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New Lawsuit Filed Against Valve Claims Controller Designs Were Stolen
According to one of its lawyers, SCUF had originally warned Valve that it was infringing copyright in 2014.
While it may be discontinued, the Steam Controller is still haunting Valve. A lawsuit filed against Valve alleges that it willfully disregarded the patent another company held on part of the design of the Steam Controller.
The lawsuit against Valve was filed by SCUF, a custom gaming peripheral manufacturer. The company has its own line of modified controllers for both PlayStation and Xbox consoles that include colored faceplates, thumbsticks, and as many back paddles as a player could want. However, in opening arguments for an ongoing trial regarding these allegations, a lawyer representing SCUF claimed that Valve had copied the “rear-side control surfaces Ironburg had just patented.” Ironburg Inventions is the patent-holding arm of SCUF, according to Law360.
According to the lawyer representing SCUF, Valve was first warned about its copyright infringing design in 2014. Despite this, the company continued on with manufacturing and eventually selling the Steam Controller. Speaking to a jury over Zoom, Ironburg lawyer Robert Becker stated that “Valve’s intentional disregard of its infringement is at the heart of this case.” SCUF has since licensed its patent for rear buttons on controllers to Xbox. The back paddles on premium Xbox Elite Controllers are the very same as those at the center of these allegations.
Becker went on to attack Valve, saying the company was using its weight in the gaming industry to trample on the rights of smaller companies. “[It’s] the classic David and Goliath story: Goliath does what Goliath wants to do.”
Valve is denying any wrongdoing, with a lawyer representing the company saying that SCUF would reveal fake and altered information. The lawyer, Trent Webb, said “Nothing you will see or hear from Ironburg will change what you can see with your own eyes and feel with your own hands when you get that Steam Controller.” The controller was first released in 2015 before being discontinued on November 26, 2019.


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Entries in 'funding' (30)
Competitive gaming platform FACEIT has today raised $15m in Series A funding in order to expand to more games and communities.
Finland-based mobile studio Traplight Games has closed a recent round of funding totaling €1.3m.
London-based mobile studio The Secret Police has received funding from Amuse Capital, headed up by former Sega president Hayao Nakayama.
Playful, the developer behind virtual reality title Lucky’s Tale, has been given a sizeable bump by its latest round of investment.
Digital retailer and publisher Green Man Gaming is once again showing its support of indie developers by backing next month’s Interface event.
5th Cell, the creator of Scribblenauts, is to launch a completely new franchise via the power of crowdfunding.
The Games Funding Forum returns for its second year on Thursday, October 15th.
The half-day conference features a raft of speakers dealing out advice on how developers can gain access ...
The global eSports betting site Unikrn, founded by ex-Microsoft Ventures GM Rahul Sood, has raised $7m in its Series A funding round.
Indie game investor group Indie Fund has announced the addition of a host of new partners, as well as its backing of Steam Early Access release Armello.
AlphaDraft, a fantasy eSports betting site, has become the latest such venture to secure capital investment to the tune of $5m.
Live-streaming platform DingIt.tv has secured $1.5m in seed funding.
The unstoppable crowdfunding force that is Star Citizen has surpassed $80m in funding.
Gamer-focused social network Raptr has launched a short form video sharing client called Plays.tv, securing a new round of funding to back the new service.
Epic Games has revealed the first three Unreal Dev Grant recipients, with each developer gaining at least $15,000 in funding.
Machinima has landed another round of funding led by Warner Bros, though it hasn't stopped the multi-channel network from cutting a chunk of its staff along with a few programs.
Epic Games has announced it has put together $5m for “no strings attached” funding of indie devs who create games using Unreal Engine 4.
Mobile studio Proletariat has raised $6m in a Series A funding round, led by Oculus investor Spark Capital.
Game analytics company DeltaDNA has secured $3m in series A funding, the Scotland-based outfit has announced.
The founder of GaymerX has apologised for what he says was a misunderstanding regarding NIS America's support of the event.
LGBT-focused video games convention GaymerX2 looks to have been saved by publisher Devolver Digital.
Journey developer Thatgamecompany has raised $7m in funding for its next game, the independent studio has announced.
Funcom has secured £960,000 in additional funds for the development and release of its upcoming MMO LEGO Minifigures Online.
Oculus Rift has secured an additional $75m from investors to help bring the VR headset to market.
Game developer, publisher and distributor Nazara Technologies has set up a seed-stage fund aimed at investing in start-ups in the games industry.
Digital content publisher Vox Media has raised another $40m in its second round of funding.

domain: news


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Carbon footprint stories - Page 2
London start-up Reboxed secures £1.6m for sustainable tech retail growth
Sustainable tech start-up Reboxed has bagged £1.6m to boost its eco-friendly marketplace, aspiring to rehome 100 million devices by 2030.
New fintech platform Fils brings sustainability to payment companies
New fintech platform Fils, developed by Nameer Khan, equips payment firms with tools to integrate ESG values in operations.
Western Digital launches 24TB & 28TB HDDs for data centres
Western Digital debuts eco-friendly 24TB and 28TB hard disk drives for data centres, offering higher storage capacity and power efficiency.
Rapid AI adoption prompts urgent reassessment of data infrastructure
A recent survey points to the necessity for urgent infrastructure reassessment due to the rapid uptake of AI technology.
Parliament summit underscores role of businesses in UK's green shift
Parliamentary summit highlights crucial role of UK businesses in achieving net zero emissions and fostering sustainability.
PerfectScale develops tool to measure Kubernetes’ carbon emissions in cloud systems
PerfectScale has unveiled a tool designed to measure and reduce Kubernetes' carbon emissions within major cloud systems.
Seagate reveals Exos CORVAULT 4U106 with extraordinary 2.5PB storage capacity
Seagate Technology unveils Exos CORVAULT 4U106, a multi-petabyte block storage system with a massive 2.5PB capacity.
Cubbit launches DS3 Composer, a breakthrough in customisable cloud storage
Cubbit debuts DS3 Composer, a customisable cloud storage solution offering robust data control and significant cost savings.
Rigby Capital & Lombard join forces to combat electronic waste
Rigby Capital and Lombard aim to prevent over one million electronic devices from ending up in landfill within five years.
Westcon-Comstor appoints first Chief Sustainability Officer
Westcon-Comstor appoints Kevin Brzezinski, existing SVP of Global Operations, as its first Chief Sustainability Officer.
Balancing digital video demand and environmental sustainability in tech
The global tech community is addressing the environmental impact of video traffic on networks, according to Philippe Wetzel, CEO of VITEC.
Schneider Electric unveils AI-focused infrastructure guide for data centres
Schneider Electric has rolled out an industry-first guide providing insights on optimising data centres for AI-driven workloads.
The SaaS start-up behind Love Island wins innovation award
Australian start-up, Lumi.Media, earns prestigious Cannes sustainability and innovation award for TV production tech.
Snowflake and MaxMine partner for greener and efficient open-pit mining
Adelaide's MaxMine teams up with Snowflake to bolster sustainable, efficient mining and help reach net zero by 2050.
Shopline & Greener team up for net zero in Aussie ecommerce
Shopline partners with cleantech startup, Greener, to help Australian ecommerce firms reach net zero emissions.
Logitech G unveils innovative gaming and streaming gear
Logitech G launches Yeti GX, Yeti Orb Mics, and Litra Beam LX light to enhance both the gaming and streaming experience.
Digital footprints: News sites emit more CO2 than expected
Australia's biggest news websites have a greater carbon footprint than the average site, says a report by digital agency WongDoody.
Schneider Electric's blueprint for AI-optimized data centre design
Schneider Electric releases 'AI Disruption' blueprint to optimize data centre design amid increasing AI-driven workloads.
Yahoo partners with Good-Loop to offer carbon-neutral advertising solutions
Yahoo and Good-Loop have partnered to offer carbon neutral ad opportunities, aiding brands in becoming more sustainable.
ASUS Zenfone 10: new standard of compact smartphones to experience
ASUS launches Zenfone 10 in Australia and NZ, offering enhanced performance, wireless charging, and AI features.
Hitachi Vantara helps organisations on their sustainability journey
Hitachi Vantara introduces Sustainability Solutions and Services to help organizations achieve environmental goals.
Big Data LDN to host important climate crisis conversations
OVO and Monte Carlo CEOs discuss empowering customers with data to tackle climate change at Big Data LDN event.
Redefining sustainability in the IT landscape: key considerations for future growth
A paradigm shift is imminent, with industry leaders directing the charge towards incorporating eco-friendly strategies into their operations.
Switch Datacenters Strengthens Leadership Team for Continuous Growth
Switch Datacenters appoints Tom Axbey as CEO and John Bryant as COO to drive sustainable growth and meet increasing demand for data center services.


