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In just the past few years, Technopolis Ullevi campus in Gothenburg has welcomed several new customers of different sizes and representing various sectors from construction and travel to technology and the public sector.
In June 2023, Technopolis announced that construction company Wästbygg Gruppen will move into an office space of 1,330 square meters at the beginning of 2024. The new collaboration with one of Sweden’s leading construction companies is a big deal for Technopolis Ullevi. For Wästbygg Group, it was the flexibility that determined the choice.
"We have had a good customer experience with Technopolis from the start. They have been accommodating and able to meet our specific needs. For us, it was the geographical location, surrounding services, and the opportunity to influence the floor plan that led us to choose Technopolis Ullevi. It is easily accessible by both car and public transportation, and there is also a wide range of restaurants and hotels in the area," says Jonas Jönehall, CEO of Wästbygg Group.
Some of the other customers who have moved in over the past year include business travel agency BIG Travel, life science company KeyPlants, and deep tech company Lumen Radio. The combination of the freedom to customize their office and the range of services available at Technopolis was an important factor for all three. A gym, reception service, and restaurants are just some of the services offered at the Ullevi campus. Lumen Radio, which operates in the lighting industry and is behind the iconic lightsabers in Star Wars, needed larger premises to grow their business, something that Technopolis could offer.
"What primarily attracted us was the geographical location, but then Technopolis’ facilities, premises, and fantastic customer service became decisive factors," says Lelle Zetterblad, Head of Travel at BIG Travel.
Another example of a customer who needed a large space with the possibility of customized premises and flexibility is the Health and Social Care Inspectorate (IVO), a Swedish government agency, which moved into Technopolis premises already in 2021. The move to Technopolis premises in Gothenburg meant a new business-adapted workspace totaling 1,859 square meters with large, open, and bright offices. The new office space allowed IVO to start from their needs and create spaces tailored to their specific operations.
"We have made a transition from our previous premises, which were a bit old and gray, to a spacious and pleasant office space, where you can see your colleagues when you arrive at work. Employees meet each other more spontaneously, and there are many spaces for meetings. We wanted a location where everyone could be accommodated on the same floor, and we found that at Technopolis," says Mats Feretti, who is responsible for premises at IVO.
For Technopolis, a diverse customer base is proof that the company can offer flexibility and individually tailored solutions to its customers, as well as meet their needs, regardless of the type of business they operate. Last year, Technopolis Ullevi also opened a HUB to offer flexible workspaces for smaller companies and customers.
"The fact that we have so many different types of customers and businesses with us clearly indicates that we are meeting the demand in the industry. And we are very proud and happy that all these companies, big and small, have chosen us. All our customers can also offer their own services with us, which makes it even more exciting that we have so many different types of companies, as it enables a wide range of services and offerings on the campus. Our goal is always to deliver top-notch premises and service, and with the help of our customers, we achieve that," says Johan Herner, Business Unit Director at Technopolis Ullevi.


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| Nov 9, 2010
This summer, programmers at Go Country 105 radio in Los Angeles unveiled a new single called "Country Strong" and asked listeners to guess who was the twangy alto belting out lines about how she's "hard to break, like the ground I grew up on."
| Nov 21, 2012
Cameron Silver, owner of the vintage shopping institution Decades, has spent the last 15 years teaching Hollywood and the fashion world that what's old is new. And now he has written a book on the subject.
"Decades: A Century of Fashion" (Bloomsbury,...
| Feb 24, 2013
The Academy Awards are the biggest fashion runway on the planet. When Jennifer Lawrence, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried and other stars step out onto the red carpet Sunday, they will be primed to talk as much about what and who they are wearing as about...
| Jan 22, 2012
With a lifetime of red carpet misses ranging from uncomfortably busty Guinevere gowns to something reminiscent of Grandma's doily tablecloth, Disney princess Miley Cyrus hasn't exactly been fashion It Girl material. Until now.
The sleek and chic...
| Sep 2, 2012
The image is one of the most provocative in cinematic history: Elizabeth Taylor stretched catlike on a brass bed wearing nothing but a white slip and high heels. Taylor's wardrobe for the 1958 classic "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" might have been scandalous...
| Oct 3, 2010
It's been almost 29 years since Edith Head's died, but interest in the enigmatic American costume designer with the signature, seemingly impenetrable, circular eyeglasses has never waned. This fall, the Hollywood legend is the subject of a new book, as...
| Aug 29, 2010
Twenty-eight years after her death, and more than 50 years after first wowing audiences on the big screen, Grace Kelly, the statuesque blonde with the impossibly small waist and flawless face, continues to inspire designers and admirers alike.
| Dec 19, 2010
From the lava-like raw-linen tunic inspired by avant-garde Japanese design in "The Tempest" to the Rodarte-designed twisted tutus in "Black Swan," the fashion in this holiday season's "prestige" films is notable for historical references and inventive...
| May 8, 2011
Any doubt that there would be life for the Alexander McQueen brand after the death of its founder should have vanished over the last two weeks. The hoopla surrounding the opening of the "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" exhibition at the Metropolitan...
| Nov 27, 2008
John Michael Hayes, a two-time Academy Award-nominated screenwriter best known for his collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock on four films, including "Rear Window" and "To Catch a Thief," has died. He was 89.
Hayes, who taught screenwriting at Dartmouth...
| Apr 4, 2010
As the successful head of two distinctly different Burbank business enterprises, Joan Castle Joseff achieved two equally distinct reputations.
As president of Joseff Precision Metal Products -- it primarily makes aircraft and missile parts -- she was...

domain: news


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It's happened, it was bound to eventually, as chefs across the world look to forge the latest Frankenstein dining craze some bright spark had a sweet meets savory epiphany resulting in the rather indulgent love child that is The Cronut Burger.
It was created by the team at Epic Burgers and Waffles and offers up a chunky burger sandwiched between two slices of fluffy cronut.
The new cronut burger will come in maple bacon jam flavor and will be sold at the Toronto's annual fair which takes place on August 16th and is know for showcasing interesting foods.
We like the sound of the Cronut Burger more than the Ramen Noodle Burger that's got New York excited at the moment and if anyone is lucky enough to bag a sample let us know how it tastes in the comments below.
It's time to up your pudding game and create a celebratory pudding fit for the Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee. Take a look at the competition details and practice these inspiring pudding recipes.
Geranium's Rasmus Kofoed has decided to stop serving meat at the restaurant currently ranked number two on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list. But the Danish chef isn't yet willing to go purely plant-based.


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A lot of stuff happens in the tech world in the span of one week. Sometimes the news from Monday can be totally forgotten by the time Friday comes around. We don’t want you to miss any of the big news or features from the last week: enter ICYMI. If you aren’t hip to internet slag that stands for “in case you missed it.” This weekly feature will highlight the top posts from this site and the other mobile sites in our network. Let’s get started!
Just a couple of weeks ago we saw the first press render of the Samsung ATIV SE. This device was originally codenamed the Samsung “Huron,” and was said to be a Windows Phone 8.1 device. @evleaks was the source of that first leak, and now he has shared yet another press render of Samsung’s next Windows Phone device.
The Lumia 520′s popularity has been pretty well documented. Nokia really hit the sweet spot with price and performance. The popularity of the device makes a successor very important. The 520 is starting to show its age, even as a low-end device. Nokia released the Lumia 525 not too long ago, but they already might be working on another device.
A little more than a year ago Microsoft Research released a camera app called BLINK. This neat app allows users to take photos in rapid succession. You can also create short GIF-like animations. It’s a really cool camera app, and today it just got even better.
Historically speaking, Apple and Microsoft don’t have the best relationship. Despite that they support each other’s platforms pretty well. iTunes and Safari are still available for Windows users, and Office is available for Mac users. Microsoft needs Apple because they are transitioning to a devices and services company.
Samsung has gotten really good at marketing in the last couple years. This has really helped them rise to become the mobile juggernaut that they are now. Every once in a while they take a break from their usual “emotional” ads to take some shots at the competition.
Windows Phone 8.1 is getting very close. We’ve seen dozens of leaks in photos and videos the last few months. Lately we’ve seen some semi-confirmations from Microsoft themselves. They accidentally listed it on their main website. Oops.
One of the most popular Windows Phone devices in the US is finally getting the latest update from Nokia. “Lumia Black” has begun rolling out to the T-Mobile Lumia 521 today. The 521 is T-Mobile’s version of the massively popular Lumia 520, which has already received Lumia Black.
The first Windows Phone device that Sprint carried was the HTC Arrive. This device did not sell very well for Sprint, which led them to eventually cancel the device. The problem, however, was not in the device. It was in Sprint themselves.
There are quite a few icons that show up in various times on your Windows Phone. Some of them are obvious, others are mysterious. The status bar is where most of the icons appear. The status bar is the black bar at the top of the screen.
A couple of weeks ago at Mobile World Congress Microsoft held a small press conference. During that event they talked about the next version of Windows Phone, but they were very careful to never actually say the name “Windows Phone 8.1.” But not today.
- Android: Moto 360 Android watch officially announced
- Android: Google announces Android Wear for smartwatches and wearables
- Android/iOS: Google Voice to shut down and merge with Hangouts
- iOS: Healthbook fitness tracker for iOS 8 leaks
- iOS: Apple named most valuable brand in the US (again)
- iOS: iPad 2 discontinued, 8GB iPhone 5c introduced


