov 2018 21:29


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Monthly buying activity at Pets.com more than doubled during May, according to PC Data’s May Top 20 Online Retailer list. The online pet product retailer led all sites in shopper conversion, with more than 20 percent of its 1.75 million visitors completing purchases. Pets.com buyers increased from 144,000 in April to 355,000 buyers in May, ranking No. 4 among all e-tailers.
The data for the Top 20 online retailers is gathered through a proprietary software tool that tracks “unique visitors” and “unique buyers” on each Web site. Each visitor or buyer is counted once, regardless of how many times the individual visits a site or buys from a site. The sample includes more than 120,000 home Internet users. Total home Internet users are estimated at approximately 74 million.
|Top 20 Web Retailers Among US Home Users
|Source: PC Data Online|
Nurcin Erdogan Loeffler, head of strategy and innovation, Vizeum China, outlines the seven ways businesses can future proof their digital strategies.
Chief marketing officers have shared their views on technology, innovation and how they see their roles transforming into the near future at an ... read more
Every brand would love to see its hashtag trending on social media, but what if it’s for the least expected reason? Should you ... read more
Businesses near ‘PokeStops’ are enjoying a huge surge in footfall due to the popularity of Pokémon Go, according to our first major ... read more


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China has established an impressive Healthcare industry structure, becoming one of the largest OTC and Pharma producers in the world. The Chinese OTC and Pharma market has grown rapidly over the past ten years in the wake of the country’s economic growth—this is the main draw for Pharma investors with their sights set on China.
With a total market value of US $82.2 billion, the Chinese pharmaceutical market is dominated by original prescription drugs.
China has a regional market distribution system, and its main customers are hospitals (56%), pharmacies (24%) and local health centres (20%). Domestic demand for traditional Chinese medicines has fallen in recent years, with rising levels of education and frequency of chronic disease. The ‘busy lifestyle’ is shifting the population’s preference from herbal supplements to chemical drugs, but these traditional medications still occupy a significant place in the OTC market. Cold and flu medicines account for the highest demand in the OTC segment, while diabetes, hypertension and heart disease drugs drive the demand in the prescription drugs segment.
Imported pharmaceuticals for human use must have already obtained market approval in the country where they are manufactured and must undergo clinical testing and registration in China.
In terms of current distribution issues, hospitals remain the dominant sales channel for pharmaceutical drugs, accounting for 70%, while retail pharmacies comprise the remainder. There are an estimated 360,000 drug retailers in urban China, with around 2,000 retail pharmacy chains that operate 120,000 stores; two of every three retail pharmacies are sole traders.
Four prevailing factors have contributed to the changing landscape of the pharmaceutical market in China, making it the region to watch: urbanisation, an ageing population, a lack of primary care and a lack of private insurance.
Currently, however, the Chinese pharmaceutical industry is focusing on generic products. There is a great need for innovative and proprietary products in China that will address the country’s vast medical needs.


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The chain is to open an 81-cover site on the top floor of the Jewel Changi Airport development, overlooking a 40m “Rain Vortex” – reportedly the world’s tallest indoor waterfall.
It will offer the group’s signature burger, Atlantic lobster and lobster rolls, with new seasonal dishes “inspired by local flavours”.
Burger & Lobster says it is planning further openings worldwide, including in the United States and Asia, following “better than expected” trading last year.
The group recovered from a £10m loss in 2016 to post a £2.4m profit in 2017. During the full year to 2017 the company closed four UK restaurants to focus on London and international growth.
The company said in 2018 that it is now using London as a “test kitchen” for concepts it can roll out overseas.
Burger & Lobster launched in Mayfair in 2011 and now has nine restaurants in London, two in New York and one each in Dubai, Bangkok, Kuwait City and at Genting Highlands resort in Malaysia.
BigHospitality's sister site MCA reported last year that the group plans to trial a new concept called Shack in London, which will serve a simplified menu of burgers and lobster rolls, with prices starting under £10.