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It may not be the Direct conference fans were hoping for, but Nintendo Switch owners are about to be treated to a new set of game announcements.
Taking place on August 18 at 5pm BST, the upcoming Nintendo Direct conference will focus purely on indie games for the Nintendo Switch.
According to Nintendo, the Indie World Showcase features around 20 minutes of information about upcoming indie games for the console.
This is likely to include gameplay trailers and release date news on previously announced titles, as well as brand new game reveals, and maybe even a surprise launch or two.
If you want to watch the action unfold for yourself, then simply click play on the YouTube video embed below at 5pm BST.
And what exactly can we expect from the Nintendo Indie World Showcase later today? Well, there are two games that fans are dying to hear more about.
First up is Hollow Knight Silksong, which is one of the most hotly-anticipated games for the console.
Despite being announced back in February 2019, Hollow Knight Silksong is currently without a release date.
Fans will be hoping this all changes after today’s Nintendo Indie World Showcase for the console.
“Play as Hornet, princess-protector of Hallownest, and adventure through a whole new kingdom ruled by silk and song!” reads the official Hollow Knight Silksong description.
“Captured and brought to this unfamiliar world, Hornet must battle foes and solve mysteries as she ascends on a deadly pilgrimage to the kingdom’s peak.
“Hollow Knight: Silksong is the epic sequel to Hollow Knight, the award winning action-adventure. As the lethal hunter Hornet, journey to all-new lands, discover new powers, battle vast hordes of bugs and beasts and uncover ancient secrets tied to your nature and your past.”
Disco Elysium is another game fans are desperate to hear more about during today’s Direct.
The unique RPG has been given an estimated 2020 release date on PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
Disco Elysium developer ZA/UM previously confirmed that the Switch port was “going to happen soon”, so fingers crossed we get a definitive date later today.
“Disco Elysium is a groundbreaking open world role playing game,” reads the official description.
“You’re a detective with a unique skill system at your disposal and a whole city block to carve your path across. Interrogate unforgettable characters, crack murders or take bribes. Become a hero or an absolute disaster of a human being.”
Needless to say, fans can expect lots more surprises during the Nintendo Indie World showcase later today.
Source: Read Full Article


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Taxpayer Bailed out GM Plans to Close 5 Plants
Posted on 11/26/2018
As car sales slow, General Motors (GM) issued plans to idle five factories in North America, creating anger on both sides of the border. Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued comments on his disappointment of the GM Oshawa closure, while U.S. President Donald Trump is sending officials to meet with GM executives. The five plants plan to halt production in 2019, which will result in layoffs of about 3,000 people in Canada and 3,300 people in the United States. In addition, GM plans to lower its salaried stuff number by 8,000 people.
At the end of December 2013, GM logged US$ 155.43 billion in revenue versus US$ 145.59 billion for the year of December 2017. GM CEO Mary T. Barra drew US$ 21.96 million in compensation for the year of 2017. She received a salary of US$ 2.1 million.
“We are taking this action now while the company and the economy are strong to keep ahead of changing market conditions,” said GM CEO Barra in a conference call.
In reference to Barra, President Trump commented, “I spoke with her when I heard they were closing and I said, you know, this country has done a lot for General Motors. They better get back to Ohio and soon.”
The plants affected are:
Lordstown, Ohio, USA, makes Chevrolet Cruze compact
Detroit-Hamtramck plant, USA, makes Chevrolet Volt, Buick LaCrosse, and Cadillac CT6
Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, makes Chevy Impala
Baltimore area, USA, Transmission plant
Warren, Michigan, USA, Transmission plant
GM was part of a group of automakers (Chrysler LLC and Ford Motor Company) that participated in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). On November 8, 2018, these automaker executives pleaded in front of U.S. Congress for taxpayer money. After congressional approval, the U.S. Department of Treasury spent US$ 80.7 billion bailing out the auto industry from December 2008 to December 2014, hitting taxpayers with a loss of US$ 10.2 billion.
|Company||Funds Invested – Billions USD||Sold For – Billions USD||Profit and Loss – Billions USD||Date Bailout Ended|
|General Motors (GM)||51||39.7||-11.3||December 9, 2013|
|General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) – rebranded as Ally Financial||17.2||19.6||2.4||December 18, 2014|
|Chrysler LLC||12.5||11.2||-1.3||May 2011|
Source: U.S. Department of Treasury
Some of the largest shareholders in GM include Vanguard Group, Capital World Investors, BlackRock, Harris Associates, and State Street Corporation. TIAA-CREF and Norway Government Pension Fund Global are also major asset owner investors in GM stock.
The End of the Chevy Volt
After the bailout and arriving in 2011, GM came up with the Chevrolet Volt, an electric car with a backup engine for long trips. Volt sales lagged behind the Toyota Prius, Hyundai Ioniq, and Honda Clarity, as of the second quarter of 2018. GM is now killing off the Chevy Volt. Barra still intends to build battery electric cars, but just not the Volt. GM benefits from having a federal tax credit, also known as a government subsidy, for electric vehicles.


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With every Holiday season we can now expect a right-wing Holiday outrage. This year, we've already heard about Starbucks evoking outrage for their not-Christmasy-enough cups (once again) — now, the American Family Association has released a list of stores that are keeping the Christ out of Christmas, with the hopes that fellow evangelicals will boycott those locations.
Before we get any further, let's keep in mind that The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled the American Family Association a hate group, saying that the bulk of their work is dedicated to "'combating the homosexual agenda' through various means, including publicizing companies that have pro-gay policies and organizing boycotts against them."
Anyway: the AFA's naughty and nice (seriously, that's what they're calling it) list is a doozy:
Here's how the list was compiled in the AFA's words:
"AFA reviewed up to four areas to determine if a company was 'Christmas-friendly' in their advertising: print media (newspaper inserts), broadcast media (radio/television), website and/or personal visits to the store. If a company’s ad has references to items associated with Christmas (trees, wreaths, lights, etc.), it was considered as an attempt to reach Christmas' shoppers. If a company has items associated with Christmas, but did not use the word 'Christmas,' then the company is considered as censoring 'Christmas.'"
(Ohhhhhh my god these people are crazy have no chill.)
LGBTQNation notes the conspicious absence of Target on the lists. That's because, for the AFA, Target (who implemented a series of pro-gay policies including encouraging the use of gender-neutral bathrooms) is far too sinful to even be considered "naughty" and "is instead on the blacklist of businesses AFA wants everyone to boycott."
If you're really deep into the battle for Christmas Future (AKA if you are totally insane) you can shop online at the AFA's batsh*t store and let everyone know you are a warrior for Baby Jesus.


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B&Q owner Kingfisher shares fall 6% despite 20% profits rise
Shares in B&Q owner Kingfisher have fallen 6% after it failed to meet quarterly profit forecasts.
The retailer reported a 20.3% rise in retail profit for the three months to 3 May to £142m as better weather and discounting boosted sales but hurt profit margins.
Analysts had forecast profits of £145m for the quarter.
Kingfisher's French companies saw subdued sales, which it blamed on "ongoing weak consumer confidence".
Like-for-like sales at B&Q - which strip out sales in stores open for less than a year - in the UK and Ireland rose 9.7% compared with the same period a year before.
But sales for the first quarter of 2013 were particularly low as a result of the unusually cold and wet winter and early spring across the UK and Europe.
It meant sales of outdoor seasonal goods and building products in B&Q's most recent quarter were almost a third higher than a year ago, thanks to this year's better weather and a later Easter.
But profit margins fell 2% as the DIY store sold less profitable seasonal goods and offered discounts on kitchens and bathrooms.
And in France, one of the group's main markets, like-for-like sales grew by just 1.6% at its Castorama and Brico Depot DIY chains.
Shares in Kingfisher were 25.2p lower at 392.10p in mid-morning trade on the London Stock Exchange.
Kingfisher's other UK business, Screwfix, saw its like-for-like sales grow 12% again as a result of discounting and product promotions. It also opened nine new stores in the period.
It was a mixed picture elsewhere with Kingfisher's foreign markets group reporting losses in Russia, Romania and China.
Kingfisher chief executive Sir Ian Cheshire said: "We have made a strong start to the year, capitalising on more favourable weather conditions right across Europe to achieve sales and profit growth in France, the UK and Poland, our three largest markets.
"Whilst this is encouraging, the first quarter is one of our smallest and the growth achieved largely reflects comparisons with the very difficult start to last year."
Hargreaves Lansdown head of equities Richard Hunter said there was "a restrained economic backdrop in France, whilst gross margins suffered in the UK given the rise in demand for cheaper products and a number of sales in the period."


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Booker has reported a 4.2% rise in like-for-like sales for the 12 weeks to June 16, boosted by a late Easter and warm weather.
Non-tobacco sales were up 9.6% on a like-for-like basis, while tobacco sales were down 7.9% as changes in tobacco legislation (EUTPD II, plain packaging) continued to impact trading.
Speaking at Booker’s annual general meeting today, chief executive Charles Wilson said: “Overall, Booker Group had another good quarter. Group sales rose by 4% on the same period last year with like for likes up 4.2%.
“Premier continues to grow and we continue to make good progress with Budgens and Londis.”
Booker and Tesco announced last week that they had asked the competitions regulator to ‘fast-track’ its investigation into their proposed £3.7bn merger, with a decision expected within two weeks.
Wilson added: “On 27 January we announced the planned merger with Tesco and we are currently going through the review process with the Competition and Markets Authority.
“As a result of the proposed merger, we are in an offer period as defined in the Takeover Code and will not be making forward looking statements for the duration of the offer period.”


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“The Art of Modern Day CPG Retail Experience for the Digitally Savvy!” – Industry Dialogue @ ConnectGov V
Panel session with:
Tony Saldanha President, Transformant.io, Author of “Why Digital Transformations Fail”
Dr Ralph Ostertag Director Digital & Technology, Asia Pacific, The HEINEKEN Company
Moderated By: – Arvind Mathur Chief Information Officer – AMEA, Kellogg Company
The retail sector has been badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic but a change in the retail scene was already underway even before the crisis. Most aspects of the shopping experience both on and offline is increasingly enabled by data-backed customization and technologies such as IoT networking, connectivity, RPA and AI. The enablement works on both ends as retailers can also increase their reach and impact by moving toward more innovative, customer-focused technologies. With 5G deployments underway, new opportunities are also expected to emerge as higher bandwidth propels media-rich interactions. But with COVID-19 comes changes in consumer and demand behaviours that impact production, operations, supply chains and distribution. How will this shape and affect the trajectory of retail’s evolution?
This Industry Dialogue session will feature 3 of the top minds from the retail space take a deep dive into this topic.


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Songs from The Beatles will be made available through music services "soon", according to an EMI chief. The Beatles are the last major-league group to resist digital music.
EMI Music vice chairman David Munns confirmed the plans during a keynote discussion at last week's Web 2.0 Conference.
However, given the legal acrimony between the act's Apple imprint and Apple Computer, which ended in a high profile combat over music trademarks in the UKs High Court, there's no guarantee that the band's music will be made available through iTunes.
The importance of any digital release of tracks from the band can't be dismissed: Time Magazine has five albums from the band in its recent list of the all-time 100 best albums: Abbey Road,The White Album, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Revolver and Rubber Soul remain critical favourites.
Munns didn't eleborate on timing, but the band's new album Love, a George Martin collection of remixes, goes on sale in December.
Following the court case between Apple Computer and Apple Corps earlier this year, Apple vice president Eddy Cue stressed his company would do anything it could to bring music from the band to the iTunes Store.
The digital release of the tracks could end up being subject to a bidding war between all the players at the digtal music party, industry insiders claim.


