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Despite the uplift, the BRC and KPMG have warned challenges and longer-term consequences remain.
The joint British Retail Consortium-KPMG monitor reported total UK sales up 3.4%, on the same month last year, as lockdown measures were eased, and warmer weather encouraged shoppers back to the high street. The sales uplift was against a 1.6% fall in June 2019 and was the sharpest monthly rise since May 2018.
The report said June’s growth was the first since lockdown, outperforming the average decline of 6.4% over the previous three months. Despite footfall still being well below pre-coronavirus levels, average spend was up as consumers made the most of more focused shopping trips.
However, despite signs of a gradual recovery, the British Retail Consortium has warned that significant pressure remains for high street retailers, as many consumers continue to stay away from shops while health risks remain from Covid-19.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, commented: “Though a month of growth is welcome news, retail is not out of the woods yet. The government must remain open to further action to boost consumer demand and should take steps to support with rent costs or the industry could suffer thousands of avoidable job losses.” Over the latest three months sales of non-food goods dropped by 47%.
Online sales have picked up some of the decline in demand, with sales of non-food items rising by 48.2% in June, according to the BRC and Barclaycard. A survey by the credit-card provider has revealed that almost a third of consumers said they were delaying shopping because they were afraid of getting or spreading coronavirus, while almost a fifth said they were put off by crowds.
The government has urged people to get out and spend money to help reboot the economy, relaxing restrictions and launching a raft of tax cuts and spending measures to encourage consumers to return to high streets and town centres.
In a further move, and as reported yesterday by Toy World, Boris Johnson has been considering making the wearing of face coverings in stores mandatory for shoppers after mounting evidence that masks can effectively hinder transmission put pressure on the government to change public advice. This will now come into effect from 24th July. A fine of up to £100 for non-compliance will be enforceable by the police, although the advice says that shop staff will be expected to encourage the policy.
However, Environment Secretary George Eustice has said that shop staff will not be required to wear face coverings themselves when the new measure is introduced for shoppers next week.
Although masks are compulsory on public transport, England has been one of the slowest countries to introduce mask wearing in shops, which is compulsory in many European countries, as well as in Scotland.
“There is growing evidence that wearing a face covering in an enclosed space helps protect individuals and those around them from coronavirus,” said a statement from No 10. “The prime minister has been clear that people should be wearing face coverings in shops and we will make this mandatory from 24 July.”
The shadow health secretary said: “Given the government’s own guidance issued on 11th May advised in favour of face masks, many will ask why yet again have ministers been slow in making a decision in this pandemic, and why it’ll take another 11 days before these new guidelines come into force.” Government sources have responded that the delay was necessary to allow shops time to prepare and to pass the relevant legislation.
Readers have shared with Toy World their opinion on the wearing of masks instore. Richard Derr, of US retailer Learning Express, told us: “I can say unequivocally it has helped here in Illinois. Our team feels safer, customers are protected and frankly a small inconvenience.” Another reader commented: “Nowadays, I don’t go into a store unless they DO insist on masks.” Ross Taylor of Laughing Lobster added, “Interesting results in Scotland. I was just out at Asda in Cumbernauld and counted about 120 people in store. Only saw two people without masks. Similar story in Tesco in Alloa at the weekend. Near 100% compliance.”
Downing Street is also poised to change the guidance about working from home. Boris Johnson said more people should be returning to work, but only where changes have been made to ensure their workplace is safe. “People have gone to huge lengths to make their businesses Covid-secure: so they’re installing washing facilities, they’re installing screens, they’re installing social distancing measures – doing all sorts of things to make the workplace safe. What I want to see is people now who have been working from home for a long time, talking to employers, talking to their place of work about the steps that have been taken, and looking to come back to work in a safe way.”


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A man who grew a business from £1 million to £24 million has launched a new Boston-based company to help others reap success.
Barrie Pierpoint, managing director of Business Services Lincs Ltd, in Enterprise Way, is reaching out to business across Lincolnshire looking to outsource professional services to experts.
We set ourselves apart from others, due to the range of services we offer, our extensive expertise and quality of personnel.Barrie Pierpoint
Barrie, was a former group plc CEO with more than 30 years’ experience working for and with high-profile companies across the East Midlands.
He has turned around loss-making businesses and built healthy revenue streams.
He marks growing one business from £1 million to £24 million within eight years as just one of his many achievements.
He says no business is too small or large for Business Services Lincs Ltd as he and his team have the expertise to work with new start-up business, sole traders, owner managers, SME’s, growing enterprises, large corporations, clubs, charities and societies whether in the public, private or voluntary sectors.
He said: “We set ourselves apart from others, due to the range of services we offer, our extensive expertise and quality of personnel.
“All who have worked as senior managers, MD’s or CEO’s in private/plc companies and public sector organisations.”
A full list of services are available on the company’s website at www.businessserviceslincs.co.uk.
Contact Barrie Pierpoint on 0844 2253868 or 07720 406806.

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Luxury Italian car manufacturer, Maserati, and the Centre for Entrepreneurs (CFE) have launched the second annual ‘Maserati 100’ index; a search to find 100 of Britain’s most successful philanthropists, investors, mentors and advisors, and, ascending entrepreneurs who are supporting the next generation of up and coming business talent by generously giving their time and resource.
Nominations opened on 2nd November and will run for six weeks, closing on 14th December, with members of the public able to submit their nominations via a dedicated microsite: www.themaserati100.co.uk.
Once nominations close, the prestigious list will be curated by a judging panel of experts including; previous Maserati 100 awardees, CFE’s board of advisors and serial entrepreneur and Maserati ambassador, Luke Johnson. The final list of 100 individuals will be announced at a special event in early 2016 in London.
2015’s inaugural list featured a diverse and vibrant array of established entrepreneurs, with almost 50% of those included in the list originating from the technology sector. The other half was formulated from a variety of sectors including fashion, food and drink, travel, events and sport.
Those featured in the last year’s list included; Julie Deane, creator of The Cambridge Satchel Company, Sir Charles Dunstone, founder of The Carphone Warehouse and chairman of TalkTalk Group, and one of Britain’s best-known entrepreneurs; founder of Virgin Group, Richard Branson.
The Centre for Entrepreneurs was founded by serial entrepreneur, Luke Johnson, who is best known for his involvement with Pizza Express and is a former chairman of the Royal Society of Arts and Channel 4. He said; “Beyond their commercial ventures, many entrepreneurs also create significant social impact by giving their time, money and experience to benefit others – often without recognition or reward. The Maserati 100 fulfils an important role acknowledging and celebrating successful entrepreneurs who are helping the next generation of founders.”
Peter Denton, Region Manager, Maserati North Europe said, “Last year’s campaign was a real success and we’re delighted to be working with the CFE again to recognise the valuable contribution Britain’s entrepreneurs are making to the economy. Maserati and the Centre for Entrepreneurs share many values. As our business celebrates a remarkable period of growth we shouldn’t forget how it all began; with the entrepreneurial spirit of Alfieri Maserati and his brothers. We are proud to be a partner of an organisation which encourages and supports that same spirit today.”
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White Collar Hippie is a small online travel agency with offices in Mumbai (home office) and London.
The campaign won a Bronze Lion at the Cannes Creativity Festival last summer. But the ads are being circulated on advertising and design sites this week.
Certainly, using these startling YouTube screen captures is an “edgy” idea. But these ads were created mainly to win awards. The large ad agency (BBDO, Mumbai) went out and found a smaller client with nothing to lose to “buy” the ads: it’s doubtful they ran anywhere noteworthy, if at all. White Collar does link to the ads on their website.
And top ad agency creative directors wonder why their jobs are becoming increasingly irrelevant.
- DNC Day 3: President Obama dropped the mic with "Don't boo, vote," and vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine reminded people of their dads 👴
- French prosecutors have identified the second suspect in the priest killing in Normandy as 19-year-old Abdel Malik Petitjean.
- The U.S. Justice Department backed Obama's transgender policies in court after Texas and other states sued to block the rules.


