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It’s officially been two months since the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) was implemented in Europe – so what has changed for us on this side of the pond? Beyond companies flooding our email inboxes with updated privacy policies, social media giants like Facebook began to roll out new changes to make sure users understand what information is being collected and how it is being used.
While the regulation doesn’t necessarily impact Americans, it impacts any American company that has a digital presence in Europe and collects, processes, manages or stores the data of European citizens. This requires companies worldwide to be more open about the data they use, otherwise they could face steep penalties.
If you haven’t yet, go ahead and double-check your settings on Facebook. Just click the question mark button in the top right of your screen and select ‘Privacy Shortcuts’ to review how much of your profile is public, how much you share with third-party apps, and more.
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State Bank of India (SBI) has warned its account holders to be aware of unknown whatsapp calls and messages that may ask customers about bank details and it may lead to possible banking fraud with account holders.
“Customers are now being targeted on WhatsApp. Don’t let cyber criminals fool you! Please be aware and stay vigilant.” India’s largest lender said in a tweet.
SBI has informed its account holders that the online banking scams have increased with the rise in digital payments. WhatsApp calls and messages have become a new way to do online fraud for cyber criminals.
SBI keeps sharing safety tips with its customers from time-to-time,
A few days back, SBI) warned its customers to be alert of fake emails sent by fraudsters that looked similar to the bank’s official email.

domain: news


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Business tourism promotion targets German business travellers for the island of Ireland
Thirteen tourism companies from the island of Ireland were in Germany this week, taking part in a B2B workshop and networking event in Munich – organised by Tourism Ireland to highlight the island of Ireland as a world-class conference and business tourism destination.
At the event, the delegation from Ireland had the opportunity to meet and do business with around 50 senior representatives of companies who are based in southern Germany and involved in organising international conferences, meetings and large-scale incentive events around the world for their clients.
Zoë Redmond, Tourism Ireland’s manager for Central Europe, said: “We are delighted that so many of these influential German business tourism buyers have taken the time to meet with our tourism partners from Ireland, to hear about some of the superb facilities we have to offer. Business tourism is an important, high yield sector and Tourism Ireland has a busy programme of promotional activity in place to grow this type of tourism. Our promotions are highlighting the ease of access to Ireland from Germany, as well as the good value rates available for meetings and conferences.”
Business tourism is the most lucrative form of tourism, with visitors travelling here for business purposes spending about 2.5 times more than the average visitor.
Taking part in a business tourism workshop and networking event in Munich, were (front, l-r) Aoife O’Loingsigh, Tourism Ireland; Michelle Blake, The Marker Hotel; Michelle Murphy, Kerry Convention Bureau; Karen Kelly, Druids Glen Resort; Susan Sheehan, Clyde Court Hotel; Ronan Flood, Advantage ICO; Evelyn O’Sullivan, Cork Convention Bureau; John Callely, Teeling Whiskey Company; Róisín Gaffney, Fáilte Ireland; and (back, l-r) Melita Williams, Bespoke Northern Ireland; Matti Reuter, Royal Marine Hotel, Dún Laoghaire; Stephanie Hughes, Ballsbridge Hotel; John Callely, Odyssey International; and Brian Miley, Muckross Park Hotel & Spa.
Notes To Editors
- Tourism Ireland is the organisation responsible for promoting the island of Ireland overseas as a leading holiday destination.
- Tourism is the island of Ireland’s largest indigenous industry; responsible for in excess of 4% of GNP in the Republic of Ireland and employing approximately 200,000 people.
- In 2013, we welcomed an estimated 8 million overseas visitors to the island of Ireland, delivering revenue of almost €4 billion. Overseas tourism business accounts for 59% of all tourism revenue.
- Tourism Ireland’s international website is www.ireland.com, available in ten different language versions for over 30 individual markets around the world.


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Vail Resorts have announced permanent twenty percent price reductions on a number of their Epic products including the full international Epic Pass with unlimited access to 37 resorts in 2021/2022 including Perisher, Hotham and Falls Creek for the 2022 season.
The full 2021/2022 Epic Pass has been slashed from USD$979 to USD$783. That’s down to AUD$1032 on today’s exchange rate.
Other pass products to receive the permanent baseline price reduction are the North American Epic Local Pass, Epic Day Pass; Whistler Blackcomb Unlimited, Whistler Blackcomb Day Pass and EDGE Cards; Summit Value Pass, Tahoe Local and Value Pass, and Northeast Value and Midweek Pass; Military Epic Pass and Adaptive Pass; and many more.
The Epic Day Pass for one to seven days of riding is now USD$87 (AUD$114) for one day or USD$74 (AUD$94) a day for the seven day pass.
“The new prices announced today not only provide value to existing skiers and riders, but we also believe they will contribute to the growth and vitality of our sport as we bring new people and higher engagement into the industry, which we think is imperative,” said Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz.
These prices were last seen in the 2015/2016 season, when the Epic Pass had 11 resorts. Today the pass offers access to 70 international resorts including Vail, Park City and Whistler Blackcomb.
All 2021/22 pass products will come with Epic Coverage, at no additional cost, which provides refunds for personal events like job loss, injury or illness, as well as for certain resort closures, including closures due to COVID-19.


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Apple Games Features Going Rogue
6:00 AM | Cord Kruse | Comment on this story
Apple Games has published a new feature article, this time exploring the gray areas offered by the City of Heroes expansion, Going Rogue. The expansion features a new alignment system, two new primary fictional characters, and the new threat of the parallel universe known as Praetoria. Apple's article includes a description of Going Rogue's new features, comments from Matt Miller, information about creating missions, and a history of Emperor Cole.
Fresh characters begin the game in Praetoria, a newly-added alternate utopian Earth. (Existing characters can travel there too.) They’re neutral, but they can align themselves with the Resistance (hero) or Loyalist (villain) elements in the city. They have plenty of opportunities to shift back and forth between the two, and when they reach the intermediate step of Vigilante or Rogue, they can visit the Rogue Isles or Paragon City, respectively.Check out the full article at the page below.
Apple Games: Going Rogue
“It’s all just shades of gray in Praetoria, which is totally cool from a role-playing perspective,” Miller observes. “You are constantly making tough moral choices that change the course of your character’s story.”
“This is an opportunity to introduce ourselves to new players with a shiny new universe as well as provide a clean slate for veteran players,” lead designer Melissa Bianco says. “Veterans may know our lore from Paragon City or Rogue Isles, but this is an entirely new adventure for them and an opportunity for us to impress and challenge them in new and interesting ways. It’s a completely original game experience, a new world, and a fresh way to experience it.”
City Of Heroes: Going Rogue
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As sedans slowly disappear from the U.S. market, automakers continue to roll out new SUVs as well as redesigns of their popular SUV nameplates, with some offering electrified powertrain choices. The pace for conventional gas-powered SUVs and hybrids has slowed from the 2022 model year, however, as the spotlight has turned to new electric vehicles for 2023, with more to come through 2026.
Below are the all-new and fully redesigned gasoline and hybrid SUV choices for 2023, with links to more in-depth coverage and details of each. (Note that prices mentioned below include the destination fee.)
Related: Which SUVs, Minivans and Sedans Have the Most Cargo Space?


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In a recent TWS market study, SAR finds that the use of RISC-V cores is increasing. The RISC-V is license free core although one has sole responsibility to make the core run without any technical issues.
Fabless TWS SoC companies such as mid-to-low tier IC companies may find RISC-V cores appealing due to the cost saving reason as they do not have to a pay license fee, unlike ARM cores.
Andes Technology is one of the early companies supporting RISC-V cores and they are one of the founding members of RISC-V International Association.
It is expected that more and more design service companies may choose to provide RISC-V core implementation such as Andes Technology. Ceva, Cadence and Synopsys may choose to participate in the support of RISC-V even though they may already have their own CPU core implementation.
SAR’s latest TWS market study covers CPU cores being used in the TWS SoCs that are in the market.


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Netflix has once again re-iterated the fact that they don’t have any plans now or in the future to start running commercials on its streaming service. The brand believes that being ad-free is a core part of what makes them so attractive, and why users are loyal to them. Their long term view mission statement to investors says “We don’t offer pay-per-view or free ad-supported content. Those are fine business models that other firms do well. We are about flat-fee unlimited viewing commercial-free.”
In a letter to their investors, Netflix said : “We, like HBO, are advertising free. That remains a deep part of our brand proposition; when you read speculation that we are moving into selling advertising, be confident that this is false. We believe we will have a more valuable business in the long term by staying out of competing for ad revenue and instead entirely focusing on competing for viewer satisfaction.”
There’s been regular speculation that Netflix could be tempted into selling ads to sustain its high levels of content spending. Nomura’s Instinet revealed in a report that Netflix could generate more than a billion dollars in ad revenue each year if they dabbled with it. For eg. Hulu generated $1.4 billion in ad revenue in 2018. More than 70% of their users are on a cheaper plan with commercials.
We love the way Netflix is navigating their business model, and keeping customer experience at the core of all their decision making. Kudos!


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Editorial commentary on current issues from CU Times' editorial staff and correspondents.
At the CFPB, a checking account is a right, not a privilege.
CUNA Mutual, the NCUA and trades respond to the CFPB's announcement it will review checking account screening procedures.
The NCUA's Consumer Protection Office also gives unsatisfied members a voice.
NCUA says onsite WesCorp and other corporate examiners were limited by regs, not influenced by executives.
The CFPB will review how credit unions use reporting agencies to screen members when they open a checking account.
Supervisory committees are a serious, legitimate option in resolving complaints.
NCUA official says a lack of regulatory authority is to blame. Material loss reviews concur.
WASHINGTON – Director Richard Cordray criticizes credit unions for turning down members with Chex Systems records.
Former NCUA Board Member says the agency's Consumer Protection Office handles member problems best.


