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LEVEL-5 has announced that Professor Layton and The New World of Steam will be released on consoles with a possible release in 2024.
This information was announced by LEVEL-5 through Tsuzumi’s LEVEL-5 Vision 2023. If you are interested in LEVEL-5 games, you can check out our other articles here.
Professor Layton and the New World of Steam Release 2024?
This game depicts the world 1 year after the events of Professor Layton and the Unwound Future. The story takes place in Steam Bison, America. There, the power of a highly advanced steam engine ushered in a new world, far beyond the technological developments in London. Due to a mysterious incident in Steam Bison, a new adventure for Professor Layton and Luke begins.
Some characters that will appear:
- Professor Hershel Layton (voiced by Yo Oizumi) – Hershel Layton, Professor of Archaeology at Gressenheller University. Also, as a puzzle expert, he has teamed up with Luke to uncover mysteries around the world. Since Luke left for America, he has been acting on his own.
- Luke Triton(voiced by Mio Imada) – Luke Triton, Professor Layton’s first self-proclaimed apprentice. Due to family reasons, he lives in the United States. His love for puzzles remains unchanged, and thanks to his innate creativity, he continues to solve everyday mysteries around the city. He has gained popularity as “Detective Luke”.
Although the release dates were not announced, LEVEL-5 president and CEO Akihiro Hino said that all the titles featured in Tsuzumi’s LEVEL-5 Vision 2023 event will be released in 2023 or 2024.
As Professor Layton and the New World of Steam is the only title that doesn’t have a confirmed 2023 release schedule, it’s most likely that the game will launch on Nintendo Switch in 2024.


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QuantumScape stock rallies after California battery-plant news
Shares of QuantumScape Corp. rallied more than 5% in after-hours trading Tuesday after the battery-maker startup reported a wider-than-expected loss in its first quarterly reporting as a public company, and said it will build a test plant in California.
said it lost $695 million, or $2.41 a share, in its fiscal fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $14.3 million, or 6 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.
QuantumScape is a pre-revenue company. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a loss of 6 cents a share in the quarter.
The company announced it has decided to build a “pre-pilot line facility” in San Jose, Calif., which it dubbed QS-0.
The plant “is intended to have a continuous flow, high-automation line capable of building over 100,000 engineering cell samples per year,” QuantumScape said. The goal is to have the plant producing battery cells by 2023, it said.
Additionally, the company said it expects to lease a second building in the second half of 2021.
QuantumScape, founded in 2010, went public in November through a blank-check company. In December, it released performance data on its solid-state lithium-metal battery and said, among other highlights, that based on company tests, their battery cells showed the ability to charge faster.
The company said it plans to spend between $230 million and $290 million in combined operation and capital expenses. It would enter 2022 with more than $900 million in liquidity, “sufficient funding, we believe, to fund us through first production,” it said in a letter to shareholders.
For more updates check below links and stay updated with News AKMI.
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domain: news


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Not much is publicly known about the team of editors behind Apple’s News app on iOS, and now The Information has a new report (paywalled) that includes new details on how it operates. According to the piece, Apple’s small editorial staff fields pitches from publications for features using Slack, and the result can be an influx of traffic for publishers.
When news publishers have a big story these days, their editors jump on Slack and pitch it to an unlikely partner: Apple. The tech company has built a small but powerful news team that is making Apple a key distribution outlet for news publishers.
From the pitch received via a dedicated Slack channel, Apple’s editorial team of about a dozen staffers in the U.S. decides what story gets featured at the top of the app or to the left of the home screen.
We learned last summer that Apple News hired its first-ever editor-in-chief, Lauren Kern, presumably in charge of deciding what gets featured and what original content to produce.
Having a story featured in the built-in News app or on the News widget that comes pre-installed on iPhones and iPads is apparently a big driver of traffic for some publications:
That can yield a flood of traffic for publishers. Apple News has generated half of Vox.com’s daily traffic at times, according to a person familiar with Vox’s numbers. An executive at the website of a major TV network said Apple News has accounted for as much as 60% of traffic for some stories.
Readers tapping through the News app to the story doesn’t always guarantee they stick around and become daily readers, but Apple News does make it easy to favorite publications and follow more of their stories. The challenge, of course, is making that work financially as advertising in Apple News has not yet proved as successful as web ads in the browser:
“We’d love to build an audience there, but it doesn’t make sense until we can monetize,” said one media executive. “It’s similar to Facebook Instant Articles, but Apple seems to be a bit more committed to publications than Facebook.”
That challenge has caused a few major publishers to pull out of Apple News including The Guardian who called their initial partnership an ‘extensive trial’ last year.
Adding more content and additional features to the News app certainly won’t hurt growing the audience, and Apple has been making a steady effort at just that. Last week Apple introduced its first-ever Olympics featured section with medal tracking, event alerts, and original editorial content. Apple has also expanded the app to Apple Watch and refreshed the reader experience in iOS 11.
Subscribers can read the full The Information piece here and follow 9to5Mac in Apple News!
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Daily deal company LivingSocial will launch its first credit card in the coming months, said Brendan Lewis, director of corporate communications at LivingSocial. The card will offer loyalty benefits to users and no annual fee.
Couponing company Valpak redesigned its iPhone and Android apps and launched its first-ever iPad tablet app, said Nancy Cook, the company's VP of digital business development.
Groupon, Netflix, Sears, Draftfcb and Infogroup baffled and impressed us in 2011.
Dunkin' Donuts launched a daily deal through Groupon on Dec. 30 that is aimed toward first-time Groupon customers, said Jessica Gioglio, public relations and social media manager at Dunkin' Brands Inc.
Online home improvement marketplace BidMyCrib.com filed a lawsuit on Dec. 6 against Groupon that alleges the daily deals company altered its merchant agreement without notifying the merchant or soliciting consent to the changes.
Groupon sold more than 650,000 holiday deals between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, an increase of 500% compared with the same weekend last year.
Groupon's Nov. 4 initial public offering (IPO) raised $700 million, the largest IPO by an Internet company since Google's 2004 IPO generated $1.7 billion. The IPO, which took more than five months to complete due to accounting metric discrepancies, brings the daily deals company's valuation to roughly $12.7 billion.
Gilt Groupe has acquired daily deals site BuyWithMe, according to reports. The acquisition will take effect on Nov. 1, according to BetaBeat, which first reported news of the acquisition on Oct. 28.
Google expanded its daily deals product Google Offers on Oct. 26 to include offers from 14 deal providers, such as Gilt City, Tippr and Mamapedia. The company also added a form that enables consumers to personalize Offers according to their interests.
LivingSocial enters into advertising agreement with Clear Channel Radio. Does it make sense to advertise on such an antiquated platform?
Groupon's and LivingSocial's email open rates continue to trend upward, according email and social analytics firm eDataSource.
For those wanting to know how to make a turkey burger or a high colonic at a luxury spa sound like Shakespeare — or at least like something out of feckless fabulist James Frey's fiction factory — see Groupon's editor-in-chief Aaron With.
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(Business in Cameroon) - In Q1- 2021, Cameroon exported 54,900 tons of banana, according to the Banana Association ASSOBACAM. Compared with the 49,818 tons the country exported over the same period in 2020, this represents an increase of 5,082 tons.
This performance was mainly due to the exports of state-owned agribusiness Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC). Indeed, in Q1-2020, the company did not export bananas because it stopped operations in September 2018 due to the sociopolitical crisis shaking the two anglophone regions since 2016. It only resumed operations in May 2020 and between January and March 2021, it exported 5,317 tons of banana.
CDC’s performance mitigated the decline in the production market of the leader PHP during the period under review. Indeed, the local subsidiary of the French group exported only 45,522 tons of banana between January and March 2021, while during the same period in 2020, it exported 45,893 tons, representing a 371 tons decline in its exports year-on-year.
At the same time, market minnows Boh Plantations also recorded a slight increase in its banana exports. According to figures compiled by ASSOBACAM, it exported 4,061 tons of banana, up by 136 tons compared with the 3,925 tons it exported over the same period in 2020.
In Q2-2021, the year-on-year rise recorded in the country’s Q1-2021 banana exports will improve further. In its Q2-2021 business cycle analysis report, the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) forecasts that in Cameroon, banana production will rise in Q2, 2021. This rise, the central bank explains, will be noticeable in all the production areas, including the Southwest where the producer (CDC) is planning to renovate 520 hectares of banana plantations.
Brice R. Mbodiam