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NEWTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kaminario, a leading provider of high performance SSD storage, announced today that it has closed a $15 million series C funding round. New investor Globespan Capital Partners was joined in the round by current investors Sequoia Capital and Pitango Venture Capital. Founded in 2008, this latest round brings Kaminario’s total funding to $34 million. In addition, the company announced that Venky Ganesan, managing director, Globespan Capital Partners, will join Kaminario’s Board of Directors.
In July 2010, Kaminario introduced the K2 high performance storage appliance, the first SSD storage solution to deliver extraordinary performance and high availability. The K2 is currently being used by major financial services firms, Web media companies, telecommunications companies and government agencies. The additional investment funds will be used to expand the K2 product line, sales distribution channels and marketing.
“Since the K2’s introduction, we have seen the demand for our unique enterprise-class SSD storage grow continuously. We continue to attract customers of all sizes with one thing in common, an application where storage performance directly impacts their business,” said Dani Golan, co-founder and CEO of Kaminario. “This new funding will allow us to expand our reach in the market and help more customers solve their application performance problems.”
Based on an innovative Scale-out Performance Storage Architecture (SPEAR), the Kaminario K2 uses off-the-shelf blade servers and SSD media to create a blazingly fast, highly available and easy-to-deploy distributed storage grid appliance. The Kaminario K2 is the only SSD storage solution on the market today that delivers both enterprise-class performance and high availability, without the cost and complexity of managing multiple SSD storage devices.
“The market for SSD storage is growing at a tremendous rate, but very few of these vendors can address true enterprise storage requirements,” said Venky Ganesan, managing partner, Globespan. “Kaminario offers a revolutionary new approach, combining SSD performance with enterprise-class features that will allow mainstream applications to safely take full advantage of this exciting technology. We’re very excited to be partnering with Kaminario.”
This recent round of funding is yet another positive milestone for the company. Since launching the Kaminario K2 last year, the company has been:
- Named a “Cool Vendor in Storage” by Gartner.
- Named by InfoStor as a “Top Ten Storage Startup.”
- Named a finalist in the 2011 Hot Companies and Best Products Awards by Network Products Guide.
- Praised by numerous storage analyst groups including ESG, Taneja Group and the Kusnetzky Group for its innovative approach to high performance storage.
“Every year, there are new companies that come into the storage market. Kaminario, by offering a revolutionary, scalable enterprise solution to a pressing business issue — slow application performance — stands out from the pack. Kaminario is in a strong position to help businesses of all sizes solve this problem and become a leader in the enterprise storage market,” said Haim Sadger, managing partner, Sequoia Capital.
“Kaminario has developed a revolutionary enterprise storage architecture specifically designed to take advantage of the new SSD media available in the market,” said Aaron Mankovski, managing partner, Pitango Venture Capital. “The Kaminario approach delivers on the needs every company has for performance, availability and cost-effective scalability. We are glad to support them in bringing this solution to a broad audience.”
Kaminario K2 high performance SSD storage eliminates I/O bottlenecks to accelerate critical business applications. Kaminario uses off-the-shelf blade servers and SSD media to create a blazingly fast, highly available and easy-to-deploy distributed storage grid appliance. Driven by Kaminario’s innovative Scale-out Performance Storage Architecture™ (SPEAR) Operating System, the K2 supports millions of IOPS, tens of GBs of throughput and extremely low latency, all without compromising on high availability. SPEAR Automated Data Distribution™ and Intelligent Parallel I/O Processing™ deliver record-breaking read and write performance, automatically eliminating hot spots and bottlenecks. Kaminario is a fundamentally new and better way to store and retrieve performance-sensitive data. Kaminario is simply faster. Kaminario is located in Newton, Mass. To learn more, visit www.kaminario.com.


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Globasure Technologies, a financial technology company, is releasing its innovative POS application,GlosoftPOS on PAX POS terminals in Nigeria. PAX Technology Ltd is a leading global provider of electronic payment terminals. Considered one of the fastest growing payment solutions providers with world class manufacturing capabilities and a strong partner network in Africa.
Globasure is increasing its strategic partnerships with major EFT POS terminal manufacturers and payment solution providers to provide holistic POS deployment, implementation and support on hardware, software and services.
Globasure’s current strategic partnership with PAX will immensely increase market exposure to our cutting edge POS application GlosoftPOS which is certified by digital payments giants VISA and MasterCard.


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FIVE MAJOR TRENDS TO TAKE TRAVEL & HOSPITALITY TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Travel & Hospitality Practice experts at DataArt predict that 2019 will be dominated by five major technology trends, driven by advanced solutions aimed at consumers’ need to have access to the latest technologies while travelling.
1. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS SET TO REACH NEW HEIGHTS
We’ve already witnessed great successes with the deployment of AI solutions in the travel and hospitality (T&H) industries, and we expect this progression to skyrocket in the coming year. The technology’s ability to significantly improve customer service while saving human resources makes AI perfectly suited to the sector, with new innovative applications predicted to arrive at an increasingly rapid pace in 2019.
2. OPEN APIS WILL DRIVE IMPACT
Technological integration has posed massive challenges in recent years, as industry players struggle to bring new tech on board without greatly increasing the complexity of managing their overall systems. The proliferation of open APIs will ramp up in 2019 to allow for the effective communication and synchronisation between the full range of technology systems used in the industry.
3. AUGMENTED REALITY WILL MAKE A PLAY FOR ATTENTION
From three-dimensional views of hotel rooms on mobile to AR games and augmented environments, DataArt’s experts expect to see massive advancements in Augmented Reality over the coming year. Although the T&H industries have been relatively slow to adopt this technology to date, 2019 will be the time for AR to come to the forefront as an innovative marketing and personalisation tool.
4. SELF-SERVICE WILL RAMP UP
Research indicates a growing consumer interest in self-service solutions, and the industry will meet this evolution through the expansion of technology that eliminates the need for customers to interact with a human to complete a transaction. The increased speed and convenience are highly beneficial to both companies and consumers, while further advancements in this technology will reduce issues with self-service systems to ensure reliability and long-term success.
5. VOICE ASSIST WILL SURGE ALONG WITH CONSUMER EXPECTATIONS
Voice assist technology is already prevalent in a wide range of industries, and its adoption in T&H is growing at an impressive rate. The rise of mobile and smart home technology results in voice assist tech already being commonplace for many consumers, thereby allowing T&H to harness the increasing popularity of this technology. Today’s consumers expect convenience and speed more than ever before, and voice assist technology will be a vital component of the industry’s response to meet the increasing demand for efficiency.
A global technology consultancy that designs, develops and supports unique software solutions, helping clients take their businesses forward. Recognised for their deep domain expertise and superior technical talent, DataArt teams create new products and modernise complex legacy systems that affect technology transformation in select industries.
DataArt has earned the trust of some of the world’s leading brands and most discerning clients, including Nasdaq, Travelport, Ocado, Betfair, Regus, Meetup and Apple Leisure Group among others. DataArt brings together expertise of over 2,500 professionals in 20 locations in the US, Europe, and Latin America.
Visit DataArt in the Innovation Playground on Stand T17E


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It’s official. Ted Lasso and AFC Richmond are coming to FIFA 23.
EA Sports has confirmed that both Coach Lasso and AFC Richmond will be available in multiple game modes in the new soccer title, which is to be released on September 30. Coach Lasso and the team will be available from day one.
AFC Richmond will be available in Career Mode, Kick-off, Online Friendlies, and Online seasons. There will also be AFC Richmond items for FIFA Ultimate Team and Pro Clubs including kits, tifos, manager items, and more.
“Jason Sudeikis’ beloved Ted Lasso will be available as a selectable manager of AFC Richmond in Career Mode, as fans can play as their favorite mustached manager running the show for AFC Richmond or any team of their choosing. Players can also create their own Manager or select a real-world licensed manager to take control of AFC Richmond, or create a Player and join the AFC Richmond squad in a league of their choosing,” EA Sports and Warner Bros. said in a press release.
Sudeikis said he considered the announcement among the best of the many special moments in his career. ““As long-time fans of EA SPORTS FIFA, having Ted Lasso and the whole AFC Richmond squad incorporated into the newest version of the game is truly a dream come true for myself and the rest of the fellas,” he stated.
The AFC Richmond addition to Ted Lasso will include players roy Kent, Jamie Tartt (do do do do do do), Sam Obisanya, and Dani Rojas as well as home stadium Nelson Road.
VP of Brand for EA SPORTS FIFA David Jackson hailed Ted lasso as a “cultural phenomenon” that brought the passion of football and the power of belief to life for millions of fans across the globe, and said the company was thrilled to welcome Lasso and AFC Richmond to the game.
FIFA 23 will be released on September 30 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Stadia, PS4, and Xbox One.


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Written by: Roshan Dwivedi
As video content increasingly seems to be consumed, shared and generated, the traffic of such content over the internet is increasing. In fact OTT media apps seem to be one of the few services that are earning large revenues for the OTT platforms says the paper. A majority of the revenues which are attained through advertising followed subscription and transactions and this is likely to grow in the future. In a recent consultation paper released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on OTT services mentioned the rise of OTT media services traffic which has also resulted in the rise of internet traffic.
Read the entire story here.


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Altina Drinks has plenty to celebrate over the holiday period after surviving a long and difficult year, but it won’t be the silly season.
The family-run business that produces alcohol-free cocktails is on a mission to normalise celebrations, minus the expectation to drink alcohol.
And it seems it’s catching on…
Unlike many other small businesses that have struggled to stay afloat this year, Altina Drinks has actually grown significantly – all thanks to a clever digital marketing strategy.
Co-founder Alan Tse says a revamp of their website and the introduction of a subscription model, saw online sales tick up from 10% of their business to more than two-thirds of their business, in the space of a few months.
“When COVID hit in March 2020 and hospitality and events industry was effectively shut down overnight, it was definitely a dark day for us,” Alan says.
“We thought we could use that time to invest in our digital presence, even though we knew we may not make it to the end of 2020.
“Through mentoring and grant money we received from the Federal Government’s Digital Champions project, we created a more seamless user website experience.
“We also invested some money into paid social media ads. Now our online sales make up 70% of our business.”
As the world around them shut down in April, Alan and his partner Christina made the choice not to go into hibernation.
Instead they created Australia’s first Zero Proof Festival in a bid to shake up the Australian drinking culture.
“We brought together sober influencers, including organisations such as Sober in the Country and Hello Sunday Morning to normalise alcohol-free drinking though a mix of online and in person events,” Alan says.
“By July, our online content reached over half a million Aussies interested in changing the way they drink.”
With a six-month-old baby to take care of, both Alan and Christina admit their biggest challenge was having the resilience and the trust that they could get to the other side of the pandemic with their business intact.
Thankfully their digital investment strategy paid off and they are now proud owners of a profitable business.
In fact, they’ve even hired additional full-time employees as well as casual staff for the busy Christmas season.
“It’s been fantastic to see the outcome of successfully executing our post-COVID plan and flipping the scenario from not knowing if we had a business by end of 2020 to having hired two salaried staff in June 2020 to keep up with demand,” Alan says.
“After 18 months with no significant equity injection, we are running a profitable business without any more founders’ funds.”
Beyond the success Altina Drinks has had this year, there are further expansion plans in the pipeline.
“We are planning for national distribution to expand our alcohol free cans and bottles through bottle chains such as Dan Murphy, BWS and Liquorland,” Alan says.
You can purchase your next round of alcohol-free drinks direct from https://altinadrinks.com/


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After years of driver complaints, Uber on Tuesday said it will roll out a new feature that lets passengers tip their drivers using the ride-hailing app.
The in-app tipping option is now available in Seattle, Minneapolis and Houston, Uber said in an email sent to drivers Tuesday morning and later posted on the company’s website. The San Francisco-based startup plans to add more cities over the new few weeks, and make tipping available to all U.S. drivers by the end of July.
Uber on Tuesday also announced a handful of other driver-friendly changes. Passengers will be charged if they cancel their ride after more than two minutes — down from five minutes. And Uber is letting drivers choose their destinations for more trips, and adding on a $2 fee for driving teenagers.
“For the next 180 days (and beyond), we’ll be making meaningful changes to the driving experience. Some changes will be big, some will be small ー all will be changes drivers have asked for,” Uber wrote in a blog post. “Why now? Because it’s the right thing to do, it’s long overdue, and there’s no time like the present. This is just the beginning. We know there’s a long road ahead, but we won’t stop until we get there.”


