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Illinois appellate court affirms dismissal of consumer counterclaims in credit card action
On April 12, the Appellate Court of Illinois published an opinion affirming the dismissal of a consumer’s counterclaims against a lender in a lawsuit seeking to collect the consumer’s alleged debt from a store credit card. According to the opinion, in January 2017, the lender filed a small claims action seeking to collect credit card debt on which the consumer allegedly defaulted in July 2012. The consumer filed a putative class action counterclaim against the lender alleging, among other things, that the lender’s collection action violated the FDCPA and various Illinois laws because it was time-barred under the four-year statute of limitations period provided to enforce a sale of goods under Section 2-725 of the UCC. The lender moved to dismiss the counterclaims, alleging that its complaint was timely filed within the five-year statute of limitations period applicable to credit card agreements under Section 13-205 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure. The lower court granted the lender’s motion to dismiss, holding that the credit card agreement was governed by the five-year statute of limitations applicable to credit card agreements under Section 13-205 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, rather than the four-year statute of limitations under the UCC’s sale of goods provisions. On appeal, the appellate court affirmed the lower court’s decision, rejecting the consumer’s argument that the UCC should apply to the agreement because the consumer could only use the credit card to purchase goods at a single retailer. Specifically, the appellate court held that the type of credit card was immaterial to the analysis and that Section 13-205 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure clearly controlled in this case because a tripartite relationship existed among the bank, the cardholder, and the merchant, and the payments made by the bank to the merchant pursuant to the cardholder agreement constituted a loan to the cardholder. As a result, the lender’s complaint was timely filed.


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The adoption of digital payments depends on supply side factors such as robust payments infrastructure, reduced cost of online payments, among others
UPI and wallets are giving stiff competition to debit and credit card based payments
Robust economic growth, higher level of education, greater internet penetration, low inflation and increase in credit to the private sector as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) are the key factors that help drive digital payments, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a report.
“From a policy perspective, our findings suggest that in order to give a robust push to digital payments, it is important to provide a conducive macroeconomic environment and a safe and easy access to digital infrastructure," RBI said in a report titled ‘Drivers of Digital Payments’.
The government and banking regulator has been aggressively pushing for wider adoption of digital payments, especially after demonetisation, to bring in transparency, accountability and convenience in the payments space.
The report pointed out that the wider adoption of digital payments depends on supply side factors such as robust payments infrastructure, reduced cost of online payments, greater financial literacy and innovative schemes to attract customers.
It said initiatives such as instant payments system Unified Payments Interface (UPI), prepaid payment instruments (PPI) such as wallets, expansion of RuPay debit cards through Jan-Dhan accounts and Aadhaar-based direct benefit transfer (DBT) payments popularised digital payments in India.
“The Reserve Bank’s ‘Payment and Settlement Systems in India: Vision 2019-2021’ endeavours to ensure increased efficiency, uninterrupted availability of safe, secure, accessible and affordable payment system as also to serve segments of the population which are hitherto untouched by the payment system," the report said.
The banking regulator pointed out that UPI and wallets are giving stiff competition to debit and credit card based payments, although cards continue to remain an important mode of e-payments.
“The introduction of UPI in 2016-17 altered the landscape of retail electronic payments – the UPI’s share in it increased to 43% within a span of three years," it said.
In August, the number of transactions via UPI hit a high of 918.35 million, worth ₹1.54 trillion, on a par with debit card transactions.
“Although some progress in adoption of digital payments has been evident in India due to these initiatives, the usage of digital medium for payments remains much lower than major advanced and emerging economies," it said.
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Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Hon Kris Faafoi has told the payments sector that progress must be made on innovation and open banking.
Hon Kris Faafoi
Measures to increase transparency and combat misuse of New Zealand companies have been progressed today with the release of a discussion paper for consultation.
KiwiSaver annual statements will soon show projected balances at retirement and income figures to help consumers make better decisions about their savings.
Minister of Civil Defence Hon Kris Faafoi today launched New Zealand ShakeOut 2018, the national earthquake drill and tsunami hīkoi, at Wilford School in Lower Hutt.
The Government has taken the next step towards ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty with the release of a draft Bill for public consultation, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi announced today.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi have met with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) and Financial Markets Authority (FMA) to discuss their previously announced review of the conduct and operations of the financial sector.
Minister of Civil Defence Kris Faafoi says today’s meeting with Ara Tahi, Greater Wellington’s iwi forum, will allow him to hear how the region deals with the wide range of hazards and emergencies it faces and to seek feedback to improve New Zealand’s Civil Defence system.
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi today announced the start of public consultation on New Zealand’s insurance contract law.
A popular online tool which lets business owners search company names, domain names and trade marks in one simple search, has been updated with new features to deliver better results and save p
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi announced today the beginning of public consultation on a new regime to provide fairer outcomes for victims of Ponzi schemes.
Deaf communities will have improved access to emergency information as the result of a new agreement signed today, says Civil Defence Minister Hon Kris Faafoi.
Minister of Civil Defence Kris Faafoi says he expects to learn a lot from his visit to Gisborne tomorrow as he seeks feedback about improvements to New Zealand’s Civil Defence Emergency Management system.
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi today announced the appointment of Professor Prasanna Gai to the Financial Markets Authority Board.
Minister of Civil Defence Kris Faafoi will visit Dunedin and Invercargill next week to hear from the regions on how Civil Defence Emergency Management can be improved.
Minister of Civil Defence Kris Faafoi says tomorrow’s visit to Palmerston North and the Manawatu Wanganui region is an opportunity to hear how the region deals with the wide range of hazards and emergencies it faces.
New Zealand Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi and Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison have welcomed the cross-appointment of Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Commissioner Roger Featherston to the New Zealand Commerce Commission (NZCC).


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Microsoft's Skype Internet telephone service hopes to quadruple the number of users to get to one billion, division president Tony Bates said Thursday.
Sales of epic medieval videogame "Skyrim" have soared to about $650 million, with rave reviews pegging the title as game of the year.
(AP) -- YouTube is making a bold step into original programming in an entertainment venture with some 100 content creators, from Madonna to The Wall Street Journal.
Just for laughs, San Jose, Calif.'s Dylan Hart and a college friend posted a video on YouTube in 2007 about charging an iPod using an onion and a bottle of Gatorade.
The smartphone has become the centerpiece of many students' digital lives.
Companies are struggling to manage a rising tide of video use in workplaces, with employees expecting business networks to adapt to whatever mobile gadgets they prefer to use.
YouTube announced that it bought Internet television company Next New Networks to improve content for the Google-owned video-sharing website.
(AP) -- PlayStation 3 owners will soon be able to stream movies and TV shows from Netflix to their TVs using the gaming console, just as Xbox 360 owners have been able to do for a year.
(AP) -- Adobe Systems Inc. is extending its Flash platform to digital home entertainment devices like TV sets, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes.
Video sharing site Vimeo wrote to the Indonesian government on Thursday, asking that it reconsider the block it has put on its platform.


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From Sept. 23 to 29, libraries and schools across the country will recognize Banned Books Week.
It’s a chance for us to remind you about all the society-changing books that have been banned or challenged. And there’s a good chance that list includes your personal favorite. Imagine your bookshelf without To Kill a Mockingbird, Color Purple, Animal Farm, Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.
Commemorate Banned Books Week with us by making your own Banned Books tote bag at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 26, at our Lake Branch. You can use stencils, fabric paint, markers and more to design and create your own bag.
This crafty program is free to attend and open to everyone in sixth grade or higher. We only ask that you RSVP. You can register online or call us at (440) 257-2512.


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The RSC has teamed up with Google's Creative Lab to create a one-off digital theatre project called Midsummer Night's Dreaming which will take place live in Stratford-upon-Avon and online over the midsummer weekend »
The Suffolk festival is nothing if not eclectic. Roll up, roll up for musical bingo, mutineers, political comedy and the Pet Shop Boys »
James Gilpin is a designer and researcher who has turned the sugar-rich urine of elderly diabetics into a high-end single malt whisky »
Here's Syria's three-year-old civil war -- mapped in all its morbid chaos »
Wired.co.uk reviews the Samsung Galaxy Tab S »


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Find a Yacht
Reasons for a sailing holiday company to be cheerfulThursday, 22nd April 2021
The travel industry has had a torrid 12 months, and there is lots of doom and gloom around, but better times are coming soon, and there are reasons to be cheerful.
PlainSailing.com Press Release
Issued 22nd April 2021
And so the lockdown continues. People can’t welcome friends and family into their own homes, and there are some countries where the schools, gyms and swimming pools are closed again. The media are telling people to forget about booking holidays abroad, and to spend three-times as much on a renting a caravan in the UK. Summer seems a long way away. It would be easy to be depressed about the situation, but there are reasons for sailing holiday experts PlainSailing.com to be cheerful:
The Vaccine – If we left it to the respective Governments we’d surely be in lockdown forever more, but thankfully Science has been exceptionally quick to the rescue. Normally vaccines take years or decades to develop, but we have one already, and people across the world are getting immune to the virus, making it less harmful, and reducing its spread. In Croatia, they’re even prioritising vaccinating people who will work in the tourist industry this summer.
Borders are opening soon – Greece have already announced that they will be re-opening their borders on the 14th May 2021. Spain, Portugal, Italy and Croatia are likewise aiming to welcome international tourists from around this date, and airlines are busy selling seats on planes scheduled from mid-May. We don’t yet know exactly what will be required to travel from the UK, but they’ve announced that a negative PCR test or a certificate of vaccination will get you entry into these countries..
Yacht charter is the ultimate covid-safe holiday – If you want to be sure of not contracting the virus when you’re abroad, then a sailing holiday on your own private yacht or catamaran is pretty much ideal. It means that you’re not cooped up in a holiday villa all day; can go exploring without using public transport, taxi drivers or walking on busy streets; you’re guaranteed your own space to lie in the sunshine (more than 2 metres away from everyone else and with easy access to the sea; you’re only mixing with the crew on-board, in your own little bubble; plus, you’re outdoors, having fun, seeing nature at its finest, and finding happiness.
Tommy Tognarelli, co-founder of PlainSailing.com, said "We’re still waiting to see exactly what happens next as part of this pandemic, but we’ve all learnt that it’s important for our own mental health to try and focus on the positives.
““We can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. We wish it would arrive sooner, but we’re getting closer every day, and once international travel finally resumes then private yacht and catamaran charters will be an exciting alternative for people to choose this summer – and, of course, it’s super-covid-safe as you’re essentially in your own bubble of people for most of the week. And what a week!
“Our customers cannot wait to hear more about getting out of the UK lockdown, and once they give the green light then we’ll be flying, and hopefully we’ll never look back. But for now, we have to smile our way through this, and hope and pray for the best”.


