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CELEBRITY chefs Jean Christophe Novelli and Claire Lara will be sharing the secrets of their success when the fifth Southport Food & Drink Festival gets underway today (Thursday, May 12).
Hell’s Kitchen star Novelli, and Lara, who won Professional Masterchef earlier this year, will be among a brilliant brigade of culinary stars presiding over the four-day event.
They will creating some of their tastiest recipes for members of the public in a specially-created food village in the town hall gardens, with Lara doing demonstrations at 12pm today (Thursday) and Novelli performing shows at 12pm and 1.30pm this Sunday.
This year’s festival got off to a dizzying start on Monday, with a rollercoaster ride with a difference.
Launching this year’s appetising event was an eye-watering recreation of the Jim’ll Fix It rollercoaster challenge.
Back in 1980, Jim fixed it for a group of scouts to eat their lunch on a rollercoaster. In a nod to one of TV’s most memorable moments, eight youngsters from the 1st Ormskirk Scout Group launched this year’s festival by savouring a variety of foods while riding Pleasureland’s celebrated Wildcat rollercoaster.
Speaking at the launch on Monday, group scout leader Dave Redwood, said: “We jumped at the chance to be involved in recreating such a legendary event.
“The kids had a great time, as did we!”
Visitors to Southport Food & Drink Festival are guaranteed a vibrant experience crammed full of mouth-watering tastes and evocative smells with a range of attractions including al fresco dining, exhibitions and sampling.
Following in Claire Lara’s footsteps today (Thursday) will be nutrition expert Jeannette Jackson at 1pm, offering an insight into her simple, easy, effective nutrition and diet plans.
At 2pm students from Southport College ‘Clouds Restaurant’ will be performing a special edition of Ready, Steady, Cook.
Then at 3.30pm talented chefs Tom Wareing and Ross Hunt from Southport’s Cloisters Dining Rooms will be cooking up a storm and giving you secrets from inside their kitchen.
A food village will allow visitors to taste a selection of signature dishes from the best restaurants in Southport, while a Spring Beer Festival plays host to local breweries and microbreweries.
Southport Chilli Festival (Thursday and Friday), Southport Chocolate Festival (Saturday) and The English Wine Fair (Sunday) are among other not-to-be-missed events.
Food-lovers can also stock up at the Artisan Market on Lord Street (12pm-6pm each day), the Local Producers Market on Chapel Street (12pm-6pm each day) and the Street Food Fair on Monument Square, Lord Street (11am-6pm each day).
The Crosby Herald will also be at the event, with a stall on Chapel Street, selling copies of all the weekly titles in our group, as well as the Liverpool Echo.
People who buy one title can get a free children’s book, while anyone who buys two titles will be entered into a free raffle, with the chance to win a petrol lawnmower or a trolley barbecue.
l For a full programme of Food Festival events, visit: www.visitsouthport.com/foodanddrink or call 01704 533333.


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JPMorgan expects the use of the financial blockchain to grow as the crypto industry grows. The global investment bank says: “We want to make sure we are not only able to support this, but are also willing to provide related services.”
JPMorgan Blockchain Projects
JPMorgan Chase & Co plans to further use the blockchain in traditional finance and is preparing to offer related services, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
The global investment bank uses blockchain for collateral settlements, allowing its clients to use a wider-range of assets as collateral and trade outside of market hours. The first of those transactions took place on May 20.
Ben Challice, global head of marketing services at JPMorgan, reportedly said:
What we have achieved is the hassle-free transfer of collateral assets on an immediate basis.
In addition to derivatives trading, repo trading and securities lending, JPMorgan said it plans to expand tokenized collateral to include stocks, fixed-income securities and other types of assets.
Tyrone Lobban, Head of Blockchain Launch at JPMorgan and Onyx Digital Assets, explained that over time, the banking blockchain will become a bridge connecting institutional investors to decentralized financial platforms. (Challenge) crypto crypto -economy.
He continues that as the crypto industry grows:
There is a growing set of financial activities happening on the public blockchain, so we want to make sure we are able to support not only this, but are also willing to provide related services.
In February, JP Morgan opened a “JP Morgan’s Onyx” lounge in the metaverse. The bank estimates Metaverse to be “a trillion-dollar revenue opportunity in advertising, social commerce, digital events, hardware, and developer/creator monetization.”
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, though skeptical of bitcoin and crypto, is strong on the blockchain. He said in April, “Decentralized finance and blockchain are truly new technologies that can be used publicly and privately, licensed or not.”
This week, strategists at JPMorgan released a bullish report on bitcoin and the cryptocurrency, saying there has been a “significant increase” in the price of BTC. The bank has also replaced real estate with cryptocurrencies as the “preferred alternative asset class”.
What do you think of JPMorgan’s blockchain projects? Let us know in the comments section below.
Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
CAUTIONS: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any product, service or company. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal or accounting advice. The company or the author shall not be liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use or reliance on any content, goods or services referred to in this article. .

domain: news


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Eventbrite continues to operate at a net loss. However, its financial outlook has significantly improved. Despite the latest Covid-related cancelations the company is confident that its strong execution and improved operating model will enable it to progress toward profitability.
Eventbrite, the global self-service ticketing and experience technology platform is one of the most prominent companies operating in the event tech sector. Despite posting a net loss of $20.5 million for the second quarter of 2021, it believes that the flexibility of its model will drive it to profit once again, even as its users navigate changing public health and safety conditions.
The numbers shared by the company help to paint a detailed picture of the fragile recovery across the event industry, particularly in the U.S. While the company is looking to further develop its virtual event offering, it is clear that it cannot rely on virtual events to drive it back to profitability.
There are signs that a return to profitability is possible, although this is something that it has not been able to do since the start of the pandemic. In Eventbrite’s Q2 2021 Shareholder Letter, the company makes it clear that it is confident in its ability to progress toward profitability, despite the latest covid-related cancelations and tighter regulations across much of the U.S.
“Our strong financial results reflect the demand for live gathering, as well as the benefits of our strategic focus and increased operating leverage,” said Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz.
While the latest numbers are encouraging, Eventbrite is still working hard to recoup its significant losses in 2020. Despite Eventbrite’s flexible offering, the platform performs just as well for both virtual and in-person events, it is clear that the lower average ticket price of virtual events makes profitability extremely challenging where in-person events are not an option.
Eventbrite is not alone. Companies across the event industry that pivoted from in-person to virtual events have struggled with the lower ticket prices and general lower value to participation associated with virtual events. With many virtual events featuring free registration, there is added pressure on sponsorship and other ways to generate revenue from virtual events. Eventbrite is clearly not immune to this, particularly as it continues to offer the basic version of its platform at no cost for free-to-attendee events.
Nevertheless, 16 million paid tickets were sold on the platform in the last quarter, an increase of 57 compared to the first quarter of 2021, and an increase of 241 percent compared to the same period last year. It also shares the U.S. market accounted for 66 percent of all paid tickets, a number that was at 60 percent in the previous quarter. This is another figure that exemplifies the value of the resurgence of in-person events for the company and industry as a whole.
Australia operated in a covid zero environment for a lot of the second quarter of 2021. Here Eventbrite registered a new all-time quarterly record in paid tickets, and a 10x increase in paid tickets for in-person events compared with one year ago; a strong indication of pent-up demand for in-person events globally.
Eventbrite also shared that high-frequency creators are now hosting more than twice as many events as a year ago. This striking effect of the pandemic may also reflect a market saturation driven by the lower barrier to entry of virtual events.
Eventbrite continues to fine-tune its offering including integrating streaming technology, enabling the product to operate as a simple virtual event platform. When matched with the company’s renowned event marketplace and future developments in demand generation, there could be plans to disrupt virtual event technology vendors.
Hartz said, “heading into the second half of the year, we plan to continue our investment in product development to address creators’ needs and lay the foundation for long-term growth”.
There is clearly a push towards boosting its product, with the company spending 9 percent more on product development in the last quarter compared to the previous. While investment in technical infrastructure and platform is up, sales, marketing, and support expenses were down 2 percent compared to the previous quarter, perhaps reflecting the continuing need to cut costs across the board.
Eventbrite’s latest numbers are encouraging, but it’s not out of trouble just yet. With uncertain conditions returning to the U.S. in recent weeks, it remains to be seen whether it, along with much of the event industry, can continue the upward trend toward being sustainable once more.


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Action Fraud ‘ignored dossier detailing Bitcoin scam’
A bitcoin trader accused of stealing nearly half a million pounds from investors reportedly continues to trade cryptocurrency from his home in Shropshire as Action Fraud ignores a dossier detailing his alleged crimes.
More than 30 people have reported the trader to the national centre, which handles fraud complaints for the police, after losing their savings in a complex bitcoin scam. Despite being passed a detailed report with names, contact details and evidence of the online transactions Action Fraud has failed to act since the cases were first reported in May.
It is the latest in a series of failings exposed at the fraud centre. An undercover investigation by The Times this week revealed staff mocked victims as “morons” and were trained to mislead them


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This October, peripheral maker Hori is releasing three GameCube controllers for Nintendo Switch. The controllers are Mario, Zelda, and Pikachu themed. No word yet on an international release.
Evo 2018 will allow Super Smash Bros competitors to play using the Smash Box, a controversial alternative to the aging Gamecube controller. Evo’s decision marks the pinnacle in an ongoing debate among Smash tournament hosts about controller rules.


