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Satya Nadella wears hoodies. He understands the rules of cricket. More importantly, the newly-named Microsoft CEO understands hardware, something Steve Ballmer has struggled to convince the company, its board and investors, and indeed its OEM partners and customers, that he does over the course of his tenure. “I want us to be able to take our focus and innovation forward” Nadella said of his aims at the company where he’s already spent 22 of his 46 years.
Steve Ballmer was always a contentious choice for CEO. In replacing Bill Gates, he came under fire equally from those on the business side for failing to capitalize on new product segments quickly enough, and from the hardware side for demanding a “sound” business plan for every new proposal. The result, critics were swift to suggest, was a company out-maneuvered by Apple and Google, and seen as passé by the industry and consumers.
Ballmer’s background in math and economics was, some argued, the obvious issue: Microsoft’s second CEO was rooted in business, not in technology. That shouldn’t be a problem with Nadella, with his degree in electrical engineering and masters degree in computer science, finally topping both off with an MBA.
Since then, he’s worked himself into some of Microsoft’s key cloud-centric divisions, ending up EVP of Cloud and Enterprise, and helping push the company’s software revolution as it evolves apps from desktop to the cloud. That’s included Office 365 on the consumer side – with the surprise news that Microsoft plans to support rival platforms like Apple’s iPad – along with Azure and Windows Server 2012 on the enterprise side.
For Nadella, the future is highly portable and intrinsically virtualized. “Going forward, it’s a mobile-first, cloud-first world” he said in his first interview (given internally to Microsoft; you can watch it below). “In other words, everything is becoming digital and software driven, so I think of the opportunities as being unbounded, and we need to pick the unique contribution that we want to make.”
How that focus will affect Microsoft’s existing groups, like Xbox, Windows Phone, and others, remains to be seen. The company most recently acquired Nokia’s smartphone business as well as announcing strong holiday sales for Xbox One, but Nadella’s early talk is primarily of how software will shape the world.
“I believe over the next decade computing will become even more ubiquitous and intelligence will become ambient” he suggests. “The coevolution of software and new hardware form factors will intermediate and digitize — many of the things we do and experience in business, life and our world. This will be made possible by an ever-growing network of connected devices, incredible computing capacity from the cloud, insights from big data, and intelligence from machine learning.”
The new CEO’s software-powered world may err more on the side of services in Microsoft’s ongoing “Devices & Services” strategy, then, though that’s not to say he’ll quickly rid himself of hardware. Instead, however, it looks like hardware will only ever be the physical shell in which the company’s software focus resides: the hardware of Lumia phones, for instance, playing second-fiddle to Microsoft pushing Windows Phone, in a similar way to how Google uses its Nexus range to straddle the consumer market and reference designs for hardware partners.
It’s the earliest of early days for Nadella, and his impact on Microsoft’s business and the direction it evolves in is unlikely to become clear for some time. Compared to the chair-throwing, tongue-pulling Ballmer, though, he’s already being seen as a more balanced lead in Microsoft’s uncertain times, quick to espouse a more measured approach.
“I want every one of us to find more meaning at work,” Nadella said, “we spend far too much time at work for it not to have deep meaning.”


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Kia Sales Numbers Look Rosy, But There's Trouble
As Kia posted today, it had record November sales of 45,411 units with the "all-new second-generation Soul and the refreshed 2014 model year Optima midsize sedan [leading] the way with 12,870 and 10,871 units sold, respectively. Year-to-date sales crossed the 500,000 unit mark for the second time in company history."
It's that last number that seems really impressive. By crossing the 500,000 unit mark threshold for the second time – the first time being in 2012 – Kia must be doing well as a brand. But then, one just needs to look at the numbers from 2012 to see things are starting to slip.
Through November 2012 at this point, the Korean car maker had sold 518,421 vehicles. As of Nov. 30, 2013, Kia had sold 501,548 vehicles. That's a 3.3% drop by comparison and Kia has added the Cadenza to its lineup. Without the 7,782 Cadenzas sold to date, the manufacturer is off 4.7%.
The problem is almost all of the models except two are flat or down from last year's sales numbers. Without the refreshed 2014 Kia Optima and the all-new 2014 Kia Soul, the brand is in trouble.
Let's look at the Kia sales breakdown:
- Kia Rio is up slightly (about 600 cars or less than 2%) at 38,586 vs. 37,932 in 2012.
- Kia Forte is down significantly from 71,405 in 2012 down to 61,844. That has to be a big disappointment because the Forte is all-new (and a great car) for the 2014 model year. Its sales should be higher, especially because buyers should have been in delay mode towards the end of 2012.
- Kia Optima with sales of 146,419 vs. 140,391 is about 3.5% - a healthy number on par with industry growth.
- Kia Sportage is down 4300 units from 34,661 in 2012 to 30,438 in 2013.
- Kia Sorento is down almost 10,500 units or 9.6% from 108,630 in 2012 to 98,167 in 2013.
- Kia Sedona, the brand's minivan, is also relatively anemic with a huge drop from 16,801 in 2012 down to 6578 in 2013. That would seem to indicate the minivan is on life support for the brand but it's not, which is really perplexing and is explored more in detail below.
- Kia Soul is another uptick for the brand. Just reintroduced in late September, the 2014 model has year-to-date sales of 111,734 vs. 108,601 in 2012. That's almost a 3% sales increase.
The real challenge facing Kia in the short term is how to match the 2012 sales figures of 557,599 vehicles, which is its record ever for a single year. To hit that mark it is going to have to sell 57,000 vehicles in December, which, simply put, isn't going to happen without a ridiculous amount of incentives and fleet sales. Its best December sales month was probably 2011 when it sold 43,390 vehicles.
Are things going to get better for 2014? They should seem to because the new Kia K900 has been introduced. But, even with good sales, don't expect it to top out at more than 2000 vehicles a year because it faces stiff competition from its sister company Hyundai and its Equus, which has sold 3226 vehicles this year.
Kia is poised to stumble in 2014 with the introduction of a Kia electric vehicle. It's not even on the market yet and doubts have been raised about its range. Also, Kia is late to the game with an electric vehicle and Hyundai is largely ignoring that arena to focus on a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Kia is going to have to pull off a moderate miracle to appeal beyond just typical electric vehicle buyers to gain traction and increased sales.
Finally, Kia announced today it is bringing out a "long-awaited all-new minivan" in 2014. I'm a big fan of minivans (call it a character flaw) but I wonder who has long awaited an all-new Kia minivan. It seems like an odd direction for the company to head into because minivan sales in the U.S. are relatively flat and frankly owned by Toyota, Honda and Chrysler. In fact, until Kia mentioned it was introducing a new minivan I forgot it even sold a minivan.

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Pacific Baby, which makes non-plastic baby feeding products, has closed the first debt deal on Impact Partner Platform, the matchmaking platform of IIX. Based in Singapore, the platform connects social enterprises with mission-driven investors.
The Hong Kong startup raised the undisclosed amount to expand its distribution of bamboo- and steel-based products in 30 countries, including the U.S. and China. Baby feeding is a $5 billion industry, yet most products are still made with petroleum-based plastics linked with health problems in humans.
The Impact Partners Platform has closed more than 30 equity deals, but this was the first debt financing. Many entrepreneurs are turning to debt rather than equity to finance their growth plans.
IIX founder Durreen Shahnaz was recently awarded the Oslo Business for Peace Award.


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All the new E-BIKE CINELLI 2023, new R-ROAD bikes CINELLI 2023, new E-mtb CINELLI 2023, new e bikes CINELLI 2023, new e-bikes CINELLI 2023, new E-Gravel bikes CINELLI 2023, new electric mopad CINELLI 2023, new electric bicycles CINELLI 2023, all the photos, news, info and all the information on the new CINELLI BIKES 2023 bicycles!
CINELLI is also far behind in its e-bike range.
The new ownership, however, could give a new development to the Cinelli 2023 e-bike range and after the gravel / cyclocross bike there could also be a new Cinelli 2023 e-road bike, with a carbon fiber frame.
A Cinelli 2023 e-bike lighter and faster than the current model.
At the moment, however, there are no indications as to whether this CINELLI e-bike can actually arrive on the market.
We will see the real e-bike CINELLI 2023 news in the coming months.


