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What Are Its Benefits, Drawbacks?
As competition in Ethiopia’s financial sector increases, banks are looking for ways to maintain a competitive advantage. As a result, some have introduced segmented banking for high-end customers – a form of customer service that revolves around targeting clients with lucrative portfolios. Research suggests that this method helps banks increase their profit, but that it isn’t entirely foolproof. EBR’s Ashenafi Endale spoke with banking insiders to learn more about this form of specialised banking and how it’s being implemented locally.
Although the banking industry in Ethiopia is one of the least developed in sub-Saharan Africa, it has started to evolve gradually by adopting marketing models that are widely used throughout the rest of the world. One of the models that is being pursued by commercial banks is a customer segmentation strategy, which involves marketing bank products and services using specialised branches.
At the beginning of November 2016, Bank of Abyssinia (BoA) opened a specialised branch that serves the Bank’s high-end customers on Africa Avenue. The new branch, called the Habesha Branch, serves normal customers on the ground floor of the Hansem Office Park, while higher-end clients, which they call premium customers, will be entitled to use the offices on the first floor of the building.
The size of the new premium branch office is 500 square metres and has 40 employees. It has meeting halls and kitchens, in which customers can work with their relationship managers. Premium customers and shareholders can use the facility for free, which includes Wi-Fi access, for their own purposes. The premium office can serve 200 customers per day.
“Customers who deposit over ETB15 million, take out loans over ETB15 million, have significant foreign currency deposit records, worked with the Bank for over 10 years and have remarkable transactions and relationships with the Bank will have cards that enable them to be a premium customer,” says Mulugeta Asmare, President of BoA. “The Bank aims to get 80Pct of its income from 20Pct of such premium customers.”
International experts agree that this is a sound approach to modern banking. According to a research paper entitled “Customer Segmentation and Profitability” by Pitney Bowes, a United States-based consulting group, targeting high-end clients is an effective banking model in the post-recession era in which clients are looking for efficient, tailor-made banking solutions: “While most consumers need a banking relationship, the top 25Pct of customers account for nearly all of a financial institution’s profits. Financial institutions require reliable ways to identify revenue potential, assess needs, personali[s]e cross-sell and up-sell activities, build loyalty, and offer convenient, effective service to the targeted, high-yield accounts.”
Other banks in the sector have taken cues from this model of banking. One of the biggest private banks, Dashen, opened a specialised branch a month ago around Wollo Sefer on Africa Avenue. Unlike the Bank’s other branches, this one provides services exclusively for its high-end customers, which are classified as premier and corporate.
Dashen provides different packages for its customers under the two schemes at this new branch. The minimum threshold to open an account at the branch as a premier customer is ETB5 million, while the minimum monetary threshold for corporate accounts, which is designed for corporations and institutions involved in commerce and trade, has yet to be determined.
According to Mulugeta Alebachew, Marketing and Communication Manager at Dashen, customers in the premier service receive quality and timely banking services; consulting from bank experts; discount facilitation upon transaction; an American Express Gold Card, which enables a person to spend ETB100,000 per day; and the ability to withdraw up to ETB60,000 per day from ATMs. Normal customers have a spending limit of ETB8,000 when using an American Express Card and may withdraw up to ETB5,000 from an ATM per day.
“These high-end customers comprise up to 15Pct of the bank’s 1.5 million account holders,” Mulugeta told EBR. “Of the Bank’s 433,000 cardholders, 10,000 are American Express cardholders, which are divided into gold and green.”
He says the majority of the Dashen’s clients below the premier customer threshold generate relatively lower revenue. “We are working on ATM and branch expansion so that clients at the lower end can be served through normal branches, ATMs, cards, mobile and agent banking,” he explains. The Bank currently has 220 cash-withdrawing ATMs, 29 agent banking partners, 260 branches, as well as 1,000 mobile and 3,000 Internet banking customers.
In recent years, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) has been pushing commercial banks to open more branches, especially in rural areas, in a bid to accelerate financial inclusion throughout the country.
However, stakeholders say the increasing operational cost makes it difficult for them to perform their basic functions. “We cannot cover the highly increasing cost just by the revenue generated from the new branches we open,” argues Mulugeta. “Therefore, it is important to focus on customer segmentation and provide customised services for our high-end customers in order to uplift our performance.”
Dashen Bank’s profit after tax has decreased to ETB727 million in the 2015/16 fiscal year from ETB729million the previous year. However, its assets climbed to ETB28.5 billion, up from ETB24.7 billion; shareholders have also decided to raise the paid-up capital of the Bank by ETB510 million, up from its current ETB1.5 billion, during the annual shareholders meeting held at Sheraton Addis on October 27, 2016. This will help the Bank meet the NBE’s requirement of ETB2 billion before the 2020 deadline.
“Uncollected loans from coffee exporters in the Southern region, liquidity problems, declined export performance and commodity prices in the international market impacted Dashen Bank in the 2015/6 fiscal year,” Asfaw Alemu, President of the Bank, told the shareholders during the annual meeting.
To bypass such external and internal obstacles, Mulugeta says it is important to strengthen the use of technology alongside the adoption of different marketing strategies. “Branch expansion has a big cost,” he says. “So, specialisation and segmentation are needed now.”
Financial and marketing experts stress that in industries like banking, where there is stiff competition and unique client needs, segmentation becomes an important issue for institutions that are trying to maximise their profit by following an atypical way of doing things. Globally, segmentation is viewed as the process of arranging diverse markets in to smaller, homogeneous parts called a segment.
According to a study entitled ‘Segmentation in Financial Services Marketing’ published by Z. Eren Kocyigit (PhD), a marketing lecturer at Bahçeşehir University, although segmentation is much harder in the financial sector, addressing the unique needs of heterogeneous customers is important to maximise profit.
Literature written on the subject reveals that market segmentation can be made based on five variables. The first is geography, and the second is based on demography. Segmentation based on demographics revolves around categorising people according to their gender, age and family size, among other things.
Commercial banks in Ethiopia have been using these two modes of segmentation for years. In fact, since it is usually members of a particular ethnic group or religion that establish banks, they tend to serve customers that share a similar ethnic background.
Segmentation based on demography has been practiced in Ethiopia’s banking sector as well. For instance, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) introduced teen, women and youth accounts in 2013 in a bid to encourage more deposits. Other private banks also segment their customers using demography as a tactic.
The other basis for segmentation is based on geo-demographic and psycho-geographic factors. Both factors, which deal with lifestyle, attitude, beliefs and preferences, have yet to be as a significant basis for segmentation in the local banking sector.
However, the fifth factor, which is dividing customers based on socio-economic status, is emerging in the local context. This method uses variables such as social class and income to arrange customers into different groups.
This strategy, argues Kocyigit, has been in practice in the West and has proven to be a successful model for mobilising deposits. For instance, in Europe, customers that can benefit from segmentation and customised as well as specialised services are referred to as high-net-worth individuals and ultra high-net-worth individuals. The minimum transaction or saving requirements for high-net-worth individuals and ultra high-net-worth individuals is above USD1 million and USD30 million, respectively.
Kocyigit argues segmentation enables banks to meet clients’ needs, which in turn increases customer satisfaction and loyalty. Additionally, by adopting this approach, it is possible to perform an efficient match with resources, which leads to cost reduction.
Industry players in Ethiopia’s banking industry that have tried to adopt a customer segmentation marketing approach also laud its rewards.
“Our high-end customers feel honoured and well treated because of the specialised and customised service they receive at our branches,” says Ephrem Mekonnen, Communications Manager at the CBE. “Due to its benefits, they work hard to maintain their status and other customers also get motivated to join that status.”
The CBE began providing priority privileges for its high-end customers in all of its branches three years ago. While the CBE’s package is not the same as Dashen’s, Ephrem says it has helped in treating customers that have invaluable contribution to the Bank: “These customers get priority for any service if they have large deposits, take out big loans and access large foreign currency.”
Of their 13 million clients, 15Pct deserve premium services, according to Ephrem. “The rest are business class. We are conducting studies on customer segmentation to introduce additional facilitations and service packages for customers that constitute 15Pct of the CBE’s clients,” he says. “So far, we did not set a threshold, and we are giving [priority services] at all of our branches.”
The state-owned CBE has 1,100 branches of the 3,500 total operational bank branches in the country. Its asset has also reached ETB384.6 billion as of June 2016.
While the CBE is a titan in Ethiopia’s banking sector, it was Zemen Bank, which joined the industry with a minimum ETB25,000 threshold for savings account holders, that was the first to evolve from the retail banking trend and incline towards serving the high-end customers. The Bank, which was known for its single branch model of operation for years, currently has 12 branches.
“Customer segmentation has helped the Bank immensely,” says Ojeuna Mekconenn, Marketing Department Manager at Zemen. We will introduce additional service packages based on detailed customer segmentation, within a few months.”
This model has worked well in the past for Zemen. According to a study conducted at the Pan African University in Yaoundé, Cameroon, Zemen experienced impressive growth between 2009 and 2014. By most metrics of measuring profitability, including return on assets (ROA) and equity, their financial performance continuously improves due to the Bank “efficiently managing its assets for generating revenue. In particular, Zemen’s return on asset ratio “implies that the Bank has shown a better level of efficiency in utili[s]ation of assets to generate profit….[demonstrating] a 2.84Pct [average growth] of ROA.”
Other banks also seem to follow this trend. “Studies are underway to introduce new products for high-end customers that focus especially on providing premium services for Diasporas, among other services, which we hope to introduce by the end of this fiscal year,” says Daniel Gebre Egziabher, Business Development and Corporate Planning Director at Lion International Bank.
However, experts like Kocyigit argue that the returns of marketing approaches like segmentation based on socio-economic status do not come easily, since the average cost per customer will increase.
Mulugeta agrees with this assessment. “The cost to open the new branch is higher than normal branches,” he argues. “The expensive furniture, dedicating relationship officers to each customer and the service packages makes these branches costly.”
According to research published by A.T. Kearney, an American global management consulting firm, entitled ‘Beyond Segmentation’, this is because classifying customers into predetermined groups does not necessarily bring true returns.
The research bases its argument on the observation of banks operating in countries like Brazil, which have been pursuing a customer segmentation strategy. Since the 1990s, financial institutions in Brazil have divided their customer base into different sub-groups in order provide customised products. However, the strategy has not always delivered on its promises.
The reason is simple, according to the research: “An ‘outside-in’ way of service delivery by offering a customi[s]ed product for [a] predetermined group of customers does not guarantee that a customer’s entire experience with the bank will carter to their distinct needs.”
Research from the Harvard Business Review (HBR) supports this claim. According to an article entitled, ‘What Loyalty? High-End Customers are First to Flee’, researchers at Harvard found that “customers you think are your best and most loyal are likely to be the first to cast you aside when a challenger to your service superiority barges into the market.”
The A.T. Kearney research suggests banks should develop an ‘inside-out’ view of their customers, which not only focuses the entire organisational set-up, such as employees, processes and functions on the banks segmentation strategy, but also on the most profitable customer segments.
Specifically, the HBR article suggests that banks should focus on overall efficiency in service delivery: “High-end businesses must avoid complacency and continue to proactively increase relative service levels when they’re faced with even the potential threat of increased service competition…. Even though high-end customers can be fickle, a company that sustains a superior service position in its local market can attract and retain customers who are more valuable over time.”
Ojeuna says Zemen is known for an ‘outside-in’ view of its customers. “Any segmentation strategy should be part of the organisations structure rather than an extension of activities,” he argues.
Studies also support such a narrative, arguing that a marketing strategy such as segmentation will only be successful if there is a strong internal support structure. Citing the experience of banks in other countries, they stress that customer segmentation works for banks when the entire organisational setup focuses on the strategy and improved efficiency. EBR
5th Year • November 16 2016 – December 15 2016 • No. 45


