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As New Zealand’s consumer markets become more diverse and sophisticated in their tastes and needs, conversation here at home is growing about the need for a cohesive “NZ story” that compels them to continue choosing New Zealand food products.
The conversation has become more urgent over 2016 as this country’s competitors have ramped up their own efforts to pitch their particular story to the same markets the New Zealand primary sector supplies.
The highest profile is Ireland’s Origin Green initiative. Setting standards for sustainability and animal welfare it is achieving major buy in across the farming and processing sector winning the hearts and minds of the Irish public along the way.
But Bayleys national country manager Simon Anderson says New Zealand also has a story to tell about its food origins and production that is at least as compelling as Ireland’s, and one that is already evolving throughout the provinces.
“When you look over the landscape of our primary sector you can see this. In Hawke’s Bay we are seeing an extremely successful regional apple industry developing with some really innovative marketing and brands that are going from strength to strength. Alongside that is a high value artisan food product sector that is putting a local “story” behind the products.”
He also points to Marlborough’s hugely successful wine industry, with Sauvignon Blanc enchanting taste buds around the world and drawing its own following of wine tourists and aficionados.
“Meantime Otago and quality Merino products go together, with some iconic brands like IceBreaker combining provenance with ethics, functionality and style.”
Departing Massey University vice chancellor and New Zealand food champion Steve Maharey said the opportunity to create a “New Zealand story”, wrap it in a quality standard mark and spin it off into other areas of the economy like tourism is significant.
“We often don’t give visiting overseas tourists enough to spend their money on while here. We want them to be able to enjoy high quality food in regions like Marlborough, and then know they can also buy it when they get back home.”
He like many is fully supportive of a collaborative effort to tell a story embodied in a certifiable quality mark about New Zealand’s food, where it comes from, how it is grown and the people behind it.
Similarly dry stock farmer and trade envoy Mike Petersen is confident a unified plan for a national brand is starting to come together.
This is after acknowledging he has spent years “banging on” about the issue. He is careful to point out having product certified with a stamp of national integrity does not reduce the importance of also having a good product brand on top of it.
“But that stamp provides the foundation, and certifies the integrity of the product to the consumer.”
He says New Zealand is unique in how it exports almost 90% of what it grows. But is also exporting to increasingly diverse markets, compared to countries like Ireland where the bulk of product is sold within a relatively homogenous European market.
With that comes a need for New Zealand to be able to make the message, or the “story” more adaptable to the markets being pitched too.
For example market research conducted by Caroline Saunders, Lincoln University professor of trade and environmental economics, has shown Chinese consumers rank animal welfare less than Indian consumers. Indian consumers rate animal welfare 15% more significantly than their Chinese counterparts.
“We have the tools and models developed to understand each market segment, so we can become very targeted and responsive to what consumers want to hear,” says Petersen.
Petersen is hopeful the drive for a national integrity stamp will spread further, and fully expects to see something formulated within the year.
Simon Anderson of Bayleys says many New Zealand primary producers are already well on the way to fulfil the standards a “NZ certified” type mark would require.
“We are already lifting sustainability standards with water plans in every region, we have some of the best animal welfare standards in the world with (largely) free range livestock systems, and we have farmers absolutely committed to being the best in the world.”


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Jailed Ivanka Trump Shoes Unionist Freed
After spending a month behind bars, they are freed but the exploitation from Trump's daughter continues
NYU's Cohen called it saving face.
GANZHOU, China (AP) — After a month behind bars, three Chinese investigators who went undercover at a factory that made Ivanka Trump shoes walked freely out of the local police station Wednesday. But they still face an uncertain future and the threat of a trial.
Chinese authorities released the three, who have been accused of breaking the law by using secret cameras and listening devices. They were freed on bail, which is extremely rare for individuals who have been detained for alleged crimes, a possible sign they won’t be formally charged and put on trial.
But they’re not in the clear yet. Political dissidents and other activists who are released in China typically face restrictions on what they can do and say — including comments to the media.
“This is a way of keeping people under pressure, under police control, without subjecting them to actual confinement,” said Jerome Cohen, a law professor at New York University and a Chinese human rights expert. “Whether they are prosecuted depends on how they behave.”
One of the activists, Hua Haifeng, was clearly relieved as he held his 3-year-old son outside the police station in Ganzhou, a city in southeastern Jiangxi province.
“I appreciate the media following my case the last month,” Hua told The Associated Press, “but I’m not ready to speak yet.”
When they disappeared in late May, Hua, Su Heng and Li Zhao of the labor rights group China Labor Watch were preparing to publish a report alleging low pay, excessive overtime, crude verbal abuse and possible misuse of student labor at Huajian Group factories. Some of the factories produced Ivanka Trump shoes, among other brands.
Huajian Group has denied allegations of excessive overtime and low wages. It says it stopped producing Ivanka Trump shoes months ago. Abigail Klem, president of the Ivanka Trump brands company, said that its products had not been produced at a factory in Ganzhou since March but “the integrity of our supply chain is a top priority and we take all allegations very seriously.”
NYU’s Cohen said he suspects the case now may follow the pattern of the one against Ai Weiwei, the dissident artist who was released on bail in 2011 and never faced trial.
“I think this is face-saving way to get rid of the case,” Cohen said.

domain: news


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Millie Bobby Brown posted a video on social media showing her fans how to use products from her new skincare line, however, many fans noticed it looks like Millie isn't actually putting the products on her face. Yahoo says:
She can normally do no wrong, but fans have been accusing Millie Bobby Brown of ‘faking’ a recent skincare tutorial.
The ‘Stranger Things’ actress shared a since-deleted video to Instagram aiming to show her followers how to use some of the products in her new Florence by Mills skincare range.
But some fans weren’t convinced the 15-year-old was actually using the products, including a face mist, scrub, wash and moisturiser, as her make-up seemed to remain intact throughout.
Following the fan confusion the video has been deleted to Instagram, but still remains on YouTube.
Millie recently revealed her Florence by Mills skincare brand, which took her two years to develop and is vegan and free from parabens and sulfates and is not tested on animals.
In other tutorials for the brand, the actor clearly does use her products, so fans were left confused about this latest video.
This is pretty strange. You can see the video below and what the fans had to say:


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Looks like Gran Turismo 5 is due in 2007, and is promising a whole new level of gaming experience. Kazunori Yamauchi, boss of developer Polyphony Digital, claims that the game has something like 100 times more detail than its predecessor, Gran Turismo 4. Preview copies of the game should be available some time in the coming year. Meanwhile, GT 4 is set to appear for the PSP platform soon, so look out for it there.
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The Need For Personal Trainers Grows, And So Does Fitness Together
Feb 3, 2010
American Fitness magazine highlights franchise in supply/demand battle for health
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. – February 3, 2010 – Fitness Together, a national fitness franchise that specializes in one-on-one personal training, is highlighted in the January/February issue of American Fitness magazine for succeeding despite the economy. While times are lean, the franchise is poised for growth.
In the article “Tight Economy Versus the Expanded Waistline,” reporter Cherry Butler notes that Fitness Together is filling a critical role at a critical time.
According to a study published last year by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Trust for America’s Health, more than 25 percent of adults in America are obese. “The findings prove that the need for certified and talented personal trainers is at an all time high,” according to Butler.
Jeff Jervik, president and CEO of Fitness Together Holdings, Inc. agrees. He credits the success of Fitness Together to the franchise chain’s one-on-one approach to exercise and marketing to people who care about their health.
“[Our clients] recognize the value of a fit and healthy lifestyle, and they will sacrifice some other type of discretionary spending before they will give up their personal training,” Jervik shared. “With the rising cost of healthcare, they would rather spend their dollars on training than on medication or the costs of an injury.”
The tailored approach also has separated Fitness Together from competitors.
“It’s a major departure from the big box gyms that depend on attracting a large clientele who pay monthly dues, but who may rarely use the facilities,” Jervik told the magazine. “Those who have tried big box gyms and come up short seek the focus and results that come with the personal attention our private studios offer.”
Jaime Singley, who trains at a Fitness Together studio in Cleveland, Ohio, told American Fitness about those powerful results. “Working with a personal trainer is an investment in not only your health, but also your education,” she said.
Singley, who has lost nearly 150 pounds, also explained how she has actually saved money by working with a personal trainer. “I go out to eat less and have cut out alcohol. That isn’t because of the money I’ve spent on training. It’s because those are decisions I’ve made to support a healthy lifestyle.”