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Google's long-standing Assistant equivalent of Siri will be updated with AI so that it no longer just answers queries, but can perform tasks automatically.
Google Assistant has been around for a long time, but perhaps hasn't been the overwhelming success it might have been. Now at the company's Made by Google event, the next version of the technology has been shown off, at least in a limited, initial form.
Renamed "Assistant with Bard," as it now integrates with Google's ChatGPT-like service Bard, the plan is that it will become "a more personalized digital assistant."
"We think your digital assistant should make it even easier to manage the big and small items on your to-do list," said Google in an announcement, "like planning your next trip, finding details buried in your inbox, creating a grocery list for your weekend getaway or sending a text. All like a true assistant would."
Google says that for instance, users can "simply float the Assistant with Bard overlay on top of [a] photo and ask it to write a social post for you" about it. And while no details were specified, Assistant with Bard will also integrate with Gmail and Google Docs.
Assistant with Bard will come to Android and the iPhone "in the coming months." Before then, Google plans a beta test period, though it has yet to announce when that will be, or how users can sign up to test the new Assistant.
Separately, Apple is reportedly investing heavily in providing a similar update to Siri. Teams within the company are researching generative AI, and some are working on using this to bring Siri what may be similar features to Assistant with Bard.


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The Dallas-Fort Worth retail real estate market entered the current pandemic-induced downturn from one of the strongest economic positions it has held in a decade. Come March; however, unprecedented challenges affected all aspects of the area’s economy.
COVID-19 created a sudden and significant increase in unemployment, significantly reduced shopper traffic, and mandated closings, or diminished capacity limits. Area retailers can find a silver lining, though, in the fact that the market has seen back-to-back years with healthy performance and a decade of near-historic low retail construction, which has kept oversupply to a minimum.
Coming into the year, occupancy stood at 93.4 percent; through the first half of the year, the number dropped to 92.6 percent, according to new data from Weitzman.
Along with the pandemic, numerous closings from major chains like JCPenney, Pier 1, Tuesday Morning, and Stage Stores contributed to occupancy declines. The drop was tempered, however, by the health of the industry, combined with PPP loans and a willingness by area landlords to accommodate tenant needs.
Weitzman expects to see additional store closings in the second half of 2020 and into 2021 but says the market is still on pace to see its eighth consecutive year of occupancy above 90 percent. During the last economic downturn, in 2008 and 2009, overall occupancy dropped to 86 percent.
Fallout will be limited this time around if a vaccine and-or treatment to COVID-19 is developed in the near future, and consumers feel comfortable shopping beyond the bounds of their living rooms.
“Until that sense of safety is achieved, and consumer confidence increases, it is up to the retail real estate industry and national, state, and local governments to help lessen the massive challenges faced by retailers and restaurants during the current pandemic,” said Herb Weitzman, executive chairman.
Thanks to residential and population growth, the economy continues to create demand for leasing in existing retail projects. Some notable new leases for 2020 include two Fitness Connection locations that total more than 55,000 square feet each, a Conn’s Home Plus store of 41,000 square feet, and a 37,000-square-foot Planet Granite rock climbing studio.
Limited Retail Construction Underway
The North Texas market is expected to add approximately 1.3 million square feet in new and expanded retail projects during the calendar year. This represents a drop from 2019’s 1.7 million square feet and 3.5 million square feet in 2018.
The total number of deliveries in 2020 are expected to be low due to construction delays and caution during the pandemic, but also nationwide trends of limited anchor expansions, existing project redevelopments, and mixed-use and unanchored retail projects, Weitzman reports.
Ongoing occupancy declines should be mitigated by limited construction. Some critical new retail projects include the 225,000-square-foot Shops at Chisolm Trail Ranch and continuing work at Grandscape in The Colony.


