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Televic Conference has opened a dedicated international office in the United States. The office, Televic’s third international office after China and France, will support the growing domestic market needs. The new division will be led by the sales manager who will work in tandem with the distribution partners AVEO Systems (U.S.) and DataVisual (Canada).
“Our new U.S. office is the next step in our goal to expand our presence and market share in North America”, said Bart Deschodt, Televic Conference general manager. “A dedicated office supports the growing number of request from customers.”
Televic Group CEO Thomas Verstraeten added: “Our commitment to innovation, which we showcased again at ISE 2018, puts us in the perfect position to supply demanding customers in the U.S. with total conference solutions.”
The North American division is helmed by Peter Papageorge as sales manager and supported by Sean Murtha as product specialist. Papageorge has more than 20 years of AV sales management experience and has led the Televic conferencing business through a former distributor. Murtha brings 10 years of international institutional product support experience to the table and will be instrumental to guide the technology road map for the American market.
“Televic’s recent technology advances has secured the company’s leading position in the conferencing category. What’s more, expanding audio and video distribution capabilities has increased opportunities for municipalities, education, hospitality, courts and corporate projects,” said Papageorge.
Televic Conference is part of the Televic Group, which has already a presence in Sacramento, CA through its Televic Rail division. Both divisions will share a common back office in order to leverage their growth in the U.S. market.
Televic Conference products are distributed in the United States by Aveo Systems, Inc.


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On Wednesday, June 30, food delivery platform Grubhub released its latest “State of the Plate” report to see how diners ate their way through the last six months. Looking at trends from more than half a million daily orders... [continue...]
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Based on Gfk Chart-Track sales data, the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishing Association (ELSPA) has proclaimed 2009 as the second best year ever for UK videogame sales.
Total 2009 sales, lumping in software, accessories and hardware together, totaled 114.2 million units or £3.311 billion (approximately $5.3 billion U.S.). Broken out, software sales were £1.621 billion (approximately $2.6 million U.S.), while console hardware totaled £1.06 billion (approximately $1.7 billion U.S.). The latter figure decreased in year-over-year results due to lower average prices.
Wii games sold the most units in the UK last year, with a figure of 18.0 million, with PlayStation 3 software sales totaling 11.9 million units. The Xbox 360 was number one for 2009 in terms of revenue, gaining four percent over 2008 to total £459 million (approximately $734.0 million U.S.). No unit figure for 360 software titles sold was provided.
6.7 million hardware units were bought in the UK last year, with the Wii selling the most.
The accessory market contributed 2009 sales of £630 million (approximately $1.0 billion U.S.).
ELSPA Director General Mike Rawlinson commented, “The UK videogames market is maturing – we are not seeing such explosive growth as in 2008, a sure sign that the market is coming of age. Consumers are shopping smarter and gaming is becoming more widespread across all demographics.”


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Top 40 distributor iPROMOTEu (asi/232119) reported sales of $139 million in 2015, up 15.6% over 2014. The company also reported growth in net income, jumping 50.4% year-over-year, and operating profit, which increased 40.3% over 2014.
“The company’s impressive numbers are reflective of our value proposition,” said Ross S. Silverstein, president and CEO of iPROMOTEu, in an interview with Counselor. “First, we continue to attract experienced distributors and salespeople because our platform is, we believe, the very best economic and lifestyle arrangement in the industry. Second, our order financing, discounted vendor pricing, and back-office support enables our affiliates to sell more and earn more.”
Silverstein also attributed his company’s success to its ongoing technology initiatives: internal operations set up to hasten vendor interaction, invoicing and ordering.
“Of course, as iPROMOTEu continues to grow – in number of affiliates, order volume, etc. – we are able to take advantage of operating efficiencies and economies of scale to further boost our earnings,” Silverstein said.
For the first quarter of 2016, Silverstein said that based on order volume being up 26% over Q1 2015, the company is expected to exceed projections for the full year. “If our network of affiliates is representative of the industry as a whole,” he said, “I’m bullish on promotional product sales for the remainder of 2016.”


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Visa announced on Wednesday that electronic payments made with credit, debit, commercial and prepaid cards rose by 9.2 percent in the U.K. in 2013.
Overall spending by Visa cardholders in the U.K. increased 9.3 percent year-over-year. Debit payments comprise more than 80 percent of Visa Europe’s business in the U.K. Spending on commercial cards rose by approximately 18 percent and on prepaid cards by nearly 43 percent.
U.K. cardholders spent more than $182 billion online last year up to September—nearly $6,000 per second, an 18 percent increase year-over-year. More than 25 percent of Visa Europe U.K.’s business is online.
Visa exceeded its targets in the U.K. for the distribution of contactless cards and the installation of terminals last year. Approximately 30 million contactless cards are in circulation, and increased infrastructure and distribution contributed to a four-fold increase in contactless transactions in 2013.
Additionally, RBS and NatWest made Visa Personal Payments available to customers in the U.K., allowing Visa cardholders to send payments to another cardholder using their smartphone. The company predicts that 50 percent of all Visa transactions will be made using a mobile device by 2020.
“As a membership organization focused on European solutions for the best interests of all parties in our four-party model, our continued success is good for the European economy because electronic payments fuel commerce, replace inefficient and expensive cash and fight the shadow economy,” Visa Europe CEO Nicolas Huss said. “It is good for banks, issuers and acquirers, because we invest on their behalf to deliver payments innovations. It is good for retailers and businesses because we enable them to do business quicker, safer and more easily across any channel. And it is good for consumers because it enables them to pay with ease, confidence and security.”


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“There is some bullishness in the market now that the promised production cuts by Chinese steel mills have been implemented. Buyers in some segments of the Asian steel market have either increased their bid levels or are more willing to discuss price increases,” a trader based in Northeast Asia told Metal Bulletin.
China, on November 15, began restricting production rates in major steel-producing regions in the north in a bid to control pollution and lower PM2.5 particulate matter levels during the winter heating season, which lasts until mid-March.
These restrictions are on top of capacity cuts carried out throughout the year in various parts of the country, including its key steel production base of Hebei province in north China. The province exceeded its targeted capacity cuts for this year, according to a recently released document.
Prices for both long and flat steel have remained high in recent weeks in Asia, especially in China, where Chinese producers are maintaining their focus on the more lucrative domestic market and reducing export volumes.
China’s export prices for hot-rolled coil appear to have stabilized – and might be on the rise again – following a correction in late October.
Metal Bulletin’s fob China HRC Index has been less volatile so far this month, remaining at a range of $544-551 per tonne fob.
“China’s export price movement tracks the domestic market closely. With the home market rebounding this month amid the anticipation of tightening supply due to the winter production restrictions, export prices steadied at the current high level,” a Shanghai-based export trader said.
“We expect the HRC index to at least remain stable at the recent high if not move up further given the continued impact of the restrictions on the market,” he said.
He added that the index could lose its upward momentum if domestic demand turned out to be lower than expected, which would lead mills to channel their products to the export market.
Metal Bulletin’s fob China Rebar Index experienced a similar trend. The index rose to a high of $540 per tonne fob on November 21 from a month-to-date low of $520.35 per tonne fob on November 2.
In China’s domestic market, rebar prices in east China rose from November 1’s 3,890-3,930 yuan ($586-592) per tonne to 4,100-4,140 yuan per tonne on November 14 before retreating slightly. They then went on to rise as high as 4,200-4,250 yuan per tonne on November 21.
Some participants attributed the price increases to the production cuts in north China. They expect prices to rise even further in the next few weeks.
This improvement in sentiment is expected to support the steel market in Southeast Asia, where prices have largely languished for several weeks now.
The HRC segment is seeing some life, with prices in key import market Vietnam experiencing an uptick as buying interest improved with end-users seeking to secure sufficient volumes ahead of a possible supply shortage due to China’s production cuts. This is done in preparation of mills restarting after the Tet holiday in February.
In Singapore, where buying activity has been thin due to major buyers taking their time with purchases amid high inventory levels and limited downstream, prices have largely held up of late. Turkey and India-origin cargoes were being offered at stable levels of $515-530 per tonne cfr Singapore due to an absence of China-origin cargoes in the spot market.
In the semi-finished steel segment, buying sentiment appears to have improved, traders said.
“Buyers are willing to bid at stable levels ever since news broke about China implementing its steel production cuts. While prices have not increased significantly, they have stabilized. They could also start climbing out of price troughs,” a trader based in Northeast Asia said.
Billet and slab prices were largely subdued, at $480-490 per tonne cfr Southeast Asia over the past week, but interest appears to be growing among buyers in the region in light of the possible drop in supply from China.
Long steel producers said downstream demand for construction materials such as rebar and wire rod would likely pick up in the December-January period due to the start of the dry season in the first quarter of 2018 in parts of Southeast Asia. This is typically when the building and construction season starts for these parts of the region.
Rising prices for ferrous scrap in the key markets of Taiwan and Turkey are also expected to provide additional support to spot billet and rebar prices.
Jessica Zong and Gladdy Chu in Shanghai contributed to this report.


