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Cybersecurity Channel Moves: Q2 2023
We’re taking a look at the security vendors that’ve unveiled major partner program updates or named new channel chiefs in the second quarter of 2023.
On May 18, ThreatModeler, which offers tools for automated modeling of cyber threats to DevOps and DevSecOps teams, unveiled its new ThreatNet Partner Program. The program aims to enable reseller and distributor partners to generate new business through helping software development teams with visualizing their attack surfaces and proactively mitigating security issues. The ThreatNet Partner Program brings a focus on generating recurring revenue opportunities to partners, and ultimately “rewards partners for their capabilities, growth and commitment,” said Erika Trenkle (pictured), director of strategic alliances at ThreatModeler, in a news release.
Components and benefits of the partner program include deal registration, sales support, marketing support, training and certification — as well as a partner portal that features product info, marketing content and sales tools, according to the company.


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Another scooter company has entered the San Diego market: Razor Share is the latest to provide scooter ride-sharing in the county.
“We are thrilled to be joining this vibrant community,” Danny Simon, chief operating officer for Razor USA, said in a statement. The company is based in Cerritos.
Razor Share scooters have been designed with cushy front air tires and a wide deck big enough for two feet to stand on side-by-side, along with a UL-compliant lithium ion battery and a sturdy steel frame, according to a news release. Razor’s local team members will charge and inspect the scooters every night to provide safe performance, the company said.

domain: news


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Homeserve fined for abandoned calls
Thursday 19 April 2012
Home insurance and repairs company HomeServe has been fined £750,000 for making an excessive number of silent and abandoned calls, Ofcom said today.
HomeServe exceeded the limit on the number of abandoned calls it is allowed to make on 42 separate occasions during February 1 and March 21 last year, the communications regulator said.
This resulted in an estimated 14,756 abandoned calls being made to UK consumers during this time.
HomeServe also placed an estimated 36,218 calls in breach of a rule prohibiting companies from making repeated calls to answerphones within 24 hours, according to the watchdog.
Ofcom said its decision to fine HomeServe was "appropriate and proportionate" to reflect the seriousness of the breach and to act as a deterrent to it and other companies.
It added that it took into account steps taken by HomeServe to comply with the rules on silent and abandoned calls and its offer to compensate consumers who suffered harm from receiving the calls.
Ofcom's consumer group director Claudio Pollack said: "Our rules are there to prevent consumers suffering annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety from silent or abandoned calls.
"We hope today's fine will send a strong message to all companies that use call centres that they need to ensure they are fully compliant with the rules or face the consequences."
A HomeServe spokeswoman said: "HomeServe is reviewing the detailed determination.
"HomeServe identified the issue and promptly reported it to Ofcom following an internal audit of all of HomeServe's telemarketing operations. The problem was identified as having resulted from the incorrect use of answering machine detection (AMD) technology via an outsourcer.
"HomeServe can confirm that it no longer works with outsourcers on its outbound marketing and that AMD is no longer used in any calls made by the company.
"HomeServe can also confirm that all of its dialler systems have been fully compliant with Ofcom regulations since March 22 2011, following the rectification of the errors identified during HomeServe's audit.
"HomeServe is providing goodwill gestures of £10 to customers who received a silent, abandoned or repeat call from the referenced outsourcer over the relevant period. Anyone who believes they were subject to these over the relevant period should contact the company before May 31 2012 on 0800 389 5280 and the claim will be investigated.
"The above details will not have a material impact on HomeServe's financial results and the company's financial guidance remains consistent with the pre-close trading update of March 29."
Silent and abandoned calls from companies are usually generated by automated systems known as diallers and answering machine detection technology.
They are mainly used in call centres and connect the consumer to agents as soon as the phone is answered or disconnect calls made to answering machines.
Problems occur when the system dials more calls than agents can answer or ends an answered call by mistakenly identifying it as being picked up by an answering machine.
Communications Consumer Panel chairman Bob Warner welcomed the fine and called for continued close monitoring to stop others making silent and abandoned calls.
He said: "This is the first time that Ofcom has flexed its muscles to use the new enforcement powers. The panel has long lobbied for tougher action to protect consumers and we are now urging Ofcom to monitor closely the numbers of silent call complaints, and take further action where persistent silent calls remain a problem.
"Silent calls cause a great deal of anxiety, particularly for older people living alone. The higher fines mean that consumers should now be better protected."
Consumer Focus director of policy and external affairs Adam Scorer said: "Silent and abandoned calls are an annoyance and can often cause distress to the people who receive them.
"While they are usually caused by glitches in the technology rather than a deliberate act by sales staff, they are a nuisance and firms that do not control the technology show a lack of respect to consumers.
"All firms want to run efficient sales operations. But if finding cheaper ways of selling increases the risk of nuisance calls, then firms need to be very vigilant about the controls they put in place to manage that risk.
"We are pleased to see Ofcom take action and hope this serves as a clear warning to HomeServe and other companies to treat consumers with respect."
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Retail and industrial development in Strongsville rebounded nicely in 2021, with a number of new businesses opening or announcing plans to operate here.
On the retail side, Discount Drug Mart and Arby’s have constructed new buildings, while Harbor Freight Tools, V Dessert, Hot Chicken Takeover, Restore Hyper Wellness, Pho & Beyond, Goldfish Swim School, Wine Down & Sweets Café and Parma Movers have opened in existing storefronts.
Even more are coming soon: Seafood Shake is taking over the former Rockne’s site; Crumbl Cookies is opening next to Rosewood Grill, Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers is renovating the former Burger King on Pearl Road, Barrio is finished remodeling the former Molly McGhee’s, Dave’s Cosmic Subs is taking over a Pearl Road storefront, and both Blue Habanero and Szechuan Gourmet are coming to The Greens of Strongsville. Building new outlets are Sgt. Clean Car Wash and Strickland Brothers 10-Minute Oil Change.
“Strongsville’s commercial and industrial growth has remained strong throughout the pandemic, illustrating the city’s designation as a job hub within the region,” Economic Development Director Brent Painter said.
Painter presented the city’s economic development outlook to the Strongsville Chamber of Commerce Nov. 16.
Strongsville’s business parks also had exceptional growth in 2021 – especially for corporate headquarters. Expanding this year were Infinium Walls, which built a new 120,000-square-foot headquarters on Prospect Road; Woodpecker Inc., which leased an additional 79,000 square feet of space on Prospect Road; CCL, which received approval to start building a new 105,000-square-foot North American headquarters on Foltz Parkway; Union Home Mortgage, which opened its new state-of-the-art training center in the former ITT Tech building; Greller & Co., which relocated its corporate headquarters to property it purchased on Progress Drive; Plidco, which relocated its headquarters to a 233,000-square-foot building it purchased on Alameda Drive; Newko Polymers, which leased an additional 12,000 square feet on Alameda Drive; and NCDS Medical Billing, which purchased a 3,600-square-foot office building for a new headquarters.
Strongsville also hosts corporate headquarters for Foundation Software, TestOil, Clark Reliance and National Automotive Experts.
Also in 2021: Third Federal leased office space in the Greens of Strongsville; Mechanical Rubber leased an 80,000-square-foot manufacturing facility; Intralot expanded its Ohio Lottery IT Center by 26,000 square feet; NPL Home Medical relocated its medical device repair operation to Strongsville; TricorBraun leased a 30,000 distribution center here; and Scannell Properties presented plans to build a new 317,000-square-foot spec building on Royalton Road.
Economic development has a wide-reaching impact on a city, from job opportunities for residents – between 2010 and 2019, there were 3,618 net new jobs created in Strongsville – to increased property values.
Businesses also generate tax revenue for city services and schools, and help maintain a vibrant, in-demand community.


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THE FEEL GOOD WEEKEND
The weekend starts here .
Weekdays from 6am to 5pm
Merge 104.8 | 27 April 2020
Apple’s new iPhones might come a little later than usual this year. A new report suggests the company is pushing back mass production of iPhone 12 by about a month. They are also planning to launch three other iPhone models this year, but because of the pandemic it has shut down much of Apple’s supply chain in China.
Prince Harry has revealed he stays ‘fit and strong’ by training his ‘mind and body as one’ as he launches an online mental health tool for military personnel aimed at helping with their well-being. It has been designed to offer round-the-clock access to self-help tools to enhance mood, drive and confidence.
Katy Perry says she “will never forget” being pregnant during the coronavirus pandemic. She’s expecting her first child with her fiance Orlando Bloom and has admitted she’s facing some tough challenges at the moment, and also that being in isolation has made her feel “grateful” for so many things. As they are stuck at home they are trying to exercise and eat well so they can stay healthy.


