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Aussies away from home, get ready for Operation Boomerang to bring you back Down Under, says Meat & Livestock Australia’s latest ad.
Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) has really upped the ante this Australia Day ad, enlisting none other than SBS’s sassy newsreader Lee Lin Chin in partnership with Lambassador Sam Kekovich for Operation Boomerang.
Operation Boomerang sees a daring rescue mission unfurl for those Aussies overseas to get them back in time for Australia Day, including, it would appear, Princess Mary’s own hoisting and helicopter ride.
The ad sees Lin Chin traumatised by her time in Warsaw when it was freezing and “not a chargrilled chop in sight”.
“That was no way to spend Australia Day,” she says, vowing to never let it happen to another Aussie again.
Check it out below.
MLA has been well-known for its annual Australia Day ads, going so far this year as to release a teaser trailer last week for the above ad.
The MLA Australia Day ads have seen some massive names show their face, including cricket commentator Richie Benaud, who sadly passed away last year, and long-time lamb ambassador and media personality Sam Kekovich.
Check out some of the classics below.
Freedom Foods and 72andSunny Sydney have launched the first advertising campaign for Australia’s Own range of plant-based beverages. The campaign introduces a new visual world and identity for the brand and captures the healthy, positive feeling you get when spending time in nature and when consuming Australia’s Own certified-organic, plant-based beverages. As well as featuring […]
Nine creatives from APAC are among the 94 finalists from 27 countries in The One Club for Creativity’s prestigious Young Guns 19 competition, celebrating international creative professionals age 30 or younger. The finalists from APAC are: Hiu Ching Kung, graphic designer, Hong Kong Lam Ieong Kun, graphic designer, illustrator, indego design, Macau Raxenne Maniquiz, graphic designer, illustrator, Santa Maria (Philippines) Kiyotaka […]
OOH transit company Adflow has announced the success of the first phase of its regional expansion program. Adflow’s regional footprint has increased by 60 per cent to now include 65 regional locations. With 9.1 million people living regionally in Australia (growth of 1.1 per cent experienced in the 19/20 Financial year) and most regional centres […]
Freshworks, a leading software company, has started trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, marking an important milestone for the company. The company priced its IPO at US$36 per share (AU$49.76), raising about US$1 billion (AU$1.4B), resulting in a total market capitalisation of AU$13.7 billion (US$10B). Freshworks, which was founded in India, has strong roots […]
Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) is the biggest player in the holiday shopping game and Google’s most recent research suggests consumer interest for the peak sales season starts much earlier than retailers may realise. The pandemic has fundamentally changed buyer behaviour over peak sales season, with Google suggesting that global consumer interest in Black Friday […]


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We’re all for innovative smartphone designs – even outrageous ones; and vivo has been at the forefront of the avant-garde with devices like the NEX 3 with its buttonless layout and the V17 Pro with the dual pop-up selfie camera.
This time around, vivo continues pushing in this front with the introduction of concept phone, vivo APEX 2020. The previous iteration saw the omission of buttons and ports altogether – this time is no different, except with a NEX 3-like 120-degree FullView Edgeless Display.
The phone sports a 6.45-inch panel that has curved edges that spill over at a 90-degree angle. Like the NEX 3, this means that it has no room for any side buttons – replacing it are pressure-sensitive capacitive buttons. For audio, the display vibrates to cast audio – vivo says the phone uses the third-generation Screen SoundCasting technology to make this happen.
You’ll also notice that there isn’t a selfie lens present – that’s because it’s equipped with a much anticipated in-display lenses. The 16MP-shooter is apparently able to receive more light through a blanked-out portion of the display when you turn on the camera.
For imaging, you’ll find a 48MP lens alongside an optical zoom camera – the zoom capabilities of the lens is up to 7.5x optical zoom. The camera setup is also bolstered with a Stable Mechanical Structure which vivo says functions like a gimbal.
Under the hood, there hasn’t been a lot said about its specs, but it’s likely to be packed with a Snapdragon 865 processor with 5G connectivity support; plus 12GB RAM and 512GB storage – this is just us making educated guesses by the way.
But what is confirmed is that the phone supports up to 60W fast charge which vivo claims can charge a 2,000mAh battery in 20 minutes. But don’t worry, it’s unlikely to sport such a tiny battery pack – we’re thinking something along the lines of 4,000mAh.
Since there are not ports, the phone will most likely charge with via a magnetic pin placed around the back.
Like the previous APEX concept phone, this one is not available commercially yet, and it’s unsure if it ever will be. But it’s the kind of forward-thinking we need from smartphone brands – something that breaks away from the typical, even foldable phones.

domain: news


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Chinese pork prices climbed to new records this week, according to government data, signaling its auctions of frozen pork reserves and other measures to boost production are doing little to cool the market.
Pro Farmer’s First Thing Today reports farmers are holding back pigs from slaughter as they work to rebuild herds after the industry was engaged in widespread culling two years ago. Additionally, stringent new environmental rules have forced many small-scale producers out of the market. As a result, Rabobank expects China to import a record 1.5 million metric tons of pork in 2016, possibly helping China to surpass Japan as the world’s top importer. The increase could be a boon for major pork exporters like the U.S. and Germany.


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Now, pay at least 1% GST liability in cash
New GST payment norm for cos with over Rs 50 lakh monthly biz
These changes indicate that government is grappling with lower tax collections and high tax evasions, burden of which will again be on honest taxpayers
New Delhi: Businesses with monthly turnover of over Rs 50 lakh will have to mandatorily pay at least 1 per cent of their GST liability in cash, the Finance Ministry said as it moved to curb evasion by fake invoicing.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has introduced Rule 86B in Goods and Services Tax (GST) rules which restricts use of input tax credit (ITC) for discharging GST liability to 99 per cent.
"The registered person shall not use the amount available in electronic credit ledger to discharge his liability towards output tax in excess of 99 per cent of tax liability, in cases where the value of taxable supply in a month exceeds Rs 50 lakh," the CBIC said.
While calculating the turnover threshold, sales from GST exempt goods and zero rates supply would not be included. However, this restriction will not apply where the managing director or any partner have paid more than Rs 1 lakh as income tax or the registered person has received a refund amount of more than Rs 1 lakh in the preceding financial year on account of unutilised input tax credit.
EY Tax Partner Abhishek Jain said the government has put restrictions on seamless input credit utilisation with introduction of Rule 89B, which blocks utilisation of ITC beyond 99 per cent of the output liability, for businesses having taxable turnover of more than Rs 50 lakh per month.
"With the government providing reasonable exceptions to this rule, the idea remains to prevent misutilisation of credit by businesses taking fake credits," Jain added. Further, the CBIC has amended GST rules restricting filing of outward supply details in GSTR-1 for business that have not paid tax for the past periods by filing GSTR 3B.
So far, until now, non-filing of GSTR 3B resulted in blockage of e-way bill but will now result in GSTR 1 blockage as well. Abhishek Jain, Tax Partner, EY said, "The government has now restricted filing of outward supply details in GSTR 1 return for businesses who have not paid tax for the past periods by filing GSTR 3B.
"The government's idea here seems to be to curb input tax credit passing by businesses which have otherwise not paid their GST liability," Jain added. AMRG & Associates Senior Partner Rajat Mohan said, "These changes indicate that government is grappling with lower tax collections and high tax evasions, burden of which will again be on honest taxpayers". The CBIC has also notified authentication of Aadhaar number or physical verification of business premises for the purposes of obtaining GST registration.
"This amendment has likely been introduced to prevent fraudulent registrations," Jain added. Also, the validity of electronic way bill provisions has been amended by the CBIC according to which the e-way bill will be valid for 1 day for every 200 km of travel, as against 100 km earlier. (PTI)


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Only Kim Kardashian could turn a new hairstyle into front-page news.
She recruited celebrity colorist Lorri Goddard for the impromptu dye job and Gregory Russell from Andy Lecompte Salon in LA for the accompanying cut.
“This was my first time working with Kim,” Goddard tells The Post, who was introduced to the reality star through Russell. “Platinum hair is a trend always,” he adds. “It runs the gamut from chic to edgy.”
And other stylists love the effect. “I think she looks great!” says JP Ramirez, a colorist at the Yves Durif Salon at the Carlyle hotel on the Upper East Side. “She looks very edgy . . . it’s a punk, retro look. This color really works for her, because it’s very platinum. If it had been darker, this wouldn’t have worked at all with the color of her skin.”
Kardashian is hardly the first celebrity to make such a drastic change when it comes to hair color.
At the Balmain fashion show on Thursday, she bumped into actor Jared Leto, who also debuted platinum locks at Paris fashion week.
Meanwhile, Lena Dunham, Zosia Mamet and even Justin Bieber went platinum in 2014.
But now that Kardashian has jumped on the blond bandwagon, salons are expecting a rush of requests. After all, Kim’s obsession with selfies, big butts and even waist trainers launched national trends.
“We all did a color bootcamp today because we have to be prepared,” says Rachel Bodt, a senior colorist from Cutler Salons in NYC. “But the truth of the matter is, it’s not a realistic, sustainable thing.”
Achieving Kim’s look requires a double process, which involves bleaching the hair twice, takes four to 10 hours to complete, and costs between $300 and $500. Touch-ups to the roots are required every three to four weeks, as are multiple deep conditioning treatments and oils to heal the severely damaged hair.
The upkeep is so intensive, Bodt typically talks her customers out of double processes to save them time and money.
And then there’s the necessary investments in clothing and makeup to achieve a cohesive look.
“Kim will dress much more minimalist to emphasize the double process,” Bodt predicts. “When there’s so much going on [with the hair], everything else has to be more subdued.”
Just don’t try a DIY dye job to save cash.
“You can have your hair fall out, your scalp break out into blisters, all sorts of really horrible things,” says Bodt of botched bleach jobs.
“In the end, it can cost you quadruple the amount you thought you were going to spend — along with tears and even some therapy.”