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Make hay from the second wave
Updated: 2011-12-02 11:05
By Wolfgang Georg Arlt (China Daily European Edition)
New Chinese tourists offer rich pickings for destinations and service providers off the beaten track
Outbound tourism in China is entering its second phase, and bringing with it new opportunities and challenges for global tourism service providers.
More and more Chinese are now looking for travel experiences beyond the ticking off of major sights and the dubious pleasures of forced shopping. With a correctly adapted product and the right kind of marketing, locations off the beaten track can become popular among affluent visitors from China.
In line with its impressive economic growth, China has developed into the biggest Asian outbound tourism source market. Within a dozen years, the annual number of border crossings has grown sevenfold, from less than 10 million in 1999 to probably close to 70 million in 2011. Chinese tourists can now get group visas for almost any country across the world, while the hurdles for individual tourism visas have also been lowered.
Today, traveling internationally is an important element of the accumulation of "social capital" in China's new consumer society. Have money - will travel.
Chinese have been traveling within their own country for many centuries for pleasure, crisscrossing the country as officials, traders, poets, pilgrims, nature seekers or refugees. Outbound travel, however, was not part of that tradition.
In the 20th century, turmoil and wars in the first half and a policy of self-reliance and frugality during the bigger part of the second half prevented the development of outbound travel for any reason other than emigration. Even after the start of the opening up and reform policy in 1978, less than 1 percent of the population annually had a chance to fulfill their wish to see the outside world.
The first decade of the new millennium has witnessed, in stark contrast to earlier times, a rampant growth of outbound travel. About 70 percent of all outbound trips from China only happened within the last six years.
When global tourism contracted due to the economic crisis in 2009, China's outbound tourism still managed to rise by 4 percent, bouncing back to 20 percent growth rates in 2010, both in number of travelers and in terms of spending. Today, Chinese travelers spend more than $10 billion annually while traveling abroad, more than the total income from foreign inbound visitors to China.
China is already the biggest domestic tourism market in the world by number of trips, and the Chinese Outbound Tourism Research Institute projects that the China outbound market will account for 10 percent of the global international tourism market within the decade, propelling it to the top of global tourism source markets before 2020.
Chinese tourists have turned into a major target group for destination marketing organizations and tourism companies in major destinations around the world. They have had to learn that Chinese group tourists have their own distinct expectations and needs, and that success in the Chinese outbound market requires careful product adaptation and new forms of marketing.
But despite the efforts, previously 90 percent of Chinese travelers stayed within Asia and even those who traveled further concentrated on the most famous sights in the most famous cities in major destinations. Luxury brand retailers in San Francisco, Paris and Johannesburg had reason to smile, but for destinations and companies not located on the beaten track, the much-hyped deluge of Chinese tourists has, until now, been little more than a mirage.
With the start of the second wave of China's outbound tourism, all this is changing. The "New Chinese Tourists", knowledgeable, sophisticated, travel-savvy and predominantly below 45 years of age, are entering the scene. New Chinese tourists look for deeper experiences and closer contact with local host populations during their self-organized trips.
Earlier they took photos of themselves in front of the Sydney Opera House or the Eiffel Tower, but are now drawn more to new places and activities. Freed of the commission-driven tour guide, they will purchase more goods for themselves and fewer for their friends and relatives back home, as their peers are more likely to travel internationally as well.
New Chinese tourists offer an increased chance for destinations and tourism service providers off the beaten track to get a piece of the Chinese outbound market. They will have to make sure that their product is adapted to the special needs and expectations of this new kind of Chinese guest, that their staff are prepared to welcome global yet patriotic travelers and that they make their travel product attractive and prestigious to the customers through social media and other forms of "WOM squared" (word of mouth and word of mouse) communication.
The author is the founder and director of the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, based in Heide, Germany, and Beijing.


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Nike is offering Apple Card holders a boosted 6% Daily Cash when purchasing select products through October 15, including shoes and apparel.
You may be eligible for three months of free Spotify Premium
If you haven't signed up for Spotify Premium before, you'll get three free months of service by becoming a subscriber until September 11.
Apple is giving away three free months of Apple TV+ to Apple Card holders
Apple Card holders can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free as part of a marketing push to promote its new Pixar-quality animated film, titled “Luck.”
Apple expands $50 gift card promotion for Apple TV purchases to European countries
Apple's relaunched its $50 gift card promotion for Apple TV purchases in the US and expanded it to more countries, including Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
Apple Pay promo offers road-trip savings on hotels, food and parking
The latest Apple Pay promotion offers special deals and discounts on hotels, food and parking from popular destinations when using the feature at checkout.
Deal: Subscribe to Apple Music and get $70 Beats Flex earphones for free
Apple in this limited-time promotion is giving students who subscribe to Apple Music a free pair of Beats Flex earphones, which retail for $70.
Apple’s Back to School nets you a free gift card with eligible Mac or iPad purchase
Apple's Back to School promotion offers college and university students a free gift card when buying eligible Mac and iPad devices.
Get a free Apple TV 4K by signing up for Frontier’s new 2 gigabit plan
Internet provider Frontier treats all new customers who sign up for its new 2 Gigabit Fiber plan to a free Apple TV 4K box. It has another surprise for customers, too.
Apple Pay donating funds to National Park Foundation for qualifying purchases
The latest Apple Pay promotion has the company donating unspecified funds to the National Park Foundation for purchases made this week on the Apple website and in its US stores.
Apple featuring exclusive monthly promotions for Apple Card holders in the Wallet app
Apple used its Wallet app to push deals to Apple Card holders before, but this is the first time the company has offered exclusive deals that includes one of its own services as a perk.
New Microsoft ad slams the Touch Bar: “Why can’t they just give me a whole touchscreen?”
Microsoft's marketing department is once again exploiting the fact that Apple doesn't seem interested in making a touchscreen Mac so it's put together a new ad. In it, the Windows maker pits the Surface Pro 8 against Apple's freshly-updated MacBook Pro featuring Apple silicon.
Apple is promoting Fitness+ in a collection of newly launched Apple Music workout playlists
Fitness+, the iPhone maker's subscription service for home fitness buffs, is being promoted on Apple Music with a collection of playlists designed to motivate you while working out.


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Microsoft unveils Office for iPad
- published: 28 Mar 2014
- views: 97
Microsoft\'s Office is now available for the iPad as a collection of three apps: Word, PowerPoint and Excel. Microsoft made the announcement at a press conference in San Francisco hosted by Satya Nadella, his first since being appointed CEO....


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The Indian state of Gujarat, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi comes from as a political leader, is believed to be at the tipping point of the official’s reforms. And one of the first signs from the administration might be a deal for a Honda plant in the region.
The Press Trust of India has recently reported that the state and Honda Motor are trying to come up with a deal to have an assembly facility there, citing as a source a Honda executive, who declined to be named before the official announcement is made. According to the report, the bid could be approved before the end of the month. The state already has an automotive manufacturing network, with Indian carmakers Tata and Maruti or global powerhouse Ford having factories there. Additionally, three months ago Honda Motorcycle said it would build the biggest scooter plant in Gujarat.
Honda’s auto assembly line is being planned under the Indian government’s “Mega Project” investment strategy and establishing a plant there makes sense: after all India is the world’s sixth-largest auto market. Indian motorists, getting richer by the year, are giving up their usual two-wheel driving style and in 2010 already bought over 2.7 million cars – jumping from 700,000 in 2000. Now, J.D. Power & Associates forecasts the light vehicle market to jump to 11 million units by 2020.


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Today we got our first glimpse of the new HTC One (M8). We already know it brings a dual camera, Lite-Brite-esque cover, and some serious gun metal. But what's it like to actually use? We were at the company's launch event, and got some hands-on time.
Read the full article: Hands-on: 2014 HTC One (M8)


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We shouldn't always take what we're told at face value, as the latest news on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip demonstrates. In a durability test conducted independently, it was found that the foldable screen for the Z Flip isn't all that durable and may not be glass as many have been led to believe.
In his latest YouTube video, Zack Nelson of JerryRigEverything tested the durability of the Galaxy Z Flip and found that the screen scratched easily. He commented about how it felt just like plastic and suggested that the screen may be based on a glass-polymer hybrid. In other words, the Z Flip's display doesn't really deliver the kind of durability you would expect from a glass screen.
Of course, there are a few things that people should consider here before raising any pitchforks. Samsung has previously mentioned that the Galaxy Z Flip has an extra layer on top of the Ultra-Thin Glass display that's should be able to protect it from accidental bumps, knocks, and light scratches. Also, if it's ever necessary, you can get a screen replacement for about USD 119 (~RM493), according to The Verge. That's actually not too bad, considering that it's a foldable screen.
The way we see it, this third-party durability test uses some extremes to test the device and doesn't necessarily reflect real-life usage. However, it does highlight the fact that you have to be extra careful with it, compared to a regular smartphone. As long as the user is careful with the device, damages shouldn't occur that easily.
With that said, what do you think about this discovery? And should Samsung have been honest and not claim that the screen is glass? Share your thoughts with us on our Facebook page and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more news.