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New Year, New Minimum Wage: Some Mass. Businesses Welcome The IncreasePlay
Massachusetts keeps chugging toward a $15 minimum wage. Next stop: $12.75.
The wage floor rises New Year's Day and climbs $0.75 annually, until 2023. Some businesses have complained about rising labor costs, but others say they are doing better by paying workers more.
"We do it because it's the right thing to do," said Rob Everts, co-CEO of Equal Exchange in West Bridgewater. "It's also in our own, enlightened self interest. Paying a good, strong wage cultivates loyalty. Turnover here is low, and that helps us at many levels."
Everts' company employs 150 people, some of whom pick and pack the fair-trade coffee that Equal Exchange sells all over the country. It's the kind of job that often pays minimum wage, but the starting rate at Equal Exchange is about $15 an hour — the target the state aims to hit in a few years.
"And as a business executive in Massachusetts, I'm not alone," Everts said. "There are hundreds of Massachusetts business leaders and thousands across the country who support increasing the minimum wage, over a period of years, to $15."
Everts is among more than 300 Massachusetts executives who've publicly supported the minimum wage hike. Massachusetts is among seven states and the District of Columbia that will have $15 minimum wages in coming years, or already do, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Groups like the National Federation of Independent Business argue the increase may prove counterproductive, if higher payrolls cut into profits and lead to layoffs.
Emily Kanter said that scenario didn't play out when her company, Cambridge Naturals, went to a $15 minimum in 2016.
"We saw our customers really respond to that," said Kanter, the company's co-owner. "They felt good about coming to shop with us because they knew we were treating our employees really well."
Cambridge Naturals, which sells health and wellness products, has 32 employees. Kanter said sales increased 11% in the year after the company raised its starting pay.
Megan Driscoll reports similar success at PharmaLogics Recruiting, the Quincy-based talent placement firm she founded. Driscoll boosted the minimum base salary from $38,000 to $50,000 for the company's roughly 100 employees a few years ago — a move that cost half a million dollars in total.
"And I expected, quite frankly, to have a $500,000 deficit in profit," she said. "That is not what actually happened. We made more profit at the end of 2016 than we had in 2015, even though we infused $500,000 into salaries. So, I'm a living example that doing the right thing can be good for your business."
Driscoll said the simplest explanation is that happier workers perform better.
There is no guarantee things will work out so well for every company, of course. But as Massachusetts continues on the path to a $15 minimum wage, some executives say they are having surprisingly good experiences with higher labor costs.
This segment aired on January 2, 2020.


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Nice big-screen TV – pity you can’t afford to run it!
If you live in Australia, though your last electricity bill was a shocker, the friendly people at IPART – that’s Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal if you feel like writing somebody a letter – seems happy to tell us we ain’t seen nothing yet.
From July 1 this year, electricity prices in New South Wales are set to begin a steady – no, make that steep – climb that won’t end until 2013. By that time, your electricity bill will be 64% heavier on your wallet. Turns out 42% of that is due to NSW Government regulatory demands – thanks very much, guys – and 22% of that comes from The Federal Government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme – thanks, Kevin.
That will likely push up rates to around 36cents per kilowatt – so if you have a 250-watt big-screen TV (and there are plenty that chew through more power than that), you’ll be paying around nine cents an hour in electricity.
If you run the TV an average of five hours a day over the year, that’ll be $164.25 in electricity. Probably doesn’t sound like much but just to run that one device – we’re not talking about PS3s, Xbox 360s, computers, notebooks or anything else. Just one device.
And before those of you in other states start crowing – don’t think you’ll be immune to these rises.
IPART Chairman and chief executive Jim Cox has been quoted in Fairfax papers today as saying he doesn’t welcome the price increases or the effect they’ll have on low-income families.
But it looks like we’re stuck with them all the same.
I reckon you expect sales of smaller TVs to start rising significantly over the next couple of years…
POSTSCRIPT – If you don’t think $165 is much to pay, there are a number of 40-inch LCD TV specials on in Sydney town at the moment, with most selling for around the $798 mark. At $165 a year in electricity, you’ll have paid for the TV twice over within five years…
- 64% electricity price rises? Here’s who to thank…
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- Five years ago: DVD burners $99, 250GB HDD $289, 4MP 5X digicam $599, 60GB notebook $3200


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Ogilvy has bolstered its leadership team for Unilever, appointing Nadja Bellan-White and Daniel Fisher as global managing director and global executive creative director respectively, with a particular focus on the Dove brand.
The duo will be responsible for driving effectiveness through creativity to make Unilever relevant today and "for decades to come". They will be based in London.
Bellan-White and Fisher join a broader leadership team across WPP led by Toby Hoare, recently appointed global client leader for Unilever across the holding company.
Unilever recently announced that it would streamline its agency communications to focus on one key contact from each holding company, although it has yet to confirm when this will be finalised.
Bellan-White brings more than 20 years of global experience to the role. She joined Ogilvy New York in 2011 and has held senior positions including chief executive of Ogilvy Africa, executive vice-president for global brands EMEA and chief client officer EMEA. She will report to John Seifert, Ogilvy's worldwide chief executive.
Fisher, who has held senior creative positions at Leo Burnett, The & Partnership and Adam & Eve/DDB, will lead special creative projects within the Ogilvy network with a focus on Unilever and will also work in a WPP-wide capacity.
He will report to Piyush Pandey, worldwide chief creative officer, and Joe Sciarrotta, deputy worldwide chief creative officer.
Fisher said: "When one of the world’s greatest advertisers looks you in the eye and tells you they want to put creativity at the top of their agenda, it's a bit of a no-brainer. But the chance to work with someone as smart and talented as Nadja made my decision even easier."
Bellan-White said: "We join the Unilever team at a unique time; the business is poised for the next phase of its creative future and I am excited to help lead the charge."


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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Apple on Monday unveiled its reopening plan in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The tech store says face coverings will be required for all team members and shoppers. If customers do not have one they will be provided with one.READ MORE: 'It's Amazing': New Minnesota Grant Helps Foster Care Youth Pay For College
In addition, Apple says temperature checks will be conducted at the door, along with a set of health questions to screen for symptoms — like cough or fever — or if a customer has been exposed to someone infected with COVID-19.READ MORE: Wisconsin Man Dies After Car Splits During Crash In Fridley
Apple says its stores will also be doing routine deep cleanings throughout the day.MORE NEWS: Homicide Investigation Underway After Woman Found Dead Inside St. Paul Home


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Inside the advertising industry, the Super Bowl has long been the "game within the game." Every year, while the NFL's last two teams standing battle it out for the Lombardi Trophy, dozens of marketers compete to capture the most eyeballs among the game's 100-million-plus television viewers. At least, that's how it used to be.
The big game itself is basically the same as when the Packers defeated the Chiefs to claim the first AFL-NFL World Championship in 1967, yet the ground rules for Super Bowl advertisers have dramatically changed over the past few years, squarely because of the game-changing influence of social media and online teaser ads. For Super Bowl XLVIII the tried-and-true model of creating a 30-second spot to debut during halftime—with hopes of generating the most Monday-morning watercooler buzz—is the equivalent of a leather football helmet.
And that's not just because the price tag for a half minute has escalated from $42,000 in '67 to this year's record $4 million, a number the game's broadcaster, Fox, neither confirms nor denies. CBS reportedly garnered $3.8 million for a 30-second spot a year ago, but several factors would seem to justify Fox's rate hike, including the probability that XLVIII's viewership will almost certainly surpass last year's 108.4 million and perhaps break the 111.3 million mark set in 2012.
(Read more: Bud Light gets a Super Bowl makeover)


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Fiat renews deal with Brazil's Itau Unibanco
MILAN Aug 20 (Reuters) - Italian carmaker Fiat said on Tuesday it had renewed a commercial cooperation agreement with Brazilian bank Itau Unibanco to support its sales operations in Brazil, one of the company's biggest markets outside Italy.
In a statement Fiat said the agreement had been renewed for ten years.
Fiat is Brazil's top seller of cars and light trucks.
In July the pace of vehicle production in Brazil slipped to the lowest daily rate in five months as factories, facing sagging consumer confidence, scaled back output.


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The scale of the task facing new Woolworths chief executive Steve Johnson has emerged after the embattled high street retailer posted first-half losses of more than £90m.
Johnson said a "good dose of basic shop-keeping" was required, with Christmas the top priority, after Woolworths today announced that it had racked up losses of £90.8m for the six months to 2 August.
The result follows a drop in like-for-like sales of 3% at its retail arm.
Total sales for the group, which in August turned down a £50m approach from Iceland boss Malcolm Walker, were down by a similar percentage, falling to £1.1bn.
The news comes just days after Johnson took the helm at the struggling chain, having replaced ousted chief Trevor Bish-Jones on 1 September.
“I took this job because I am convinced that there is space on the high street for a successful home-based variety store offering great value and convenience,” Johnson said. “My first weeks in the job have only reinforced that view and shown me that Woolworths has a core of strong, profitable stores, a great retail brand and many very committed people who want to succeed.”
He added: “It is too early for me to have a fully developed strategy. That plan is in progress but still some way from completion and we will update investors as soon as possible. Right now, this business does not require lots of new strategic initiatives; it requires a good dose of basic shop-keeping and attention to the detail of retailing. Our first priority… is delivering a successful Christmas for our customers.”


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The dead company attacked the Apple-Google duo
For example, a plaintiff may prohibit the distribution of iPhones and iPads in the United States.
He has received another patent infringement lawsuit around his neck Apple and Google, Jawbone Innovations, an investment firm that just won electronics manufacturer Bankrupt Jawbone’s patents in 2017, intend to sue the two parties. These companies are generally known as patent trolls, because they do not use the patents they own for any real business, and instead sue other companies only for massive compensation.
Accordingly, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit in the federal court of the city of Waco, Texas, and local judges and jurors are known for their positive attitude toward patent trolls. According to Jawbone Innovations, the defendants infringed eight patents, most of them relating to noise filtering algorithms, at the time the real Jawbone was developing DARPA technologies.
The plaintiff seeks compensation for any assets sold that he claims infringe his patents, and of course asks for a license fee for those sold in the future. Apple claims to have affected all versions and variants of the iPhone, iPad, AirPods Pro, and HomePod, while Google has named its patents for all of its smartphones, tablets, laptops, headphones, gadgets, and Android devices. .
To increase pressure, Jawbone Innovations is asking a judge to suspend marketing of the potentially infringing devices in the US until a final and final ruling is issued, although odds are he himself doesn’t seriously believe this will happen.
If you want to read more interesting tech news, follow the Origo Techbase Facebook page, click here!


