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Google Pixel 2 May Ditch Phone Jack; iPhone 8 May Ship Late October-November; Carmakers Collaborate to Take On Waze & Google MapsPosted: July 27, 2017
The march towards Bluetooth only seems relentless on smartphones now. According to businessinsider.com, the latest to ditch the venerable headphone jack will be the Google Pixel 2. The latest leaks show that the Pixel 2 XL will have a more premium design, with thinner borders…and both Pixel models will sport a more refined glass back plate.
Apple’s iPhone 8 will be delayed past the September rollout, and now it appears it may be late October to early November before significant numbers are in users’ hands. Macrumors.com reports that a rumor about the side button is probably off base, after picking up on info from Mac Otakara. The handset appears to have an elongated side button that will have Touch ID, since the home button is going away. Mac Otakara says it’s much more likely that the Touch ID will be under the screen, or left out entirely, rather than put into a longer button on the phone’s side.
German carmakers bought a traffic company called HERE from Nokia a couple years ago. Now, mashable.com says they plan to pool traffic data collected by their cars’ sensors for real time traffic conditions in their own map that they claim will have ‘significantly higher accuracy and more precise information about traffic conditions.’ Taken together, they already have a fleet of millions of cars in 60 countries, and the numbers will increase dramatically as more cars with sensor systems hit the roads the next few years. Besides highly accurate info for drivers, it will build data for more reliable self driving systems.
Having just recently had a conversation with a couple of friends in tech about how everyone is excited about virtual and augmented reality, but no one all that much about wearing big, bulky headsets, this caught my eye immediately…and it may be catching your eyes sooner, not later, and immersing them in VR and AR. Cnet.com reports Samsung has gotten a patent for smart contact lenses that will house a camera, movement sensors, transmitter, and display unit. They work in conjunction with a smartphone. You can look at photos and videos from the phone through the lenses. Google is also working along with medical provider Novartis on some smart contacts, albeit ones centering around health. Shrinking VR and AR down to contacts and earbuds? Now THAT’s something that can really take virtual reality mass market!
According to a report, both Amazon and Microsoft are close to getting involved with Here, the digital mapping business for autonomous vehicles. Here was started by Nokia, but bought by a group of German car makers….Mercedes, BMW, & Audi. Theverge.com says a board member at Daimler-parent of Mercedes-confirmed that both Amazon and Microsoft were interested in providing cloud computing capabilities for the mounds of data being gathered by Here’s sensors for autonomous vehicles.
In a leak similar to one last year near the release date of the iPhone 6, we now know a bit more about the successor iPhone 6S. The next generation handset will be slightly thicker to accomodate the Force Touch and Taptic Engine features borrowed from the Apple Watch. Force Touch tells the handset different things, depending on how hard you press on the screen, while the Taptic Engine gives it a more versatile vibration motor for alerts. Despite the increase in thickness from 6.9 to 7.1 mm, there is still a bump on the back for the camera…which has unduly bothered some in the tech media…despite the fact that nearly everyone else buys a case for their iPhones that negates that issue.
As rumored earlier, Nokia has sold its HERE mapping business to a group made up of Audi, BMW, and Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz. Previously, it was rumored that Uber, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple had shown interest. The German car makers are dropping $3.07 billion for the service. It was probably only a matter of time before some car makers started to ‘roll their own’ for their navigation systems.
Nokia is jumping back into the tablet business. Slashdot.org says they’ll launch a one piece aluminum bodied tablet running Android Lollypop in China on January 7th.
Legendary film company Kodak is going to roll out a smartphone at the Consumer Electronics Show. According to engadget.com, the Android phone will be made for them by British firm Bullitt, who make the ruggedized Caterpiller phones.
LG and Mercedes-Benz are partnering to make a system to power self driving cars. Techcrunch.com says the system is based on LG’s Advanced Drive Assist Program. LG’s entertainment systems are also slated to go into Mercedes cars.
Yep, there’s a fire sale on Amazon Fire phones. Already 99 cents with a 2 year AT&T contract, geekwire.com says now you can buy an unlocked one for $199, down from $649 when it came out. How long before they have to promise that Bezos will deliver yours in person?
Sony may roll out an e-paper smart watch next year. Gigaom.com reports that in addition to the face, the entire band will be an e-paper display. Taking a page from Apple’s playbook, Sony will try for style.
Microsoft has just launched Clearflow for its Bing Maps. Engadget.com says they use Nokia’s Navteq system, but use live data from main roads to essentially guess traffic on unreported routes. Good luck!
Microsoft will show it’s first non-Nokia Lumia smartphone next week. Venturebeat.com says it will be unveiled on the 11th, have a 5 inch screen, and come in 7 different colors.
Meanwhile, Samsung is reportedly working on a mysterious new smartphone family. After taking drubbing from Apple, bgr.com has also heard that the Galaxy S6…or Project Zero…is not an improved S5, but being designed from scratch.
You can reach out to doctors and lawyers online, now Talkspace lets you text your issues to to a therapist for $25 a week. Thenextweb.com says if you pay monthly, you get unlimited texts for that price. The app is less pricey, and more discreet than in person therapy.
Besides laying off thousands, mainly from the Nokia merger, Microsoft is also ‘laying off’ Android. The Nokia Android phones will be switched to Windows Phone and the Lumia brand, according to gigaom.com.
Thenextweb.com reports that the Google Analytics app is now available for iOS. You could already check your web & app data on Android with the app.
Just when you think nothing else can leak out about the iPhone 6, macrumors.com says it will sport a 13 megapixel camera, up from 8 on the 5s.


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Well if representatives for Chad Ochocinco were trying to put some exclamation points in the ‘O’s’ in Ochocinco, they succeeded in a big way. They couldn’t have bought the publicity this gaffe has generated.
The Bengals’ wide receiver had boxes of his cereal pulled from store shelves after a phone number for a charity was actually a number for a sex hotline. Talking dirty to us again, Chad?
“Remember, this was made in Pittsburgh. Something isn’t right,” Ochocinco said.
He might have a point there.

domain: news


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It's not even out yet, but the Samsung Galaxy S III is already generating a ton of sales interest in the UK. The Inquirer reports that a spokesperson for one of the UK's wireless carriers, Vodafone, said, "With over a week to go until launch, it's already the most pre-ordered Android device we've brought into our smartphone line-up to date and our limited time offer of 2GB of mobile data and 100 free music tracks is being snapped up."
Another UK wireless retailer, Carphone Warehouse, said that the Galaxy S III is " ... the fastest selling pre-order of 2012 so far." Officially announced on May 3rd after months of rumors, the Galaxy S III will officially go on sale in the UK on May 30. However, Carphone Warehouse will actually put the smartphone on sale at 7 pm local time on May 29 in its stores.
While no one is giving out specific sales numbers, an earlier unconfirmed report claims that Samsung has already received nine million pre-orders for the Galaxy S III. While it will be going on sale in the UK and other parts of Europe later next week, it won't be making its US debut until sometime later this summer.
Image via Samsung


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Netflix Inc. may appear to be the big loser now that it has agreed to pay an annual fee to ensure faster video streaming of its service to customers of Comcast Corp., the U.S. cable giant. But don't judge so fast. The real losers may be companies that don't exist yet.
The Netflix-Comcast deal looks likely to be a harbinger of a two-tier internet, where telcos collect big bucks for allowing premium data speeds to flow between established properties, while small startups who can't afford to pay are forced into a much more crowded data pipeline.
While Comcast's demand for cash seems like a brazen money grab, the deal actually enhances the appeal of Netflix's service. And such payments have been part of the net's smooth functioning for years. ISPs like Comcast and big internet content providers like Facebook Inc. were generally pretty happy to work out smallish deals allowing, say, Facebook's data to flow more directly – and by extension, quickly – to Comcast's customers. You may have noticed that a site like Google.ca loads more quickly than, say, the website of Malaysian radio station Radio 988 FM. (OK, maybe you haven't.) But that's no accident, nor is it solely a function of physical distance.
The internet, contrary to popular belief, is not run by any central authority. Picture the internet as a continent like North America. Each country (server) has its own rules about who can enter and exit their land, and some countries are friendlier to their neighbours than others. But there's no single authority that governs all the countries and negotiates the rules of passage through their individual borders. If Comcast decided that it didn't want to pass data from Netflix's servers (ie. movies) to Comcast's customers, it could cut Netflix off entirely, or make crossing the border full of bureaucratic hassles that would slow the process down. With prime-time Netflix content speeds on Comcast reportedly down as much as 27 per cent from October to January, they seem to have chosen the latter option.
Just like many countrys' visa agreements, Google has "peering" agreements with ISPs such as Comcast, or Bell and Rogers, speeding up the time it takes for data to go from Google's servers, to Canadian ISPs, to your internet device. But the rise of bandwidth-hungry streaming video has swelled the size of the deals to the point where smaller players may not be able to compete – especially if they're competing with the ISPs themselves. Until recently, peering agreements were generally settled among network engineers with little fanfare, but that was before cord-cutting threatened to smash cable companies' monopolies on broadcasting video content.
Netflix is upending a lot of business models, including those of telcos such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable Inc. Those two firms' impending merger may have played a role in Netflix's decision to pay up for faster service – fewer competitors to play off each other in negotiations means the popular movie-streaming upstart has less leverage. There's also the need for funds to upgrade the internet's infrastructure in general, which no single ISP is particularly eager to take the lead on, especially since it might speed the shrinking of their cable business – the faster and more reliable services like Netflix get, the more likely Comcast customers are to cancel their cable.
The problems with companies like Comcast extracting extravagant rents from firms such as Netflix and Facebook are obvious. Not only does Comcast get paid twice – once by the content provider and once by its customers – it can instigate a bidding war for bandwidth among huge companies, and choke off speeds for the rest, including entrepreneurial ventures. From a company like Nest (recently acquired by Google) selling internet-enabled thermostats to Apple's Find My iPhone app that uses the internet to locate a lost or stolen device, there are plenty of useful products that depend on the internet. And while internet providers ought to be compensated for the cost of running and upgrading their part of the network, a two-tier internet could restrict innovation by small companies and academics, at a time when the race toward digital innovations has never been more important, or competitive.
The Federal Communications Commission in the U.S. has been steadily working toward establishing rules to protect what chairman Tom Wheeler and others call the Open Internet. Canada should consider following suit – not to protect the profit margins of firms like Netflix, but to make sure the next Netflix has a chance to flourish.