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In the tech world, where everyone is in a constant race for innovation, competition is inevitable. The winner takes it all, and at the end of the day, everyone wants to be the champion of the game. As Peter Thiel says: “As a business, you should strive for monopoly.”
Naturally for companies, in many cases it seems logical to try to outsmart one’s competitors, to build their own infrastructure, and secure a monopoly on the market.
It’s no secret that this attitude towards competition by fintech behemoths is, so to speak, a little bit predatory. In 2020, tech giants, such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook, caught the spotlight of the media and authorities, as accusations of unfair competition and market monopoly arose.
This breaking news was, in fact, not so new. The story of unfair competition is as old as the digital revolution. Even in the ’90s, Microsoft went down in tech history, with its predatory tendencies towards competitors in order to secure its software monopoly.
Crypto is still a youngster in the tech scene, but companies are adopting the technology and becoming increasingly more involved in it. The question then naturally arises: how do you approach competition in such a fast paced space as crypto? How fair would such competition be?
An Open Source Approach
When it comes to crypto technologies, IOTA Foundation offers a different perspective on competition; the technology itself shouldn’t be a competitive advantage over others.
Many players in the cryptoverse are searching for solutions to improve the blockchain architecture used by most cryptocurrencies. IOTA changed the heavily traditional blockchain design and developed a new technological platform called Tangle. Tangle is a distributed ledger technology that is specifically designed to run in an IoT environment.
The main catch here is that the IOTA technology is open-source and production-ready. At first glance, it might seem like a bit of a headache, as competitors can easily copy it and use it to build their own ecosystems.
In an exclusive interview with DailyCoin, Dominik Schiener, the co-founder of the IOTA Foundation, states that he doesn’t see other fintech companies as competitors because open-source technology works to the benefit of all sides.
"We need to build this multi-chain environment where you can interoperate with each other to transfer assets from one layer to another. Our focus area is very specifically on the physical world,"
To distinguish oneself from other players in the market, Schiener sees IOTA more as a technological standard, a digital infrastructure that augments and improves the physical infrastructure, making it possible to build new economies on top of it.
"The way that we compete is we're actually saying: hey, we have this serious adoption in the real world, and we're going to bridge the gap. You are also going to be validators in this network, and you are going to be deploying your use cases onto our network and be part of this ecosystem,"
Why Not Competing Is Beneficial
Schiener lays out three arguments why not competing at all could be seen as a new competitive advantage in the crypto market.
Firstly, there is an economic benefit to sharing infrastructure, because building it from scratch requires tremendous resources and money. Shared infrastructure is no longer simply a competitive advantage, but more of a necessity in order to be able to compete in the future.
He invites us to think about the, currently very fragmented, electric vehicle charging system as an example. Due to different technological standards, it might be impossible for a user to charge their car.
The problem lies in the fact that, instead of having a standardized charging system, different companies invest millions in building their own technology and ecosystem.
"It's much more efficient to actually come together to have a sort of shared infrastructure that they all invest in and that it all gets adopted in because through that you really get a large-scale adoption and sell more cars, devices, data, whatever,"
The second argument is the regulatory environment. As seen with GDPR law in Europe, data protection laws coming in other countries, and serious antitrust cases against U.S. behemoths, the future of predatory tactics is unclear.
"I highly doubt that anybody of them will actually even try to do a coin after what happened with Facebook, right with Libra? They can try and use their monopoly to have this unfair competitive advantage. But they will either be out regulated, or they will not be able to compete,"
Last but not least is the question of building trust. The ethos behind gain is crucial in the crypto universe, which revolves around decentralized communities. By building a monopoly and eliminating the competition, one becomes a sort of villain.
"Are you going to use an Amazon coin? Sure, if the economics make sense, you get like a 10% discount, and you might use it. However, companies make different decisions. They perceive U.S. companies, specifically the Internet giants, as a sort of competitor that wants to own the ecosystem. As much of the ecosystem, as much of the value chain as possible, and they have serious trust problems with each other,"
The Mission to Become a Standard
Standards are the key which open doors to every player, and bring communal benefit.
If you think about standards: QR code, Barcode, Bluetooth, shipping container sizes, to name a few, they are all unified systems that make the world turn by saving businesses time and money.
The IOTA Foundation is aiming to bring the concept of standardization to crypto. That’s why competition in the traditional sense is not on the table. Schiener is optimistic about the future:
"Barcode was an amazing standard that made the world flat. I think IOTA will be another amazing standard that will make the world even flatter, right?"
Standardized protocols could ensure widespread adoption of the technology and enable the building of new economies through that. It’s a joint mission to move the crypto world onward.
Watch the full interview here:


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A healthier population, better animal welfare, and less greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, hunger in the world, and animals slaughtered. This is what the TAPP Coalition has been working towards in 2020 by promoting a Fair Meat price in Europe and in the Netherlands, with considerable success as we now enjoy the support of 63% of the Dutch population and the Dutch Agriculture Minister. Last week the Dutch Agriculture Minister, Carola Schouten, even wrote a letter to the Dutch Parliament announcing she will make preparations for the implementation of a meat tax. The revenues of this tax will be used to support farmers to enhance animal welfare conditions and and prioritize sustainability measures, similar to what the German Agriculture Minister has decided to do as well. In the recently launched Farm to Fork Strategy, the EU Commission also shared our message that meat prices are too low and that tax incentives should be used to drive the transition to a sustainable food system. If a Fair Meat price, that incorporates all environmental costs, would be implemented across the EU, we would see a reduction of 120 Mton CO2 eq., more than all CO2-emissions of Denmark, Ireland, Slovakia and Estonia combined!
Support the European petition goodfoodprice.eu to make our food healthier, more sustainable and more affordable
The EU Commission’s new policy on food, the Farm to Fork Strategy has a good foundation but there is an opportunity to make it more concrete and impactful. Therefore we need your help to convince EU ministers and the EU parliament to make products like meat (which negatively impact our health and environment) more expensive and healthy products like vegetables and fruit cheaper. So please sign this petition and share it with your friends and network! Thanks a lot! The petition was started by the TAPP Coalition, but it is supported by many organizations across the EU, including environmental, youth and animal welfare organizations (like BirdLife Europe, Urgenda, and Feedback).
Sign our petition now: https://goodfoodprice.eu/nl/
In this newsletter:
1. What is the TAPP Coalition?
- What is the TAPP Coalition?
- Sign the European petition for a fair meat price goodfoodprice.euhealthy, sustainable and affordable
- TAPP Coalition activities in 2020
- Dutch and German Agriculture Ministers make progress on fair meat prices
- Beyond Meat new partner of the TAPP Coalition
- Former MEP Gerben Jan Gerbrandy chair of International Advisory Board TAPP Coalition
- Meat Overshoot Day
The True Animal Protein Price Coalition is an international organization in Amsterdam, supported by farmers, doctors, youth, food companies, and environmental and animal welfare organizations. We advocate for paying the 'real' price of food, incorporating the environmental, health and animal welfare costs, starting with meat and dairy. The TAPP Coalition strives for a food system with high-quality animal products and a low negative impact, by reducing and taxing this impact. Therefore, a fair and higher price is needed for meat and dairy. The revenues of a higher, fair meat price at EU level are at least 32 billion euros per year. This amount can be used for three things:
- Payments to farmers for sustainable agriculture, climate, nature and animal welfare initiatives
- Reduction of VAT or subsidies on vegetables, fruit, nuts, potatoes, plant-based meat
- Compensation of lower income groups for the higher price of meat.
Meet our international partners:
2. Sign the European petition for a fair meat price goodfoodprice.eu
Ministers in all EU member states and the EU parliament will decide on the EU Commission's proposal for new food policy in the coming months. This concerns the Farm to Fork Strategy, which Frans Timmermans announced on behalf of the EU Commission on 20 May. This Strategy wants meat to become more expensive and consumers to pay more for food with a large environmental footprint. Fruit and vegetables would be exempt from VAT. But many EU ministers and parliamentarians do not see it and the plan could be a lot better. Including fair pricing of food that has a huge impact on the environment and is the cause of many health problems.
So sign the petition goodfoodprice.eu now and share it on social media!
Click here to read the letter we have already sent to European ministers.
3. TAPP Coalition activities in 2020
This year has been full of exciting developments. It started in February when we presented our proposal for a fair meat price to a number of members of the European Parliament (including Bas Eickhout, Silwia Spurke, and Mohammed Chahim), and things have only accelerated since then. Check out the links below for more details on our activities.
What have we achieved in the past year?
4. Dutch and German Agriculture Ministers make progress on fair meat prices
On September 28, Minister Schouten (Dutch Minister of Agriculture) wrote to the House of Representatives that she is examining a proposal for a fair, higher meat price, the real meat price, including environmental costs. Tax revenues are intended, among other things, for livestock farmers. The proposal for an excise duty per kg meat is similar to the animal welfare meat tax proposed by the German Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner last June (for more info click here). Jeroom Remmers, the director of TAPP Coalition, has been invited by the German Agriculture State Secretary, Uwe Feiler, to discuss the meat tax proposals.
5. Beyond Meat new partner of the TAPP Coalition
We are very pleased to announce that Beyond Meat is now a partner of the TAPP Coalition. This multinational is well known for making delicious, plantbased products that can hardly be distinguished from meat. Their goal is that in a few years their plant-based products will be cheaper than meat, and theTAPP Coalition can help make this a reality. Visit Beyond Meat's website for more information.
6. Former MEP Gerben Jan Gerbrandy chair of International Advisory Board TAPP Coalition
As the reach of the TAPP Coalition continues to grow in Europe, the number of international partners is increasing. Therefore on the 8th of September we had the first meeting of the International Advisory Board of the TAPP Coalition,chaired by Gerben Jan Gerbrandy. Gerben Janserved as a Member of the European Parliament from 2009-2019 for D66, part of ALDE/RENEW (liberal party).
7. Meat Overshoot Day
By July 28, 2020, all European countries had exceeded the recommended annual consumption of meat (based on the EAT-Lancet report).
The TAPP Coalition has named the day a country exceeds its recommended annual consumption of meat: Meat Overshoot Day. Reference the infographic below to see your country’s Meat Overshoot Day:
Help us to be successful.
We need your support to be able to continue with our efforts to implement the true price of meat and have cheaper vegetables, fruits and plant-based products. Please click here to make a donation.
We are also open for new partners. Please send an email to firstname.lastname@example.org or have a look at tappcoalition.eu/our flyer for new partners for more info.
Thank you for continuing to support our coalition. Stay up-to-date via our newsletter as well as social media accounts: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Director TAPP Coalition


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Ford Motor mentioned on Wednesday that the global shortage of computer chips will take a better toll on its enterprise than beforehand anticipated and would probably lower its automobile manufacturing within the second quarter by about half.
“The results of the scarcity have grown,” Ford’s chief monetary officer, John Lawler, mentioned throughout a convention name with reporters. “We now count on the semiconductor scarcity to worsen and backside out within the second quarter however proceed to place strain on our working ends in the second half of the yr.”
Ford expects the shortage to decrease its working revenue this yr by $2.5 billion, to between $5.5 billion to $6.5 billion. It had beforehand mentioned the impression of the scarcity could be between $1 billion to $2.5 billion.
The scarcity was exacerbated in March by a fireplace at a plant owned by a Japanese electronics provider, Renesas.
The grim outlook was delivered as a part of a robust earnings report by Ford. The corporate made a $3.3 billion revenue within the first quarter, a turnaround from a yr in the past when the corporate misplaced $2 billion because the coronavirus pandemic was beginning to shut down a lot of the world’s economic system.
“There’s no query, we’re changing into a stronger, extra resilient firm,” Ford’s chief govt, James Farley, mentioned in an announcement.
The scarcity of laptop chips has compelled automakers to idle factories world wide. Ford mentioned it produced about 200,000 fewer automobiles than initially deliberate within the first quarter. However the ability to command higher prices helped Ford’s backside line, as did decrease guarantee prices and a $900 million achieve associated to its stake in Rivian, an electrical automobile start-up.
Whereas it hopes to have the ability to make up a number of the misplaced manufacturing later within the yr, Ford will probably produce 1.1 million fewer automobiles in 2021 than it had deliberate to, Mr. Lawler mentioned.
Ford has been attempting to streamline its operations and lift its earnings for a number of years with modest success till now. In 2020, it named Mr. Farley to the highest job, charging him with accelerating the turnaround.
The automaker has developed automobiles that would revitalize earnings. It redesigned its F-150 pickup truck, the top-selling automobile in the US. It has additionally gotten robust opinions for a brand new Bronco sport-utility automobile and the Mustang Mach E, an electrical S.U.V. styled to resemble the corporate’s well-known sports activities automobile.
However the chip scarcity has crimped its plans. Within the first three months of the yr, Ford has needed to pause or gradual manufacturing at a wide range of crops, together with some that make the F-150, which generates a big chunk of its earnings.