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by Andrea Bernstein
Politicians in the Bronx, NY are unveiling an electric truck, the first of its kind in New York City, to transport goods from the city’s food hub.
Hunts Point in the Bronx is a peninsula, home to lots of wholesalers. “It’s a food hub. We feed the city food here,” says Lee Taylor, who owns Down Home Seafood. “There’s a vegetable market here, the fish market, the meat market, and there’s a lot of trucks.”
About 16,000 a day. The asthma rate is also high — seven times the national average. So when Congressman Jose Serrano called Taylor and said he could get a grant for a zero-emissions truck, Taylor jumped. “We call her ‘Big Green’,” he explains. “We plug her in.”
An electric truck costs over $200,000, about four times what a regular truck costs. Sounds expensive, but if gas runs what it did two summers ago, it pays for itself.
Taylor says he has another motivation: independence from oil in the wake of the BP oil spill. That has Congress’s attention, too. Serrano says he’ll push for funding for thousands of such trucks nationwide.


text: Cathie Woods’ ARK Investment Management was yesterday a seller of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares and a buyer of Chevrolet and Cadillac parent General Motors Company (NYSE:GM). ARK sold nearly 42,000 Tesla shares on Monday, worth around US$33mln, according to the ‘active ETF’ operators’ daily trade notification report, which also showed the purchase of 158,187 General Motors shares, worth about US$6mln. The sell orders came as most of the market was gripped by bear trading – Tesla stock closed 9% lower at US$787.11 and General Motors closed down 3.3%, whilst the Nasdaq and S&P 500 shed 4.3% and 3.2% respectively. It was the ninth trading day in the past month in which ARK sold Tesla stock. The daily notification from ARK detailed that 15,862 Tesla shares were sold from the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) whilst 25,892 Tesla shares were sold from the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW). ARK bought the General Motors shares into the ARK Autonomous Tech & Robotics ETF (ARKQ). Also in Monday’s dealing, ARK cashed out of around 135,000 Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) shares ahead of Elon Musk taking the social media stock private. ARK’s ETFs were, meanwhile, also buyers of stock in Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN), synthetic DNA firm Twist Bioscience Corp (NASDAQ:TWST), AI telecoms specialist Twilio Inc (NYSE:TWLO), media-streamer Roku Inc (NASDAQ:ROKU), Draftkings Inc (NASDAQ:DKNG), and robotics software maker UiPath Inc (NYSE:PATH).


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Al Ballard and his wife, Linda, own a homespun restaurant in their sprawling Victorian in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, but the couple has a Massachusetts-based problem.
For more than a year, they have tried — and failed — to get their restaurant removed from TripAdvisor, the popular Needham-based online rating company. Bad rating? Not at all. The Colorado restaurant scores five stars on the site. But Ballard said he feels captive to the effort it takes to monitor his reputation on TripAdvisor.
“We just don’t want to be a part of it, but we can’t get away from them,” said Ballard, 70. “And the truth of the matter is no one can get away from them.”
The Wild West nature of online review sites like TripAdvisor has led to a backlash from businesses in Massachusetts and across the country that have quietly filed complaints against the company and other sites with the Better Business Bureau and the attorney general.
Some business owners, like the Ballards, want to be removed from the site. Some just don’t like what they’ve read about their business, or find it unfair.
TripAdvisor spokesman Kevin Carter said the company does not remove listings of any establishment open for businesses. No matter how disgruntled an owner may be over complaints about a rude staffer or tacky furnishings, it’s typically there to stay.
That unfiltered approach has helped the company grow from a small cadre of online reviewers when it started in 2000 into an industry behemoth that offers more than 320 million reviews of businesses around the globe.
Carter defended the company’s practices, saying TripAdvisor helps countless small businesses increase their visibility.
“We built this community by giving customers a platform to share their honest opinions, whether good or bad,” Carter said. “We strongly believe in their right to do so.”
But Edward Hasbrouck, a travel writer and industry consultant in San Francisco, said many businesses feel as if they’ve been forced to surrender control to such sites, which can call the shots.
“TripAdvisor has enormous power and they can do whatever they want,” Hasbrouck said. “They don’t have to be democratic, and they don’t have to be fair.”
The Better Business Bureau of Eastern Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont received nearly 20 complaints about TripAdvisor from unhappy business owners in the last three years.
TripAdvisor gets a B- rating from the New England area bureau. That’s up from C- in April. The company also received 21 negative reviews, including one from an unnamed business owner who said a malicious review claimed he promoted the KKK and damaged his business.
On another consumer review site, Lake Tahoe-based Consumer Affairs, reviewers gave TripAdvisor one star out of five. That ranking is based on a combination of reviews by consumers and business owners, including a longtime restaurant owner who said a competitor sabotaged him in reviews in order to steal his customers.
Tara Hinckley, owner of the Maynard shop Charmed, which sells incense, candles, and witchcraft supplies, complained to the Better Business Bureau after she said she tried 10 times to get TripAdvisor’s customer service to update her businesses location. At one point, TripAdvisor mistakenly changed her account to say that her business had permanently closed, she said, making her want to abandon the site despite her five-star rating.
“It’s almost like they hijack your information,” Hinckley said.
TripAdvisor eventually corrected her listing, but she said she still feels as though TripAdvisor wields too much control over the perception of her business.
The company said it does not comment on specific profiles of companies and users due to privacy concerns.
TripAdvisor is not the only company facing such criticism. Among the most public, Yelp, Inc., the San Francisco-based review giant, was the subject of lawsuits in 2010 by businesses who said its reviews were manipulated to pressure businesses into buying advertising on Yelp’s site. The cases were ultimately dismissed by a judge who said the claims were not proved.
The BBB of San Francisco Bay Area and Northern Coastal California, which has logged more than 1,600 complaints against Yelp, said many are from business owners alleging that there are false or inaccurate reviews on their Yelp listing and that Yelp will not remove them, even when proved untrue or inaccurate.
Yelp said in its response, also posted on the BBB site, that “consumer speech is protected under the law” and that businesses that take legal action and lose may be required to pay Yelp’s legal fees.
In Al Ballard’s case, it wasn’t a low rating that drove him to complain about TripAdvisor to the Massachusetts attorney general’s office. His Colorado restaurant, the Canon City Queen Anne, has averaged a five-star rating since it opened in 2007.
Ballard said the restaurant was the retirement dream of his wife, Linda, an interior designer, who has decorated their 1889 Victorian in pastels and lace and serves meals she cooks herself. Of the eatery’s 192 TripAdvisor ratings, 182 deem it excellent.
Ballard, a retired energy executive, said that at first, the Trip Advisor listings seemed like a great way to get far-reaching exposure. There were glowing reviews until Jan. 8, 2013, when a reviewer, Maryvonne_9, described his place as a “catastrophe.”
“The husband came and served us water dressed in shorts, as a peasant going to his fields,” Maryvonne_9 wrote. “The hostess had kept her dirty apron.”
Ballard checked his records and determined that the aggrieved diner had actually visited the restaurant a full year before she posted her review. But he did what he and other owners say they feel forced to do when faced with a negative review. He responded to her comment, asking her to give the restaurant a second chance.
“We are sad that someone would carry such anger towards a small business like us, for such a long time,” Ballard wrote in response.
The review did not affect his overall rating, but Ballard said that as other negative reviews appeared, he began to feel tethered to TripAdvisor and feel the burden of monitoring every comment.
Ballard tried to get TripAdvisor customer service representatives to help him leave, without success. When he tried to contact the company’s management, he said, his requests were denied. He then took a different approach, endeavoring to post a notice on his TripAdvisor page that the business was “no longer participating,” but site monitors rejected it, he said.
So he filed a complaint with the Massachusetts attorney general’s office saying he felt trapped.
“We’re a mom and pop shop,” Ballard said. “All we’re looking for is to be removed from their [TripAdvisor’s] listing.”
TripAdvisor declined to comment on the specifics of Ballard’s complaint, citing privacy concerns.
A spokeswoman from Attorney General Maura Healey’s office also said she could not comment on the complaint. In total, the office has received about 10 complaints since 2010 involving disputed reviews.
Heather Turner, marketing director for the Professional Association of Innkeepers International, based in Wisconsin, said although she does not maintain an official database, she receives calls from business owners who want to be removed from TripAdvisor about five times a year. Most of the time, businesses are unhappy that the site does not require that a person stay overnight at an inn, for example, before reviewing it.
“They come to the conclusion they must grin and bear it, because there’s nothing they can do about it,” she said.
Ballard, however, has refused to accept that answer.
He recently filed a second complaint with the state, sending a notarized copy to the company. TripAdvisor’s legal department responded in a terse letter sent via overnight mail.
“Although it is your prerogative to do so, we are disappointed that you have chosen not to further engage in a positive way with the TripAdvisor website,” the letter said, reiterating that his business listing would remain on TripAdvisor.
Ballard is not backing down, but he is deeply frustrated.
“I understand why a lot of business owners just give up,” he said.


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CFE launches LNG tender
According to Reuters, Mexico’s CFE recently launched a tender for a delivery of LNG in April.
Sources report that the tender closed on 19 March.
Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquid-natural-gas/20032019/cfe-launches-lng-tender/
You might also like
GTT and Deltamarin received an Approval in Principle for their new LNG-fuelled tanker design from the American Bureau of Shipping at the Gastech 2021 exhibition in Dubai.


text: Mayer was determined to ensure that Yahoo had the best mobile app for each. This began to change in the spring of 2013, however, when Mayer attended the NewFronts, the annual event in New York where digital-content businesses display their coming programming for ad-agency buyers. Moreover, in two years she would be able to use the Alibaba cash to reinvest in her putative growth. Smith didn’t seem to mind the media scrutiny. The fact that so many start-ups have jumped into this space speaks to a problem with a basic business model that has plagued the financial advice industry for decades.