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While talking with some people at the BlackBerry Beta Zone today, someone mentioned a site called SearchBBM.com
which has apparently been getting a lot of attention the past couple of days. The site's look is super clean and sharp. It actually looks like it could be growing and be the real deal.
As the URL name clearly states, this site aims to allow users of our favorite instant messaging platform to search for others' PINs and add them to BBM via the means of a search-engine-like interface. Which begs the question, does this site have some way of accessing our PINs without us knowing and connecting them to some searchable criteria?


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Latest drinks industry news & insights
Comprehensive coverage of the beverage industry's latest, breaking news brought to you by just-drinks's leading network of international journalists.
The Coca-Cola Co has lined up several leadership changes, as incoming CEO James Quincey prepares to take the reins....
Tsingtao Brewery has warned full-year profits will be down by almost two-fifths in the Chinese brewer's starkest admission yet of its proble...
The head of Coca-Cola European Partners has said he remains confident of a "solid" first quarter of 2017, despite a slip in volumes in Janua...
Baijiu has overtaken whisk(e)y to become the world's most valuable spirits segment, according to recently-released research....
Solid sales growth for its core brands helped drive modest growth for AG Barr in its latest fiscal year.
The Union des Vignerons des Côtes du Rhône has readied the launch of the first sparkling expression of its Les Dauphins wine brand.
The world's largest brewer has committed to sourcing 100% of its purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
US craft beer trade group the Brewers Association has launched a nutrient database to help small brewers comply with upcoming on-premise labelling regulations.
Nordic wine and spirits firm Altia has bolstered its low-alcohol and organic portfolio in a bid to meet changing consumer needs.
Philippine-based spirits group Emperador has posted an 11% jump in full-year sales as it launches its brandies in the US.
Kopparberg has added a Raspberry variant to its light cider range.
Coca-Cola European Partners has lowered the sugar content of Fanta Orange by a third in the UK to bring the product under the threshold of the country's pending sugar tax.
Asahi Group Holdings is to take out a EUR7.4bn (US$8bn) loan to help fund its purchase of SABMiller's former central & eastern European beer assets.
The trade body for Irish whiskey has welcomed proposed legislation that will allow distilleries to sell alcohol on their premises.
The European arm of United Breweries is readying a Europe-wide roll-out for Chinese beer brand Pearl River.
The UK’s exit from the European Union could create ideal conditions for alcohol smugglers in the years ahead, the country’s trade body for wine and spirits has warned.
Asahi has readied the launch of the first extension of the Peroni Nastro Azzuro beer brand in the US.
AG Barr's Funkin unit has lined up a Bramble mixer, in an effort to enable bartenders to easily create Bramble cocktails.
The trade body for Scotch whisky has hailed a Scottish move to drive growth across the country's farming, fishing, food and drink sectors.
The US arm of Anheuser-Busch InBev has announced a raft of HR changes, including the creation of a new senior marketing position.
Berry Bros & Rudd has announced the international roll-out of its Penny Blue VSOP rum.
Britvic has lined up a 55-calorie, bottled soft drink under its Robinsons brand. Refresh'd is made using "100% naturally-sourced ingredients, containing spring water mixed with real fruit," the company said.
C&C Group's Scottish subsidiary, Tennent Caledonian, has lined up a new range of 'premium' bottled beers under the Caledonia Collection name.
Carlsberg's Swedish unit has replaced its non-alcoholic beer in the market with an organic variant.
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BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Silk Way West Airlines, one of the fastest growing cargo carriers in the world, has confirmed a multi-year ULD (Unit Load Device) agreement with ACL Airshop, a leading international service partner for outsourced ULD management and customized logistics solutions, commencing November 1, 2017. This alliance extends the long-standing business relationship between the two companies; ACL Airshop has been a service partner with other airline units of Silk Way Holding for almost 10 years.
Silk Way West Airlines (IATA: 7L) and ACL Airshop are working together to measurably enhance the logistics efficiencies of Silk Way’s ULD fleet. ACL Airshop recently announced its own worldwide strategic alliance with CORE Transport Technologies (a New Zealand I.T. company), and the introduction of Bluetooth innovations for real-time tracking of ULDs. That, combined with ACL’s new Operations Center in Amsterdam and network-wide ULD Control programs will operate together for better utilization rates and cost efficiencies for Silk Way.
“Since we pursue a lean and agile business strategy, improved ULD logistics has become one of our strategic focuses, as it directly contributes to the bottom line while substantiating the growth of the top line,” said Emile Khasanshin, Vice President Global Operations for Silk Way West Airlines. “We were looking for a company that could meet our rigorous cost expectations and flexibility requirements, demonstrate smart usage of the latest technologies as well as customer-oriented business processes. These factors along with their substantial expansion plans have cemented our careful decision to stick with ACL Airshop. And we believe the new Bluetooth-enabled ULD tracing technology will be a game changer for us both, and for our end-customers.”
“We look forward to continuing our large existing service partnership with Silk Way West Airlines, a successful and rapidly growing global cargo airline. We are proud and honored that we are able to stand out from our competitors with an efficient, cost-effective, flexible solution. We are committed to helping Silk Way West Airlines grow their global cargo network,” said Steve Townes, Chairman of ACL Airshop and CEO of its parent company.
Silk Way West Airlines, headquartered in Baku, Azerbaijan, has a growing fleet that currently consists of five Boeing 747-8F, one own and a few leased-in Boeing 747-400F aircraft. Silk Way West Airlines operates regular and charter flights to various regions of the world – Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and North America, using Heydar Aliyev International Airport, Baku, as a convenient transit hub that connects the continents.


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Ford Motors Company is to start assembling its best-selling Ford Ranger pickup truck in Nigeria by the fourth quarter, the U.S. automaker said on Tuesday in Lagos.
Jeff Nemeth, the President and CEO of Ford Motor Company’s business in sub-Saharan Africa told Reuters that the aim was to expand its business in Africa and the Middle East.
“Nigeria is a priority market for us in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Depending on how Nigeria develops over time … we are potentially looking at using our Nigerian plant to service West Africa,” Nemeth told Reuters.
The Nigerian assembly plant, in partnership with Ford dealer Coscharis Motors Ltd., is the first outside South Africa, where Ford produces the Ranger for 148 markets.
The auto market in Africa’s biggest economy has huge potential but retails only a small amount of new vehicles annually, Nemeth said.
“The Ikeja plant in Lagos will assemble the Ford Ranger using parts and components imported from South Africa.
“The plant will have the capacity to assemble up to 5,000 units annually, which will be sold in Nigeria.
Ford produces 85,000 units each year in South Africa, which are sold across 24 African countries.
“It would take between one to two months to take an order, build it and deliver it within the country.
“If you order from overseas it would take between six to six months,” Nemeth said.
He noted that the benefit of the Nigerian plant was being close to its customers.
Rival automakers, Renault-Nissan, South Korea’s Kia Motors and Germany’s Volkswagen have announced plans to assemble vehicles in
Africa’s most populous and advanced economy.


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Microsoft Monday confirmed that it has completed work on the system code for Office 2007 and released it to manufacturing.
Customers in Canada and the United States can start downloading Office 2007 on Dec. 1. That is one day after the company plans to officially launch the updated productivity suite along with the Windows Vista operating system and the Exchange Server 2007 communications software in New York City.
Customers in another 13 countries will be able to download free, 60-day trial versions "soon" after the beginning of December, according to a Microsoft spokeswoman who declined to give further details. Those countries will include the U.K., Ireland, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Luxembourg, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Mexico.
Customers can activate their trial copy of Office 2007 within the first two months by paying for it online or at a retail store. With Office 2003, Microsoft's last Office release, only Americans and Canadians were allowed to download free trials of the software.
Customers won't be able to find Office 2007 on retail store shelves or get it preinstalled on PCs until early 2007, said the spokeswoman. That timetable means Microsoft is missing what many consider to be the key holiday shopping season.
Like Windows Vista, Office 2007 will be available to corporate volume license customers via Web or on CD starting Nov. 30.
Three and a half million people downloaded Beta 2 Technical Refresh of Office 2007, making it the largest Office beta program to date, according to the company. Other users chose to test-drive the suite at Microsoft's Web site using the Internet Explorer Web browser.
A company representative said that no new features have been introduced since the Beta 2. The company did, however, announce a new service -- SMS Link for Office Outlook 2007 -- that lets Outlook 2007 users send and receive e-mail, contacts, appointments and tasks to mobile phones as SMS text messages.
Office 2007 includes a revamped user interface, greater support for non-English languages and more collaboration tools and has been marked by controversy over a significantly revamped interface in many of the applications familiar menus and toolbars have been replaced with the Ribbon, a colorful tabbed bar divided into groups of icons and buttons organized by task.
Microsoft praised the quantity and quality of the feedback from beta testers of the software suite. According to Jeff Raikes, president of the Microsoft Business Division, "The 2007 Microsoft Office system RTM [release to manufacturing] completes the most significant improvements to the products in more than a decade."
The suite will ship in seven editions. Microsoft Office Basic includes Word, Excel, and Outlook and is available only from OEMs, meaning it will most likely be the version preloaded on new desktops and notebooks. The new Office Home and Student (H&S) version includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.