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Security researchers are reporting a so-called backdoor security issue in Samsung Galaxy devices. The report comes from the Replicant project. Replicant develops free versions of Android to take the place of the proprietary versions that manufacturers and carriers install on most smartphones.
While working on Replicant, developer Paul Kocialkowski said he discovered that the proprietary program running on the applications processor in charge of handling the communication protocol with the modem also implements a backdoor. That backdoor, he explained, lets the modem perform remote file I/O operations on the file system.
"This program is shipped with the Samsung Galaxy devices and makes it possible for the modem to read, write, and delete files on the phone's storage," Kocialkowski said. "On several phone models, this program runs with sufficient rights to access and modify the user's personal data. A technical description of the issue, as well as the list of known affected devices, is available at the Replicant wiki."
If the modem runs proprietary software and can be remotely controlled, he continued, that backdoor provides remote access to the phone's data -- even in the case where the modem is isolated and cannot access the storage directly. He called it "another example of what unacceptable behavior proprietary software permits" and used it to argue his case for Replicant, which does not implement the backdoor.
Security Analyst: 'It's Very Serious'
We caught up with Craig Young, a security researcher for IT security software firm Tripwire, to find out what he had to say about the discovery. He told us the threat of vulnerabilities or backdoors within the baseband processor of a smartphone is very serious.
"This is essentially a separate computer system running next to the processor that powers your smartphone OS," Young said. "Dr. Charlie Miller leaked NSA documents that have revealed that baseband attacks can be very effective for compromising a phone and turn it into a perfect listening device."
In this particular case, Young said the researchers are claiming that at a minimum, received radio messages can contain commands to retrieve data from the phone's storage. Unfortunately, he explained, most white hat security researchers do not have the means to research this type of threat because it typically requires specialized equipment, a radio shielded room -- a sensitive compartmented isolation facility -- and possibly FCC approval.
Hijacking Associated Accounts
At the same time, Young continued, black-hat security researchers with malicious intentions that want to launch real attacks can acquire the technology necessary for this attack for less than $1,000, making this a realistic threat for corporate espionage and can be used in a variety of other targeted attacks.
"In my previous research into Android, presented at DEF CON 21, an attacker with root access to the Android device file system can easily hijack Google or other accounts associated with the device," Young said. "'Replicant' is suggesting that this is the case for the popular but older Galaxy S, which is an I9000 handset."
Image credit: iStock/Artist's concept.


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Keeping customers informed about parcel delivery times by text message will become an increasingly common practice among retailers in the years to come, an expert has predicted.
Writing an article for Internet Retailing to mark the 18th anniversary of the online shopping industry, Keith Bird, chief executive of eSellerPro, said it will become increasingly important for companies to make good use of social and media platforms.
This will allow merchants to engage with their customers and meet growing demand for real-time interaction.
Sending timely information relating to deliveries will achieve a similar result, according to Mr Bird.
"The use of text messages to provide real-time updates on delivery times will become more widespread, while social media will be used to provide speedy responses and online chat with customer service representatives - a technique already effectively deployed by brands such as O2," he wrote.
Another trend that is expected to define the retail industry over the coming years is the emergence of a multichannel environment, with consumers set to become just as comfortable to shop on mobile phones and retail apps as in a high street store.
Mr Bird advised that, while these new developments could be somewhat daunting for retailers, they can prove beneficial as long as "the concept of engagement is considered throughout".
The eSellerPro chief executive stressed that seller and buyer should have a two-way relationship and retailers must use every tool available to them to communicate with their customer base.
Capgemini, a provider of consulting, technology and outsourcing services, released research this month suggesting that consumers expect the shopping experience to be integrated across a number of different channels in the next few years.
In a survey of some 16,000 digital shoppers, more than half of respondents predicted that physical stores will simply become showrooms for selecting and ordering products by 2020.
Author: Paul Burn


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Euro Disney losses cut
Euro Disney, the Paris-based theme park, said today that the first half of its financial year was a 'significant' improvement on the same period a year earlier. The company lost £18.3 million in the six months to 31 March compared with £26.5 million in the same period last year.
It said the smaller losses were a reflection of strong activity in its Disneyland Paris site and increased spending at the park's hotels. But it added that results were hit by violent storms that ravaged France in December. One hotel, the Davy Crockett Ranch, which represents 10% of the company's total hotel capacity, was closed for more than three months.During the week of the storm, the loss of attendance was around 100,000 guests.
Gilles Pelisson, chairman and chief executive, said: 'We remain confident for the remainder of the fiscal year 2000.'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril, a new stage show called Backwards!, the Tarzan Encounter and a new reservation system, Fastpass.
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Price increases, order shortages, and manufacturer communications were passionately discussed during IFMA’s Restaurant Live Conversation which took place on February 7, 2023. Moderated by IFMA’s Charlie McConnell, featured speakers included: Tom Hannon, President of Sky Co-op, Cincinnati; and Matt Schweitzer, Chief Revenue Officer for HiBar Hospitality, Austin, TX.
The two mid-size organizations buy for 186 restaurants and have combined annual purchases of $165 million. Sky Co-op is a purchasing co-op for Skyline Chili and several other brands in Ohio and Kentucky; HiBar Hospitality operates Hopdoddy and Grub Burger restaurants in Texas, California, Colorado, Georgia, and other states.
Both organizations are being nimble to offset inflationary price increases. “Our customers just want quality food that tastes good,” said Schweitzer. “And sometimes we are guilty of overthinking.
For a long time, we refused to purchase a less expensive cooking oil because we thought that would affect the taste of our fries. We eventually changed and customers did not notice.”
Hannon pointed out that the reduced cost of auxiliary materials, such as soufflé cups, gloves, and straws are offsetting higher prices on oil, eggs, and produce. Plus, the inflation has caused the company to rethink some historical practices to save money. He said, “We have always printed a secondary bag that goes inside our outer bag. We thought, ‘Why continue to do that?’ Whether in the restaurant or at home, the customer already knows where the food is from.”
Schweitzer said that better communication with manufacturers and distributors is key. “If a supplier tells me he is raising prices, I will immediately RFP the product; no questions asked,” he commented. Not surprisingly, the price increases often shrink or disappear.
Both Hannon and Schweitzer noted that consistent information helps them better manage their businesses. They are okay with a contract that states there will be price increases at a specified time.
Hannon said, “When I have accurate pricing information, I can plan. Surprises are what drive me and other operators crazy.”
Schweitzer blames manufacturers for some of Hopdoddy’s staff turnover. “If they are hired to come to work, unpack and inventory purchases, that’s their job. Opening the order and finding there is no orange juice or mustard causes stress that they did not sign up for. And they quit.”