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When I shop at Target
I've suggested changes to management several times in my career, but most of those pointed comments have fallen on deaf ears. Of course, I had nothing at all to do with Target's recent sale of both Mervyn's and Marshall Field's. The company agreed to sell Mervyn's to an investment consortium for $1.7 billion in cash, and it recently completed the sale of Marshall Field's to May Department Stores
The business plan and retailing strategy is so rock solid that I see Target as the Nordstrom
The company is coming off a bit of a slow time; same-store sales in the second quarter grew 3.9%, but Target has high hopes for back-to-school demand. Management said that it is "confident that we will continue to enjoy profitable market share growth throughout the remainder of 2004 and well into the future." Target should be able to back up this statement, given its renewed focus and a commitment to excellence at the retail level.
The fact remains that Target is head and shoulders above its main competitors: Wal-Mart and real estate baronKmart
Take aim and shoot your thoughts out at the Target discussion board.
Phil Wohl spent more than 12 years on Wall Street and now concentrates his writing on more fictional characters. He has no stake in any firm mentioned above.


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In the first ten years of the 21st century, middle-class income fell but prices for many staples have risen sharply.
According to new census data, American households at the middle of the pay scale, made $49,445 last year. Even after adjusting for inflation, that means they're making about 7% less than they did just 10 years earlier.
During the same time, prices went up on new homes, healthcare, college, groceries and even movie theater tickets.
Take a look at what you paid for these common items and more in 2010, versus a decade earlier.
While middle class income is declining, the richest 10% are getting richer.
|How your washing machine can steal computer files|
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|12 things you didn't know you could do with Gmail|
|Some U.S. oil companies need to die|
|Premarkets: 5 things to know before the open|


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ERJ staff report (LMH)
Brussels - European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers' Association (ETRMA) said it welcomes the publication of the CARS 2020 Action Plan, which was released 8 November by the European Commission. The CARS programme includes guidelines for the enforcement of the EU tyre labelling legislation introduced 1 Nov.
â€œThis is a much awaited and positive step and it needs to be implemented urgently,â€ commented Fazilet Cinaralp, Secretary General of ETRMA.
The tyre sector is one of the most regulated in Europe and it has been one of the most forthcoming in promoting regulations for â€œgreenerâ€ transport, enhanced road safety, and consumer protection. As a consequence, the decision of the Commission to carry out competitiveness proofing exercises ahead of future legislative initiatives is greatly welcomed, ETRMA said, nothing that â€œachieving a level playing field through correct and timely implementation of EU tyre-related legislation is equally important.â€
Despite hopeful data from tyre production in 2011, current estimates show a new 10 percent plunge in both sales and production for 2012 and an even worse forecast for 2013, ETRMA said, adding that its data shows that tyre production has not yet returned to its pre-crisis levels. With the EU tyre market progressively shrinking, increasing tyre imports and regulations heavily impacting the sector, the CARS 2020 Action Plan is necessary to give the automotive industry the right tools to maintain its position as an important engine of the EU economy, the association said.
â€œWith the EU tyre market shrinking, the European tyre industry keeps investing in research and technology, it is therefore our hope that this renewed commitment of the European Commission towards the automotive industry will make us stronger in the face of an economic downturn that still continuesâ€, Cinaralp concluded.
This is an external link and should open in a new window. If the window does not appear, please check your pop-up blocking software. ERJ is not responsible for the content of external sites.
News release from ETRMA


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Xiaomi 12 Ultra specifications and renders revealed
We recently found out that the introduction of Xiaomi 12 Ultra has been delayed until the second half of 2022; Because Xiaomi is looking to release this device with Snapdragon 8 generation one plus chip instead of Snapdragon 8 generation one. But that doesn’t mean the leaks will stop, as a tech leakster called Shadow leaks has revealed some of the specs and concept renders of the popular Chinese company’s upcoming flagship device.
Gizmochina writes, the leaker says the smartphone will come with a 6.73-inch 2K E5 AMOLED display that uses LTPO 2.0 technology. The display supports 10-bit color and is said to have a 120Hz refresh rate. He claims that the new flagship of Xiaomi will be released with Snapdragon 8 generation one, but this may not be true; Because as we said earlier, recent reports claim that the manufacturer is trying to use Snapdragon 8 generation One Plus in its device.
According to this whistleblower, Xiaomi 12 Ultra has two 50 megapixel Sony IMX766 sensors that work as the main and ultrawide cameras. . The device is also said to have a portrait lens with a 16-megapixel sensor and a 48-megapixel IMX586 telephoto camera.
- Battery capacity And Xiaomi 12 Ultra’s charging speed revealed
The camera settings described by Shadow leaks completely contradict the previously leaked information. Previously, it was said that Xiaomi 12 Ultra has a triple camera similar to Xiaomi 11 Ultra, which consists of a 50-megapixel main sensor, an ultra-wide lens with a 48-megapixel sensor, and another 40-megapixel sensor for a periscopic telephoto lens.


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Leon Lloyd, Lesley Vainikolo and Olly Morgan in Gloucester's new kit.
GLOUCESTER Rugby have unveiled their new Rugbytech home and away kits for the 2007/2008 season - that will be initially exclusively available online at www.gloucesterrugby.co.uk from Friday, August 17.
The new four-year deal with Rugbytech follows hot on the heels of Gloucester's recently announced three-year partnership with building giant Jewson as the club's main sponsor, and was officially launched at Jewson's Tewkesbury branch this morning.
Members of the Gloucester squad have already given universal approval to the new design and improved technical features. Senior players at Kingsholm teamed up with Rugbytech during the development stages and have been integral in the design and the technical specifications of both playing and training kit that prevents weight gain during a match, while the seams have been taped for player comfort.
For supporters, the men's home and away shirts will be available in two different styles - Pro and Replica. The Pro shirt is the tight-fit copy of the playing shirt and comes in a poly/cotton technical fabric that wicks moisture away from the body. The supporters' shirt comes in Cooldry, colourfast fabric, is a more traditional loose fit and is priced at £50.
The new design represents a distinctive icon for the club and has been designed to look powerful and dynamic. The final design was developed around the physique of the players, the shoulders are accentuated to emphasise strength, the white flashes down the side narrows the waist whilst the central panel is widened across the chest area.
For the first time the club's female fans will also have the option of wearing home or away fitted shirts. Both are made from cotton/spandex mix fabric with two-way stretch for a comfort fit. The style is cut and fashioned specially for ladies in sizes 8 to 18.
Gloucester's head of sales and marketing, Pete Grzonka, said of the new design: "The launch of the new kit has been widely anticipated by our supporters and we are extremely positive it will be a success.
"At Gloucester, perhaps more so than anywhere else, the launch of a new shirt design is massively important and we would like to think this will be a success. A considerable amount of time has gone into the design and production and we think it will be a great way to launch the new season and a new stand.
"Rugbytech have also developed a high quality range of both leisure and training garments available for fans to buy which will represent a real step change in quality and will help us develop the Gloucester Rugby brand."
The new Rugbytech kit will be available from Gloucester's online store from Friday, August 17 with details of sizing and the new design will then hit retail shops on Tuesday, August 28.
Previewing Friday evening's local derby at Bristol, Interim Head Coach Jonny Bell told the local media that Gloucester's preparations have gone well and that the whole squad is united in trying to finish the season on a high.
Speaking to GRTV this week, Acting Head Coach Jonny Bell spoke of his pleasure in the efforts and intensity in training from the squad after a tricky few weeks. The team were preparing for big games with Bristol and Cardiff in coming weeks.
Willi Heinz was understandably and visibly disappointed when he spoke to GRTV after the 27-30 home defeat to Harlequins, apologising to the home support as the game slipped away after seemingly having the game under control.
Speaking to the local media this week, Scottish centre Matt Scott spoke of the squad's determination to put in a big home performance against Harlequins, with vital points up for grabs in the hunt for a Top Six spot this Saturday (KO 3pm)
Looking ahead to Saturday's Aviva Premiership fixture at home to Harlequins (kick off 3pm), Head Coach Laurie Fisher told the local media that Gloucester will need to be on top of their game in a match which has big implications in terms of top six ambitions.
A big few days for the Gloucester-Hartpury Women side. First came the news that the team will compete in Women's Super Rugby next season, and on Saturday the team will play Worcester Ladies IIs at Kingsholm. Centre Hannah Jones and wing Michelle Ruddock spoke to GRTV this week to reflect on events.
Missing so many starters, and up against a team fighting for their Premiership existence, Gloucester did what had to be done at Ashton Gate on Friday evening battling their way to a 32-14 Aviva Premiership win over Bristol Rugby.