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Logitech Leaving Console Gaming
After the holiday quarter Logitech has taken some steps to try to save their company from a downward spiral it seems. Logitech a leader in PC accessories dipped their hands into the accessory portion of console gaming. Well according to their holiday quarter earnings report, they have decided to drop a few lines. One of which is their console gaming accessories, the line is said to end by the end of 2013. Sadly because Logitech isn’t a big name in console game accessories like Mad Catz, 2012 Logitech did not see the promising sales growth they would have needed to keep this particular line of accessories open.


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RALEIGH — New on-street parking meter rates will go into effect Monday in Raleigh.
The new rate system will charge motorists more for staying in on-street spaces for long periods but will also allow motorists to purchase as little as 15 minutes of parking. The new rates are 25 cents for 15 minutes, 50 cents for 30 minutes, $1 for an hour and $2 for two hours.
The rates are designed to discourage long-term parking in on-street spaces.
The city thinks that greater turnover of the spaces will make it more attractive to visit businesses in downtown Raleigh.


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Celebrity Tote Bag Auction Raises Funds for Earth Day Network
PHOENIX, May 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Pop-surrealist artist Jeff Sadowski has won the PurexSavesGreen tote bag design contest, Purex announced today. His environmentally-friendly "Smart and Green Purex-hilaration" slogan and funky leaf design took the top prize from among over 38,000 entries submitted by creative consumers from all 50 states. Mr. Sadowski will receive a 2009 smart(R) fortwo car and nine runners-up will receive tote bags printed with their own design and slogan.
The contest, now in its second year, is part of the larger Purex Saves Green program that has raised a total of more than $65,000 for Earth Day Network, a non-profit organization that seeks to grow and diversify the environmental movement worldwide, and to mobilize it as the most effective vehicle for promoting a healthy, sustainable planet. The Purex Saves Green campaign is sponsored by Purex(R) Natural Elements(TM) laundry detergent, the first major laundry detergent recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency's "Design for the Environment" program (http://www.epa.gov/dfe). Over the past two months, more than 300,000 consumers visited PurexSavesGreen.com to submit original, environmentally-themed tote bag designs, learn more about what they can do at home to preserve the environment, share their own tips for eco-friendly living and bid on a selection of celebrity-designed tote bags auctioned to benefit Earth Day Network. Celebrities who cre
Copyright©2009 PR Newswire.
All rights reserved


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MOSCOW (MRC) - According to Freedonia Group's report, demand for recycled plastics in the U.S. will grow by 6.5%in the next four years, while the overall level of processing of polymers will still remain low - less than 7%, reports unipack.
Demand for the recycled plastic in 2016 will reach 3.5 billion pounds. As reported by Freedonia Group, the main drivers of the growth are the development of technologies in recycling, which will allow to increase the amount of plastic that can be processed into high-quality products; improving of the waste collection infrastructure, the pursuit of sustainability among the producers of packaging and consumer goods, as well as continued support from the federal and local governments.
It is expected that by 2016 packaging wil havel remained the main market for recycled plastics, and the basic material for recycling will be bottles. They account for more than half of all plastic collected in 2016.
Freedonia Group states in its report that only half of all plastic collected for recycling, is used for the production of new goods. In 2011, PET and HDPE were the main recycled materials, out of which new products (70% of all the polymers) were produced.
Processing of plastic wastes is growing in Russia and Ukraine. Thus, the company Polymer-vector (Kemerovo), engaged in the processing of chemically contaminated plastic wastes, is going to double its processing capacities in 2013 - up to 1.2 tonnes of plastic wastes and to increase the production of special granules up to 80 tonnes per month to be used for the production of plastic containers, paving and curbs, polypropylene (PP) tape (analogue of metal packing tape), as MRC reported previously. Also, a new plant for the advanced processing of plastic wastes into wood-polymer products was launched in Divnogorsk.
In Ukranie, in late November, GP "Ukrekoresursy" started up a new line for recycling polyethylene (HDPE, LDPE) and polypropylene (PP) wastes into granules in Poltava, Ukraine. Also,in July 2012, the company launched a production line for processing plastic bottles into PET flakes, class "A", in the Khmelnitsky region.


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Two infra projects
The Confederation of West Bengal Trade Associations (CWBTA), an apex trade body of eastern India, representing 70 associations and over 1.5 million small and big traders, on Monday announced the setting up of two infrastructure projects worth Rs 130 crore to boost trading in the eastern region.
CWBTA is setting up in phases a Rs 100-crore trade logistics and industrial park spread over 400 acres at Amta, Howrah, for which land is being procured and is expected to be completed by 2025 , said Sushil Poddar, president, CWBTA, on the occasion of a curtain raiser for Bengal Global Trade Expo scheduled between April 20 and April 24.
A Rs 30-crore project to set up a 1.25 lakh square feet trading and business centre at Rajarhat is also underway. This trading centre will house, among others, facilities for permanent showcasing or display of a wide variety of products and services by more than 30 countries.
“This centre will function round the clock throughout the year. The Bengal government is supporting CWBTA to procure land and also ensure that the projects meet the deadline for completion,” Poddar said.
“This is the first time in the state that a trade body has taken an initiative to build logistics and infrastructure projects,” he said.
The Trade Logistics & Industrial Park of CWBTA at Amta, Howrah, will have residential facilities for staff and cater to almost all major logistical and infrastructure needs of the traders in the region. On the other hand, the Trading & Business Centre at Rajarhat would be a business-to-business (B2B) trading hub involving not only the neighbouring countries but also other countries far off. These twin projects of CWBTA will greatly boost regional trade,” said Poddar.
“The BGTE 2022 is a first-of-its-kind expo in which 12 countries would participate in a big way. The expo will have complete facilities for signing trade and business deals at the venue. CWBTA is working as a catalyst to connect with various trade bodies in neighbouring countries,” said N K Kapadia, adviser and summit chairman, CWBTA.


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Poland’s growing audience of web users have a strong preference for local brands, and rely heavily on search engines, according to new research.
The research, from comScore, comes as part of its first overview of internet usage in Poland based on the comScore Media Metrix audience measurement service, as well as an analysis of Polish search activity in comparison to the European search marketplace.
The report showed that Poland’s 17.8 million Internet users age 15 and older were most likely to visit the Google Sites web property (97 percent market penetration), but that local web brands rounded out most of the top 20 properties.
Google Sites Tops List of Most Visited Web Properties in Poland
Google Sites (which also includes YouTube) ranked as the top property with 17.2 million visitors, followed by MIH Limited with 14.2 million visitors (80 percent penetration). Polish social networking site Nasza Klasa ranked in the #3 position with 13.9 million Unique Visitors, followed by Polish web portal Onet.pl that attracted more than 12 million visitors during the month.
“While the top web properties across many global markets are led by global Internet brands, Poland boasts numerous local companies among its top properties, a true testament to the home-grown technological talent and innovation in this market,”


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BMW Reveals FWD-based Concept Active Tourer Plug-in Hybrid
September 14, 2012 2:34 PM
comment(s) - last by
The Concept Active Tourer will be presented at the 2012 Paris Motor Show
BMW plans to introduce its Concept Active Tourer later this month at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, but has finally released some details about the vehicle ahead of time.
The BMW Concept Active Tourer is a
that could possibly be part of the 1-Series GT family once the production version is released. The Active Tourer is about as long as the most recent 1-Series at 171 inches long, but is five inches taller and four inches wider.
The Active Tourer features BMW's new eDrive plug-in hybrid drive system, which consists of a 1.5-liter turbocharged inline-three with a lithium-ion electric system. This vehicle has an
all-electric driving range
of nearly 20 miles, and fuel consumption sits at 2.5 liters per 100 kilometers. The total system output is 190 HP (147 pound/feet of torque).
BMW's latest concept also has some cool interior features, like different display options (8-inch gauge cluster display, head-up display, or 10.25-inch center stack display) and a "Cool Shade" panorama roof, which is a glass roof with Suspended Particle Device (SPD) technology for adjustable opacity via the push of a button. Drivers can also experience special effects in the Cool Shade roof, like a leaf design.
"With the new BMW Concept Active Tourer, BMW presents a vehicle at the 2012 Paris Motor Show which is the first in the premium compact segment to combine comfort and space functionality with dynamic performance and style," said BMW. "Annual growth rates of up to 5 percent are expected in the small car and compact segment of the premium class in the years to come. For this reason, the BMW Concept Active Tourer is a key component in the ongoing development of the BMW brand and its model portfolio."
The 2012 Paris Motor Show will run from September 29 - October 14.
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
RE: Wait what
9/14/2012 3:20:52 PM
Yeah I didn't do the conversion. But that sounded terrible.
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money off Web users' typos, a move that threatens to reignite a debate over who controls key segments of the Internet.
Stratton Sclavos, chief executive of VeriSign Inc., told investors in a conference call last month that the company might relaunch its "Site Finder"
service as early as April.
The company, based in Mountain View, Calif., manages the dot-com and dot-net Internet domains, giving it a uniquely influential role in how the online
world operates. Resurrecting Site Finder would be an unfair advantage over search service competitors and an abuse of its privileged position, the
company's critics have said.