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Digital Fantasy Sports Market Capitalization Reaches $139,196.00 (DFS)
Digital Fantasy Sports (CURRENCY:DFS) traded 1.7% higher against the US dollar during the one day period ending at 14:00 PM ET on November 17th. Over the last week, Digital Fantasy Sports has traded 24% lower against the US dollar. Digital Fantasy Sports has a total market cap of $139,196.00 and $343.00 worth of Digital Fantasy Sports was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One Digital Fantasy Sports token can now be bought for $0.0451 or 0.00000549 BTC on popular cryptocurrency exchanges including P2PB2B, Cat.Ex and Coindeal.
Here’s how similar cryptocurrencies have performed over the last 24 hours:
- Huobi Token (HT) traded down 0.4% against the dollar and now trades at $3.65 or 0.00042364 BTC.
- Maker (MKR) traded 5.6% higher against the dollar and now trades at $660.59 or 0.07659106 BTC.
- Crypto.com Coin (CRO) traded up 2.4% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0371 or 0.00000430 BTC.
- IOStoken (IOST) traded down 0.3% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0396 or 0.00000526 BTC.
- MEXC Token (MEXC) traded down 19.5% against the dollar and now trades at $0.19 or 0.00002205 BTC.
- Seele (SEELE) traded up 1% against the dollar and now trades at $0.12 or 0.00001416 BTC.
- IOST (IOST) traded 0.4% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0066 or 0.00000076 BTC.
- THETA (THETA) traded down 0.5% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0907 or 0.00001052 BTC.
- FTX Token (FTT) traded up 0.1% against the dollar and now trades at $1.49 or 0.00017220 BTC.
- Karatgold Coin (KBC) traded 0.6% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0196 or 0.00000227 BTC.
Digital Fantasy Sports Profile
Buying and Selling Digital Fantasy Sports
Digital Fantasy Sports can be bought or sold on these cryptocurrency exchanges: Cat.Ex, Coindeal and P2PB2B. It is usually not currently possible to buy alternative cryptocurrencies such as Digital Fantasy Sports directly using US dollars. Investors seeking to acquire Digital Fantasy Sports should first buy Bitcoin or Ethereum using an exchange that deals in US dollars such as Gemini, GDAX or Coinbase. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Bitcoin or Ethereum to buy Digital Fantasy Sports using one of the exchanges listed above.
Receive News & Updates for Digital Fantasy Sports Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and updates for Digital Fantasy Sports and related cryptocurrencies with MarketBeat.com's FREE CryptoBeat newsletter.


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Pixie Lott poses at the launch of her limited edition track 'A Real Good Thing' with Select Model Management at Tramp on August 16, 2016 in London, England.
August 16, 2016 Licence
Pixie Lott attends the launch of the TAG Heuer Muhammad Ali Limited Edition Timepieces at BXR Gym on October 10, 2017 in London, England.
October 10, 2017 Licence
Singer Pixie Lott attends The Fashion Awards 2016 on December 5, 2016 in London, United Kingdom.
December 05, 2016 Licence
Pixie Lott attends the official launch of The Perception at The W Hotel on November 7, 2017 in London, England.
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Singer and songwriter Pixie Lott is photographed on April 14, 2011 in Ibiza, Spain.
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Pixie Lott attends The BRIT Awards 2018 held at The O2 Arena on February 21, 2018 in London, England.
February 21, 2018 Licence
Pixie Lott attends the Naked Heart Foundation's Fabulous Fund Fair during London Fashion Week February 2018 at the Roundhouse on February 20, 2018 in London, England.
February 20, 2018 Licence
Pixie Lott attends as Tiffany & Co. partners with British Vogue, Edward Enninful, Steve McQueen, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell to celebrate fashion and film at the new Annabels on February 18, 2018 in London, England.
February 18, 2018 Licence
Pixie Lott attends the Lulu Guinness AW18 London Fashion Week presentation on February 17, 2018 in London, England.
February 17, 2018 Licence


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Decatur Police respond to burglary at Verizon store
Decatur Police on Friday morning, July 12, responded to a burglary at the Verizon store on West Ponce de Leon Avenue.
“The complainant reported they were walking by and noticed one of the front windows of the store was shattered,” Lt. Jennifer Ross said. “Officers observed storage cabinets in the store had been pried open and rummaged through. Investigators responded to process the scene. The owner of the store arrived and initially reported nothing missing. The owner later contacted investigators and advised a business credit card was missing.”


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China’s central bank has been intervening in the currency market to support the yuan, which has been under pressure from a slowing economy, rising inflation, and geopolitical tensions. Here are some key points to understand the situation and its implications.
Why is China intervening in the yuan?
The yuan, also known as the renminbi (RMB), is the official currency of China. It is not fully convertible, meaning that the government controls its exchange rate and capital flows. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) sets a daily reference rate for the yuan against the U.S. dollar, and allows it to fluctuate within a 2% band on either side.
The PBOC intervenes in the currency market by buying or selling yuan or foreign exchange reserves, depending on whether it wants to strengthen or weaken the yuan. The PBOC also uses other tools, such as interest rates, reserve requirements, and bill sales, to influence the yuan’s value and liquidity.
The PBOC has been stepping up its intervention in recent weeks, as the yuan has fallen to its lowest level against the dollar since 2007. The onshore yuan, which trades on the mainland, hit 7.2981 per dollar on Wednesday, while the offshore yuan, which trades in markets like Hong Kong and Singapore, reached 7.3057 per dollar.
The PBOC has been setting stronger-than-expected reference rates for the yuan, signaling its intention to prevent a rapid depreciation. It has also instructed state-owned banks to sell dollars and buy yuan in both onshore and offshore markets, according to Bloomberg. Additionally, it has cut interest rates and injected short-term cash into the financial system to boost confidence and liquidity.
The PBOC said in its monetary policy report that it will “maintain the basic stability of the RMB exchange rate at a reasonable and balanced level, and resolutely prevent the risk of exchange rate overshoot.” It also said that the foreign exchange market is currently in line with fundamentals, and that market expectations are stable.
What are the factors behind the yuan’s weakness?
The yuan’s weakness is mainly driven by a combination of domestic and external factors.
On the domestic front, China’s economy has been slowing down amid structural reforms, deleveraging efforts, and regulatory tightening. The latest data showed that China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 6.2% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2023, the slowest pace since 1992. The industrial output, retail sales, and fixed-asset investment also missed expectations in July.
Moreover, China’s inflation has been rising due to higher food prices, especially pork, which is a staple for many Chinese consumers. The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 3% year-on-year in July, the highest since January 2022. The producer price index (PPI), which measures factory-gate prices, fell by 0.3% year-on-year in July, indicating weak demand and profit margins.
On the external front, China has been facing escalating trade and geopolitical tensions with the U.S., its largest trading partner. The two countries have been locked in a tariff war since 2018, which has disrupted global supply chains and dampened business sentiment. The U.S. has also imposed sanctions on some Chinese companies and officials over alleged human rights violations in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
Furthermore, the U.S. dollar has been strengthening against most major currencies, as the Federal Reserve has signaled a hawkish stance on monetary policy amid a robust economic recovery. The Fed raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 1.75% to 2% in June, and indicated two more hikes this year. The Fed also announced plans to taper its bond-buying program by $15 billion per month starting from September.
What are the implications of China’s yuan intervention?
China’s yuan intervention has significant implications for both its domestic and international markets.
For its domestic market, China’s yuan intervention aims to stabilize the currency and prevent capital flight, which could exacerbate its economic slowdown and financial risks. A stable yuan could also help ease inflationary pressures and support consumer spending.
However, China’s yuan intervention also comes at a cost. By selling dollars and buying yuan, China reduces its foreign exchange reserves, which are an important buffer against external shocks. China’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $15.2 billion to $3.21 trillion in July, the lowest level since April 2021.
Moreover, by cutting interest rates and injecting liquidity, China risks fueling asset bubbles and debt accumulation, which could undermine its long-term growth potential and financial stability. China’s total debt-to-GDP ratio reached 317% in the first quarter of 2023, according to the Institute of International Finance.
For its international market, China’s yuan intervention affects global trade and financial flows. A weaker yuan makes Chinese exports more competitive and imports more expensive, which could improve China’s trade balance but also widen its trade surplus with the U.S., potentially triggering more tariffs and retaliation.
A weaker yuan also affects the exchange rates of other emerging market currencies, especially those that are closely linked to China’s economy, such as the Australian dollar, the Korean won, and the Thai baht. A weaker yuan could also prompt other countries to devalue their currencies to maintain their competitiveness, leading to a currency war and global instability.
China’s yuan intervention is a complex and dynamic issue that reflects the challenges and trade-offs that China faces in managing its currency and economy. While China’s intervention may help stabilize the yuan and support its growth in the short term, it also entails costs and risks for its long-term development and global relations.


