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Northwestern U. students win Diabetes Mine Design Challenge
EVANSTON, Ill. Two Northwestern University teams took home the top two prizes awarded earlier this week in the Diabetes Mine Design Challenge, which asked teams to create new tools for improving life with diabetes.
The top winners were Eric Schickli, a graduate student in the Master of Science in Engineering Design and Innovation program in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Samantha Katz, a graduate student in the MMM program, a joint MBA and Master of Engineering Management program between the Kellogg School of Management and the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science.
For their efforts, they received a $10,000 prize.
Schickli and Katz’s winning design was called the LifeCase and LifeApp system, a combined hardware and software system for iPhones that combines a lancer, test strips, a glucose meter, wireless insulin pump management and disease management software all in one package.
“I was looking for an independent study project, and my mother is a Type 1 diabetic, so I knew this would be a way I could help diabetics like her,” Schickli said. “She also had a network of people that we could tap for user interviews.”
By interviewing diabetics and researching diabetic products, the two quickly learned the main complaint about diabetic devices.
“Diabetics have to carry around cases filled with multiple devices to test their blood glucose, and it’s so cumbersome,” Katz said. “They were all looking for devices that could improve their lives and make diabetes take up less of their day,” Schickli added. They decided that an interface that combined aspects of diabetes management into one convenient device would be ideal.
Their final design is a modified iPhone case, complete with a glucose meter, lancer and strip storage. The software interface combines diabetes management software, insulin pump management software, and logs of meals and glucose readings.
The Most Creative award ($5,000) was won by an undergraduate team of Design for America students: Kushal Amin, Can Arican, Hannah Chung, Rita Huen, Mert Iseri, Kevin Li, Justin Liu, Yuri F. Malina, Katy Mess, and Sourya Roy. Involvement in the project crossed the borders of McCormick — students from the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and School of Education and Social Policy also participated.
Their design, “Jerry the Bear with Diabetes,” is an interactive stuffed toy and web-based play space for children with diabetes. Design for America is a new student-led initiative that creates social impact through human centered participatory design.
Pollen.com identified as reliable source for health information
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. SDI on Wednesday announced that its Pollen.com allergy site received the Health On the Net Foundation’s Code of Conduct certification, identifying it as an internationally reliable source of health information.
Pollen.com’s audience has grown by more than 466% since the site’s launch in 2002. In April 2009, the site and network had more than 26.5 million page views.
“With our growing audience, the Health On the Net certification gives our visitors and advertisers further confidence that the information we are providing is a gold standard – it’s trustworthy, timely and credible,” stated Glenn Connery, associate director of the application development/Web group for SDI.
Certification by HON means that Pollen.com provides sound, authoritative information; data confidentiality and privacy; proper attribution of sources; and transparency, such as a clear delineation of advertising and editorial content.
CRN CEO responds to dietary supplements article by ‘Sports Illustrated’
WASHINGTON The Council for Responsible Nutrition on Tuesday strongly criticized an article — “What you don’t know might kill you” — that was published in the May 18 issue of Sports Illustrated for mischaracterizing the dietary supplement industry. The industry, the association charged, has suffered from a chronic dose of misperception around safety and regulatory requirements in part because the Food and Drug Administration has not actively utilized enforcement powers afforded the agency under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994.
Steve Mister, president and CEO of CRN, noted that the Sports Illustrated article suggests DSHEA severely curtailed FDA’s ability to regulate dietary supplements — for example, shifting the safety burden of new supplement products to FDA and eliminating any pre-market approval authority.
“Contrary to [former FDA commissioner] Dr. David Kessler’s statements [in the Sports Illustrated article], and to common misunderstandings about the law, rather than shifting the safety burden to FDA, DSHEA actually provided FDA with new enforcement authority not previously available,” Mister argued. “Dietary supplements were regulated as a category of food prior to DSHEA, and continue to be regulated as a category of food today. Further, FDA never had legal pre-market approval authority for dietary supplements — DSHEA did not change that fact.”
Instead, Mister suggested that the FDA, under Kessler’s leadership, did not enforce DSHEA at the time of its creation, and that the agency has only recently begun to realize the full regulatory powers afforded FDA under DSHEA.
“The extreme examples the article describes appear to be a product of DSHEA, when in fact, they more likely result from FDA’s lack of enforcement of that law over the past 16 years, starting with Dr. Kessler’s decision to allow FDA to turn its back on supplement regulation once DSHEA — a bill he strongly opposed — was enacted,” Mister said. “In actuality, FDA chose to sit on its collective hands, refusing to take advantage of the new tools it now had [under DSHEA], even ignoring the simplest requirements from Congress to issue new Good Manufacturing Practices specific to dietary supplements. … It wasn’t until Dr. Mark McClellan became FDA Commissioner in 2002 that the agency emerged from its fog of inertia concerning the dietary supplement industry, and began to look at and use some of the additional authority provided to it by DSHEA,” he said. “In the past five years or so, the industry and the agency have both come a long way: with industry lobbying for GMPs that are supplement-specific and FDA finally issuing these rules; with industry urging for passage of a mandatory reporting system for serious adverse events, and FDA getting the system up and running; and with FDA taking strong enforcement action — ranging from warning letters to significant fines to product seizures against companies that manufacture unapproved drugs masquerading as dietary supplements.”
Mister also took exception to the suggestion that such performance-enhancing drugs as anabolic steroids are legal under current DSHEA regulations, and that it’s up to the Drug Enforcement Agency to track down and stop production of these supplements containing illicit ingredients. That couldn’t be further from the truth, Mister argued.
“Under DSHEA, most of these substances are not even legal dietary ingredients, i.e., they cannot be legally included in dietary supplements, period,” he said.
For starters, supplement manufacturers can’t legally go to market with a new-to-the-U.S. supplement ingredient without first filing a “new dietary ingredient” notification to FDA. Products containing new ingredients without that NDI notification are adulterated under the law, Mister said.
Couple that NDI filing requirement with the fact that, under current GMPs, manufacturers must also seek and secure FDA approval of any new manufacturing plant, and the FDA has de facto powers to prevent potentially illegal substances marketed as supplements from ever reaching the market.
“[DSHEA] provides that any food, including supplements, that is adulterated is subject to a range of penalties including seizure, fines and imprisonment for the manufacturer, Mister said. “Completely independent of DEA’s jurisdiction in this area, FDA has clear and powerful authority to address supplements that contain performance-enhancing drugs or anabolic steroids. These various new chemical cocktails are illegal under DSHEA simply because no NDI has been filed for them or because they are not legal dietary ingredients in the first place.”
“Every industry has its outliers, the underbelly that ignores the laws, cuts corners in manufacturing and puts profits ahead of long-term confidence of their consumers,” Mister added. “This industry is no exception, but that is not the fault of the law itself. No law works unless it is enforced.”
Mister also noted that the Sports Illustrated article overstated the size of the sports nutrition industry, and in so doing overstated the size of the potential bad players within that industry.
“[The] Sports Illustrated’s article … starts by referring to sports nutrition supplements as a ‘$20 billion obsession,’ portraying the industry as eight times larger than it is,” commented Steve Mister, president and CEO, CRN. “The entire dietary supplement industry has U.S. sales of approximately $24 billion, with vitamin sales alone representing approximately $10 billion of the total market. But the sports nutrition supplements that are the focus of this article represent sales somewhere closer to $2.5 billion.”
Mister noted that the Sports Illustrated estimate did include sales figures from categories outside of dietary supplements, such as functional foods, for example.
“Ironically that inflated figure seeks to portray a problem that, if it exists at all, represents only a very small portion of companies in the supplement industry not representative of the mainstream companies that manufacture products that consumers choose to include in their cadre of personal healthcare options,” Mister said.


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Why do some ads or videos spread through the Web like wildfire while other online content fizzles out? That is the top-of-mind question for investors in social media. There are plenty of intuitively logical theories of why content goes viral. The problem for marketing stakeholders, however, is that none of them accurately predict outcomes. Two researchers at the University Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business take on the virality challenge and, by questioning popular wisdom, uncover strategic opportunities for marketers to shift the odds in their favor.
Jonah Berger and Katherine Milkman’s “Social Transmission, Emotion, and the Virality of Online Content” analyzes an expanded range of causal factors and finds far more possibilities for going viral than previously supposed. Popular explanations of contagious content tend to reduce the online information exchange to reciprocity, says Berger. “I send you interesting or useful things in the hope that you’ll send me interesting or useful things in the future.” But this fails to recognize that “the decisions we make are not always rational,” Berger notes. “People not only share useful information; emotion also plays an important role.”
The perplexing question of how emotions shape virality has long been a subject of debate between advertisers and newspaper editors (“Eliminate the negative” versus “If it bleeds it leads.”) To test these opposing viewpoints, the researchers asked a cross-national group of survey participants to review various materials that evoked negative or positive emotions and report the effect of the content’s emotionality on their inclinations to share it. The decidedly mixed picture that emerged posed an intriguing contradiction: While accentuating the positive still wins friends and influences customers, negativity was often equally “contagious.”
Milkman and Berger’s research hypothesis helps to resolve the ambiguities surrounding emotion-laden content by linking content’s virality to its impact on physiological arousal. In other words, it’s not always what you feel, but how deeply you feel it that pushes your finger to the SEND button. This theory also helps explain why different negative emotions can have opposite effects. “Although the intensity varies, people generally get a lift from positive messages, regardless of the specific emotion involved,” Berger suggests. “But while content that incites intense anger or high anxiety gets people fired up, sad or depressing news tends to inhibit arousal.”
To gather data for their study, the authors used Web crawlers to conduct daily scans of the world’s most frequently visited newspaper website: the New York Times online edition. “The site’s vast readership and breadth of subject matter (international politics, fashion, sports, entertainment, etc.) offered optimal conditions for our experiment,” says Berger.
The Power Of Awe
The most resounding YES vote on the authors’ theory came from the response to awe-inspiring stories. “The virality of amazing stories like ‘Rare Treatment Reported to Cure AIDS Patient’ is pretty amazing in itself,” says Berger. “It also testifies to the power of physiological arousal to move your audience to share your message.” By stimulating an intense urge to proselytize and an equally compelling desire to reinforce social ties,
an awe-inspiring message drives readers to share that message with others.
Articles that hit audience hot buttons were also among the most contagious. As predicted, angry content was very effective in driving online virality. “Our analysis suggests that a one-standard deviation increase in the content’s anger rating raises its chances of making the most-emailed list as much as extending its stay as a featured story on the Times website for an additional 2.9 hours,” Berger says. “That’s nearly four times as long as the average article spends in that position. “In the right circumstances, angry content presents important relationship and branding opportunities,” he notes, “but its explosive effects pose equally significant risks.” Messages that misfire and messengers who ignore or mishandle a grumbling undertone in their online audience can unleash a plague of potentially costly consequences, including a tarnished brand image and customer attrition.
The contrary effects of two different “bad” feelings also supported the link between virality and arousal states. The agitation from highly alarming and deeply disturbing articles landed anxiety in the highly contagious category. The depressant effect of sadness, on the other hand, proved to be a downer for a story’s popularity rating. “This result suggests heart-wrenching stories and images could backfire, while ‘scare tactics,’ in some contexts such as public health campaigns, could help spread a life-saving message,” says Berger. “One of our study’s most essential takeaways is that popular wisdom, advertising taboos, and other unexamined beliefs require frequent and thorough reality checks,” he concludes. By following a counter-intuitive pathway, their investigation overturns marketing’s traditional restriction on negative content and offers insight into the powerful effects of awe on online virality. For marketers and other investors in social media, those findings illuminate new pathways to drive brand evangelism and customer loyalty and engagement.

