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Check out the hottest mobile IT stories for Friday, Jan. 23.
Check out the hottest mobile IT news for Jan. 15, Google Glass explorer program shut down, Marriott stands down in war on Wi-Fi, the increase in global SIM card shipments, the effect of interactive ads at Time and the latest executive hire at Kony.
Doctors are becoming increasingly frustrated with hospital IT departments over a lack of mobile investment, tools and support, according to a new report from Spyglass Consulting.
Check out the hottest mobile IT stories for Monday, Jan. 12, including Android users slow adoption to Lollipop, banks increasing mobile banking budgets by 52 percent this year, Apple's App Store received big user attention in the first week of January, airports expanding beacon deployments this year and low mobile device demand accounting for Gartner's revision of the IT spending forecast for 2015.
Many companies wanted to demonstrate how fast and cool their Internet of Things (IoT) devices are. But many commercial uses of IoT, more commonly called machine-to-machine communication, need a small amount of bandwidth and slow speed.
Are consumers going to shell out big bucks for VoLTE-capable handsets, instead of making do with their existing smartphones and less than great voice service for a lower price? Probably not. That's why carriers will rely on the enterprise market to be more lucrative for VoLTE.
Check out the hottest mobile IT news for Monday, Dec. 22, including Disney World's acceptance of Apply Pay and Google Wallet, industrial use of IoT devices and the MEMS market, T-Mobile reaching settlement for cramming, network testing gear may get a boost from problems with VoLTE and mobile broadband's takeover as biggest mobile data revenue generator.
2015 is just around the corner, and as more organizations prepare for the new year, they also are preparing their IT budgets. Research firm IDC recently released budget predictions for 2015 and beyond, and specifically predicts that one-fourth of enterprises' IT budgets will be reserved for development and deployment of mobile applications by 2017.
Check out the hottest mobile IT stories for Monday, Dec. 15, including 5 ways to get the most from mobility, BBM's support for Windows Phone, increase in smartphone sales, mobile ad startup The Mobile Majority taking off and BYOD implementation fueling WLAN security market growth.
Check out the hottest mobile IT news for Dec. 12, including Ford's move to BlackBerry, a new Watch Face API from Android, the eventual rise of 5G, the future of C-RAN technology and mHealth wearables getting a boost.


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Is black market refrigerant a thing? It is now, thanks to demand for a refrigeration chemical which has not been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The U.S. is currently in the process of phasing out a chemical known as R-22, which was used across the country as a refrigerant for refrigerators and air conditioners for many years. It was only recently that research determined that R-22 destroys the earth’s ozone layer, and for this reason it was banned for use by an international treaty.
The phaseout, not surprisingly, caused the price of any remaining R-22 to skyrocket, making it expensive to fix the older air conditioners that still require it. Consequently, many unapproved replacements have started to enter the market. These products, given names like “Super Freeze 22a,” are not on the EPA’s approved list of refrigerants.
These unapproved refrigerants, which are often sold online in order to circumvent regulators and stores, aren’t just bad for the environment — they can also be potentially dangerous to the homeowners who install them. These substitutes sometimes contain propane, which is flammable and has the potential to catch fire or explode. The FBI has already begun an investigation into the sales of these refrigerants.
The EPA has declined to say approximately how many people and businesses have been victims to this scam, though they say they are aware of multiple cases worldwide where people have been injured after attempting to use these refrigerants in their air conditioners.
How can consumers avoid these potentially dangerous substitutes? Industry experts recommend that consumers only work with contractors who are licensed, and that they should specify they want the refrigerant made specifically for their AC.

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Friday, March 22, 2013, 03:47 pm PT (06:47 pm ET)
Apple working on fix for Apple ID password security hole [update: fixed]Hours after a security exploit was discovered regarding the resetting of Apple ID passwords, the company has acknowledged the issue and said it is actively working on a fix.
Update: As of 7 p.m. Pacific, Apple's iForgot webpage and related services are back online.
The vulnerability, exposed earlier on Friday, allows malicious users to reset the Apple ID and iCloud passwords of others using only the victim's email address and date of birth. The bug essentially grants unlimited access to every Apple service associated with their Apple ID, including iTunes accounts, e-mail, and synced iCloud data.
After the discovery, Apple subsequently took down the iForgot password reset page "for maintenance," and updated the iCloud System Status webpage to inform users of the issue.
In a statement to The Verge the company said, "Apple takes customer privacy very seriously. We are aware of this issue, and working on a fix."
Apple did not say when it expects the issue to be resolved.
On Topic: General
- Leak suggests new Fitbit Surge smartwatch will best Apple Watch by integrating GPS
- Hacks targeting Chinese iCloud users prompt Apple CEO Tim Cook to meet China's vice premier
- Apple's Maps Connect portal lets local businesses create, add details to listings
- Apple leadership awarded restricted stock unit bonus currently worth $19M
- Apple spent $1M on lobbying US government in Q3, focused on health, data privacy, more


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Among the many lessons learned, COVID lockdowns taught us that digital won’t replace in-person trade shows. North America’s biggest ag shows are open again, and exhibitors and guests are flocking back at near-record numbers.
Because, let’s face it — you can’t replicate online the feel of sitting in a new tractor cab, talking face-to-face with a company rep, or the taste of a greasy trade show burger.
“Trade Shows are what I live for,” says Rob O’Connor, show director of Glacier’s Ag in Motion in Langham, SK. “I’ve been in this event business for a long time. There’s no other medium where you can generate a real response in sales. Trade shows augment print and digital. You can use it as part of a strategy to get out to your target audience.”
Pent up demand will generate a surge of participation at in-person events
Producers, it seems, want to get back to touching new equipment, seeing technology demonstrations, and kibitzing in the beer tent with neighbours. In July 2019, the last Ag in Motion before COVID lockdowns, the site in Langham, SK, saw 30,000 visitors over three days and roughly 540 exhibitors. Based on online ticket sales and exhibitor registrations, O’Connor expects this year’s Ag in Motion numbers to meet or exceed 2019’s stats.
“People like to gather,” says Don Tourte, Vice President, Market Leader at Penton, Farm Progress. The Farm Progress Show is in Decatur, Illinois at the end of August. In 2021, attendance at Farm Progress was down 20% compared to pre-covid numbers. This year, Tourte expects a full rebound.
“We have our base of exhibitors and visitors that have been at our shows forever,” says Tourte. “This year, we’re seeing those exhibitors plus a lot of new exhibitors in autonomous farming that we’ve never seen before. And carbon capture is another growing segment for us.”
Exhibitors are keen to connect with customers. In the past, event sponsors just wanted to make their name and logo more visible around the site. O’Connor says that at AIM, sponsors want more.
“This year, sponsors want to be part of anything that gets people interacting with them face-to-face,” says O’Connor. “We’ve worked with exhibitors to come up with new and inventive ways to provoke interaction. We have about 55 events happening at AIM sponsors’ booths this year.”
One equipment manufacturer is going all-in. They’re filling a tractor cab with balls. Whoever guesses closest to the number of balls in the cabs wins the tractor. At another booth, FMC, the crop protection company, is serving free drinks at the #FMCwateringhole at their booth every day around lunch hour.
Pivoting to digital had its challenges, but did create some positive results
Like most of us, trade show operators had to adjust after March 2020. Ag in Motion launched a digital trade show when it became clear they wouldn’t host an in-person show on-site. The first year, they had 8,800 attendees online over six days. But soon, the bloom was off online meetings. The second-year numbers were way down for their online tradeshow; companies had found other ways to connect outside of Zoom meetings.
Tourte says that while numbers were down at the Farm Progress Show during COVID, that wasn’t necessarily the worst thing for exhibitors. Although attendance numbers dropped, the quality of the prospects visiting the booths went way up.
“At a big show, exhibitors can feel overwhelmed, sorting through the immense number of people,” says Tourte. “The right people are at a large show; it just takes more work to sort them out.”
There’s one good thing that accelerated due to COVID — online ticket sales. “We’ve seen online ticket sales for years in the concert industry, but ag trade shows have normally been cash at the gate,” says O’Connor. “We’ve seen a faster adoption of electronic tickets than there would have been otherwise.”
Sending tickets to exhibitors is much easier now that everything is electronic. In the past, show organizers had to stuff envelopes with tickets for exhibitors, and there were always last-minute requests. Those are easily handled online now.
It feels like we’re all hungry for social interaction after having been starved of human connection for two years. Consider visiting an ag trade show this year for a boost. We promise, you won’t be alone.


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SNAKING queues greeted the opening earlier this week of a brand new 99p Stores in the centre of Yeovil.
The new 99p Stores - on Middle Street in Yeovil town centre – opened on Wednesday and as our photo shows, people were queuing up the street to get in.
A spokesman for 99 Stores said: "The queues were beyond our expectations.
“After the first hour of trading more than 600 shoppers had visited our store.”
Around 35 new jobs have been created with the opening of the new store.
The 99p Stores bosses worked with Jobcentre Plus to fill these positions.
Ten years ago 99p Stores was a one man band with a small store in Holloway North London. Today it has 146 branches.


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WITH THE Thai tourism industry expected to be dragged down over the next several months over concerns of the Covid-19 outbreak, airlines are now slashing ticket prices to help boost domestic tourism.
Thai Airways International (THAI) is now partnering with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to offer discounts such as free domestic tickets to international tourists.
Apart from this, low cost carriers plan to focus on local tourists opting for domestic travel as there is a limited number of outbound choices that are free from the virus.
Thai AirAsia is providing 100 baht (RM13.3) discounts for any domestic routes within a designated period, while Nok Air is offering one way ticket prices for domestic routes starting from 680 baht (RM90.6) this month.
The Bangkok Post said that Vietjet Air has also marked down all routes across Thailand by 50 per cent.
As the outbreak spreads to more countries, Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) believes the impact from the virus outbreak will last longer than six months, and that the losses will be larger than TAT's projection of 250 billion baht (RM33.3 billion).
TCT president Chairat Trirattanajarasporn said operators were ready to comply with stimulus plans from the authorities to secure at least 36 million international tourists this year.
“But the government has to think and act faster than this, or most businesses will collapse because of the impact," he added.
TAT deputy governor of marketing communications Tanes Petsuwan said the THAI-TAT collaboration - Amazing Flight, Amazing Thailand - will be launched next month at ITB Berlin 2020, one of the biggest trade shows in Europe, for travel during May to October.
Under the six month campaign, THAI will offer 10,000 tickets to Thailand to international tourists with at least a 20 per cent discount, plus a round trip ticket for a domestic route operated by THAI or THAI Smile Airways.
"We'll start with 10,000 tickets. If the feedback is good TAT will talk with THAI about increasing the number of sale tickets," said Tanes.
The project has a budget of around 30 million baht (RM4 million), and it expects to stimulate tourists spending of around 500 million baht (RM66.7 million).
Meanwhile, Nok Air and Nokscoot airlines have embarked on cost cutting measures amid a severe economic situation and the virus outbreak.
NokScoot airline issued a statement that 11 pilots and 36 cabin crew were told to leave the company, while Nok Air axed four pilots.