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Italian Textile Machinery at Index17
At INDEX17 (from 4 to 7 April in Geneve), for the first time, ACIMIT, the Association of Italian textile machinery manufacturers, and ICE-Italian Trade Agency have organized a Meeting Point (booth 4145), where 6 Italian machinery manufacturers involved in the production of machines for nonwovens will show their innovative solutions. Among these companies ACIMIT members are: Aigle, Durst, Testa, Ugolini, Unitech.
Other Italian manufacturers of machines for nonwovens will exhibit with their own booth.
The Italian companies exhibiting in Switzerland are only a part of the manufacturers that in Italy produce machinery for nonwovens. In ACIMIT website you can find an exhaustive list of ACIMIT members operating in this sector.
Pic: Leading digital priinter manufaturer durst is one of the exhibitors on the ACIMIT booth (c) 2017 TexData


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Assistance League® of the Bay Area is thrilled to continue their partnership with Barnes & Noble in Webster.
Their latest contribution to the chapter was through Assistance League Action! Week, an Assistance League® nationwide effort to raise awareness of the importance of promoting childhood literacy and putting books in the hands of children who might not have access to them.
Just prior to Thanksgiving and continuing through Christmas, Barnes and Noble Webster invited shoppers to purchase an additional book and donate it to our organization, in order to allow us to reach as many students as possible. The response was staggering, as over 1150 books were bought and sent to us for all levels of readers.
Assisteens® of the Bay Area and adult chapter members have worked to label these books and they will continue to be distributed at the monthly Operation School Bell® shopping days at area Kohl’s Department Stores and Target on Galveston Island.
A celebration is planned to coincide with the official dates of Action! Week which are February 25 – March 3, 2019.
Pictured are Mark Girouard, Store Manager, and Sharon Siman, Community Partner Development Manager, Barnes and Noble Webster.


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In the fast food fight for customer spending, one restaurant giant is struggling while rivals scoop up diners' dollars.
Last week, McDonald's reported its global comparable sales fell again, dropping 0.7 percent in the second quarter. Meanwhile, comps at Burger King rose 6.7 percent in constant currency while Arby's comps rose 7.6 percent during the second quarter. Several other large restaurants are also showing positive growth.
"It seems like the only big player doing negative numbers, period. They're in a healthy market but they're not participating in that market," said David Palmer, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, in a phone interview.
This comes after several blockbuster years at the chain where it delivered a string of mid-single digit comp increases in the 2000s after a successful previous turnaround plan called "Plan to Win."
In its domestic unit, McDonald's comps have lagged its fast-food sandwich peers (a group that includes Arby's, Burger King, Carl's Jr., Jack in the Box, Wendy's, Sonic and Subway) each month since October 2013, according to data that its investor-relations team provides to analysts using data from The NPD Group.


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There is an international race to build an exascale supercomputer, and one of the people leading it is Peter Beckman, a top computer scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory.
While China can take pride in topping the list of the world's most powerful supercomputers, IBM has been given another recognition: building the world's most energy-efficient supercomputer.
Like Hollywood's Academy Awards, the Top500 list of supercomputers is dutifully watched by high-performance computing (HPC) participants and observers, even as they vocally doubt its fidelity to excellence.
When it comes to power-efficient computing, CPUs are weighed down by too many legacy features to outperform GPUs (graphics processing units) in executing common tasks in parallel, said the chief scientist for the GPU vendor Nvidia.
A new supercomputer installation in China has rocketed to the top of the twice-annual ranking of the world's most powerful supercomputers.
Despite reassurances from Oracle, advocates of yet another ex-Sun Microsystems technology are voicing concern about the future of their software. In this latest case, the technology is Lustre, a file system widely used across the supercomputing commu...
While chip manufacturers continue to make their processors ever more powerful, at least one customer has found it useful to slow these chips down, at least long enough to keep them running when the data center air conditioning falters.
Supercomputers that mix CPUs with graphics processors made their mark on the Green500 list of top energy-efficient supercomputers released on Wednesday.
China flexed its computing muscle with a supercomputer called Nebulae, rocketing to second place on the biannual Top500 list, which ranks the most powerful computers in the world.
French server and services company Bull has just turned on a new supercomputer for the French Atomic Energy Authority (CEA) that it hopes will reach a peak performance of 1.25 petaflops later this year.
IBM's newest supercomputer utilizes both Intel and Nvidia chips--the first time that IBM has ever mixed the two processors in a supercomputer, ...
Late last year, we brought you a story reporting that the U.S. Air Force commissioned a $2 million purchase for thousands of PlayStation 3 consoles in order to create a supercomputer capable of running complex military programs, with the PS3's cell p...
The race is on to develop a new generation of far more powerful supercomputers that could help solve some of the world's most vexing problems.
Three-dimensional Web technologies will save the high-performance computing industry from its current state of financial stagnation, Intel CTO Justin Rattner predicted at the SC09 supercomputing conference in Portland, Ore. Tuesday.
An ambitious plan by Japan to build the most powerful computer in the world stands on the brink of collapse this week after a government panel recommended funding for the project be virtually eliminated.
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May 11, 2017
MAHOPAC, N.Y. - One of Mahopac’s best restaurants just got a little better.
Ramiro’s 954, Putnam’s go-to spot for Latin infused cuisine, is all about the details, and owners Jan and Ramiro Jimenez just added a new wrinkle that has parents of young children smiling.
Jan Jimenez recently announced the opening of “Jan’s Kidz Dining Loft” upstairs at ...
Read More »


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By James Ranson, Feb 13, 2015, 12:19 • 5 minute reading
2014 has proven to be an important year for natural refrigerants, according to industry leading hydrocarbon technology providers Dorin, Tecumseh, Secop, HyChill, EUROKLIMAT, Blupura and Priority Cool. hydrocarbons21.com asked its Partners to offer some insight into the past year and their expectations for what 2015 has in store for climate friendly solutions in HVAC&R.
By Blupura Srl , published Jul 29, 2014
That E-mail already exists on our list !


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For first time, smart phones edge past feature phones
There were more smart phones shipped last quarter than low-end, "dumb" phones shipped, according to a new study.
For the first time, more smart phones were shipped around the world than low-end, feature phones, according to the International Data Corporation.
The IDC’s first-quarter statistics show that out of the 216.2 million phones shipped, 51.6 percent were smart phones. These numbers mark an important milestone for the mobile-phone industry in an otherwise slow quarter.
“Phone users want computers in their pockets. The days where phones are used primarily to make phone calls and send text messages are quickly fading away," says Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC’s WorldWide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, in a statement. "As a result, the balance of smart phone power has shifted to phone makers that are most dependent on smart phones."
In the past year, the global mobile-phone market grew by 4 percent, according to the IDC statment. The market expanded by 41.6 percent compared with the 152.7 million units shipped in the first quarter of 2012, but it was 5.1 percent lower than the 227.8 million units shipped at the end of the year.
Samsung stayed at the top with more units than Apple, LG, and Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE combined. Its success this quarter can be attributed in part to the new features and security innovations of the Galaxy S4.
The data also shows the emergence of Chinese companies among leading smart-phone vendors. While a year ago, Nokia, BlackBerry (formerly Research In Motion), and HTC dominated the top five list, they face competition from Chinese vendors such as Huawei and ZTE, as well as Coolpad and Lenovo.
Zack Whittaker of ZDNet describes the numbers as a tipping point in which smart phones are becoming the norm, in both developed and emerging nations. However, he notes that feature phones will not vanish so quickly.
“It’s not to say the feature phone market is dead or even dying,” he writes. “A tipping point, maybe, but there’s still a huge economy in building the not-so-smart phones.”
Carl Howe, vice president of the Yankee Group, echoes that sentiment, saying it’s clear that smart phones are on the rise, just not on when exactly they will surpass feature phones on sales, shipment, and ownership.
“Nobody’s going to debate that [smart phones] will surpass future [low-end] phone sales,” Mr. Howe says in a phone interview.
The bigger trend, however, is the growing complexity of the devices consumers carry in their pockets. Howe says it’s a game changer that has cultural implications, and potential opportunities for mobile phone companies to earn extra revenue.
The cultural implications can differ between emerging and developed nations, but it is clear that each society will see a number of trade-offs for smart phones, he says.
“The most interesting thing is that people consider them so essential that people are giving up essential things for them,” he says. “One executive I know from a large computer firm went to Peru, and he was surprised to see people sleeping on the beach. They had no housing, but they had an iPhone, the most expensive smart phone in the market.”
While that example may seem extreme, it illustrates the growing appeal and need for a smart phone for people throughout the world. Howe notes that it will be interesting to see which products or necessities some people will sacrifice to be connected to the world through a smart phone, as it will likely differ from one society to another.
“Smart phones are increasingly things that people want, and they’re willing to give up other things for them,” he says. “This is going to change culture in pretty significant ways.”