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Tesla has secured permission to begin preparations for the construction of a massive 4680 battery production facility near Gigafactory Berlin. The permission was granted by the Federal Ministry of Economics, which noted that the electric car maker could “begin measures temporarily,” at its own risk.
As noted in a report from BZ-Berlin, the update came as somewhat of a surprise to the Brandenburg government since Tesla has reportedly not submitted any applications for Giga Berlin’s battery production plant yet. Despite this, Federal Ministry of Economics Chief Peter Altmaier opted to bundle Tesla’s battery plant initiative together with projects from other companies, submitting them to the EU Commission.
With this, preliminary work on Gigafactory Berlin’s battery factory could get started now. Altmaier’s spokesperson confirmed this in a statement. “Tesla and other participants were allowed to start preliminary measures at their request. That means that companies can start preparatory work for their projects at their own risk,” the spokesperson said.
Details about Tesla’s upcoming battery plant in Giga Berlin are slim for now, with Brussels and Berlin being silent about the size, location, and the number of jobs related to the project. Tesla has submitted an application to build a massive warehouse close to Gigafactory Berlin, though speculations are abounding that the site may very well be used as a holding lot for vehicles produced on the Germany-based electric car plant.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has proven optimistic about Gigafactory Berlin’s battery production facility. The site is expected to host production lines for Tesla’s custom 4680 battery cells, which will be used for the Made-in-Germany Model Y. Tesla’s 4680 cells hold a lot of potential, as they are more cost-effective to produce and they are more powerful compared to the 2170 and 18650 cells used by the EV maker today.
The 4680 cell facility in Giga Berlin will stand as one of the world’s largest battery factories when completed, with Elon Musk noting that the plant would boast an output of 100 GWh per year. This is a formidable number, translating to over double the current output of Gigafactory Nevada, the world’s largest battery facility today. Musk further noted that when fully ramped, Giga Berlin’s 4680 battery plant could be expanded to 200 to 250 GWh per year.
Don’t hesitate to contact us for news tips. Just send a message to firstname.lastname@example.org to give us a heads up


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Flipkart cofounder Binny Bansal is negotiating terms of his exit and may reportedly opt for an immediate cash payout of $100 Mn (INR 701.5 Cr) from his $850 Mn (INR 5,963.47 Cr) worth-exit from the Walmart-owned company.
A media report, citing sources aware of the development, said that Binny would have received $850 Mn in cash from Walmart for his 4-4.5% stake in Flipkart after August 2020. However, since he tendered his resignation in November, he is eligible for an immediate but smaller payment of about $100 Mn and the rest would be due by August 2020.
Also, notably, after the buyout in 2020, Binny will continue to keep his remaining stock of Flipkart.
Binny made a sudden exit from Flipkart after an allegation of “serious personal misconduct” came to light in November. Even though the following investigation did not find any evidence to support the allegation, Walmart said there were “lapses in judgement” on how the situation was handled.
After his exit, Binny filed a complaint against the accuser, who in turn, went back on her allegations and the case was closed, with Binny holding the right to reopen the case if need be. With a clean chit, Binny’s reinstatement in Flipkart seemed like a possibility.
However, less than month since the exit, reports have emerged that Binny may be launching his next startup — XTo10X — along with his friend, Saikiran Krishnamurthy, offering technology tools, learning and consulting services to growth-stage startups which are looking to scale up.
Coupled with the current report of his exit deal, Binny’s re-entry into Flipkart seems like a farcry.
Soon after Binnys exit, parent company Walmart increased its stake from 77% to 81.3% in the company. At the same time, with both the founders out, Flipkart’s responsibilities went to Kalyan Krishnamurthy, who is now heading Flipkart along with its fashion subsidiaries, Myntra and Jabong.
Meanwhile, cofounder Sachin Bansal — who was was ousted from the company in May before the merger — is now looking to begin his second innings and is exploring sectors such as AI, agritech and fintech.
[The development was reported by Livemint.]


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Maker Faire Shenzhen
Brought to you by Seeed Studio and staged at Vanke design Commune in Nanshan– Shenzhen’s premier venue–on November 11 & 12 Maker Faire Shenzhen presents new hardware and technologies–computers, sensors, 3D printers, robots, AI, VR, and more–in unique ways. Check out what to expect from the always fascinating minds + hands of the makers in the global hardware capital from their last event in 2019.
Maker Faire Shenzhen 2023, with the theme “Where Are The Makers?”, consists of various sub-events: Maker #forum, Maker Exhibit, #workshops, and #SatelliteEvents. Join us on November 11-12 at the Vanke Design Commune in Nanshan, Shenzhen. At this year’s Maker #Forum, we have scheduled four sections over two days: ‘Through The Cycles,’ ‘Tech for Good,’ ‘Cyber Farms,’ and ‘Things w/ AI.’ For each of these sections, we have a strong lineup of renowned speakers who will share their insights and engage in discussions on these topics. Don’t miss this excellent opportunity to explore the world of innovation with us!
Maker Faire Rome
Maker Faire Rome is the premier event for innovation in Italy and Europe, organized by Innova Camera, a Special Municipal Agency dedicated to innovation and entrepreneurial system development.
On October 20-22, Maker Faire Rome showcased all things innovation – from digital manufacturing to the Internet of Things, from robotics to artificial intelligence, from the circular economy to agritech, from digital manufacturing to e-sports via big data and aerospace, up to the latest discoveries of the metaverse and augmented reality. New and specific areas of Maker Art and Maker Music will return, ready to explore the intersection among arts, music, science, and technology and to offer visitors the opportunity to discover how technology can support and stimulate creativity. Organized by the Rome Chamber of Commerce, this year’s event returned to its former home at the Fiera di Roma, the city’s versatile Trade Fair Hub.
Returning for the second time this year, Maker Faire Shanghai is back on October 21-22 with new hands-on activities, performances, and WOW activations.
The biggest faire in the MENA region returns October 14. Imagine roars of DIY-cars, walking into an alternate cosplay universe…you’re not hallucinating; those are real-life Robots, in a real-life fight!
Maker Faire Orange County on October 21 by OCreate LLC in partnership with Brain Builders Foundation showcases everything from garage hobby makers to innovative companies.
The largest Maker Faire in Moravia is taking place for the fourth time on October 21 & 22. This year we will once again visit the beautiful functionalist premises of the Brno Exhibition Center.
Discover a new Maker Faire in NYC on October 6-8! “What if changing the world was just about being here, by showing up no matter how many times we get told we don’t belong…”


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The price of a first class stamp is to increase by 5p to 46p and by 4p to 36p for second class next April, the Royal Mail has announced.
The cost of posting a large letter will rise by 9p to 75p for first class and by 7p to 58p for second class mail.
The Royal Mail said stamp prices for letters weighing up to 100g will continue to be among the lowest in Europe even after the increase.
The increase will add about 7p to the average household's weekly spend of about 60p on postage, said the postal group.
Royal Mail chief executive Moya Greene said: "We have thought carefully about these increases as we are conscious of the difficult economic circumstances our customers are facing. No-one likes to pay more and we regret having had to take these tough decisions on pricing. After these increases, we will continue providing value-for-money as our prices will still be among the lowest in Europe.
"We are investing heavily to modernise our operations, which is all about providing our customers with the services they need in today's open, highly competitive postal marketplace.
"With the sharp declines in mail volume, our revenues are falling. That means if we don't generate more income, we will simply not be able to keep funding our six-days-a-week collection, sorting, transport and delivery operation to the UK's 28 million homes and businesses."
The Royal Mail pointed out that in the last financial year, it lost 163m on stamped mail, equivalent to a 6.4p loss on average on every stamped item it handled.
The price of sending a standard parcel up to 2kg in weight will be unchanged but will increase by 8 per cent for heavier items.
Special delivery services will start from 5.45 next April, an increase of 40p, while a charge of 210 a year will be introduced for customers to collect mail from their delivery offices after 8.30am.
This service, used mainly by business customers, is currently provided free of charge.
An Age UK spokesman said: "Older people are more likely to be affected by an increase in the price of stamps simply because they are less likely than younger age groups to communicate via the internet and email.
"Although the planned 5p rise will seem paltry to many, it still represents a 12 per cent increase to the current price which could make quite a difference to those on a low fixed income."
A spokesman for Consumer Focus said the increase could add at least 30m to the cost of Christmas post next year.


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Brands must let go of legacy solutions.
This article highlights the need for improving website performance in terms of their load speeds, scalability and reliability. To compete in a dynamic digital landscape, the author suggests making a switch from legacy, self-hosted solutions to SaaS solutions.
The article cites an eMarketer study which found that a third of ecommerce sales will come from mobile in 2019. As per information from Google, a second’s delay in mobile load time can bring conversions down by 20%.
Site reliability is another factor that must be improved upon. The article provides that 81% of businesses note that 60 minutes of downtime can cost companies $300,000. Improving a site’s overall performance can improve traffic and ultimately conversions.
[5 minute read]


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FYND Co-founder denies acquisition by Reliance, says it is in talks with several investors
L to R: Farooq Adam, Sreeraman MG, Harsh Shah.
Refuting rumours that it is being acquired by Reliance Group, omnichannel shopping startup FYND has stated that it aims to continue as an independent entity. Mumbai-based FYND is an online shopping app that connects local retailers to the consumer. The B2C marketplace reduces delivery time from days to hours.
Speaking to YourStory, FYND Co-founder Harsh Shah said that although they are in talks with multiple parties, including the Reliance group, for investment, the team is not looking at being acquired.
“Quite a few VCs have also reached out to us regarding funding. But all these talks are in initial stages, and no deal is confirmed yet,” Harsh added.
It was in late January that India’s richest man announced that his company, the most valuable in India with a market capitalisation of around Rs 8 trillion, is entering ecommerce. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of the Reliance Group, said that the company’s “new commerce” foray will combine the group’s offline retail network of around 10,000 stores with the online reach of Reliance Jio (280 million subscribers).
Since the announcement, the industry has been speculating how this will impact the big players and retail altogether.
What's in it for Reliance?
Reliance has been building a wide range of businesses over the years, and ecommerce is a logical extension. Yet, there are different capabilities to be built, especially in tech, for enabling online commerce.
With FYND, Reliance can achieve the collective momentum of offline and online sales. Usually, when unable to develop new capabilities, large companies look for acquisitions.
Devangshu Dutta, Chief Executive at Third Eyesight Consulting, said, “More often than not, it is the small companies (not the large ones) that produce innovative products. It is better done outside the existing infrastructure in a large company; that environment exists in startups.”
Even Google, the world’s largest tech company, has acquired more than 200 companies.
Devanshu pointed out that strategic investment by large companies in startups often lead to the former acquiring the latter. He believes that since retail in India is a fragmented sector, it makes it ideal for a platform like FYND to grow. “But it is expensive and time consuming to build market share in retail. Even Flipkart and Amazon have had to give deep discounts to acquire customers,” he added.
FYND’s rapid growth
Harsh claims that FYND has seen massive growth in the past 6-7 months, with their GMV growing 7x this year. In this fiscal, FYND has had Rs 4 crore to 5 crore monthly revenue. Their clients have increased from 220 to 500 in the last few months.
FYND has also expanded its reach in the lifestyle sector, with focus on beauty, furnishing, and kids. As Devangshu rightly pointed out, this provides a great opportunity to Reliance. “Once you get the framework right in tech and business, it can be applied across sectors,” he said.
Additionally, FYND recently launched Open API feature to leverage FYND’s real-time inventory integration with over 200 brands and 8,000 stores, and makes it easy for businesses to build an omni-channel ecommerce app. Harsh said that FYND is the choice for brands that do not want to keep stock in warehouses.
“We have branched out quite a bit in the last one year. Our aim is to enable offline retailers to discover the online world. In terms of consumer data, we don’t use the offline data a lot. Most of the data we use is from our platform. We don’t even have a lot of advertisements,” he added.
FYND’s long saga
Founded by Farooq Adam, Harsh, and Sreeraman MG, FYND has raised more than $7 million from investors including Google, Kae Capital, IIFL, Singularity Ventures, and GrowX, among others.
FYND has undergone major changes since its launch in 2012. At the time, it was called Shopsense, which provided brands with different products to improve customer experience. Clients had included Lee, Satya Paul, Anita Dongre, Flying Machine, and Being Human (along with other 330 brands, these are still FYND’s clients).
In early 2016, Shopsense became FYND, to scale up the business with more avenues. Their products, such as FYND Market Place, and FYNDStore, help retailers save sales which they may otherwise lose due to lack of stock of a product. For brands, FYND saves warehousing costs, and stock transfers within stores. It provides fast delivery (in 2-3 days) as products are picked up from the stock point nearest to the customer (most of the orders are fulfilled from the same state).
The FYND app has had more than 10 million downloads, and 1.5 lakh visitors on the website every month.