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NCSolutions, a leading advertising company focused on the CPG ecosystem, partnered with AudienceXpress to analyze TV's impact on 10 CPG campaigns.
Media planners and buyers are hearing a lot about the opportunities inherent in CTV advertising. And for good reason, it’s clear that viewers' video consumption habits have recently trended toward CTV vs traditional linear TV.
The global OTT market size was valued at $121.61 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach $1,039.03 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 29.4% from 2020 to 2027 according to Allied Market Research.
Advanced TV helps marketers reach their target audiences in more granular ways. Learn more about the different types...


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THE CAMP: CAPITALIZING ON ACTION
Byline: Kristin Young
COSTA MESA, Calif. — Among the boulders, the pine trees around the redwood lodge, the bike paths and scuba pool, there stands an oasis for the mall-weary in this unlikeliest of areas.
The Camp is the newest in the region’s line of groundbreaking retailtainment complexes, and an extreme opposite in terms of atmosphere and mission to that Valhalla of shopping centers just a half mile north, South Coast Plaza.
With about 60 percent of its spaces filled, the $13 million active-oriented retail complex sprawled across four acres is also distinguishing itself from its landmark cousin across the street, The Lab, the celebrated youth-oriented “anti-mall” that opened in 1993 and continues to rack up between $450 and $600 a square foot each year. Both complexes were opened by Shaheen Sadeghi.
While The Lab houses Urban Outfitters and a hippie-like coffeehouse called the Gypsy Den, The Camp, situated at 2937 Bristol Street here, zeroes in on activewear and action sports customers — be they tweens or baby boomers. In fact, while the “mall rat” culture of suburban Orange County prevails, just as dominant is the board culture of surfing and skateboarding that defines much of the surrounding population and the apparel industry here.
Billabong recently opened its first flagship in The Camp, as have Cyclewerks and Adventure-16 — which also counts a 2,000-square-foot in-store Patagonia boutique.
The high-concept, 50,000-square-foot multilevel complex features buildings topped with airplane hangar-like ceilings and aluminum siding. There’s even a canvas-topped Mongolian yurt that will soon become Guru’s, a health food restaurant.
Three years in the making, Sadeghi said he observed a niche in the activewear market, noticing that consumers were moving away from team sports toward “human-powered” sports like skateboarding, surfing and snowboarding (widely dubbed the action sports), as well as fly fishing, mountain biking and a type of rock-climbing called bouldering.
“There was good product, but not a lot of sophistication in the way it was presented,” said the 47-year-old shopping center developer, who set out to meld aesthetics with an interactive environment.
Sadeghi projects sales at The Camp will run between $600 and $1,000 a square foot in its first year, generating revenue of at least $30 million, and he expects the interactive nature of the project will help get him there.
An 11-foot-deep pool at dive shop Liburdis, for example, can be used for scuba certification, product testing and underwater photography. Liburdis is slated to open next week.
Paths lined with indigenous vegetation such as wild grass and flower root are piped with recorded sounds of birds and waves, intended to give shoppers a feeling of peace. It manages without smacking of a canned Disneyland vibe.
Retailers had to fulfill three requirements: They had to have authenticity, a solid heritage and be considered core brands to athletic consumers.
Billabong’s 5,600-square-foot store (its third after smaller locations in Laguna Beach and the Universal City Walk in Burbank, Calif.) boasts a free-to-the-public 4-by-32-foot skate ramp, a small wading pool to test surfboards and a cyber cafe. At press time, displays promoted women’s denim shorts priced at $48; board shorts, $52, and corduroys in lavender, baby blue and green at $50.
Outdoor and travel outfitter Adventure-16 opened a two-level, 12,000-square-foot space on Jan. 22. Shoppers can sit on wooden rocking chairs and read travel books, get consultations on climbing trips and buy printouts of customized National Geographic maps. “They’ll send you from Everest [in Nepal] to El Capitan [in California],” said Sadeghi.
The Patagonia in-store shop features women’s and men’s sportswear, alpinewear and endurancewear. Bestsellers include a women’s cotton touring shirt retailing for $54; hemp pants at $80, and brushed polyester mini-skirts for $54.
Outside, there’s a fire pit where visitors can gather to hear live music, watch product demos and hear lectures on sports medicine. They can also check out the $6,000 mountain bikes mounted on wood panels in a gallery-like setting at the nearby 2,800-square-foot Cyclewerks.
Bikram’s College of Yoga, a yogi famous in Southern California for practicing poses in 90-degree heat, will open in May. Three restaurants, including the health food cafe, are slated to open in June.
“The idea was to strengthen the body, soul and mind,” said Sadeghi.
Analysts seem to think the complex has potential.
“I think [the project is] hitting at the right time,” said Tony Cherbak, a partner in the consumer business group of Deloitte & Touche in Costa Mesa, Calif. “These activities have always been popular, but they’ve received a renewed focus since Sept. 11. Outdoor and sporting good retailers in Orange County have had a better performance than I have seen in general retail.”
The developer has purchased 10 acres surrounding The Camp with plans to build artists’ lofts and a boutique hotel in the next five years. He’s dubbed the area “SoBECA,” because it is located south on Bristol and incorporates entertainment, culture and arts. The Camp’s grand opening party is scheduled for May 31.


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Apple has been the long undisputed smartphone gold standard, but Google’s hoping to harness the potential of artificial intelligence and machine learning to get ahead.
Introducing the next version of the Pixel smartphone at a special event on Wednesday, the company truly came out swinging. Mario Queiroz, Google’s product chief, introduced the Pixel 2 with a healthy heaping of friendly competition.
“Feel free to choose whichever size Pixel you prefer, because you’ll get the same great experience on both,” he said. “We don’t set aside better features for the larger device.”
The obvious knock against Apple, which has been making the more expensive “plus” versions of its phones larger, was warmly received by the audience with ample applause, laughter, and cheers.
Another inferred jab came when Queiroz described the color options. While Apple has garnered quite a bit of attention for giving its product Crayola-reminiscent colors and names to match, Queiroz was careful to downplay the hues the smaller Pixel model will come in. He described the three options as “kinda blue,” “just black,” and “clearly white,” a stark contrast to Apple’s “space grey,” “jet black,” and lest we forget “rose gold.”
“We love picking the color names,” he said as the audience laughed.
After laying out the phone’s features, Queiroz made abundantly clear that Google’s out for blood. (Or, at least, your money.)
“New Pixel users will be able to transfer their stuff from their old phone in just 10 minutes,” he said among laughs from the audience. He then went on to lay out the (significantly lower) price points.
Perhaps because Google has never before even attempted to come up against Apple in the laptop department, company execs tread more lightly when bragging about the new iMac competitor Pixelbook.
One part that Google director of product management Matt Vokoun couldn’t help but acknowledge, however, was the A.I.
After asserting that the “laptop experience hadn’t changed in 20 years,” he was careful to underscore how the Google Pixelbook is different. One notable example of this is how the A.I.-enabled Google Assistant doesn’t require you speak to it in order to work. Instead, users can simply type messages to the Google equivalent of Siri or use its accessory pen to practically (and silently) ask for and receive assistance.
“[Sometimes] it’s not the right time or place to talk to your computer,” he said with a smile. “Like when you’re in a coffee shop or sitting in the audience right now.”
Your move, Apple.


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Raycom Media: Brand Refresh
An Elevated Rebrand
At the time, Raycom Media was one of the nation’s largest, privately-owned media companies. Along with their strong broadcast foothold, Raycom owned PureCars, Raycom Sports, Tupelo Raycom, RTM productions and Broadview Media.
Raycom’s logo and brand identity had remained largely unchanged for over 15 years, and the old look had become a hindrance to recruiting and a question in ad buyer’s minds if Raycom was really on the front edge of media. A brand refresh was well overdue.
What We Did
Research identified that Raycom’s outdated look led people to believe that Raycom was strictly a broadcast company, and most were unaware of Raycom’s innovative media and digital technologies. With a revised brand positioning, and a new modern a branding package including a new logo design, Wildfire helped cast Raycom as an innovative and modern company.
Raycom launched their new look at the Camellia Bowl game in December 2017 to positive feedback from board members, employees and clients. Almost immediately, website traffic increased, and the Raycom team noted upticks in interest from customers and potential employees alike.


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Intress Media, an affiliate marketing company, has launched an iGaming portal in Michigan, following its acquisition of a license from the state. This web portal is named iGamingMI.com and it aims to be the first-choice destination for Michigan online bettors.
This is the second license that Intress has received within the US market, following its entry into New Jersey in June. The company’s ultimate goal is to launch a network of iGaming portals in each regulated state across the US.
iGamingMI.com aims to build a safe community of gamblers who receive a plethora of news, reviews, education and entertainment from its platform. This blend of media intends to keep bettors informed and help them make more responsible choices around betting.
As it is now a Michigan-licensed media organization, the site will collaborate with online casinos that have been fully approved by the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB). The MGCB demands high standards of consumer protection and responsible gaming promotion.
iGamingMI.com will utilize in-depth knowledge of the industry to review casinos, software developers, games and more while connecting players with casino representatives.
Intress Product Manager Maryna Sokirko says: “Responsible gaming was a key watchword when Michigan chose to license and regulate online gaming and it’s also a key driver behind what we do.
“From what we see across multiple US affiliate projects, they seem to lack some of the advanced user-engaging techniques that we believe will help secure our position among leaders of the emerging but highly competitive US markets. While our short-term objective is launching projects in other regulated states, building a true, safe community of gamblers remains our ultimate goal.”