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Ordinary baking soda has unique disinfectant properties
Rubbing the baking soda in fruits and vegetables can remove up to 96% of all those pesticides.
British experts have proved that using ordinary baking soda, you can remove 96% of pesticides from fruits and vegetables. When mixing baking soda with water to wash the bark of Apple and other fruits and vegetables, people can get rid of almost all widely-used pesticides in just 15 minutes. This technique is much more effective than currently applied in many countries a standard procedure of dipping fruits and vegetables in a special solution with bleach.
The study showed that baking soda breaks down pesticides due to the high alkali content, which makes chemicals to break down into safe molecules. The researchers emphasize that many fruits and vegetables pesticides are stored, which later are eaten. In this context, concerns about the health of the people faced with these chemical substances is constantly growing. That is why experts are looking for different ways to help them solve this problem.
In the study, researchers caused widespread pesticide thiabendazole, which is able to penetrate the skin of apples, as well as phosmet organic red apples.
Pesticides allowed to remain on these fruits in one day. Then the apples were washed, either with tap water or a special solution of bleach, or one percent baking soda mixed with water. Special electronic technology to count the number of pesticides in the products showed that in the third case in 12 minutes gentle washing the apples in the baking soda removed 80% of thiabendazole, and 15 minutes could be removed from fruit 96% phosmet.
© 2017 – 2019, z-news.link. All rights reserved.


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Monthly archives: March 2014
Tech news has dominated Dezeen this week, as Google unveiled its Android Wear operating system for smartwatches and Imogen Heap launched a campaign to produce her gloves that manipulate sound. Read on for more architecture and design news from the past seven days, plus our Dezeen Music Project featured track. More »
Italian designer Eugenia Morpurgo has set up a high-street micro factory, which uses digital manufacturing to produce her range of customisable shoes that wearers can assemble and repair themselves. More »
Dezeen Watch Store: thanks to everyone who came to visit our augmented reality watch store at Hackney House Austin during SXSW. Since getting back to London we've been busy putting together photos of all our visitors wearing their favourite watches from our collection. Browse the gallery on the Dezeen Watch Store blog »
To mark the release of his debut album Human, which came out last week, techno producer Max Cooper has exclusively shared a binaural mix with us, which features the new album’s lead track Woven Ancestry.
Binaural recordings create a 3D sound experience: music seems to come from multiple different directions, as if you were sitting in the room with the musicians. The effect only works if you’re listening with headphones, though. So put on a pair of cans, close your eyes, and immerse yourself in the music!
The mix, which was recorded live and also features the tracks Meadows and Gravity Well, was created using 4DSOUND, a rig consisting of 48 speakers arranged in 16 columns, which allows producers to spatially design the sounds within tracks. You can watch a video of Cooper explaining the project here.
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iPhone 6 Coming with Two Screen Choices that are Bigger than the 5S
If you spent hundreds of dollars on a gold iPhone 5S, I feel bad for you son. I’ve got iPhone problems but a small screen soon won’t be one. The Wall Street Journal is now backing up a months old report by Japanese business publication Nikkei that Apple’s upcoming iPhone 6 won’t just come with a bigger screen but a choice of screen sizes for iPhiles to choose from.
The two screen options will be 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch diagonally which will catch Apple’s mobile offerings up with its larger Android competitors. Apart from the size, the appearance of the new iPhones aren’t expected to be different from the current design of iPhone.
What is interesting to me is some of the behind the scenes production rumours. Apple is ramping up production in a big way for the big phones. While the iPhone 5S and 5C saw Apple order 50 to 60 million units ahead of launch, they’ve ordered between 70 and 80 million units ahead of launch of the iPhone 6. While iPhone sales growth has been as high as analysts expected, Apple is banking on the larger screen to boost demand for the iPhone 6, especially in China where Apple is still trying to grow market share and where bigger is better for phones.
Interestingly, it looks like the 5.5-inch model might come out a little after the 4.7-inch model. Production on the larger of the two iPhone 6s will start in September which is a month behind production starting on the 4.7-inch model. And worryingly, Apple has been ordering extra 5.5-inch screens because the current production process is resulting in higher than usual failures on the production line. That can’t be a good piece of news for anyone wanting to be an early adopter of the biggest iPhone 6.
Typically, new iPhone announcements are made in September with the release a few weeks afterwards. Given the production schedules, if you’re holding out for a 5.5-inch iPhone, you might need to put it on the Christmas list and hope Santa can deliver on the likely low supply and high demand.
Posted on July 25, 2014, in Tech and tagged Apple, iPhone, iPhone 6. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.
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Du launches unlimited video-on-demand
AED 75 a month deal for users of ‘on-demand’ service.
July 11, 2010 2:20 by Samuel Potter
Telecoms operator Du has unveiled a new deal whereby subscribers can get unlimited movies via its on-demand service.
The new deal is the latest move by Du as it increases pressure to gain access to competitor Etisalat’s national network and create an era of genuine telecoms competitiveness in the UAE. At present Etisalat and Du are the only telecoms operators in the country, but users rarely get a choice between fixed line operators – Etisalat covers most of the UAE, while Du provides services to a number of areas of Dubai.
The new deal will cover the whole of Du’s Video on Demand service, which includes movies, TV series, documentaries, spiritual features, kids programming and music. The Video on Demand service is available to all Du TV and Du TV+ customers, and to generate interest in the offer Du says the service will be provided free for all customers for an introductory period. After that, users can subscribe to the service for AED 75 per month.
“At Du we work hard to provide our customers with the most user-friendly entertainment solutions. TV customers globally like to choose what and when they watch. We are very excited to announce the launch of our Unlimited Video on Demand service with premium TV programs, giving customers to choose to watch what they want, all with a simple click on the remote control from the comfort of their home,” said Farid Faraidooni, Chief Commercial Officer, Du.


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July 16, 2019
| By: Andrew Baker
Managing Director, Industrial & Healthcare Business Unit, Maxim Integrated
Globally, spending on healthcare is on track to top US$10 trillion by 2022—a huge economic impact. Being on the healthcare team of a technology company, my Maxim colleagues and I are always looking at ways to mitigate this cost. A lot of it starts by making advancements in wellness programs and getting people off the couch. This is where wearables can help.
Wearable devices deliver continuous, real-time monitoring of various vitals, such as heart rate (including heart-rate variability), blood-oxygen level, body temperature, stress levels, and sleep patterns. Clothing, chest straps, watches, earbuds, and jewelry are just some of the wearable form factors that have emerged in recent years. So, the capabilities are there for consumers, along with convenient ways to tap into them.
How can we encourage the mass adoption of wearables that could contribute to better health and fitness outcomes?
This was one of the questions I discussed earlier this year during a panel at the Firstbeat HRV Summit in Helsinki, Finland. The summit brought together experts from around the world to explore how the insights derived from heart-rate variability measurements could be applied to areas including consumer technology, elite sports, and wellness programs. On the panel, I was joined by a fitness blogger, a market researcher, and a running coach to discuss future trends in the wearables space.
The author, Andrew Baker, is on the left, talking to Firstbeat CEO Joni Kettunen during the conference. Photo courtesy of Firstbeat & Akifoto.
Maxim places a lot of focus on emerging use cases and on ways to solve big worldwide or macro-economic problems. With healthcare costs spiraling higher and higher, wearables could provide an answer. Insights derived from these devices can motivate people to more proactively engage in preventive care activities, more closely manage chronic conditions, and take action when red flags are discovered. According a study by Juniper Research, the healthcare wearables market could reach $60 billion by 2023, with five million people being monitored remotely by healthcare providers by that year. While sales appear to be brisk, these numbers won’t make a difference in health and fitness outcomes if people don’t actually wear the devices regularly.
While there may not be a magic formula to trigger mass adoption of wearables, encouraging regular usage does call for the devices to be:
The author, Andrew Baker, participates in a panel discussion at the Firstbeat HRV Summit. Photo courtesy of Firstbeat & Akifoto.
As one of my colleagues on the panel noted, there are various capabilities that are either emerging or in development that may not be approved from an official medical standpoint. I agree with his point that this doesn’t mean that these functions aren’t valuable in some capacity. It’s important that we continue to foster innovation and to push for accuracy in these devices.
Looking ahead, wearables could contribute to more individualized healthcare and certain form factors may evolve to support more use cases. For example, what about adding heart-rate variability monitoring and pulse-oximetry to a patch that measures glucose levels in diabetics? Or, how about measuring heart rate and blood-oxygen levels from a hearing aid? The patient is already using the device for a particular purpose, so it would be practical to incorporate other uses based on that person’s needs. More and more, people want to do things noninvasively. Blood is a great window into overall health, but it is hard to measure noninvasively. So this presents a challenge for a hardware company like Maxim—to drive the innovation to create, for instance, tools that will accomplish what must currently be done in a hospital. Another exciting prospect is the emergence of 5G, as this presents the possibility of remote monitoring from wearables that aren’t tethered to smartphones.
The Firstbeat HRV Summit presented an exciting opportunity to share ideas with some of the sharpest minds in the area of healthcare wearables. Indeed, with the technologies that are already available and coming in the future, the potential for enabling healthier outcomes is bright.
Review application notes, tutorials, and sensor solutions that can help you address your wearable healthcare design challenges.