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Jul 09, 2020 (NetworkNewsWire via COMTEX) -- The past few years have been good to cannabis. Across the globe, attitudes towards the controversial plant are changing and plenty of territories have legalized cannabis in various capacities. In America, 11 states allow recreational marijuana use for adults over the age of 21 while 31 states have legalized medical cannabis. Research has found that marijuana has a variety of health benefits , from relieving chronic pain and regulating and treating diabetes to alleviating anxiety and slowing the development of Alzheimer's.
More and more people have been turning to cannabis to help cure what ails them, and if you haven't been to a cannabis dispensary yet, chances are you will pretty soon. However, visiting a cannabis dispensary...
CNW420 spotlights the latest developments in the rapidly evolving cannabis industry through the release of two informative articles each business day. Our concise, informative content serves as a gateway for investors interested in the legalized cannabis sector and provides updates on how regulatory developments may impact financial markets. Articles are released each business day at 4:20 a.m. and 4:20 p.m. Eastern - our tribute to the time synonymous with cannabis culture. If marijuana and the burgeoning industry surrounding it are on your radar, CNW420 is for you! Check back daily to stay up-to-date on the latest milestones in the fast -changing world of cannabis.
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You don't have to sell superyachts to connect with potential customers at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show this weekend.
Plenty of small businesses from South Florida and beyond set up booths each year at Bahia Mar Resort and Yachting Center, Broward County Convention Center and other boat show locations hawking boating-related goods and services.
The list of accessories available at the show seems endless: electronics, scuba gear, anchors, engines, lighting, paints, waxes, lettering, fishing poles, furniture, canopies, clothing, nautical art and so much more.
"It's a lifestyle," says boat show spokesman Daniel Grant. "You can find all the things that go with ways of having fun on the water and underwater."
Out of sight of the luxury craft docked at Bahia Mar, just past the Audis, in a tent identified as Boating Accessories Exhibits 101-207 awaits a diverse array of eager merchants. There's a Tommy Bahama casual clothing retailer, a "nautical jewelry" booth, and one offering straw "boating hats" that will "stay on at 40 mph."
A Stuart company, Go Green Environmental Inc., sells air purifiers it says will help eliminate unwanted yacht and boat odors, boat mold and boat mildew.
Sea Tow, with franchises in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, presents itself as a AAA for sea vessels.
At another booth, three men are demonstrating a product called Max 1 Glue under signs boasting of "German technology" that "sticks anything to anything in 1 second."
At the Total Dollar Insurance booth, Fort Lauderdale-based agent Buzz Fyhrie says he's been selling marine insurance exclusively for 30 years and coming to the boat show since 1996. In the pre-internet age, boat owners used to bring their paperwork and renew their policies at the booth, he says. Now "people just come up and fill out a form or take my card and they'll call me when their policy comes up for renewal."
These days, he might not generate enough direct sales at the boat show to make money, but it's important to show his face to longtime customers, he says. "They like being able to see you're still around," he says.
Anyone stopping at the Fort Lauderdale-based Maritime Professional Training center's booth needn't have ever stepped foot on a water vessel to qualify for one of the school's training and certification courses, says Leslie Hudson, training specialist and career counselor. "We just signed one up an hour ago," she says.
For $900, you can sign up for a five-day basic safety course that will qualify you for a job as a deck hand aboard a luxury yacht or tanker, while experienced boat pilots can opt for the two-week, $2,999 yachtmaster certification training, Hudson said.
At his booth, Michael Ryan of Hollsopple, Pa., demonstrates The Original Safety Siphon, a device that fits on the end of a hose to quickly start fuel flowing from can to tank, or vice versa.
Four representatives of Boat Owners Warehouse, a chain of retail stores in Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach and Riviera Beach, give away orange cloth bags containing thick 600-page catalogs. The books are stacked high on pallets flanking the company's booth, but manager Jim Truslow says he expects to give away all 4,050 catalogs and 6,000 bags before the show ends.