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On BBC Radio 4's well-respected 'You and Yours' programme t'other lunchtime, it was reported that a 2014 UK government initiative intended to help individuals repeatedly targeted by postal scams was failing miserably. The consumer protection scheme was created in response to findings that the names and addresses of around 10,000 individuals in the UK -- the overwhelming majority elderly, living alone, and likely to be suffering from some age-related illness or other -- had finished up on target lists bought and sold by criminal gangs, as a result of which they were being subjected to repeated, multiple scam attempts.
The initiative called upon local authority Trading Standards officers to visit local victims and set up a contact arrangement whereby the victims could provide TS with whatever scam materials they were receiving. The arrangement would not only aid investigations into the scammers, it would also reassure the victims that official help was readily to hand.
A check into how well the scheme was working showed that in the two years it has been running, only 120 victims have so far been visited. The failure was explained by a representative of the Trading Standards Institute as a case of the government on one hand making lofty promises about UK consumer protection and, on the other hand, cutting the resources upon which those promises depended for their fulfillment.
The government, said the representative, had abolished so many UK trading standards posts that the total today is exactly half what it was five years ago.
I seem to remember that a particular politician and a particular political party of recent memory made much of something called The Big Society. What wasn't made clear was that this referred to The Big Society of Scammers and Scumbags. Perhaps we should've asked.


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Controversial Shooter 'Hatred' Returns To Steam Greenlight After Removal, Devs Receive Email From Valve Boss Gabe Newell
If you've keeping a close eye on game news this week, you'll know that Hatred, a controversial indie shooter that has the player killing civilians and police officers as part of a "genocide crusade," was placed on Steam Greenlight then shortly pulled by Valve. Now, Hatred is back up on Greenlight following an apology to the developers from Gabe Newell himself.
Today developer Destructive Creations announced that their game was back on Greenlight and that Hatred currently sits in the top-ranked position of all other games on Steam's indie spotlight platform. The developers also shared the text of an email, reprinted below, that Creative Director Jaroslaw Zielinski received from Valve boss Gabe Newell himself, who apologized for the game's sudden removal from Steam.
Yesterday I heard that we were taking Hatred down from Greenlight. Since I wasn’t up to speed, I asked around internally to find out why we had done that. It turns out that it wasn’t a good decision, and we’ll be putting Hatred back up. My apologies to you and your team. Steam is about creating tools for content creators and customers.
Good luck with your game.
If you're confused as to why Hatred stirred up some disagreement within the games industry, check out the game's trailer below. Not only is the game's premise of a shooter going on a rampage and killing innocent civilians a cause of controversy, but the game's featured executions are pretty unrestrained and graphic.
In any case, the game is once again on Greenlight where the Steam player base now has the chance to make their own decision and let Valve know whether or not they'd like to see this game hit distribution through Steam.


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Situated on the edge of Lake Michigan in Mequon, Wisc., the ranch home’s bones were not questionable. A local businessman and audio aficionado, had some specific needs, according to Koutsky. These included great-looking video with equally great audio, all without being seen.
Nortek Control, manufacturer of smart connected devices and systems for residential and commercial customers, has introduced Proficient® Protege rock and planter loudspeakers, designed to blend into their surroundings while providing high-quality speaker sound to the outdoors. The two new Proficient rock speakers (PAS-RS6 and PAS-RS8i) are available in granite, speckled granite, sandstone and shale brown. The new planter speaker (PAS-PS6Si)…
Formerly Training Allies, Cogent360 has developed advanced media design capabilities, including VR, 3D modeling, and ultrarealistic 360° virtual experiences that allow viewers to explore, interact, learn, make purchases, and more.
Home entertainment seating company RowOne® is now offering dealers faster delivery and new seating options for home theaters and other areas of the home.
Jeff Caton, CEO of High-Tech Network, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, July 31, at his home in Norris, TN. Caton was born in Tennessee and began his AV career at 19 years old working for Harvey’s Warehouse in Knoxville. Over the next few decades, Caton served as a retail store manager. He transitioned to a position with a manufacturer’s representative…
Jay Penney has joined Element Electronics. In his new position, he will spearhead the Element Electronics’ new private-label appliance initiative.
Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA) will offer its Tommapalooza by HTSA training event at the upcoming CEDIA Expo in Indianapolis running August 31 – September 3, 2021.
At CEDIA Expo 2021 (September 1-3 in Indianapolis), Draper will show how to create and take advantage of comfortable outdoor spaces with shades.
The township is “home to industrialists, politicians and Fortune 500 executives” and has long been considered one of New Jersey’s most exclusive areas,” according to the NY Times.
Using Somfy’s new TaHoma Gateway, Somfy-powered shading solutions can now be fully integrated into the smart home and controlled through the SmartThings application.


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Amidst the crowd of Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Voot, ALT Balaji and Hotstar, Vuclip’s video-on-demand service Viu said it will battle the space by focusing on regional content in India, which will also deliver the next phase of growth for the company, reports The Hindu Business Line. Shantanu Gangane, Marketing Head at Viu India told the publication that Viu has also invested in Viu Originals for user engagement and will acquire content and create originals in regional languages. So far, the company has content in Hindi, English, and Telugu. It also has a few originals in those languages already. Viu has also had content partnerships with the likes of Shemaroo Entertainment, Vikram Bhatt, Cricketer Virender Sehwag, Reliance Big Entertainment, Sony Music, Zee Digital Convergence, and Balaji Motion Pictures, to name a few. Besides local content, the company also said that it will also bring Korean content for Viu’s Indian viewers as Vuclip has a tie up with major broadcasters from South Korea for all the territories they operate in. Launched in March 2016, Viu is a freemium video on demand service that charges ₹99 per month for a subscription to provide ad-free viewing of content and access to exclusive content. Viu is currently available in India, Malaysia and Indonesia. Competition: Regional content in India Since it launched in December last year, Amazon Prime Video has major bollywood tie ups including Salman Khan. Note that in May this year Amazon’s Fire TV streaming stick had added Viu as an app on its platform. Netflix is also investing large amounts of…
- How many crypto exchanges registered with India’s FIU following government notification? March 21, 2023
- Why is Twitter’s move to withhold accounts amid internet shutdown in Punjab problematic? March 21, 2023
- RTI: No details on how many entities have complied with CERT-In’s cybersecurity directions March 21, 2023
- Flipkart Not Required to Take “Action” on Copyright Complaints Under Platform Regulation Rules: Delhi HC March 21, 2023
- RTI: Indian govt says registration on U-WIN “not compulsory” yet for vaccination, but is the information public? March 21, 2023
MediaNama’s mission is to help build a digital ecosystem which is open, fair, global and competitive.
Amazon announced that it will integrate its logistics network and SmartCommerce services with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).
India's smartphone operating system BharOS has received much buzz in the media lately, but does it really merit this attention?
After using the Mapples app as his default navigation app for a week, Sarvesh draws a comparison between Google Maps and Mapples
In the case of the ‘deemed consent' provision in the draft data protection law, brevity comes at the cost of clarity and user protection
The regulatory ambivalence around an instrument so essential to facilitate data exchange – the CM framework – is disconcerting for several reasons.
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Facing a social-media firestorm after a video surfaced of Domino’s Pizza employees apparently acting in a highly unhygienic manner, the company’s president on Wednesday, April 15, issued an apology.
Patrick Doyle, president of the chain’s domestic operations, in the clip below described the antics that took place at a Domino’s in North Carolina as an “isolated incident.” Doyle said he was “sickened” by “the actions of two individuals” in the company’s employ and he stressed Domino’s commitment to winning back the trust of the public.
Doyle said Domino’s would review its hiring practices to make sure such behavior doesn’t happen in the future and he thanked the online community for its support. The store in question, he said, is being thoroughly sanitized.
The YouTube clip of the employees is no longer available due to a copyright claim.
AdFreak covered the incident yesterday, with Adweek digital editor Brian Morrissey wryly musing: “This is not Abu Ghraib, but it’s sure to strike a chord. How long before this bounces around Twitter and blogs before The New York Times weighs in with a chin-scratching 1,500-word article a week later?”
Separately, another fast-food titan, Burger King, is finding itself in hot water over a pair of ads.


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AT&T drops in-flight 4G plan
November 12 , 2014
AT&T has dropped plans to provide in-flight 4G connectivity, the firm reportedly said.
In a statement, the telecom giant said it was shelving the project and would invest money in other avenues. The decision was taken after “a thorough review of our investment portfolio,” a company spokesperson said.
Earlier this year, AT&T and American firm Honeywell had said that they planned to bring 4G connectivity to US commercial flights, with bandwidth good enough for video streaming.