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‘New cars are getting better, but buying is harder’
Editor-in-chief Steve Fowler thinks the standard of new cars is continuing to rise, but wants to see improvement in the retail sector
Our annual celebration of the very best new cars on the market – the Auto Express Awards 2017 – has just taken place. We’ve driven more miles and tested more cars more thoroughly than anyone else to bring you the definitive list of the greatest cars you can buy today – or just dream of buying!
We’re continually blown away by the huge advancements in technology the car industry presents us with – from more efficient modes of power to cars that are on the verge of driving themselves. It’s an industry that’s presenting us with more variety and more choice than ever before, and making us raise our game when it comes to testing these new models and delivering a verdict you can trust.
For anyone who loves cars like you and us, or for those starting off on a new buying journey, that’s all great news. But it presents a big challenge if you are about to spend your cash on a new car.
It’s very easy to buy a car badly and very difficult to buy a car well. So more than ever, you’ve got to put the legwork in to make sure you buy the right car for you – with the right deal. The increasing array of models and the innovative ways to pay make that buying journey really tricky.
The recent publicity putting a cloud of concern over some of the finance deals many of us have signed up for makes it all the more important to think hard about what and how you’re buying. It’s all too easy to make an expensive mistake.
Sadly the improvements we’ve seen in the cars aren’t always mirrored by the service from dealers. Sure, there are signs of improvement. But the speed of progress in the retail sector lags way behind what the car makers are doing. It’s time for the dealers to play catch-up.
Have you recently bought a new car? Let us know about your experience below...


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Dec 10, 2015 04:26 PM IST
Luxépolis.com, India’s largest and most trusted online platform ...
- Nov 10, 2015 08:02 AM IST
VW announced the offer. The car owners have been in limbo since mid-September, when VW admitted the cars are equipped with software that turns on pollution controls during government tests and turns them off while on the road.
- Nov 03, 2015 06:34 PM IST
The US Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) said late on Monday VW used devices to rig air-pollution tests in 3.0-litre diesel engines mostly found in Audis and Porsches -- the company's biggest sources of profit.
- Nov 03, 2015 05:22 PM IST
Shortly after trading began on the Frankfurt stock exchange, VW shares tumbled 5.1 percent to 107.00 euros after US regulators accused the carmaker of fitting illegal "defeat devices" in its larger 3.0 litre diesel engines.


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APRIL has always been associated with festivity and grandeur.
NATHAN LEANDER GUMA
Like Christmas when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, shop interiors are known to be lightly decorated with sparkling doilies and tinsel.
During Easter, when Christians commemorate the death of Jesus on the cross on Good Friday and celebrate his rising from the dead on Easter Sunday, it is common for church denominations worldwide to gather and remind each other of the importance of Jesus’ death and the significance of his rising from the dead.
In shops worldwide, it is common to see decorations associated with the period, of course dominated by Easter Bunnies and eggs.
But it not only Christians who celebrate; for the non-religious and people of other religious persuasions, this is a time to catch up with friends and family. It is time to relax and go for holidays or catch up with those in the rural areas.
Television, billboards and several forms of advertising media traditionally carry commercial messages which condition people’s minds, preparing them for the holiday mood.
Business owners have been known to capitalise on the holiday whose cultural magnetic field has created a billion dollar industry around the world.
Despite the associated festivity and grandeur, the Easter holiday is not always what it used to be.
Several reasons, particularly economic hardships, have resulted in low-key celebrations over the years in Zimbabwe.
The Covid-19 pandemic is also a factor.
Obey Mabwe, a youth based in Harare, says while he has knowledge about the holiday, he does not know its importance beyond remembering Jesus’ death.
“I only know Easter from a religious perspective,” Mabwe says. “I do not even know what items to buy when the holiday comes, neither do I see reason to celebrate. All I know is that people converge at churches to worship; everything else, I am not sure.”
The young man says economic hardship have seen people like him neglecting such holidays compared to popular ones such as Valentine’s and Christmas.
“Easter comes after Valentine’s Day,” he says. “People will be under so much financial pressure as they would have already exhausted their money in February hence no need to buy luxuries. In addition, whilst Easter is about loving the Creator, people seem to care much about pleasing their partners through buying gifts on Valentine’s Day hence its loss of significance.”
Some clothing shop owners say Christian denominations have been ordering clothes in bulk ahead of Easter, boosting their sales in the process. These include choirs, praise and worship teams, and groups within the church such as ushers.
“We mainly take orders from church members who will be in need of clothes for the holiday,” said a clothes retailer at Nyanhokwe Mall in Harare’s central business district.
She however said consumers are prioritising basic commodities over luxuries like clothes. Her opinion is supported by the Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR).
CZR president Denford Mutashu says consumer purchasing behaviour is likely to be affected by inflation.
He says while Easter is known for impulsive and bulk buying, the holiday frenzy propels demand for goods and commodities.
“Our situation is unpredictable owing to low disposable incomes and the impending schools opening in May,” Mutashu says.
He says most people have no luxury to spend on booze and other niceties hence they would go for basics.
“A smaller proportion will focus on home improvement like household goods,” he adds.
According to the Zimbabwe Statistical Agency (ZimStat) report for March, Total Consumption Poverty Line (TPCL) for a family of six was estimated at ZW$58 242.
The Food Poverty Line (FPL) for one person in March 2022 was ZW$7 062.
Total Consumption Poverty Line for one person stood at ZW$9 708.15. An individual would need this amount for them not to be deemed poor. The amount is difficult to come buy, considering the salary earned by an average government employee.
A teacher in Zimbabwe earns a monthly salary of ZW$30 000, an amount insufficient to cover basics like food, health and education — let alone luxuries.
This makes it difficult for people to buy luxury goods like chocolate, Easter eggs and others over food.
To small-scale retail outlets, discounts are a golden goose. In years gone by, many retail outlets used to roll out sales promotions during the week preceding the holiday.
Nevertheless, only bigger companies selling luxury products like furniture have been offering discounts on marked products.
“If I make a discount, it would be difficult for me to cover the deficit due to low sales. It would be difficult for us to make profit, considering inflation,” said a retailer who spoke on condition of anonymity.
For various Christian denominations, the holiday will not be the same.
With a new Covid-19 variant being detected, life is unlikely to be the same. Botswana discovered new Omicron BA4 and BA5 variants.
The government has therefore warned the nation against complacency “as winter is fast approaching and the country readies for the Easter and Independence Day holidays”.
Most churches without own premises have been relying on schools during the holidays.
The director of communication and advocacy in the ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Taungana Ndoro, said such churches ought to observe national Covid-19 protocols.
This will avoid a recurrence of the time when government barred churches from renting school premises to curb the spread of the pandemic.
Zimbabwe Council of Churches secretary-general Kenneth Mtata says the church’s failure to meet this holiday is likely to have a devastating effect on congregants’ well-being.
“In addition to the effects of the pandemic to the secular economy, this has had a huge effect on the financial sustainability of churches,” he says. “But the church is a hope-giving institution. It is recovering from the pandemic to continue carrying out its task.”
In addition, Reverend Mtata says Easter holiday gatherings will give churches a chance to meet with backsliding congregants Zimbabwe Christian Ministers Association, a non-profit self-regulatory body of church ministers, believes the holiday is an opportunity for several denominations to practice goodwill.
“Our members have their churches who have been helping the vulnerable during the Covid-19 pandemic; we also worked with Higherlife Foundation, and pastors would identify the needy so they can be helped,” said Christopher Choto, a founder of the association.
“During the holiday, we will be supporting programme rolled out by our people (member churches),” Bishop Choto says. “There will be conferences just to encourage one another. I myself have got a conference also going.”
The cleric says people should use the time to iron out their differences and live as Christ counselled.
“This is where we are and we thank God,” Bishop Choto said. “The Lord has taken us this far. Let us celebrate and use Easter to forgive one another. We speak about unity and forgiveness.”


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Jersey collectors are excited about the chance to get their hands on perhaps the most expensive jersey in all of sports for a long time to come – the first MLB game-worn jersey of Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout.
Trout made his MLB debut on July 8th, 2011 against the Seattle Mariners, playing centerfield.
The Angels won the game 4-3, and Trout went 0-for-3 at the plate in the one-run win for Los Angeles.
Lelands is the auction house that is hosting the action, which will go on through April 2nd. You can click HERE to see where the jersey auction stands.
Trout is one of the hottest names in all of collecting these days, as a 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Trout Superfractor card sold last year for a whopping for $3.93 million.
TMZ reports that Lelands says that the jersey is expected to go over $1 million when the auction finally wraps up in just over a month.