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What you need to know
- U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has said that U.S. companies will "very shortly" receive licenses that will allow them to sell components to Huawei.
- Ross also revealed that the U.S. government received a total of 206 license applications.
- A "phase one" trade deal between the U.S. and China is expected to be announced this month.
Last month, The New York Times had reported that the Trump administration would soon issue licenses to U.S. companies to sell 'non-sensitive' goods to Huawei. Speaking to Bloomberg, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has now confirmed that the licenses will indeed be issued "very shortly."
He added that the U.S. government received a total of 206 license requests. While no timeline was confirmed by Ross, there is a good chance that the companies that had sent applications will be granted licenses to sell to Huawei before the end of the year.
The U.S. and China are expected to sign a "phase one" trade deal this month. Ross told Bloomberg that he is very optimistic that the deal could be reached this month and that there was "no natural reason" that could cause the deal to fall apart.
If everything goes as planned, Huawei should be able to roll out an update to add Google services to the Mate 30 series phones. It would also mean that the company's 2020 smartphone lineup will ship with Google services right out of the box. Despite the U.S. blacklist, Huawei shipped 66.8 million smartphones in the second quarter of 2019, grabbing a 19% share of the worldwide market.
From the Editor's Desk: Navigating the Chromebook crunch of 2020
Chromebooks are wonderful little laptops for a great many people, but they're especially well-suited to children. Now if only retailers could keep them in stock this back-to-school season.
Here's every U.S. city with 5G coverage right now
5G deployment is moving fast and the list of cities with coverage is growing all the time. See if your U.S. city has coverage yet by Verizon, T-Mobile, or AT&T.
It's time to stop using SMS for two-factor authentication
Not all 2FA is equal. Using SMS to get a code might not be "better than nothing" after all.
Snag one of these cases and protect your P40 Pro in style
Did you just pick up the new Huawei P40 Pro, but aren't sure how you want to keep it safe from when "life" happens? We've rounded up the best cases and there's an option available for just about everyone.


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BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mobile World Congress – Verizon and McAfee today announced an extension of their agreement that now offers multi-device security to Verizon’s more than 9 million FiOS Internet and High Speed Internet (digital subscriber line) customers. With Verizon Internet Security Suite Multi-Device powered by McAfee, consumers and small businesses can protect all of their PCs, laptops, Macs, and Android smartphones and tablets with one easy-to-use central management console.
A recent survey conducted by McAfee found that nearly 90 percent of consumers around the world own more than one Internet-enabled device and in the U.S. 65 percent have three or more devices. The continued growth in multiple-device ownership and complex threats to privacy and security has fueled demand for threat and identity protection across the spectrum of devices in a customer’s home or business.
“With people more connected than ever before, Verizon and McAfee now deliver greater value and security to residential and small business customers, helping them to safeguard multiple devices comprehensively and cost effectively,” said Farooq Muzaffar, vice president of broadband solutions for Verizon. This new solution enables our customers to keep pace with the dynamic way they live their digital lives.”
“With the number of devices in households and small businesses on the rise, coupled with the steady rise of identity theft and other cybercrime, easily accessible cross-device security is vital to maintaining a worry-free computing environment,” said John Giamatteo, senior vice president and general manager, McAfee consumer business. “Through our agreement with Verizon we have a tremendous opportunity to work together to help millions of people protect their devices, data and identities, wherever they are.”
Verizon Internet Security Suite Multi-Device powered by McAfee offers comprehensive digital life protection, with award-winning anti-virus and anti-malware capabilities. It also provides added personal information and identity protection through features that keep data safe from risky websites and applications; create hard-to-guess passwords for online accounts; and enable safe banking on mobile devices.
The service is available immediately to residential consumers for $6.99 per month or $11 a month when purchased as part of the Verizon Multi-Device Security and Backup Bundle. For a limited time, qualifying customers can receive a 50 percent discount for 12 months. For more information, please visit http://www.verizon.com/home/utilities/security-backup.
For small businesses, Verizon Internet Security Suite Multi-Device is available starting at $5 a month per license, with a free 30-day trial for new customers. For more information, visit http://vz.to/smallbizsecurity.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable wireless network, with nearly 103 million retail connections nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America’s most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries. A Dow 30 company with more than $120 billion in 2013 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of 176,800. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.
McAfee, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), empowers businesses, the public sector, and home users to safely experience the benefits of the Internet. McAfee delivers proactive and proven security solutions and services for systems, networks, and mobile devices around the world. With its Security Connected strategy, innovative approach to hardware-enhanced security, and unique Global Threat Intelligence network, McAfee is relentlessly focused on keeping its customers safe. More information is available at www.mcafee.com.
Note: McAfee is a trademark or registered trademark of McAfee, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.


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Zoho Is Used By 5.5 Million Users
Popular Software as a Service (SaaS) platform Zoho is ringing in new changes and judging by reports so far, things are looking better than ever. These changes come at the right time in helping Zoho retain the 5.5 million people who now use its service, as well as keep the over 25,000 CRM customers who call Zoho home.
Specifically, Zoho wanted to make the user experience a more visually pleasing and easier one, so the first thing it did was revamp the UI. Now instead of the once clunky UI, users now have a sleek, more organized layout. This should help users better navigate the site and organize their activities better on the platform.
New features are also a big part of the updated Zoho and the inclusion of two new social features seems to be welcomed by most users. One of the big new features is Zoho branded social streaming App called, Pulse. The new streaming feature works much like streaming on other platforms and users can follow fellow employees, post to their stream among other things. Another big social feature is the integration with LinkedIn—something which many felt was ‘long overdue’. This new feature allows automatic updates of LinkedIn profiles directly from Zoho.
All in all, the changes look well received and Zoho can only get stronger from here.


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5 Intriguing Digital Marketing Stats
Here are five digital marketing statistics to get you thinking about the latest trends and industry direction in 2016.
1. Multi Device Shopping
The rise of multi-device shopping is most definitely here with 9/10 online desktop shoppers also using a mobile or tablet to purchase online.
2. What Are Marketing manager's Top Priorities
Being customer centric is the top priority for marketing managers in 2016, followed by strategy management and reporting according to a report by Black Ink ROI
3. Top Information Gathered By NZ Consumers Online
A recent report by Google on New Zealand consumer's online behaviour found the following most commonly sought information during their purchase journey.
4. The Link Between Data, Customers And Revenue
Research from Experian has highlighted the importance of accurate data with 84% of businesses seeing data as an integral part of a business strategy.
5. The Most Important Social Media Platforms For Business
Social Media Examiner's recent report found that Facebook is still the most important platform across business types but LinkedIn was the top choice for B2B marketers.


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Which states are the cheapest and most expensive for full-coverage auto insurance?
In terms of full-coverage auto insurance, the results are slightly different. The top three US states for cheapest full-coverage auto insurance costs are Vermont ($92 monthly), Maine ($93 monthly) and Idaho ($99 monthly). By comparison, the most expensive states for full-coverage insurance are Michigan ($399 monthly), Florida ($238 monthly), and Rhode Island ($229 monthly).
Which auto insurer has the cheapest/most expensive insurance?
ValuePenguin also found that among the major insurers offering auto insurance, the cheapest is Auto-Owners, with an average rate of $36 monthly for minimum coverage. On the other side of the spectrum, Farmers was identified as having the most expensive auto insurance prices for both minimum and full coverage.
Which drivers pay the most for auto insurance?
Generally speaking, young drivers will pay more for auto insurance, ValuePenguin noted – this is because inexperienced drivers tend to get into more accidents behind the wheel. To put things into perspective, the rate comparison website noted that an 18-year-old driver pays over twice as much for auto insurance as a 25-year-old driver. Drivers aged 16 would pay an average of $584 annually for full coverage auto insurance, while those aged 35 would pay only $143.
Which gender pays more for auto insurance?
While a driver’s gender does have an impact on their auto insurance rates, ValuePenguin noted that its effect on drivers who are 30 or older are minimal, having observed that there was little variation in rates around that age bracket. But among younger drivers, men can be charged 13% higher rates than women; ValuePenguin suggested that this is because they drive more often, have more speeding tickets, get into more accidents, and receive more DUIs. Meanwhile, nonbinary drivers pay slightly more than women drivers.
Using a 20-year-old driver as the template, ValuePenguin found that women pay an average monthly rate of $126, followed by nonbinary drivers with $129, and then men with a significantly higher $142.
Which cars are the cheapest to insure?
According to ValuePenguin, the Honda CR-V is the cheapest automobile to insure, with a monthly rate of $156. Surprisingly, the Ford F-150 truck is the second cheapest automobile to insure, with a monthly rate of $164.