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The Top 50 Indies listing has a new company at number one for the first time since its launch in 2006.
An impressive run of 13 years at the top for MRH officially came to an end with the publication of this year’s Top 50 Indies listing, which put MFG at number one with an incredible 925 sites following its takeover of MRH last year.
Its site total is more than twice the size of the next group on the list – EG Group – which has 386 sites, albeit EG Group tops everyone hands down with its rapidly expanding network across the globe with 4,700 sites altogether.
The listing was revealed to a lively gathering of the biggest UK independent retailers earlier this week. Managing Director of Forecourt Trader, Lorraine Hendle and Editor Merril Boulton presented the latest report on the sector, which revealed another intriguing year with a great deal of activity, in terms of acquisitions and developments, with oil companies such as Phillips 66 and Harvest Energy also targeting Top 50 independent groups.
Highlights included the fact that while some retailers are tempted to sell up and retire, so there are plenty of aspiring entrepreneurs ready to take their place, including the founders and former indomitable management team that topped the listing for so many years as MRH – Graham Peacock and Susan Tobbell.
They have returned to the list as SGN Ltd, and a new entry into the Top 10 with 45 sites – which they describe as a “small re-entry into the retail petrol station market”.
The Top 50 Indies continues to grow – by around 130 sites in the past year – and now numbers 2,410 - up from last year’s 2,276 - and representing nearly 29% of the overall market.
“All the initiatives and investment being undertaken, show a tremendous willingness by Top 50 Indies to invest in their businesses and strive to expand, and demonstrate their confidence in the future of the sector,” said editor Merril Boulton. “As we move further into 2019, it appears that the Top 50 Indies are in very good health!”


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Google today, Tuesday (12/16/2014), officially launched the list of most popular searches worldwide. Search data from 72 countries with a large online population, including Indonesia, are summarized to show which topics most requested by residents through the Internet world of Google.
In Indonesia, the name of the President of Joko Widodo or Jokowi, as he is called, occupied the top of the list of the most popular searches, followed by its competitors at the time of the 2014 Presidential Election, Prabowo, who appears in the second.
"This year, because there are elections then appear in the top search Google Jokowi name, along with other matters relating to the election," said Consumer Marketing Manager of Google Indonesia Sandy Tantra when met Compass Tekno a press conference in Jakarta.
Every year towards the end, Google regularly release a list of the most requested topics through its services. According to Sandy, Google search trends vary according to the hot topic that surfaced in the community during the year.
"The trend of the future will be different again because there is no election. Hopefully also no fatal accidents," Sandy added, referring to the incident plane disappearance Malaysia Airlines MH 370 which is also in the top 10 top searches.
Ten of the topics that occupy the top search list in general can be seen below.
In addition, top charts Google Search search this year also show the results of the most popular searches in Indonesia from 12 different categories, ranging from music, characters, songs, gadgets, until most requested recipes. Complete list can be found at this link.
Google's list of the most popular searches in Indonesia 2014:
3. ID 2014
5. The pain Tuh Here
6. Nagita Slavina
7. MH 370
8. The 2014 presidential election
9. Cabinet Jokowi


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NEW YORK — Radical Innovation, an initiative that challenges creative thinkers at the professional and student level to pioneer compelling ideas in travel and hospitality, is accepting entries to its annual competition. New in 2020, the competition is adding a category for hospitality products. Radical Innovation is asking participants to submit their most innovative hospitality products capable of transforming the industry standard and offering new strategic career and investment growth opportunities.
This year, the submission categories for professional and/or student ideas include Radical Hospitality Design, Concept, or Product, either new or existing.
“Radical Innovation discovers and spotlights creative thinkers from around the world with the ideas to propel the hospitality industry forward,” explained John Hardy, founder of Radical Innovation and CEO of The Hardy Group. “It’s our goal to connect them with experienced business leaders that have the connections and resources to bring those ideas to reality, while supporting their effort, through year-round marketing and PR verticals. We are thrilled to add products to this year’s competition.”
A panel of jurors leading the fields of hospitality, design, and investment evaluate all entries based on their originality, creativity, design, and potential impact on the industry. Feasibility is key. While Radical Innovation seeks brave ideas, the program requires achievable visions with a clear, compelling brief accompanied by a high-level presentation that illustrates how the concept could be achieved in the next three to five years with design renderings and video pitch.
Since its founding in 2006, Radical Innovation has awarded nearly $200,000 to its international network of creative talents who to push the boundaries of travel and hospitality. The 2019 winner, ‘Connectic’ by Cooper Carry Architects, demonstrated this by citing the technological advances necessary for the idea to operate, detailing anticipated costs and logistics in addition to a clear timeline and the design process.
Submission fees for professional submissions will be $250. Student submission fees will remain complimentary. Finalists in the Concept/Design category will be flown to New York City to compete in a live event held in fall 2020, where they will present their ideas. Audience members vote to determine the grand-prize winner, who takes home a $10,000 prize. The runner-up receives a $5,000 prize. The winner for the Product category will receive $1,500 (for either a student or professional). The specific location of this event will be announced later in 2020.
The student winner, who is determined prior to the event by the jury, will earn a $1,500 prize and be invited to apply for a graduate assistantship in the Master of Architecture program at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. The total two-year value is estimated at over $50,000. The awarding of funds will be based on certain prerequisites that must be carried out by the potential recipient. Radical Innovation has sent two students to this graduate program with one, Yasmine Soliman, graduating in the spring of 2019.


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Amcor, a packaging developer and producer, has launched the next generation of its Medical Laminates solutions. Amcor’s latest innovation enables the development of all-film packaging that is recyclable in the polyethylene stream.
The new solution reduces the carbon footprint of the final package while maintaining the performance requirements of device applications.
The new Amcor HealthCare Recycle-Ready Medical Laminates will be showcased at COMPAMED, taking place 13th-16th November in Düsseldorf, Germany.
The new packaging solution is a mono-material polyethylene (PE) laminate that can be used for a wide range of packaging formats. It can replace non-recyclable with recycle-ready lidding for 3D thermoformed packages, that are used for drapes and protective materials, catheters, as well as injection and tubing systems. Another application of the laminates would be in 2D pouches for products such as wound care materials and gloves.
Daniel Roiz, sales and marketing director Amcor HealthCare EMEA, said: “This launch demonstrates our commitment to innovation for the healthcare industry and showcases the incredible work of Amcor’s R&D experts. Our mono-polyethylene solution addresses the key issue of medical packaging recyclability and is a significant step towards helping the medical sector safely embrace more sustainable packaging solutions. We are committed to continuing to advance our portfolio towards delivering on our pledge to develop all of Amcor’s packaging to be recyclable or reusable by 2025.”
This post originally appeared on TechToday.


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Trump Taj Mahal Liquidation Sale Closes Tomorrow, Everything Must Go
Posted on: September 2, 2017, 10:00h.
Last updated on: September 1, 2017, 11:24h.
The former Trump Taj Mahal has been unloading its contents to the general public for nearly two months, and after a strong clearance sale, the liquidation is scheduled to close tomorrow, September 3.
Talking with the Press of Atlantic City, National Content Liquidators’ Greg Hall said the sale went better than expected.
Hard Rock International purchased the closed Boardwalk resort from billionaire Carl Icahn in March for just $50 million. The casino group plans to spend $500 million to renovate it into a rock ‘n’ roll-themed resort. Before that can happen, everything inside the 4.2 million square foot complex had to be cleaned out.
Furniture from 1,200 guestrooms and suites were sold on the cheap to the general public. The liquidation began on July 6.
In addition to in-room contents, pieces from around the resort were also sold including chandeliers, pool tables and games, artwork, drapes and carpeting, and various furniture from restaurants and bars.
“It went fantastic,” Hall explained. “In the beginning, you could buy an item and come back for it. Now it’s if you buy it, you take it out.”
Hall said most items are gone, but some nightstands, desks, and lamps remain.
The Hard Rock Café opened inside the Trump Taj Mahal on November 15, 1996. The restaurant remained open despite Icahn’s shuttering the resort last fall, but it too will close its doors at the end of the month.
That’s because part of the property overhaul includes expanding the café’s presence and making it a focal point of the resort. The restaurant is currently adjacent to the Boardwalk, with a separate entrance that welcomes pedestrians on the walkway.
That won’t be the case when the Trump Taj Mahal is reimagined into Hard Rock Atlantic City. The café will grow to a 400-seat establishment and have a more centralized location. Hard Rock executives believe placing the popular eatery in the middle of the resort will help turn diners into gamblers, and potentially into hotel guests.
Hard Rock Atlantic City, like every café location, houses numerous pieces of rock ‘n’ history. Artifacts include guitars used by Alice Cooper, The Who, Guns N’ Roses, and New Jersey’s own Bon Jovi. Scott Wieland’s famous pink jacket worn in the Stone Temple Pilots’ 1994 hit “Interstate Love Song” is also among the collection.
With the Taj largely free of its past, full demolition and construction can begin. Hard Rock Chairman Jim Allen says it’s a massive undertaking to rid the resort of its Indian-themed décor.
“The amount of money we’re going to have to spend to remove all those minarets and all that purple. Jesus! What were we thinking?” Allen exclaimed in May.
Once completed, Hard Rock Atlantic City will have 2,400 slot machines and 130 table games, as well as two renovated entertainment venues that will seat upwards of 7,000 people. Each guestroom will also be entirely made over.
It’s a colossal investment in a town that’s largely stagnant when it comes to tourism. Through the first six months of 2017, Atlantic City tourism revenue totaled $1.78 billion, just a 0.3 percent bump on 2016.
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January 3, 2023 — 13 Comments—