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Today, the Partnership submitted testimony in support of the full adoption of Remote Online Notarization (RON), specifically Assembly Member Rozic’s bill (A.399A), which has passed the Senate (S.1780B) with near-unanimous support twice. Given increased demand – further heightened by COVID – for electronic processes for businesses and consumers, this legislation is timely and necessary to maintain New York’s competitive edge.
As of April 2021, 32 states allow for RON. New York should be responsive to this shift in how businesses and individuals transact and adopt regulatory and legislative frameworks that reflect our technological capabilities. We cannot have a needed economic resurgence in the 21st century with 20th century policy.
At the onset of New York’s shutdown, we surveyed our membership of more than 300 companies, representing 1.5 million employees in New York state, on what legal actions were needed for business continuity. A recurring request was for RON authorization. While the executive orders provided a helpful solution to some, other companies could not take advantage of executive orders due to conflicting internal compliance standards. This is mainly attributable to institutions concerned about the validity of signatures or recordings authorized by a temporary executive order. Additionally, a state-by-state patchwork of orders led to further unease. However, Assembly Member Rozic’s bill is consistent with standards in other states. RONs also have an added layer of security using built-in authentication and secure signing methods with two-way audio/visual communication, helping ensure data privacy and limiting fraud.
RONs will also prove a valuable tool for consumers. In 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that e-mortgage closings were an efficient means for loan closings, providing consumers a greater sense of control and empowerment compared to complex paper-based forms. RONs would similarly provide a streamlined process for all legal documents requiring notarization.
RONs are becoming standard practice as states such as Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Virginia authorize their use. As the preeminent global business hub, New York should be ahead of the curve in adopting technology for business and consumer legal processes. We strongly urge the Assembly to pass A.399A. Thank you for your consideration.


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Sharp will launch 4K OLED TVs, based on LG Display panels, after its 8K LCD TVs have failed to excite buyers in Japan, pushing down Sharp to third place in domestic market share, according to Nikkei.
Sharp slips to third placeSharp has seen little succes with its 8K LCD TVs, despite the launch of 8K broadcasts in late 2018 and the upcoming Tokyo Summer Olympics that will be captured and broadcast in 8K in Japan. Sharp was the leading TV brand in Japan in 2018, according to market share data by IHS Markit, but it slipped to third place in the first three quarters of 2019, trailing Sony and Panasonic. Other Japanese brands have captured sales by launching 4K OLED TVs, according to sales data. - "Sharp's struggles at the high end are the biggest reason. Sony and Panasonic are expanding sales of TVs using organic light-emitting diode displays, which have proved popular in Japan," said Nikkei citing data from IHS Markit.
Using a competitor's panelsToday, Sharp is owned primarily by Foxconn and it is producing its own 8K LCD TV panels. The OLED panels in its new 4K OLED TVs, however, are produced by LG Display. It is noteworthy that Sharp has been forced to turn to its South Korean competitor to stay competitive in the TV market, and it is obviously bad news for its 8K ambitions. The company had planned to launch 8K LCD TVs in Europe and the US in early 2019 but like other TV makers it decided to postpone the launch. Meanwhile, many leading TV makers have announced plans to launch their first OLED TVs in 2020, including Vizio, Huawei and Xiaomi. Multiple Chinese manufacturers will also expand their OLED TV business to Europe and the US. In Japan, Sharp's OLED TVs will launch in spring in 55 and 65 inches starting at 300,000 yen. The company has not commented on its plans for Europe or North America. It is not just Sharp who is struggling to sell 8K LCD TVs. As a result, IHS Markit has revised its global sales forecast for 8K TVs down from 430,000 to just 140,000 units in 2019 and down from 2 million to 630,000 units in 2020. - Source: Nikkei
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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Vans has collaborated with CoppaFeel!, a UK based breast cancer awareness charity, to bring out a new collection this October.
This collaboration includes sneakers, slides, backpacks, and hats, which all feature unique illustrations that celebrate the female body.
Vans has decided to support this mission by donating USD 200,000 of the proceeds from this collection to CoppaFeel!. The purpose of the collection is to create awareness of breast cancer while promoting the habit of 'getting checked' for early detection.
You can support the cause now by shopping the collection online and in stores.


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Attempting to take market share from Microsoft Office has become one of the great follies of recent years, but contenders continue to line up. The latest rivals are using the ubiquity of the internet to...
Introducing VideoProc, a new video processing toolkit
Data orchestration can produce accurate, continuously updated, multi-channel customer insight for marketers
Global interest in AI is rising, but Brits are afraid that Brexit will hold us back
Hyperledger is key to blockchain avoiding the challenges of the IoT
But will all of that data be a problem when the GDPR hits?


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Bee Week of Action: 27,000+ Demand Stores Stop Selling Harmful Pesticides
This week, more than 27,000 people coast-to-coast are swarming Lowe’s and Home Depot stores to support the bees that pollinate our flowers for Valentine’s Day. In a coalition campaign called the Bee Week of Action, Beyond Pesticides, Friends of the Earth and allies are delivering more than half a million petition signatures and Valentines asking these retailers to show bees some love by taking off their shelves pesticides shown to harm and kill bees and garden plants treated with these pesticides.
This national week of action is a part of a retail campaign that is calling on retailers to stop selling neonicotinoids—the most widely used class of pesticides in the world—due to a growing body of science indicating that the pesticides are a key factor in recent global bee deaths. Bees and other pollinators, essential for the two-thirds of the food crops humans eat everyday, are dwindling worldwide. Last year, U.S. beekeepers reported losing 40-100 percent of their hives, and they are likely facing another winter of historic bee die-offs.
“The science shows that neonicotinoid pesticides play a significant role in the declining health of bees and other beneficial organisms. It is therefore imperative that action be taken to protect these creatures, given the lack of action at the federal regulatory level,” said Nichelle Harriott, staff scientist at Beyond Pesticides.
A groundbreaking pilot study released last summer found that many bee-friendly garden plants sold at Home Depot and Lowe’s contain neonicotinoid pesticides with no warning to consumers. The European Union’s two-year ban on the most widely used neonicotinoids went into effect in December. In January, the European Food Safety Authority cited evidence that two neonicotinoids, acetamiprid and imadacloprid, “may affect the developing human nervous system” of children, and it recommended further restricting their use.
More than half a million Americans have signed petitions demanding that Lowe’s and Home Depot immediately stop selling off-the-shelf neonicotinoid insecticides for home garden use. Home Depot and Lowe’s have been asked to stop selling plants pre-treated with the pesticides, make third-party certified organic starts and plants available, and educate customers on their policies to protect bees and other pollinators. In response to revelations that home garden plants sold in their stores contain neonicotinoids, Home Depot said they would look into the matter and be in touch with environmental groups. They have yet to respond to requests for a meeting. Lowe’s has not made any public statements or responded to meeting requests.
Neonicotinoids are a class of insecticides that share a common mode of action that affect the central nervous system of insects, resulting in paralysis and death. These systemic pesticides, which move through the plant’s vascular system and express themselves through pollen and nectar, include imidacloprid, acetamiprid, clothianidin, dinotefuran, nithiazine, thiacloprid and thiamethoxam. A growing body of science has implicated neonicotinoids, which are applied to or incorporated into seeds for agricultural, ornamental and garden plants, as a key factor in recent global bee die-offs. Beekeepers across the country reported losses of 40-90 percent of their bees last winter.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has delayed action on neonicotinoid pesticides until 2018, despite growing evidence that they are a key factor in bee decline, and more than a million public comments urging swift protection for bees. The EPA has made recent labeling changes to try to reflect pollinator concerns, but beekeepers widely agree that they do not go far enough in bee protection. Additionally, although beekeepers have voiced their concerns about sublethal exposures, EPA has only taken steps to address acute bee poisonings, which it says are primarily caused by dust plumes from seed coatings dislodged from seed planters. Manufacturers are working to reformulate the seed coating technology to control dust, but EPA has made no move to restrict the use of the chemicals which are conclusively demonstrated to cause bee deaths through sublethal exposure.
Last March, Beyond Pesticides, Center for Food Safety, beekeepers, environmental and consumer groups filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court against the EPA for its failure to protect pollinators from dangerous pesticides. The lawsuit seeks to suspend the registrations of the neonicotinoids clothianidin and thiamethoxam, which have repeatedly been identified as highly toxic to honey bees. The suit challenges the EPA’s oversight of these bee-killing pesticides, as well as the agency’s practice of “conditional registration,” which leave critical health and environmental questions unanswered, and labeling deficiencies. Despite this suit and other public concerns and efforts regarding pesticides and the health of bees, the EPA recently registered two new active ingredients, sulfoxaflor and cyantraniliprole—both known to be highly toxic to bees.
In 2013, U.S. Rep. Conyers (D-MI) and Rep. Blumenauer (D-OR) introduced the Save American’s Pollinators Act, which will suspend the use of neonics on bee-attractive plants until EPA reviews all of the available data, including field studies. Please tell your member of Congress to support the Save American’s Pollinator Act.
Partnering with Beyond Pesticides for the Bee Week of Action is: Friends of the Earth U.S., Beelieve, Beyond Toxics, Center for Food Safety, CREDO Mobilize, Friends of the Earth Canada, Northwest Center for Pesticide Alternatives, Organic Consumers Association, Pesticide Action Network, SumOfUs and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. For a listing of cities participating in action, click here.
Visit EcoWatch’s BIODIVERSITY page for more related news on this topic.