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DENMARK – Arla Foods Ingredients is launching Lacprodan SoftBar, a new concept to help manufacturers create protein bars that offer healthier indulgence without compromising on functionality.
According to the Danish company, the new concept was informed by the need to meet for tasty snacks that can quell carb cravings.
As the bar category becomes more competitive, Arla notes that roducts that don’t deliver an enjoyable consumer experience won’t be purchased a second time – especially when there are so many alternatives available.
To help protein bar manufacturers stay ahead, Lacprodan SoftBar – a dairy and whey protein ingredient – allows bars to reach up to 37 percent protein content while at the same time delivering a soft texture – with creamy peanut butter.
The concept can be used by manufacturers as is or as a basis for recipes with different flavor combinations or nut butter varieties, noted Arla.
“We’re always looking to expand our technological capabilities and we were particularly excited to commission our new bar line,” says Joe Katterfield, sales development manager, health and performance nutrition, at Arla Foods Ingredients.
Arla’s new protein bar concept is launching at a time when health and nutrition are being considered by many consumers as the single most important considerations for purchasers of snack bars, According to a “Global Snack Bars” Category Insider report from Innova Market Insights.
The report further noted that 41 percent of consumers bought snack bars because they are healthy and 40 percent said it was to keep themselves going or to give them energy. Taste and convenience ranked only third and fourth.
World’s first baby ice cream
Meanwhile in the UK, baby milk brand Kendamil has created “the world’s first” ice cream made with formula milk.
Kendamil says the limited-edition product is designed for adults and aims to challenge the perception that baby milks taste “fishy,” “bitter” and “medicinal,” restoring parents’ faith in the taste of baby milk.
“We are proud to launch the first-ever ice cream made with formula milk,” said CEO and founder of Kendamil, Ross McMahon.
“We regularly receive verbatim feedback from customers – which our recent research reinforces – about the delicious creamy taste (and smell) of our baby milks and how their little ones happily drink the full bottle.”
McMahon revealed that the motivation behind the new product was the surprising statistic that a third of parents have never tried their baby’s milk.
“We thought we’d bring it to them and let grown-ups in on the goodness with a world-first product made especially for them this summer.”
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Consuming issue: The arrival of coronavirus in the UK has exposed the extreme fragility of fish supply and fish consumption and when I say fish, I mean everything except salmon. Salmon has very much developed into its own protein group outside of fish in general. Salmon appears to have bucked the experience of the wider fish sector.
Home cooking and consumption of fish has been in decline for the last decade but the sector has not considered this to be a major issue because out of home consumption has been healthy, as have exports; that is until coronavirus hit the UK.
Overnight, the export market dried up and most restaurants and takeaways shut up shop over concerns about transmission of the virus. This left retail as the main outlet for fish. Anyone hoping that the public would make a swift transition to home cook fish would have been soon disillusioned after seeing supermarkets during the panic buying phase. Shelves were stripped of beef, pork, lamb and especially chicken leaving them totally bare. By comparison, packs of chilled fish were mostly ignored by shoppers and remained on the shelves. As the days passed, the range of fish on offer shrank as demand dried up. In part, this was due to the absence of older consumers, who would have been more receptive to buying a variety of species but were told to stay at home.
At the same time, most supermarkets took the decision to close all service counters including fish to free up staff to help with restocking shelves. Some counters found a new role!
The closure of supermarket fish counters meant that what fish was being landed at British ports was competing for an even smaller share of market access. I remember seeing a tweet from a fisherman saying that he had some beautiful fresh pollock and that he was sure that if it could be displayed on a supermarket fish counter it would be snapped up. Sadly, the reality of the fish sector, regardless of coronavirus, would be that if this pollock did end up on a supermarket fish counter, then the likelihood would be is that is where it would remain.
The new world order of coronavirus means that it is easy to forget that supermarket fish counters had been shut long before the current pandemic. Asda had shut all its counters at the beginning of the year and Tesco had shut many of theirs later last year. They kept some open in response to an outcry about the closure of all their service counters.
Had we not had this pandemic; I suspect that we would have seen more counter closures in the coming months. Shoppers were not buying wet fish in sufficient numbers to justify keeping the counters open.
Of all the stores Waitrose endeavoured to reopen the counters within days whilst others have remained firmly shut. Morrisons have recently opened some counters as seafood bars with limited products.
Last week, the head of Seafood Scotland wrote to the CEO’s of Asda, Sainsbury’s, and Tesco to say that it is imperative that fish counters are re-opened to allow consumers access to fresh seafood from the domestic market. According to Fish Farmer, she said that ‘it is time for consumers to eat local, eat Scottish. We get to eat our own high quality, delicious healthy and sustainable seafood so that Scottish coastal communities can continue to operate’.
This is a very nice idea, but it is one that is far from reality. Many consumers no longer recognise fish and seafood as part of their normal daily home menu and not even a global pandemic is going to change this.
The writing has been on the wall for some time now. The industry in the UK has regularly held an annual promotion to persuade consumers to eat more fish. Seafood Week usually takes place in October and following the event in 2017, it was reported that there had been a media reach of 240 million views of the campaign. The social media campaign generated 51,431 unique users and there were 81 million impressions as part of the social stats. Overall, sales were up by 0.9% as a consequence of the promotion. At the same time, the DEFRA Family Food Statistics reported a fall in fish consumption from 144g per person per week to 136g. The message is not hitting home. The Industry 2040 strategy wants to see fish consumption double from the current one portion a week to the recommended two a week. This was unlikely to happen before the pandemic hit even though the target is twenty years away. Post coronavirus, two-a-week seems more remote than ever.
By coincidence. Fish Focus reports of a new campaign, ‘Sea For Yourself’, to urge consumers to eat more UK fish and shellfish. Although the campaign has clear messages for the current crisis as a way of helping British fishermen, the campaign was originally planned to coincide with the lighting of the Olympic flame on March 12th and is running until the end of May. The campaign has been orchestrated by DEFRA and they are working with Seafish. The campaign targets families and those aged over 55 to get them to eat more of the delicious seafood caught in British waters. Species highlighted include shellfish, mussels, oyster, crabs, and lobsters, oily fish such as mackerel, herring and rainbow trout and white fish such as hake, coley, monkfish and lemon sole.
The latest phase of the campaign began with advertising on Facebook and Instagram which is to be followed by radio and podcasts from chefs and local food heroes. According to Fish Focus, this activity represents an excellent opportunity for seafood businesses to engage with the campaign by sharing posts on social media with the aim of reaching more consumers, even though the evidence shows that such social media does not translate into increased consumption. One of the key influencers recruited to the campaign is Olympian Denise Lewis but a search of her Instagram account reveals just one posting about the campaign.
Fish Focus also reports that Morrisons supermarkets are aiming to capitalise on the ‘Sea For Yourself’ campaign by using the logo on their UK wild fish boxes. Sean Gill, the senior seafood buyer told Fish Focus that customers have said that they like our new ‘UK caught wild fish boxes’ and sales have surpassed expectations. Morrisons say that their focus on UK fish and the reopening of their fish counters will help customer to buy ‘home caught seafood’.
I saw my first Morrisons fish box last week. It did not appear to be a good advert for buying UK caught fish.
This selection of fish lying higgidly-piggidly in what looked like a soup of bloody water did not look especially appealing. It contained a variety of fish although what and how much was unclear. The label describes what could be in the box.
I returned to the store the following day and found new stock with a later date on display, which I bought.
The contents of the box can be seen to be one mackerel, one plaice, one lemon sole, four herring and six sardines.
At £3.57/kg this selection of fish appears good value except I am not sure that the average Morrison’s customer will find it so. I think that I would struggle to want to eat these fish. They were all soft and the smell was not great and even though we know that many consumers are deterred from buying fish with heads, guts, fins and scales, these fish were as they had been caught. A fish aficionado might like this box, but I doubt whether most shoppers would even know what to do with it.
By coincidence, I saw a photo of another box on twitter that had been reduced to half price despite having two days left on the date. Another tweet I encountered showed a box reduced to just £1.50.
The reality is that whilst the intention is noble, consumers have become alienated from fish like these and a social media campaign will not encourage consumers to buy these species and certainly not in this form. I spoke to the fishmonger in Morrison’s who was not that enthusiastic about the fish boxes and who said that after initial interest, sales have declined. Certainly, there were only a couple of the boxes on display when I was last in store. The fishmonger also pointed out that all of the other fish on display was on offer at half price and thus was of more interest to those shoppers who wanted to buy fish. The counter was totally devoid of customers during my time in the store.
Back in 2014 and 2015, supermarket chain Sainsburys ran two campaigns called ‘Switch the Fish’ in which they wanted to encourage shoppers to try alternative species to the Big Five. Shoppers buying either cod, haddock, salmon, tuna, or prawns were offered a free portion of either mussels, trout, sea bass or coley to take home to try. Needless to say, Sainsbury’s have not repeated the campaign since and for good reason. The message was wrong. Effectively, shoppers were being told not to eat the fish they liked. If anything, this might deter shoppers from buying fish at all. It is not about which species to eat but to eat fish. Period.
The ‘Sea For Yourself’ campaign asks consumers to eat UK caught species but even if consumers are persuaded, there is a fundamental problem to overcome and that is identifying where consumers can actually buy these fish. Most supermarket do not stock many of the fish and for a simple reason. When they are available, they remain largely unsold because they are not species most consumers want. More importantly, they are not going to try them simply because social media is encouraging them to do so. I can only wonder when the sector is ever going to recognise that this whole approach requires a radical rethink.
Meanwhile, rather than look to supermarkets, this campaign would be an ideal opportunity to boost the awareness of local specialist fishmongers. Yet, at a time when the fishmongers could flourish, they too appear beset by problems. BBC TV Countryfile spoke to a fishmonger in Leicestershire who said he was having difficulty sourcing fish despite fishermen having fish to supply. Sadly, as I mentioned at the beginning, coronavirus has exposed the fragility of the fish sector.
Over the years, the rise of supermarkets has undoubtedly had an impact on local fishmongers. Seafood Source reported some years ago that during the 1940s that there were seven to eight thousand fishmongers in Britain. In 2014, the number was put at about 950 and it would not be surprising if it were now many less.
One of the things to come out of the coronavirus crisis is the apparent lack of connections within the fish and seafood sector. Hence, the fishmonger who appeared on the BBC Countryfile programme was bemoaning that he could not access fish to supply to his customers. He solved the supply problem by finding someone who drove up to Scottish ports twice a week to bring back stocks. What is clear from the current situation is that there needs to be a greater awareness of the supply chain from fishermen through to consumer. This is most apparent through the seeming lack of knowledge about independent fishmongers. With supermarket fish counters mostly closed, there have been attempts to link consumers to local fishmonger shops. A scheme highlighted in the Countryfile programme – ‘Call4Fish’- identified a supplier in Liverpool and one in Grange over Sands who might offer collection of delivery to Manchester where I am based. As Manchester is a major city, it might be expected that there ought to be several different fishmongers and suppliers ready to serve local consumers.
The website ‘Fish on Friday’ provides details of fishmongers and requests others to contact them to be listed. The map from their website shows a complete absence of anyone supplying fish from a massive are from Manchester to Birmingham and beyond.
Fish is the Dish does slightly better with just one outlet in Manchester itself. There are others that are not included.
It does seem strange that there is not a database of every independent fishmonger in the country with details of where they are, what they supply, whether they deliver and more. Equally, there should be a database of suppliers that these fishmongers can access. Its not surprising that as the UK closed down, those parts of the sector that continued to function had no idea how to exploit those opportunities that started to appear.
Perhaps, if we want consumers to engage more with fish, we need to start at the grassroots. Its very easy for Morrisons to take up the baton for UK seafood through the ‘Sea For Yourself’ campaign but if every independent fishmonger had been recruited to the cause first, then perhaps it might have been a better approach than the current campaign. This will inevitably achieve absolutely nothing in terms of getting people to eat more fish let alone specific UK landed species.
Finally, it is worth noting that whilst Morrisons offer the fish box of wild caught fish as highlighted earlier, they also supply a wide range of other food boxes online. These range from meat, to vegetable and from Gluten free to BBQ. They also offer a fish box which is a completely different proposition to that available in stores. The Morrisons fish box includes 6 salmon fillets, 4 cod fillets 4 smoked haddock fillets and 4 sea bass fillets. The total weight of fish is 1920g and the box costs £35 equivalent to £18.23/kg. The fish is sourced from multiple areas, but all are likely to be from outside the UK except the salmon which could come from Scotland as well as Norway.