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Snapdeal integrates Redbus, Zomato, Cleartrip inventory in mobile app to woo customers
This association gives Cleartrip, Zomato and RedBus access to Snapdeal’s user base. In return, Snapdeal will earn a commission for each booking.
This association gives Cleartrip, Zomato and RedBus access to Snapdeal’s user base. In return, Snapdeal will earn a commission for each booking made through its platform. Air ticket is a large gross merchandise value (GMV) category, while food ordering is a high frequency category.
“Horizontals are looking at monetising their user base with a focus on GMV and repeat use cases. As funding environment becomes tougher, growth in these metrics will stand out,” said a Snapdeal investor requesting anonymity. When contacted, Snapdeal declined comment.
Last year, CEO Kunal Bahl had told ET that the company will surpass Flipkart in terms of GMV by March, 2016. “Whatever their (Flipkart’s) numbers are, we will be ahead of them by March (2016),” he had said.
Recently, the company tied up with real estate developers such as TVS Emerald, Provident Housing and Runwal Group to launch real estate and financial services on its website, which boosts the company’s GMV. The commission received on such transactions is not clear. GMV is the overall sales by merchants on an ecommerce platform, without factoring discounts, out of which an etailer gets 5-20% as margin on an average. Cleartrip, Zomato and Redbus refused comment on queries sent by ET.
According to experts, ecommerce players are now experimenting ways to monetise traffic through non-inventory base model. “These are service oriented offerings, which won’t take up any extra cost in terms of physical space and, hence, these players will make better margin out of it,” said Devanghsu Dutta, CEO at retail consultancy firm Third Eyesight.
Snapdeal rival, Paytm, is also building a travel marketplace on its platform. The Alibaba-backed company had started selling hotel and bus tickets on the platform a few months back. “To provide everything on their platform, ecommerce players are now encroaching ideas,” said an investor.
“Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon are going the Paytm way of launching wallets and two years back, Paytm, a payments company, started tapping the ecommerce space.”


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Kiplinger's Personal Finance
The government's Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards require carmakers to increase fuel economy about 4 percent each year from 2012 to 2016, eventually bringing the average for all vehicles sold in the U.S. to 35.5 miles per gallon.
To reach that goal, automakers have introduced more and better hybrids to their lineups. For example, Honda's second attempt at a hybrid Accord is a success, says John Voelcker, editor of Green Car Reports. "It's a big midsize sedan that's powerful and quiet. You can get up to 48 mpg in real-world driving, edging into Prius territory."
The downside of electric vehicles -- except for the Tesla Model S -- is range. Most go 100 miles or less on a charge, and are therefore impractical for highway driving. To perk up sales, carmakers have trimmed prices and are offering cut-rate leases (as little as $199 a month) on plug-in hybrids such as the Chevrolet Volt and electrics such as the Nissan Leaf. If you're on the fence about a vehicle that plugs in, consider a lease as a way to test the waters.
Clean-diesel vehicles, by contrast, have no range issues. And after a couple of years that saw few developments, the technology is making a comeback. Audi added a diesel variant of nearly every model to its lineup this year, and BMW reintroduced some diesel models to the U.S. Plus, you now have some domestic choices. GM added a diesel option to the Chevrolet Cruze and the new Colorado small truck; Chrysler brought a diesel powertrain back to the Jeep Grand Cherokee and added one for the Ram truck.
Conventional vehicles are now approaching the fuel-economy ratings achieved by first-generation hybrids, but without the additional cost and poor performance. Continuously variable transmissions -- automatics that can employ an unlimited number of gear ratios rather than relying on set gears -- improve efficiency. The midsize Honda Accord and Nissan Altima use CVTs to help the cars achieve 36 miles per gallon or better on the highway. Small crossovers equipped with CVTs, such as the Nissan Rogue and the Subaru Forester, get 32 mpg or higher on the highway. Partly because of its CVT, the Mitsubishi Mirage is the first non-hybrid vehicle to achieve 40 mpg in combined city and highway driving.
Voelcker recommends taking EPA figures with a grain of salt and checking out real-world ratings by actual drivers before you buy. Several carmakers had to restate fuel-economy ratings recently after consumer complaints. A 10-percent difference from EPA numbers is reasonable, Voelcker says, but a larger disparity isn't. You can find driver reports on FuelEconomy.gov as well as third-party sites such as Fuelly.com.
(Jessica Anderson is an associate editor at Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. Send your questions and comments to firstname.lastname@example.org. And for more on this and similar money topics, visit Kiplinger.com.)
(c) 2014 Kiplinger's Personal Finance; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Copyright © 2015, Chicago Tribune


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Will AMD 's all-important quad-core PC processor miss its summer launch window? Several reports from the Computex tech jamboree in Taiwan indicate that AMD's June/July launch schedule for the new chip has slipped until at least September/October.
Earlier this week, a report from CitiGroup analyst Glen Yeung indicated that vendors, distributors and motherboard makers were expecting AMD's quad-core architecture, codenamed Barcelona, to be delayed until the autumn.
Meanwhile, supercomputer maker Cray Research announced that its next system, to be based on AMD quad-core processors, had been postponed. According to US financial news outlet Dow Jones, a Cray spokesman fingered AMD's processors as the cause of the delay.
However, it later emerged that the Cray machine will actually use the later Budapest revision of AMD's quad-core CPUs, not the initial Barcelona chip.
What exactly is going on? Tech.co.uk's spies on the show floor in Taiwan suggest AMD may have sent its quad-core architecture back to the fab for a minor design revision or respin. If true, it would certainly torch any chances of seeing quad-core Opteron processors in servers and workstations this summer.
Prime time processor
Certainly, the fact that AMD has declined to give Barcelona an official unveiling at Computex suggests the chip is not quite ready for the prime time. As does the total dearth of sample chips running at final clock speeds.
Just a handful of relatively low-clocking engineering chips running at between 1.6GHz to 2.3GHz have been spotted at Computex. But it's thought Barcelona will have to hit speeds in excess of 2.5GHz to successfully take on Intel's competing quad-core chips.
Less clear is the impact any delay might have on the availability of Barcelona 's desktop cousin, known as Agena in AMD codename parlance. To be sold under the Phenom brand name, the quad-core processor for desktop PCs is essentially a repackaged version of the Barcelona processor die.
AMD's original roadmap slated Phenom to appear a few months after Barcelona. If AMD sticks to this schedule, it could be left with no competitor for Intel's awesome Core 2 Quad processors until at least the end of the year.
In a recent meeting with Tech.co.uk, AMD insisted its new quad-core architecture was ship shape and on time. However, it declined to divulge a precise launch date or timing for the availability of samples. Jeremy Laird


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The DGCA’s decision to extend the suspension of international travel and visa restrictions for another month, till September 30, has drawn flak from the travel and tourism industry in the country. The suspension which has been in place since June 26, 2020 and got extended from time to time has almost put the travel and tourism industry on ventilator in the country.
There have been a lot of expectations in the industry about a possible calibrated reopening of international travel once the current ban expires on August 31, tomorrow. The Tourism Ministry top officials over the last one month during various interactions with the travel industry had indicated a calibrated lifting of the suspension for international travel. These assurances have kindled some hope that the industry will be able to regain some business at least in this season which starts in October.
The decision which came out yesterday from DGCA to further extend the suspension has unnerved the travel and tourism industry. The industry has reacted sharply against the decision.
Prakash also questioned the logic of announcing 5 lac free visas on the one hand and keeping the borders closed for international travellers on the other indefinitely.
“You are allowing students, migrants and medical tourists to travel. They are equally vulnerable sections as tourists. If they can be allowed to travel internationally, what is the problem in allowing tourists,” asks Subhash Goyal, Chairman, Stic Group of Companies. “The decision to extend the suspension is unfair and illogical,” he added. Goyal said that the country should at least open scheduled flight services and issue visas to those countries with which it has air bubble arrangements. “Tour operators, tourist guides are committing suicide and the government is not bothered,” he said.
When countries like the UK, Russia, Ukraine, the US, have opened and allowed Indians to travel, the travel industry has genuine doubts about the government's delay tactics in keeping international travel suspended indefinitely.
There are people who suspect motives in protecting some Indian carriers and help them reduce their losses in the bargain. “We never had a Kochi-London direct flight ever. Now we have Air India flying Kochi - London 3 days a week?”
Vikram Madhok, MD, Abercrombie & Kent, and Secretary of PATA-India, also expressed displeasure in continuing with the suspension. “Most countries are open for travel and it is very unfortunate India chooses to close its doors on scheduled flights and tourism. Travel and Tourism can resume by adopting the new normal of precaution of RT-PCR or WHO recognised vaccination,” he said.
Calibrated opening by October- November would have helped the destination a lot rather than delaying it to New Year, he said. That would have given time for the trade to prepare for the season ahead. “India is a medium to long haul destination from our key source markets and the role of our Ministry of Tourism with such a high-powered group of Ministers should be to instill confidence in travellers. Also we need to expedite our digital marketing campaign and PR initiative in source markets now,” he said.


text: Aussies Rejoice! The C8 Corvette will Be Sold by GMSV by Sebastien Bell August 18, 2020 Share Comments The death of Holden has left Australians unsure as to how exactly GM vehicles will be sold, if at all. But there’s good news for those wallaby-loving fans of tire smoke, the C8 Corvette will be sold in Australia. Although Holden had confirmed that the C8 would be making its way down under, GM’s decision to kill the brand left some questions to be answered. But Australia’s Cars Guide reports that the C8 will be sold in the market under the “GMSV” brand. GMSV, for those who don’t speak Australian, is short for General Motors Specialty Vehicles, which is an American adaptation of an Australian word: HSV or Holden Special Vehicles. That brand was for Holden’s most exciting vehicles and, indeed, GMSV will start with the Corvette and the Silverado, which will be the pillars of the new brand’s strategy. Which other models will be sold as GMSVs remains to be seen, but Australians can at least rest easy knowing that the right-hand-drive won’t skip them.