text: By SHELLY GARCIA Staff Reporter A local San Fernando Valley property owner has proposed the development of a big-box shopping center on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks. The center would be located at the site of the former Coast Savings bank between Van Nuys and Sepulveda boulevards. It would be the only big-box development in Sherman Oaks, whose retail community generally consists largely of small, neighborhood shops. H & M; Konjoyan, a family-owned owned business which owns several properties in the Valley, closed escrow on the Coast property several weeks ago, paying around $2 million, the original asking price for the coveted corner lot, said Carrie Konjoyan, co-owner of the company and a past president of the Sherman Oaks Chamber of Commerce. The family owns an adjacent property, the Lindora Medical building, and plans to tear down those two facilities for a two-story center with a total of about 100,000 square feet of selling space and parking facilities both above and under ground. “We’re hoping to break ground in the next year or so,” said Konjoyan. Before that happens, H & M; Konjoyan will have to overcome several hurdles, including obtaining a zoning variance to build a taller structure than the specific plan currently allows and finding a way to ease the potential traffic congestion, which is the greatest concern of community groups. But if the company is able to navigate its project through the city and neighborhood groups, it stands to profit mightily, developers said. “It’s a home run,” said Cliff Goldstein, a partner with J.H. Snyder Co., which is currently developing a big-box center in Woodland Hills. “All the big boxes want to be on Ventura Boulevard, and there are so few spaces to get.” With a few exceptions, there has not been sufficient space along the boulevard to develop centers that can accommodate retailers requiring 20,000 square feet of space or more. The site already has drawn interest from a number of national chain stores, attracted by the demographics of Sherman Oaks and its central location in the East San Fernando Valley. “It meets almost every requirement for population and income,” said Art Ross, whose Ventura-based brokerage, A.J. Ross Commercial, represents Konjoyan. “You have a dense area. You have a higher than average income.” The center also is located between a Pavilions market and a newly-remodeled Sav-On Drugs store, making it even more attractive, he added. Besides local residents, big-box retailers can also draw on the significant daytime traffic generated by surrounding businesses, particularly if a proposal to redevelop the nearby Sherman Oaks Galleria and with it, an additional 45,000 square feet of office space goes through, the developers said. One potential tenant for the Galleria’s office space is Warner Bros., which is in discussions to locate its animation facilities in the center’s office complex. Such a move would add an estimated 150,000 square feet or more of office occupancy, according to brokers. Ross said the interest in the big-box center has come from retailers of both soft goods and hard goods with space needs ranging from 17,000-50,000 square feet. The company expects to lease to no more than three stores. The Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association, which has a strong presence in the community and has waged successful opposition to many development proposals, has given a tentative nod to the project. “We support the concept as long as traffic problems are solved,” said Richard Close, the association’s president. “But until we get the details, we can’t really evaluate the pluses and minuses.” In addition to the dense concentration of shops and restaurants along Ventura Boulevard, a free-standing Borders Books & Music unit is under development less than a half mile east of the proposed center site. “The combination of Borders and this use means traffic is going to be a major concern,” Close said. “I’m concerned about traffic too,” added Konjoyan. “We intend to address it to the best of our ability.” The zoning variance required may pose additional problems. “We don’t have a position on the project other than we have some concerns about the exception to the specific plan,” said Sharon Mayer, field deputy to City Councilman Michael Feuer. She said that while community support is important in deciding requests for variances, city officials also consider the intent of the specific plan. Although it does not directly prohibit larger stores, it does include height restrictions in order to encourage pedestrian traffic and to guard against congestion from automobile traffic. H & M; Konjoyan, which has hired the architectural firm John Ash Group to draft a preliminary design for the center, has begun meeting with local community groups and civic leaders.


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Glenn Polyn//March 16, 2022//
Glenn Polyn //March 16, 2022//
Press release: Bright Planet Pet
Bright Planet Pet, the first company to launch plant-based dog treats that taste and smell like real meat and a recent winner of Purina’s 2022 Pet Care Innovation Prize, is now available in Petco stores across the country.
Woman-owned and led, Bright Planet Pet was founded in March 2020 by Katherine and Dave Ellison on the principle that dogs, and their people, deserve a truly sustainable dog treat that is delicious while being 100% plant-based and vegan. All treats are made from sustainable all-natural ingredients, create 90 percent less carbon emissions, use 68 percent less water than comparable meat-based treats and help pet parents reduce their dog’s carbon pawprint. For every purchase, Bright Planet Pet donates to the Eden Reforestation Project to plant one tree further helping combat climate change. In 2021, Bright Planet Pet planted 15,581 trees and by the end of this year, the goal is to reach 100,000 trees planted.
“Bright Planet Pet was born out of a desire to create a brighter, better planet for everyone,” said Katherine. “Every small change adds up and having an option for plant-based treats, that are equally delicious as meat treats, helps reduce the number of animals in our supply chain, reduce carbon pawprints, and live more sustainable, green-forward lives.”
Available products include Better Burg’r, Better Brat, and Better BBQ Chick’n. All products are made with chickpea flour, brown rice, dehydrated sweet potato, and dried brewer’s yeast; they are free-from corn, soy, wheat and peas.
Treats are available for purchase online at the brand’s website and at approximately 500 Petco stores around the country as part of Petco’s sustainability efforts and commitment to increasing its assortment of sustainable products to 50 percent by the end of 2025.
In addition to being one of five Purina Pet Care Innovation Prize Winners, out of 120 applicants, Bright Planet Pet was also recently accepted into Leap Venture Studio, the first pet care-specific startup accelerator. The Studio represents Michelson Found Animals and Mars Petcare’s commitment to improving the lives of pets and their owners through science, technology, and innovation.


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Medical technology company Viveve Medical (NASDAQ: VIVE) said on Thursday that it has received 501(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration to expand its manufacturing capacity for its consumable treatment tips.
The expansion will allow the company to strengthen its supply chain to meet market demand and reduce its manufacturing costs.
The treatment tips are used with Viveve's Cryogen-cooled Monopolar Radiofrequency technology.
“We are pleased that the FDA has approved the expansion of our consumable treatment tip manufacturing capabilities. In addition to significant reductions in tip manufacturing costs, the expansion strengthens our supply chain, reduces manufacturing risk, and positions us to support increases in treatment tip demand and utilization,” said Viveve's CEO, Scott Durbin.
Viveve shares rose premarket and are currently trading 12.71% higher after the opening bell at $5.41. Wednesday's closing price was $4.80.


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So it’s official – Apple will be holding a press event this coming Monday. Invites have been received and they are ready to go. Originally it was speculated that the event would take place on the 18th March but, maybe because of Apple’s continuing FBI encounter, the actual date was a few days on.
So. What do we think will be happening? The rumour mill has been churning for a number of weeks and it looks like the following:
iPhone SE – On Monday Apple will be unveiling the new iPhone SE. Some say the SE stands for ‘Special Edition’, or ‘Small Edition’. Basically they are releasing a smaller iPhone, along the size of the iPhone 5 and 5S, but this one has all of the new guts of the new iPhone 6S range. It will also be offered in a range of colours but unlike the iPhone 5C range from a few years back, these will be coloured aluminium. Nice. Probably very similar to the current iPod range. Lots of people still like the smaller iPhone and this will please them a lot. Also, the launch date makes perfect sense for Apple. Sales always tail off as people wait for the new model to be release in the Autumn, so a new version now will bump those dropping sales numbers quite nicely.
A New iPad Air – It’s been a long time (in tech terms at least) since the iPad Air 2 was released so it’s overdue an upgrade but it looks like we’ll be getting more than just that. A few months ago Apple released the iPad Pro, a larger higher spec iPad. From what we have heard during our plundering the new iPad won’t be called an iPad Air 3, but instead it will be a smaller version of the iPad Pro. So a wizbang chip with the A9X processor, four high quality speakers, more RAM, and for the first time on an iPad, an LED flash and upgraded cameras. I’ve been holding off upgrading for a few years but this new iPad will probably be winging its way to my Long Ship upon release.
Apple Watch bands – no new Apple Watch and that’s not such a surprise. I think it will be at least another 6-8 months or so before Apple Watch 2 is launched. But a few new bands and maybe another special edition might be presented.
New OS launches – The BETA version of iOS, OSX and WatchOS have been firing out to developers and the public for testing over the last few months and I reckon we will see the launch of all three on Monday.
What else? The name of the event is Let us loop you in, and some have suggested that buses will be supplied to take the press to the new Apple campus to finally be shown around the ‘Spaceship’. But, it could be something else. That One More Thing that so many of us Apple Fans have come to know and love. Either way, we will find out on Monday.
We will be live tweeting from the Nerdic Vikings Twitter feed so will be keeping you all updated as things are announced.