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There may be customers for the city’s body shop after all — if Schenectady is willing to negotiate a better price.
Glenville officials have considered several proposals, but the city is not yet offering a competitive price compared with the private companies the town uses now.
Rotterdam officials said they, too, would consider getting rust sandblasted off their vehicles if the price was right. They are also convinced that the sandblasting would let them keep expensive machinery on the roads longer.
And if they sign on, the city’s loudest critic of the body shop might finally be satisfied.
Councilman Vince Riggi said he was impressed when Glenville officials said they used to regularly extend the life of their trucks by sandblasting off rust. Maybe the process is worth it, he said.
“There’s no question it’s going to last longer, so I’m not going to say it’s a bad thing for preventative maintenance. My thing was whether it was really cost-efficient for the city to do it,” he said.
He wants to see profits rise at the body shop.
“When this was first done, we were promised a lot of things by [Commissioner of General Services Carl] Olsen and I haven’t seen them. We’re on our third year now,” he said.
The shop was expected to bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue every year, but the first two years were disappointing.
In 2012, it brought in just $80,000 while spending $145,200.
For 2013, it is budgeted to bring in even less: $50,000. One of the two employees was cut from the shop, bringing the total budget to $98,300, but that’s still twice as much as the shop will bring in.
Now that might change. Glenville is considering a contract with the city for sandblasting and repainting municipal trucks. Rotterdam officials also said the procedure could be valuable because it extends vehicle life and lets them postpone vehicle purchases.
It all comes down to price.
If the city offers the municipalities a good deal, they’ll take it. But the price has to be less than they’d spend to replace vehicles or hire private contractors to do the sandblasting.
“If the dollars and cents make sense, then absolutely,” said Glenville Highway Superintendent Thomas Coppola.
He said the town used to sandblast rust off its trucks and repaint them regularly. Now they hire private contractors, but the price is so high that they’ve only sent a couple of trucks out for sandblasting.
He said the procedure definitely works.
“The more proactive you are, the better you are. When they start to show surface rust and flaking, that’s when to do it,” he said. “You’re looking at extending that body for five to seven years.”
He sandblasts trucks that cost $180,000, to avoid buying new ones.
“The longer you can keep that truck, the better off you are,” he said, adding that the trucks develop rust quickly. “We run salt, so it’s very corrosive.”
In Rotterdam, Supervisor Harry Buffardi said he’s also a believer in sandblasting.
“We believe it would [help],” he said. “We would certainly consider it. Erosion and corrosion to those vehicles take away the life expectancy of those vehicles.”
Mayor Gary McCarthy said he would like to see more revenue from the body shop, but he defended it as a valuable service even if no one else ever contracts with the city. The body shop has maintained many city trucks that otherwise would be in poor shape now, he argued.
“The ability to do some work internally, I believe it does pay off,” he said.


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It's your business: Seattle's Best Coffee replacing Borders cafe
Patrons of Borders Books & Music in Champaign will have to do without its cafe for three weeks.
The store's cafe closed Saturday, to be replaced April 17 with a Seattle's Best Coffee cafe, general manager Linda Bantz said. The cafe will sport new tables, chairs and colors.
Seattle's Best is a sister company to Starbucks, Bantz said. Borders stores in Bloomington and Peoria will also get Seattle's Best Coffee cafes, she said.
IGA returns to Tolono
As of today, Maggio Foods in Tolono has become Maggio's Everyday IGA.
Store co-owner Mark Maggio said the store was an IGA until 1999, but ceased being one when it no longer met IGA's requirements for amount of business and square footage.
"IGA has come out with a new program for smaller stores of 7,000 to 11,000 square feet, called Everyday IGAs," Maggio said.
Becoming an IGA again will allow Maggio's to advertise with other area IGAs, expanding its outreach, Maggio said.
About 250 new items are being added, the frozen food section is increasing by 50 percent and a new store sign should go up this week, he added.
Maggio's grandfather, Gus Maggio, operated the store from 1956 to 1972, when his son John took over. John Maggio operated the store until 1985, when he sold it. His sons, Mark and Brian, bought it in October 1999, returning it to Maggio family hands.
Peoria Charter Coach opens building
About 125 people turned out for the Thursday opening of the new $1 million Peoria Charter Coach Co. terminal at 2008 N. Federal Drive, U.
The operation is the company's first expansion outside Peoria, according to Cindy Winkler, who owns the company with her husband, Bill.
The Urbana terminal has room for six motor coaches and is designed to be expanded for 24 coaches, Winkler said. The company employs 12 drivers locally.
Staffing the local office are operations coordinator Robert Bridgewater, tour coordinator Nancy Leithliter and service coordinator David Lightly. They can be reached at 344-9943.
Peoria Charter Coach offers professional charter service and custom tour planning for groups. The company also offers about 300 retail tours. Customers can read about the tours in a full-color magazine published every two months, she said.
Cindy Winkler said her family decided to branch out to Champaign-Urbana when Illini-Swallow Lines went out of business.
"They were doing what we wanted to do, and when they sold and the new owners were not able to make it, we decided it was time we go ahead and come over there," she said.
Peoria Charter had been serving the University of Illinois for three years, she added.
The company was founded by Bill Winkler's grandfather, Walt Winkler, in 1941. It initially transported Caterpillar employees to factories when gas rationing made it difficult for them to drive. Later, Walt's sons, Roger and Stanley, took over the business.
Roger's son, Bill, and his wife Cindy succeeded them in 1990, moving back from Florida to operate the business.
A battery for every occasion
"The average person has about 20 battery-operated devices in his household," Mark Martinez said.
That's why Interstate All Battery Center opened at 2504 N. Mattis Ave. in Champaign. The shop carries batteries for all kinds of uses – cellphones, pagers, cordless phones, medical equipment and emergency lighting systems among them.
Martinez, the manager, said the varieties include nickel cadmium, lithium and nickel metal hydride batteries.
Interstate All Battery Center shares space there with Interstate Battery System of Champaign-Urbana. That business has traditionally carried car batteries, agricultural equipment batteries and marine batteries.
Both franchises are owned by Ron Zehr.
Getting ready for bar/restaurant
If you've driven by the corner of Main and Walnut in downtown Champaign this week, you may have noticed new brickwork going up on the Enterprise Building at 34 Main St.
"Right now we've got the west side done, and then we'll do the north side," said Marc Miller, attorney for property owner William Youngerman. "We're going to put some big windows in on the first floor, on the west side."
"We hope to announce a restaurant/bar at some point in time," he added.
The upstairs will also be refurbished for three one-bedroom apartments, he said.
Rx for boring house
Wish you had a brick wall instead of drywall? A cobblestone floor rather than concrete?
Lori Kelso can provide the look with her paintbrush.
Kelso has started Interior Artistry as a division of her husband's St. Joseph-based business, Kelso Construction. She has already created many faux finishes in area homes. Her work was also featured in last year's local Showcase of Homes, she said.
Kelso said she can create a variety of finishes such as wood grain or brick on walls, floors, doors and countertops. For more information, call 841-9859.
What's your problem?
On any given day, the average person could:
– Have a yen to catch catfish.
– Have an outboard motor that won't work.
– Notice his or her yard is in sorry need of attention.
– Have an annoying computer glitch.
– Need ceramic tile installed, a room painted or some small home repair done.
Gary Hoover of Urbana, also known as The Problem Solver, says he can provide those services around the house – and also be your catfish guide. He doesn't do marriage counseling, though, so if you need that, you're on your own.
Hoover can be called at 778-1199, or e-mailed at problemsolver2112[AT]insightbb.com.
Z-Tech, formerly the Champaign Ziebart shop until it went independent and changed its name, is now offering power washing for homes and businesses and detailing for corporate vehicles, according to owner Mike Lingenfelter.
The shop at 1306 N. Prospect Ave. also offers accessories for cars and trucks, window tinting and rustproofing.
Are you opening a new business, or changing something at your existing business? Debra Pressey can be reached by phone at 351-5229 or 1-800-252-3346; by e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.org; or by regular mail at The News-Gazette, c/o It's Your Business column, P.O. Box 677, Champaign, IL 61824-0677.