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Redrob Transforms Global Recruitment with AI-Powered Skill Tests: Secures $4M Seed Round
SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Redrob, a global recruitment platform operated by McKinley Rice, announced the release of Redrob Online Skill Tests. Redrob is bringing AI to every stage of recruitment - from candidate search to messaging to interviews. The company also announced a $4M seed round, which closed in October.
Redrob Online Skill Tests helps companies design and deploy skill assessments to job applicants in as little as 30 seconds, allowing them to predict on-the-job performance without human bias.
This round was co-led by Murex Partners and DS & Partners, whose notable landmark investments include South Korean tech unicorns such as Musinsa, Market Kurly, and Yanolja.
After the fundraising, Redrob is expanding its online testing platform with 'Redrob Global People Search', which uses AI to reorganize the world's people data into a more universally understandable format to enable sales, networking, and recruitment.
"65% of the world's population is online, yet so few businesses are truly global," says Redrob's co-founder and CEO Felix Kim. "The greatest obstacle to hiring and selling globally is a lack of contextual knowledge. For example, U.S. recruiters don't know about the local Ivy League in India, while Indian salespeople don't know much about local distributors in the U.S."
"Redrob will break down country-specific silos of contextual knowledge," says Kim, "and in doing so we'll revolutionize the way people meet online."
In parallel, as Redrob predicts more companies will become globally distributed, it will be expanding its Employer of Record (EOR) product line. Redrob Employer of Record helps companies avoid outsourcing firms and directly hire talent from countries such as India without the need to set up an office or handle payroll, so even small startups can emulate the 24/7 operations of the Fortune 500 and their global subsidiaries.
More details about Redrob and the latest news are available at http://www.redrob.io
Redrob is a global people discovery platform that uses AI to reorganize the world's people data into a more universally understandable format to enable sales, networking, and recruitment across the world. Founded in 2018, Redrob has over 200,000 users across the U.S., India, and South Korea and has raised $4M to date.


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August 24, 2016
Climbing the Ladder
Nov. 14, 2013
Several companies serving the card-not-present payments space recently announced notable personnel moves:
Global Payments named Jeffrey S. Sloan CEO. Sloan joined the Atlanta-based payments processor in 2010 as head of its Americas business and worldwide mergers and acquisition strategy. Previously, he was a partner at Goldman Sachs, responsible for developing the investment bank’s worldwide payments practice.
Paul Burmester has been named CEO of ValidSoft . The company, which specializes in using biometric authentication to fight fraud, said it will lean on Burmester’s experience in developing companies for mainstream commercial success. He has developed and led companies and teams in the IT, multimedia, telecom and wireless industries.
Mobile payments startup Clinkle said former Netflix CFO Barry McCarthy has joined the company as COO. McCarthy oversaw a 12-year period of tremendous growth at Netflix from 1999 to 2010. Since departing the streaming-content company, he has been an investor in various Internet startups.
Lisa Shipley has been named head of global strategy for payments by Transaction Network Services (TNS). The Reston, Va.-based data communications firm said Shipley will be responsible for setting the strategic direction for the payments division. Prior to joining TNS, Shipley was senior vice president of enterprise account at First Data. She also served in senior roles at Ingenico, Hypercom North America and NationsBank.
Long Beach, N.Y.-based processor Planet Payment has appointed Carl J. Williams as the company’s president. Williams comes from Pay Anywhere where he was managing director and previously served as president of worldwide payment processing for Global Payments and divisional president of merchant services at National Processing Company.
Banking technology advisory firm Graber Associates announced that its President, Ray Graber , has been named to the advisory board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Consumer Payments Research Center (CPRC). The CPRC board, comprised of academics, economists, payments industry professionals, consumer experts and others guides the design and application of the CPRC’s survey tools and data analysis.
JetPay Payment Services , a division of payment services provider JetPay Corporation, said it has hired Jeffry A. Beene as senior vice president for risk management. Beene has served in executive-level compliance and operations positions at NetSecure Payments, FrontStream Payments and Pipeline Data Processing.
Melville, N.Y.-based ISO Pivotal Payments named several additions to its Partnership Program team. Suzanne Van Laar, Kip Nettles and Brian Price were named AVPs of partner acquisition. Justin Passalaqua, Chris Sandifer and Ryan Healey have each been named partnership manager.
Climbing the Ladder is a new feature covering the movement of talent in the card-not-present industry. It will appear periodically in the CNP Report. If you would like to announce a new hire or promotion in this space, please contact D.J. Murphy at 508.681.5173 or firstname.lastname@example.org .


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What's Gone Wrong With H-P?
A Lengthy Turnaround Plan Will Require CEO Stability, Responsible Spending and Refresh of Products
By BEN WORTHEN
Wall Street Journal, Nov. 6, 2012
In 2010, Hewlett-Packard Co.'s HPQ -0.76% then-chief executive Mark Hurd boasted the company was "the largest IT company in the world" and said "we are still not to our full potential."
Two years and two CEOs later, H-P is stumbling. Over that time, the Palo Alto, Calif., company's market capitalization has fallen to less than $30 billion from more than $100 billion. On Friday, H-P's shares hit a new 10-year low.
Current CEO Meg Whitman has said H-P—which sells tech products including personal computers, printers, servers and consulting services—is now saddled with outdated products, poor internal processes and has "no silver bullets" for a rebound. She predicts profits will fall again next year and that H-P won't achieve meaningful growth until at least 2015.
An H-P spokesman said the company has a turnaround plan and has "put a strong leadership team in place," among other moves.
Here's a look at H-P's problems, and how the company plans to fix them:
Revolving Door at the Top
Four CEOs have run H-P since 2005. Each brought his or her own executives, often from outside the company. More than two dozen executives ranked senior vice president or higher have left in the last two years alone.
At an event for financial analysts last month, Ms. Whitman called the constant change at the top "the single biggest challenge facing H-P." The churn, she said, "has caused multiple inconsistent strategic choices" and "significant executional miscues."
In 2005, for example, then-CEO Carly Fiorina combined H-P's personal-computer business with its printer business. Ms. Fiorina was replaced later that year by Mr. Hurd, who split the two businesses up.
After Mr. Hurd was ousted in 2010, his successor Leo Apotheker, announced a plan to spin off the PC business. That was reversed by Ms. Whitman after she became CEO in 2011.
Meanwhile, the various CEOs have laid off—or pledged to cut—about 75,000 workers since 2005. Ms. Whitman herself has plans to lay off upwards of 29,000 employees, more than 8% of H-P's total 349,000-person workforce.
Given the constant reshuffling, H-P's employee morale has collapsed. A decade-plus of pay cuts and layoffs have left many rank-and-file employees distrustful of H-P's leadership, said Kimberly Elsbach, a professor at the business school at University of California, Davis, who recently wrote a case study of H-P. "There's an anxiety that permeates the workforce that has a chronic impact on people," she said.
H-P's fix-it strategy: Even as she cuts the workforce, Ms. Whitman has said that stable leadership will result in a consistent strategy and boost morale over time. She has pledged to remain CEO.
Lack of Investments
Mr. Hurd steadily increased H-P's profits—but he did so partly by cutting spending on programs that could have set the company up for future growth. Research and development spending, for instance, fell from $3.5 billion a year before he took the helm to $3 billion the year he left.
Among the areas where Mr. Hurd cut most aggressively was the services business, eliminating thousands of the employees brought over from a $13 billion purchase of outsourcing giant Electronic Data Systems Corp. in 2008. EDS's outsourcing model required massive investments in facilities, equipment and people, and relied on large, long-term contracts.
In 2011, Mr. Apotheker said the business didn't have the skills it needed to compete for high-end contracts.
More recently, four of the unit's biggest customers didn't renew deals. Unlike H-P's PC or printer businesses where the company can order fewer parts when sales slump, the services business is made up of thousands of consultants. Getting costs in line with revenue means cutting jobs, but that can form a vicious cycle.
"In the technology business, cost cutting is not a great long-term strategy," said Rob Cihra, an analyst at Evercore Partners EVR +1.25% .
At last month's analyst meeting, Ms. Whitman said H-P's past cuts to product development was hurting the company. She highlighted a fast-growing segment of the printer market where H-P hadn't updated its entry for seven years.
H-P's fix-it strategy: The company plans to spend some of the savings from Ms. Whitman's 29,000 layoffs on new research and development. Ms. Whitman also has said H-P will put in place new software for managing its sales and human-resources needs and for tracking its consultants that will make the company run more efficiently.
Poor Use of Cash
Like most big tech companies, H-P has acquired new technologies. But many of its biggest purchases have fizzled, leaving the company with less cash and more debt than its rivals and effectively shutting it out of future deals.
In 2007, H-P had more than $11 billion in cash and $5 billion in debt. In four of the next six fiscal years, however, H-P spent close to twice the amount of its free cash flow on acquisitions, such as the 2008 deal to buy outsourcing giant EDS and share repurchases.
At the end of its most recent quarter, H-P had just $9.5 billion in cash and more than $24 billion in long-term debt.
H-P's cash is well below that of its rivals—Oracle Corp. ORCL -0.21% has $32 billion and Cisco Systems Inc. CSCO +0.07% has $49 billion, for example—and it is among the few major tech companies to have more debt than cash.
Neither H-P's buybacks nor acquisitions have panned out.
H-P wrote off $8 billion of the $13 billion EDS deal earlier this year. In 2010, H-P also spent $1.2 billion to acquire mobile-device maker Palm, but shut down the unit and wrote it off a year later.
Last year, H-P paid more than $10 billion to acquire software maker Autonomy, but has already said sales in that business are declining.
Meanwhile, H-P spent more than $20 billion in the last few years to buy and retire its own shares. Yet the stock recently hit its lowest level in a decade.
Credit-rating agency Moody'sMCO +0.09% has said it is reviewing H-P for a possible downgrade, which might make it harder for the tech company to borrow and harm its ability to finance deals for customers.
H-P's fix-it strategy: Ms. Whitman has said H-P must pay off debt and build up its cash balance before it makes any big deals. The company has slowed share repurchases, even as its stock has declined.
Through the first nine months of 2012, H-P only bought back $1.5 billion of its stock—and just $365 million in the most recent quarter—while generating $6.5 billion in cash.
Declining Product Lines
Each of H-P's major businesses is in the midst of an industry-wide decline—and the company is losing share to boot. Worldwide personal computer sales fell more than 8% in the most recent quarter, as consumers gravitated to tablets and smartphones. H-P's share of the PC market fell to 15.9% in the third quarter from 17.4% a year earlier, according to research firm IDC.
Printer sales slid 3% in the most recent quarter as people print less; server sales also fell 3% as business embrace online services that don't require hardware purchases. H-P's server business has also been hurt by a dispute with Oracle over software development for some high-end systems.
As sales have fallen, expenses have risen. In fiscal 2011, H-P increased its headcount by 25,000 employees, even as sales began declining. Through the first nine months of 2012, sales fell almost $5 billion from a year earlier to $90.4 billion, but sales-related expenses climbed.
While H-P has some compelling products, the company "is unable to communicate the value of H-P," said Martin Reynolds, an analyst at research company Gartner.
H-P's fix-it strategy: Ms. Whitman has said H-P's days of heady growth are over and she expects the company to grow in line with the economy.
She plans to increase profitability in part by eliminating many of the company's products that are similar to others such as half of its 2,100 different laser printers.
Ms. Whitman is also working to refresh the design of H-P's products, especially PCs, which is the company's biggest line.