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PHILADELPHIA – A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a woman who claimed she suffered knee injuries in a fall at a King of Prussia Target store.
Judge Gerald J. Pappert ruled to dismiss a suit brought by Pamela Carter-Butler of Pottstown against Target Corporation, for injuries she claimed to have suffered after falling over an allegedly unsecured clothing rack on Aug. 23, 2014.
On that day, Carter-Butler was shopping in the girls section of the King of Prussia Target store when, according to her initial incident report, “her foot went under the rack and she fell.”
But during a later deposition, Carter-Butler testified that “she fell after her shopping cart hit the rack, causing the rack to come apart and trip her," and that “her cart flew out and the rack went in another direction.”
The incident was captured on the store’s surveillance video and according to Pappert, contradicted Carter-Butler’s account of the events in question.
“For example, the video shows that her cart never strikes the rack, and thus could not have caused it to ‘come apart.’ In fact, at the time of her fall, she is not using the cart or moving it in any way,” Pappert said. “Carter-Butler also testified that she was down on the ground for ten minutes. In fact, she was down on the ground for less than thirty seconds.”
Pappert said Carter-Butler’s testimony that she did not see any debris or clutter on the floor where she tripped was “of greater relevance.” She also stated that the area was well-lit and that nothing about the displays in the store caused her concern – an account backed up by Target store personnel who reviewed the surveillance video.
In the fall, Carter-Butler suffered torn cartilage (which she says required arthroscopic surgery), inflamed joint linings and loose pieces of the joint. Carter-Butler filed her negligence complaint in July based on a premises liability theory, and Target filed a response motion for summary judgment in January.
It became Carter-Butler’s burden of proof to show that Target had a duty for her to use the store safely, Target breached that duty, a connection between the alleged breach and her injury and actual damages, in addition to showing evidence of a hazardous or dangerous condition.
Pappert believed Carter-Butler failed to meet this evidentiary burden of proof.
“Nothing in the record supports a finding that a clothing rack with wheels constitutes a condition ‘from which an inference of negligence would arise,'” Pappert said. “Similarly, the question here is whether a clothing rack with wheels created a condition so obviously dangerous that a reasonable fact-finder could infer that Target was negligent.”
Pappert added Carter-Butler assumed a reasonable juror could infer that the rack was hazardous simply because she fell – an inference Pappert termed as “sheer speculation.”
“If anything, the record establishes that the racks are specifically made with wheels to prevent injuries when customers strike the racks with their carts. Carter-Butler therefore fails to establish that that a clothing rack with wheels is a dangerous or hazardous condition,” Pappert said. “Likewise, there is no record evidence that the spacing between the clothing racks was so ‘obviously dangerous’ to support an inference that Target was in any way negligent.”
After reviewing the surveillance video, Pappert labeled the area around the clothing rack as “free of debris and well-lit,' and said Carter-Butler stood by the clothing rack and took clothes off of it for two minutes and twenty four seconds before she tripped.
Pappert concluded by dismissing Carter-Butler’s complaint through granting Target’s motion for summary judgment.
“Holding Target liable under these circumstances would charge them with a duty not recognized under Pennsylvania law – to protect customers from tripping over perfectly operational clothing racks that are in plain sight,” Pappert said. “Because the mere occurrence of an accident does not establish negligent conduct, Carter-Butler’s claim is dismissed.”
The plaintiff is represented by Jason E. Fine of J. Fine Law Group, in Philadelphia.
The defendant is represented by Francis J. Grey Jr. and Sean L. Corgan of Ricci Tyrrell Johnson & Grey, also in Philadelphia.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 2:15-cv-04030
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at email@example.com


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NKOR ICO: Top Entrepreneurs Join Forces Against Copyright Infringement
The NKOR project utilizes blockchain technology to help digital content creators authenticate and timestamp their work for secure and profitable distribution.
The advent of Web 2.0 allowed internet users to become independent publishers and creators, and while new developments rewarded content generation, they also brought on new challenges, particularly when it comes to copyright infringement.
Protecting digital content rights and ownership, be it photos, videos, audio or text, is one of the biggest challenges today, and even large media conglomerates struggle with piracy. Additionally, often enough, content creators find themselves at the mercy of service providers who have monopolized the digital content industry.
Fortunately, blockchain technology, which has been in the spotlight throughout last year (thanks to Bitcoin), can be adapted to solve these challenges, and a group of top entrepreneurs is planning to do just that with NKOR.
NKOR – A Decentralized Marketplace which Protects Digital Data Ownership
NKOR is an ambitious project, which at the very basic level, utilizes a novel multi-layered indexing technique and hash masks any content, recording the authentication data on the blockchain and time-stamping it as proof of origin.
This simply means, any content uploaded on NKOR will have its own proof of ownership and originality recorded on the blockchain, which can then be publicly verified and compared with other copies of the same content to track piracy and plagiarism.
While existing platforms mostly rely on human moderators, NKOR’s reliance on smart contracts to create a complete ecosystem which allows original content creators to securely distribute their data and benefit from it as it spreads.
Additionally, NKOR will also include a decentralized marketplace module which can operate without the need for any centralized authority, and gives content creators a secure avenue to trade, sell, or allow third-parties to access their data without fearing copyright infringement.
Backed by Top Entrepreneurs
Idea, concept and technology aside, NKOR also seems to have an impressive group of entrepreneurs backing it up. CEO and co-founder Eric Klein, believes that NKOR can provide a much more comprehensive digital content protection framework than existing methods:
"Throughout 11 years of experience in the media industry, I dealt with copyright infringement on a daily basis, such as illegal downloading of original content. Today, companies use content monitoring agencies to track whether copyright infringement has occurred, but it is not even close to full copyright protection. With the help of NKOR, proving of whether the document belongs to you or not has become much easier".
Eric is joined by Ivan Didur, who is the co-founder and CTO, with extensive experience in Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Distributed Systems. Apart from teaching at the Blockchain School in Kiev, Ivan is also the co-founder of DataRoot Labs, in Ukraine, which is one of the country’s largest Big Data teams
Additionally, the project has the backing of Ophir Gertner, the co-founder of Invest and Stox, a blockchain-powered prediction markets platform which raised over $30 million in its ICO last year.
Other backers include Andrey Yashunsky from Da Vinci Capital, David Mickler from QVentures and Anatoliy Melnichuk from SnapSaves, which was acquired by Groupon.
NKOR Token Sale Details
The NKOR ICO is scheduled to start on March 3, 2018 and end on April 2, 2018, and of the 200 million issued NKR tokens, 40 million will be available for sale at a fixed price (in ETH), and the distributed NKR tokens will constitute the total amount of available liquidity.
Funds from the token sale will be utilized in further development and expansion, with the team behind NKOR expected to grow from 50 to 100 in the next two months.


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Panasonic Corporation, the Japanese manufacturer of consumer electronics & home appliances, will set up an India R&D center consisting of two technical divisions – a design division of appliances (focusing on India) and an offshore development division.
The design division will focus on product development processes for India and its neighboring countries, while its offshore development project will be in partnership with Tata Elxsi, at Bangalore. Through this division, it will develop technologies for artificial intelligence and robotics applicable to appliance products not only for India, but also for Japan and global markets, reports Business Standard.
“Globally, India has been identified as one of the strategic regions for growth. The prospering economy, increasing buying power and a conducive environment for manufacturing has transformed India into a growth magnet for the world, said Tetsuro Homma, president of appliance company and senior managing director, Panasonic Corporation.


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The rise of ‘micro-influencers’ on Instagram
There’s such a thing as being too popular.
It turns out that once a social media influencer reaches a critical mass of followers, audience engagement actually begins to decrease. A survey of 2 million social media influencers by influencer marketing platform Markerly showed that for unpaid posts, Instagram influencers with fewer than 1,000 followers have a like rate of about 8 percent, while those with 1,000 to 10,000 followers have a like rate of 4 percent.
As following base continues to increase, like rate keeps decreasing. Instagram influencers with 10,000 to 100,000 followers see a 2.4 percent like rate, compared to 1.7 percent for those with 1 million to 10 million followers and more. Comment rate follows a similar pattern.
The findings apply to sponsored Instagram posts, too, which suggests the sweet spot for maximum impact is an influencer with a following in the 10,000 to 100,000 range. Call them “micro-influencers.”
Sarah Ware, CEO and co-founder of Markerly, said that when her company engaged with the Jenner and Kardashian sisters on Instagram on behalf of a weight-loss tea company, the celebrities helped bring hundreds of conversions. Which was nice. But by activating 30 to 40 “micro-influencers,” the brand was able to convert at an even higher level.
It’s a simple math. If a sportswear company, for example, collaborates with a social celebrity with 2 million followers, it can reach a big pool of audience, but 90 percent of them may not be sports fans. It would make more sense to activate 100 self-proclaimed athletes whose followers are actually interested in athletics.
While the ultimate payoff may be greater, it’s still more work for brands, conceded Ware. A celebrity, she said, is a highly visible one-stop-shop. “In comparison, brands need to find a proper search engine to identify ‘micro-influencers’ quickly.”
The idea of micro-influencers has already been gaining traction at some agencies. Fergus Thomas, co-founder of social marketing agency Irban Group, used the term “power middle influencers” to describe social media users who typically have around 100,000 to 200,000 followers. Creating content for a brand is still secondary to their full-time profession, so they post sponsored content less often than social celebrities. And thus they feel more authentic. “With the same amount of budget, brands can collaborate with 20 or 40 ‘power middle influencers’ to reach different demographics and see better engagement, compared to one or two celebrities.”
Social ad platform Gnack, on the other hand, defines everyday social media users with fewer than 10,000 followers as micro-influencers. Their followers usually consist of their friends and family, so their posts are much more trustworthy and engaging.
“More than 55 percent of our agency partners have incorporated ‘micro-influencers’ as a part of their [current] strategy,” said Chico Tirado, the company’s chief revenue officer. “We’ve seen some ‘micro-influencers’ on certain campaigns get up to 25 percent engagement.”
As Instagram recently changed its algorithm to favor quality content, Gnack’s CEO Chris Gonzalez predicted that posts from “micro-influencers” will become more visible on the platform. After all, content from friends and family members is often prioritized by any social network.
“We see micro-influencers get an average of two-to-five times more organic engagement per Instagram post, compared to those with more than 100,000 followers,” said Gonzalez. “Their content will be organically performing better on the platform due to the inherent superior engagement.”
‘It took the heat out of people’s situations’: Agencies provide mental health support for employees’ kids
Parents have been anxious about the effect of the pandemic on their kids' mental health and agencies have had to step up their support.
As consumers migrate to e-commerce, marketers are increasing email marketing efforts
Brand marketers say email marketing has steadily been increasing as more and more consumers look to shop online.
Cheat sheet: Twitter experiments with shoppable cards
Twitter is taking another stab at shoppable content, with a new card feature aimed to convince users to follow through with purchases.
SponsoredPeople-based identifiers are driving personalized customer experiences
Marketing teams are now well into 2021, and third-party cookies along with mobile ad IDs are officially on notice, which has implications for all marketers. Soon, cookie- and device-based targeting, frequency capping, measurement and attribution will break. Evolving privacy regulations and policy changes from browsers and device makers have sparked many proposed solutions to replace […]
‘How to telegraph energy’: The coronavirus pandemic has agencies mulling the future of the pitch
Agency execs say elements of the pitch process may have changed forever — the amount of time and financial investment devoted to chasing new business, for example.
‘Gateway to anything a marketer can dream up’: Touchless commerce has normalized the QR code, and brands are giving it a second look
As consumers are more comfortable with using QR codes, so are marketers who are planning to add them to packaging and ads.