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Human connection, love for the brand and an emotional connect with the consumer are some of the major drivers of loyalty programmes, said panellists at the VCCircle India Loyalty Conclave 2016.
This change has come about in the approach advertisers and marketers have adopted over the past few years, the panellists said at the event held in Mumbai on Wednesday.
In his opening address, CVL Srinivas, South Asia CEO at advertising firm GroupM, said that brands need to move toward real-time marketing and that social media has now become a new platform for rewards.
“There is very little planning that we do today. There is a lot of test and learn because of the change,” he said.
An example of the adaptive approach is Red Label tea’s campaign, which adopted the cause of the transgenders. “Nobody talks about the transgender cause. They came up with the idea of creating a transgender band,” added Srinivas. The ‘6 Pack Band’ pop group, created by Mindshare Mumbai, won the Glass Lions Grand Prix at the 2016 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
“To build a strong brand, you need to create brand love. You need to have that emotional appeal with your consumer, no matter which sector,” said Srinivas.
Manmeet Vohra, director of marketing and category at Starbucks, echoed similar views in a panel discussion on ‘The changing face of India’s loyalty ecosystem: Industry leaders on innovative incentives’. She said that it is difficult to isolate customer service from loyalty programmes. She cited a survey by Starbucks which showed that, besides coffee, customers went back to the store because of the connection they felt with the staff.
“We are not in the business of transactions. We are in the business of creating special moments for customers,” she added.
The panellists said that brands use multiple pillars of loyalty to drive rewards such as through experiences, through social media communication and by recognising the consumer.
Arnika Dixit, vice president and head of marketing for India and South Asia at American Express, said that instead of the reward itself, it is the experience of the reward that is critical. “Consumers are saying that feeling practical and efficient is a higher driver of reward satisfaction for them than feeling happy,” she said.
She added that it is important to be present where the consumer is and for that it is necessary to adopt a mobile-first approach and use social channels.
The participants also said that advertisers need to use consumer data more effectively.
“Everything is data led. Advertising is moving toward buying the right audiences,” Srinivas said. Delving into these sources of data, which are very disparate, and creating an integrated view of the consumer is one of the main drivers of building brand loyalty, he added.
Kartik Jain, who leads HDFC Bank’s marketing and customer analytics division, concurred with Srinivas in suggesting a strong data analytics approach toward loyalty. Analytics helps identify a customer’s behaviour preferences across various categories, said Jain, who felt the main drivers of brand loyalty are product, service and price.
Moving away from discounts
A common strategy that most brands adopted to attract customers to loyalty programmes was discounts, and this has been most evident in the online e-commerce sector. However, a shift is taking place.
Anish Khadiya, director of strategy and planning at fashion e-tailer Myntra, said that while discounts are the norm in online e-commerce, his company is trying to move away from it. “Part of that journey is through personalisation and part through experience,” he said.
However, this is not enough. A third element to drive customer loyalty is through engagement. Myntra intends to move away from discounts by offering its customers personalisation combined with engagement.
The move away from discounts is reflected even in the jewellery segment. In a panel discussion on ‘Creating segment-specific vs generic loyalty initiatives’, Pankaj Shah, chief executive of retail at Gitanjali Gems, said that loyalty is now more about cross-selling, service and the channel segment.
“Loyalty is not about points. It’s about the package. You have to pamper the customer and provide additional services,” he explained. Moreover, loyalty applies not just to the customer but to an organisation’s employees as well.
Aditya Rath, partner at audit and consulting firm KPMG, said that a sales and marketing professional is not judged by the programme or capability of channel but by the experience he or she can give to the consumer. Empowering the customer is a critical factor for a loyalty and rewards programme, Rath said.
According to Siddhartha Pahwa, chief executive of Meru Cabs, any loyalty programme today has to have its own TOMA (top-of-mind awareness). The channel on which a brand sells its product or service is crucial in determining the kind of loyalty programme it wants, whether a generic one or the brand’s own. Communicating with consumers on a digital platform is easier and more targeted, as opposed to selling products or services in a retail outlet, he said. In a mall or store, especially one which has multiple brands, it is more difficult to generate high brand awareness, he added.
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The Federal Communication Commission is making good on its warning to signal jammer vendors on Friday Sept. 30, issuing a sweeping citation to 20 of them.
Earlier this year, the FCC issued a warning to consumers and vendors of the illegal nature of jamming devices, and warned would-be violators of the consequences that may come if selling or using such devices.
The vendors listed in the citation order are all online vendors that offer a range of illegal jammers such as GPS blockers for vehicles, high-tech signal blockers with remote control capabilities, jammers disguised as paintings and cigarette packs, other small, easily-concealable cell phone jammers, as well as high powered industrial jammers that have the potential to disrupt radio signals in areas as large as a football field.
The citation requires that the online vendors report within 30 days on their specific actions taken to correct the violation. The citation also warns that continued violation may bring fines, equipment seizure or imprisonment.
By: J Klinger


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From Whataburger to Elite Training, here are 8 Collierville businesses set to open in 2022
Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Collierville will see multiple businesses open in 2022 including a restaurant, a photo studio and home stores.
Here are eight businesses opening in Collierville in 2022. Unless otherwise noted, exact opening dates have not been set for the businesses, according to the Collierville Chamber of Commerce.
The Texas-based burger joint is headed to Collierville.
Whataburger, 1088 W. Poplar Ave., will serve its famous fresh-never-frozen beef burgers 24 hours a day in the town. It will be one of five Whataburgers in the Memphis area.
NEW WHATABURGER LOCATIONS: Whataburger plans five Memphis-area locations. Here's where and when they'll open.
Mid South Furniture Inc.
Mid South Furniture will open in the former Macy's location in the Carriage Crossing mall, 4660 Merchants Park Circle.
Area residents will be able to find couches, chairs, dining sets and more at Mid South Furniture.
MACY'S IN COLLIERVILLE: Macy's store closures in 2021: Carriage Crossing location to close
People looking to spruce up their Christmas trees, office spaces or homes with specialized ornaments can look forward to Magnolia 901, an art sales business run by Collierville resident Aggie Dorr.
The collection will feature Dorr's 6-inch ornaments with crystals, which she makes and ships out of her home.
Magnolia 901's website has launched and people can begin ordering now.
Blue Cloud Distribution of Tennessee
PepsiCo's wholesale beverage distribution Blue Cloud Distribution of Tennessee is coming to Collierville this year.
The drink hub, 110 Byhalia Road, will sell, merchandise and deliver PepsiCo products.
COLLIERVILLE RESTAURANTS: Jim's Place Grille celebrates 100 years of steaks, souflima and Southern hospitality
Elite Training & Coaching
A new year means new goals, and Elite Training and Coaching, 6695 Garden Trail Cove, can help with that.
Trained coaches will help guide customers at the gym through each step of achieving their health goals.
On Demand Logistics LLC
On Demand Logistics is getting a new base for on-the-road trucking in Collierville.
The trucking company, 315 Park Manor Lane, will offer transportation of goods, as well as positions for those looking to drive.
A husband and wife duo from Lakeland are bringing their photography skills to Collierville with VMStudio, 4680 Merchants Park Circle, suite 212.
Toni and Jimmy Woodard provide portraits, headshots and wedding photos and cinematography.
The Collierville studio is open and accepting bookings. For more information visit VMStudio's website.
COLLIERVILLE BUSINESSES: A piece of Collierville history: McGinnis Oil still pumping customers' gas after 9 decades
Cindy Dunham Design
Memphis native Cindy Dunham will offer her interior design skills in Collierville at Cindy Dunham Design, 1600 Preakness Run Lake.
Dunham offers bold, elegant and modern design features for clients looking to change up their home, office or business.
Dunham takes inquiries online and potential clients can connect with her over Instagram, @cdunham901design.
Dima Amro covers the suburbs for The Commercial Appeal and can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org or on Twitter @AmroDima.


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Xiaomi, the Chinese electronics company, has reported strong results for the fourth quarter of 2020. The company sold 444.7 million units during the period, which is a significant increase from the same period in the previous year. This article will analyze the factors that contributed to 444.7m q4 xiaomi success and what it means for the company’s future.
Strong Sales Across All Product Categories
Xiaomi’s success in Q4 can be attributed to strong sales across all product categories. The company’s smartphone sales increased by 32.1% year-on-year, while its IoT and lifestyle products saw a 56.2% increase in sales. Xiaomi’s overseas markets also performed well, with sales increasing by 52.6% year-on-year. One of the key drivers of Xiaomi’s success is its ability to offer high-quality products at affordable prices. The company has a reputation for providing value for money, which has helped it to attract a large customer base. Xiaomi’s focus on innovation and design has also helped it to differentiate itself from its competitors.
Investment in R&D and Expansion into New Markets
Xiaomi’s success can also be attributed to its investment in research and development (R&D) and its expansion into new markets. The company has invested heavily in R&D, which has enabled it to develop new products and improve existing ones. Xiaomi has also expanded into new markets, such as India and Europe, which has helped it to increase its customer base and revenue. In addition, Xiaomi has focused on building a strong brand image through marketing and advertising campaigns. The company has collaborated with celebrities and influencers to promote its products, which has helped it to increase brand awareness and attract new customers.
Xiaomi’s strong Q4 results demonstrate the company’s ability to compete in the highly competitive electronics market. The company’s focus on innovation, affordability, and expansion into new markets has helped it to attract a large customer base and increase revenue. Xiaomi’s success in Q4 is a positive sign for the company’s future, and it will be interesting to see how it continues to grow and evolve in the coming years.


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EOS Finishes First-Ever Blockchain Hard Fork as More Upgrades Coming Soon
EOS, currently the seventh-largest cryptocurrency in the market, has just finished its first hard fork ever today. According to information taken from the ecosystem’s update tracking tool, which was created by EOSNation, one of its block producers, the update happened on September 23, 1 p. m. UTC.
This was the largest update ever to be made on the network. Because of this, it was also the first one to require a hard fork to be made. From the top 30 block producers, 29 of them were already committed to the upgrade at the time of this report, meaning that the process could be considered a success.
Tron Is Also Expected To Have A Major Upgrade Soon
EOS is far from the only company expected to have a major upgrade soon. One of its main competitors, the Tron (TRX) network, is also upgrading this month. The Sun Network, which was launched back on August 11, is set to be the next network for Tron, so the upgrade is set to be made soon.
Right now, Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, claims that this upgrade will lead the platform to have an unlimited scaling capacity. He also talked recently about new proof of stake mechanism, which is set to be implemented soon to increase the participation of the users on the network.
NEO is also set for a major upgrade soon. NEO 3.0, which is set to take the platform to the next level, was announced this month and will be made on Q2 2020. The new upgrade will allow smart contracts to be deployed in a cheaper and easier way and the blockchain to become faster.


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Despite only being released two days ago, Guitar Hero 3 is already proving to be a popular online game for Wii. The Wi-Fi connection numbers for the week ending Octboer 28th look like this:
3,060 news items
NBA Playgrounds new content teaser
Switch must wait again
LOL, what a crock of 15 year old crap. Here's a real leak: we're going to have 2 Smash games in a couple years, and ...
Wii's World is not officially affiliated with Nintendo! (but they wish we were).


