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For those who may not know, Cortana is the newly announced intelligent personal assistant and knowledge navigator that will be released as a beta with Windows Phone 8.1.
We’re always, always glad to discover new Xbox games coming to Windows Phone. That’s the whole reason I started working here three years ago! Today an eagle-eyed reader by the name of John Lampard discovered a new Xbox Windows Phone game called Drop 7. I smiled, then frowned when I realized it’s just a puzzle game. After downloading the game my smile dropped even further…
Drop 7 is a puzzle game that launched on iOS and Android in 2012. Those versions came from developer Area Code, now known as Zynga New York. Wouldn’t it be rad if Zynga started making Xbox games for Windows Phone? You bet! But the Windows Phone game comes from a developer called Zanga. Something looks a little off…
The now Facebook-owned messaging service, WhatsApp has unveiled a new SIM deal in Germany. This prepaid SIM provides consumers with unlimited access to WhatsApp on top of agreed data limits. It's a milestone since this is the first time the popular service has partnered with carriers to sell a SIM package. If you're a massive fan of WhatsApp and use it on a daily basis, you may wish to read on and keep your eyes open for a similar deal in your region, should one be made available.
The super-popular fast food outlet McDonald's has released multiple Windows Phone apps for a number of regions. The company has now launched the official app for the UK market, enabling consumers to search for nearest restaurants, get directions to selected McDonald's and even save favorite restaurants for future use. It's a neat little app that we're sure many fans will enjoy using.
As there are a large number of McDonald's restaurants available throughout the UK, it's possible to filter through listings by establishments that sport a drive thru, are open 24/7, baby changing facilities, host birthday parties, offer free Wi-Fi and more. Currently active promotions can also be viewed form within the app, perfect for those bargain hunters.
Some other highlighted features:
- View the full McDonald’s UK menu
- See nutrition in formation on all products, learn more about ingredients and check allergies guide
- Create your own meal combinations
- Discover the combined nutritional information behind your favorite meals
Also, since the Monopoly promotion is currently underway, you'll be able to check to see if you've won any prizes while on the move. You can grab McDonald's for the UK from the Windows Phone Store for free.
Concerns over Microsoft's purchase of Nokia have been highlighted in some regions, including China and Korea. The former country has since approved the deal with the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China giving the green light. While the deal itself has been subject to regulatory and other customary approvals, some competitors have voiced concerns over the strengthening position Microsoft will have patents-wise.
This ruling was expected, especially after the government in China ordered further probing into the deal to ensure everything was in place and local manufacturers weren't going to be negatively affected by potential patent abuse. Nokia has not been requested to make alterations to its licensing program, nor has the company had its compliance with FRAND on standard-essential patents challenged.
The deal is expected to be finalized later this month.
Source: 4-Traders; cheers, riffraffy, for the tip!
You probably have browsed Reddit and Imgur many times if, like us, you’re a child of the internet. Baconit and Readit are two killer Reddit apps for Windows Phone that we use and love daily. For Imgur we’ve been rocking Grin since we first covered it last summer. Now we’re adding another Imgur app to our collection – Imgura for Windows Phone.
As the General Elections 2014 get underway in the largest democracy of the world, Microsoft has partnered with the Network18 media conglomerate to create the CNN-IBN Microsoft Election Analytics Centre to allow the citizens to search and engage with election data like never before.
The initiative brings comprehensive analytics on Indian election trends over the years across parties, candidates, and constituencies to www.bing.com/elections (Location aware).
We're kicking off a new week with our Newsroom is full swing and Build 2014 well and truly behind us. That said, there's still some news and app updates to cover for you all to remain up-to-date with platform business. We'll catch a few apps and games in today's roundup to kick off the week.
Surfy is a pretty decent alternative web browser to Internet Explorer on Windows Phone. The app was previously re-released late last year, but today we're looking at a new release with some highly requested functionality.
Here's what's new in version 3.8:
- Share link via NFC
- Save Login credentials
- Find on Page
- Voice support for Spanish, Portuguese and Italian
Both the free and the paid versions of Surfy have been updated. Check them out on the Windows Phone Store using the links and QR codes below:
No, you’re not literally wearing the same shirt that Joe Belfiore wore last week during the day one keynote at Build 2014. Hopefully that one has been washed and framed at the Belfiore residence as a trophy for all the hard work that went into Cortana. But you too can join history and show off your support for Cortana on Windows Phone. Microsoft’s company store has the swag up for sale. Details below.