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Outlook on Holiday Confidence Remains High Despite Brexit Uncertainty
The Holiday Confidence Index
First Rate’s recent publication, The Holiday Confidence Index 2018 (HCI), has highlighted a positive outlook for holiday demand in the UK, despite the uncertain climate created by Brexit negotiations and subsequent exchange rate volatility. The report determined that the most encouraging trend was a rise in the Holiday Intention Index. First Rate has determined this Holiday Intention Index to be the most important element of the total score of the Holiday Confidence Index because it measures whether consumers plan to travel abroad in the coming year. The measure for the 2018 study revealed the second highest score since the HCI began reporting five years ago.
This fifth annual study saw First Rate partner with the Institute of Travel and Tourism and YouGov, who surveyed over 5,000 eligible participants earlier this year. The survey consists of six key measures of holiday confidence – holiday intention, holiday frequency, holiday duration, cost of booking, travel money, and at destination spend. Each of these measures is indexed against previous studies to determine annual market movements.
- There is a general increase in holiday intention: 55% of consumers plan on travelling overseas in 2019, compared with 54% in 2017’s survey. 60% of 18-24-year-olds intend to travel, whereas older demographics and those with children are less likely.
- More consumers have already booked their 2019 holiday compared with last year: 46% of respondents have cemented their travel plans for next year with a booking, compared to 44% in 2017’s survey.
- Package holidays are becoming more popular: there has been a 2% annual rise in package holidays totalling 20% of all holiday bookings for the next twelve months.
- More holidaymakers are restricting themselves to one trip: 41% of consumers planning to travel will only take one trip abroad in the coming 12 months, with only 7% of 55-and-overs planning to travel more than once.
- Travel money expenditure remains stable: 77% of consumers still rely on travel money exchange facilities before travelling despite FinTech substitutes gaining popularity in overseas transactions. The travel money industry is becoming increasingly competitive, with online prices getting driven down by comparison websites.
- Consumers are spending less on their holiday: Only 11% of consumers are willing to spend more on their holiday booking compared to their previous trip; this is 3% down compared to 2017’s survey with 8% reducing their budget compared to 2017.
What does this mean?
Overall, First Rate’s report determines several positive measures across the travel and tourism industries. This positivity comes as a surprise to industry experts, who have been tackling volatile and weakening spot rates since the British population voted in favour of leaving the European Union (Figure 1). Furthermore, despite uncertainty on the regulation of the UK’s post-Brexit borders – where speculation on EU-Visas has caused turmoil – an increasing number of consumers plan to travel abroad in the coming twelve months.
Stricter border controls will be a likely outcome if Britain fails to compose a deal with the EU, impacting all cross-border industries with an emphasis on pharmaceuticals (according to the NHS) and tourism.
The volatile nature of the pound has caused consumers to hedge on current spot rates by booking holidays in advance. Those in the 55-and-over age demographic are the most likely to commit themselves to a booking at 52%, compared with only 34% of 18-24-year-olds, even though the latter is the group who have the most travel plans for the coming year (60%).
Only 21% of those planning trips had children, identifying a conservative approach to spending from families and older demographics. This reservation is likely a reactionary measure to recent warnings from the Bank of England about a pressing need to protect financial products and other key sectors to avoid a ‘cliff-edge Brexit’. Without such industrial preservation or effective deals with the EU, Moody’s has warned that the UK could fall into a recession.
Focus on Currency
Spot rate volatility has led consumers to pursue the most cost-effective method of exchanging foreign currency. Alternatives to traditional travel money exchanges, such as Starling bank – which grew fivefold in the first eight months of 2018 to 210,000 users (FT) – are growing in popularity leaving consumers with more choice than ever. However, many fintechs, who offer near-spot rate exchanges for overseas payments, have failed to create profitable business models.
External competition and an increasingly competitive online market for foreign currency are also triggering concerns for travel money retailers. Comparison websites, such as Money Saving Expert, are providing visibility on exchange rates in a previously imperfect market. 77% of consumers, however, still favour traditional exchange methods over fintech alternatives. According to First Rate, this is largely due to convenience which subsequently has led to supermarkets gaining market share in the travel money market this year.
With online prices becoming unsustainably low across the travel money market, retailers must ensure that they effectively deliver value in every element of their physical presence. Convenience, customer service and pricing are all expected to play an important role in consumer preference going forward.
First Rate’s Holiday Confidence Index has unexpectedly revealed a positive holiday outlook for the coming twelve months as consumers are still willing to travel. With recent spot rate volatility, the travel industry can expect an increase in early holiday bookings to ‘lock in’ prices. However, unfavourable economic forecasts are causing consumers to become progressively price sensitive and spend less on their holiday – seeking savings in every aspect of travel.
As consumers become more aware of such volatility, they are finding the most cost-effective means of exchanging money, with the aid of comparison websites. While alternative means to travel money are growing in popularity, most of the population still prefer traditional means of cash for their holiday expenditure.
Evidently, with the growth of eCommerce players in the travel industry, consumers are willing to shop around for a bargain in every aspect of travel. Margins are being squeezed and shoppers are being abducted from the high street. Travel money retailers then should be looking to optimise their prices, offer excellent customer service and enable a convenient exchange process to survive in such an uncertain climate.
Through artificial intelligence and unsupervised machine learning, dynamic prices can be optimised across large networks with no manual intervention. To learn more about how retailers are optimising prices to maximise reward and consumer experience, read CMS Analytics’ whitepaper on machine learning for dynamic pricing.


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Netpremacy Celebrate at Mountain View After Winning Google Enterprise Top Sales Performer Contest 2013
- Apple (AAPL), China Mobile (CHL) Sign iPhone Deal - WSJ
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London (PRWEB UK) 18 October 2013
Google Premier Enterprise Partner, Netpremacy Global Services Ltd., are in high spirits as they return to the UK from Mountain View, California, after winning the hotly contested Google Enterprise Top Sales Performer Contest 2013.
The prestigious title saw Netpremacy’s specialist Google Apps division, AppsCare, fly to Google’s Corporate Headquarters for a three day Google G-Tour. The prize, which included round-trip flights to San Fransisco, three nights’ hotel accommodation, a tour of the city and the Google campus, dining at top restaurants as well as many more exciting prizes, recognised the substantial amount of new business Netpremacy has secured throughout 2013.
Michael Carter, CEO at Netpremacy Global Services, commented: “Winning Google Enterprise’s Top Sales Performer is testament to the hard work and investment Netpremacy has made in to the Google Apps Premier Reseller Program. We have seen exponential growth over the past year with a number of big names coming on board. We are looking forward to bringing new talent on board in 2014 in order to facilitate the continued success of Netpremacy.”
For a snapshot of the trip to Mountain View, view the video.
Netpremacy Global Services, global provider of cloud solutions and global managed networks launched its AppsCare® brand in March 2011 to provide a dedicated, specialist team of engineers and change management experts to manage and support the growing number of Google Apps customers. AppsCare was one of the first globally to be recognised as a Google Enterprise Premier Partner; a top tier partner level reserved for only the foremost experts in Google Enterprise solutions, partners that consistently demonstrate unparalleled levels of technical expertise and customer success. With more than 2500 customers in 30 countries AppsCare are passionate about helping its customers innovate, reduce the cost and complexity of IT operations and safely migrate from on-premise to Google Apps.
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/10/prweb11243141.htm
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2012's biggest drama looks set for a 2013 sequel with the ITC finding Samsung to have infringed on a key part of an Apple patent. That patent? Something to do with text selection methods on mobile.
The Vimtag P1: A great home monitoring cam with a few kinks
JESBOD QY13 sports Bluetooth earphones
Expanding mobile photography with Aukey's wide-angle lenses
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Lens Cover
Time is running out to claim your free Windows 10 upgrade
windows 10 upgrade
Insider build 14393.5 for PC and Mobile released to Fast ring
International trade commission
A judge has recommended that the International Trade Commission place a ban of importing the 4 GB and 250 GB versions of the Xbox 360 S consoles into the US for violating Motorola patents.
The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled today that smartphone maker HTC infringed on Apple's patents in two claims. An import ban on some HTC products will begin on April 19, 2012.


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October 7, 2019
by American Dental Hygienist's Association
The American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) announces its partnership with Walgreens and Johnson & Johnson for a National Dental Hygiene Month (NDHM) campaign.
ADHA established NDHM to promote good oral health and celebrate the dedication of dental hygienists across the country. This October, ADHA advances that message through its first national campaign with Walgreens and Listerine®. The campaign will roll out in more than 5,000 Walgreens locations as well as in radio ads on Pandora, in print and online. ADHA members will receive LISTERINE® product coupons to share with their patients and have the opportunity to win amazing prizes with a selfie contest.
To view the full story, please click here.