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When you buy a baby crib, an infant car seat or a child's toy, it ought to be safe. Too often it's not. And the federal agency in charge of strengthening product safety in America is at risk of being seriously weakened.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is a small government agency that rarely gets much attention from Congress. That could change this week, when the Senate takes up President Bush's nomination of Mary Sheila Gall to be chairman of the commission.
Gall has served as one of three CPSC commissioners since the elder President Bush appointed her in 1991. She has been an outspoken opponent of government regulation and fought measures to improve child safety, accusing her fellow commissioners of issuing proclamations "on behalf of the federal Nanny State." When faced with mounting evidence of deaths and injuries to children from dangerous products, she has refused to act, often blaming parents rather than products.
In view of Commissioner Gall's 10-year record with the CPSC, Consumers Union has decided to oppose her nomination an unusual step for our organization. Consumers Union is nonpartisan and independent from commercial or political control. But when we believe that the well-being of children and other consumers might be seriously compromised, we cannot afford business as usual.
President Nixon approved the creation of the CPSC in 1972. It received bipartisan support from Congress after lawmakers found that hazardous products that were not sufficiently regulated were to blame for harming and killing thousands of consumers. The CPSC has jurisdiction over some 15,000 products, from bicycle helmets to toaster ovens to bunk beds to power tools.
The agency is empowered to regulate products whose use results in - or could result in - injury and death, either because of design or manufacturing flaws or because use of a product poses an unreasonable risk. Commissioner Gall appears to fundamentally misunderstand or disagree with this mandate.
During Gall's tenure as a commissioner, when children were harmed by using products she has often blamed parents and caregivers for being "irresponsible," and has argued against taking action to correct the product:
Baby walker injuries had reached 28,000 per year when the CPSC voted on safety regulations in 1994. Gall opposed government action, saying, "The problem here is not with the walker, but with the failure of those entrusted with caring for small children to exercise appropriate supervision." Despite Gall's opposition, the CPSC voted to initiate mandatory standards, and that action persuaded manufacturers to develop designs that made baby walkers safer. By 1999, baby walker injuries had dropped almost 60 percent.
Faced with 89 child deaths associated with poorly designed bunk beds between 1990 and 1998, Gall opposed the commission's getting involved. She also said standards for crib slats were "premature," despite cases of children being hurt and killed when crib slats fell out of place.
In 1994 Gall refused to support CPSC regulation of baby bath seats, despite 14 child deaths and seven near-drowning accidents. Her "no action" view prevailed, and the agency did not intervene. Seven years later, 78 children had died using bath seats. (Gall reversed her position this year as controversy about her nomination was building, but she told The Washington Post, "This was a tough vote for me; it was a struggle.")
Gall's focus on parents and caregivers rather than unsafe products results in children being the unfortunate victims of situations over which they have no control. If a safer product can be manufactured at a reasonable cost that will save children when their parents are distracted or unable to react quickly to prevent a tragedy, then it should be.
No one can predict with certainty how Gall would behave as head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. But her record as a commissioner for the past 10 years is consistent and unequivocal. It suggests she is simply the wrong choice to become the leader of an agency upon which so many consumers depend.
Guest is president of Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports. Special to The Washington Post.
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So Rockstar has announced that GTA: Chinatown Wars will be coming to Sony’s handheld as well, both as a Go download and as a UMD at retail.
The game is very well-made and makes good use of the DS hardware. According to the press release, the PSP version will, “make full use of the PSP hardware.”
We will have to see what exactly that means.
Hit the jump for full press release:


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It’s confirmed that Apple’s Co-Founder Steve Jobs has officially resigned as Apple’s CEO and elected as Chairman of the Board while the company’s Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook is now the new Chief Executive Officer.
Here’s a screenshot of the letter published by Steve himself after his resignation.
While the man is out on his executive job, his vision, creativity and insights will still continue to embody Apple as a company.
During Steve Jobs leadership as CEO when he returned to Apple almost a decade ago, he saved the company from its ailing position, turning it into the world’s most innovative and valuable technology company. During his time, he touched several markets changing the course of mobile, music and computer industry as we know it. His vision also pave way to create a new market for tablets which serve as the middle device between a smartphone and a notebook, as remembered from his keynote last February of 2010 – the announcement of iPad 1.
As Cook steps in as the new executive of the company, we expect to see the stocks of Apple to dance a little bit. As of now, no one knows what will be the ramifications of this announcement to the arrival of Apple’s next-generation devices.


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Clarksville, TN – Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan joined Director of Transportation Arthur Bing and members of the Clarksville Transit System (CTS) recently for a ribbon cutting officially opening CTS’s new fitness center.
“Our bus drivers rarely get a break during the day,” explained Mr. Bing. “They don’t get a lunch break and often grab something quick to eat between routes. As a result, they don’t always get to move enough or eat as healthy as they’d like. This fitness center is one way we can help by giving them a place to exercise after their routes. This will help many of our employees.”
All of the fitness equipment in the center was donated by Nathan Deer of the Clarksville Athletic Club.
“Thanks to the generosity of Mr. Deer, our CTS employees have the opportunity to live healthier lives,” said Mayor McMillan. “Everyone at CTS works so hard to provide the very best service to their customers that it can sometimes be difficult to take care of themselves. I am very excited for the employees who can use this facility and I appreciate Mr. Deer and the Clarksville Athletic Club for making this possible.”
“This is a real win-win situation,” said Mr. Bing. “We are able to provide this center for our employees without using taxpayer’s money to do it.”


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A yellow weather warning for ice across Lancashire and Cumbria has been extended until Monday (January 16).
The Met Office originally issued the warning, in place from 10pm on Saturday January 14 until 10am this morning (Sunday January 15), amid fears that icy surfaces could lead to walkers and motorists suffering injuries. However, the warning has now been extended, and will be in place until 10am on Monday January 16.
The warning comes after a prolonged period of heavy rain which is likely to have led to concerns that plummeting temperatures could see surface water on pavements and roads freeze. The Met Office has warned that there could be some injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces as well as some icy patches on untreated roads and cycle paths.
The Met Office has shared advice from the RAC urging motorists to have a winter kit in their vehicles. The advice includes:
Ice scraper and de-icer
These are basic items but winter must-haves nonetheless. Legally, you must keep your front and rear windscreen clear of snow and ice before driving.
Don't assume you can rely on your smartphone
A phone light won’t really give you visibility if you’re stuck by the side of country road in winter. A large torch with spare batteries or a wind-up torch which doesn't require battery power is essential for your vehicle.
We also rely heavily on phones and in-built car technology for maps but if you have no battery in your car you may find you are limited with your phone battery too. It’s worth having a paper road atlas in case of diversions or getting lost.
In-car phone charger
And related to both of these – have an in-car phone charger so you can top up your battery even when you’re out and about. But what if you break down somewhere with no phone signal? If you're on the motorway you'll need to locate the nearest emergency phone. On quieter roads, assess the situation - it may be a case of walking to the nearest house or sitting tight and waiting for a passing motorist to stop and help.
Warm clothes and blankets
It's sensible to have some warm clothes to wrap up in case of a breakdown - a big coat, gloves, a spare jumper, hat and gloves.
If you need to leave the vehicle in the dark, it's crucial that you can be seen by other motorists – it could even save your life.
Flat or dead batteries can happen to any car regardless of age and at any time, but in cold weather such problems are far more likely to occur.
Always have a set of jump start cables or jump leads in the car, and here’s some RAC advice on how to jump start a car.
Empty fuel can
In an ideal world you would plan your journey to include fuel stops but sometimes things don’t go to plan. If you find yourself without fuel, it’s essential to have an empty fuel can available.
Food and drink
When setting off on a journey – particularly one in winter – you should take some food and drink provisions. Hot drinks in a flask are also a good idea.
Unless the weather is very snowy you shouldn’t usually find deep snow on treated roads, but if you’re driving on smaller roads or there is a snowstorm or blizzard you may be surprised. With a shovel you can dig yourself out
A warning triangle is used to warn other motorists that your vehicle has broken down. Ideally you need two - one to position in front of the car and the second at the rear. And you might be surprised how far away they should be placed - the signs should be at least 45 metres away from the vehicle.
The winter sun can seriously affect the driver’s visibility, creating a glare which makes it difficult to see the road. Always ensure you have a pair of sunglasses to hand.
You can read more in-depth advice about what to put in your winter breakdown kit from RAC.
- Why you should never stop moving while driving through floods
- Latest news from LancsLive