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Epic Games, maker of the battle royale game Fortnite, partners with the Lego Group to build “an immersive, creatively inspiring and engaging digital experience” for kids. With this, the firms aim to build a safe space for kids of all ages in order to hone their creator skills and provide play opportunities.
Epic and the LEGO Group enter into a long-term partnership to “shape the future of the metaverse” by constructing a digital experience where children can play safely online. While the companies didn’t go into detail about what that will look like in Thursday’s announcement. They outlined three principles driving development: to prioritize children’s well-being, to protect children’s privacy, and to equip both children and adults with the necessary tools to shape their digital experience.
Epic Games partners with the Lego Group to build metaverse for Kids
Details on that experience are slim, but Epic notably doesn’t use the word “game” to describe it. The statement adds that Epic will leverage its 2020 acquisition of SuperAwesome, a moderation tool also used by Lego, to protect kids’ online experience.
Epic mentions the first of these to be an aim to protect children’s “right to play” by prioritizing safety on the platform. Other than this, Epic and Lego will also focus on protecting children’s privacy as well as providing them and their guardians with the right tools to control their digital experience.
The Lego Group, on the other hand, does not need any introduction to kids and their parents. The Lego bricks have been a go-to toy for several generations of children now, which still remains its core business. The company is also known for several of its initiatives toward children, including the development of an industry-standard Digital Child Safety Policy with UNICEF.
The big question then is what kids stand to benefit through such a metaverse. Niels B Christiansen, CEO of The LEGO Group believes that “there is huge potential” for kids to develop life-long skills like creativity, collaboration, and communication through such digital experiences. The companies will then focus on enabling the same in a safe environment through the new metaverse.
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Elon Musk receives adulation and warm welcome during China trip
Elon Musk’s recent visit to China has been met with admiration and warm hospitality from the Chinese public. The billionaire CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, has been praised and flattered by the Chinese people during his trip, where he has also had meetings with three government ministers.
Since arriving in Beijing earlier this week, Musk has held discussions with China’s foreign, commerce, and industry ministers, as well as enjoying a dinner with Zeng Yuqun, the chairman of leading battery supplier CATL. While the details of these conversations have not been disclosed, there has been an outpouring of enthusiasm for Musk on Chinese social media platforms.
Musk has been hailed as a “global idol” and many Chinese citizens have expressed their admiration, with some even expressing a desire for someone like Musk to be the leader of China. His visit has sparked significant interest and discussion on social media, despite the ongoing tensions between the United States and China. People are particularly interested in Musk’s views on topics such as artificial intelligence and electric vehicles.
During his trip, Musk’s private jet traveled from Beijing to Shanghai, where Tesla’s factory is located. The visit of Musk, along with other major CEOs like Tim Cook of Apple, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan, and Laxman Narasimhan of Starbucks, highlights the importance of China as a market for international companies.
Musk’s popularity in China was further evident during a lavish 16-course meal at a prestigious restaurant, where the menu was designed to pay homage to his Chinese name and described Tesla as a dark horse that stands out among traditional automotive companies.
While Musk has yet to make any public statements during his visit, his trip comes at a critical time for Tesla in China. The company faces increased competition from Chinese-made electric vehicles and some uncertainties regarding expansion plans for the Shanghai plant. Musk is expected to meet other high-ranking Chinese officials and visit the Shanghai factory in the coming days.
Investors are also eagerly awaiting regulatory clearance for Tesla’s advanced driver assistance features in China, which are already available in the United States. The successful implementation of these features in the Chinese market could have significant implications for Tesla’s growth and market position.
Despite the challenges and uncertainties, Musk’s visit to China has generated excitement and admiration among the Chinese public. The attention and positive reception he has received demonstrate the significant impact he has made in the fields of electric vehicles and technology, both in China and around the world.


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Vivo X60 and Vivo X60 Pro were launched in China in December
Both phones have 6.56-inch AMOLED displays
Vivo X60 Pro+ debuted in January in China
Vivo X60 series of smartphones – Vivo X60, Vivo X60 Pro, and Vivo X60 Pro+ – will be launched in India in March-end or early April, as per a report. It is also being speculated that the Chinese company is likely to launch the top-end variant, Vivo X60 Pro+. While Vivo X60 and Vivo X60 Pro were launched in China in December, Vivo X60 Pro+ debuted on the company's home turf last month. The details about the India launch is yet to be confirmed by Vivo.
Citing industry sources, 91Mobiles reported that Vivo will launch Vivo X60 Pro+ in India in March-end or beginning of April. The report, however, claims that it is uncertain whether Vivo X60 Pro and Vivo X60 will both accompany Vivo X60 Pro+ or just one of them will make its way to India. As mentioned, the series has already been launched in China. The vanilla Vivo X60 and Vivo X60 Pro debuted in December, and the top-end Vivo X60 Pro+ was unveiled last month.
Vivo X60, Vivo X60 Pro, Vivo X60 Pro+ price
In China, Vivo X60 Pro+ starts at a price of CNY 4,998 (roughly Rs. 56,500) for the 8GB + 128GB storage option. Vivo X60 Pro comes in a single 12GB + 256GB storage model that is priced at CNY 4,498 (roughly Rs. 50,600). Vivo X60 price has been set at CNY 3,498 (roughly Rs. 39,300) for the 8GB + 128GB storage variant. While there is no information on the models' prices in India, the phones may be priced similar to the Chinese variants in the country.
The dual-SIM (Nano) Vivo X60 runs on Android 11 with OriginOS 1.0 on top. It features a 6.56-inch full-HD+ (1,080x2,376 pixels) AMOLED display with a 19.8:9 aspect ratio, 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10 and HDR10+ standards support. Under the hood, Vivo X60 comes with the octa-core Exynos 1080 SoC, coupled with up to 12GB of LPDDR4X RAM.
Vivo X60 features a triple rear camera setup that houses a 48-megapixel primary sensor, a 13-megapixel secondary sensor with an f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 13-megapixel portrait shooter. For selfies and video chats, Vivo X60 offers a 32-megapixel camera at the front with an f/2.45 lens. The phone comes with an in-display fingerprint sensor and a 4,300mAh battery with 33W fast charging.
Vivo X60 Pro specifications
Just like Vivo X60, the dual-SIM (Nano) Vivo X60 Pro also runs on Android 11 with OriginOS 1.0 and comes with a 6.56-inch full-HD+ (1,080x2,376 pixels) AMOLED display. The phone is also powered by the Exynos 1080 SoC, along with 12GB of RAM. The phone has a 4,200mAh battery that supports 33W fast charging.
In terms of optics, Vivo X60 Pro features a quad rear camera setup, with a 48-megapixel primary sensor, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide-angle shooter, a 13-megapixel portrait shooter, and an 8-megapixel periscope shooter that enables 5x optical zoom and 60x super zoom. For selfies, Vivo X60 Pro houses a 32-megapixel camera at the front.
Vivo X60 Pro+ specifications
The top-end dual-SIM (Nano) Vivo X60 Pro+ runs OriginOS 1.0, based on Android 11. It features a 6.56-inch full-HD+ (1,080x2,376 pixels) AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10 and HDR10+ support. It is powered by the Snapdragon 888 SoC, paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage.
For photos and videos, Vivo X60 Pro+ packs a quad rear camera setup that includes a 50-megapixel primary sensor, a 48-megapixel ultra-wide-angle sensor, a 32-megapixel portrait shooter, and an 8-megapixel periscope camera. At the front, there is a 32-megapixel selfie shooter. There is an in-display fingerprint scanner, and Vivo has packed a 4,200mAh battery that supports 55W fast charging.
Sourabh Kulesh is a Chief Sub Editor at Gadgets 360. He has worked in a national daily newspaper, a news agency, a magazine and now writing technology news online. He has knowledge on a wide gamut of topics related to cybersecurity, enterprise and consumer technology. Write to firstname.lastname@example.org or get in touch on Twitter through his handle @KuleshSourabh.


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Microsoft Reveals Plans For a New Browser: So What?
Published on 22/01/15
Did you know there are currently 5 main different internet browsers available? This, coupled with the news that Microsoft are due to launch a brand new browser later this year, shows how divided the market is, and just how many different ways there are of viewing the internet.
The launch of Microsoft ‘Spartan’, and the end of an era for Internet Explorer?
According to statistics, over a fifth of internet users browse using Internet Explorer, of which they are currently 11 different versions. The majority of users browse with Google Chrome, a platform that is nearing its 40th update.
But what does this mean for users with out-dated browsers?
Firstly, your view of a website could be completely different to another user – purely because your old browser doesn’t support the latest technology or designs. These users could potentially be missing out on great functionality, simply because their internet browser is a few years old. Imagine investing in a beautiful new school website, only for some of your users to miss out on the new design because they are using an old browser.
The news from Microsoft’s latest press conference regarding ‘Spartan’ has provided insight into the latest browser technology, most notably inbuilt voice command and webpage annotation, but getting users up to speed with the latest version could ensure every end user has the best possible online experience, and user friendly features.
How can you keep up to date?
If you’re unsure whether your browser is up to date, head over to Outdated Browser to find out.


