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WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- Shares of MCI rose 3 percent Thursday as the telecommunications giant beat Wall Street earnings expectations by 2 cents in the second quarter, although net income fell by 30 percent.
MCI (MCIC) MCIC, +15.38% , the second-largest provider of long-distance service in the United States, trailing only AT&T (T) T, +0.80% , earned 27 cents per share in the second quarter, excluding certain charges and gains. The First Call consensus earnings estimate was 25 cents a share for the quarter.
MCI shares rose 1 31/32 to 66 31/32.
The company said net income fell 30 percent to $195 million, or 26 cents per share, compared with $280 million, or 40 cents, a year ago. Net income for the quarter included a pretax depreciation expense of $58 million; the after-tax figure was 7 cents per share. Additionally, MCI recorded a pretax gain of $43 million, or 4 cents per share after tax, on the sales of noncore assets.
Total second-quarter revenue rose 10 percent to $5.3 billion from $4.8 billion a year ago. Communications services revenue rose 11 percent to $4.9 billion.
Revenue from Internet operations, meanwhile, rose 59 percent to $89 million in the quarter. MCI plans to sell its Internet business to Britain's Cable & Wireless for $1.75 billion, once MCI's merger with WorldCom (WCOM) WCOM, +0.38% is completed.
MCI's chief executive, Gerald Taylor, said in a statement that the company continues to make improvements across the board.
"Profit margins continued to improve over the past three quarters with accelerating revenue growth from sales of data, conferencing and managed services," Taylor said. "As we reach the completion of our merger with WorldCom, MCI will continue to focus on top-line growth while improving operating efficiencies."
MCI and WorldCom received approval to merge from the European Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice in July. The companies expect to close the deal and launch a merged MCI WorldCom in the third quarter, according to a release.
MCI's Brazilian buy
Separately, MCI bought long-distance company Embratel, which was spun off by Brazil's state-owned telecommunications conglomerate, in a privatization auction.
MCI said the buy will have a neutral effect on earnings in the short term, but it expects the South American company to add to per-share earnings after 1999. MCI said it anticipates that Embratel revenue will grow by 20 percent annually after its first year in the MCI fold.


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Tesla recalls over one million EVs to update window reversing software
US EV giant Tesla has recalled nearly 1.1 million electric vehicles in the US due to an issue with the window automatic reversal system, which may not react correctly after detecting an obstruction, increasing the risk of injury. To rectify this issue, the electric vehicle maker will perform an over-the-air software update of the automatic window reversal system, as per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The recall covers some 2017-2022 Model 3, 2020-2021 Model Y, and 2021-2022 Model S and Model X vehicles. However, the company says that it is not aware of any warranty claims, field reports, crashes, injuries, or deaths related to the recall.
Also Read : Tesla rolls out 10,000th Model Y from Giga Texas
As per the US safety agency, a closing window without the proper automatic reversing system may exert excessive force by pinching a driver or passenger before retracting, increasing the risk of injury. The agency also said that the vehicles involved in the recall failed to comply with the requirements of a federal motor vehicle safety standard on power windows.
Tesla said that during product testing in August, its employees identified window automatic reversal system performance that had "greater than expected variations in response to pinch detection." The carmaker then carried out extensive additional testing and determined that the vehicles' pinch detection and retraction performance in the test results did not meet automatic reversal systems requirements. Thus, leading to a recall.
Starting from September 13, Tesla vehicles in production and in pre-delivery received a software update that sets power operated window operation to the requirements.
In a separate development, Tesla has successfully completed the upgradation of the production lines at its Shanghai factory and now will be testing them until November 30 as it doubles the plant's annual output to one million vehicles. As per a document filed to the Shanghai government’s environmental information disclosures platform, this upgrade took about nine months.

domain: news


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Grab your hair gel and thinking caps, people: Square-Enix/PopCap collaboration Gyromancer will be hitting XBLA and Windows in just twelve days.
Gyromancer, a team-up between casual magnate PopCap Games – makers of Bejeweled, Peggled, and Plants vs. Zombiesed, also known as the most addictive crack substitutes this side of World of Warcraft – and JRPG giant Square-Enix – makers of Final Fantasy and other games starring androgynous teenagers with hair that makes gravity feel inconsequential – turned some heads when it was announced at the Tokyo Games Show back in September.
Though the combination of traditional over-the-top JRPG spell effects and Bejeweled Twist started as a joke between the two companies, it’s certainly a full-fledged project right now. It takes more than a few cues from Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, but with the astoundingly high production values PopCap and Squeenix’s flagship titles are known for – plus, it’s a twisting match-three game, which makes it totally different.
Either way, you’ll be able to pick it up on Xbox Live Arcade and Windows on Wednesday, November 18th. While the above trailer doesn’t mention what distribution platforms the game will use for the PC, one can surmise that like most recent PopCap offerings, Gyromancer will be available both on PopCap’s own site as well as Valve’s Steam.
Who’s excited? Are we excited? Awesome – let’s all be excited together.


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TECNO launched its 2020’s first smartphone ‘SPARK Go Plus’ for India market. With the new product, the company became the first player in the 5-7K segment to provide a giant 6.52-inch HD+ screen. TECNO Spark Go Plus is available in two attractive colour schemes- ‘Hillier Purple’ and ‘Vacation Blue’. Priced at INR 6299 (MOP) the phone is available for purchase at 35000 retail touchpoints across PAN India.
TECNO Spark Go Plus is loaded with class-leading features like modern Dot-Notch design, a full vision + full horizon (20:9) aspect ratio with category-defining 480 Nits brightness, a 4000 mAh battery, AI-powered 8MP rear camera with a dual flashlight +8MP selfie camera with front flash backed by a powerful Quad-Core 2.0 GHz CPU processor, face unlock and smart fingerprint scanner, 2GB RAM and 32GB ROM along with Android 9.0-Go version. The product is designed to cater to the needs of the ‘Greater Bharat’ which is on the verge of transformation. They are the aspiring, value-seeking consumers who want a taste of the premium features at an affordable pricing.
Commenting on the launch, Mr. Arijeet Talapatra, CEO, TRANSSION India said “Stepping into 2020, TECNO will continue to focus on ‘For India’ smartphones to disrupt the entry level and mid-budget markets with products customized to cater to Indian sensibilities in a better way. From that standpoint, Spark Go Plus will help us reach out to our customer base with a phone that is customized to meet the needs of the citizens of new Bharat. This phone is an embodiment of our relentless effort to reach every possible consumer in tier three and below markets from where the next wave of smartphone revolution will emerge. As per Counterpoint report, following the launch of “SPARK’ series of smartphones in Aug’19, TECNO has joined the elite ‘Top 5 smartphone brands’ club in the INR 5,000-7,000 offline category. In 2020, we will further consolidate our position to build a strong portfolio across 5-15K smartphones category providing customers with a wide range of options across price points.”


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COVID, the rise of China, and the future of ocean shipping
Q&A: An exclusive interview with Peter Sand, chief shipping analyst of BIMCO
(FreightWaves) It’s getting really weird out there in the ocean shipping markets. Global oil demand collapses yet oil tanker rates spike. Tanker profits soar yet stock investors flee. Unemployment surges and businesses fold yet imports flood into ports and container rates skyrocket.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made the ever-confounding task of forecasting shipping markets more confounding still.
For insight on what’s next, FreightWaves interviewed Peter Sand, chief shipping analyst at BIMCO. Sand, based in Copenhagen, is one of the industry’s most respected prognosticators. BIMCO is the world’s largest association of shipowners, charterers, shipbrokers and agents.
Please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.org if you have any questions.


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RealTruck.com ‘tricking’ out special truckLamborghini doors. A flat-screen TV equipped with a gaming console. An iPad that controls the door and electronic functions. These are just some of the features that are part of a $100,000 project by Jamestown-based RealTruck.com called the Storm Truck Project.
By: By Brian Willhide, The Jamestown Sun, The Jamestown Sun
A flat-screen TV equipped with a gaming console.
An iPad that controls the door and electronic functions.
These are just some of the features that are part of a $100,000 project by Jamestown-based RealTruck.com called the Storm Truck Project.
RealTruck.com CEO Scott Bintz said he envisioned the concept of putting everything that his online truck accessory company had to offer into one “tricked out” vehicle.
“It’s the idea that anything is possible,” said Bintz, who started the company in Spokane, Wash., in 1998 and then moved it to Jamestown in 2000.
RealTruck.com has teamed up with two North Dakota companies — Site on Sound of Fargo and The Foss Shop of Casselton — to transform a 2012 Chevy Silverado 2500 pickup truck into a fully-upgraded vehicle that features several top-of-the-line accessories.
“There’s a lot of stuff in this project that we’ve never even tackled before,” said Jim Foss, owner of The Foss Shop. “It’s something completely out of the ordinary and hopefully it’ll just show people all the different things we can do.”
Foss said the truck will have custom features including a barn door-style tailgate, Lamborghini-style doors on the front, suicide doors on the back, oversized wheels, a 6-inch lift kit to elevate the truck’s suspension and much more. Suicide doors are hinged closer to the rear of the vehicle as opposed to the standard hinge toward the front of the vehicle.
“I’m looking forward to getting it done and seeing what people think of it,” said Foss, who began work on the project in May along with the help of his sons, Mike and Shane.
“They’ve worked together in the shop since they were young and seems like they’ve been fixing cars since they were in the eighth or ninth grade,” he said.
Audiences will get the first look at the upgraded truck on Thursday, as it will be available for public viewing at Casselton Cruise Night — a regional automotive show in Casselton.
The Storm Truck will have all its features ready for the Specialty Equipment Market Association Show in Las Vegas that runs from Oct. 30 through Nov. 2.
Bintz hopes the project’s display at the SEMA Show will indicate the sort of work North Dakotans are capable of.
“Being from North Dakota, you don’t traditionally think of this as place for a huge truck makeover,” he said. “But vehicles are really engrained into the American culture now, so I’m looking forward to seeing people’s response and the ‘Wow’ you’ll see on people’s faces.”
Fargo-based Site on Sound is expected to soon begin work on the Storm Truck’s interior and electronics, with features including: a TV with a gaming console that rises out of the truck bed; TV screens in the rear-hinged back doors; and an iPad that controls the doors and electronics in the truck.
Once completed, Bintz hopes to showcase the truck to the local community — especially schools.
“We were thinking of making the truck available to the schools in order to promote a message that anything is possible,” he said.
RealTruck.com currently employs more than 30 people in Jamestown and Fargo and posted its best year of sales in 2011 after generating more than $13 million in nationwide revenue.
Sun reporter Brian Willhide can be reached at 701-952-8454 or by email at firstname.lastname@example.org