Kris and Melinda Nonnenmacher of Newport, Del., meanwhile, are demonstrating the stowability of "nautical dinnerware" sold by their company Galleyware. In business since 1991, the couple sells cooking and dining products specifically designed for use on boats or RVs, Melinda Nonnenmacher says.
The concept behind the company's nine- and 14-piece cookware sets: "Space is precious on most boats. Our pots and pans have removable handles, and they nest [inside of each other] and take up less than a cubic foot of space," she says.
The company also sells plates, saucers and bowls with rubber rings on the bottom to prevent skidding across tables. Those are especially popular on sailboats and cruisers, she says.
And then there's a booth with no boat designs, or deck shoes or straw hats: Florida Jet Service, out of Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. A sign at the booth states Gulfstream charters start at $5,400 an hour, while Lear Jets run $3,200 an hour.
Why is an air charter company promoting at the boat show? Vice president KelleGoodwin explains that captains pilot luxury boats to their destinations, while boat owners want faster routes.
"Where there are luxury boats," she says, "there are aircraft charters that get to the boats."


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A report detailing the progress being made on the launch of a Business Improvement District (BID) in Peterborough’s city centre was discussed by cabinet earlier today.
Cabinet members noted the progress towards the BID and approved the next steps in the run-up to a ballot of local businesses in 2020, which will determine its set-up and launch.
A BID enables businesses within a defined geographical area – in this case Peterborough city centre – to raise money which can they be used to fund a programme of initiatives of their choosing over and above what is provided by the local authority. This could be to stage events, improve decorations or increase security for customers.
In other cities and towns, it has given businesses the power to work together to make changes to boost footfall in the city centre and to attract more visitors in the evening and during weekends and special calendar events.
So far, a BID steering group has been appointed, comprising of organisations, such as Queensgate Shopping Centre, Marks and Spencers, Buckles Solicitors, Peterborough Cathedral and Stoneworks Bar.
The steering group has approved the BID area boundaries which will stretch across the entire city centre and will incorporate the newly created Fletton Quays, and a communications sub-group to market the BID has been set up.
It has also developed an income generation model, whereby business are charged according to their size, based on the amount the rateable value of their business premises. If the BID is successful, it is expected to collectively raise around £425,000 each year to be spent to achieve its aims.
The next steps are:
- November 2019 – Business consultation, engagement and a survey of local businesses to find out what they want the BID to achieve.
- January 2020 – Assessing feedback and survey results to identify key priorities for the BID. The BID steering group must then notify the city council if it wants to go ahead with a ballot of local businesses to decide whether or not to formally launch the BID.
- February 2020 – Creating a draft business plan outlining the possible projects and services requested by the business community with indicative costs. This will then be communicated to stakeholders and feedback collated.
- Date to be confirmed 2020 – A ballot will be held in which city centre businesses will formally decide whether or not to launch the BID.
Councillor Marco Cereste, cabinet member for street scene at Peterborough City Council, said: “This is an exciting time for Peterborough city centre and its business community, residents and visitors. It will give businesses the chance to become masters of their own destiny.
“We know that in Peterborough we already have a thriving city centre, but if businesses give their support to the BID in the upcoming ballot next year they will be able to work together to ensure our city centre economy continues to thrive in future years.
“If a BID is set up, businesses will be able to decide for themselves how to achieve this. They could decide to put on additional summer festivals to attract extra tourists, invest in floral displays or provide ambassadors/ patrols in the evening to make their customers feel safe.”
Mark Broadhead, chairman of the Peterborough BID Steering Group and centre director for Queensgate Shopping Centre, said, “Businesses collectively need to take action themselves so the area can compete locally and nationally and so that people who live, work or visit here can get a fantastic experience. A BID can really help to deliver that. The important thing is that people get involved and say what they think could make the biggest difference to their business. The core point is - what could a BID do for Peterborough?”