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Goat Simulator gets DayZ-inspired DLC this week
Coffee Stain Studios has announced it will be released a DayZ-inspired DLC for its Goat Simulator called GoatZ.
Coffee Stain Studios’ Goat Simulator has been receiving some interesting updates lately as it included an MMO expansion late last year. Today, the Goat Simulator world is being infected by zombies as Coffee Stain Studios is announcing GoatZ.
GoatZ is a DayZ-inspired survival expansion that will feature a crafting system that can create anything in the world, a new large map with objectives to complete, “tons” of unlockable new goats with unique abilities, and a “realistic” survival mode where players need to eat every five minutes to survive.
GoatZ marks the second piece of downloadable content Coffee Stain Studios has released for Goat Simulator. “Initially we were planning for the MMO expansion to be the final thing we did for Goat Simulator - we wanted to go out with a bang,” designer Armin Ibrisagic tells us. “But after it was launched we received an avalanche of people asking us to keep making DLC, and that they would even consider paying a couple bucks for future content. So, with that said, here you go. Zombies!”
GoatZ will be available for purchase on Steam as DLC for Windows, Mac, and Linux for $4.99 and will be available as a separate app on iOS and Android on May 7. No word on if or when the Xbox One version could expect this expansion.
We were big fans of Goat MMO Simulator and we look forward to seeing Coffee Stain Studios’ twist on the survival genre and also seeing just how long we can have our goats survive.
Daniel Perez posted a new article, Goat Simulator gets DayZ-inspired DLC this week


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Why Is DSO Rising at Google and Yahoo?
So tomorrow (Tue. 1/31) is Google's big fourth-quarter earnings day, and everybody's waiting with bated breath to see whether the search company's earnings per share come in better than Yahoo's recent "disappointing" (to the Street) results. Personally, I don't care much about EPS at these companies. But I will be watching Google's DSO--that's days sales outstanding, a measure of how long it takes a company to collect the cash it's owed from customers. While the world has been obsessing over earnings at Google and Yahoo, DSO at both companies has quietly risen 20% and 13%, respectively, over the past six quarters. During the same period, average accounts receivable turnover--the number of times a company collects its receivables relative to sales--has dropped 16% and 12%, respectively. These numbers shouldn't set off major alarms, but they shouldn't be ignored either. They mean that Google and Yahoo have actually banked less and less of the revenue that they report each quarter.
Why should we care? As long as Google keeps delivering gargantuan earnings growth, so what if it takes a little longer to collect payments? Isn't that to be expected from a company that's growing so fast? Indeed, Google's management addressed rising DSO for the first time on the company's last quarterly conference call: "This increase reflects the growth of our international business, where credit terms tend to be longer, as well as extended credit to certain customers in the United States," said CFO George Reyes.
Like management, every sell-side analyst I've asked about this issue has mentioned the international business. "A lot of these [non-U.S.] advertisers are testing the paid search model, and they request longer payment terms than they do in the U.S.," says Imran Khan, an analyst at JPMorgan, who estimates that 14% of Google's advertising came from the U.K. last quarter. German and French advertisers have been giving Google more and more business, too. Far be it from me to doubt this explanation. But I just can't wrap my mind around why it takes Europeans longer to pay their bills than Americans. Aren't some U.S. advertisers experimenting with paid search for the first time, too?
Apparently yes, and they tend to be large companies that are used to getting extended credit terms from traditional media companies (think Procter & Gamble putting the screws to CBS, or some such). At least that's the explanation from analysts and Google's management. Sounds credible enough. But I'll throw out another theory, as yet untested.
The search advertising market is getting awfully competitive, what with Microsoft, Time Warner, News Corp., and everyone else vying against Google and Yahoo. Seems to me that big advertisers should be able to play these companies off each other and demand all kinds of special treatment. The first law of finance is that a dollar in hand today is worth more than a dollar in hand tomorrow. In business, power relationships are often defined by who's slowest to pay and who's fastest to collect. As Google and Yahoo start doing business with more powerful advertisers, it makes sense that collection times will lengthen.
The question is how much. JPMorgan's Khan says he wouldn't worry unless quarterly DSO rose above 70 days (last quarter, it was 31 days at Google and 43 days at Yahoo) or jumped 15% or more in one quarter. But if everyone's myopically focused on EPS, DSO could inch up every quarter indefinitely. In addition to EPS growth, one factor by which management teams should be judged is how many days they can keep cash inside the company, where it can earn interest, fund expansion plans, or even pay dividends (what a concept!). EPS growth is like sex appeal--it works wonders when you're young, but you can't rely on it as you age. Disciplined cash-flow management, on the other hand, is like a good education--if you get it while you're young, it keeps paying off throughout life.
UPDATE 2/1/06: Google reported yesterday that DSO ticked up two more days during the fourth quarter of 2005. Management recited the same boilerplate explation verbatim as last quarter.... On an unrelated note, can anyone explain what benefit Google gets from estimating its tax expense annually rather than quarterly? And why did the company not see earlier that the year-end "true up" of its tax provision would have a diproportionate impact on the fourth quarter? Comments, please.


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- BlockFi signs an acquisition deal with FTX.
- 3AC files for Chapter 15 bankruptcy.
- Meta begins testing NFTs on Facebook and Instagram.
- Sepolia merge testnet upgrade is expected to go live on July 6th.
BlockFi Lost $80 Million From 3AC Loan
BlockFi CEO Zac Prince revealed that the company lost close to $80 million from a $1 billion overcollateralized loan provided to 3AC. The loan was partially collateralized by GBTC, which depegged by more than 30%. BlockFi was forced to liquidate GBTC at a loss. Prince said the losses will be absorbed by BlockFi with no impact to client funds. He also revealed the company signed a stock purchase agreement with FTX. As part of the deal, BlockFi will receive a $400 million revolving credit line subordinate to all client funds. This means the loan must first be used to fulfill obligations to clients before it can be used for other operations. FTX also has the option to acquire BlockFi at a variable price of up to $240M based on performance triggers. The new deal values BlockFi at a maximum of $680 million, nearly a 90% drop in value compared to its peak valuation of $4.8 billion.
3AC Files For Chapter 15 Bankruptcy
According to Bloomberg, 3AC has filed for Chapter 15 Bankruptcy in an effort to protect its U.S. assets. This comes after the firm was ordered by a court in the British Virgin Islands to liquidate its assets. 3AC is currently in default on a $646 million loan from crypto platform Voyager Digital. Voyager Digital has since suspended trading and withdrawals for its users citing the unpaid loans. FTX, Deribit, and BlockFi are among the firms to have liquidated their positions in 3AC. Under Chapter 15 bankruptcy, foreign companies are provided with a mechanism for dealing with U.S. assets while their insolvency proceeds in their home country
Meta Begins Testing Ethereum and Polygon NFTs
According to a Meta representative, Facebook began rolling out NFT support for certain U.S. creators. Earlier this week, Navdeep Singh, a Product Manager at Meta, tweeted a sneak peak of the implementation. The sneak peak showed NFTs under a new “digital collectibles” tab on a user’s Facebook profile. Users will be able to connect a crypto wallet to their Facebook profile and can post NFTs to their timeline. Meta plans to support NFTs on Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, and Flow. Meta is also implementing NFT display options within Instagram’s AR feature. Users will be able to display 2D NFTs that they own using mobile AR.
Sepolia Testnet Merge Expected July 6th
Ethereum’s Sepolia Testnet is set to transition to PoS when Terminal Total Difficulty (TTD), the total difficulty on the PoW chain, hits 17,000,000,000,000,000. Upgrading to The Merge occurs in two phases. The first phase, referred to as Bellatrix, occurs when the Beacon Chain reaches a certain epoch height. Sepolia already ran through the Bellatrix upgrade on June 20th. The second phase occurs when the PoW chain hits a TTD value on the execution layer. At current hashrate, Sepolia will hit the target TTD on July 6th. Sepolia will be the second of three public testnets to merge. Ropsten successfully ran through the merge on June 8th. Goerli will follow the same process at a later date. Once Goerli and Prater have stabilized, an epoch and a TTD value will be chosen for The Merge on Ethereum Mainnet.
Optimism Highlights 🔴✨
Ramp Network Adds ETH on Optimism
Ramp Network, a fiat on-and-off ramp has added support for ETH on Optimistic Ethereum. Users can now onboard to Optimism by credit card, bank transfer, or Apple Pay. Onboarding via a gateway is among the lowest-cost options because it removes the need to bridge.