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Supply chain and logistics specialist Imperial Logistics has responded to South Africa’s worst drought in decades by putting its transport and distribution muscle into a drive to deliver water and animal feed to the country’s most desperate communities.
The organisation has transported about 350 000 litres of water to the drought stricken towns of Senekal, Olifantshoek and Verkeerdevlei in the Free State, while three loads of animal feed have brought relief to farmers and their livestock in Ficksburg and around Bloemfontein.
Working with the Water Shortage South Africa organisation, Imperial group companies KWS Carriers and Tanker Services delivered water in food grade tankers, as well as loads of bottled water.
Imperial Logistics chief business development officer Cobus Rossouw says, “The tankers were filled with water at Imperial’s Germiston washbay and then our eagerly awaited cargo was dispatched to the Free State, where it was dropped off at informal settlements, churches, primary and secondary schools.”
For farmers in Ficksburg and around Bloemfontein, drought relief from Imperial came in the form of loads of animal feed, delivered to them by Imperial Cargo, working with its client, fresh produce exporter Freshgold SA.
In another initiative, Imperial has joined forces with Radio Jacaranda to take water to drought ravaged areas in the North West: 15 superlinks have been pledged by the group to travel in convoy to the region.
“We will continue to do whatever we can to help those worst hit by the drought. Imperial’s group companies and our employees have committed to themselves wholeheartedly to numerous drought relief initiatives – from deliveries of hundreds of thousands of litres in our tankers, to bottled water collection projects at our offices. Plans are under way to deliver another 350 000 litres of water to the Free State over the next couple of weeks,” Rossouw concludes.
- The new Hyva KENNIS e-Power crane
- Beating the Costs
- 90 MAN Lion’s City buses for Tbilisi
- CUMMINS ANNOUNCES POWER GENERATION LEADER FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA
- TATA PROVES ITS WORTH
- Mobile Bank
- TRUCKING INDUSTRY FIRING ON ALL CYCLINDERS
- Three Dakar Rallies with no grease
- CCBSA launches new smart trucks to promote road safety
- Built with South African pride


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Last week, Bluehole studios bizarrely started publicly ragging on Epic Games, claiming that the studio created a ‘carbon copy' of PUBG with its new Battle Royale mode for Fortnite. At the time, it was said that Bluehole was contemplating “further action” and today, the studio clarified some of its comments and its issue with Epic Games.
Speaking with PCGamer, Bluehole's C.H. Kim said right off the bat that this fallout isn't necessarily about the Battle Royale mode itself, as there are plenty of other BR-style games on Steam. Instead, the issue seems to stem from the fact that Battlegrounds runs on Unreal Engine and therefor, Bluehole pays Epic Games a lot of money in royalties for using the engine.
“We use Unreal Engine to develop PUBG, and we pay a large amount of royalties based on the size of our success to Epic Games, and Epic Games always promoted their licensing models saying “We want to support the success indie developers”, and Bluehole is this indie developer that has been the most successful one using the Unreal Engine this year, and that's the problem that I see.”
“There were a lot of copycats in China and in that industry there is a lot of battle royale games that look exactly [the] same as ours, so we will definitely look into similarities if there are different products that are very similar to our game, but even before we actually looked deeper into how similar Fortnite Battle Royale is, we wanted to raise an issue because this is from Epic Games. We could be the biggest indie success story that they have and there will be other indie developers that aspire to succeed like us using Unreal Engine, and they would be concerned, right? So we just wanted to raise an issue and let people know that it can be a problem.”
With Epic Games now developing its own Battle Royale style mode, Bluehole says it is more concerned about its own internal tweaks to the Unreal Engine leaking. Beyond that, the studio feels like the trust it had in Epic by using its engine has been violated. So far, Epic Games has not responded to Bluehole's comments and apparently, the two studios have not connected yet to work this out. Hopefully we will see more progress on that front this week.
KitGuru Says: It seems Bluehole is specifically concerned about a conflict of interest occurring here. Bluehole uses Unreal Engine for PUBG, Fortnite does the same. There is the possibility that Bluehole may need to discuss future features for the engine with Epic to get it working properly, which could then in turn end up helping out Fortnite's BR mode.


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Man Admits to Phishing for Bitcoins on Dark Web Forums RICHO monitored the individual's bitcoin balance at the real marketplace. Bitcoin payments can nowbe traced back to the dark web users! The dark web is an encrypted part of the web that hosts online content that is. That's part of the reason why the Reserve Bank hasn't formally recognised cryptocurrencies. Flagging illegal trades. Bitcoin exchanges in India. Michael Richo, a 35-year-old from Connecticut, had the brilliant idea of stealing bitcoin from people involved in illegal deals through dark. In the past few months, Bitcoin has seen a drastic decrease in activity on the dark web. Although many people attribute this to the increase in. The popularity of digital currencies like bitcoin could erode the last Bitcoin's use in transactions that once fueled the dark Web,. A Russian-based, illegal dark-web marketplace that has allegedly German authorities seized over 25 million in Bitcoin through 88.
-the-dark-web. 258 Bartlett, op. cit., 91-94 259 Akif Khan, 'Bitcoin - payment method or fraud prevention tool?' Computer Fraud & Security, Volume 2022. Vendors on the dark web have been releasing ads for the coronavirus vaccine asking for payments for as much as 1,000 worth of bitcoin. "Law enforcement agents seized various cryptocurrency wallets associated with the illegal Dark Web conduct," according to the DOJ. The. Symbolising the dark side of cryptocurrency, the site used Bitcoin as a means of payment. In this case, the features of bitcoins - anonymity, ease of cross-. The total value of bitcoin transacted on the dark web is up 65 over the year, and 340 over three years, according to data from Bitfury's. A drug trafficker from New silkkitie link Mexico pleaded guilty Thursday to peddling a slew of narcotics on the dark web in exchange for cryptocurrency. Hydra Marketplace - the largest darknet market worth over 5 billion - has on the dark web has facilitated over 5 billion in Bitcoin.
The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has reportedly taken down four major illegal Dark Web sites, which have made over 260 million in. Trade in chemical silkkitie darknet market and biological weapons on the dark web includes as advising investigators on how to transact in cryptocurrency. Last year, Hydra accounted for around 80 percent of all darknet market-related cryptocurrency transactions. It also received an estimated. A recent report by a leading crypto-payment analytic firm, Chainalysis, shows that Bitcoin transactions on the dark web grew from approximately 250 million. You've probably heard the recent media hype surrounding BitCoin, a cryptocurrency that can be used to make untraceable purchases on the Dark Webbut what on. Number of illegal activities is executed on the dark web. The entire transaction on the dark web is done through the use of crypto currency like Bitcoin and. The hitman, hired through an internet assassination website hosted on the TOR network Dark web hitman identified through crypto-analysis.
District Court freezes bitcoin, monero, booze, silver and more than a million in cash belonging to Erin Gold and Tom Booker. A young couple. Michael Richo, a 35-year-old from Connecticut, had the brilliant idea of stealing bitcoin from people involved in illegal deals through dark. Man Admits to Phishing for Bitcoins on Dark Web Forums RICHO monitored the individual's 2022 darknet market bitcoin balance at the real marketplace. Katie Haun on the Dark Web, Gangs, Investigating Bitcoin, and the New Magic of Nifties (NFTs) (#499). 10 Comments. Topics: CategoriesThe Tim. World's Largest Darknet Marketplace Has Been Shut Down The latest unlicensed bitcoin exchange conviction led authorities to seize 889,000 and bitcoin dark web in. "Law enforcement agents seized various cryptocurrency wallets associated with the illegal Dark Web conduct," according to the DOJ. The. The dark web is part of the internet that isn't visible to search engines and Nearly all dark web commerce sites conduct transactions in bitcoin or some.
Bitcoin has become the prominent currency of the dark web, which is often used to buy illegal goods, such as weapons and drugs. Authorities Shutter Sprawling Dark Web Drug Bazaar and Seize 25 Million in reliable darknet markets Bitcoin. German officials have taken control of the servers of. When Bitcoin is witnessing an astronomical increase in demand, White House Market, a major marketplace on the darknet, stops taking payments. Currencies like Bitcoin could revolutionize our entire financial system. They could also put women and girls in danger on the dark Web. Silk Road was an online black market and the first modern darknet market. On 3 November 2022, after years of inactivity, observers of the bitcoin. Ransomware scams also demand cryptocurrency as payment. Illicit transactions on the so-called dark web are often conducted using. It's the dark web's currency of choice: for drugs, blackmail and The blockchain technology behind Bitcoin, the distributed ledger, is.
The operation also targeted Italian organized crime and bitcoin dark web international drug trafficking organizations, and hundreds more people were arrested in Europe. This lets users find the exact package and a vendor to deliver it to your location. From a small laboratory in India to the metropolis of Shanghai, Forbidden Stories and its partners investigated this supply chain, where everyone shares a responsibility in the cartels’ success, and the ensuing violence in Mexico. But, all too often, the convoys themselves became the front lines. Our study further determined the per-gram price of opioid bitcoin dark web products by dividing the listing price by the amount of products. A darknet market is a commercial website on the web that operates via darknets such as Tor or I2P. CVV is a term used to indicate credit card records that may contain several bits of data, including the cardholder name, card number, cardholder address, expiration date, and CVV2 (the three digit code reported on the back of a card). Are usually found in this zone student work, plus an answer key they learn about the ocean consists! The Drugs and New Technologies project (under the auspices of the Drug Trends program) at the NDARC has been monitoring darknet markets since 2013, and has a long series of data on the size of these markets over time.
“Parents, if you spot Tor on your bitcoin dark web kid's computer, now you know why it's there. The Treasureland NFT marketplace is a spin-off from the developers behind DEGO.”
And a seller who sold on a market but was busted through his own off-market sales will be marked with the relevant market. Posters started egging each other on to pile into IShares Silver Trust, the largest silver. Vice City reddit darknet market noobs Market is named after a city in the popular video game series entitled as Grand Theft Auto. It allows them to operate across borders, organize crime, and trade in illegal items, both physical and digital. However, no purely deep web excluding the Dark web content could be found. Retrieval miners, along with storage miners, are the two key components that make up Filecoin’s decentralized market structure. Anyone who holds ANKR in a private, supported wallet is considered part of the platform's governance. I have a the season reddit darknet market list battle pass but my friend does not.