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Twitter’s advertising revenue has been hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak, and the company said the “civil unrest in the U.S.” in May and June also made matters worse. Twitter said advertising revenue fell 15 percent in the final three weeks of June from a year earlier as brand customers slowed or suspended spending altogether. “As the protests subside, demand will gradually improve once the brand returns,” Twitter said this morning in its second-quarter 2020 earnings report.
Brands are known to have blocked ads from appearing near words such as “Black Lives Matter,” “George Floyd” and “protest.” Meanwhile, several big advertisers, including Starbucks, Unilever and Coca-Cola, suspended advertising on most social media platforms in June. The ad suspension initially focused on concerns about hate groups on Facebook, but they were later expanded to include other platforms.
In addition to “the end of May to mid-June,” Twitter said advertising revenue has been improving since the outbreak began to hit a low in March. Twitter said there had been a “gradual and modest recovery” but not enough to make up for the sharp losses. Twitter’s second-quarter revenue fell 19 percent, pushing the company into a loss again — its second consecutive loss since the end of 2017.
Advertisers have been tightening their budgets as COVID-19 forces consumers, particularly in the U.S., to cut back on spending. That means Twitter’s advertising sales are down, which is its main source of revenue, and, overall quarterly data, is down 23% from the same quarter in 2019.
The more serious problem began last quarter, when a pandemic occurred in the final weeks of Twitter’s financial reporting period. This wiped out expected revenue of $20 million to $80 million, which amounted to a loss compared with all the growth in the previous year. At the time, Twitter said it could not estimate how much revenue it might receive in the second quarter, given the uncertainty surrounding the outbreak.
One bright spot that Twitter highlights is user growth. The company’s daily users grew to 186 million from 166 million in the previous quarter.
At a time when Twitter faces two serious threats, there are also unexpected difficulties: the aftermath of an unprecedented hacking attack earlier this month in which the accounts of many users were hacked. Elliott Management, an activist investor, tried to get Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to step down earlier this year. While Twitter and Elliott have finally agreed on user growth and revenue targets to keep Dorsey in the lead, Twitter is likely to miss out on revenue targets given the severe impact of the outbreak.


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AMD has revealed its newest 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper processors, adding a release date to the chips the company says are its most potent desktop silicon for creators and enthusiasts. Running the gamut from 24- through to 32-cores, the new 7nm CPUs were revealed alongside the Ryzen 9 3950X, a 16-core flagship AM4 chip targeting more demanding mainstream users.
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X and AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
There are two new 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper processors, the 3960X and the 3970X. Both use AMD’s Zen 2 core architecture and have a TDP of 280 watts. They also support up to 88 PCIe 4.0 lanes – 72 of which are usable when the CPU is paired with an AMD TRX40.
The Ryzen Threadripper 3960X has 24 cores and 48 threads, with a base clock frequency of 3.8 GHz that rises to up to 4.5 GHz in boost. There’s 140MB of cache.
As for the Ryzen Threadripper 3970X, that has 32 cores and 64 threads, and runs at 3.7 GHz base or up to 4.5 GHz boost. It gets 133MB of cache.
According to AMD, compared to Intel’s Core i9-9980XE, the Threadripper 3970X should be up to 90-percent faster in Cinebench R20 nT. If you’re an Adobe Premiere user you could be seeing up to 47-percent more performance, or up to 49-percent more in V-Ray. In Unreal Engine, the new AMD chip could deliver up to 36-percent more performance than its Intel counterpart.
To go with the 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper chips, there’s also the new Socket sTRX4. That promises four times the bandwidth to the chipset, versus the 2nd Gen, as well as up to 2.5x more bandwidth than an Intel Core i9-10980XE could deliver, for peripherals like SSDs and GPUs.
The Ryzen Threadripper 3960X and the Ryzen Threadripper 3970X will go on sale on November 25, priced at $1,399 and $1,999 respectively.
AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
For consumers looking for more of a balance between price and performance, there’s the new flagship 16-core AMD Ryzen 9 3950X processor. It, too, will go on sale November 25, but be priced at a far more affordable $749 versus its Threadripper cousins.
It offers 16 cores and 32 threads, running at 3.5 GHz base or up to 4.7 GHz boost. There’s 72MB of cache and 44 PCIe Gen 4.0 lanes, 36 of which are usable when it’s paired with an AMD X570. TDP is 105W, with AMD crediting its Zen 2 architecture for the Ryzen 9 3950X being more frugal than its Intel counterpart. In fact, comparing its new chip to Intel’s Core i9-9920X and Core i9-9900K, AMD says the Ryzen 9 3950X could be as much as twice as energy efficient.
Finally, there’s the AMD Athlon 3000G, which will cost just $49 when it arrives on November 19. While its 2 cores and 4 threads – running at 3.5 GHz – aren’t going to hold a candle to the Ryzen 9, it does have integrated Radeon Vega 3 graphics and a mere 35W TDP. It’s also the first Zen-based Athlon from AMD which is delivered unlocked, so that owners can overclock it themselves.


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For Labrador's remote communities, new local shipping options are providing better quality produce with a longer shelf-life.
This means less trips to the grocery store for families already struggling with the region's high food costs.
Tom Angiers is a long-time farmer who owns and operates Spruce Meadows Farm in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
By utilizing Nutrition North, a federal program which subsidized nutritious foods and essential items shipped to remote northern communities, Angiers has expanded his operations to shorten a costly supply chain.
Spruce Meadows Farm's new cold-storage facility allows produce to be stored at temperatures that drastically extend their shelf life, in some cases, by up to ten months.
In addition to storing produce grown on his farm, the new storage facility has allowed Angiers to bring in food from a wholesaler in Prince Edward Island.
According to Kim Oliver, who lives in Nain, getting fresh and affordable food along the north coast can be a challenge, with small selection and irregular schedules, as well as nearly double the cost to consumers.
"It depends on the season and shipping, and delays in shipping because of weather," said Oliver.
"The price is quite costly here in Nain, as opposed to if you're going to go to the grocery store in Goose Bay."
One of the biggest issues, Oliver said, is the produce available has often been in transit for so long that by the time it reaches their community it's inedible.
"You have to double-check before you purchase, and sometimes even when you double-check you come home and you'll find your produce could be mouldy," she said.
Berries in particular, Oliver noted, are prone to expiring. It's a costly letdown that her family has encountered before.
"My wife went and picked up two packs of raspberries — it was $11 a pack — and when she came home and I opened them to give to my son, they were both mouldy," Oliver said.
While she can't speak for everyone in the community, Oliver said she feels that the limited supply of often poor quality produce makes everyone food insecure, and called the lack of access to good produce frustrating.
Having access to regionally based sellers like Spruce Meadows Farm, she said, gives her family and others a new avenue to access cheaper, fresher produce.
"A pack of berries here was $11, but with Tom [Angiers] it was significantly lower," she said.
"The price with the shipping was probably $8 for that pack of raspberries," said Oliver. "And it's better quality, so that's really important."
New routes means less spoiled produce
Items can often travel long, transcontinental routes before reaching Labrador.
With Spruce Meadows Farm's cold-storage unit and produce from P.E.I., Angiers' venture has shortened the distance which produce travels before reaching communities along the coast.
For Wendy Keefe, a resident of Black Tickle who previously ran an interdependent grocery store in the community, Spruce Meadows Farm's model provides fresher produce with long-term cost benefits.
"I don't know if I'm saving off the top price-wise, but in the long run I'm saving, because [their produce] is lasting longer," Keefe said.
"I have a container of lettuce in my fridge that's been in Black Tickle for three weeks, and it's just as good now as it was the day that I got it from Tom [Angiers]."
Keefe understands acutely the challenges in the local supply chain. There's just one store in the community, and the costs associated with running a grocery store there can be difficult.
"It's very frustrating being a store owner, because you put in your order for your groceries, fruits, vegetables — whatever you need to bring in for your customers — and you don't know what you're getting until it shows up."
Typically, Keefe said, the produce that they receive in Black Tickle is hit-or-miss, with many different factors at play.
"We don't know what the quality is like when it's shipped, how long it's sitting in the hangar waiting to come to us, then getting it from the airport to the store."
For a community without roads, Keefe said produce is transported from the airstrip via snowmobile, often resulting in damage to items like bananas, which may not survive the sub-zero trip.
"I remember seeing a store owner have a case of bananas come that were black because they were frozen," Keefe said.
Regardless, store owners still have to pay the freight and product costs for food, even if it's expired before they receive it.
That cost and lost revenue needs to be recouped elsewhere, according to Keefe, leading to higher costs on other food items.
In response to these and other challenges, Keefe noted an uptick in residents ordering produce themselves from distributors like Spruce Meadows Farm, with some traveling as far as Cartwright to pick up their groceries.
But for the time being, many Labrador communities may have to contend with their existing supply chains, which, as evidenced by one noted commodity, can sometimes seem like an exercise in futility.
"I remember time-and-time again, we had fresh berries come in when we had our store open," Keefe said.
"And you know, the case of berries comes in, and the case of berries goes to the dump because they're all spoiled."