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The beginning of a new year is a time to reflect on the past and identify needed changes for the coming year. Losing weight is sure to be at the top of the resolution list for many people as they search for the trendiest diet to shave off inches fast. And the weight loss industry patiently sits back ready to pounce as they anticipate their yearly $60 billion residuals.
While some companies promote legitimate weight loss programs, many do not. Unfortunately, the consumer can experience financial loss from supplements that do not work, as well as harmful side effects that can cause long-term damage. A recent FTC survey indicates that more consumers have been victims of fraudulent weight-loss products than other fraudulent products currently on the market. In fact, an estimated 2.1 percent of consumers, or 5.1 million U.S. adults, recently purchased and used such fraudulent weight-loss products.
The team at Sitejabber has noticed an increase in reported diet scams, to include:
- MLM Scams: Diet supplements are often sold in a multi-level marketing system, or MLM, because participants can make money fast by getting their friends to join and buy the weight loss products. Sitejabber readers noted in 2015 that Herbalife, through their cohorts of multilevel marketing, ropes you into their scam by promising improved health, but the various practices they follow have proven that they are a scam and a bunch of cheaters. Subsequently, in 2017 the FTC ruled against Herbalife and sent checks to nearly 350,000 victims of their MLM scheme. So, when someone asks you to buy into their diet, healthy living, or weight loss products, be sure to do your research prior to joining them.
- Celebrity-Endorsed Diet Scams: Celebrity weight loss scams are a common occurrence. Many online companies use fake celebrity endorsements from people like Dr. Oz or Oprah to sell their products. Pure Garcinia Cambodia is one of the many fake celebrity-endorsed weight loss products. Sitejabber reviewers assert, “Another miracle weight loss garbage product you have only heard of in spam emails or overhyped horrible infomercials!! Save your money. These sites are always scams!!”In December 2017, the FTC sent refund checks totaling more than $8 Million to consumers who bought deceptively marketed weight-loss supplements by the company Sale Slash, LLC, after they were charged with using false weight loss claims and unauthorized endorsements from celebrities like Oprah to market unproven diet pills. Premium Green Coffee, Pure Garcinia Cambodia, Premium White Kidney Bean Extract, Pure Forskolin Extract, and Pure Caralluma Fimbriata Extract are some of the products that were falsely recommended. The next time you see a celebrity endorsing a diet pill, make sure you do your research first.
- Free Trial Scams: Many weight loss companies offer a free trial, but when you sign up using a credit card, you may be charged for an ongoing subscription that never ends or an initial high amount for some unknown reason. Donna writes, “The link that appears on Facebook states the 14-day trial is FREE; all you pay is $4.95 shipping and handling. I received the order 7 days later. Eight capsules/days later, I had a charge of $79.25 posted to my account.” Always be wary when a company is offering a free trial for a product and requires a credit card. Some Sitejabber contributors have suggested using a prepaid credit card with limited funds for shipping and handling purposes.
- HCG Scams: HCG is a hormone made by the human placenta and has grown in popularity as a diet drug. However, as of December 6, 2011, the United States FDA has prohibited the sale of “homeopathic” and over-the-counter HCG diet products, declaring them both fraudulent and illegal. Yet it is still being sold online. Kitty B writes, “This company is a rip off!! I was not losing fat. I was losing muscle!! I was basically starving myself.” Not only are over-the-counter HCG diet products illegal, but there can be serious health risks associated with these products.
- Fake News Sites: Some diet companies have websites that appear to look like a real news site in their attempts to convince consumers to buy their diet products. Fake news sites sell everything from diet pills to work-at-home scams. They often use website names and URLs that seem legitimate. These sites change almost daily, so they are difficult to track. It’s important for consumers to verify that they are on a real news website and not one meant to steal their identity or sell scam products. A classic example of a fake news site is a URL such as msnbc.msn.com-id8.us. This site was already taken down, but it appears to be MSNBC to the casual observer. Mai N pointed out that this site is a “FAKE NEWS SITE -….Illegal Phishing/ID Theft Scams…. User beware. Do not become their next victim.”
Weight loss is never easy, but for your convenience, the Sitejabber community recommended their top weight loss sites for 2017. If you have used products from other websites with positive results, tell us on Sitejabber by writing a review. We look forward to hearing from you!


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The opening of En Root at The Ritzy means the eatery's owners now have three restaurants across London, with the latest outlet joining its existing sites in Clapham and Peckham
An 100% vegan restaurant has opened at the Ritzy in Brixton, making the cinema the first in the UK to host an animal-free eatery.
En Root at The Ritzy serves ‘healthy, hearty, home-cooked Indian meals’, which its founders say are ‘designed to energise, uplift and nourish’ diners.
The restaurant marks the third of the owners’ sites, joining existing siblings in Clapham and Peckham.
Diners will be able to enjoy classic En Root dishes including the ‘Don Dada Platter’, a tasting platter featuring a range of the eatery’s culinary creations served in a traditional ‘thali’ style.
Other plant-based meal options include its exclusive cinema-style small bites including its ‘Poppanachos’, a poppadom base snack topped with Dhal, Pickled Cabbage, Avocado, Raita and Spice Krispies.
Meanwhile the sweets menu boasts a range of desserts including ‘Mango Lassi Cheesecake’ or the decadent gluten-free ‘Beetroot Blueberry Cacao Brownie’.
And for the rest of November, diners can enjoy the ‘Lunchtime Special’ – a £5 meal (£6 with avocado) consisting of Coconut Curry, Golden Rice, Daily Dhal and Rainbow Salad.
Cinema goers can tuck into tasty plant-based dishes like this sharing Thali at the new En Root restaurant at The Ritzy cinema. Image credit: En Root at The Ritzy
En Root at The Ritzy
In a statement sent to Vegan Food & Living, Nish Modasia, Co-Founder of En Root, said: “We are so excited to bring our Plant Power to the iconic Ritzy in Brixton. Born and raised locally, we grew up going to the cinema, meeting friends outside and dancing to music upstairs.
“We have catered events in Windrush Square, the heart of our Brixton community and thus we feel a perfect fit to this space, place and time. It is a truly magical moment to nourish such a venue and we are grateful for the opportunity. The journey never stops… Forwards Ever!”
Wayne Hall, General Manager at The Ritzy Picturehouse, added: “We are so excited and proud to welcome En root to the Ritzy family.
“This collaboration will blend the best of plant-based food with the most loved cinema in London, to a community that deserves such a perfect partnership.
“Brixton get ready for an explosion of good food & drink, married with our usual blend of good films and events. This will be a great experience for all.”
London was recently voted the best city in the world for vegans, and it’s no surprise when you take a look at the best vegan restaurants in London.