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T Mobile updates its MDA Compact range
8 May 2009 — 5:00 PM
The latest phone to be launched exclusively on T Mobile could be of interest to those looking for a multimedia-focused handset.
Announced by the network this week, the MDA Compact V offers "elegant styling with an impressive feature list" and adds to the company's current line of top level smartphones, the firm claims.
T Mobile explains that the new device builds on the success of its predecessor - the MDA Compact IV - and has a number of web-based features, as well as a 3.2-inch touchscreen display and the Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system.
Also onboard is an integrated media player for music and video support and a built-in five-megapixel camera.
Daniel Meredith, head of handset and device marketing at T Mobile UK, said: "The [phone] is a great addition to our ever-popular MDA range. It takes the web experience of the MDA portfolio to a new level."
Other flagship smartphones exclusive to the carrier include the Google Android-powered T Mobile G1.
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Mobile recycling could be an option for recipients of unwanted gifts30 December 2010 — 12:02 PM
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Selling mobile can create chance to buy HTC Desire HD29 December 2010 — 3:54 PM
People who enjoy a large screen may find all they want in the HTC Desire HD.


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The Insider: Seattle found light on retail space, for now
Updated 10:00 pm, Sunday, May 22, 2005
WE'RE NUMBER ONE! Get ready. The money is coming, and it will be looking for a place to land.
Seattle was ranked as the No. 1 city in the country for investment potential in retail real estate, according to a study by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co.
The study, which measures growth in income and employment against the amount of property available, put Seattle above Orange County, Calif.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; and Atlanta.
The reason? There is less retail space per person in Seattle than in most cities in the United States, if you can believe it, given that we are the home of Starbucks and Nordstrom.
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- Bitcoin ATM machines serve senior citizens, white collar professionals, lawyers, and doctors Sun-Sentinel
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- Amazon’s New Cashier-Free Grocery Store Fortune
- Amazon Announces Price Increase For Prime Memberships GeoBeats
Simon Property Group has plans to trim that margin of difference, store by store. The company is building 100,000 square feet of shops and restaurants at Northgate Mall, whose barren parking lots and vacant theater have depressed many a would-be developer.
Westfield Shoppingtown Southcenter -- that mouthful of a mall just south of Seattle, so who knows if it counts in this somewhat self-serving study -- is planning to make a dent, too. It has announced a 550,000-square-foot expansion. That's 80 to 100 stores, and at last word they hadn't signed the tenants.
So, we're on top, but maybe not for long ...
HAVE DESIGN, WILL TRAVEL: It's been to the Ave (the U-District Ave, that is), to Auburn and White Center, and now the University of Washington's College of Architecture and Urban Planning has taken its show to Renton.
In a vacant storefront on South Third Street, downtown Renton's main business thoroughfare, the UW has opened Storefront Studio, in which students are talking to residents and business owners about ways to spruce up the community.
Those ideas can range from something as simple as a new paint job or as elaborate as plans for a new park or large-scale development, says the UW's Jim Nicholls. One of the tools students are using is photos showing before and, with the help of computer enhancements, what could be after. People have seen lots of sketches of proposed development and renovation, but "there's something really compelling about a photo collage" of what the town could look like.
"The ideas range in their practicality," says Alex Pietsch, administrator of the city's Department of Economic Development, Neighborhoods and Strategic Planning, which is working with the UW. "They've come up with some ideas that are pretty energetic and fresh."
One such idea is to do something with the alleys in downtown Renton; students suggested enlivening them with outdoor cafe seating space or gallery displays. "It's a really intriguing idea; we're not sure how it would work," Pietsch says, but the city is interested enough to try it on a temporary basis, perhaps in conjunction with a festival.
CONTROLLING THE MESSAGE: Security was tight at the Microsoft CEO Summit last week, with yellow police tape blocking off the parking lot and guards in black garb monitoring access to the Executive Conference Center.
Inside, reporters were kept at a distance from the dozens of corporate titans who traveled to hear Chairman Bill Gates talk about technology. As is customary at the annual soiree, reporters watched a telecast of Gates' speech in a separate room.