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Oldest McDonald's in Texas gets a major makeover
The oldest McDonald’s in Texas is getting a facelift and will reopen Aug. 14.
It didn’t have indoor dining and was in the original style of a burger stand sporting the famous golden arches.
The new McDonald’s includes a new dining room with side-by-side drive-thru lanes.
The current owner is German Ustariz, who owns three McDonald’s in the Austin area.
About 60 percent of the Austin area McDonald’s restaurants — 28 stores — have been modernized. In 2011, McDonald’s committed $1 billion to redesign the majority of its restaurants by 2015.
The new McDonald’s has a series of promotions scheduled to celebrate the reopening, including a customer appreciation day on Aug. 17, when a portion of sales will be donated to the Austin Ronald McDonald House.
Jan Buchholz covers commercial and residential real estate, construction and architecture and retail and restaurants for the Austin Business Journal.
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Energy Ogre: Grab a recent electric bill and head to www.energyogre.com. Enter some basic information from your bill and within minutes, Energy Ogre lets you know if it can save you money. If it can, you pay the company for one year, either $10 a month or $120 up front. Once you sign up, the company keeps looking at energy plans to make sure you're always getting the lowest rate possible. When you sign up with Energy Ogre, your electric bill and the $10 monthly fee is set on auto-pay so you don't have to worry about remembering to pay each month. More info
2013 On March 14, CenterPoint Energy announced it was teaming up with ArcLight Capital Partners LLC and Oklahoma City-based OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE: OGE) in an $11 billion deal to create one of the largest master limited partnerships in the U.S. The joint venture includes OGE Energy and ArcLight's midstream transportation, gathering and processing business, Enogex LLC, and all of CenterPoint Energy's interstate pipelines and field service businesses. ArcLight Capital Partners is a Boston-based energy investment firm.
One way NRG has expanded its customer base — it has about 30 percent of the retail electricity market in Texas compared to about 20 percent a decade ago —is by putting employees into retail settings such as grocery stores and discount stores to meet with consumers about the company’s electricity plan offerings. The face-to-face interactions have helped the company explain the range of current offerings, said Killinger. NRG also emphasizes the importance of buying power from a company with enough financial heft that it will be around in the future.
2002 With the restructuring of the electric market in Texas, the company spun off its retail electric as Reliant Resources. Within two years, the company would also sell its electric generation assets. The remaining mostly regulated energy delivery company adopted the name CenterPoint Energy to reflect our role in the center of the energy value chain and the center of our customers' lives.
Even though customers in deregulated cities routinely pay more for electricity, there is a bright spot. The gap between the average price paid for electricity between deregulated cities like Houston and regulated cities like San Antonio have dwindled to the narrowest point ever to 8.8 percent. Back in 2006, customers in deregulated cities were paying nearly 47 percent more for electricity than their counterparts in regulated cities.
We've pioneered our techniques and grown our expertise in the retail energy industry for more than a decade. With hundreds of thousands of customers and firm investor backing, we're a company you can count on. Spark Energy is also proud to be a publically traded company: our NASDAQ ticker is SPKE. Visit our investor relations page for more information.
Ashburn, VA Electricity providers are striving to find energy sources that are clean, less expensive, and more reliable. In states that aren't deregulated, electricity providers are much less driven to look for renewable energy sources. People have to buy their electric utilities anyway, so why should those electric companies bother improving their product?
Partha Krishnamurthy, a marketing professor at the University of Houston, said he suspects that many people may be unaware they’re paying more than they need to for electricity, putting their bills on autopay and forgetting about the rates they pay. Most people don’t go to the trouble of changing banks, jobs or their electricity providers, for that matter, unless there are problems.
To skirt the late summer electricity rate hikes, a little bit of planning can really pay off. Try to avoid signing new long-term electricity contracts in late summer. While it may be impossible to escape signing a new electricity contract if you’re moving during that time, just know that a short-term plan may make more sense until the rates go back down in the fall. That way you’re not stuck paying a premium rate for an entire year or more.


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Maana Opens London Office to Address European Demand
Maana, the pioneer of digital knowledge technology, announced the expansion of its international operations with the opening of its London office. Marking the company’s fifth location since its beginnings in 2013, the UK headquarters is located at One Canada Square, an iconic building residing in Canary Wharf – a rich cultural district housing several Fortune Global 500 listed corporations.
This expansion highlights the market’s response to Maana’s solution, the Knowledge Platform, which enables industrial organizations to accelerate decision making across the enterprise, gaining operational efficiencies and resulting in considerable CAPEX and OPEX improvements.
“We are excited to be working with the industry’s top leaders - the catalysts for change - who are breaking the barriers of data and organizational silos so that their enterprises can realize the benefits of a fully digitalized infrastructure,” said Maana Founder and CEO, Babur Ozden. “From our new London office, we will support our growing customer base in Europe and have access to top talent to grow our organization.”
The London operations augment Maana’s existing presence in Palo Alto, California; Bellevue, Washington; Houston, Texas and Dhahran, Saudi Arabia and is home to Maana’s team of experts who have implemented groundbreaking business applications and solutions for companies like IBM, Cisco, Romonet and Elsevier.
“London is a critical hub for the global energy sector and a large segment of our international industrial clients,’ said Kieran O’Byrne, a Principal Customer Solutions Analyst who previously worked for IBM driving the adoption of IBM Watson technologies. “I’m happy to join Maana’s accomplished team of London-based data scientists and customer solutions team members. This marquee location will only further our recruitment activities and will help our customer’s digital transformation journeys.”
Maana is an award-winning digital knowledge platform provider focused on creating CAPEX and OPEX gains for industrial companies. Its unique Computational Knowledge Graph ™ de-silos knowledge from data sources and tacit expertise, to improve decision making across the enterprise. Maana’s investors include Intel Capital, GE Ventures, Chevron Technology Ventures, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, Shell Technology Ventures, Accenture Ventures, and China International Capital Corporation.
Maana is privately held with offices in Palo Alto, California; Bellevue, Washington; Houston, Texas, London, UK; and Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Visit us at https://www.maana.io
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Dawex Raises €5 Million to Accelerate the Development of the Data Economy23.5.2019 06:45:00 CEST | Pressemelding
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TTS Pharma Limited Announces Closing of £10.3 Million Fundraising and New Board Appointment23.5.2019 06:00:00 CEST | Pressemelding
COMPLETION OF SERIES B FUNDRAISE TTS Pharma Limited (“TTS Pharma” or the “Company”), a UK company which is a vertically integrated supply chain manager in the cultivation, manufacturing and development of the emerging ethical cannabis market, announces that it has successfully closed a private equity investment totalling £10.3 million, on the basis of a two-tranche investment. This investment will permit TTS Pharma to become one of the leading global suppliers in this fast-growing multibillion-dollar industry, by allowing it to expand its existing supply chain, develop its own facilities and further strengthen its academic and commercial partnerships. It also enables the Company to advance its diversified operations in the wellness, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical sectors. The ethical cannabis market is set to become a high growth, disruptive and innovative new segment in the life sciences field and TTS Pharma is ideally positioned to capture rapid value within this market. BOARD UPDA
Buy and Sell Globally: 2019 Yiwu Imported Commodities Fair Opens in “World’s Capital of Small Commodities”23.5.2019 04:46:00 CEST | Pressemelding
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Lenovo Achieves Record Revenue for FY18/19 Driven by Success of Intelligent Transformation Strategy and Strong Operational Performance23.5.2019 04:27:00 CEST | Pressemelding
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Google, via the Android Developers Blog, recently announced their ExifInterface Support Library: With the release of the 25.1.0 Support Library, there’s a new entry in the family: the ExifInterface Support Library. With significant improvements introduced in Android 7.1 to the framework’s ExifInterface, it only made sense to make those available […]
The Google Apps Team has announced on their blog that starting today, Google+ is considered a core Google Apps for Work service when used within a domain or corporate intranet. This gives Google+ the same level of technical support as their other core services such as Google Drive or Gmail. […]
Fabian Schlup, a software engineer at Google offered an interesting recap of this years Google I/O which was held a couple weeks ago. You can read Fabian’s full post in the Google Developers Blog. Our summary of Google’s summary is as follows: 1. Rich cards Rich Cards are Google’s latest […]
This week, Google announced the launch of the Google My Business API aimed at making it easier for big businesses and third parties to integrate with the Google My Business platform and publish updates to customers on Google Search and Google Maps. One way businesses can use this is to […]
You don’t typically associate Google developer events with iOS, but while Google I/O was largely about Android, there was a surprising amount of iOS discussion from the company last week.
Back in September, Google launched an update to its Webmaster Tools API to make it more consistent with other Google APIs. Those using other APIs from the company would find the new one easier to implement, the company said. Now, Google has announced that with the pending shutdown of ClientLogin, […]
Google held its Cloud Platform Live event yesterday in San Francisco, where it made some big announcements. One of these is Google Container Engine which lets you run Docker containers in compute clusters, powered by the previously announced Kubernetes. Kubernetes, an open source container manager, was announced back in June. […]
Google has introduced a new inline post sharing feature that will let users add their thoughts straight from the post that they are sharing. Earlier, users were greeted with a pop-up text box whenever they clicked the share button on Google+. The pop-up urged them to write their thoughts and […]