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NEW YORK – Panera Bread said Monday that it hired two executives from competitors Darden Restaurants Inc. and McDonald's Corp.
The casual restaurant chain said the new executives will help with its growth initiatives, including food innovation and improving its stores.
Panera named Drew Madsen as president Monday. For the past nine years, Madsen was president and chief operating officer of Darden, which owns the Olive Garden chain. He will report to CEO Ron Shaich.
The company also said that it hired Ken Koziol as president late last month. Koziol was executive vice president of McDonald's.
Panera Bread Co. is based in St. Louis and operates about 1,900 stores. Its shares slipped $1.05 to $183.31 in morning trading Monday.


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COLUMBIA — The combination of Valentine's Day and the recent economic upturn has had a positive impact on some Columbia businesses, while others have seen less of an effect.
With Valentine's Day just around the corner, customers are spending more on their loved ones this year, causing local businesses to see an increase in sales.
“Business has been busier than the past couple years, but it’s very last-minute,” said David Rubenstein, L.C. Betz Associates Jewelers store manager.
Rubenstein said the store's average ticket sales have increased this Valentine’s Day season compared with past years.
The D & D Cafe, which opened in May at 22 N. Ninth St., is attempting to ride the wave of the improving economy as well.
Owner Dawn Thompson said she has been making chocolate-covered strawberries since 2003.
In the past, her main sources of advertising were the Add Sheet and word of mouth, but this year she is selling her strawberries both at her cafe and at My Secret Garden, she said.
Thompson said that sales have been slow so far, but she hopes that customers will purchase about 40 dozen strawberries.
My Secret Garden owner Ruth LaHue said that she has not necessarily felt the effect of the recession over the past three years.
“We gauge our business on the day of the week that Valentine’s Day falls on,” LaHue said. “For Valentine’s Day, the economy has never really affected us too much. People always want to share their love.”
Over the past three years, Valentine’s Day has fallen on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday respectively. LaHue said her records show that her sales being down had more to do with the day of the week than it did with the economy.
LaHue also said she has concentrated on offering arrangements at a wide range of prices for her customers.
“We specifically designed a small feature design,” LaHue said. “It’s a beautiful little presentation for a student or maybe somebody who doesn’t have enough money.”


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June, 02 2015
GEODIS is joining the Déméter Environment & Logistics Club to broaden and share its commitment on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
April, 21 2015
March, 31 2015
March, 02 2015
GEODIS Freight Forwading launched its internal innovation campaign in 2011. Now being presented for the third time, the initiative is designed to encourage the creative potential of its employees worldwide. The winners of this year’s “Innovation Masters Award” (IMA) were announced at a ceremony in Bangkok on 5th of February.


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Is the metaverse merely a fad or a technology that banks should be embracing? Are virtual offices a necessary resource to ensuring future relevance?
The metaverse is a trend that in recent years has gained traction in many sectors and the financial sector was by no means left behind; its aim is to capture the attention of younger customers to accompany them throughout their lives on their financial journey in exchange for innovation and trust, according to the article Banking In The Metaverse – The Next Frontier For Financial Services, published by Forbes.
With an estimated economic impact of around $5 trillion by 2030, the impact on profits that banks could achieve by committing to investments in money and assets between the digital and physical world is clear.
Pioneers of virtual offices in the metaverse
As more and more physical bank branches close their doors, it makes sense for banks to explore new ways of selling their products and services by taking advantage of the opportunities provided by technology, such as virtual branches. Saxo, the Danish investment bank, opened its virtual office in 2007 within Linden Labs’ Second Life with the features of the metaverse as we know it today. These new channels can act as an excellent resource to improve the customer experience for both new, digitally native consumers and their existing customers, who may sooner or later migrate over to the metaverse.
When it comes to younger users, they show a natural willingness to consider doing business with companies that share their interest in the digital world. From platforms in the metaverse such as The Sandbox and Decentraland, which attract thousands of users every month, to gaming-focused platforms such as Fornite, which is visited by millions of users worldwide.
British multinational banking and financial services company HSBC was one of the first to create a virtual office in The Sandbox with the aim of interacting with e-gaming fans. “At HSBC, we see great potential to create new experiences through emerging platforms, opening up a world of opportunity for our current and future customers and the communities we serve”, says Suresh Balaji, CMO for the Asia Pacific region.
On the other hand, US banking giant JP Morgan Chase already has a presence on the Decentraland platform with a virtual office called Onyx which provides information about blockchain and other technology initiatives that the bank is involved with.
“The metaverse will allow banks to interact and build strong relationships with customers in a new environment in addition to the existing channels in order to meet their expectations. More importantly, being more digital means gaining positioning and competitiveness against digital natives and ensuring their leadership in the financial industry,” says Oriol Ros, Director of Corporate Development at Latinia.
The Spanish group CaixaBank has shown its interest in this new environment by signing an innovation agreement with Microsoft which aims to promote the use of artificial intelligence in innovative financial solutions in the metaverse. Its Portuguese subsidiary, BPI, has just opened the group’s first virtual reality office.
“BPI VR is a 3D, fully immersive, virtual branch with various business areas and sectors (individuals, private banking, corporate banking, youth (AGE) and sustainability) that provides access to the content of banking services by using the VR headset by Meta (Facebook). Customers will be able to walk through the branch’s two floors, learn more about BPI’s offering (simulators for savings products, mortgages and personal loans, among others) and enjoy entertainment features, such as a virtual minigolf game”, informs CaixaBank in the statement BPI, CaixaBank’s Portuguese subsidiary, enters the metaverse and opens the Group’s first virtual reality bank branch on its website.
“The progress that CaixaBank, one of our clients, is making in the metaverse is a big step for the group in proving its ability to identify and adopt new trends in the financial sector,” explains Oriol Ros. “The first fintech in Europe with a presence in the metaverse was CaixaBank’s Imagin, a digital services platform that offers immersive experiences through imaginLAND, and now, with BPI taking its first steps in the metaverse, it is consolidating its position as a pioneer in the reformulation of financial services,” he adds.Categories: Trends


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Two Australian start-ups announced in the 2019 Booking Booster Accelerator Program
Clean Travel and Okra Solar have been shortlisted to pitch for grants up to €500k from Booking.com’s €2 million Booster fund for innovation in sustainable tourism
Today Booking.com, one of the world’s leading digital travel platforms, announced the 10 sustainable tourism startups joining the 2019 Booking Booster Program in Amsterdam in April and May 2019.
The short-listed start-ups will take part in a three-week accelerator program consisting of lectures, hands-on workshops and coaching. All culminating a final pitch to receive a scaling grant of up to €500k from Booking.com’s €2 million fund in order to help support the next stage of the startups’ projected growth.
Founded by Macartan Gaughan, Clean Travel is an innovative software platform that helps local ethical travel operators manage their business and reach a global audience. It connects communities with local travel organisations that offer unique ethical adventures.
Okra Solar, founded by Afnan Hannan and Damian Veling, Okra is distributed solar energy sharing. The innovative technology aims to transform the energy market and offers affordable energy access for 1.2 billion people living off-grid.
Afnan Hannan, Okra Solar Co-Founder said: “We are excited to have support from the Booking Booster program as it enables us to solidify the link between energy access and income generating activities. Building on initial energy access, we foresee eco-tourism playing a big role in kickstarting these emerging economies.”
With hundreds of applicants from all over the world, the 10 startups joining the 2019 program hail from nine countries and operate collectively across almost the entire globe. Their businesses also represent a mix of models and solutions, including products that leverage technology to facilitate environmental and wildlife conservation, as well as platforms that empower at-risk communities to thrive through their inclusive approach to tourism.
The remaining list of startups include:
- Avy, Netherlands
Avy is a drones-for-good company, building long-range wing drones to deliver medicines, protect wildlife, and conserve nature.
- Hydrao, France
Hydrao provides smart demand-management solutions for water conservation and management.
- I Like Local, Netherlands
I Like Local is an impact travel marketplace that connects travelers with local people in developing countries in order to provide authentic experiences to travelers and an extra source of income for local hosts.
- IMPULSE Travel, Colombia
Impulse is a regenerative tourism platform for in-destination experiences, offering more than 200 tours and activities in seven locations in Colombia.
- NotOnMap, India
NotOnMap empowers communities and creates a livelihood for marginalized, vulnerable people in rural areas through the preservation of culture and heritage, connecting travelers with unique, differentiated experiences.
- The Picha Project, Malaysia
The Picha Project promotes cultural heritage by empowering refugees to share authentic traditional food from their homeland with the public.
SASANE Sisterhood Trekking and Travel provides socially responsible tourism by training local women that are survivors of human trafficking as trekking and tour guides to lead tours through rural mountain villages in Nepal.
- Sumba Hospitality Foundation, Indonesia
Sumba Hospitality Foundation promotes responsible tourism, combining a hotel school for underprivileged youth with a luxury eco-resort for travelers wanting to contribute to a better world.
All the participating startups will receive a year of ongoing mentoring and coaching from Booking.com experts. They will also have opportunities and access to collaborate with Booking.com on potential innovation initiatives and experiments to help accelerate future growth for the participating scale-ups, including projects undertaken together with the Booking Cares Volunteer Program.
“We’re seeing the calibre of innovative entrepreneurship in the sustainable tourism sector continue to evolve and mature,” said Gillian Tans, President and CEO of Booking.com. “The diversity of perspectives that are represented with this year’s Booster finalists and the creative ways they are leveraging technology to grow and maximise their impact is truly inspiring.”