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UKHospitality is calling for the Chancellor to freeze business rates and extend the current relief package at the Autumn Statement to avoid this unaffordable rise.
With the rate of inflation in September revealed as 6.7%, it is now confirmed that the planned inflation-linked rise in April will cost hospitality businesses an additional £234 million. With the £630 million that the ending of rates relief would simultaneously represent, this combination would leave hospitality facing a huge £864 million in business rate costs next April.
In order to avoid this unaffordable rise and keep businesses from closing as a result, UKHospitality is urging the Chancellor to:
- Freeze the business rates multiplier, avoiding an inflation-linked rise and saving businesses £234 million.
- Maintaining the business rates relief for hospitality businesses at 75%, saving the sector £630 million.
Leading trade body UKHospitality is urging businesses to write to their MPs to stress the need for action at the Autumn Statement, with an easy-to-use tool made available by UKHospitality to ensure parliamentarians are aware of the urgency of the situation.
UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: “Today’s figures finally confirm the bleak picture facing hospitality businesses next April. Almost a billion pounds in extra costs from business rates alone is unfathomable – and insurmountable – for many.
“Such dramatic cost increases would undoubtedly be the final nail in the coffin for many businesses. It would be particularly perilous for small, independent businesses, for which ongoing relief measures are a lifeline at a challenging time.
“Hospitality is at the heart of our communities and it’s essential we do all we can to protect them and the value they bring, from driving economic growth to creating jobs.
“It’s imperative that the Chancellor takes clear action at the Autumn Statement to extend the current relief measures for a further year to protect the vital community assets that make up the UK’s vibrant hospitality sector.”


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Food safety is often overlooked in all the talk about health and wellness. But let's face it, if the food makes you sick, who cares about antioxidant content? The point becomes moot, as they say.
Tomatoes are a great source of Vitamin A, beta carotene, lutein and lycopene. Currently they're also the source of a major problem for government regulators, public health investigators, farmers and retailers. Daily news conferences hosted by top officials at the Food and Drug Administration announce that they're not any closer to pinpointing the source of the salmonella outbreak first reported nearly three months ago. Meanwhile hundreds of people have become ill, and tomato fields not cleared by the agency have turned into a rotten red mess.
The lead story in today's edition of The Wall Street Journal notes that tomatoes are the No. 2 seller in the supermarket produce department, behind bagged salads. A study conducted for our magazine, SN Whole Health, by Avero Research, indicates that a notable percentage of consumers will swear off all products associated with a recall, even if they're not directly involved.
In this case, the FDA stresses that only red round, Roma, and plum varieties are suspect. But many consumers don't hear that, or are too skeptical. So, the cherry, heirloom, on-vine and grape tomatoes go unsold too. If you've been in a produce department lately, you know this hurts retailers, who build big, proud displays of these summertime favorites.
I don't think we'll discover the cause of the salmonella outbreak. Officials have admitted as much, noting the tomato production process is extremely diversified and hard to trace. What I do hope is that retailers erect big signs saying their product comes from approved vendors, so that doubt is erased and consumers buy tomatoes. Then we can get back to talking about the benefits of lycopene.


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Jersey adverts are coming to the NHL.
The league will enable teams to build sponsor patches on jerseys beginning with the 2022-23 season after the board of governors unanimously accredited the switch, according to a person with information of a memo despatched this week. The person spoke to The Connected Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday for the reason that league had not introduced the decision.
The NHL added helmet commercials final season, which largely allowed teams to intention sponsors whole one day of the pandemic for beforehand negotiated agreements.
League officers, together with Commissioner Gary Bettman, had acknowledged the following step of going to jersey commercials would contain to be at a label that’s indispensable in hockey, a sport that has long prioritized the front of the “sweater.” Sportico first reported the addition of jersey commercials, asserting they are going to additionally be up to 3.5×3 inches.
The Novel Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators were the necessary teams to unveil helmet commercials final December. Every struck a deal done with the firm that sponsors the naming rights for its arena.
The NBA began selling jersey sponsorships in 2017-18, when Nike grew to turn into the league’s professional apparel firm. The program has introduced in successfully over $150 million in earnings.
More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports


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UK National Lottery achieves record first-half sales
Camelot UK Lotteries has announced its highest-ever first-half National Lottery ticket sales of £3,961.4 million for the first six months of the 2021/22 financial year (1 April to 25 September 2021) – an increase of £107.3 million (+2.7%) on last year.
This growth was driven by a strong draw-based games performance – particularly on Lotto, which is now in its third successive year of growth – as well as a steady retail recovery. This performance was further boosted by the unmissable National Lottery brand connection to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The amount generated for Good Causes from ticket sales grew by +6.5% driven by strong draw games growth, while unclaimed prizes – which are handed over to Good Causes – were down -59.1% year-on-year. As a result, a total of £884.5 million was generated for Good Causes during the first half – up from £863.7 million last year (+2.4%). Returns to Good Causes since The National Lottery’s launch in 1994 have now exceeded £45 billion.
Welcoming the record first half, Camelot Chairman, Sir Hugh Robertson, commented: “I’m delighted to announce another record sales performance for The National Lottery. Crucially, this meant that we were able to deliver growth in returns to Good Causes, prizes paid to players, and Lottery Duty to the Treasury.
Our profit was once again aligned with returns to Good Causes at the half-year stage and will be around 1% of sales for the full year in accordance with our licence. An incredible £45 billion has now been raised for National Lottery Good Causes – 65% more than the most optimistic Treasury forecasts at the time of launch.”
A key strand of activity over the half year was The National Lottery’s largest-ever brand campaign for Tokyo 2020 – a summer-long programme that reminded players that, every time they play a National Lottery game, they directly support Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes. Camelot then went further to make the connection between ‘play and purpose’ by devising and staging two National Lottery Homecoming events at Wembley Arena. These were broadcast at primetime on BBC One and Channel 4, and gave thousands of National Lottery players a chance to welcome home their Olympic and Paralympic heroes with a stellar line-up of live entertainment. As a result, National Lottery brand positivity once again rose to the high levels seen during the initial National Lottery Community Fund Covid-19 funding commitment made in the first lockdown.
Announcing the results, Camelot CEO Nigel Railton said: “With National Lottery sales up across the board and very high levels of public participation, we’ve once again proved that our strategy of offering great consumer choice in a safe and convenient way continues to deliver vital contributions to Good Causes across the UK.
The National Lottery’s continued strong performance is testament to the resilient, responsive business model that we have put in place since our 2017 strategic review. Lotto is a great barometer for the overall health of The National Lottery so I’m really proud that, as a result of the series of Lotto enhancements we’ve made, we continue to be one of the only major operators in the world to be growing sales of our flagship game. That – paired with a steady retail recovery and our summer-long campaign celebrating the contribution of National Lottery players in helping propel our Olympians and Paralympians to success – all added up to a record first-half performance.”
Over the first six months of the year, The National Lottery awarded £2,274.5 million in prize money to players – up £30.6 million – and created 184 new millionaires. With approximately 1% of sales retained as profit by Camelot under the terms of its licence, and 4% spent on operating costs during the period, The National Lottery continued to return around 95% of all sales revenue to winners and society.