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This article is more than 3 years old.
(Updated 10:50 a.m. EST, 10/22/19 )
Topline: After months of uncertainty surrounding WeWork’s meteoric rise and fall, the company will now fall to an $8 billion valuation after it accepted a bailout offer from its largest shareholder, Japanese investing conglomerate SoftBank, CNBC first reported on Monday.
- The deal could be announced as soon as Tuesday and will value WeWork between $7.5 billion and $8 billion—an 83% decline from the $47 billion valuation the company received in January.
- Softbank, led by Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son, plans to spend between $4 billion and $5 billion on new and existing equities to complete its takeover of WeWork.
- SoftBank (the group itself is taking control, not its Vision Fund) will control as much as 70% or more of WeWork after the takeover, while former CEO Adam Neumann’s stake will go down to low double digits, according to CNBC.
- SoftBank will also give Neumann a $1.7 billion deal to leave the board of directors altogether and give up his voting shares, The Wall Street Journal reported.
- Executives at WeWork had previously been weighing two financial rescue packages—one led by SoftBank and one led by JPMorgan Chase—as it scrambled for cash following its failed IPO.
- On October 10, Forbes lowered net worth estimates for both Adam Neumann and his other co-founder, Miguel McKelvey, to below $1 billion each.
Key background: WeWork has imploded over the last month, after it canceled its highly anticipated IPO and ousted CEO and founder Adam Neumann. The company’s new co-chiefs immediately began selling off the company’s assets—including Neumann’s famed $60 million private jet—to cut costs and raise cash.
This is a developing story.


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Diageo is adding to its single malt stable in the U.S. market this month with an extension to its Oban brand called Little Bay. Oban Little Bay is made from small batches of Oban that are married in small casks to allow the whisky more contact with the wood. Western Highland malt Oban is known for its use of tiny, lantern-shaped copper pot stills which are among the smallest in Scotland. The new Little Bay offering is at 43% abv and retails at $75 a 750-ml.
Gatlinburg-based Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine has released its latest and highest-proof offering, Blue Flame. The 128-proof clear moonshine is made according to a family recipe and process, the company says. For now, Blue Flame is available exclusively at Ole Smoky’s two distilleries in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee for $34.95 a bottle, with potential for further distribution in the future. The company currently offers 13 flavors of moonshine nationally, including its Original Moonshine (100 proof).
The Edrington Group has launched the fifth iteration of The Macallan’s limited edition Masters of Photography series in collaboration with fashion photographer Mario Testino. Six different casks were brought together from more than 200,000 maturing at The Macallan’s distillery to achieve the final blend. The Macallan’s Mario Testino Masters of Photography edition is available globally for about $3,500 and features four different variations of the photographer’s shots from a session conducted in a palace in Beijing across the 1,000 bottles released. The bottles are displayed in black lacquered boxes inspired by Asian cultural heritage. Previous editions of the series include collaborations with photographers Elliot Erwitt, Annie Leibovitz, Rankin and Albert Watson.
South Carolina-based Charlestowne Premium Spirits is launching a new high-proof RTD brand, Real Cocktails, this month. Initially, Real Cocktails will be distributed in New York, New Jersey and Illinois. Including Real Cosmo and Real Margarita offerings, the cocktail line is 50 proof and retails at $20 a 750-ml. Charlestowne says it sees an opportunity to “shake up the current selection of watered-down, low-proof RTDs.”
All information courtesy of Shanken News Daily


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September 20, 2023 - WorldOra Carbon News
Biden-Harris Administration Launches American Climate Corps to … a workforce training and service initiative that will ensure more young people have access to the skills-based training necessary for good-paying careers in the clean energy and climate resilience economy. The American Climate Corps will mobilize a new, diverse generation of more than 20,000 Americans – putting them to work conserving and restoring our lands and waters, bolstering community resilience, deploying clean energy, implementing energy efficient technologies, and advancing environmental justice, all while creating pathways to high-quality, good-paying clean energy and climate resilience jobs in the public and private sectors after they complete their paid training program.
The E-BIKE Act is back and better than ever - The Verge A bill to give Americans a $1,500 discount on the purchase of a new electric bike was introduced in Congress this week. The original Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment (E-BIKE) Act was introduced in 2021 as a way to help defray the costs of an e-bike, which can be expensive but has been shown to reduce car trips for many riders. The bill was amended after it was included in President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better legislation but was then dropped after the bill morphed into the Inflation Reduction Act. The new E-BIKE Act is very similar to its predecessor, right down to using the exact same name, but there are several key differences.
The Biden administration approves $100 million to fix ... - The Verge The Biden administration approves $100 million to fix the nation’s broken EV chargers / Over 6,000 EV chargers, or about 4 percent of the total number, are “temporarily unavailable,” according to the government’s database.
The US Department of Transportation is authorizing $100 million to “repair and replace existing but non-operational, electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.” The investment comes from a $7.5 billion pot of money for EV charging that was approved as part of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The department has already approved around $1 billion for the installation of thousands of new EV chargers along major highways in the US.
According to the Energy Department’s database of public EV chargers, around 6,261 of the 151,506 public charging ports were reported “temporarily unavailable” — or 4.1 percent of the total number. A charger can be identified as temporarily unavailable for several reasons, ranging from routine maintenance to power issues.
Ford, Honda, and BMW create a new vehicle-to-grid company to … Ford, Honda, and BMW create a new vehicle-to-grid company to help EV owners save money / The new company, ChargeScape, will create a platform that can be used by both utilities and EV owners to benefit from the expected surge in mobile batteries plugged into the grid.


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Trendy, new and ingenious or rude, evasive and a bit 1984-ish?
Burger King releases a new 15 second ad that is designed to activate Google’s Alexa devices in your home, if they are within range and set to the correct mode.
In a world where marketing technology is always trying to stay one step ahead of its competitor, this new and definitely interesting idea to sell more hamburgers has set the new bar. This time, they are triggering techy devices in your own home.
The ad starts by a Burger King employee telling you that he does not have enough time to tell you about the Whopper burger, so then he says,” Okay Google, what is the Whopper burger?” In hopes to trigger your Google devices to search for the hamburger.
“Burger King saw an opportunity to do something exciting with the emerging technology of intelligent personal assistant devices,” said a Burger King representative.