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When you talk about the Dual Sim phone, what comes to people’s minds is that only Samsung has the genuine dual Sim phone. But Now Nokia has added another genuine dual Sim (not the Chinese fakes) in its C series phones.
Announced recently by Nokia in Nairobi, Kenya, two of the four new C series devices, despite being plainly cheap, have a very important feature for a talk phone – dual Sim. The Nokia C2 can keep both Sim cards active; meaning calls and text messages can come to either number while the phone is on. The first Sim card on the Nokia C2 sits underneath the battery. The second SIM card is ‘hot-swappable’, a feature unique to Nokia, meaning it can be removed and inserted when the phone is on. This model goes for Sh150,000.
The C1-00 is priced at just about Shs120,000. Apart from one Sim card being active and one on standby, sports a 3.5mm headphone jack, flashlight (Ka-torch) and microSD card support of up to 32GB. These phones also have the basic functions that are available in all the other budget Nokia models like games, alarm clock and many more.


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Pregnancy cravings are much more common among modern women than previous generations. According to the latest research, three-quarters of those surveyed experienced a craving, compared to just 30% five decades ago.
Chocolate still proved to be the most popular, along with spicy food and pickled onions, but not all the choices were that simple - in fact there were some rather surprising entries.
Here's a fantastically fishy ice cream surprise - tinned tuna fish with banana!
Scientists are appealing for more people to donate their brains for research after they die.
Life on Earth may have arrived from Mars on an asteroid, scientists have claimed.
Lunar mission scheduled at the end of 2017 could find out if beer can be brewed on the moon.
A bottle used to teach children how far litter can travel ended up on Scottish beach after 8,700-mile journey.
Confused Apple customers are finding coins in their MacBooks.
High levels of iron help prevent hearing loss, a study has claimed.
A software engineer has constructed a fingernail-sized engine made of paper and it totally works!
Conspiracy theorists claim that there is a mysterious alien based pyramid in the Antarctic.
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94 DAYS AND COUNTING
Byline: Adam Blair
New York — It’s not quite as easy as spraying a giant can of Raid, but most experts think the millennium bug is pretty well under control.
Virtually any kind of technology, from mainframe computers to small appliances with embedded chips, could be affected by Y2K — though most observers believe the actual percentage of failures will be fairly low.
Where Y2K can cause trouble, however, is in global connections that have become standard practice in all kinds of industries. For instance, apparel’s heavy reliance on overseas manufacturing could spell trouble if the Y2K problem affects international communications, customs, transportation and source countries’ infrastructures.
And apparel manufacturers and retailers face several other Y2K issues:
Whether to stockpile products in the next three months as a hedge against post-Jan. 1 slowdowns and shortages.
The delayed effects of Y2K problems throughout 2000, especially on “hot” dates such as Feb. 29 and Dec. 31, 2000.
Ripple effects in budgets, merchandising and inventory systems from computers providing inaccurate information, rather than shutting down completely.
On the plus side for the apparel industry, many garment factories in developing countries are Y2K-compliant because they use no computers or automated equipment at all.
A leading Y2K expert believes stockpiling some products would be a prudent move, although not without problems.
“Faced with the notion that productivity and shipments from the Far East might be affected [by Y2K], and that perhaps in the first few months of 2000 there will be a reduced flow of inventory, one way to accommodate is to buy product in the next few months to make sure it’s here” by Jan. 1, 2000, said Peter de Jager, president of the consulting firm de Jager & Co. Ltd., Toronto. “In other words, relax your just-in-time inventory levels.”
De Jager acknowledged, however, that this might not be practical in the apparel industry. Importing more products early “means a company must incur the cost of inventory, which can be significant. In addition, because the industry has been practicing JIT [just-in-time inventory] for a while, there’s not a lot of storage area, in stores or warehouses.”
Most retailers and manufacturers told WWD that ordering extra stock ahead of the millennium rollover was not part of their corporate policy, but that it could occur on a limited basis.
“We’re not stocking up on extra product to any significant degree,” said Glenn Morgan, chief financial officer of apparel manufacturer Hartmarx, Chicago. “One of our operating companies may decide to get things a couple of weeks early, but it’s not a companywide strategy.”
“I know that, come the end of the year, I’ll probably order more product to be on the safe side, especially from domestic suppliers with shorter lead times,” said Art Quintana, senior vice president of the supply chain at The Sports Authority, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “If that’s not the right thing to do, and we have more inventory than we need, there could be some potential for markdowns” next year.
If Y2K causes only minimal disruptions to apparel supply chains, retailers who stockpiled products would have to sell the excess inventory. If that occurs, “they’re not going to continue to order at the same levels as last year,” said de Jager. “The ideal answer would be to act like a good corporate citizen and reduce shipments by, say, 15 percent, and work their way through the inventory that comes in, but that’s not the way garment people think — they think for today.”
If a retailer severely curtailed orders in the first quarter of 2000, “ironically, companies that have done the work and were able to supply during this period, could be the ones that will be punished,” said de Jager.
The nature of apparel retailing also makes stockpiling products difficult.
“What if retailers decide they’re going to stockpile all that lime green silk stuff, and they find customers don’t like it?” said Cathy Hotka, vice president of information technology at the National Retail Federation, Washington. “They would have to spend extra to store it and might not ever be able to sell it.”
Despite the arguments against it, de Jager believes companies are stockpiling, and points to economic changes in the transportation industry.
“Call any shipping container company and find out if they have increased their shipping costs to North America for the next four months. The answer is yes — prices have gone up 30 to 40 percent. It’s costing significantly less to send goods back to the Far East, and some companies are even sending containers back empty.”
A Year-Long Problem
Like many others, the apparel industry has been focusing its attention on the Jan. 1 rollover. However, many experts believe Y2K’s impact will continue through at least the third quarter of 2000. And 2000 is a leap year, so computers may hit another “hot date” on Feb. 29, which some computers might mistake for March 1. Another potential trigger date is Oct. 10, 2000, the year’s first eight-digit date.
“People have been dividing the world into two universes, before Jan. 1, 2000 and after,” said the NRF’s Hotka. “But we think the apparel world ‘D-Day’ is March 1. The Feb. 29 problem is the date that’s giving the most problems in testing — after that, people should be able to exhale.”
Apparel’s traditionally long lead times could delay the initial impact of Y2K for weeks or even months. “One scenario is that a shipment of blouses goes to the foreign country port that’s closest to the factory, but that it can’t get out of there,” said Hotka. “People are ingenious, they’ll take it to another port, but it could be delayed.
“We think it’s a possibility that everything is fine on Jan. 1, but by March 1, things may be sluggish — shipments could be delayed, and people might be inconvenienced,” she added.
Computer programs that count the number of days in the year could run into trouble later in the year. If no one has “informed” the computer that 2000 is a leap year, it will reach 365 days and mistake Dec. 31, 2000 for Jan. 1, 2001, beginning the new year one day early.
Information technology consulting firm GartnerGroup, Stamford, Conn., said Y2K-related problems could occur in 2000 due to frozen applications running for the first time during the year; non-Y2K-compliant packaged software being released to the market and businesses accessing noncompliant archived data and running it on compliant systems. Working out these types of bugs could take the entire year, according to the firm.
On the other hand, “given the lead times in apparel, people have been taking orders for 2000 and have made their buys for next year,” said apparel industry consultant Janet Murphy Simon, president of Ogden Associates, Morristown, N.J.
“This would tend to give a bit of assurance, because companies would already be seeing problems, and there have not, to my knowledge, been major Y2K problems reported,” she said.
“We’re already in September, and we’re placing orders for shipments in 2000,” said Sports Authority’s Quintana. “We would already have seen impacts from Y2K.”
Retailers like J.C. Penney Co., which has been working on Y2K remediation and contingency plans since 1995, are playing it safe. As one element of its Y2K program, Penney’s extended its “peak period,” when it bars any new program installations to its mainframe computer. The peak period normally runs from Nov. 1 to Jan. 1; this year, it will start Friday and end Feb. 1, 2000.
“We extended the peak period just for this predictable event, so we have more time to allow the mainframe to remain stable,” said Shirley White, manager of the year 2000 coordination group at the Plano, Tex., retailer.
Third World: Good News, Bad News
The apparel industry’s reliance on factories in developing countries is a good news/bad news story in terms of Y2K. Some factories are Y2K-compliant, not because their information technology staffs have spent time and money fixing the problem, but because there’s no problem to fix — they use no automated technology.
The NRF’s Hotka confirmed that low-tech apparel manufacturing is a reality in many overseas countries. “We thought it might have been apocryphal that some plants are manual, with no computers anywhere,” she said. “But there are a number of plants, in China for example, where the ladies are using foot-pedal sewing machines. There’s not a Y2K question about those factories — the questions there are about things like transportation.”
Both internationally and domestically, “apparel manufacturing is still not heavily automated compared with other industries,” said Murphy Simon. “That’s something of a security blanket — reverting to a lower level of automation won’t be as catastrophic because there aren’t as many embedded computer systems.”
Partly due to a lack of reliable information about the Y2K readiness of foreign countries, it’s difficult to predict the number and extent of sourcing problems that apparel manufacturers and retailers are likely to face.
“Anything associated with international issues is a bigger risk,” said Murphy Simon. “That applies to companies one would be importing product from, as well as the countries’ infrastructures and government agencies with a bearing on the exporting process. The word is that, particularly in Third World countries, there could be a relatively large amount of problems.
“But there are no blacks and whites in the Y2K arena,” Murphy Simon added. “Many of these same Third World countries are also less dependent on technology. In addition, they have to deal with [non-Y2K] power outages and infrastructure problems, which keeps them accustomed to manual ways of dealing with problems.”
“It’s a given that information about international readiness is unavailable,” said the NRF’s Hotka. She believes no news is not good news. “I agree with President Clinton’s Y2K czar, John Koskinen, when he says a lack of information means something is bad. If people are in good shape, they’ll tell you about it.”
To deal with this data deficit, “in the last six months apparel companies have been sending their own staff people overseas, to physically visit suppliers and manufacturing plants,” said Hotka. “There’s no substitute for sitting with people and seeing the whites of their eyes.”
“The biggest area of uncertainty is with foreign contractors,” said Morgan of Hartmarx. “The level of response and information from foreign sources is less than what we’re getting domestically. However, we deal with such long lead times that I wouldn’t characterize Y2K in this area as mission-critical. And we’ve satisfied ourselves as to the readiness of our significant suppliers.”
“If there are any kind of ‘cautionary flags’ about Y2K, it’s that the rest of the world is lagging behind the U.S. in remediation efforts,” said Harry Roberts, chief information officer of Boscov’s Department Stores, Reading, Pa. “But much of what goes on in other countries is a fairly manual process, so we shouldn’t see too much ripple effect.”
The Human Touch
Sourcing issues could be further complicated if affected computers provide incorrect information rather than simply shutting down. In apparel retailing, such faulty data could affect budgets, merchandising and inventory programs.
“Any programs that trend inventory levels could conceivable be thrown out of wack by Y2K,” said de Jager. “These programs are all about calculating a span of time, and when you’re doing inventory analysis, that’s what you’re doing. All of a sudden, a problem can spin out of control on you — Wal-Mart could order 50,000 blouses for one store, and the manufacturer could gear up to make them.
“There should be ‘reasonableness control;’ some human oversight of automated systems,” he added. “Someone needs to ask, does it make sense that we’re ordering 50,000 blouses for a store that only sells 100 a week?
“My advice is, don’t believe everything you hear from your computer, and double-check the instructions it’s giving you,” de Jager said. “It could say a garment has been in the store for 100 years, so mark it way, way down.”
Such surveillance is crucial, de Jager believes. “When [inventories] start getting out of wack, the store or chain can lose credibility with the customer, which is one of the more difficult things to manage,” he said. “This is one of the only things that are significantly at risk in the apparel industry.”
Store-level Y2K problems are more likely to affect smaller retailers, experts told WWD, and the most likely area to be affected is the point-of-sale system. Susan Travali-Halley, MIS manager at Alfred Dunhill North America, New York, admitted that insuring the chain’s POS systems were ready was one of the most difficult parts of its Y2K efforts.
“The software was proprietary, and it had been written in-house,” she explained. “We also had to do all the testing in-house. We had to take that responsibility on ourselves — it’s an extremely important system.”
The retailer has all but completed its Y2K preparations, she added.
For retailers smaller than Alfred Dunhill, which has only 12 stores in the U.S. — the bulk of its stores is overseas — “If they have no IT [information technology] staff, they may not start doing anything until the world turns upside down on Jan. 1,” said Bryan Amaral, president of ImageWare Technologies, Atlanta. “They may have spent $6,000 on a system five years ago and assumed it would last forever, or they may not know what questions to ask” about dealing with Y2K.
With Jan. 1 less than 100 days away, companies in this position should focus on contingency plans and making sure they have “a manual fallback,” said Amaral. “If you turn on the computer Jan. 1 and it doesn’t work, make sure you’re able to teach your employees to use a cigar box as a till and hand-write a receipt.”
In general, most sources agreed Y2K problems posed less threat in the apparel industry than they do in other industries. “If there’s a Y2K problem with an apparel product, it won’t cause injury to anyone,” said Morgan. “In that sense, we’re in better shape than a chemical company or an electric utility — the worst that happens is [the product] doesn’t get made or delivered on time.”
Murphy Simon sounded a more positive note about the apparel industry’s readiness for whatever the Millennium Bug could dish out.
“In retail and in apparel, contingency planning is, to a certain extent, part of the business,” she observed. “We’re somewhat accustomed to this supplier not coming in on time, but getting things to the store, no matter what. There’s a very robust and complex infrastructure for retail distribution, and companies have multiple levels of fallback. It’s really the nature of the business to recover from the unanticipated.”
Even given that, Y2K’s global nature — in both senses of the word — could make it the biggest challenge the industry has faced. Penney’s, for example, based its extensive Y2K preparation on the retailer’s existing contingency plans for business continuity during natural disasters of every stripe.
“The difference with Y2K is that this is the only time every aspect of our business has been affected,” said Penney’s White. “In a natural disaster, there’s only one geographic area that’s affected. This is the first time that I’m aware of that we’ve had something this large. The key word for everything [with Y2K] was volume.”