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- Yield Guild Games (YGG), announced the successful sale of US$13.8 million worth of tokens to an investment group spearheaded by DWF Labs and a16z Crypto.
- The exact number of tokens sold was not made public, it is estimated that YGG’s sale constituted over 35% of their treasury, worth an estimated US$25 million as of November 2022.
Yield Guild Games (YGG), a platform for renting NFTs in blockchain games, has announced the successful sale of US$13.8 million worth of tokens to an investment group spearheaded by DWF Labs and Andreessen Horowitz’s Web3-focused fund—A16Z Crypto. YGG co-founder Gabby Dizon revealed that they would invest these funds to develop their soulbound reputation token technology further.
Last year, YGG successfully test-launched its reputation tokens to reward players for in-guild activities such as content creation. Additionally, the company collaborates with developers to integrate the token into their games and offers rewards for completing certain quests or tasks. With plans to unveil a revamped web app at San Francisco’s Game Developers Conference in late March this year, these tokens are set to become an integral part of YGG’s platform ecosystem.
The co-founder of YGG emphasized that people recognize the platform as a source for high-quality players. He also revealed that they had revamped their web app, adding new technology to better support and reward accomplishments with reputation tokens. This token purchase by a16z and DWF Labs marks the second time both companies have invested in gaming on this platform – joining YGG’s US$4.6 million round back in 2021.
Andrei Grachev, the managing partner at DWF Labs, stated that they have committed to support YGG as part of their mission towards a blockchain-based economy through Web3. Dizon noted that the token sale ended late last year; however, the announcement was postponed due to an abundance of negative news in the crypto industry during this time frame. Fortunately, despite sinking lows in 2022, where YGG’s token reached US$0.16 per unit – it has skyrocketed 200% at the start of 2023.
Although the exact number of tokens sold was not made public, it is estimated that YGG’s sale constituted over 35% of their treasury, worth an estimated US$25 million as of November 2022. When queried about how they arrived at such a figure for their token sale, Dizon replied that the organization strategically balanced development costs with the mind of remaining financially stable.
With a 45% reserve of the firm’s token maximum supply under its control, YGG has US$21.7 million worth of tokens in their treasury wallet per Nansen.ai figures from February 15th, including US$5.1 million in Tether (USDT) and US$4 million in USDC.


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This is a Guest Post by AK of Fallible
The big news last week was Apple (AAPL) cutting first quarter revenue guidance on weaker than expected iphone sales.
Apple gapped down on the news, bringing its recent selloff to close to -40% from all-time highs.
Tim Cook blamed the lowered guidance on slowing the slowing Chinese economy. Here’s Tim Cook explaining the miss:
While we anticipated some challenges in key emerging markets, we did not foresee the magnitude of the economic deceleration, particularly in Greater China. In fact, most of our revenue shortfall to our guidance, and over 100 percent of our year-over-year worldwide revenue decline, occurred in Greater China across iPhone, Mac and iPad…
Lower than anticipated iPhone revenue, primarily in Greater China, accounts for all of our revenue shortfall to our guidance and for much more than our entire year-over-year revenue decline. In fact, categories outside of iPhone (Services, Mac, iPad, Wearables/Home/Accessories) combined to grow almost 19 percent year-over-year.
In much of the world Apple enjoys the high retention rate of 80% amongst iPhone users; meaning iPhone users tend to buy new iPhones rather than, say, an Android. But, in China, due to the ubiquitousness of WeChat, Apple’s iOS holds a less prominent place in the Chinese user’s mindspace — the iPhone retention rate is only 50% there.
And so, the major differentiator then for the Chinese consumer, becomes the look of the phone itself (ie, it’s role as a status symbol). Since the most recent iPhone product cycles have not materially changed its appearance there’s been less reason for Chinese people to upgrade. Hence, the recent disappointing sales…
Check out more from Alex at Macro Ops here: https://macro-ops.com/
As always, stay Fallible out there investors!
***All content, opinions, and commentary by Fallible is intended for general information and educational purposes only, NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE.


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In a bid to compete more directly with Apple, Samsung has announced that in the coming months it will open 1,400 Samsung Experience shops within Best Buy stores around the US.
Following an agreement made by Sammy and Best Buy in December, the venture will see 900 stores open across the country by May, with many of the stores opening for business as soon as this month. It's hoped that the entire project will be rolled out by the end of June, reports All Things D.
It's that kind of speed and scale which prompted Samsung to abandon initial plans of opening its own chain of stores, instead joining forces with Best Buy. While it might not carry the same prestige as a Samsung-only store, the ease of roll-out makes up for it. And, as Ketrina Dunagan, the Samsung VP heading the retail effort, explains, "seventy percent of consumers live within 10 miles of a Best Buy."
So, what can you expect to see when you get there? Depending on the store, between two and four tables of Samsung tablets, phones, cameras and laptops, plus a wall of accessories and a help desk. The stores will be manned by Best Buy employees, along with specialist Samsung hires who will be able help with some, but not all, hardware and software issues.
In essence, then, they'll be like Apple Store-lites, offering a similar, but scaled-down, version of the services that Jobs and co currently offer. But for a first dabble in the world of physical retails, perhaps that's no bad thing. [All Things D]


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DAVID Butler of PayasUgym.com has been shortlisted for UK telephone sales executive of the year at this year’s National Sales Awards, in partnership with Huthwaite International.
David will now represent the UK health and fitness sector as he battles it out for the prestigious award, with the winner being revealed at a ceremony on November 7.
CEO of PayasUgym.com Jamie Ward said: “We are delighted that David has been nominated to represent the health and fitness industry at the National Sales Awards in partnership with Huthwaite International.
“His contribution to establishing the payasUgym.com network of more than 1,400 health clubs over the past two years has been invaluable.”
Go backPosted on 1st October 2013


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Promoth Manghat in a one-on-one interview with Gulf News talks about the brand’s expansion plans.
Home grown financial services firm UAE Exchange has business operations spanning 31 countries which it built over the past 35 years mostly through organic growth. The company expects to see faster global expansion, during the next few years, Promoth Manghat, chief executive officer told Gulf News in an Interview.
UAE Exchange’s new global strategy is closely linked to the $1.2 billion (Dh4.4 billion) acquisition of foreign exchange firm Travelex by its shareholders last year. While both Travelex and the UAE Exchange will continue to remain as two independent brands, the group is working on strategies to utilise synergies of both businesses to gain foothold in newer markets.
“Shareholders of both the UAE Exchange and Travelex are the same. They are working on initiatives to fully realise the synergies. So far, the UAE exchange has been expanding organically, but the arrival of Travelex to the group will certainly give a big boost to our global aspirations,” said Manghat,
As a stand-alone entity, the UAE Exchange is already big in the Middle East, South Asia and South East Asia. Though the company is present in Europe and UK markets, it is not a dominant brand. But with Travelex coming into the fold, the equation is set to change dramatically.
“UAE Exchange is the leader in remittances. We have a share of more than 6 per cent of the global remittances market. When it comes to Travelex, they have a leadership position in foreign exchange business. So the group now has market leadership both in terms of remittance and foreign exchange business,” Manghat said.
The group is currently working on strategies to fully utilise the complementarities both businesses share. While the UAE Exchange largely caters to low to middle income customers, Travelex’s customer base constitutes mostly of Middle to high income strata. At the group level, the combination of both these business have access to a wide spectrum of customer base.
While greater integration of businesses of UAE Exchange and Travelex are on cards, Manghat said it will be a relatively long process as both companies operate in varying jurisdictions are regulated by a number of regulators. Thus a number of initiatives will be subject to regulatory clearance.
“The intent of the shareholders is to bring both businesses under one single umbrella. Right from the time the acquisition was announced, the management has maintained that there will be greater integration and eventually, it will go for an initial public offering (IPO),” said Manghat.
Following the acquisition of Travelex, the group has announced plans to bring both business under United Global, a holding company which is expected to go public by the end of 2016 or early 2017, subject to regulatory clearances and market conditions.
Keeping with the strategy to go public as a unified entity, the business integration process has already begun. In markets where Travelex and the UAE Exchange have overlapping businesses, such operations are getting streamlined to achieve maximum efficiency.
Going forward, the group wants to be a globally dominant player in foreign exchange, remittances and payments. At ancillary level, the company has plans to engage in other businesses such as banking.
“The acquisition of Travelex has come with two banking licences in countries such as France and Brazil. We are making attempts to get a banking licence in India too. Depending on markets we may look at such businesses but from a global perspective it is remittances, forex and payments that will be the core business of the Group,” said Manghat.
Factbox: Remittance leadership
- UAE Exchange handles more than $13 billion plus from the UAE and $26 billion globally.
- It handled $25.40 billion forex volume globally in 2014.
- Out of the $414 billion remittance flows to the developing world, UAE Exchange has 6 per cent market share.
- UAE Exchange handles 10 per cent of remittances to India.
- From 1980 to 2014, the remittance business of UAE Exchange has grown by a whopping CAGR of 33 per cent.
- The brand handles over 13.2 million customers worldwide through its 800 branches across 31 countries in five continents.
- In 2014, UAE Exchange remitted $6.80 billion to India, $1.64 billion to Pakistan, $1.27 billion to Bangladesh, $1.25 billion to the Philippines and $1.07 million to China.
The article was published in Gulf News dated: January 24, 2016.


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Evolution also confirms that its all running on their custom engine.
All of a sudden there is a renewed interesting in DriveClub, the upcoming racer from Evolution Studios. The developers revealed their awesome weather system in DriveClub which honestly deserves to be called next-gen but it seems we will see more of that in the coming weeks and months.
Industry insider Tidux has teased that the game even looks better with snow and ice. “Did you think the rain looked awesome in #driveclub wait until you get to see snow/ice , and when it’s melting!,” he tweeted. As usual any insider information should be taken with a grain of salt but Tidux has been right in the past regarding PS4 firmware updates and the Uncharted 4 E3 2014 teaser.
On a related note, Fred Dutton who is the SCEE Blog Manager has revealed that a lot of gameplay footage will be released before the game’s launch but there are no plans to provide a download for uncompressed 1080p footage of the game. “No immediate plans for that, but we’ll have lots more great footage coming your way over the next few months,” he said in the comments section of the PS Blog.
Fred also revealed that they are working on the list of all the supported wheels and will confirm once they have all the details. In case you are wondering what engine DriveClub is running on, Jamie Brayshaw from Evolution Studios has confirmed that they are using their own custom engine for the same.
DriveClub releases this October exclusively on the PlayStation 4.