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Dirty uae chat
Pictured: Expat Edward Beaver-Rouge in his UAE office The video, posted across the embassy's social media accounts, is a five-minute animation starring LEGO characters, based on Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol.
Pictured: Edward is told he will be visited by the three ghosts In one scene, the young Briton is shown on a night out in the UK where he drunkenly propositions a Lego woman, before falling over in the street and eventually sleeping in a doorway.
Pictured: Edward falls asleep in a doorway during a previous Christmas He added: 'Rather than spending time and energy painting UK visitors as drunken louts, the British Embassy's efforts might be better spent on helping people who have been wrongly accused of criminal behaviour in Dubai,' he said.'It is completely insulting to Britons who have been jailed – and even tortured - in Dubai, and who have found themselves without adequate support from embassy staff.'More than 100,000 British expats currently live and work in the UAE, and another 1.5 million visit during the year, many for Christmas and New Year.
Towards the end of the video, the Ghost of Christmas Present tells him: 'Everyone celebrates differently, but it doesn't have to end in embarrassment and regret'.
The spirits of Christmas past, present and future warn him of the consequences he would suffer if he fails to adapt his behaviour for the UAE.
Public displays of affection, drinking in public and wearing indecent clothing are all banned in the popular tourist destination.
It's definitely cheaper to just get your car washed-- drivers who leave that coast of dust can face fines up to Dhs 3,000, so it's smart to just clean it off regularly.
The video shows Beaver-Rouge being told by the Ghost of Christmas Past: 'Edward, your Christmases have been full of excess.This is her first visit to the strategically important command after assuming charge as the defence minister.She will celebrate Diwali with soldiers at the command on Thursday, besides reviewing its operational preparedness with top officials.Dubbed 'A Consular Christmas Carol', the video follows Edward Beaver-Rouge, a recent expat spending his first Christmas in the UAE, to illustrate the cultural differences between the UK and United Arab Emirates.He can be seen above during a visit from the Ghost of Christmas Past Public displays of affection, drinking in public and wearing indecent clothing are all banned in the popular tourist destination of Dubai.
Pictured: The scene presented by the Ghost of Christmas Present More than 100,000 British expats currently live and work in the UAE, and another 1.5 million visit during the year, most at Christmas.


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TripleLift, the native advertising technology platform for the visual web, has announced an agreement with Bazaarvoice to offer a scalable native advertising solution to its retail partners that can be purchased through a programmatic exchange model.
Bazaarvoice is a network connecting brands and retailers to the authentic voices of people wherever they shop. It makes Bazaarvoice Media the first in this arena.
“The collaboration will give brands an ability to reach nearly 100 million consumers with entertaining, informative ad experiences on retail sites, shopping comparison engines, and mobile shopping apps,” says a post on the development at Motor E Magazine.
NativeMobile reports that Bazaarvoice will be able to seamlessly integrate native ads into the distinct look and design of each of its individual retail partner sites. Advertisers who engage consumers on these sites will not have to create multiple creative executions — a single image will be used to create an ad that natively adapts to each unique e-commerce destination. This will allow brands to proactively engage lower-funnel consumers who are in purchase mode and believed to be more receptive to ads.
“We look forward to employing the same level of scale and sophistication to the world’s biggest e-commerce sites that we currently provide our publisher clients,” said Ari Lewine, TripleLift co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer. “We’re thrilled that Bazaarvoice has recognized and committed to the value of native advertising as an engine to help its retailers monetize their sites with innovative ads that are not obtrusive to the consumer’s shopping experience.”
This deal facilitates the placement of ads which can be more targeted as a result of the collection of real-time behavioral data.
“Digitally savvy consumers don’t engage with ads that simply tell them what to buy; they want to interact with content that speaks to them from a place of shared interest and value,” said Josh Wetzel, general manager of Bazaarvoice Media. “Native ads can be a conversation starter—something consumers read and share. That makes them an ideal complement other marketing programs, such as ratings and reviews, that provide useful information to help brands and retailers forge deeper customer relationships.”


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Hertz, which also runs the Dollar and Thrify brands, announced Wednesday that it’d added 235,000 2015 model year vehicles to its fleet as of April 30.
That mean shops who want to do business with fleets should be ready for everything that’s new in the model year.
“The fleet refresh includes an extensive selection of 2015 models from Chrysler, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Infiniti, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen and more,” Hertz said in a news release.
Hertz pointed out that it has 2015 models of the Chevrolet Cruze, Nissan Altima and Toyota Camry, “which will be prominent across U.S. locations.” The Cruze and Altima mostly are like the prior-year models for collision repair purposes, but the Camry has been revamped somewhat, including more spot welds in the body.
Ford has cut back on commercial fleet sales to meet dealership demand for the aluminum F-150, so the aluminum F-150 probably doesn’t have a huge footprint. (It’s not even shown as an example on Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty’s websites anyway). The 2015 Chevrolet Silverado, however, has a great deal more high-strength steel and aluminum and new repair procedures, and it is featured on Hertz and Thrifty websites as an example of rental trucks.
A Hertz spokesman contacted Thursday afternoon said 4,500 2015 Silverados were among those introduced in the rollout.
Regardless, shops wanting to do business with Hertz should check with OEMs about 2015 model year changes before making any repairs.
Also new to the luxury collection in case you fix that kind of thing: the 2015 Mercedes C-Class and CLA45 AMG and the Porsche Macan Turbo.
“At this point we have delivered a substantial number from our 2015 fleet purchase to our U.S. rental locations,” Hertz Senior Vice President Tom Frese said in a statement. “We expect that by mid-2015 we will have greatly improved our fleet’s mileage profile, restoring it to our historic low levels. Safety and reliability remain top priorities, and we’re working hard to ensure our entire fleet reflects this.”
Hertz, May 6, 2015
Featured image: Hertz has added the 2015 Toyota Camry to its fleets. (Provided by Toyota)


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IPhone 12 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra: old rivals get ultra-competitive
Are 2020's pre-eminent super-phones still worthy picks in 2021? We compare Samsung and Apple's top devices.
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Oppo could be working on its own MagSafe-style magnetic charging tech
Android phone makers are starting to come up with their own accessory ecosystems to rival Apple's MagSafe.
1 month ago - Tech Radar
Elon Musk demanded to be made Apple CEO, Tim Cook said "F*** you"
Musk is interested, but one condition: "I'm CEO." What you need to know A new report claims that when Apple thought about buying Tesla in 2016, Elon Musk demanded to be made...
1 month ago - iMore
Poll: How do you feel about the new Safari designs?
The design of Apple's Safari web browser in iOS 15 , iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey were supposed to be a triumph of redesign, yet the new update is causing lots of people lots...
1 month ago - iMore
Top Stories: Face ID on Future Macs, Elon Musk Criticizes Apple, and More
This week saw an interesting range of Apple news and rumors, including a blockbuster earnings report, rumors about next year's "iPhone 14" and Face ID coming to Macs, and...
1 month ago - Mac Rumors
Samsung August 2021 security update is now rolling out for these Galaxy devices
Android updates are still not perfect, but we're seeing things improve year over year. Samsung has accumulated a stellar update track record as of late and is now among the...
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Google continues work on officially bringing Fast Pair from Android to Chromebooks
Fast Pair allows Android users to easily connect Bluetooth headphones and accessories to all of their devices, but efforts to bring the feature to Chromebooks have been less...
1 month ago - 9to5Google
Deals: Sony XM4 ANC refurb Headphones $180, Microsoft Surface Duo $389, more
Today's best deals are headlined by Sony's popular XM4 ANC headphones dropping to $180. That's alongside the Microsoft Surface Duo folding smartphone for $389 and eero Mesh...
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Nothing ear(1) ANC Wireless Earbuds PreSale Saturday
Earlier this week, Carl Pei's new tech startup, Nothing, launched its first product, the ear(1) wireless active noise cancelling earbuds for a very competitively priced US$99...
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Revised map allows T-Mobile subscribers to find its fast Ultra-Capacity mid-band 5G service
T-Mobile has added its mid-band 2.5GHz 5G network to its coverage map to make it easier for the carrier's subscribers to find. The carrier also offers low-band service and its...
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The headlines of Phone Mag
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Someone won a photography award with an iPhone 5s in 2021 and it's amazing
Every year we get to see the best photos taken with an iPhone thanks to the iPhone Photography Awards and 2021 is no different. The IPPA released its winners for this year...
Poll: What are your thoughts on Apple's MagSafe Battery Pack?
I remain unconvinced. Apple's MagSafe Battery Pack for iPhone 12 is here, and whilst early impressions of the accessory seem to be good, I for one remain unconvinced of the...
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3: Specs, leaks, price and release date
When Samsung went from the Galaxy Fold to the Galaxy Z Fold 2 , this marked one of the most drastic design changes between devices in the same line that we've ever seen. From...
Sony Xperia 1 III vs iPhone 12 Pro Max: who's the real pro here?
Can Apple's popular super-phone hold its own against Sony's technical might?
Motorola Edge 20 unofficial renders give us a full preview of the phone
We've got some new renders backed up by a specs list for the next premium mid-ranger from Motorola.
Google Pixel 6 or Google Pixel 6 XL: 5 key differences you should expect
Leaks suggest the Google Pixel 6 XL will be a very different phone to the standard Pixel 6.
An explosive spyware report shows limits of iOS, Android security
Enlarge / A report this week indicates that the problem of high-caliber spyware is far more widespread than previously feared. The shadowy world of private spyware has long...
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Google removes some customizable and popular Pixel Themes features in...
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In times of crisis, signs of compassion and kindness can turn a horrible day into a heartwarming day to remember. That happened to one Linden area woman. The Times tracked down a Hot line author, an ER nurse, who thanked ACE Hardware in Linden for providing a P100 respiratory mask that she was desperately in search of. She wrote that she was beyond grateful to ACE in Linden
Ace Hardware Sees 33% Online Sales Increase For Cyber 5 Weekend In 2022
Ace Hardware, the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the world with more than 5,600 locally owned and operated stores, reported record online sales over the peak 5-day holiday shopping weekend ...
Ace Hardware ranks 2nd overall on Top 100 Omnichannel Retailers report
Ace Hardware, the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the world with more than 5,600 locally owned and operated stores in approximately 65 countries, recently ranked second on Total Retail’s sixth annual Top ...
Ace Hardware Reports Third Quarter 2022 Results
Record third quarter revenues of $2.2 billion, an increase of 10.0 percent from last year Record third quarter net income of $100.6 million, an increase of 1.3 percent from ...
2021 Annual Report