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Normal Motors dealerships have repaired hundreds of Tesla electrical vehicles, GM claimed in its annual investor day presentation.
First noticed by Barron’s, a slide within the presentation merely reads “11,180 repairs on Teslas” with out elaboration.
Tesla up to now has made it troublesome for third events to restore its automobiles, however its grip is being loosened by proper to restore laws.
Tesla charging (Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.)
Right to repair bills intention to permit entry to detailed restore directions and a few software program to allow extra impartial outlets to work on EVs. The Biden administration has stood behind this as a constructive for EVs total, nevertheless it’s more likely to have a very huge affect on Tesla repairs.
Tesla has beforehand hobbled vehicles that get major rebuilds—or issues like battery transplants—at wherever however its service facilities, limiting their charging charges at Superchargers, as an example. It did nevertheless not too long ago begin inspecting “salvaged” EVs to re-enable options.
With out proper to restore legal guidelines, even house owners of vehicles that do not want heavy repairs could possibly be out of luck relying on the willingness of the corporate to proceed supporting older fashions. Homeowners of the unique Tesla Roadster needed to resort to some workarounds with non-public outlets earlier than Tesla began supporting them as soon as once more.
2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV
Now it appears a few of the similar protections being put in place for impartial restore outlets might additionally profit GM—one of many world’s largest automakers—and its vendor community.
That vendor community is at the moment present process its personal transition to an EV-heavy future. GM has appeared to its dealerships to deploy destination chargers in communities, and it is asking dealerships to put in chargers and make different adjustments to organize for extra EV gross sales. The automaker has supplied buyouts to Cadillac and Buick sellers who do not need to associate with this plan, though hasn’t supplied them to its Chevy dealers.
Inexperienced Automobile Reviews has reached out to GM for touch upon this story and can replace it ought to the automaker present extra element.
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Christopher DeCrosta Sees Apple, Tesla and J. Crew as Just the Beginning for Brooklyn
“It’s hard to imagine a day when every brand isn’t in Brooklyn. It’s crazy to think that a city as big as Brooklyn doesn’t already have all of the big brands.”
The broker is a firm believer in the church of Brooklyn and has long been a high priest in the effort. He (alongside colleague Hank O’Donnell) helped J. Crew find its first Brooklyn location at 234-236 Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg in 2014. When Elon Musk’s Tesla needed a showroom, it was DeCosta who inked the deal for a space in Red Hook. And one shouldn’t forget Apple—DeCrosta had a hand in getting the tech giant its Williamsburg locale.
Brooklyn may have been a transient place even a decade ago, DeCrosta said.
“Brooklyn was always a means of servicing Manhattan,” DeCrosta, 37, said. “If you lived in Brooklyn, you went to work in Manhattan and then you went back to Brooklyn. You shopped in Manhattan. If you made a little money, you left Brooklyn.”
Not any more. Today, tenants want to be in Kings County, and DeCrosta’s job is more about education—ideal neighborhoods and buildings—and less about convincing.
Tesla is a good case in point. “They knew they needed a place to get cars serviced,” DeCrosta said. “They needed a place to have a showroom. And they knew they wanted to be in an area that was convenient to Manhattan and that could also capture the Brooklyn market.”
They just didn’t know where in Brooklyn all these needs could be met. DeCrosta found the electric carmaker a 40,000-square-foot service and showroom at LIVWRK’s 160 Van Brunt Street between Summit and Bowne Street in March of last year.
Then DeCrosta and O’Donnell worked with Johnny Siegel of Open Realty Advisors to represent Apple and find its first Brooklyn location at 247 Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, a property owned by RedSky Capital. Lee & Associates NYC represented the landlord in the 20,000-square-foot transaction. The store opened in July last year, around the same time as the Williamsburg Whole Foods across the street at 238 Bedford Avenue.
“He was instrumental, truthfully,” said Benjamin Bernstein, a principal and co-founder of developer RedSky Capital. “We had a unique asset on Bedford Avenue. We showed it to him and his team. He believed it was perfect for Apple. We had a great first meeting. He brought the national representatives. And they loved our real estate. We were lucky we had the same vision for our asset that they did.”
DeCrosta has been on something of a Williamsburg kick lately—he and O’Donnell recently represented two companies in their entrée to the borough—British skin care brand Rituals Cosmetics at 117 North 6th Street and Flywheel, a growing fitness concept, at 173 North 3rd Street, both in July 2016.
“I think he developed relationships with specific tenants that really are on the cutting edge of cool,” Bernstein said. “The brands he focuses on and chases, they are not just paying attention to Brooklyn. Their head of marketing [and] their head of design lives in Brooklyn. So he comes off as genuine. He lives in Carroll Gardens, [Brooklyn].”
It almost feels blasphemous that DeCrosta’s operations at Crown Retail are run out of Manhattan offices, where he has been since 2012 and specializes in representing retailers. He runs a team of four brokers, including O’Donnell.
Working in an office on the 24th floor of the GM Building at 767 Fifth Avenue between East 58th and East 59th Streets, DeCrosta was the only employee that Commercial Observer spotted without a tie, without his shirt tucked in and without dress shoes (he was wearing burnt orange loafers).
A native of New Haven, Conn., DeCrosta went to Kenyon College, a liberal arts college of roughly 1,500 students, in the small town of Gambier, Ohio. He earned an English degree and took off for New York City after graduating in 2001.
“I fell in love with Brooklyn right after 9/11,” DeCrosta said. “I had moved to Lower Manhattan-post 9/11, and because Lower Manhattan was in the process of being rebuilt and low on amenities, half of the time I went out, I would end up in Brooklyn. That was 2001 to 2002. It’s when a lot of the restaurants started popping up [and] good bars. It’s when the Brooklyn culture as we know it started.”
He moved to Brooklyn in 2005. Today, he lives with his wife Luciana Francese, a director of leasing at Acadia Realty Trust who oversees transactions at City Point for the landlord. DeCrosta and Francese first met at the annual International Council of Shopping Centers event in Las Vegas in 2012 and have been married for more than two years. They have not done deals together—except if you count the couple’s 1-year-old daughter.
DeCrosta and his wife are extremely enthusiastic cooks, and he is an avowed non-jock. (Asked if he runs or exercises, he dead-panned Kenny Powers: “I’m not trying to be the best at exercising.”)
“Our idea of a good Saturday is going to local shops—like The Meat Hook in Williamsburg, go to our local produce guys and then we cook a big meal,” DeCrosta said. “Traditional Italian stuff. And we try to incorporate new recipes.”
“He’s really into food, and that’s one of the things that we bonded over,” said Cushman & Wakefield (CWK) Executive Managing Director Steven Soutendijk, a friend of nearly a decade. Soutendijk and DeCrosta have worked on opposite sides of deals in the past, such as one for cosmetics retailer L’Occitane on the Upper West Side.
DeCrosta’s foray into real estate started shortly after graduating college and moving to New York City with just $700. He became a canvasser for Madison Retail Group, which was being run by industry veteran Virginia Pittarelli. He met Pittarelli, who is currently a principal at Crown Retail, through a mutual friend, and she hired him in June of that year.
Later in 2001, he took continuing education courses at New York University to earn his broker’s license.
“I knew he had great potential,” Pittarelli said. “He was a very bright young man. He had a wonderful work ethic. He wanted to learn and he wanted to succeed. And he did something that a lot for young people find challenging: he made it a point to learn and understand the business, because he wanted to provide the best advice to his clients. Not just for the retail estate perspective, but from a retail point of view.”
DeCrosta’s first deal came in the spring of 2002. He represented a store called Saigon East on 237 Mulberry Street in Nolita, which sold Vietnamese products, such as vases, plates, lamps and other household items.
“I’ve always been attracted to the emerging markets,” DeCrosta said. “They always seem more interesting than the more established ones.” (Back then, Nolita was nowhere close to as pricey and yuppified as it is now.)
Indeed, Brooklyn was hardly his first rodeo. The Financial District was first. He worked to bring Tiffany & Co. to FiDi in 2006, when the area was going through a transformation with new retail. The company signed a 7,700-square-foot lease at 37 Wall Street.
In January of that year, French leather goods dealer Hermès, signed a deal at 15 Broad Street.
Tiffany’s representative, the late broker Ray Carew of GCD Consultants, was a mentor to DeCrosta. Carew mentioned to DeCrosta that Tiffany may be interested in Downtown as well, although it would be a “long shot.”
At the time, DeCrosta was living Downtown and saw a vacated space near his apartment at 37 Wall Street. He showed the space to Carew, who told Tiffany and weeks later the deal was signed in June.
Tiffany was interested in having a store Downtown “post 9/11 to be part of that rebuilding there,” DeCrosta said, and to tap into population of office workers and residents living there. Plus the rents were nothing like Fifth Avenue, where the jeweler with the iconic blue box has a flagship.
“You have to remember to the rents [Downtown] at that point were $100 a foot,” DeCrosta said. “It was certainly a risk but less so than a $1,000-a-foot gamble.”
DeCrosta left Madison Retail Group in 2011 for a stint with Thor Equities but departed from that firm the following year for a bigger role at Crown Retail, where he has been since.
One recent notable transaction was last November, DeCrosta represented Apple in a deal for its second store in Brooklyn, a 12,000-square-foot space at Two Trees Management Company’s 300 Ashland Place between Lafayette Avenue and Hanson Place in Fort Greene, as CO previously reported. (Due to nondisclosure agreements with Apple, DeCrosta could not even confirm the deal.)
As Apple is expanding in the borough, DeCrosta believes there are “special” spaces planned for development that will attract other bigger retailers and brands because of the size and high-foot traffic of the neighborhoods. He counts Kushner Companies’ 85 Jay Street development site in DUMBO and RedSky Capital’s full block assemblage at Fulton Street, Flatbush Avenue Extension and DeKalb Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn among those.
One such space already existing that he foresees drawing a big brand, he is currently marketing. It’s the 40,000-square-foot retail portion of One Hanson Place, a converted residential condominium that is currently Brooklyn’s tallest building.
The retail base has three levels—the lower level, ground floor and mezzanine space—and DeCrosta and O’Donnell are targeting one user.
DeCrosta is hoping for a Nike, Samsung or Google (GOOGL). (If Google or Samsung took the space, it would be the first Brooklyn location for either; it would be Nike’s second.) It has 60-foot ceilings on the ground floor. And it has a vault on the lower level (the building was once the headquarters of the Williamsburgh Savings Bank.)
“When you walk into One Hanson Place,” DeCrosta said. “It’s an absolutely gorgeous landmarked interior. It’s a glaring hole in the market for a brand.”


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Telecom giant Vodafone Idea has teamed up with Consumer finance provider Home Credit India. Under the partnership, both the companies have introduced affordable 4G smartphone bundles. This will allow more consumers to get their hands on a new 4G smartphone. All the bundles as part of this offer just require the potential customers to make a down payment for Rs 799. The company shared additional details about the bundles as part of the announcement. These details include the down payment amount, the value of the smartphone, and any additional telecom benefits. It also compared the bundled offer with regular offers in the market.
Vodafone Idea 4G smartphone bundle details
Before diving into the details, it is worth noting that these bundles will be limited to Vodafone Idea subscribers. In addition, all the offers will come with a minimum 180-day validity plan. This plan also offers unlimited local and STD calls also with 1.5GB data per month. Another significant part about this offer is that it does not lock the customer into choosing from pre-selected models. Users can choose whatever device below the Rs 15,000 range as part of this offer.
All these offers will also provide 6 months worth Vodafone Idea benefit to users. The company also claims that Vodafone Idea subscribers can use this to upgrade to the latest 4G smartphone of their choice. As part of the announcement, the Operations Director at Marketing for Vodafone Idea, Avneesh Khosla issued a statement. He stated, “We are delighted to partner with Home Credit to offer easy finance options to encourage our customers to upgrade to 4G smartphones.” Khosla went on to state, “This bundled telecom offer will enable non-users of 4G to upgrade and experience the benefits of mobile internet”
Ondrej Kubik, the CEO of Home Credit India also issued a statement as part of the announcement. He added, “We are delighted to partner with Vodafone Idea for this unique initiative.” He went on to state, “Together with Vodafone Idea, Home Credit India will be able to not just help people upgrade their phones but also their lifestyle. With a Smartphone, a customer can upgrade the lives of themselves and their families.”