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NEW YORK (AP) - The country's four biggest cellphone companies are set to launch their first joint advertising campaign against texting while driving, uniting behind AT&T's "It Can Wait" slogan to blanket TV and radio this summer.
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Southern California home prices neared a five-year high in April as sales accelerated in more expensive markets, a research firm said Tuesday.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Research In Motion unveiled a lower-cost BlackBerry aimed at consumers in emerging markets on Tuesday, stepping up its efforts to regain market share lost to Apple's iPhone and Android devices powered by Google's software.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Microsoft's disdain for Google doesn't extend to all of its rival's products.
MOUNTAIN VIEW (AP) - LinkedIn and Facebook will celebrate the anniversaries of their IPOs just a few days apart this week. But their experiences as publicly traded companies couldn't be more different.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Lower-priced gas allowed Americans to step up their spending at retailers in April, from cars and clothes to electronics and appliances. The rebound from a weak March suggests consumers remain resilient in the face of higher taxes and could continue to drive economic growth this spring.
NEW YORK (AP) - Joyce Brothers, the pop psychologist who pioneered the television advice show in the 1950s and enjoyed a long and prolific career as a syndicated columnist, author, and television and film personality, has died. She was 85.
SAVAR, Bangladesh (AP) - Several of the biggest Western retailers embraced a plan that would require them to pay for factory improvements in Bangladesh as the three-week search for victims of the worst garment-industry disaster in history ended Monday with the death toll at a staggering 1,127.
WARREN, Mich. (AP) - General Motors Co. says a new supercomputing data center and a fledgling shift to bring software development in-house should help it limit the size of future safety recalls.
Benefit cuts rare
NEW YORK (AP) - A bloodless bank heist that netted more than $45 million has left even cybercrime experts impressed by the technical sophistication, if not the virtue, of the con artists who pulled off a remarkable internationally organized attack.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. government reported a rare surplus of $113 billion for April - the largest in five years and a sign of the nation's improving finances.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Internal Revenue Service apologized Friday for what it acknowledged was "inappropriate" targeting of conservative political groups during the 2012 election to see if they were violating their tax-exempt status.
SACRAMENTO (AP) - California's attorney general sued one of the nation's largest banks Thursday, alleging that JPMorgan Chase & Co. used illegal tactics in its efforts to collect debts from more than 100,000 credit card holders.
Test driving a new car isn't just for people looking to put a shiny set of new wheels in their driveway.
SUNNYVALE (AP) - Yahoo's recently fired chief operating officer, Henrique de Castro, left the Internet company with a severance package of $58 million even though he lasted just 15 months on the job.
MOUNTAIN VIEW (AP) - Google's first-quarter earnings growth faltered as the Internet's most influential company grappled with a persistent downturn in advertising prices while spending more money to hire employees and invest in daring ideas.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut's Gold Coast is living up to its name, with a record $120 million sale of a waterfront estate in Greenwich leading an increase in sales of homes for more than $10 million.
WASHINGTON (AP) - A public employees union is fighting a bipartisan effort in Congress to force the Internal Revenue Service to hire private contractors to collect some delinquent taxes.
NEW YORK (AP) - Coca-Cola, the world's biggest beverage maker, said Tuesday that the amount of soda it sold globally fell for first time in 15 years.
SANTA CLARA (AP) - Intel's earnings fell in the first three months of the year amid a continued slump in the worldwide PC market, but revenue grew slightly because of solid demand for tablet processors and its data center services.
SUNNYVALE (AP) - Yahoo is prospering from its lucrative investments in Asia while the Internet company's listless advertising sales are picking up, if ever so slightly, under CEO Marissa Mayer.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Aaron Kushner believes he can launch and grow a print newspaper in a world gone digital.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Twitter says it has bought its data partner Gnip, which provides analysis of the more than 500 million tweets its users share each day - to advertisers, academic institutions, politicians and other customers.
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Southern California's median home sale price hit $400,000 in March to set a fresh six-year high as tight supplies limited sales, a research firm said Tuesday.
NEW YORK (AP) - Microsoft's new Windows system for smartphones addresses many of the shortcomings in previous versions.
NEW YORK (AP) - A hot market for initial public offerings may soon face a cooler reception from investors.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The calendar shows April 15, and you haven't even started on your federal tax return? Chances are, you don't need to fret.
NEW YORK (AP) - Samsung's new Galaxy S5 smartphone is more durable than last year's model and other leading Android phones, but the iPhone 5s outperformed all of them in part because of its smaller size, a new study finds.
NEW YORK (AP) - Microsoft will end support for the persistently popular Windows XP on Tuesday, and the move could put everything from the operations of heavy industry to the identities of everyday people in danger.


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December 4, 2012
Walmart officials on Tuesday said they will take their case for starting construction on a new store in Burbank to a state appellate court after a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled he doesn't have jurisdiction to hear the appeal. Walmart has been fighting an injunction preventing work on a new store adjacent to the Empire Center in Burbank. The injunction also forced the city of Burbank to suspend its approval of building permits pending a trial. A Superior Court judge ruled on Thursday, though, that he did not have jurisdiction over the appeal to the injunction.
November 9, 2013
A ruling that slammed the brakes on efforts to bring a Walmart to the city will not be appealed by city officials. But Walmart officials said Friday they do plan to file an appeal. The ruling handed down by Judge Allan J. Goodman in September rescinded the building permits issued for the former Great Indoors store adjacent to the Empire Center, in which Walmart planned to open a store. During closed session on Tuesday, Mayor Emily Gabel-Luddy, Vice-Mayor Dave Gordon and Councilman Bob Frutos voted not to appeal Goodman's ruling, while council members Jess Talamantes and Gary Bric voted to file an appeal.
October 22, 2013
With all of the pending development in the city (the proposed hotels downtown, the expansion of the airport terminal, Talaria at Burbank, the vacant Osh store), I encourage every interested resident to read the L.A. Superior Court's final ruling on Ingalsbee, etc. v. City of Burbank and Walmart Stores, Inc. It can be found online. Whether you were for or against a Walmart at the former location of the Great Indoors , it is worth noting that the judge found that “the City has proceeded in a manner not authorized by law, failed to conduct any environmental assessment when the facts and circumstances clearly require at least an initial inquiry, and failed to exercise its discretion when clearly required to do so as to specific elements of the proposed development.” The ruling also states that “The failure to carry out the specified roadway improvements [at the Empire Center development]
September 16, 2011
After weeks of local fretting - or anticipation, depending on which side of the fence you're on - Walmart has confirmed that it plans to move into the former Great Indoors site adjacent to the Empire Center. When the move will occur, and in what form the store will take, remains to be seen; company representatives say plans are still preliminary. It's in this stage of the game that Burbank residents should get involved. With the question of whether a Walmart is or isn't a good fit for Burbank apparently moot, the game now turns to one of design.
July 22, 2011
Walmart is the biggest and strongest department store in the world. And we could see it in Burbank soon (“Walmart to engage community,” July 20). It will have its good and bad effects on our community. After the public's swift and blistering reaction online to news that Walmart may move into the Great Indoors store next to the Empire Center, a “No Wal Mart in Burbank” page on Facebook was created. I and lots of people joined this page to share our opinions and suggestions.
January 7, 2014
It's ironic that people, like those opposed to Walmart, complain about how Walmart hurts the small business sector causing closings and empty buildings in cities and creating more traffic problems and harming the environment. Well, Burbank is slowly accumulating empty buildings around town and Walmart has nothing to do with it. As a matter of fact, the store would actually reduce the number of empty buildings in town if only it was allowed to occupy the Great Indoors building as intended.
November 28, 2012
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Wednesday said he may not have jurisdiction over an appeal of an injunction that has blocked construction of a Walmart adjacent to the Empire Center in Burbank. “Once the notice of appeal has been filed, things like moving to modify or dissolve can no longer be heard [in this court]. Otherwise, that would interrupt the appeal,” Judge Robert O'Brien said in the downtown L.A. courtroom. An appeal is generally heard in a court of appeals.
September 26, 2012
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Wednesday gave attorneys for the city of Burbank and Walmart four more months to prepare their defense against a lawsuit filed to block the mega-retailer from opening adjacent to the Empire Center. The additional time could further delay Walmart's plans to open at the former Great Indoors site, where no work has been allowed since a court-ordered injunction was issued last month. “I'm not in a hurry anymore. Everybody's gotten over being in a hurry,” said Superior Court Judge Ann I. Jones after the attorneys made their request.
November 21, 2001
Karen S. Kim MEDIA DISTRICT NORTH -- Retailers in the 103-acre Burbank Empire Center have been progressively opening their doors over the past two months, just in time for the approaching holiday shopping season. But they're not done yet. Nearly 25 businesses are still scheduled to open before the retail portion of the $250-million center is complete. One is the much-awaited Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, opening Dec. 11. "We think this is a terrific community for Krispy Kreme," said Richard Reinis, chief executive officer for corporate parent Great Circle Family Foods.
October 4, 2003
Molly Shore Members of the Burbank Advisory Council on Disabilities have compiled a list of obstacles they say challenge disabled people attempting to shop or dine at the Burbank Empire Center. According to Janet Diel, chairwoman of the advisory council's Barrier Committee, the panel has noted several different obstructions they say need to be corrected by the developer of the nearly 1.3-million-square-foot shopping center. "Beginning at the Great Indoors, the parking and walkway areas onto the sidewalk leading to Best Buy present challenges for the blind and for people in wheelchairs because trees and planters in this area are impediments to safely crossing through the area," Diel said at the advisory council's Sept.