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Microsoft's megabid to acquire Activision Blizzard has raised questions about the future of the publisher's cross-platform titles.
Facing regulatory scrutiny, Microsoft explicitly committed to Call of Duty releasing on PlayStation beyond existing agreements.
Now, the company has also confirmed it's open to releasing Call of Duty on the Nintendo Switch.
Speaking to CNBC, Microsoft's president Brad Smith stated "We'd like to bring [Call of Duty] to Nintendo devices. We'd like to bring the other popular titles that Activision Blizzard has, and ensure that they continue to be available on PlayStation, [and] that they become available on Nintendo."
Note this doesn't mean Activision doesn't have any active plans to develop Call of Duty games on the Switch and it is all dependent on whether the acquisition is approved by a number of governments, hence the statement.
The Xbox creator also announced plans to open up its app stores to developers using alternative payment methods, a not so subtle shot at Apple's practice of monopolising payments on its platforms.
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The year 2017 is coming to a close, some would say with a sigh of relief. It’s been a hairy year, particularly for one western country which pulled out of the international Paris climate agreement…
Hold strong, Middle Earth, you’ll be back to your peaceful shire before you know it! In the meantime, we’re picking five game-changing technologies that made the news in 2017 and are bound to be big stories in 2018. Please indulge us while we wallow in some buzzwords, because we’re woke for broke!
We’ve already raved about cryptocurrencies here and some more here, and doubtless some of us are sick and tired of hearing about them by now. Nevertheless, the stunning rise in the cryptocurrency market will continue to be big news in 2018, for better or for worse. As we breathlessly check our Coinbase bookmark right this second, Bitcoin is at $17.6K, Ethereum at $685, and Litecoin at $305, but they probably went up some more since we started typing this sentence. Better to check the Coin Market Cap, which lists every cryptocurrency worth its hash algorithm and shows that the current market cap for all cryptocurrencies stands at half a trillion dollars USD.
Where will it end? That’s going to be the big question in 2018. Obviously, this exponential growth has to stop before it reaches, say, the GDP of the entire human race. Is there a bubble? There probably is, because right now cryptocurrencies are basically pumped up by the expectation that their prices will rise forever. If they are a bubble and if it does pop, expect a staggering recession. The key strategies right now are to NEVER invest more than you can comfortably afford to lose, sell whenever you see a satisfactory profit, and fasten your seatbelt for when the big pop comes.
We also talked about blockchains alongside talking about cryptocurrencies. But even if Bitcoin and all its alt-coin peers ceased to exist, blockchain technology all by itself is a handy tool. You name it, if it’s an industry, it’s sniffing blockchains looking for a use. UPS has joined the Blockchain in Trucking Alliance. Intel thinks it can squeeze genetic sequencing out of blockchain methods. Online charity auctions can use blockchains. The gaming industry could roll out blockchain improvements.
Tired of hearing about blockchains yet? Are they starting to sound like 2018‘s “cloud computing”? Well, better put the word “blockchain” in your resumes, because you will be driven blockchain-happy in 2018. It slices, it dices, it cures the common cold! Which, by the way, is an excellent opportunity for improving blockchain support and capability. Currently, Bitcoin mining is actually a significant power drain on a global scale. Specialized hardware built just to process blockchain transactions as efficiently and inexpensively as possible could be a goal with a viable market.
Like any tech-focused blog, we’re just about obligated to natter about AI research as we have here and here. But 2017 saw an interesting turn in AI: the viability of emergent learning methods. Which is not to say that we couldn’t do this before; as the present author has pointed out in the past, it was possible to make a self-teaching Tic-Tac-Toe engine in Microsoft QBasic back in the ‘90s. But it’s only recently that we’ve had the jump in computing power to tackle bigger problems.
Not just board games, but walking algorithms, facial recognition, speech software, medical diagnosis, and so on. The nut of the matter is that we haven’t invented any new ways to “do” Artificial Intelligence. We’re really just brute-forcing it a lot. But now the hardware has caught up to the brute force methods. Mastering the board game of Go was historically considered absolutely impossible, for decades, even well after IBM’s AI had conquered chess. Never underestimate the power of a million monkeys at a million typewriters if you amp them up on three espressos each.
Internet of Things
What a magnificent ballet of pretty little doodads and gadgets, all waltzing together in a network of busy little applications which talk to each other and manage their own affairs! Smart gadgets with smart sensors, monitoring all sorts of minute data and delivering it to a smartphone screen. We’ve been hearing about these for awhile, and every year we come closer to the Tim Berners-Lee vision of the wired world.
This isn’t going to be a full scale movement all at once. The Internet of Things will move into our lives gradually, the way mobile phones did. One by one, smart home devices will become more common and taken for granted, and one day you’ll wonder what people did before smart mailboxes, where you could read your paper mail remotely and chose to file or shred individual pieces while you were on vacation.
We already have Alexa and Roomba in the home. And we’re familiar with industrial factory robots taking up places along the assembly line. But every year brings us closer to a future shaped like Star Wars, where single-purpose droids perform mundane tasks. Like when a San Francisco PETA office recently deployed a police-droid to hassle away homeless people. Or a Silicon Valley real estate company sends an agent-droid out to give prospective buyers a tour of a home for sale. Or when a robot is used as a companion pet for patients with dementia. Here’s your obligatory visit to the heady world of companion bots:
Still not feeling like you’re living in a Philip K. Dick movie yet? Did you know Saudi Arabia just granted citizenship to an AI robot? How about the robot that went to college? We could go on and on with these every month, each time nailing one more Amazing Stories novelette or Black Mirror episode. Parts of the world seem more open than others to robots as a fixture of society.
Well, it’s an exciting future ahead! Be sure to join us in 2018 so we can all discover the wonders together.


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Different name, same car.
The MG ZS made its debut in China towards the end of last year and now it’s getting ready for the U.K. market, but with a twist. Rather than retaining the same nameplate, the SAIC Motor-owned marque has decided to use “XS” for the version destined to be sold in United Kingdom beginning with late 2017. You might think the new nameplate was chosen to reflect the crossover’s size, but in reality it actually comes from X (extra) with SUV. Pretty exciting, isn’t it?
Power will be provided by a turbocharged 1.0-liter three-cylinder gasoline engine producing 123 hp (92 kW) and a peak torque of 125 pound-feet (170 Newton-meters). It will be joined by a lesser naturally aspirated 1.5-liter rated at 118 hp (88 kW) and 111 lb-ft (150 Nm). Both of them are going to be hooked up to a six-speed manual or a seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission.
“Pricing will be highly competitive,” promises MG, so from this statement we can understand the new XS will go after the SsangYong Tivoli, Dacia Duster, and Suzuki Vitara. The company’s U.K. marketing boss, Matthew Cheyne, has disclosed in an interview with Autocar there are already plans for a hybrid version and even for a pure electric model.
Cheyne went on to mention in 2019 the crossover family will be bolstered with the addition of a seven-seat GS while a tiny sub-XS model is also on the agenda. These three high-riding vehicles will sit alongside the 3 supermini and 6 midsize sedan, while the range-topping model will take the shape of an electric sports car previewed by the fetching E-Motion concept shown at Auto Shanghai last month.
Full technical specifications and pricing details for the MG XS will be published in the coming months, ahead of a launch in U.K. programmed for November. While sales of the brand have been rather sluggish in Britain under SAIC's ownership, the situation could take a turn for the better with the XS' arrival since crossovers continue to be all the rage.


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For the last year, pretty much everyone has struggled to answer one question: how do we know when the pandemic is over? Well, it depends on your personal barometer for normalcy. Is it when Costco brings back free samples? When buffets reopen? For me, the most hopeful sign of normalcy is the return of cruising.
In early 2020, cruise ships were viewed as petri dishes for COVID-19 outbreaks, and it was one of the first industries to shut down fully. Now cruising is making a comeback, with many cruise lines having implemented health protocols designed to give travelers peace of mind.
The summer of 2021 will be known as the season cruising finally returned, and there are already tons of voyages waiting to be booked. Here are some 2021 cruises you should consider taking.


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The world economy has experienced sudden and nerve-wracking fluctuations from health scares before, such as the SARS epidemic in 2003 and the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic. From a business perspective, the impact can be felt in dollars and cents. It's estimated that SARS incurred a $40 billion hit to the United States economy. The totality of economic damage that the COVID-19 coronavirus wreaks on the world remains to be seen.
Here at home, the coronavirus hasn’t shut down cities or incited panic in the masses. But there are ramifications, even for car dealerships. Certain brands are affected more than others and the virus is still in the early stages with more flux to come. Dealers should be aware of the challenges. Small, strategic adjustments can reap dividends.
Which manufacturers are affected by coronavirus?
At this point, you can rest relatively easy. For the moment, Canadian dealers are largely unaffected by the outbreak as the normal supply surplus of vehicles and parts keeps everything moving. However, if shutdowns continue at important hubs in China like Hubei Province, it could be a challenge for some manufacturers to complete the assembly of some vehicles.
For example, since most vehicles manufactured in China are for their own market, there likely won’t be many instances of vehicle shortages in Canada. That’s not definitive, though. For example, Hyundai’s Palisade production in South Korea shut down while waiting on parts from China – a model shipped to North America.
The more likely scenario is a parts shortage in North American assembly lines. General Motors, Volkswagen, Toyota, FCA, and most other carmakers on this side of the pond depend on everything from electronics and EV batteries to mechanical parts for final assembly.
What dealers can expect
A prolonged shutdown or factory disruption in China could lead to modest declines in vehicle availability, albeit for select models. Right now, availability isn’t an issue for vehicle orders in any real capacity.
More likely, the problem that dealers can expect to face currently and in the coming weeks and months will be anxious car shoppers. The economy has weakened and people are generally shying away from public spaces more than usual. It’s possible that fewer lot-walkers will be about and potential shoppers might be waiting it out before buying a vehicle.
Opportunities in the midst of a tough climate
Even with the global economical impact from the coronavirus, dealers can be proactive in pushing forward. It has to do with positioning the dealership well and being sensitive to the shopper’s needs.
1. Leverage your digital strengths
When the going gets tough in business, the initial instinct is to pull back from expenses. Doing so doubles down on the effects, digging the hole even deeper. When there’s economic adversity, successful dealers are committed to attracting customers.
When face-to-face interactions pose a risk, online interactions are an obvious preference. There are so many ways you can leverage your digital strengths.
2. Ramp up your sanitation efforts
Even if your cleanliness standards have always been exceptional, make sure you're following recommended protocols on testing and disinfection measures. And use your digital channels (social media, etc) to reassure your customers about the exhaustive precautions your dealership is taking.
3. Offer at-home test drives
For at-risk demographics like buyers over the age of 50, shoppers with pre-existing medical conditions, or anyone with a compromised immune system, waiting out the virus could be the preferred strategy. That means avoiding spaces like dealerships, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go through the sales process.
At-home or off-site test drives are a great way to bring customers deeper into the sales funnel while catering to their concerns. They won’t need to expose themselves unnecessarily and they still get the vehicle they need.
Pro Tip: If the customer enjoys their test drive and wants the vehicle, a home delivery service removes a potential barrier to purchase. Deliver the car and give the customer the peace of mind of signing the paperwork in their own living room!
Canada Drives keeps high-intent leads coming
When the tap is turning off at other stores, keep your leads flowing with pre-qualified sales leads. With Canada Drives, customers can get approved for finance online—they don't need to leave their homes! That’s an attractive option, especially in the current climate. The customer only needs to deal with one dealership and knows exactly how much they can get financed, saving a significant amount of time for all parties.
Speak to one of our reps today to find out how we can help boost your dealership's bottom line.