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The Web: 'Wild West' of the Internet
The Wild West ethos that animated the Internet during its first decade of commercial popularity is being tamed through litigation, experts tell United Press International's The Web.
This week the controversial peer-to-peer file-sharing service Grokster Inc. announced a settlement with the music industry, and its Korean counterpart, Seoul-based Soribada, completely shuttered its service.
"This is a chapter that ends on a high note for the recording industry, the tech community and music fans and consumers everywhere. At the end of the day, this is about our ability to invest in new music," said Mitch Bainwol, chairman and chief executive officer of the Recording Industry Association of America, a trade group based in Washington D.C. "An online marketplace populated by legitimate services allows us to do just that."
According to the sales monitoring service Nielsen SoundScan, an average of 6.6 million songs were purchased online each week as of the spring of this year, but that number had increased to 6.7 million last month. Millions more, however, were downloaded and traded for free over the P2P services during that time.
Grokster had been involved in litigation for years and earned a reputation in the Internet as a rogue's rogue. The record industry blamed the firm -- and others like it, some now using hidden "darknet" technology to avoid detection -- for the decline in music-industry sales, down by more than 30 percent in the last three years.
Even major musicians joined the fight against Grokster, with more than 50 stars and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences hiring the entertainment law firm Proskauer Rose to represent their interests, a spokesman for the law firm told The Web. The "major musicians' trade groups, and the international copyright community" also joined the fray, the spokesman said.
The litigation reached its apex this summer when the Supreme Court ruled against the P2P service in the case of MGM vs. Grokster. Other cases filed in Australia and Taiwan also went against file sharing. On Monday Grokster said it would pay a close-to $40 million settlement with the nation's record labels, Hollywood studios and music publishers. A consent agreement was submitted to the court on Monday for its approval.
"This settlement brings to a close an incredibly significant chapter in the story of digital music," said Bainwol.
The settlement includes a permanent order prohibiting infringement -- either directly or indirectly -- of any of the plaintiffs' copyrighted recordings. This includes immediately ceasing distribution of the Grokster software client application and eventually ceasing to operate the Grokster system and software. This summer, in its unanimous decision in the Grokster case, the Supreme Court noted that in regard to the defendants' actions, "the unlawful objective is unmistakable."
According to David Israelite, chairman and chief executive officer of the National Music Publishers Association, the market for legal downloading of music, using P2P and other technologies, is slowly emerging.
Since the Supreme Court's ruling in June, the legitimate online marketplace has already begun to expand. In addition to legal download and subscription services like Rhapsody, Napster, iTunes, Wal-Mart.com, Sony Connect, Yahoo! Music and others, a nascent legal P2P network marketplace is emerging. Joining firms like Wurld Media, PassAlong and Intent Media in the legal P2P space, iMesh recently announced a legal P2P business model and the launch of a newly configured service.
Some record companies have also announced licensing agreements in recent months with companies like Snocap and Mashboxx. "Now that a legal online entertainment environment has been established, the ultimate winners in the Grokster case are the music fans, who now have more options than ever before to hear the music they love," said Israelite.
Some music fans had reacted harshly to the crackdown on the P2P technology, claiming that they had a right to use the music, irrespective of national or international copyright laws. Some claimed that the music industry should stop hassling consumers -- college kids in dorms, high schoolers on their home PCs -- and focus on creating a product that people actually wanted to pay for, rather than sample online.
This attitude, spread over the Internet, was prevalent in the United States and in Asia as well, and was promoted by a civil-rights activist group in Korea called Civil Action.
The Korean firm, Soribada, received a lot of positive press in Asia for fighting against the international music industry. But this summer it too lost a court case filed by the U.S. recording industry and this week finally announced that is would shut down rather than pay a $10,000-a-day fine to stay open. The P2P service reportedly helped distribute 810,000 sound recordings, mostly for free and without a license from the record companies.
The owners of the Korean firm are not being held personally liable for the illegal activities of their users. But outside experts such as John Kennedy, the chairman and chief executive officer of IFPI, an international trade association that represents recording artists, said in a statement that the entire P2P business was built on copyright infringement.
Other leading music-industry experts readily agreed.
"The owners and operators of Grokster -- like numerous other online services all across the globe -- heard nine U.S. Supreme Court justices speak in a unanimous voice -- a voice that was heard loud and clear," Bainwol concluded. "As the Court articulated in no uncertain terms, there is a right way and a wrong way to conduct a business. This settlement makes clear that businesses are well aware when they are operating on the wrong side of that line. Record companies have demonstrated a strong desire to work with a variety of legitimate online enterprises that respect the rights of creators and provide high-quality music to fans. The technology is available, and others are already paving the way."
Copyright 2005 by United Press International


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Five hundred cartons of bananas set sail for New Zealand from Samoa just yesterday (17 October), which the industry hopes will pave the way for further commercial volumes.
The first commercial trial shipment will spend five days in transit before clearing New Zealand customs and landing in the hands of distributor, Fresh Direct.
Samoa Observer reported the Samoan banana industry is hoping the shipment will arrive and clear customs with ease, as farmers have worked hard to recoup from cyclone Gita earlier this year.
Nearly 100 other farmers received planting materials over the course of this year, signalling a promising future for commercial banana exports from Samoa, said the president of the Banana Growers Association, Tuisugaletaua Sofara Aveau.
“This shipment is a trial for commercial sale, which hasn’t been done for almost fifty years,” he added.
Tuisugaletaua will accompany some of the banana farmers involved on a trip to New Zealand to welcome the shipment on arrival. There they will check on the container and follow it through quarantine.
The export project has been some two years in the making, and through it has seen a small trial load of bananas sent to New Zealand last June, as well as the formation of the Banana Growers Association.
Should it be successful, farm manager of Ah Liki, Johanna Coyle said she hopes to ship bananas as frequently as once a week.
“All the farmers, as a whole need to justify getting a weekly departure to New Zealand by putting up enough produce,” she noted.
Currently, containers depart Samoa for New Zealand every 12-14 days.


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A satisfied smile lights up the familiar face of Kim Knopf during a recent visit to her newest Mattress Warehouse location at Riverwalk Plaza in South Charleston. The store isn't far from the first Mattress Warehouse store she opened on Seventh Avenue in 1983. Today, under the Innovative Mattress Solutions umbrella, she oversees 150 stores in six states and employs 500 people.
"I was one of the ...
... first females in our industry. ...
... It's still totally male-dominated."
In 1977, at Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, Ky., Kim Knopf (kneeling far left) played on a basketball team that won a state championship. She also served as president of the student council.
Hands-on in every respect, Kim Knopf of Mattress Warehouse was photographed inspecting the cab of a Sealy mattress truck at distribution headquarters in Winfield in the late 1980s.
A high school photo from 1977 shows Kim Knopf (center) with two of her friends.
Gazette photo by Kenny Kemp.....7.95x5.6.....Kim Knopf, owner of Mattress Warehouse....