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December 29, 1999
Etoys Offers to Drop Suit Against Artists Group
By MATTHEW MIRAPAUL
toys Inc., the Web's leading toy retailer, said on Wednesday that it had offered to drop its trademark-infringement lawsuit against etoy, a European group of online conceptual artists whose supporters have mounted a vigorous Internet-based campaign protesting the toy merchant's actions.
Etoys, which has already won a court order forcing the artists to stop using the Internet address www.etoy.com, said it also was asking the group to move some of its images to other Internet sites.
But a lawyer for etoy said the group would not agree to limit the content on its Web site.
"These are artists, and this is just not acceptable to them," Chris Truax, etoy's lawyer, said in a telephone interview from San Diego. "Etoy cannot give eToys veto power over the content on its site."
Last month etoy was forced to stop using www.etoy.com on the Web, where it had been since 1995. Etoys was not founded until the following year, and put up its Web site in 1997. Unlike etoy, though, eToys holds a United States trademark for its name.
Ken Ross, a spokesman for the Santa Monica, Calif., company, said: "We are initiating an end to the legal actions against etoy. The reason is simple: over the last several weeks, we've received lots and lots of communications that urged us to find a way to coexist with etoy."
Ross added that eToys was asking etoy to find a way to move its "more graphic pages" to other sites, but that it was not a condition for putting an end to the lawsuit. "This is a request that we've made. It is only a request," he said.
Etoys had sued etoy after hearing from customers who went to the art site by mistake, including some who complained about its profane language. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge issued a preliminary injunction against etoy on Nov. 29, threatening the artists with fines of up to $10,000 per day unless they stopped using the domain www.etoy.com.
The group, which mimics corporate behavior for artistic purposes, stopped using the domain name immediately and set up a site in exile using a numeric Internet address. But etoy is well known in Internet art circles and as word of its situation spread, defenders launched protest sites and began blanketing the Internet with e-mail messages. The case has become a cause celebre among those who resent the growing influence of commercial interests on the Internet because they fear it will limit artistic expression.
Ross said the offer from eToys was prompted because "we received a lot of heartfelt, well-reasoned e-mails from the [online] community. It was never our intention to silence artistic expression."
These sites are not part of The New York Times on the Web, and The Times has no control over their content or availability.
Matthew Mirapaul at firstname.lastname@example.org welcomes your comments and suggestions.


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Come 1 May, AMD will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in the industry. To commemorate its milestone, the company will be launching some limited edition components, chief among which is the Ryzen 7 2700X CPU.
Specifically, the 50th anniversary Ryzen 7 2700X ship out with a slightly tweaked logo on the CPU, plus the signature of Lisa SU, AMD’s CEO, laser-etched into the lid as well. It’s packaging will also be visibly different; instead of AMD’s usual orange and grey colour scheme, the retail packaging of the 50th anniversary CPU will sport a black and gold motif.
As a recap, the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X was launched back in April 2018. The CPU is based AMD’s 12nm die lithography, and features a 8-cores, 16-threads layout. Performance-wise, it has a base clock of 3.7GHz and boost clock of 4.3GHz.
It doesn’t look like the 50th anniversary Ryzen 7 2700X will receive any sort of performance tweaks. Of course, it goes without saying that its pricetag will also be slightly, if not significantly pricier than a normal Ryzen 7 2700X.
There’s also supposed to be a 50th anniversary Radeon VII in the pipelines. Instead of black and gold, though, an image shared by Videocardz hints at the possibility of the card sporting a bright, cherry red cooler shroud.
— GIGABYTE Japan (@GIGABYTE_News) April 22, 2019
In conjunction with its golden jubilee, AMD’s long-time partners have also announced that they will be giving some of their products a facelift too. Sapphire, for example, will be releasing an RX 590 Nitro+ graphics card with a gold colour cooler shroud. While Gigabyte will doing a limited run X470 Aorus Gaming 7 WiFi-50 motherboards.
In any case, AMD will be making the announcement on 29 April, so we’ll just have to wait until then to see what else the brand has in store for us.


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Chip maker Intel Corp. reported yesterday a six per cent increase in profits for the fourth quarter of 2013 and a slight improvement in sales in its PC client division.
Intel had a “solid fourth quarter,” with profit reaching $2.6 billion up from $2.5 billion for the same period in 2012, said Brian Krzanich, CEO of the company. Revenue was $13.8 billion, up by three per cent from the previous quarter.
Sales numbers for Intel’s PC client division were flat from the previous year at $8.56 billion. This was an improvement for the division, which accounts for 60 per cent of Intel’s business, because in previous quarters its sales have been declining.
Sales in the data centre division were up by 8 per cent to $3 billion.
Overall, the PC sales slump in 2013 hit Intel pretty hard cutting down revenue for the year by one per cent to $52.7 billion. The company’s full year income for 2013 was down 13 per cent to $9.6 billion.


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While the tech realm has witnessed rapid innovation, with China standing at the helm of this transformation, there's one particularly captivating niche: real-time translation. Within this sphere, Timekettle has emerged as more than just another name; it's a brand that resonates with authentic communication, even in multilingual scenarios.
Where traditional translator devices honed in on mere lexical conversions, Timekettle's vision was grander. They recognized early on that translation isn't merely about words but about the essence of communication. This realization was the genesis behind the WT2 Edge Translator Earbuds. These earbuds weren't designed as just another translator device. They were conceptualized as a conduit to facilitate natural, human connections, irrespective of linguistic barriers.
A Market Apart: Timekettle's Unique Proposition
Numerous brands have ventured into the world of translation, each providing their own solutions. Some, like google Translate, have focused on versatility, supporting a vast array of languages. But where many fall short is in preserving the natural ebb and flow of conversation. Timekettle identified this gap. While many devices force users into a disruptive pattern, passing devices or waiting for translations, the WT2 Edge ensures fluidity.
Timekettle's technological prowess is showcased in their HybridComm™ technology. Not only does it promise accurate translations, but it ensures these translations align with the natural cadence and nuances of a genuine conversation.
Gizchina News of the week
More Than Just Earbuds
It's vital to understand that the WT2 Edge isn't just about its form factor, though it's a notable departure from traditional handheld devices. The earbud design isn't a mere aesthetic choice; it's a deliberate decision, which aligns with Timekettle's vision. By opting for earbuds, Timekettle encourages users to immerse themselves in conversations fully, without the distraction of managing a device. It's about making cross-lingual interactions as seamless as conversations in one's native tongue.
Shaping the Future of Cross-Lingual Communication
Timekettle's commitment to fostering genuine interactions shines through in their product's adoption. Many US schools have integrated the WT2 Edge into their systems, showcasing the product's practicality and efficiency. For expatriates, travelers, and immigrants, these earbuds have become more than a gadget – they're a lifeline, enabling them to forge connections in unfamiliar linguistic terrains.
In Conclusion: Timekettle's Legacy
While the tech world remains abuzz with innovations, there are a few that truly leave a mark, shaping industries and altering paradigms. Timekettle, with its WT2 Edge Translator Earbuds, stands at this transformative juncture. In an era where genuine connections are increasingly valued, Timekettle's commitment to fostering true communication, rather than just translating words, positions them not just as industry leaders but as pioneers shaping the future of cross-lingual interactions. Check it out on Amazon !


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Go Inside Bally Sports+ at the SVG Sports OTT Forum, March 29
Bally Sports' Chief Product Officer Michael Allen to join the virtual event live!
Over the past year, in-market streaming of live games by regional sports networks has dramatically reshaped. At scale, no one has done it bigger than Bally Sports, bringing its direct-to-consumer subscription to its 19 markets nationwide. In addition to the unprecedented access to live games, what makes the Bally Sports+ product stand out?
Take an exclusive look at the design choices and the technology powering the unprecedented streaming service with Bally Sports’ Chief Product Officer Michael Allen as he joins us live at the 2023 SVG Sports OTT Forum, a virtual event hosted on March 29.
REGISTER: SVG Sports OTT Forum, March 29 (Virtual)
The session will be moderated by SVG’s Chief Editor Jason Dachman.
Additional highlights of the SVG Sports OTT Forum include these LIVE Featured Spotlights:
- Inside FOX Sports’ 4K Live Stream of Super Bowl LVII
- How National Lacrosse League Streams Its Entire Season on ESPN+
Additionally, listen in on in-depth tech-focused conversations on critical issues facing the industry:
- The Business Case – Data, Personalization, and Monetization of Sports Streaming
- The Essentials – Encoding, Latency, Monitoring and Content Security
For more information on the 2023 SVG Sports OTT Forum, email Director of Digital Brandon Costa at [email protected]. Technology vendors interested in sponsoring and/or speaking at the event, please email Rob Payne at [email protected] or Andrew Gabel at [email protected].