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Tesco's costly goodbye: £750m shares blow as Sir Terry Leahy retires early
More than £750million was wiped off the Tesco market value yesterday after the news that chief executive Sir Terry Leahy is to retire aged just 55.
The announcement surprised the City and saw shares in Britain's biggest and richest retailer drop by more than 2 per cent on a day of market turmoil.
Sir Terry has been in charge of Tesco for 14 years, a period where it has achieved staggering growth - now taking around £1 in every £3 spent on groceries.
His decision to go next March, when he will be 55, comes at a time when many people of that age will be facing an extra ten to 15 years in work.
Sir Terry has refused to spell out his plans, but there are suspicions he will become a peer and be given a top political post by the Cameron regime after he steps down.
Unlike more flamboyant business leaders such as Lord Sugar and Sir Philip Green, it is thought unlikely he will seek out a high media profile.
Sir Terry, who has invested his entire working life in making Tesco a world force, has been in the top job during a gruelling time for the High Street.
Tesco became the UK's biggest supermarket in 1995 and now dwarfs its two closest rivals, Asda and Sainsbury's.
At the same time, the company has become Britain's biggest private sector employer with more than 300,000 staff in this country and a further 172,000 overseas.
The blunt business leader has likened his management style to the 'lead by example' efforts of former England rugby captain Martin Johnson battling for the ball at the bottom of a ruck.
His rise to become the head of the most powerful retailer in
the UK is all the more remarkable given that he grew up in a prefab
maisonette in the Belle Vale area of Liverpool.
The Everton fan, the only one of four brothers who went on to a university education, is handing over to fellow Liverpudlian and Liverpool supporter, Philip Clarke, currently Tesco's director of international operations and IT.
Like Sir Terry, Mr Clarke, 50, has spent most of his working life inside the Tesco machine.
He started at the supermarket in a part-time job while he was at school - as a 14-year-old shelf stacker - and later joined the management training scheme after leaving university.
Sir Terry's tenure transformed Tesco from simply being a store selling groceries.
It is now a bank, a £1billionayear clothing business and the UK's biggest internet retailer, while it is in the top five for books, toys, electrical equipment and home products.
The firm's Clubcard, which Sir Terry was heavily involved in setting up, has a staggering 16million regular users, more than any other single loyalty or credit card.
City analysts reacted with some shock to the fact Tesco, which is the world's third largest retailer behind Wal-Mart of the U.S. and Carrefour of France, is losing its leader.
Shares in the group fell by 2.38 per cent on the day to stand at 397.4p, wiping £778million off the company's value.
The fall was exaggerated by the fact the value of shares in the UK's top 100 companies fell by 0.8 per cent yesterday.
His departure was thought strange considering difficulties Tesco has faced in establishing itself in the U.S. with a chain called Fresh & Easy, which lost £165million last year.
Andrew Porteous, an analyst at Evolution Securities, said: 'We were expecting it would be a couple of years away.
'Tesco is losing its best player and therefore the team is weakened.'
Sir Terry collected £ 5.2million last year in pay, bonuses and perks, while he is understood to have shares in Tesco worth more than £10million.
He said he plans to concentrate on private investments and will retain a major shareholding in Tesco.
The store's chairman, David Reid, said: 'Terry has made an unrivalled contribution over a prolonged period.'
He described him as 'undoubtedly one of the leading businessmen of his generation'.
However, there were brickbats as well as bouquets.
Friends of the Earth campaigner, Helen Rimmer, said: 'British farmers, communities and the environment have all suffered at the hands of the chain's aggressive expansion.
'Tesco now controls a third of the market share - its stores are popping up on virtually every street corner, putting local firms out of business and taking choice away from shoppers.'
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Ever wish your eyes were lasers? A laptop prototype brings that wish closer to reality.
A Lenovo smartphone unveiled Thursday will be clever enough to grasp your physical surroundings—such as the room's size and the presence of other people—and potentially transform how we interact with e-commerce, education ...
Google and Taiwan's Asus are launching a "computer on a stick" which can plug into a display to turn it into a PC.
Another wave of laptop computers running on Google's Chrome operating system will be hitting stores this summer in the latest challenge to Microsoft's dominant Windows franchise.
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An expensive mistake by Google could turn into a golden opportunity for China's Lenovo Group as it expands beyond its success in the personal computer industry.
Google is selling Motorola's smartphone business to Lenovo for $2.9 billion, a price that makes Google's biggest acquisition look like its most expensive mistake.


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Asian jurisdictions have been cautious in creating authorized frameworks round digital currencies, however the risky market and relentless evolution of cryptos are pushing regulators to behave
The cog that turned the regulatory equipment in India to manage cryptocurrencies, or digital currencies (VCs), was the round dated 6 April 2018, issued by the Reserve Financial institution of India (RBI), prohibiting the banks and monetary establishments from dealing or offering providers to individuals dealing in VCs. Thus far, the regulatory place relating to buying and selling and investing in cryptocurrencies in India match broadly below two classes: First, the place adopted with the issuance of a prohibitory round by the RBI; and second, the place creation with the pronouncement of a call by the Supreme Courtroom that struck down the mentioned prohibitory round of the RBI, being unconstitutional.
Earlier than April 2018, the crypto trade in India remained pretty unregulated, posing a possible affect on the effectiveness of financial coverage, together with dangers and considerations about shopper safety, market integrity and systemic security related to coping with digital foreign money. Nevertheless, the problem of easy methods to cope with VCs has been lingering with the RBI since June 2013, when in its monetary stability reviews of 2013, 2015 and 2017 the regulator has persistently raised considerations about authorized and operational dangers related to VCs, and has additionally issued public warnings in regards to the dangers related to VCs.
Between 2013 and 2018, there was a major rise within the worth of many cryptocurrencies, and fast progress in preliminary coin choices (ICOs). This brought about wariness with the regulators, triggering the structure of an inter-disciplinary committee in 2017, comprising the Particular Secretary (Financial Affairs) on the Ministry of Finance, and representatives from the departments of Financial Affairs, Monetary Companies, Income, Residence Affairs, Digital and Info Know-how, and from the RBI, NITI Aayog, and the State Financial institution of India, to look at the regulatory and authorized buildings and counsel measures for coping with VCs.
The report submitted by the committee advisable issuance of a transparent warning by way of public media, stating that the federal government doesn’t contemplate cryptocurrencies as both cash or currencies, to warn traders to dump such currencies, and to advocate motion towards those that, regardless of warnings, bask in shopping for or promoting, or providing the platform for buying and selling of cryptocurrencies. Nevertheless, the committee clarified that there is no such thing as a restriction to utilizing blockchain know-how for functions aside from creating or buying and selling in cryptocurrencies.
On 2 November 2017, an inter-ministerial committee was set as much as look at the professionals and cons of banning and regulating cryptocurrencies. Whereas submitting a draft invoice often called the Crypto Token and Crypto Asset (Banning, Management and Regulation) Invoice, 2018, the committee advisable regulating personal cryptocurrencies. The committee believed that banning cryptocurrencies can be an excessive measure, and due to this fact suggested regulatory instruments for regulating VC exchanges to allow the sale and buy of personal VCs.
This aided the arrival of regulation of the crypto trade in India, although an about face to the suggestions of the inter-ministerial committee within the type of whole prohibition, by introducing the round dated 6 April 2018, issued by the RBI, that prohibited banks, monetary establishments and on-line cost system suppliers from dealing in VCs or offering any providers to individuals dealing in such currencies with rapid impact.
On this manner, the oxygen assist to varied VC exchanges in India was eliminated, since entry to banking providers within the fashionable economic system is crucial, particularly in gentle of the restrictions on money transactions below the Revenue Tax Act, 1961.
The crypto trade challenged the prohibitory round, below the aegis of the Web and Cell Affiliation of India, earlier than the Supreme Courtroom. One other inter-ministerial committee was constituted by the federal government, which, by its report submitted in 2019, advisable bolstering the prohibitory round with the legislation and fully banning personal cryptocurrencies by way of laws, specifically, the Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Foreign money Invoice, 2019. On the identical time, the invoice additionally contemplated the creation of a digital rupee as authorized tender by the federal government in session with the RBI.
On 4 March 2020, the Supreme Courtroom struck down the prohibitory round issued by the RBI, terming the whole prohibition as disproportionate, whereas emphasising that this was finished though VCs aren’t banned by the federal government, in impact sending the functioning of VC exchanges comatose by disconnecting their lifeline, i.e., interface with the common banking sector.
The current place
After this tug of conflict, the place in India at present is that there is no such thing as a legislation or coverage that prohibits buying and selling or funding in cryptocurrencies, however the query that considerations traders is the uncertainty of such a place in future. That is particularly within the gentle of the approaching ban with a brand new invoice being launched within the Indian parliament, specifically the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Foreign money Invoice, 2021. The contours of the invoice aren’t but obtainable in public, however the expectations are that this invoice will take ahead what was set within the draft laws of 2019, which proposed to ban cryptocurrencies in India.
The 2019 invoice gave a really loud and broad definition of cryptocurrency as “any data, code, or token which has a digital illustration of worth, and has utility in a enterprise exercise, or acts as a retailer of worth, or a unit of account”, and sought not solely to ban or ban the commerce of cryptocurrencies but additionally to penalise the mining, holding, promoting, issuing, transferring or use of cryptocurrencies as punishable with a nice or imprisonment as much as 10 years, or each. The purports of the brand new 2021 invoice are:
(1) To create a facilitative framework for the creation of an official digital foreign money to be issued by the RBI; and
(2) To ban all personal cryptocurrencies in India, however permit for sure exceptions to advertise the underlying know-how of cryptocurrencies (i.e., blockchain and distributed ledger know-how) and its makes use of.
The invoice seeks to create a central financial institution digital foreign money to be issued by the RBI, which might be a digital type of Indian rupee, backed by the RBI and having the identical worth as fiat foreign money. It’s speculated that the invoice might be one of many world’s strictest insurance policies towards cryptocurrencies. If the ban turns into legislation, India would be the second main economic system, after China, to make the holding of cryptocurrencies unlawful, though China has not penalised the possession of cryptocurrencies.
The invoice is slated to be launched within the decrease home of the parliament very quickly, and being on the receiving finish of the onslaught, this has rightly left many traders and merchants anxious. The federal government has tried to alleviate considerations by giving alerts that there won’t be an entire blanket ban, and a window will permit and encourage experimentation and exploration of emergent know-how underlying cryptocurrencies for analysis or educating.
The federal government has acknowledged that the technological improvements underlying crypto property can enhance the effectivity and inclusiveness of the monetary system, and are advantageous in controlling fraud and sustaining privateness. Nevertheless, what has bothered the federal government and the RBI is the host of different points relating to shopper and investor safety, cash laundering, tax evasion, the risk to the present financial or credit score system, and terrorist financing.
One can not doubt the justification of presidency considerations relating to dangers related to the unregulated use of VCs resulting from their anonymity, layering, lack of backing by tangible property, and volatility. However it might be disproportionate to impose an absolute ban whereas ignoring sure superior advantages of VCs, like extra environment friendly cross-border funds and higher file preserving, particularly when cryptos are going mainstream with widespread purposes. The US and European international locations have additionally chosen to embrace and regulate personal cryptocurrencies whereas orienting in direction of mitigating particular dangers.
A complete ban would additionally make the commerce unlawful and push the trade underground, which might entail an increase in black advertising and marketing, abuse and exploitation. It will additionally drive crypto-holders to take their wealth offshore. Additionally it is impractical to ban cryptocurrencies as they exist on the web, and it’s nearly not possible to implement a ban within the digital world.
Letting the RBI situation its personal central financial institution digital foreign money is an efficient concept from the angle of financial sovereignty, however the Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF) just lately indicated that public cash and personal cash might co-exist and complement one another.
In response to the IMF, this method affords important benefits, together with innovation and product variety, which the personal sector will present, and stability and effectivity, as ensured by the general public sector. The IMF argues that if international locations transfer to a central financial institution digital foreign money, they need to contemplate leveraging personal currencies.
At this level, the chance to have a twin financial system should be seized by India, and plenty of different international locations.
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Writing for the majority, Justice John Paul Stevens said the Maine state law forbids companies from making fraudulent statements. He said it created a broader duty for companies that extended beyond actions merely related to "smoking and health" that are regulated by federal law.
"We conclude ... that the Labeling Act does not pre-empt state-law claims like respondents' that are predicated on a duty not to deceive," Justice Stevens writes.
In a dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas said the court should have enforced preemption in the case, and created a clear test for the lower courts. In Justice Thomas' view, the Maine smokers' lawsuit imposed obligations tied to the "effect of smoking upon health," and thus must be preempted.
"With this suit, [the smokers] seek to require the cigarette manufacturers to provide additional warnings ... or to prohibit them from selling these products with the 'light' or 'low-tar' descriptors," Justice Thomas writes. "This is exactly the type of lawsuit that is pre-empted by the Labeling Act."