Internet Explorer isn't necessarily a bad web browser for Windows Phone, but there's definitely room for improvement. This is where third-party developers come into play with the likes of Maxthon and SurfCube. These alternative web browsers offer more choice for the consumer. We’ll take a look at some highlighted options available on the store.
You may be familiar with the name, especially if you come from a PC background. Maxthon (www.maxthon.com) is a popular web browser for Microsoft’s desktop operating system and the company has brought the same experience across to Windows Phone. Released back in October 2013, the app has been updated with new features and has accumulated positive reviews.
Here are just some of the improvements being implemented (in a previous update, version 126.96.36.1990) as development progresses:
Mid-February we told you guys and gals about a beta for an upcoming app called Threepointer. It's a third-party client for Dribbble, the popular design community and social network. If you're a graphic designer you probably have an account on Dribbble and frequent the site for inspiration and to share your work. Now you can browse the network with Threepointer, one of the most beautiful apps on Windows Phone.
New information revealed to Windows Phone Central confirms that Microsoft is planning at least two OS updates for Windows Phone 8.1 in 2014. Internally known as ‘general distribution releases – or GDRs – GDR1 and GDR2 are already on the roadmap for this year, with a possible third one in 2015 before the next OS revision, codenamed ‘Threshold’.
It should be of little surprise that Microsoft plans on repeating the same update schedule for Windows Phone 8 for 8.1, as it has proven to be a relatively successful method for adding new features to the OS and keeping Windows Phone in the news. A twelve-month cycle for major OS revisions also seems to be the new norm both for Phone and Windows.
Microsoft is not resting on their laurels when it comes to gaming as new features have been announced for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Ironically, they’re unique features to each system, so hopefully you still have both of them.
First up is the Xbox 360, which is gaining an official GoPro app to view a curated channel of GoPro videos. GoPro has become the defacto source of stomach nauseating point-of-view videos, often featuring extreme sports. It’s hard to fathom how much the mini-camera system has changed our experience in watching people perform wild and crazy stunts in such a short time. Now, you’ll be able to watch all the latest right on your Xbox 360.
Last week, Microsoft finally unveiled Windows Phone 8.1 to the world. One of the subtle new features was the Word Flow keyboard, which brings ‘shape writing’ to the mix, in addition to the familiar ‘touch typing’ for text input. Developed by Microsoft Research, the technology behind Word Flow is completely unique to Redmond, being proprietary technology and building off of the already excellent auto-complete feature. Heck, it now even predicts emoji for you too.
We demoed the new keyboard in our hands-on video but now it’s been confirmed to be the fastest in the world. In a video posted by Microsoft Research a few days ago – and lost in our shuffle – Word Flow can certainly hold its own as it was used to set the world record for fastest keyboard by a 15-year old named Gaurav Sharma.
Careem, a chauffeur-driven car booking service in the Middle East, has just launched their official app for Windows Phone. The service allows you to order hassle-free rides in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam from your smartphone. You can track rides in real-time, pay with credit cards, and access receipts online. Careem originally launched in Google Play and the App Store. Now, Windows Phone users can join the fun.
We use smartphones nearly every minute of every day, and that can be an issue, specifically for batteries. If there’s one area in tech that we haven’t seen any innovation – not for lack of trying – it’s batteries. Sure they’ve grown in size and chipsets have become more power efficient, but for the most part, charging is still charging in 2014.
For today only, purchase the Incipio Feather Snap-On Case for Nokia Lumia 1020 and save 36% off the list price!
Lightweight and durable, the Feather Case for Lumia 1020 is engineered to provide inconspicuous protection. The snap-on application of this hard case allows for quick installation when needed and its soft touch finish provides a comfortable grip in the hand.
Qualcomm today announced its next-generation mobile processors for the Snapdragon 800 family – 810 and 808. These new chips are designed to deliver even better performance and delight compared to what’s currently available to handset vendors today. The main improvements with these two chips is the 64bit architecture and Cat 6 LTE.
Though the chips aren’t expect to hit the public domain before 2015, it’s interesting to see what Qualcomm is working on. This Cat 6 LTE support will depend on carriers and Qualcomm has opted to use ARM core designs and not its own Krait. These new processors will introduce support for 4K displays with the new Adreno 430 GPU.
The Snapdragon 810 will combine a quad core ARM Cortex-A57 CPU and Cortex-A53 to provide ample power. The 808 on-the-other-hand will have two ARM Cortex-A57 cores paired with a quad Cortex-A53 CPU. It’s all good to know, but you can expect to see more hardware with both 801 and 805 chips until early next year.