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On Saturday night, February 2, hours before Superbowl Sunday hoopla gets underway, up to 10,000 people will be running around Del Mar Fairgrounds to kick off a different kind of sporting experience.
“We think this is the next big thing,” says Keith Cunningham, vice president of events at VAVi Sports and Social Club, the largest athletic and social events organization for adults in Southern California.
The “thing” Cunningham’s referring to is the Electric Run, a 5K race of illuminated runners energized by electronic dance music (EDM) and weaving through neon palm trees, rainbow tunnels and other “crazy lighting effects.”
“We’re creating a happy place where all of the energy is completely positive, joyous; and all you see is smiles on everyone’s faces,” Cunningham says. “There will be sound and music bumping through the entire course. It’s going to be amazing.”
Contributing to the amazement is the fact that the experts behind popular music festivals such as Coachella and Electric Daisy Carnival (an annual touring EDM event series) designed the course.
But the kicker isn’t just the electric wonderland through which the runners will be racing. It’s the participants themselves: each will receive a glow kit (glow necklace, glow glasses, glow bracelet and other stuff) and is encouraged to further self-illuminate with neon, fluorescent and electric everything and anything.
“There has been such a big boom in the world of EDM and fun runs,” says Cunningham. “We figured, why not do an event that incorporates both? This race isn’t just another night run with people wearing glow sticks.”
Ragner Relay (an overnight race) founder Dan Hill and executives at VAVi conceptualized the idea, and hope to take the event to 25 different U.S. cities before the end of 2013. Orange County hosted the inaugural Electric Run in November, which was hailed as a success, drawing upwards of 8,000 runners.
At the finish line of the February 2 event in Del Mar? An all-night EDM dance party with a slew of DJs and a positively electric vibe.
Sign up for the Electric Run (entry fee is $55 per person) at govavi.com.
Popular action sports brand Neff Headwear designed Electric Run’s official T-shirt.
Founder Shaun Neff launched the company in 2002 while enrolled as an undergrad at Brigham Young University. Since then, Neff products have made it into the pop culture spotlight, propelled by celebs (like hip-hop artist Kid Cudi and rapper Lil Wayne) wearing its products; through partnerships with MTV and the like; and by sponsoring surf, snow and skate athletes who’ve made it to the X Games and Olympics, thereby garnering worldwide TV exposure.
“They have one of the hottest apparel and headwear brands in the game right now,” says Keith Cunningham, vice president of events for San Diego’s VAVi Sports and Social Club in San Diego (the company putting on the Electric Run).
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By Ed Oswald | Wednesday, August 12, 2009 at 10:47 am
You might have noticed that Microsoft’s ads for its Bing search engine have become much more frequent on our pages as of late. I’ve noticed elsewhere a marked increase in advertisements for the service, which seems to imply that Microsoft may be staging another offensive in the war over search.
Data from StatCounter shows that Bing had an fairly impressive 13.2 percent share on Tuesday, its highest point in over two months — which was shortly after launch — and continuing a marked uptrend that began on Monday. It appears that Bing’s new-found traffic is generally coming from Google, as Yahoo has generally maintained its share throughout Bing’s rises and falls.
(That said, Google still dominates about 75 percent of the search market in the US, with Yahoo around 10 percent as of Tuesday.)
What remains to be seen is whether Microsoft can hold onto these gains. Given its past history, it probably won’t, although it seems that its wild swings are beginning to smooth out over the past few weeks. This is probably a result of more web consumers settling into using Bing on a regular basis rather than flipping back and forth between its competitors.
Microsoft may also be noticing this stabilization, and may see it as a good time to attempt to pry more eyes away from Google, thus the increase in Bing ads once again.
In any case, the service still has a far way to go before it can be considered relevant in the search engine space. With Google so dominant, especially worldwide, Microsoft has a lot of work to do.
Note that worldwide Google has 88.6 percent of the market, dwarfing Bing and Yahoo’s shares which are roughly tied at 4.7 percent each.


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Running a big retail chain is no easy job in the best of times. In a year like 2023, it was a bitch.
After two years (2020 and 2021) of an insane wave of conspicuous consumption funded by government checks, with a swing to buying stuff rather than services and just plain-old stay-at-home boredom, the economy saw the next two years do a rather radical U-turn.
Every retail year sees a steady churn of CEOs, some a natural progression of executives aging out, others moving on to better jobs, and still others being forced out…even if the exit was couched in wink-wink “seeking other opportunities” language.
But 2023 saw an unprecedented volume in retail turnover – and not the kind of turnover retailers usually want, as in merchandise turnover. This year’s turnover had as much to do with changes in leadership for some of the usual reasons as it did with circumstances unique to the kind of year it was.
2023: Massive Reactionary Shifts
“When the tide goes out, you see who is swimming naked,” is the rather pithy critique usually attributed to Warren Buffet. Whoever said it first certainly summed up what we saw last year. After two years (2020 and 2021) of an insane wave of conspicuous consumption funded by government checks, with a swing to buying stuff rather than services and just plain-old stay-at-home boredom, the economy saw the next two years do a rather radical U-turn. Supply chain nightmares were ubiquitous, prices climbed off the charts, and consumers lusted after travel, restaurants and just about anything other than buying stuff.
Catherine Lepard, global managing partner of retail and direct-to-consumer at the headhunting firm Heidrick & Struggle, told Retail Dive last year that turnover was up to 17 percent in 2023, compared to 11 percent in 2022. That’s a big jump and Retail Dive reported a list of 50 CEO changes last year. So, retail leaders went from being unable to do anything wrong to doing just about everything wrong. Layered on top of the usual annual turnover the revolving door syndrome created corner office churn we haven’t seen perhaps ever. Looking back on what happened last year, we can probably dump the changes into three briefcases (a better receptacle than buckets).
It’s Your Fault
No matter what corp comm said, a lot of CEOs of big retail chains were simply fired. Some got what was coming to them, some were scapegoats, and some were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
- Look at Jeff Owen, who ran Dollar General and Mike Witynski of Dollar Tree, the two giants of the channel. Both got canned, although the language was a bit more nuanced. The dollar stores should be booming these days with runaway inflation and shoppers worried about the price of gas, the price of meat, and pretty much the price of everything. But neither company (Dollar Tree also owns Family Dollar) seems to be taking advantage of the situation and these two guys took the hit.
- The same dynamics cost the jobs of leaders of two of the biggest drugstore chains: Roz Brewer of Walgreens and Heyward Donigan of Rite Aid. The latter is now in bankruptcy and has some serious legal problems due to opioid lawsuits, but the post-pandemic world has not been kind to drug chains that benefited from all those Covid vaccinations but have been unable to sustain their revenues since.
- Or take Jonathan Johnson, who was asked to leave the premises at the company now called Beyond Inc., known previously throughout its life as Overstock.com. He was a company lifer and though he came from the non-merchandising side of things. He took over the top spot following the departure of his predecessor, Patrick Byrne, who founded the company and then got sidetracked by cybercurrency, conspiracy theories, and a severe case of Trumpism. Johnson bought the Bed Bath & Beyond brand, rebranded his company in record time and then got kicked out by investors unhappy with all of this.
- Sometimes, the pink slip was covered in corporate doubletalk. When Marc Rey exited Beauty Counter the company said it was because it wanted to move “to a new phase of leadership” for the company. Paige Thomas, who ran the Saks Off5th off-price division for Hudson’s Bay Co. “stepped down to pursue other opportunities.”
- And at apparel chain Express, Tim Baxter was let go and all the retailer would say was that it was “unrelated to the company’s accounting or financial reporting,” which is like tossing it out as “you figure out what exactly he did do wrong.”
It’s Not Your Fault, but Go Away Anyway
We may never truly know what happened for many of the exits. When Wolverine Worldwide fired long-time retail veteran Brendan Hoffman, all they would say was that he was “terminated without cause.”
There were plenty more of these, but some CEOs left when ownership of the company they worked for changed. Revlon, the big cosmetics brand, had been run by Debra Perelman, who by sheer coincidence was the daughter of the guy who owned the company, Ron Perelman. But after it emerged from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, she said, “With successful financing behind us, I believe now is the right time to pass the torch.” One has to wonder which end of that torch she was holding when she made that statement.
Another passing took place at Party City, yet another retailer coming out of bankruptcy, though the pass-off object was less flammable this time. “The timing is right to pass the baton,” Brad Weston said on his way out the door.
And then there was the darling of the Reddit-set day traders, Game Stop. Long a speculative stock play since wheeler dealer Ryan Cohen came into the picture as its big investor, the retailer fired its CEO Matt Furlong “without cause” and named as his successor…wait for it…Ryan Cohen.
The Usual Suspects
Not every change in the corner C-Suite was so intriguing. Wade Miquelon simply retired as CEO of crafts retailer Joann, although that company has had more than its share of troubles post-pandemic and we may eventually learn there’s more to this story than a gold watch and a going-away party.
Over at Costco, Craig Jelinek, only the third leader in the company’s history, is retiring, to be succeeded by Ron Vachris. On the other side of the retail continent Jeff Gennette, CEO of Macy’s, is also retiring with former Bloomingdale’s leader Tony Spring taking his place. It could be that the changeover is a bit ahead of some secret internal schedule, and that’s not far out of the realm of reality.
And then there’s pop superstar Rihanna. She founded the lingerie brand Savage x Fenty but left the CEO role in what may be nothing more than a recognition that it’s time for a professional retailer rather than a professional entertainer to run things…giving hope to the incredulous for all those enduring star CEO leadership brands like Goop and Skims.
24: More…or Less of the Same?
No doubt there are more examples of comings and goings, but you get the picture. The big question is what happens next in this new year. Will this pace continue, or have we seen the worst of it? (Don’t even ask how things will get even worse.) With the retail business expected to get more stable as inflation, supply chain meltdowns and consumer spending patterns swing back to historical balances, the revolving doors on all those corner offices could be moving somewhat more slowly over the next 12 months. Or not. There may still be plenty of naked swimmers out there, but the tide could be turning. At least one can hope.