At one point in the presentation, the giant screen went blank and this message appeared:
"Due to the proprietary nature of the content being televised, we must temporarily suspend the audio and video portion of the broadcast."
The blackout lasted about three minutes. What was Gates hiding?
Apparently, executives were treated to an exclusive viewing of new video games that have not been released.
TV AND TELEPHONES: The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Comcast Corp. and other cable companies may soon jump into the mobile phone business through acquisitions or partnerships with wireless carriers.
That could mean another blockbuster deal in Seattle's wireless industry -- following Cingular's purchase of Redmond-based AT&T Wireless and the pending acquisition of Bellevue-based Western Wireless by Alltel Corp.
The most likely candidate to link arms with a cable company is Bellevue-based T-Mobile USA, according to the Journal's Heard on the Street column. That's because T-Mobile is not affiliated with a U.S.-based telephone company -- the biggest threat to the cable giants as they expand their voice and Internet services.
T-Mobile, which was purchased by Deutsche Telekom in 2001, is the fourth biggest wireless carrier in the country with 18.3 million subscribers. Spokesmen for Comcast and T-Mobile declined to comment on the report.
TRUCK STOP: Paccar Inc. has been enjoying a nice run in financial performance, stock price appreciation and national media attention the last few years. The trend continues, at least for the third of those, this week in Barron's, which has an article on the Bellevue-based truck manufacturer (parent of such brands as Kenworth and Peterbilt). A news release on the upcoming issue says the article takes a look at the possible impact on the industry of another round of truck engine emission rules; it also calls Paccar "probably one of America's best-managed companies."
IT'S REAL BECAUSE IT'S ON TV, MAN: If readers haven't noticed, The Insider really digs all of these reality TV shows because watching other people interact on the tube is really more entertaining than real life.
First, The Insider wrote about two Seattle-area contestants, Verna Felton and Alex Thomason, on NBC's "The Apprentice" with Donald Trump, the New York City real estate mogul with the hippest of all hipster haircuts.
Those two "reality personalities" were on the CBS programs "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race." Tomorrow, the network will televise their wedding, aptly named "Rob and Amber get Married."
Now, The Insider is happy to tell readers that MSN, the online service owned by Microsoft Corp., will be the official online home for "Rock Star: INXS," a Mark Burnett production. He also produced "Survivor" and "The Apprentice."
The show, which will air on CBS starting in July, is a competition in which contestants will vie to be a lead singer for INXS, the Australian rock band. In the 1980s, the band enjoyed several hits such as, "Original Sin," "Devil Inside" and "New Sensation." Those catchy lyrics still might be in your head.
The online home, which will launch next month, will include updates, gossip, video content and an opportunity to chat with other viewers.
Since The Insider printed the Web site addresses for Verna Felton and Alex Thomason, here's the one for the rock star series (rockstar.msn.com).
The Insider would have tried out for the show, but a middle-aged body squeezing into black leather pants for INXS just doesn't look that good.
Now, it would be real, but just not entertaining. Or would it?


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SMEs feel renewed confidence, but rising costs must be curbed
Some invested, others consolidated, all survived. Now these firms are seeing the tide turn
As small businesses around the country wait to see what Budget 2015 holds for them, new research has found that Irish SMEs have fared well in the latter half of the year, with many reporting increased business confidence.
The findings of ISME’s quarterly trends survey pointed to a “balanced recovery” in the SME sector, according to chief executive Mark Fielding.
“Overall, the SME economy is certainly picking up,” said Fielding.
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Bottom line: Dark/Night Modes aren't just good for your eyes; they're also good for the battery life on smartphones with OLED screens. It's something that Google confirmed at its Android Dev Summit this week, where the company put together a presentation showing the power draw of different modes and colors.
As reported by SlashGear, Google did spend time going over some of the more obvious points, such as the brighter a phone, the more power it will draw.