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Chairman of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) Khalid Abdulrahman Al Moayyad has lauded the depth of the long-standing fraternal Bahraini-Egyptian relations, affirming BCCI's keenness to take advantage of them to enhance partnership between the private sector in the two countries.
He was speaking as he met here recently the Egyptian Ambassador to Bahrain Issam Saleh Awad, in the presence of BCCI First Deputy Chairman Othman Al-Rayes and Second Deputy Chairman Jawad Yussef Al Hawaj, Board member and Chairperson of the BCCI side at the Joint Bahraini-Egyptian Business Council Afnan Rashid Al Zayani, CEO Nabil Abdulrahman Al Mahmood, as well as BCCI executive body members.
Al-Moayyad reviewed with the Egyptian Ambassador ways to develop trade ties and consolidate cooperation in all economic fields, calling for the need to name the members of the Joint Bahraini-Egyptian Business Council.
The Egyptian envoy praised Bahrain's interest in opening up new horizons of trade and economic relations.
He lauded the Kingdom's historic and honourable stances in support of his country's security and stability.
He said his country was looking forward to enhancing aspects of cooperation with Bahrain, calling for the need to increase exchanged visits between trade delegations in various sectors.
He expressed the Embassy's readiness to coordinate with BCCI in all efforts aiming to bolster trade and economic ties.
He also invited BCCI and representatives of the private sector in Bahrain to participate effectively in the three-day international economic summit in Sharm el-Sheikh starting on March 13, 2015.


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Global crowdfunding platform OurCrowd has formed a new partnership with Halma, a “life-saving technology” firm, in a continuation of its strategy to collaborate with global leaders in various industry verticals. The new partnership is said to combine the strength of OurCrowd’s global network, robust online deal flow pipeline and growing portfolio of 150 startups along with the reach and business objectives of Halma to seek innovative products and services in digital health, infrastructure and environmental analytics and insights.
Dr. Inken Braunschmidt, Chief Digital and Innovation Officer at Halma, said they were looking for the best innovations in Medtech, smart buildings and environmental analytics. Israel, a hot company for startups and innovation, is the place to find them.
“We’re excited to collaborate with OurCrowd – who is the ideal partner to help us access the talent and ideas of this unique innovation and digital ecosystem,” said. Dr. Braunschmidt. “OurCrowd will help Halma grow faster by identifying new investment opportunities within the Israeli tech ecosystem.”
To date, OurCrowd has raised over $750 million for 150 companies and is well on its way to top $1 billion by years end making it the largest crowdfunding platform in the world. OurCrowd continues to expand its “OurNetwork” corporate innovation program to provide multinationals with the ability to stay ahead of the latest innovation trends globally by providing access to Israel’s robust tech startup community. OurCrowd expecs to help funnel Israeli technology startups that support Halma’s mission thus helping Halma achieve its purpose of growing a safer, cleaner, healthier future for everyone through investment in Medtech / digital health.
Jon Medved, Founder and CEO of OurCrowd, said they are “thrilled” to enter into this new strategic partnership with Halma.
It will give our portfolio companies and other promising global startups a quality gateway to world markets, with one of the most progressive technology groups on the planet,” stated Medved. “Halma wants to make the world a safer, cleaner, healthier place for everyone and that’s something that we at OurCrowd believe in passionately.”


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RETAIL giant Metro yesterday posted a smaller than expected first-quarter loss after closing stores to slash costs.
The net loss narrowed to €3m (£2.6m), compared with €16m in the same period last year.
Metro, which runs cash and carries, hypermarkets, electricals and department stores, said first-quarter sales were flat at €15.52bn. The world’s fourth largest retailer, with over 2,100 stores in 33 countries, reiterated that it expects 2011 sales to rise over four per cent and earnings to climb about 10 per cent.
But the company admitted that this depended on a “further improvement of the overall economic situation and the possibility to compensate price increases on the procurement side”.
Since the first-quarter of 2010, the German-owned retailer has closed or sold 26 unprofitable domestic Real supermarkets, Kaufhof department stores and Cash & Carry wholesale outlets and disposed of its Moroccan wholesale unit. Metro said sales fell 2.6 per cent in Germany, which accounts for almost 40 per cent of the total, and were down 1.9 per cent in other western European markets. In contrast, sales climbed 2.5 per cent in eastern Europe, and were up strongly in Asia and Africa.
Chief executive Eckhard Cordes said: “Consumer sentiment in a large part of our portfolio is still fairly weak. Even German consumer confidence has weakened, resulting in a more volatile environment.”
RBS analyst Justin Scarborough, noting first-quarter earnings only accounted for about five per cent of the full-year total, said a big fall in “other losses” underscored a disappointing performance.
The group said in March the Japanese earthquake and unrest in the Arab world could put economic recovery at risk, knocking its shares.