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- All Lifestyle
- Consumer Interest
- Dating / Singles
- Diet / Weight Loss
- Food / Beverage
- Health & Fitness
- Hotel / Resorts
- Self Help
- Travel & Tourism
View Releases by:
April 22, 2014 -- Bellava MedAesthetics is proud to announce a new Gummy Bear breast implant website and is offering new...
April 22, 2014 -- BillyTheTree, a leading online provider of unique jewelry and specialty items, recently announced record sales...
April 22, 2014 -- Evivite.com has recently released a pair of publications that explain how exfoliation affects the skin as well as information on the latest options for exfoliating.
April 22, 2014 -- Pousti Plastic Surgery of San Diego is pleased and excited to announce its limited time “Mother’s Day” Spring special on the Practice’s Mommy Makeover package.
April 22, 2014 -- A reminder to editors, copywriters, bloggers, manufacturers and retailers and, last but not least, Stetson's many fans. Stetson is more than just a hat.
April 22, 2014 -- Years after the worldwide popularity of Acai Berry hit the market, only the most potent of its supplements remain. Pure Acai Berry Max made it through the hype and has recently released an update to...
April 22, 2014 -- Backed by corporate sponsor, Fromm, and Bungalo Records/UMGD, Jennifer Knight releases new pop/dance/electronica single “Twinkle and Shine”.
April 22, 2014 -- GenF20 Plus supplement, a complete HGH Releaser is helping millions across the globe in living a happy and healthy life. The product is very effective to surmount various health disorders and provide...
April 22, 2014 -- Platinum Soursop, which has always been 100% pure and natural, is now offered in an increased dosage. In each capsule is the strongest Brazilian Graviola extract in the market.
April 22, 2014 -- The Good Girl Gone Bad got her hands on a pair of green EDGE sunglasses by HAZE Collection to honor the 420 holiday.
April 22, 2014 -- Annual Event Offers Three Days of Education, Inspiration, and Networking
April 22, 2014 -- The recipient of the Dentist of the Year Award is Michael A. Smith, DMD, The Biting Edge Family Dentistry, of Phoenix, Arizona.
April 22, 2014 -- Doctors from around the world learn to perform Chao Pinhole Gum Rejuvenation®, also known as the Chao Pinhole Surgical Technique® at the bimonthly seminars. This minimally invasive...
April 22, 2014 -- New spin on SNL’s ‘Dick in a Box’ to Inspire Awareness, Change in Feminine Products Industry
April 22, 2014 -- SkinCare Physicians' dermatologists will host a complimentary event, Leading the Way in Skin Care, on May 10, 2014, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston, for women and men interested in learning...
April 22, 2014 -- The Blue Door Boutique has hit the social media milestone of 1 million likes on Facebook!
April 22, 2014 -- Celebrate with exhale and Women’s Health at FusionFest on May 20, 2014.
April 21, 2014 -- MXI-Corp-Asia has announced a new Networking Compensation Plan for Xocai Distributors.
April 21, 2014 -- Malvern Endodontics, widen their reach offering services to the Melbourne Bayside area residents by opening Bayside Endodontics in Cheltenham. A broad range of endodontic procedures are offered...
April 21, 2014 -- Dr. Edward Buckingham Honored to Take Seat On Fellowship Review Committee
April 21, 2014 -- Rakel's Shoes has moved their revamped wholesale show website offering a fresh new design and user friendly shopping experience.
April 21, 2014 -- U ARe! Fashions' clothing collection of chic maxi dress styles now available on Amazon.com with huge spring sale promotions.
April 21, 2014 -- People who suffer from chronic drug addiction problems and want to stop their pain now have an answer available. For a free consultation, call 513-342-4902.
April 21, 2014 -- Mother's Day is but a few weeks away, and it's time to buy. Sublime Beauty® has a small collection of serum and/or jewelry in gift boxes to delight her - or a gift card that never...
April 21, 2014 -- Jessica Minh Anh to transform Western Hemisphere’s Tallest Building into Sky-high Catwalk. Online release with photos and videos can be found at...


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Demand from fleet-based vehicle operators is a lone bright spot for the EV industry as global sales sputter.April 18, 2024
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. says it will delay rolling out new electric pickup trucks and a new large electric SUV as it adds gas-electric hybrids to its model lineup.April 4, 2024
Ford Motor Co. said that it would reduce the number of workers making its F-150 Lightning truck as demand for electric vehicles continues to weaken.January 19, 2024
Ford Motor Co. says it would face $1 billion in fines from 2027 to 2032 under stricter proposed average fuel economy rules that target SUV and truck manufacturers.
DETROIT — The United Auto Workers union isn’t adding any factories to those that are now on strike, but its president says walkouts could be added at any moment.
Ford Motor Co. is halting construction of a $3.5 billion battery plant in Michigan that drew scrutiny from Republican lawmakers for its ties to a Chinese battery maker.September 25, 2023


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The Acer Iconia A1-810 is a new tablet that will take on the iPad Mini with its 7.9-inch IPS display with 1024×768 pixels resolution. It will be out soon, offering quite a bang for the buck. Specs wise, this tablet comes with MediaTek’s MT8125 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 5-megapixel rear camera, VGA front-facing one, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, HDMI out port, 3,250mAh battery, 16GB of internal memory and a microSD memory card slot.
As for the price, French online retailer Rue Du Commerce lists Acer’s baby with a price tag of 199 EUR, which is some 140 EUR less than what iPad Mini is selling at the moment. The A1-810 is expected to be in stock on June 3rd, and we tend to believe other countries across Europe will get it at that time, as well.
As reported earlier, Acer plans to sell some 7 million Android tablets this year, with device like this one helping it reach its figures…
[Via: Unwired View]


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Oleg Patsiansky stories
Oleg Patsiansky is a proficient author with a keen interest in the dynamic intersection of technology and finance. His insightful writings frequently explore the evolving landscape of banking, highlighting both the burgeoning opportunities and potential challenges that come with innovation in the sector.
In his latest piece, Patsiansky takes a close look at Super Apps and their encroaching significance within the banking industry. He delves into a new report that not only identifies the potential of these all-encompassing applications to reshape how consumers manage their finances but also the looming threat they pose to traditional banking providers—a discussion that is increasingly relevant given the interest of 67% of US consumers in such platforms.


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PARIS -(MarketWatch)- French retail-to-luxury group PPR SA (PP.FR) is expecting offers on its Redcats catalog business in the coming weeks, Chief Executive Francois-Henri Pinault said Tuesday.
"We are still in discussions with some candidates," he said. "We will only consider those with certain financing."
In July, PPR began touting Redcats to potential buyers before calling off the sale in September over fears that buyers couldn't get the necessary financing to meet the price.
However, Mr. Pinault said that some of the 18 interested parties have their own financing, and have continued to pursue the target.
PPR has promised for years to sell off its low-growth retail businesses to focus on its global brands such as Gucci and Puma. The financial crisis has slowed down the process by limiting the credit available to buyers.
In addition to Redcats, which sells clothing and home furnishings through catalogs, PPR also intends to sell its home electronics chain Fnac.


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WHAM13 - Search Results
Energy storage center opens
Rochester, N.Y. -- Eastman Business Parks newest tenant is now up and running.
The battery and energy storage technology test and commercialization center is a $23 million center.
A grand opening for the business, which will bring in new technologies to the commercial market, took place Wednesday.
The center allows researchers and companies to test the viability and performance of new energy storage products before they hit the market.