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In an email sent to some owners this morning, the automaker says the issue impacts Model 3 vehicles built between December 2018 and March 2021 and Model Y vehicles built between January 2020 and January 2021. The email notes that it only impacts “certain” vehicles between these dates, and not all.
UPDATE: The recall has now been officially posted by the NHTSA (21V387000). Tesla’s number for this recall is SB-21-33-002. It impacts a total of 5,974 vehicles built between the dates described above. Transport Canada has not yet posted the official recall.
According to the email, the brake caliper bolts on some of these vehicles “may not have been secured to the correct specifications.” As a result, the bolts may loosen and “in very rare circumstances” loosen enough so that the caliper comes in contact with the wheel.
If it does, there may be a loud rubbing noise and the movement of the wheel may be impacted, potentially cause tire pressure loss.
Tesla says they are not aware of any crashes or injuries as a result of the issue.
The automaker advises recipients of the email to schedule a service appointment using the mobile app. The required work will be completed free of charge, and can be performed at your home by mobile service.
Based on the email, a copy of which is included below, Tesla is reaching out to impacted customers. As a result you should not be requesting a service appointment if you haven’t heard that your car is impacted by the issue.
You can also check if your car is impacted by using Tesla’s VIN recall search tool.
Let us know in the comments below if you have also received the recall notice.


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A 23-year old London jeweller has created what is believed to the world’s first-ever safe-to-wear radioactive jewellery range.
Phillip Bannister, a former engineering student from Barking and Dagenham College, has created radioactive jewellery with precious gems that glow in the dark. He uses radiation rods in his creations, allowing precious metals and gems to glow.
Bannister said: “I first came up with the idea two years ago and I’ve been perfecting it ever since – it’s quite hard to make the rods a part of the jewellery.”
The young designer secured a copyright on the idea of putting radiation into jewellery to create the distinctive glow in February. He claims that each piece of jewellery can glow for 10 years.
Anunnaki Jewels – the startup jewellery brand that he runs with his graphic designer girlfriend Kirsty Sedgwick – so far has nine individual pieces of radioactive jewellery, including the Mayan-inspired ‘Radioactive Crystal Skull Ring’.
Bannister has assured customers this his creations are “completely safe”. He said: “We use tiny amounts of radioactive Hydrogen-3 Triton to create unique pieces of jewellery. Hydrogen-3 Triton is 100%, completely safe because it is a very weak source of radiation; it is a low energy beta emitter and its particles are unable to penetrate the skin.
“It is used widely in modern watches to make the hands glow and has lots of other common uses, such as, it’s often used by night fisherman to make the ends of their rods glow.”


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Shareholders of ExxonMobil voted in favor of a resolution that will force the oil giant to publish reports on how climate change is likely to affect its business.
Archive for month: May, 2017
If you want to buy an electric car in the U.S., there are more than a dozen options. If you want to buy a fuel cell car, there are three: the Honda Clarity, the Toyota Mirai, and the Hyundai ix35.
Battery powered cars will soon be cheaper to buy than conventional gasoline ones, offering immediate savings to drivers, new research shows.
Workhorse, which builds delivery vans for UPS and FedEx, was actually designing a vehicle for the U.S. Postal Service when it decided to give an electric pickup truck a try.
Scientists are expressing increasing skepticism that we’re going to be able to get out of the climate change mess by relying on a variety of large-scale land-use and technical solutions that have been not only proposed but often relied upon in scientific calculations.
The Alaskan tundra is warming so quickly it has become a net emitter of carbon dioxide ahead of schedule, a new study finds.
The Chinesegovernment’s plan to replace gasoline-powered cars with a new generation of electric vehicles has hit an unexpected bump: Chinese consumers’ love affair with gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles.
Dan Brouillette, Rick Perry’s pick to be his number two at the Department of Energy, questioned the Trump administration’s proposal to sell off oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help balance the federal budget during a Senate hearing Thursday.
So far this year, Southern California has endured 27 days with unhealthful levels of ozone, the hallmark pollutant of smog, making this spring the worst start of a smog season since 2008, according to state data.
At this moment, the idea that we’re on the brink of electric cars becoming cheaper to build than combustion cars is getting a lot of traction, along with the idea that EVs will be as cheap to own as the loud kind of car even sooner.


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As you read this opinion piece, you might get the feeling I'm the Grinch trying to steal Mobile Christmas. I'm not. Think of me more as the Ghost of Mobile Christmas Future.
As Black Friday and Cyber Monday approach, there is a lot of hype about the role mobile will play in this year's holiday shopping. In its recent "Holiday Mobile Shopping Study," mobeam's neighbor in Silicon Valley, InMobi, forecasts 60 million people will use smartphones while shopping this coming weekend, with 21 million – 36 percent – intending to make a purchase directly from their phones.
If you're a retailer, a consumer packaged goods producer or smartphone manufacturer, you're probably reading all this great news with some excitement. Sadly, there is a big disconnect between the hype and the mobile commerce reality.
Let's quickly analyze the data above. Twenty-one million people making purchases on their smartphones is indeed a big number and shows that consumers are embracing mobile commerce. But because NFC contactless payments have not yet matured in the U.S., these are 21 million people making purchases away from point of sale cash registers. How can retailers entice consumers into their brick and mortar stores? One tried and true method is coupons.
Another recent study by the research firm eMarketer forecasts that nearly 10 percent of U.S. adult mobile phone users will access and redeem a mobile coupon this year which equates to 19.8 million consumers. Capitalizing on this trend is Walgreens, which introduced a new mobile app that will send coupons to consumers that they can use at any of Walgreens' 7,700 stores. With the growing acceptance of mobile coupons, it seems like Walgreens' holiday shopping mobile coupon program is a perfect method to tempt shoppers into their stores.
But here's a part of the 2011 holiday mobile commerce story that is being left out of all these reports and analyses. The kind of mobile coupons that Walgreens is offering will only work at their 7,700 stores. Why? Because it uses a special 2D composite barcode that is read by special 2D barcode scanners that Walgreens has installed. The problem is that in the U.S. alone, there are more than 3.6 million more retailers beyond Walgreens, and virtually all of the rest of those rely on the ubiquitous 1D barcode, more commonly known as the UPC symbol, and 1D barcode scanners for coupons and inventory.
You may ask, "so what?" After all, there are over 400 mobile coupon apps that display the conventional UPC symbol coupons in the iPhone app store alone, and countless retailers are emailing coupons with these 1D barcodes that people can pull up on their smartphones. Well, here's the "so what": 1D barcodes CANNOT be scanned off smartphones. No, really. They can't. That means these 400 mobile coupon iPhone apps don't work, and the mobile coupons sent by email create pretty significant inconveniences at point of sale for both consumers and retailers.
The way laser scanners "see" the reflection of the black and white lines of a 1D barcode is incompatible with the backlit way information is displayed on smartphone screens. In fact, as screens become larger, brighter and higher definition, the problem only gets worse. Mobeam estimates there are more than 165 million 1D laser barcode scanners in use around the world, and switching them out is not going to happen overnight, or even over the next few years.
But that's okay. Black Friday 2011 is still going to see more mobile commerce usage than in any year before. But I predict that as big as the hype is for this year, it will be completely dwarfed by the reality for mobile commerce next year.
For Black Friday 2012, consumers can expect to find new types of commerce apps that will make shopping easier and more convenient than they're imagining today. Consumers will be able to locate scarce and sought after items instantly on a map, walk into stores and comparison shop prices by scanning inventory barcodes included on the label of every item, receive in-store incentives to buy complementary products to what consumers are shopping for that very second, summon a sales associate to their exact locations inside a crowded department store, even complete purchases in store aisles without going through checkout lines. I promise you, mobile retail is going to evolve very quickly.
Some of these new mobile retail technologies will be completely new, and some will harness the availability of existing technologies. To make mobile coupons work, they have to work at every retailer that wants to accept coupons, and that means envisioning a solution beginning with the technology already present at point of sale, not necessarily beginning with the state of the art on handsets. Across the mobile industry spectrum there are many companies planning to bring new shopping, loyalty and payment technologies to market, promising to make Black Friday 2012 a truly pivotal moment in mobile commerce history.
Happy holidays, and happy shopping.
Chris Sellers is CEO of Mobeam.