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Kellogg is facing backlash from angry customers on social media sites who claim the company has misrepresented its Kashi cereal line as “natural.”
The Kashi controversy went viral last week after a Rhode Island grocer removed the cereal from his shelves, replacing it with the following note:
“You might be wondering where your favorite Kashi cereals have gone. It has recently come to our attention that 100% of the soy used in Kashi products is Genetically Modified, and that when the USDA tested the grains used there were found to be pesticides that are known carcinogens and hormone disruptors.”
Photos of the sign began appearing on Facebook, Twitter and food blogs, amidst claims that Kellogg was misrepresenting its cereal.
The store owner posted the sign after reading a publication called Cereal Crimes, a Cornucopia Institute report which notes that only four of Kashi’s 24 cereal products are certified organic. The 2011 publication also states that Kellogg, the company that owns Kashi, “purchases genetically engineered ingredients for its ‘natural’ Kashi products,” including GMO soy.
The soy in Kashi cereals comes from soybeans that have been genetically modified to protect them from the herbicide Roundup, which kills weeds.
Cornucopia Institute co-director Mark Kastel noted: “We tested their product, their Go Lean cereal product, which gets it protein from soy, and it tests 100 percent genetically engineered.”
Kashi’s general manager says the cereal company has done nothing wrong, noting that the FDA has chosen not to regulate use of the term “natural.” Kashi defines “natural” as “food that’s minimally processed, made with no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or sweeteners.”
Perhaps partially in response to this backlash, the company also just announced that all new Kashi products will be Non-GMO Project Verified and contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients beginning in 2015.
Still, the fact that many consumers feel misled by Kashi’s packaging and advertising raises important questions about use of the term “natural.” What do you think? Should use of the term “natural” be regulated?
Image Credit: Mayce Hodges/Flickr
/ This IS hopeful, beaucse we are still in a world where the markets rule. Initially I didn’t think the consumer route would be fast enough, given the complexities of making the right choices for a sustainable world, but in fact consumers are starting with sustainable human development looking after their families, their health, what they put on their bodies and ingest. Those concerns alone can go a long way to to indirectly cause financial services to take notice and the ripple effect can be very impactful.Thank-u for posting this data..going to be useful in my how to build sustainability awareness at the Bank’ project! ..Val
100% genetic modification of the soybean sounds minimally processed to you, Mr. General Manager?! I think you should step down and let someone who is qualified, intelligent, and in support of health through Mother Nature’s nutrition do the job right.
I despise your deceptivness!
Who cares? it’s not like they claimed it was organic. Natural doen’t mean anything, it’s a marketing term.
If you want organic food, by organic food.


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Nov 07 2012
BookExpo America is expanding its program of opening the show to the general public, allowing exhibitors to sell books to those attendees and by promoting the show to them directly.
"Power readers" will be allowed onto the trade show floor on Saturday, June 1, which is the final day of the show. (BEA's conference day is Wednesday, May 29, and the trade show floor opens Thursday, May 30.)
Members read and review books ahead
of publication. See what they think
in First Impressions!
Visitors can view a lot of BookBrowse for free. Full access is for members only
Finishing second in the Olympics gets you silver. Finishing second in politics gets you oblivion.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Solve this clue:
and be entered to win..
Books thatinspire you.Handpicked.


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30.09.2015 – 10:00
Lightweight and sporty: The new Recaro Sport Seat Platform
IAA 2015: Johnson Controls impresses with lightweight innovations
Lightweight construction was one of the key topics at the IAA 2015 which has just ended in Frankfurt. Whether the issue is pollution emissions by cars with combustion engines, or energy-efficient travel with electro mobility, competence in lightweight construction will be a decisive factor for the future of both automakers and their suppliers. The Recaro Sport Seat Platform (RSSP), which was presented by the Johnson Controls product group Recaro Automotive Seating, is ready for series production and combines a very lightweight, compact design with maximum safety and greater levels of individualization. The carbon backrest of the RSSP can also be used on its own as part of a composite solution.
"With our Recaro sport seat platform, which is ready for series production, we once again prove the technological capability and competence of Johnson Controls in the mega trend of lightweight construction," said Dr. Detlef Juerss, group vice president and general manager product group seating components at Johnson Controls. With the RSSP "Sport Extreme" and the RSSP "Comfort" concepts, the Recaro group presented two very different versions of the new seating solution in Frankfurt: The extremely slender "Sport Extreme," with its contrast of black and bright green, was designed by Recaro for super sports cars, while the discrete black "Comfort" version has visibly more generous upholstery and is ideally suited for sports sedans.
"The RSSP is a further demonstration that Recaro is synonymous with premium sport seats," explained Elmar Deegener, vice president of Johnson Controls and general manager of Recaro Automotive Seating. In addition to the lightweight aspect - depending on the configuration, the carbon backrest weighs up to 40 percent less than conventional backrests - the great advantage of the sport seat platform is its modularity. All versions are based on the same lightweight construction, while the exterior design can be modified to meet customer requirements. "With the RSSP we have presented a consistent package, which perfectly complements the Johnson Controls product range," said Deegener. "In addition to sports car manufacturers, companies from the field of electro mobility are highly enthusiastic about the excellent use of space and the low H-point of the RSSP. For these manufacturers, the use of lightweight materials is important in order to gain space for the batteries."
In addition to the RSSP, which is targeted for small-scale series production, Johnson Controls has another project in the pipeline for lightweight construction geared to large-scale series production: the CAMISMA project, which is now in development. Using a completely new multi-material approach, the proportion of lightweight materials, such as glass-reinforced plastic (GRP), carbon or aluminum can be increased in vehicle seats. As a result, the CAMISMA backrest is about 40 percent lighter than conventional metal backrests, with the same safety performance. Thanks to new production methods, not only can the weight of the seat be reduced, but the amount of carbon waste can also be lowered from 50 percent to less than 5 percent.
RECARO Automotive Seating in Social Media: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/recaroautomotive Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/recaroauto Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/recaroautomotive
Recaro Automotive Seating
Recaro Automotive Seating is a product group of Johnson Controls. At eight locations in Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Japan, Mexico and the United States we design, manufacture and market complete seats representative of our core competencies design, ergonomics, craftsmanship, robustness, lightweight construction and high-class workmanship under the brand name Recaro. Recaro Automotive Seating consists of two units: Recaro Car Seating offers passenger car seats for OEMs and the aftermarket, Recaro Commercial Vehicle Seating focuses on commercial vehicle seats in the OEM and aftermarket segments.
Tel.: +49 7071 156-32
Fax: +49 7071 156-11
Press Information: www.recaro-automotive.com/en/press/news.html
RECARO Automotive Seating
67657 Kaiserslautern, Germany
Original content of: Recaro Automotive Seating, transmitted by news aktuell


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Emurgo Implements Blockchain Technology for Business in Indonesia
For initial stage, Cardano platform will be featured for Hero Group, Senada Group, and Kilau Group business network
Yenny Yusra - 18 July 2018
A Japan-based firm developer supporting and making business incubation, Emurgo, besides training and mentoring students in Indonesia, has signed the agreement with three companies in Indonesia. They are Hero Intiputra (Hero Group), Senada Group, and Kilau Group.
"We've ensured Emurgo Japan to be the first blockchain platform partnering with locals in Indonesia. PT Emurgo Solusi Indonesia is Emurgo's first joint venture," Metodius Anwir, PT Emurgo Solusi Indonesia's CFO, told DailySocial.
The Tokyo-based company is now open in other Asian countries, such as Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Singapore.
Blockchain for retail, property, and financial service
As a big company, Hero Intiputra is making strategic partnership to Emurgo. Cardano Project, which focuses on the blockchain technology implementation, is expected to improve Hero Intiputra's performance in some industries, such as trading, wholesale, and distribution all over Indonesia.
"Together with Hero Intiputra, we'll collaborate to find study case for blockchain strategy implementation specifically in global trading and retail implementation in Indonesia," he said.
Through Cardano Project, Emurgo expects to support the company for blockchain implementation and decentralized applications development using Cardano software as the main industry.
"Aside of Hero Intiputra, we look for a collaboration with Senada Group that has experience related to the energy sector, and with Kilau Group for property and financial industries," he added.
Therefore, Emurgo expects to provide investment and opportunity for startups which use blockchain technology by giving incubation and invite more new talents for the use of blockchain technology to be implemented for public affairs.
"Through its business network, Emurgo wants to implement blockchain technology for enterprises, and consistent in commercial partnership using Cardano technology," Anwir explained.
– Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian


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"TOO BIG TO FAIL" INSTITUTIONS
Rather than break up big banks, the Administration wants to regulate them more tightly and require the biggest to carry extra-thick capital cushions.
Officials want to shift most trading in the financial instruments to new exchanges. But some contracts could continue to trade over the counter, where there's less scrutiny.
The Administration's plan to consolidate consumer protection in a single new agency faces opposition from the industry and from regulators jealous of their turf.


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Dark Mode is Rolling Out on YouTube App for Android
Android users can now use Dark Mode for the YouTube mobile app
The YouTube app on iOS got the option to use the 'dark theme' which inverts some of the colours on the app, most notably changing the white background to a black one which, in addition to being more cinematic, is also easier on the eyes when viewed in low-light conditions. Dark mode was added to the desktop site last year and to iOS earlier this year.
Since then, the dark theme has become one of the most requested features from Android users, and has finally started rolling out on Android devices, according to a report from 9to5Google. Users will be notified when the update is available for them.