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Melt Shop signed its first airport agreement, in tandem with Skyport Hospitality, an award-winning concessionaire with operations in Denver, Pittsburgh, New York, Cleveland, and Nashville. As part of the agreement, Melt Shop and Skyport have been awarded contracts to open restaurants in John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal Five and in the main food court of Pittsburgh International Airport. Both operations are scheduled to open later in 2019.
“We strongly believe that busy airports present an ideal opportunity for our brand and we’re excited to open our first two in New York and Pittsburgh later this year,” says Josh Morgan, COO of Melt Shop. “Airports are now spending a great deal of time and money to enhance and curate better food and beverage options. Melt Shop is a perfect fit with this new direction and our food quality combined with rapid ticket times will resonate well with leisure and business travelers.”
Melt Shop’s agreement with Skyport Hospitality comes on the heels of a successful first quarter that included a new partnership with Villa Restaurant Group and the opening of the company’s newest restaurant in Union Square. With five new restaurants planned to open later this year and more than 30 in the pipeline, Melt Shop is continuing to lead fast casual’s elevated melted sandwich segment.
“Our team is always looking for unique and delicious brand offerings that will entice and excite airport travelers,” adds Dave Willner, Chief Operating Officer of Skyport Hospitality. “We were drawn to Melt Shop after tasting their incredible food. As we got to know the team, brand history, and operational standards, we immediately knew that this would be a collaboration that could help our company’s central mission – to elevate what it means to eat and drink in an airport. We are thrilled to be a part of the first-ever Melt Shop in an airport setting, and we look forward to continued expansion with this great brand.”
In addition to expanding in airports, Melt Shop is propelling its nontraditional growth by opening up in malls throughout target regions, like the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. To date, more than half of Melt Shop’s restaurants are located in nontraditional spaces. To further drive its ongoing growth, the brand is seeking well-capitalized multi-unit franchisees in New York, the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions, as well as in Florida, who are entrepreneurial, have a strong knowledge of their markets, and are excited to be a part of a culinary experience unmatched in the melted sandwich space. Since launching into franchising in September 2017, Melt Shop has added more than 30 restaurants to the pipeline and remains well ahead of its goal to open 100 locations by 2023.


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Lattice moves away from high-end FPGAs News & Analysis 2/23/2009 Post a comment After a period of losses and competitive pressures, Lattice Semiconductor Corp. is refining its focus and moving away from the high-end of the field-programmable gate array (FPGAs) race.
AxisNT touts efficiency gains of tripe mode PA module News & Analysis 2/23/2009 Post a comment Wireless infrastructure group Axis Network Technology (Aylesbury, England) has started sampling a triple mode power amplifier module and IP linearization solution that, it says, offers a 45 percent final stage efficiency for UMTS 64QAM systems at 2.1GHz.
ARM preps tiny core for low-power microcontrollers Product News 2/23/2009 2 comments With help from lead partner and licensee NXP, ARM Holdings plc has designed a very low gate-count ARM processor core suitable for use in microcontrollers aimed at ultra-low power applications. Chips are expected to ship from licensees before the end of 2009.
Analysis: Will Synopsys take over the world? News & Analysis 2/20/2009 1 comment While competitors stumble amid the downturn, Synopsys is firing on all cylinders and beating analyst expectations with revenue and profit. Executives say Synopsys' financial strength will drive future marketshare gains. But do customers want an EDA market with one dominant player?
Zilog vend sa division wireless control News & Analysis 2/20/2009 Post a comment Maxim et Universal Electronics Incorporated ont racheté ensemble l'activité "Wireless Control" de Zilog ce qui ne laissera que les microcontrôleurs standard dans ce qui fut le pionnier des microprocesseurs avec le Z80.
Hyperstone : 32-Bit MCU suits cost-sensitive applications Product News 2/20/2009 Post a comment Hyperstone has introduced the high-performance E2 – 32-bit RISC/DSP microcontroller with additional on-chip highlights such as programmable serial communication engine, an analog to digital converter and 32 kBytes on chip (I-RAM) complemented by an external memory and peripheral interface controller.
Updated: NAND capex seen dropping 59% in 2009 News & Analysis 2/19/2009 2 comments Total NAND flash memory manufacturing capex is expected to fall by 59 percent in 2009 after decreasing by 28 percent in 2008, according to an analysis by DRAMeXchange, a memory clearing house.
WCDMA power amplifiers with integrated directional couplers News & Analysis 2/19/2009 Post a comment kyworks Solutions has introduced a family of single and dual-band WCDMA power amplifiers (PA) for universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) applications that integrate the directional coupler, significantly reducing the phone board footprint and bill-of-material costs.
Vanishing 'goodwill' erodes high-tech asset value News & Analysis 2/19/2009 1 comment High-tech corporate assets have fallen sharply across the industry in recent quarters as businesses remove chunks of increasingly worthless goodwill intangible assets from their balance sheets and as cash utilization accelerate due to payouts to laid off employees and requirements for funding a variety of additional reorganization actions.
ADI accelerating fab consolidation as sales fall News & Analysis 2/18/2009 Post a comment Analog Devices will accelerate plans to consolidate its two remaining U.S. fabs into one facility as part of an effort to permanently reduce spending in the face of further projected revenue decline of 5 to 15 percent this quarter, the company said. Revenue from ADI's most recent quarter declined 28 percent sequentially.
Recession seen slowing embedded modem growth News & Analysis 2/18/2009 Post a comment More than 35 million cellular modems for laptops and netbooks shipped in 2008, 10 percent of which were embedded in the computers, according to market research firm ABI Research. The firm expects the number of embedded modems to double to 7 million units in 2009, fewer than it had previously forecast.
High-end clusters a bright spot in downturn News & Analysis 2/18/2009 Post a comment The high performance computing market will decline 5.4 percent in 2009, but remain one of the most resilient sectors in information technology through the recession, according to the latest forecast from International Data Corp.
Economic realities to impact LTE roll-out News & Analysis 2/18/2009 Post a comment Fourth generation networks and specifically LTE (Long Term Evolution) may be one of the major talking points here at the Mobile World Congress, but the messages are unclear about what their impact will be in the short term.
Analyst bullish on Broadcom's cellular business News & Analysis 2/17/2009 Post a comment The announcement that Broadcom will be a supplier to some of Nokia's next generation high-speed packet access-based handsets continues a pattern of recent design wins that should position Broadcom to gain share in the cellular handset market in years to come, according to Craig Berger, an analyst with FBR Capital Markets.
LED driver claims flickerless dimming Product News 2/17/2009 Post a comment Responding to a significant number of requests for a TRIAC dimmable LED driver, National Semiconductor has introduced a constant-current controller that enables uniform dimming of LEDS without flicker.
LSI rolls multicore strategy Product News 2/17/2009 Post a comment LSI Corp. rolled out at the Mobile World Congress a new multicore strategy behind an upcoming family of chips targeting wireless infrastructure gear, mixing and matching its portfolio of cores and on-chip interconnects from recent acquisitions to create new standard products and ASIC offerings.
Convertisseur 0,32V pour cellule solaire News & Analysis 2/17/2009 Post a comment Freescale Semiconductor a présenté une technologie de conversion de puissance fonctionnant dès 0,32V et conçue pour les applications photovoltaïques. Le convertisseur continu/continu fournit un voltage de sortie de 4 V.
Mellanox bridges data center nets News & Analysis 2/17/2009 Post a comment Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. will jump into the market for multi-protocol bridging chips and systems with its BridgeX chip and a family of gateway systems based on it supporting 40Gb/s InfiniBand, 10 Gigabit Ethernet and 8Gb/s Fibre Channel.
Capacitive sensor measurement made simple Product News 2/17/2009 2 comments Interfacing to MEMS transducers, such as those that sense acceleration, pressure, altitude, humidity, rain, level and gas, e2v's CPIC2.0 ic has been designed to ease the process of sensor data acquisition.
Qualcomm, Nokia start making up Product News 2/17/2009 Post a comment Both ST-Ericsson and Qualcomm Inc. have revealed partnership programmes with Nokia based round reference platforms that will use the Symbian Foundation's software.
SDR solution targets GSM/EDGE base stations Product News 2/16/2009 Post a comment Octasic today announced Vocallo BTS, its Software Defined Radio platform for GSM, EDGE and EDGE Evolution base stations. The platform implements a complete Layer 1 solution for up to 12 GSM carriers or 6 EDGE carriers or any combination.
TI unveils multi-core OMAP 4 Product News 2/16/2009 Post a comment Texas Instruments has expanded its popular OMAP mobile applications platform and processors, with the fourth generation set to be the first devices that use ARM's Cortex-A9 MPCores.
Startup aims Wi-Fi at embedded systems Product News 2/16/2009 Post a comment Startup ZeroG Wireless officially throws its hat into the ring of competitors trying to bring Wi-Fi to embedded systems with a new chip and module that could bring 802.11b connectivity to new lows in cost, size and power consumption.