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Trademark Infringement and THC-Infused Candy
Recently, several lawsuits have been filed against cannabis companies for trademark infringement. With the increasing prevalence of trademark infringing THC-products on the market, there are growing calls for other forms of government action in addition to the litigation and agreements. Coachella Music Festival LLC (“Coachella”) sued Coachillin’ Holdings LLC (“Coachillin”) for using a common hashtag associated with the festival as well as infringing on Coachella’s trademarks. Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co . (“Wrigley”) has also taken action against alleged infringers. Wrigley entered into an agreement with the owner of OC 420 collection to stop them from mimicking the Skittles and Starburst logos. The agreement stipulated that OC 420 can no longer mimic the logos and also subjected them to monetary penalties.
Trademark holders claim that the alleged infringing THC-infused candies will lower brand appeal and cause financial harm. A suit filed in May 2022 alleges that a Florida-based company, Top Five Wholesale’s THC (“Top Five”) infringes on the popular marks of Ferrara Candy Co.’s (“Ferrara”) Nerds and Trolli candies. Top Five sells THC-infused edibles that allegedly copy the branding for the popular candies. Ferrara’s concern is that Top Five’s products will be confused for Nerds and Trolli candies, and that this uncertainty could cause “a health hazard to the consuming public, especially children.” Ferrara could also face potential harm to their brand due to their marks being used by an infringer selling THC-infused products. Ferrara is seeking a court order to block future sales of the alleged infringing products and $2 million in damages for each counterfeited trademark.
Companies alleging trademark infringement claim that the THC-infused candies threaten market trust by confusing the public. The maker of Sour Patch Kids, Mondelez Canada Inc. (“MCI”), has filed suit against a THC-edible maker selling a product branded “Stoney Patch.” In MCI’s complaint, the company alleges that the “Stoney Patch” branding is a “willful and intentional attempt to trade off of the goodwill and reputation of MCI.” MCI claims that consumer confusion and brand harm could damage the high quality and worldwide reputation of their products. Suing companies that make THC-infused products is difficult because the counterfeit companies generally do not have an established presence, so it can be hard to serve them. This poses issues for companies that wish to protect their trademarks as it can be difficult to bring alleged infringers to court.
While bringing trademark infringement suits to court helps to fight off copycats, some experts argue that this will not be enough to stop the copycat’s infiltration into the market. Stacy Papadopoulos, general counsel for the Consumer Brands Association, thinks that the current framework is not enough to mitigate the entirety of the problem. The nature of the companies selling these products, especially in jurisdictions where marijuana is not legalized, poses problems in holding copycats accountable. For example, it can be difficult to locate the infringing companies. In order to tackle the problem, Papadopoulos suggested legislative action. Additionally, twenty-three attorney generals have asked Congress to take action against THC products that copy the branding of popular snacks. While trademark litigation and agreements seem to be helping against the influx of copycat products, as the Wrigley win demonstrated, Congress and the courts may need to do more to stop the copycat products from infringing popular marks.
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Whether you are doing your own pest control, or hiring a professional exterminator to come out to your house, the level of pesticide residue within homes across the country is rising. One recent study revealed that approximately 75% or U.S. homes had used at least one indoor pest control product during that year.
Additionally, a different study was done to test whether or not the exposure to pesticides are experienced more outdoors or indoors and it showed that as much as 80% of people were exposed to multiple different kinds of pesticides, within their homes.
The EPA has employed resources to discover the indoor air quality that people are experiencing on a daily basis. They are finding that a majority of the households tested have measurable amounts of pesticides in the air and that a good portion of these pesticide residues cannot be accounted for from the number of times a pesticide was deployed in the homes.
So what are these additional sources of pesticides that are being found? The EPA suggests that they are either brought in from outside via dirt or dust, containers that are being used to store pesticides, or certain types of surfaces that absorb the pesticides and then release them later on.
Types of Pesticides Found
Several different types of pesticides have been found, most of which include those used for controlling various kinds of insects, rodents, fungi, and disinfectants. A majority of households across the U.S., especially in the south, have had to use some kind of pesticide for controlling termites. Termite control product residues were also found heavily throughout the study.
Fortunately the level of threat that commercial and residential pesticides have posed to U.S. households has declined over the last decade, due to the advancements and sophistication of modern pesticides and how they are applied. Back in 1990, the American Association of Poison Control Centers reported almost 80,000 exposures of children to popular household pesticides. As sad as they may sound, this same organization also found that half of those families, with children under the age of five, had stored those pesticides in a place that could be reached by children.
The truth is that pesticides can be very safe products, but people need to read the labels and follow the directions to ensure their safe use.
Effects on Health
There are many different effects that pesticides can have one people. Some of these include: damage to the central nervous system, including the kidney, headaches, damage to the liver, an increased risk of cancer, and muscular weakening. These are just of few of the different kinds of effects that pesticides can have on people when used incorrectly. Some side-effects of certain pesticides, including cyclodiene, have been so severe that such products are prohibited now.
What Can Be Done?
There are a few things you can and should to do keep your home safe from negative pesticide effects, specifically the air quality inside your home. First of all, always read the labels and directions of any pest control product you intend to use, before you even open it. Once you have READ THE LABEL, comply with the following recommendations:
So, Are Pesticides Safe?
While there are some risks associated with certain pesticides, it is also true that most commercial and residential pest control products on the market today have proven to be effective means of pest control. As long as all labels and directions are strictly followed, many pest products on the market today can be considered safe solutions to pest problems.
About the Author
Written By Jon Sams
If you would like to learn more professional grade pesticides that are both safe and effective, please visit www.domyownpestcontrol.com.
yorum yapmak ister misin?


