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Costco is known for affordable shopping and a grade-A food court. Costco customers simply love their pizza. And what’s not to love? Their delicious pizza is not only tasty but also incredibly cheap. A single slice goes for $1.99, while a full 18-inch pie will cost you $9.95.
After comparing their pizza to that of Sam’s Club, Business Insider’s Hollis Johnson recently crowned Costco the winner thanks to their low price, selection, and overall taste. In his review, Hollis wrote, “It’s a good slice: unwieldy, but cheesy, salty, and extremely filling.”
One big reason why Costco can consistently produce such a tasty pizza is thanks to their automated saucing process, which spreads tomato sauce evenly around the pizza’s base. Their mechanical system ensures that each and every pie that enters the oven has evenly distributed sauce that reaches all the way to the crust.
While Costco may be setting the market standard for efficiency and consistency, their innovative pizza technology also serves as a harsh reminder that retail jobs will be the first to go as automation becomes more mainstream.
Cornerstone Capital Group reported in 2017 that between 6 million and 7.5 million retail employees could lose their jobs to machines in the coming years. This could leave behind a huge portion of “stranded workers.”
Roughly one in every ten American work in the retail industry, so these advancements could have dire consequences.
Costco isn’t the only company to automate food service. McDonald’s and Wendy’s have also begun automating their businesses with self-ordering kiosks. Smaller chains like CaliBurger and Eatsa are even working towards automating their entire restaurant.
“With government driving up the cost of labor, it’s driving down the number of jobs,” said Hardee’s CEO Andy Puzder “You’re going to see automation not just in airports and grocery stores, but in restaurants.”


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Who needs rear- and side-view mirrors anymore, now that we’re able to add a camera to any product for next to nothing? Not only do cameras offer better viewing angles, but cars would be more aerodynamic as a result. Now, it looks like car makers in Japan might be the first ones to remove regular mirrors from new vehicles.
While side-view mirrors might be going away now that Japan’s transportation ministry has approved mirrorless cars, cameras would still be placed in the same location where side-view mirrors are currently found.
“At first, monitors and the cameras must be positioned in the same place as current rear-view and side-view mirrors and offer the same views,” The Japan Times reports.
“Getting used to (monitors instead of mirrors) is the main factor to ensure drivers’ safety,” Transportation Ministry Maseru Miyashita told the paper.
One argument against the removal of rear- and side-view mirrors is that the current setup works and isn’t likely to break, whereas tech failures could always cripple cameras that act as mirrors. Drivers may also be used to relying on their mirrors to estimate distances between their vehicles and other cars. Not to mention that drivers are used to checking mirrors at all times — removing mirrors from cars might be akin to removing the headphone jack from smartphones when it comes to overall experience.
Companies including Japan’s Ichijoh and Germany’s Bosch are already developing the parts required for mirrorless cars, Automotive News explains. Ichikoh’s solution acts both as a regular rear-view mirror and as a display that switches to camera mode with a flick of a switch.
BMW has already demoed a mirrorless car at CES in Las Vegas earlier this year, the i8, whose interior is shown at the top of this post. It’s not clear which carmakers will be the first to launch mirrorless cars in Japan, now that the government is supporting such vehicles.

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SINGAPORE: Motorists can now check fuel prices and promotions for different retailers on a new website launched on Monday (Jan 13).
Created by the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) and supported by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore, Fuel Kaki is a fuel price comparison website accessible at https://fuelkaki.sg.
The website lets motorists compare fuel prices across retailers, check loyalty programmes and promotions, and estimate the price they will pay per litre after discounts.
It is available on both desktop and mobile.
Vice president of CASE and chairman of CASE’s Consumer Empowerment Taskforce Melvin Yong said: “Fuel makes up a significant portion of a motorist’s monthly expenses. With so many different credit card discounts and promotions, it can be challenging for motorists to make effective comparison.”
Fuel Kaki will help motorists “stretch their dollar”, he added.
CASE created the website after the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore published a 2017 study which found that consumers who monitor and compare fuel prices enjoy substantial savings.
The study also found that it was difficult for motorists to compare promotions as the terms and conditions were different across retailers.
Exxon Mobil, which runs the Esso stations, has agreed to provide information on their fuel prices and promotions, said CASE.
For other retailers, CASE will check and update fuel prices within one working day and information on promotions within a week.
CASE also said that it hopes that other retailers will eventually come on board to support the website.
In response to CNA's queries, Chevron, which runs Caltex stations, said that motorists can find updated fuel prices on its website.
A spokesperson for Shell said its prices can be found on its website, at service stations and on Fuel Kaki.
"We welcome this initiative and have been in close discussions with CASE to help provide greater clarity and transparency to consumers."


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Last Day of Ski Season at Ski Apache
EL PASO — Winter is officially over and a nearby ski destination is closing up shop.
Today was the very last day at the Ski Apache in Ruidoso and it couldn't have been a better season.
I've been here for 9 years and just love working here at Ski Apache," said Lou Mcleod, a ski instructor. She says she loves the healthy life style.
" A lot of appreciation for everyone working in tandum to support the economy here," said Mcleod.
" I think it's a very friendly family oriented ski area and as far as the rest of the nation, we have some of the more moderate temperatures which I think that's appealing to a lot of people," said Mark Lively, a ski instructor at Ski Apache.
But its not all just about the snow, Ruidoso has plenty to offer.
"It's a nice place for shopping when we're not skiing. There's a lot of good shops and good places to eat,” said Casey Hays.
At Café Rio, the owner makes his pizzas in the window where locals and tourists a like can catch a glimpse of him spinning fresh dough.
"This being my first time I really don't know much about it so kind of want to wander and soak it all in," said Laura Dickey a native from California.
The staff at Ski Apache says they expect on average around 150,000 people to visit Ski Apache.


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Most of the world is probably aware of the riots that have plagued many parts of the UK over the last few days. Live images have been beamed across the world of young people blatantly breaking in to stores and running off with their ill gotten gains. Expensive electrical items and sports goods have been high on the looters hit lists. Now what is likely to have come from the London Riots is possible stolen iPhone’s turning up for sale on Craigslist.
The team over at The Next Web originally spotted the listing from Craigslist in London, which has since been pulled from the website making it even more suspicious. The advert shows an image that you can see above of a full case of 16GB iPhone 4s. Altogether there are forty of the handsets which are all sealed in their boxes, and have not been activated.
They are priced at £320 each but the seller said he would offer a discount for people who bought three or more. Over the last couple of days there have been a lot of TV footage showing yobs breaking into mobile phone stores, and running out with their arms full of goods.
It is highly likely that there will be many listings popping up on other sites such as eBay, or goods sold via the small ads in the local press. We told you yesterday about the fire at Sony’s distribution center in Enfield London. It has since emerged that a vast amount of independent record labels have lost huge amounts of stock in the blaze.
The Guardian is reporting labels such as Domino as well as film production companies have been hit hard by the fire. Stock from the site is distributed by the Pias Group and is the country’s largest independent sales, marketing and distribution company.
Have you spotted any suspicious looking listings with expensive items for sale?
*Identifying Monetised Links - outgoing links that we monetise are marked with an '*' symbol, or (AD). Also, prices and information correct at publish time and date.


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Epic Games has now bought Sketchfab for an undisclosed amount. The 3D modeling storefront is now under one of the biggest dev studios out there.
In an official announcement, Epic Games reveals its newest acquisition under its umbrella. Their newest acquisition comes in the form of Sketchfab, one of the bigger 3D modeling buy and sell platforms out there.
Epic known for buying up development service companies
Over the past few years, Epic integrated a number of companies and studios under their umbrella. The company does not focus on game studios alone, but rather on development services too.
Back in 2018, Epic acquired Cloudgine and Kamu. Cloudgine was a cloud-gaming developer, while Kamu developed the Easy Anti-Cheat Software. A year later, they also acquired digital human creator 3Lateral and Agog, a script engine creator.
The latest acquisition by Epic was ArtStation, which was another professional artists’ marketplace. ArtStation itself did not change much, but it seems now Epic is buying another design storefront.
“By joining forces, Epic and Sketchfab will be able to make 3D, AR and VR content more accessible and grow the creator ecosystem, which are critical to an open and interconnected Metaverse,” notes Epic in a prepared statement.
“Going forward we will continue to enable all of the integrations in place with Sketchfab’s technology, as well as ensure the company’s offerings will remain compatible with each of the different tools and platforms they support.
“This includes wholeheartedly supporting Unity and other engines. Sketchfab will continue to operate as an independently branded service while collaborating closely with the Unreal Engine team.”
Sketchfab to reduce fees to 12%
Epic Games is looking to maximize its acquisition of Sketchfab. For starters, they are also looking to reduce the store fees to 12%, which is standard for the company. They note that they are doing so “3D creators will get even more value when using Sketchfab.”
“We built Sketchfab with a mission to empower a new era of creativity and provide a service for creators to showcase their work online and make 3D content accessible,” noted Alban Denoyel, CEO and co-founder of Sketchfab.
“Joining Epic will enable us to accelerate the development of Sketchfab and our powerful online toolset, all while providing an even greater experience for creators. We are proud to work alongside Epic to build the Metaverse and enable creators to take their work even further.”
Regardless of the Epic Game Store, the success of Epic Games comes from its service-oriented approach. More news should come in the weeks to come.
Featured image courtesy of steamXO/Flickr