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Byline: HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer
(AP) — Across the country, there’s a silent frustration brewing about an age-old practice that many say is getting outRead more »
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(AP) — A federal judge has ordered Amazon to stop retaliating against employees engaged in workplace activism, issuing a mixedRead more »
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(AP) — In the past few years, Slutty Vegan, an Atlanta-based eatery, has attracted a cult-like following with its raunchyRead more »
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(AP) — California is suing Amazon, accusing the company of violating the state’s antitrust and unfair competition laws by stiflingRead more »
In the past few months, the number of women who call Fund Texas Choice has doubled to more than 100Read more »


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Consultancy SMACK has designed an interactive online Valentine’s Day campaign for Ted Baker, which sees users “go fishing”.
The Ted Baker Solemates microsite uses “psychedelic graphics and bespoke illustrations”, says SMACK, as part of a fishing game to find a match.
If users find a “match”, they’re invited to enter their details for a chance to win Ted Baker prizes. Users are entitled to three tries a day.
The style of the campaign is in line with Ted Baker’s “Hook your SoleMate” theme for Valentine’s Day, which will be appearing across store windows in the run up to February 14th.


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Full appeals court upholds labels on meat packages
WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court has upheld new government rules that require labels on packaged steaks, ribs and other cuts of meat to say where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered.
The meat industry has attempted to block the rules, saying they are costly to comply with and they provide no health benefits to the consumer.
The full appellate panel heard the case after a three-judge appeals panel ruled against the industry but suggested that the full court may want to review its decision.
Judge Stephen F. Williams wrote for the full court that the government's interest in the labels is "substantial" because there is a long history of such disclosures, a consumer interest in knowing a food's origin and health concerns if there is an illness outbreak.
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About a ton of smuggled Chinese powdered milk seized in the Italian city of Naples is likely to be contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine, Italian authorities said on Thursday.
The Forest Corps, Italy's environmental police, said in a statement there was a "high risk" that the seized milk was contaminated with melamine because it was found in packages which usually contained tainted milk.
But a corps official whose unit impounded the milk in the southern Italian city told Reuters checks were needed to determine if it was in fact contaminated.
The seized powder milk had been smuggled into Italy because its import has been banned, he said.
Dozens of countries consuming products with Chinese dairy ingredients have banned their import, recalled products or imposed strict checks after thousands of Chinese children were made sick from drinking tainted infant milk formula.
Police who have sifted through numerous containers of Asian origin in the Naples port area during "Red Lanterns" raid have seized about 20 tons of food products which did not comply to the European Union traceability standards, the statement said.
The products, including Chinese dairy products, would be destroyed, the statement said.


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Shenzhen, China – Electronic cigarettes worth $150M were seized at the Shenzhen and Hong Kong Border Airport by Chinese Customs and Border Protection (CCB) Monday.
The investigation, titled Operation Puff Not, uncovered 700,000 items including Liquid and hardware, even accessories for e-cig products have been seized without any prior notice. Wang Xia, the director of field operations in Shenzhen for the CCB, said the raid, which was conducted between March 29th and March 30th, ‘protected’ hundreds of customers from using dangerous e-cig devices instead of safer tobacco alternatives.
[The CCP’s] efforts come after Beijing decided that the use and export of electronic cigarettes is detrimental to the Chinese tobacco economy. Currently the Chinese government owns the entire tobacco industry, which has an estimated 300M smokers and has seen declining sales in recent years due to expanding e-cig use.
According to RRW, a larger March crackdown has uncovered an estimated $100 million worth of goods still in production that cannot be completed.
The global e-cig market has reached unprecedented levels, with e-cigs now accounting for nearly 10 percent of all tobacco related purchases, an estimated $5 billion annually, according to the World Business Collective Advocacy Group.
This recent turn of events has caused havoc for all major e-cig manufacturers, who are now trying to shift all operations outside of China. An estimated 90% of all electronic cigarettes are made in China, which means that by shifting operations the cost to the end consumer will increase dramatically. “It’s going to be incredibly difficult to shift operations, we are experiencing delays on orders and have refunded our customers deposits” said CEO Q Shah of Atom Vapes.


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2018 has been a year of astounding technological feats.
JD.com, a giant Chinese e-commerce platform, recently opened a Shanghai fulfilment centre that can process 200,000 orders a day with just 4 employees. At its annual conference in May, Google introduced an AI virtual assistant called Duplex that can mimic the human voice with uncanny precision. Amazon, meanwhile, will soon open checkout-less grocery stores in Chicago and San Francisco, in what could be the first major transformation of bricks-and-mortar retail in decades.
From autonomous vehicles to cancer-detecting algorithms, and from picking and packing machines to robo-advisory tools used in financial services, every corner of the economy has begun to feel the heat of a new machine age. The RSA uses the term ‘radical technologies’ to describe these innovations, which stretch from the shiny and much talked about, including artificial intelligence and robotics, to the prosaic but equally consequential, such as smartphones and digital platforms.
But what do these technologies mean for workers? Here there is still little consensus. Leading robotics expert Rodney Brooks describes fears of mass automation as “ludicrous”, whereas Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos claims “it’s hard to overstate how big of an impact [AI is] going to have on society over the next 20 years”. Adair Turner, Chairman of the Institute for New Economic Thinking, believes automation will be “rapid, unstoppable and limitless”.
Disagreements can also be seen in the predictions of job losses, which range from the catastrophic to the subdued. The University of Oxford estimate that 35 percent of UK jobs have the potential to be automated. In contrast, PwC suggest the figure is more likely to be 30 percent, while a 2017 McKinsey report said 5 percent of UK jobs are highly automatable. MIT Tech Review has identified at least 18 automation predictions, no two of which are alike.
What is certain is that the world of work will evolve as a direct consequence of the invention and adoption of radical technologies — and in more ways than we might imagine. Alongside eliminating and creating jobs, these innovations will alter how workers are recruited, monitored, organised and paid. Companies like HireVue (video interviewing), Percolata (schedule setting) and Veriato (performance monitoring) are eager to reinvent all aspects of the workplace.
With support from our partners, the RSA is launching a new Future Work Centre to explore these impacts in more depth. Our goal is to equip policymakers, employers and educators with the insights they need to prepare today’s workforce for tomorrow’s workplace. Where necessary, we will push for policy and practice reform, but more importantly we will seek to reimagine our social contract — that web of explicit and implicit rights and obligations that govern the way we work.
Past experience tells us nothing can be left to chance. Globalisation, the last turbulent force to rock our labour market, left too many workers and communities behind in its wake. While radical technologies hold out the promise of creating a better world of work, this is an outcome that must be worked towards rather than blindly hoped for. The Future Work Centre aims to do just that, using a combination of research, policy and practice advocacy, campaigning and practical pilots.
Download our essay: Work in an age of radical technologies (1.6MB)
Visit the RSA’s Future Work Centre website for more information
We are grateful to Taylor Wessing, Friends Provident Foundation, Harbour Foundation, Google.org and donations from an RSA Fellow, without which this programme of work would not be possible.


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The proposed deposit return scheme (DRS) for plastic bottles and other small drinks containers has the potential to lead to higher quality recycling, according to Vanden Recycling.
Defra has announced a consultation on introducing a national deposit return scheme, and the company has welcomed the idea as it is a proven way to improve the quality of the recycling stream.
Vanden Recycling UK managing director David Wilson said: “The proposed DRS should be seen as a positive for plastic recycling in the UK.
“We currently have very good recycling collections for bottles from home, and DRS should help to improve the ability of consumers to recycle their drinks bottles when out and about.
“It should also help litter control and aid an increase in recycling rates of bottles. We also applaud anything that should lead to a higher quality stream of material, and DRS has been proven to do this.
“However, we need to work through the detail of the proposal, particularly to see which bottles are included and which are excluded.
“Michael Gove and Defra are taking a collaborative approach to improving recycling in general, and we also welcome that the recycling industry and other stakeholders are being involved in these discussions with Government.
“Currently, stakeholders across the plastic supply chain are developing a coherent plan to improve plastic recycling. This includes people from manufacturers, retailers, the recycling sector and local government, along with WRAP and INCPEN to bring it all together.
“Together, we are aiming to develop a multi-layered strategy, of which DRS has a place, that will improve plastic recycling in the long term.”