What's interesting is the comparison between the original Pixel, which uses an OLED screen, and the LCD-sporting iPhone 7. Google's device draws 250mA while at maximum brightness in normal mode, while Apple's phone was at 230mA. In Night Mode at max brightness, however, the Pixel's draw drops 63 percent to 92mA, while the iPhone stays the same.
With OLEDs, pixels are essentially turned off when displaying the color black, whereas LCDs keep their pixels lit up no matter what is being shown on the screen. So, it stands to reason that the mostly black Night Mode will help conserve your OLED handset's battery life.
Another chart compared the power draws of different colors while at maximum brightness. Unsurprisingly, black is the lowest, while white, which is featured prominently across Google's apps and the Android OS, has the highest draw. The company acknowledged that white is "less than ideal."
Google showed the difference Dark Mode makes in its YouTube app. At full brightness, power draw dropped by 60 percent when moving from normal to dark.
Google has released Dark Mode for apps such as YouTube, Messages, Google News, and Phone, and we can expect it to arrive for more apps in the future. Even if you're not a fan of Dark Mode, it's an effective way of keeping your OLED phone working longer.


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JAIPUR: Overcoming the coronavirus scare
here have reopened, but owners are faced with the difficult task of repairing the broken demand-supply chain.
Most of the shopkeepers
were sitting idle in Walled City and areas outside at their shops after the lock-down restrictions were eased out. According to the shopkeepers, the business of those selling non-essential products had dipped up to 85%.
Vickey Jhajlani , who owns a bangle shop in Johari Bazaar said, “Trading in the Walled City, which was considered as a shopping hub, has been badly hit after the more than two-month lockdown. Though shops are open, residents are scared to come out. It will take time to revive.”
The Walled City, which attracts tourists and locals for various items including handicraft, clothing and other items, is now being avoided by people as they are still living in fear. Ajay Rao, a jeweller in Walled City said, “In last two months, we did not have any orders due to the pandemic.”
Traders believe it will take atleast three months for the market to recover. Tripolia Baazar Vyapar Mandal president Rajendra Gupta said, “Although the lockdown has been eased, the market will gain momentum once all activities are back on track and spending power is regained by the customer.”
However, shopowners providing services including plumbers, electricians, mechanics and ironsmiths and others appeared to be thriving as they are in high demand after 72 days of lockdown. With shortage of skilled labourers, these services have now been taken over by the locals.
Raman Saini, who owns an iron workshop near Ramganj said, “We have sufficient number of orders to sustain. A lot of our workers have returned to their native places leaving us with no option but to hire locals.”


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GHOST was created on real authenticity, something that cannot be mimicked, copied or imitated.
CHICAGO (PRWEB) November 27, 2019
Every year, Fitness Informant, a leading online resource for fitness and nutrition content, reviews and information recognizes the highest performing brands and best-in-class products with its coveted ‘Shield of Excellence Supplement Awards’. This past week, Fitness Informant crowned GHOST with the top honor, ‘2019 Fitness Informant Shield of Excellence Brand of the Year’.
“GHOST edged out the competition due to their overall impact on the sports nutrition industry” says Ryan Bucki, CEO of Fitness Informant. “In 2019, the industry saw many brands try to mimic, copy or imitate what GHOST had been doing in the marketplace. However, GHOST was created on real authenticity, something that cannot be mimicked, copied or imitated.”
“We are so excited and truly humbled to receive Brand of the Year honors from Fitness Informant” commented Daniel Lourenco, CEO and Founder of GHOST. “Fitness Informant is a well respected educational platform and can be tough critics; to receive such an honor from that team really means a lot to us and speaks volumes about the authenticity, innovation and quality the entire GHOST team has worked hard to bring to the market this year.”
GHOST has earned more than its fair share of headlines in 2019, winning GNC’s biggest award, ‘2019 Brand of the Year,’ and releasing several of the hottest sports nutrition products of the year including authentic flavor collaborations with Sour Patch Kids® Redberry®, Warheads® Sour Green Apple, Sonic® Cherry Limeade, Welch’s® Grape and Chips Ahoy!®.