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Motorola Frontier might be the first smartphone to sport Samsung’s much-talked-about 200-megapixel mobile camera. Samsung originally announced its 200-megapixel image sensor last September after weeks of rumors and speculations in the media. Named the ISOCELL HP1, it is the world’s first 200-megapixel smartphone camera sensor that comes with a dynamic pixel binning technology to adjust the output resolution depending on the ambient light.
Interestingly, the first smartphone to use the new camera sensor won’t be a Samsung device. Instead, it’s expected to be the Motorola Frontier, also known as the Motorola Frontier 22. The device is expected to be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC and feature a 6.67-inch curved AMOLED 144Hz display. It’s also said to sport a 4,500mAh battery with support for 125W charging. It is also rumored to come with up to 12GB of RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage.
Related: Is Samsung Releasing A Rollable Phone In 2022?
While earlier rumors suggested that a Motorola device would be the first to use Samsung’s 200-megapixel sensor, there’s been no leaked images that gave people a look at the camera on an actual smartphone. However, that changed on Monday when prolific tipster ‘fenibook’ posted what seemed to be a hands-on image of a smartphone on the Chinese social media site Weibo. Said to be the Motorola Frontier, the device appears to sport the new 200-megapixel sensor, two additional cameras and a flash as part of a triple-camera setup at the back. The ‘200MP HP1’ branding is prominently visible, as are the ‘OIS’ and ‘f/2.2’ labels, suggesting that the primary camera will come with optical image stabilization and an f/2.2 aperture.
Will The 200MP Sensor Be Seen In A Samsung Device?
While there’s no more news on either the phone or the sensor at this point, earlier rumors suggested that the Motorola Frontier (or Frontier 22) will be the company’s next flagship smartphone. If the rumored hardware is anything to go by, it would certainly be a premium device. There’s no word on when it will launch, but rumors claim it might happen in July 2022. In addition, the HP1 sensor is rumored to show up on a Xiaomi phone at some stage, although there’s no information about when that might happen.
As for when the 200-megapixel ISOCELL HP1 sensor will be used on a Samsung phone, there’s no news on that either. Speculations from late last year suggested that the sensor might show up on the Galaxy S23 Ultra, although whether that will happen remains to be seen. Either way, there will likely be more leaks in the weeks and months ahead that will reveal additional information about both the Samsung HP1 sensor and the devices using it.


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Neighbor, the self-storage marketplace disruptor, has added three strategic hires to its executive team to fuel a new wave of growth for the Andreesesen Horowitz-funded startup, which has grown 5X in 2020.
Legendary Ventures announced an investment in Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) through its Series N funding round.
London-based startup Useful Interruptions, owner of the TopTip recommendations app, announced the launch of its Founders Club programme that aims to give half the shares in the company to users of TopTip.
Payment-solutions provider Clearent has acquired Wintac, a field-service-management software solution primarily targeting residential contractors.
Movile, one of Latin America’s investors and growth accelerators for technology companies, has announced the company led a new investment of R$ 60 million in Zoop, a startup in financial services for the B2B market.
US medicare startup Bright Health has announced a $500 million Series E funding round with significant investments by funds and accounts advised by Tiger Global Management.
Israel-based Phytolon, a portfolio company of The Trendlines Group Ltd has announced that it secured $4.1 million in funding for its fermentation-based technology for the production of plant-based food colours.
Inflazome has announced that it has closed a share purchase agreement with Roche in which Inflazome’s shareholders received an upfront payment of €380 million.
ICEYE, a SAR data provider, announced the closing of a larger than planned $87 million Series C funding, led by return investor True Ventures, with a significant additional investment by OTB Ventures.
Finch, a New York based fintech startup that integrates the benefits of investing and the flexibility of checking into an all-in-one account has raised $1.8 million in seed funding to launch its platform and help transform how people manage their money.
Neurostimulation startup Salvia BioElectronics raises €26m to develop innovative therapy for chronic migraine
Salvia BioElectronics B.V., a neurostimulation platform company targeting chronic migraine, has raised €26 million in new financing from new and existing investors.
Amsterdam based startup Zeta Alpha is launching AI Research Navigator, a new deep learning-based search platform, to help AI experts navigate new research.
Iptt africa (pty) Limited, a South African telecommunications startup, solves the communication problems faced by many businesses and organizations in Africa through its italkptt platform that allows businesses to communicate from anywhere in Africa to anywhere in the world. The CEO Marthinus Coetzee elaborates.
Nigeria's financial services provider ARM launched ARM Sandbox, a new and more efficient way for fintechs to scale their integration and customer acquisition plans.
Sales2Job Academy, DBA Virtanza, an Orange County-based company that offers higher education a scalable sales training solution directly connected to employers, announced it has raised seed round funding totaling $1 million from private investors.
South Korean fntech startup WireBarley raises $10m Series B to strengthen global remittance service capabilities
South Korean fintech startup in global memittance WireBarley has raised $10 million in Series B funding from Magna Investment, Shinsegae I&C and Dt & Investment.
WellsCare, a member company of the Born2Global Centre, signed a store contract with b8ta, a famous American flagship store that is dedicated to innovative products.
Harvard-incubated startup MarqVision launches AI-powered platform to protect brands from counterfeits
MarqVision, an AI-based SaaS company, launched its brand protection platform that helps brands effortlessly detect and remove counterfeits on online marketplaces.
Stima is a Kenya-based startup that operates a smart service swap stations providing charging services to enable moto-taxi riders to switch to electric motorcycles.
Zuper, provider of an intelligent workforce and customer management platform has raised $1.1 million in seed funding.
As esports consumption continues to grow rapidly worldwide, Wisdom Gaming Group, a digital media company specializing in esports content and experiences, has announced that it has secured $3 million in Series A funding.
German urban farming startup Infarm raises $170m to grow urban vertical farming network in the world
Infarm, German urban farming network announced $170 million investment raised in the first close of a Series C funding round expected to reach $200 million.
ZenSports, the mobile peer-to-peer sports betting marketplace announced a new $1.46 million Seed round of funding to expand into the United States, as well as to continue to grow its international presence.
Delivery Hero, the world’s local delivery platform, has entered into an agreement with Glovo, an on-demand delivery start-up, to acquire its operations in Latin America for up to €230 million.
Demand Sage, a US-based revenue operations startup built on Google Sheets, has raised a $3 million Seed round led by Eniac Ventures and Underscore VC.
Plug and Play announced the selection of 147 new startups into its winter 2020 batches. The startups were selected to join one of the following programs that will run through November 2020.
Imagine Impact, the content accelerator and online marketplace startup founded by Academy Award-winning duo Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, announced the close of its Series A financing round led by Benchmark, a Silicon Valley Venture Capital firm.
Emerging mobile phone brand realme has unveiled the latest addition to its C-series stable, the realme C15, in Kenya as it seeks to capture one of the most advanced mobile phone markets in the continent.
London based fintech startup KodyPay, raised £1.8 million to transform the payments industry, allowing users to pay for goods in-store without queueing thereby making shopping a prompt and effortless process.
Cellular agriculture startup Wildtype has unveiled its latest cell-based salmon. This version is "sushi-grade" and crafted with the sushi industry's favorite raw salmon applications in mind.
Berlin urban farming network Infarm has announced $170 million investment raised in the first close of a Series C funding round expected to reach $200 million.
AppDirect, the subscription commerce platform, has announced investments of $185 million from global institutional investor Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and existing investors.
Canada-based technology hub ventureLAB has partnered with Silicon Catalyst to expand its reach for the Hardware Catalyst Initiative (HCI), Canada’s first hardware and silicon lab and incubator.
SEMrush, an online visibility management and content marketing SaaS platform, has further expanded its ecosystem with the acquisition of a 100% stake in Poland's public relations SaaS startup Prowly.com.
Trust Payments partners with messaging and e-commerce startup Wakanda Messenger to empower Africans around the world
Trust Payments, the global unified payments group for global pay-in, pay-out and customer journey technologies, has partnered with social network, messaging and e-commerce startup Wakanda Messenger.


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The reaction rally against the capitulation low of Jan 24 2022 is progressing as expected so far. The mega techs’ earnings reports drove large swings in the indices last week, but the reaction rally’s chart structure is intact and is on schedule to finish the price and time targets.
Out of the mega techs’ Q1 earnings reports, the losers are Netflix and Facebook and the winners are Apple, Microsoft, Google and Amazon. Netflix and Facebook were sold really hard after earnings reports because both companies have met the barriers for future growth. Netflix is in a white-hot streaming war with Disney plus, Amazon, Apple and CBS viacom, etc.. The content cost is very high for Netflix to hold on to its users. Perhaps Netflix has entered a matured business of streaming and needs to open a new line of business to continue to grow. The investors didn’t react nicely to Netflix’s slight miss because of the prospect of growth is dimmed. Facebook changed its name to Meta shortly after their Q3 2021 earnings report last October. This is the first time Facebook reporting earnings as Meta. Zuckerberg knew that Facebook has grabbed all the facebook users they possibly could on this planet and the future growth in user base is limited, therefore he preemptively change the company name to Meta in a desperate hope to shake off the bad Facebook reputation and open a new business in Metaverse for the next decade. Facebook’s old digital advertising business model is broken. Now Meta is a new growth company with lots of cash. Both Netflix and Facebook stock charts have been severely damaged and it will take some time for them to repair the damage. Any new purchase in these stocks now will be dead money for some time.
Apple’s hardware sector is doing very well against the chip supply shortage backdrop. Apple’s service is also doing extremely well. Some analysts predicted that even if Apple’s hardware business has zero growth, the power of the service sector growth alone will propel the stock to go higher. Both Microsoft and Amazon had amazing growth in cloud. Google is doing well in cloud and digital advertising. So Apple, Microsoft, Google and Amazon will continue to be the glorious tech leaders to lead the indices higher in this 4-year cycle (March 2020-???/2023/24).
Energy sector continues to be doing very well. XLE has rallied 24% year to date. Right now XLE is in the top timing band of the 2nd daily cycle and also could be the weekly alpha cycle top. It would not surprise us to see XLE to sell off a little bit. It’s not a good idea to short the energy sector with a war between Russia and Ukraine could be happening any moment. Oil price is projected to rally into at least Q1 2023. You want to be a dip buyer in energy, never a shorter in a bullish oil market.
Semiconductor sector is trading in sync with the indices. AMD had a great earning report and the future growth is projected to be strong. Intel had a good earnings report but the street is skeptical about Intel’s future growth because the investment cycle is long in semiconductor business. It will take Intel 3-5 years from now to show if their investments in chip manufacturing work. We still believe that Intel will catch up and exceed eventually.
So after this mid cycle transition, the sectors that will work till the top of the current 4-year cycle are energy XLE ETF, semiconductor SMH ETF and the NASDAQ QQQ ETF. It would be very difficult to pick individual stocks during this period because the economic expansion is more challenged (slower growth with tighter monetary policy) during the second phase of the 4-year cycle. The first phase of the current 4-year cycle (March 2020-November 2021) lifted all stocks such as Peloton, Zoom, Netflix, Palantir, Apple, Microsoft, etc.. It’s only when the tide goes out that you learn who has been swimming naked. These COVID stocks such as Peloton stopped performing after COVID accommodation is removed. A true company should be able to continue to perform after COVID. We will see that Peloton may not survive in 1-2 years and Palantir will continue to grow year after year.
We still believe 03/14/2022 is the target time for the correction to finish.
In the S&P 500 daily chart below, you will see:
- The reaction rally made a high at 4595.31, that is just a few points below 4600 before the selling force came.
- Between now and 2/23/2022, it could make a higher higher to take out 4595.31 to create a bull trap. Typically a higher high is bullish, a lower high is bearish. But this market is very good at creating confusions, so a higher high before the second selling wave is a trap.
- This 4600 target could even be lifted to 4700 and the date of the high could be a little before or after 2/23/2022. You need to be a little flexible.