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Have you seen the colourful sticks with blue lights hanging out the mouths’ of most teens and many adults? Elf Bars are the colourful and sweet disposable vapes causing a wave of dependence across all age groups.
While the government is looking to rid the nation of tobacco smokers, electronically delivered nicotine is becoming a new frontier. Disposable Vape Box
People who have not smoked before are getting addicted to Elf Bars. And ex-smokers are turning back to cigarettes to wean themselves off the potent pens.
Costing between £4 and £12 depending where you buy them — they are cheap. Watermelon, Grape, Cola and Cotton Candy are a few of the 28 flavours on offer, and each user knows the flavours they love and the flavours they hate.
These tasty hits of nicotine could be wreaking havoc on our bodies
They contain around 48 cigarettes worth of nicotine — the maximum level legally allowed in the UK at 20mg per ml — so they are strong too.
Elf Bar is the brand of choice. Other vapes can’t compete with when fielded against them, they are just not the same.
In January 2021, less than one per cent of 18-year-old vapers used disposable pens, but that figure jumped to 57 percent by January 2022, according to a study by the Department of Behavioural Science and Health at University College London. Part of that surge is due to easy access: you can buy them in every corner shop worth its licence, yes. But you can also get them on Amazon — the online retail giant, Zapp — the instant delivery service, Instagram — the picture app, and TikTok – the Chinese owned viral video platform (#ElfBar has 727million views on TikTok).
And while it’s illegal to sell nicotine products to anyone under the age of 18, these sellers don’t require any age verification or ID.
Elf Bars were being sold on 205 unofficial TikTok accounts with a combined following of around half a million under-18’s, according to an investigation by online vape store Vape Club.
IndeJuice, another retailer, said sales of disposable pens rocketed by 279 per cent towards the end of 2021. And around 12 per cent of 11 to 17-year-olds in Britain tried vaping last year, according to the charity Action on Smoking and Health.
But it’s not just Gen-Z, it’s everyone — and they are everywhere.
As you walk down the street you are likely to see someone sucking on one of the bright sticks. Indoors, it’s more of the same, proprietors don’t generally mind if you smoke Elf Bars inside. When compared with the reaction you’d get for lighting up a cigarette, vapes are kosher. You can smoke them anywhere, so people tend to.
Clouds of the concentrated smelly smoke disperse in clubs, bars, trains, taxis and offices. I’m yet to see someone use an Elf Bar in the gym but it’s only a matter of time.
People are now running through the single-use pens at shocking speeds. I know a handful of addicts who smoke at least one a day. They pucker their lips and throttle the pen as they thoughtlessly ingest high levels of an addictive drug. They are gripped by the bar between their fingers’.
Many who hadn’t used tobacco products before the rise of the Elf Bar now say they can feel a build up of vape juice in their lungs. And those who used to smoke fags are turning back to them to get their nicotine habit under control, an absurd chain of events that is increasingly common.
But despite this ministers are keen for a vaping revolution. Around 14 per cent of adults (six million) smoked in England in 2019, down from a fifth in 2011. And as part of the aim to achieve a smoke-free society in Britain by 2030 a series of policies are being planned. The age of sale may rise yearly from 2026, meaning anyone under 14 would be banned from buying tobacco for life. Cigarettes may become green or brown in order to put people off, and a 9.00pm watershed for film or TV smoking is being proposed. Supermarket sales could also be outlawed with only specifically licensed premises able to sell tabs.
Dr Javed Khan’s review into the government’s smoking policies has called for NHS prescribed e-cigs to be doled out as rapidly as possible. He wants to mass market vaping as an effective tool to help people quit tobacco. Health Secretary Sajid Javid backs the idea.
OK, but are vapes a panacea? They are certainly treated that way by Khan. While heavily taxed ciggies are hidden behind a sliding door at the checkout in shops, with their snot-coloured packs plastered with health warnings and pictures of dead bodies, allusions to limp penises and other graphic images, the unsuspecting Elf Bar stares us in the face, bright and cheery, within touching distance, simply admitting it contains nicotine.
Although we don’t know much about the long-term effects of vaping, there is mounting evidence to suggest it is bad for your mouth, teeth and gums. And some people are already claiming Elf Bars have given them gum disease. These tasty hits of nicotine could be wreaking havoc on our bodies.
By now we’ve worked out that smoking is bad for us — it kills roughly half of its long-term users — but more should be done to stop people becoming vapers. Elf Bars need to be less sexy. They are far from risk free and shouldn’t be treated like a silver bullet.
It seems we are just becoming more addicted to nicotine delivered to us in a different way — replacing an old habit with a new one — until this turns out to harm us too. Then what?
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Scribd, one of a handful of services sometimes described as “Netflix for magazines,” is adding selected content from newspapers and other news organizations to its unlimited reading subscriptions, the digital content platform announced on Wednesday.
Beginning this week, as part of their $9-per-month subscription, Scribd members will get access to a variety of content from publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian and Financial Times, as well as from other news orgs publishing online, like NPR and ProPublica.
The deal does not enable unlimited access, and Scribd will choose which articles to make available through the content licensing agreement.
The addition of newspapers and other news orgs comes half a year after Scribd struck a more expansive deal with a number of big magazines, including People, Time, Fortune and Bloomberg Businessweek. In the case of the newspapers, Scribd is compensating publishers with various models, typically including payment per article.
It’s worth noting that a number of big publishers are pulling the plug on content partnerships with Facebook, due to dissatisfaction with its monetization model, including The New York Times and The Guardian, while many publishers are complaining their Facebook audiences have shrunk due to changes in its newsfeed algorithm.
Scribd touted the new service as a potential lifeline for publishers: “This puts dollars back into the journalistic ecosystem and clears the hurdle publishers are struggling with: to get people to pay for news.”
The deal comes as tech platforms woo publishers with promises of greater scale and new revenues sources.
For example, in April, Amazon launched a new service selling online subscriptions, including digital magazines and newspapers, giving publishers access to its vast online retail customer base as a potential audience. The new marketplace, “Subscribe with Amazon,” allows the subscription seller to create a customized detail page with product images, offering digital subscriptions, with the option for tiered pricing schemes where necessary.
Also in April, Flipboard introduced new video advertising products for three of its biggest content categories, with launch participants including ABC News, CNBC, Elle, Hearst Digital Media, and TransWorld SKATEboarding, published by TEN The Enthusiast Network.It isn’t all smooth sailing for the platforms or their partners.
In January, digital publishing platforms Medium cut its workforce by one-third, spelling the end of Medium’s branded content business, “Promoted Stories,” which was intended to generate ad revenues by helping big advertising clients create engaging multimedia content on the platform. Since then, Medium has struggled to establish a new business model to sustain online publishers.


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The website 'footyheadlines' leaked the final version
So far we had only seen illustrations of Barça shirt for the 2016/17 season. The president Josep Maria Bartomeu himself said it would have a vintage aesthetic, tribute to the 25th anniversary of the European Cup won by Cruyff's Dream Team. Vertical stripes, intense maroon and a general classic look.
On Wednesday, we have been able to see the first version of these shirts thanks to the leak of footyheadlines, specialist in this field. As you can see, the shirt made by Nike does not include sponsor on the chest, as contract with Qatar ends on June 30 and no renewal has been agreed.
It's also noteworthy that it won't have neck and that there will be thinner strips to give a more vintage look. Beko sponsor does remain in one of the sleeves, in the left arm. The only detail missing is the shield of the Club World Cup champions.
These jerseys for the upcoming season will go on sale on May 26 when the season is finished, according to Mundo Deportivo.


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Police: Man stole fish finders, tablets and generators
A Dallas man is facing charges after police allege he stole over $2,300 in items from a Denver Wal-Mart in three trips.
Joseph Eugene Woody, 34, of Dallas Spencer Mountain Road, Dallas, had been banned from the Wal-Mart.
Police allege on December 20, 22 and 23 Woody went to the stole and stolen items.
Some of the stolen items include a fish finder, RCA tablets, men’s jeans and generators.
On Wednesday night, he was stopped before exiting the store. Police say he was attempting to steal men’s jeans and an RCA tablet, valued at $667.00. He was also charged in the other larcenies from December 20 and 22.
Woody is charged with larceny by anti-inventory device and larceny, five counts of larceny, second-degree trespassing and two counts of first-degree trespassing.
Woody was jailed on a $30,000 bond.


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(Reuters) - Canadian oilfield services company Savanna Energy Services Corp <SVY.TO> said on Tuesday that it would open its books this week to potential suitors interested in a deal with the company.
Savanna said it also planned to explore strategic alternatives, which may include a sale of the company among other options.
The company had rejected an unsolicited acquisition offer from Total Energy Services Inc <TOT.TO> in December.
(Reporting by Komal Khettry in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)
- PHOTOS: Massachusetts residents make first retail marijuana purchases 12 Pictures
- Prepare for GoT season 8 with this Game of Thrones whisky 8 Pictures


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Two new apps offer South Africans retail travel news and braai swapping information. Sure Travel has launched a retail travel agency app for smartphones and tablets and a hungry South African, Kacper Saar, who has been living in the UK for over 10 years, developed 'Let's Braai' app for iPhone.
Travel news updates
In its first version, the Sure Travel app offers streaming travel news, the latest travel packages and an agency locator using iPhones and Android handsets' GPS capabilities. Abigail Pires, solutions optimisation manager for Sure Travel, says that next version of the app may also offer commercial and transactional services.
"We view it as a first step on our broader digital journey. Right now it's a way for our 100 plus agencies to engage in a new way with clients and to drive new traffic to these agencies."
Realm Digital, a Cape-based e-business developer on web, mobile and social platforms, created the app. CEO Wesley Lynch says while many mobile travel apps have seen the light (such as flight search, flight checking and online booking), none has been developed for the retail (franchise store) segment.
Agencies are relevant again
"The origin of this is in the industry's approach to online commerce. The travel industry embraced online commerce from the outset, but also accepted that it has put travel agencies under strain, as travellers went straight to the source.
"But with the arrival of app-based mobile computing, agencies are relevant again. Most people carry mobile phones, which creates new opportunities such as location-aware services. Mobile apps are also easier to use. Apps are the logical vehicle to bring retail stores into the digital mix."
He says future possibilities for the app could include cardless loyalty schemes.
The company is also developing a BlackBerry version, given the platform's continuing popularity in South Africa.
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Published at Sunday, 06 May 2018. Toilet Seat. By Elvira Oria.
Shane Allis director of sanitary product marketing at Kohler says the integrated bidet function is something the company had in its Numi model six or seven years ago and is now becoming common in newer less-expensive lines a trend he expects to continue in the next few years. Allis says lighting and integrated bidet functions are the fastest-growing features.
Innovation is constantly improving and expanding toilet design and functionality to use less water be more comfortable and yes even pamper us. “It’s starting to change — it really is” builder and designer Karl Champley says.
Strang says Toto has also developed technology that uses the flow from a toilet flush to spin a micro turbine that generates and stores electricity for the next flush. “If you’re off the grid you don’t need external power” he says.
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With Dell contemplating its future in the Android tablet business, the Streak 7 has been discontinued, just as the Streak 5 before it. A quick visit to the Dell website reveals only a message that the Streak 7 is no longer available online when looking for the device. With the 10-inch Streak looking unlikely for a US release, the Streak 7, which received little attention from consumers despite an update to Honeycomb to match other currently available tablets, may have been the last chance for consumers in the States to pick up a Dell tablet. The company may still produce a few Windows 8 devices down the line, but the computer hardware manufacturer should move on from Android.
stars Popular this Weeklaunch
The Pixel Launcher from the latest version of Android O has been made available for download if your device is running Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow or above.
More than a few users have confirmed having issues when attempting to upgrade their device to the latest Android O developer beta. Here’s what you can do to fix some issues, and why it’s happening.
more_vertT-Mobile fees to increase
T-Mobile is announcing a slight fee hike for those not on T-Mobile ONE.
During Google I/O 2017, the Android Fireside Chat session took place where developers are free to ask Android engineers various questions. One such question was “What do you hate about Android” and here are the responses.
During the Android Fireside Chat at Google I/O 2017 Dave Burke, Google VP of engineering for Android, was asked about the Fuchsia project and he provided a great non-answer.
Now that Google has ended SMS support for Hangouts, we take a look at some of the best replacement applications that look to do the trick for your text messaging needs.
Despite Google stating that Photo Books would be launching on mobile devices “in the coming weeks”, it seems that some users are already seeing the option in the Photos mobile app.
Samsung is pushing a new update to the Gear S3 smartwatch which adds 13 new features to the wearable, including the launch of Partner Apps.