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The draft Banking Law was included in the legislative plan of the 13th National People’s Standing Committee as well as the 2020 legislative plan, set out during Beijing’s key annual plenary meetings convened last month in October 2020.3 This is the first time the PBOC has given the digital currency legal recognition, with the draft Banking Law indicating that digital RMB will be treated on par with physical RMB, or cash. It clarifies that digital RMB is legal tender, laying the foundation for its wider issuance.
The draft Banking Law also includes a ban on the issuance of any digital tokens that circulate in the market as substitutes to RMB. Violators face financial and criminal penalties and the issuers of the illegal digital tokens for RMB would be required to destroy them.
Key provisions of the draft Banking Law are as follows:
- Article 65: If any digital tokens are made, issued or sold to replace RMB, the PBOC shall order the issuer to stop such illegal acts, destroy the tokens or digital currency produced, issued or sold, confiscate the illegal gains and impose fines up to five times the illegal amount; if the illegal amount cannot be determined, a fine of more than RMB 100,000 but less than RMB 500,000 shall be imposed. More serious penalties may be imposed if the circumstances are serious.4
The PBOC has stated that DCEP was created to replace paper-based cash, envisaging DCEP becoming the common medium of exchange amongst the wider Chinese population. The PBOC is of the view that DCEP will help the government maintain control over the RMB through its use in as many small retail scenarios as possible. In its broadest interpretation, the draft Banking Law could ban all cryptocurrency tokens in China, other than DCEP. Comments on the draft Banking Law can be submitted until November 23, 2020.
DCEP is also positioned to aid the internationalization of the RMB through utilization in international payment settlements. Domestically, while the rollout of DCEP will not necessarily undercut the current business models of major digital wallets such as those of Alipay and WeChat (Tencent), it signals what may only be the first foray by state actors towards providing a fuller suite of digital financial offerings.
The PBOC is of the view that adoption of a state-run digital payments system will help combat money laundering, gambling, and terrorism financing. As indicated in the draft Banking Law, it views DCEP as a tool to improve transaction efficiency in its financial system. As such, the country’s four largest state-owned banks have joined the PBOC in developing DCEP. The digital currency has been underdoing heavy testing as evidenced by the public trial in Shenzhen where authorities gave away “red packets” of RMB 200 (USD 30) to 50,000 residents to spend in 3,389 specific stores.5 It is reported that DCEP has already completed an estimated 4 million transactions valued at USD 299 million in the past several months.6
Drawing upon an immense userbase, China in many ways leads the world with its private digital payments, fintech and e-commerce companies. However, a somewhat mixed picture emerges when one considers both the development of DCEP and actions such as the current prevention by Chinese regulators of the anticipated blockbuster Ant Group IPO. Taken together with the draft Banking Law, this increase in state supervision may well indicate how Chinese regulators and state-backed players aim to increasingly harness digital payments along with related sectors and technologies going forward.


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Chrome is the most popular web browser in the world by an absolute mile, but it isn’t without its problems. Open up more than a few Chrome tabs and you’ll soon find your PC slowing down to a crawl as Chrome hogs up all of your device’s RAM. Another big problem, Chrome users face is battery drain. When you’re using Google Chrome, your device is burning through battery life much faster than it usually would.
Chrome’s popularity, however, might have inadvertently served up a solution to this battery draining problem. Microsoft recently turned its Edge browser into a Chromium powered browser meaning all Edge developers and engineers are now working on the same open-source code that Google used to build Google Chrome. While doing so it looks like they might have discovered a fix to Chrome’s battery power woes.
Microsoft engineers flagged a fix for Chrome’s battery drain problem and it took Google less than a week to implement it
Those of you with good memories will remember the time we reported on the Microsoft Edge engineer who had to boot up Google Chrome in the middle of a presentation. The engineer was able to display the page he was looking for and continued on with his presentation but, nonetheless, the episode proved rather embarrassing for Microsoft to say the least. It now looks like Microsoft has finally had a chance to turn the tables as just a few months after they’ve moved Edge over to the Chromium ecosystem, the Microsoft team is having an effect on the Google Chrome browser itself.
The Microsoft engineers identified the problem behind the battery drain as being the excessive caching of data that Chromium browsers exhibit when handling media. According to a Chromium commit on the issue, “Keeping the disk active during this process increases power consumption in general and can also prevent certain lower-power modes from being engaged in the operating system. Since media consumption is a high-usage scenario, this extra power usage has a negative impact on battery life.” Caching data means the disk is active and is therefore a power-hungry thing to do. Any activity that does it is going to negatively affect your battery life.
The fix that Microsoft suggested involves the prevention of some data caching, which can effect the speed you can access certain types of media, but also detects when a power source is connected so that caching can continue as normal when battery usage isn’t an issue.
From when the Microsoft engineers first created the “caching” flag that enables the fix it took Chrome engineers less than a week to implement it themselves into the Google Chrome Canary build. This means there is a good chance it’ll soon make it into the regular version of Google Chrome, and we’ll all be able to save a bit of battery power the next time we boot up the Google web browser. Thanks Microsoft, we promise to try Edge again soon.


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Under Priceline alum, Ridgefield firm growing fast with AI platform
At prices between 50 percent and 80 percent off the clearance sales were well under way heading into the first weekend after the 2018 holiday shopping season.
It was evident at malls like Danbury Fair and Stamford Town Center or chains like the the Christmas Tree Shops and Target.
Just off Ridgefield’s main drag dotted with discounters like Kohls and boutiques like Talbots, Paul Breitenbach oversees teams of programmers at his r4 Technologies who are working to help retailers avoid those steep discounts by helping them better deduce what it is their consumers want to buy — with Amazon-like precision.
Outside of the hedge-fund sector, fewer Connecticut companies have maintained as stealthy a profile as r4 Technologies, which has grown to more than 100 employees at a modest office park just off Danbury Road in Ridgefield.
R4 provides a cloud-based, artificial intelligence platform to help companies act on customer information in their possession to improve their revenues — for instance helping retailers better deduce what customers want to buy, and so reduce the odds of overstocking that result in items having to be marked down at clearance prices, eating into the bottom line.
It is perhaps the oldest problem in retail, and one that Breitenbach believes his company is helping traditional consumer companies solve, giving them tools Amazon has mastered to steer shoppers to stuff they want to buy on its websites. In addition to overstocking, r4’s systems can help eliminate scenarios in which companies run out of stock to sell due to unanticipated demand.
“Out-of-stock is … a $1 trillion problem for all retail,” Breitenbach told Hearst Connecticut Media. “We can now match a person to a product to a place, with great precision. You add all that up, and now all of a sudden you know exactly what should be there — what shape, what size, what flavor and what quantity, and also what you should price it at, and how you should merchandise and promote it.”
Recipes and myths
After attending Cornell University, Breitenbach met Priceline founder Jay Walker through mutual friends and became among the earliest employees of the company, also working for Walker Digital in Stamford where he is listed on several patents for vending machine innovations.
Breitenbach created r4 in 2010 on that simple simple idea, helping companies tap mountains of intelligence at their fingertips to create a highly personalized experience for shoppers, so that what buyers is at their own fingertips as they peruse aisles. R4’s systems apply artificial intelligence to predict inventory needs for specific products — referenced in retail parlance as stock-keeping units or SKUs — and in what quantities.
“I hate to really even call us an AI company … because AI is a misunderstood thing,” Breitenbach said. “Its broader than algorithms -- it’s almost like recipes, because one math equation doesn’t solve anything anymore. You can have thousands of SKUs, and you need different math for every single SKU to do it the right way.”
All retailers have the data required to capitalize on r4’s system, he said, whether culled from receipts generated at checkout or other information gleaned from shoppers online and other channels.
“The myth is that somehow these retailers are unable to do this,” Breitenbach said. “People call it different things, but it’s the concept of personalizing everything about the consumer experience — from what products they’re interested in, to how they want to be talked to about it, to how they engage with a product, and then how to promote and price it to maximize customer lifetime value.”
‘A supply and demand issue’
The company has since expanded the scope of its platform to help businesses assess job candidates, with r4 itself in growth mode these days.
Last spring, r4 registered $20 million in new capital from outside investors, which would rank among the larger rounds in Connecticut in the past few years. R4’s financiers have included the New York City-based Pilot Growth Equity and the state-backed Connecticut Innovations venture fund.
Breitenbach is trying to build a company where people will want to work, encouraging parents to bring their kids there after school for tutoring and to spend time on causes of importance in their lives.
One of his own causes is education, whether grade school or in university research, with r4 announcing late last year an applied artificial intelligence initiative with Breitenbach’s alma mater Cornell.
Another personal cause is cutting the amount of food that ends up in dumpsters behind markets and restaurants — something that also plays into his quest with r4.
“We have the ability to reduce a half a trillion dollars in food waste by applying this technology,” Breitenbach said. “Again, it’s a supply and demand issue.”
Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman


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Embers of Mirrim is an excellent puzzle game has made its way to Nintendo's new platform with no loss in quality.
A lovely and creative puzzle platformer that will genuinely strain your brain.
Video game developer Creative Bytes Studios' newest adventure-platformer, Embers of Mirrim, is now available.
Video game developer Creative Bytes Studios' upcoming adventure-platformer, Embers of Mirrim, will be coming out in the last week of May for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Developer Creative Bytes is showing off more of its upcoming adventure-platformer game, Embers of Mirrim, with the release of a new gameplay trailer and collection of screenshots.
Gamers can save their world from an alien threat in Embers of Mirrim, a new multi-plaform game coming this year from Creative Bytes.