“As my long-time friend and GHOST family member Christian Guzman would say, ‘We are proud but never satisfied’ stated Lourenco. “From the outset, GHOST’s goal has been to consistently create and deliver authentic, innovative and exciting products and experiences for our fans. The recognition is amazing, but GHOST is only 3 years old and just getting started… I can’t wait for everyone to see what we are going to do next.”
GHOST is a lifestyle brand of dietary supplements, sports nutrition products and apparel. GHOST is disrupting the sports nutrition industry by creating a lifestyle movement that includes transparent innovative products, global distribution, immersive content, key influencer partnerships and collaborations with many of the world’s leading flavor brands including Chips Ahoy!®, Sour Patch Kids®, Sonic® Drive-In, Warheads®, Swedish Fish® and Welch's®. GHOST products can be found at GNC, Ghostlifestyle.com and select global retailers in over 40 countries. For more information visit ghostlifestyle.com or connect with the brand on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
About Fitness Informant
Fitness Informant is one of the most respected brands in the fitness and dietary supplement industry providing free nutrition and fitness educational content helping people become the best versions of themselves. Through their non-bias, science-based supplement reviews, professionally created training programs and customized nutrition plans, Fitness Informant’s mission is to educate the world on proper fitness, nutrition and supplementation.
Find out more at https://fitnessinformant.com.


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Brigitte Bardot’s influence on fashion is seeing renewed interest. The style icon, now almost 80, is an outspoken animal rights activist often criticized in the French press for her dubious political rants. But at the height of her career in the Fifties and Sixties, when she was often described as “the world’s most beautiful woman,” Bardot made the name of certain brands.
Consider dancewear brand Repetto. Before modeling and acting, Bardot trained as a ballet dancer at the Paris Opera. It was her request to Repetto’s founder Rose Repetto to make her a pair of outdoor shoes for her role in “And God Created Woman” that led to the creation of the brand’s first footwear for outdoor use — the Cendrillon model that is still a staple in its collection today.
“She was the spark that set things off,” said Jean-Marc Gaucher, Repetto’s current chief executive officer. “People wanted to have the same product as her. She became a symbol of women’s emancipation. She broke with the codes of the era.”
Bardot’s look was unusual in the pristine celebrity circles she inhabited. She often walked around barefoot, wore miniskirts to the Elysée Palace and sparked many an imitation of her falsely messy blonde locks and black cat’s eye eyeliner. Walking the streets of the world’s capitals these last few years, it is impossible not to notice that such looks are prevalent again.
Jean-Claude Jitrois, who dressed Bardot in the Eighties, describes her signature style as “chic-destroy.”
“It’s coming back,” Jitrois commented. “We are going to see those years come back in fashion. Young people like the way she said ‘merde’ to the bourgeoisie, and love the ‘And God Created Woman’ style, that certain type of elegance.”
Denim brand Seafarer was a Bardot favorite, and for its relaunch this spring, the brand stewards are using archival photos featuring the blonde bombshell to promote its revival.
A line of Brigitte Bardot ready-to-wear also continues to make inroads at retail. The Brigitte Bardot Clothing Collection was launched two years ago after the actress sold the license to her name and image to investors. Despite the overwhelming array of unendorsed Bardot merchandise that is widely available, it was the first time she signed such a license.
The conditions for using the Bardot name include no use of fur or leather and respect for the aging star’s image.
“It has a French image that can be exported internationally, which corresponds perfectly with Galeries Lafayette’s customer base,” said Pascale Camart, director of women’s buying at Galeries Lafayette, which just added the line in its regional doors and will showcase it in its Parisian flagship this fall.
“People have really stayed with the image of Brigitte Bardot in the Sixties, and not on her image today,” the brand’s creative director, Sarah Ohana, explained. “That is the image we portray, her beauty, the dream, her style, her look.”