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As long as secrecy and anonymity reign, public sector bureaucracies will be the hiding places for the incompetent, lazy and corrupt. Failures will be rewarded and successes stifled. It’s easier to lie when no one knows your name. It’s easier to do all sorts of unethical, if not criminal, things when you are promised anonymity.
The latest installment in the British MP expense scandal, in which Members of Parliament have been revealed to have spent millions in “expenses” on things like having their moats cleaned, buying porn and/or tampons for their spouses, hiring private security guards, paying nonexistent mortgages, etc: A Tory MP called Sir John Butterfill from Bournemouth West, […]
People outside of the UK might have missed the huge scandal over MPs’ expenses — basically, it turns out that Members of Parliament have been billing the public for all kinds of crazy things, including mortgages that they’d already paid off, maintenance on their moats (I shit you not) and pools, tampons (for male MPs), […]
Much of what goes into creating an amazing photo happens in the digital darkroom. Here’s your chance to master all things photo editing: the Ultimate Adobe Photo Editing Bundle, now available in the Boing Boing Store for just $29.99.Across 8 courses and over 41 hours of intensive instruction, you’ll learn the fundamentals of Adobe’s suite of photo […]
3D printers are hot, but they’re also pricey. While the prospect of cranking out everything we can dream up is enticing, cost is often one factor that keeps us from jumping onto the 3D printing train.Now, thanks to M3D, that doesn’t have to be the case. You can now get its flagship 3D printer–plus four reels of filaments–for just […]
It’s no secret that technology is changing the way we all work—but it’s also transforming the way we play. The games of today look nothing like those of 10 or even 20 years ago: these days it’s all about mobile and 3D. And now you can learn to design 3D mobile games with the Intro to Unity 3D Game […]


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Welcome to CBAN’s Year-End Catch-Up! Our Yule Blog is an occasion for us to share some of the important news and analysis that you may have missed this year, with some info or implications that we didn’t have a chance to share.
All year long, we monitor a wide range of issues raised by the use of genetic engineering in food and farming. We make sure you have the most up-to-date, relevant and strategic news and action. Donate today.
cban.ca has updates and in-depth info
Visit cban.ca/issues for updates and analysis on issues raised by the use of GM in food and farming. And don’t forget to check out our 2019 publications at cban.ca/publications:
• GM Contamination in Canada: The failure to contain living modified organisms
• Genetically Modified Crops and Herbicides
• GM “Golden Rice” Vitamin-A Rice
• Introduction to Gene Editing
You can get up-to-date information on which GM foods are on the market at cban.ca/gmfoods
Coming Soon! Why Your Food Choices Matter
In January, CBAN will launch a new pamphlet called “Why Your Food Choices Matter,” for you to distribute at local events, local health food stores, or your farmers’ market. The pamphlet describes options for food choices that can help solve the climate crisis and the problems of corporate control and toxic pesticides, while supporting farmers who are growing food for a better future. The pamphlet introduces organic food, and provides the list of genetically engineered (genetically modified or GM) foods on the market in Canada. Are you a farmer with a CSA or market stand? Are you an engaged community member who organizes or participates in local events? Share this pamphlet with your customers and community members. View it at www.cban.ca/whyyourfoodchoicesmatter and order your copies now.
Industry Seeks “Public Trust” on GMOs
The industry campaign to calm consumer concerns over food production practices continues to create new public relations tools to build “social license” for conventional agriculture. The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity is doing extensive public opinion research to “Help Canada’s Food System Earn Trust” and their new report is on GMOs: “The goal is to have Canadians no longer be concerned with GMOs.” The report encourages companies, commodity organizations and farmers to spread “key messages” about GMOs – but some of these messages are misleading. Importantly, their list of “11 GMO foods available for public consumption” is different from the list of the 8 GM foods that are actually on the market in Canada. The report’s key messages also say that GMOs reduce the use of pesticides and that there are “zero scientific studies that have found GMOs can compromise our health.” However, our research shows a 199% increase in herbicide sales in Canada since the introduction of GMOs. In addition, there are too few independent studies on GM food safety, and some existing animal feeding tests point to possible problems and the need for more investigation (see our report at www.gmoinquiry.ca/consumers).
GM Foods in Canada
Five genetically engineered crops are grown in Canada: corn, canola, soy, white sugarbeet and a small amount of GM alfalfa (which is just used for animal feed). In addition, GM squash and GM papaya could be imported from the US, and GM cotton is also grown in the US. The GM Atlantic salmon is now also on the market. The GM apple is NOT yet sold in Canada but the company Okanaghan Specialty Fruits is currently looking for Canadian foodservice companies to buy its bags of sliced GM non-browning apples. If it is successful, it will mean that GM apples could be in hotels, restaurants, and catering businesses in Canada in the near future. Check www.cban.ca/gmfoods for the list of GM foods on the market and updates. You can also find the details of our research, and information on GM crops around the world in our 2015 GMO Inquiry report.
GM Salmon Growing in Canada
Small amounts of still unlabelled GM salmon have been on the market in Canada (only in Canada) since 2017. These GM salmon were grown by the company AquaBounty at a small pilot plant in Panama that is now closed. The GM fish are now being grown in an on-land factory in Prince Edward Island and at a factory in Indiana, USA. AquaBounty says its first “harvests” of GM salmon from these two new facilities are expected in June 2020. Just this week, the company issued a press release that said, “AquaBounty has always supported clear, transparent labeling of our bioengineered salmon,” though it continues to sell it without any labels for consumers in Canada. Read our factsheet for the latest information.
CBAN’s International Solidarity
In response to a request from the youth of the international peasant movement called La Via Campesina, we translated our factsheet on GM salmon into Spanish, for discussion at their Americas youth gathering. This is just one example of how the information CBAN produces is used around the world. We share information back and forth with farmer organizations and the day after we released our report on the GM vitamin-A “Golden Rice”, we got a message of thanks from a farmers’ network in Asia. 2019 also saw the release of the Netflix documentary on gene editing that included the issue of GM mosquitos in Burkina Faso – CBAN provided background research for this documentary.
Even More Herbicides: 2,4-D and Dicamba
Earlier this year, CBAN and Prevent Cancer Now jointly called for a review of the use of herbicide-tolerant crops in Canada. We worked together to submit a response to Monsanto’s request for approval of a GM corn that can withstand applications of both 2,4-D and dicamba. “This proposed GM corn demonstrates the breakdown of herbicide-tolerant crops,” said CBAN’s Coordinator Lucy Sharratt in an August press release. The shift to selling seeds with stacked GM traits that convey tolerance to multiple herbicides at once, is now well underway: In 2017, Monsanto (now Bayer) launched a GM corn that is tolerant to dicamba and glyphosate and DowDupont (now called Corteva) is selling GM corn (2017) and soy (2018) tolerant to 2,4-D and glyphosate. In 2019, Monsanto requested approval for a GM corn that is tolerant to dicamba and 2,4-D / quizalofop as well as glufosinate. Read more at www.cban.ca/pesticides.
Industry Seeks Regulatory Exemption for Gene Editing
We are seeing a lot of news about the new genetic engineering techniques of gene editing, such as CRISPR. CRISPR is a powerful research tool that may lead to new medical treatments (and has already been used by one scientist to genetically engineer human babies), but it is also being used to experiment with new GM plants and animals. The new techniques may make it easier and faster to genetically engineer a wider range of organisms, for more purposes. The biotechnology industry is arguing that the techniques are so precise that the products don’t require risk assessment and regulation. Although this is not a scientifically supportable argument, the industry lobby group CropLife is already pressing the Canadian government to exclude gene editing from existing GMO (novel trait) regulations. Read more at www.cban.ca/gene-editing
Intrexon Owns the GM Salmon and GM Apple
The GM apple and GM salmon were both developed by two small companies in Canada, based on university research, but both companies – Okanagan Specialty Fruits and AquaBounty – are now owned by the US biotechnology company Intrexon. Intrexon is largely propped up by billionare investor and Intrexon CEO Randall Kirk. In 2016, he bought 41,830 shares of Intrexon for $1,000,573 and he recently bought even more shares in AquaBounty. Kirk has a 42% stake in Aquabounty at over 9 million shares (8,239,199 owned by him and 837,554 owned by entities controlled by him).
GM Animals for Factory Farming
The first GM food animal in the world is a fish – a genetically engineered Atlantic salmon. The salmon is engineered to grow faster and signals the development of GM animals for factory farming. The new genetic engineering techniques of gene editing open the possibility of more GM animals being developed. A new report from Friends of the Earth US discusses how these experiments are likely to focus on producing animals with GM traits that support intensive livestock operations, including fish farming: “Common gene editing traits, such as hornless cows and disease resistance, will perpetuate the poor animal management, such as crowding, often found in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). This will magnify the current ethical, health and welfare concerns for animals housed in CAFOs.”
Golden Rice Moving Forward?
This year, we re-examined the GM Vitamin-A “Golden Rice,” because the product is back in the news after Canada approved it as safe, and because the Government of Bangladesh may soon also approve it. Its ability to deliver sufficient beta-carotene and address Vitamin-A deficiency for populations suffering from malnutrition is not demonstrated. We found that it has low and variable levels of beta-carotene, and the beta-carotene degrades rapidly during storage and cooking. Aside from the question of its technical effectiveness, it is not the solution to the problem of Vitamin A deficiency. The true solution is food sovereignty, and in the meantime there are immediate interventions like supplementation that are working. We wanted to make sure we had the latest information on this GM rice, especially because Canada is now involved. In 2018, Health Canada approved Golden Rice as safe to eat, even though it will not be distributed in Canada. Read our report here.
CBAN Documents GM Contamination in Canada
In March, we published the report “GM Contamination in Canada: The failure to contain living modified organisms,” which documented, for the first time, all the GMO escape incidents in Canada thus far. We published the report with the Organic Agriculture Protection Fund of SaskOrganics, which was established to support organic grain farmers in Saskatchewan when they tried to certify a class action seeking compensation from Bayer and Monsanto because of GM canola contamination. There have been escape incidents in Canada with GM canola, GM flax, and unapproved GM wheat and GM pigs. Since we released our report, there has been another (the fourth) escape incident with GM wheat in the US. In the meantime, Health Canada says it conducted a safety assessment of the GM “Golden Rice” because, even though it is not intended to be sold in Canada, “it may be possible that raw commodity or food products derived from GR2E rice may unintentionally enter Canada via imports from countries of production.” CBAN continues to monitor the government proposal (Low-Level Presence) to legalize unapproved GM food contamination in Canada. Read our report here.
The Ethics of Gene Drives Raised
Gene Drive Organisms (GDOs) are genetically engineered to be released into the wild, to intentionally spread GM traits through an entire population. They are being proposed to replace or remove entire species, such as invasive rodents or disease-carrying mosquitoes. Such applications of genetic engineering raise huge ethical questions: “GDOs may reshape ecosystems, and their developers are claiming they have the authority to redirect evolutionary development. If the removal or alteration of a species by a GDO were to have significant negative ecological or other impacts after several generations, there may be no means for those who experience loss to claim damages and those responsible may lie beyond liability. A far more basic ethical question is whether humans, particularly corporations and governments, have the right to deliberately intervene in evolutionary processes…Many cultures and worldviews, especially among traditional and indigenous societies, have strong objections to engineering the living world and regard protecting ecological balances as being among humanity’s sacred duties.” – from the new report “Gene Drive Organisms: An introduction to a dangerous new technology putting Africans at risk.”