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"A Mature Retailer In Growth Mode"
In “We Went Where They Ain’t”, my June 2021 deep dive on U.S. discount retailer Dollar General (DG), I concluded with the following:
“In summary, I believe Mr. Market has some doubts about the company’s ability to grow beyond ~25,500 units and / or questions the sustainability of the business and its economics at maturity. I’d argue the market has held some version of this belief for much of the past five years, which is why the stock trades at a pretty large discount to a company like Costco. Personally, I think that conclusion has been, and continues to be, too pessimistic.
For that reason, I will make DG a 5% position tomorrow morning.”
On to today’s update (DG reported Q3 FY21 results on December 2nd).
In the third quarter, the company’s revenues increased by 4% YoY to $8.5 billion, with a slight decline in same store sales offset by mid-single digit unit growth (the company added nearly 1,000 net new stores over the past year, and recently crossed 18,000 total stores). Two-year stacked comps were +12% in Q3, most notably due to continued strength in the Consumables and Home product categories. While this is still well ahead of what Dollar General typically reported in the years prior to the pandemic, we can see that the two-year stack has decelerated meaningfully from the highs of early FY20.
While the revenue story remains encouraging, DG is now being forced to navigate various headwinds further down the income statement (“higher-than-expected costs, both from a product and supply chain perspective”). Through the first nine months of FY21, operating margins have contracted by ~110 basis points, largely attributable to an outsized increase in SG&A expense (“the most significant of which were retail labor and store occupancy costs”). While this is notable YoY decline, consider that YTD FY21 EBIT margins, at ~9.5%, are still 180 basis points higher than they were through the first nine months of FY19; for a business that has historically reported high-single digit operating margins, that has a sizable impact on earnings.
DG ended Q3 with $5.3 billion in inventories, unchanged from the year ago period on a per store basis. As CFO John Garratt noted on the call, “we're not satisfied with our overall in-stock levels… we’re focused on improving our position, particularly in consumables”. I don’t want to minimize or overlook the current headwinds; there are numerous challenges that DG is now being forced to navigate, and it’s unclear whether they’ll subside anytime soon.
That said, from the perspective of a long-term investor, I do think it’s worth noting that this is an unavoidable reality of competitive businesses: strategic vision and adept execution are a must in order to achieve long-term success in the retail industry. Thankfully, for DG shareholders, I’d argue we’re partnered with a highly effective management team with a proven track record under the leadership of CEO Todd Vasos. As they’ve done in the past, I expect DG to effectively navigate the challenges they’re currently facing.


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The Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association’s (FITA) court bid challenging the cigarette ban has been dismissed by North Gauteng High Court.
FITA took government to court after government reversed the decision to allow the selling of tobacco during lockdown.
The North Gauteng High Court dismissed FITA’s application with cost.
FITA wanted the court to declare cigarettes essential on the basis that tobacco is addictive.
However the court has ruled that this has no merit.
The Court said that cigarettes and other tobacco products do not, by their nature, fall into the same category as goods which are life-sustaining or necessary for basic functionality.
The Court said it is satisfied that Minister Dlamini-Zuma made her cigarette ban decision objectively, after considering “relevant” medical material and reports.
According to reports FITA is set to appeal the judgement.
Meanwhile, the second legal challenge to the ban on cigarette sales will now only be heard on August 4.
This after state lawyers appealed to Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe.
British American Tobacco said this is a delay in justice.
Adding that time the case is heard the ban will have been in place for four-and-half months during which time billions of illegal cigarettes will have been sold.
— Karyn Maughan (@karynmaughan) June 26, 2020


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Critizr recently interviewed 114 retail managers and senior leaders to understand how they have changed their customer journeys amid the pandemic. UK marketing lead Hazel Morton shares the top-line findings
You can read the headlines, study the reports and pick apart the statistics but making sense of what has happened to the retail sector in 2020 is still hard to comprehend.
Like me, you probably get distracted when shopping online or in-store looking for insight into how individual retailers have changed what they’re doing and how they deal with customers.
You’ll spot commonality driven by Covid’s legal requirements and health and safety best practices. You’ll also notice brands doing things differently or better than their competitors as they fight to stay relevant and reinvent themselves to meet new customer needs.
Our team has taken time over the past few weeks to chat to the people who work at the grassroots of the retail industry, asking them to reflect on 2020 and reveal their most urgent priorities for 2021.
Over 100 of retail’s customer experience (CX) trailblazers in the UK and France, both Critizr clients and non-clients – including Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s − told us what’s really going on in their stores and across the customer journey. The findings give an insider’s view of some of the biggest shifts and fast-moving trends happening across the sector.
The Covid effect
91% of the retailers we surveyed said the pandemic had impacted the customer journey, with the biggest impact for the majority being an increase in online sales.
38% of retailers overall also reported an increase or introduction of contactless payments (although grocery was much higher at 85%).
There’s a new focus on the importance of a brilliant CX as Marks & Spencer’s clothing and home manager told us: “With less footfall, the experience and journey have to be greater. We have more time to spend with the customer. We’ve added cleaning stations, improved the click-and-collect service, added door hosts and hosts across escalators to direct customers.”
Are retailers listening?
Many retailers spoke of the value of having ‘ears on the ground’ with the ability to listen to both staff and customers to deliver an exceptional CX – especially during times of rapid change.
The regional director of a French grocery retailer told us: “With a health situation that changes by the day, collecting customer feedback faster is essential and makes it possible to adapt the customer experience and our actions immediately, according to their concerns.”
This was echoed by the customer experience manager for a UK consumer electronics retailer: “We need to understand how customer views have changed for us to provide an environment where they are comfortable and happy to shop.”
35% of the retailers we surveyed said they have made modifications to their customer satisfaction surveys during Covid-19. In turn, 80% saw a positive impact on customer loyalty – a great illustration of how proactively listening to customer feedback can result in an enhanced customer experience.
Great customer expectations
Almost half of the retailers in our survey have made changes to CX shaped by customer feedback (48%) with positive results.
75% reported an increase in online sales, 84% have seen a positive impact on customer loyalty and 69% noted a better connection with customers and local teams.
The head of digital customer experience for a UK retailer told us: “We have introduced self-service online tools that have been completely shaped by customer feedback.”
Loyalty wasn’t built in a day
Our survey revealed old trends of customer loyalty are now obsolete. More than half (58%) of retailers said new changes to the user journey had positively impacted customer loyalty.
The product owner of a UK department store said they had “seen traditionally less loyal customers become more loyal, and vice versa, as customers shop around to achieve the most convenient shopping experience”.
Similarly, the supervisor for a DIY retailer said: “Customers felt safe in our stores and because we had responded to their feedback, they felt their opinion was valued.”
Let’s talk about the C-word: connection
During turbulent times, people can be brought closer together – even if not in a physical sense.
55% of UK retailers and 70% of French retailers surveyed said they now feel they have more of a connection with customers – led by grocery at 92% and fashion at 72%. Overall, 65% of retailers believe their local teams have developed a better bond with customers.
Looking to the future
76% of retailers think changes made as a result of the pandemic will remain in their organisation in the long term.
It seems likely that innovations including new collection and delivery systems, modes of communication such as in-store apps, in-store traffic controls and contactless payments will be here to stay.
Unsurprisingly, the highest priority going into 2021 is customer health and safety (71%) as shoppers continue to express their concern about the pandemic and the need to feel safe in stores. This was followed by omnichannel methods of purchase (57%) and a desire for customers to feel comfortable in-store (53%).
- Download the full study here: The New Retail Journey Revealed
Hazel Morton leads UK marketing for Critizr UK, Europe’s leading customer interaction management platform.
An innovator and customer-obsessed individual, Hazel was named in CX Network’s 30 Under 30 game-changers within customer experience. She is currently working within the customer experience space at Critizr and was previosuly CMO at customer insight company Big Data for Humans.


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League of Kingdoms, the massively multiplayer online (MMO) blockchain game, launched in 2020 is launching its own token, LOKA.
Available to users from Thursday 20 January 2022, it aims to further the growth of its community of 400,000 active users.
Adding to its existing set of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the LOKA token is focused on enabling governance rights as an additional utility to the League of Kingdoms’ community.
LOKA holders will be able to make decisions surrounding key features and plans for the game, alongside gaining the ability to stake an asset and receive a slice of the platform’s fees, as well as other upcoming use cases and exclusive access to NFTs.
The free-to-play MMO game is built with the average non-crypto user in mind. The League of Kingdoms NFTs are simple to use and gradually introduced. They games have attracted an audience of both novice and advanced gamers.
The LOKA token comes alongside several new initiatives to expand League of Kingdoms into a full gaming metaverse.
Such launches include player-versus-player arenas, an extension of play-to-earn (P2E) gaming, esports integration, commerce platforms such as NFT bazaar, and other updates. The token’s launch aims to build a network of guilds and communities to attract P2E experts.
League of Kingdoms co-founder Chan Lee said: “This has been truly a long-time coming for us, working on LoK when nobody believed in the promise of blockchain games and play-to-earn.
“Now, with our friends from Axie Infinity breaking the floodgates open, we’re ready to show the wider P2E community what we’ve been working on.”
Hashed CEO Simon Kim commented: “We are proud to be an early backer of League of Kingdoms and the team’s journey to build a fundamentally strong game that effectively marries the best of both Web2 and Web3 gaming.
“I do not doubt that League of Kingdoms will onboard next millions of gamers who will come for the game’s appeal and be staying for crypto.”
You can visit Bitcasino, 1xBit or FortuneJack for some of the best crypto options for gaming.


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Skipton Building Society has announced the launch of new intermediary only mortgage products.
Notable introductions include a 60 per cent LTV five-year BTL fix at 2.09 per cent, and a 75 per cent LTV five-year BTL fix at 2.49 per cent. Both products are purchase or remortgage and include £995 fees.
In addition, a 60 per cent LTV two-year at 1.39 per cent, and a 75 per cent LTV two-year at 1.59 per cent have been launched. Both offerings are ERC-free tracker mortgage products and are for ether remortgage or purchase.
A 60 per cent LTV five-year fix at 1.99 per cent, and an 80 per cent LTV five-year fixed rate offer at 2.09 per cent. The latter product is fee free, while the former has a £995 fee.
All the above products offer free valuations for purchase or remortgage, and free legals for remortgages.
Furthermore, brokers accessing these products will have be able to use the firm’s underwriting service and the ability to extend client offers for up to 12 months on a 6 + 6 basis, according to Skipton.
Skipton Building Society head of mortgage products Alex Beavis comments: “We have created these intermediary-only exclusives after listening and talking to our supporting brokers. They provide additional choice of product type and term to our core range.”