Check the presser below for the full details.
Xbox One being able to play Xbox 360 games is something a lot of folks want to see, and Microsoft is definitely looking into it. With Build having just taken place in California you can bet that the question came up in one of the sessions. It was put to Partner Development lead, Frank Savage, by a member of the audience, and garnered this response:
"There are, but we’re not done thinking them through yet, unfortunately. It turns out to be hard to emulate the PowerPC stuff on the X86 stuff. So there’s nothing to announce, but I would love to see it myself."
What form any emulator would take is still open for debate, though simply sticking your discs in might not be the way it would work. In any case, it's great news that Microsoft is at least looking into making it happen. Whether it will or not is another story for another day.
Microsoft plans to roll out new shows with its Xbox TV studio. According to Bloomberg, Nancy Tellem is heading up the game with six series lined up, including the thriller Humans which is set to go live in 2015. It's going to be a difficult road for the software giant with the likes of Netflix and Amazon both producing original content to win the hearts (and wallets) of consumers. Tellem, who was part of the team that debuted the likes of ER and Friends, plans to separate Microsoft from the competition by adding interactive experiences.
Alongside the new Halo series and Humans, the Xbox studio will produce a comedy sketch and a stop-motion show with Green's Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, which produces Robot Chicken. Then there's the Bonnaroo music festival in Manchester, US this July, which will see full coverage and backstage Skype interviews. While some shows, including Every Street United, will be available for Xbox One and 360 owners for free, Microsoft is still ironing out the creases in its business model plans.
There have been reports floating around the Internet today that detail the Lumia 630 not having a proximity sensor, as well as some other sensors. Are these reports to be believed? No. Simply put, we found contradicting evidence and reached out to Nokia for confirmation and you can bet to see such features included in the device.
The official Nokia website has the Lumia 630 listed, alongside its dual-SIM sibling – the Lumia 635 – and the Lumia 930. While the specifications chart for the Lumia 930 clearly states the device sports a proximity sensor, the Lumia 630 listing does not. This has led some to believe the device will not have such capabilities.
We did some digging around as this was difficult to comprehend. The Nokia Developer website has the Lumia 630 listed with full specifications too, and this website clearly states the device does indeed have a proximity sensor (detects objects in-front of screen, used for calls), as well as an ambient light sensor (for altering auto-brightness).
It’s difficult to imagine the Lumia 630 (or the Lumia 635) not having these features as not only would it affect the user experience, but this would mean the Lumia 630 would be less advanced than the Lumia 520. That's nigh-on impossible. Will you have a proximity sensor on the new Windows Phone? Definitely.
Nokia has released the above video for the Lumia 1520, showing how the Windows Phone helps make business smarter. Whether you consider the Office for Mobile suite or integration with Microsoft services and products, Windows Phone as a whole is a perfect match for employees who make use of Windows-based hardware on a daily basis.
The Lumia 1520 brings a 6-inch display to the table, improving productivity further with its 1080p display to show everything you need to see on-screen.


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SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — Sarasota’s Chris-Craft Corp. and its owner, Winnebago Industries Inc., have big plans.
The blueprint for increasing the number of boat models Chris-Craft offers, the size of its plant and its workforce are about the same as they were before the recreational vehicle manufacturer bought the boatmaker in June. In fact, those plans were part of the reason it was an attractive acquisition.
But the money the publicly traded Winnebago, with a market capitalization of nearly $1 billion, can supply to fuel Chris-Craft’s progress can make those plans happen much faster.
“Over time, we’ll invest multiple eight figures in this business,” Winnebago president and CEO Michael Happe (pronounced Happy) said during a recent visit to Chris-Craft’s plant near Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.
“It’s pretty much our same growth plan we had before the acquisition, but now we can execute it more quickly,” Chris-Craft president and CEO Stephen Heese said.
Plans under consideration include:
- Expanding its plant on 17 acres. The company has site-plan approval from Manatee County to add 80,000 square feet of building, increasing its current 160,000 square feet by about a third.
- Adding up to 250 staff to its current payroll of about 340 over the next five years. The company had 20 openings last month. The immediate aim is to produce more boats and fill a gap in its lineup.
“There are parts of the market we don’t participate in, and we’re going to be able to migrate into those,” Heese said. “Right now, we compete mainly above 25 feet and there’s a lot of market below 25 feet, so we don’t have to go very far down to pick up a lot of potential market.”
The company now produces 18 models on five production lines. It doesn’t plan to add lines but will be able to produce more models more quickly, he said.