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2014 Pro Mazda champion Spencer Pigot is preparing to take to the track at Palm Beach and get his first taste of Indy Lights machinery before his full season in the category begins.
The Rising Star Racing backed driver has tested Indy Lights cars in the past, but with Dallara building a new specification car for this year, Pigot will this week have his first taste of the AER engined IL15.
The two day open test at Palm Beach International Raceway will see the American continue the positive relationship with Juncos Racing which took him to a 10 point victory in the Pro Mazda title race. It also marks another rung up the Mazda Road to Indy Ladder for him having recorded to runners up spots in the USF2000 Championship.
“I’m really excited to get to PBIR and drive the Mazda powered IL-15 for the first time,” said Pigot. “We’ve been working on the car for a while now in the shop and now, we finally get to drive it! Hopefully we can get a lot of laps in and start to develop the car for the season. It’s been a while since I last drove a car, so I can’t wait for the test.”
He continued: “Everything has been coming together well and it’s been great to spend time in the Juncos shop as the team puts everything together. We fired the Mazda engine [built by AER] up the other day and it was pretty exciting. I think this is an awesome package. We want to start getting familiar with the car and start developing as much as we can. We’ve got a lot of track time so we just want to make the most of this first test—I’m just really excited about it.”
For Pigot his first competitive crack at the Indy Lights Championship will be at the double header opening round at St Petersburg on March 28th & 29th.


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Smart home speakers and voice assistants are all the rage, but so are fears now that strangers could be listening to your private conversations.
Apple Inc. became the latest tech giant in the past week to apologize for allowing outside contractors to listen to customer recordings from voice assistant Siri in order to improve the artificial intelligence service.
This follows Amazon.com Inc’s announcement last month that users can disable human review of Alexa recordings, while Alphabet Inc paused all reviews of recordings from its Google assistant service.
Amid the big privacy concerns, tech companies are also racing to develop the latest AI breakthrough like home speakers that can detect if you’re having a heart attack.
But how do people feel about the creation of technological advances that can change their lives?
A recent Global Advisor survey found that nearly half (48%) of more than 20,000 people surveyed in 27 countries think AI use by private companies should be more strictly regulated.
That compares to four in ten people (40%) that said government use of AI should be more be controlled.
Overall, more people are worried about the use of AI (41%) than those that are not (27%).
George Tilesch, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer at Global Affairs, said people are concerned that AI regulation is mostly nonexistent right now - but regulation is inevitable.
“Part of the issue is that AI pack leader companies are sensitive about admitting that AI-powered products that are already commercialized are very much a work in progress, and in many cases need an army of human workers and users to be engaged to train machines or keep AI in check,” said Tilesch, who is writing a book about the impact of AI on society.
Transparency key to development
He adds that upfront transparency about human reviews of data and enforcing a strict opt-in agreement for users could work to help the companies develop AI without invading consumers’ privacy.
“I think tech leaders have a big responsibility to rebalance the AI public conversation that is very much hype-and-bust now,” Tilesch said.
“Companies should be pre-emptively open about both AI shortcomings and the necessary ingredients of AI development that much of the tech elite is aware of, but the message seldom reaches the public.”
In a separate Global Advisor survey done across 26 countries late last year, almost two-thirds (64%) of nearly 19,000 respondents said they would be more comfortable sharing their data if they were promised that the information would not be shared with third parties.
As part of its apology, Apple announced that only its own employees will be allowed to review Siri recordings to improve the service when permission is granted by consumers.
Tilesch points out that some companies are calling for regulations themselves and committing to self-regulate in order to prevent a “downward spiral” of how we view AI.
“Regulation is inevitable. The big question is whether it will be up to the task,” said Tilesch. “AI tech pack leaders need to realize the need to formulate consensus on directions and restrictions – and that is not going to be easy.”
Who are the World’s Biggest Wearable Tech Buyers?
From the Fitbit to Apple’s smartwatch: wearable tech is becoming increasingly popular across the globe. Early adopters of new technology, the world’s affluent are at the forefront of purchasing wearable tech, ownership reaching over 30% in Spain, Turkey and the USA.


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After Li Jiaqi's return to livestreaming, the 'tank cake incident' has become the elephant in the room on social media.
"I wish I could be quarantined at Disney too!" The Shanghai Disney hotel apparently is the happiest place to get locked in.
Li Yifeng is not exactly living up to his role as spokesperson for the Ministry of State Security.
The woman allegedly choked while having beef tripe.
This bubble tea shop's Nanjing opening got so crazy that police had to intervene and scalpers were reselling tea for 200 yuan ($30) per cup.
This is not just a matter of plagiarism, according to some, it's about Dior taking a traditional Chinese design and claiming it's theirs.
New Oriental is going from classroom to e-commerce. Online shopping has never been more educational.
Many netizens are not happy over Kindle exiting the Chinese market: "We never know when the online services we use suddenly stop working."
As Psyduck goes viral, KFC Children's Day toys are deemed "too childish for children but just perfect for us adults."
Feminine hygiene brand Fuyanjie is caught in a social media storm over its "dark and stinky" marketing campaign.
Li-Ning enters the coffee market: "Will they sell sneaker-flavored coffee?"
PREMIUM CONTENT As we are leaving the Year of the Ox and entering Year of the Tiger, it’s time for the 40th edition of the Spring...
Viya, the Queen of Taobao, is under fire for tax evasion.
The Chinese fashion brand Peacebird turns out to be a copycat.
After adding 544 stores in 2020, Haidilao will close 300 locations this year.
While domestic brand Erke is all the hype, Nike is growing increasingly unpopular.
The story of Lao Gan Ma founder Tao Huabi.
The social media trends during China’s heavy rainfall and floods in July of 2021 show the multidimensionality of online communication in times of disaster. Facing the...
This miniature sign - 'you'll lose your head if you steal secrets' - seems a bit much for a Lego set for kids, but at least...
Consumer sentiments on Western brands and made-in-China fashion are changing.


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LOS ANGELES — In 2005, Starbucks was apparently going to do for undiscovered music what it had done for the nonfat latte. The company decided to stock "Careless Love," a CD of sophisticated pop-jazz songs by Madeleine Peyroux, who had attracted only a modest following in the United States, plying her craft in small bars. Peyroux soon found herself at No. 81 on the Billboard chart and has become a mainstay of jazz.
Starbucks was betting that its eclectic taste played to the upscale atmosphere of its coffee shops, where it enticed customers to pay $4 for their daily caffeine fix. And record companies saw Starbucks at the vanguard of a new class of unconventional sales outlets that could keep the CD alive in an age of digital downloads.
But the ardor for Starbucks has gone the way of yesterday morning's grounds. Critics in the music industry say the company squandered its cachet by mismanaging the effort to broaden its music mix. The choices that reflect its early taste for the offbeat - like an album from Lizz Wright, a torchy pop singer - are now squeezed in with offerings not unlike those at Wal-Mart, including the latest releases from Alicia Keys and James Blunt. The shift has not been lost on some customers.
The music offering "is more popular now," said Hazel Delgado, 33, a social worker and Starbucks regular from San Bernardino, California, who attended a recent concert presented in front of one of its coffee shops by another act on the company's label, the singer Sia. "I want to come in and be surprised," she said. "If they do get more mainstream, why bother?"
Along the way, Starbucks has alienated business partners who contend that it has demanded too big a cut of music revenue. The company's shift in direction has also prompted upheaval within, including the departures of half a dozen senior executives from its entertainment unit.
Starbucks, based in Seattle, says its music sales are healthy: It reports selling 4.4 million CDs in North America last year, up 22 percent from the year before. Still, it opened hundreds of shops in the same period, increasing stores in the United States by 18 percent.
Despite adopting a broader musical approach, Starbucks on average sells only two CDs a store each day at company-owned shops, according to people briefed on its business. Starbucks disputed that figure but declined to provide a different one.
Its sliding reputation in the music business represents a setback in its efforts to build cultural credibility, which have also included promotion of a handful of films like "Akeelah and the Bee," books like Mitch Albom's "For One More Day" and an in-house magazine called Joe.
For music fans, Starbucks initially conveyed "a promise that 'we're going to be bringing you something special, unique,"' said David Sonenberg, a talent manager who has guided the careers of acts including the Fugees and John Legend.
"I don't have the sense that there is any longer a culture and purpose to their musical endeavors," said Sonenberg, who has had a dispute with the company over its handling of a new band, Low Stars. "It's lost its sense of purpose."
The coffee chain began its musical offerings with a 1994 album by the saxophonist Kenny G, an early investor who records on the company's own label, Hear Music. But it cultivated a more discerning musical reputation with releases like a collection from the Blue Note jazz label.
In the late 1990s, as Starbucks grew exponentially, its chairman, Howard Schultz, decided to buy Hear Music, then a small chain of music stores based in the San Francisco Bay area and run by Don MacKinnon, a music entrepreneur who had started by creating a mail-order catalog. Starbucks customers were soon finding Hear Music's custom-made compilations of jazz artists and little-known singer-songwriters on the sales counters.
But in 2004, after MacKinnon's team struck a deal to help produce and distribute what would become the Ray Charles album "Genius Loves Company," Schultz decided to hire someone with a more general business resume to oversee the company's expansive entertainment projects, and picked Ken Lombard, formerly president of a company overseeing retail development projects for the former basketball star Magic Johnson, to be its entertainment chief.
Lombard said his assignment was to expand and diversify the Starbucks music selection, which he said was never intended to exclude mainstream hits.
"We're trying to make music selections that fit a customer demographic that's broad and, with that, we've tried to provide great music," he said.
In a business where CD sales are in free fall, many executives remain thankful for exposure in Starbucks' 6,800 company-owned shops, including Tom Corson, executive vice president at the RCA Music Group, which released the current album by Keys. It has sold more than 120,000 copies at Starbucks.
"There's a disenfranchised consumer right now," he said. "I think that's where businesses like Starbucks play a really vital role. They're good for getting to people who don't really know where to find CDs anymore, especially the right ones."
Others suggest that Starbucks has expanded and altered its mix of music too quickly under Lombard. Before he took charge, the stores offered 5 to 20 CDs over the course of a year, according to the company. Today, Starbucks displays as many as 20 CDs at a time, adding 6 to 8 new ones each month or so.
"They've lost that 'event' thing," a senior executive at one of the industry's biggest labels said, requesting anonymity because the label continues to market music there. "It would be like Oprah's Book Club having 15 books a week."
Starbucks says it still has the power to move record sales, including for its own label, which released Paul McCartney's "Memory Almost Full" last year. Though it shifts titles regularly, its sales of a CD over, say, six weeks typically accounts for 5 percent to 10 percent of the album's overall sales, according to music executives who do business with the company.
Lombard said that since taking a broader approach in the shops, "we have done nothing but continue to add value to the credibility that we've been able to build around the Starbucks voice."
Behind the scenes, however, his changes in the Starbucks music strategy touched off an internal clash that led to an exodus of executives from the division, including MacKinnon, early in 2006.
MacKinnon declined to comment for this article, but others briefed on the conflict say that morale in the unit has been shaken by a belief that Lombard was focused on increasing sales volume without a particular creative vision. Some of the departures came after those executives expressed frustration with Lombard's management style, which they viewed as brusque, these people said.
Lombard, for his part, played down suggestions of continuing dissent, and added, "At no point in time was there anyone who was pressured to leave."
Outside the company, Lombard has not been shy about throwing Starbucks' weight around. For a time, the company offered music labels on favorable terms - it did not, for example, return unsold CDs as most music shops do - and in exchange the labels offered their CDs at discounted prices.
But last year, Starbucks began pushing for another discount on its purchase of new releases, lowering its price to $8 from $8.25, even while seeking the right to return up to 20 percent of its orders, according to people briefed on the company's negotiations. Those terms can equate to $2 or $3 a CD less than the price paid by other retailers, these people said.