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Couple fined for writing negative online review fights back, demands $75K
The couple facing a $3,500 fine for leaving a negative review of an online retailer is finally fighting back.
A nonprofit legal group has offered the store an ultimatum on the couple's behalf: Walk away and pay $75,000, or we'll sue.
Jen and John Palmer, a married Utah couple, have undergone a years-long saga of customer service gone from bad to nightmarish. In 2008, they say, John bought his wife some Christmas presents from KlearGear (slogan: "Geeks rule"), only to find out after waiting a month that the order never went through, and their PayPal order had been cancelled. So the following February, Jen left a scathing review on the site Ripoffreport.com, calling the company "incompetent," saying it gave "circular answers" by email and that it was "literally impossible" to speak with customer service on the phone.
Several years later, KlearGear got around to noticing the Palmers. In 2012, the company sent them a notice saying they'd violated the site's terms of service: "Your acceptance of this sales contract prohibits you from taking any action that negatively impacts kleargear.com." That came with a fine of $3,500. Even if they wanted to comply, the couple said, Ripoffreport charged its own fine to retract a statement. And as KlearGear sent a collection agency against the Palmers, they said, their credit score plummeted. That's led to delays when the couple tries to make big purchases like buying a new car or replacing the heating in their home.
Fortunately for the Palmers, the consumer rights nonprofit Public Citizen has taken up their case, and is fighting back on their behalf.
On Wednesday, it sent KlearGear a demand: walk away from the Palmers, call off the collectors, and change those terms of service, or we'll see you in court.
Among Public Citizen's complaints: The clause that prohibits customers from taking "negative actions" against KlearGear didn't even exist when John first made the sale. Besides, as Public Citizen notes, trying to restrict what customers say after they finish transactions appears quite contrary to the U.S Constitution's First Amendment.
KlearGear didn't immediately respond to the Daily Dot's request for comment. Their website currently warns that customers ordering same-day shipping may face delays.
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For most of a century, nosey people, both professional and amateur, have used microphones and cameras to listen to and watch unsuspecting targets.
In recent years, the miniaturization of electronics has enabled these devices to be hidden. Extreme drops in price have made spy electronics available to anyone, even creepy stalker types. The only remaining challenge is placement: If anyone wants to capture the juicy tidbits, they've got to have a microphone or camera in the right place at the right time.
Enter the camera phone, a dream come true for not just spies but a new breed of "cell phone stalkers."
Camera phones contain all the necessary ingredients for completely invasive stalking: a microphone, camera, personal data on the user, location information, a chat and call history -- you name it. And victims carry them everywhere they go.
All that's missing is the software that lets stalkers take control. This new software, called snoopware, does just that. Snoopware -- both legal and illegal -- enables stalkers to secretly seize control of a phone's electronics to listen, watch and spy on their victims.
Welcome to the creepy new world of cell phone stalking.
Although cell phone stalking is new, there's already plenty of bad information, urban legends and false beliefs about it in circulation. I'm going to sort all this out for you, tell you about what's possible and how to protect yourself (it's easier than you think). But first, let's look at the first and most celebrated case to date of this new world of cell phone stalking.
Meet the Kuykendalls
I told you in a previous column about a family in Washington state called the Kuykendalls, who say that a hacker was stalking them through three of their cell phones for more than four months.
The stalker seemed to perform unprecedented cell phone superhacks, according to press reports. For example, he watched them through their phones' cameras and listened through the microphones. When they turned off the phones, the hacker turned them back on remotely, seized control of the phones and sent text messages from them. When they got new phones, the hacking continued. Even scarier, they received almost daily threats of violence from an anonymous caller, who seemed to be calling from a family member's own phone, even when that phone was turned off, and provided details about what they were doing and even what they were wearing.
In addition to the Kuykendalls, the family's neighbor and Mrs. Kuykendall's sister were also harassed by the anonymous caller.
Although the mainstream press played up these events as some kind of terrifying superhack, I think something much more ordinary is going on.
The most likely explanation, based on the limited information publicly available, is that some malicious script kiddie, who knows the family personally, pulled off one or two simple hacks, then "socially engineered" the family into thinking he'd done something more impressive.
For example, a combination of spoofing one of the family's cell phone's Caller ID, which is easy to do, and using that trick to retrieve voice mail, plus possibly hacking the carrier's Web site to change ringtones and cause other mischief. These steps, combined with old-fashioned spying on the family in person, could explain nearly all the superhacking claims.
Hacked? Yes. Disturbing? Very. Illegal? Absolutely. But it's a far cry from the picture painted in the press of some unstoppable arch-villain mastermind.
Experts interviewed on TV and in the newspapers answer "yes" to the question, "Is this kind of hack possible?" And, in fact, it is possible, but spectacularly unlikely.
To pull off the Kuykendalls' superhack described in the press, the family would have to repeatedly buy high-end camera phones, such as Windows Mobile, BlackBerry or other devices, leave Java support on, keep Bluetooth on and in "autodiscovery" mode, or give the hacker full physical access to the phones to install several snoopware applications.
Snoopware is on the rise, mostly because of the increasing sophistication of phones. They're like mini-PCs. Most snoopware attacks have taken place in Europe and Asia. But they're coming to America.
Security experts estimate that there are more than 400 types of snoopware (most of them variants of a few major snoopware programs), and that figure may top 1,000 by the end of the year.
Your typical new snoopware program might enable someone to listen to phone calls and read e-mail and text messages, or steal contacts and other data. Some snoopware can use your phone's microphone to listen, even when the phone is supposedly "off." Other programs can capture images from a camera phone's camera.
Snoopware is the kind of software used by the government to eavesdrop on gangsters and terrorists.
But snoopware isn't the only way to stalk via cell phone.
Most carriers offer a "skip passcode" feature that lets you turn off voice mail password-checking when you call from your cell phone. But because carriers use Caller ID to verify the phone, cell phones "spoofing" another phone's number can get in, enabling hackers to access your voice mail and other features without ever knowing the password.
Semilegitimate snoopware programs called Mobile Spy from Retina-X Studios and FlexiSpy from Vervata run invisibly and upload text messages and phone logs to an online server. They can also upload location information. Mobil Spy runs only on Windows Mobile phones, while FlexiSpy offers versions for Series 60 Nokia phones, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile phones. A Pro version of FlexiSpy enables eavesdropping through cell phone microphones when you call a dedicated phone number. A future Pro-X version will let you listen in on calls in progress. The companies target concerned parents, suspicious spouses and distrustful bosses, but obviously a malicious hacker could use them for cell phone stalking.
Sounds bad. But be aware that these programs require physical access to the phone for installation, and they're easy to detect. The security software companies generally consider these applications as malware, and alert users to their presence.
How to beat cell phone stalkers
The best cure is prevention. Don't allow strangers to gain access to your phone. Like any other kind of software, snoopware doesn't install itself. The leading methods for installation are physical access installation, where the user installs by clicking on an attachment or link; or via Bluetooth. By preventing potential stalkers from touching your phone, never clicking on e-mail attachments or links from strangers, and turning off Bluetooth autodiscovery, you'll keep snoopware off your phone.
The fact is, snoopware hacks are dangerous only if you're unaware of them. Once you suspect someone is using your cell phone to spy on you, it's trivially easy to stop them.
Let me count the ways:
1. Buy an anti-malware application from vendors like Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro, F-Secure, SMobile, MyMobiSafe and others. These products find not just the shadowy, hacker snoopware programs, but the legal ones, too.
2. Turn on passwords for voice mail access. Do you have to enter a password each time you check voice mail? If not, your carrier has enabled the "skip passcode" feature. A stalker spoofing your Caller ID can check your voice mail, too. But by re-enabling a good password, it will be much easier to keep your voice mail private.
3. Downgrade your cell phone. Snoopware works only on the most advanced phones. For nontechnical users like the Kuykendalls, one simple solution is to swap out your high-end phone for a cheaper model that doesn't support Java or Bluetooth and doesn't have a camera. This isn't a good solution for gadget fans, but for families feeling terrorized, this is a cheap, fast and easy way to get control.
4. Switch carriers. There's not much you can do at the handset level to foil a hack of the carrier's Web site. If the company can't shut down the hacker, switch to another carrier.
5. Buy an anonymous prepaid phone. The last-ditch solution (just before going without a cell phone) is to buy a prepaid phone from 7-Eleven or a similar store. This provides not only the benefits of a low-tech cell phone and a new carrier, but greater anonymity.
The cell phone stalker trend is real. But simple, common-sense precautions can protect you and your family from malicious harassment.
Mike Elgan writes about technology and global tech culture. Contact Mike at email@example.com or his blog, The Raw Feed.
Related News and Discussion:
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- Daily IT Blogwatch: Google prompts privacy perturbations (and cakeski)
- Unregulated databases hold personal data
- Robert L. Mitchell: Boston newspapers deliver subscribers' personal financial data with Sunday editions