Speed is important. The company as of late January had a four-month order backlog, marketing director Allison Scharnow said.
At first blush, a recreational vehicle manufacturer in Forest City, Iowa, buying a boatmaker in Sarasota, Fla., might not seem like an obvious combination.
So why did Winnebago acquire Chris-Craft?
The CEOs of both companies say the idea was inspired by thoughts of design and diversification.
But first, Chris-Craft, which had moved to Sarasota in 1990, had to become a company worth buying.
The Chris-Craft name had been famous for making boats for more than 100 years, but the company closed for about nine months in 2001 when a London-based private-equity firm picked it out of the wreckage left by the bankruptcy of the Outboard Marine Corp. That company had bought Chris-Craft after it had declared bankruptcy in 1988 because of falling sales after years of squandering its reputation by selling generic boats.
Outboard Marine Corp. didn’t even own the rights to the name Chris-Craft. It was paying $500,000 a year plus 1 percent of sales for the right to use it. The company that owned the brand was Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., a result of a decades-long move of the Chris-Craft name into television broadcasting.
Stellican Ltd., the London firm that bought Chris-Craft, paid News Corp. a reported $5 million to own the brand and $5 million for the company’s assets.
Stellican was founded by Stephen Julius and included Steve Heese, who had met Julius while they both attended Harvard Business School. The firm focused on rescuing neglected heritage brands and had already engineered a turnaround at the Italian luxury boatbuilder Riva, bought in 1998 and sold to Italian yacht company Ferretti Group in 2000.
Stellican and the Chris-Craft team scrapped the generic designs the company had been making and created watercraft that were high quality and unusual in their focus on nautical beauty. Their hulls are fiberglass, but nearly all of them include chrome fittings and decks or other parts made with yacht-worthy, hand-selected teak.
“They took a brand that could have gone either way if they hadn’t done a good job,” said Michael Verdon, the editor of the trade publication Soundings Trade Only Today, who has been following the boating industry for 30 years.
“I have to hand it to them,” Verdon said. “There’s not a lot of people who come in with that imagination and sense of style.”
Verdon also credited Chris-Craft for its “very strong, quality-driven and design-driven” products that occupy a rare niche in the motorboat industry.
“Like any premium brand, they can charge a lot more,” he said. “Chris-Craft has been able to ride that wave of higher prices.”
It’s difficult to compare prices of boats, even at similar lengths, because engines and other options vary widely. This is not unique to boats. Just think about comparing a Chevrolet with a Mercedes of similar size and number of seats. But its clear that a Chris-Craft is closer to the Mercedes on the price spectrum.
A 22-foot Bayliner VR6 Bowrider with a 250-horsepower inboard-outboard engine lists for around $46,400, according to that company’s website. A 23-foot Chris-Craft in its Launch series with the smallest available 300-horsepower inboard-outboard engine lists for just over $100,000, the Chris-Craft website indicates.
But a Corsair 34 Chris-Craft with a small cabin and outboard engines would run around $290,000 and a 34-foot Boston Whaler Conquest 345 with outboards lists at about $500,000, according to the companies’ websites.
One of the goals the Winnebago board of directors gave Happe when he was brought in to lead the company in January 2016 after 20 years with the Toro Co. was diversification.
The Great Recession had cost Winnebago 85 percent of its revenue and, while its leadership had done well to keep the company afloat and independent, its board thought someone from the outside, as Happe was, could accelerate its recovery.
A survey commissioned at the time found Winnebago was a leading legacy brand that was tired and needed to be refreshed to remain relevant to customers today and in the future, Happe said.
The CEO was asked to strengthen the company’s core and invest in towable trailers, to find ways to grow its profit and to diversify. “We looked for opportunities inside and outside the RV business,” Happe said.
Then Heese and company talked to Winnebago about an idea for a Chris-Craft-branded recreational vehicle with the quality design cues, craftsmanship and attention to detail the boatmaker was using in its products.
“Chris-Craft was interested in whether the RV industry could use a more refined approach to design,” Happe said, “and we were looking to expand our design approach as well.”
The two companies discussed opportunities and projects and developed trust. Happe said Winnebago officials also learned about Chris-Craft’s “growth plans and what they aspired to be, where they wanted to take their brand, and our team at Winnebago got excited about their vision and the way they did things, the way they treated their employees, the dealers, the way they took care of their customers.”
“So we started with this strategic, emotional marriage more than anything.”