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The cost of living has risen so much that it is important that we all look at our expenditure. Because of the Ukraine situation, heatwaves, wildfire, and floods, prices are rising in not only luxury items but in everyday necessities. The cost of petrol, energy, food, even clothing and household items which must be transported have increased to the point of causing hardship in most households.
I know that we have covered most of this in previous articles, but it is time – now more than ever – to explore what can be done to reduce outgoings. Technology has moved on, and what was once too expensive to consider is now in the current economic climate more affordable, cost effective and worth considering.
Prices are rising because of damaged or poor crops due to climate change, also with rising import and transportation costs.
- Best by dates: In days gone by everyone used the sense of touch and smell to tell if food was okay to eat. Food which is perfectly good to eat for days is wasted because it is on or past its sell by date. Why not rely on your own judgement?
- Grow your own: Make part of your garden over to growing your own fruit and vegetables, or get an allotment. The food is fresher and lasts longer.
Everyone is feeling the impact of rising energy costs. According to reports they are due to increase again in the autumn. Because of these rising costs, renewable sources which were perhaps too expensive in the past now become more cost effective. The main way to save money is to use less but changing to renewables is the next level.
- Solar panels: Solar panels are more reliable and could now be cost effective plus the suppliers have much more experience in installation.
- Infrared heating: Infrared heating panels provide space heating through infrared radiation. Infrared heating panels work on electricity but are more economic to run.
- Renewable heating: The government is now offering a Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). If you qualify you will be able to claim for biomass boilers, solar water heating and certain heat pumps.
The cost of petrol has increased sharply.
- School transport: If walking to school is not an option why not get together with neighbours and friends and create a school run rota? Another option used extensively on the continent and which is gaining momentum in the UK is the School Bicycle Bus.
- Electric cars: These are now more cost effective; technology has improved so that the distance covered has increased and there are now many more charging points.
- Car share: If you are going shopping, why not offer to take neighbours and friends? Going to work? Look to car share with people who live near you.
Repair and recycle
You can find experts to repair most household items and it is often cheaper than buying a replacement. If you need something new to wear for an event why not re-model one of last year’s fashion items to create a new look instead of buying an expensive outfit?
If you do decide to go abroad, the most climate friendly options are going by train or ferry instead of flying. Why not opt for a ‘staycation’ and explore the United Kingdom instead, perhaps go camping or caravanning?
Remember – these money-saving ideas will all help to minimise or mitigate the effect of climate change.
For more information about Sherwood Forest Friends of the Earth, visit Sherwood Forest FoE on Facebook or email firstname.lastname@example.org.
Sherwood Forest Friends of the Earth


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Originally Posted by rickysdaystate
any info on the tesro air rifle? i thought i might of heard abit of news about them by now, has anyone got one yet? are they the same/better/or worse than the lg300? and what is the price
You can email Tesro & ask this guy - firstname.lastname@example.org
The last news is dated is from March, 2011 ...from my Dutch shop..
" I spoke with Tesro today and i asked them about the FT airrifle. They told me that they are thinking about producing an FT airrifle based on the RS100. At the moment they have started experimenting with it and are testing with regulators etc.. At the IWA they have launched a new .22. l.r. target rifle, according to them they can just take on 1 project at a time because they are a small company. If everything turns out well they might be able to launch it around the end of 2011 but it's far from certain. "


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Restoring a Historic Brand: The Future of Aston Martin
Front-engine carmaker Aston Martin evolves to include SUVs and mid-engine supercars.
Aston Martin, celebrating the 70th anniversary of the brand selling its first car in North America, is making strides to get back on its feet and set itself apart as the performance-oriented brand in the ultra-luxury car space. In addition to operational changes, the company is transitioning from a focus on front-engine sports cars to an automaker with three distinct families of mid-engine cars, as well as profitable SUVs and eventually a portfolio of electric vehicles.
It has been a year since new executive chairman Lawrence Stroll convinced Tobias Moers to leave Mercedes-AMG and become CEO and chief technical officer at Aston Martin. The two men have focused on getting Aston Martin (including car brand Lagonda and the Formula 1 team) back onto sound financial footings. The Project Horizon business plan calls for annual sales of 10,000 vehicles by 2025—Aston hopes to sell 6,000 units in 2021. About $1 billion in financing has been raised for the overhaul.
Five Milestones to Transform Aston Martin
The new team in Gaydon has spent the last year working towards five key milestones, all of which have been met, Stroll says. Wall Street has rewarded these efforts; the stock price has nearly doubled since Stroll bailed out the ailing British brand that has gone bankrupt seven times in its 108-year history. Manufacturing has been rejigged to be more efficient and operate at break-even. Inventory has been reduced to better align supply to demand; when people want your limited supply of vehicles, they will pay top dollar.
Also key was getting Mercedes-Benz to take a larger stake, now 20 percent, in Aston Martin and supply needed tech. Mercedes is now the second-largest shareholder after Stroll, the Canadian billionaire who owns 25 percent. Stroll became a billionaire by helping luxury brands expand, and he is applying past winning formulas to Aston Martin. Another key goal for Stroll, who brought his own Formula 1 team to the deal, was to get Aston Martin Racing back on the grid.
Growing Aston Martin's Product Portfolio
The key to growth is expanding the product portfolio. Financially, the brand is benefitting from the sales boost of adding the Aston Martin DBX SUV which now accounts for half of total sales. Under Moers, the DBX lineup will grow to as many as six models, with a hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and more performance-oriented version in the pipeline as well as a more aggressive, coupe-like body style.
But the automaker is also transforming the sports car side of the business with facelifts as well as more classical cars to come as well as electric vehicles.
Mid-Engine Cars for Aston
A key decision was to create a platform to take Aston from front engine cars and SUVs to mid-engine cars derived from technology from Formula 1, said Stroll. The 2024 Aston Martin Valhalla, a mid-engine hybrid coming in 2023, represents the future of Aston for its mid-engine platform while dipping its toe into electrification.
A new mid-engine Aston Martin Vanquish, also with a hybrid engine, is coming in 2024.
The hybrids (including putting motors in the DBX) were initially to use a V-6, but when Moers arrived to find it was still in the fledgling development stage, he arranged instead to use AMG-sourced gas engines modified for the respective Astons. The mid-engine Valhalla uses a version of AMG's 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 designed for hybrids. Aston uses the 4.0-liter built by AMG in a number of vehicles including the DBX, the Vantage, and some versions of the DB11. The DBX plug-in hybrid will also use a system derived from Mercedes.
At the extreme end of the scale is the F1-inspired Aston Martin Valkyrie. The coupe just started production in Gaydon, U.K., and workers will start building the spider in the summer of 2022. Both are sold out.
Aston Martin could potentially reach the point where half of its sport car sales are front-engine and half have a mid-engine, Moers tells MotorTrend in an interview.
Deliveries of Aston Martin V12 Speedster
On the super niche side, there is the 2022 Aston Martin V12 Speedster. Aston is making 88 Speedsters, a limited run for a million-dollar car without a roof or windshield. Asked how dealers decide who gets these odes to race cars in days gone by, Moers says there is always a list for sought-after cars. "It is always related to how many Astons are in your garage, when you bought the last one, things like that." All 88 Speedsters have been spoken for and about a dozen have been delivered to customers.
The first pure electric Aston won't be until 2026, Moers says. Before they debut, Aston needs to do a round of facelifts for its current front-engine cars: the Vantage, the DB11 and the DBS supercar, by 2023. The refreshes won't include new powertrains, but the Mercedes infotainment system and interface will be replaced with a bespoke Aston Martin ecosystem. The updated vehicles need a few years to pay for themselves before they are replaced by cars on the new electric sports car platform.
As a small brand, Aston Martin would find it hard to survive without the partnership with Mercedes which it relies on for the electric backbone of its new vehicles. Aston and Mercedes will never share a platform, Moers insists, but Mercedes supplies powertrain elements including battery technology and modules. For the Valkyrie, Aston turned to Rimac for the battery. Ultimately Aston would like to create its own battery.
Aston and Mercedes will never share a suspension or body-in-white or platform. "I cannot use Mercedes body-in-white so I have to create my own," Moers says. The build process at the two companies is very different. "We don't weld, it's a bonded structure."
James Bond and Aston Martin
Some things won't change, like the relationship the brand has with James Bond films. There will be four Aston Martin cars in the next film No Time to Die, slated for release in October. The collaboration is a big part of the history of both the automaker and the film franchise. "We need each other," Moers says.
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Quebec-Based Structube Apologized For Naming Trash Bins Using Common Names Of Muslim Men
Quebec-based furniture retailer Structube has apologized for labelling trash bins using common names of Muslim men.
The apology comes after several social media users expressed outrage at the use of names Walid and Wassim for the two bins on the Structube website.
Editor's Choice: Legault Blasted The PQ Leader For Mentioning His Sons, Says His Wife Was 'Shocked'
Structube wishes to apologize to anyone who has been offended by this insensitive use of names.
"We recently posted some new garbage bins to our website using common names," Structube wrote on social media.
"It has been rightfully brought to our attention that naming garbage bins after anyone's name can be offensive, particularly if the name is suggestive of any ethnic, religious, or other minority group."
"It was completely unintentional, and rest assured we will be more thoughtful when naming our products."
https://t.co/aeBx0XcMs7— STRUCTUBE (@STRUCTUBE) 1613079140.0
In response to some comments on Twitter, Structube explained that "the name of the products is chosen at random, often before knowing the specific details of each product, such as the color."
The bins are no longer visible under the names Walid and Wassim on the Structube website.
MTL Blog has reached out to Structube for additional information and will update this article when the company responds.