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A new automatic reservation system will be launched on Monday 15 June 2020.
All reservations for video conferences dated from 1 July 2020 onwards should be make in the new reservation system.
Use the existing reservation form only for the video conference in June.
Do not create conference rooms for dates from 1 July 2020 in the Adobe Connect interface, the new reservation system creates rooms during the reservation process. Previously created conference rooms cannot be used for bookings.
The existing reservation form will be fully replaced by a new automatic reservation system on 1 July 2020.
Instructions for creating a conference room and booking time and capacity in the new reservation system will be available on the website of the e-learning Support Center.


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At its annual two-day F8 developer conference held in San Francisco, California, Facebook unveiled chatbots platform for its Messenger app that allows businesses to deliver automated customer support, e-commerce guidance, content and interactive experiences through chatbots. Now Messenger joins the group of chat apps, including Kik, Line and Telegram embracing chatbots.
Facebook announced a slew of chatbot partnerships with developers who got early access, like 1-800-Flowers, so you can order flowers by just sending its Messenger bot a friend’s name. Or a news portal could send you a “daily digest” of stories that match your interests, and skip the topics you don’t care about. Zuckerberg explained that with AI and natural language processing combined with human help, people will be able to talk to Messenger bots just like they talk to friends.
Messenger’s new chatbots platform can send more than just text. They can interact with structural messages that include text, images and call to action buttons. One current limitation of the Messenger Platform is that you can’t add a credit card to Messenger and then have that be automatically used for payments to the businesses you’re talking to. That could obviously come in the future, though.
A new persistent search bar at the top of Messenger will help people discover bots. According to Facebook, there have been more than 50 million businesses on Messenger, which boasts 900 million monthly active users. The company said it is aiming to provide great valuable experiences for users and added value for businesses.
Facebook also released a set of tools to allow software developers to create chatbots for the Messenger in partnership with businesses.
While being new to the US social media’s messaging app, chatbots have already been incorporated in some Asian popular messaging services, such as China’s Wechat. Other tech giants like Microsoft and Google are also working to bring this technology to their platforms.
Zuckerburg said that Facebook will focus on connectivity, artificial intelligence and augmented reality over the next 10 years.


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Lean business activity was seen on the cotton market on Monday as mills and spinners kept on the sidelines most of the times, dealers said. The official spot rate resisted further decline, retaining the overnight level at Rs 6,300, they said. In the ready business, activity came down as around 400 bales of cotton from Rasoolabad sold at Rs 6,225, dealers said.
Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta) will be unveiling for the first time a new inkjet textile printer, the Nassenger PRO120, at ShanghaiTex 2013, an international textile and garment machinery exhibition to be held at Shanghai, China, from June 10 through June 13.
On their recent visit to Bangladesh, Chinese apparel firm owners have expressed their interest to invest in Bangladesh’s apparel manufacturing companies, Feng Dehu, Vice President of China National Garment Association (CNGA), said at a meeting with the leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
European textile and clothing companies are looking further afield for growth.The main causes are weak demand in the supply chain and cutbacks by retail buyers and consumers stemming from the eurozone crisis and fiscal tightening by EU governments.
All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Chairman Ahsan Bashir has expressed concern over energy crisis prevailing since last one week, which is likely to linger on until the new government is in place. He said mills were being exposed to 16 to 18 hours per day loadshedding of electricity despite the fact that there was a complete exemption last year at this time from electricity loadshedding to the textile industry on independent feeders.
The All India kappas [seed cotton] arrivals have started dropping down drastically and it is approximately 40,000 bales per day.There is a strange situation in our Textile industry at the moment. Mills with minimum cotton stocks are finding it difficult to source good quality cotton from ginners as they are not interested to sell their stock lots right now because of the weight loss incurred due to severe heat conditions experienced all over India.
Globalization coupled with influence of media has driven various local designs to international platform and as a result there is an increase in demand for quality and exclusive designs.
India's man-made staple fibres imports in April 2013 fell by 0.49%, compared to the month before, according to the latest data from InfodriveIndia.com, India's premier research company in export import statistics.
Business activity improved slightly on the cotton market Saturday following the emergence of fresh buying interest by millers and spinners, dealers said. The official spot rate resisted further decline, retaining the overnight level at Rs 6,300, they said. In the ready business, activity showed further improvement, as around 4,000 bales of cotton traded between Rs 4,650-6,500, dealers said.
Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) have strongly criticised the massive power loadshedding of 12 to 14 hours on daily basis coupled with four days a week gas suspension that has brought the industrial wheel to a halt and industrial productions have nose-dived to alarmingly low levels.


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Chevrolet flew a drone through its no-holds-barred stand at the Detroit Auto Show to provide a glimpse of the six 20-foot-tall show screens and other interactive installations.
While other automakers have been streamlining their brand portfolio, the Chrysler Group has shown no such signs. It's got the Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep brands, plus Fiat, and it recently broke out its SRT and Ram nameplates into their own brands. And you can bet each will have its own presence at the Detroit Auto Show this year. But don't forget Mopar. The company's performance parts division is getting its own display at Cobo this year, and it'll be the largest in the brand's history.
Detroit's bankruptcy is going to mess up a lot of stuff in the coming months – if not years. One thing that shouldn't be affected, though, is the North American International Auto Show, held at downtown Detroit's Cobo Center.
Some would say this is akin to biting the hand that feeds you, but at least the creators of the so-called North American Anti-Auto Show in Detroit appear to have a sense of humor about it.
Nissan has a new stand planned for next week's Detroit Auto Show. While the display includes the usual gamut of cutting-edge lighting and staging elements, Nissan has also taken to piping in a specially created fragrance designed to put visitors at ease. According to the automaker, "A distinctive fragrance will be periodically released into the display area and the mood-setting background music will change with a subtly different vibe and energy for morning, mid-day and evening." According to Au
The 2012 Detroit Auto Show is off to a galloping start. Organizers estimate more than 750,000 people are expected to show up to take in the newest hardware from the world's automakers. Sunday saw 102,918 people attend the exhibition, which is an increase of more than 3,800 people from last year. Likewise, Saturday turned out to be the largest opening day for the Detroit Auto Show in five years. All told, 195,024 people strolled through Cobo hall to take in the sights. This year, the show feature
Automotive News reports that the Detroit Auto Show will remain in the Cobo Center for the next five years. Rod Alberts, executive director of the North American International Auto Show, and Thom Connors, Cobo Center general manager, signed a contract that will keep the show at Cobo through 2017. The report says the deal could mean $1.75 billion in combined economic impact for southeast Michigan. While the Cobo Center has seen significant expansion in recent years, voices from around the automoti
Detroit Auto Show attendees hoping to gawk at the latest sheetmetal from British luxury stalwarts Jaguar and Land Rover will be disappointed to learn that the marques will not be displaying at Cobo Hall this January. Instead, the pair will concentrate on showing their wares at India's New Delhi Auto Expo, whose dates overlap that of the North American International Auto Show.
The United Auto Workers are gathering in Detroit this week through Thursday to elect new leadership, and delegates from around the country are filing into Cobo Hall – home of the Detroit Auto Show – to have their votes counted. And even though union membership has been cut in half over the past decade and automakers have won many concessions, many UAW Representatives feel that leadership did the best they could under difficult circumstances.
Instant gratification can be an amazing thing, a fact evidenced once again by the always-on-top-of-things nature of Twitter. Apparently, Detroit Auto Show attendees were evacuated from Cobo Hall a short time ago after a reported electrical fire broke out at the Audi exhibit. Says the official NAIAS Twitter feed:
January 2010 not only kicks off a new year, but also signals the end of the Naughties. The automotive landscape has changed quite a bit since the days of the Y2K scare, but some things remain the same. January still hosts the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) at Cobo Hall in Detroit, the racing season roars to life with the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Barrett-Jackson and the rest of the auction houses will still be propping up their tents in Arizona, and the RetroMobile classic car show an
The 2009 North American International Auto Show was a bit of a disaster. The very difficult and uncertain economic conditions resulted in several high-profile automakers dropping out of the exhibition. Among the absent automakers were Nissan, Infiniti, Mitsubishi and Porsche, and a quick jaunt around Cobo's main floor revealed the empty spaces left by those big-time players. The future of the Detroit Auto Show is already looking brighter, however, with the approval of a much-needed overhaul of C
It's been a long road with more than its fair share of protracted negotiations and questionable decisions along the way, but the Detroit City Council has finally cleared the path for Cobo Hall to get the much-needed expansion, repairs and ongoing maintenance it's deserved for years. By choosing not to vote on the plan at all, the Council will allow Cobo Hall to be turned over on lease to a regional authority that will oversee the building's day-to-day operations. Says Council President Kenneth C
In car-related news that will further disappoint an already reeling city, the chairman of Detroit's North American International Auto Show has gone on record that he is exploring ways to move the event out of the city.
We can't blame Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson one bit for thinking the North American International Auto Show might be better served by moving locations away from Detroit's troubled Cobo Center. The building itself has been in disrepair for years, with a leaky roof and a poor electrical system generally cited as its most urgent needs. When an agreement was finally reached that would have fixed most of Cobo's many woes and expanded it with an additional 166,000 square-feet of floors
Nobody reading this blog needs to be told how much trouble Detroit is in. Whether it's the Detroit Three, the city of Detroit, or the greater Detroit area, the story's the same: we're in trouble!
Each year, thousands of journalists arrive in Detroit to see the best and brightest concepts and production vehicles automakers have to offer. It's estimated that the Detroit Auto Show brings in $500 to $600 million dollars annually to the region, which is struggling more than most due to the global recession. For years, the City of Detroit has failed to expand Cobo, and each year there are threats that the NAIAS will be taken away from the Motor City. The state of Michigan has been working with