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A ‘raid’ at a Sutton Coldfield shop turned out to be a false alarm as landlord’s confirmed the premises have now closed for good.
Police were called to the Bicicielo bike store in Mulberry Walk in Mere Green on Friday (October 12) with witnesses believing the premises had been broken into.
An eyewitness told BirminghamLive: “It looked like Bicicielo was being broken into in Mere Green on Friday.
“Police were called and there were numerous response vehicles arriving within minutes.
“It was very reassuring to see the police but I have since been told it was bailiffs ‘breaking’ in.”
West Midlands Police confirmed they were called to an incident early on Friday. A spokeswoman for the force said: “Police were called to a suspected burglary at a business premises in Lichfield Road, Four Oaks at 7.05am on October 12.
“Relevant checks were made and it turned out to be a call with good intent.”
A notice from enforcement agents Parkinson Bailiff Services Limited has since appeared on the front of the Bicicielo store indicating the premises have been seized by the landlords.
It states: “Forfeiture Notice To Bicicielo Ltd, From landlord Nottingham City Council.
“Take notice 1. Under the terms and conditions of your lease, we as authorised agents acting on behalf of the landlord have this day re-entered the premises and the lease is hereby determined.
“Any attempt by you or your agents to enter the demised premises will result in criminal/civil proceedings being taken against you.”
The notice was issued on Friday, October 12.
A Nottingham City Council spokesman said: “We have taken possession of this property for non-payment of rent.
“The shop had been emptied of stock by its supplier ahead of the franchisee going into liquidation.”
BirminghamLive has attempted to contact shop owner Andrew Collis.
It specialised in top brand cycles including Bianchi, Scott, Ridley, Cervelo and Focus.
As well as selling bikes and accessories, it also carried out bike servicing.
While residents responding to the news on the Four Oaks Neighbourhood News Facebook page questioned the number of empty units which remain at Mulberry Walk.
Alice Foley said: “Wow another unit empty already hopefully Nottingham city council will consider lowering the rent.” And Sean Connolly said: “Sorry to say but they'll never let all them units.”
But plenty had sympathy for the shop’s owner.
While Annie Edwards had this message for Bicicielo’s owner: “It was a great shop and it had plenty of customers, including myself! It traded successfully in Birmingham since 2011.
“If the owner and his family are reading this post, I just want to say you will be sorely missed by the whole cycling community and wherever you are, we hope you are safe and well.”
And Becky Batten added: “Gutted they have closed... Loved the community they were working to grow and they personally got me out of the spin studio and onto a proper bike and into the fresh air! So disappointing to see others criticise at the demise of someone else.”
While Richard Green said: “Totally loved this truly specialist bike shop. Totally awesome people passionate about the sport. The shop will be sorely missed.
“If you never visited you missed a treat, this really was bicycle heaven. I feel proud to have been part of the Bicicielo inclusive club.
“It got me out and enjoying peace, tranquillity and open spaces. Wishing the owner the very best, see you on the road, our bicycle heaven.”


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Pizza has been a major comfort favorite for decades so integral a part of our culinary sphere. More than eight in 10 consumers eat pizza at least once a month, and about half of them enjoy it once a week. Pizza clearly is one of America’s favorite go-to comfort foods.
With recipe innovation is at the forefront of product development, when it comes to pizza in order to win new customers traditional combinations are giving up space to new toppings, novel crusts, and uncommon sauces. Plant-based toppings and other natural ingredients and spices sourced from the world’s cuisines also figure large. With billions of pizza enjoyed in this country every year, there certainly must be challenges in coming up with something new enough to excite…yet not so far off the edge it falls flat.
Prepared Foods’ Executive Editor-Technical David Feder interviews Nick Fallucca, Chief Product and Innovation Officer of Palermo Villa, Inc. as nick shares his experiences and insights into creating one of the country’s great go-to food items.
On the go? Listen to the interview now!
Listen to more episodes from The Prepared Foods Podcast.


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Auto-Spa, the trademark for touchless car washing, has recently entered the Czech market. The first car wash will open on 20th December 2012 in the retail park by Tesco in Děčín. The idea to place a car wash directly on the car park in front of the Tesco hypermarket was the brainchild of the Retail Warehouse team at Cushman & Wakefield. The company also secured leasing of the land.
“The idea behind it is about saving customers’ time – while the woman goes shopping, the man can take care of washing his vehicle. The car wash is located directly in the car park in front of the Tesco store, and unlike standard car washes, utilises more sensitive technology, “says Martin Kubín from the Retail Warehouse team at Cushman & Wakefield.
The touch-free car wash adopts more sensitive washing technology based on a special micro-powder. The classic mechanical brush is not applied; hence there is no risk of paintwork being scratched. On top of that, the service is also cheaper – the facility is self-operated and the cost of washing depends on the driver’s experience (customers are charged per-minute). The touch less car wash is also suitable for washing motorcycles and quad bikes for which standard car washes aren’t suitable.
“This is a relatively common service in Western Europe. Whereas several thousand touch less car washes have already been put in place in neighbouring countries, the Czech market is just starting out
Due to the lack of this kind of service and success attributed to projects already underway, we are confident about its potential and are working intensively on expanding to other locations. In 2013 we plan to open a further 20 branches of our own as well as franchises,” says Dorde Sredić, Managing Director at Auto-Spa CZ.
“We care about customer satisfaction, which is why we provide the highest quality level of washing - for the lowest price at Auto Spa,” Sredić adds.
The founder of the service in the Czech Republic is Auto-Spa CZ. The “Auto-Spa” company/ trademark originates from Poland and is the market leader in its field within Central Europe.


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The upcoming Ducati Multistrada V4 has been spotted on test again on public roads, and this time we get to see an undisguised motorcycle. As latest spy shots published by Motorrad Magazin reveal, Ducati's flagship adventure motorcycle is closer to production than from the last time we've seen it on the streets. The bike is expected to be a 2021 model and likely to be unveiled later this year in full production form. The latest spy shots show the new Multistrada without any camouflage wrap, and reveals several unique design traits which will differentiate the V4 engine Multistrada from the current Multistrada 1260.
The face of the bike seems to be slightly different, with a differently shaped windscreen and beak of the test mule, from the current Multistrada 950 and Multistrada 1260, while the semi-fairing sports wider air intakes and exhausts on the flanks. Also unique to the new Multistrada V4 are the exposed trellis subframe and open, triangular swingarm. Other components seem borrowed from the current Multistrada models, like the y-spoke circles on the wheels, similar to the Multistrada 950, as well as the off-set rear shock with piggyback reservoir. The headlight design is also new and seem inspired by the Panigale with a distinctive LED strip. The new Multistrada V4 could also sport a radar-powered advanced rider assist system.
Also Read: Ducati Multistrada V4 Officially Confirmed
Like the Panigale range, which now has the Panigale V2, Panigale V4 and Panigale V4R, the new Multistrada V4 is likely to be an addition to the Multistrada range, rather than replace the current Multistrada 1260. In terms of a powerplant, it could sit between the current 1260 and 950 models and have the 1100 cc V4 engine from the Panigale model, with maximum power around 180 bhp. With the EICMA 2020 show cancelled, as well as other motorcycle shows this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ducati may well debut the Multistrada V4 at a special screening event, with an online unveiling of the bike.
Source: Motorrad Magazine


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Helmed by co-artistic director Andrew Hobgood, Merge is set to run Oct. 7-Nov. 12 at The Den Theatre. Tickets will go on sale in July. Here's how the theatre bills the new work: "In 1978, Atari was the fastest growing company in the history of the United States, an arcade manufacturer with a workplace fueled by pot smoking, jacuzzi parties and nobody wearing socks. When they have to sell themselves to Warner Bros. to stay afloat, they quickly realize that corporate cash comes with baggage, as they lose a piece of the identity that made them who they were in the first place. And what’s worse… they have to start wearing socks. Merge is the story of a small band of programmers who stand up and fight back against the very company that saved them from bankruptcy, in a battle that threatens to crash an entire industry."
Davis' plays have been produced at Chicago Dramatists, American Theater Company, Theater Wit and Second City Chicago.
For more information visit thenewcolony.org.


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The Black in Business Summit is a virtual conference that brings together Black business leaders representing a bevy of companies including BET, Revolt, and the US Black Chambers offering advice, tips and networking skills for current and aspiring and current entrepreneurs and business owners.
Comedian and Let’s Make A Deal Host Wayne Brady kicked off the event with a conversation with Yelp’s Darnell Holloway on the skills that businesses should integrate into their operations.
Brady, who recently turned 50, told Black business owners one of the best things they can take from him is the “Yes And” principle used in improv.
“Yes and is a conversation on stage, you give something and I’m going to take that and respond to you in kind and then I’m going to lay on a response and before you know it, we’re exchanging ideas,” Brady told Holloway.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re Jeff Bezos or you run a bodega, you need to network and not just network with other people in your field, you need to network with your clientele. That’s yes anding, that’s starting a conversation.”
Networking Your Way To Business Growth
One of the afternoon panels for the Black In Business Summit, titled Networking Your Way To Business Growth featured Mielle Founder and Chief Executive Officer Monique Rodriguez; U.S. Black Chambers Executive Vice President Talisha Bekavac and Malyia McNaughton, founder and jewelry designer, Made by Malyia.
The three women discussed how they were able to network to get their businesses off the ground. Bekavac talked about how Linkedin helped connect the US Black Chambers to companies that made financial commitments to Black people and businesses in 2020.
“I’m big on Linkedin and it’s opened so many doors for me, especially during COVID when we couldn’t go to conferences and network, Linkedin was the only way,” Bekavac said.
“So Pokemon Go came out and said they want to help Black businesses, and I knew I had a connection with them, but I couldn’t go out and meet them, so I went to Linkedin, I found out I knew someone in their public affairs firm so I reach out to one of my colleagues and asked if they could introduce us.”
Bekavac added the introduction led to Pokemon Go donating $1 million to the US Black Chambers, which went to grants for Black businesses, within two months.
Funding Your Business
One of the hardest things for Black businesses and entrepreneurs to do is get access to capital.
Daryn Dodson, the managing director and founder, of Illumen Capital, began an afternoon panel titled How To Fund Your Business with a surprising revelation.
“We secretly tested 180 people managing $4 million in capital and we found systematically the better Black fund managers and Black entrepreneurs performed, the more bias they faced,” Dodson said.
“That means even if we’re twice as good there may be something showing up that the people that are evaluating us miss the value that we bring to the marketplace overlooking and consistently underestimate us.”
Wale Ogunleye, the head of sports and entertainment at UBS added even if you do receive credit and financial help if the bank is looking at you as just a transaction, don’t be afraid to find a bank that values and appreciates you.
“Eventually you’re going to find where people value your worth and understand exactly why it’s important for them to have a relationship with you.”
Other panels during the Black In Business Summit featured discussions on prioritizing mental health and self-care while running a business and creating an impact through culture and your community.
The panelists for the discussions included representatives of Yelp, the Black Wome’s Business Collective and BLACK ENTERPRISE executive vice president and editor-at-large Alfred Edmond Jr.
The summit also included giveaways of Yelp’s business tools and resources for businesses and advice on how Black businesses can use Yelp’s platform to promote and grow their business.