text: CÉMOI is France’s biggest chocolate manufacturer. It sources cocoa in Ivory Coast – the biggest cocoa exporter in the world – and aims to work with all the farmers in its supply chain to gain a thorough understanding of the practices they use and help them improve those wherever it makes sense. To achieve this TFT has supported CÉMOI to develop its ‘TRANSPARENCE’ programme through which CÉMOI is committing to ensure traceability from the consumer’s chocolate bar to the significant volumes of beans CÉMOI buys. To put this context, CÉMOI’s annual cocoa bean spend represents 3% of global cocoa bean purchasing. Therefore its announcement is hugely relevant, as supply chain traceability in the industry remains an issue.


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One of the world's oldest vegan businesses Follow Your Heart has launched a new product.
The company is celebrating its 50th anniversary this week with the launch of vegan feta alternative.
The vegan version of feta will not only satisfy the Greek salad fans. The tangy plant-based cheese can be used in many dishes.
Dairy-Free Feta Crumbles Cheese Alternative is made with organic coconut oil, filtered water, potato starch, potato protein (less than 2%) and sea salt.
The vegan feta is Non-GMO certified, gluten-free, nut-free and soy-free. The new product is available in Sprouts supermarkets across the US.
“When we founded the company in the 1970s, I was unaware of what we would accomplish and how much the plant-based market would grow. We were just following our hearts and doing what we thought would make the world a better place,” CEO and co-founder Bob Goldberg said.
“We’re excited whenever we launch a new product, but to be able to be the first to introduce a crumbled feta cheese alternative is a direct result of our team’s commitment to innovation in the plant-based space. Cheese alternatives are a major focus for us, and we will continue to grow in this category.”


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Icelandic budget airline WOW Air stops flying
Consumer confidence in Europe’s smaller carriers drops again
AS IS ALWAYS the case when an airline goes bust, the collapse of WOW Air, an Icelandic low-cost carrier, has left a trail of financial destruction at home and abroad. More than 1,000 airline employees have lost their jobs. Tens of thousands of customers will face a battle to recover money spent on unused tickets. Those in the middle of their trips are stranded. With a population of less than 350,000 people, Iceland’s economy is neither large enough nor diversified enough to shrug off the failure. Last year the government warned that WOW’s collapse would shrink GDP and send the krona, the local currency, plummeting.
Skuli Mogensen, WOW’s founder and sole shareholder, had in recent months seemed like the airline industry’s answer to Theresa May, Britain’s prime minister, who is desperately trying to get her Brexit deal ratified before the country leaves the European Union. Mr Mogensen steered the lossmaking company through crisis after crisis, trying to negotiate a bailout first with Icelandair, the flag carrier, then Indigo Partners, an American private-equity firm, and then Icelandair again. His last roll of the dice was an attempt to convince bondholders to convert their debt into shares. But none of the partnership talks bore fruit and the airline ran out of runway when aircraft lessors pulled their support.
That is a shame. WOW’s basic business model was sound: offer cheap and cheerful flights between Europe and America with a stop in Reykjavik, Iceland’s mid-Atlantic capital. The use of cheaper short-haul planes gave WOW an edge over low-cost, long-haul rivals such as Norwegian, which uses more expensive planes designed for long-haul routes. The strategy was pioneered by Loftleidir, a precursor to Icelandair, in the 1960s. It will surely be tried again in the future. But in WOW’s case it did not work because the company grew too fast and lacked sufficient financial backing to get it through the lean winter season.
Whatever the personal cost to Mr Mogensen—he told Icelandic media he invested “everything I have” in the airline—WOW’s founder will be savaged by the press. Which?, a consumer group based in Britain, has slammed the company for continuing to sell tickets on its website even after its planes were grounded. When local media warned potential flyers of the perilous outlook, one of the company’s trade unions hit back with accusations of irresponsible journalism. That was absurd. Reporters have a duty to warn passengers that they could be throwing their money away. Policymakers should look at ways of protecting such consumers during future airline bankruptcies, for instance by increasing their priority in the distribution of assets when such a company is liquidated. With over a dozen airline failures in Europe since the beginning of 2018, WOW is unlikely to be the last airline to go bust this year.
Tourism is a surprisingly resilient industry—but only if governments want it to be
The streets of 19th-century Paris and the postmodern architecture of Hong Kong’s main terminal have much in common
The “flight-shame” movement encourages travellers to go by train instead of plane. But not all rail lines are environmentally friendly


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Direct selling is an US$ 182 Billion industry as on 2016, globally, according to a World Federation of Direct Selling Association(WFDSA) report. In India, according to a KPMG-FICCI report, the size of the direct selling industry was Rs 8000 Crores by 2015 and is poised to grow to Rs. 64500 Crores by 2025 if conducive atmosphere is provided.
There are so many big names in this industry who are transforming millions of lives worldwide. But the major challenge for this industry is from the Fly By Night operators who are imitating the legitimate companies and loot public money and their time and give bad experience about the whole industry.
IDSA (Indian Direct Selling Association) and WFDSA ( World Federation Of Direct Selling Associations ) strive hard to identify the good from bad and impose self-regulatory terms to those who are their member companies. The member companies has to abide by the strict regulations formed by the IDSA which are on the interest of common man who do business with these companies.
This association of every country is also a member of WFDSA which functions through more than 60 countries. We can come to a conclusion that the member companies of IDSA are legitimate and they are as a group strive hard for a legislation and fight for a need of a regulatory environment with government authorities.
- You may read this post to know the difference between Multilevel marketing and conventional marketing
If an individual come across a business offer from a multilevel marketing(MLM) or network marketing company, he can check its honesty by its membership with IDSA.
The following are IDSA member companies as on September 2017.
1. Altos Enterprises Ltd.
2. Amway India Enterprises.
3. Avon Beauty Products India Pvt. Ltd.
4. Daehsan Trading (India) P. Ltd., (DXN).
5. Glaze Trading India Pvt. Ltd.
6. Herbalife International India P. Ltd.
7. K-Link Healthcare (India) Pvt.Ltd.
8. Modicare Ltd.
9. Oriflame India Pvt. Ltd.
10. Tianjin Tianshi India Pvt. Ltd (TIENS)
11. Tupperware India Pvt. Ltd.
12. 4Life Trading India Ltd.
13. Vestige Marketing Pvt Ltd.
14. Unicity Health Pvt Ltd.
The latest entrants into the list are Vestige and Unicity.


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Sina Technology News Beijing March 23 evening news, according to foreign media reports, market research firm Counterpoint Research data shows that Samsung has surpassed Apple to become the third largest manufacturer in the global mobile processing market.
According to Counterpoint Research data, Samsung’s share of the global mobile processor market in 2019 was 14.1%, an increase of 2.2% over 2018, ranking third. Apple, which was squeezed into fourth place, had a market share of 13.1%, down 0.5% from 2018. The top two are Qualcomm and MediaTek, with a market share of 33.4% and 24.6%, respectively.
The report pointed out that Samsung’s market share improvement is due to its continuous increase in sales in North America and India. Ironically, consumers aren’t so happy with Samsung’s Exynos processors that the Change.org website is running a petition urging Samsung to stop using Exynos processors in its flagship Galaxy smartphones (outside the US). So far, nearly 20,000 people have signed the petition.
Currently, Qualcomm’s latest mobile processor is the Snapdragon 865, which is used in most Android flagship smartphones. Reports suggest that Qualcomm will update the Snapdragon 865 in the third quarter of this year and release the Snapdragon 865+. (Li Ming)