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Ian King (Bloomberg) -- Intel Corp., the world’s second-biggest semiconductor maker, reported second-quarter results that beat analysts’ estimates on most measures and raised its full-year outlook. But the shares fell as some analysts saw signs that growth may slow at the end of the year.
Revenue in the current period will be about $18.1 billion, plus or minus $500 million, the company said in a statement Thursday. That compares with an average analyst estimate of $17.6 billion, though still fell short of some of the most bullish projections. For the full year, Intel increased its revenue target to a record $69.5 billion. Even so, some investors may have done the math and decided that indicates fourth quarter growth will slow, said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Kevin Cassidy.
The shares slipped as much as 5 percent in extended trading in New York. They had earlier closed at $52.16 in New York, leaving them up 13 percent this year. That compares with a 10 percent gain by the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index.
The results are the first after the departure of Chief Executive Officer Brian Krzanich, who was removed in June after the chipmaker learned he’d had an extramarital relationship with a subordinate. While the board named Chief Financial Officer Robert Swan as the interim CEO, some said Intel could be more vulnerable amid a leadership vacuum. Intel is already struggling with manufacturing difficulties and rivals that are trying to muscle in on its lucrative dominance of computer chips.
The second-quarter report showed little evidence of that as operators of giant data centers such as Google Inc. and Amazon.com continued to pour money into their networks, which are built on Intel’s silicon. Revenue was helped by customers buying higher performance products which carry more hefty price tags, Swan said in an interview.
“There’s a good macro environment,” said Swan. “Customers across the board are trading up.”
Intel’s data center group reported a revenue surge of 27 percent to $5.5 billion. Personal computer processor sales jumped 6 percent from a year ago to $8.7 billion, Intel said.
In the second quarter net income was $5 billion, or $1.05 a share, compared with $2.8 billion, or 58 cents in the same period a year earlier. Sales rose 15 percent to $17 billion.
Krzanich left Intel at record performance levels financially but facing a group of new challengers: the computer processing market Intel dominates is reshaping itself to deal with the latest trends, such as artificial intelligence. Swan stepped into the top post while the company conducts a search for its next leader, though he has told employees that he doesn’t want the job permanently, a person familiar with the matter has said.
In one of his final appearances in front of a Wall Street audience, Krzanich told investors and analysts on the company’s first-quarter earnings conference call that Intel’s migration to new manufacturing technology was taking longer than planned. That ability to move quicker than rivals has been a cornerstone of the company’s success over the years, giving it the ability to field processors that are faster, smaller and cost less to make.
Under Krzanich’s leadership, Intel tried to spread its bets. It’s added programmable chips for artificial intelligence workloads in data centers, it's jumped back into the booming memory chip industry and is making progress, after years of futility, in the market for chips that power mobile phones by becoming a supplier to Apple Inc.
But those endeavors aren’t big enough to change Intel’s trajectory quickly. The company’s more than 80 percent market share in personal computer chips and near-monopoly in server chips generate a huge amount of revenue and profit that other divisions struggle to match. Even in a declining market, Intel’s PC chip division had sales of $34 billion last year, larger than any other chip company’s total apart from Samsung Electronics Co.


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Sprint Collects $1.5 Billion in Cash Via Note Sale
Sprint today said that it has closed its offering of senior notes due in 2020 and generated about $1.5 billion in cash through the sale. The proceeds will be used to fund general operations for the carrier, including network upgrades.
Sprint to Sell Certain Network Assets for $2.2 Billion
Sprint has agreed to sell select network assets to a company called Network LeaseCo and then lease back those assets for an unspecified sum. The move is meant to boost Sprint's cash position and will eventually add $2.2 billion to the company's coffers.
Sprint Separates Device Leasing Business to Manage Cash
Sprint today sold part of its device financing business to a newly formed entity called Mobile Leasing Solutions for $1.2 billion. The new company is being backed by a group of equity investors, including Sprint's parent company, SoftBank.
SoftBank, Sprint Majority Owner, to Split In Two
SoftBank today revealed a plan to separate itself into two separate companies, one for its Japan-based carrier business and another for its international operations, including Sprint. SoftBank's domestic business unit, which includes investments in Yahoo Japan, will be run by Ken Miyauchi.
Nokia's HERE Maps Quick to Draw Suitors
Four companies have expressed interest in acquiring Nokia's HERE Maps business, reports Reuters. A coalition of German auto makers, Audi, BMW, and Daimler, are weighing a joint bid, as are Facebook, Uber, and U.S.


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Well, Apple fans are certainly going to have their day of glory today as the new highly anticipated iPhone 5 or “new iPhone” as some have speculated as the name will be released. There is certainly a lot of buzz surrounding this new phone and what hardware and other specs it will include. The iPhone has blazed a trail for Apple ever since its introduction and mobile geeks and phone users everywhere have loved the device since day one. It has certainly went through a lot of upgrades and hardware changes however, the new iPhone set to be released today will take the phone into new territory with a sleeker look and a departure from the standard dock connector that has graced all other Apple devices.
Also to be included with the new iPhone is a larger highly anticipated screen upgrade with larger resolution and richer colors along with IOS6 which sets forward many enhancements to the previous IOS versions with a new version of Maps, enhancements to email, more fluid navigation and other definitely anticipated changes that should highly compliment the new hardware found in the new iPhone version. The casing of the phone will also be changed and should be set to have some sort of metal casing instead of its glass counterparts in previous versions which should help with durability.
It is rumored that the new iPhone will sport the A5X processor that is found in the current “new” iPad as the previous iPhone 4S sported the same processor as the iPad 2. Memory should be at 1GB and the new phone should also be set to communicate on the 4GLTE networks as the fastest of today’s mobile network speeds. All of these changes should welcome in a new era of iPhone that should captivate new Apple users as well as captivate already love stricken Apple users everywhere. Performance of the phone should be phenomenal as Apple is certainly noted for its attention to stability and performance. These phones have a knack for being solid and this new rendition should not be an exception.
(post picture credit: Apple.com)


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If you had heard rumors over the past few days that developer Naughty Dog may have just revealed its next PlayStation 5 video game through art that recently had surfaced, well, you'd be wrong. In new information that has now come about, the artist at the center of this mixup has confirmed that the art that has been seen isn't tied whatsoever to what Naughty Dog might be working on next and is instead based on another popular video game.
A few days back, some fans noticed that Hyoung Nam, who serves as a concept artist at Naughty Dog, had posted a few pieces to Artstation. The images in question showed off three different women set in what looked to be a fantasy world. As you might guess, immediately after being discovered, fans start theorizing that this was art for the next game being made at Naughty Dog.
Instead, as it turns out, Nam said that these images were inspired by Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Nam originally posted the pieces alongside a message saying that they were inspired by a "new game." Many assumed that the game in question here was Naughty Dog's next title, but it turns out that Valhalla was the title in question all along. Nam has since rectified the post on Artstation making it clear that this is directly based on Ubisoft's latest Assassin's Creed.
The only silver lining to this story is that even if this art isn't tied to Naughty Dog's next game, we do know that the studio's next project is in the works. Based on a variety of job listings that have come about, it's clear that the PlayStation developer is working hard on putting together a team to work on a mysterious new title. Not to mention, a handful of other longtime members at the company have been promoted in recent months. Even if we don't learn what this game might be for quite some time, it's good to know that something is already in the works.
What do you want to see Naughty Dog work on next? Let me know either down in the comments or over on Twitter at @MooreMan12.