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Apple to Update iTunes with iCloud Integration, Music Sharing
June 28, 2012 5:07 PM
comment(s) - last by
Apple is expected to announce the changes later this year
Apple is planning to give its iTunes media player program a makeover later this year, which is to include new ways of sharing music and further
ITunes has been Apple's media player since January 2001. It is used for playing, downloading and organizing digital video and music files on a desktop/laptop computer or mobile Apple devices like the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Currently, there are over 28 million songs and 45,000 movies in the iTunes store.
The two major changes Apple is looking to make to iTunes are new ways for sharing and discovering content, and increased iCloud integration.
Social networking seems to be a key feature in most services today, since social giant Facebook took the world by storm and proved to be a major success. Apple is now looking to do the same by making it easier for iTunes users to share songs. According to anonymous Apple sources, the tech giant is talking with record labels to obtain rights that would allow users to send a song to a friend for free.
In addition, Apple wants social networks Facebook and Twitter to play a part in the iTunes update, where users can share music that they're listening to on either site.
ICloud integration is another key feature update that will be revealed later this year. ICloud is a cloud storage and cloud computing service that was released in June 2011, and it is used to store data like music files on remote computer servers and can be shared on multiple devices such as the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
Apple is looking to use iCloud in the iTunes update to help users organize all of their libraries of music, photos, videos and applications.
Other upcoming changes include separate applications for new features in iTunes, such as Podcasts; band photos and videos for more multimedia features, and iTunes' expansion into Asia, where digital stores will open in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and nine other locations.
Speaking of cloud computing, Apple is hoping to build
a new data center
for iCloud in Reno, Nevada, which will open up approximately 500 construction jobs. Once completed, about 230 direct jobs and 90 indirect jobs would become available. Apple predicts that the data center would create a $1 billion economic impact in the region over a 10-year period.
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
How does Apple get these deals
6/28/2012 7:06:18 PM
How does Apple manage these deals? In talks with record labels to provide a means to send friends songs for free? It seems like record labels would be avoiding that like the plug. It almost encourages file sharing, in fact, isn't just exactly that?
iTunes is still a pig on Windows but if you are in the iOS ecosystem I don't think there is any better alternative out there.
RE: How does Apple get these deals
6/29/2012 1:14:07 PM
Apple pays for them.
I'm sure that "free" is more like, 30% cut of the $1.29 sale, plus 2% for every share, and of course if that share nets another sale, they now have 31% of two $1.29 sales.
"Nowadays you can buy a CPU cheaper than the CPU fan." -- Unnamed AMD executive
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28/07/2021 Financial & Legal Services
Lost Passwords Lock Millionaires Out of Their Bitcoin Fortunes
Bitcoin owners are getting rich because the cryptocurrency has soared. But what happens when you can’t tap that wealth
because you forgot the password to your digital wallet?Bitcoin private key finder tool
Bitcoin, which has been on an extraordinary and volatile eight-month run, has made a lot of its holders very rich in a short time,
even as the coronavirus pandemic has ravaged the world economy.Bitcoin private key recovery tool.
But the cryptocurrency’s unusual nature has also meant that many people are locked out of their Bitcoin fortunes as a result
of lost or forgotten keys. They have been forced to watch, helpless, as the price has risen and fallen sharply, unable to cash
in on their digital wealth.Of the existing 18.5 million Bitcoin, around 20 percent — currently worth around $140 billion —
appear to be in lost or otherwise stranded wallets, according to the cryptocurrency data firm Chainalysis. Wallet Recovery
Services, a business that helps find lost digital keys, said it had gotten 70 requests a day from people who wanted help
recovering their riches, three times the number of a month ago.How to recover your lost bitcoin
Bitcoin owners who are locked out of their wallets speak of endless days and nights of frustration as they have tried to get
access to their fortunes. Many have owned the coins since Bitcoin’s early days a decade ago, when no one had confidence that
the tokens would be worth anything.
In the modern financial sector, interest in providing financial services that employ blockchain technology has increased.
Blockchain technology is efficient and can operate without a trusted party to store all transaction information; additionally,
it provides transparency and prevents the tampering of transaction information. However, new security threats can occur because
blockchain technology shares all the transaction information. Furthermore, studies have reported that the private keys of users
who use the same signature value two or more times can be recovered. Because private keys of blockchain identify users, private
key leaks can result in attackers stealing the ownership rights to users' property. Therefore, as more financial services use
blockchain technology, actions to counteract the threat of private key recovery must be continually investigated. Private key
recovery studies are presented here. Based on these studies, duplicated signatures generated by blockchain users are defined.
Additionally, scenarios that generate and use duplicated signatures are applied in an actual bitcoin environment to demonstrate
that actual bitcoin users' private keys can be recovered.
private key recovery tool
bitcoin private key hack tool
Lost Passwords Lock Millionaires Out of Their Bitcoin Fortunes Bitcoin owners are getting rich because the cryptocurrency has soared. But what happens...
How do I recover my stolen Bitcoin? Had lots of clients asking this A friend of mine was a scapegoat of over 4.5 BTC scam couple of months back. Rigor...
Choose the process of a family visa for Canada in India from Croyez Immigration Service Private Limited The applicant should be a Permanent Resident, ...


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Bootleggers Trading, an alcohol consultancy and distribution company, wants their city’s cocktail scene to get creative. Cheers to that!
Craft beer sales may have peaked in recent years, but with innovation in the liquor industry increasing, it seems likely the next market surge will be in the spirit direction. Spotting this trend, in 2014, Minway Chi took a break from his 13-year stint running his family’s jewellery business to dive into Bangkok’s cocktail scene, launching Bootleggers Trading, an importer and distributor of craft spirits. Once a side project and now a major concern, he tells us how he convinced his customers to switch their Chang for a cocktail.
Minway Chi was literally born into his family’s jewellery business, one that grew to become one of the top five jewellery exporters in Thailand. One of his earliest memories is of counting rubies and sapphires at his father’s workshop when he was just four years old. Growing up in New York, however, Minway discovered the nightlife scene as a DJ, lighting designer and bartender, inspiring him to take a different path.
His career shift occurred four years ago when Minway found himself back in Thailand. In 2014, cocktail culture in Bangkok seemed nothing more than bars selling colourful and expensive drinks. Inspired by the growth of the craft beer market, he became convinced that the time was ripe for a new wave in liquor companies. So he started from scratch, developing Bootleggers Trading to bring in new, esoteric ingredients for cocktails and introduce bartenders to another world of ideas and flavours. As his head of sales Thanakom Muandej puts it, “cocktails do not have to be that expensive, but it’s really all about educating people. Minway saw the gap in the market for cocktail-ready spirits.”
Four years on, and Bootlegger’s mission has expanded. Not only do they hope to inspire a new cocktail culture in Bangkok, “there is so much creativity and art that goes into making a cocktail and we aim to open people’s eyes to the world of artisanal spirits” explains Thanakom, they have also branched out into all elements of bar culture. Now, with clients such as The Park Hyatt and the Bamboo Bar at the Mandarin Oriental under their belt, they also design bars and cocktail menus in a very hands-on approach that is all about inspiring the customer, with services ranging from cocktail consultancy to mixology courses, bartender training to events. “We are constantly coming up with new ways to educate the public and get them to come to these venues that are willing to pour their hearts and souls out into a glass. When you order a drink you should get a story with it. The better you do as a bar, the better we do as a distributor and supplier” explains Thanakom. And around them, they see traction. “Three years ago, it was all just cocktail bars. Now, you see speakeasies and different bar concepts opening up. The styles of cocktails are definitely changing.”
It’s a journey that has not been without its speed bumps. Dealing with Thai liquor laws can be a nightmare. “In a sense, it is a risky business because all these laws can prevent entrepreneurs from creating and giving more,” says Thanakom. “We deal with restrictions every day. We can’t even bring in a gin that is stronger than 45%. Plus, rums cannot be called rums, they have to be called White Spirits.” Then, they had the challenge of convincing a new market that they should spend 200 THB – 300 THB for a well-crafted cocktail instead of the 50-100 THB they were used to for a Singha, Chang or Heineken. “Changing people’s mindsets and the market altogether requires bartenders to be passionate, knowledgeable and engage in conversations with customers. It also takes more people having the willingness to see a bottle at the back of the bar and ask, ‘what’s that?’” says Minway.
As a key player in this industry, Bootleggers Trading has high hopes. In December 2017, along with New Yorker and bartender Eric Stephenson, they opened their own bar 88 in Surawong, bringing the tradition of the great American cocktail bar to the neighbourhood. In a space that looks like the kind of joint you’d discover on the corner of a Brooklyn street, they’re serving up classic cocktails in a relaxed atmosphere to a fun crowd. It’s the embodiment of the culture and spirit Bootlegger Trading has always been about, and we’ll certainly drink to that!
Feature image by James Hart


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Australia’s new sports technology sector is among the top 5 in the world, supporting more than 600 start-ups, according to a new report from the Australian Sports Technology Network (ASTN).
The inaugural Sport Innovation Report 2022 concludes Australia already has one of the most mature and interconnected ecosystems in the world.
With the Brisbane Olympics ten years away, and the global sports technology industry currently worth an estimated $17.9 billion and expected to grow at 17.5% annually to $40+ billion by 2026, Australia could be riding that wave.
ASTN Chairman James Demetriou said the annual contribution of domestic sports technology is estimated at $3.1 billion and employs approximately 10,800 people.
Over the past decade, domestic sports technology companies have grown from 224 to 605 by 2022, an increase of 170 percent.
It shows that ASTN 10Th If Anniversary Demetriou embraces the new trends identified in the report, the domestic sports technology sector is on its way to unprecedented heights.
“Australia is punching above its weight and is currently one of the top five countries in sports technology globally,” he said.
We are leading several major events on Australia’s sporting calendar, including the 2032 Summer Olympics, and are building one of the world’s most advanced and integrated sports innovation ecosystems over the next decade.
The technology is not just for all sports lovers, be it participants or spectators, to win medals at the international level.
As a result, Mr. Demetri argues that job creation, economic growth, trade and investment can be the legacy of the local sector.
The report also identifies 10 key themes that define the sector’s strategic opportunities and sustainability is an unexpected, but key focus.
“To reach their full potential and advance globally, there are real linear opportunities for these companies to take advantage of and ride the wave of their success over the years,” said Demetri.
“The subject of sustainability is consistently high on the global news agenda and sports are playing a leading role in promoting and supporting sustainability. Doing so is not only the right thing to do, but also gives them a competitive edge.”
Key findings of the report include:
- Victoria leads as a sports innovation hub, representing 44% of the industry, followed by NSW at 27% and QLD at 20%. ASTN estimates that 46 of the top 118 sports technology companies are based in Victoria, with almost half of all jobs currently based in Victoria.
- Among the technology categories, 61% of sports technology businesses were ICT-based (especially around the production and distribution of sports content), 16% were advanced materials (such as clothing and fiber or composite materials), and 13% were sensors. and devices were 9% Health, Medical and Biotech.
- There are now around 70 sports technology networks/clusters, 90 sports technology accelerators and over 100 dedicated sports investors.
- ASTN has identified 118 local sports technology companies as industry leaders, employing more than 8,000 people and generating $2.72 billion in annual revenue (89% of total industry revenue).
- Some of the trends outlined in the report, which are part of ASTN’s five-year strategy, include women in sports technology, sustainability and ESG (environment, sustainability, governance), artificial intelligence, smart clothing, devices and wearables, and investment and venture capital. Australian sports companies.
The 10-year-old ASTN supports the introduction, development and promotion of Australian-inspired sports technologies, including everything from performance to fan engagement, data, equipment, smart apparel and more. It is currently establishing Australia’s first sports innovation center of excellence next to Melbourne Olympic Park.