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Tiger Group Names McGrail Chief Operating Officer
November 8, 2013,
BOSTON-Tiger Group has appointed Managing Director Michael McGrail to the newly created post of chief operating officer.
McGrail, who was been with the asset valuation, advisory and disposition services firm since its inception in May 2001, will direct all day-to-day operations of the company, which has offices in Los Angeles, Boston and New York. The Boston-based executive will also continue to oversee Tiger's retail, wholesale, industrial, machinery and equipment appraisal divisions, as well as the retail and wholesale disposition divisions. He reports to Managing Member Daniel Kane.
Prior to joining Tiger, McGrail spent four years with Thomson Financial Services, where he rose to finance manager of the global markets division.
Other Articles By Author
HFN Launches Interactive Idea Book
HFN's DIGITAL EDITION
COVER STORY: HFN Turns 90
We commemorate HFN's 90th anniversary by paying tribute to the iconic retailer and supplier brands--and the people--that have helped the industry flourish, then and now.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Up & Coming Leaders - The home industry is in capable and visionary hands as this year’s 40 Under 40 list attests. Today’s young leaders span all disciplines and varied levels of operation.
- Omnichannel Retailing - In the Mobile App World, Time is Money


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Metrolina Greenhouses becomes GlobalG.A.P. Certified
Metrolina Greenhouses is the first ornamentals producer in the U.S. to become GlobalG.A.P. Certified.
GlobalG.A.P. is a worldwide brand of smart farm assurance solutions that rigorously audits agriculture, floriculture, aquaculture and compound feed producers against world-leading standards to ensure they are using good agricultural practices. Global G.A.P. certification, commonly used and required to ensure food safety standards in food production, is currently a voluntary standard for ornamentals production.
Becoming GlobalG.A.P. Certified provides Metrolina Greenhouses’ retail partners and end consumers with the assurance that its plants are produced in a safe, responsible and sustainable manner to ensure high quality and garden success.
The GlobalG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance standard for flowers and ornamentals is a global standard for the responsible farming of flowers and ornamentals that covers all stages of production from propagation to basic postharvest handling. It includes requirements on topics such as soil and water management, plant protection, plant nutrition, biodiversity, environmental sustainability, energy efficiency, workers’ health, safety and well- being and management and traceability.
Metrolina Greenhouses’ pursuit of GlobalG.A.P. Certification was encouraged by its involvement in the Floriculture Sustainability Initiative (FSI), according to Dr. Mark Yelanich, director of research and development for Metrolina Greenhouses, who spearheaded the certification effort.
The FSI is a Belgian-led organization initiated in 2012 by 25 floriculture industry founding members, with the intention to develop more sustainable solutions for farmers, for the environment and for the future of the floriculture sector.
“I am very pleased with the entire GlobalG.A.P. philosophy,” Yelanich said. “GlobalG.A.P. gave Metrolina an opportunity to get credit for our production practices, while giving us a framework to continuously improve our entire process.”
Metrolina Greenhouses’ GlobalG.A.P. Certification is a distinction that reinforces the operation’s core values, which include its commitment to integrity, quality, innovation, sustainability and creating a world-class employee experience, according to co-CEO Abe VanWingerden.
“We are excited to be the first ornamentals greenhouse operation in the U.S. to receive Global GAP certification, a milestone that aligns Metrolina Greenhouses with its mission to lead by example in the floriculture industry,” VanWingerden said. “Every member of our team operates with the goal of improving by 1% every day, so seeing this effort come to fruition is a big step in the right direction.”


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EU launches antitrust probes against Motorola after complaints from Apple, Microsoft
Apple and Microsoft filed separate complaints with the EU that accuse Motorola of using its essential, standards-based patents as weapons to curb competitor's products and advance their own, says a report in The New York Times. Under EU law, companies with patents essential to an industry standard like 3G must license these patents under fair and reasonable terms.
The EU has opened two investigations that'll examine whether Motorola failed to license its patents and is using them to win injunctions against the Xbox, the iPhone and the iPad instead. If it is found guilty, Motorola or its soon-to-be-parent company Google could be fined up to ten percent of its worldwide annual income.
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- Vizzywig 8xHD price tag now a very affordable $49.99
- Automatic targets teen drivers with License+ service
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- YouTube for iOS gets updated with full support for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus
- iOS 8.0.1 update now available (Updated -- Don't update!)


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eu travel tech Joins Thousands of Organisations Calling on Gatekeepers to Ensure Full Compliance with the DMA Obligations by March 7th
Today, eu travel tech joined a broad coalition of organisations spanning different sectors, including comparison shopping, search engines and media, to draw attention to the current state of DMA compliance among the six designated gatekeepers. In a statement released today, these organisations called on gatekeepers to engage in a constructive dialogue with business users and consumer associations, emphasizing the imperative of achieving full compliance with the DMA obligations by March 7th.
The DMA sets out obligations that digital gatekeepers will have to comply with by the 7th of March by making changes to their products and services. The European Commission has encouraged gatekeepers to engage with third parties and end users in the period leading up to the compliance deadline to ensure that their proposed compliance solutions are fit for purpose and deliver the desired competitive outcomes.
“eu travel tech has been in a dialogue with Google regarding their compliance solutions for travel search for months. We urge Google to put an end to the preferential treatment of its own services against those of its competitors. Our assessment of the solutions shared so far is that there is still quite some work to do. We look forward to seeing progress on these solutions and full compliance with the DMA by March 7th,” said Emmanuel Mounier, eu travel tech Secretary General.
The effectiveness of any legislation hinges on its enforcement. To realize the full scope of the DMA objectives, it is imperative that compliance solutions closely adhere to the obligations outlined in the DMA. Ensuring that Google ends the self-preferencing of its services to the detriment of competitors will be essential to ensure the success of the new rules. We urge the European Commission to ensure full DMA compliance by March 7th and the effective implementation of the self-preferencing ban on Google.


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Pyze Unveils Growth Intelligence 2.0 for Mobile, Web and Native Applications
Unified View Across All Channels Enables Holistic Understanding of User Behavior
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – Dec. 13, 2016 – Pyze, the first intelligence and marketing platform enabling mobile and web app publishers to organically grow users by automating and personalizing, engagement and conversion, today released Pyze Growth Intelligence 2.0. The new platform now includes support for web, SaaS and native apps, in addition to existing support for mobile apps.
While mobile channels constituted over $1 billion in 2016 Black Friday retail sales, web channels still constituted over double this amount in revenue. Pyze launched with a mobile first strategy and is currently processing over 1 billion events per day. With the addition of support for web and native applications, Pyze seeks to dramatically increase growth.
New Features of Pyze Growth Intelligence 2.0
- Unified view across all channels provides real-time visibility into millions of users’ behavior, enabling app developers to quickly act upon trends, patterns and anomalies and interact with the right users at the right time on the most effective channel
- Adds support for email and SMS and MMS campaigns to the existing support for push, interactive push and in-app messaging campaigns
- Streamlines integration of multichannel marketing campaigns, allowing app developers to better coordinate personalized engagement and experiences
- Powerful new Developer Center to accelerate deployments, define and test engagement campaigns, and implement personalization
- Includes support for tracking Apple iMessage Apps and chatbots
Source: Read the rest of the press release here.


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Gracing the headlines today is a pressing issue in Egypt’s pharmacy sector—a significant pricing crisis that’s causing a stir in the industry. At the helm of a pivotal meeting was Ahmed Al-Wakil, President of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce, where this crisis was the focal point of discussion.
Unraveling the Crisis
Dr. Ashraf Kordy, a board member of the Egyptian Chamber of Commerce in Giza, elaborated on the multifaceted challenges facing the sector. Notably, the existence of disparate prices for identical medications, rapid surges in prices, and economic hardships for pharmacies have led to the crisis. Kordy underscored the severe financial losses sustained by pharmacy owners, with some recording a capital reduction of over 50% within a year. This economic strain has hampered their ability to remunerate staff and restock their shelves, thereby leading to a precarious situation.


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BluRayBlog.com reports that a listing for the Season 3 Blu-Ray Box Set of The Clone Wars has shown up on Amazon.ca. Bear in mind that we have yet to get an official announcement and Amazon listings are certainly subject to change. That being said, the listing displays a release date of October 25, 2011 at a Canadian price of $74.98 (US - $59.98). We'll keep you posted as we learn more, especially when it comes from an official source.
Rebelscum Breast Cancer Awareness Charity Patch Posted By Philip on November 25, 2014: Thanks to everybody that ordered patches. I sent a check for $1,600.00 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation on Monday. While it's not as much as I hoped for, it's still very much appreciated. They will remain for sale in the store for anybody that still wishes to purchase them. Details after the jump.