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Apple patents health-and-fitness monitoring headphones
February 19, 2014
The devices include accelerometers for detecting motion, and sensors for temperature, perspiration, heart-rate, activity, fitness, and other data.
Apple has “allegedly hired a number of experts in the field non-intrusive medical sensors,” Apple Insider reported last year.
The publication also noted previously that KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple’s much-rumored iWatch will hit store shelves late in 2014, focusing on “biometrics and deep integration with existing iOS devices.”


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Netflix’s programming spend now matches that of the major premium channels and with geographical expansion largely complete, the US-based streaming service is repositioning itself as a premium TV offering, according to new research.
Ampere Analysis suggests Netflix is refocusing its strategy. “Netflix’s growth has relied heavily on geographic expansion to date, but, with its global launch, that road has now run out,” said Daniel Gadher, an analyst at Ampere.
“Increasingly, Netflix is re-engineering as a premium channel play and its content spend, as well as the refinement we are seeing in its content catalogue, reflect this.”
This repositioning will see Netflix differentiate itself from Amazon, which is becoming more of a pay TV platform offering in some markets and also wants to bolster a wider retail business. The two main global OTT players will occupy different places in the market in the future, according to Ampere.
“Netflix is clearly re-positioning as a premium channel in a strategy that differs considerably from that of Amazon,” Gadher said. “This duality of approaches will see the two operations increasingly carve out parallel but separate niches.”
Netflix spent US$4.7 billion on programming last year and will shell out almost US$6 billion in 2017. It has upped its spend on originals and also drastically reduced the volume of library fare on its service. Its spend and focus on originals puts it on a par with the likes of Sky and international channel groups such as NBCUniversal.
Amazon’s spends about US$2.7 billion on programming, less than its rival but at a similar level to Netflix at that point in its development.
“Although Amazon’s level of SVOD content expenditure against revenue from its video service is currently high, it is at a similar level to Netflix’s at the same point in its video development,” Ampere noted.
“Amazon is further able to use its retail business to supplement its content investment strategy, but has been positioning strategically as a platform content operation rather than a channel.”


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Alongside the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the iPhone X (pronounced as iPhone Ten) which features several cutting edge technologies including near-bezel less display, and support for wireless inductive charging. The iPhone X comes in two storage variants – 64GB and 256GB – priced at $999 (roughly Rs. 64,000) and $1,149 (roughly Rs. 73,600) in the US. iPhone X price in India starts at Rs. 89,000, and the country will be among the first wave of launches. Pre-orders (including India) start on October 27, and will hit stores from November 3. For all details about the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.
The first thing you notice on the iPhone X is a near bezel-less display on the front side. It is larger than ever at 5.8-inch. There is a notch on the top, but the company has pushed the screen resolution to 1125×2436 pixels, more than any previous generation iPhone models, and calls it the Super Retina Display.
The iPhone X is the future of smartphones, the executives said. Apple is doing away with the Touch ID, the fingerprint scanner embedded with Home Button that it introduced with iPhone 5s model. The iPhone X hosts a range of sensors including flood illuminator, infrared camera, front camera, and dot projector to allow customers to unlock the iPhone X by just looking at it – a system called Face ID.
Face ID is faster and more secure than the Touch ID, thanks to specialised hardware and algorithm driving that hardware. “The facial recognition grows with time. It learns your face and adapts to your face” Phil Schiller, Apple VP of Worldwide Marketing said. “It works in day, it works in night.” While Touch ID could be tricked one in 50,000 times, Apple said, Face ID sees one error in one million times, citing its own internal data. Face ID will work with third-party apps as well, Schiller said.
The depth-gauging front camera can be used for another purpose, Schiller said. You can create animated emojis – called Animoji – that resemble your facial expressions. Users can make use of this feature in Messages. The company is also betting on augmented reality as a selling point in the iPhone X model.
The iPhone X features a duo of 12-megapixel rear cameras, that are larger (f/1.8 and f/2.4 apertures), and faster. It has deeper pixels, quad-LED True Tone flash, Schiller said. For the 7-megapixel selfie camera, the company says it is bringing Portrait mode feature, which it introduced with the iPhone 7 Plus last year.
In some ways, the company is testing the loyalty of its customers with the $999 price tag, about 50 percent more than the iPhone’s usual $650 starting price, and more than it has ever asked before for its phone. Analysts however noted that the company might still be able to sell enough of these models. In a survey earlier this month by Creative Strategies and SurveyMonkey, 21 percent consumers said they would buy the costlier iPhone regardless of the price, though 33 percent existing iPhone users said they would not upgrade if it was too expensive.
“The most expensive iPhone model, an iPhone 7 Plus with 256GB storage, already costs USD 962 unlocked and SIM free. If Apple adds a new model which costs a few dollars more it will have no impact on consumers who are looking to spend $150. They are completely different market segments,” Ian Fogg, an analyst with IHS Markit told Gadgets 360.
Apple didn’t immediately share how much it had planned to charge Indians for the new iPhone models in India. But Fogg shared two possibilities on how it could play out in the country. “If the new flagship iPhone is genuinely different to other smartphones it will do two things for the mainstream India smartphone market: It will set a design theme which we will see other smartphone makers copy over the next few years, and eventually these design cues will be available in sub $150 smartphone models,” he said. The sub-Rs. 10,000 smartphone market is the most popular in India, according to data from several marketing research firms.
“And, it will act as a halo product to encourage consumers to buy Apple’s entry level smartphone models, currently the iPhone SE and iPhone 6, so consumers who are attracted to Apple’s brand pick the models they can afford,” Fogg added. “There will of course be some consumers in every country who are able to afford the most expensive iPhone whatever the cost. But Apple aims to create mainstream quality products, not a super niche luxury, not commodity products. A product which may fall into the luxury niche in India, could be a mainstream quality smartphone in Japan, USA, or parts of Western Europe.”


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Apple is currently engaged in a legal battle to appeal the ban on the U.S. sale of its latest Apple Watches,
namely the Series 9 and Ultra 2, amidst an ongoing patent dispute.
The ban stems from a claim by medical device maker Masimo, alleging that Apple‘s blood oxygen technology infringes on their patents, a claim which Apple firmly denies.
Background of the Dispute
The dispute between Apple and Masimo originated from assertions regarding the infringement of patents by Apple‘s latest Apple Watches.
This has led to a preliminary ban on the sale of the disputed Products on U.S. soil, pending further legal proceedings.
Apple has consistently maintained that its blood oxygen technology does not infringe on any existing patents held by Masimo.
Furthermore, the company has filed for an appeal to prevent the ban on the sale of the Series 9 and Ultra 2 Apple Watches in the United States.
Impact on Customers
The ongoing legal dispute and ban on the sale of the latest Apple Watches in the U.S. have created uncertainty for potential customers.
This uncertainty stems from the potential unavailability of these innovative Products, which offer advanced Health monitoring Features.
The legal battle between Apple and Masimo is likely to undergo extensive proceedings in the courtroom.
Both parties will present their arguments and evidence to support their respective claims regarding the patent infringement allegations.
The outcome of the legal dispute will have significant implications for the availability and market presence of the latest Apple Watch models in the U.S.
Additionally, the resolution will also impact the continued development and integration of advanced Health monitoring technologies in wearable devices.
The appeal filed by Apple against the ban on the U.S. sale of its newest Apple Watch models marks a critical juncture in the ongoing legal dispute with Masimo.
As the legal proceedings unfold, the resolution of this case will influence the future of innovative wearable Health monitoring technologies in the market.


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Sling TV Launches Exclusive Sports Betting Channel with DraftKings
Sling TV has expanded their partnership with DraftKings. The Live TV Streaming Service launched a new exclusive sports betting channel for both subscribers to Sling Orange and Sling Blue, but also on their Sling Free tier. The channel called “DraftKings Basketball” includes real-time game scores and betting odds of NBA games.
In the coming weeks, they will expand with DraftKings Baseball and DraftKings Hockey.
“This new channel is just the beginning of how we plan to bring the DraftKings sports betting experience to SLING TV customers,” said Michael Schwimmer, President, SLING TV. “We will continue expanding and enhancing our offerings to be the ultimate entertainment experience for sports fans.”
Earlier this year, DISH-owned Sling TV and DraftKings’ reached a deal to integrate DraftKings’ sportsbook and daily fantasy experiences on their platform.
“DraftKings continually looks at new ways to reach customers through innovative collaborations with recognizable brands such as SLING TV,” said Paul Liberman, President of Product and Technology and co-founder at DraftKings. “We are thrilled to expand this relationship, which will offer SLING TV customers an entirely new viewership experience through this first-of-its-kind streaming service.”
Sling is not the only Live TV Streaming Service going after the betting sector. fuboTV is planning to launch their own sports book this year.
Earlier this year, fuboTV announced they were acquiring Vigtory, a smaller-scale sportsbook app, and sought to integrate the sportsbook with their live TV streaming service to create an integrated sports watching (and betting) experience. While the sportsbook functionality is expected later this year, fuboTV first promises its free-to-play gaming experience, made possible by its acquisition of Balto Sports in December 2020.


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Recent speculations on the internet suggest that Sony’s yet-to-be released Xperia XZ3 smartphone could very possibly be outfitted with a new 48MP sensor. However, a new leak is now suggesting that the phone will instead be showing a dual camera setup for its main array.
The leak stems from an alleged specs sheet of the Xperia XZ3 that was first posted by Japanese tech site sumahoinfo. According to the list, the dual camera setup comprises 19MP f/1.8 + 12MP f/1.6 sensors, with a 25mm and 22mm field of views, respectively. On top of that, the front-facing camera now sports