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After launching the Verito Vibe in the Indian auto market, the country's largest utility vehicle maker, Mahindra & Mahindra, is now looking ahead to bring an electric model of its Verito sedan. Verito Vibe has been placed in the compact hatchback segment and will deliver a stiff competition to the segment leader Maruti Swift, Hyundai i20 and Ford Figo, among others. At the launch ceremony of Verito Vibe, the President (Automotive and Farm Equipment sector) at Mahindra, Pawan Goenka said that the auto maker is looking ahead to introduce a new variant of Verito in the near future.
Sources have reported that Mahindra is planning for the addition of an electric vehicle in the Verito line-up with the help from its completely owned electric vehicle manufacturer, Reva. Interestingly, the auto maker showcased an electric vehicle concept of Mahindra Logan, now named as Verito at the 2012 New Delhi Auto Expo. All the features of that model were kept same, except for the electric motor, which replaced the diesel engine.
Industry experts are of a view that the electric version of Verito will be pitched over the current electric model of Reva and will give more level of comforts to the electric vehicle lovers. Confirming the launch of new electric vehicles in the Indian auto market, Goenka was earlier quoted as saying, “We will be using the electric vehicle technology to some of our existing products. We are almost ready with the electric Gio and Maxximo, while we have also developed a prototype for the electric Verito.” He further added, “The prototype is ready. Verito is a heavier car than the e2o. There has to be adjustment and optimisation of the technology, and we will be ready to launch it in a year’s time.”


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Georgina Rodriguez has some perks. The Argentinian native is dating one of the world’s highest-paid soccer players. The 25-year-old girlfriend to Cristiano Ronaldo has been keeping her fans updated on her travels, and judging by Georgina’s latest photos, they come in style.
On June 23, Georgina updated her Instagram. She sent out two similar photos of herself in a sizzling black bikini. The model had been snapped reclining on a white towel aboard a mega-yacht. As The Daily Mail reports, the vessel hired out by the sports star and his girlfriend costs $200,000 a week.
Georgina appeared to have opted for classic style. Her two-piece came void of fancy flourishes, although it wasn’t holding back on the curve-flaunting. The camera had taken in this sensation’s long legs, taut abs, and all-around golden tan. Likewise on show was Georgina’s cleavage. With her brown hair down and the sun beating down on her, the model looked relaxed, glowing, and glamorous.
A geo-tag from Georgina placed her in the luxury French Riviera resort of St. Tropez. Per The Daily Mail, Ronaldo joined his girlfriend on the yacht and brought along his 9-year-old son Cristiano Jr. The newspaper suggested the 34-year-old sports icon to have brought his other two children, but photos didn’t show the full family.
Georgina’s pictures have been getting comments.
“My beauty my Kim Kardashian,” one fan wrote.
Clearly, for this fan, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star has some competition.
Georgina might mostly make headlines on account of her high-profile relationship, but she comes as a standalone celebrity. The model has 11.6 million Instagram followers. Her account mostly showcases her life as a fashionista. Sultry updates send fans stylish evening wear, while daytime pictures show the stunner rocking on-trend looks of athleisurewear or denims. There seems to be a strong designer influence in Rodriguez’s wardrobe, though.
A recent snap of Georgina (seen above) showed the model leaning on a helicopter. While her black one-piece came from affordable clothing brand Fashion Nova, a glossy nearby bag appeared to be from luxury luggage giant Louis Vuitton.
The vibe isn’t pretentious from this girl, though. Georgina’s feed regularly shows low-key family snaps of herself with Cristiano and his children. They likewise suggest the soccer player’s girlfriend to have taken on somewhat of a motherhood role.
Georgina’s second yacht update (seen above) racked up over 370,000 likes within one hour of going live. The similar Instagram snap posted some hours earlier currently sits at over 1 million likes. Fans wishing to see more of Georgina should follow her Instagram.


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Samsung users in the USA are reporting that their phones are sending text messages with attachments from their photo gallery to random contacts without explicit permission. One user has even claimed that Samsung Messages sent all of the photos in their gallery to one contact late at night for no apparent reason.
Some Samsung smartphone users have reported that their devices randomly sent photos to their contacts without their knowledge and without a trace.
Go to Settings Apps Samsung Messages Permissions.
In the meantime, it has been suggested that users should switch to a different messaging app. "However, there was record of it on mobile logs", one Redditor posted less than a week ago.
Samsung phones are sending photos to their owner's contacts without their permission, according to reports. It may be related to a recent T-Mobile profile update to the new RCS text-messaging format. However, T-Mobile told Gizmodo that it's not a T-Mobile issue. It's also possible to prevent files from being sent by disabling access to a phone's storage in the Samsung Messages app.
Samsung acknowledged an inquiry from Gizmodo that it was aware of the bug and that it is now working on a fix.
Another user on a forum page on Samsung's website said they noticed Samsung Messages became "very buggy" after an update from the carrier.


text:
Dell's enterprise services business has become one its biggest recent success stories and fastest growing business units. On Wednesday, the computer maker will expand its services to provide a higher level of support for server and storage system customers.
The Platinum Plus service provides new productivity tools and is the result of more than $200 million Dell has invested in service and support over the past few years, says Steve Meyer, VP of services. "Companies are paying too much for too little industrywide," he says. "Platinum Plus represents very simply our best enterprise service ever. This service is more reliable, more broadly available, and provides greater levels of support, faster support, and a more personalized engagement."
Growing at a rate of 30% a year, Dell's services business now generates annual revenues of $5 billion and represents nearly 10% of all Dell revenue. It was about 18 months ago that Dell surpassed the $1 billion annual run rate for the first time.
Platinum Plus, which will replace Dell's existing Platinum service offering, includes operations performance benchmarking. The feature allows customers to compare their IT performance metrics to historical results from similarly configured environments. The new offering will allow IT managers to cross-check their performance in various locations against case activity rates and the time needed to resolve issues.
Also new is an enterprise command center real-time tracking window, which is a Web-enabled feature to provide customers with a virtual command center to follow ongoing support activities. The feature utilizes Google Earth Pro to create an interactive 3-D display. With the tracking window, customers can view the real-time status of open service dispatches in global locations without picking up the phone, Meyer says.


text:
When GSK laid out $90 million upfront to acquire rights to Scynexis’ antifungal Brexafemme last spring, the British pharma threw a lifeline to a company whose blockbuster launch ambitions had hit the skids. But now, as an October recall of the antifungal bleeds into 2024, the scope of GSK’s financial assistance has waned.
GSK and Scynexis have amended their license agreement in connection with the marketing delay on Brexafemme, Scynexis said in a recent securities filing. Under the retooled deal, Scynexis will keep hold of the $90 million it received from GSK in March, plus another $25 million in development milestones.
But the company’s future payouts from GSK—now in charge of development, manufacture and commercialization of Scynexis' medicine outside of China and certain other countries—have diminished.
The news sent Scynexis’ shares tumbling roughly 14.5% on Wednesday morning. It marks the latest downturn for a company whose flagship medication once bore blockbuster sales expectations.
On the regulatory front, Scynexis is now in line to receive approval-related milestone payments of up to $49 million, down from a total of $70 million that GSK had previously floated.
Potential commercial milestones in invasive candidiasis have also been downgraded from an original offer of up to $115 million to a new maximum payout of $57.5 million.
Meanwhile, Scynexis could now clinch up to $179.5 million in potential sales-based milestones, dependent upon the timing of Brexafemme’s re-launch in the U.S. Previously, the company had the potential to receive a $242.5 million payday in connection with Brexafemme’s commercialization.
Under the partners’ original deal in March, GSK was set to make payments of up to $503 million contingent upon Brexafemme reaching certain milestones. Aside from Brexafemme, GSK also got the rights to call dibs on certain other preclinical assets from Scynexis' pipeline.
GSK previously figured it could use its commercial clout to bring Brexafemme to more than $500 million in annual sales, chief commercial officer Luke Miels told reporters last year. The British pharma is interested in both Brexafemme’s original indication in the vaginal infection vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), plus a potential expansion into invasive candidiasis fungal infection, which Miels previously said the company expected to launch in 2026.
GSK’s March licensing deal came at a critical time for Jersey City, New Jersey-based Scynexis. In October of 2022, the company had laid out a contingency plan to “refocus its resources” on the clinical development of its antifungal in hospital-based indications, which the company expected to bring “higher long-term returns.”
But a manufacturing review by GSK last fall soured the partners' outlook in the near term after the discovery of cross-contamination risks forced a recall of the product and a pause of all clinical trials testing the medicine.
At the time, Reuters cited Guggenheim analysts who believed it would take “several months” for Scynexis to resolve the production snafu.