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When The Pixies, the reunited stars of 1980s alt-rock, decided recently to play a special show in Los Angeles, they wanted to make sure their biggest local followers were invited first. So last Thursday morning, the band sent e-mail messages to 8,031 fans with Southern California ZIP codes, announcing the show and alerting them that “tickets are on sale RIGHT NOW.”
All 1,200 tickets for the show, at the Music Box on Nov. 19, were sold in about an hour, said Richard Jones, the band’s manager.
The rush was a testimony to the loyalty of Pixies fans. But to manage the whole process online — including reaching out to a small subset of its mailing list and selling the tickets itself — the group turned to Topspin Media, one of a handful of technology companies that are transforming the way musicians do business by letting them market directly to their audiences.
Keep reading: New York Times


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Tencent Technology News reported on June 22 that Microsoft’s next-generation operating system Windows 11 will be launched on June 24 (Beijing time) in the United States. Recently leaked spy photos show that it will adopt a new design, including a new user interface (UI), windows store and a more modern aesthetic design more like apple mac.
New windows 11 user interface
We knew a few months ago that Microsoft was always trying to improve the user interface of windows, and it seems that most of these improvements will appear in Windows 11. The leaked version of the new operating system includes an updated design and a new start menu in the center of the taskbar.
This is very similar to the design we saw in Windows 10x, but Microsoft canceled the update of windows 10x and instead supported porting some functions of the operating system to the main version of windows. Windows 10x was originally designed for dual screen devices, but Microsoft has now shelved the work.
The new start menu in Windows 11 is more like a starter in the leaked version, which allows users to quickly find recently used documents or favorite applications. The live tiles that first appeared in Windows 8 are now gone, but you can still move the start menu to the left side of the screen.
In addition to the start menu and buttons, there are other subtle improvements to the user interface. We are looking forward to new improvements in multitasking on tablets, laptops and desktop PCs. Not every user interface of the leaked version has been changed. It is expected that Microsoft will make additional improvements to the taskbar, notification center, and general parts of windows (such as volume pop-up window, etc.).
Computing image processing technology of webcam
As many people turn to remote or mixed work, the need for a reliable webcam experience is a priority for all of these zoom and teams. The iPhone 12 pro and Google pixel phones have included computational image processing technology to improve quality. We’d love to see this feature on Windows 11’s webcam, which also gives PCs an advantage over the new M1 Mac.
More MAC like virtual desktops
Apple Mac has a great feature called spaces, which allows users to easily create multiple virtual desktops and keep the screen more orderly. In windows, more steps are required to perform this operation. Microsoft is expected to be able to create and manage virtual desktops more easily in Windows 11.
Stop forcing edge
Microsoft chrome based edge browser is the default browser for windows 10. Of course, users can switch it to a browser of their own choice, such as chrome, Firefox or brave. But many users report that Microsoft will reset the default setting to edge. It is expected that in Windows 11, it will be easier for users to set and retain default browser settings.
Faster shutdown, restart and wake up from sleep
Personal computers running Windows 10 may face slower shutdown, restart and wake-up times, and sometimes need to close applications such as task manager. We want to see these options accelerate in the new version of windows.
Simple user account creation
In Windows 10, users need to log in to create a new user account. Microsoft recommends that the new account be attached to the Microsoft account as well. Windows 11 may provide easier user account creation without having to log in or be forced to connect to a Microsoft account.
New windows store
Microsoft is also expected to spend time discussing its new store in Windows 11. Satya NADELLA, Microsoft’s chief executive, joked that “major updates” to windows would focus on economic opportunities for developers and creators. “Today, we will create more opportunities for every windows developer, and welcome every creator who is looking for the most innovative, up-to-date and open platform to build, distribute and monetize applications,” he said last month
It is reported that Microsoft is always developing a new windows store, which is open to all applications and games. The change could pave the way for developers to submit any windows application to the store, including browsers such as chrome or Firefox, and even allow third-party business platforms to be used in the application.
Enabling a third-party business platform between apps found in the windows store will allow developers to bypass the 15% commission Microsoft charges for using its in app payment system. It’s going to be a big change as Microsoft, Epic Games, the developer of the popular video game fortress night, and others are pressing apple to change its app store policy.
Microsoft also recently announced a 30% cut in the PC Game Commission in the windows store, which has now fallen to only 12%, lower than the 15% commission it charges for apps. This is comparable to the commission rate offered by Epic Games in its own app store, which may put more pressure on valve’s steam.
Focus on Windows dependent users
Although Microsoft has tried to attract creators, developers and others to use windows in the past, it is expected that the company will focus on the core improvements of windows 11, which will benefit those who rely on the operating system every day.
Novel coronavirus pneumonia is surprised to see that the use of Windows has exploded during the new crown pneumonia outbreak. It is felt that Windows 11 will be a great opportunity to prove that the company has invested more capital in its operating system’s overall health for decades. We’d like to see Microsoft pay more attention to productivity, even some advanced user features, as well as the security improvements that Microsoft usually provides in the new version of windows.
In the leaked version of windows 11, we have seen signs that Microsoft has improved the multitasking interface of desktop PCs and even tablets. The new user interface can make it easier for users to use applications. Microsoft is also improving the way it handles multi display support in Windows 11, ending years of frustration experienced by super users.
Microsoft also has the opportunity to focus more on Windows 11 games, which is an important focus of its Xbox business recently. Microsoft admitted a few years ago that it had a lot to do with Windows PC games. Some of the work has already begun, such as the new Xbox app expected to be bundled with windows 11 and the impressive Xbox game bar. But Microsoft can make other potential changes to windows to improve PC games and performance.
We’re looking forward to hearing more about the Xbox auto HDR feature coming into windows, as well as the improvements such as directstorage that will speed up the loading of games. We are also happy to see many improvements in game security to prevent target robots and hackers in the game, but we do not expect windows 11 to solve this complex problem alone. Microsoft does have a chance to prove that it is more committed to PC games on Windows 11, especially because it is the preferred platform for PC gamers.
It is expected that any PC running Windows 10 can now be upgraded to windows 11 for free. During the release period, Microsoft always focused on the free upgrade of windows 10, and suddenly began to charge for windows 11 without any significance. Most of Microsoft’s windows revenue comes from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) or commercial licenses, so it seems obvious to upgrade windows 11 for free for consumers（ Tencent technology reviser / Jinlu)


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Indie devs can publish on Xbox without Microsoft's help
Bring on the weird, Xbox Live Creators Program.
Now Microsoft's Twitch competitor has an Xbox One app
Beam is currently in testing for select Xbox Insiders.
Beam, Windows 10 Game Mode tests start tomorrow on XB1 and PC
Microsoft is moving quickly with its latest Insider tests on Xbox One and Windows 10.
Microsoft's Twitch competitor, Beam, gets a major update
'Beam 2.0' has a brand new home page and player, improved video quality and Xbox Live sign-ins.
Windows 10 is about to get a high-performance Game Mode
Previews will start introducing the feature this week.
Microsoft updates Beam streaming to better compete with Twitch
The already speedy service is now faster and lets you log in with Xbox Live.
NASA says the ISS' inflatable module is doing great
Here's what the agency learned about the module in six months' time.
Beam's interactive livestreaming hits Windows, Xbox this winter
The service claims its 'low-latency' tech means viewers can play along with the people they watch.
Microsoft acquires Beam livestreaming service
Microsoft moves to improve its livestreaming experience with the newly-obtained platform.


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Component supplier and mattress producer Harrison Spinks, with headquarters in Leeds, England, has signed an agreement to supply car seat maker Johnson Controls in Plymouth, Mich., with what it calls “the world’s tiniest pocket springs.”
The two companies have signed a deal to “integrate pocketed coil spring mattress technology into an automotive seat concept called ComfortThin,” according to Johnson Controls. Polyurethane foam used in car seats will be replaced by recyclable steel springs, reducing car seat size, as well as overall vehicle weight by 5% to 20%—thus improving a car’s fuel efficiency. The technology is expected to be available in 2015 model year automobiles.
The springs are as small as 10 millimeters (0.4 inches) in height and were developed by Spinks Managing Director Simon Spinks in 2011. The luxury mattress maker incorporates its miniature pocket springs into the comfort layers of its high-end innerspring beds.
“We are delighted to have signed this agreement with the industry leader Johnson Controls so that we can bring this sustainable alternative to traditional foam technology to the automotive industry,” Simon Spinks said.


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BAFTA – British Academy of Film and Television Art held yearly to help, develop and promote the art form of moving images is an event looked up not just for the movies that make the nominations but mostly for the fashion that the event serves. Celebrities from across the globe make themselves available at the award show in the best of Fashion creating a plethora of colours and art. This year, BAFTA 2020, however, came as a surprise when it took sustainability as its goal.
“The goal is that the EE British Academy Film Awards 2020 will be carbon neutral, working towards having a net positive impact on the environment.”
Second-hand clothing site ThredUp which supports such cause encouraged Oscars attendees to go green on the red carpet this year by avoiding single-use fashion, which it calls “one of our greatest climate polluters.” The company explains in an instant update inform the people that 26billion pound of clothes gets thrown out each year which is expected to increase by 60% in the present decade.
Pic courtesy Thredup.
The event and it causes was supported by none other than The Duchess of Cambridge who recycles and re-wore her Alexander McQueen white embroidered gown and looked exquisite while doing so. The Duchess costumes were from 2013 which she has worn on one of her trips. This shows The Royal Family’s stand on the present issue with fashion and Sustainability. With Duchess being the trendsetter in fashion, we wouldn’t be surprised if the film fraternity started reusing their clothes during a public appearance. The Duchess has been a supporter of reusing fashion though in case of Red Carpet this is the first that we have seen.