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Russian and Finnish railways to strengthen collaboration
On a meeting last week, Russian Railways (RDZ) and the Finnish Railways VR Group decided to step up the work of their marketing and logistics units with a view to creating effective logistics products and developing freight traffic between Russia and Finland.
The two parties also agreed to continue extending the range of integrated electronic technology to cover all freight shipments dispatched from Finland to Russia.
Since June 2019, the scope of electronic freight transport technology for exports has been constantly expanded in cooperation with Russia’s federal customs service and the federal tax service. The technology means that all participants can conduct their export activities solely in electronic form. (ben)


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If you didn't know, Maxim is still chugging along, attempting to turn its fortunes around by shifting away from its over-sexed lad rag reputation with more toned down and tasteful coverage of everything from style to sports, even making Idris Elba the first man to ever cover the magazine. It's seemingly done a good job thus far, but editor-in-chief Kate Lanphear, former T magazine editor who had just joined Maxim late last year to spear its turnaround, was just let go. Her replacement? Former GQ Style Guy and overall legend Glenn O'Brien.
While his title is technically "editor-at-large," he will apparently be the acting EIC of sorts and aims to bring some in-depth features and fashion coverage to the magazine. Glenn said in a statement, "I sense that there is a huge void in men’s magazines today, with no title serving intelligent, sophisticated and ambitious men. Maxim will provide an inspiring and exciting forum for them." Obviously, Glenn is best known for his long tenure as The Style Guy at GQ, which he spoke to us about in August after his somewhat unceremonious departure. Now, he has his own talk show on the new fashion TV network Made2Measure on top of his new gig at Maxim. What a time to be GOB. It'll be interesting to see how Glenn's signature touch and taste come through. Hopefully he can turn Maxim into a magazine we're proud to subscribe to as oppose to just a impulse cop at the airport. Godspeed, homie.


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|By PR Newswire||
|February 11, 2014 01:56 PM EST||
PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
WHO: PowerCloud Systems, Inc., the creators of Skydog (www.skydog.com), Smart Family Wi-Fi Router and Web App, a first-of-its-kind home networking solution that allows you to powerfully, yet simply, manage your family's unique digital lifestyle.
WHAT: PowerCloud Systems is offering a one-day only discount of $20 off the purchase of Skydog, the smart home networking solution for families. Use the promo code SAFERDAY at checkout.
WHEN: Today, Tuesday, February 11, 2014
WHY: Today is Safer Internet Day, a global awareness-raising campaign helping kids make smart choices online and highlighting how they can use technology to make life better for themselves and others. As the only home networking solution that helps families manage their connected lifestyle on a user-by-user basis, Skydog is a valuable tool for households that want to manage how and when their home network is being used.
About PowerCloud Systems
PowerCloud® Systems is a leader and industry pioneer in cloud-powered wireless networking. The technology underpinning Skydog and the company's award-winning CloudCommand® platform was invented at the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) and makes deploying and monitoring Wi-Fi networks and services easy for consumers and businesses. PowerCloud Systems products are deployed worldwide in homes, hotels, schools, retail chains and other businesses seeking truly affordable, enterprise-grade Wi-Fi. Investors include PARC, Qualcomm Ventures, Javelin Venture Partners and Walden Venture Capital. More information can be found at www.powercloudsystems.com.
TriplePoint PR for PowerCloud Systems, Inc.
SOURCE PowerCloud Systems, Inc.
"MathFreeOn.com is a line coding platform for engineers and scientists. When they want to solve an engineering problem and they have to use software - they have to pay a lot of money for licenses - but with MathFreeOn you don't have to pay a lot of money. Just go to our site and write the code and you can check the result right away," explained Simon Lee, CMO of MathFreeOn, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at 19th Cloud Expo, held November 1-3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Cla...
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SYS-CON Events has announced today that Roger Strukhoff has been named conference chair of Cloud Expo and @ThingsExpo 2017 New York. The 20th Cloud Expo and 7th @ThingsExpo will take place on June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. "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 Internet to enable us all to im...
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The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft is in talks with private equity firm Silver Lake Partners and Michal Dell to help finance a deal that would take Dell Inc. off the stock market and into private ownership. As yet there has been no commitment from Microsoft to take part in the deal but “people familiar with the talks” said Microsoft is likely to contribute $2 billion of the necessary $22 billion price tag for Dell Inc. Spokespeople for Microsoft and Dell have yet to comment.
Dell was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell when he was a student at the University of Texas. As we have heard many times before the global PC market isn’t in the best of health and the decline in desktop PC sales has hit Dell as much as most of its competitors. In its last quarterly results revenues fell by 11 per cent and operating profits were almost halved to $589 million. As the news broke Dell shares have risen by around two per cent.
The deal should come within a week with other contributors to the buyout being Michael Dell, Silver Lake Partners and $15 billion from a group of four banks. As part of the deal “Dell would agree to use Microsoft's Windows software to power the vast majority of its devices” said on the WSJ’s sources. Dell already is one of the largest Windows PC makers and it’s the third largest PC maker in the world. Microsoft would also get preferred security stock “ensuring Microsoft gets repaid before other stockholders if Dell were to go bust” notes the WSJ.
Analysts speaking to the WSJ said Microsoft’s investment in Dell could have a wide range of benefits. A Nomura analyst, Rick Sherlund, said “I suspect it is not about the financial income this might generate for Microsoft as much as helping Dell to remain in a long term competitive position and good partner to Microsoft”. Furthermore concerning the influence upon Dell hardware design an analyst at IDC, Al Hilwa, said “I think Microsoft has identified this is an issue and is trying to have more say in its destiny.”
Microsoft has previously invested in other high profile technology companies including Apple, Nokia and most recently Facebook. With cash reserves of $66 billion the $2 billion stake in Dell won’t be a struggle for the Redmond based firm.


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With no games for fans to attend, the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation 50/50 draw became the hottest ticket in town.
After a big $762,000 jackpot for Game 1 on Saturday, and a record-setting $3.2 million for Monday’s Game 2, sales were so hot for Wednesday’s Game 3 draw that tickets sold out six hours before puck drop, with a total pot of $5.4 million.
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At 2:30 p.m. the foundation announced on Twitter that it was ending the sale of 50/50 tickets eight hours before the deadline because of the huge interest.
“Due to historic, record-setting sales in the #Oilers online 50/50 presented by @REMAXca, today’s draw has reached the maximum number of tickets sold & therefore the event has closed. We apologize for this inconvenience and thank all of our amazing fans for their support,” the foundation stated.
In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, the foundation said it closed the draw “as it reached the server provider’s maximum allowable tickets sales.”