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Comcast is pitching a new low-cost, broadband-plus-TV bundle designed for consumers who have shunned or canceled traditional cable TV, using HBO as a key enticement for those who don’t want to pay for a full package with other cable channels like ESPN, Fox News or TNT.
The nation’s No. 1 cable operator confirmed that it has launched a trial offer of “Internet Plus,” which includes broadcast TV, video-on-demand, HBO (and HBO Go) and 20- or 25-Mbps broadband. Subscribers also get access to Xfinity Streampix, Comcast’s Netflix-style multiscreen VOD service with several thousand TV shows and movies.
The bundle is priced at $39.99 or $49.99 per month for 12 months (depending on market), which is $15 less than the starting price for bundles with Comcast’s expanded basic cable lineups. The price goes up to $69.95 monthly after the first year. The limited-time offer is being promoted across Comcast’s footprint to new residential customers, but may not be available in certain areas.
Under FCC rules, pay TV providers are required to offer premium services like HBO on a standalone basis in conjunction with broadcast basic. What’s notable about Comcast’s Internet Plus promo is that it leads with broadband as the primary service and touts any-screen access to TV shows — a pitch intended to persuade customers inclined to take broadband-only service a reason to buy a TV package (albeit a smaller one).
The MSO’s pricing for Internet Plus also is much lower than what it would cost for a similar package of services from other providers. For example, Time Warner Cable offers broadcast basic, HBO and 30-Mbps broadband for a promotional rate of $79.99 monthly.
Comcast insiders insist the marketing offer, which expires next Jan. 31 in some markets and July 31 in others, is just a trial and doesn’t presage a move toward pure a la carte. Indeed, part of the strategy is aimed at upgrading subscribers to cable TV tiers down the line.
Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes said at an investment conference last month that the company was open to the idea of packaging HBO with a broadband offering from cable and telco operators — as long as they also offer pay TV to consumers.
Comcast’s Internet Plus service is not a broadband-only streaming video play: Subs must have a Comcast set-top. Meanwhile, the MSO is prohibited under federal regulations from offering cable channels like HBO without also including broadcast nets, referred to as the “B1” tier in industry parlance.
Comcast had 21.8 million video subscribers as of the end of June, down 342,000 from the year prior.
HBO execs, for their part, have repeatedly disavowed plans to offer HBO Go as a direct-to-consumer service, stressing the go-to-market benefits of pay TV distribution.
In a statement, the premium cabler said the offer “recognizes the popularity of HBO’s programming and brand. For those consumers that prefer this type of package, we are thrilled HBO is being made available to them in this way.”
At the same time, Netflix is in talks with Comcast and other other cable operators including Time Warner Cable and Cox about potential distribution deals that would include access to Netflix’s service through cable set-tops. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said on the company’s earnings call Monday that he was “hopeful” it could reach pacts with Comcast and others.
Comcast’s launch of the broadband-plus-HBO promotion was reported Thursday by DSLReports.com.


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For Tesla, a growing reality is that its dominant popularity within the domestic market is being gradually eroded by local new energy brands.
Even with the increasing fan base and loyal followers on our Weibo, interactions and readings related to Tesla’s posts are far less than before, even when Tesla releases its financial reports.
Part of the reason lies in the fact that while Tesla remains at the center of the domestic new energy auto market’s public opinion, it is often compared with competitors and actively discussed by industry insiders. Tesla is no longer a fresh brand and seldom does it create explosive and “circle-breaking” news.
Although being compared and discussed can be seen as free advertising for Tesla, this is far from a viable long-term strategy.
In contrast, local new energy brands frequently deliver breakthroughs in aspects such as battery life, charging speed, high-speed Navigate on Autopilot (NOA), city NOA, and smart cabin technology. These brands are also actively engaging in verbal conflicts, whether covertly or overtly, effectively attracting user attention that is otherwise dispersed in the ocean of information.
However, with the introduction of the Cybertruck into China through an exhibition tour, Tesla has again created explosive and “circle-breaking” news.
The Special Envoys of Car Sales in China
Is the Cybertruck’s entry into China merely for exhibition and to stir up some excitement? No, its core mission is quite simple- selling cars.
As we all know, the Cybertruck is like a new species of car born with a golden key. Tesla has given its most whimsical imagination and top-notch manufacturing technology to the Cybertruck.
Since its first appearance in 2019, the Cybertruck has attracted worldwide attention. Even with the initial embarrassment of shattered glass and the years-long delay in mass production, it still cannot dampen the enthusiasm and choices of users for the Cybertruck. A large number of Chinese users are included, of course.
Musk has taken all of this into account.
In mid-January of this year, Musk replied to a netizen on X that “it’s challenging to legalize the Cybertruck in China, but we can bring the Cybertruck to China for exhibition.” Unlike the perpetually postponed Full Self Driving (FSD), Musk did not make empty promises this time, but took immediate action.
On January 24, the Cybertruck debuted in a domestic live broadcast under the title of “Cyber Off-Road Vehicle”; on January 28, the Cybertruck began its first batch of exhibition tours in eight domestic cities.
Although the Cybertruck is currently unable to go on sale in the domestic market, it has obtained short-term visible benefits for Tesla through live broadcasts and exhibitions, just like a lucky charm brought in for the New Year.I wonder if anyone caught the Cybertruck live stream on January 24th. That day, there were a total of three live streams, during which the host not only worked with three Tesla staff members to explain the product appeal of the Cybertruck, but also promoted a large amount of S3XY merchandise, guiding audience members to leave their contact information by signing up for the Cybertruck tour.
In the upcoming tour, the Cybertruck — much like a highly admired top-tier celebrity — has drawn a surge of popularity for Tesla.
Take the exhibit at the Shanghai Xingye Taikoo Hui, for instance. There was a continuous line of people waiting for entrance tickets, and another line forming of those waiting to take photos after obtaining their tickets. Spotlights and flashlights lit up the area. Both upstairs and downstairs, individuals speaking Mandarin, various dialects, and foreign languages were stopping to look around with a sense of curious awe.
Meanwhile, the nearby Tesla store was full of people; some were participating in the raffle, others were looking at the cars. It was quite lively. As a result, even those unfamiliar with Tesla probably had a positive first impression upon viewing this spectacle.
Thus, Tesla, by showcasing the Cybertruck, not only cashed in on a significant amount of online and offline traffic, acquiring rich and quality sales leads, but also emphasized from a fresh perspective its brand characteristics. These traits, such as the pursuit of cutting-edge technology, leading manufacturing processes, and the willingness to deliver results, have led more people to appreciate the Tesla brand.
As for how much Cybertruck can help Tesla China to boost its sales, that depends largely on Tesla China’s ability to utilize the wave of interest generated by Cybertruck.
Riding on old glory
If it weren’t for Cybertruck, Tesla’s sustained market heat in China would be riding solely on past glories.
On one hand, Elon Musk is relatively well-known globally, but his primary battlefield is on the “X” platform he controls. Due to Musk’s lack of direct interaction with Chinese customers, it’s difficult for him to influence them directly.
In contrast, domestic brands are much closer to Chinese consumers. Figures like Yu Chengdong, Lei Jun, and Li Xiang have a significant voice in the domestic public opinion arena — on Weibo, their words often draw a broader response. They have a direct line to hear Chinese consumers’ voice and frequently interact with consumers.
Compared with Musk, the emotional distance between the leaders of domestic new energy brands and their users is much smaller.
Moreover, self-owned brands are not just executives acting as influencers on Weibo. Their high-level managers frequently voice their opinions on Weibo, thereby receiving the most direct feedback from users on specific business matters. When necessary, the executives, all together, can easily create a surge of public opinion on Weibo, much like what NIO did before launching ET9.
Therefore, even if the blanket influence of Elon Musk can stir a greater wind, in the long run, it may be difficult to withstand the ‘pillow wind’ collectively blown by China’s own new energy brands toward Chinese users.
On the other hand, Tesla is already a mature brand entering its twenties. Over the past two decades, Tesla has spearheaded a new revolution towards integrated die casting in the automotive industry, ignited a worldwide storm of electrification, made intelligent driving more accepted and needed than ever before, and directly caused the Chinese auto market to undergo significant changes.
However, precisely because of Tesla’s past extraordinary achievements, it has led to increasingly higher user expectations for Tesla. If Tesla’s new changes lack revolutionary nature and profound influence, it’s hard to accord users the same freshness and impact as before.
To maintain revolutionary changes and a deep influence, Tesla must continue to ramp up its investments, constantly reinventing itself. In this process, while R&D costs may increase, it’s uncertain when the changes will appear, with FSD serving as a vivid example.
Meanwhile, comparatively younger self-owned new energy brands are in a phase of rapid growth. For example, in the field of intelligent driving, these brands have first promoted sensor technology and chip computational power, then improved the application of high-speed NOA, and now are initiating a fierce city NOA battle with relentless vigor.
In addition to intelligent driving, self-owned new energy brands have created innovative changes in smart cabins, battery or electric powertrains, chassis handling, design, and more. Since user attention is limited, they naturally gravitate towards whichever side is the most dynamic.
During this period of concentrated change, Chinese brands have demonstrated strong ambition and intensifying product strength in the new energy market. With China’s overall development, domestic users are no longer blindly trusting foreign brands but are showing more emotional inclination to self-owned brands and practical preference towards them when choosing.
Tesla, on the other end, finds itself in a completely different situation. The core of what upholds Tesla’s uniqueness is its brand and product power. However, as previously highlighted, while Tesla slowed down in brand development, self-owned new energy brands grew rapidly.
In terms of product quality, despite Tesla’s manufacturing capacity and battery or electric powertrains still being industry leaders, their value in intelligent driving and cabins is less appealing to users compared to Chinese brands.As Chinese brands continue to aggressively compete, whether Tesla’s brand and product strength can sustain its high-level growth in China’s market is a question mark.
Certainly, the changes Tesla brings are fewer in number and less frequent, but that doesn’t mean they’re non-existent. Currently, the following three events can be foreseen that may bring explosive popularity and influential impact to Tesla:
- Cybertruck conforms to China’s laws and regulations, entering the Chinese market as a cyber off-road vehicle;
- FSD enters the domestic market, with a suitable price, its application ability could adapt to the Chinese-specific driving environment;
- Introduction of a completely new product based on the next-generation platform, providing massive changes compared to the current S3XY.
However, it’s worth noting that while Tesla’s market traffic is living off its past, this past is quite substantial. After all, the Model Y, launched as early as 2019, still became the sales champion in the Chinese auto market in 2023 amid nearly yearly new product iterations in the domestic new energy market — sales volume itself can bring traffic.
The Cybertruck tour once again pushed Tesla’s popularity to new heights. Regardless of whether Cybertruck can be launched in China, it has already brought noticeable short-term benefits to Tesla, and contributed vitality to Tesla and the overall new energy vehicle market during the offseason in January.
However, when the Cybertruck fever subsides, Tesla, who doesn’t advertise and whose CEO is on the other side of the ocean, facing the fierce competition of independent new energy brands, the challenge will be how to create sustained, positive popularity for the brand.
Based on this, one fact that’s beneficial to independent new energy brands is that Tesla’s current popularity is always achieved by holding major trump cards, and the time Tesla holds these cards is a good opportunity for independent new energy brands to build brand momentum.
So, even for a giant like Tesla, caution is required in China’s current new energy vehicle market. Perhaps as time goes on, some actual changes in marketing strategies will be necessary.
This article is a translation by AI of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email email@example.com.