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Confirmation has come from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) that 299 jobs will be lost at Wilko’s two distribution centres in Worksop, Nottinghamshire and Newport, Wales.
This follows the announcement that 269 members of staff at Wilko’s Support Centre in Worksop were to be made redundant on Monday 4 September. Wilko first went into administration at the beginning of August.
Administrators have also confirmed that 52 stores nationwide will close, leading to 1,016 staff redundancies. All of these stores will cease trading by the end of the day on either Tuesday 12 September or Thursday 14 September.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) says that it will announce which of its stores will be closing on Wednesday 6 September, with redundancy taking effect from Thursday 7 September.
Joint Administrator Edward Williams said: “In the absence of viable offers for the whole business, very sadly store closures and redundancies of team members from those stores are now necessary, in addition to the already announced redundancies at the support centre and distribution centres.
“We know this has been a deeply unsettling time for everyone concerned and would like to express our gratitude to all Wilko team members for the dedication and support they have continued to give the business in the most trying of circumstances.”
Furthermore, it was announced earlier today [5 September] that rival retailer B&M had agreed to acquire up to 51 Wilko properties for a maximum of £13 million. B&M is expected to reveal more details on the reopening of these stores alongside its interim financial results on 9 November 2023.
Don’t forget to book your table for the biggest event in the supply chain calendar: the Supply Chain Excellence Awards! Now in their 27th year, the awards will take place on 9 November at the London Hilton on Park Lane. Click here to find out more about attending or sponsoring!


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Wireless providers revved up over new iPhones
Service providers come up with special offers to lure customers
With a new iPhone about to be released next week, wireless carriers are racing to get their chunk of the market.
The biggest difference about the iPhone 6 is that it comes in a larger size.
"We're very excited about it because it's a different version of the phone and there's such a huge audience of iPhone users," said Chris Lester of AT&T.
"This is going to be a huge event for the industry," said Jeff Hallock of Sprint. "There's a lot of attention around it and there's such a huge demand for iPhones."
Wireless providers like Sprint and AT&T said the big screen means big excitement and the potential for big profits. Those companies, along with Verizon and T-Mobile, want to offer customers the biggest bang for their bucks when they're looking for a new iPhone.
All four carriers promise low or no-cost options on how to land the phone without breaking the bank.
"I think what we've put together here, in addition to this new plan, is a new way to get the phone," said Hallock.
"We really want to make it as easy as possible for iPhone users to make this a smooth transition since we expect so much interest," said Lester.
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus hit stores next Friday.


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The new ad sales chief at Will Ferrell's Funny or Die comes with a BuzzFeed pedigree.
Andy Wiedlin, BuzzFeed's former chief revenue officer, will serve as interim head of sales at the humor site, which is ending its three-year-old ad-sales agreement with Turner Broadcasting.
"We are proud of the branded content we created together for our advertisers," Funny or Die and Turner said in a joint statement issued Thursday. "Our companies will continue to explore opportunities to collaborate on original content."
The idea to end the agreement was mutual, they said.
The TV network teamed up with the website in 2012, striking an agreement that allowed Turner to bundle digital ad inventory from its TBS and Adult Swim channels with Funny or Die, creating bigger comedy packages to offer advertisers.
Now Funny or Die is bringing its ad-sales in house, where Mr. Wiedlin will help rebuild the team. He comes to the site -- which comedian Will Ferrell co-founded with screenwriters Adam McKay and Chris Henchy in 2007 – just three months after it hired a financial advisor to explore a possible sale.
"We've received unsolicited interest from a number of companies," Funny or Die CEO Dick Glover said in a memo to employees last November. "We are NOT trying to sell Funny or Die, but we thought it wise to engage some experts to help us evaluate the situation. In the meantime, if any of you mistakenly receive a briefcase full of cash, please bring it to my office immediately."
Funny or Die had 5.3 million unique visitors across desktop and mobile devices in January, down 6% from the previous year, according to analytics firm ComScore.
Mr. Wiedlin spent four years at BuzzFeed, where he helped bring in more than $100 million in revenue, before departing at the end of last year. Two weeks ago, BuzzFeed hired Lee Brown, Yahoo's global head of brand partnerships, to succeed Mr. Wiedlin as CRO.


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30 May 2018
The Apple Watch Series 3 LTE edition has now been made available in four new countries. These include Denmark, India, Sweden, and Taiwan which brings the total number of countries where this edition can be purchased to 16. Early, these newly added markets used to sell only the GPS edition of the wearable
Staring with Denmark, the cellular edition can be purchased only from 3 (Three) carrier. The situation remains the same for Swedish users as well. There are no words if other carriers will offer the watch in the future. For those who are from Taiwan, they can get it from Taiwan Mobile, FarEsTone3, Telecom3, Chunghwa or APT3.
In India, the smartwatch will be sold via Airtel and Jio carriers which we talked about in a previous report as well. It should be noted that it is the only country among the newly added ones where users will not be charged anything extra by carriers for using the data connection on their smartwatch. It will actually be consuming data from the data pack available on the smartphone paired with the smartwatch.
All of these four countries have already started to sell Apple Watch Series 3 LTE. It means there is no more waiting or prebooking period. You can go ahead and get one for yourself by visiting any of the stores that are selling it and have it in stock.


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Bookshop, Hummingbird Sales Skyrocket; Europa, Sourcebooks Programs Highlight Booksellers, Educators
At Hummingbird Digital Media, which is an American Booksellers Association Marketplace partner for e-books (Hummingbird also sells downloadable audio), sales in the last four weeks have risen 1,315% over the previous four weeks, according to president and chief visionary officer Stephen Black Mettee. For the year to date, sales are up 1,000%.
Hummingbird's bookstore count has jumped 25% since the coronavirus began spreading in the U.S. although there are still some bookstores that haven't signed on.
Mettee's take: "Some bookstores had been slow to embrace e-books and audiobooks. I think as we come out of this--and we will--we'll find bookstores making digital sales a more important part of their business. That will just make independent bookstores stronger overall. A silver lining in a particularly dark cloud?"
Europa Editions has launched "Our Brilliant Friends," an after-dinner book club and watch party that meets every Monday at 9 p.m. Eastern on Zoom, an hour before the HBO adaptation of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan quartet airs. Tickets are available for a suggested donation of $5, and all proceeds will go to the #SaveIndieBookstores campaign launched last week by James Patterson, the American Booksellers Association, the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc) and Reese Witherspoon's book club.
"Our Brilliant Friends" features a panel conversation among prominent Ferrante fans, followed by a brief reading by translator Ann Goldstein from Elena Ferrante's new novel, The Lying Life of Adults, which will be published September 1. At 10 p.m., attendees are encouraged to stick around in the Zoom chat as they watch and react to the newest episode of My Brilliant Friend.
The first iteration of "Our Brilliant Friends," held on Monday, April 6, was co-hosted by Europa Editions and the Center for Fiction in Brooklyn, N.Y. Panelists included translator Goldstein; Lisa Lucas, executive director of the National Book Foundation; Noreen Tomassi, executive director of the Center for Fiction; and Michael Reynolds, editor-in-chief of Europa Editions. The event had more than 700 RSVPs; Ferrante readers from four continents joined the call.
For the April 13 event, co-hosts include McNally Jackson, New York City; Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, Wash.; and City Lights Bookstore, San Francisco, Calif. Guests at future events will include Alexander Chee, Sarah Treem (The Affair), John Freeman (Freeman's), Ann Goldstein and Lauren Groff.
In conjunction with the publication of the children's picture book A Thousand No's by DJ Corchin, illustrated by Dan Dougherty, Sourcebooks is launching a "My Teacher Said YES!" sweepstakes, in which families can nominate teachers "who are going above and beyond during the Covid-19 pandemic."
The publisher explained: "So many kids are hearing no right now. NO! You can't go to school. NO! You can't go to soccer. NO! You can't go to ballet. Yet so many teachers are saying YES! Amid everything going on, educators are finding new ways to teach, to guide, to help, and to comfort their students." Thus the sweepstakes aims to "recognize and celebrate these tireless educators."
From now through June, students and parents can nominate their elementary, junior high and high school teachers by posting a photo or video and sharing how their teacher has made a positive impact during the pandemic. Sourcebooks will randomly select three teachers during the period, and each winner will receive a $500 prize. Three runners-up from each grade level will receive a signed copy of A Thousand No's for their classroom. For more information, click here.
"What better way to launch a book about perseverance and innovation than to recognize teachers during this unprecedented time?" said author DJ Corchin. "They're overcoming incredible obstacles with resolve, compassion, and even a bit of magic. I'm thrilled to be part of this campaign celebrating a group of true professionals who selflessly work to bring out the best in us all."
Valerie Pierce, director of retail marketing and creative services at Sourcebooks, added: "Sourcebooks believes that books change lives, and we are constantly looking for ways to create opportunities for readers to engage with our mission statement. We believe this campaign will provide little rays of hope by reminding everyone to say yes to kindness. We can't wait to see the lovely posts that kids and parents create together!"
Kepler's Books & Magazines, Menlo Park, Calif., has launched Books by Mail, a partnership with the Menlo Park Library, Menlo Park Library Foundation and the Friends of Menlo Park Library. Through the program, library users can receive new copies of requested library books at their homes, at no cost, and can keep them as long as they want.
In the first test phase, an e-mail making the offer was sent to the approximately 500 library "power users" who had books on the libraries' hold shelf before they and Kepler's had to close to the public. Kepler's will fulfill the orders--one or two per library patron. The store had already deployed its web orders team to work from their homes to handle the surge of web orders the store has been receiving from the community, and "this new partnership is adding even more business for our team to handle," said Kepler's CEO Praveen Madan.
The program allows the partners to continue to serve "our social missions by bringing books to people at their homes" at a time when the bookstore and libraries are closed to the public, Madan said.
He added that there's been "an avalanche of interest just with the first small offer."