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Terraria announced for PSN, XBLA
Get ready to build yourself into the wee hours of the morning! 505 Games has announced it’s bringing the popular PC side-scrolling block-building game, Terraria, to the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.
In Terraria, you can collect a huge amount of items and materials to build a giant home base so you can protect yourself from the perils of the outside… as well as craft even more items. The massive world is full of monsters just ready to eat and/or provide sweet drops for you.
Terraria was first released in 2011 by creator and developer Andrew Sprinks’ studio, Re-logic. The game’s 1.6 million players have added much to the world, and hopefully console players will bring even more.
Tim Woodley, Head of Global Brand for 505 Games, said, “The block-building genre has taken the world by storm and Terraria has garnered a massive following through its increased focus on adventure and discovery. We’re looking forward to bringing an already hugely successful experience to a brand new console audience and we can’t wait for the existing Terraria fan base to experience all-new content”.
Sprinks is excited as well. “I can’t say how excited I am to finally have Terraria come to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3!” he said. “To see it come so far is a complete shock, especially after such humble beginnings. It’s always been my dream to have as many people as possible know and enjoy Terraria as much as I have, and this is another big step in that direction! It’s been awesome working with 505 Games, and I can’t wait for everyone to see the additional features that they’ve been able to bring to this new edition of the game.”
Terraria will be available on the PSN and XBLA in early 2013.
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GameStop Raises $551 Million In Trading Frenzy As Shares Skyrocket By 800% This Year Alone
GameStop stonks are back, with the company raising $551 million after selling millions of shares.
Earlier this year, Wall Street was knocked on its backside by Reddit’s army of budding traders, piling money into GameStop (GME) stock to put pressure on hedge fund operators and other financiers who had shorted the stock – aka, they betted against it and would profit from its downfall.
This year alone, GME’s shares are up by 800% – even then, it’s a dramatic stepdown from its stratospheric 9,000% gains when interest hit its peak. Months later, shares are finally being sold.
As reported by Reuters, GameStop sold 3.5 million shares, increasing its stock price by the end of extended trading on Monday, April 26. The ‘aggregate gross proceeds’ amounted to $551 million, as per Barrons, with the average selling price amounting to around $157 per share. Over the course of the day, it leaped 12%, followed by a 10% jump during after-hours trading.
GameStop announced its ‘at-the-market’ equity offering program earlier this month. As explained by Morrison & Forrester, this is an ‘offering is an offering of securities into an existing trading market for outstanding shares of the same class at other than a fixed price on, or through the facilities of, a national securities exchange, or to or through a market maker otherwise than on an exchange’.
Basically, it’s a good way to amass some capital, a goal at the forefront of the firm as it aims to accelerate its shift to ecommerce.
Ryan Cohen, GME’s top shareholder with 13% through RC Ventures, has been pushing the company to move into online shopping since January, looking to compete with the likes of Target and Walmart. Cohen had previous success with Chewy, a pet ecommerce company.
As per Bloomberg, David Cole, an analyst at DFC Intelligence, said, ‘Making a pivot into online retailing is very difficult. However, someone like Cohen — with an aggressive push — is what is needed to have any chance of success.’
It also comes as CEO George Sherman prepares to step down in July this year, with the board searching for someone fit to lead its transformation.
Joseph Feldman, a Telsey Advisory Group analyst, told CNBC, ‘GameStop’s next CEO and CFO are likely to come from the tech industry, as with the other recent senior hires, and would require a wide range of strategic and operational experience, given GameStop’s complex business model, including 4,800 global stores, digital, used games, new software and hardware, and collectibles.’
He added, ‘We continue to believe the current valuation far exceeds our rosy fundamental expectations and projected multi-year benefits from the strategic transformation.’
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
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Reliance Industries which is headed by Mukesh Ambani has reported a 50 per cent growth in sales in its consumer electronics category for the quarter to December 31. The retail group has also strengthened its leadership in the grocery category, optimising its network to enhance profitability.
The contribution of private-label sales to overall sales increased from 8.6 per cent to 14.6 per cent in the same period as several private-label products were launched in the grocery and general merchandise categories.
Reliance Mart stores – The retail face of Reliance Industries now has more than 2 million registered members across 37 countries. The company already has 1691 Reliance Fresh outlets across the country. These stores sell fresh fruits and vegetables, staples, groceries, fresh juice, bars and dairy products.
Reliance Trends – The fashion and lifestyle category also delivered top notch performance and has taken the count to 16 stores, opened during the quarter. The development of a marketplace platform and distribution ecosystem for 4G devices are on track and being rolled out. The Company aims for the largest distribution reach for devices in India.
Meanwhile, the company is training 4G sales specialists & at the same time integrating supply chain and service centres. Reliance Retail has also launched its own brand of 4G LTE smart phones, under the brand LYF, during the past quarter.


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Brief news of the Russian food market.
Damage to the agro industry of the Trans-Baikal Territory from field fires was estimated at 860 million rublesOver the past week, 136 batches of fish products were exported from Primorsky Krai and Sakhalin Island to South Korea, 291 batches of fish products were exported to China.
According to the forecast of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, the export of grain in the current season could reach 44 million tons, including 37 million tons of wheat.
The Union of Grain Exporters was created in Russia, which will unite all large Russian companies.
In the first 4 months of this year, the production of pigs for slaughter in live weight in Russian agricultural organizations amounted to 1.38 million tons, which is 7.5% or 96.4 thousand tons more than the same period in 2018,
The Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation keeps the forecast for the grain harvest in Russia in 2019 at the level of 118 million tons, the wheat harvest may reach 75 million tons,
The expenses of Russians on pizza for the year increased by 19%. This was facilitated by low cost and aggressive promotions. Since May 2018, more than one and a half thousand new pizzerias have opened in the Russian million-plus cities.
Russian confectioneries have increased their food supply to Africa by 30%
Confectionery after chocolate in Russia will be more expensive. This is due to the rise in price of imported raw materials: cocoa beans and nuts. In the first quarter of 2019, the rise in prices for peanuts and almonds was 15%, condensed milk – almost 18%, milk powder – 12%, sugar – almost 42% (compared to the same period last year).
The largest meat producer in Russia, Miratorg, is launching the production of dairy products.
Representative office of McDonald`s in Russia is interested in the development of the dark kitchen format.
The Russian North Caucasus is increasing its grain and animal exports. The main buyer is Iran.
Russia regained the status of a country with a zone free from foot and mouth disease without vaccination.
Almost 84 tons of buffalo meat from India was arrested at customs in Primorsky Krai of Russia. For violations of veterinary legislation of Russia.
In three regions of Russia for the first time electronic chips were implanted into the stomachs of cows. Data on the state of farm animals in real time is transmitted to the computer and mobile phone zootechnics.
By the end of the year, it is planned to develop a national standard “Green products brand” for products intended for export. The first plots for growing environmentally friendly products for export will be selected in 2020.
Russian manufacturers have warned of rising prices for baby food and lemonade.
Business Solutions on Russian Food Market
Please read the same my other posts:Backward