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"Notorious $5000 deals with YouTubers and streamers will fade. It's a matter of honesty"
Loots co-founder Marc Fuehnen discusses the increasing need for transparency when marketing through influencers
There has been a major shift in how consumers access games coverage, and by extension how publishers and other marketers access those consumers.
Video is the now well-established king of getting eyeballs on your game, and the oft-touted 'influencers' are the masters of this market. But as the audience for YouTubers and Twitch streamers grows, so do the needs of advertisers.
"The industry's need to communicate through marketing has increased a lot," Marc Fuehnen, co-founder and CEO of Loots, tells GamesIndustry.biz. "The total number of product releases reached new highs in 2016, visibility in digital distribution is very limited, we see high volatility in prices, and on top of that an increasing number of DLC releases, free updates, patches. All of that information needs to find an audience, and if that audience moves to different channels the industry needs to find ways to follow.
"In 2015, it was clear that live streaming of gaming content, tolerated by developers and publishers, is here to stay and that live audiences are of great value for advertisers. Today, the industry's interest in influencers is higher than ever - but focus and dealing have changed significantly over time.
"What started out as a small group of internet celebrities and strong opinion leaders in specific fields has developed into more of a standalone media category today. For example, in 2013 the endorsement of a single Minecraft Lets-Player might have caused enough attention to leave a visible footprint in that community. Today we see literally hundreds of Minecraft Lets-Players, audiences split up among channels and the individual deal has lost most of its value."
The growth of this new media category, however, has made it increasingly hard for the PR and marketing teams at games publishers to manage all the influencers they reach out to and work with. Rising marketing costs and the need to compensate for impressions lost in other areas of the games media also add to the pressure. Fuehnen says in this situation, the past approach of building direct relationships and negotiating individual endorsement deals "simply doesn't scale anymore".
There's another issue when it comes to marketing around influencers: while YouTubers earn from not only publisher deals but also advertising around their videos, Twitch streamers have much more limited ways of monetising their content, and therefore maintaining these valuable channels.
"Today, the industry's interest in influencers is higher than ever - but focus and dealing have changed significantly over time"
"In 2016, we roughly saw 3.6m streamers going live in gaming, across all major networks, but less than 1% of this group have real access to monetisation," says Fuehnen. "The network's partner programs often require significant viewer numbers, sponsorships are available only for the top 1% of the 1%."
Enter Loots, Fuehnen's new venture with colleague Brian Muldown. Both coders, the duo turned their talents to coming up with a solution specifically aimed at live streaming that would help channels monetise and marketers access these audiences.
The premise is simple. One of the few ways streamers can monetise is asking for donations and "real dollar tips" from viewers. With Loots, viewers still send these donations and tips but it's the advertiser that pays for them. Donators' messages still appear on the stream, now surrounded by an advertisement with a link for anyone wishing to purchase that product.
"All parties win," Fuehnen claims. "Viewers don't need to spend their own money any more, streamers gain a new revenue channel and advertisers get access, are visible and even clickable during the live stream."
The service launched in August with the plan of having 100 broadcasters signed up by the end of 2016. Instead, that goal was reached within a fortnight and Loots had more than 4,000 streamers on board by the year's end. 30,000 tips are currently sent every day, pushing those branded messages to more than 15m viewers.
"Bad news hurts both parties, but it's the channels that take the most damage. Once you lose trust in a broadcaster it's hard to have fun with him, or accept any recommendations."
Loots has also been able to secure notable partners from the games industry. Bethesda used the system to advertise Skyrim and Dishonored 2, Bandai Namco pushed the Ashes of Ariandel DLC for Dark Souls 3 and Gameforge attached Dropzone beta keys to every message. These branded tips messages are even being used to push hardware thanks to a partnership with Razer.
Crucially, it is always made abundantly clear that these messages are ads and in no way interfere with the content. Just because Bethesda is advertising Skyirm every time someone donates does not mean the streamer is obliged to play this or any other Elder Scrolls game. Loots has taken care to ensure the ads and the relationship with streamers is as transparent as possible.
"All tip messages come with campaign art and logos, they contain clear calls to action and and go by the name of 'Sponsored Tips'," explains Fuehnen. "Streamers themselves promote loots verbally/visually as 'donations that are free because of ads displayed in the background'.
"The financial model behind sponsored tips is publicly documented. Streamers are free to give away their exact numbers/earnings to third parties at any time, we do not demand/enforce secrecy or even NDAs."
It's an important point to clarify in an age where YouTubers in particular are under scrutiny. Numerous cases have emerged over the past few years where marketing deals have been made between channel hosts and publishers but not publicly disclosed. While agencies around the world are better defining what counts as advertising and product placement when it comes to social media, it's still the games industry's responsibility to hold itself to higher standards if further controversies are to be avoided - something Fuehnen says many companies are taking to heart.
"The notorious $5000 influencer deals where Agency X offers Streamer Y playing Game Z will fade"
"While influencers might not face consequences other than formal takedown notices, at the corporate level transparency has now become a legal requirement for advertising in the influencer space," says Fuehnen.
"On the streamer side things changed dramatically in late 2015 when the total number of broadcasters exploded across networks - as a result building an audience has become the hardest thing to do. That also means that an existing viewership has become the most valuable asset and many broadcasters live in constant fear to lose it because re-building it today seems to be impossible. This has changed drastically the way broadcasters treat their audience. Quality is now state of the art, streaming has become a matter of honesty, transparency about sources of revenue an important differentiator."
News of undisclosed deals are often widely covered by the traditional games press in particular - in some cases out of self-interest to prove the new channels that have stolen their readerships aren't as infallible as many consumers believe. When such stories emerge, Fuehnen says the "bad news hurts both parties, but it's the channels that take the most damage".
"They will lose audiences that they most likely cannot regain because the relationship between the most loyal viewers and the broadcaster is a very personal one," he explains. "Once you lose trust in a broadcaster it's hard to have fun with him, or accept any recommendations."
The relationship between publishers and those YouTubers and streamers that offer such valuable audiences is maturing - on both sides - to the point where Fuehnen expects scandals of undisclosed partnerships to become a thing of the past. Alternative services such as Loots offer a more honest way to advertise and one more in keeping with the personas stream and video hosts intend to present.
"The notorious $5000 influencer deals where Agency X offers Streamer Y playing Game Z for two hours while tweeting about it will fade," says Fuehnen, adding: "The increasing scale of the influencer category will make automation one of the biggest trends in 2017. Advertiser demand for reliable targeting and live performance tracking will rise significantly."


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On September 20 Coca-Cola will gather its associates, partners, representatives of governmental and non-governmental organizations and all those, who are interested, for the 5th Annual Coastal Cleanup Day to clear the coastal line of Caspian Sea.
Buzovna coast will be cleaned in frames of this campaign. This action has been supported by Coca-Cola Company for 19 years and is the world's largest volunteer effort of collecting millions of pounds of trash and debris from beaches, lakes and waterways. The first mobile provider in Azerbaijan Bakcell will join this campaign for the first time this year. EcoSfera non-governmental organization and information and entertainment portal Friday.az will support Coastal Cleanup Day for the first time as well. National Olympic Committee, ADA University, Təmiz Şəhər Company and YouthInc, program for young etrepreneurs, are regular partners of the campaign.
"Coca-Cola Company takes care of the welfare of society, protection of environment and the Planet. We are urging everyone wishing to make their contribution in cleaning Caspian seaside to come and participate in this wonderful event that is organized in Baku 5th time. It is not only about cleaning the seaside, but also valuing the natural environment and nurturing a culture of responsible and careful attitude towards the Nature",- said Cem Becel, general manager of Coca-Cola Bottlers Azerbaijan.
The campaign will be held on the territory of Buzovna coast on September 20, 2014 under "Pick it up, Clean it up, Sea change" slogan. All participants will be provided with transport, t-shirts, beverages, food and necessary equipment by Coca-Cola Company.
In frames of the same campaign in 2013 6 tons of debris was collected from the territory of 26 hectares in Mardakan district. Last year around 650 000 friends of Coca-Cola Company from 27 countries joined this initiative cleaning 20 000 km of coastline.
For participating in the campaign call 436-90-67/ 436-85-09, send a letter confirming participation on firstname.lastname@example.org e-mail or register on Facebook page of the campaign https://www.facebook.com/CCDCocaColaAz .
Since 1995, Coca-Cola has maintained a strong partnership with Ocean Conservancy. In 2011, the Company helped launch the Trash Free Seas Alliance along with Ocean Conservancy. This Alliance of diverse businesses, NGOs, scientific institutions and community groups share a commitment to drive action and foster innovation to understand the causes of marine debris and are working to eliminate ocean trash.
About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world's most valuable brands, our Company's portfolio features 17 billion-dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of more than 1.9 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system associates. For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo or visit our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com or find us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/the-coca-cola-company.


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Spam Allstars to jam at Brother Jimmy's Dolphin Mall grand opening
The Southern-flavored restaurant opens its third location with a bang.
Brother Jimmy's, the New York-based restaurant selling North Carolina-style barbecue, continues its march into Miami, opening its third Miami-Dade location this week.
The newest BJ's, in the Dolphin Mall at 11401 NW 12st St., joins a South Miami sibling that opened this spring at 5701 Sunset Dr. and a 2-year-old Brickell location at 900 S. Miami Ave.
The restaurant will celebrate its grand opening with mechanical bull rides on Friday evening and a performance by Spam Allstars at 10 p.m. Saturday. Line dancing and a PeaceLoveWorld kid's fashion show help round out the festivities.
Brother Jimmy's BBQ
11401 NW 12th St., Miami (Dolphin Mall)
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VeChain, a leading force in the blockchain arena, is gearing up for a groundbreaking move: the introduction of smart contract wallets. This transformative step sets the stage for connecting billions of people and companies worldwide, solidifying VeChain’s position as a pioneer in the ever-evolving blockchain landscape.
Unveiling Account Abstraction:
Sparking excitement within the VeChain community, the announcement reveals VeChain’s foray into Account Abstraction (AA) – the key to unlocking smart contract wallets. This innovation, detailed by prominent member eisenreich, promises a future of seamless user experience and widespread adoption.
VeChain’s dedication to security is evident in its choice to implement ERC-4337 AA, ensuring highly secure programmable wallets for the ecosystem. To guarantee the utmost stability, VeChain has partnered with Electi Consulting and renowned cybersecurity firm Hacken for a meticulous audit of the smart contracts involved. This comprehensive approach ensures the highest standards are met before deployment on both Testnet and Mainnet.
Connecting the World with Transparency:
VeChain’s focus on inclusivity extends beyond technical prowess. The user-friendly interface of its smart contract wallets aims to bridge the gap between traditional users and complex blockchain technology, fostering mass adoption and a truly connected global network.
This dedication to accessibility aligns perfectly with VeChain’s already substantial achievements in the supply chain industry. By enabling stakeholders to automate and execute agreements via smart contracts, VeChain empowers businesses to achieve unprecedented levels of transparency and traceability.
A Legacy of Innovation:
VeChain’s portfolio of pioneering initiatives speaks volumes about its forward-thinking approach. The coffee industry collaboration, where consumers can trace the journey of their favorite beverage, exemplifies blockchain’s practical application in promoting transparency and trust.
Moreover, VeChain’s partnership with Google Cloud, a tech titan, underscores the real-world potential of smart contracts beyond mere speculation. Google Cloud’s Blockchain Node Engine empowers users to leverage the power of blockchain for data access, transactions, smart contract development, and dApp deployment.
Further adding to its impressive arsenal, VeChain’s VORJ platform empowers anyone, regardless of coding expertise, to build dApps, create tokens and NFTs, and even launch DAOs.
VeChain Market Outlook and Beyond:
At the time of writing, VET, VeChain’s native token current price is $0.02855351, with a 24-hour trading volume of $43.98M. VET is -3.00% in the last 24 hours, with a circulating supply of 72.71B VET coins and a maximum supply of 86.71B VET coins. VET ranks 45 by market cap.
This positive sign, coupled with analyst predictions from social media figures like AJ naming VET as a top pick for 2024, paints a promising picture for the future.
VeChain’s smart contract wallets are more than just a technical upgrade; they represent a bold step towards a future where blockchain technology connects billions, empowers individuals, and fuels a new era of transparency and trust. As VeChain continues to push boundaries and forge innovative partnerships, its leadership position in the blockchain space looks ever more assured.