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PHOENIX – Consumers could soon see a price increase on one of America’s most affordable foods, but that could be blessing in disguise for Arizona.
According to the Associated Press, a poor yield this year of durum wheat in the Northern Plains and in Canada have left the grain used to make pasta in short supply.
With the short supply, consumers are likely to see a price increase on pasta in the coming months.
“This happens to be a year where the crop is short because of the bad weather,” said Tim Dunn, owner of Dunn Grain Company in Yuma, Ariz.
While the price increase may be an inconvenience to consumers, the short supply comes as welcomed news to some Arizona farmers such as Dunn.
Dunn said Arizona has one of the earliest wheat harvest seasons each year and that means farmers are planting extra crop now to be ready to replenish the short supply at harvest next year.
The higher demand will mean more sales, as well as higher prices when Arizona farmers harvest in June and July, according to Dunn.
“I think acres are probably going to be up 30 to 40 in wheat over the state,” he said.
He said an average year sees about 6,000 pounds of grain harvested per acre, but expect next year’s harvest to be closer to 7,000 pounds per acre.
“That’s good for Arizona, that’s good for the growers, that’s good for our farm,” Dunn said. “The price we had last year was kind of the break-even price and so the price going up is able to return a profit back to the farms.”
Once the supply of durum is replenished, Dunn said he expects consumers will see the price of pasta likely begin to drop by next fall.


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Fresh & Easy will be hiring more than 600 people at its grocery stores in California over the next few weeks, the El Segundo-based company announced this week.
“Since 2007, we have opened 184 stores and have created more than 5,000 jobs with comprehensive benefits in the neighborhoods we serve,” said Tim Mason, the company’s chief executive.
In California, entry-level positions start at $10 per hour with health insurance benefits. The company also provides quarterly bonuses of up to 10 percent of earnings, a 401(k) savings plan with matching funds from the company, paid time off and life skills training.
About 200 people were promoted to managerial positions last year, according to the company.
For store locations and further information, visit www.freshandeasy.com.


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Digital TV News: Gidon Katz
Roku OS 11 to start roll out in the coming weeks
Mar 22, 2022 – Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) has announced Roku OS 11. Roku OS 11 adds Roku Photo Streams, the easiest way to enjoy and share favorite photos, as well providing expanded content discovery menu options, auto speech clarity, new sound modes, a new mobile app and more.
News categories: Roku, Gidon Katz, Digital TV, Set Top Box, Smart Home, Smart TV, Streaming, TV OS, USA, Worldwide
Netflix now on NOW TV streaming devices
Sep 26, 2018 – The Netflix app has launched on NOW TV streaming devices. As well as adding Netflix to the wide range of apps already available, NOW TV has also revealed the launch of its most powerful ever streaming device – the NOW TV Smart Box with 4K and Voice Search.
News categories: NOW TV, Netflix, Gidon Katz, Digital TV
NOW TV launches UK’s cheapest TV Smart Stick
Jan 25, 2018 – Streaming service NOW TV is set to launch the NOW TV Smart Stick, the UK’s cheapest streaming stick and a brand new way to get the best pay-TV shows, the latest and greatest movies and exclusive live sports on your telly.
News categories: NOW TV, Roku, Gidon Katz, Digital TV, Set Top Box, Streaming, UK
BSkyB's NOW TV arrives on Chromecast
Sep 2, 2014 – BSkyB (LSE:BSY) has announced the arrival of NOW TV on Chromecast, offering customers another way to enjoy the service's movies, live sports and TV channels on their main TV screen.
News categories: BSkyB, Gidon Katz, Martin Goswami, Apps, Digital TV, Ireland, Mobile, Placeshifting, Set Top Box, Streaming, UK
BSkyB launches weekly PAYG sports option for NOW TV
Aug 11, 2014 – BSkyB's NOW TV has announced the launch of a weekly pass for sports fans looking to watch Sky Sports. Available initially for £10.99, the Sky Sports Week Pass will offer all 7 Sky Sports channels for 7 days.
News categories: BSkyB, NOW TV, Digital TV, Streaming, UK
Sky Go and NOW TV to join PlayStation 4 this summer
May 1, 2014 – BSkyB (LSE:BSY) and Sony Computer Entertainment UK have struck an agreement to make Sky Go and NOW TV available on PlayStation®4 (PS4™). Customers will be able to watch NOW TV on the PS4 from this summer with Sky Go becoming available later this year.
News categories: Sony Computer Entertainment, BSkyB, Luke Bradley-Jones, Gidon Katz, Fergal Gara, Digital TV, Gaming, Streaming, UK
BSkyB launches £9.99 NOW TV HDMI dongle
Jul 26, 2013 – The £9.99 (~$15) NOW TV Box measures 84mm x 84mm x 24mm, plugs into a TV set via HDMI, and connects to the internet over the user's wireless home network. NOW TV offers terrestrial catch-up, pay-as-you-go sport and movies on demand.
News categories: BSkyB, Digital TV, Set Top Box, Streaming, UK
BSkyB's NOW TV arrives on PlayStation 3
Jul 5, 2013 – NOW TV, the internet TV service from the Uk's BSkyB (LSE:BSY), is now available on PlayStation®3. NOW TV offers instant access to Sky Movies and all six Sky Sports channels with no contract, set-up costs or installation.
News categories: BSkyB, Gaming, Streaming, UK
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- U.S. streamers now only spend 1 in 3 hours using traditional platforms
- ContentBay launches, bringing content licensing into the digital era
- Qualcomm and Rohde & Schwarz unveil 5G Broadcast system at IMC22


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Drapers’ latest consumer research shows how customers expect to be treated by fashion retailers
What are consumers’ biggest gripes when they shop in stores, and what pieces of information would they share with you if it would improve how you serve them?
These are just two of the questions Drapers asked 2,000 consumers when we polled them in late May to gather their views on buying fashion, their purchase influences and understand how they want retailers and brands to interact with them.
The results have been broken down by gender, age and income so we can highlight the different types of customers driving different trends. They provide some clear pointers for fashion retailers in different sectors of the market as to how they can improve their interactions with customers, and ultimately stimulate demand.
For instance, department stores have the broadest range of shoppers – nearly 74% of those polled buy clothing from their shops. However, only 44% buy clothing from department stores’ websites, showing that these retailers have an opportunity to increase online sales by engaging customers who already have a relationship with them.
Similarly, 59% of those polled say they buy clothing from supermarkets, but only 24% do so from supermarkets’ websites. The convenience they provide to shoppers who pick up garments at the same time as their groceries is not translating online, it could be argued.
Meanwhile, fashion chains attract 70%, fashion etailers 35% and indies 34% of clothing shoppers, respectively.
Quality is almost as important as price as the main reason consumers choose their favourite clothing retailer; 25% chose quality as their main reason compared with 29% who chose price. When we drill down further into segmented results it’s clear that quality becomes much more important the older consumers become. So while 18.5% of 18 to 24-year-olds said they choose their favourite retailer primarily on the quality of products, 25% of 35 to 44-year-olds do and 33% of those aged 55 or older do.
Only 1% of the respondents said the main reason for choosing their favourite fashion retailer was that their friends shop there. However, despite the proliferation of fashion content, particularly online from bloggers and retailers themselves, it is clear that friends and family continue to play an important role in inspiring other people’s purchases.
Friends influence more consumers in their clothing purchases than any other single source (34%). This is especially true for women – 38% in our poll said they are influenced by their friends. In comparison, 31% overall said fashion magazines provide inspiration, 22% said fashion retailers’ websites and 28% fashion stores.
Consumers are also much more interested in what their friends think than their family. Only 22% said family was a source of clothing purchase inspiration. And a mere 8% said fashion bloggers influence their purchases. However, when we split these results by age, we see some anomalies. The 18 to 24 age group is more likely to be inspired by multiple sources. For instance, 46% of 18 to 24-year-olds said their clothing purchases are inspired by fashion magazines, 48% said friends and 32% said fashion retailers’ websites.
Women particularly stress that sizing is important to their purchase decisions. This came to light in several ways in the research.
Overall, 26% of respondents said retailers having more stock in their size in store would encourage them to shop more with particular retailers or brands. However, 31% of women agreed with this point.
When we asked what the biggest failing they see in fashion stores when they are out shopping is, the top answer was that they don’t have enough of the right sizes – 23% said so overall, and 27% of women said so, compared with 18% of men.
Sizing issues come up for online purchases too. The most mentioned failing on fashion retailers’ websites was that consumers can’t tell whether products will fit them based on the pictures and sizing information – 34% mentioned this overall, with only a small variance between the number of men and women saying so.
So what can be done about it? Consumers are very willing to provide information on their size to help retailers make better decisions about their sizing assortment and allocation decisions. Some 52% of consumers said they are happy for retailers they buy from to know their clothing and shoe size if it is used to improve the service and products offered; 58% of women gave this answer.
Personal information and how it can usefully be used was also highlighted by the number of consumers who were keen for more fashion retailers to operate loyalty schemes. A loyalty scheme was the second most mentioned answer when we asked consumers what would make them shop more with a retailer or brand – 37% said so, compared with the 55% who mentioned the top answer, money-off vouchers.
A desire for loyalty schemes is greater among women too – 42% of women said a loyalty scheme would make them shop more with particular retailers, compared with 31% of men. This chimes with the experiences of other types of retailers who have launched loyalty schemes, where the cards are primarily used by women.
However, men and women are much more in tune when it comes to special offers. Some 18% of respondents said personalised offers would influence their purchase habits, something which is much easier to achieve with a loyalty scheme in place to capture information about customers’ purchases.
The one piece of information that customers of all kinds are not yet comfortable with retailers holding and using is mobile phone numbers; 62% said they are not happy to give their mobile number to retailers; 16% said they would be happy to if it meant they got discounts sent to their phone, and a further 12% would be happy to if retailers only contact them via SMS rather than calling.
These highlights only scratch the surface of what the report shows about how consumers are open to new ways of interacting and engaging with retailers where they can see obvious benefits. It’s clear that their expectations are moving in the direction of personalisation, and retailers must follow.
- Click here to download the free Drapers Customer Insight report 2012