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Poor packaging setback to Nigerian tomato business
Poor packaging of tomatoes in local baskets made fromcanes is not only affecting their marketability but serves also serves in causing the produce to rot easily, Chairman of Water Users Association and a major tomato farmer at Kadawa irrigation area in Kano State, Alhaji Muazu Datti Yadakwari, has said.
Yadakwari said a large percentage of Nigeria’s tomatoes goes to waste due to poor packaging, noting that while tomatoes in most other African countries, like most developed agriculture nations in the world, are packaged in crates, Nigeria still packages its tomatoes in local baskets.
He lamented that the canesthe baskets are made from pierce through the tomatoes thereby making them to rot easily, adding, “you know, the baskets are usually big and contain a lot of tomatoes. When they press each other, it also helps in making them rot. Our local tomato packaging is not helping us at all.
“We have visited some African countries like Senegal and saw how they package their tomatoes in crates;so neat and attractive.The federal government should intervene by introducing the packagingof tomatoes in crates or special cartons. That way, the market value of the vegetable will appreciate and it will attract buyers.
“We cannot as individual farmers do that except with government support and intervention. Government can design the crates, appoint an industry to produce them and then introduce them to us. That should be part of government’s effort towards enhancing the marketing of tomatoes in the country,” he said.
Some tomato consumers that spoke to Daily Trust said the idea is a welcomed one provided that it will not hike the cost of tomatoes in the market. Hajiya Talatu Hussaini Jalo, a food vendor at Jabi area of Abuja said the improved packaging of tomatoes will make it more attractive to buyers and even qualify Nigerian tomatoes for export.
“Packaging increases the value of every item including food items like vegetables. The crates should be in different sizes to take care of everyone’s need. For long I have been complaining of how tomato sellers display it on the ground in our markets across the country,” she said.
Musa Mohammed who transports tomatoes to the southern part of the country said most of the tomatoes packaged in baskets do not last more than two days before they start getting rotten because of the way they get compressed.
“When they are packaged in crates, only the crates will sit on crates. The tomatoes in the crates will not be pressed and that way they can last long. Government should introduce this packaging to give tomatoes a befitting handling,” he said.
Local tomatoes packed in baskets
A scan had showed that the ewe was carrying five lambs, but the sixth was a surprise


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HTC EVO 3D considered to be its first glasses-free 3D smartphone has competition from LG Thrill 4G aka LG Optimus 3D.
Handsets from LG and HTC specification can even give a stiff competition to other upcoming smartphones like Samsung Galaxy S2 and HTC Sensation 4G.
The HTC EVO 3D that will be launched on Friday will be sold by Sprint while LG Thrill will go with AT&T although no specific release date has been announced for the LG smartphone. However, LG phone is expected to come out any time this summer. Both the phones will enjoy 4G support.
Here is a comparison between HTC EVO 3D 4G and LG Thrill 3D 4G:
HTC EVO 3D has a dimension of 126 x 65 x 12.1 mm and weighs 170 grams compared to LG’s thrill which will have a dimension of 128.8 x 68 x 11.9 mm and weighs 168 grams.
Both the smartphones have 4.3-inch display but HTC’s phone has 540 x 960 pixels resolution 3D S-LCD capacitive touchscreen whereas LG’s Thrill has 480 x 800 pixels resolution 3D LCD capacitive touchscreen.
The input features found in LG Thrill are LG 3D UI, accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate, proximity sensor for auto turn-off, gyro sensor and touch-sensitive controls. HTC EVO 3D has features like Multi-touch input method touch-sensitive controls, accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate, proximity sensor for auto turn-off, gyro sensor and HTC Sense UI.
There is 8 GB storage, 512 MB RAM found in LG’s smartphone while HTC’s phone comes with 1 GB storage and 1 GB RAM. Both the phones will support microSD up to 32 GB.
In terms of 3G, EVO 3D will have HSDPA, 14.4 Mbps and HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps similar to LG Thrill 4G.
HTC EVO 3D has Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, WiMAX 802.16 e, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot support compared to LG Thrill which has Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot (possible changes in future). LG and HTC smartphone will have Bluetooth version 3.0 with A2DP and EDR along with microUSB version 2.0.
With dual 5-megapixel 2560?1920 pixels LG’s smartphone scores over HTC phone which has 5-megapixel similar pixel camera. The other features of cameras found in these two phones are autofocus, geo-tagging , stereoscopic photos and videos but HTC’s phone features dual-LED flash as against LG’s LED flash. Both the smartphones can capture 1080p@24fps (2D) and 720p@30fps (3D) video, also there is secondary camera.
The operating system found in HTC’s phone is Android OS, v2.3 (Gingerbread) but preliminary specs of LG’s phone show it is about to feature Android OS, v2.2 (Froyo) but it is upgradable to v2.3.
HTC’s phone trumps LG’s thrill with a faster processor as HTC EVO 3D comes with 1.2 GHz dual-core Adreno 220 GPU Qualcomm MSM8660 chipset processor compared to LG phone’s dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 PowerVR SGX540 GPU, TI OMAP4430 chipset processor.
The battery featured in LG Thrill is Li-Ion 1500 mAh giving close to 4 hours of talk time as against HTC phone has Li-Ion 1730 mAh giving up to 7 hours 30 minutes of talk time.
The common features found in both the smartphones are SMS threaded view, MMS, Email, Push Email, IM, HTML browser, stereo FM radio with RDS, A-GPS support, Java MIDP emulator, digital compass, Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Talk, SNS integration, organizer, document viewer and editor, voice-memo-dial-commands and predictive text input.
A few other features found in HTC smartphone include Picasa integration, TV-out (via MHL A/V link), active noise cancellation with dedicated mic, MP3/AAC+/WAV/WMA player and MP4/Xvid/H.263/H.264/WMV player. And LG’s smartphone has HDMI port, MP4/DivX/XviD/H.264/H.263/WMV player and MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC+ player.
Moreover, Best Buy certainly feels that HTC’s EVO 3D will be a hit when it goes on sale Friday and hence they have announced that they will open their stores early to celebrate the launch of HTC EVO 3D 4G according to press release. The HTC EVO 3D, which retails for $199.99 with a new, two-year agreement, will also be available online at bestbuy.com/mobile.
With mixed reviews and a hefty price tag of $199 from Sprint, even penny pinchers are pre-ordering the phone for a chance of getting their hands on the new 3D technology. Moreover, Wirefly has dropped the pre-order price of EVO 3D to $150, the lowest price tag for the phone from any vendor as of now.
Here is a video review of HTC EVO 3D and LG Thrill 4G:


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Helix Business Solutions, a local technology company that employs several Montana Western alumni, has partnered with the Montana Western Business Department. The goal of the partnership is to bring industry leaders to the UMW campus to share insights and experiences in their industries with the campus, community and students from area high schools.
“Helix is proud to be partnering with Montana Western,” shared Kevin Sherwood, CEO of Helix Business Solutions. “We are excited about the impact this program will have on our community. We have strengthened our company by hiring Montana Western alumni and are invested in providing future UMW graduates and the community this level of exposure to the exciting innovations happening with some of the biggest brands in business today.”
Malesich’s presentation focused on the growing importance of technology in the agricultural industry. He grew up on a farm in Dillon, Mont., and graduated from Colorado State with a degree in Ag Business.
Malesich said his “last interview was 20 years ago,” when he received an internship opportunity with Cargill who he has worked for ever since.
Cargill is the largest private company in the United States, employing 155,000 people. They service many industries, but Malesich’s work is focused on their animal feed products.
He works remotely from Dillon as a Business Analyst, pouring over mountains of data to help increase the company’s efficiency.
Malesich’s talk was mainly concerned with population increase; it is expected that there will be 30-40% more people living on the planet by 2050. According to his analysis, this means 50-100% more food than is currently available will need to be produced in the next 30 years.
He cited several factors that make this a challenging proposition. They included: limited land, water limitations, environmental concerns about fertilizer and pesticides, labor issues, and changing consumer preferences.
Thankfully, Malesich believes advances in technology will allow companies like Cargill to meet the growing demand for increased food production.
He then highlighted several exciting new technological advancements designed to increase yields, eliminate waste, and produce healthier food.
Drones and satellites now allow farmers to create detailed maps of their crops, and pinpoint with great accuracy where and where not to spray pesticides.
Advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence have created automated weed-pickers that can differentiate between weeds and healthy crops with a program similar to facial recognition software.
iQuatic is a product created by Cargill that uses acoustic tech to detect when shrimp are eating to prevent feed from going to waste in aquatic farms.
He concluded his presentation by urging the students and agricultural business owners in attendance to stay well-informed on the rapid advancements in technology.
“Change is coming. You have to embrace technology, because your competitors will.”
For more information on the “Bridges to Business” series, please contact Professor Fred Chilson by email at [email protected], or call 406-683-7178.


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TULSA, Okla. — Local businesses and restaurants are doing what they can to stay open right now and pay their staff. We’re talking to them in our series “We’re Open Green Country.”
Local restaurants are stepping up amid the pandemic.
“I delivered some wings, fries and two rolls of toilet paper the other day," said Travis Davidson, owner of Treys Bar and Grill.
Treys Bar and Grill in South Tulsa is serving customers food and delivering groceries. Davidson, who also owns the Cardinal Club, said they have about 40 employees. They plan to make sure everyone gets a paycheck.
“I’m not going to lay anybody off because I’ve got single mothers, I’ve got single fathers, I’ve got expecting mothers," he said.
Manager Keyla Rivas is expecting her child in August. She’s hard at work taking orders and delivering them to customers curbside. She said she’s worried about her stepson who has asthma and paying the bills.
“Not only just rent," she said. "But I’ve got car insurance, my utility bills among a lot of other things. So, I’m kinda really trying to stretch it. Kinda stretch what I can make and kind of really divide if I’m going to pay rent, or should I hold off a little bit longer on my water bill.”
Rivas said employees are splitting shifts so everyone can get some hours.
“I know that I’m not the only one that’s having to pay rent or is struggling to buy groceries as well," she said. "Because, you know, not all of us can afford to buy in bulk. You buy what you need, your essentials, and you kind of go from there.”
Davidson started a GoFundMe to help keep paying employees as if they’re busy. He's also putting in $1,000 of his own money to help out. He said they’ve seen a lot of support from the community.
“We’ve had people tipping quite well," he said. "A lot of them tipping quite well on the deliveries. People asking what they can do. I’ve had a lot of people ask me, 'Hey, do you need an extra delivery driver? You know, I don’t have anything to do during the days, you know.' I’m like can you hand me a box of gloves and I’ll get to it.”
Treys Bar and Grill is also personally delivering meals to customers.
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MUMBAI: The RBI
has not targeted crypto
exchanges contrary to claims by Coinbase
CEO Brian Armstrong
, sources said. While there is no bar against using Unified Payments Interface (UPI
) for peer-to-peer and commercial transactions, payment service providers must comply with anti-money laundering and foreign exchange laws, which are tough to implement in crypto trade, a banker said.
Armstrong had said in an analyst call that Coinbase , a US-based cryptocurrency exchange, had launched crypto trading services in India on April 7, 2022. At the time of launch, it announced that Indian users would be able to transact on its platform using UPI. However, NPCI
, which owns and operates the UPI, issued a statement on the same day that it was “not aware of any crypto exchange using UPI”. Soon after, Coinbase suspended UPI transactions.
Armstrong, in the analyst call, said that Coinbase had to disable UPI as a payment method due to informal pressure from the RBI and that such action goes against a Supreme Court order.
“The RBI has not done anything or issued any instruction against the Supreme Court order. The RBI, in its circular dated May 31, 2021, had stated that given the order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, its earlier circular of April 6, 2018, which had banned virtual currencies, is no longer valid,” said a banker aware of the matter.
Although there is no bar on cryptocurrencies, the RBI has publicly highlighted its concerns. In its circular dated May 31, 2021, the RBI had advised its regulated entities to continue to carry out customer due diligence processes in line with regulations governing KYC/AML/CFT and obligations under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, (PMLA), 2002 in addition to ensuring compliance with relevant provisions under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).