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This is branded content.
Local businesses across Australia have been feeling the sting of lockdowns since our initial COVID-19 outbreak back in March 2020.
For established businesses, lockdowns have meant closing their doors indefinitely or moving to digital contactless processes to ensure business stays as usual as possible.
The story can be quite different for digital startups, however, as these fledgling enterprises are forced to extend their launch timeline and pivot their products.
Perth's own Snackr app as well as Victoria's latest fitness and lifestyle app, The Academy, have not been immune to the impacts that lockdowns have held on Aussie businesses.
Snackr's founder and CEO Matt Lim developed the app to be an in-seat food delivery service for stadium events. As sporting events have been strained under ongoing COVID restrictions, Snackr's full potential has yet to be realised.
Peter Costi, the founder and CEO of The Academy app, has experienced similar challenges, as his app has been founded upon connecting health-conscious consumers up with local businesses that share similar values.
Joseph Russell is the Bendigo-born founder of DreamWalk, the app development company responsible for designing and developing both Snackr and The Academy.
He says that "while lockdowns may have thrown up some pretty significant roadblocks for local startups, there has been no slowdown in the flow of innovative new app ideas."
Social impact startup, Impactr, demonstrates the truth behind Russell's statement. Impactr's founder and CEO Johannah Maher, is credited with creating the innovative video sharing app after recognising a need for more sustainability-focused content on social media.
Impactr is now poised to be the definitive media-sharing platform for sustainable citizens and eco-friendly brands worldwide.
The potential for success on a local and global scale for these apps is clear. But, before everyday Australians can reap the full benefits of them, all three startups must first contend with and survive the unique challenges posited by the ongoing pandemic.
As Snackr, The Academy, and Impactr all rely on cultivating an 'out-of-app experience' for its users, COVID-19 restrictions have naturally greatly impacted the startups' abilities to establish themselves in their respective industries.
For Matt Lim, Snackr's biggest challenges have been ongoing uncertainty with delayed, cancelled, or limited capacity live events.
Peter Costi noted similar concerns.
"As part of The Academy's value proposition comes from increasing foot traffic and cutting customer acquisition costs for businesses, the inevitable decrease in consumer sentiment and rapid closure of businesses during lockdown periods has been the hardest challenge to overcome."
For Johannah Maher, her Impactr team is 'based in 3 different countries', meaning the bulk of their foundational work has been remote.
Her team has experienced 'Zoom fatigue', with Maher herself acknowledging that it's 'hard to keep people interested on a long Zoom call, and it can also be awkward and difficult to encourage active participation'.
Despite all the roadblocks, tech innovators have acknowledged that the unique economic landscape created by the global pandemic has also yielded growth opportunities for their respective startups.
For Snackr, the startup was able to generate momentum based on the app's ability to fill a growing demand for COVIDSafe measures in stadium events.
"[The pandemic] adjusted our value proposition for our clients as a COVID-safe measure that promotes social distancing, which turned out to be a major value add," states Matt Lim.
"Although the uncertain environment has definitely made some things more difficult, we have seen some great adjustments and interesting opportunities come out of it."
The Academy experienced similar needs for adaptation. Peter Costi comments that the restrictions prompted him and his team to "bring forward certain features and elements that were due for production much later".
"In order to adapt, we have had to pivot the value proposition for certain features, and in some areas, completely design new elements," says Costi.
"We have also moved towards a greater emphasis on gamification for consumers and implemented 6 month discounted incentives for businesses."
Johannah Maher's team have also made similar adaptations, though as the team had already been working remotely due to distance, Impactr has been comparatively on track in terms of its development.
The team are, however, eagerly anticipating the end of COVID lockdowns so that their platform can take a changed Australia by storm.
Theres nothing quite like the chemistry and authentic feedback you get from in-person events and meetings," remarks Maher, "so we'll definitely be getting on the road as soon as we can, visiting our app users and testing the app with them as much as possible."


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DasCoin is Building Bridges for a Global Community
For many folks, cryptocurrencies signify opportunity. They represent a chance to become part of the future by actively participating in blockchain technology with its widespread applications and potential. Cryptocurrencies have spurred a boom in the financial markets. The meteoric rise of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, and Cardano are cases in point. By Q4 2017, the boom had peaked, and the cryptocurrency market has been consolidating, pending regulatory changes, speculative assessments, and a general recalibration of the digital currency scene. The mass hysteria that gripped the global markets has ebbed and flowed in Q1 2019, but now stakeholders are keenly interested in DasCoin – a rising star.
Before delving into the differences between DasCoin and the top 5 cryptocurrencies currently on the market, it’s important to take stock of how heavily weighted Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin are in terms of overall market capitalization. These 5 heavy hitters comprise 76.6% of the overall market capitalization. At the time of writing the total capital investment in 1,564 cryptocurrencies across 9,413 markets amounted to $337.6 billion. DasCoin is gearing up to become the dominant medium of exchange and store of value in the markets. The era of central banks is quickly moving into our rearview mirror – those archaic financial institutions are inefficient, top-heavy, and designed to support the elite few that manage them.
New age cryptocurrency like DasCoin is part of an ecosystem where every node on the blockchain adds value to the network. It is against this backdrop that DasCoin is building bridges for a global community. The value of this new blockchain technology is not limited to its monetary appreciation over time – it is the infinite possibilities within this technology. For example, DasPay is a way to pay for goods and services with some 60 million+ merchants around the world. This cryptocurrency wallet can be activated and accessed direct from a smartphone or tablet, courtesy of the technology provided by Carta Worldwide. It is accessible everywhere major credit cards like Visa/MasterCard are used on POS (point-of-sale) terminals.
What are the Main Characteristics of the DasEcosystem?
Security, scalability, speed of transactions processing, accountability, sustainability, adaptability, and functionality are the main differences between DasCoin and other industry players like Bitcoin. Unlike the anonymous blockchain network that Bitcoin and others operate on, DasCoin allows for privacy, but not anonymity. This is a key difference between this cryptocurrency and the rest. Perhaps this is the reason it has been deemed a hybrid cryptocurrency. By requiring strict security protocols and verification checks, thanks to the KYC (know your customer) protocols, the DasEcosystem is everything that Bitcoin isn’t. Every user/member/participant on the network has been granted permission to be there thanks to the network owners who run the show. This differs to the anonymous blockchain whereby anyone can enter or exit with complete impunity.
Speed and Scalability Issues: DasCoin Trumps the Competition
The speed of transactions processing for confirmed blockchain transactions is just 6 seconds, and incredible scalability allows for 100,000 transactions to be processed every second. That’s 6 million transactions every minute and 360 million transactions every hour. Such numbers are mind-boggling, and they attest to the sophisticated nature of DasCoin’s blockchain. By having such amazing scalability and zero impact on performance, this is clearly the cryptocurrency of the future. Since the permissioned blockchain is secure with KYC protocols, it is also compliant with all regulatory requirements. This is a substantial difference over other cryptocurrencies which have tried to skirt regulatory constraints by offering anonymous transactions processing on nodes and networks.
The ecosystem concept is another major difference between the Bitcoin community and the DasCoin community. When every node adds value to the network, and the well-being of the network is maintained by a network of responsible owners, oversight and balance is possible. Bitcoin operates in the Wild West of the blockchain spectrum. There is no oversight by any communal authority or board – it is a series of nodes on a network that are anonymous and unregulated. While inherently attractive at some level, the authorities always have a part to play in the financial arena. DasCoin is already a step ahead of the competition by complying with statutory requirements through its KYC policy and permissioned blockchain.


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The technology used for electric car batteries is so backward they will die after just two years, experts have warned.
The cars will also be extremely expensive to run and cover far less distance on one battery charge than previously claimed, they say.
David Cameron recently confirmed the Government would go ahead with a £20million grant to help Nissan build electric cars in the North East.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Like climategeate, it's all a scam.


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While July may be the season of “out-of-office” messages, corporate innovators are still grinding through the summer months — leading to a number of innovative advancements across industries.
Early in July, Kohl’s expanded its partnership with Amazon. Now, customers can return their unwanted amazon packages at any Kohl’s location across the US. Up in Canada, Tim Hortons opened its first innovation café in Toronto, testing higher-end menu items and technological initiatives. And, Charles Schwab closed out the month by announcing the acquisition of $90 billion in client assets from USAA’s Investment Management Company.
What else should you think about to stay ahead? Check out five pieces of advice from our July coverage of corporate innovation.
1. Switch from a Hiring to a Recruiting Mentality
“I try never to use the word ‘hire.’ Because it suggests that you’re picking people who are dying to work for your company. But if you’re good at it…it’s recruiting,” distinguishes Bob MetcaIfe, founder of 3Com and inventor of Ethernet, in a recent bonus episode of Innovation Answered. “That is, these are people with many other options that are somewhere else, and it’s your job to go get them. So if you have the hiring mentality, don’t. … [S]witch to the recruiting mentality. [That’s where] you bring the innovations into your company.”
He also suggests that listeners remember the Silicon Valley motto: “B people hire, C people. But A people recruit A+ people.”
2. Spend the First Year Proving Your Initiative’s Capability
“The initial…months [and] even the first year [of Aflac Ventures Fund]…were all about trying to prove out the model,” says Bharat Rajaram, Managing Director at Aflac Ventures. “If you’re doing this for the first time…you want to take your time and prove that you can do something well. You can do quality transactions, and you can execute them…”
Aflac Ventures Fund officially began its operations in 2017. In 2018, the insurance company announced that it would expand its venture capital fund from $100 million to $250 million over the next four years. Read the full story.
3. Design Play into Your Work to Foster Creative Thinking
“What I really think is important…is your method of designing play…into your environment. You’ve got to be curious about the people that are around you. [Ask them,] ‘What could you teach me?'” Says Suzi Hamill formerly of Fidelity Investments, during a recent video. “The last thing that’s really important is purpose. People will play with you at work initially. But if they don’t see the purpose mapping back to the work that they’re doing, they’re not gonna value it.”
Hamill shares an exercise on play in the video below. Find out what your team can accomplish with 30 minutes and a box of Legos.
4. Create a Strategy for Auto-Replenishment
When connected devices automatically order products once they run out, consumers may end up re-purchasing the same dish soap or laundry detergent indefinitely. Tom Furphy, formerly of Amazon, discussed how brands in both retail and the connected device space should adapt during a retail pop-up in Boston.
“There’s going to be a land grab in the auto-replenishment world,” Furphy says. “[T]he brands that are the most forward thinking…are going to get an early lead. … [I]t’s going to behoove brands to have a strategy in auto-replenishment, and then retailers to have a strategy to how they’re going to support [auto-replenishment] for their customers…”
5. Ask the Right Questions when Tapping the Crowd
“Never post a challenge or a statement out there with a site that says, ‘Give us all your best ideas,’ because you’re not equipped to go implement any of them,” says Steve Rader of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, during a recent live call. “[A good challenge] is very narrow; you set expectations for what’s going to happen; [and] you make sure [that] the owner of that challenge is somebody who can actually implement whatever comes out of it…”