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According to TVG, Sony Corp's CEO and Executive Vice President Nobuyuki Oneda mentioned on an overseas investors call that the manufacturing cost of the PlayStation 3 has been reduced by 70 percent since the original launch of the console.
"The cost reduction since we introduced the PS3 is very substantial and this is on schedule," said Oneda. When further inquiries were made, Oneda continued: "about 70 percent, roughly speaking."
If this information is indeed correct, than this is fantastic for Sony, as the PS3 was rumored to cost a tremendous amount of money to manufacture when it was first released. This cost reduction would also make the rumored price cut -- or the launch of the possible PS3 Slim -- seem like inevitable events. We contacted a Sony representative for further confirmation regarding Oneda's supposed comments, but we had yet to receive anything official at the time this article was written.


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A recent product recall shows how some rebuilt, refurbished or defective products can create a risk for consumer injury or death if the products are not manufactured according to federal safety laws. About 1,500 mattresses that have been sold in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi have been recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission for not meeting federal flammability standards.
The renovated mattresses, made by the American Mattress Manufacturing Company, are used mattresses which have been stripped to the springs and rebuilt with new fabrics. Last year, CBS Atlanta News commissioned a laboratory to test mattresses refurbished by the Atlanta-based mattress company. In the test, the mattresses caught fire when exposed to an open flame, and within minutes had become fully engulfed in flame.
The CPSC states that these mattresses are a violation of federal open-flame standard laws. The product recall encourages consumers to contact the mattress company to have their defective mattresses picked up and refurbished according to federal flammability standards. Not included in the recall are rebuilt mattresses that already have a federal tag, which indicates that they are already manufactured to federal safety standards.
The American Mattress Manufacturing Company is complying with CPSC and federal conditions by taking back the defective mattresses and rebuilding them to meet flammability standards. In order to prevent a tragedy from occurring because of a dangerous product, consumers need to be aware of the recalls on the market as well as follow the instructions included in the product recall.
Georgia residents who have been injured by a defective product should also be aware of their right to pursue compensation. The purpose of a product liability lawsuit is to let individuals recover financially from injuries suffered because of the negligence of manufacturers or distributors.
Source: cbsatlanta.com, “CPSC announces recall of dangerous mattresses exposed by CBS Atlanta News,” Jeff Chirico, Dec. 13, 2012


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The gross value of vegetable production increased by five per cent in the 2017-18 financial year reaching $4.1 billion, according to a new report by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences and funded by Hort Innovation.
The growth was predominately attributed to an increase in tomatoes, potatoes and mushrooms, as part of 35 crops contributing to agriculture industry production.
Potatoes had the highest gross value of production, contributing $619 million or 15 per cent of the total value of vegetables, followed by tomatoes ($568 million), mushrooms ($384 million), carrots ($247 million) and onions ($224 million).
Hort Innovation head of data and insights Adam Briggs said Australian vegetable growers faced several challenges, such as the high cost of production, market fragmentation and evolving consumer expectations.
“Many farms occasionally record negative farm business profit due to income fluctuation; this is primarily due to the farm not recovering the cost of unpaid family labour or setting aside funds to replace depreciating farm assets,” Mr Briggs said.
“This negative profit affects the long-term viability of the farm in that it has a reduced capacity to invest in newer and more efficient technologies.”
Vegetable production was ranked as the sixth highest in agricultural value in Australia.
The average rate of return (excluding capital appreciation) of Australian vegetable-growing farms is estimated to have remained steady at 3.9 per cent in 2018–19.
Mr Briggs said small vegetable-growing farms (less than five hectares of vegetable plantings) accounted for 12 per cent of the overall gross value of vegetable production.
“And in 2017–18, vegetable-growing farms that received more than 50 per cent of their total vegetable receipts by selling directly to retailers such as Coles or Woolworths were mostly small farms,” he said.
“We are seeing a great deal of resilience from the entire industry but in particular, the smaller farms who are working with substantially less capital and fewer resources while still making a huge contribution to our national bottom line.”
View the full research report at: www.agriculture.gov.au/abares


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Seldom has an event upended the operations of every business. The impact of COVID-19 spared no one.
Not since World War II has an international crisis affected so many people. While some have suggested that government-mandated stay-at-home orders were unnecessary, especially in rural areas, consider what could have happened had the virus spread unheeded.
Hospitals and medical centers wouldn’t have been able to handle the rush of people needing treatment. As a result, many of those unable to access medical care would have rebelled out of fear and anxiety. The alternative of keeping everyone at home, while alarming at first, proved to be the right remedy for dealing with the highly contagious pathogen.
Looking back, though, some stay-at-home orders were too long in duration. Florida, Georgia, Texas, and other states that reopened their economies within two months of the outbreak proved to have made the right call. In Michigan, the argument that home confinement rules were too long and too arbitrary is open to debate.
Rather than blaming those in charge, which the mainstream media is the undisputed master of, let’s focus on the road ahead. Businesses that are well-run, have plenty of cash reserves, and can pivot quickly, have the best chance of riding out a storm. Other companies saw opportunity in the crisis and developed new products and services. Quite a few, on the other hand, closed up shop because their business models weren’t sustainable.
As we assess what’s left, an axiom of economics that supply always follows demand has never been more accurate. How many companies, from the Big Three automakers to small apparel enterprises, shifted their business model seemingly overnight to provide for personal protection equipment? And once the demand for respirators, ventilators, face shields, and masks is met on our shores, there’s an entire world in need of medical supplies that can be put to use immediately or stockpiled for another crisis (that hopefully never arrives).
As unsettling as some hours have been through the crisis, the process of rebuilding our economy now moves to the forefront. Social distancing guidelines won’t be abandoned anytime soon, whether by government orders or concerned individuals, which will put constraints on service businesses that rely on catering to groups of people such as restaurants, concert venues, and sporting events.
For the most part, these companies will adapt. Or, better put, as patrons we’ll adapt. Keep in mind a restaurant that’s operating at half capacity doesn’t have the same expenses as one that’s fully operational — but that doesn’t mean the rent will be lower. The trick to a successful outcome in this situation will be how landlords respond to negotiating new or deferred rent payments with their tenants.
If they demand too much in light of the current business climate, the prospect of generating zero rent looms large. In this case, if the landlord is paying off a note, the lender will be impacted, as well.
In large part, smart businesses will find a way to survive. After all, this isn’t the first time the world has dealt with a global pandemic. The 1917 Spanish flu was especially contagious, just like COVID-19, but a century ago the world lacked the technology and medical remedies that would have spared the lives of millions of people.
Still, what followed was amazing. If history repeats itself, the Roaring Twenties would be a welcome sequel to what we’ve all just endured.
— R.J. King, email@example.com


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The jewelry and watch business should get set for its strongest season since the recession, says a new survey of affluent consumers conducted by Time Inc. and market research firm YouGov.
Jim Taylor, vice chairman of YouGov, predicts the jewelry business will experience a comeback this holiday—and gives JCK seven reasons why jewelers should expect a quite-merry Christmas.
1. Consumers no longer feel luxury shame—more like luxury pride.
The recession hit the industry like a hurricane not just because panicked consumers tightened their belts, Taylor says. Many upscale consumers felt skittish about flaunting their wealth at a time when so many others had trouble getting by. “There was a problem with the concept of jewelry as a symbol of success,” he says.
But in the six years since the roof fell in, American consumers have turned into unexpected models of fiscal probity, tidying up their balance sheets by paying off their debts and saving substantially. So they no longer feel shame about big purchases, but see them as a reward for their years of penny-pinching.
“It is now possible to purchase at a high level without guilt or apprehension,” Taylor says. “They they have saved enough to afford something nice.”
Thirty percent of survey respondents said they plan to spend more on luxury goods than last year. And 21 percent plan to splurge on loved ones this holiday—up from 15 percent the prior year, and a measly 9 percent in 2011.
2. Self-gifting is up.
The idea of a reward is particularly strong when people buy for themselves, Taylor says. Some 45 percent of those surveyed hope to scoop up a self-purchase while holiday shopping.
Among those in the mood to self-splurge, 33 percent hoped to buy a piece of jewelry or watch—up from 20 percent in 2012.
Jewelry has become “the number 1 way people reward themselves,” Taylor says.
3. Jewelry is perceived as holding its value.
Consumers remain picky and a little paranoid, Taylor says, and like the idea that that jewels can be traded in when times get tough.
“There is a really complex and interesting psychological rebirth of the inherent value of jewelry,” he says. “People understand that jewelry holds its value, particularly the metal content. It is a significant factor in justifying the purchase of an expensive piece of jewelry. It will be there for you down the road and doesn’t amortize its way out of existence, like a car.”
4. The gold price has fallen.
“Consumers can buy items at a higher level of quality than they might have expected,” Taylor says.
5. Consumers want meaningful purchases.
After a few tough years, “people are searching for gifts the really communicate how they feel in a relationship. The value of jewelry as a metaphor for how they feel has returned to the table. There is a search for something with special meaning.”
6. Jewelry is now a novel purchase.
For many husbands, jewelry was always the go-to holiday gift, says Taylor.
“It had become such a regular purchase that it had lost a bit of its meaning,” he says. “It had become common, it became ritualistic, it had lost its value.”
But after so many years of avoiding jewelry stores, the category “has gotten its novelty back,” he says. “It’s unexpected, and that makes it meaningful.”
7. Everyone is time-pressed. They need a watch.
During the recession, 1.1 million affluent jobs disappeared and have yet to come back. “Everyone absorbed those jobs,” he says. “And so everyone’s jobs became more demanding. Time itself has become a substantial issue.”
As far as what jewelers can do to capitalize on all this, Taylor gives the following tips:
• Sell your items with a story.
Consumers want meaningful gift, and retailers should talk about what makes each item unique and special.
“Tell stories about where the diamond comes from, who the designer is,” Taylor says. “Those stories animate purchases.”
• Don’t neglect your workers.
Jewelers “need to understand how unhappy the recession made their salespeople,” Taylor says. “They can’t assume that salespeople feel as good about their jobs today as they did in 2005. For people who live on commissions it’s been a bad five years.”
He says jewelers need to go back to their old ways of motivating employees, such as sales contests and incentives.
• Target the young.
“Most jewelers don’t talk to teens,” he says. “But teenagers talk to their moms. If I was running Tiffany, I would have a whole teenager site where I’d explain the Four C’s, explain how they value gold, let them learn the terminology of jewelry shopping.”
He adds that there are many quite-affluent millennials, with well-off grandparents gifting substantial sums to their grandchildren.Follow JCK on Instagram: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine


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The Tokyo District Court this week ordered manga publisher Kodansha to pay about $6,300 after a manga artist used a photo of a real person as the basis for a character in the Oct. 21 issue of Weekly Shonen Jump, Anime News Network reports.
The court found that Zero-sen creator Atsushi Kase defamed the owner of an apparel company by using a photo of him from a fashion magazine to draw the leader of aVIP car gang called Oraora. The plaintiff, who originally sued for about $50,000, happens to sell Oraora-kei style clothing.
Debuting in 2008, Zero-sen centers on a World War II pilot who was frozen alive during an evacuation by the Japanese navy. He's thawed in the present, and becomes a teacher for a bunch of high-school delinquents.


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After the recent revelation that Lenovo has been shipping some of it laptops with pre-installed adware that's also breaking the security of secure connections by using self-signed MITM SSL certificates, the company has attempted to minimize the fallout by reiterating the initial explanation about why they did it: to help their customers.
If you have recently bought a new Lenovo computer, you're in for a nasty surprise: the company has been shipping them with pre-installed adware.
The OpenSSL Project has released updates for the popular eponymous open-source library that implements the SSL and TLS protocols.
Thereís a new SSL/TLS problem being announced today and itís likely to affect some of the most popular web sites in the world, owning largely to the popularity of F5 load balancers and the fact that these devices are impacted.
The OpenSSL Project has pushed out new releases of the popular eponymous open-source cryptographic library, which fix four serious vulnerabilities, including the POODLE (Padding Oracle On Downgraded Legacy Encryption) problem.
Reading our newsletter every Monday will keep you up-to-date with security news.
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We've spotted four new colorways slated to drop this month, two of which are exclusive to overseas retailers. First up, there's the white, red, and black execution pictured above and immediately below which will drop exclusively at Foot Locker Europe in the coming weeks. Of the releases we've seen so far, this is the most O.G.-inspired look yet.
Also lined up for an exclusive drop is JD Sports' "Bluebird" colorway, pictured below. This look opts for a nearly tonal blue, but gets some contrast from its white accents. If you're not in the mood to chase down exclusives, there are also two more in-line colorways dropping; white/black and black/white.
Each of these colorways will release at their respective retailers on Saturday, April 23.


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LONDON (MarketWatch) -- French supermarket operator Carrefour CA, +2.14% on Monday said it has agreed to buy Ahold Polska, the Polish subsidiary of Ahold nl:33181 aho for 375 million euros ($499 million). Ahold Polska currently operates 194 stores and recorded sales of 591 million euros in 2005. The transaction still needs regulatory approval. Carrefour said the acquisition supports its strategy to build a strong position in key growth markets.
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The iPhone 8 is going to be here in two months, and that means we’re get more solid information about what it’s going to be like. According to a new report by Forbes, the new iPhone 8 design has been finalized, and mocksup they’ve created imagine an evolution of the outgoing iPhone 7.
Reports suggest the new design will feature an enlarged elongated 5.8 inch display – a bit like the Samsung S8 – and it’ll be framed by much thinner bezels than before, with Forbes giving a figure of 4mm.
The Forbes report, put together with help from case manufacturer Nodus, also claims says that the bezels are still there to reduce accidental inputs, but I think that’s unlikely.
Like many other companies, Apple will probably have sophisticated software that knows when you touch the screen identically – just like the palm rejection software that stop your trackpad from being a nuisance.
As expected, the headphone jack looks to be gone for good, although Forbessuggests “USB Type-C may feature on the wall plug as part of a wider move to finally adopt fast charging.”
The Home button’s location is still in flux, but instead of going to the rear of the device, it’s possible Apple is moving it to the power button on the side of the iPhone 8.
(above and main image: Gordon Kelly and Nodus iPhone 8 mockup)
If true, it’s a move that emulate some of Sony’s smartphones, and comes with two key benefits. It gives the iPhone 8 even more screen space, and it’s also a more ergonomic solution than putting a Home button on the back of the phone.
Rumours are suggesting the iPhone 8’s power button could be almost twice the size of the iPhone 7’s, and that may be a direct result of its new functionality.
The only catch? The iPhone 8 could be Apple’s most expensive handset yet, with Forbes suggesting prices could start at $1,100 to $1,200, and only be available in 128GB and 256GB models.
Everything we know about the iPhone 8
iPhone 8 could get wireless charging
According to a note by respected Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, the both the iPhone 7s, iPhone 7s Plus and iPhone 8 will be capable of charging without wires.
Kuo says Apple will enable the new feature using glass body and metal frame construction for its forthcoming headphones – and customers will need to buy an optional charging pad to make use of the feature. So far, so Apple. Instead it looks like you’ll only get a USB adaptor in the box.
According to Kuo, wireless charging will be enabled through an optional accessory that will be purchased alongside the new iPhones — it won’t be a default feature available out of the box. Qi wireless charging is in line with rumors that have predicted the iPhone 8 will support inductive charging rather than a true wireless charging feature.
This isn’t one of the more outlandish iPhone 8 rumours, and would make a lot of sense if it were true. Apple has been waiting for the right moment to add wireless charging to its smartphone line-up, and in 2017 it might finally catch up with the Android competition. What’s more, the idea that customers will have to pay for a further acessory to use the feature is also very, very Apple.
We know the iPhone 8 release date, basically
Apple hasn’t announced anything about the iPhone 8 (7s) yet, but we already have a good idea of when it will be released. Apple tends to stick to a pretty rigid timeframe when it comes to iPhones, and a quick look at previous iPhone release dates will give a very good idea of when the next iPhone is due. Apple tends to release an iPhone every year in the last two weeks of September, so we should see the iPhone 7 around this time next year.
The iPhone 8 should be easy to get hold of
A new report by BlueFin Research Partners, and reported on by MacRumors, suggests that Apple will begin making the iPhone 8 earlier than usual – but states that it doesn’t necessarily report to an earlier release date. Instead of changing the release date, it looks like Apple will begin production earlier, this time round, so it has more handsets available when then expected September release date does roll around.
The iPhone 8 could finally use an OLED screen
For the past few years we’ve expected Apple to put an OLED screen in the iPhone, and now the Sharp CEO, Jeng-wu Tai, has pretty much confirmed the iPhone 8 (7s) will have one.
Late last year, Tai said: “The iPhone has been evolving and now it is switching from LTPS to OLED panel. We don’t know whether Apple’s OLED iPhones will be a hit, but if Apple doesn’t walk down this path and transform itself, there will be no innovation. It is a crisis but it is also an opportunity.” Tai is an executive at Foxconn, the parent company of Sharp, and also the people that make the iPhone – so it’s very likely he’s privy to some serious insider knowledge.
The iPhone 8 will have a vertical camera
A new report from iDrop suggests the iPhone 8 will have a new, vertical camera. The information comes from a Foxconn source, and states that the new iPhone 8 Edition will have a vertical dual-camera, rather than a horizontal one. iDrop says the iPhone 8 will also feature a double camera set up above its screen too. iDrop’s source also says the iPhone 8 won’t have an under-screen Touch ID sensor, but will use an OLED screen, with an edge-to-edge display just like the Samsung Galaxy S8.


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The Honda Mobilio is no more in the Philippine market
Take a guess how much Honda's range was in 2006
Here's everything you need to know about the 2022 Honda Civic
The Honda Jazz passes the baton to the Honda City Hatchback next week
Honda Cars Philippines will get the boost they need with 11th generation Civic and all-new City hatchback
ANC Group's new Honda Cars Kalookan dealership opens along EDSA
Avail of special low-downpayment promos for the 2021 Honda CR-V, City RS
Honda's 5th dealership in Mindanao is now open to serve customers
What Honda models have left an impression on us within the last 30 years?
Honda Cars PH lends 18 vehicles to healthcare workers/hospitals in Laguna and Cavite
The new face of Chery Auto Philippines is prominent actress and social media influencer Alex G.
Aston Martin Philippines announces arrival of the DBX SUV
Land Rover using Defender prototype to test hydrogen fuel cell technology
Honda announces partnership with JAXA to provide oxygen, electricity on the moon.
PH-spec Suzuki Vitara is now available only in the AllGrip all-wheel-drive variant
Toyota Motor Philippines only sold 370 units in 2020 compared to 1,642 units in 2019
This is what we can expect from the 2022 Subaru Forester
A Honda and Mercedes-Benz collab sounds unimaginable now, but that's what happened in the '80s and '90s
Will the Grand Commander become Jeep's best-seller in the Philippines?