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Taschler’s departure follows less than three months after the resignation of Palm Coast Data CEO John Meneough, and three weeks after the company posted another steep revenue decline.
palm coast data
The Palm Coast Data layoffs are the latest in a string of job losses that have struck the company’s warehouse, membership services, IT and management.
John Meneough, 62, had been with Palm Coast Data in its various incarnations since 1996. A successor has not been named. Meneough’s resignation is part of broader changes at Palm Coast Data parent Amrep Corp.
Revenue at Palm Coast’s largest private-sector employer declined to $73.6 million, from $92 million the previous year. The company’s revenue has dropped 40 percent in four years.
The NRA account represented 5 million members and a lucrative source of income. The loss compounds other losses in magazine titles that are either closing or migrating to other fulfillment companies.
Palm Coast Data revenue fell $15.7 million in the last nine months, compared with the same period a year earlier as trouble for the company and its parent, Amrep, continue.
A principal shareholder of Palm Coast Data parent Amrep Corp. and customer of Palm Coast Data is ending its association with both. The company is nowhere near its 2008 pledge to hire 700 more employees locally.
At Palm Coast Data, revenue declined $10.9 million in the six months ending Oct. 31, a 22 percent decline from the same period last year. Palm Coast Data parent AMREP Corp.’s Southwest subsidiary owes a $22.5 million loan to be repaid on Dec. 16.
Half Palm Coast and the county’s elected officials and top administrators were invited to Palm Coast Data’s picnic. The public wasn’t. That’s not the main problem.
Palm Coast Data, largest of its parent companies’ operations, lost close to $24 million in revenue this year.


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Dollar Store Workers Spot Fugitive Wanted On Murder Charge And Lock Him Inside, Ending Manhunt
Employees Sallye Salter and Tiffany Cook allegedly ushered out customers, locked the doors, and called the police on Neil Broussard.
A suspected killer and fugitive wound up paying a steep price for openly shopping at a dollar store in rural Louisiana earlier this month.
Neil Broussard, 51, was identified and trapped by a pair of clever Dollar General employees in Ragley, Louisiana on July 16 as he shopped at the chain outlet, local authorities said.
Store workers Sallye Salter and Tiffany Cook quietly escorted customers out of the store and called 911 after recognizing the man — locking Broussard inside. The suspect surrendered without incident shortly afterwards and was taken into custody, the New York Daily News reported.
Broussard is accused of murdering two teenagers and kidnapping a 14-year-old girl, the American Press reported. Hours earlier, a manhunt for Broussard had been launched after law enforcement discovered two bodies at a home in Westlake.
They were later identified as Kyla Hidalgo, 17, and Kaleb Carlton, 18. Officials haven’t released a motive in the slayings.
“Sheriff [Mark] Herford would like to extend gratitude to the employees at Dollar General in Ragley La. for their bravery, instinctive thinking, and selflessness to themselves and to their community,” the Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office wrote in a statement posted to Facebook. “Thank you Sallye Salter and Tiffany Cook, you both exemplified great character in a high pressure situation.”
Broussard is reportedly being held on $4 million bond, according to the American Press. Broussard could face the death penalty if convicted, according to NBC affiliate KPLC.
The 51-year-old has been found guilty of a number of child sex crimes between 2005 and 2011, the Daily News reported. He’s been convicted twice on numerous counts of molestation of a teenager. Broussard also had active warrants on charges of first-degree rape and molestation of a juvenile.
His wife, Tori Broussard, was charged with counts of molestation and accessory to rape earlier this month, the outlet also reported.


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Elaine and Nick Anderson opened the Nestlers back in 1989.
It was a second career for them – Nick had been a firefighter and Elaine a full-time mum with their growing children, when they made the decision to open the hotel at their home, and they were both surprised at its success.
A small hotel with only four letting bedrooms, it quickly won a reputation in the Lanark area for its fresh country food cooked by Nick and served in the bar or the restaurant, where guests could enjoy relaxing in a cosy atmosphere.
Coffee was served with homebaking, and it became a popular place to meet, as it was within easy reach of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Peebles.
“We were surprised at how popular it became,” said Elaine. “It was to be almost a hobby but it became a full-time thing.”
For more on this story pick up a copy of the Carluke and Lanark Gazette, which is in the shops now.


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According to a report from Hong Kong, applicants in droves arrive at the world’s largest assembly center for Apple iPhones, where staff say it only takes a few hours to turn a young, unskilled migrant worker from rural China into a production. line operator.
A recruitment center at the sprawling Foxconn plant in central Zhengzhou, China, functions as a well-oiled machine that quickly processes people and connects them to Apple’s comprehensive global supply chain.
Outside such employment centers, hundreds of eager jobseekers wait in line – many healthy by train or bus, often with their luggage in tow – and expect their first night to be spent in a factory dormitory.
The bar for getting a job is quite low, and it is likely that disabled applicants between the ages of 1
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A young applicant in her early 20s says that she has never worked in a factory, after having trained as a nurse at a vocational school. But she decided to apply for a Foxconn job “just for fun,” adding that “I’m just tired of being a nurse.”
The need for Foxconn workers is almost insatiable before next week’s release of Apple’s iPhone 12, which is available for pre – order starting this Friday. Demand keeps the factory running 24/7. Analysts expect that the new phone, Apple’s first model with 5G mobile communication capability, will be a big seller that loyal iPhone users around the world upgrade.
Potential workers at this huge facility near the airport in the capital of Henan province know what they are getting into, as information on salaries and accommodation is published. One of the biggest selling points of a Foxconn job is that it gives new employees a bonus of 10,000 yuan (US $ 1,488) if they work at least 55 days during the first three months of employment.
Today, the Zhengzhou complex is one of the largest production facilities in all of China, helping to keep the country deeply embedded in the global supply chain. In any case, the Foxconn plant is the economic center of the surrounding area. And the huge population of young people with well-paid jobs has created a vibrant consumer society.
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Despite persistent talk of companies reducing their dependence on China by moving production to other markets such as India, or even moving production facilities to the United States, China remains the main production base for companies such as Foxconn. For more on this, read the full South China Morning Post (SCMP) report.
In another SCMP report today, they noted that over 2.3 million Chinese consumers have signed up for the US smartphone giant’s new handset series on major e-commerce sites. As of 10 a.m. on Friday, more than 1.5 million people had made reservations about buying iPhone 12 phones from the official Apple store on JD.com, a major e-commerce site in China. The standard iPhone 12 had over 737,000 user orders, while the iPhone 12 Pro had 390,000, according to the company’s information.
Contrary to the SCMP report which claimed that there has been a lukewarm reception on the iPhone 12, we reported on Wednesday that there were 6 billion messages on Weibo and ranked number one on Weibo that day.


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Apple is also refreshing its 7.9-inch iPad Mini for the first time in more than three years.
Apple is said to launch three iPhones this year once again. However, one of the biggest changes with the new devices will be the inclusion of an extra camera in all the three models. While the iPhone XS and the XS Max successors will have triple rear cameras, the iPhone XR successor could have dual rear cameras.
APPLE-PRIVACY/ (PIX)Apple touts data privacy in TV ad campaign
The strategy is to reinforce Apple’s premium positioning in the Indian market and increase the entry price of iPhones by more than Rs 5,000 with the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.
The gorgeous display is the most impressive thing about the S10+.
The Apple technology would put end-to-end encryption to a phone’s unique ID.
It is likely to be announced alongside the iPad mini 5.
The AR-based headset will work alongside an iPhone.
A state commerce and industries secretariat document last year showed Wistron planned to invest Rs 682 crore in the Kolar unit employing 6,000 people. Gaurav Gupta, principal secretary - commerce & industries, IT, biotech and S&T, said the Narasapura facility will commence operations in August.
Apple reportedly bought the patent portfolio of the company at the end of 2018.
The charm offensive reached another gear Wednesday as Huawei welcomed media to its tightly-guarded facilities in southern Guangdong province, starting with a tour of a smartphone production line in Dongguan.
Tim Cook's comments came in response to a question that flagged how an employee felt uncomfortable for not being a believer in "the left-wing view".
Apple could be planning to develop an Augmented Reality (AR)-based headset that would work alongside an iPhone to enable users experience an environment where computer images are overlaid on the real world.
Wozniak is optimistic about Apple’s future, with the company branching out in a range of projects outside of its core iPhones market.
Customers have to simply opt for the Vodafone RED iPhone Forever Plan or Idea Nirvana iPhone Forever Plan at just Rs 649 monthly rental and download the iForever app from the App Store to register for the free iPhone Forever service.
Apple does not want to be known as an elitist company any more owing to the high iPhones costs and wants to become a brand accessible to all, company COO Jeff Williams has said.
While several leading companies are focussing on 5G, users will have a wait for at least a year if they want a flexible iPhone.