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California Posts No Phishing Signs
The first legislation in the country aimed at banning phishing was passed by the California legislature.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed California’s Anti-Phishing Act into law recently, making the state the first to define phishing and provide punishments for committing it against consumers.
An InformationWeek report said each violation of the law carries a $2,500 fine. People victimized by phishers can sue for the greater of actual damages or $500,000. In the text of the bill, it is “unlawful for any person, through the Internet or other electronic means, to solicit, request, or take any action to induce another person to provide identifying information by representing itself to be a business without the approval or authority of the business.”
By defining phishing as a specific crime, prosecutors and victims will have an easier route to seek legal remedies against those criminals. Many states tend to follow California in enacting certain pieces of legislation, and this may be one that is copied widely in the coming months.
Physically getting to many of those behind phishing attempts may be difficult. A lot of the millions of scams originate outside the United States. But there will be some in the US who will still try their phishing schemes, and perhaps the effect of the law will be demonstrated in court in the near future.
David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.


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Futura Laboratories continues on its paint-splatter motif with this Painted CPO Shirt Jacket.
Incorporating their typical Western-inspired flair with the benefits of 3M Thinsulate for
One of Nike Sportswear’s collaborations for the 2008 fall/winter collection have involved the
adfunture unveil their follow-up colorway to their original Futura Tag vinyl release.
The Supra “The Timbo” Skytop has officially been announced for a Black Friday release. Taking


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To say that British retail institution Marks and Spencer (LSE: MKS) has endured a torrid time in trying to resurrect its ailing Womenswear range would be something of a colossal understatement. The business has ploughed vast sums into transforming its fashion ranges in recent years, including numerous revamps and overhauls of its design team.
So the retailer would have breathed a sigh of relief following last weeks trading statement, which showed like-for-like clothing sales rise 0.7% during January-March. This was Marks and Spencers best performance for four years and represents a stunning turnaround compared with the 5.8% slump recorded in the prior three-month period.
Customer spending on the charge
But Marks and Sparks fashion revival is not just symptomatic of in-house innovations, such as the much-publicised introduction of its brand-spanking new suede skirt (due to hit the shelves this week, readers). Indeed, online specialist ASOS (LSE: ASOS) reported last week that group retail revenues surged 14% during September-February, driven by a stunning 27% uptick in UK sales to 231.4m.
There is no doubt that purchasing power on the British High Street whether we are talking about physical, or virtual, bricks and mortar is categorically on the rise, a point underlined by the Office of National Statistics most recent retail sales data. This showed total till activity across the UK advance 0.7% in February and represented the strongest report since November.
Retail conditions set to improve further
Other clothing retailers such as Next (LSE: NXT) and Supergroup (LSE: SGP) have also recorded bubbly trading performances despite the adverse impact of unseasonal weather patterns more recently. Indeed, the former saw total sales leap 7.2% during the 12 months to January 2015, to 4.03bn, while the latter recorded a 17.8% surge in group sales during the three months to mid-January.
And the British retail sector is in broad agreement that consumer activity should continue ticking along nicely during the coming year at least. Indeed, Next noted last month that the economic outlook for the UK consumer looks benign, adding that low price inflation, an end to real wage decline, healthy credit markets and strong employment all paint a more positive picture than in recent years.
Against this backcloth I expect each of the FTSE giants mentioned in this piece to enjoy resplendent turnover growth well into the future.
But whether or not you share my enthusiastic take, I strongly recommend you check out this brand new and exclusive report that identifies a wide range of other blue-chip wonders poised to deliver electrifying shareholder returns.
Our “5 Dividend Winners To Retire On” wealth report highlights a selection of incredible stocks with an excellent record of providing juicy shareholder returns. Among our picks are top retail, pharmaceutical and utilities plays that we are convinced should continue to provide red-hot dividends. Click here to download the report — it’s 100% free and comes with no further obligation.
The Hidden True Story Behind This Black Sheep Stock!
This controversial British retail tycoon is unloved by the city and even his own shareholders.
But behind the media headlines, his company is about to make a daring global e-commerce play that could take many people by surprise
and may make savvy investors who get on-board now very rich in the years ahead.
Read on to discover THREE hidden factors that we believe make this one of your most potentially lucrative investments of 2015!