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Ottawa, Canada: At midnight Wednesday, the Cannabis Act became law, as Canada became the first G7 Nation to legalize recreational marijuana.
Medicinal use of the drug has been legal in Canada since 2001. Now it’s up to each of the country’s 13 provinces and territories to determine where and how weed is sold and distributed.
As with any nascent industry, especially one straddling the public and private sectors, there are potential hurdles to clear.
One of those may be having enough pot.
“There will be shortages,” Bruce Linton, CEO of Canopy Growth said. Canopy became the first cannabis company in North America to be publicly traded when it was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2014. “There’s been pent up demand for nine decades of prohibition.”
Aphria, the third-largest Canadian cannabis company by revenue, alerted investors that it’s facing short-term supply-chain issues and will not be able to meet demands ahead of Wednesday.
There was a feverish gold-rush mentality when the law passed, and many companies hit the ground running, analysts said. However, not all of them will have the logistics and infrastructure in place to deliver enough weed to customers, especially early on.
“Investors should be warned,” said Nikolaas Faes, an analyst at Bryan, Garnier & Co. “There are largely valued companies who don’t have contracts with the local governments and provinces. Others are low on inventory. There will be shortages at the beginning because they won’t be able to deliver enough product, and the companies who can will gain market share.”
Of the 40 or so major cannabis companies in place, Faes predicts about a quarter will survive.
Weather permitting, Canopy’s Linton said he will celebrate the historic event at one of Canopy’s Tweed marijuana stores in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
The location is significant because it sits across the street from the historic St. John’s Court House, he said.
“There were over 100 marijuana cases prosecuted there,” he said.
Those who have marijuana convictions on their record may soon get a pardon.
The pardons will be issued to people who have been convicted of possession of 30 grams or less. They won’t be issued immediately and may require an application process. Public safety and health officials are expected to announce details of the plan on Wednesday.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Tuesday that the pardon issue will be a focus for his administration in the coming days.
When marijuana became legal in Canada, the nation became the largest in the world to have a fully legalized marketplace for the drug. Only one other country — Uruguay — has done the same.
At least 111 shops will open across the country in every province except for Ontario, which will allow shops next spring once officials there figure out how they want to regulate the market.
But Canadians everywhere will be allowed to purchase marijuana online.
“Alcohol took my grandfather and it took his youngest son, and weed has taken no one from me ever,” Ryan Bose, a Lyft driver in Toronto, told reporters.
EARLIER : Recreational Marijuana Is Legal In Canada Effective Oct 17 – PM Tradeau
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced today that marijuana will become legal nationwide starting October 17. Canada’s Senate passed the federal government’s bill to legalize marijuana nationwide on Tuesday night.
Although Trudeau’s government had hoped to legalize pot nationwide by July 1, the government announced Tuesday that it will take several weeks for provincial and territorial governments to prepare for retail sales.
The move will make Canada the second country in the world to legalize cannabis nationwide for medical and recreational use. Medical marijuana has been legal in Canada since 2001.
Each Canadian province will publish its own regulations regarding cannabis trade. The new legislation will allow Canadian adults to legally possess and use up to 30 grams of dried cannabis in public spaces.
In addition, the law will allow Canadian adults to grow up to four cannabis plants at home.
Uruguay was the first country to legalize marijuana nationwide. Uruguay’s House of Representatives and Senate passed a bill legalizing and regulating the production and sale of marijuana in 2013. The law allows the sale of marijuana to registered Uruguayan citizens and permanent residents and allows the growing of cannabis at home.
“We have seen in the Senate tonight a historic vote that ends 90 years of prohibition of cannabis in this country, 90 years of needless criminalization, 90 years of a just-say-no approach to drugs that hasn’t worked,” said Senator Tony Dean, who sponsored the bill in the upper house, AP reported Wednesday.
EARLIER: Cannabis Act (C-45), earlier approved by the House Of Commons, also passed the Canadian Senate 52-29 (with two abstentions) on Tuesday evening – paving the way for a fully legal cannabis market within 8-12 weeks.
Cannabis Act (C-45) which legalizes recreational marijuana in Canada still needs the royal assent of the governor general, before the government decides on the date when the legislation will come into force.
The legalization of cannabis was a campaign promise of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party.
The newly-passed bill will allow adults in the country to legally possess and use small amounts of recreational cannabis. It sets out parameters around the production, safety standards, distribution, and sale of the drug.
It also creates new Criminal Code offences for selling cannabis to minors. The proposed federal law stipulates that it will be illegal for anyone younger than 18 to buy pot, but allows for provinces and territories to set a higher minimum age.
The bill represented a “historic milestone for progressive policy in Canada,” Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould posited.
EARLIER: Canada Senate, House Pass Cannabis Act To Legalize Recreational Marijuana – Canada House Of Commons Votes To Legalize Recreational Marijuana – Canada’s House of Commons passed the Cannabis Act (C-45) 205-82 to legalize recreational marijuana on Monday. The House was forced to vote on the bill after the Senate passed it’s version with 46 amendments to the legalization bill.
The house accepted some of the Senate’s proposed amendments on the cannabis legalization bill, sending the bill back to the upper chamber for continued debate and a final decision.
The bill would lift a 95-year-old ban on recreational marijuana and sets the government up to regulate production, possession and sale of marijuana to Canadians over the age of 18.
Major disagreements including proposals that would have banned branded merchandise, allowed provinces to prohibit citizens’ right to cultivate personal four-plant gardens, and the establishment of a registry program for shareholders of cannabis businesses.The House of Commons turned down some of the Senate’s proposed amendments, including a ban on pot producers selling branded merchandise and giving provinces the power to ban homegrown marijuana.
The Cannabis Act now heads back to the Senate, where some are discouraged by the stripping of amendments, but there’s hope that quick passage, without any more political back-and-forth, will allow legalization to be implemented soon.
Government House Leader Bardish Chagger told reporters Monday that she’s hopeful Bill C-45 will pass soon.
“What we’ve seen in this place is that anything is possible…. Most members that want to speak on it have been able to speak on it so I believe we can find a way forward,” she said.
Cannabis commerce, barring any unexpected political upheaval, is on track to be implemented this September in the Great White North. The cannabis industry is expected to quickly rival alcohol, bringing more jobs and revenue to the nation, and, most importantly more freedom. The ultimate success of the marijuana market depends on the government avoiding the establishment of regulatory obstacles that can unnecessarily stifle entrepreneurship. If left with sensible regulations, the Canadian cannabis industry is set to prosper and continue leading the global market.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party are set to fulfill their campaign promise to end prohibition and regulate sales to all adults across the nation.
The Senate could take its next step forward as early as Monday evening. Lawmakers have said they expect marijuana to be legal and available about September.
Regulated medical marijuana has been legal in Canada since 2001.
In the U.S., medical marijuana is legal in more than two dozen states, and recreational marijuana is legal in nine states and Washington, D.C.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions in January reversed the Obama-era Cole memo that allowed states to legalize recreational marijuana. Sessions has been a vocal opponent to legal marijuana.
Breaking with his own attorney general, President Trump said earlier this month that he would likely support a bipartisan bill that would allow states to regulate marijuana without federal interference.
EARLIER: Canada Senate Passes Cannabis Act To Legalize Recreational Marijuana – The Canadian Senate voted 56-30 (with one abstaining) and passed a bill known as Bill C-45 the Cannabis Act, on Friday, to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.
The Cannabis Act, outlines measures to control and regulate how cannabis is grown, distributed, and sold, while prohibiting any promotion, packaging, and labeling that could be “appealing to young persons or encourage its consumption.”
The Act outlines its purposes “to prevent young persons from accessing cannabis, to protect public health and public safety by establishing strict product safety and product quality requirements and to deter criminal activity by imposing serious criminal penalties for those operating outside the legal framework. The Act is also intended to reduce the burden on the criminal justice system in relation to cannabis.”
The Cannabis Act will now go back to Canada’s House of Commons, which passed the bill in November 2017, for approval of amendments that the Senate added, and upon agreement of the final text, it heads to the Monarch or designate—usually the governor general—who can grant Royal Assent.
This puts Canada on track to legal recreational use by their July 2018 goal put forth in April of 2017.
Legalising weed was a 2015 campaign promise of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has admitted having smoked a joint with friends “five or six times.”
The initial timeline for legal pot sales called for it to be available by July 1, Canada’s national day, but fall now appears more likely.
It would then be up to Canada’s provinces and territories to set up distribution networks and enforcement.
The sale of medical marijuana has been legal in Canada since 2001.
Bill C-45 would allow individuals over the age of 18 to possess up to 30 grams of marijuana for personal use.
Sales to anyone under 18 would be banned under federal law but provinces and territories could set their own age limits.
It would also allow the federal government and the provinces to levy taxes on legal weed sales amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
Pot sales would be through authorised retail stores much like the current situation regulating alcohol sales in Quebec and Ontario.
A total of 105 businesses have been authorised to grow marijuana and offer pot-based products. Under the new measure, individuals could grow up to four plants at home.
The government has also set aside funds to study the impact of legalised cannabis consumption on public health.
Statistics Canada has estimated that the market will be worth C$5.7 billion (US$4.5 billion), based on last year’s consumption data.
Uruguay approved the recreational usage of marijuana five years ago and nine US states have too but Canada will be the first G-7 country to do so.
In an interview last month, Trudeau said the world is closely following Canada’s plans and predicted several nations would follow suit.
“There is a lot of interest from our allies in what we’re doing,” he said.
“They recognise that Canada is being daring … and recognise that the current regime (of prohibition) does not work, that it’s not preventing young people from having easy access to cannabis.
“In many countries, especially in Canada, it is easier (as a minor) to buy a joint than buy a beer,” Trudeau said. “Organised crime is making huge sums of money on the illicit sale of marijuana.”
Trudeau insisted that creating a regulated market would take it out of the hands of crime groups and “better protect communities and children.”
However, he added the allies he spoke with “are interested in seeing how things go … before they try it,” without specifying which nations.