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By Benzamin Matata and Mariam Namakula
The system meant to preserve over 4 tonnes of perishable horticultural products for a period of at least three weeks which was funded by USAID through International Centre for Evaluation and Development (ICED) based in Kenya, cost $16,000 (about Shs60m)
Coolbot cold room system targets small scale farmer groups and vegetable vendors with 70% women and 30% men across West Nile Region however, first installed at Omia Foods in Arua city with plans of installing it in other West Nile districts.
Speaking at the launch on Wednesday, Associate Prof. Simon Katrini Anguma, the Vice chancellor of Muni University revealed how the project made alot of business sense especially that farmers utilized buying and filling the cool bot to its capacity.
The vice chancellor alluded to the fact that many west Nilers were loosing our on alot of money to trucks that were bringing in perishables especially vegetables and were not used for any production.
” As long as we are just spending our money, we will not grow. Being known as a highly consumption place, we need to start selling something that retains money in West Nile then our lives will start to change,”he said.
West Nile is known for it’s power interruption issues and currently the region is not connected to the National grid and highly dependent on any other grid something that has always come with a high expense
Prof. Robert Kajobe, the research professor at Muni University also present emphasized the need to effectively develop such projects paying more attention to off grid and solar powered systems in order to cut power expense and interruptions.
On the side of farmers Razaki Omia, the Chief Executive Officer of Omia Agribusiness Group Limited noted that the system is to help farmers in the Region to produce horticultural foods on large scale other than importing vegetable goods from other regions.
This according to Dr. Penninah Yumbya, the East African Regional Hub Manager for ICED was to also improve on nutritional well being of the masses as the region is among those spotted on malnutrition cases.
“Research has recommended that whenever serving food half of it must be either fruit or vegetables for nutritional benefits. And so to be able to push that we need to support our farmers and local institutions so that we can have horticultural produce fruits and vegetables being produced and consumed for improved nutrients,”Dr Yumbya emphasized.


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‘Indian call centres selling personal data’
London: Indian call centres are selling Britons’ confidential personal data, including credit card information, medical and financial records to criminals and marketing firms for as little as two pence, an undercover investigation has discovered.
Two ‘consultants’, claiming to be IT workers at several call centres boasted of possessing 45 different sets of personal information on nearly 500,000 Britons.
IT consultant Naresh Singh met the undercover reporters in a hotel room in Gurgaon, carrying a laptop containing confidential data.
“These [pieces of data] are ones that have been sold to somebody already. This is Barclays, this is Halifax, this is Lloyds TSB. We’ve been dealing so long we can tell the bank by just the card number,” The Daily Mail quoted Singh as saying.
“They would just have got the credit card and not only credit cards, that would be debit card as well,” he added.
The information, much of which is related to customers at major financial companies, including HSBC and NatWest, would allow criminals to siphon thousands of pounds from bank accounts within minutes.
Many British companies have outsourced services to the India but some have withdrawn them following an outrage over the use of foreign workers.
Indian authorities said their efforts to combat corruption have been thwarted by the unwillingness of companies, keen to avoid negative publicity, reporting data losses.
The government is now being called on to take stringent action against widespread reports of data insecurity.
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@Networking & Communication
Airtel, BSNL, Nokia Collaborate To Scale Up To 5G
The telecom players betting big on rolling out 5G in India is a clear indication of fast adoption of the technology.
APAC To Be The Largest Fiber Optics Market By 2021: Study
Rising end-use applications such as telecom, CATV, premises, and sensors are driving the market for fiber optics, said a recent report.
Device Spend Will Rise 2% To $600bn In 2017: Gartner
Chinese vendors' upgrades will increase basic-phone ASPs by 4 percent…
9 Reasons D&O Insurance Is Must For Organizations
In recent years, the role of directors and officers has become more stringent and challenging, given the increasing responsibilities and litigation pressure.
Ericsson Appoints Nunzio Mirtillo As New Head of Market For India
Mirtillo brings to the position nearly three decades of experience with Ericsson, including roles in solutions development, sales, marketing and delivery.
RJio Strikes Again: Telcos' Fight Is Consumers' Gain
The new Reliance Jio Summer Surprise offer will continue to bleed the industry, cellular operators' body COAI said in a statement
Digital Efforts Don't Match Customer Expectations: Study
Despite the investment to digitize customer experiences, many executives fail to fully understand what motivates consumers to adopt and engage in new experiences
Micromax Forays Into Premium Smartphone Segment
The company launches 4G smartphone Dual 5 priced at Rs 24,999...
Indian Wearable Market Clocks 2.5 Mn Units in 2016: IDC
IDC highlights that that Indian wearable market clocks 2.5 million units in 2016, Low cost fitness trackers being key driver.
Xiaomi To Create 20K Jobs in India By 2020: Report
Founder Lei Jun recently said that India is one of the significant markets for the company and it aims to create 20,000 jobs by 2020.


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Drinking coffee is a part of the morning routine of many people but most of them are not aware of its health benefits. A recent showed that drinking multiple cups of coffee every day can significantly reduce the risk of chronic liver disease. According to this study, people who drink 3 to 4 cups of coffee every day have a 21% lower risk of developing this disease. Meanwhile, they are 49% less likely to die of this condition.
The research appeared recently in the BMC Public Health journal.
Dr. Oliver Kennedy, the author of this study suggested that the results of this study show that we may use coffee as a preventive measure against chronic liver disease. Also, Dr. Kennedy said coffee is widely available all across the world, even in third-world countries where the rate of this disease is the highest.
There are many risk factors in daily life that can lead to chronic liver disease. Some of these factors include drinking excessive alcohol, smoking, overweight, diabetes, hepatitis, and fatty liver disease. In fatty liver disease, fat accumulates in the cells of the liver and hinders its functions. This disease is not a consequence of drinking alcohol but it can lead to chronic liver problems.
The recent study took data from the UK Biobank to examine the coffee intake of 494,584 participants. Later, they followed that cases for more than a decade to note the effects of coffee consumption on their health.
The research team observed the maximum benefits in the participants who consumed ground coffee instead of instant coffee. They also noticed that the benefits appeared more or less the same for caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee. Also, ground coffee is rich in antioxidants that lower inflammation in the body.
Previously, many studies showed the health benefits of coffee against several illnesses. It not only lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes but helps eliminate factors that lead to skin cancer. Moreover, it is beneficial for preventing Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, prostate cancer, and other chronic diseases.
According to the American Heart Association, the additives in coffee such as milk and sugar can negate its health benefits. Most of the studies conducted on the health benefits of coffee involve participants who drink back coffee. Therefore, the regular consumption of nondairy and sugary additives can do more harm than good.
Researchers also advise against overconsumption of coffee as it can lead to negative effects. The high intake of caffeine poses serious side effects and can distort the sleeping pattern. It is also linked to symptoms of restlessness and dizziness. People who take more than 4 cups of coffee every day also report headaches, dehydration, and anxiety.
The results of this research are only applicable to adults over the age of 18 years. Researchers do not recommend the consumption of caffeine in the form of coffee or any energy drink for children or adolescents. Also, people with health conditions such as diabetes or insomnia should consult a doctor before incorporating coffee in their diet.


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DailyTech reported yesterday on GM's announcement that it had found a buyer for the Hummer brand of heavy utility vehicles. The mystery buyer promised to take on the brand and help expand its international presence. In the process it saved a number of jobs at Hummer plants and helped GM complete a major step toward moving out of bankruptcy.
Now the identity of the mystery buyer has been revealed. Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company Ltd., a Chinese industrial firm, will be purchasing the brand and attempting to revive it.
States Yang Yi, chief executive of Tengzhong, "We plan to ... allow Hummer to innovate and grow in exciting new ways under the leadership and continuity of its current management team."
He did, however, hint at changes stating that the deal "will allow Hummer to better meet demand for new products such as more fuel-efficient vehicles in the U.S."
The companies hope to have the deal finalized by September. The deal does not concern the military Hummer technology owned by defense contractor AM General, which licensed the brand name to GM for civilian vehicle purposes. AM General will now, in turn, license the name to Sichuan Tengzhong, which will continue the civilian Hummer development.
quote: In a free market, let the automakers produce 5mpg, 10mpg, 15mpg, 20mpg.....55mpg cars without regulation. Let the people decide what to buy. The sales figures will tell the automaker what people want and don't want.
quote: I know you're yelling purely on emotion as most anti-oil drilling liberals do
quote: Your kidding right? If the U.S. automakers were allowed to produce whatever they wanted they would have gone down faster than a cheap hooker after being offered $200 for a blow job when gas hit $4/gallon.
quote: If CAFE didn't exist I doubt any of the American car companies would have even been making cars (as opposed to truck/SUVs), much less small cars.
quote: Only at $3+/gallon gas did any U.S. consumers actually think about how much gas they were using to drive the behemoth around.
quote: You make the claim that Toyota and Honda always made these cars.
quote: Please bring one of your yank tanks down here to AUS, and go outback. Try going from Brisbane to Perth via Alice Springs. Hint: Bring your sand tires, several spares as well, several jerry cans of fuel and several more of water.
quote: Then when gas hit $4/gallon their gas guzzler sales would have dried up (like it did), but they wouldn't have had anything to fall back on.
quote: Tax gas like crazy. Distrabute the gas tax total at the end of the year evenly to all taxpayers/citizens. That would have worked much better than CAFE.
quote: They are out of control.
quote: guess as an engineer, I like to see a problem effectively solved.
quote: 100% agree that US's (mine) current system of government is out of control
quote: since at least Reagon, no Carter, no Nixon.
quote: The second Bush was a great leader
quote: What I would like to see is a tax on vehicle weight and the tax go directly to road upkeep. At least they don't have that here in CO.