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Full-size Tundra wins Motor Trend's prize against Ford and GM competitors
December 18 2007: 11:01 AM EST
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Motor Trend Magazine named the full-size
Toyota Tundra its Truck of the Year for 2008 on Tuesday.
Other competitors for the award were the Chevrolet Silverado HD, the GMC
Sierra HD and the Ford F-250, -350 and -450 Super Duty trucks.
Since the trucks have different capabilities, they were rated against a
set of specific criteria rather than in a straight competition against
one another, the magazine said.
The trucks were scored for "superiority," a measure of general
excellence in materials, engineering and workmanship, "value," a measure
of what the truck offers compared to others available for the price, and
"significance," a measure of how the vehicle changes the market in which
The magazine tested two versions of each contender, each with different
engine, transmission and suspension options.
The General Motors and Ford trucks in the competition are all heavy-duty
pickups designed to carry and tow large loads. The Toyota Tundra is a
"half-ton" pickup of the type that is often used for personal
transportation as well as for work.
The trucks were tested at a former Ford proving ground in Arizona and on
area roads. Tests included trailer towing and driving performance on
rough and unpaved roads.
The Tundra stood out, the magazine said, for its ride and handling,
excellent interior quality and quietness combined with impressive truck
"This new Toyota Tundra is big, it's tough, it delivers class-leading
performance, it has excellent towing capability," said Angus MacKenzie,
editor in chief of Motor Trend, in a video posted at MotorTrend.com.
"It's smooth and refined inside and out and it's priced to take on its
Toyota (TM) introduced the new, larger Tundra this year as a direct
competitor to market-leading trucks from GM (GM, Fortune 500) and Ford
(F, Fortune 500).
The GM trucks were close contenders, the magazine said, but they
couldn't mass the Tundra in the area of "significance." The Fords were
strong performers but were more ungainly to drive than their GM
competitors, according to Motor Trend.
"The recent launch of the new Tundra has not been without a few
hiccups," the magazine noted. The truck has faced several recalls.
Motor Trend gives three awards for vehicles that are all-new or
significantly redesigned for the model year. This year the magazine's
Car of the Year award went to the redesigned Cadillac CTS while the SUV
of the Year award went to the Mazda CX-9.


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Vitter accused people who overspent their benefits of theft and said they should be prosecuted and ousted from the food stamp program.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - State leaders haven't done enough to aggressively pursue food stamp recipients who overspent their balance when the electronic food stamp service was down last month, U.S. Sen. David Vitter said Monday.
Several Louisiana retailers, including Wal-Mart stores in Mansfield and Springhill, allowed food stamp recipients to make unlimited purchases on Oct. 12, when the electronic card system was down across many states and balances couldn't be checked.
Vitter accused people who overspent their benefits of theft and said they should be prosecuted and ousted from the food stamp program. He urged Suzy Sonnier, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, and Attorney General Buddy Caldwell to respond harshly to the incidents.
He sent the two state officials a letter last week, and followed up Monday with another letter saying he was disappointed with their responses to his concerns. He asked to meet with them in Baton Rouge to talk about it.
"There should be serious consequences for the outrageous theft and fraud at these Louisiana retailers," the Republican senator said in a statement.
Both Sonnier and Caldwell have suggested they don't have the authority to prosecute violators or strip their benefits as Vitter has suggested.
Sonnier said Monday that she's asked the department's lawyers to "take another look to see what else can be done to punish people for any fraud."
Sonnier asked federal officials for permission to suspend food stamp benefits for recipients determined to have knowingly overspent the balances on their food stamp debit cards when the contractor, Xerox Corp., had technical problems that shut down the system. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the food stamp program, has not issued a decision.
But Vitter said the state has the authority to disqualify and suspend anyone guilty of theft or fraud from the food stamp program without the USDA's approval.
"So I again urge you to take such action in these cases without first asking permission unnecessarily from the Obama administration," he wrote.
Sonnier said no taxpayer dollars were paid for the improper food stamp purchases because the retailers didn't follow the emergency process required when the electronic debit system isn't working. She said it was up to the retailers to determine if they wanted to seek prosecution since it was their money lost.
Vitter disagreed, saying state officials could do more and work with prosecutors in the local jurisdictions to push for charges to be filed.
In a response letter Monday, Caldwell agreed to meet with Vitter - while also reminding him that local district attorneys have jurisdiction in such types of criminal cases.
"However, my office has reached out to the affected district attorneys and offered to make our resources available to assist their offices with this matter," Caldwell wrote.


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JC Penney's, 9303 W. Atlantic Blvd. Two women were arrested after placing two $44 shirts and two $46 pairs of shorts in a bag and leaving the store without paying for the merchandise on April 3.
-- 11300 block of Royal Palm Boulevard. A 1983 Buick Regal valued at $1,500 was stolen from a residence between 6 p.m. April 3 and 4 a.m. the next day. The vehicle was found in Sunrise.


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AxleHire and Shipium Partner to Offer Superior Last-Mile Deliveries for E-commerce Brands
Enabling retailers to see immediate shipping performance boosts
EMERYVILLE, CA, May 11, 2023 — AxleHire, an expedited, urban last-mile delivery provider, announced today that it has partnered with Shipium, the enterprise shipping platform for e-commerce retailers, brands, and 3PLs. Together, the two companies can offer e-commerce clients the right combination of speed and accuracy with a focus on a more flexible and scalable final-mile delivery solution. AxleHire integrates with Shipium to provide reliable last-mile delivery in major metros from coast-to-coast.
AxleHire’s tech-forward delivery platform supports millions of daily transactions and scales to support seasonal and unplanned capacity surges without surcharges. As a result, shippers who use AxleHire enjoy a 99%+ on-time delivery (OTD) rate.
Shipium uses modern shipping management technology to delight consumers with fast and accurate delivery. Customers turn to Shipium when leveraging a multi-carrier strategy becomes a priority and when legacy technology throttles progress toward implementing desired changes.
Companies that leverage AxleHire and Shipium see immediate performance boosts in their final-mile strategy. When shippers diversify to include AxleHire as an option, they have experienced 15% average reductions in parcel costs and speed gains in time to the doorstep.
“Consumer preferences have solidified in the wake of the pandemic. They want deliveries fast, free, and on time,” said Jason Murray, CEO of Shipium. “Shippers must turn to innovative new carriers like AxleHire to ensure they delight customers without breaking the bank. We are excited to be the modern and enterprise option for those companies as they look to include AxleHire in their network.”
“We’re excited to partner with Shipium to offer e-commerce merchants an opportunity to combine speed and accuracy in their last-mile delivery experience,” said Adam Bryant, CEO of AxleHire. “Partnering to combine our technologies gives brands a fighting chance to compete with delivery speeds offered by e-commerce giants like Amazon without sacrificing quality or adding significant costs.”
AxleHire is an expedited urban last-mile delivery service, providing customers with a superior same and next-day delivery experience. AxleHire leverages purpose-built modern technology and a gig driver fleet to drive transformative outcomes that catalyze customers' brand growth. Logistics teams can now provide a differentiated delivery experience at a competitive cost, overcoming the limitations of legacy delivery providers. AxleHire operates in 19 of the 25 major U.S. metro urban areas across the U.S., enabling high-volume shippers to cater to their customers' rising delivery needs and expectations.
For more information about AxleHire, please visit axlehire.com.
Shipium is the premium enterprise shipping platform for e-commerce. It coordinates previously disconnected steps of the supply chain to help improve delivery speed and accuracy, while reducing shipping costs 12% on average. Retailers turn to Shipium when they want to make a promise they can keep with accurate delivery dates, then keep the promise that they made with modern shipping software.
Learn more at shipium.com.


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SAS and Icelandair have entered into a
partnership agreement that includes codeshare on a number of
routes, providing better connections to and from Iceland, and
reciprocal frequent flyer benefits.
The partnership comes into effect today (8
November 2010), and includes codeshare on routes beyond SAS' hubs
of Copenhagen and Stockholm to Berlin, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Milan,
Munich, Vilnius, Zurich and Warsaw.
"This agreement gives us an opportunity to
provide our customers with a whole new range of services and
destinations and we look forward to further enhancing our
cooperation with Scandinavian Airlines," said Helgi Már
Björgvinsson, Icelandair's SVP of Sales and Marketing.
Early 2011, Icelandair will also become a
partner of SAS' frequent flyer program EuroBonus, whilst SAS
becomes a partner of Icelandair's Saga Club.
See other recent news regarding:


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Blog: Fashion nightmares
Leonie Barrie | 20 October 2005
I’m sure we’ve all got fashion mistakes lurking somewhere in our sartorial pasts; who hasn’t glanced at an old photograph and cringed to see oneself in a hideous outfit that seemed so ‘in’ at the time? A few fashion anomalies that spring to mind might include safari suits and platform soles, hot pants, kipper ties, knitted tank tops and paper dresses, Afghan coats, shell suits and tartan trews, boob tubes and Val Doonican jumpers.
Well if you care to re-live these visible nightmares, dress historian Catherine Horwood has trawled through the archives and reveals the results in her new book, ‘Worst Fashions: What we shouldn’t have worn … but did.’ We all make mistakes, and here they are. As the author points out though: “Good taste is better than bad taste but bad taste is better than no taste.”
The book hasn’t been published yet, but for those of you wanting to re-visit what we’ve been wearing for the past 50 years, Amazon is already taking orders. Just in time for Christmas…
Some of just-style’s more eagle-eyed readers might have noticed a small change to the menu bar on the homepage: the addition of the word re:source. Yes it might be a small change – but it marks the co...
Over the past week just-style has continued to try to unravel the potential ramifications of Donald Trump’s election as the next president of the United States....
One event dominated the international airwaves last week, and on just-style too we took a closer look at the surprise election of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States....
As the Brexit roller-coaster continues to twist and turn, and the US presidential election campaign nears its unpredictable and possibly protectionist end, there's no doubt these events – and the perc...
- Steps to piloting living wage in garment factories
- How to ensure sustainability is more than a slogan
- Trump blows the case for Brexit out of the water
- US apparel retailers' November 2016 sales roundup
- Duty-free trade key to build Africa supply chains
- US Q3 in brief – Destination Maternity, Cherokee
- Taiwan textile maker investing in first US plant
- Esquel efficiency drive continues to boost brands
- Outdoor apparel sector set for double-digit growth
- Myanmar garment industry "lacking labour rights"


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Kuala Lumpur, 3 September 2015 – AirAsia, the world’s best low cost airline for seven consecutive years marked the commencement of its thrice weekly direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Goa, India today with a celebratory event in Kuala Lumpur.
AirAsia announced promotional base fares from as low as RM12* one way in conjunction with the celebration. These promotional fares can be booked from now till 6 th September 2015 for the travel period from 7 th September until 30th November 2015, available on airasia.com as well as AirAsia’s mobile app on iPhone and Android devices and the mobile site mobile.airasia.com.
The commencement of this new route, which saw the inaugural flight taking off on 27th August, signifies AirAsia’s second new route into India for 2015, following the launch and commencement of Kuala Lumpur-Visakhapatnam earlier this year. This also marks the eighth direct flight connecting Malaysia and India after Kolkata, Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, Bengaluru, Kochi, Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam.
“Goa is a destination very close to my heart, as my father had Goan roots. But above that, Goa itself is an amazing place to visit and AirAsia is proud to be the only airline that connects Kuala Lumpur directly to Goa, India; making this the sixth unique route we’ve introduced in 2015 itself. Our commitment is to provide the best connectivity for everyone across the region and the introduction of this unique route signifies that commitment,” said Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of AirAsia.
“Furthermore, it will now be much more convenient for travellers to visit India with the introduction of e-Tourist Visa on Arrival for 113 nationals including Malaysians. We welcome this move as it will definitely encourage more people to choose India as their travel destination,” he added.
As part of AirAsia’s continuous effort to enhance connectivity into India, flight frequencies from Kuala Lumpur to Kochi has also been increased from 10 times weekly to 14 times weekly effective 19 November 2015.
A solitary Portuguese outpost in India for almost 500 years, Goa is an Indian state located on the West Coast of India stretching along the Arabian Sea. The colonial influence can be seen everywhere through its many well-preserved 16th century churches such as the Basilica of Bom Jesus and many other world-heritage architectures. Swaying palm trees, white sandy beaches and sparkling blue Arabian sea are also what hundreds of thousands local and international tourists flocked to Goa for, its pristine beaches like Calangute and Baga are world renowned.
AirAsia Berhad operates a total of 69 weekly flights from Kuala Lumpur to India, and guests planning to fly from other hubs like Penang, Johor Bahru, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu can also connect to India with the Fly-Thru service via Kuala Lumpur.
Guests can also discover more of India via AirAsia India, which operates under the airline code I5 from two hubs: Bengaluru and New Delhi. Cities such as Chandigarh, Jaipur, New Delhi, Pune and Guwahati can be accessed via the two AirAsia India hubs. Keep updated with AirAsia’s latest promotions and activities via Twitter (twitter.com/AirAsia) and Facebook (facebook.com/AirAsia).
*Promotional base fares quoted are for one-way travel only EXCLUDING taxes and fees. Terms and conditions apply.


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Cryptocurrency Exchange Coinsquare To Add Credit Card Payment Method
A new partnership between Canadian cryptocurrency exchange Coinsquare and payment firm Processing.com will provide Coinsquare customers with new online payments functionalities. These will soon be able to buy cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ether, Dash, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash, with their credit or debit cards instantly.
The news comes just a few weeks after several banks and credit card companies in Britain and the US banned credit card payments for buying cryptocurrencies, fearing a plunge in their value will leave customers unable to repay their debts.
But for James Bergman, the chief revenue offering of Processing.com, cryptocurrencies are here to stay. Processing.com, a brand of CardConcepts Europe, provides online payments services for the e-commerce sector. The company has offices in the UK, the US, Europe, Australia and Brazil.
“As digital currencies increasingly make their way into the mainstream conscious, service providers have a responsibility to ensure the broader public can access the rapidly growing blockchain ecosystem,” Bergman said. “Processing.com is proud to facilitate fiat currency payments of digital currencies for the general public through Visa and MasterCard transactions.”
Operated by Canadian firm goNumericial, Coinsquare is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchange platform in the country. The company claims US$5 billion per year of cryptocurrency trades and over 100,000 customers.
“It was important for us to partner with a market leading innovative payments partner,” said Cole Diamond, CEO of Coinsquare. “We believe that this partnership will be a further catalyst to our already exceptional growth.”
Coinsquare closed a CA$30 million (US$23.63 million) funding round earlier this month to fuel its global growth plan and diversification strategy.
The company is targeting a CA$150 million (US$120 million) initial public offering (IPO) in September to help finance an overseas expansion.
“The US and the UK markets are next,” Diamond said in an interview with Bloomberg last month. “We believe that we will be a strong competitor to Coinbase and other exchanges in the US by the end of the year.”
Coinsquare plans to offer Ripple trading starting later this month and “will be launching one currency per month for the foreseeable future,” Diamond said.


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Crypto Coinsnews.com – The crypto-currency market is worth $8.7 billion, according to a recent report.
The report, published by the research firm Technomic, shows the cryptocurrency market is valued at $865.9 billion.
The cryptocurrency market was valued at a record $7.4 billion last year.
However, the latest report shows that the market has grown at a rate of $2.3 billion per day.
It shows that crypto-currencies have reached $2 trillion worth in market capitalization.
However the report shows the average volume of crypto-coins was $12,636,972, which is an increase of $8,521 per day in one month.
In the first half of 2017, the market is estimated to have reached more than $3 trillion.
According to the report, the average price of crypto coins has increased from $1.85 to $3.02 per coin.
This is a marked increase of more than 10 times.
The market value of the crypto-assets have increased by more than 50 times in the last six months, Technomic said.
The data shows that while crypto-markets are still largely dominated by private cryptocurrencies, they have been growing at an exponential rate.
However it also shows that cryptocurrency has become a more mainstream financial asset than the private-cryptocurrency market.
The study indicates that crypto currency has grown to $7 trillion and it will continue to grow, adding to the $10 trillion market capitalized in the same period.
The average price per coin has also grown by nearly 70 times in one year.
In 2017, CryptoCoins was valued by Technomic at $1,724 per coin, which was the third highest in the world.
The research firm noted that the current crypto-coin price could easily reach $10,000.
CryptoCoin’s price could surpass $10.00 at the end of the year, the report said.
However in the coming months, there are many reasons why the market could be overvalued.
The biggest reason is the lack of regulatory oversight and regulation, the study found.
In fact, the cryptocurrency industry is in the midst of a global regulatory crackdown.
This has led to a surge in ICOs, which are new ICOs that are not regulated by any country, according the report.
ICOs are also highly unregulated and unregulated ICOs have raised a lot of money through their marketing and trading platforms.
However there is also a growing trend of ICOs to launch with pre-ICO funding.
According the study, ICOs can be very risky investments, with an estimated $10 billion being lost due to ICOs in 2017.
This could potentially lead to more ICOs being launched and more ICO investors being exposed to high risks and potential losses.
The number of ICO investors has also been increasing, as companies like BitPay, Blockchain.info, Circle and Paytm have launched ICOs.
The ICO industry has been in the spotlight in recent years with ICOs gaining attention after a series of scandals.
In May, the company Cryptopia was found to have defrauded investors by selling them fake tokens and then charging them money that they never received.
The investigation by the SEC found that the company was not only running a pyramid scheme, but also was actively trying to hide the scam.
However some experts believe the ICO market could still be over valued.
The main reasons that the crypto markets value has increased are the increase in volume, increased interest and increased interest by the general public.
The increasing interest in cryptocurrency and the fact that the ICOs’ success has attracted a lot more investors have also increased the number of cryptocurrencies to enter the market, according CryptoCointalk.
The company noted that more than 85 percent of all ICOs launched so far in 2017 are being launched with pre ICO funding.


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Apple Music reportedly reaches 10 million paying subscribers
Apple’s new year is off to a great start, at least as far as its music streaming service is concerned: According to a new report, Apple Music has reached 10 million paying subscribers.
While unofficially announced, the number is nonetheless reported by a publication of considerable repute in the form of the Financial Times, which cites “people familiar with the matter.”
The number is a huge highlight for Apple Music, considering that it only took six months to hit the same milestone that its chief competitor, Spotify, took six years to reach. Apple Music debuted in more than 100 countries in June 2015, while Spotify was launched back in October 2008, and has since then expanded to more than 60 countries.
Spotify has a free ad-supported tier with limited features in addition to its premium unlimited service. It had 40 million active users when it passed 10 million paying subscribers in 2014. Spotify’s last official membership count announcement came in June, saying it had reached 75 million monthly users, 20 million of whom were paying subscribers.
Reached for comment by Business Insider following the report of Apple Music’s new milestone, Spotify didn’t provide its updated subscriber count, but said that the second half of 2015 saw its “fastest subscriber growth ever.”
As for Apple Music, it was officially announced by Apple CEO Tim Cook to have had 6.5 million paying subscribers plus 8.5 million customers on free three-month trials in October. Apple Music’s first batch of paying customers came off the free trial period at the end of September.
While some customers might have opted out of Apple Music because of bugs or other reasons, it would seem that a significant number of them had been sticking with the service, perhaps not least because of the service’s focus on human-curated playlists.
Apple is expected to provide an updated customer total for its music streaming service during its earnings call for the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
Are you one of Apple Music’s reported 10 million paying subscribers?