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Coffee bean Shell
Every year thousands of tonnes of used coffee grounds produced by coffee factories, coffee shops and offices head for landfill or incineration. But bio-bean is trying to change all that by turning these waste grounds into an effective biofuel.
At bio-bean’s innovative factory (a former aircraft hanger) the grounds are recycled into biomass pellets. The pellets make excellent fuel for heating buildings. In fact, each year bio-bean already make 10 million kilogrammes of these pellets every year, enough to power up to 15, 000 British homes.
But it needn’t stop there. In the near future bio-bean plan to turn their research towards versatile biodiesel production. If manufactured at an industrial scale, it could be perfect for transport use. And with each tonne capable of making up an impressive 200 litres of fuel, that’s enough to run a London bus for a whole day.*
Under the reigns of CEO and co-founder Arthur Kay, bio-bean has grown from a simple but brilliant idea to a twenty-strong team with global ambitions and a string of awards to their name. Notably as a finalist in the 2013 Shell LiveWIRE young entrepreneur of the year and as recipient of the 2013 Innovation award. Bio-bean was also a big winner in the Shell Springboard programme for low-carbon SMEs, receiving an additional $57, 000 in start-up funding. Helping them take another small step forward in their journey towards the mass adoption of this exciting new technology.
Every tonne of waste coffee grounds recycled using bio-bean's technology saves 6.8 tonnes of CO2 emissions. It's like driving from London to Beijing - twice. Making it a perfect example of the new circular economy.
All this makes bio-bean yet another great example of how truly bright ideas really can help us #makethefuture.


text:
"The new sci-fi epic opens on Friday — but “Star Wars” corn chips, diaper bags, marshmallows, cork screws, dry erase writing boards and a host of other mundane products may be hitting stores soon after. And you can thank the moviemakers’ legion of lawyers, which has been hard at work for months locking down trademarks on pretty much everything in the film that moves... “They need to be aggressive about protecting the franchise’s new characters right out of the gate,” says New York lawyer Kenneth Falcon (no relation to Millennium), who focuses on copyright and trademark litigation. “People will try to rip off the ‘Star Wars’ brand forever because it’s so lucrative.” The company began securing the rights to all products back in 2014, Patent and Trademark Office documents show. Some other trademarks were sought earlier this year, as plotlines and characters were being finalized."
Friday, December 18, 2015
‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ lines up trademarks for ‘Star Wars’ mayonnaise, wind chimes, baby blankets and pretty much everything else; New York Daily News, 12/17/15
Gersh Kuntzman and Dziemianowicz, New York Daily News; ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ lines up trademarks for ‘Star Wars’ mayonnaise, wind chimes, baby blankets and pretty much everything else:


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- Edward Smith/Getty Images China'' s bitcoin mining suppression as well as difficulties with state regulatory authorities terrified some crypto capitalists.
- One specialist claimed several federal governments are attempting to control a market they wear'' t totally comprehend. Below ' s what can be in shop for cryptocurrencies for the rest of 2021.
- Sign up below for our day-to-day e-newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell. Cryptocurrency rates have actually been rather peaceful this month versus a background of enhanced examination from regulatory authorities, and also as those with passion out there pay very close attention to day-to-day developments.Insider talked with 4 market execs-whose experience extends retail and also institutional fostering, collectible non-fungible symbols, and also decentralized money- to provide us their forecasts of what exists ahead.State governing clampdowns " Regulation will certainly injure crypto. We
' re currently seeing exactly how points like suppressions"over bitcoin mining in China and also analysis over worldwide exchanges like Binance have actually triggered panic out there. Federal governments ought to favor advancement , yet today we ' re seeing a great deal of federal governments action in as well as attempt to manage an industry that they put on ' t also totally recognize. " -Colin Pape, owner of decentralized online search engine Presearch.He really hopes cryptocurrencies are provided the area to grow as well as bring genuine liberty as well as monetary security to " individuals that have actually been pulled down incidentally points have actually constantly been done. " Further cost volatility Some planners are maintaining a close eye on cost volatility. " There are lots of variables at play, consisting of law and also the upcoming ethereum upgrade( on August 4), that might drive
rate variations, " Pape claimed, including that remaining reasonable when it comes to choice production is important.A surge of brand-new crypto items With crypto presently being just one of the greatest tales in monetary markets, the variety of applications with digital-asset choices are expanding. " Investing and also banking applications will certainly remain to present attributes that sustain crypto and also make it simpler for" individuals to expand their profiles. This will certainly give a portal for individuals to begin taking part
in the crypto community, whether
it be via sending out bitcoin or ethereum to loved ones, purchasing NFTs, or taking part in DeFi. "-Matthew Gould, owner as well as CEO of blockchain domain-provider Unstoppable Domains. " Fintechs as well as typical financial institutions will certainly begin to use even more crypto items to remain affordable, as well as bring performance to their services. Bank card factors will certainly be changed by crypto benefits, including genuine as well as amazing worth for clients. " -Diogo Monica, cofounder as well as head of state of crypto financial institution Anchorage." Much more inbuilt assistance on settlement applications " With the surge in institutional fostering comes a requirement for
"all crypto tasks to run at a greater degree to contend and also satisfy the needs of an expanding consumer base. We ' ve seen repayment applications like PayPal, Venmo, and also Cash App begin to provide assistance for leading crypto possessions, as well as I see this as an action in the appropriate instructions in the direction of making crypto common on a worldwide range.
"-Matthew Gould, Unstoppable Domains CEO.Swelling rate of interest in electronic residential or commercial property and also possession " There ' s no question that the pandemic increased electronic patterns-from the change to remote job, to NFT fostering and also unstable crypto costs. A lot more particularly, electronic building has actually drastically raised in appeal. Individuals wish to take possession through NFT utilize situations like trading cards, domain as well as electronic money. In the previous 18 months approximately because the pandemic begun, crypto ' s trajectory has actually completely moved upwards as individuals have actually come to be extra enlightened and also comfy utilizing and also involving with electronic innovation, as well as currently there ' s no recalling. "-Gould.Read More: The creator and also CEO of crypto exchange FalconX breaks down 3 factors DeFi is below to remain-and also shares 5 cryptocurrencies institutional customers are most curious about right now Review the initial write-up on Business Insider
With crypto presently being just one of the greatest tales in monetary markets, a variety of applicationswith electronic property alternatives are expanding. " Regulation will certainly harm crypto. " -Colin Pape, owner of decentralized search engine Presearch.He really hopes cryptocurrencies are provided the area to grow as well as bring...


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Citigroup Initiates Wal-Mart At Neutral
Analysts at Citigroup initiated coverage on Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) with a Neutral rating.
The target price for Wal-Mart Stores is set to $83.
Wal-Mart shares have gained 1.32% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has surged 16.96% in the same period.
Wal-Mart's shares fell 0.43% to close at $75.77 on Friday.
Latest Ratings for WMT
|Apr 2017||Telsey Advisory Group||Upgrades||Market Perform||Outperform|
|Mar 2017||Bank of America||Maintains||Buy|
|Feb 2017||Bank of America||Upgrades||Neutral||Buy|
© 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.


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Tight global supply squeezes Audi dealers
Weeks: Dealing “with worldwide demand”
Audi of America set a sales record in 2012, but dealers say a global supply crunch is stopping the brand from living up to its potential in the United States.
Inventory of the Q5 and Q7 crossovers remained scant last year. Audi's U.S. dealers still sold 139,310 vehicles, up 19 percent from 2011, but the crossover shortages are holding dealers back, says Josh Weeks, outgoing chairman of the Audi National Dealer Council.
Audi plans to spend 13 billion euros, or about $17.31 billion, through 2016 to design new models and set up production lines. Part of that money will go for an assembly plant in Mexico that is scheduled to start building the Q5 in 2016.
"The difficulty is we're dealing with worldwide demand on these cars," says Weeks, who runs an Audi store in Connecticut. "The reality is, over the next few years, until some of those plants come online, it's going to be difficult to get some of these models."
During a phone interview last month, Audi of America President Scott Keogh said he sees more potential in the Q5, which continues to experience higher sales four years after its introduction. It received a freshening last fall and is scheduled to get its first redesign around the time the Mexico plant opens.
"We still haven't tested what that product is capable of doing," Keogh said.
Overall, Audi remains in third place among German luxury brands behind BMW and Mercedes, which are on pace to sell 300,000 vehicles in the United States this year.
Audi aspires to sell 200,000 cars per year. The brand remains on pace to hit that target, Weeks says, though getting more crossovers to sales floors would help.
You can reach Gabe Nelson at email@example.com.


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Ford Motor Company is recalling about 887,000 Aerostar minivans from model years 1992 through 1997 to replace potentially defective electrical parts that could short-circuit and cause a fire.
The number-two U.S. automaker said Thursday that in a small number of the vans, the electrical load on the device that distributes power to the van's accessories may create a short, potentially resulting in overheating, smoke or a fire.
Ford also issued an additional recall for 29,000 Aerostars from model years 1994 and 1995 because of a potential problem with the electrical connection at the fuel pump.
In some cases, the connection may develop a short circuit and cause a loss of power, smoke and possibly fire in the passenger area or under the van.
No reports of accidents or injuries have been attributed to either problem, Ford said.
Owners will be notified by mail to take their vans to their dealer for the repairs at no charge.
A spokeswoman at Ford said the problems would take about a half-day for dealers to fix.
Ford stopped production of the Aerostar in 1997 after it was replaced by the Windstar.
There have been 168 reports of problems with the accessory power circuit, including 55 reports of fire.
There have been 40 reports of problems with the electrical connection at the fuel pump, including six reports of fire, the spokeswoman said.