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Samsung launched the Galaxy S20 FE in India earlier this month, the company opened pre-orders for the smartphone starting 9th October. Samsung Galaxy S20 FE went on sale in the country starting today. Now, Samsung has launched a new 256GB storage variant of the Galaxy S20 FE in the country which can be pre-ordered starting October 17th, i.e., tomorrow. To recall, Samsung had launched the 4G variant with Exynos 990 SoC in the country, while it comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 and 5G connectivity in some regions. Let us have a look at the pricing, features, and specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE.
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE: Price in India
The 256GB storage variant of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is priced at Rs. 53,999 in the country, which is Rs. 4,000 more than the 128GB storage variant. Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 256GB storage variant will be available only in Cloud Navy color and will be up for pre-order starting tomorrow and will start shipping starting October 28th. It is available on Samsung.com, amazon.in, and leading offline retail stores.
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE: Features and Specifications
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE packs a 6.5-inch F HD+ Super AMOLED display with 2400 × 1080 pixels resolution, 407ppi pixel density, 120Hz refresh rate, and 240Hz sampling rate. The display houses an optical in-display fingerprint sensor and comes with a punch-hole notch, which the company calls Infinity-O notch. Under-the-hood it packs an octa-core Samsung Exynos 990 processor which is built on the 7nm EUV fabrication process. It packs ARM Mali-G77 GPU, and up to 8GB LPDDR5 RAM.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE features a triple-rear camera setup. The primary shooter on the device is a 12MP primary sensor with OIS, f/1.8 aperture, and 79˚ field of view. The primary sensor on the device gets accompanied by an 8MP telephoto lens with OIS, f/2.4 aperture, 3X optical zoom, up to 30x super-resolution zoom, and 32° field of view. The third sensor on the device is a 12MP ultra-wide-angle lens with f/2.2 aperture, and 123° field of view. For the selfies, there is a 32MP front shooter with f/2.0 aperture and 80° field of view.
There is a 4,500mAh battery powering the smartphone that comes with 25W fast charging support. The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE packs a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer. The smartphone supports Qi Wireless fast charging and can also charge other devices wireless as it comes with a wireless power share feature. The smartphone features a stereo speaker setup tuned by AKG and surround sound with Dolby Atmos support. Connectivity options include Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, GPS, GLONASS, and NFC. The smartphone weighs just 190grams and is 8.4mm in thickness. The smartphone features IP68 water and dust resistant rating.


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Some might say it's too huge, but Japan's largest Halloween party is held at Shibuya, Tokyo's renowned scramble crossing. An enormous street party takes over the famous crossing every year, with revelers in costumes spilling out into the neighborhood. Many people attend in good fun, b...
According to the analysis done it states that there is a decline of over 25% in the monthly Facebook usage in South Korea from the previous two years.
According to the survey done by Mobile index local Data Tracker they stated that There is a decrease in South Korea MAU Facebook users. ...
In the search of new ways to store energy, researchers have stumbled upon a readily available energy source which is more sustainable. After hydro and coal now there has been a hunt for new energy source.
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- The first unmanned electronics store in Japan has opened in Tokyo.
- The new store called GO12 is completely unmanned.
- In Tokyo, GO12 is located in the Kamata neighborhood.
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• According to Bloomberg, the smartphone and computer maker told its employees not to ask customers for verification of vaccination
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- Amusement parks, dept. stores, cinemas reopen in Tokyo, Osaka.
- Coronavirus restrictions on some businesses were partially eased.
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- Krafton has developed this game.
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- Japan’s supermarket sales rose 6.0% in April.
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- Overall sales of 11,804 supermarkets totaled 1.08 trillion yen.
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- Japan records an increase in convenience store sales by 6.6% in April.
- Same-store sales of seven major convenience store operators totaled 842.50 billion yen.
- Average spending per customer fell by 1.1 percent to 682.10 ye...
- Japan’s supermarket sales in FY 2020 rose 0.7 percent.
- Sales on an all-store basis at 11,789 stores operated by 56 companies totaled $119.40 billion.
- Food sales increased 4.0 percent on a same-store basis.
• Tech giant Apple Inc is refusing to testify at an hearing on competition issues regarding the mobile app stores
• As per a statement given by senators Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, and Mike Lee, a Republican, they had written to Tim Cook, Chief Executive of...
- Amazon has acquired Indian startup Perpule that is helps offline stores go online.
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Amazon has acquired Indian s...
- After the lockdown caused by coronavirus pandemic, Indian economy is slowly moving towards revival.
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Big retailers who operate in an organized manners are resuming their ...
• According to the company, it will open a Amazon Fresh-branded store with an area of 2,500-sq ft I’m London on Thursday
• The Seattle-based company said these stores represent the retail and technology giant's biggest efforts towards reshaping p...
- S. Korea’s app market ONE store gains popularity.
- The app store is said to be an alternative to Google’s Play store.
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- Japan Chain Stores Association reports a rise in Supermarket sales in 2020.
- Newly opened supermarket sales, operated by 56 companies totaled $123.34 billion.
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- Japanese convenience store sales fell 4.5 percent to $103 billion.
- Newly opened convenience stores in 2020 sales fell by 4.7 percent to 10.16 trillion y...
• Onyx which is currently making the world’s smartest digital training experience and also specialises in body tracking technology and personalisation of workout feedback
• The Cure.fit had recently launched in the US with its energy-meter tech, wher...
- Nykaa has taken its operations beyond ecommerce.
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Nykaa Fashion has started its new year by going beyond ecommerce. The multi-brand fashion e-commerce platform has announced it...
• The alphabet owned company further said all developers agree to these terms and we have reminded Parler of this clear policy in last few months
• Google said that they are aware of continued posting in the Parler app that seeks to incite ongoing violence...


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Ground Breaking Progress in Water Filter Market: A New Low-Cost Filter can Remove Arsenic from Household Drinking Water
Posted On June 01, 2021
National Institute of Environment Heal Sciences has reported that consuming arsenic-contaminated water is a significant health issue that might cause several chronic health complications such as kidney, skin, liver, lung, and bladder cancers. Arsenic is a naturally occurring chemical that has been the reason for contamination of ground-based drinking water for a large population worldwide, even in the United States.
To tackle this problem, a research team has designed a low-cost filter with the ability to remove arsenic from household drinking water. The innovation simultaneously brings peace of mind for millions of people who are at constant risk of consuming arsenic-contaminated water around the globe. This is a groundbreaking development in Water Filter Market as this proof-of-concept filter design is novel when it comes to household use. Further, it can not only remove the arsenic from water but also other chemicals like lead.
Building technology to remove arsenic from water is not a new concept and has been done several times before by other researchers as well. However, out of all the products developed, none could be made commercially available as they would be insanely expensive to purchase for a normal consumer. Thus, this study can solve this problem. The researchers proposed a filter design with a two-material approach. Firstly, the arsenic in the water would be restricted from going forward by a fast-absorbing material. After that, the trapped arsenic will go through a second material designed especially for arsenic storage.
Researchers revealed that the new design would be way cheaper to produce than other filters currently. Optimally, the process would occur during the night while people would be sleeping and would supply safe, purified water to the population the following day.
The problem of Arsenic water is a significant one, especially in rural areas, as they are not connected to larger public water systems. For example , in the United States, particularly in a southwest region such as New Mexico and Arizona, where groundwater is considered to be the primary source for drinking. Thus, the region has greater potential for a high concentration of arsenic. In countries like Bangladesh, the problem is equally notable. So, the new water filter would greatly benefit manufacturers and world governments in ensuring that people do not succumb to health problems due to arsenic contents or other chemicals in the water.