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BritBox is now available to stream on Roku players and TVs.
The “British Netflix” is already available on Amazon Channels, Freesat, NetGem TV, Samsung, YouView and Freeview Play.
Tom Price, BritBox UK’s commercial director said: “We are thrilled to bring the best of British entertainment to Roku, which has been one of the most demanded platforms in customer feedback. Our mission is to make it easy to enjoy BritBox across any device and we now cover all the major streaming devices and smart TV platforms.”
“We are thrilled to bring BritBox to Roku customers in the UK,” added Yulia Poltorak, director international content distribution at Roku. “It fits our philosophy to always offer the best and diverse entertainment selection to our users. BritBox, with its wide range of British TV series as well as new exciting originals, will add even more choice to our users in the UK.”


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Global has appointed Cilesta Van Doorn, executive director, brand and marketing at Virgin Media, as its next chief marketing officer.
Van Doorn will join in October and replaces Adam Johnson, who is stepping down to return to Australia with his family. Johnson joined Global in 2015 from Microsoft and became CMO in 2019.
Van Doorn’s departure from Virgin Media follows the completion of its merger with O2 in June, and comes after O2 CMO Nina Bibby also left the business.
Van Doorn joined Virgin Media in 2018 as marketing director after 12 years at Dutch telecoms company Tele2 Netherlands. She became executive director last May after Sharon Hegarty left to join Samsung, leading a team of 70, across brand advertisement, media, digital, social, customer marketing, insight and marketing effectiveness, plus overseeing Virgin Media’s in-house creative agency.
At Global, she will report to group chief executive Stephen Miron and oversee a team of 80, covering brand and commercial marketing, enterprise, customer support, events and communications.
“We couldn’t have found anyone stronger than Cilesta to help Global take its next huge step in the marketing of our brands, including Global Player, and her leadership across the other areas she will oversee,” Miron said. “She is an incredibly creative, commercial and passionate leader with broad experience acquired over many years and she will make a great addition to Global’s senior leadership team.”
Miron added that he was “extraordinarily grateful to Adam Johnson for all the incredible work he has done for Global over the last six years and wish him well with his move to Australia”.
Van Doorn said: “It’s not often that an opportunity comes by that makes your heart skip a beat, and it became clear that Global has everything I could ever wish for, and more. I have loved working for Virgin Media and will miss my team dearly, but I feel incredibly grateful to be joining such a special company.
“I’m at my best being part of truly dynamic, innovative and transformational companies, and you can’t fail to be impressed by Global’s performance as a media and entertainment company over the years.”
Global owns many of the UK’s top radio brands, including Capital, Heart, Smooth, LBC and Classic FM, along with on-demand service Global Player. Since 2018, it has also become a giant in out-of-home advertising after acquiring Primesight, Outdoor Plus and Exterion. Global’s digital ad exchange DAX operates across both audio and outdoor.
In March, Campaign reported that Global was seeking to buy up to 49.99% of US radio giant iHeartMedia, after it bought 8.7% of iHeart in January.


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According to the company, the move was made to enable greater integration with subsidiaries, while strengthening brand identity in anticipation of expanded geographic operations and service offerings. Steve Hamilton, chief executive officer and president of ChemLogix, said the name change eliminates confusion "while utilizing the popular CLX nomenclature used by many of our companies to refer to our business." All business operations at the former Leaman Logistics remain the same. CLX Logistics is also the parent company of ChemLogix Global LLC, a provider of international business services, and VistaLogix Global LLC, a specialist in global logistics management and technology across multiple industries.
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- Poland continues to strengthen its position as one of Europe’s most innovative payments markets
- Nine banks confirm plans to rollout Visa Cloud-based Mobile Payment services
London, 7 January 2015: Nine Polish banks have confirmed plans to commercially launch Visa Cloud-based Mobile Contactless Payment services from early this year, re-enforcing Poland’s reputation as a hotbed for innovation in digital payment services.
Banking providers ING Bank Śląski, mBank, Bank Millennium, Raiffeisen Polbank, eurobank, Getin Bank, Bank Polskiej Spółdzielczości and Bank SMART will join Bank Zachodni WBK in rolling out services utilising Visa’s Cloud-based Payment specifications, enabling customers with payment apps utilising Host Card Emulation (HCE) functionality to make contactless payments quickly and safely using an NFC-enabled Android smartphone.
The banks embracing Visa’s mobile contactless payment services point to the ease and intuitiveness of using a smartphone to make contactless payments, as well as potential of mobile contactless payments in paving the way for additional innovations in how customers use their mobile phone to manage their finances and spending.
Jeremy Nicholds, executive director for mobile for Visa Europe, said: “The high number of banks working to deploy Visa mobile payments highlights the sector’s immense interest in the service. Visa’s Cloud-based Mobile Payments can quickly be made available to a large group of consumers and provide a foundation for the bank to offer a wide range of innovative functionalities in the future. Visa’s mobile contactless payment technologies have become an integral part of our Polish members’ mobile banking strategies.”
Poland has been extremely enthusiastic in embracing contactless payment technology and is already Visa’s largest market in Europe in terms of contactless transaction volumes. Close to 70% of Visa cards in the market have contactless functionality, with the technology accounting for more than 40% of all Visa payments in Poland. More than 75% of all in-store Point of Sale (POS) terminals support contactless payment, with plans in place for all Polish POS terminals to support the technology by the end of 2017. In total, Visa has now enabled over 2.1m contactless terminals across Europe.
Visa’s Cloud-based Mobile Payments are fast gaining momentum across Europe, with services already live from the likes of Spain’s Bankinter and global banking giant BBVA, plus a strong pipeline of further launches planned in markets including France, Italy, Slovakia and many others.
The latest announcement reflects Visa’s ongoing mobile payments strategy, working with mobile network operators, handset manufacturers and operating systems, to enable banks to use a range of platforms for implementing mobile payment capabilities.
About Visa Europe
Visa Europe is a payments technology business owned and operated by member banks and other payment service providers from 37 countries across Europe.
Visa Europe works at the forefront of technology to create the services and infrastructure which enable millions of European consumers, businesses and governments to make electronic payments. Its members are responsible for issuing cards, signing up retailers and deciding cardholder and retailer fees.
Visa Europe operates a high volume, low cost business model that provides services to its members. Its surplus is reinvested into the business and used to improve capital and reserves.
There are 500m Visa cards in Europe, while €1 in every €6.50 spent in Europe is on a Visa card. In the year to September 2013, total expenditure on Visa cards reached €2 trillion, while point-of-sale spend increased by 8.5% to €1.4 trillion. Annual online spending on Visa cards continues to grow (20% year-on-year) and now stands at €240bn.
Since 2004, Visa Europe has been independent of Visa Inc. and incorporated in the UK, with an exclusive, irrevocable and perpetual licence in Europe. Both companies work in partnership to enable global Visa payments. As a dedicated European payment system Visa Europe is able to respond quickly to the specific market needs of European banks and their customers - cardholders and retailers - and to meet the European Commission’s objective to create a true internal market for payments.
For more information, please visit www.visaeurope.com.


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The tussle between the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) and the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST) has gone a notch higher with the former accusing BOST of causing financial loss to the state.
According to COPEC, Ghana lost in excess of 30m cedis in revenue from a transaction BOST had with an unlicensed company.
The losses, the Chamber insists, were recorded at every stage of the value chain from the sale of some 1.8 million barrels of crude oil, to fees for holding the rest of the crude.
The transaction which was undertaken in September last year comes only months after a major scandal involving the sale of some five million litres of contaminated fuel to 38 unlicensed companies.
The Executive Secretary of COPEC, Duncan Amoah, told Joy News he does not understand why 1.8 million barrels of oil was sold when the initial volume procured was 2 million barrels.
At a time when prices of crude were going up on the world market, BOST sold its product at a discount of 2 dollars, a transaction he found to be intriguing.
He cannot also confirm if the difference has been accounted for.
He also accused BOST of selling products to BB Energy, an unlicensed company.
“We do not think if it was his [BOST’s CEO, Alfred Obeng Boateng] personal company he would agree to undertake this kind of transaction,” he told Joy News’ .
“There are losses across the chain which the office of the Special Prosecutor, must be interested in this one, EOCO must be interested in.
When he was asked who was behind BB Energy, Mr Amoah said there is a gentleman whose name he would not disclose but was quick to add that the company does not have tanks in Ghana to be engaged for in-tank transactions.
But In a sharp response, BOST described the allegations as unfortunate and misleading.
In a statement, BOST said it is the norm, globally to sell at a discounted rate, products which are deemed to be distressed.
Products are said to be in distress state when after 10 months of importation they are not used for the purposes for which they were imported.
“As we speak, BOST has offers for such distress cargoes at a discount of $4 per barrel. Any person competent in the industry would have asked for details before issuing this illogical and baseless statement,” BOST fired at COPEC.
BOST said it has followed the necessary procedures in transacting the business of oil in the country and charged the media to ignore the “baseless” accusation by COPEC.