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Billionaire investor George Soros dumps Apple & Facebook
US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings show the George Soros' investment fund has disposed of its holdings in Apple and Snap in the last quarter, reducing stakes in other tech giants such as Facebook and Twitter.
According to the filings, the fund sold 1,700 shares of Apple and 1.55 million of Snap stock. It also reduced its stake in Twitter by 5,700 shares while still holding 18,400 shares of the social media site. The investor got rid of 367,262 shares in Facebook; he has now 109,451 of the network’s shares.
At the same time, the Soros hedge fund boosted its stake in Microsoft by 99,000 shares and in Amazon by 2,500 shares.
Snap stock tumbled on the news that another key shareholder has bailed from the struggling messaging app. The company is down over 48 percent since it went public in March. Apple, whose shares hit a record high last week, plunged almost three percent on Wednesday.
Soros’ position contradicts that of another billionaire investor Warren Buffet who’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway almost quadrupled its stake in Apple earlier this year. According to an SEC filing, in the third quarter, the company also topped up on Apple, boosting its stake in the iPhone maker by 3.9 million to 134.1 million shares.


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Forget chocolates, roses, and a 5-star fare—this year, couples in Dallas, Pittsburgh, and Columbus were treated to a Valentine’s Day dinner they’ll never forget courtesy of Pinder.
Piada Italian Street Food
Experience new flavors with the fall and winter menu at Piada Italian Street Food.
Piada Italian Street Food will debut its fourth North Texas location in Plano, Texas’ Windhaven Plaza early this summer.
Allowing diners to customize menu items has been part of the quick-service firmament for years, but increasing demands from younger diners make the build-your-own-meal platform a must today.
Piada Italian Street Food is creating ways for you to share a moment of warmth with a friend by allowing you to send them a free cup of Piada soup this February.
Piada Italian Street Food will debut its first East Texas location in Tyler in early 2017.
The Chefs at Piada Italian Street Food have created a seasonal menu for diners to enjoy this fall and winter, available at all 32 locations on October 11.
There may be no better way to gather insight into a nation’s or region’s cuisine than by sampling what vendors offer at stands, carts, and trucks along streets and in other public places.
Piada Italian Street Food started a three-tiered leadership development and incentive program, aimed at recruiting and retaining employees from restaurant managers to chefs.


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Through the African Continental Free Trade Area, small businesses in Kenya are set to benefit from a Sh110 billion trade facilities to support their market expansion.
AFCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene said they were working across the continent with commercial banks to pool funds that would be provided by governments.
To ease currency convertibility across the world, this is ahead of the scheduled rollout of a payment facility.
“This trading facility will help small and medium-sized enterprises overcome the problems of access to new markets, not because of a lack of expertise, but because of funds,” he added.
He acknowledged that Africa’s 42 currencies were a disadvantage to small and medium-sized enterprises and that they would soon not have to turn into dollars, first to transact.
“The payment facility will ensure that the cost of transactions is reduced in relation to currency convertibility when you transact in support of AfCTA,” he explained.
He said that, following the implementation of the trade agreement, African SMEs will find new markets for their goods at a preferential rate.
On January 1, this year, AfCTA was operationalized, with 36 countries so far accepting to open up their markets.
He noticed that the only nation that had issued a certificate of origin for products exported from that country was Ghana.
“Trading under new rules is a process, and it takes time for governments to put the necessary customs procedures in place,” he added.
By the end of the year, Mr Mene said that most nations will have presented their ratification papers.


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Dotmac Awarded Best Internet Service Provider At National Quality Order Of Merit
Dotmac Technologies Ltd, a leading internet service provider in Nigeria, was recently awarded the Best Internet Service Provider at the National Quality Order of Merit Awards 2023. The prestigious event was held on March 17th, 2023 at the Nicon Luxury Hotel in Abuja.
The National Quality Order of Merit Awards recognizes companies that have demonstrated excellence in their field and have made a positive impact on their industry and community. Dotmac Technologies Ltd was honored with the Best Internet Service Provider award for their exceptional service, commitment to quality, and innovative approach to providing internet solutions.
"We are thrilled to receive this recognition from the National Quality Order of Merit Awards," said Dotmac CEO, Michael Ayoade.
"This award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, who are committed to providing our customers with the best internet experience possible. We are proud to be leading the way in the internet service provider industry, and we will continue to innovate and provide our customers with the best possible service."
Dotmac has been providing reliable and affordable internet solutions to businesses and individuals in Nigeria for over a decade. Their range of internet packages includes unlimited data plans, high-speed internet access, and customized solutions for businesses. The company is committed to investing in the latest technology and providing exceptional customer service to ensure that their customers have access to the best internet experience.
The Best Internet Service Provider award is a testament to Dotmac's commitment to quality and excellence in the internet service provider industry. The company is dedicated to continuing to provide their customers with innovative and reliable internet solutions and looks forward to serving the Nigerian community for many years to come.


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Blog: Why EU ad pledge will make compulsive viewing
Dean Best | 17 December 2007
In a bid to display their seriousness in tackling child obesity, the EU's biggest food firms signed up to a set of marketing commitments last week.
Similar moves in the US are, after initial fierce criticism, slowly gaining support and it has quickly become clear that the European initiative will also have to overcome the sceptics.
The EU Pledge – signed by food and beverage firms that account for around two-thirds of the annual marketing spend in the sector – is a voluntary undertaking to curb advertising to children. Consumer groups have expressed scepticism and have continued to call for legislation rather than self-regulation. That concern, though, is to be expected; it is only once initiatives like the EU Pledge have demonstrated their effectiveness that they start to gain any kind of credibility.
However, like many self-regulatory initiatives, the pledge will have the problem of not representing the entire industry. While a number of major companies have signed up, there are some notable absentees, not least McDonald's, a major advertiser to children and a company that often attracts the ire of pressure groups.
To its credit, the requirements of the EU Pledge do go further than current advertising codes of practice in most EU countries. Its proponents point out that it is the first time in Europe that a group of companies has set up a common framework on advertising to children, and the first time a unified age benchmark has been agreed. Nevertheless, the decision not to opt for a self-imposed time watershed will attract criticism. This aspect of the pledge could be a weakness that critics of the scheme will look to exploit.
One thing is certain – it’s a topic that does – and will continue to – make for compulsive viewing as we head into 2008.
We hear a lot in the food industry about two interconnected trends: and social media and “foodie” culture....
Nestle, set to welcome a new CEO on 1 January, has announced more changes to the make-up of its senior management team....
Blue Bell Creameries is trying to win back the trust of consumers after a fatal listeriosis outbreak last year was linked to its products - but in recent days the US ice cream maker has issued another...
The UK's competition regulator has given the all-clear to Hain Celestial's bid to buy UK food and beverage group Orchard House Foods, nine months after the US group announced the deal....
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2020 Jeep Wrangler to Come with EcoDiesel Engine Option
The Jeep Wrangler has some good news for the 2020 model year lineup. Now available with ultimate fuel efficiency and driving range, and 442 lb-ft of torque, the 2020 Jeep Wrangler has been improved with the new 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V6 engine. If Jeepers thought the Wrangler was already the most capable SUV, it’s bringing the most fuel-efficient and highest torque-rated Wrangler engine with it. Too bad it will be limited to just a few models.
“One of the most common questions consumers have asked us over the last few years has been, ‘will you please offer a Jeep Wrangler diesel?’, and I’m pleased to answer that with a resounding, ‘Yes!’…I recently drove the new Jeep Wrangler EcoDiesel on the Rubicon Trail and can unquestionably attest to its incredible off-road capability. Combining that unmatched off-road capability with the vehicle’s fun-to-drive on-road performance, best-ever Wrangler fuel economy and incredible driving range underwrite the fact that our customers knew exactly what they were asking for.” – Jim Morrison, Head of Jeep Brand – North America.
The brand new 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V6 engine, capable of generating at 260 horsepower and 442 lb.-ft. of torque, will only be available in the 2020 Jeep Wrangler four-door model. It’s unclear why FCA would want to keep such a joy from two-door consumers, but for now, the powertrain option will only be made available to the Sport, Sahara, and Rubicon trims. For handling greater torque loads, the new EcoDiesel V6 has been optimized and paired with a newly added TorqueFlite 8HP75 eight-speed automatic transmission, most likely a result of the recently renewed contract between FCA and ZF to get hybrid transmissions ready.
Because the Sport, Sahara, and Rubicon trims all feature third-generation Dana 44 front and rear heavy-duty axles and a 3.73 axle ratio, they were the perfect choices to introduce the new EcoDiesel engine. These trims also come with two transfer case options – (1) the Rock-Trac two-speed transfer case, equipped with a 4.0:1 low-range gear ratio exclusive to Rubicon models, and (2) the Command-Trac part-time two-speed transfer case equipped with a 2.72:1 low-range gear ratio that can be found on the Sport and Sahara models.
Luckily, consumers won’t need to wait for this powertrain option. The 2020 Jeep Wrangler EcoDiesel goes on sale during the final quarter of 2019. Wondering what makes it so good that the EcoDiesel engine can’t wait until 2020? Designed with dual overhead camshafts (DOHC) with four valves per cylinder, the compression ratio has also been optimized to improve fuel economy and reduce engine noise. Even more helpful with fuel, this EcoDiesel V6 engine comes with stop-start (ESS) technology as a standard. Currently, the EcoDiesel is one of a kind, providing a lot of power with amazing fuel economy and minimal levels of noise, vibration and harshness (NVH). It’s these kinds of upgrades that build on the EcoDiesel V6 engine’s previous success and why the V6 continues to be a standard engine option in nearly every Fiat Chrysler vehicle.
When it comes to getting a Jeep Wrangler that can climb mountains and go the distance, there’s nothing like a 2020 Jeep Wrangler. Look for your new 2020 Jeep Wrangler at Aventura Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram today.