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Official Media Newsroom
YOKOHAMA, Japan (Feb. 17, 2017) – The 2017 motorsport season is about to start, and on behalf of Nissan, Takao Katagiri, CEO and president of NISMO, has now officially announced Nissan/NISMO’s motorsport activities for 2017.
NISMO AUS Supercars
NISMO Blancpain GT
NISMO GT-R GT3
NISMO GT500 2017
NISMO Jann Mardenborough
NISMO LMP1 engine
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NISMO SUPER GT
Joni Paiva, president of Nissan Canada Inc. with Star Wars Stormtroopers, who were welcomed as special guests of the “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” inspired Nissan booth at the 2017 Canadian International Auto Show
The Nissan Qashqai brings something truly innovative to consumers at the 2017 Canadian International Auto Show, offering the functionality of a crossover with all the benefits of a compact car
Joni Paiva, president of Nissan Canada Inc. with the Nissan Vmotion 2.0 Concept at the 2017 Canadian International Auto Show
Insights into the CEO's life, from childhood to running one of the world’s largest automotive groups
HONG KONG – The INFINITI Q50 Red Sport 400 invokes passion, excitement and engagement in drivers, according to new scientific research carried out by INFINITI in the run-up to Valentine’s Day.


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Big data analytics in the automotive business is being driven by an increase in the amount of data and an increase in awareness about the…..
Automotive software engineering is the extending branch of massive potential technologies being used in the automobile industry. The field covers multiple aspects and mechanisms that…..
In today’s era, the race of technology is penetrating every single segment of the market. Initially, some brands of the automotive industry used to give…..
Technology has come a long way, and it has resulted in the automotive industry getting bigger and better. However, as the automotive industry gets bigger,…..
The Automotive industry is embarking upon a period of significant innovation and change. One could argue that over the next ten years, the automotive industry…..
When it comes to the present-day automotive industry, it’s incredibly important to understand the impact of software development. The majority of the time, what a…..
SAN RAMON, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES. SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 Kovair software today announced the release of their automotive solution based on their configurable ALM. This newly…..


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Cisco today announced a $6 million investment in the Badia Impact Fund – a venture capital fund dedicated to investment in early-stage start-ups in the technology sector in Jordan – to support early stage online and mobile innovation, healthcare technologies and services, e-commerce, consumer Internet and digital media services in Jordan.
This funding represents the first allocation from the 10 million-dollar venture capital investment commitment – to seed a sustainable model of job-creation and economic development in Jordan – initially outlined by Cisco in May 2011, targeted at small businesses that provide innovative products, services and solutions. Cisco’s contribution is part of an overall funding contribution to the Badia Impact Fund jointly funded by Cisco, as an anchor investor, along with the European Investment Bank (EIB), the King Abdullah Fund for Development (KAFD), and the fund sponsor, Silicon Badia’s parent company Accelerator Technology Holdings (ATH).
“Investing in an established and geographically focused venture team like Accelerator Technology Holdings complements Cisco’s global investment portfolio by providing Cisco visibility to the emerging Jordanian innovation ecosystem. This investment in the Badia Impact Fund will help catalyze and accelerate tech innovation in Jordan and take technology investment in Jordan to the next level by addressing a key funding gap for early stage Jordanian tech companies,” said Alan Chelko, business development manager at Cisco in a statement.
App analytics and market data company, App Annie, have released a new report that sheds light on Gen Z’s mobile behavior, in order to help marketers develop effective strategies to reach them. 98% of Gen Z report owning a smartphone, on average receiving their first at the age of 10. They are also part of […]
Experticity, the world’s largest community of influential category experts have released a new study that sheds new light on the importance of micro-influencers on the average consumer. The study was conducted with online interviews of more than 6,000 individuals from the United States drawn from Experticity’s micro-influencer network and the general population. In addition, more […]
Market research companies eMarketer and Global Web Index have collaborated together to release the 10th edition of the global media intelligence report. The report is a detailed compilation of data and insights about internet users’ traditional and digital media usage in 42 key markets worldwide. Communicate will be highlighting the key trends that are shaping the […]
Social Bakers, a global AI-powered social media marketing company has released the Q3 edition of their social media trends report. The report reveals where the industry is currently standing with regard to spending and engagement globally. Here are the key findings – ADVERTISING Worldwide ad spend increased by 56.4% in Q3 compared to where it […]


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One of the most common solar-related myths out there is that it’s mostly just the rich who are going solar. We’ve seen indication in the past that this stereotype was not true. However, a study just released by the Center for American Progress (CAP) is certainly the most recent and most comprehensive study on the matter that I’ve seen.
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The media has recently been full of stories about electric utilities being nervous and down right reactionary to adding solar (and wind) on the electric grid. On October 15th, The Huffington Post’s story on the Hawaii Electric Company (HECO) reported, “hundreds of Oahu customers have gotten burned in their transition to solar. They have gotten caught in limbo since September 6 when HECO changed the rules for connecting solar systems.”
Within the next year, British shoppers will be able to waltz into an Ikea Corp. store, home to Malm beds and Dinera plates, and buy solar panels.
Swedish flat-pack furniture giant IKEA will start selling residential solar panels at its stores in Britain, the first step in its plan to bring renewable energy to the mainstream market worldwide.
A bright future for the U.S. as more and more households adopt solar power.
请点击此处以浏览SEIA中文网页 WASHINGTON, D.C.
A solar-energy group is offering a plan to resolve a trade dispute between the U.S. and China, saying import duties currently in place are crippling the industry in both nations.
With no end in sight to the ongoing solar trade dispute between the United States and China, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) is offering an industry compromise between the U.S. and Chinese solar industries, which could serve as the centerpiece for a fair, negotiated settlement of outstanding issues, benefit end users, and encourage the proliferation of solar energy in the United States and globally.
WASHINGTON, DC – Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), today commented on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s antidumping and countervailing duty determinations in the final phase investigation of solar products from China:
“As the end of these investigations near, it’s not too soon to take stock of what has been achieved, consider whether opportunities were missed, and, most importantly, start thinking about how to move forward.


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When fans and consumers arrive in droves to the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, they could come face-to-face with the all-new Ford Ranger mid-size pickup that’ll be launching in the North American market for 2019. Outlets such as Autoweek and Trucks.com have reported as much, and given that Chevrolet has confirmed the venue for a more complete debut of the all-new Silverado, not to mention the high probability of Fiat Chrysler piling on with an all-new RAM 1500, it might make sense that Ford would want to get in on the truck frenzy.
In fact, it’s been nearly a year now since Ford announced at the 2017 North American Auto Show that both the Ford Ranger pickup and Bronco SUV would be reintroduced in North America. Both models will be built at Ford’s Michigan Assembly plant in Wayne, Michigan, after production of the Focus compact car shifts to China in mid-2018, and the slow-selling C-MAX is discontinued. In the time since the announcement, numerous prototype sightings have occurred, including some potential Ford Ranger Raptor and FX4 off-road models.
In America, the 2019 Ford Ranger will compete with the likes of the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. Both models plugged the gap left when Ford discontinued the Ranger in America for 2013, proving that there was, in fact, still a sizable market for mid-size trucks in the region. The all-new, 2019 model is expected to be mechanically similar to the T6 currently sold in markets around the globe, but with a selection of petrol-fueled EcoBoost engines available for propulsion.


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There’s no prizes for guessing that the shirt has the club’s famous red-and-white stripes, but this new kit has gold detailing on both the top and shorts, which are the traditional black.
The overall effect sees the club move back towards a predominantly red design and, according to the club’s official website has “the latest in cutting edge Climacool material, designed to provide the players with the best in lightweight and breathable technologies”.
Black Cats striker Jermain Defoe told safc.com: “The Sunderland shirt is iconic and instantly recognisable across the world. Every player is tremendously proud to pull on the historic red and white stripes and we love this new shirt.”
But how can you get your hands on the new shirt? Well, you can pre-order the new kit online at www.safcstore.com now.
The home kit will go on sale next Thursday – May 5 – and will be available online or in the club’s shops at the Stadium of Light, The Galleries in Washington or Debenhams in The Bridges, Sunderland.