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At the end of October, the count was at a new record high of $222.4 billion, showed latest data. That should give sufficient cushion to Asia’s third-biggest economy when interest rates turn globally – and currency volatility becomes manifest in the money hubs of London, New York and Tokyo.
“Yield income is not the purpose of such investment,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at CARE Ratings. “This is to ensure the safety of forex reserves. Instead of keeping it idle, the central bank invests in highly liquid US bills. Safety and liquidity are the two motivations and not the returns. The central bank should be in a position to liquidate such assets without loss in case of adverse market swings.”
Between March and October last year, the benchmark US paper dropped to a historic low, yielding as low as 0.52%.
India has now outpaced Cayman Islands, Taiwan and Singapore in improving its UST investment rank to 10 from 13 a few months ago.
Since March last year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) invested about $66 billion in US treasuries. Mint Road may extend the purchases given its expanding foreign currency reserves.
India’s forex reserves hit a new all-time high at $586 billion, show data from the central bank.
“In the world of uncertainty, the only defence that India has against any contagion is high forex reserves,” said Indranil Sengupta chief India economist BoA Securities. “One of our three certainties for an uncertain 2021 is that the RBI will continue to build forex reserves to buffer against contagion. You will not get foreign investors if the rupee is volatile.”
Japan and China remained top two investors in the US Treasuries. Hong Kong is just ahead of India by about $7 billion.
Sustained accretion to foreign exchange reserves, according to RBI governor Shaktikanta Das, has improved reserve adequacy in terms of conventional metrics such as cover for imports.
“Sound external sector indicators augur well for limiting the impact of spillovers of possible global shocks and financial stability concerns as investors and markets are credibly assured of the buffer against potential contagion,” he said last week.
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- Sumitomo Mitsui, 4 Others Sought Info on IDBI Sale
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and one other global bank are among five potential investors that have sought information from the Centre about the sale of state equity in IDBI Bank through a formal query process that closed on November 10, people familiar with the matter told ET.Flipkart may go in for $700m Esop Buyback
Walmart-owned homegrown ecommerce marketplace Flipkart is likely to facilitate a $700 million employee stock buyback as part of digital payments platform PhonePe’s new financing round, multiple sources briefed on the matter told ET.Falling Input Costs may Cool Prices of Essentials, Apparel
Prices of groceries, daily essentials and apparel are likely to fall over the next two quarters as input costs are expected to decline, spurring sales in the process, according to consumer goods makers.
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Comptroller Wants Montgomery County Out Of Alcohol Business
(Updated 2:55 p.m.) Maryland’s chief regulator of alcohol wants Montgomery County out of the alcohol distribution business.
In a meeting on Wednesday with the board of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce, Comptroller Peter Franchot again called for an end to the county’s control of beer, wine and liquor distribution. He also encouraged business leaders in the room to get together to make it happen.
“It’s long overdue for Montgomery County to get out of the beer, wine and spirits business,” Franchot said in a prepared statement released later Wednesday. “It’s an outdated, inconvenient and inefficient system of public alcohol control that severely inhibits consumer choice and causes unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles for small businesses.”
In the meeting, Franchot called the effort to privatize alcohol sales “totally winnable,” but “totally unwinnable if you just go to your elected officials,” according to Bethesda Magazine.
The county’s Department of Liquor Control distributes all alcohol to restaurants and beer and wine stores in the county from a central warehouse. The government-controlled system was projected to make $20.7 million for the county’s budget this fiscal year. That profit has been a major reason why the control model has stuck around.
Now, a number of people are arguing the system has no place in the county at all and hampers restaurant owners’ ability to get special orders and timely deliveries.
DLC officials have said the system has proven plenty flexible in the past and that the Department is constantly looking to improve its selection and distribution processes.
Heather Dlhopolsky, a Bethesda attorney and chair-elect of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber Board, headed up the county’s recent Nighttime Economy Task Force. The issue of alcohol privatization came up a few times in the Task Force’s six months of work, though Dlhopolsky said the group decided early on that it didn’t really have the time to address the major issue.
“Frankly, we decided that you could have a whole task force unto itself just on the privatization issue,” Dlhopolsky said.
She was in the room on Wednesday when Franchot offered to have his office conduct a study on the economic impact of privatizing alcohol sales. He also asked business leaders to pay for their own economic impact study.
Franchot cited a “cumbersome ordering system that often causes delays in receiving supplies to adequately keep a restaurant in stock, especially when there is an unexpected surge in sales.”
The Task Force did call for a study of the DLC’s effectiveness from the Council’s Office of Legislative Oversight.
“I think it’s going to be hard. What you hear is individuals support it. I think what you have though is a county coming out of the recession and you’ve got a revenue stream that you’re saying is going to be eliminated,” Dlhopolsky said. “These economic studies, maybe in the long run, can prove it can be beneficial. But it’s going to take a while to demonstrate that from a financial perspective, it’s going to end up better off than the short-term pain.”


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The return of tourists helped narrow losses at luxury department store Selfridges, as the firm posted a 29 per cent rise in revenues to £843m in the year to January.
According to new reports filed on Companies’ House, losses before tax at the firm narrowed to £37.9m down from £121.5m during the same period the prior year.
The net loss for the year was £38.9m a stark improvement from an £83.9m dip it posted in the same period last year.
The high street favourite, which has four stores across the UK and Ireland, said the improvement was driven by strong footfall and sales through the company’s physical stores, particularly Oxford Street in London and Exchange Square in Manchester.
Last year former owners the Weston family agreed to sell Selfridges Group for around £4bn to a joint venture between Thai conglomerate Central Group and Austria’s Signa Holding.
The company owns 18 department stores globally including sites in Ireland and the Netherlands.
The boost comes amid a challenging period for luxury high street stores which have been losing out since the UK government scrapped VAT-free shopping for international tourists — who now favour the likes of Paris and Italy.
In February, Selfridges joined a slew of other high end campaigners such as Burberry to urge officials to reinstate the scheme.
MPs debated the issue in parliament last month, and told the government that Britain is missing out on a £1bn pound “Brexit boost” for so long as it fails to reintroduce the measure.


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UK: Organic Producers’ Conference in Birmingham
by Redaktion (comments: 0)
The 8th Organic Producers' Conference took place in Birmingham on 22 – 23 January 2014 (picture). The Organic Research Centre’s annual conference is an event where organic and other producers interested in ecological approaches to sustainable food production come together with researchers and advisers to share ideas on making agriculture perform better – for business and society, the Organic Research Centre reports.
With the recent launches of Defra’s CAP consultation and Sustainable Intensification Research Platform, as well as the government’s Agri-Tech Strategy, is there any place left for organic farming and similar agro-ecological approaches to sustainable food production? Are the concept of sustainable intensification and the new strategies broad enough to not only focus on techno-fixes or can we find better ecological and knowledge-based solutions to meeting sustainability challenges? Is producing ever more food really the priority, or are the climate change, environmental pollution, soil and water degradation and biodiversity loss problems now too great? Should our real focus be on intensifying the sustainability of our food systems, rather than intensifying production with questionable sustainability benefits? The traditional conference format was restructured in order to enable participants to debate these questions and help find real, innovative solutions. The reports and presentations from the conference held at Aston University are now online here.
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Hub 26, Chiltern
For the Peters family of Chiltern, their small business is all about happiness.
Hub 62, located in the former Masonic Lodge, has become a central place for the town, using the motto of “happiness lives here”.
Owners are Colin and Debbie Peters, along with their daughter Amy, who says that that café has grown a strong reputation for using local produce and having some quirky features.
“We are really proud to be a family-run business,” Amy says.
“Mum and Dad bought the Masonic Lodge, which was not being used and was falling apart, and it was an art gallery for about four years.
“We extended the business in 2015 and built on the café and opened in December that year and have been going ever since.”
With art featuring both outside and in, and testaments to the Wizard of Oz – including a large mural of Dorothy – there is an emphasis on fun to the business.
Hub 62 has quickly become a must-see for Chiltern locals and visitors.
“Our point of difference with our business has been about having a bit of fun – we have a yellow brick road which people can skip up and we have a big shipping container which we have painted bright yellow and we say we are the home of the big yellow brick, which people just love,” Amy says.
“There are lots of big things in many country towns across Australia and we thought having a big yellow brick was just something different and a way of not taking ourselves too seriously.”
Amy says the works of local artists inside and outside the café, as well as using local staff and local suppliers, has allowed them to support other businesses.
“I think our motto of ‘happiness lives here’ is something we really display – as soon as a customer comes in, we are on to making them try to be as happy as possible with good customer service, good food and good local coffee.”
Amy says local cook, Alex Douglas, who joined the business last August, has also added to Hub 62’s reputation.
“We just keep supporting the town as best we can, buying local – using the local supermarket, butcher, baker and so on – and keeping it simple and successful,” she says.