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After China last month rejected a shipment of 24,000 bottles of Lithuanian-produced dark rum, state-owned Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp earlier this month said it had purchased the lot.
It seems that Beijing has no intention of letting up pressure on Lithuania, and the US does not seem to understand that this kind of political manipulation can be considered a weapon.
Perhaps the only country that is motivated to help Lithuania is Taiwan. However, Taiwanese should understand three things.
First, Lithuania’s annual export volume to China is about US$300 million, and its exports to Taiwan are just more than US$30 million. Taiwan’s exports to Lithuania are three times higher than Lithuania’s to Taiwan. This leaves much room for Taiwan to at least expand its imports from Lithuania in kind.
Second, Lithuania has a population of about 2.8 million, about equal to Taipei’s population. Thus, Taiwan is a large market for the Baltic state.
Third, Lithuania’s main exports are not chocolate and beer. They are mineral oil, machine tools and auto parts. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and other large Taiwanese firms are eager to join the global technology supply chain, so they can meet their needs by purchasing such products from Lithuania directly. Meanwhile, the government could make purchases from the country, so that small and medium-sized enterprises would not have to worry about a shortage of materials.
It is important that Taiwan comes to Lithuania’s aid, because if Taiwan regards itself as a key member of the supply chain in the new Indo-Pacific region, then it should prove its ability to not only shelter an ally from attack when it is being sanctioned by China for supporting Taiwan, but also help establish a new economic order. By doing so, Taiwan can slap China in the face, while substantially promoting its international influence.
Lithuania’s main export products are urgently needed by Taiwan’s military, which is looking for ways to boost its national defense autonomy. In addition, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia and other countries are watching Lithuania’s moves and how Taiwan responds.
Although the Taiwanese market is not as large as the massive Chinese market, if the government mobilizes its resources, it can save Lithuania from Beijing’s wave of attacks.
If Taiwan fails to block the economic assaults, the inroads it has made with central and eastern European countries would be cut off by China, and its hard work would have been in vain.
Taiwan can help Lithuania restore its status in the face of Chinese sanctions, and perhaps even improve its situation. Instead of purchasing beer and chocolate, which are finished goods whose sales rely on the size of the market, Taiwan should concentrate on purchasing half-finished goods such as mineral oil, machine tools and auto parts.
Hopefully the government can seize this opportunity and deal a heavy blow to China’s economic warfare, and relieve the pressure on Lithuania.
Wang Wen-sheng is a retired political operations officer and a doctoral student at Jindal University in India.
Translated by Eddy Chang
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) said in an interview with CNN on Sunday that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would render the company’s plants inoperable, and that such a war would produce “no winners.” Not only would Taiwan’s economy be destroyed in a cross-strait conflict, but the impact “would go well beyond semiconductors, and would bring about the destruction of the world’s rules-based order and totally change the geopolitical landscape,” Liu said in the interview, according to the Central News Agency. Bloomberg columnist Hal Brands wrote on June 24: “A major war over Taiwan could create global economic
Amid a fervor in the global media, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her congressional delegation made a high-profile visit to Taipei. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) awarded a state honor to her at the Presidential Office. Evidently, the occasion took on the aspect of an inter-state relationship between the US and the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan, despite no mutual state recognition between the two. Beijing furiously condemned Pelosi’s visit in advance, with military drills in the waters surrounding coastal China to check the move. Pelosi is a well-known China hawk, and second in the line of succession to
A stark contrast in narratives about China’s future is emerging inside and outside of China. This is partly a function of the dramatic constriction in the flow of people and ideas into and out of China, owing to China’s COVID-19 quarantine requirements. There also are fewer foreign journalists in China to help the outside world make sense of developments. Those foreign journalists and diplomats who are in China often are limited in where they can travel and who they can meet. There also is tighter technological control over information inside China than at any point since the dawn of the
Since the US cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan and established full diplomatic relations with China in 1979, the highest-ranking US political figure who has visited Taiwan has been the speaker of the US House of Representatives. A quarter-century ago, Newt Gingrich, the then-speaker of the House, had a “whirlwind” visit to Taiwan. However, Gingrich’s congressional visit to Taiwan in April 1997 happened after his three-day trip to China. This time, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s itinerary covered Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan — the four growing and increasingly important allies and partners of the US in the Indo-Pacific region.


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Revention announces the company has been selected as a Preferred Partner by the Texas Restaurant Association (TRA). After a rigorous and lengthy process of selection, TRA chose Revention as the first company awarded the honor of being a TRA Preferred Partner in the last five years. Not only that, but Revention also carries the distinction of being the first and only point of sale (POS) company ever to be chosen by the TRA.
“POS systems are an essential part of every restaurant operation, and this partnership with Revention will help our members navigate the ever-changing technology landscape successfully,” says Richie Jackson, CEO, Texas Restaurant Association.
Both Revention and the Texas Restaurant Association are dedicated to advancing the state of the ever-evolving restaurant industry, and the partnership opens up opportunities for both parties to do so. Additionally, Revention will be sponsoring many of the TRA’s upcoming events, such as the TRA Marketplace conference being held this June in Dallas, as well as the TRA’s Lone Star Bash and Texas ProStart Golf Classic & Casino Night.
“We are humbled and honored to be chosen as the official POS provider for the Texas Restaurant Association. We look forward to a successful and rewarding partnership,” says Jeff Doyle, president and CEO of Revention.
Revention is proud to be selected as a Preferred Partner by the TRA, and incredibly excited to now be the official POS provider for Texas Restaurant Association.


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Ride-hailing startup Uber is seeking another $2.1 billion in funding, which would value the company at $62.5 billion, reports Bloomberg. A source close to the company tells TechCrunchthat the new funding round could value the company as high as $64.6 billion.
Meanwhile, competing ride-hailing apps Lyft, Didi Kuaidi, Ola, and GrabTaxi have formed a global alliance to share technology and strategy in order the take on Uber, reports TechCrunch. Users of those companies, which are based in the U.S., China, India, and Southeast Asia, respectively, will be able to access rides from each service through their local app.
This new alliance between Uber’s major competitors was set in motion this past September, when Lyft announced a partnership with Didi Kuaidi, Uber’s biggest rival in China, in which Didi Kuaidi will invest $100 million in U.S.-based Lyft.
Expanding in China is a top priority for Uber, as Fast Company reported in our October 2015 profile of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. “That’s where the action is,” Kalanick told writer Max Chafkin. Chafkin described Kalanick’s intense focus on China:
…Kalanick and I discuss China, one of his current obsessions and a place where his ideological flexibility has been an asset. “It’s just different than everywhere else,” he says, referring to Uber’s recent expansion into the country. “And, so, you can’t take your pattern or your model for other places and take that to China. You just can’t. You have to do it different.” Kalanick has made numerous trips to the country to try to understand the quirks of Chinese transportation systems and its brand of government bureaucracy.
In a June 2015 letter to investors, Uber said it intends to spend at least $1 billion to expand in China. In the same letter, Kalanick said the app was serving about 1 million rides a day in the country. Rival app Didi Kuaidi, by contrast, serves some 3 million rides a day in China, as of June.
The new global alliance takes effect in the first quarter of 2015, reports TechCrunch. But Uber is well-poised to take on these competitors: According to Forbes, this week’s $2.1 billion funding round for Uber “alone would be more than the all-time total funding for each of all but three other privately held startups (Airbnb, Didi Kuaidi, and Flipkart).”
As of mid-August 2015, Uber operates in 330 cities around the world and has more than 1 million active drivers who collectively make more than 2 million rides a day.


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December 15th, 2023
The Rebelle Rally has long been associated with sustainability, stewardship, and environmental responsibility through conservation, education, and boots-on-the-ground projects. Embedded in Rebelle Impact is the principle of “what happens beyond the competition and score matters most.” To further this idea in 2023, the rally introduced Rebelle Forward, a new addition to the Rebelle family. Rebelle Forward is designed to be a forum to showcase our partners’ work on projects and initiatives that are leading the way in responsible innovations. The inaugural event was held on Saturday, October 21st, at the final Rebelle base camp in Glamis, along with a broadcast on Rebelle Rally Live Presented by Toyota.
Rebelle Forward featured many partners who reach beyond checking the box in sustainable initiatives but go far beyond. In the book of Rebelle, talk is cheap. Action is what matters. Here are a few highlights:
Renewable Innovations, based in Salt Lake City, has been a key partner to the rally, using its vast expertise to build power solutions to meet the unique needs of the rally. Today, their infrastructure provides EV power to the vehicles overnight and importantly, on-course for fast charging to ensure the vehicles can remain competitive in the rally competition. The company also provides green power to keep basecamp running via massive solar panels and Smart Flowers on its MEC-S. Each year, for the past four years, RI has added infrastructure to the Rebelle’s program. While the equipment has been designed to charge via hydrogen, sourcing that hydrogen has previously proved challenging. This year, RI and Quantum teamed up to build the Virtual Pipeline, bringing 800kg of green hydrogen to ensure sustainable, carbon-free energy was powering the EVs, a seemingly unprecedented feat in the US. This year, the EV Rivian R1T won the Rebelle Rally, powered with 100% sustainable energy thanks to Renewable Innovations, their exceptional team and unwavering commitment to the rally.
Another featured partner on the show was Pirelli, a company long committed to sustainability. Jenn Brandon, Consumer Marketing Manager US for Pirelli Tire LLC, shared some of their main objectives around their sustainability principles, “For us, it’s the transition to renewable energy in general. So, you’re looking at the entire chain of events that goes into making tires and the customer user journey. We’re making a product that is part of the evolution into the EV economy and how that is going to evolve with the new forms of mobility. Then we’re also looking at how we produce those tires, where we’re getting our sourced materials and how much of the materials can be reused from our own products. We’re looking at 360 degrees of the entire chain.”
Pirelli’s website has extensive information about their initiatives. Read more here.
YETI has also been a large part of sustainability efforts the past three years of the rally, providing non- disposable products to staff, competitors, and media. YETI products are build to ensure they are not part of the “throw away” economy. Their products not only never fail on the rally, they also keep a tremendous amount of plastics out of landfills.
While mentioning sustainability, it’s important to highlight Iridium, the Official Safety and Communications partner of the rally. The global satellite communications company is the backbone of many environmental and sustainability programs including important animal tracking, weather data, ++.
We will explore the positive impact of Iridium through the 2024 season.
Also on hand at Rebelle Forward was the Executive Director of Tread Lightly!, Matt Caldwell, who has been a long-time partner for the Rebelle Rally. Rebelle is a donor to Tread Lightly! and many competitors and staff actively participate in the non-profit’s clean-up and trail programs across the United States. Learn more about Tread Lightly!.
We will continue to keep our community up to date on the positive impact our partners, staff, competitors and friends are doing. Have a compelling project Rebelle Forward should know about? Reach out @ email@example.com.