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The U.S. economy isn't moving at warp speed, but it looks like it will be strong enough to handle an expected interest rate increase later this year.
The dollar maintained gains, heading for its best month since January, as speculation firms that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its next meeting.
The faucets, sprinklers and shower heads in Old River-Winfree, a suburb 25 miles east of Houston, have been infested with small red worms—and no one seems to know where they came from.
Whole Foods Market Inc. may not have as much time as it hopes to repair its image, because the natural-foods grocer's stock has reached the edge of a technical cliff, that warns of a potentially massive selloff.
So popular is SoulCycle that customers eagerly arrange their schedules around openings for the week's classes, with sessions regularly booked up within minutes.


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Neiman Marcus Group is partnering with digital media platform Hypebeast to promote exclusive footwear from 11 luxury brands.
As part of its fall “Re-Introduce Yourself” campaign, Neiman Marcus is launching its first-ever shoppable virtual showroom, featuring one-of-a-kind products from footwear brands Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Balmain, Christian Louboutin, Dolce & Gabbana, Givenchy, Maison Margiela, Moncler, Off-White, Versace, and Giuseppe Zanotti.
The showroom features a digitally recreated retail floor, inspired by a futuristic laboratory crossed with a contemporary art gallery exhibit. Every style is virtually displayed with accentuating lighting and compositional angles within the CGI environment. Customers can enter the space and virtually examine every pair, with interactive navigation and shoppable annotations explaining the sneakers’ design details.
The virtual showroom experience is available on Hypebeast beginning Tuesday, Sept. 21. The 11 styles will be released exclusively on the Neiman Marcus e-commerce site. Additionally, select styles will be available at all 37 Neiman Marcus stores.
Content will be hosted across Hypebeast’s platform and social media channels, including a homepage takeover and Instagram Stories teasing entry for the showroom. Neiman Marcus will also roll out content on its own social platforms and via email marketing.
In June 2021, Neiman Marcus kicked off a three-year intensive digital investment strategy. The retailer has already implemented technology and digital solutions from over 25 companies in an effort to enhance and elevate its luxury customer experience. Neiman Marcus says it will continue to explore opportunities to further its integrated luxury retail focus through acquisitions, partnerships, and building out digital capabilities internally.
“We are experiencing extraordinary growth in our luxury business overall with men’s as one of the standout categories and Neiman Marcus continues to focus on creating magic for its customers with one-of-a-kind experiences and products,” said Lana Todorovich, president and chief merchandising officer, Neiman Marcus. “This opportunity is both innovative and exciting for Neiman Marcus and Hypebeast – it’s allowed us to reimagine what the future of e-commerce looks like while bringing the best of both worlds together and offering access to our top luxury brands who specifically created exclusive shoe styles for our customers.
“Online luxury retail continues to grow and our customers are seeking retail theatre outside of traditional retail interactions,” said Todorovich. “As this space evolves, so does our larger strategy as a multi-channel luxury retailer to provide the most unique and engaging experience in our physical, digital and remote selling environments. We are excited to work with Hypebeast as a forward-thinking partner to explore the future of integrated luxury retail at Neiman Marcus.”
“Exclusivity, hype, and sneakers are three words that make up the ‘hypebeast’ vocabulary, and this virtual showroom continues to push the boundaries on how our readers experience new and exclusive luxury products, specifically sneakers, digitally,” said Huan Nguyen, U.S. VP of brand partnerships, Hypebeast. “In an era of fast-paced digital consumption, a traditional model of promoting has grown stagnant. With our audience in mind, the Hypebeast team worked alongside leading luxury retailer Neiman Marcus to create a digital showroom that can highlight and showcase the sneakers in a new, profound light.
Source: Chain Store Age


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Montreal, Canada, June 07, 2013 --(PR.com
)-- PROFIT Magazine today ranked Stingray Digital No. 115 on the 25th annual PROFIT 500, the definitive ranking of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies. Stingray Digital ranks No.10 in the media and marketing services category. Published in the Summer issue of PROFIT Magazine and online at PROFITguide.com, the PROFIT 500 ranks Canadian businesses by their revenue growth over five years. Stingray Digital, a worldwide leading provider of multiplatform music services, made the PROFIT 500 list with five year revenue growth of 589%.
“To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Fastest Growing Companies in Canada, the PROFIT 500 has expanded to recognize the entrepreneurial achievements of more than 500 Canadian companies,” says Ian Portsmouth, Editor in Chief of PROFIT magazine. “PROFIT is proud to now showcase Canada’s forward thinking small business entrepreneurs and honor their talents and innovations.”
“Stingray Digital is proud to be on the PROFIT 500 ranking and to be ranked No.10 in the media and marketing services category. This achievement reflects the strength of our products and confirms the relevance of our current growth strategy,” says Eric Boyko, President and CEO of Stingray Digital.
Stingray Digital is the largest provider of music services in Canada both for residential use through the Galaxie music service delivered to more than 10 million homes in Canada and enjoyed by 60% of Canadians on a regular basis, and for commercial use with now more than 61,000 commercial locations receiving Stingray Digital-produced music programming.


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Mac Haddow, senior fellow on public policy for the American Kratom Association (AKA), said the state-by-state strategy followed by the proponents of medical marijuana and CBD is one that could work for his organization, too.
“FDA is stretching its regulatory authority in its effort to demonize kratom,” Haddow told NutraIngredients-USA.
Maintaining access through the states
Haddow said FDA’s campaign against the botanical, based on what AKA characterizes as ‘incomplete’ information, has had some success. But when AKA brings the full suite of scientific information on the botanical to the table, the results are unequivocal.
“Six states banned the substance, but those were all based on inaccurate or incomplete information at best,” he said.
“Just under 20 states have since had ban proposals on the table and we have won in every one of those just by going to the state legislators and presenting the science to the legislators,” Haddow said.
Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is a botanical native to Southeast Asia. It has been used to treat chronic pain, PTSD and is alleged to have helped some individuals wean themselves from addiction to opioid pain killers.
FDA first issued an import alert on kratom in 2014 when Dan Fabricant, PhD, was head of the Division (now Office) of Dietary Supplement Programs at FDA. The import alert was reissued this year to update some details, including the companies on the so-called ‘Red List.’
Despite import alert, trade is thriving
Haddow said import alert or no, there are tons of kratom coming into the country on a regular basis. What a marketer intends to do with the material should be a determining factor, he said.
“We think it’s a consumer product that should be available to consumers like a food or a dietary ingredient. Consumers have the right to make informed decisions about using products to maintain their health and well being,” he said.
Haddow said AKA does not support kratom vendors who make unsupported health claims on the product, and has even instituted a program to allow consumers to report such claims to the group.
Fighting off DEA listing
In 2016, AKA was among a group of stakeholders that successfully argued against a plan to add kratom to the list of controlled substances maintained by the Drug Enforcement Administration. A number of prominent politicians objected to the proposed emergency declaration, seeing it as both unnecessary and an overstep of DEA’s bounds. More recently, a group of researchers from Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins, Columbia and other prominent institutions argued that a schedule 1 controlled substances listing would do nothing except retard the urgently needed additional research into the botanical.
Hahn’s ‘fool’s game’ remark seen as significant
As AKA fights the proposed bans at the state level, Haddow said the experience with CBD provides some potential pathways forward. Many people in the industry took notice, he said, when a little more than a year ago former FDA Commissioner Dr Stephen MD, off script in a public address to say that CBD products had become so ubiquitous that trying to get them off the market at this point was “a fool’s game.”
Haddow maintained that FDA’s concerns about kratom have been throughly debunked. Specific safety concerns revolve around the dosages used by some in the West, which seem to be above what was traditionally used in Southeast Asia, as well as the possible existence on the market of products labeled as kratom that contain undeclared pharmaceutical ingredients. But he said in AKA’s view there is no issue with the underlying botanical itself.
“FDA is doing the same thing against kratom as they did with dietary supplements and vitamins in the 1990s. They were claiming that dietary supplements were killing people. They were right about adulterated products but were wrong about the dietary supplements themselves,” he said.


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Resident Evil 6 ships over 4.5M copies
Capcom says worldwide initial shipments of Resident Evil 6 have surpassed 4.5 million; according to the publisher, this number is the highest for a Capcom title.
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Capcom has announced that the latest installment in its Resident Evil franchise, Resident Evil 6, has shipped more than 4.5 million copies worldwide since the game's release on October 2.
According to Capcom, this initial shipment is the highest ever for a Capcom game.
However, shipment figures indicate the number of games shipped to retailers around the world, not the number of games sold through to consumers. Capcom has not yet revealed sales figures for the title.
The publisher also revealed that the Resident Evil series has recorded cumulative sales of more than 50 million units worldwide since the first title in the franchise was released in 1996.
Earlier this week, Resident Evil 6 producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi commented on the rift between fans and developers, and said that the franchise can't please everyone.
Resident Evil 6 shipped on Tuesday to reviews that ranged from positive to cold. GameSpot's critique of the game praised its voice acting and narrative structure, but lamented the title's ubiquitous and lengthy quick-time events, as well as its unimpressive set pieces.
Capcom expects Resident Evil 6 to sell 7 million copies, becoming the publisher's best-selling title in its history.