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Chico?s deems mobile as critical for breast cancer social campaign
Women?s clothing chain Chico?s FAS is supporting Breast Cancer Awareness month with a social campaign that rests heavily on mobile capabilities.
Featuring a Facebook-integrated microsite, Chico?s Pink My Pic campaign will allow participants to upload photos and apply a pink filter to them. Chico?s FAS, Inc. will donate one dollar to support group Living Beyond Breast Cancer for participants who make the photo their Facebook profile picture.
?With a majority of traffic on Facebook and other social sites coming from mobile, it was critical that the experience be mobile-optimized,? Jessica Wells, vice president of social marketing of Chico's FAS Inc., Fort Myers. ?When a fan sees a brand's Facebook post or tweet, they want to instantly access the content.
?It's no different with charitable campaigns; the experience needs to be as seamless on a mobile device as it is on desktop. Sharing to Facebook is fundamental to this campaign, thus sharing and viewing must be accessible from a mobile device.?
The campaign, powered by rich engagement provider HelloWorld, will run through the month of October.
Participants must link the microsite to their Facebook account for the operation to work. Once competed, users can upload a photo and tint it with pink. A pink ribbon and hashtag logo will be included, reading #Together.
Along with donating for every profile picture, Chico?s will also donate for every share on Facebook, Twitter and via email up to $25,000.
To date, Chico's FAS Inc.'s family of brands, including White House Black Market, Chico's, Soma Intimates and Boston Proper, has donated over $2.1 million to LBBC. While the retail chain has supported the nonprofit organization in past years, this social campaign is new and aimed to create additional buzz this year.
Promoting a movement
A cause such as breast cancer awareness has established a powerful foundation over recent years. Due to the driven awareness, brands are taking advantage by involving themselves in various fundraising efforts to spread their own awareness.
In 2013, handbag and accessory brand Vera Bradley tapped mobile to help empower volunteers at an annual fundraising event for the company?s breast cancer foundation.
The Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer developed a custom mobile event application to improve communications and eliminate paper waste for the organization?s 20th Annual Vera Bradley Golf and Tennis Tournament fundraiser. The app saw a 50 percent adoption rate among event organizers and volunteers, with the app being used 3,000 times over the course of the three-day event (see story).
Also in 2013, cinnamon roll bakery chain Cinnabon leveraged mobile to help drive donations for the National Breast Cancer Foundation via a new in-store initiative.
The campaign, Sweet Support, was a nationwide fundraiser, with Cinnabon matching the first $10,000 in donations. Customers were being directed to the mobile URL Give.Mobi/Cinnabon to make a donation by employees and via signage inside the bakeries (see story).
By leveraging social, Chico's is providing a fun way for its fans to get involved.
?Our goal is to drive awareness for the cause and our partner organization Living Beyond Breast Cancer,? Ms. Wells said. ?As mobile continues to play a much bigger role in our customers' lives, we've evolved to ensure our customers can access our content and charitable giving campaigns wherever they are, and whenever they choose.?
Caitlyn Bohannon is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York


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Manufacturing growth at 10-month low
Worries over the recovery in the manufacturing sector have intensified after publication of new figures.
The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply's (CIPS) activity index, where a reading over 50 indicates growth, slipped to 53.4 last month - the lowest since last November. CIPS also downgraded its estimate on activity in August to 53.7 from the 54.3 it previously reported.
The study found weaker demand from the consumer goods sector contributed to the first decline in new export orders since July last year.
Economists said the CIPS research offered more evidence that the second quarter marked the high spot for UK manufacturers following healthier demand from home and abroad and the benefits of the weak pound and stock rebuilding.
Vicky Redwood, senior economist at Capital Economics, noted that a drop in the CIPS output balance from 55.8 to 54.8 was consistent with quarterly growth in manufacturing output of less than 0.5% - down from 2% earlier this year.
She added: "Today's survey adds to other evidence suggesting that the economic recovery is fading fast."
CIPS stressed there were still some positives for UK manufacturing given that the sector has seen growth for 14 months in a row and that cost inflation also eased to a six-month low, although it remains well above normal.
Chief executive David Noble said producers will be closely monitoring sentiment in the investment and consumer goods sectors in light of this month's Government spending review and in the run-up to Christmas.
He added: "Any renewed crises may make manufacturers and their suppliers increasingly cautious about the sustainability of the recovery."
Manufacturing employment rose for the sixth month running in September, although the rate of job creation was only slight as firms reported sufficient spare capacity to cope with the needs of new and existing contracts.


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(YourDigitalWall Editorial):- Seoul, South Korea Apr 9, 2021 (Issuewire.com) – Publisher and mobile game developer, FourThirtyThree Inc. (4:33), announced that it has launched its latest mobile sports game World Baseball Stars. Which is now available via the Google Play Store and iOS platforms in 140 countries worldwide.
World Baseball Stars is a real-time, multiplayer casual sports game developed by 4:33. With intuitive tap-and-swipe controls, this revolutionary baseball game features real-time one-on-one matches with players all over the world.
The gameplay is fast and exciting, with simple controls and high-quality graphics. In multiplayer mode, dynamic pitching and batting actions are available.
World Baseball Stars also offers over 62 unique playable characters, unique ballpark venues with dynamic weather factors, and energetic theme music. This developer’s latest title offers a variety of attractions in venues that extend the range of this game beyond baseball.
World Baseball Stars is now available on Android and iOS platforms in 140 countries.
# # #
ABOUT FOUR THIRTY THREE INC.
FourThirtyThree Inc. (4:33) is a mobile game publishing corporation. Founded in 2009, 4:33 received the first President’s Game Award among mobile titles with “Blade for Kakao.” Other titles such as “Three Kingdoms Blade,” “Hero for Kakao,” and “Lost Kingdom’ are also well-known hit titles. In 2016, “Monster Super League” launched in 136 countries, which demonstrated the global publishing capabilities of 4:33. For more information, please visit http://www.433.co.kr
This article was originally published by IssueWire. Read the original article here.


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PlayStation fans and enthusiasts alike have spent the better part of 2020 waiting for Sony to spill the beans, but PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan says the price was decided on pretty early in the year.
Now, the irony of the phrase "the better part of the year" is not wasted on us - I mean, what better part - but you know what we meant. Pricing has traditionally been the last thing to reveal when it comes to console launches, and so it has been this time as well.
In an interview with The Washington Post, however, Ryan revealed that Sony weren't pondering the pricing when the rest of the world did - they actually decided on it "quite early this year".
He claims that their intentions were always to launch PlayStation 5 at the same price point as its predecessor, PlayStation 4. Unfortunately for the company, as well as the rest of the world, coronavirus pandemic introduced a new set of concerns ranging from production to distribution.
This meant a lot of uncertainty for the PlayStation maker. "Just as the supply things was unclear, would there be any market? Would anyone be allowed to go outside? Would any shops be open? This has been a year like no other. But all of that just reinforced our resolve, and the path we determined at the start of the year was absolutely the right one", Ryan said.
There's been a lot of talk about Sony's exclusives-based approach to consoles and Ryan said he's well aware of it. "We're not saying it's perfect, but it's our approach. We like it", he said.
You can find the full interview here .


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The Prime Minister has set out further changes to lockdown measures in England to enable people to see more of their friends and family, help businesses get back on their feet and get people back in their jobs.
A petition set up by the Milton Keynes Conservatives to achieve free parking in Central Milton Keynes for all shoppers has reached over 1,000 signatures. The campaign, backed by local MPs and councillors, aims to help attract shoppers back as MK’s economy begins to recover from lockdown.
Copyright 2020 Milton Keynes Conservatives Working Hard for a #BetterMK. All rights reserved.


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Since rumors of a new bourbon Ben & Jerry’s flavor started swirling earlier this month, ice cream fanatics have been left wondering when and if such a glorious concoction might be made available. Well, they don’t have to wonder any longer: As TIME reports, Ben & Jerry’s has officially confirmed Urban Bourbon as part of their lineup with a release date set for mid-February.
The product is packed with decadent components like burnt caramel ice cream, almonds, and fudge flakes. But it’s the bourbon caramel swirls that have fans of fine liquor buzzing. Though this isn’t the first time Ben & Jerry’s has experimented with putting booze—or even bourbon—in its ice cream, the mix of so many crowd-pleasing ingredients in one carton sets it up to become an instant classic.
Ben & Jerry’s also announced two more additions to their family of ice cream: Oat of This Swirled, an oatmeal cookie flavor, and Truffle Kerfuffle, a vanilla ice cream with salted chocolate ganache and nuts. The two varieties will debut alongside Urban Bourbon next month.