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CORPORATE Traveller has unveiled a new advertising blitz nationally which has seen the roll out of billboards in prominent, high-volume traffic locations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
Launched on Mon, the ‘Meet our Experts’ campaign spans a mix of channels, including lift advertising, airport billboards and an online presence.
Corporate Traveller marketing manager, Australia Monique van Gelder told Travel Daily the ads feature some of the company’s actual travel managers, including Camilla Weddell in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, James Johnson in Adelaide, Nicole Cropley in Melbourne, Subhan Isa in Perth & Ben Jenke in Sydney (pictured).
“The goal is to showcase our brand refresh and also reiterate our key brand position, our amazing team of experts, through the headline ‘Business travel is easier with an expert on board’,” van Gelder explained.
The company originally debuted as Flight Centre Travel Group’s first venture outside the leisure sector 25 years ago and is now a preferred travel partner of over 6,500 companies in Australia.
To mark its 25th anniversary, Corporate Traveller this week also revealed new-look branding (above) and “revolutionary technology tools set to transform the business travel experience” under the CT GO self-service online booking tool (TD Mon).


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Of Banking Deserts and Payment App Scams
The consumer finance marketplace can be full of traps and risks. And then, there are the places where there aren’t even banks, which creates a whole different set of challenges.
Here’s more on the challenges of living in a banking desert — a problem that impacts many in the rural South:
Report Examines Impact of "Banking Deserts" in the South | Advocate Andy | NewsBreak Original
Consumers in the South pay higher interest rates and face difficulties accessing credit. A new report from the Consumer…
“While Southern rural consumers apply for mortgages at the same rate as consumers nationwide (19 per 1,000 residents), they are much more likely to have their applications denied (27% of mortgage applications are denied in the rural South compared to 11% nationally). Additionally, rural Southerners who obtain credit tend to pay higher interest rates on average, 3.51% compared to 3.13% nationally.”
Payment apps can be convenient tools for moving money and managing finances — but they are also susceptible to scams at an alarming rate.
Here’s more on ways scammer prey on consumers — specifically military servicemembers and their families:
Payment App Scams Target Military Community | Advocate Andy | NewsBreak Original
Report shows scammers attempting to take advantage of servicemembers and their families through digital payment apps. A…
In 2022, servicemembers submitted more than 1,100 complaints on digital payment apps, one of the fastest-growing complaint types submitted to the CFPB. Many of the reported issues and complaints about digital payment apps relate to frauds and scams, suggesting it is a rapidly growing financial threat to military families.
More consumer finance news:
Join Medium with my referral link - Andy Spears
As a Medium member, a portion of your membership fee goes to writers you read, and you get full access to every story…
An entirely different consumer protection issue:


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DCA Warns Banks On Email Solicitations
Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Jonathan Mintz has warned firms not to undermine new federal regulations with aggressive solicitations to enroll New Yorkers into overdraft protection services. This message comes after the Department learned the marketing firm SoundBite Communications has promoted its “text message solution” to financial institutions that will need to obtain consent from their customers beginning July 1 before enrolling them into overdraft services. In a letter to the firm, Commissioner Mintz cautioned against aggressive marketing strategies that defy new federal regulations of overdraft protection and threaten the financial security of consumers. In a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Commissioner Mintz also asked that the Federal Reserve to prohibit financial institutions from using text messages to obtain consent from their customers before enrolling them into overdraft services, a tactic that would eliminate the consumer’s opportunity to make informed choices about overdraft protection services.
“Only four more months remain before banks must stop automatically enrolling their customers into expensive overdraft protection services without their consent, a practice that generated more than $38 billion alone last year,” said Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jonathan Mintz. “Many banks have already begun aggressively marketing overdraft services and DCA is working hard to ensure that any business soliciting New Yorkers is doing so legally and transparently – and not deceptively – so New Yorkers can make informed choices.”
Last March, DCA urged the Federal Reserve Board to require banks to obtain consumers’ consent before enrolling them into overdraft protection services, effectively banning automatic enrollment into overdraft. In New York City, DCA enforces the Consumer Protection Law, allowing the Department to stop deceptive marketing of products and services to New York City consumers. Under the leadership of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the Department has prosecuted national tax preparers and wireless phone companies for these types of violations. Since 2005, the Department has secured more than half a million dollars in settlements from wireless phone companies for deceptive advertising.
DCA enforces the Consumer Protection Law and other related business laws throughout New York City. Ensuring a fair and vibrant marketplace for consumers and businesses, DCA licenses more than 71,000 businesses in 57 different industries. Through targeted outreach, partnerships with community and trade organizations, and informational materials, DCA educates consumers and businesses alike about their rights and responsibilities. DCA’s Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) is the first municipal office of its kind in the nation with a mission to educate, empower and protect New Yorkers with low incomes. DCA’s OFE administers a citywide network of Financial Empowerment Centers and other products and services that help these New Yorkers make the best use of their financial resources to move forward economically.
For more information, call 311 or visit DCA online at nyc.gov/consumers.


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Windows 10 Continues to Grow Steadily – Gets Another New 100 Million Active Devices
Earlier this year, Microsoft had announced that Windows 10 was powering over 500 million devices. After over six months now, the company has offered a second update on how fast the operating system is being adopted. According to the company's CEO, Satya Nadella, over 600 million active devices are now running Windows 10.
While it's just a 100 million more devices, the growth rate appears to be going steady when compared to September 2016's announcement that was followed by another 100 million users in May, this year. The growth had, however, significantly stalled after the initial bump once the company stopped offering the operating system as a free upgrade to Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 devices in 2016. The free upgrade offer still works, however, it is more of a workaround when compared to aggressive upgrade notifications that were sent to compatible Windows machines following the release of Windows 10.
Nadella shared the latest statistics at the company's annual shareholders meeting today and this figure includes all the Windows 10 machines, including PCs, Xbox One consoles, Surface Hub, tablets, and phones.
Microsoft had initially hoped to get over 1 billion devices on Windows 10 within two to three years of its release in 2015
The company had high hopes of reaching to over 1 billion devices in two to three years after the initial public release of Windows 10 in 2015. However, that figure is no longer mentioned by the Redmond software maker as enterprises and users still weigh their choices between the trusted old Windows 7 and the new Windows as a Service model.
However, once on Windows 10, Microsoft will no longer have to worry about the adoption rate thanks to the same WaaS strategy. So far, the company has managed to upgrade almost all of the Windows 10 early adopters to more recent versions of Windows 10. The latest Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, for example, has already been installed by over 20% of all Windows 10 users just over a month after its rollout.