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Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancer forms in Denmark, which is why prevention is so important. According to a new American study that is published in Gastroenterology, increased intake of vitamin D appears to protect against bowel cancer, especially in people younger than 50 years. It even looks as if vitamin D may prevent intestinal polyps that can turn into cancer in some cases. The scientists say that higher intake of vitamin D may be relevant for prevention and may also serve as an inexpensive supplement to screening tests that are merely used for early diagnosis.
Type 1 diabetes can eventually lead to eye damage and if this is not discovered in time it may cause blurry or impaired vision. According to a new study that is published in Diabetes, supplementing with omega-3 for six months can regenerate damaged corneal nerves, so the scientists believe that eating more oily fish or taking a fish oil supplement may represent a promising add-on to existing therapies.
Sales of plant-based meat, also known as meat analogue, has increased for environmental reasons and a number of other reasons. However, even if meat analogue does resemble regular animal meat it has an entirely different nutritional value. According to a study from Duke University in the United States, real meat contains 22 different nutrients and metabolites that you do not get from meat analogue. On the other hand, meat based on vegetarian sources contains 31 nutrients and metabolites that are not found in normal meat. The largest difference between the two, according to the scientists, lies in their content of amino acids, peptides, vitamins, phenols, and fatty acids. The researchers also mention that a diet based on vegetable and animal products is complementary because it contains more nutrients.
More and more people experience despair and depression. There can be several underlying factors but according to a large German population study, lack of vitamin D increases the risk of depressive symptoms. The scientists explain how vitamin reduces local inflammation in the brain, which increases the risk of developing a depression. That is why it is so important to get plenty of vitamin D all year round because the nutrient affects our mood and energy level in a variety of ways.
Multiple studies have shown that zinc and a zinc-containing protein named ZAG are involved in lipid metabolism, satiety, and weight regulation, but zinc deficiencies are widespread, and having too much body fat can reduce blood levels of zinc, thereby increasing the risk of overweight and disturbances of the lipid metabolism. In a recent review article that is published in Nutrients, scientists look closer at zinc’s role in the lipid metabolism and why overweight people often lack zinc. The authors call for increased focus on zinc and end up concluding that it would be obvious to include zinc supplementation in the treatment of disrupted lipid metabolism and overweight.
The need for the trace element selenium is increased in pregnant and breastfeeding women because it supports a host of different proteins that are particularly important for tissue growth. Also, selenium supports different antioxidants that protect the unborn baby’s organs and tissues. A new review article published in Nutrients shows that lack of selenium during pregnancy may result in oxidative stress, stunted growth, and low birth weight. This may eventually have consequences for the baby’s development, cognitive skills, and health in general. The authors also mention that an expecting mother’s alcohol abuse may have a more negative health impact if she is selenium-deficient. It is a problem that selenium deficiency is such a widespread problem in Europe and other parts of the world.


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The 2022 New Zealand International Wine Show has been confirmed for October 2022.
Chief Judge Bob Campbell MW will once again lead a team of highly experienced judges, many of whom have participated in Wine Show judging for more than 30 years.
Now in its 18th year, The NZ International Wine Show has been the largest wine competition in the country since its inception in 2005.
Wines from any country can be entered, there are no price requirements and no volume limits.
There were 265 Gold or Double Gold medals awarded to entries in the 2021 competition and with high quality vintages over the past few years, the judges will be faced with another show full of spectacular wines, say organisers.
Closing date for entries is the 30th September. Judging takes place in Auckland 11th – 13th October.
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Officially not for sale until April 19, but some folks are hearing differently -- and one fellow scored his today!
Update: We reached out to AT&T, and can confirm that the official release date is still April 19.
If you're ready to buy the HTC One from AT&T, you might want to go visit your local store this evening. That's what go3go from the forums did, and he walked out with a shiny new HTC One in silver for his troubles.
Just went in to my local AT&T store to check up on the pre-order deal with the media link since it said it was out of stock online. Was told the pre-order period was last week and the phone was out today. Walked out with a silver 32 gig. Still kind of in shock, since I was convinced it wouldn't be out till next week O_o
It's a kick-ass phone, and we're glad that go3go was able to get his, but we have to wonder -- was the AT&T salesperson a bit confused about which HTC phone was released today, or is this just a quiet early launch? "Officially" the HTC One goes on sale April 19.
If you dropped in on AT&T and checked, what did you find out? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to congratulate go3go on his score.
Source: HTC One forums


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Amazon applied for 76 new generic top-level domain names (gTLD’s).
When Amazon applied for their new gTLD’s they applied to operate them on a closed basis meaning the public would not be able to register any domain names without Amazon allocating them, but the Governmental Advisory Council (GAC) to ICANN nixed the plan for the most part, while still allowing .Brand Applications.
Amazon won the rights to some of new gTLD’s it applied for;
In an ICANN Auction of Last Resort, which results are public, Amazon won the auction and paid $4.6 Million for .Buy and $2.2 Million for .Spot.
Amazon has won other private auctions for the new gTLD including .Book and .Free while losing many including .App (Won by Google for $25 Million) and .Cloud and .Game in a private auction.
Amazon still has applications still in contention, most notably for .Music
Amazon applied for some .Brand new gTLD domain extensions as well, most famously Amazon lost its fight to secure the .amazon gTLD and at least for now the application, but they also applied for .Prime and .Kindle which are huge brands for Amazon.
It has been questioned as to what Amazon would be doing with the gTLD extension they do control.
So is Amazon planning on giving each customer a .free domain.
We could logically assume each Prime customer of Amazon, which comes with access Amazon’s streaming service, will wind up with a .Prime domain and an owner of a Kindle might receive or be able to register a .Kindle domain name. Maybe these is why Amazon allowed itself to lose .App?
Well, Amazon has launched AmazonRegistry.com and is going to offer new gTLD domain names to the public according to the website.
The website really doesn’t offer anything just yet, but it’s getting ready to do so and I would expect something up from Amazon pretty quickly.
Stacey King is the Sr. Manager for the new venture for Amazon and overseeing all aspects of the Amazon Registry Services, Inc. business according to her LinkedIn page.
Amazon may have turned on AmazonRegistry.com early because it has a pretty big problem in search engines as results for “amazon registry” are non-existent for domain names due to “wedding registry” and “baby registry” results displayed.
Its use of a .Com at least temporarily for their new Registry will draw fire from the anti-new gTLD crowd for sure.
While Amazon does NOT appear to own the domain name, AmazonDomains.com, Amazon does own the new gTLD Amazon.domains which could be have been the home to what is now AmazonRegistry.com
However Amazon.domains is not even being forwarded to AmazonRegistry.com.
The domain Amazon.domains is not resolving.


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RV show reflects sales reports
RV show off to fast start
ELKHART -- An overcast day that began with rain could not stop the sun that's currently shining on the RV industry.
That was evident Friday at the 2nd annual Spring Hall of Fame RV Show at the RV/MH Hall of Fame and in the release of the latest shipment numbers by the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association.
Wholesale shipments of all RVs advanced 16.4 percent over the March total a year ago, rising to 33,678 units -- the best March total since 2007, according to the RVIA. RV shipments have been up 27 consecutive months compared to the same month the year previous.
Despite a windy Thursday and a windy Friday that included morning rains, sales at the RV show look to help keep those trends moving forward.
"Despite the wind and chilly temperatures, we had a great turnout," said Matt Rose, show director and director of recreation vehicles, for the Indiana Manufactured Housing Association/Recreation Vehicle Indiana Council.
"We saw good sales on the first day. The climate of the RV industry was reflected perfectly (Thursday)," he said. "People are coming out. They are buying larger units than they were last year. The dealers that came out brought more units and bigger units than last year."
More than 200 units from seven dealers are on display at the show, which continues through Sunday.
Scott Moody, a salesman for Total Value RV in Elkhart, said the ability to buy is "1,000 percent better," than it was a few years ago. "The banks are better and the consumers are out shopping now, too," he said.
By midday Friday, Total Value RV already had sold three units ranging in price from $15,000 to $200,000.
Imperfect weather like Friday's brings out the serious buyers, Moody said.
Carol and Chuck Yates, of Granger, fit that description.
"We love it. We do the state parks in Florida and around here, too," Chuck said.
They love the roominess of an RV and the ability to be outside. "It's a home away from home," Chuck said. "They always add more features," Carol said, noting they bring their bikes along when they go RVing.
Some parks are actually getting crowded as more people are taking up the lifestyle, Carol said.
Bob Casey, of South Bend, took time off from his farm to continue his shopping.
"I am getting close," he said. "I might do a little traveling in the U.S. and go to some football games. Just throw some family members in and take off. Going someplace but with a purpose."
Dave Titus, owner of International RV of Elkhart, sold four on Thursday and two in the morning Friday.
"People are buying. Business is booming," he said. "And there is some pretty cool new stuff out."
Despite a rough winter that resulted in lost production time at some plants, and a shortage of delivery drivers, the first quarter RV shipments tracked by RVIA have now climbed to 89,971 units, 13.3 percent ahead of 2013 and the best first quarter since 2007.
"All the signs are there that it should keep going," said Titus, who's been in the business for more than 30 years. "There's nothing looming as far as interest rates or anything coming up that the supply of money is going down. It's all tied to the flow of money. People are working."
Where: RV/MH Hall of Fame, 21565 Executive Parkway, Elkhart
When: The show continues from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Cost: $5; 15 and younger, free