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Mercedes-Benz will unveil its production S65 AMG Coupe at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show.
The S-Class Coupe is expected to launch this year and will closely resemble the concept that debuted at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show. Serving as a replacement to the German automaker’s former CL-Class, the S-Class Coupe will share its powerplants with its sedan counterpart.
In the case of the S65 AMG, under the hood will be a 6.0-liter bi-turbocharged V12 engine with 621 hp and 738 lb-ft of torque. In addition, the S-Class Coupe will be available in S500 form while AMG will also complement the lineup with an S63 AMG model. Also present in the luxury coupe will be Mercedes-Benz’s Magic Body Control.
Compared to the concept, expect the production version to sport different headlights and mirrors while retaining its overall shape and dimensions.
GALLERY: Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe Concept Live
GALLERY: Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe Concept
[Source: Mercedes-Benz Passion]
Discuss this story at our Mercedes-Benz forum.


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Yes, it's for real now. In an unexpected turn of event, Apple has finally listens to the growing feedbacks -which mostly are negative ones- on its iPhone NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement). Apple has announced at its iPhone Developer Program site:
"However, the NDA has created too much of a burden on developers, authors and others interested in helping further the iPhone’s success, so we are dropping it for released software. Developers will receive a new agreement without an NDA covering released software within a week or so. ..."
For you who was sleeping throughout the whole weekend, or spending last weekend on a remote island, please read what was the fuzz all about the iPhone NDA from my previous post here at PalmAddict. ;-p
The news is bleeding everywhere on the net, and the iPhone software developers are surely embracing the news with much rejoice now that they'll relieved from one of Apple's chains. There are of course other chains, like for an example Apple has yet to disclose on how it decides on which apps are elligible to enter App Store or not. But nevertheless, this is a nice progress both for the software devs & for iPhone users as well.
Read the full announcement, including Apple's official statement of reason why the NDA is first used, at this respective link.
[blogged with my Treo 750v]


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FAST food bosses at McDonald’s have revealed the town’s restaurant on the Four Pools Retail Park will be officially re-opened by town MP Nigel Huddleston on March 23.
The venue has been closed for a number of weeks for a major ‘digital makeover’, creating 50 new jobs for the local area, including full and part time positions.
Refurbishment of the restaurant was completed last Wednesday, February 7 and McDonald’s is now open to customers ahead of the ceremony later next month.
Customers now have the option to use one of the restaurant’s self-order kiosks. These allow customers to browse the menu, look at nutritional information and personalise their meals, giving people more time to consider their food and drink choices.
Table service has also been introduced to take the stress out of finding somewhere to sit when carrying food, potentially with children, bags and buggies. In restaurants where table service has been introduced previously customer feedback has been positive; with families enjoying the ease of not having to leave children unattended while queuing, and many people feeling it means they have more time to chat with friends and family.
Franchisee Sarah McLean, who owns and operates 14 restaurants in the local area including the one at the Four Pools Retail Park, said: “These changes are designed to make our customers’ experience as positive as possible, whether that’s providing people with a chance to get to grips with using a tablet in a relaxed environment, or providing parents with a quick and easy way of ordering their food.
“When ordering with the new kiosks customers will have the option to make different food choices, for example swapping fries for a side salad or adding a fruit bag to their children’s Happy Meal.”
Further features such as the option to customise the classic burgers on offer to playing the new interactive table-top games could also be introduced should current trials prove successful.


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With 130,000 attendees in 2011, San Diego Comic-Con International (SDCC) is currently one of the United States’ largest conventions, one that boosted San Diego’s economy by $193 million.
So how did this tiny gathering grow into what some consider the must-attend event of the year?
For those who aren’t familiar with it, SDCC is far more than a comic book show: it’s a four-day event highlighting the best of popular arts, including movies, video games, and anime. Movie stars and directors attend to promote their works and to meet their fans; fans attend to meet them and to mingle with other fans.
I spoke with David Glanzer, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, who revealed some of the secrets to SDCC’s success.
SDCC may have had 130,000 attendees in 2011, but it only had 300 when it first started, back in 1970.
“I think there’s a misconception, there’s an idea that people want to start off big. Comic-Con didn’t start off big as it is. It started off small and grew into what it is. Caution is not a bad thing.”
UTILIZE VIRAL MARKETING
With a operating budget of only $9 million, Glanzer didn’t say how much of it was spent on advertising, except that it’s “very small.” “For many years our advertising was limited to comic book shops, specialty shops, hobby clubs.”
When SDCC did expand its advertising efforts, it remained local: “We started doing advertising that was geared toward the general San Diegans, people who have never read a comic before but enjoyed films.” This took place before the widespread adoption of the Internet. “Our attendees were really able to…spread the word, viral marketing before viral marketing was really a term.”
How can you rely on viral marketing? By throwing a terrific event and making sure your attendees are happy.


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The WOWCube Entertainment System is a completely different kind of hand-held gaming system. An engineering and software marvel, the device is like a Rubik’s Cube went into the future and got a major upgrade.
The WOWCube was invented by Cubios Inc., a company with headquarters in California and Hong Kong. The company recently announced that pre-orders will be available in the second quarter of 2021. Customers will receive the WOWCube before the end of the year.
President of Cubios Inc., Ilya Osipov, remarked, “The pandemic didn’t stop us. We focused on the software part and made a lot of improvements. We released a completely new version of our operating system CubiOS. We’ve re-built a system architecture, made it much more stable.”
Improving the User Experience and Interface
Osipov said the company worked hard on improving its user experience and user interface, and now WOWCube can also be controlled by tapping.
The company developed a software development kit for a global developers community starting in the first quarter of this year.
“We added a new mode of functioning and added new types of apps, including multiple awesome games and widgets,” Osipov noted.
Max Filin, CEO and co-founder of Cubios Inc., said that making WOWCube real was an engineering and software development challenge. Then, to jump from the working model to mass-production was even harder, but we did it.
“This device is so unique that even manufacturing equipment wasn’t ready for production of its components,” Filin said. “We had to work with partners to reinvent and re-setup the equipment. We are happy that finally and despite all the difficulties that slowed down a global economy and all the manufacturing processes, [that we] can announce the start of pre-orders this year.”
The WOWCube Offers More Than Games
Cubios calls WOWCube an “immersive-reality innovative console and the gaming platform.” It is made of eight separate cubic models connected to each other. Each module is its own device with a CPU with a graphic accelerator inside and three high-resolution screens making every app run smoothly without delays on each of the 24 screens.
The device offers more than just gaming. Customers can activate widgets like stock market dynamics, weather, and customized screensavers.
WOWCube functions in two different modes. The first is a stand-alone device with separate operation systems and applications. The second is a cube connected to a smartphone to allow new games and widget uploads. In that mode, WOWCube becomes a periphery device and can stream any content from the phone, such as real-time picture uploads from NASA or news headlines, for example.
For now, users have access to more than 20 different games, including “arcades, puzzles, logic and strategy games, educational apps with gamification and many more for casual and skillful players of all ages.” Some of the new games and apps include the popular Cut the Rope, featuring Om Nom and a new game Om Nom called Eat the Pizza.
Accessories will be available, as well, including colorful cases and protective bumpers that stick to the device’s edges.


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UPDATED WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 4: The opening of Malmaison Dundee, Scotland has been delayed following a "severe" flood, with bookings cancelled and a new launch date yet to be announced.
The multi-million pound conversion of the old Tay Hotel into a boutique hotel was due to officially open on Sunday December 1.
In a statement to Boutique Hotelier, general manager Claire Livingston said: "Unfortunately, due to a severe flood last week the hotel has suffered damage to several rooms, the brasserie and reception areas.
"This has meant the developer has been unable to turn the property over to Malmaison. A programme of works is being finalised and agreed with the developer."
She said a new opening date would be announced at 12pm on Tuesday December 3, and did not provide further details on the cause of the flood.
A statement issued later that day — at 6.30pm — did not disclose a new opening date, but said: "Malmaison Dundee (we) are liaising with the developers to establish when the repairs will be completed.
"In the meantime we are personally contacting our clients to inform them of any cancellations and working with them to offer alternative locations for their stays and events where possible," it continued.
"We appreciate everyone’s patience at this time as this accident was out of our control and we’re doing our best to rectify the situation as quickly as possible. As soon as we have any further information we will issue a statement."
An article in The Courier said the hotel had cancelled all bookings after the flood was reported last Thursday, including a 170-seat reservation for Dundee FC’s 120th anniversary dinner.
The Malmaison Dundee website states that the hotel will be opening soon.
Speaking to Boutique Hotelier in September, Malmaison Group CEO Gary Davis was positive about the new hotel’s prospects: “There’s a huge amount of EU money and Scottish development going into the market.
"There’s the first V&A Museum outside of London opening there and the waterfront’s being redeveloped so we’re quite excited about Dundee, we think that it is going to be a great market for us,” he added.