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Breaking the traditional banking model, Monzo is making money work for everyone
SAN FRANCISCO, (June 13, 2019) — Monzo (monzo.com/usa) – the British digital bank valued at over $1B – today announced the initial roll-out of its wildly successful financial app and connected Mastercard debit card in the US market. The first few thousand cards will be available via in-person sign ups at events which they’ll announce by email. Sign up to be added to the waitlist at monzo.com/usa and follow them on Twitter to learn about events in your area.
Monzo will work with US users who want to revolutionize personal finance through a community approach that includes best-in-class customer support, transparency, fairness, lack of fees and an all-around customer-centric approach.
Monzo CEO Tom Blomfield: “When it comes to consumer apps, banks are at least a decade behind the ease and feature-set of a Lyft or an Airbnb, not to mention sloth-like and unimaginative when compared to the innovation cycle in the apps we use every day. With Monzo, we aim to make money work for everyone by working with our community of users to build things that work for them.”
Monzo has more than two million users in the UK and is adding 200k each month. The company is aiming to build similar momentum in the US by building a grassroots movement, working with users to build an account they’d be proud to call their own. As a result, Monzo’s US app will be different from the UK version as its design and features will rely heavily on US-specific user feedback. Based on this, Monzo will develop the US version into a fully-featured digital account that can be accessed from a smartphone and will have the ability to extend into new Monzo and third-party financial services.
Blomfield continued: “We do the heavy lifting of traditional banking by acting as a powerful financial control hub for all your personal finances. And perhaps more importantly, we bring the speed and agility of a startup to build a solution that best serves our Monzo community.”
Monzo plans to build and own as much of its technology stack as possible, as they do in the UK. That will give the company flexibility to react to changes in user behavior and demands and roll out new functionality in hours and days, rather than weeks and months.
Founded in the UK in early 2015, Monzo’s mission is to make money work for everyone. By focusing on solving people’s actual problems, rather than selling financial products, they want to put people back in control of their finances. Current and previous investors include Passion Capital, Thrive Capital, Goodwater Capital, Accel, and General Catalyst.


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- Thursday, 28 May 2015
Two men who posted a YouTube video showing them burning a box of court bundles to the sound of Arthur Brown’s 1968 number one hit ‘Fire’ have been found liable for contempt at the High Court.
Tags: High Court, internet, Solicitors from Hell
Posted in Latest news, Regulation, Solicitors
- Tuesday, 17 June 2014
Three leading digital pioneers yesterday told law firms to “give clients what they want” rather than what they think clients want, whether that is a daily blog or free legal documents.
Tags: conveyancing, digital marketing, internet, small businesses
Posted in Latest news, Marketing & PR, Technology


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The FAA is seeking ways to speed up the approval process for commercial drone operations by grouping multiple applications together.» Read More
Sony Corp warned of a much-deeper-than-expected loss after it was hit by an impairment charge for its struggling smartphone division.
The U.S. Department of Labor is investigating a technical glitch that allowed the partial early release of PPI data, Bloomberg reported.
Lost in the chatter about the inflating tech bubble is an important detail: Most of technology's most notable names aren't participating.
It seems money managers are attracted to these payment services providers, says CNBC's Jim Cramer.
The S&P 500 will rise by 8 percent in the next 12 months, and here's how to play it, says Goldman Sachs' David Kostin.
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: a bull stands by his prediction; Alibaba's IPO hits momentum names; and the largest pension fund exits hedge funds.
Investors are "little behind the curve" on interest rates, Wharton's Jeremy Siegel told CNBC Tuesday as the Fed began its two-day policy meeting.
United Airlines says it will offer flight attendants up to $100,000 in severance if they leave the company.
A CNBC survey shows respondents now see the start of the Fed interest-rate hike in June 2015, up a month from the previous survey.
U.S. corporate executives are scaling back business plans this quarter, consistent with other subdued economic indicators.
A joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin plans to develop a new rocket engine with a company run by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos.
Wal-Mart's vice president of corporate communications is leaving after a background check revealed he hadn't finished his college degree.
A fourth Atlantic City casino is going out of business.
McDonald’s has the “McRib.” Wendy’s has the “Pretzel Bun.” And now Burger King has the “Black Burger.” Will the new menu item help Burger King shares?
Coca-Cola's citrus flavored Surge made a comeback on Amazon today after a 12-year hiatus, selling out within hours.
Amazon wants to dominate a lot of different industries, from e-commerce to cloud services, and the company is now getting serious about video games.
Samsung has accused the head of rival LG Electronics' appliances business of damaging Samsung washing machines at retail stores.
Heineken says it was approached by larger rival SABMiller about a potential takeover but that its controlling shareholder intended to keep the company independent.
Alibaba could have sold nearly $2 billion worth of stock listing on Nasdaq, but it was worried about Nasdaq's ability to handle their $21 billion IPO.
Microsoft's acquisition of Mojang, the developer of "Minecraft," is big push into mobile. "Minecraft" is the top paid app on iOS and Android device.


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There are a few caveats, the biggest being that you will need to be on a device that runs Oreo.
Android Oreo and iOS 11 are the upcoming updates from Google and Apple.
With that said, this is great news for folks that constantly use Google Assistant on the daily and for Google itself, since it likely does not want to constantly play catch-up with Alexa, which now offers better third-party integration.
Google retraces the humble beginnings of the Android journey with one device on one carrier by one manufacturer in 2008 which has burgeoned into 2 billion active devices worldwide in today's date.More news: IL House passes school funding bill
The Pixel Launcher version 2.1 brings amassive amount of Android Oreo features, which include coloured notifications dots, ability to swipe down for notification panel from anywhere on the screen, ability to change system icon shapes without having to turn on developer options and many more.
Android 8.0 Oreo adds new defenses against common malicious app tricks by eliminating the previous "allow unknown sources" setting in favor of a new permission to "install unknown apps".
Google always had a set of pre-requisites for the OEMs to comply with for running the Play Store and Google's first-party apps. All you have to do is download it. Those range from companies too small to afford the process, to OEMs like Xiaomi that prefer their own brand of Google services, to companies like Amazon who live in their own walled gardens.
As it turns out, any major Android maker-Samsung, HTC, OnePlus, whatever-already offer this certification.
The developer is actively working to fix all the bugs present and is expected release the Custom Rom soon. Some reports claims that 13 Xiaomi phones will also get updated to the new software, however the Chinese smartphone maker is yet to roll out an official statement on the same.More news: Houston Airport Service Updates