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The January/February 2013 Thunderbird International Business Review contains an article titled "Adjusting to BRICs in Glass Houses: Replacing Obsolete Institutions and Business Models" by Raj Aggarwal, Sullivan Professor of International Business and Finance at the University of Akron.
The article demonstrates the projection of economic power of the new economies by focusing on China's and India's economic expansion in Africa. The analysis shows that non-economic state-driven entities are likely to be a significant part of the rise of South-South trade and investment flows. It also poses theoretical and practical problems for existing market-based economic and geopolitical institutions. It argues that global adjustment to these new realities is challenging as existing international financial institutions seem to be inadequate.
The most original part of the analysis is the author's contrasting approach of India and China to foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa. Aggarwal concludes that the tectonic forces of demographics, technology, globalization, sustainability, and climate change are forcing obsolescence in developed country business models and simultaneously leading to the emergence of some large developing economies. Rising South-South economic flows with their unusual modes have to be accommodated by the existing economic powers--an accommodation that must happen while the global economy also deals with major restructuring of value chains and business models.


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These have been challenging times for retailers. But those that are succeeding have adjusted their business models during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing more heavily on curbside pick-up, delivery and online sales. This omnichannel approach has paid off, boosting the revenue streams of several retailers.
This can be seen in the Grand Rapids, Michigan, market. Colliers, in its first quarter Grand Rapids retail report, said that the retail sector in this slice of Michigan is now in growth mode. Colliers is also predicting that rental rates for retailers and restaurants will rise in the coming months because of a lack of available space.
Colliers’ report, then, paints a hopeful picture for Grand Rapids’ retail sector.
According to Colliers’ research, the West Michigan retail market has been resilient as the United States comes out of the height of the pandemic. The company predicts that this sector will see a rise in activity — sales, leases and new development — in the coming months.
As Colliers says, new stores and restaurants opened in the Grand Rapids market in the first quarter, and retailers have plans to open additional locations here throughout the rest of 2022.
According to Colliers’ report, the retail vacancy rate for the Grand Rapids market stood at 6.23% in the first quarter, while net absorption fell to a negative 52,644 square feet. Colliers says that 172,194 square feet of new retail space was under construction as of the end of the quarter, while overall Class-A asking lease rates rose to $13.91 a square foot.
Those numbers still indicate a sector that is struggling with the pandemic. The vacancy rate for the Grand Rapids retail market, for instance, was up from 5.85% in the fourth quarter of 2021. But Colliers does predict that all of these numbers will improve as 2022 moves on.
There are challenges, too. Colliers says that many retailers continue to struggle to find labor. They are also dealing with shortages of the items that customers want, with the current shortage in baby formula an example that has been generating headlines. At the same time, a shortage of construction materials is making it more difficult for developers to finish retail projects on time.


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Samsung has started rolling out a stable version of Android 10 on the Galaxy S10, SamMobile reports.
A beta version of Google’s new mobile OS was already available to testers in several countries, including the US, South Korea and Germany.
The latter is the only country in which the stable build is currently available.
The latest update is labelled as software version “G97**XXU3BSKO”, and comes with the December security patch with a total size of 140MB.
This smaller size is because the update is currently only available to participants of the One UI 2.0 beta program, who are already running a beta of the Android 10 software.
According to Samsung’s reported roadmap for Android 10, the update will likely be available to all Galaxy S10 and Note 10 users in January 2020.
The Galaxy S9 and mid-range A series is expected to get Android 10 in April 2020, while other Galaxy A phones will receive the update in May 2020.
Google first launched Android 10 on its Pixel smartphones in early September.
The OS comes with a host of new features, including a dark mode, smart replies for all messaging apps, support for 5G technology and foldable displays, and more than 50 new privacy and security changes.
source : https://bit.ly/35O2Lef


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Sorry the 2nd edition of the PC News Recap is a bit late but at least this week had some great announcements . Click the “Read More” link to read about everything that has happened.
-Intel Prepares 32nm Chips
Intel is preparing 32nm Core i7’s for release in Q4 this year. The new chips, codenamed Westmere, will also come with 45nm integrated graphics and memory controller chips. Of course a smaller chip means less energy used and heat produced and Intel plans to crank out these new 32nm chips with their 2-year plan to invest $7 billion in US factories. Part of these costs include upgrading machinery and fabrication in existing US factories as well as hiring 7,000 more engineers.
–Antec Announces New PSU Form Factor
Antec has announced the new CP-series PSU’s (Power Supply Units) that will use a new form factor yet to be seen in the PC industry. While no pictures have been revealed, Antec claims these new PSU’s will allow higher airflow and better efficiency.
Nvidia took a hard hit last quarter of the 09 fiscal year, reporting that they only made 481 million, a 60% drop from 08 resulting in a net loss of $147 million and a 16% drop in yearly profit as well. Even with this large loss it seems Nvidia may be investing in the CPU market; if a rumor from The Inquirer is to be believed. The Inquirer claims Nvidia has acquired a team to make a x86 processor even though they have yet to obtain a license to produce one, a license hard to come by seeing as Intel certainly wont be granting them one. Nvidia has been marketing the GPGPU (General Purpose Graphics Processing Unit) as a platform for the last couple of years so seeing them move into the CPU market is certainly a odd move to make.
Nvidia is also rolling out new drivers for their Mobile graphics cards. The 2nd driver release adds CUDA support to 8m and 9m series cards while enhancing general performance on all cards which now includes 7 series cards for the first time.
And you may think that the GPU market consists only of AMD and Nvidia but the smaller firm S3 has released a new graphics card this week. The Chrome 540 GTX brings DX10.1 support and high-def playback to desktops for only $70 by combining the ChromotionHD processing engine with a 850mhz core to remove strain from the CPU and leave video decoding up to the GPU.
-New Steam Games:
Ubisoft and Codemasters have added games to their Steam catalog, the highlights being Splinter Cell Double Agent, DiRT, and Toca Race Driver 3 (which you can get cheaper this week from GOG.com, see next section for details).
Seems like Everyones having a sale this week on one game or another. Steam’s weekend sale is 50% off Left 4 Dead, making the excellent coop zombie shooter only $25.


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Among its most popular events of the year, the Highland Foundation has scheduled its 19th Annual Great Gifts Dinner Auction for Saturday, Nov. 11, from 6-11 p.m., at Weymouth Country Club.
Foundation Director Theresa Wright said since the dinner falls on Veterans’ Day, it seemed fitting to make the theme of the dinner, Honor Gala, in tribute to the armed forces.
The event includes dinner, entertainment, live auction, silent auction and more. For tickets and more information, visit the foundation’s website at highlandfoundation.org.
In conjunction with the Great Gifts Dinner, the foundation’s October Night Out has been scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 12, from 6-8 p.m., at The Galaxy restaurant in Wadsworth. This casual evening provides drink tickets and light appetizers for a $25 donation or donation of an item of equal value.
Gift cards, baskets and other such donations are welcome and will be used for the Great Gifts dinner auction in November.
Specialty Honor Gala-themed drinks will be available for purchase as well as raffle opportunities for a Highland-themed yeti package valued at $400. The winning ticket will be drawn on Oct. 12 and another ticket for a Geneva-on-the-Lake getaway will be drawn Nov. 11. ∞


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Google Buys Cloud Software Startup
In an attempt to keep pace with its cloud rivals, Google has acquired a cloud enterprise services startup and its platform for buying and selling enterprise software in the cloud.
Orbitera's platform helps independent software vendors and systems integrators distribute services on the cloud. At the time the acquisition was announced, the Los Angeles-based startup listed itself as a member of the Amazon Web Services (NASDAQ: AMZN) partner network.
(Orbitera CEO Marcin Kurc held several executive positions at AWS before launching the cloud software startup.)
Terms of Google's (NASDAQ: GOOGL) acquisition of Orbitera were not disclosed, but reports peg the sale price at more than $100 million.
The acquisition bolsters the Google Cloud Platform amid stiff completion among AWS, Microsoft Azure (NASDAQ: MSFT) and others to deliver enterprise services. Google noted in announcing the deal that more than 60,000 enterprise stacks have been launched on Orbitera's platform, including Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE), Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) and NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP). Orbitera's customers resell those cloud services to their enterprise clients.
"The current model for the deploying, managing and billing of cloud-based software does not easily fit the way today’s modern enterprises operate," noted Nan Boden, Google's head of global technology partners. "Orbitera automates many of the processes associated with billing, packaging and pricing optimization for leading businesses and [independent software vendors] supporting customers running in the cloud."
Along with improving support for enterprise software vendors on the Google Cloud Platform, the search giant asserted the Orbitera deal "reinforces Google’s support for the multi-cloud world" and it would maintain "Orbitera’s neutrality as a platform supporting multi-cloud commerce."
That assertion drew skepticism from observers who noted the dominance of competing public cloud vendors AWS and Microsoft. Said one, "Does anyone realistically believe Google buying a multi-cloud platform will be 'committed to maintaining Orbitera's neutrality in as a platform supporting multi-cloud commerce'?"
Nevertheless, Boden said Google recognizes "that both enterprise customers and [independent software vendors] want to be able to use more than one cloud provider and have a way to conduct product trials and proofs of concept before building a full production deployment, all using their trusted [system integrators], resellers and normal sales cycles.
The Orbitera acquisition highlights Google's continuing struggles to keep pace in the highly competitive market to deliver cloud infrastructure as a service. According to the latest Gartner cloud rankings released earlier this month, AWS is maintaining its market dominance along with Microsoft Azure. Google is ranked a distant third followed by "niche players" such as Rackspace (NYSE: RAX) and IBM's (NYSE: IBM) SoftLayer cloud unit.
The Gartner rankings are based on public cloud vendors' "ability of execute" and "completeness of vision."
The Orbitera deal could boost Google fortunes on both fronts. "The Google Cloud Platform team shares our vision for seamless purchase and deployment of IT services across heterogeneous cloud infrastructure," Orbitera executives noted in a statement announcing the deal.