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It has been a great year for solar in the US! As the year comes to an end, we like to take a look at the numbers to get a sense of how the industry is doing as a whole. The first statistic I came upon stated that through just the first half of 2014, 53% of all new electric capacity installed came from solar!
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, utility-scale solar as of September, 2014 had sent 14.2 gigawatt-hours of electricity to the U.S. grid, up 110% compared to 6.7 GW in 2013. California is leading the way with a whopping 7.8 GW generated in 2014, 188 percent change from 2013!
That means solar generation was enough to meet the electricity needs of 1,513,703 average U.S. homes, and represented about 0.4 percent of the nation’s total electricity. However, these numbers don’t take into account residential and private commercial solar.
“There are now more than half a million homes and businesses nationwide with a solar installation,” reported the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA).
With continued growth and accounting for these additional sources of generation, solar electricity could easily account for 1 percent of U.S. generation by the end of this year. That might sound like small potatoes, but as recently as 2008 the energy contribution from solar was virtually zero. Rapid growth in the sector points toward continued gains in the near future.
What’s spurring this remarkable growth in the industry? For one thing, it is becoming more and more affordable with the average price of a solar panel declining by 64% since 2010. We also cannot overstate the role of effective public policies such as the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), Net Energy Metering (NEM) and Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) among other state and city-specific policies.
Growth in the solar sector has far reaching positive impacts for the US economy as well as the environment! While the numbers are not yet in for 2014, as of 2013 the industry had already provided 143,000 much needed jobs for Americans or more than 50 people hired in solar each day. Looked at another way, nearly $20 billion a year was invested back into the economy due to the industry.
On the environmental side Rhone Resch, CEO of SEIA, noted that solar will “help to offset an estimated 20 million metric tons of harmful CO2 emissions in 2014, which is the equivalent of taking 4 million cars off U.S. highways, saving 2.1 billion gallons of gasoline or shuttering half a dozen coal-fired power plants”. Needless to say, converting to solar or other renewable energy sources is paying huge dividends for both our economy and the environment. We look forward to sharing this great resource with continued growth in 2015 and beyond!
Readers of this blog know that solar is growing like crazy, and it looks like NPR has gotten the message.
Here is a Morning Edition story that you may have missed from last week amid the holiday hoopla:
Here are some key take aways:
Given that so many of our clients are NPR listeners, it is good to see that they are finally helping to spread the word that solar is here to stay!
“Cap and Trade” - a sensible approach to addressing climate change by reducing emissions of Greenhouse Gasses - was once considered so non-controversial that even prominent Republicans like John McCain and even Newt Gingrich endorsed it. Today the idea is routinely trashed in Washington as a “big government energy mandate“ that must be stopped at all costs. And yet, in California, Cap and Trade has been up and running for nearly two years despite legal challenges and dire predictions that it would ruin the economy. (Hint: it hasn’t!)
Now the program (known as AB32) is set to expand to cover vehicle fuels, which account for one-third of all GHG emissions in the state, and industry, particularly the fossil-fuel industry, is attacking the program again. Only this time they are playing a smarter, some would say more cynical, game - hiding behind “AstroTurf” groups to conceal their agenda.
Perhaps you’ve seen this ad:
Heavens, Californians are facing a “hidden” gas tax - oh no! - and who is giving you this news? An attractive model fronting for something called the “California Drivers Alliance” who wants you to sign their petition. In reality, what is hidden here is who is actually behind this ad - the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) and its fossil-fuel producing members.
In a PowerPoint presentation highlighting WSPA’s “Priority Issues” under the banner, “Energy Proud”, WSPA lays out how the current boost in domestic crude oil production should be “The Best of Times” except for those pesky concerns over the environment from fracking, oil spills, and yes, GHG emissions which threatens WSPA’s members with “The Worst of Times.” Their response? A massive astroturfing campaign designed to mislead consumers over the impact of this next phase of California’s cap and trade program all the while keeping the role of Big Oil out of the picture.
Fortunately WSPA has not been as sly as they intended, with their game plan having been made public, and now facing a coalition of pro-environment groups helping to unmask the powers behind the astroturfing. That coalition, operating under the name, Stop Fooling CA, is putting out the facts behind WSPA’s campaign to deceive the public, including clever graphics like the cartoon on the right. On their website you can sign up for news alerts and add your name to the list of people who are pushing back against Big Oil’s covert attempt to derail the most successful cap and trade program anywhere in the world, and one that even the Wall Street Journal concedes, “may hold lessons for other states.”
Just in time for the start of the holiday shopping season, we are pleased to be offering Founder & CEO, Jim Jenal’s hit solar sensation, Commercial Solar: Step-by-Step at fantastic savings. What could be a better gift for the solar fans on your shopping list?
“I thought it would be dry like a textbook, but it reads like a novel!” Laurel Hamilton
Starting at 8:00 a.m. on Friday through Midnight on Monday night, you can purchase the Kindle e-book for just 99¢ - that’s 80% off the regular price! Still like your books in paper? No worries, we’ve got you covered there, too! The paperback edition is available for sale from our Run on Sun online store for just $5.95 - 40% off the list price!
“Whether you’re a potential solar customer interested in how to go solar or commercial solar sales professional, this is a must read–and I work for Jenal’s competitors.” Tor - Solar Fred - Valenza
So set your clocks and don’t miss out on this rare opportunity to own the most highly praised book about Commercial Solar available anywhere!
“Jim Jenal’s guide to commercial solar is a thorough, quick, and easy read. The text is manage-ably dense with information, but chatty and easy to understand. Jim knows what he’s talking about, which is nice for those of us who do not. The process is laid out in step-by-step instructions with examples to illustrate all parts. Thanks, Jim, for making commercial solar seem attainable.” Evyn Larson
Solar module manufacturer BP Solar - the “green” branch of energy giant British Petroleum (the same folks who brought you the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico) - exited the solar market in 2011. But now a class-action lawsuit is alleging that BP Solar knew as early as 2005 that some of its solar modules, including ones that were widely sold in California, pose a serious risk of failure and even fires. Will BP step up and do the right thing? (For the record, Run on Sun never used BP Solar modules.)
BP does not deny that they have a potential problem. In a carefully worded 2012 Product Advisory, BP acknowledged the following:
This product advisory is being issued to communicate a potential risk when using certain BP Solar modules in specific types of installations. Testing has shown there is a limited risk of cable to busbar disconnection in the junction box that, in rare cases, may lead to a thermal event in certain applications of the products referenced below. A thermal event, depending upon the severity, can cause secondary damage to surrounding materials that are not fire resistant.
While BP’s advisory uses the overly lawyered phrase, “thermal event” to describe what can happen, others use less measured language. A report on Bay Area television station KTVU/Fox 2 speaks of consumer complaints about solar modules with a bevy of problems including “burning up, shattering and putting homes in danger.”
BP is not the only entity to “lawyer-up." The two-person law firm of Birka-White is challenging BP in a class action lawsuit (see the complaint here) that harkens back to David taking on Goliath. Birka-White, which had previously sued Suntech over problems with solar roofing tiles, a problem we have documented in this blog, alleges in their suit that a defect in the junction box on the affected BP solar modules causes them to fail, “resulting in a loss of electric current and serious safety risks, including the risk of fire." Despite that risk, the complaint alleges that BP continued to sell the defective modules until 2010, even though BP knew of the defects “since at least 2005."
More specifically, the complaint alleges that:
17. The connection between Solar Panels is made at a junction box attached to each Solar Panel. A defect in the junction box and the solder joints between the connecting cables causes the solder joint to overheat.
18. When the solder joint overheats, the connection between the Solar Panels breaks. This break in the circuit results in an arc of an electrical current which generates heat between 2000-3000 degrees Fahrenheit.
19. The heat caused by this failure melts the junction box, burns the cables and the Solar Panel and shatters the glass cover of the Solar Panel. Attached hereto as Exhibit D are photographs of BP Solar Panel junction box failures. If there is flammable material near the heat source, such a [sic] dry leaves, the junction box failure creates a high risk of fire. Fires caused by junction box failures have already occurred and there is a substantial risk that they will occur in the future.
20. Because of the defect in the junction box, all Solar Panels relevant to this litigation have failed or will fail before the end of their expected useful life.
The photos above are taken from Exhibit D and show the sort of “thermal event” that the affected homeowners (the potential members of the class to be certified as part of the litigation) could experience.
Faced with such compelling evidence of product defects, what has BP’s response been? You guessed it - to hide behind their limited warranty and to offer consumers a financial remedy that falls far short of making them whole.
To be sure, any product can have a defect, and it is by no means uncommon for a corporation to seek shelter from liability for such defects by pointing to limiting language in its product warranties. Yet BP, which had a net profit in 2013 of $13.4 billion, would certainly seem to be in a position to compensate the innocent victims of its product defects more fully. Of course, having halted solar operations altogether, BP has no ongoing vested interest in avoiding the black eye that its stonewalling will inevitably create for the entire solar industry. Indeed, how will other solar module manufacturers respond to BP’s failure and the ensuing litigation? Strong statements from industry leaders affirming their commitment to address promptly, and beyond the fine print of their limited warranties, problems arising from product defects could go a long way to restoring consumer confidence damaged by these BP revelations.
We decided to take a look into the CSI data to get a sense of how big an issue this might be in California. BP’s product advisory asserts that only certain module models, and only those manufactured from March 1, 2005 to October 31, 2006 have the defect that can lead to “thermal events.” The complaint, however, disputes that limitation, alleging that, “the risk of junction box failure exists for all Solar Panels - not just the limited number listed in the Product Advisory - manufactured at any time - not just the limited time frame covered by the Product Advisory.”
Regardless of which position is determined to be accurate, the CSI data provides no visibility into installations prior to 2007. And while the problem may or may not affect module models beyond those listed in the Product Advisory, as far as the data is concerned, the vast number of residential installations made use of only two BP models: BP175B and BP4175B - both of which are listed on the Product Advisory. Both products appear in the data as of 2007 (which could easily include modules manufactured during the Product Advisory period) and continue into this year. The peak year for installations of the 175B module was 2010, whereas the 4175B peaked the year later, in 2011. Here is the distribution:
At a minimum, those 135 installation in 2007 would likely have used modules from the Product Advisory period, and if plaintiffs are correct, there could be as many as 1,300+ installations based on these two modules alone.
While there is no doubt that individual homeowners are at greatest risk, there are more than 100 companies that installed these BP modules, potentially exposing them to liability for failures. Affected companies include major players like SolarCity, Verengo, and Sungevity, as well as dozens of much smaller companies, many of which are no longer in business. Those companies relied upon BP’s representations and are also victims here.
While larger companies might have the resources (if not necessarily the inclination) to help out their customers in this situation, smaller companies with more limited resources are not in a position to foot the bill for replacement systems (the remedy being sought in the litigation). Never-the-less, they can and should offer free inspections to their affected customers. It will be far better for the solar industry if a customer learns of a potential problem from the company that installed their system than if they hear about it in the media, or worse, suffer a “thermal event” on their own roof.
As solar installers, we depend upon manufactures to produce products that are safe and reliable, and to stand behind those products when there is an issue. We cannot, sadly, control the outcome when a supposedly competent manufacturer introduces defective products and then refuses to act responsibly. We can, and must, however, take all reasonable steps available to us to mitigate the harm - to our clients and to the industry - when such unpleasant circumstances arise.