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Despite all the benefits that 3D printing provides, there are risks associated with the technology, particularly when printing with plastic. Plastic in general has never been known as the healthiest material; you’ve probably heard warnings about microwaving food in plastic containers or leaving plastic bottles of water in the sun, lest the chemicals in the plastic leach into what you consume. A few years ago, there was an uproar about bisphenol-A (BPA), a chemical commonly found in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins, which has been shown to cause endocrine disruption and other potential harmful effects.
In terms of safety, 3D printer filament is no different than other plastics. ABS is generally not considered food-safe, and has been found by the EPA to contain carcinogens. While PLA is thought to be a safer option, particularly for printed items that come in contact with food, its actual safety factor has yet to be 100 percent verified. A number of 3D printing companies have been developing food-safe filaments made from materials such as PET or other alternatives, and now South Korean 3D printer manufacturer ROKIT Inc., in conjunction with Kolon Plastics, is releasing what it claims are the world’s first fully non-toxic printer filaments.
ROKIT’s “Kitchen and Deco” filament is BPA-free, and according to the company, fully meets the US Food and Drug Administration’s requirement for materials in contact with food. It emits no carcinogens or endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and ROKIT assures us that it is safe to use for the printing of kitchenware and even baby bottles. The filament retails for $45 per 700g roll.
“Skinflex,” the second new filament ROKIT is releasing, is geared towards the printing of clothing, accessories, and other materials in close contact with human skin. Retailing at $52 per roll, Skinflex is a flexible elastic material that, like Kitchen and Deco, is free from toxins. It’s also pretty cool and high-tech; users of the filament can use ROKIT’s Creator K software to adjust the final texture and surface technology of the printed object.
At this time, it appears as though ROKIT will continue to offer its standard filament lines in addition to the two new non-toxic ones; it will be interesting to see how the new ones sell in comparison to their traditional PLA, ABS and other plastic filaments. As people are becoming more health-conscious (one may even say health-obsessed), demand for proven safe materials is growing in every sector. We’ve covered a lot of ingenious eco-friendly filaments at 3DPrint.com, but food-safe filaments are still pretty limited. With its new non-toxic options, ROKIT is meeting a major demand in the 3D printing market.
Discuss this story in the ‘Kitchen’ and ‘Deco’ Filament forum thread on 3DPB.com.
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Click For Photo: https://regmedia.co.uk/2017/08/04/shutterstock_apple.jpg
A teenager is suing Apple in the US for $1bn, claiming he was misidentified as a thief by a mysterious facial-recognition system in the iGiant's stores.
Ousmane Bah, 18, is suing Cook & Co for ten-figure damages after his lawyer claims the teenager was falsely identified as a shoplifter by a facial recognition system Apple is apparently using. Bah was cited in numerous shoplifting heists in Apple's stores across the US East Coast, even in cities he claims never to have visited.
Court - Documents - PDF - State - Year
Court documents [PDF] state that last year Bah received a letter out of the blue summoning him to a Boston court on an allegation of theft. He was accused of stealing multiple Apple Pencils – a $99 tool used for the iPad Pro – from an Apple Store in the Massachusetts city, adding up to over $1,200.
At the time of the alleged crime, on May 31, 2018, Bah was attending his senior prom in Manhattan, and had never even been to Boston before. Months later, he was also accused of nicking stuff from several other Apple stores in New Jersey, Delaware, and New York City. In November, New York City cops barged into Bah's home at 4am, and arrested him on allegations of theft.
Weird - Photo - Apple - Store - Thief
What’s weird is a photo of the suspected Apple Store thief included in the arrest warrant didn't even look like Bah. A NYPD detective soon realized that Bah had been wrongfully arrested: the teenager hadn't been at any of the Apple Stores listed, and certainly hadn't stolen anything. So, what went wrong? It’s an unfortunate case of misplaced ID and facial recognition, his lawyers are claiming.
Has Apple got into facial recognition?
Lawsuit - NYPD - Detective - Bah - Apple
The lawsuit stated a NYPD detective told Bah that Apple identifies suspected thieves as they enter and walk...
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The Republic of Latvia is a country in northeastern Europe located in the Baltic Region. Latvia has an area of 64,500 kilometers and a population of nearly two million people. Latvia has a very high human development index, stable economic growth and well-developed business conditions. The main industries in Latvia are food and wood products, textiles, pharmaceuticals and machine equipment development. The Latvian blockchain industry is one of the most promising in Europe. Developed communications and a high-level of education has made Latvia a good place for blockchain startups and communities. Some notable Latvian blockchain ICOs include HashRush, Forty Seven Bank, Globitex and Aeternum. Members of Latvian fintech and blockchain companies have established the Latvian Blockchain Association for promoting the technology in the country.
The Nordics remain a cold place for crypto, but Estonia still leads as the public blockchain adopter.
The state of crypto in Northern Europe: Hostile Scandinavia and vibrant Baltics
“Blockchain is not just a buzzword here, it legitimately enables something that used to be impossible.”
Real-world data comes to NFTs as street artists geotag their work
The national carrier began accepting crypto payments in 2014.
Latvian airline airBaltic adds Dogecoin and Ether as payment options
Crypto remains underregulated, so Latvian investors need to be extra vigilant, says the FCMC.
Latvian regulators warn public about cryptocurrency fraud
Law enforcement representing 16 different countries cooperated to arrest 20 members of a global crypto-powered money laundering cartel in just one of the cases.
33 money laundering crypto criminals targeted worldwide in 3 separate cases
The finance ministries of the Baltic states have expressed their support to the development of Blockchain or distributed ledger technologies.
Baltic Finance Ministries Decide to Support Blockchain Technology Development
A Latvian startup known as 120 Minutes recently introduced a Telegram-Bitcoin integration called CallCoin, which is short for Call and Bitcoin, to enable intern...
Telegram Bot Uses Bitcoin For Cheap International Calls


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Twitter announced its closure of Periscope, and its dedicated real-time video streaming service and application will be withdrawn from the app store in March.View More HOW TO GO LIVE ON TWITTER.
Twitter has acquired the video chat application Squad, and the company seems to be planning the application’s group video chat feature as a new feature…View More TWITTER ACQUIRES VIDEO CHATTING PLATFORM SQUAD.
Business is booming for America’s tech giants. Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Google reported sales and profits figures on Thursday covering the three months to September…View More BUSINESS BOOMS FOR TECH GIANTS.
WordPress has announced an exceptional new feature that gives more prominent integration to Twitter user. With this new feature , WordPress content creators can share…View More WORDPRESS ANNOUNCES NEW TWITTER INTEGRATION FEATURE.
Popular micro blogging platform twitter has announced a new voice note feature for direct messages (DM). This follows the released of a similar feature few…View More TWITTER WORKING ON NEW VOICE NOTE FEATURE FOR DMS.
Popular micro blogging platform Twitter has placed public announcement on US president Donald Trump tweet for violating it community policies.View More TWITTER RESTRICTS TRUMP’S NEW TWEET FOR INSTIGATING VIOLENCE.
Twitter is testing a new feature that allows users choose who can reply to their tweets, the company announced.View More TWITTER TESTING NEW FEATURE TO ALLOW USERS CHOOSE WHO REPLY TO THEIR TWEETS.
One of the most annoying things while surfing the internet is the auto video playing ads by some websites and even social media platforms.View More HOW TO SWITCH OFF AUTO PLAY VIDEO IN SOME APPS.
Today in this article we examine the four biggest and best social media platforms for online marketing. They represent the biggest social platforms out there…View More FOUR BEST SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS FOR YOUR ONLINE MARKET.


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As live TV streaming services continue to increase prices and make viewers look toward lower-cost services, or return to cable altogether, Sony today announced that it's bowing out of the race completely. PlayStation Vue's servers will shut down for good on January 30, 2020, nearly 5 years after soft launching in March of 2015.
According to Sony's Deputy President of Sony Interactive Entertainment, John Kodera, the company has decided to "remain focused" on its core gaming business and step away from OTT streaming services. "Unfortunately, the highly competitive Pay TV industry, with expensive content and network deals, has been slower to change than we expected," said Kodera.
We are very proud of what PlayStation Vue was able to accomplish. We had ambitious goals for how our service could change how people watch TV, showcasing PlayStation’s ability to innovate in a brand-new category within the Pay TV industry. We want to thank all of our customers, some of whom have been with us since PlayStation Vue’s launch in 2015.
PS4 owners will still be able to rent and purchase films and TV on the PlayStation Store, and the console will still support media apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime. The only thing going away is PlayStation Vue, which includes all of its connected apps, including those on iOS and tvOS.
In other live TV streaming news, AT&T this month announced that it would be increasing the price of its AT&T TV NOW grandfathered plans by $10 per month. Additionally, AT&T will increase the price of the new PLUS and MAX plan tiers by $15 per month, all starting on November 19, 2019 (via Cord Cutters News).
For the new tiers, this means that AT&T TV NOW will start at $65 per month for PLUS and increase to $85 per month for MAX. This is the second major price hike for the service in 2019, after another $10 per month increase back in March, when it was still called DirecTV Now.
Top Rated Comments
They simply ask too much for their content. The quality isn’t there for 90% of what they create, but they’ve had a dominant market position for so long they don’t appreciate having to compete.
Well, the era of broadcast TV has ended. Instead of adapting, they think they can charge as much as other streaming services for their single channel’s worth of content. It’s going to be a hard wake up call when they realize that won’t work.
PS Vue, like all the other “cable, but streaming” platforms, struggled because networks couldn’t wrap their heads around the price/benefit ratio consumers give their content. They think they can go it alone, that they just need to put their stuff out there and people will eventually sign up, but what happens when they find out they were wrong? Where do they turn to sell their content? I’d be scared of this new world if I were them...
To millennials, watching TV means Amazon Prime Video, HBO Now, Hulu, Netflix, YouTube and the likes.
Sports was probably the only thing that kept people from leaving entirely.


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ZAMBRERO has developed a new menu offering to cater to the growing market of gluten awareness.
The Sydney-based Mexican quick service restaurant franchise has launched a black rice tortilla as part of its new Power Burrito.
Zambrero global procurement and product development manager Perry Josito says the new addition to the superfoods range underpins the company's commitment to health.
"We have spent over two years and have tested 136 recipes to develop a superfood black rice tortilla that is gluten free," Josito says.
"We believe that the new superfood tortilla is unmatched in terms of ingredients and flavour."
The Power Burrito is 100 per cent gluten free and uses ingredients including amaranth, spirulina and black rice.
It contains 60 per cent of the recommended daily protein intake and one and a half servings of the five recommended daily vegetable serves.
Zambrero CEO Karim Messih says the black rice tortilla is set to be a game changer for the company.
"With the launch of the Power Burrito, we want to encourage people to try something new and cater to the ever-evolving demand for healthier options as well as those with different dietary considerations like gluten free," Messih says.
"Equally important it means we can add another option to our menu that supports our Plate 4 Plate initiative, the heart and soul of Zambrero, helping us get even closer to our goal to end world hunger."
For every Power Burrito purchased, a meal will be donated to someone in need through Zambrero's Plate 4 Plate initiative.
Zambrero celebrated the donation of their 10 millionth meal through the Plate 4 Plate initiative in September.
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Vogue presents its take on thesis work by this year’s graduating Apparel Design seniors.
Women’s Wear Daily interviews five outstanding Apparel Design seniors.
With a live runway show out of the question, the Class of 2021 uses video to present their intimate and thoughtful work.
Four recent graduates are included in Forbes’ annual roundup of emerging talents.
Alum Ying Bonny Cai spent a year in Seoul studying traditional Korean apparel with contemporary makers reviving and modernizing ancient customs.
A new publication captures the brilliant work and inclusive ethos of RISD’s Apparel Design class of 2020.
Recent Apparel Design graduate Kyra Buenviaje brings a love of nature to her new collection for the 2020 Supima Design Competition.
Vogue highlights the work of Apparel Design 2020 students Desiree Nicole Scarborough, Isabelle Saxton, Andrew Kim, Zoe Grinfeld, Vanessa Chiriboga and Kyra Buenviaje.