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Nokia’s upcoming flagship Android smartphone, Nokia 8, is scheduled to launch in a few hours. The Nokia 8 will launch at 12 am on August 17 at an event in London. This smartphone takes its place above other Nokia products such as Nokia 6, Nokia 5, and Nokia 3. The company will be hoping to take on iPhone 8 and Samsung Galaxy Note 8 with the Nokia 8, and we’ll find out soon whether Nokia’s ambition will be realised via this flagship smartphone.
The Nokia 8 launch event time is 7:30pm BST (12am IST), according to invites sent by HMD Global. According to earlier leaks, the Nokia 8 runs Android 7.1 Nougat and packs a 5.3-inch QHD display; a variant with Android 8.0.0 has also been leaked online. Those rumours claimed that the smartphone will be powered by a Snapdragon 835, 4GB RAM, and 64GB storage. Leaks also expect the smartphone to feature variants with 6GB RAM and 8GB RAM. It is rumoured to feature two 13-megapixel rear cameras with optics from Carl Zeiss, and a 13-megapixel front camera is expected as well.
A recent report suggests that the Nokia 8 will be priced at EUR 589 (roughly Rs. 43,400). That price puts it in a lower bracket when compared with other flagship smartphones in the market right now. It is also lower than the earlier tipped price of EUR 749 (roughly Rs. 55,300). We’ll find out more about the smartphone once it launches. With only a few hours for the Nokia 8 launch, the wait for all the official specifications and price is not too long.
Update: The Nokia 8 has been unveiled, with HMD Global announcing its specifications, price, and India release plans.
Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 6 leaked online
Game of Thrones season 7 episode 6 has leaked online, after it was accidentally aired by HBO España on Tuesday night and made available on the HBO Nordic website, a full five days before its usual airing date. This isn’t part of the HBO hack from last month, but a separate incident in itself. Gadgets 360 has independently confirmed that the leaked Game of Thrones season 7 episode 6 appears to be genuine. The full version – in full-HD quality with stereo audio – is now circulating across multiple threads on Reddit.
Reliance Jio cashback offers, Vodafone’s new plan
A number of Reliance Jio cashback offers has flooded the market, but none from the company itself. Paytm, MobiKwik, Amazon Pay and PhonePe are offering cashbacks of varying values on recharges of Rs. 309 and above using certain promotional codes. On Paytm, you get cashback of Rs. 76 in your Paytm Wallet, while PhonePe provides Rs. 75 cashback in your account. First time MobiKwik users will get Rs. 159 cashback in form of SuperCash balance, while others will get Rs. 59. Amazon Pay is offering Rs. 99 balance as cashback on the first Jio recharge.
Vodafone has launched a new offer to take on Jio and its Dhan Dhana Dhan Offer. The new Rs. 348 plan has been launched in Rajasthan circle, and provides 1GB of data as well as unlimited voice calls. The validity of this new Vodafone pack is 28 days, much lesser than what Jio’s competing plans.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 reportedly explodes, company investigates
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi says it has initiated an investigation after a report about an alleging Redmi Note 4 explosion was widely circulated on social media over the weekend. Bhavana Suryakiran, a resident of East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh, was riding a bike over the weekend when the Redmi Note 4 smartphone allegedly exploded in his pocket, according to a local media report. Xiaomi said it is trying to contact the customer and is investigating the matter.
Amazon Echo Dot, Prime Music coming to India
Amazon plans to launch Echo Dot and Prime Music in India around Diwali, sources have told Gadgets 360. People familiar with the matter have told us that Amazon India has been testing the Echo Dot at its Bengaluru office for at least one month and that the Amazon Echo won’t be available immediately after the two products mentioned above are launched. Echo Dot is a device that can listen to your voice commands and execute actions such as ordering via Amazon among others. The more expensive Amazon Echo is the one Amazon doesn’t want to launch in India immediately, according to sources.
Google reportedly paying Apple $3 billion to remain default iOS search engine
Whenever people buy a new iOS device, Google is the default search engine. That’s not a surprise, is it? What may come as a surprise is that Google pays Apple to be the default search engine on iOS devices. US-based research and brokerage firm Bernstein has said, Google will pay Apple nearly $3 billion (roughly Rs. 19,276 crores) this year to remain as the default search engine on iOS devices. Analyst A.M. Sacconaghi Jr. reportedly said that Apple’s iOS devices contribute about 50 percent to Google’s mobile search revenue, which would mean the company may just be ‘too scared’ to step away from the deal despite the payment.
Facebook News Feed gets a major redesign
To make its News Feed more conversational and easier to read and navigate, Facebook has made a few updates to its design, including the comment style and readability, the company said on Wednesday. Facebook separately announced it was rolling out new Facebook Camera features including the ability to go Live using the Facebook Camera – complete with creative effects. Other new features include the ability to great 2-second looping video GIFs, and the ability to create full-screen text posts.
iPhone 8 spotted in assembly line?
The iPhone 8 rumour juggernaut has continued its fine form by producing yet another bit of information about the upcoming Apple smartphone. Mockups from UX designer Maksim Petriv show how iOS 11 UI will morph the top lip bezel in different apps. The most interesting thing is the designer’s visualisation of how different apps such as Netflix, Spotify, Instagram, Twitter, App Store, and even the lock screen will look on the purported iPhone 8 display. Another leak shows videos of the iPhone 8 supposedly on the assembly line in a factory in China. We’d take all these rumours with a pinch of salt but if you’re thirsty for information about the smartphone, there’s more than enough for you to check out.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 specs, benchmarks leak
Samsung‘s official teaser video for the Galaxy Note 8 smartphone is now live. The smartphone will be launched on August 23 and that means that the leaks are flowing thick and fast. The specifications of the handset have now been leaked via benchmark sites but there’s still some contradictory information particularly about the smartphone’s camera. The smartphone is expected to ship with the S Pen stylus, as everyone expected. One leak suggests that the rear dual camera setup on the Galaxy Note 8 will feature a 12-megapixel sensor with dual-pixel autofocus and a 13-megapixel telephoto lens, with both cameras having OIS and 2X optical zoom. This differs from the previous leaks that suggested that it will feature 3X optical zoom.
Instagram finally gets comment threads
Instagram comments have been next to unreadable for years. Back in the day, if someone tagged you on a post that had several hundred or thousands of comments, there was no way to even access that particular comment save for physically scrolling to it. Now things have come a long way and the service lets you reply to comments. However, until now it didn’t have comment threads, which actually make reading comments much easier. Now you will be able to see separate threads for comments that are replies to your comment. This avoids clutter and makes your conversations easier to read.


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If this works it will make it easier to travel on Lyft and Uber
Now for other news. There’s a new service, rolling out nationwide, that allows families to take advantage of ride-sharing services like Uber and LYFT for family members who may not be able to contact these services using the smart-phone apps so many of us have become familiar with.
connects seniors to Uber to get to doctor’s appointments, social engagements or anywhere they want to go within 100 miles. It sounds super easy and no smart phone is required. You can try out their demo with a sample phone call right from their website. Operators are available 24-hours a day at this number: 855.464.6872.
When setting up the call, you can add an emergency contact who will be informed about the trip via e-mailor text message. Learn more about the service here: https://gogograndparent.com/faq. We hope that this next item is the kind of good news so many of us have been needing to hear. Uber has updated their official service dog policy
Presumably to recognize the civil rights protections available to us under the Americans with Disabilities Act (and the terms of last December’s settlement agreement). I will quote from their news release:
“State and Federal law prohibits driver-partners using the Uber app from denying service to riders with service animals because of their service animals or otherwise discriminating against riders because of their service animals.”
“* Driver partners have a legal obligation to provide service to riders with service animals
* Driver partners cannot lawfully deny service to a rider with a service animal because of allergies, religious objections or a general fear of dogs.
* Each driver partner has been made aware of their obligation to transport riders with service animals through the technology services agreement they signed with Uber.
* If driver partners refuse a rider with a service animal, because of their service animal, that driver is in violation of the law and in breach of their agreement with Uber.”
“* If Uber determines that a driver denied service to a rider because of a service animal the driver will be permanently banned from the Uber Driver App.
* Uber will make the determination of whether service was denied because of a service animal in a review of the incident
* If Uber receives multiple complaints about a driver partner denying service to a rider because of a service animal, that partner will be permanently banned from driving with Uber, regardless of the justification the driver-partner offers.”
According to Uber, this is how you can and should report a denial of service complaint : You can get to the right place in your Uber app via either the trip details screen or the account menu button. navigate to “I want to file a service animal issue” complaint screen and leave your information. You can also file a complaint on Uber’s web site by clicking on the HELP link.
Let’s hope the company is serious about implementing and enforcing this newly announced policy.
Not relevant to this discussion of Uber’s updated service animal policies, but still useful information is this: You can file a denial of service complaint with LYFT by calling this Critical Response Line phone number: 855.865.9553.


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More nailed down than Jesus
BlackBerry has announced its second Android smartphone today claiming that it is the world's most secure Android phone.
It's not a family affair
Blackberry boss John Chen has said he is "disturbed" by Apple's tough approach to encryption and user privacy, warning that the firm's attitude is harmful to society.
Damned if it does, damned if it doesn’t
Troubled smartphone maker, Blackberry had some good news today, but it is fair to say its shareholders reacted rather badly.
Should it stay or should it go?
Blackberry is continuing to send out more mixed messages about its handset future.
Last Chance Saloon
Troubled Blackberry, which has admitted that its hardware is officially in the Last Chance Saloon, is having a last stab at mobile hardware with three new Android phones.
Other companies will want our tech
Blackberry is hoping to pull its nadgers out of the fire by licencing its mobile software to other outfits.
Gets a locked down Samsung instead
In a sign that Blackberry’s days are numbered, one of its key advocates, President Barack Obama has given up on it.
Blackberry will have to slam the priv door
It is starting to look like Blackberry is not getting enough sales from its Android products to justify a mobile handset presence.
Asked eight leading players what they are doing
The Federal Trade Commission has written to eight leading players in the mobile communications arena requiring them to tell the agency how they issue security updates to address vulnerabilities in smartphones, tablets, and other mobile gear.