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Market research firm Research and Markets has released a new report indicating that the out-of-band (OOB) authentication market is set for significant growth over the next few years. The “Global OOB Authentication Market 2014-2018” report suggests that the industry is headed for growth of 23.16 percent (CAGR) between 2013 and 2018.
OOB authentication basically uses two different networks for authentication, combining credentials like passwords and PINs with mobile SMS tokens and biometric technology, very much like the FIDO Alliance’s U2F standards. The report notes that OOB is currently increasing in popularity, with the main market driver being an ‘increase in advanced and complex threats’. This seems to accord with the firm’s recent research finding that as commerce moves further and further into the online world – via mobile commerce platforms such as Apple Pay, for example – so, too, does fraud, thereby necessitating new and advanced security systems such as those offered by biometric technology.
Indeed, Apple seems to have thought it important to use fingerprint-scanning technology built into its mobile phones to help shepherd consumers into the new terrain of mobile commerce, and smaller mobile manufacturers are quickly jumping on the bandwagon. As that process unfolds, it’s perfectly understandable that OOB authentication systems would see market gains.


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German Co-Living Brand Readies Major U.S. Expansion
After opening its first U.S. co-living location in Manhattan earlier this year, Medici Living Group is gearing up for a major expansion in 2018 as the niche housing type grows in prominence.
Medici plans to open one of the country's largest co-living spaces in one of the country's biggest cities in 2018. It is just one of many Quarters locations coming to market in the coming years. The Quarters brand is fashioned for the U.S. compared to the sparser Medici Living flat-sharing locations it has operated for years in its native Germany and across Europe.
Medici co-founder and Managing Director Evan Kasper said Quarters' first location, on Grand Street in Manhattan's Lower East Side, filled up within 30 days after opening in April, and the experience running that facility has primed it for major growth next year: in addition to a 180-bed development being built ground-up in an undisclosed U.S. location, Medici plans to open a handful of new Quarters in New York City in 2018.
"Quarters is supposed to be a globally connected product where if you live in one building, you are connected to the community all across the world," Kasper said. "To do that, you need a critical mass. The vision, that model, works at scale, and it’s something that needs to be created almost all at once to really work well."
Medici operates 70 locations across Europe, and it opened a Quarters brand in Berlin this spring, a month after it launched its Grand Street building. It already has hundreds of employees and a built-out infrastructure, differentiating it from U.S. co-living startups like Common and Ollie that are opening their first handful of locations.
While the smaller competition — still raising money and opening locations quickly in New York, San Francisco and D.C. — is also looking at growing to meet their extensive waitlists, Quarters can build up scale faster, and plans to. Kasper said he has "looked in just about every Tier 1 or Tier 2 market," and said the time is finally right for mass growth in the still-niche co-working industry.
"Co-living is going to transform from a brownstone experiment into an asset class," Kasper said. "2018 will mark the beginning of institutional-level quality products coming online."
Quarters' upcoming 180-unit project, which Kasper said would become public soon, would be the third-biggest facility in the U.S. In Long Island City, Queens, Ollie expects to open the country's largest co-living facility yet early next year, with 426 beds across 14 floors in a 43-story mixed-use development. Common has expanded to 15 locations nationwide, with more coming for next year.
The giant that looms over the nascent industry is WeWork, which is opening its third WeLive facility in Seattle, a ground-up development that will have 23 stories of co-working in a 36-story tower that will also house a traditional WeWork, retail and other uses.
With plans to open in 2020, Seattle's WeLive is the second-biggest co-working building to have been announced so far, but, at the rate the industry is moving, it may well be surpassed by the time it opens its doors.
WeLive opened two locations in 2016, then went dormant as it leased up those spaces, scuttling previously announced expansion plans. Its re-emergence in Seattle, paired with the hiring of James Woods to lead WeLive, has been among the market signals that Kasper said point to a major co-living boom next year.
"[WeWork] had the means to spread the concept across to media and across the U.S.," Kasper said. "There’s a large reason we got involved, because we have such a substantial platform already built out, and it’s clear that the marketplace is now ready for this."
After months of operating what was essentially a pilot location, Kasper said his team gained a strong grasp of the nuances between operating flat-sharing in Europe and catering to the millennial-friendly ethos of authenticity co-living needs to succeed.
"Since April, we’ve learned that the customer views the experience, the roommate-sharing, the furniture and the building all as a representation of you and your product," Kasper said. "We’ve learned that when you scale, you’re going to have different types of buildings, locations, customers, but you really have to work hard to keep the experience consistent and customer-centric."
Kasper made note of the recent controversy around Common's biggest property, Common Baltic in Brooklyn's Boerum Hill neighborhood, which had reportedly failed to return security deposits to several of its residents after they had moved out. Common leases the building from owner Adam America Real Estate, and it had been the real estate company's job to return the deposits.
Fault aside, issues like that reflect on co-living companies, which largely partner with traditional real estate companies that own the buildings, and Common or Ollie function as a property manager. But their entire brands are built on the idea that they, and the spaces they operate, are more than just a rental apartment.
"Think about how the average landlord deals with a tenant, they’re almost a bother. Co-living, we’re taking the shared economy, experience and demand and layering it on top of real estate, so it’s transforming tenants into customers," Kasper said. "And the tenants become brand ambassadors, you want them renewing, staying and remaining in your ecosystem."
The loyalty and buzz Quarters and its counterparts hope to maintain has attracted the real estate industry at multiple levels. Many of Common and Ollie's investors are traditional real estate landlords, and institutional investors see them as a way to differentiate otherwise commodity-level investments in some of the country's most attractive real estate markets.
"Just from my own conversations from developers, banks, institutions around the U.S., everyone is paying attention and people are getting involved," Kasper said. "It’s really cool to see the perspective shift. I remember in January 2016, you would have to explain what co-living was and try to compare it to co-working. Now it’s just understood, and you talk about your competitive advantage."
Medici's advantage lies in its infrastructure and experience. Now that it has developed processes to adjust to the American economy — including new leasing forms and applications, dot-com websites and its online leasing portal — Quarters is ready for prime time.
Listen to Kasper and other multifamily innovators at Bisnow's NYC Residence of the Future event Wednesday, Nov. 29, at Convene in Midtown Manhattan at 7:30 a.m.


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In a state that’s seen over 2 million in cannabis sales over the last two months, Detroit is still at a crossroads when it relates to the sale of marijuana. On January 21, Detroit City Council voted to hold off on cannabis sales until March. This fiasco started in 2019 when the city council opted to postpone adult-use marijuana sales in the city until they’re able to review state rules regarding marijuana sales, which were announced in July. And just like 2019, Councilman James Tate is reiterating his point of making sure everything is correct, before establishing an ordinance.
“We won’t be pressured by consumers who say we’re allowing everybody else to get ahead of us,” Tate said. “We’re not going to be pressured by the industry that says we should have an opportunity just like everyone else.” “We’re hopeful, very hopeful that by March 30, we’ll have that ordinance ready to roll and get voted on,” he said. “But the truth of the matter is we won’t be pressured by any outside forces.”
From Dec. 1-8, cannabis sales brought in over $1 million to the state.


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Are you using Microsoft’s AI Copilot for coding or office tasks? Good news! Microsoft has announced that it will protect you from legal issues related to copyright.
Microsoft’s AI Copilot is a handy tool that helps with coding and other tasks. However, some people worry that using AI might get them into legal trouble over copyright. To fix this, Microsoft has started a new program called the Copilot Copyright Commitment. This program promises to keep users safe from legal problems.
Copilot Copyright Commitment applies to users of GitHub Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot. GitHub Copilot is designed to assist with code generation, while Microsoft 365 Copilot adds an intelligent assistant to the Microsoft Office suite.
According to Brad Smith, Microsoft’s President, the company will assume legal responsibility if a third party sues a commercial user for copyright infringement resulting from the use of Microsoft Copilot. However, there’s a catch. You have to use the safety features and filters that come with the tool to get this protection.
The announcement comes at a time when copyright lawsuits against AI technologies are on the rise. Companies like Getty Images and Pearson have already initiated legal actions against AI developers for using copyrighted material. Microsoft’s new plan aims to make its users feel safer and promote responsible AI use.
This isn’t just a one-off initiative. Microsoft’s commitment is part of a broader strategy to address the ethical and legal challenges surrounding AI. The company has also been vocal about its plans to comply with upcoming regulations, such as the AI Act proposed by the European Union.