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|By Business Wire||
|July 29, 2014 05:18 PM EDT||
NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR), the global leader in consumer transaction technologies, today announced that Michael Bayer is joining the company as senior vice president and president, Retail Solutions Division. Bayer will report to NCR Chairman and CEO Bill Nuti.
“As we continue our reinvention, I am confident that Michael’s leadership will enhance customer engagement and innovation, drive software-related revenue growth, and capture the significant opportunities across our Retail Solutions Division,” said Nuti. “Our Retail business is very different today than it was just a few years ago. We are well positioned with high-value, omni-channel solutions and services that retailers need now and in the future.”
Bayer comes to NCR with vast experience in communications technology, most recently serving as president of Global Growth Markets for Avaya. Prior to this, he was Avaya’s EMEA president, where he led the region’s sales and operations. Bayer has also held leadership positions at companies such as Motorola, Symbol Technologies and Cisco.
“NCR’s commitment to innovation and its world-class portfolio of solutions for retailers of all types, sizes and geographies is unique in today’s marketplace,” said Bayer. “I look forward to leading the talented NCR Retail team, and helping our retail clients increase loyalty with their customers and earn a greater share of wallet by providing highly personalized, omni-channel shopping experiences.”
NCR has developed a powerful ecosystem of digital services, innovative apps, and cloud-based solutions that take shopper engagement to the next level, empowering retailers to personalize customer interactions in real-time. NCR’s Retail Solutions Division emphasizes three segments: Food, Drug and Mass Merchant; Petroleum and Convenience Retail; and Department and Specialty Retail. This is complemented by a complete line of warehouse and back office optimization software. NCR is the leader in self-checkout shipments with a total of 71 percent share according to strategic research and consulting firm RBR, and the second largest provider of point-of-sale solutions in the world.
About NCR Corporation
NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) is the global leader in consumer transaction technologies, turning everyday interactions with businesses into exceptional experiences. With its software, hardware, and portfolio of services, NCR enables more than 485 million transactions daily across retail, financial, travel, hospitality, telecom and technology, and small business. NCR solutions run the everyday transactions that make your life easier.
NCR is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia with approximately 29,000 employees and does business in 180 countries. NCR is a trademark of NCR Corporation in the United States and other countries. The company encourages investors to visit its web site which is updated regularly with financial and other important information about NCR.
"We work in the area of Big Data analytics and Big Data analytics is a very crowded space - you have Hadoop, ETL, warehousing, visualization and there's a lot of effort trying to get these tools to talk to each other," explained Mukund Deshpande, head of the Analytics practice at Accelerite, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at 18th Cloud Expo, held June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY.
Jul. 2, 2016 01:30 AM EDT Reads: 848
Cloud Expo, Inc. has announced today that Andi Mann returns to 'DevOps at Cloud Expo 2016' as Conference Chair The @DevOpsSummit at Cloud Expo will take place on November 1-3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. "DevOps is set to be one of the most profound disruptions to hit IT in decades," said Andi Mann. "It is a natural extension of cloud computing, and I have seen both firsthand and in independent research the fantastic results DevOps delivers. So I am excited t...
Jul. 2, 2016 01:00 AM EDT Reads: 764
Basho Technologies has announced the latest release of Basho Riak TS, version 1.3. Riak TS is an enterprise-grade NoSQL database optimized for Internet of Things (IoT). The open source version enables developers to download the software for free and use it in production as well as make contributions to the code and develop applications around Riak TS. Enhancements to Riak TS make it quick, easy and cost-effective to spin up an instance to test new ideas and build IoT applications. In addition to...
Jul. 1, 2016 08:30 PM EDT Reads: 807
IoT is rapidly changing the way enterprises are using data to improve business decision-making. In order to derive business value, organizations must unlock insights from the data gathered and then act on these. In their session at @ThingsExpo, Eric Hoffman, Vice President at EastBanc Technologies, and Peter Shashkin, Head of Development Department at EastBanc Technologies, discussed how one organization leveraged IoT, cloud technology and data analysis to improve customer experiences and effi...
Jul. 1, 2016 06:30 PM EDT Reads: 786
Internet of @ThingsExpo has announced today that Chris Matthieu has been named tech chair of Internet of @ThingsExpo 2016 Silicon Valley. The 6thInternet of @ThingsExpo will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Jul. 1, 2016 06:00 PM EDT Reads: 551
Presidio has received the 2015 EMC Partner Services Quality Award from EMC Corporation for achieving outstanding service excellence and customer satisfaction as measured by the EMC Partner Services Quality (PSQ) program. Presidio was also honored as the 2015 EMC Americas Marketing Excellence Partner of the Year and 2015 Mid-Market East Partner of the Year. The EMC PSQ program is a project-specific survey program designed for partners with Service Partner designations to solicit customer feedbac...
Jul. 1, 2016 05:30 PM EDT Reads: 798
The cloud promises new levels of agility and cost-savings for Big Data, data warehousing and analytics. But it’s challenging to understand all the options – from IaaS and PaaS to newer services like HaaS (Hadoop as a Service) and BDaaS (Big Data as a Service). In her session at @BigDataExpo at @ThingsExpo, Hannah Smalltree, a director at Cazena, provided an educational overview of emerging “as-a-service” options for Big Data in the cloud. This is critical background for IT and data profession...
Jul. 1, 2016 05:15 PM EDT Reads: 659
"There's a growing demand from users for things to be faster. When you think about all the transactions or interactions users will have with your product and everything that is between those transactions and interactions - what drives us at Catchpoint Systems is the idea to measure that and to analyze it," explained Leo Vasiliou, Director of Web Performance Engineering at Catchpoint Systems, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at 18th Cloud Expo, held June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York Ci...
Jul. 1, 2016 04:15 PM EDT Reads: 270
Ask someone to architect an Internet of Things (IoT) solution and you are guaranteed to see a reference to the cloud. This would lead you to believe that IoT requires the cloud to exist. However, there are many IoT use cases where the cloud is not feasible or desirable. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Dave McCarthy, Director of Products at Bsquare Corporation, will discuss the strategies that exist to extend intelligence directly to IoT devices and sensors, freeing them from the constraints of ...
Jul. 1, 2016 03:15 PM EDT Reads: 340
Connected devices and the industrial internet are growing exponentially every year with Cisco expecting 50 billion devices to be in operation by 2020. In this period of growth, location-based insights are becoming invaluable to many businesses as they adopt new connected technologies. Knowing when and where these devices connect from is critical for a number of scenarios in supply chain management, disaster management, emergency response, M2M, location marketing and more. In his session at @Th...
Jul. 1, 2016 02:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,438
Extracting business value from Internet of Things (IoT) data doesn’t happen overnight. There are several requirements that must be satisfied, including IoT device enablement, data analysis, real-time detection of complex events and automated orchestration of actions. Unfortunately, too many companies fall short in achieving their business goals by implementing incomplete solutions or not focusing on tangible use cases. In his general session at @ThingsExpo, Dave McCarthy, Director of Products...
Jul. 1, 2016 01:15 PM EDT Reads: 357
There are several IoTs: the Industrial Internet, Consumer Wearables, Wearables and Healthcare, Supply Chains, and the movement toward Smart Grids, Cities, Regions, and Nations. There are competing communications standards every step of the way, a bewildering array of sensors and devices, and an entire world of competing data analytics platforms. To some this appears to be chaos. In this power panel at @ThingsExpo, moderated by Conference Chair Roger Strukhoff, Bradley Holt, Developer Advocate a...
Jul. 1, 2016 01:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,054
The Internet of Things will challenge the status quo of how IT and development organizations operate. Or will it? Certainly the fog layer of IoT requires special insights about data ontology, security and transactional integrity. But the developmental challenges are the same: People, Process and Platform and how we integrate our thinking to solve complicated problems. In his session at 19th Cloud Expo, Craig Sproule, CEO of Metavine, will demonstrate how to move beyond today's coding paradigm ...
Jul. 1, 2016 01:00 PM EDT Reads: 709
Apixio Inc. has raised $19.3 million in Series D venture capital funding led by SSM Partners with participation from First Analysis, Bain Capital Ventures and Apixio’s largest angel investor. Apixio will dedicate the proceeds toward advancing and scaling products powered by its cognitive computing platform, further enabling insights for optimal patient care. The Series D funding comes as Apixio experiences strong momentum and increasing demand for its HCC Profiler solution, which mines unstruc...
Jul. 1, 2016 12:30 PM EDT Reads: 694
SYS-CON Events has announced today that Roger Strukhoff has been named conference chair of Cloud Expo and @ThingsExpo 2016 Silicon Valley. The 19th Cloud Expo and 6th @ThingsExpo will take place on November 1-3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. "The Internet of Things brings trillions of dollars of opportunity to developers and enterprise IT, no matter how you measure it," stated Roger Strukhoff. "More importantly, it leverages the power of devices and the Interne...
Jul. 1, 2016 12:00 PM EDT Reads: 664
In addition to all the benefits, IoT is also bringing new kind of customer experience challenges - cars that unlock themselves, thermostats turning houses into saunas and baby video monitors broadcasting over the internet. This list can only increase because while IoT services should be intuitive and simple to use, the delivery ecosystem is a myriad of potential problems as IoT explodes complexity. So finding a performance issue is like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack.
Jul. 1, 2016 10:45 AM EDT Reads: 588
Machine Learning helps make complex systems more efficient. By applying advanced Machine Learning techniques such as Cognitive Fingerprinting, wind project operators can utilize these tools to learn from collected data, detect regular patterns, and optimize their own operations. In his session at 18th Cloud Expo, Stuart Gillen, Director of Business Development at SparkCognition, discussed how research has demonstrated the value of Machine Learning in delivering next generation analytics to imp...
Jul. 1, 2016 10:30 AM EDT Reads: 1,118
Whether your IoT service is connecting cars, homes, appliances, wearable, cameras or other devices, one question hangs in the balance – how do you actually make money from this service? The ability to turn your IoT service into profit requires the ability to create a monetization strategy that is flexible, scalable and working for you in real-time. It must be a transparent, smoothly implemented strategy that all stakeholders – from customers to the board – will be able to understand and comprehe...
Jul. 1, 2016 10:00 AM EDT Reads: 542
The cloud market growth today is largely in public clouds. While there is a lot of spend in IT departments in virtualization, these aren’t yet translating into a true “cloud” experience within the enterprise. What is stopping the growth of the “private cloud” market? In his general session at 18th Cloud Expo, Nara Rajagopalan, CEO of Accelerite, explored the challenges in deploying, managing, and getting adoption for a private cloud within an enterprise. What are the key differences between wh...
Jul. 1, 2016 09:30 AM EDT Reads: 1,217
The IoT is changing the way enterprises conduct business. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Eric Hoffman, Vice President at EastBanc Technologies, discussed how businesses can gain an edge over competitors by empowering consumers to take control through IoT. He cited examples such as a Washington, D.C.-based sports club that leveraged IoT and the cloud to develop a comprehensive booking system. He also highlighted how IoT can revitalize and restore outdated business models, making them profitable ...
Jul. 1, 2016 09:00 AM EDT Reads: 713