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Planet Japan by M-TEchX to present the innovation – News
Hiroyoshi Sota, CEO of M-TEchX. – Photo provided
First-ever display of âMagic Fiberâ in ME to showcase the world’s most advanced nanofiber products and applications
Discover world-class cutting-edge Japanese technologies, products, services and culture at the upcoming âPlanet Japan by M-TEchXâ exhibition to be held at the Dubai Exhibition Center, at the Dubai Expo 2020 site from December 2-4 2021.
Organized under the theme of ‘The Next Generation of the Industrial Revolution’, the highlight of the event will be the showcase of ‘Magic Fiber – the world’s most advanced nanofiber created using proprietary manufacturing technology from M-TEchX.
A wide range of proprietary M-TEchX products developed using the world’s first nanofiber mass production technology, including oil absorbents, fibers, sound absorbing, insulating and agricultural materials, clothing, care medical products, defense products, etc. will be presented during this exclusive event. . M-TEchX is a Tokyo-based company specializing in various lines of business involving Japan’s most advanced technologies, including the world’s first nanofiber mass production system.
Partnering with more than 20 companies and organizations based in Japan and the United Arab Emirates, Planet Japan by M-TEchX will exclusively showcase Japan’s leading technology, renowned quality control and unparalleled service, and is expected to spark a new industrial revolution in the Middle East. East, led by M-TEchX’s own specialized product lines focused on nanotechnology.
Hiroyoshi Sota, CEO of M-TEchX, said: âJapan is a recognized advanced country and M-TEchX is playing a key role in the country’s world-famous technological development by developing groundbreaking nanotechnology-based innovations involving more than 100 applications and products.
Sota added, âJapan has so many cutting-edge technology, products, services and entertainment that it can seem like a whole other planet. In accordance with this image, we are calling our next exhibition “Planet Japan”.
Nanofibers are known as the âsuper material of the futureâ because of their special performance and the effects they can provide for a variety of products. While various countries around the world are carrying out nanofiber research and development at the national level, M-TEchX has already successfully mass-produced the world’s first nanofibers, using its unique technology. Magic Fiber has saved lives from natural disasters and environmental disasters.
According to Sota, M-TEchX, founded in 2015, has launched a program of global expansion, while delivering exceptional nanotechnology-based solutions to solve the problems facing the world.
âOur company’s mission is to create miracles by harnessing the enormous potential of technology to solve various challenges facing society. Nanofibers can solve tons of problems providing cost effective, safe and reliable solutions for a number of industries.
For example, the global regenerative medicine market size is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20.5% and reach $ 79.33 billion by 2026. The market is primarily driven by the increasing prevalence of chronic disease around the world , such as cancer and diabetes. Magic fiber is increasingly recognized as an essential material for regenerative medicine, as it can adapt to cells and turn into part of defective tissue. Our event will also showcase cutting-edge regenerative medicine technology and related products, âSota added.
Planet Japan by M-TEchX will highlight pioneering medical technology from M-TEchX partner companies, including a disinfectant spray that is not only effective against the coronavirus, but also very safe for human use. In addition, visitors to the exhibition will witness the introduction of the world’s first wireless headphones with AI noise canceling function to deliver exceptionally clear sound to the other party. Equipped with health monitoring function, the device is expected to be widely used in industrial applications.
The unique technological showcase of the event will include next-generation energy systems, world-class animation products, a number of hygiene products and supplements, devices that generate water from the air, cosmetics, supplements, portable devices, etc. display.
The entertainment area of ââthe exhibition will feature live performances from the famous Japanese magazine Takarazuka, an all-female musical theater company with a history of over 100 years. Delicious Japanese cuisine will also be offered in the exhibition dining area, while the various attractions of Kumamoto Prefecture as a department of the Japanese regional government will also be featured.
Speaking of the plans for the Middle East, Sota said, âWe aim to create an industrial revolution in the Middle East through our unique nanofiber technology, its various products and applications and to reach the whole world with our technological innovation. As the UAE commemorates its 50th anniversary this year and, as the country, under his wise and visionary leadership, focuses on a knowledge-based economy fueled by the latest innovations and high-tech trends, M-TEchX and its partner companies are at the forefront of the UAE’s bold national ambitions and fully support the national cause. â
Sota added, âI am proud to reveal that we will be opening nanotechnology-based factories in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, details of which will be shared very soon.
Visitors to the exhibition will have the opportunity to learn about BNP Investments, the collaborative partner that promotes nanofiber technology products from M-TEchX and other companies around the world. The well-diversified conglomerate is active in a variety of industries including finance, mining, aviation, construction and home appliances.
Recently, M-TEchX also entered into a joint partnership with Sheikha Mouza Investment and Consulting to explore business opportunities in the sectors of industry, agriculture, construction, information and communication technologies to United Arab Emirates and in the GCC.
A key product of M-TEchX is Magic Fiber, a patented and special nanofiber that uses nanotechnology. Able to absorb all kinds of oil from any oil surface in indoor and outdoor condition, Magic Fiber sheets are very safe for human use because the product does not contain substances, such as formaldehyde, arsenic, mercury or chromium, which are harmful to humans. Ultra-fine magic fiber has been shown to be of great benefit in environmental situations involving large-scale marine oil spills, etc.
The 3-day exhibition will also have “panel discussions” on “the global consumer market and e-commerce related to nanofiber products” on the first day and “sustainable energy related to magnetic generator and carbon credits. Â»On the last day of the show.
As the only Japan-focused event showcasing the latest nanotechnology innovations and trends in the UAE, Planet Japan by M-TEchX is free. The exhibition is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (3 days) in Halls 1B and C North, Dubai Exhibition Center, Expo 2020 site.


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TEMPE, Ariz. — Karen Wilson often works with Waymo’s driverless vehicles. Just don’t ask her to ride in one.
“I’ve relied on my instincts way too long,” says Wilson, a dispatcher at AutoNation Toyota Tempe who previously made a career of driving tractor-trailers. She never had an incident during 16 years behind the wheel of big rigs and says she’s only received two speeding tickets in four decades of driving.
She’s on the front lines of Waymo’s delivery partnership with retailer AutoNation Inc., responsible for coordinating the delivery of hundreds, if not thousands, of parts from this distribution center to other auto dealerships and repair shops in this metro Phoenix area.
Human drivers, some employed by AutoNation and some by independent contractors, deliver most of the parts. Waymo’s driverless vehicles complement their work.
Waymo and AutoNation first partnered on self-driving matters in November 2017, when the latter agreed to help provide maintenance for Waymo’s burgeoning fleet in the metro Phoenix area. AutoNation has twice invested in Waymo’s fundraising rounds, and the partners expanded the scope of their work in November 2019, adding these autonomous B2B deliveries which now reach a dozen locations.
While Wilson ranks among the majority of Americans who don’t yet trust autonomous vehicles for human travel, she’s agnostic on whether an AV carries a particular parcel. So long as it gets where it needs to go and customers are happy.
There are practical considerations, though, for using a Waymo AV for deliveries.
“I can’t fit half this stuff into a car,” she said, pointing to a warehouse full of automotive parts.
Unlike Waymo’s partnership with UPS Inc., which has dedicated Chrysler Pacificas tailored for short-haul package delivery, AutoNation uses the same Waymo vehicles used by human passengers. Sometimes the seats get in the way.
That’s a conscious decision by the partners to try and maximize the usage of the robotaxi fleet. Riders often need the vehicles at different times from when deliveries are in demand during a weekday, so the two uses can be complementary.
“The hypothesis is that sharing between the ride-hailing service and delivery we gain economies of scale and reduce costs for our partners,” said Melanie D’achon, a strategic partnerships manager at Waymo who oversees the work with AutoNation.
Driverless deliveries cannot take place outside Waymo’s operating range, and AutoNation’s customers are all over the East Valley.
Sometimes dealerships within the geofenced area are not eligible for autonomous deliveries because Waymo vehicles cannot turn around in their parking lots; they are constrained by an inability to reverse. But Waymo and AutoNation are working to add more eligible locations this quarter.
Sometimes Wilson needs to send a human driver to pick up payment for parts delivered by the AV, a task that would have been part of a round trip for a human courier.
The companies are working together to solve those and other challenges.
Early on, Wilson and others used the same ride-hailing app as Waymo One riders to hail driverless vehicles. But Waymo learned AutoNation’s dispatchers are rarely on handheld devices. So the engineers customized an online tool that works on Wilson’s desktop computer and can accommodate multiple vehicle requests at the same time.
“Going into it, we thought it’d be very similar to ride-hailing,” D’achon said. “We learned, no, we need a tool for delivery and dispatch. That’s probably our biggest learning, the tool and infrastructure side of this.”
Deliveries have been reliable throughout the partnership, according to Wilson. Only once did a package not show up on time, when a Pacifica had safely been waylaid on the side of a nearby road about a mile from the distribution center. But Wilson took that delay in good spirit.
“That’s life,” she said. “Whether it’s drivers or driverless.”