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Today there is growing concern that methamphetamine is spreading from the West to the East coast. Although there is minimal hard data on the supposed spread of meth to the East, people are looking at what can be done to manage the production, distribution and sale of the illegal drug. Attention has centered on Oregon's attempt to manage the purchase of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, which is available over the counter at many stores selling cold rememdies and other products. Now the big enemy appears to be drug companies that refuse to take ephedrine off the market because it is profitable. There is a recent drug, SineOff, that is now being marketed as a way to fight drug dealers because it doesn't contain pseudoephedrine. Is it helpful that advertisers are now one of the biggest operators in the fight against meth?
If you go to most stores today and buy any significant (more than one package) of Sudafed or other "me-too" drugs (with epe)--like a huge number of allergy-suffering people in these parts--and you have to pull out your driver's license, which they use to scan into the statewide data system. The local media has gone mainline on the issue, implicitly accepting the current view on the evils of epe-meth (see, for example, the local alternative rag.
Fortunately, The Sentencing Project has decided to take the methamphetamine controversy by the horns and question the developing panic and response to the issue. In a recent (June 2006) and appropriately titled report (freely available), The Next Big Thing? Methamphetamine in the United States, Ryan King develops a cogent and detailed analysis of data and concludes that there is no basis for the uninformed and misguided course of the present response to methamphetamine issue today. The upsurge of concern and panic appears unrelated to actual methamphetamine usage. The use of fear tactics and disproportionate punishments simply does not work; the current framing of the methamphetamine problem completely distorts what is really happening; it stands in the face of more practical and real world treatment strategies that work far more effectively and cheaply.Posted by jackson at February 12, 2006 09:14 AM


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As many of us take part in Dry January, it’s worth considering how Gen Z is forsaking alcohol.
A new study in the journal Social Science & Medicine found that Gen-Zers are forgoing risky behaviors more than their elders. The study blamed (credited?) more supervised in-person socializing for the trend. The study also pointed out that in the developed world, adolescent smoking, drinking, underage sex and juvenile crime declined dramatically between the late 1990s and 2015.
Earlier studies have echoed the trend. A 2020 University of Michigan study found that fewer college-aged Americans drink alcohol compared with the same age group 20 years ago. A 2018 study by Berenberg Research, found that Gen Z were drinking 20% less than millennials, who drank less than baby boomers and Gen-Xers did at the same age.
The trend isn’t uniformly positive. The University of Michigan study found that the number of young adults using marijuana and co-using alcohol and marijuana, has increased.
But assuming that younger consumers are turning their backs on alcohol, that’s one reason for the rise in non-alcoholic booze-like drinks.
Budweiser Zero made its debut in 2020 and the launch was well-timed, since total dollar sales of non-alcoholic drinks were up 20.6% tyear-over-year from August 2021 to August 2022, per Nielsen IQ. Non-alcoholic beers made up 85.3 percent of that figure. IWSR Drinks Market Analysis also found that sales of low- and no-alcohol beverages grew by more than 7% in 10 global markets in 2022, surpassing $11 billion in market value. That was up from $8 billion in 2018.
If current trends continue, for many it won’t just be a dry January, but a dry year and a dry future.


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Given that Associated British Ports’ four ports on the Humber of Goole, Grimsby, Hull and Immingham already handle around 17 per cent of the nation’s trade, it should come as little surprise that ABP Humber played a hugely significant role in keeping Britain functioning during the Covid crisis. However, as the signs of recovery continue, ABP is looking ahead to what new opportunities are on the horizon for the North of England’s gateway to trade.
For much of the last two years, ABP have been running a ‘Think Humber’ campaign, making the case for traders and logistics operators to consider switching trade routes from congested ports in the South of England to the Humber. The campaign was backed up by an academic report produced by the University of Hull, which showed that if just 10 per cent of traffic currently coming through the Port of Dover switched to the Humber, it would reduce annual carbon emissions by 100,000 tonnes.
Strong message to local business
At its core the campaign has had a simple message for traders: if you are bringing goods to and from the North or the Midlands, it is cheaper, faster and better for the environment to use the Humber rather than the South East.
It is the container market where the fruits of this effort are most likely to be seen. Based on that market analysis, three years ago ABP committed a £60 million investment to expand and enhance its two container terminals in Hull and Immingham.
The Hull investment, which was completed first, was quick to see the results and within six months the terminal had gone from five sailings per week to 15, bringing new customers and new destinations to Hull. Similarly, the Immingham investment was completed in the autumn of 2020 and has already seen a significant increase in the work of the terminal.
Three good examples of this from the last few months include the announcement of the new Visea container service bringing trade to and from four new destinations in Norway, the WEC Lines announcement of a new Immingham to Bilbao weekly service and an exciting new venture linking Immingham to China via a rail link with Kaliningrad.
With more new services actively in discussions, we can see enormous potential for the growth in trade between the Humber, Europe and the rest of the World.
This growth can only be further enhanced by the Humber’s newly established Freeport status. Following the announcement of the success of the bid in March, partners from across the Humber are currently in the process of setting up a new company limited by guarantee to run the Freeport. The project will bring around 7,000 new jobs to the Humber in new manufacturing and distribution facilities in Hull, Goole, Killingholme and Immingham. Each of those facilities will lead to a significant expansion of trade coming through the Humber, especially in containers.
Amidst all the understandable concern for our economy through Covid, we can faithfully report that the Humber Ports have some very exciting times ahead, with tangible prospects for growth and investment, creating new employment opportunities for many across our region. Exciting times ahead.
Simon Bird is Director, Humber, of Associated British Ports Director


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Niftylift has announced a radical new range of electric powered boom lifts, following the success of its HR12L.
The new 33ft HR12L Lithium has taken off far quicker than the manufacturer anticipated, having initially designed the machine for a large order from a customer in the Netherlands. As a result the company has stepped up its development programme in this area, with the adoption of the all new Di-Lithium Crystal technology, building on its current Lithium power pack design. The initial trial results are said to be spectacular, in terms of battery life and recharge times, literally crossing the final frontier of industrial battery design.
As a result of the trials, Niftylift’s Enterprise engineers are stepping up plans to develop Di-Lithium Crystal versions of all of its HR/SP self-propelled booms lifts, with the aim to have them all converted by the end of 2019. The new models will also include some other new features that the company has been working on, creating a completely new premium product line, to be known as the ‘Warp Factor Range’.
The other breakthroughs incorporated in the new machines include new ‘Highly-Logical’ controls which replace the usual levers and switches with a touch screen and highly intuitive voice actuation system. If for example the operator wants to raise the boom they simply say: “boom me up Nifty” and the motion is automatically activated at pre-set ramp up and speed levels which can also be adjusted on the console. The commands ‘Slower’ or ‘Faster’ regulate speed, while ‘Stop’ is self-explanatory. In case anything goes wrong, a new ultrasound proximity sensing system, dubbed the ‘Deflector Shield’, replaces the company’s SiOPS secondary guarding system and stops any function automatically in the case of an approaching obstacle.
Other new features include Vulcan non-shed non-marking tyres and Holodeck platform technology to reduce weight and increase strength for higher platform capacities. Due to the speed of development overall weights and dimensions of each model will remain the same as the current generation of machines.
Montgomery Scott the lead engineer of Nifty’s Warp Factor development team said: “We had been experimenting with the Di-Crystal technology for some time, but were initially concerned that a car manufacturer, with their big budgets and research teams had not discovered this technology yet. But then we decided to boldly go where no one has gone before and build a prototype. The technology will put us light years ahead of competitors who still cling-on to old technology.”
While the company has kept the development a closely guarded secret, it has been working with a potential lead customer, Star Platforms, which said that it plans to adopt the new Di-Lithium Crystal technology throughout its Star Fleet as soon as it becomes available.
When asked why it was so enthusiastic about the new technology, the company said: “Di-Lithium crystals are not just April Fuel, but fuel for life!”


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TSI owns and runs the microchip plant in Roseville originally developed by NEC Electronics and most recently known as Telefunken.
The TSI Semiconductors plant in Roseville makes analog and mixed-signal chips with ISO Automotive and industrial class certifications. The company has its own contracts and it also offers contract semiconductor foundry services on its 8-inch chip fabrication line.
Harvey is a 25-year veteran of semiconductor sales, marketing and engineering. She has previously worked at TSMC North America, Philips Semiconductors, VSLI Technology and AMD.
“We created this new role to enable TSI Semiconductors to grow, thrive and expand as a specialty foundry,” TSI CEO Sagar Pushpala said in a release. “Deborah brings a wealth of global experience and will strengthen our existing capabilities in sales and marketing management. She has a proven track record of success as a leader and team builder, and will be a tremendous asset as we develop our integrated worldwide sales team.”
Mark Anderson covers agriculture, banking and finance, restaurants and hospitality for the Sacramento Business Journal.


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One UI 6.0 is in hearing and probably, the Samsung Galaxy S23 series will be the first to grab it. And why not? The smartphone is the latest lineup in the company that accompanies some advanced and ultimate characteristics in terms of both hardware and software on board.
Samsung is well-known for its timely rollouts that come with useful improvements and optimizations for devices. But in recent times, when every tech giant was pushing the Android 14 beta for their flagships, the absence of Samsung from this prominent beta list saddened fans to some extent.
It hit users as if the South Korean manufacturer will delay the new upgrade for its handsets at this stage. But no, that’s just not the case. For your information, the company has already started testing the Android 14-based One UI 6.0 for its top-end models, including Samsung Galaxy S23, Galaxy Z Flip 4, and Fold 4 devices.
Being the newly released and tech-pack member of Samsung’s smartphone family, we can say the Galaxy S23 series will be the first to ride the Android 14 update wagon. Moreover, One UI is something that has its own tweaks over the original Android OS.
While Android 14 will give a base to the Galaxy S23 devices, the One UI 6.0 is in expectations to bring more new ultimate changes, since it is based on Android, but tweaked by Samsung. In conclusion, both beta and stable builds of the major upgrade will first land on the Galaxy S23 series consisting of standard, Plus, and Ultra models.
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The availability of this firmware might be possible by October 2023. By the time, you keep on updating your handy gadget with the coming versions to keep your device ready for the next giant software rollout.