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Simon Deane was recently featured in the South China Morning Post in an article discussing how police investigators at the forefront of Hong Kong’s battle against money laundering face a flood of reports.
The SCMP reports that more than 100 suspected cases land on their desks every day – almost double the amount of just three years ago. The reported data also reveals the first reports from auction houses, with 31 suspicious transaction reports made between 2012 and 2014. This has prompted concerns that auction houses could offer an effective way to hide ill-gotten gains as other traditional avenues such as casinos and banks come under greater scrutiny amid Beijing’s crackdown on graft.
Simon commented: “It is possible that current laws in Hong Kong would be extended to cover auction houses. Goods for auction are a store of financial value and therefore purchasing them at auction must be considered as a potential money-laundering tool,” he said, which “would force auction houses to do client due diligence”.
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Africell partners SLCB to launch electronic payment service
September 6, 2019
By Ibrahim Tarawallie
In a bid to make baking transactions easy, Sierra Leone’s leading GSM operator, Africell Mobile Company has partnered with the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank to unveil an innovative electronic payment service system.
The ‘Wallet to Bank/Bank to Wallet’ service, which was launched on Tuesday September 3, 2019, will enable the company’s subscribers with account at SLCB transfer money from their account to their mobile money wallet and vice versa, thereby reducing time, energy and stress to go to the bank to stand in long queues.
According to Africell Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Joe Abass Bangura, the service will directly drive financial inclusion, as well as the growth of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
“Our subscribers will be able to move money from their bank account directly to their Africell Money account and vice versa. They can also check their account balance from their Africell Money,” he said.
He added that subscribers holding an account at SLCB will have to visit the bank’s nearest branch to link their Africell Money account to their account at the bank.
Bangura thanked the management of the bank for the partnership to move Sierra Leoneans to join the electronic payment systems cashless era.
He maintained that they are proud of always taking the lead in introducing cutting edge voice, data and fintech services, thus reducing the cost, improving the speed, comfort and security with which people talk and conduct their financial transactions.
SLCB Managing Director, Fidelis Turay expressed his delight to join the company in making financial transactions much easier for their subscribers with accounts at the bank.
“With this service, subscribers of Africell with accounts at the bank are able to do transactions from the comfort of their homes without any hurdle. Our collaboration with the company is geared driving financial inclusion. This service will save our people to trek long distances to the bank to conduct financial transactions,” he said.
He said the bank was pleased to be able to bring to the general public the ‘Wallet to Bank/Bank to Wallet’ service through Africell and urged Sierra Leoneans, especially the company’s subscribers to make use of the service.


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Timing, it would appear, sometimes gets in the way of progress for Apple. The company experienced failure with its personal digital assistant Newton in the early 1990s, only to find overwhelming success with the iPad in 2010.
And now, recently unearthed concept art by Hartmut Esslinger — whose design firm frog helped conceptualize many successful Apple products — proves this observation true again. It appears that Apple was dreaming of an iPhone way back in 1983 — meaning it took 24 years for the company to figure out the right timing for its flagship mobile device.
The concept art for the ’83 iPhone actually looks like an iPad crossed with a car phone. It includes a stylus and shows off Apple’s vision for electronic banking, with a hand signing an electronic check.
So given that Apple first thought of the iPhone in 1980s and the iPad in the 1990s, its next breakthrough device has likely long been in the pipeline as well. The question is, how long will we have to wait to actually hold it?


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Marion Barry opens up about autobiography, 'Mayor for Life'
(WJLA) - Marion Barry is now opening up about revelations made in his new book, "Mayor for Life,” which is on store shelves today.
“I regret going to the room in the Vista Hotel. I regret the embarrassment that it caused my family, this community, and the nation,” he said to ABC7’s Sam Ford in an interview.
As his book lays out his life from childhood to the present, Barry talked about the hotel where he was arrested for smoking crack 24 years ago as Rashida Moore watched.
However, he insists that this is only a sliver of his story and that the book in 336 pages goes from his childhood to the present day, and discusses a different legacy -- in particular, how he helped minorities get city contracts.


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SHOPPING chains, package holiday sites and Facebook are among the most visited websites by council staff across South Wales, new figures reveal.
Websites including Amazon, Argos, clothing store Next and holiday company Thomson all featured heavily in the councils’ top 100 most viewed websites over the year.
And one council even had the matchmaking website Friends Reunited Dating among its staff’s most visited online destinations.
Robert Oxley, campaign manager of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “It looks like some council staff have spent more time surfing Facebook, or doing their Christmas shopping, than getting on with the job they’re paid for.”
Councils have defended the stats, saying internet surfing is strictly monitored during working hours.
The information was revealed to the Echo following a series of Freedom of Information requests.
Bridgend and Caerphilly refused to disclose the information on grounds of cost.
Google was the most visited website by staff at Cardiff council, racking up a huge 1,801,550 page views in the three months from June to August this year.
Facebook came in a close second with 1,303,273 hits followed by the BBC website with 547,950 page views.
Online store Amazon, Auto Trader, clothing outlet Next and St David’s shopping centre all featured in the top 100 as well as holiday websites Trip Advisor and First Choice.
Lonely hearts were busy clicking on Friends Reunited Dating, which was also in the local authority’s top 100 most viewed sites.
A spokeswoman for Cardiff council said: “All council staff with computer access, approximately 7,000, can use the internet for work-related duties which include research, reference and many other services including those provided by other government bodies.
“The council also has a number of its own Facebook sites to help it communicate with residents who use social media.
“Any abuse of these facilities is monitored and could be the subject of disciplinary action.”
Shopping sites such as Argos, Amazon, Next, and internet entertainment store Play featured in Rhondda Cynon Taf council workers’ top 100 most viewed websites.
Property site Right Move and holiday reviews website Trip Advisor also featured.
A spokeswoman for Rhondda Cynon Taff council said: “Staff are allowed to access the web through the council’s internet connection, but only in strict accordance with our internet usage policy and outside of core working hours, such as lunchtimes.”
Video entertainment website Vimeo, social network Facebook, Thomson holidays, and shopping sites Amazon and Argos were among Merthyr Tydfil council workers’ most visited websites between the beginning of the year and August 24.
In the Vale of Glamorgan council Facebook and Amazon both made the list.
David Vining, head of strategic ICT at Vale of Glamorgan council, said: “Any employee who was found to be misusing internet access would face disciplinary proceedings that could lead to dismissal.”


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Tech giants, Apple and Spotify have been in an all-out war for some time now. In fact, Spotify filled a complaint against Apple which was forwarded to the European Commission. The Commission confirmed that it had received the letter a few days ago and is working on what to do next.
Yesterday, Spotify referred to Apple as a monopolistic establishment stating that Apple’s response to the lawsuit wasn’t surprising. The complaint filed by Spotify stated that Apple’s alleged unfair practices should be curbed. According to the letter, Apple offered users a 30% cut on subscription charges. Shopify said that the charges gave Apple Music an advantage over other music app developers. The company also complained about the technical restrictions set by Apple and the fact that it cannot match the new price.
In response to the complaint, Apple said that Spotify was trying to enjoy the benefits of free apps without being free. The tech giant insisted that the 30% cut was a small incentive to get users to sign up and it would be reduced to 15% after a year, a point Spotify left out in its letter.
As reported by Variety, Spotify responded to Apple stating that it is not surprised by the company’s response. Part of the statement was as follows:
“It’s not unusual to see monopolists who claim that their actions are in the best interests of all their customers and competitors. The new policy hurts customers because Apple is has failed to see that Spotify users who own iOS devices are Spotify customers and not Apple customers. This is the center of Apple’s problem.”
For now, it is not clear how the European Commission will respond to the issue. They may either agree with Spotify about Apple’s alleged unfair business practices or dismiss the complaint altogether.


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Jet2 says confidence-level summer season getaway ‘stays vibrant’
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays say the extent of buyer confidence in a summer season getaway “stays dynamic”.
Jet2holidays and sister operator Jet2.com have launched the outcomes of the most recent spherical of buyer surveys which they are saying present “self-confidence” stays throughout all age teams. Greater than half (52%) of consumers surveyed mentioned they continued to be assured about reserving and journey this summer season and past, on the similar degree as two weeks in the past.
The proportion of respondents who don’t really feel assured fell by one proportion level, from 28% to 27%. Jet2holidays mentioned its information was primarily based on surveys of a whole bunch of adults and added that belief ranges had remained excessive since early March.
Managing Director Steve Heapy mentioned, “Our survey exhibits that clients proceed to look to the long run with actual confidence in relation to taking their much-needed trip. They’ve waited a very long time for his or her trip and are naturally very desirous to get away from all of it. Like our shoppers, we look ahead to readability within the coming weeks on how we will get again on the aircraft in order that we will take our shoppers to their dream trip selections.
As a part of the federal government’s roadmap to get out of lockdown, non-essential worldwide journey from the UK is banned till Could 17 on the earliest, however many are hopeful the ban will probably be lifted at that time- the.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to situation an replace quickly on the prospects for resuming abroad journey on April 5, with the World Journey Job Drive as a consequence of launch its suggestions on April 12.
Thanks for taking the time to learn this “Jet2holidays Says Visitor Confidence Degree For Summer season Getaway ‘Stays Dynamic’” information article. For extra every day UK information, every day Spanish information and world information, go to Euro Weekly Information homepage.


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Firms admit to mobile security shambles
A third of professionals using mobile devices such as PDAs and smartphones admit to not using passwords or any other security protection despite three out of 10 storing their Pins, passwords and other corporate information on the devices.
By Ken Young at vnunet.
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Each bag of the ‘Standard Black’ blend sold will benefit CoffeeKids.org, a non-profit organization that benefits the next generation of coffee farmers. In addition, Standard Black has made a donation to the program. The single-blend roast was developed and grown by the young farmers in Ocotepeque, Honduras in collaboration with CoffeeKids.org, and will be sold through Irving Farm’s website and in their 12 locations in New York City.
Given that the creative and advertising industries run on coffee day-in and day-out, Standard Black wanted to donate to a cause that felt wholeheartedly connected to the agency, as coffee is such a vital ingredient in the company’s day-to-day function.
Integrated advertisement created by Standard Black, United States for Irving Farm, within the categories: Agency Self-Promo, Non-Alcoholic Drinks.