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- Literary Hook: A holiday tradition: ‘This Thanksgiving, Remember’
- Cold snap does not negate global warming
- Week 13 NFL picks: Bears will hand Lions another Turkey Day loss
- Rockford’s holiday tradition Stroll on State set for Saturday, Nov. 29
- Webb’s RVC Studio winter full of love stories
- Tube Talk: ‘American Masters: Bing Crosby Rediscovered’ to be featured on PBS
- Craft Beer Scene Around Rockford: A nice break-in beer for those who want to try bourbon barrel-aged beer
- Tales from the Trough: IceHogs rebound with four straight wins
- Clean water groups, small business owners, community leaders celebrate Clean Water Act
- Police investigate death of 71-year-old man who was struck in October while riding in his wheelchair
Former Chrysler dealers sue U.S. Treasury for $130 million in damages
By Jim Hagerty
A group of former Chrysler dealers who lost their franchises in the company’s 2009 bankruptcy filed suit against the United States government last week, claiming they were not properly compensated in the transaction.
Sixty-four dealers charge that the U.S. Treasury violated their rights and blocked them from receiving more than $130 million and violated the United States Constitution. Dealers claim that by stripping them of their franchises, Chrysler and the government maliciously and intentionally disrupted the U.S. auto industry.
“This is a loss that should not, however, be borne by a few auto dealers, but must in fairness and justice be borne by the public as a whole,” the suit states.
Out of 789 Chrysler franchises lost, 80 were restored after a late 2009 lobbying campaign. The reinstatement hasn’t been good for business, nor does it help the remaining 709 that were forced to close or downsize, lawyers said Friday, Feb. 18.
General Motors also made massive cuts in its bankruptcy case, placing what was initially reported as 800 dealerships on the cut list. The company saved 660 dealers after they, too, lobbied Congress to keep the wheels turning.
The suit against Chrysler and the U.S. Treasury filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, names dealers in 29 states.
Meantime, White House officials said the Obama administration was not involved with Chrysler’s or G.M.’s decision to pull franchises. The Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry was formed to assess restructuring plans and made recommendations that hinged upon the amount of federal bailout funds each company would receive.
From the Feb. 23-March 1, 2011, issue


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Latest iPad Mini Rumors Look to Display Resolution, Very Low Price
As we find ourselves in a lull of Apple’s iOS-gear release cycle, a couple months off the announcement of the new iPad but still several months away from the expected launch of the next iPhone, you should expect to see the Apple rumor mill really start ramping-up its output. That’s going to mean returning to a few threads that just don’t seem to die, including the rumors regarding a possible iPad mini. We start warming up today with another rumor addressing just such a tablet, including claims of a very affordable price point.
Prior to Apple’s announcement of the 2012 iPad, we heard a ton of speculation about an iPad that’s in the seven-inch range: it might arrive this fall, it might have only 8GB of storage, and it might sell for $350-400.
Today’s claim says that Apple is going to step-up the pressure on Android tablet manufacturers with an iPad mini that will sell for a surprisingly low $200-250. That’s a bit hard to accept in the light of the other major claim this rumor makes, that the iPad mini will keep the full-sized iPad’s 2048×1536 resolution.
If this is true, Apple might have to take a serious cut to its margins, if not sell the mini at a loss. Considering the kind of cash Apple has on hand, though, it might be willing to take the hit just to help kill-off competition from Android tablets.


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Report: Apple Might Launch its First Foldable iPhone in 2022
Apple's iPhone 12 series is a massive hit since it came with an all-new design and form-factor. While manufacturers like Samsung and Huawei have diversified to making foldable smartphones, Apple has not even hinted of something of that sort. Samsung has already launched three foldable smartphone models and it is getting better with the hinge situation with every release. However, today's news might excite you as Apple might have a foldable device in the works as well. According to the latest report, Apple could potentially launch a foldable iPhone in 2022.
A Foldable iPhone Might be in The Works As Reports Point to 2022 Launch
As mentioned earlier, a recent report from DigiTimes cites that Apple could launch its first foldable iPhone in 2022. We are seeing all kinds of foldable smartphones these days. While some fold up and inwards, others fold outwards to make the smaller phone into a phablet with a bigger display. Motorola and Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip are in the direct competition since both smartphones feature a similar folding mechanism. Apple's foldable iPhone, however, is not even part of the race at the moment and as a fan of the folding display tech, there definitely is a free slot for a major contender.
The report further cites that OLED screens have seen a jump in adoption. This has also allowed LG as well as Japan Displays to increase its production of the category. This might be the reason why Apple decided to equip every iPhone model with an OLED panel. While that is said and done, future mid-range smartphones are also adopting OLED tech. We have seen how Samsung flourishes in manufacturing displays over the past and it would continue to do so. The company has secured OLED manufacturing capacity to 900,000 units in the second half of this year. The foldable display smartphones seem to be the future and Apple would not want to be left out with the iPhone.
As Samsung Electronics has already launched three foldable smartphones built using flexible OLED panels, Digitimes Research believes that Apple will likely step into the foldable smartphone sector in 2022, furthering demand for flexible OLED displays.
Apple already holds several patents pertaining to foldable iPhones. According to rumors, earlier this year, Apple already sent its foldable iPhone to Foxconn for testing purposes. Moreover, leaks regarding a foldable device with an iPhone 11-like design were also reported. However, the device was equipped with two different screens attached to a hinge in the center. This would make the iPhone look like the Microsoft Surface Duo since it does not boast a true single-piece foldable screen.
For now, the foldable iPhone is reported to arrive in the year 2022. Would you like to see a foldable iPhone? Let us know in the comments.
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The Fujifilm XF 16mm F2.8 R WR is a compact and lightweight wide-angle prime for the company’s APS-C mirrorless cameras. The lens is equivalent to 24mm when mounted on an X-series camera, such as the new X-T30. It has a total of 10 elements, two of which being aspherical, and nine rounded aperture blades.
The lens, which weighs just 155g/5.5oz, uses a stepping motor for ‘fast and quiet autofocus’ and can focus as close as 17cm/6.7in. The lens is weather-sealed at nine points around the barrel and can function at temperatures as low as -10°C/+14°F.
The XF 16mm F2.8 R WR will be available in black from March, with the silver version to follow in May. The suggested retail price for both is $399. Check out the Product Page and Samples.
Fujinon XF16mm f/2.8: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama … Continue reading
Fujifilm has launched the X–T30, a new mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that is the successor to the X-T20. The latest addition to the Fuji X-series line-up, the Fujifilm X–T30, has a lot in common with the more expensive X-T3.
The US price for X-T30 body is $899, now available for pre-order at B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama. The release date for Canon EOS RP is in March.
The camera offers the same 26.1MP X-Trans sensor and X-Processor 4 Quad Core-CPU found in the X-T3 and adds improved autofocus that will come to the X-T3 later via a firmware update. … Continue reading
Fujifilm X-T30 Images & Specs have been leaked on the web. From the first images we can clearly see that Fujifilm has removed the D-Pad in favor of a joystick.
As expected Fuji X-T30 will use the same 26MP sensor as the Fujifilm X-T3. The midrange SLR-styled mirrorless camera that serves as the younger sibling to the X-T3. is expected to be announced next week on the 14th of February. Check out the Fujifilm X-T30 Images & Specs ! … Continue reading
Here are the list of upcoming Sony mirrorless lenses in 2019. We have four new lenses in the row and all are primes. The focal range start from 100 to 600mm with maximum bright aperture of f/1.4. Check it out. … Continue reading
Kamlan has three new mirrorless lenses – FS 50mm f/1.1, 28mm f/1.4 and 7.5mm f/3.2. Here are the google translated specs. Lenses should be available soon on Amazon US. The 50mm lens is a new updated version of an existing lens. … Continue reading
Sony α6400 mirrorless camera announced. The new mid-range α6400 APS-C mirrorless camera (model ILCE-6400) unveiled with real-time eye autofocus, real-time tracking and world’s fastest autofocus:
The body-only price will be $900 in the US, CAN$1250 in Canada and €1050 in Europe. Release date of the A6400 is in February, 2019. Pre-order at B&H Photo Video & Adorama … Continue reading
Fujifilm X-T30 camera registered as overseas certification body and it is expected to be soon. The midrange SLR-styled mirrorless camera registered under the “FF180006” code name. From the certification we can say that the it will have Bluetooth 4.2 just like the Fujifilm X-T3.
This registration also means that the upcoming Fujifilm X-30 camera could be announced within a few months period. Expect the Fujifilm X-T30 announcement to take place in early-2019 as dailycameranews.com claims it should arrive before the CP+ 2019 event in late February. Here are more details about the Fujifilm X-T30 camera with first specs! … Continue reading
Tony & Chelsea Northrup have talked about the camera predictions for 2019. According to this, the Sony A7000, the Nikon D760, the Canon 7D Mark III is the leading camera for 2019. 2019 predictions include some surprises like a Sony 60mm f/0.94 and Olympus f/1.4 constant zoom lenses.
Tony says he noticed a trend at Fujifilm especially on fast lenses like XF200mmF2, XF8-16mmF2.8, XF33mmF1.0. According to his predictions, Fujifilm will launch Fujinon XF 400mm f/2.8, Fujinon XF 16-55mm f/1.8, Fujinon XF 50-120mm f/1.8, Fujinon XF 70mm f/1.0, Fujinon XF 16mm f/1.0. This is another good list along with the already rumored Fujifilm X-Pro3 and Fujifilm X100F successor cameras (X200) in 2019. … Continue reading
Sony will allegedly announce a new entry-level APS-C mirrorless camera in 2019. The new camera is said to replace the current Sony a5100 model.
The name of this new camera is not confirmed yet, but expected to be called Sony a5200 or Sony a5300. Check out the rumored specifications of Sony a5300 mirrorless camera. … Continue reading


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Fergus Falls car dealer finding a way to beat gas pricesFergus Falls, MN (WDAY TV) - One Fergus Falls car dealer is taking a step toward a more efficient future.
By: WDAY Staff Reports, WDAY Staff Reports, WDAY
Fergus Falls, MN (WDAY TV) - One Fergus Falls car dealer is taking a step toward a more efficient future.
Nelson Auto Center has a brand new pickup that runs on compressed natural gas.
Vehicles like this quarter-ton Ram that run on C.N.G. are trending in areas like California and in the south. The city of Fergus Falls is hoping the Midwest will pick up on this trend.
Brent Nelson, Nelson Auto Center: "The cost of gasoline is going up and up and up and even though compressed natural gas will probably follow that, it's probably somewhere about 60 percent of the cost of gasoline."
Nelson Auto Center says organizations who use fleets would benefit most from the cost effective technology but would need several different fueling stations to offer the compressed natural gas.