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Basically speaking, software giant Microsoft had spent an awful year. Windows 8 didn’t make traditional computer more favored in the market and Surface RT even failed to challenge Google Nexus 7. CEO Steve Ballmer not only had irritated the Board, but also lost Steven Sinofsky. Therefore, as the key product of Microsoft, the upcoming Office 2013 bears lofty expectations to bring good beginning to the company in 2013. Months after the spreading of old rumors about Office 2013 price and Office 2013 releasing date, the latest Office 2013 predictions come out in recent days. Originated from reliable resources, the Office 2013 rumors tell more about the price and releasing date of Office 2013.
The major controversy between new and old Office 2013 rumors lies in the releasing date. According to previous Office 2013 predictions, Microsoft Office 2013 will come to retail market in late March. However, the latest rumors about Office 2013 releasing date have corrected the date to late January in Canada. As for the price of Office 2013, it generally goes the same with the previous price of Microsoft Office 2013. Office Home & Business is available for 219 dollars and Office Home & Student charges for 139 dollars. Moreover, the Office 2013 rumors also tell about the price of Office Standard 2013 which is 369 dollars and Office Professional Plus which is 499 dollars. Even though much information about Office 365 has been released, the Office 2013 rumors indeed hint that Microsoft is encouraging users to take serious considerations about purchasing subscriptions.
However, even though Microsoft Office 2013 is not officially released, users are not strange to it. Since its release in summer 2012, Microsoft had provided various versions of Microsoft Office 2013 including trial version and preview version. Therefore, here comes a puzzle of most users, how can they keep using an unreleased product for months? In fact, Microsoft had already released Office 2013 for developer or enterprises in late fall 2012. Here the Office 2013 generally refers to the version for retailers and individuals. However, a pitiful thing about the Office 2013 rumors is that no information about the highly desired Mobile Office 2013 for Android and iOS has been revealed.
Rumored to be released in the first quarter of 2013, Mobile Office 2013 turns out to be the new attempt of Microsoft to extent its business and service to mobile field. Currently, a common way to play PowerPoint on Android or iOS devices is to convert PowerPoint to video. Therefore, Mobile Office 2013 is expected to provide another solution to the problem. However, it seems that Mobile Office 2013 has bite more than it can chew. Providing the fact that PowerPoint 2013 for Windows Phone is quite limited in function, Mobile Office 2013, who only provides scanning function for free, only get a dim chance to do any better.
- Office 2013 Rumors: Welcome Office 2013 and Mobile Office 2013 for Android and iOS in 2013
- Microsoft Office 2013 Becomes More Costly than Microsoft Office 2010
- Google Docs is Stealing the Thunder of Mobile Office 2013
- Microsoft Office 2013 Beta Will Release on July 16 – Windows 8 and New Features
- Upgraded Moyea PowerPoint Converters Gets Office 2013 Support
All posts on this blog are created for non-profit sharing by the blogger staff of Moyea Software. You can reprint them without any fee, but are required to quote each source link on Moyea PowerPoint E-Learning Center (http://www.dvd-ppt-slideshow.com/blog/) and keep all original hyperlinks within.


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In a legal setback for Meta Platforms that own Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, the company continues to face scrutiny over privacy concerns involving users aged under 18.
Meta stated that the allegations brought about by the FTC about privacy and children were “without merit”.
The decision came after a federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Timothy Kelly, rejected Meta’s plea to take control of an ongoing dispute with the US FTC (Federal Trade Commission).
Last May, the FTC brought about accusations against Meta for misleading parents on the extent of control they would have over the interactions of their children within the Messenger Kids app.
Besides, the FTC proposed certain modifications to a 2019 settlement, which originally imposed a $5 billion fine on Facebook. The changes proposed by the FTC aim to prevent Meta from making profits by banking on the data collected from users under 18 years of age.
The body wants to extend these restrictions to its virtual reality business besides imposing other limitations on facial recognition technology.
We are considering our legal options in light of the Court’s ruling and will continue to vigorously fight the FTC’s unlawful attempt unilaterally to rewrite our agreement.Meta Spokesperson
FTC refrained from commenting on the recent decision made by the court.
In light of the ongoing lawsuit, it’s interesting to note that Meta largely capitalizes on digital advertisements targeted using the personal data of account holders. This accounts for 98% of the company’s income. Currently, Meta is struggling hard to retain the attention of younger people in competition with TikTok.
According to research, as much as 62% of individuals aged between 13 and 17 use Instagram, and 17% of teenagers within this age bracket use WhatsApp.
This explains why the regulatory battle holds significance regarding user protection and privacy.
FTC states that the agency retains the authority to decide whether or not settlements can be modified. It argues that the district court lacks jurisdiction in this matter. Any decision made by the FTC can be appealed to the relevant appeals court.
FTC Continues To Target Meta For Violations Over The Last Decade
This is not the first time the FTC has targeted Meta for violating privacy norms. In 2012, the social media giant settled with the FTC, and in 2019, Facebook agreed to pay a record $5 billion fine for violating a 2012 consent order. This settlement was finalized in 2020.
Moreover, the FTC sought a court order to compel Facebook to sell Instagram and WhatsApp in 2019. Facebook had acquired these platforms in 2012 and 2014, respectively. Meta has yet to face trial in this case, which further complicates the company’s ongoing legal challenges.
As the parent company of three major social media platforms struggles with the fallout from this recent ruling, the broader implications remain to be seen.
…. to be continued
Read the Original Article
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The premier display industry event, SID DisplayWeek, is now over – and it was a great week. Kyulux had a successful booth demonstration, with a lot of interest from display companies as Hyperfluorescence emitter technology is maturing and is ready to be commercialized.
During the show, Kyulux unveiled Wisechip’s flexible HF PMOLED display, which we already posted on. This display is set to be the world’s first commercial HF display, and will hopefully enter mass production by the end of the year. Kyulux also demonstrated a smaller yellow PMOLED HF device, again produced at Wisechip. This is a 0.87-inch display with a resolution of 216×128. In the demonstration, Kyulux showed how the HF display is almost twice as bright (210 nits vs 110 nits) than Wisechip’s regular fluorescent PMOLED, using the same amount of power.
In addition to the demonstrations at our booth, Kyulux’s CEO Junji Adachi gave a talk at the DSCC business conference. The presentation was titled “Material Informatics Driven HF Development” and focused on our successful the combination of AI-based Harvard-developed software and experienced material design, synthesis and device optimization that enables us to quickly screen and develop new generations of HF emitter materials. As the results of the Material Informatics approach, our top emission green HF device achieved FWHM equal to twenty-two nanometer (22nm) and CIE of Rec. 2020 requirement with high current efficiency.
Finally, Kyulux was a proud sponsor of DisplayWeek, and our logo and roll-up poster was prominently displayed to the show’s attendees, making sure the whole display industry knows that next generation emitter technology is entering the market, set to change the future of OLEDs!


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A new trailer for the anticipated Attack on Titan: End of the World has been released with English subtitles, and it’s frightening and awe-inspiring at the same time. As the followup to Attack on Titan, End of the World continues Eren’s tale as he and the rest of humanity try to figure out a way to defeat the flesh-eating giants and save the human population.
Attack on Titan was released in Japanese theaters on August 1, where it topped the box offices. End of the World is immediately following with a Japanese release on September 19th. Fans in the U.S. can catch a limited release of Attack on Titan in select theaters on September 30th, October 1st, and October 7th. End of the World will also be available as a limited release on October 20th, October 22nd, and October 27th.
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…a couple of minor issues that may make IoT as advertised fall apart before it gets even halfway along the road.
Had you noticed that marketing for the Internet of Things is about seventy years old?
I only saw today a post published a few weeks ago, titled “Following a Tuna from Fiji to Brooklyn—on the Blockchain”.
Telecom companies say that the world needs mountains of new, way faster, Fifth Generation (=5G) mobile networks to cope with the unavoidable arrival of the Internet of Things. GDPR and seahorses may disagree.


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PEARL RIVER, NY – September 16, 2020 – Hudson Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: HDSN) (the “Company”) today announced the appointment of Kathleen L. Houghton, as an executive officer of the Company. Ms. Houghton has served as Hudson’s Vice President – Sales and Marketing since May 2019. She joined the Company in November of 2014 as Director of Marketing.
Ms. Houghton has more than 25 years of marketing experience within industrial manufacturing companies. Her previous roles include 16 years with Kidde-Fenwal/United Technologies, including Director of Marketing Global Suppression. Other prior positions include Vice President, Marketing at C&M Corporation and Vice President, Sales & Marketing at Safety Hi-Tech USA. Ms. Houghton holds an MBA from Boston University as well as a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Hons) and a Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing) from Monash University in Australia.
Brian F. Coleman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hudson Technologies, commented, “During her time with Hudson, Kate has played an integral role in the development and implementation of the Company’s sales and marketing strategies and initiatives. We believe she brings valuable experience and perspective to her expanded role as a member of the executive management team, and we look forward to her continued contributions to the growth and success of our organization.”