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National Lottery ticket sales on the rise
Last Updated: Wednesday 25th November 2009, 08:58 am
At times like these, when we are fighting a recession, struggling for cash and dreading the fast approaching festive season we all turn to our favourite games hoping the big blue finger of fate will point at us and solve all of our financial worries. National Lottery ticket sales are on the rise and in the first half of this year Camelot have seen an increase in ticket sales of 2.7% meaning they have raised a whopping £757.2 million for good causes.
Camelot have reported sales of an astounding £2.63 billion across all of the games they operate in the six months running up to Septembers 26th, this is an increase of nearly £70 million year on year.
The areas of most growth include none draw based games such as the many scratchcards and instant games; their popularity has grown by over 10% bringing in £641.6 million. The more traditional National Lottery game such as Lotto, Euro Millions and Thunderball showed a slight increase of 0.6% earning just under £2 billion.
These are the best ever figures posted by Camelot since they launched the National Lottery in 1994 with all areas of their business showing an increasing which can only be seen as a good thing as it means more money is generated for good causes.
The lottery commission have handed out 330,000 awards since the National Lotteries launch which is the equivalent to 113 awards for every single post code in the UK. Camelot is currently doing a lot of fund raising to help pay for the 2012 Olympic Games with over £450 million of the £750 million goal already paid.
Tuesday 22nd May 2018
Wednesday 23rd May 2018


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Miller Lite Stages Blockchain-Powered Mobile Game
MillerCoors' Miller Lite recently teamed with Vatom Labs to launch a mobile, blockchain-enabled trivia game.
Running July through September, the "Great Taste Trivia" game will award 10,000 winners $5 (redeemable via Paypal) for correctly answering 12 trivia questions related to beer or Miller Lite. The mobile trivia game will appear in social media channels, select apps and browsers via a geotargeted media buy that will serve the game to users identified inside 230,000 bars and restaurants. Others can also access the game via QR codes on posters and other point-of-sale materials inside bars and restaurants, according to a press release from Vatom Labs.
"We've been looking for new and innovative ways to reach drinkers in the bar, on-premise," said Lucy Bloxam, associate marketing manager for Miller Lite, in the release. "Great Taste Trivia ... [is] new, it's different, it's engaging and it's positioned to gamify drinkers' time on-premise, helping make Miller Lite top of mind for the rest of the night."
Having designed the experience with the need to authenticate and immediately reward players that complete the trivia game, Vatom Labs used its proprietary self-serve creative platform that leverages the blockchain at its core. The game relies on Vatom’s blockchain solution to track activations, engagements and attribute the reward based on those outcomes and to the channel where the user was originally acquired. The firm also uses NFTs (non-fungible tokens called SmartMedia Objects) to ensure that the $5 rebate coin the user receives upon winning the game cannot be counterfeited.
"Today, brands are looking for innovative and new ways to activate and engage their existing customers and acquire new customers," said Tyler Moebius, co-founder and chief executive officer of Vatom Labs. "We have built a powerful brand activation platform that leverages a new blockchain enabled SmartMedia object that is highly-programmable and able to deliver real tangible value from the brand to the consumer — like $5 to their PayPal account — that remains a simple mobile experience. Users see a fun, engaging game where they can kill time, share the experience with friends, earn more ways to play and win a $5 instant prize."


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As residents and businesses may have heard recently in the local press and on social media, preparations by Hailsham News – in partnership with the Town Council – are under way for a string of events taking place in the town this June to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
In conjunction with the national celebrations to mark the milestone, plans are currently being drawn up for a programme of events and entertainment taking place in the town centre from Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th June to coincide with the extended bank holiday, which will involve thousands of residents, local community groups, charities and schools.
On Saturday 4th June in particular, the Town Council is organising a ‘Hailsham Jubilee Day’ shopping event – similar to the ‘Celebrate Hailsham Day’ events organised in recent years – whereby as many town centre shops, eateries and service providers are invited to participate by offering special discounts and promotions on their goods/services on the day.
The Town Council invites town centre businesses to take part in the Hailsham Jubilee Day and consider offering one or more special discounts and/or promotions on their products/services on the day.
To promote this shopping event, the Town Council will advertise participating business’ individual offers and promotions on a regular basis until 4th June on their website, social media pages and public notice-boards, as well as via the local press.
As part of the Town Council’s support package, the town Council will also produce a poster for each business, detailing their individual offer, which can be displayed on their premises or shop window. Individual social media posts will be published for each participating business, highlighting their promotions and/or discounts. There will be no cost at all for any businesses taking part in Hailsham Jubilee Day.
To take part, please email firstname.lastname@example.org by Friday 29th April, including details of details of your intended offer/promotion to customers. Alternatively, call 01323 841702 for further details.
“Hailsham Jubilee Day will take place in the town centre on Saturday 4th June where there will be entertainment, food, drink and market stalls in the town centre, as well a rich mix of special offers and promotions we hope, from town centre shops, eateries and service providers,” said Deputy Town Clerk & Business Enterprise Manager, Mickey Caira.
“I urge as many of our town centre businesses to participate in the shopping day scheme, in order to attract increased footfall in the town centre on the day and compliment other scheduled events taking place over the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend as a whole. People will always come out for a bargain!”
Mr Caira added: “Summer 2022 will be an exciting time for Hailsham, and on behalf of the Town Council, I’m delighted that we have been able to finance the cost of organising the celebrations, so ably being carried out by Hailsham News with our staff and Council member support. This year, as we’ll be celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, we’re aiming to do something bigger and better than ever before.”
“Whilst only some of the arrangements are in place, we are confident that the programme of events to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee will be well received by residents and visitors alike, as well as bringing energy and atmosphere to the town.”
Terry Hall, Communications Officer
Hailsham Town Council, Market Street, Hailsham, East Sussex, BN27 2AE
Telephone: 01323 841702 | Email: email@example.com


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Drivers will have to go back to the shop for more work on faulty air bags that have already been recalled.
A person driving the wrong way on I-95 hit several cars on Saturday night in Deerfield Beach.
The Honda Odyssey was the only minivan to earn the highest safety rating in new crash tests by the insurance industry.
Here are some new cars to consider that will offer the space, comfort and safety your family needs.
Tesla Motors has been electrifying the automobile industry for several years and on Tuesday was rewarded by Consumer Reports which named the Model S the best overall vehicle.
A group of 20 South Florida high school students was honored Thursday for demonstrating courage and selflessness on the way to their prom.
What was supposed to be a magical night full of fun for a group of high school teens on their way to the prom, turned into an adventure they will never forget.