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Must-See’s at Dx3 2019:
1. Interactive robot demonstrations from Promobot
2. VR/AR Association’s exhibit of its latest Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technology
3. Female entrepreneur-focused panel moderated by Michele Romanow
4. Demonstrations from StoryTap showing retailers how to utilize customer video reviews
5. Spotlight panel on cannabis retail industry
(image of Organigram grow room)
7. Performance from Toronto-based indie pop band Weaves
TORONTO – February 13, 2019 – DX3, Canada’s largest retail, marketing and tech conference, today announced its 2019 keynote lineup and new speakers.
2019 Opening keynote speakers include:
2019 Closing keynotes speakers include:
“As the new managers of DX3, we wanted to make a statement for the 2019 event. We put together a lineup of inspiring C-suite speakers, added a musical performance and focused on spotlighting timely industries such as A.I. and cannabis,” said Hifazat “Faz” Ahmad, President and CEO, DX3. “We’re excited for this years show and are confident conference goers will leave with invaluable insights, ideas and connections.”
Taking place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Wednesday, March 6 and Thursday, March 7, more than 4,000 industry leaders will have the opportunity to listen to engaging talks and panels from more than 50 top executives.
New speakers booked for the event include: Derek Colfer, Head of Technology & Digital Innovation, Visa Canada; Santhosh Subramani, Director of CRM and Marketing Operations, Air Canada; Kevin Edwards, CEO, SkiptheDishes; Kathy Davey, Head of Communication and Interior Design, IKEA Canada; Ambles Kwok, Vice President of Technology and Digital Innovation, Indigo; Erin Elofson, Countrys Manager, Canada,Pinterest; Marni Schapiro, Director of Retail, Snapchat; and Jeremy Potvin, CEO and founder, Weedbox.
Tickets to DX3 are available to purchase online.
DX3 is Canada’s largest conference and trade show dedicated to retail, digital marketing, advertising and media, and tech. DX3 connects the world’s top technology brands to Canada’s leading consumer brands, retailers and agencies by curating engaging content, immersive experiences and platforms that enable meaningful face-to-face commerce.


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REPORT: Legal Pot Sales Are Off to Slow Start in Canada
As the most reliable and balanced news aggregation service on the internet, DML News App offers the following information published by WSJ.com:
Canada’s experiment with legal pot is off to a slow and sputtering start.
Recreational sales of marijuana are muted, hurt by supply constraints and competition from the black market.
The article goes on to state the following:
Six months after the country became the largest economy to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, retail sales have undershot expectations. Supply shortages, restrictions on marijuana-based products and competition from a still-thriving black market have combined to keep a lid on sales.
— Vipal Monga (@vipalmonga) April 13, 2019
In Canada, recreational sales of marijuana are muted, hurt by supply constraints and competition from the black market https://t.co/7oBMeTfoch
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) April 13, 2019
To get more information about this article, please visit WSJ.com. To weigh in, leave a comment below.
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5/31/2011 09:30:00 PM
Portlanders know how to mix the urban (killer coffee, music and art) and the small-town (easy walking, biking and socializing). There’s no end to the city’s great restaurants, coffee shops and hot spots, and the locals are more than willing to explore. That’s why, when we started planning the Google Offers beta trial, we knew Portland was the ideal place to get it all kicked off.
Today, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and VP of Commerce Stephanie Tilenius announced at the D9 Conference that we’re launching Google Offers beta in Portland, Ore. tomorrow.
Our first Google Offer will be from beloved local java shop Floyd’s Coffee. Husband-and-wife team Jack Inglis and Cris Chapman opened Floyd’s seven years ago, offering up espresso, coffee, breakfast burritos and more. They now have two convenient locations—one cozy, brick-lined shop in Old Town and another Stumptown watering-hole in Buckman.
With Google Offers, we’re working with great local businesses like Floyd’s Coffee, Le Bistro Montage, Powell’s Books and Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade to help them reach more Portlanders. We hope to bring Google Offers to other cities soon, with New York City and the San Francisco Bay area as our next stops.
You can learn more about Google Offers and sign up at google.com/offers. If you’re a business interested in participating in Google Offers, you can let us know too. Finally, if you’re at the Portland Rose Festival this Saturday, visit our Google booth at CityFair to say hello to our team and learn more about Google Offers.
Posted by Kyle Harrison, Product Manager, Google Offers


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Chevrolet Volt will officially go on sale in the United States later this year and will arrive in European stores in 2011.
General Motors recently announced an investment of $336 million for Chevrolet Volt's production. The investment in the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant raises the overall Michigan expenditure to $700 million and concerns a total of eight facilities, with Detroit-Hamtramck to play the role of the final assembly location for the Volt.
“We expect the Detroit-Hamtramck plant will be the first facility in the U.S. owned by a major automaker to produce an electric car. It is the hub for the wheel that we began rolling in 2007 when the Volt debuted at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit,” said Jon Lauckner, GM vice president of global product planning.
“Since then, the field of challengers and partners has grown significantly. This competition will expedite the development of electric vehicle technology and infrastructure.”
The standard Volt will provide a total range of 40 miles when driven on pure electricity. Pricing on the car is yet to be disclosed but the final details will be made official soon as we get closer to the projected launch date.


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Respawn Entertainment - the studio formed by the creators of Call of Duty - will reportedly release its first game as an Xbox exclusive.
According to Kotaku, the company's debut title will come to Microsoft's Xbox 720 and Xbox 360, but will not arrive on rival PlayStation and Nintendo consoles.
The report claims that the game is "a futuristic multiplayer-centric online shooter", with sources suggesting that it will be always-online.
It is said to be a "battle of Davids and Goliaths" with heavily-armed foot soldiers fighting alongside Titans - giant exoskeletons piloted by soldiers.
The studio recently filed an application for the game trademark 'Titan', leading many to speculate this will be the name of the title.
Respawn Entertainment was founded by Vince Zampella and Jason West, who had previously overseen the Call of Duty series at Infinity Ward, after they were removed by Activision for alleged "insubordination".
However, West has since left the new company due to "family issues".
Earlier this month, Microsoft declared that it will unveil its next-gen console on May 21.
The announcement suggested that the reveal will be for the console and services, and won't show the full line-up of games until E3.
Gallery: The ten years of Xbox:


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Agri. Minister Promotes Bulgaria's Export Potential to Japanese Envoy
Agriculture Minister Dimitar Grekov has promoted the export potential of the local agriculture sector to Japan's Ambassador to Bulgaria Takashi Koizumi.
At a Monday meeting with Koizumi, Grekov claimed that agriculture was the most stable sector of the Bulgarian economy, stressing that Bulgarian products were popular on the Japanese market.
Koizumi agreed that Bulgaria was famous for traditional products like yoghurt, rose oil, wine and herbs, according to a media statement of the Agriculture Ministry.
Grekov pointed out that Bulgaria offered excellent conditions for the production of aromatic plants like roses, lavender and mint.
"Bulgaria's agriculture can also offer organic products like honey, baby foods for infants and young children and wine," he added.
Grekov and Koidzumi agreed that the two countries had to develop the existing potential for cooperation.
- » Bulgaria, Russia to Look into Options for the Future of Belene NPP Project
- » Bulgaria’s Gross Foreign Debt Dips 1.3% Y/Y in May 2016
- » Bulgaria’s Business Climate Worsens in July – NSI Survey
- » Bulgaria Appoints New Deputy Finance Minister
- » Trips of Bulgarians Abroad Rise 21% Y/Y in June
- » Air France Strike to Disrupt Sofia Flights