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After months of leaks, photos and rumours doing the rounds, Sony Ericsson has finally confirmed it will launch its XPERIA Play Android smartphone — dubbed the 'PlayStation phone' — on February 13 in Barcelona.
Check out our guide to other top Sony Ericsson phones.
Officially confirmed via a commercial at the NFL's Super Bowl, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play features a 4in multitouch display, a touch sensitive joystick, a D-pad and four of PlayStation's famous control buttons; triangle, square, circle and X.
The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play will be powered by a 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM and will run the latest 2.3 Gingerbread version of Google's Android platform. Gingerbread offers a revamped keyboard, better copy and paste, improved power management, and a slicker user interface as improvements over previous versions of Android.
Are you interested in a dedicated gaming smartphone like the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play? Let us know in the comments below!


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Last week, it was announced that a new Fifty Shades of Grey prequel, Grey, (written from Christian Grey's perspective, because why not?) would be released on June 18. But holy red room of pain, it appears someone couldn't wait eight days to get his/her fix: the manuscript has been STOLEN.
The BBC reports a copy of the book went missing in London yesterday, and police have launched an investigation to track down the thief (THANK GOD!). Random House, Grey's publisher, is afraid the person will leak the book before its release, either selling extracts to press outlets or just putting the whole thing online for all of us to read for free.
So, while we wait with baited breath to see if more Christian Grey actually comes to our iPads/Kindles/Hearts early, we'll keep you posted with updates on this very important matter here.


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Did California Catch Brazilian Blowout Napping? Formaldehyde Must Be Out Of Hair Smoothers By 2025
California-based Brazilian Blowout appears not to have opposed the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act, signed into law in the Golden State at the end of September, which will ban a key ingredient in its professional hair-smoothing systems beginning 1 January 2025. The company remains oddly quiet about the legislation, which was backed by NGOs, public health advocates and other cosmetic industry reps.
Few cosmetic brands in recent memory have been as controversial and condemned as Brazilian Blowout.
After settlements with consumers and the California attorney general’s office in 2012 for allegedly misrepresenting the Brazilian Blowout professional hair-smoothing formula and the risks it may pose to users, the company’s CEO Mike Brady characterized the outcome as a triumph.
“We get to sell the product forever without reformulation,” he told The New York Times. (Also see "Brazilian Blowout Manufacturer Required To Label, Warn Users" - HBW Insight, 6 Jan, 2014.)
He may not have counted on the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act (TFCA), enacted at the end of September, which will render cosmetic products adulterated in California if they contain formaldehyde or methylene glycol, among other ingredients, beginning 1 January 2025.
Methylene glycol – formaldehyde in liquid form – is a key ingredient in Brazilian Blowout’s professional hair-smoothing formulas. When heated during the hair-straightening process, the substance converts to formaldehyde gas, potentially putting salon workers and customers at risk of harmful exposure, critics say.
“They must not pay attention to legislation?” – WVE’s Jamie McConnell on lack of opposition to AB 2762In an October post to Women’s Voices for the Earth’s website, the NGO’s deputy director Jamie McConnell celebrates the TFCA’s coming impact on cosmetic products in California, including those sold for professional use only, focusing on hair straightener implications in particular.
“This is a huge win for salon workers whose health has suffered as a result of popular hair-straightening treatments such as Brazilian Blowout. Salon workers across the country have reported difficulty breathing, bloody noses, headaches, rashes, chronic sinus and lung infections and more as the result of the use of hair straighteners in their salons,” McConnell says.
Further, the WVE deputy director believes the California law, AB 2762, will have nationwide influence, potentially accomplishing what the US Food and Drug Administration has neglected to do, in the eyes of many, to keep consumers and stylists safe. (Also see "US Rep. Pallone Demands Answers From FDA On Seeming Hair-Smoothing Formaldehyde Ban ‘Reversal’" - HBW Insight, 27 Oct, 2020.)
WVE was among a number of nonprofits that supported the TFCA including the Environmental Working Group, Breast Cancer Prevention Partners and Black Women for Wellness.
The bill also received backing from physician groups, cosmetics companies, such as Beautycounter and California Baby, Inc., as well as trade association the Personal Care Products Council.
Curiously, the legislation in its final stages was completely unopposed. Earlier drafts of the bill met with opposition from industry organizations, including PCPC, Fragrance Creators Association and American Chemistry Council, as well as Sacramento, CA-based law firm McHugh Koepke & Associates.
It is not clear whom McHugh & Associates was representing. At any rate, all opposition appears to have evaporated by late May as the TFCA evolved into a blacklisting of selected cosmetic ingredients that are already prohibited from use in cosmetics in the European Union. (Also see "California Bill Advances To Ban Cosmetic Ingredients Prohibited In EU, With PCPC’s Backing" - HBW Insight, 15 May, 2020.)
Headquartered in the Los Angeles city of Agoura Hills, GIB, LLC, dba Brazilian Blowout, was never once listed as an opponent of AB 2762 in California legislative analysis documents.
At least a thousand salons in California currently offer Brazilian Blowout services, based on results from the salon locator tool on Brazilian Blowout’s website.
The company’s product portfolio has grown over the years to include volumizing shampoo and conditioner and styling products for consumers, as well as additional offerings for professionals.
However, Brazilian Blowout’s core business continues to revolve around its methylene glycol-containing hair-straightening and defrizzing formulas, namely the Original Smoothing Solution and Express Smoothing Solution.
Brazilian Blowout Zero+, a plant-based alternative launched in 2011 with the claim “0% formaldehyde before, during or after the treatment,” received lackluster reviews online and appears to have been discontinued.
Brazilian Blow No-Show
Why Brazilian Blowout did not lodge opposition to the TFCA, and where the company goes from here, are unknowns. The firm did not respond to repeated attempts by HBW Insight to get answers.
A PCPC spokesperson noted in an email that GIB/Brazilian Blowout is not a PCPC member.
PCPC was pleased with the direction taken with AB 2762, specifically its alignment with European ingredient prohibitions under the EU’s Cosmetic Products Regulation, applauding Governor Gavin Newsom’s signing of the bill on 30 September. (Also see "California Will Prohibit Use Of Some Cosmetic Ingredients Banned In Europe Beginning in 2025" - HBW Insight, 30 Sep, 2020.)
Regarding the law’s implications for hair smoothers, the PCPC rep said the group supports the 2011 conclusion of the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel that formaldehyde or methylene glycol’s use in heated hair-straightening products is unsafe in current practices and concentration levels. (Also see "CIR Expert Panel On Formaldehyde Hair Straighteners: “Unsafe”" - HBW Insight, 4 Jul, 2011.)
While Brazilian Blowout is best-known, other hair-straightening brands are still using formaldehyde/methylene glycol in their products, according to WVE’s McConnell.
“I also find it very odd that the hair straightening industry didn’t oppose the legislation, in particular Brazilian Blowout, which is based in California,” she said in an email. “I have no explanation for this other than they must not pay attention to legislation?”
McConnell concluded, “Regardless, hair straighteners are regulated as cosmetics, and as such, come 2025, the products will no longer be able to contain formaldehyde. And, you can bet advocates will be testing products to ensure compliance!”
Potentially in Brazilian Blowout’s favor, late changes to the TFCA revised the way the law will be enforced, reducing the role of the California Department of Public Health and placing the onus on the attorney general, district attorneys, or qualifying county or city attorneys to seek court-ordered injunctions against violators. (Also see "California’s Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act Amended, Pushed Closer To Governor’s Desk" - HBW Insight, 26 Aug, 2020.)
Violators also will face less severe monetary penalties, and no criminal penalties, under the TFCA as chaptered, compared with previous drafts of the legislation, a legislative staffer told HBW Insight.


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Today at the Windows Developer Day online event, Microsoft Developer VP Kevin Gallo announced that all developer documentation is now available at docs.microsoft.com.
The change brings all developer documentation under one URL, making it easier for developers to find documentation, and also introduces the ability for developers to contribute to the documentation:
Microsoft also announced that the Windows 10 Creators Update SDK is now feature complete, adding over 1,000 new updates to the platform, according to Gallo.
Telerik also announced during the keynote that their Telerik UI for UWP tools are now open source and free for developers to use, you can learn more at Telerik.com/UWP.
Further reading: developer, Windows 10, Windows 10 Creators Update


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iOS 14 Bug Causing No Message Notifications on New and Older iPhone Models
It's been more than a month since Apple released its latest iOS 14.2 firmware update. However, the build is causing issues pertaining to iMessages and SMS Texts. The issue is that when a message hits your iPhone, there is no notification or a red badge on the app to indicate it. Seemingly, this is an iOS 14 bug that corresponds to messages on the iPhone.
Some iPhone Users Report Not Getting Message Notifications Due to iOS 14 Bug
Previously, the issue was only found on the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, as reported by MacRumors. However, this is clearly not the case as the issue is persistently plaguing older iPhone models as well. This iOS 14 bug pertaining to messages is causing a lot of people to seek workarounds on Apple's support forums. However, at this point in time, there is no fix for the issue from Apple, not even a temporary workaround to get the notifications going until the new update arrives.
Some users, however, suggest that turning off Messages on a Mac or force closing an app after every outgoing text will resolve the issue. Other users point out that the issue is persistent only to pinned contacts and the issue gets fixed as soon as you unpin the pinned contacts. Frustratingly, these workarounds are not helpful for many and the issue rests at square one. As mentioned earlier, the iOS 14 bug that is restricting messages' notifications has received no fix via an update from Apple yet.
At the time of writing, the iOS 14 bug is still not fixed on Apple's release candidate build of iOS 14.3. We're not sure if Apple will curate the bug out of the system in the final build of the firmware. iOS 14.3 is said to launch in a few days and probably we will see Apple fix the issue. If it is not, Apple will have to release another subsequent update in order to fix the issue once and for all.
Take note that the bug could also be related to carriers. However, we can't be too sure at this time. As for now, it is advised that you check your messages manually or at regular intervals so you do not miss an important message. Apple released the second version of its release candidate of iOS 14.3 to developers and we suspect the company might fix it in the final release. Apple has always been quick to respond and fix such issues on its devices and we hope it will do the same for the iOS 14 bug which is causing messages' notifications to not appear.
Are you experiencing the issue as well? Let us know in the comments section below.