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Man unknowingly becomes getaway driver
MAN UNKNOWINGLY BECOMES GETAWAY DRIVER
A Twin Cities Lyft and Uber driver has one crazy story to tell after a recent pickup. It turns out he unknowingly became a getaway driver...
EAGAN, Minn. (KMSP) - A 20-year-old man is facing charges after he purchased nearly $900 worth of goods at the outlet mall in Eagan, Minnesota, then called an Uber in an attempt to flee the scene.
On June 22, 2016, officers were dispatched to Twin...
I’ve been working on Uber for about 6 months now. With the holidays coming I could use some extra cash.
I have had bad experiences with cards, so someone suggested using Lending Club.
Does anyone have any feedback on them?
Any other suggestions?
I was wondering if anyone currently uses or is thinking about using something like Square to process CC tips. I don't get many tips but have had a few people recently if I took CC for tips. I'm starting to get tips ($2-5+/pax) almost every day. I have started keeping change so pax have no excuse...


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Something we never thought would happen actually happened. In the latest update of its Phone Link app for Windows, the tech giant brings support for the Apple iPhone – specifically iMessage for Windows 11.
Accordingly Microsoft’s official blog (opens in new tab) and reported by The edge (opens in new tab)The Phone Link app works by mirroring your phone on your PC for notifications, calls and messages. With this update, iPhone users can now connect their devices to a Windows laptop or PC, send messages through iMessage, make and receive calls, and receive notifications through Windows 11.
In an interview with The Verge, Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s head of consumer marketing, explains how it works. “We send the messages back and forth via Bluetooth, and Apple in turn sends them as iMessages as soon as they arrive on their system.”
As impressive as that sounds, there are some setbacks.
Users cannot see the full message history, only those sent or received through Phone Link. You also won’t see blue or green chat bubbles since the system can’t distinguish between a regular text message and an iMessage. Still, this is a surprising and big step in the right direction that could open up even more features and support like photo integration in the future.
If you’re interested in testing this feature, Microsoft is beginning beta testing with a small percentage of Windows Insiders who are in the Dev, Beta, and Release Preview channels. “We’ll be increasing the availability of the preview to more Insiders over time and based on the feedback we’re getting with this initial group of Insiders,” the official blog post.
This new update also includes several other features like AI Bing and chat-based searches in the taskbar, a screen recording feature, better touch optimizations, and more.
This article was previously published on Source link


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The artist would make much more on the resale than they did on the initial. That should urge artists to produce more art as well as not fret about the preliminary sale, since they currently have this secondary ability to gain added income via royalties. If you’re a musician or an artist, blockchain tips – click the up coming website page, it’s a potential game-changer in regards to constructing an area with your fans. If you market your art via an NFT, you will certainly have a straight digital connection with individuals that own your art, which suggests you can interact with them.
Crypto trading as well as loaning platforms need to use comparable client securities as stock market provide, according to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. Elon Musk is hitting ‘peak hubris’ with his risky Twitter and bitcoin plays. In spite of a weakening in costs over the weekend break, analysts claim the current crypto rally has energy and could carry Bitcoin higher.
Decentralised financing is a simplified financial system which gets rid of most of time consumed by the intermediaries, causing quicker deals. DeFi, via its intro, can create advancements in the monetary system through fixing inadequacies as well as generating new tools in the kind of blockchain and also wise agreements. It utilizes blockchain to create a platform in which individuals can carry out nearly any financial exchange from trading cryptocurrencies to borrow/lend credit score without much of click the up coming website page typical hassle usually caused by intermediary. The absence of a moderator in DeFi makes it a better option to the present financial system. DeFi likewise commemorates the concept of smart agreements, seen in Ethereum.
The Ceo of Crypto exchange, Binance, Changpeng Zhao has suggested a resetting of the cryptocurrency market. Finblox, a cryptocurrency betting platform, increased its daily withdrawal cap to $3,000, with an extra increase to $50,000 prepared next week for “confirmed users,” CoinDesk reported on Friday. Conventional money rely on centralized networks regulated by entities like financial institutions, charge card business, as well as merchant cpus. These personal networks verify deals, account equilibriums, as well as display account histories to maintain the count on as well as honesty of the network. Get the latest blockchain and electronic money information from Canada as well as worldwide, supplied weekly to your inbox. A lot of commonly referred to as the system that holds cryptocurrencies, blockchain is the basis of “Web3”, the brave brand-new web held with each other by dispersed data sources, each confirming the same info.
Financial data for the quarter will be released prior to the webcast. ” They were establishing data from one end of the supply chain to the other, you understand, Fitbits on cows, determining the metabolisms right via to the product packaging and also the customer experience,” Dr McQueenie stated. Jock McQueenie from the QUT school of style has experience working with blockchain tips [visit this website link]. ” We require collaboration between government, organisations as well as areas to interact to use education to people.” There is currently thought about to be a lack of ICT managers country wide, with a strong future need anticipated.


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CANADA: Vincor celebrates FY and Q4 results
Vincor International has posted its financial results for the quarter and year to 31 March. The Canada-based company said yesterday (2 June) that net sales for the year were up by 37% year-on-year, reaching C$653.9m (US$524m).
Net income for the year was C$48.7m, or C$1.44 per diluted share, compared with C$46.3m, or C$1.64 per diluted share, in fiscal 2004. While the net income for 2005 increased by 5% over last year, earnings per share were lower by C$0.20 as a result of the dilutive effect of additional shares from the company's February 2004 equity financing, the proceeds of which were used to fund the acquisition of Western Wines.
"In 2005 all of our core premium brands displayed strong performance, with an increase in the sales of our Kim Crawford brand by 90%, Toasted Head by 16%, and Jackson-Triggs, Inniskillin and Kumala each by 13% over the prior year," said Donald Triggs, Vincor's president and CEO. "With the acquisition of Western Wines last year, we gained an extensive portfolio of brands, including Kumala from the fast-growing South African wine region, and added significant distribution in the UK, which gives us sales and distribution coverage in all key New World wine markets. As we aim to become one of the world's top five wine and related product companies, one of our main objectives is to leverage this global network to increase cross-border sales of our focus brands."
For the three months to 31 March, net sales increased by 49% to C$168.9m. Net income for the fourth quarter rose 24% over the prior year to C$8.3m, or C$0.25 per diluted share.
"While a heightened competitive environment has affected early results from Western Wines, we saw improvements as sales in the UK grew solidly in the fourth quarter of 2005," Triggs added. "In the US, we believe the grape supply is approaching balance with demand, and is beginning to translate into lower levels of discounting than we witnessed during 2004. Another large harvest in Australia has confirmed that their excess supply situation in premium red wine will continue for some time. As a result, we expect continuing high levels of price competition for these products around the world."
Recently published research indicates that while consumers have taken to the clear and modern marketing techniques employed by New World producers, they still cherish the romance and mystique of wine,...
Seven French wine co-operatives have joined forces to create a brand to compete with its New World rivals....
Cosentino Signature Wines is looking to raise over GBP10m from its impending stock market float....
US wine and spirits distributor New World Brands has appointed David Rudden as CEO....
Napa Valley's Cosentino Signature Wineries plans to raise US$30m by listing on London's AIM market this month....
UK off-licence retail group Unwins is planning to float its Phillips Newman subsidiary on the Aim stock market, and then plans to float itself on the Aim market, according to the Daily Telegraph....
The Swedish state-run alcohol retailer Systembolaget is to set up a subsidiary whose aim will be to cut alcohol consumption, the local press reported today (6 May)....
The UK brewer Young & Co.'s has proposed simplify its share structure, in a plan that is expected to provide greater liquidity in its voting shares....
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Conn. gunmaker narrows choice of new home to New Hampshire, Texas or South Carolina
BRISTOL - PTR Industries, a firearm manufacturing company specializing in semi-automatic rifles, plans to announce in two weeks where it will relocate its business -- and not all of the contending states are down south.
LATEST NEW HAMPSHIRE ANGLE
'Hometown Hottie' indicted on drug charges
Volunteers run 'unique' Lebanon ski area
NH lawmaker tweets stereotype gun owners


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Celebrate the App Store’s 5th Birthday with Free Apps from Apple
Without much fanfare, Apple has quietly announced a promotion that discounts ten popular apps down to $0.00, likely through the App Store’s birthday on July 10, 2013. In addition, some other developers are getting in on the...
- Posted 2 years ago
Games with Gold September Freebies Finally Go AAA on Xbox One
Surprising nobody but pleasing many, Microsoft’s Games with Gold...
- Posted 1 week ago


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Tyl by NatWest and Payit has appointed Tim Johnson as Head of Strategy. Tim is a highly accomplished payments industry and Open Banking strategy leader, bringing over 20 years of expertise and experience with him.
Tim joins Tyl by NatWest and Payit from Raidiam, a company specialising in creating secure data sharing ecosystems, where he was Strategy Director for over three years. Tim has also previously worked within the Open Banking Implementation Entity, Elavon Merchant Services and Barclaycard Payment Acceptance, developing and delivering strategies for growth.
Harnessing his experience in the payments space, Tim aims to drive strategic growth for both Tyl by NatWest and Payit. With a focus on technology, product and market expansion, Tim’s appointment demonstrates Tyl and Payit’s continued commitment to innovation and being a first mover within the payments and fintech space.
Tyl by NatWest and Payit is excited to have Tim on board for the payment provider’s next chapter, furthering the development and fusion of payments, open banking, established brand and culture. At a time where open banking has developed significantly and there is immense future potential for the technology, Johnson’s appointment comes at an exciting time for the growth of Payit.
Tim Johnson, Head of Strategy says,” Payments are in a really interesting and exciting time at the moment. Having developed the technology for both merchant acquiring and open banking payments, we can now mobilise our innovation, start-up culture and expertise to really bring our proposition to life. I look forward to seeing what the future at Tyl by NatWest and Payit brings.”
Mike Elliff, CEO of Tyl by NatWest and Payit says, “We are incredibly pleased to have Tim join our team. Tim brings invaluable experience to our team, helping us strengthen our proposition at both Tyl by NatWest and Payit. With Tim on board, there is huge potential for further growth for our products and innovations, whilst nurturing our inherent startup culture.”