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At first glance, the forays Apple, Google, and other tech giants are making into the automotive world don’t seem particularly lucrative.
Building automobiles requires factories, equipment, and an army of people to design and assemble large pieces of steel, plastic, and glass. This almost guarantees slimmer profits. The world’s 10 largest automakers had an operating margin of just 5.2% in 2020, a fraction of the 34% enjoyed by tech industry leaders, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
But for Apple and other behemoths getting into self-driving technology or having big plans for their own cars, this push isn’t just about breaking into a new market – it’s about defending valuable territory.
“Why are tech companies getting into autonomous driving? Because they can and because they have to, ”said Chris Gerdes, co-director of the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford University. “There are business models that people aren’t aware of. “
A market expected to exceed $ 2 trillion by 2030 is hard to ignore. By then, more than 58 million vehicles around the world are expected to drive themselves. And Big Tech has the means – from artificial intelligence and big data to chipmaking and engineering – to disrupt this century-old industry.
What is at stake, in essence, is something even more valuable than profitability: the last unclaimed corner of consumers’ attention during their waking hours.
The amount of time people spend in cars, especially in the United States, is important. Americans were driving 307.8 hours in 2016, or about six hours per week, according to the latest available data from the American Automobile Association.
It’s a good chunk of life for someone who hasn’t spent using apps on an iPhone, searching on Google, or mindlessly scrolling through Instagram. Any business that is able to free up this time in any meaningful way will also have a good chance of capturing it.
The world’s inexorable move towards more environmentally friendly smart cars is impossible to miss. While governments haven’t already declared their plans to be carbon neutral by the end of this decade, in some cases, plenty of research shows that combustion-engine cars are following the dinosaurs’ path.
BloombergNEF’s Annual Electric Vehicle Outlook, released earlier this month, sees global oil demand from all road transport peaks in just six years, assuming no new policy measures are introduced. By 2025, electric vehicles will reach 10% of global passenger vehicle sales, reaching 28% in 2030 and 58% in 2040. Eventually, autonomous vehicles will completely reshape the automotive and freight markets.
Against this backdrop, it’s no surprise that after years of shrinking self-driving cars, tech companies are seriously stepping up their businesses and investments.
Self-driving cars are only as good as the human drivers they learn from – so the people who teach these systems have to be excellent drivers themselves.
In recent months, Apple has prioritized the “Apple car” plans after previously focusing on creating an autonomous driving system, Bloomberg reported. This has fueled intense speculation about which automakers and vendors the company behind the iPhone can partner with to achieve its vision. While Apple recently lost several senior executives on the project, it still has hundreds of engineers in its largest automotive group.
There’s also Waymo, who is in talks to raise up to $ 4 billion to speed up his efforts. Founded in 2009, the company that was previously Google’s self-driving car project was the first to offer fully autonomous driving on public roads. It became an independent company in 2017 under the direction of Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc., launched a self-driving rideshare service in Phoenix in 2018 and last year began testing self-driving trucks in New Mexico and in Texas.
Microsoft is also supporting several autonomous initiatives, partnering with Volkswagen on autonomous car software, possibly with a view to creating mobile offices.
Amazon.com, meanwhile, backed Rivian Automotive Inc., which makes electric trucks, and last year bought driverless startup Zoox Inc. It might consider including self-driving rides as part of its membership program. Premium.
“Each of these companies, including Facebook, wants to be a part, or even control and dominate, every part of the lives of citizens,” said Professor Raj Rajkumar, who heads the Institute of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University. “From their business perspective, if you don’t, someone else can and probably will, and eventually your current area of influence will disappear. “
Although Apple has dominated phones, tablets, and smartwatches, and has waged a decent fight against computers over the past few decades, it has lagged behind in the areas of artificial intelligence, voice, and communications. smart speakers, areas now led by Google and Amazon.
The company would benefit from the release of a revolutionary new product. While it has enjoyed success with the watch, released in 2015, and services like Apple TV, Apple Arcade and Apple Music, which are now a major new source of revenue, nothing has come close to the success of the iPhone. , which redefined entire industries and became Apple’s most lucrative product since its release in 2007.
At Google, executives have long viewed investments in self-driving cars, as well as biotech and drone projects, as risks that venture capitalists and less wealthy companies do not or will not take. Waymo discussed potential business models around taxi services and long-haul logistics.
The assault has incumbent auto operators ready to fight. Industry titans such as Ford, General Motors, and Toyota have stepped up their own rival self-driving efforts. Japanese automaker is building entire city around autonomous driving at the foot of Mount Fuji while South Korean company Hyundai Motor Co. commits $ 7.4 billion to build electric vehicles in the United States and develop flying taxis unmanned.
In China, the biggest tech companies are throwing their hats in the ring. Giants from Huawei Technologies Co. to Baidu Inc. have pledged nearly $ 19 billion in electric and autonomous vehicle projects this year alone. Smartphone giant Xiaomi Corp. and even Apple’s Taiwanese manufacturing partner Foxconn have joined the fray, forging ties and unveiling their own auto-manufacturing plans.
Automakers defending their territory are understandable, but Takehito Sumikawa, partner at McKinsey & Co.’s Tokyo office, which advises on future mobility, says it’s a “natural extension” for tech providers to step into. autonomous driving space. “They are betting they can do a better job of disrupting the industry.”
Existing companies at Amazon, Apple, and Google are already forcing them to master AI, manage massive amounts of data, and design complex systems. Essentially, they made the initial investment in the basic technologies needed to design and build driverless cars, and now they have legions of engineers keen to solve more complex problems, not to mention an appetite for disruption. .
But perhaps one of the clearest examples of a tech company with the ability to change its own playing field is Amazon. The online retailer would benefit tremendously from lower home parcel delivery costs using self-driving cars.
Amazon is also used to turning its own tools into businesses that can be sold to a wider range of customers, much like it has done with cloud computing, which was originally created to support the company’s online retail operations. After turning it into a computing and data storage platform used by Netflix Inc., the U.S. government, and others, Amazon Web Services is now a $ 45.4 billion company.
As the coronavirus pandemic temporarily dampened consumers’ appetites for new cars, demand has roared. A semiconductor shortage means that many traditional players cannot get production lines moving fast enough. This year alone, the global auto market is expected to rebound 9.7% to $ 2.7 trillion, according to IBIS World.
“Even for companies like Apple and Google, this is a huge market,” Rajkumar said. “CFOs and CEOs are literally drooling because the early entrants are likely to have a major advantage. Each of these companies wants to be the predator, not the prey. “


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P&O Cruises’ much-loved cruise ship Arcadia has been sighted moored off the coast of Suffolk not far from the pier.
The cruise ship arrived off the coast of Southwold early on Wednesday 19 August and is now moored less than two miles from shore, as reported by the East Anglian Daily Times.
When sailing, the 938ft vessel can hold up to as many as 2,000 passengers with a crew of 866, but currently stands empty, as the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has put a halt on all cruise travel since the outbreak in March.
The ship has a total of 952 cabins and facilities including a two-level Palladium Theatre, restaurants, bars and lounges.
Arcadia received a makeover in 2017 and now boasts a smartened up Aquarius Pool and Bar and new carpet and furniture throughout. Suites were given new sofa beds, lamps, throws, headboards, curtains and balcony doors.
A spokesperson for P&O Cruises UK said: “During this pause in our operations, our P&O Cruises ships are berthed in Southampton but also periodically sail to and anchor in other locations including off the coast of Suffolk.
“We are extremely grateful for the support we have received from harbours and ports during this period.
“Much in the same way as a car needs to be driven, our ships need to sail to ensure full working operation and then return to the berths for storing.
“We have essential manning on board, which is approximately 100 crew members per ship.
“The crew can, of course, use guest facilities providing they adhere to social distancing and other health protocols.”
P&O Cruises announced this month that it was once again extending its cruise cancellations until mid-November 2020, as the UK government continues to advise against cruise ship travel (with the exception of river cruises) at this time amid coronavirus.
The cruise line did have some good news, however, as it also announced that it would be taking delivery of its new cruise ship Iona before the autumn.
Visit pocruises.com/cruise-ships/arcadia for more information on the Arcadia cruise ship.


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The push for wearables
The growing popularity of wearables is evident as it has evolved considerably through the past few years. The sector of wearable technology grew with the debut of Google Glass and Apple Watch. These entries have ushered a paradigm shift in the way we use - or in this case - wear tech.
Wearables are expected to go far beyond earphones and offer numerous other advanced devices, except that particular expectation has already turned into reality. Tech giants have showcased the world's significant progress of wearable technologies this year only, leaving the tech enthusiasts feeling like the future they have been waiting for has arrived.
The resurgence of wearables became a trend throughout 2021 with the ongoing rollout of 5G, enabling wearables to perform unique services apart from the basic computing functions, leveraging super-fast networks and unleashing newer possibilities for wearable tech.
The newly introduced devices are predicted to ensure convenience and satisfaction for the users. Although wearables have a decade-long history in smoothening user experience, we discuss some of the latest innovations pushed out by tech giants that have made waves in 2021 below.
A leading company in the tech industry, Apple, has witnessed immense growth in the revenue for their wearable category and managed to garner many new customers by attracting them to their wide range of wearable accessories.
This year, they have unveiled their newly-developed technological invention AssistiveTouch, which allows one to control an Apple Watch through a series of hand and finger gestures. Succeeding on the technology front, one can now operate their wearable devices without pressing buttons or touching them. Users can command tasks, use custom actions, and even create new gestures due to this remarkable invention.
On the other hand, Xiaomi has brought a variety of Smart Wearables to the market in the past. They kept that tradition going this year as well. Their Smart Glasses, a technological triumph, got launched to the masses in September with the agenda of "Integrating Intelligent Functions into Eyewear".
This brand new Smart Wearable Device is capable of combining imaging systems and sensors into a subtle, ordinary glasses design through MicroLED optical waveguide technology. Despite weighing only 51g, it is able to display messages and notifications, make calls, navigate, capture photos, and translate texts right before the user's eyes, taking the wearable game to a new height.
Meanwhile, they are moving forward promoting their assurance for Smart experience for end-users as they are now on the centre stage by introducing CyberDog, a bio-inspired quadruped robot, which can be considered a stepping stone for the company. They have also worked on various other Smart Living products. They have presented some new pieces of tech spanning home entertainment, cooking, and daily commutes.
Even though technically, these are not wearable products, these are certainly contributing to propelling the company's Smart Living mission. They have constantly experimented with AI and IoT in order to enhance the acceptance of AIoT products.
Another emerging player, Microsoft, has decided to push their passwordless vision by advocating for biometric solutions. This technological giant, too, is ready to explore its options or alternatives. As they enable passwordless authentication across platforms, end-users are no longer required to create, store, and remember complex passwords.
However, they are on this list for their limited yet impressive collection of wearables, including their Fitness Tracker, HoloLens and other Smart Wearable Gadgets thriving in collaboration with Samsung, all of which can increase their profit margins.
Facebook, noticing more people entering the wearable arena, has recently followed suit in the advancement of wearable technology as well. Their Smart Glasses, built in partnership with Ray-Ban, have hit the market. Although the glasses provide a few handful features such as making or receiving phone calls, taking photos or creating videos and listening to music, customers are hopeful for more improvement of these Smart Glasses disguised in the aesthetics of sunglasses in the coming years followed by its much-awaited beginning.
Driven by the surging demand among the mainstream consumers, plenty of Smart Devices from the wearable categories, including Hearables, Smart Rings, AR Glasses, Smart Masks, Smartwatches, Head-mounted Displays, Smart Clothing or Garments, Health-monitoring Wristbands or Fitness Trackers, are speculated to continue to enter the market on a regular basis, and although most of them are geared toward targeted consumers, many of such devices are helping people address various health-related issues, as they are designed to cater to the multitude of individual needs.
AIoT products will gain traction, as they are consistently perfecting their operating systems and cutting down their hefty price tags while releasing more affordable or budget-friendly models. As the developers focus more on the contentment of the users, we can hope for the end of the era of bulky AR/VR headsets and the production of lighter-weighted devices that are more comfortable to the users. Since the utilisation of wearable technology is only going upward, designers undoubtedly can have vast opportunities to expand and envision regular masks or any other piece of clothing items in a different light. The dependency on wearable technology now seems inevitable in the near future.
Therefore, while the global pandemic has made us more aware of the urgency of prioritising our physical healthcare, tech companies triumphed by surpassing the focused expectation of the average buyers. Wearable tech gadgets are all set to draw more attention from the customers due to their diverse functionalities, which do not demand wearers to go outside to enjoy the newly offered services.
The future seems ever more promising now, specifically for the acceleration of wearable technologies going further at a steady pace, for it to become more secure and efficient, ultimately upgrading the quality of Smart Living.