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Clearing agents protesting against Customs Vehicles Identification Number (VIN), Valuation policy recently introduced by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) can heave a sigh of relieve as Roll On Roll Off (RORO) operators have promised to waiver demurrage charges on vehicles trapped at the terminal during protest.
Speaking to journalists, the Customer Care Manager, Five Star Logistics Terminal, Tin-Can Island port, Chuks Okereafor, said though the terminal was almost filled up, he said the terminal was planning to grant waiver to importers on delayed vehicles.
Okereafor who said the strike action has a little bit affected delivery said the company will definitely do something about the waiver at the right time.
“Definitely, we are going to grant a waiver and that is a very big loss to the company. We have sympathy for our customers because they have been with us, the management will always do something. We know the situation when it comes to trade. If there is no buyer there won’t be any seller.
The cargoes are already in Nigeria, so the company will definitely do something about the waiver at the right time. The strike has a little bit affected delivery. When you don’t make delivery, there are losses. If you are supposed to deliver, for instance, 200 vehicles, and you can’t do that, it is a loss. When workers are paid without working, it is also a loss.”


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"I have the hammers for $6, but somebody in Nowhere, Miss., can sell them for $5.99.
"Well, the shop in Mississippi doesn't have to pay San Francisco's minimum wage, doesn't have to pay for sick days, doesn't have to pay for health care ... We've asked businesses to contribute to all these good social policies, then those businesses get penalized because someone else can sell something cheaper."
Cornell who says he agrees that local businesses should pay well and give their workers benefits is frustrated that when it comes to purchasing, the city doesn't give anything back. "We lost S&C Ford, we lost Ellis Brooks Chevrolet," he said. "Those were all union jobs, with good benefits. And how many cars did the city buy from them?"
When Cornell was on the Small Business Commission, he remembered some small locally owned cabinet-making shops came to complain about a $4 million city contract for woodwork. "They told us that they lost the contract to a Canadian firm," he said. "The costs of operating in San Francisco were higher than in Canada, so they couldn't compete."
"We do not as a city reflect the fact that we ask employers to do good things for their workers," Chiu added. "When we spend perhaps $1 billion a year in city contracts, those employers don't have a level playing field."
Sure, on the surface and in the short term, the city gets a better deal when it awards contracts based entirely on price. But San Francisco has, as a matter of public policy, already decided there are good reasons to give minority-owned contractors some advantage in bidding, and that public contractors should pay prevailing union wages and offer benefits to domestic partners. Local enterprises get a modest advantage in some bids, but nowhere near enough to make up for the cost difference of operating in San Francisco.
And as Newsom himself has made clear, spending money locally has a long-term economic benefit that almost certainly outweighs the price differential in most bids. "When Newsom bought his car in Colma, the city lost the sales taxes, and lost the multiplier effect of the money being spent in town," Cornell noted.
In fact, a 2007 study by Civic Economics, sponsored by the San Francisco Locally Owned Merchants Alliance, showed that if city residents shifted just 10 percent of their purchasing from national chains to locally-owned businesses, the city would gain 1,300 new jobs and $200 million in economic activity every year.
Imagine the activity the positive benefits to the local economy that would come with the city shifting, say, 25 percent of its spending to local businesses.
Obviously the city can't buy everything in town. "Nobody in San Francisco makes Muni trains," Cornell noted. But a lot of what city departments buy, from hammers and paper to cars and trucks, is available from local suppliers or could be. "If the city made it known it was looking to buy something locally, some entrepreneur would come along and figure out a way to supply it," Cornell said.
So how could this work on a policy level? It's not that complicated. The city controller, or the Human Rights Commission, which oversees contracting policy, could devise a formula showing how much the cost of complying with city laws like the minimum wage, health care, and sick days (laws that most of us, and many small businesses, fully support) drives up the cost of doing business in San Francisco. Then give local merchants an equivalent advantage in the bidding process.
In other words, if the hammers at Brownie's Hardware cost 25 cents more than the hammers in Nowhere, Miss., because Cornell pays for his workers' health insurance, he should only have to come within 25 cents of the cut-rate suppliers' price to get the city's business.


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Palo Alto, Calif.--Hewlett-Packard Co. will discontinue production of its e-business software after the products failed to catch on, an HP executive said. In a presentation to analysts, Peter Blackmore, exec VP of HP's enterprise systems group, said the company has suffered heavy losses with its e-business software and will now partner with other software companies to offer HP customers the programs they need to take their business to the Web. "Many of the assets we have there we will retire, and we're going to move to a partnered strategy because that is what the customer wants," Blackmore said. "We move to a partnership model and then make that part of the business, avoid the losses we have and make the overall software business profitable." On Thursday, however, an HP representative was reportedly more guarded about the company's plans. The representative said Blackwell's comments were "premature" and that HP executives are still weighing all options, which include the possibility of leaving the e-business software market. The company will formally announce its software strategy at the end of June, the representative said.
Hewlett-Packard nixes e-business software


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JD.com Finance Arm Raises $1.95 Billion at $20 Billion Valuation
The finance arm of China leading e-commerce company JD.com, JD Finance, has raised $1.95 billion (CNY 13 billion). The funding of $1.95 billion raised will value the company at nearly $20 billion (CNY 133 billion).
” JD.com Finance Arm Raises $1.95 Billion at $20 Billion Valuation “
In 2017, the finance arm of JD.com was separated to form JD Finance. JD Finance products includes consumer credit and wealth management products, and currently served 8 million small businesses and 400 million individuals.
In China, JD Finance is competing with the world’s largest fintech company, Alibaba spin-off, Ant Financial, which owns Alipay. JD.com is China’s leading one-stop e-commerce platform, providing 301.8 million active customers. In 2014, JD.com became publicly listed on NASDAQ with a market value of more than $26 billion. The company was founded in 2004 in Beijing by CEO, Richard Liu who has an estimated net worth of around $10 billion.
Investors in JD Finance $1.95 billion round includes China’s leading private equity firms CICC Capital, China Securities, Citic Capital and Bank of China Group Investment (BOCGI).
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Time Inc.’s Environmental Impact
The country's largest publisher keeps close tabs on sustainability.
When you’re a $5 billion publisher like Time Inc., you can afford to hire someone like David Refkin as director of sustainable development. Indeed, the company has been studying the impact of its entire production process. At the MPA’s 2008 Retail Conference in Tampa, Florida today, Refkin discussed Time Inc.’s efforts in environmental sustainability, offering up figures that give some insight into the company’s impact:
- The company buys 500,000 tons of paper each year from 53 mills.
- 75 percent of the company’s fiber meets certified sustainable forestry (CSF) standards, up 25 percent from 2002.
- The carbon footprint of producing one issue of Time is equal to 160 people flying an airplane around the globe.
Refkin also said that only one out of six magazines in the home get recycled, and that Time Inc. has partnered with Verso Paper to increase consumer awareness, spending $5 million on outdoor advertising and another $6 million in magazines to push recyclable messaging. To learn more about the publisher’s efforts, keep an eye out for its sustainability report due out in April.


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And what, pray tell, is the IoT?
It’s the Internet of Things, all those devices in your home with wireless connections to the Internet.
And to protect your privacy, only a Trumpian solution seems to work.
In other words, you’ll have to build a wall.
From the Yomiuri Shimbun:
More from the Yomiuri Shimbun:
In preparation for the spread of the internet of things [IoT], the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry will develop a “protective wall” to safeguard home electronics connected to the internet from cyber-attacks, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
There has been an increasing number of cases in which IoT devices at home are hacked and used as a base for cyber-attacks. The ministry plans to build a system, or protective wall, on the internet to prevent unauthorized operation of devices and stop them being infected with viruses, according to sources.
Development expenses totaling several hundred million yen will be incorporated in the second supplementary budget for fiscal 2016. In cooperation with electronics makers and telecommunications carriers, the ministry aims to put the system into practical use within a year or two.
It is difficult to improve the security of home electronics such as televisions, security cameras and routers by upgrading their software. While industrial IoT devices and personal computers are guarded with a protective wall or software, many consumer IoT devices are vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
The ministry plans to build a system on the internet in which access to all consumer IoT devices via the internet must go through a protective wall. Any unauthorized communication will be blocked. If there is a security problem with a consumer IoT device, a warning will be issued. The ministry aims to have the system protect existing IoT products as well.