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Apple’s streaming platform Apple TV+ has garnered its first major award- the Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, given to Billy Crudup for his role in The Morning Show.
Billy Crudup edged out other supporting actors such as Tim Blake Nelson in Watchmen, Peter Dinklage in Game of Thrones, Asia Kate Dillon in Billions and Asante Blackk in This is Us.
The Morning Show was first panned by critics when it debuted on Apple TV+, but viewer response has been positive. It acquired three Golden Globe nominations but failed to win in any of those. Still, Apple considered it a ‘win’ as it was the first subscription service to have nominations in the first year.
The Morning Show is currently in its first season, but Apple has gone ahead and greenlighted the second season ahead of time. Apple TV+ subscribers can expect the new content to appear later this year.


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Communication the key to Byron’s success
NEWS of companies closing plants or cutting staff to stay competitive regularly makes headlines and the fact there is currently a skills shortage across all sectors of industry in Australia is common knowledge.
Mobile RFID: dock door to factory floor
THE ABILITY to access information anytime, anywhere is vital in today’s fast-paced world.
Compressor efficiency not a load of hot air
With climate change and global warming a concern, manufacturers are finding more efficient ways to operate compressors resulting in financial and environmental benefits.


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ST ALBANS, UK - Zünd UK has had a record year for machine sales, with a 35% increase compared to 2013.
Sales of Zünd UK's digital cutting systems have been very strong across all markets, from sign and display, to packaging, from automotive to aerospace, and from leather to special applications.
In the graphics sector, the new Zünd G3 L-2500 in Fine Print's display department attracted the attention of Prime Minister David Cameron during a visit, John E Wright's Zünd G3 XL-3200 system enabled more work to be brought in-house, while Logoshack moved into the POS sector with its new Zünd S3 L-1200.
In packaging, Blue Box Design – a specialist in presentation boxes for luxury goods – modernised its processes with a Zünd S3 L-1200; export-related packaging expert Allport Packaging has made its sample production workflow more efficient thanks to a Zünd G3 M2500; and Sheard Packaging's new Zünd G3 L-2500 has increased its daily capacity for sample-making.
In addition, aircraft interiors specialist AIM Composites purchased a Zünd S3 L-1600 after seeing a version at 2013's Composites Engineering Show and finding it 'a better all-round package' compared to other machines in the field.
Zünd cutting systems also had a starring role in a recent episode of Innovations with Ed Begley, Jr on the USA's Discovery Channel and in the flesh at Zünd UK's recently renovated demonstration suite at its St Albans HQ.
"We've had a very successful 2014 across the board and expect 2015 to be just as busy," says Peter Giddings, Zünd UK Sales Director. "We're seeing renewed confidence in the UK's manufacturing sector with more businesses looking to invest in systems that will make their workflow faster and more efficient, or allow them to explore new markets.
"We're looking forward to inviting more resellers and customers to our revamped demonstration centre in 2015 to show how Zünd equipment can be used within an efficient end-to-end workflow in a range of industries, as well as showcasing our systems at a number of events."


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By Zach Hope
Young Australian families have given up on overseas holidays and instead flooded the grey nomad-dominated caravan and motorhome market.
A barren March and April for the industry, as people digested the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, turned into a record May and June for many dealers and manufacturers, according to the industry's peak body.
Second-hand caravan sales through online forums such as Facebook and Gumtree have also been running hot, with some deals getting snapped up within minutes of being posted.
While the older generation still ruled the parks and roads, sellers said there had been a noticeable spike of younger people and families of culturally diverse backgrounds buying their products.
Gerard Waldron of Melbourne's Track Trailer said cheaper rooftop tents, which sell for about $5000, had been particularly popular among young people keen to escape at-home isolation.
Caravan Industry Association of Australia chief executive Stuart Lamont said members had reported increased sales across all price points and segments once it became apparent other countries were off limits for the foreseeable future.
"Whether it's that family market, approaching retirement, or retirement, everyone's just hot," Mr Lamont said.
Some customers had diverting large deposits for cancelled international trips into caravanning products, he said, while for others it was a case of "if not now, when?"
Shaun Noble of Melbourne's Goldstream RV said winter was the traditional quiet time for the Victorian industry, but COVID-19 had turned the calendar upside down.
"It's like the dog that's been locked up. What does the dog do once he's let off the leash? He goes for a run and wags his tail," Mr Noble said.
"If you said your KPI was 100, well, you've done about 200 [for June]. But how long can the trend go for?"
Caravan giant Jayco reported a near-80 per cent increase in sales since restrictions began to ease across the states.
While optimistic, all the dealers and manufacturers contacted by The Sunday Age feared the effects of the COVID-19 second surge engulfing Melbourne and what the looming end of current-level stimulus programs could mean for consumer confidence.
Northcote couple Anastasia Scales and Miss Carruthers said a taste for caravanning over the Christmas period in a rental had turned into an "obsession" during the lockdown.
The avid international travellers bought an old caravan several weeks ago to renovate as a family, with the help of their son Okana, 3, and have since sold it to fund an even better model.
"It was a case of 'what can we prepare at home to be ready for when COVID goes away or restrictions are lifted?" Ms Scales, 33, said.
But the online competition for a second-hand van was "brutal", she said.
"Every time we'd find a caravan we could afford or we liked, we'd say 'yep, we'll be there tomorrow' and they'd call back and say 'no we've sold it' – or we'd even be on the way to get it and they'd say it was sold," she said.
"The one we have now, the ad had only been up 10 minutes. We had to drop everything and I had to leave work early so we could go look at this caravan and pay for it. We were lucky we got the guy to hold it for an hour while we drove out there."
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While the recent Melbourne outbreaks had been "deflating", Ms Scales said they planned to visit Central Australia as soon as time and the pandemic will allow.
Nick Hunter from Sunliner RVs, whose top-end products retail for more than $300,000, said inquiries had increased about 60-70 per cent from the early days of the pandemic.
"In the last month-and-a-half people have got over it and thought: 'It's not doomsday, things are going to clear' and the floodgates opened," he said.
But he believed the increased interest meant there was now a need to prepare caravanning hotspots for increased traffic and to educate newcomers to the realities of the on-the-road lifestyle.
"At the end of the day, you have a lovely motorhome, but you still have to empty the toilet in a caravan park" he said.


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eBay has once again found itself at the centre of a very public fraud trial this week after one of its member sold fictional products and pocketed the very real cash from unsuspecting buyers. The incident, involving an 18-year-old from Wales who amassed around £45,000 over roughly a year, echoes a similar case late last year of a woman convicted of taking £3,000 from five separate eBay customers for non-existent tickets to the Glastonbury music festival.
The judge in the Glastonbury ticket case argued that it's "hardly surprising" that eBay was targeted by criminals given the measures it has put in place to protect users. Now, UK judges may not be renowned for their technical know-how, but given an extremely similar case of fraud has arisen just four months later, this particular adjudicator seems to have a point.
For its part, eBay claims to take fraud extremely seriously and points out that less than 0.01 percent of all listings on its site result in a confirmed case of fraud. This seems very admirable until you consider the sheer scale of eBay's operation. The company claims to have millions of products listed on its site on any one day. If just one million of these auctions finish in any one day, then at the very least there are around 100 confirmed cases of fraud every 24 hours – remember, that's not including the unconfirmed cases.
Eradicating online fraud is virtually impossible. As eBay's director of performance engineering and availability Paul Kilmartin admitted this week, the only way for the company to eradicate fraud completely would be to switch off its site. While this is true enough, to say that eBay is doing everything short of this drastic solution to protect its customers isn't quite accurate.
When Kilmartin was quizzed about eBay's plans for two-factor authentication — using an additional form of identification along with passwords to identify users — he claimed that the company would only implement the technology if customers asked for it. This is a very strange stance to take especially when you consider that late last year, eBay's own chief security officer Howard Schmidt called for greater use of two-factor authentication.
eBay is not alone in dragging its feet over beefing up security — many online banks are failing to keep pace with the technological advancements in this area too. At the end of the day, corporations are happy to live with a certain amount of loss as long as it doesn't impact on their bottom line or their public image too much. This may work out fine for them, but it's not so great for the unlucky 0.01 percent. Implementing two-factor authentication would be costly for eBay to implement, and until customers start voting with their feet it's not going to happen. Given that kind of ultimatum, surely it's time to start voting?