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For much of the past year, Animal Wellness Action and Bailing Out Benji have been working together to encourage law enforcement to take action against the largest chain of pet stores in the state. In October of this year, law enforcement officers entered the pet store’s establishment to request and inspect the records.
But how did we finally get to this point? Over the next four weeks, we’ll be laying out our investigation and work to save the lives of these puppies.
Pet stores around the country have been under increasing scrutiny and pressure in recent years, as the horrors of puppy mills that supply these stores have become more widely publicized. Puppy mills are essentially “dog farms” that churn out as many puppies as possible, and they’re infamous for cruel and inhumane conditions. But, the USDA standards are minimal, and it’s been uncommon for breeders to be cited for violations since the Trump administration began in early 2017.
The situation is so dire that over 350 cities and 3 states have implemented some sort of retail pet sales ban – which prevents pet stores from getting their “products” from puppy mills, instead sourcing their animals strictly from shelters.
Arizona is home to a small number of pet stores, five of which are owned and operated by one family. A smattering of other pet stores selling puppy mill dogs are scattered across the state. As the public’s increasing knowledge and distaste for puppy mills grew, the city of Phoenix responded by passing a local ordinance to ban pet stores from selling puppies from puppy mills in 2013. Shortly afterwards, the city of Tempe also banned pet stores from selling puppy mill puppies. Tucson was on track to do the same when the state legislature, at the behest of pet store owners, intervened.
The owners of Arizona’s largest pet store chain urged the state legislature to stop the onslaught of local ordinances preventing them from selling puppies from puppy mills. They found a friend in Rep. Don Shooter, who helped them write and introduce state legislation that preempted the city ordinances. The city ordinances banning the retail sales of puppy mill puppies were all nullified.
Public outcry was swift and loud. In a largely symbolic effort to appease public opposition and get this bill signed into law, pet store owners and legislators negotiated to include some provisions on the sourcing of pet store puppies. Namely, the law stipulates that pet stores cannot purchase from breeders who have USDA violations within the previous two years. Pet store owners are also required to maintain two years’ worth of records, and make them open to inspection by law enforcement on request.
Additionally, pet stores must accurately label each puppy with information about the breeder, including their home state and their USDA license number, if applicable. That way, a potential buyer could research the breeder themselves to ensure they were “reputable” before purchase.
That state law became effective in January of 2016 with Gov. Doug Ducey stating that the intent of this law was to, “strengthen penalties for pet store owners who do not take measures to ensure that the animals under their care are from a licensed, safe, sanitary, and humane place.”
What could go wrong?
The federal Animal Welfare Act was signed into law in 1966, mandating minimal standards of care for breeding dogs. Those standards include allowing dogs to remain in their cages 24 hours a day, with some spaces as small as only 6 inches longer than the dog’s body. It is not required that the dogs are ever let outside of their cages, and there is no limit on the number of years a dog can be confined and bred this way.These are dogs who crave human interaction and attention, living exactly the same as any other factory-farmed animal!
USDA inspectors are required to visit puppy mill facilities periodically to document any violations. Those violations are documented on the USDA website for potential consumers to complete their own research prior to purchasing from a breeder.
However, during the early months of the Trump administration, two things happened.
The first: USDA inspectors were directed to offer breeders more opportunities to correct deficiencies in their operations prior to being cited. Inspectors were instructed to use these occasions as “teachable moments” and allow breeders to maintain a clean license and record, despite flagrant deviations from the already minimal standards.
The second: USDA redacted much of the information on the its website, ostensibly to protect the privacy of breeders’ operations. Starting in early 2017, only a few months after Arizona’s state law went into effect, the public could no longer easily look up a breeder’s license and record.
Even so, Arizona’s pet store owners gamely and proudly declared they didn’t need the USDA website, because they personally visit the breeders themselves and have other avenues to ensure they do not have USDA violations on their record.
It didn’t take long
Pet stores make money by buying puppies from puppy mills and selling them for an enormous mark-up, so animal advocates knew better than to expect a turn-around in their business practices. Indeed, less than 3 years later, sufficient evidence was gathered showing hundreds of puppies had entered Arizona from embargoed breeders; Arizona’s state law has been violated repeatedly. Pet store owners had been buying puppies from out-of-state breeders with direct violations given to them during USDA inspections — even though there are very few violations cited in recent years.
That brings us back to our investigation and work to encourage law enforcement to protect these dogs from the abuse of some Arizona pet stores.
To date, pet store owners have not turned over their complete records to law enforcement as the law stipulates. However, the cities, who are tasked with enforcing this state law, are not giving in. The city councils of both Tempe and Tucson are committed to ensuring their law enforcement officers follow through with obtaining the necessary records to corroborate the evidence of violations provided by our investigators.
Once proven, cities are entitled to collect fines at a minimum, or, if enough violations are documented, force the stores to stop selling puppies from breeders altogether, sourcing solely from shelters instead.
The language of the state law makes it difficult to enforce, but the cities aren’t giving up.
Stay tuned as this story unfolds.
Donate here to stand up to breeders for the humane treatment of dogs


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F1 ‘feeder’ racing plan to rev up CVC
Bernie Ecclestone, billionaire boss of Formula One, is preparing the launch of an ultra-low cost 'feeder' championship to allow new teams a cheaper introduction to motor racing than the main Grand Prix.
It comes as good news for CVC, the private-equity owner of F1's commercial rights, as the new brand will lift revenues and enable it to pare down its $2.3bn (£1.3bn) debt from buying the F1 business.
The new series, to be called GP3, will have a fraction of the multimillion dollar entry costs associated with F1. It would be a stepping stone up to F1's current support race GP2 which, according to industry monitor Formula Money, has typical team budgets of $5m against $400m for a top F1 outfit.
More than half the GP2 team revenues are provided by the drivers and their sponsors, which is a hurdle for new talent entering the sport. In contrast, it is expected that GP3 teams could have costs of just $650,000 per season.
CVC's start-up costs would be minimal with the $200,000 cars probably owned by the teams.
CVC bought into F1 at the end of 2005 and typically targets a three-to-five-year holding period for its investments.
It recently quashed rumours it was looking at selling its stake in F1.
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Chain-drugstore industry leaders havecalled on Congress to ?hang tough?against the importation of prescriptiondrugs from other countries.They warn thatthis practice ?creates an enormous publichealth risk and will undermine Congress?efforts to safeguard medicines.?
In letters to congressional leadersresponsible for hammering out a finalversion of this year?s FDA reform legislation,officials at the National Associationof Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) arguedthat Rx imports create ?problems relatedto counterfeit and adulterated drugs andsubpar drug-manufacturing processes.?
These threats are ?already of greatconcern to patients, Congress, and chainpharmacy,? and they ?will significantlyincrease, given the lack of effective waysto guarantee the safety of importeddrugs,? according to NACDS.
The chain-pharmacy group?s oppositionto prescription-drug imports becamea tougher sell on Capitol Hill whenthe Democrats swept into power. ManyDemocrats favor relaxing barriers to drugimports so as to reduce prescriptioncosts for American consumers. NACDS,however, reminded Congress that thiscourse may leave US patients vulnerableto health risks.
NACDS also urged lawmakers to moveforward with legislation to regulateInternet pharmacies. ?We share theSenate?s desire to eliminate rogueInternet sites that sell drugs, usually withouta legitimate prescriber?patient relationship,and often without a prescription,?said the association.
Significantly, however, NACDS calledon Congress to draw a clear distinctionbetween these rogue pharmacy Websites and ?state-licensed, brick-and-mortarpharmacies? that sell legitimate drugsonline.


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Skoda Auto India was geared up to launch the all-new Octavia in the country. The 2021 Skoda Octavia was expected to arrive this month. However, due to rising Covid-19 cases in the country, the company has decided to delay the launch indefinitely.
Zac Hollins, Director for Sales, Service & Marketing at Skoda Auto India has confirmed the delay in the launch of the new Skoda Octavia. The Tweet posted by Zac stated "Sometimes, it's important to take a pause and come back stronger. We at ŠKODA AUTO have postponed the launch of the all-new Octavia until the current situation improves. We will keep you updated on the launch developments. Stay safe and let us do our part to fight this virus."
There has been a substantial rise in Covid-19 cases in the country. Most events are either getting postponed or cancelled in the wake of the second wave of the Covid-19 virus in the country.
While the launch of the upcoming Skoda Octavia is confirmed to be delayed, the company has also other models in the pipeline. This includes the Skoda Kushaq and the new Skoda Kodiaq. The launch of these SUVs are also expected to be pushed back because of the ongoing situation in the country.
Speaking about the upcoming Skoda Octavia, the company is not giving the car a mere engine upgrade to meet BS6 emission norms. Skoda will be launching a new-generation model of the sedan, which is currently on sale in various international markets.
The company has commenced production of the upcoming new-generation Octavia in India. The first unit of the new Skoda Octavia sedan has rolled out from the production line at the brand's manufacturing facility in Aurangabad.
The new-generation sedan features a host of design updates and feature additions inside and out. This includes new sleek-looking LED headlamps with optional Matrix LED technology, LED DRLs and fog lamps, a wider butterfly grille, a new alloy wheel design and more.
On the inside, the 2021 Octavia will feature an all-new cabin layout with the brand's latest features and technology. This includes a 10.25-inch display featuring the brand's cockpit design. The sedan also features another 10.25-inch screen for the touchscreen infotainment display.
Some of the other features on the 2021 Ocativa include three-zone climate control, electronic parking brake, a premium sound system by Canton, five USB-C ports, and a new two-spoke steering wheel with mounted controls.
The Skoda Octavia will also feature mechanical changes including the powertrain. The upcoming sedan will be offered with two petrol engine options: the 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre TSI engines.
The 1.5-litre TSI unit produces 148bhp and 250Nm of peak torque mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. The top-spec 2.0-litre TSI engine churns out 190bhp and 320Nm of torque mated to a seven-speed DSG automatic as standard.
Thoughts About The 2021 Skoda Octavia India Launch Delayed Due Covid-19 Pandemic
The Covid-19 cases are increasing at a rapid rate in the country. All measures have to be taken to contain the spread of the deadly virus. Skoda's decision to delay the launch of the Octavia is certainly commendable.