The line mixes items like T-shirts featuring photos of Bardot with rtw inspired by her style in her heyday.
“The femininity conveyed by the brand enriches our accessible, feminine offer,” Galeries Lafayette’s Camart added.
Bardot receives images of the fashion line in advance to approve Ohana’s designs. Has she ever objected to one? “No,” Ohana said. “Everything is going well.”
The brand’s existing clients include France’s Printemps and Harvey Nichols’ Middle Eastern outposts.
“We were a little apprehensive in the beginning, because some customers thought it would be a short-term trend,” Ohana admitted. “But now customers are working the brand in store like they would any full-line brand. They are not just buying the [T-shirts with] photos, they are also buying the ready-to-wear.”
“We waited to see how viable the brand would be,” Camart commented.
Brigitte Bardot Clothing Collection is now distributed to some 450 sales points worldwide, with around half of these outside France, including a strong presence in Japan. In January, the brand’s advertising was displayed across newsstands during fashion week in Paris and featured in the magazine press.


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MultiVersus broke concurrent player records for fighting games at launch and was the highest-grossing video game in the United States in July, but the game has been out for just over a month now.
How many people are still actively playing Warner Bros.’ big step into the platform fighting game space now that the early days and weeks of hype have started to cool off?
While unfortunately we don’t have access to console users’ player data, luckily Steam Charts allow us to get an idea of who at least is hanging out on PC/Steam.
We ended up examining the performance of MultiVersus on Steam in the first week after the open beta went live for everyone compared to the past week, and there have been some pretty significant changes.
Even with Morty’s release just days ago, MVS’s daily peaks over the past week averaged about 29,608 users.
That’s still double the player count of the second most popular fighter on Steam, Brawlhalla, but it’s nowhere near when it broke records a month ago.
The average MultiVersus peaks in the game’s first week were a whopping 142,920 concurrent players, meaning only about 20% of that audience stays online regularly.
Now, major player drops are expected after the first month in any video game that initially peaks at launch. We see it all the time.
It’s just the level of how much MVS has gone down that we’re not used to seeing that often.
These comparisons won’t be completely congruent as Steam Charts doesn’t get that detailed with data in titles that have been out for months/years, but it’s the best we can do.
Other fighting games like Street Fighter 5 and Guilty Gear Strive both saw about 50% drop from their peaks to their second month.
Those titles were full-priced $60 games, though, and MultiVersus is free to play and generally available for just about anyone to try – so it makes sense that more people would try out MVS when it blew up before dropping out after a few days/weeks.
Despite the fact that Brawlhalla is also free to play, it’s not good for comparisons either, as that game kept getting bigger and bigger over time.
However, we tried to draw some similarities between MVS and another f2p cross-platform game with a big first push, Yu-Gi-Oh! Master duel.
From Master Duel’s peak of 262,333 players on Steam through its second month, the game’s average player base dropped about 67%.
That’s much closer to what we’re seeing with the MVS numbers compared to our usual fight cases, but there’s still a noticeable gap (although that again equates weeks to whole months, so it’s not perfect either).
As something of a new beast in the fighter space, it’s hard to fully gauge what the current numbers mean about the game’s trajectory.
The fact that MultiVersus is technically still in an open beta state where the game’s features have not yet been completed also throws a key role into the game.
It’s also important to remember that these numbers only apply to the Steam users and not those on PlayStation, Xbox, or the Epic Games Store.
Even if the player bases were on console even with PC, that’s still like over 90,000 players going online at the same time every day, which is pretty wild besides what we’re used to for fighting games.
But the numbers are probably even higher than the consoles.
MultiVersus is certainly not in danger of burning out quickly, especially considering that the game has already surpassed 20 million downloads in total.
How the developers keep tackling the first season and ultimately moving away from the open beta will likely have the biggest impact on the game’s performance for the foreseeable future.
They’ve made a historic start so far, but the real test begins now.