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Apple, no friend of the European Commission at the best of times, has released a strongly-worded press release in which it explains why it isn't happy about a $2 billion fine levied by the EC. The fine comes after the Commission found that Apple's "abusive App Store rules" unfairly affected music streaming apps like Spotify and others, preventing them from pointing users toward cheaper prices outside of the App Store. It also impacted users by making them pay more, too, the EC suggests. And Apple really isn't happy about it.
In fact, Apple believes that it's all Spotify's fault, rather than its own.
"The primary advocate for this decision — and the biggest beneficiary — is Spotify, a company based in Stockholm, Sweden," Apple says. "Spotify has the largest music streaming app in the world, and has met with the European Commission more than 65 times during this investigation."
Why the number of times Spotify spoke with officials about an ongoing investigation is something Apple believes it needed to bring up isn't quite clear, but that's just the beginning. Apple then went on to detail how many users Spotify has. And how long the App Store has been around. And tell us about what other developers do on the App Store before offering a thinly veiled threat about pulling out of the EU altogether. And all apparently ignoring the elephant in the room — Apple has been fined because it broke European anti-competitive rules. And just arguing about that won't change anything.
This all came in a rambling, ranting press release the likes of which are becoming increasingly common from Apple. In it, Apple explains that Spotify doesn't pay Apple anything to ship its app in the App Store — ignoring the Apple developer fee, although admittedly that isn't a lot — because it doesn't use Apple's in-app purchase system. But as is so often the case here, it isn't made clear how that changes what Apple has done nor why it believes it shouldn't have been fined for doing it.
"The Commission's investigation found that Apple bans music streaming app developers from fully informing iOS users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services available outside of the app and from providing any instructions about how to subscribe to such offers," the European Commission's press release reads. And it's right, because we know full well that Apple did this. Apple knows it did it because it's going to release iOS 17.4 this week to change that behavior in order to meet the EU's incoming Digital Markets Act requirements.
Throughout the press release Apple seems to be arguing that because Spotify is doing well, it should just leave well alone. Because it's the biggest music streamer in the land, it should just ignore the fact that Apple broke EU rules. This is an interesting approach, and will presumably be the one Apple allows any company infringing its patents to take in the future, too.
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And then we get what reads like a threat to take its ball and go home.
Under the "What's next?" heading, Apple says that it "has been a part of Europe for over 40 years, and today, we support more than 2.5 million jobs across the continent. We’ve helped markets thrive, promoting competition and innovation at every turn — and the App Store is an important part of that story," the press release reads.
Apple will of course appeal the fine, and it might get the figure reduced. But the EC says that Apple's anti-steering provisions are "in breach of Article 102(a) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU')." It adds that they are "neither necessary nor proportionate for the protection of Apple's commercial interests in relation to the App Store on Apple's smart mobile devices and negatively affect the interests of iOS users, who cannot make informed and effective decisions on where and how to purchase music streaming subscriptions for use on their device."
If that's the case, Apple doesn't really have a leg to stand on and the best it can hope for is a reduction in the fine that's been imposed. It's also worth looking at this fine as a potential warning shot on the eve of the DMA coming into force — the EC's way of saying that Apple should expect a tough time if it intends to play games with the new rules. Given the way Apple intends to comply with some of those rules, some might argue that it already is.
You really should give Apple's press release a read. Especially if you want to see a multi-billion-dollar company blame someone else for its problems.
More from iMore
Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.
Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.
How is it rambling?Reply
European market leader Spotify is the only one benefiting from the eus actions.
I think it’s great Apple is finally fighting back.


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SINGAPORE (Bloomberg): Almost a decade ago, the son of Singapore paint tycoon Goh Cheng Liang set his sights on gaining control of Japan's biggest paint-maker. He finally succeeded, and that has been a boon for the family's wealth.
SAN DIEGO: Qualcomm Inc, the world’s largest smartphone chipmaker, warned it is struggling to meet demand, signalling that a global semiconductor shortage is spreading.
QUALCOMM Inc., the world’s largest smartphone chipmaker, warned it is struggling to meet demand, signaling that a global semiconductor shortage is spreading.
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Amazon.com, Inc. on Tuesday announced its financial results for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2020, with net sales of 125.6 billion U.S. dollars, up 44 percent year over year.
SHANGHAI (Reuters): Alibaba Group Holding Ltd beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue on Tuesday, as its e-commerce business benefited from a switch to online shopping triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd beat estimates for third-quarter revenue on a pandemic-driven jump in e-commerce, but its shares dropped amid regulatory heat for founder Jack Ma's business empire.
LONDON: BP's fourth-quarter profit sank to $115 million, missing analysts' forecasts, pummelled by continued weak energy demand due to the coronavirus epidemic and weak trading results.
BERLIN, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Revenues of German health technology company Siemens Healthineers increased by 13.3 percent to 3.87 billion euros (4.7 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter (Q1) of its fiscal year 2021, the company said on Monday.
Firm fails to give clear target for 2021 vehicle deliveries
(Reuters) - Facebook Inc soundly beat quarterly revenue estimates on Wednesday after heavy holiday advertising by e-commerce retailers, but it warned Apple's impending privacy changes could hurt revenue by interfering with ad targeting.


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STAR Publications (Malaysia) Bhd has declared a higher dividend of 12.5 sen, after posting a 19.2% increase in pre-tax profit to RM102.9mil for the year ended Dec 31, 2002.
Stock Market Signals: A weekly column by G.M. Teoh on the performance of the KLSE's Main Board.
THE latest Industrial Production Index (IPI) figures reveal moderation or even a probable slowdown in the country's economic growth.
A SEAMLESS integration of an agency's skills, craft, talent, disciplines, standard and ideas becomes a unified strategy that, correctly applied to brand building, can result in the creation of a #8220;brand voice#8221;, a pervasive, yet non-intrusive brand identity that the consumer senses on every possible level.
JAPAN-BOUND Malaysian products can enjoy tariff cuts or waivers as early as 2004 if Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur agree to an #147;early harvest#148; approach in their proposed bilateral free trade area (BFTA), said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz.
CHOO Koo Oan, a successful retailer of electrical home appliances, has come a long way. Born in Junjong, Kedah, Choo was sent to Penang as a youngster in the early 1950s to be educated and was expected to be a success. Thirty years later, this humble man became a self-made millionaire by selling electrical home appliances.


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Chaineys Levin can get you anything you need.
The family-owned business, which has been on Oxford St for 35 years, sells whiteware, bicycles and all accessories such as lights and new tyres, furniture, beds, kids bikes, vacuum cleaners, TVs and stereos, stoves, barbecues, mowers, heatpumps, carseats for kids, washing machines, helmets, to name a few and they repair bikes, mowers and chainsaws too.
They also have a secondhand shop, just around the corner on Queen St West.
Owner Bryan Wilton returned home 15 years ago from an Aussie adventure.
"I had worked in the family store about five years prior to that. My wife is also from Levin and we came back to raise our family here."
He said that 10 years ago the family decided to expand the already extensive range by going into furniture and beds.
"The customers were asking for it and when the shop next door became available we decided to rent that for the bedding and furniture. We've got everything here. No need to go to Palmerston North," Wilton said.
He said he, his mum and dad and their staff of two, who have been with Chaineys for years, needed a good memory for prices, given the enormous variety of things they sell. Thanks to suppliers and their reps who visit regularly they keep up to date with the latest in each department.
Over lockdown levels 4 and 3 the shop was closed, but the Wilton had to be in regularly to deal with paper work.
"We do finance deals and have customers who regularly pay instalments, so we needed to stay on top of those."
As soon as lockdown hit the turnover went through the floor, he said.
"On the first Wednesday of lockdown we did three deliveries contactless to Ōtaki.
"Over the lockdown we could sell what we had in store and we tried to help people as much as we could. We couldn't get any new stock in, though."
He said his family has always focused on making and spending money locally and support local institutions.
"Over the years we have supplied prices to school galas, for example."
They were able to keep everyone on the payroll with government help of course and now that the doors are open again business picked up really quickly. "We are selling lots right across the board, nothing stands out."
Overall the customers have been understand though some have found the lockdown difficult.
"Especially for those who pay by weekly instalments. They often come in with cash and as they couldn't come in and pay over the lockdown because we were closed quite a few have spent that money on other things like food. In lockdown everyone's grocery bill has gone through the roof."
Chaineys do free delivery within Levin township and also offers finance deals from six to 24 months.
For more information see their website: https://chaineyslevin.co.nz/
Chaineys, 241 Oxford St, Levin, Ph 368 4102 or email firstname.lastname@example.org.


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A huge Hobby Lobby store is on track to open later this year in The Villages.
The 55,000-square-foot-store is under construction at Buffalo Ridge Plaza.
Longstanding real estate partner, David Emihovich of Katz & Associates, worked with Hobby Lobby’s Matthew Abnet to secure the location in Buffalo Ridge Plaza.
“The new store in this fast-growing community is exciting for Hobby Lobby and their customers,” said Emihovich, who has worked with Hobby Lobby to secure over 30 locations since 2013. “The location is consistently ranked as one of the most requested trade areas for them to enter, and Hobby Lobby is eager to meet that demand with this new store in the heart of The Villages.”
Hobby Lobby was founded in 1972 and currently operates 956 retail stores stocked with a treasure trove of over 80,000 arts, crafts, hobbies, home accent, seasonal, and custom framing products.


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The TouchPad is pictured alongside the new Pre 3 smartphone after the two were announced in San Francisco today. The new version of the Pre doubles the display resolution of the previous model, and adds HD video recording and a front-facing camera, along with squeezing in a 1.4GHz Qualcomm processor.
The TouchPad features a 9.7-inch multitouch display, a virtual keyboard, instant-on access, support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta, and the ability to integrate with HP's other WebOS devices, including the newly announced Pre 3 and Veer.
The Veer, one of the two new phones also announced today, is a scaled-down version of the Pixi, and is small enough to fit easily in the palm of a hand. It's being positioned as an alternative to what HP dubbed "jumbo phones."