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- Consumer intelligence company NielsenIQ (NIQ) has partnered with McDonald’s USA for a new Cultural Resonance module that will be integrated into its Bases Ad360 ad-testing portfolio, according to a press release.
- The module offers various cultural resonance metrics to analyze the role of cultural factors in ads and provides indicators for content that isn’t landing as intended. The offering also allows businesses to gauge their performance against industry standards.
- Additionally, the module offers insight into various cultural signals to help ads drive meaningful connections. The new offering from NIQ and McDonald’s arrives as marketers continue to develop inclusive advertising strategies while culture remains an important yet potentially divisive way to engage consumers.
As brands strategize ways to reach a wider audience, NIQ and McDonald’s USA’s collaboration for a new ad-testing solution could help advertising strategies land in a meaningful way. The unveiling of the tool comes as culture remains an important yet potentially divisive way to engage U.S. consumers, indicating the need for additional measures to ensure brand safety. The Cultural Resonance module is a quantitative solution built from extensive explicit and implicit human insight and validated with neuroscience metrics, according to the press release.
“In a rapidly evolving landscape where diversity and inclusion are paramount, the Bases Cultural Resonance module, developed in collaboration with McDonald’s, equips advertisers with the tools they need to create content that authentically connects,” said Megan Belden, vice president and global advertising lead at NIQ Bases, in release details.
The Cultural Resonance module is meant to help advertisers connect with customers in a genuine way. It can be used to spot red flags, or moments within their content that contain implicit bias, to help advertisers avoid feeding damaging stereotypes. Advertisers can also analyze their content from a cultural lens, going beyond diverse casting to look at how an ad is telling a story so consumers will be better able to relate to and resonate with the content. Advertisers can gauge their performance against industry standards using the module, which delivers a proprietary composite measure benchmarked to a database.
“With processes like second-by-second feedback, this tool allows us to make real-time optimizations – making us smarter creative reviewers,” said Jen Larkin, director of U.S. Consumer Insights at McDonald’s, in release details.
The offering is integrated with neuroscience methodology, per release details, linking survey-based metrics to EEG emotion, memory and attention measures so advertisers can optimize their marketing for all audiences. The need for a strong diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategy in marketing is a key industry focus, both from an ethical standpoint and from a financial perspective. Cutting DEI out of a company’s marketing strategy can result in major losses, potentially already costing U.S. businesses $5.4 trillion, per Kantar findings.
The collaboration from McDonald’s, which helped build the NIQ module, follows the QSR chain’s announcement in 2021 that it would be doubling its investments in diverse media partners as part of a plan to increase representation. The chain, which has also faced lawsuits over its commitment to Black-owned media, last spring said it was “on track to meet or exceed” a commitment of 5% of total Black-owned marketing investments by 2024, per an Ad Age report. Other brands recently have been working to reach diverse audiences, including Hyundai, Frito-Lay, Lexus and Tubi.


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The UK’s competition regulator, which had been looking into the merger, has dropped its opposition to PayPal’s $2.2 billion takeover of iZettle, after finding that the enlarged payments group would... more
The UK’s antitrust watchdog has referred PayPal’s takeover of Swedish startup iZettle for an in-depth probe over fears it will force up prices for customers and lead to a worse... more
The post PayPal and iZettle takeover referred for deeper probe by competition watchdog appeared first on Payments Cards & Mobile.
PayPal is reported to be acquiring mPOS specialist iZettle for $2.2bn. PayPal is paying double the amount that iZettle, which is focused on Europe and Latin America, was targeting in its IPO, which was due to take place at the end of this month. iZettle would become only the latest star of the Swedish tech scene to [...]


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The upscale department store chain Neiman Marcus is preparing to move its business forward in a big way. On Tuesday, the Dallas-based company said that it had registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a proposed initial public offering.
Neiman Marcus says it hasn't determined yet how many shares it will offer or what the price range might look like. In addition to operating 41 locations around the country, the company also owns Bergdorf Goodman and the German luxury site MyTheresa, which it acquired last October.
Measured by sales, Neiman Marcus is still somewhat smaller than its competitors, having brought in $1.22 billion in revenue during the third quarter of the year, which wrapped up May 2. (By comparison, Nordstrom's sales hit $3.1 billion in the most recent quarter, and Hudson's Bay, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, saw revenue of $2 billion CAD — about $1.6 billion USD.) Neiman also has a considerable amount of long-term debt: about $4.56 billion worth of it.
This isn't the first time Neiman Marcus has been here. Once a publicly held company, it sold to the private equity firms Texas Pacific Group and Warburg Pincus in 2005. Then in 2013, the retailer filed for a $100 million initial public offering, but wound up selling to Ares Management and Canada Pension Plan Investment Group for $6 billion instead. Let's see whether Neiman goes through with it this time around.


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American footwear and performance apparel brand New Balance has announced the signing of a sponsorship deal with Liverpool FC’s rising star Harvey Elliott.
At 18 years old, Elliott is one of England’s fastest rising talents in sports, having broken several records since his arrival in top-flight football.
The teenager was Fulham FC’s youngest ever player, after making his senior debut aged just 15. Later that season, he became the Premier League’s youngest debutant at just 16 years and 30 days.
The England youth international is also the youngest ever player to start a match for Liverpool FC.
Since 2013, New Balance has considerably increased the number of athletes it sponsors. Noticeable athletes signed by the company include Olympian Stephanie Twell and Trayvon Bromell.
On joining New Balance, Harvey Elliott said: “Signing with New Balance is a massive step in my career. I’m pleased with my performances this season, but I’m also focused on working hard and taking my game to the next level. It feels good to be working with a global brand that wants to help me get there”.
New Balance Global Football General Manager, Kenny McCallum added: “We’re excited to have one of the most prodigious young talents in Europe join the New Balance family. Harvey has an incredible amount of flair and a positive approach to the game, which makes him exciting to watch”.


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According to the Sammobile, Samsung released the flagship mobile phone Galaxy S21 series a few days ago. Now the number of S21 models of this series in Korea has exceeded the previous generation flagship mobile phone Galaxy S20.
According to a report in South Korea, the number of reservations for the Galaxy S21 in South Korea is about 15-20% higher than that of the Galaxy S20. Industry insiders said that compared with the Galaxy S20, the demand for the unlocked version of the Galaxy S21 has tripled. However, the operator version has not increased compared to last year.
Last year, bookings for the unlocked version of the Galaxy S20 accounted for 10% of all bookings. This year, bookings for the unlocked Galaxy S21 accounted for 30% of all bookings in Korea.
The sales of the Samsung Galaxy S20 series in South Korea last year were not satisfactory. In order to attract more users, Samsung added more attractive color schemes and lowered the starting price of the Galaxy S21 series. Galaxy Buds series wireless Bluetooth headsets will be included.
Research organization Counterpoint Research predicts that the sales volume of the Galaxy S21 series will be higher than that of the Galaxy S20 series, but it still cannot reach the popularity of the Galaxy S10 series.


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It is no longer business as usual, but there is a future for print in Africa, yet...
Africa Day statement from Right2Know calls for freedom of expression in Africa...
TBILISI, GEORGIA: The editor-in-chief of the Georgian edition of Forbes magazine said on Tuesday he had resigned over pressure from the publishers to stop covering an anti-government billionaire.
28 Mar 2012
NEW YORK, US: Global advertising rose 8.8% year-on-year in Q1 to total US$118 billion* based on published rate cards, as advertisers spent more on television and continued to invest in booming consumer Asian and Latin American markets.
11 Jul 2011
ATLANTA, US: CNN has announced the launch of a new initiative for journalism students, called CNN iReport University, linked to iReport, the network's user-generated news community.
16 Sep 2010


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Dixon has secured an order from Oppo for making phones, with an order size of around 5-6 lakh units per month.
Chinese firms have finally decided to give business to local manufacturers, after resisting opening up their supply chain and production work to Indian companies. This development is attributed to persistent nudging by the government and is a significant victory for local players.
Many of the local players need manufacturing contracts after winning benefits under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for smartphones. The PLI payout is contingent on companies fulfilling specified commitments towards new investments and business activity.
Dixon Technologies and Karbonn could be among the frontrunners for receiving new business from Chinese companies such as Oppo and Vivo. Dixon has reportedly already secured a large manufacturing order from Oppo for making phones, with an order size of around 5-6 lakh units per month.
The order came through one of Oppo’s original design manufacturers (ODMs), which has now tapped into Dixon. Karbonn, which had won PLI benefits under UTL Neolyncs, is also in advanced discussions. Reportedly, Indian electronics manufacturers are also being tapped into.
While Chinese companies such as Vivo and Oppo have their own manufacturing facilities in India, they also outsource work through their ODMs, such as Longcheer, Huaqin, and Wingtech. These ODMs are crucial partners in the smartphone ecosystem of Chinese companies and have a strong say in allotting manufacturing business.
The government intervened in the matter after finding that Chinese companies were not ready to open up their supply chains to Indian players, despite virtually controlling the broader smartphone business in India. Officials have expressed a desire for more Chinese companies to provide technology and manufacturing opportunities to Indian players, especially as they will also come with PLI benefits.
Except for Samsung and Apple, which cumulatively have around 25% of the Indian smartphone market, the majority of the business is with Chinese makers such as Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, RealMe, and OnePlus.


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In a classically wide-ranging Session 5 of TED2022, six speakers shared their vision for the future — from building the world’s most powerful telescope to the next generation of the creator economy to finding ways to bridge divides and create peace through unlikely collaborations. The event: Talks from TED2022, Session 5: Vision, hosted by TED’s […]Continue reading
Why you should listen
At Instagram, Adam Mosseri works to shape the experience of the photo-sharing app, combining sharp design thinking with thoughtful product strategy to create an experience all can enjoy.
Mosseri has worked at Meta for more than 13 years, having started as a designer for Facebook's mobile app before moving to product management, where he led the Facebook News Feed product and engineering teams. Previously, he founded a design consultancy focused on graphic, interaction and exhibition design.


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Cross-gen support also expected
That massive Capcom leak you might have heard about appears to have revealed some promising news for Xbox fans. According to @pokeprotos and @GarnetSunset on Twitter, the data leak suggests the sixth entry in the Street Fighter series will be available on bo
After nearly 30 years with the company
Street Fighter series Executive Producer Yoshinori Ono has announced today that's he's leaving Capcom after nearly 30 years with the company, stepping down from his role as Capcom brand manager in the process. In a statement on Twitter, Ono thanked Street Fighter's fans for their continued support, and...