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If you want to put a splash of color in your home this year, turquoise has been declared the hot new hue. But designers who attended the recent furniture industry gathering in High Point, North Carolina, are telling us that most people will be sticking with neutral tones and familiar forms this year because of the continuing uncertainty of the times.
“We’re in the midst of a roller-coaster economy,” says Gale Steves, design maven and chief creative officer at Open House Productions. “A lot of things are uncertain and the products and colors we are seeing (now) reflect this. Gone is the glitter and anything that shouts, ‘Look at me!’ Instead, think subtle, soothing, substance. We are seeing a trend toward simplicity and comfort, and in style, very simple traditional.”
Save the turquoise for accent pillows and possibly wall paint, because they’re easily replaced when the trend is over, designers say. For the more expensive, larger pieces that have to last a long time, try to buy furniture that won’t go out of style. “Neutrals — stone, oatmeal, warm mineral colors, taupes and grays — are going to be strong because money is a little tighter,” says designer Barry Dixon. “You’ll see color used judiciously for a strong pop.”
Homeowners are repeating the mantra, “I’m frugal but I’m not cheap.” They’re watching pennies but they also want pieces that will last for generations. Consumers “want quality in all aspects of their life,” says Lynn Courtade, an independent home furnishings specialist. “Their growing demand for quality products also plays to the environmental issue.” L. & J. G. Stickley’s new Gus Sideboard in oak continues the company’s long-standing tradition of quality construction and the Mission style that has endured for decades. (315-682-5500; stickley.com)


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Officials in Hawaii are on the hunt for about 10 outlawed coffee-growing kits that were sold at Long’s Drug store locations, where approximately 500 of the kits have already been pulled from store shelves. According to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, the kits contain African coffee seeds, which are prohibited from being imported into Hawaii.
“HDOA has a long-standing quarantine which requires that coffee plants and seeds for propagation be held in quarantine by HDOA for a minimum of one year before being released for planting to help assure that the plants are not carrying any diseases or pests,” the department said in an announcement of the seed hunt. “In addition, to import coffee plants, plant parts including seeds or green beans and used coffee bags, require a permit and certification of specific quarantine treatment.”
According to the HDOA, the growing kits were manufactured by Ohio-based Dunecraft Inc., a company that produces a number of potentially fun and mildly educational growing products such as herb capsules, tiny terrariums and windowsill greenhouses. The mini-greenhouse-like packaging says “Grow your own coffee beans,” “start inside – plant outside” and “brew the coffee that you grow.” Not mentioned is that even in ideal growing environments, coffee trees can take three to five years before they begin producing fruit, and that coffee requires the mechanical process of roasting before it can be ground and brewed.
The illicit kits, which have been sold in Kauai, Oahu and Kona, were initially reported by a consumer familiar with the prohibition on foreign coffee seeds, and the HDOA praised Long’s for its cooperation in the seizure of the kits.
“The consumer’s action to report this problem shows how the public plays a critical role in helping to protect Hawaii from agricultural and environmental pests,” said Scott Enright, chairperson of the Hawaii Board of Agriculture. “The Department relies on the efforts of its many partners in the state, federal and public sector to help address Hawaii’s biosecurity.”
If individuals have purchased a kit, they should keep it contained and contact HDOA as soon as possible at 643-PEST (7378) statewide, or the Oahu Plant Quarantine Branch at (808) 832-0566.


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Zappaty Appointments: The Scottish tech disruptor has made two new appointments and created a new role within its executive team
David Stickland, the joint CEO of Zappaty, is a huge cycling enthusiast and has set himself a new challenge to take on the Three Pistes Cycle Sportive on the 4th of June 2022 to raise …
Zappaty, the Dundee-based Unity backup and collaboration company has partnered with the Scottish Games Network for 2022.
Zappaty has launched a new ‘Powered by Zappaty’ beta testing programme aimed at developers and creators across the Scottish games sector.
Zappaty, the new Dundee-based tech company which is producing a collaborative platform for Unity, is launching a beta test programme and inviting Scottish games companies to participate.


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The banking industry has long been around and has always been at the forefront when it comes to technological innovations. One of the most recent innovations that have become more prevalent is the use of internet banking. According to data presented by Trading Platforms, online banking penetration in Great Britain reached 76% in 2020 compared to 42% in 2010.
Online Banking Reaches 76% in Great Britain, Mobile is Preferred Device
From the early days of the development of ATM cards to the widespread use of credit cards and more recently, contactless payment options, the banking industry has always welcomed technological advancement as a way to enhance the products and services they provide. The rise of non-brick and mortar banking institutions and fintech companies have also made banking much more accessible and much more mobile in recent times.
In 2007 online banking penetration was at a mere 30% in Great Britain but the number reached 76% in 2020. Both traditional established banks and newer digital online banks have taken advantage of the rise of mobile devices with the smartphone the preferred device to access online banking. In Q1 of 2020, 58% of survey respondents indicated accessing their online banking through their smartphone in the three months prior to the survey, while only 14% indicated they used their tablet device.
UK Ranks 8th in Europe, Norway 1st with 95% Online Banking Penetration
In 2019-2020 the UK ranked 8th among European nations for online banking penetration. Leading the way is Norway with an impressive online banking penetration of 95% compared to the Uk’s 78%. The use of cash has severely decreased in countries such as Germany and Austria where trust in online banking institutions have been on the rise.
Only 5 countries from the European nations in the survey had less than 10% penetration – Bulgaria(9%), Romania (8%), Bosnia and Herzegovina(5%), Kosovo(5%) and Montenegro(3%).
App-only Banks on the Rise in Europe
The rise of alternative payment options from traditional banks has also been on the rise in Europe. One of the more prominent ones is London based financial company Revolut who in February 2018 announced that they had secured over 1.5 million customers. By 2020, that number had grown to an impressive 10 million customers.
Projections for Revolut shows them continuing on an upward trend reaching 18 million customers by December 2021.


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The two leading bike-sharing apps in China, Mobike and Hellobike, have both witnessed impressive sales growth between the new strain of coronavirus.
In the past two years, the bike-sharing service has been paralyzed in China after the boom. Millions of bikes are thrown into landfills. However, the South China Morning Post reports that Chinese bike-sharing companies are seeing impressive sales growth as the Covid-19 epidemic restricts urban commuting.
On social media, many Chinese say bicycles allow them to travel in open spaces without having to interact with anyone around them.
According to Xinhua, even an expert at the China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that this is the form of public transport with the lowest risk of coronary virus infection.
The interest of users is helping to revive bike-sharing companies in China in difficult times, especially in the Wuhan epidemic center (Hubei province).
Hellobike, one of China’s largest bike-sharing providers, said trips over 3 km tripled on Jan. 22 and January 24, when Wuhan closed public transport service.
The proportion of trips around hospitals, supermarkets and food markets increased by 5% compared to before the outbreak. Not only in Wuhan, bike-sharing companies are also making a profit in China.
Hellobike said the trip longer than 3 km nationwide has doubled over the same period last year. Meituan, the owner of the bike brand Mobike, also announced that the number of trips longer than 3 km doubled from a month earlier.
Didi, the company that owns Qingju Bike, said the number of trips has increased by more than 150% nationwide since early February.
However, analysts say this is only a temporary revival. The recent increase does not mean that users will stick with the bike sharing service when things are back to normal.
“However, in the long run, this industry is still difficult to recover and develop. When the epidemic is under control and the situation returns to normal, consumers will return to their old migration habits. ”
The bike-sharing service in China boomed sharply in 2017 and 2018. However, the service was in recession, leading to mass bankruptcies. Giant bicycle cemeteries spring up like mushrooms all over the country.
Sun Naiyue, an analyst at Analysys, said the disease is a good opportunity for bike-sharing companies to prove their value.
The growth may not last long because people still require comfort, time and convenience when traveling. And they are back again with buses and subways.
Mr. Sun added that the new strain of coronavirus could also make users pay more attention to the electric bicycle sharing service.


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Spring is here bringing warmer temperatures and the option to change out of pants and into shorts.
Starting on Monday, April 1, students are allowed to wear navy uniform shorts to school. We want to remind parents that shorts, kilts, and jumpers should be of reasonable length, no shorter than three inches above the knee. If you need to purchase new sizes, stop by the office or email firstname.lastname@example.org to select items from our used-uniform shop.
Other dress code reminders include: socks above the ankle, shirts tucked in with belts, and refrain from wearing nail polish. Thanks for seeing to these Lower School guidelines. Your children look sharp and represent our school well.


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Natick, Mass., BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. said Wednesday its same-store sales rose 1.4% in August. BJ's said same-store sales included a 2.4% drop-off in gasoline sales. The lack of pharmacy sales impacted same-store sales by 0.4%, the company added.
BJ's said total sales rose 6.4% to $661.7 million from $622.2 million during the month.
The company also said excluding those two negative factors, sales rose in all four weeks, with the highest increase in the first week of the month due to strong air conditioner sales.


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ASX-listed Douugh now ‘all in’ on crypto, rolling out high-yield stablecoin deposit product later in 2022
Australian fintech Douugh (ASX:DOU) will begin offering a crypto deposit product this year in both the United States and Australia that will offer yields far better than those available at traditional banking institutions, its chief executive says.
“We (are) all in now on Web 3.0,” founder and CEO Andy Taylor told Stockhead in a text message, using another term for crypto.
The company plans to use the stablecoin USDC and crypto borrowing and savings protocol Compound, at least initially, to offer deposit rates of more than three per cent, said Taylor, noting that’s about 100x better than the rates available for deposits at US banks.
“I think it’s going to be a big year for DeFi (decentralised finance) specifically,” Taylor told Stockhead by phone. “I think you’re going to see quite a big change this year, a lot of consolidation happening and a lot of movements in this year.”
Douugh said in an update on Monday it had 80,533 customers across the US and Australia as of December 31, nearly quadruple the 21,119 customers it had at the same time at the end of 2020.
Customer deposits totalled $22 million, up 4,616 per cent year on year.
Taylor said Douugh’s users aren’t “highly tech-savvy crypto customers” and the company’s job is to offer them an easy-to-use product with low volatility.
“We can hide all that complexity and hopefully take it mainstream – and I think that’s the brand we want to be, demystifying, keeping it simple, and giving customers all the comfort and some basic knowledge without getting them overwhelmed.”
Douugh’s custodian partner Zero Hash will be facilitating the conversion between fiat and crypto.
Taylor said most of Douugh’s competitors are focused on letting users buy, hold and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum. “This is much more our brand for us – the key is just demystifying, giving them comfort around the stability that they’ll earn… we need to bring a bit more peace of mind for our customers, and I think this is a really good place to start them on.”
Finder.com.au in November did roll out a somewhat similar product, Finder Earn.
Compound on Monday was offering 2.89 per cent return on USDC deposits, but its Compound Treasury offers 4.0 per cent returns for accredited institutional investors.
The product is expected to roll out in the United States in the coming months and in Australia mid-year, Taylor said.
Douugh is also focused on becoming a “super app”, with more investing features coming to it over time. The company also plans to expand from Compound in future.
DOU shares closed Monday at 6.9c, up 3.0 per cent from Friday.