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African Fashion International is proud to announce that Cape Town Fashion Week was a resounding success, thanks in part to the amazing craftsmanship and creativity of participating designers.
Featuring 18 shows from 9 designers over 3 days, it was a true celebration of the best of Africa’s design talent.
After a two-year hiatus, it was evident that people had missed Cape Town Fashion Week, as they attended in their numbers. The addition of the CTFW Fashion & Retail Expo allowed attendees to not only see the garments fresh off the runway, but also to interact with them and the designers.
CTFW also provided a platform for showcasing Africa’s creative works while also building corridors of trade. There were various expo stallholders, who all benefited from being part of the CTFW Fashion & Retail, Music, Art Expo.
“Cape Town Fashion Week is AFI’s platform for showcasing Africa’s creative works while also building corridors of trade exchange that will grow the industry’s economic value,” says businesswoman, Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe, the founder, and executive chair of AFI.
“CTFW is not only an opportunity for African designers to showcase their work but also to build relationships with those in the international market. This is seen as a way to grow the industry’s economic value.”
Guests were treated to a host of great performances during CTFW from Cape Town Temple Boys, DJ Zinhle, Young Stunna and the final performance by Scorpion Kings.
CTFW ended with a special showcase to celebrate 15 years of African Fashion International. This presentation featured 15 showstopper garments from 15 iconic designers who have been part of the AFI platform since its inception. It was a celebration of not only AFI’s role in the global fashion industry as a catalyst, but also of the work that the fashion body has done to platform incredible Pan-African designers.
Featured in the show were: Gavin Rajah, Kluk CGdT, Taibo Bacar, Loin Cloth & Ashes, Habits, MaXhosa Africa, Craig Port, Matt Nolim, Stefania Morland, Shana Morland, Imprint ZA, Hugo Fleur, Kat van Duinen, David Tlale, Scalo.
AFI also announced the AFI Fastrack 2023 finalists during CTFW. They will undergo a year of mentorship and being guided on how to be designers who will make an impact in the African fashion industry, while also becoming savvy business professionals.
All the garments showcased at CTFW are retail ready and are available on the AFI Online Store and the House of Nala store in Sandton City.


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Digital Catapult, an organisation that helps small businesses grow and scale faster, has announced a new programme to create 50 Internet of Things (IoT) base stations in London in a bid to drive open innovation.
The Digital Catapult Things Connected programme will roll out 50 LoRaWAN base stations. The company claims this will be the UK’s largest Internet of Things LoRaWAN network.
LoRaWAN is a network architecture designed to support low-cost, mobile communication for connected technologies. In theory, this should reduce some of the barriers currently facing IoT start-ups in the capital.
Related: London techies face highest start-up costs
Driving IoT innovation
Supposedly, the free to use programme will allow London’s businesses to connect to the base stations, which will act as test-beds to support IoT technologies.
In essence, Digital Catapult hopes that Things Connected will ‘accelerate the adoption of IoT’ by empowering the tech community to ‘test their IoT innovations,’ according to its CEO, Jeremy Silver.
The organisation thinks London could stand to benefit from more technologies that will improve life in the capital. Think of a future where asthma sufferers receive regular updates on air quality from data collected by sensors on buildings, and you get a sense for where we’re heading.
In order to deliver the programme, Digital Catapult is collaborating with a number of partners, including BT and network provider, everynet.
London is open
Deputy mayor for business, Rajesh Agrawal, believes the programme will keep London at the forefront of technological and digital innovation.
“By continuing to make our city smart and connected, we are showing that London is Open as we work to improve the lives and wellbeing of many by tackling the big issues we face in healthcare, transport and energy,” he said.
In exclusive comments emailed to Internet of Business, Jeremy Silver spoke of the importance of the Internet of Things for the UK economy.
“To help tackle some of the UK’s challenges in energy, transport and healthcare, to name but a few, it is paramount that the barriers are removed in enabling business to successfully implement IoT to its full potential. This is a vital move not only for London, we want to capture more of the digital dividend in the UK economy. To do so, it is fundamental that we accelerate the adoption of the IoT.”
“Things Connected will provide a test-bed to experiment with IoT innovations, that will help our tech communities across the country to grow and help improve the quality of life for many.”
“Innovation is fundamental to growing the UK digital economy and Things Connected can act as a catalyst. We are starting something that is incredibly exciting to realise the amazing potential of the Internet of Things. This acceleration will reaffirm that London is open and ready to innovate.”
If the programme is successful, it is hoped that additional low-power wide area network (LPWAN) technologies will be included as the network develops.
Related: How do Internet of Things start-ups survive and thrive?


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The New York Times Company announced the rise of its subscriber base to more than 3.8m total subscriptions, of which 2.9m of them are digital-only.
That announcement, as part of its quarterly report, was credited with helping the publisher’s profit rise to $40m in Q2 2018, up from the $26.5m it was at in Q2 2017. The profit was offset by lower advertising revenue and higher marketing revenue of its digital offerings, making adjusted operating profit $59.4m.
Mark Thompson, president and chief executive of The New York Times Company, said: “We added 109,000 net new digital-only subscriptions, of which 68,000 were to our core news bundle. At the end of Q2, we had 3.8 million total subscriptions, 2.9 million of which were digital-only. Our subscribers who came to us around the 2016 Election and post-Election periods continue to retain better than previous cohorts.”
He also assured investors that subscription-based revenue, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of the Times’ total income may trend upward, and that brand marketers will follow.
He considered the quarter a subdued one, but added: “We remain confident that we will return to strong year-over-year growth in the third quarter.“ Turning to advertising, this was a subdued quarter for digital advertising as we predicted, but we remain confident that we will return to strong year-over-year growth in the third quarter.”
The Times Company made two more announcements to further take advantage of its rising digital presence. First, the company became the first and only publisher member of Magic Leap’s One Creator Edition. Through the launch of a mixed-reality immersive journalism experience through the wearable's platform, readers had the ability to check out the damage caused by a recent volcano explosion in Guatemala.
It also has made its own push into an e-commerce day of its own that may rival Amazon Prime Day, through its recently-acquired site Wirecutter. NYT announced August 21 as Wirecutter Deal Day, where readers of the site can take advantage of specialized deals of “rarely-on-sale items” that its product reviewers scoured.
Adam Burakowski, deals editor for the publication said in a blog post: “Wirecutter picks for our readers. Sometimes we wish we could do more — and now we are.”
“The way we cover deals at Wirecutter has always taken a different angle than deals coverage everywhere else. On any given sales holiday, we’ll sift through tens of thousands of discounted items for hours on end just so we can pull out a handful of good deals on Wirecutter picks for our readers.”


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Two Long Beach men in their early 20s have been arrested in Seal Beach on suspicion of robbing an Ulta beauty products store, authorities said Tuesday.
The suspects, identified as Isaiah Gurley, 22, and Nicholas Ray, 20, were arrested soon after the robbery, which occurred about 3:05 p.m. Monday, according to Seal Beach police Sgt. Michael Henderson.
According to Henderson, one suspect entered the store at 12339 Seal Beach Blvd., selected some fragrances and other items from the shelves and attempted to leave without paying.
The store manager confronted the suspect, and a struggle ensued, Henderson said.
The suspect fled and got into a waiting vehicle, which was described to police, according to Henderson.
Seal Beach officers located the vehicle and arrested the suspects, who were booked at the Seal Beach jail on suspicion of robbery, Henderson said.


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SteelSeries is collaborating with Tobii Technology in making a Kinect-like eye-tracking accessory for gamers.
Kinect hasn’t revolutionized gaming as much as Microsoft would’ve liked, but that could change soon if SteelSeries has anything to say about it. The gaming accessory manufacturer is collaborating with Tobii Technology in building an eye-tracking control system that gamers can use to interact with games.
Sweden-based Tobii is known for making eye-tracking technology, and if the name sounds familiar, it was the manufacturer that was alleged to be working with Samsung in bringing eye-tracking technology to the Samsung Galaxy S4 last year. Those rumors were unfounded, but this time around, Tobii is working with SteelSeries in bringing an eye-tracking accessory for a mass-market audience.
Tobii’s technology includes a device with a built-in camera that tracks your eyeball’s movements in three dimensions to precisely determine where you are looking at. Tobii will be unveiling the EyeX kit along with SteelSeries at the Consumer Electronics Show next week, where it will be available at a discounted price of $95. The regular kit will cost $195.
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The eye-tracking gear allows gamers to undertake in-game actions like aiming a gun in a shooter. In a game like FIFA, it can be used to target the player to pass the ball to, while using a traditional controller to control the actions of a player who already has the ball. Bruce Hawver, CEO of SteelSeries, signalled his interest in the technology, saying that, “Eye tracking is something entirely different and exciting for this consumer market, and we are thrilled to be working alongside Tobii and the developer community to deliver an entirely new technology to this industry.”
And its abilities can be leveraged to utilities outside gaming. For instance, if you’re reading a book or a website, the sensor can auto-scroll based on where your eyes are. SteelSeries and Tobii will be demoing the controller at CES next week, so will know how the controller works in the real world then.
Source: Tobii Technology


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UK cable giant NTL has announced that it is going to be trialling a new service which will allow users to download films using the BitTorrent protocol.
Users will be able to purchase commercially available films, possibly using their TV remote. Don't get too excited though: initially, the service trial is going to be limited to less than 100 homes. There's no word on if, or when, the service might roll out nationally.
We'd suggest that 100 users is barely enough for a decent seed of a TV episode!
BitTorrent Inc, set up last year, is trying to legitimise itself by getting content companies and ISPs to invest in its technology. The P2P service is estimated to take up a third of all internet traffic.
Would you buy movies over your TV? Lots of content providers and tech companies are hoping so. NTL is obviously hoping that by using P2P, it can minimise the cost of the infrastructure needed to roll out a downloadable movie service. But will it give a consistent downloading experience?
Drop us your thoughts over in the forums.