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A television ad for Amazon audio books app, Audible, featuring Clarke Gayford and a stunt baby, has been banned in Australia following complaints from viewers.
Gayford appears in a scene folding washing with the baby attached to his front in a carrier. As he turns to the camera and says, "I may just be an average bloke, but Audible really takes the hassle out of housework", popular Australian comedian Celeste Barber appears on his couch, trying to work out why Gayford seems so familiar to her.
But it's not Gayford's scene that's sparked concern and led to the ad being banned from Australian television.
While Barber espouses the brilliance of audio books in several scenarios, from the gym to driving with a car full of kids, it's her appearance in the fridge of Australian MasterChef contestant Poh Ling Yeow that saw complaints made by viewers.
Yeow is filmed preparing a meal in her kitchen and discovers Barber in her fridge with a piece of celery.
Yeow tells Barber she's cooking souffle and listening to Hemingway and closes the door on the comedian.
According to the Daily Mail, the scene received complaints from viewers who said that "young children seeing Celeste hiding in a fridge will think it's a fantastic hiding place for hide and seek".
Speaking to news outlet Mumbrella, an Audible spokesperson said: "We regret that this advertisement has sparked concern for a number of Australians, as we care deeply about the wellbeing of our community.
"When we received the notification from Ad Standards regarding this complaint, we immediately removed the advertisement from television.
"We have subsequently made the decision to modify this advertisement to remove the scene in question, and will look to run updated creative moving forward."


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Aston Martin Bonhams Auction posted on 25 may 2011
On Saturday 21st May, Aston Martin Works Service hosted its 12th and most successful yet Bonhams Auction of Aston Martin sports cars and related automobilia. Again showing the strength of Aston Martin’s brand and the continually growing demand for cars from throughout the marque’s 97-year history, the sale generated almost six million pounds from bidders from around the globe.
Since the beginning of this sale and relationship 12 years ago, Bonhams has sold more than £33 million worth of Aston Martins, Lagondas and related automobilia. The 2011 sale saw this theme continued with unprecedented results and only one of the 345 lots remaining unsold.
Among the lots sold at the auction were two of the original 70 DB4 Convertibles hand crafted at Aston Martins Newport Pagnell factory. The two cars, both built in 1963, differed slightly in specification but were presented in polar opposite form. The first was a beautifully restored and concours winning DB4 Convertible with the rare vantage engine (sold for £507,500) whilst the second was a complete and increasingly rare ‘barn-find’ Aston Martin DB4 Convertible which had lain in dry storage for over 30 years, selling for £309,500 against a pre-sale estimate of £80,000-140,000.
This year’s auction also saw a 2009 Aston Martin Rapide formally used by the company’s Chief Executive, Dr. Ulrich Bez, raise a sizeable contribution towards the company’s chosen cause of charities providing relief following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The Rapide was purchased by long–time Aston Martin enthusiast David Linley, a world renowned furniture designer, as he recognized the importance of this appeal.
Kingsley Riding-Felce, Director of Aston Martin Works Service and Parts Operations said: “This year’s Aston Martin auction, the twelfth in succession, has taken things to a new level. More than 2,000 people and numerous telephone bidders from around the world joined us at our workshops at Newport Pagnell on Saturday to take part in what has become such an important part of the Aston Martin calendar.”
“Our partners Bonhams had consigned a superb collection of Aston Martin and Lagondas along with a great variety of automobilia, all creating a real excitement in the marketplace and a set of results which surpassed expectations and reaffirmed the strength of the Aston Martin brand and its heritage.”
Other highlights of the auction were an extremely rare 1965 DB5 Vantage Shooting Brake selling for £430,500, a 1967 DBS Vantage restored by Works Service to the specification of the car used in James Bond’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service selling for £106,000 and a 1986 V8 Volante which had undergone similar treatment to Living Daylights specification selling for £172,000.
Dating back to the 1920s, Works Service has served as a factory-owned specialist with the experience, passion and culture to care for any post-war Aston Martin or Lagonda with exquisite skill and attention to detail. Customers from all over the world choose to have their Aston Martin serviced and cared for by Works Service who can offer services ranging from ground up restorations, to modifying and creating bespoke solutions to individual tastes.


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Will Crytocurrency replace cash?
by SMEBOOK (admin) · October 18, 2020
With a larger chunk of population turning to the digital world, and with the increasing trend of going cashless, it is a believable apprehension that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin might become the prime mode of financial transactions in the next 10 years. However, cryptocurrency market has to overcome certain challenges in order to take up the current brick and mortar financial system. These are:
- Fear of adoption and lack of trust in users
- Unethical practices in cryptocurrency trading
- Highly volatile market
- Irreversible nature of transactions
- User security needs more focus
SMEBOOK is reinventing the management of tech companies’ assets by providing a matchmaking algorithm capable of recommending partnerships according to needs and interests.


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Americans bought an astonishing 17.5 million new cars in 2015, a volume not seen in 15 years.
To put that number in context, we learned yesterday that an all-time record 2.6 million cars were registered in the UK last year. Now, bear in mind that the USA has a population 4.3 times bigger than the UK, Americans bought 6.7 times more cars than us. That’s pretty amazing.
Let’s put it another way: 17.5 million cars in one year equates to 48,000 per day, or 2,000 per hour. Or 33 per minute. Or about one every two seconds. We only buy a car every 12 seconds or so.
But enough statistics. What cars are Americans actually buying? Not American ones, that’s for sure. Japanese manufacturers dominate the top ten best-sellers list, particularly Toyota and Honda with three entries each. There’s a similar mix of family cars and SUVs as the UK top ten, but the top three is reserved exclusively for that most American of vehicle, the pick-up truck.
The Ford F-Series truck tops the chart for the 34th year running, selling 90,000 units more than the entire UK top ten combined. America really does love trucks…
Click through the gallery below to America’s favourite cars of 2015.


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Google Releases AI Chatbot “Bard” to Compete with ChatGPT – How to Sign Up
Google has released a new AI-powered chatbot called “Bard” that is designed to compete with ChatGPT, one of the most popular AI language models in the market. Bard is built on Google’s advanced AI technology and is capable of understanding natural language and generating human-like responses.
The chatbot is currently in beta testing and is available to a select group of users. If you want to try out Bard, you can sign up for the beta testing program on Google’s website. However, the company has not yet announced when Bard will be available to the general public.
Bard is designed to be a versatile chatbot that can be used for a wide range of tasks, including answering customer queries, providing product recommendations, and even carrying out simple tasks like scheduling appointments. The chatbot is also capable of understanding complex requests and providing relevant responses.
Google has been investing heavily in AI technology in recent years, and the release of Bard is a clear indication of the company’s commitment to developing advanced AI solutions. With the rise of AI-powered chatbots, it is likely that we will see more companies competing in this space in the coming years.
Overall, Bard is an exciting addition to the AI chatbot market, and we look forward to seeing how it evolves in the future. If you’re interested in trying out the beta version of the chatbot, be sure to sign up on Google’s website.


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We wrote earlier that Apple has called jailbreaking "illegal
." At the same time, however, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has filed comments with the Copyright Office asking for an exemption to the DMCA so that cell phone owners can unlock their phones (their "Free Your Phone
" campaign), as well as be able to legally "jailbreak" their iPhones.
On Friday, the Copyright Office held the first of its hearings in the triennial exemption process. Scheduled to appear was Apple Vice President of iPod and iPhone Product Marketing Greg Joswiak. Why is Apple's interest so heightened this time?
While obviously Apple is less concerned with DRM nowadays, having removed it from the iTunes Store, this year, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has submitted
three requests for exemption, one of which might seriously impact Apple's cash cow: the iPhone.
The three proposed by the EFF
- A DMCA exemption for cell phone "jailbreaking" -- liberating iPhones and other handsets to run applications from sources other than those approved by the phone maker. More than a million iPhone owners have "jailbroken" their iPhones in order to use applications obtained from sources other than Apple's own iTunes "App Store." Apple has taken the position that any modification of an iPhone's software to enable the use of applications from other sources violates the DMCA.
- Renewal of the 2006 exemption for unlocking cell phones so that the handsets can be used with any telecommunications carrier. Several carriers have threatened cell phone unlockers with legal action under the DMCA, even though there is no copyright infringement involved in the unlocking. The digital locks on cell phones, however, make it harder to resell, reuse, or recycle the handset.
- An exemption for amateur creators who use clips from DVDs in order to create noncommercial, noninfringing videos. Hollywood takes the view that "ripping" DVDs is always a violation of the DMCA, no matter the purpose. The growing popularity of sites like YouTube and creative practices like vidding, however, make it clear that the future of "remix culture" depends on being able to take digital clips from existing material, including DVDs.
Of course, hackers have been jailbreaking the iPhone for years, and they've already promised that the iPhone OS 3.0 is jailbreakable. It's not as though Apple has sued anyone over jailbreaking the iPhone, yet, but it's possible, and that's what the EFF exemption hopes to head off.
Apple keeps the iPhone very closed, and only allows applications on the phone that it approves. And the approval process is pretty much secret, with Apple not giving any details into it, although it's been clear from decisions on apps that anything the company feels competes with its own products will be banned.
And it's the ability to run whatever they want to run on the iPhone and iPod touch that makes users lean toward jailbreaking. EFF attorney Fred von Lohmann said
in an email:
"When an iPhone owner jailbreaks her iPhone, no copyrights are infringed. Granting an exemption will not reduce the availability of iPhone firmware or apps -- in fact, it's likely to increase the availability of both, by creating a more competitive, vibrant, consumer-driven marketplace."
Right, and many would love that, but Apple wants strict control over what does and does not appear on the iPhone, and that's going to make it lobby hard against this exemption. More to come, obviously, as the hearings continue.