Winnebago’s new vision statement is to become a premier outdoor lifestyle company, not just a recreational vehicle manufacturer. “The marine industry is an adjacent industry we believe will grow as more people continue to come back to the water.”

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Big announcement from label.m. They’ve just released a new haircare range for men and it’s cleverly called label.men.
There are seven products in the lineup including the Scalp Purifying Shampoo, Invigorating Conditioner, Grooming Cream, Thickening Tonic, Deconstructor, Sculpting Pomade and Max Wax.
This is the first range they’ve ever released for their male clients and the products contain a complex that they call eleMENts. Loving these names right now.
Their key ingredients include New Zealand tea tree, peppermint, Philippine clove (an antioxidant), Indian sandalwood and carrot root and seed oil.
To celebrate the release, they’ve named Thursday July 2 label.men Day. Any male client who books in an appointment at a label.men stockist salon on the day will receive a full-size product from the new range. Pretty swish.
Prices range from $29.95 to $31.95 and is available in-store and online.
Happy label.men Day for tomorrow everyone!


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LOS ANGELES, Calif., February 11, 2009 – The Hero Initiative happily announced today it has hired a new employee to maintain and develop new programs to raise funds for the organization, oversee public relations, handle convention appearances and perform other key duties. Effective immediately, Christina Zietsman is The Hero Initiative’s newest Development Associate and will be working out of Los Angeles, California.
The Hero Initiative creates a monetary safety net for yesterday’s creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life and an avenue back into paying work. It’s a chance for fans to give something back to the people who have given them so much enjoyment. For more information, visit www.heroinitiative.org or call 818-997-6114.
Zietsman has non-profit experience working with the Kidspace Children’s Museum, Chandler School and the Foothill Family Service, all in Pasadena, California, where she solicited donations, conceptualized fundraising events and coordinated volunteers. She learned her skills in media and public relations from the University of Southern California, where she earned a B.A. in Sports Information with an emphasis on Broadcasting. Zietsman also has extensive sales experience, having spent the last five years selling real estate, creating extensive marketing tools, utilizing and creating databases and tapping into her interpersonal people skills. But most importantly, Zietsman is a comic book fan!
“My first experience in the comic book world was reading Spider-Man: Blue, written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Tim Sale,” remembered Zietsman. “I was blown away and fell in love. How could you not?”
Since then, she has attended many comic book conventions throughout the United States and Europe, and during that time she discovered The Hero Initiative and its noble mission. “Some friends and I were just kicking around some ideas on how to raise money for The Hero Initiative,” she related. “We came up with some great stuff, I called Hero, had a meeting…and I guess I said something right.”
Zietsman is eager to start helping raise funds for Hero. “I am very excited and proud to be involved with The Hero Initiative,” she beamed. “It is a charity that has truly helped some most creative people in the world, people who have brought hope into our lives, and helped form what entertainment is all about today.”
“Christina has an amazing array of skills that I’m sure will be a great asset to Hero,” said Hero Initiative President Jim McLauchlin. “I’m very confident that with Christina’s help, we’ll continue to do the great work that we do, and expand our mission and reach as well.”
About The Hero Initiative
In late 2000, a consortium of comic publishers came up with the idea to create a financial safety net for comic creators, much in the same fashion that exists in almost any other trade from plumbing to pottery. By March of 2001, the federal government approved The Hero Initiative as a publicly supported not-for-profit corporation under section 501 (c) (3).
Since its inception, The Hero Initiative (formerly known as A.C.T.O.R., A Commitment To Our Roots) has had the good fortune to grant over $400,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today.
The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterday’s creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It’s a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.


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Meghan Markle never misses a beat! She put her best fashion foot forward as she and her husband-to-be Prince Harry stepped out in Cardiff on Thursday (Jan. 18) - and even paid a sartorial tribute to her prince. The former Suits actress, who was wrapped up warm in a statement black Stella McCartney coat, later unveiled her outfit underneath – which included a wool off-the-shoulder jacket from Theory. The $250 design was made from the Prince of Wales check – a nod to Harry's full title – Prince Henry of Wales. The statement piece featured long sleeves and cinched in at the waist, enhancing her slim figure.
The Theory jacket was teamed with a pair of $300 trousers by Welsh brand Hiut Denim and a patriotic green tote bag by DeMellier London, $285, which was a nod to the Welsh flag. Meghan, 36, wore her long brunette hair once again in an updo. Her make-up was typically flawless, featuring neutral brown eyeshadow, dark mascara and glossy nude lips.
Harry and Meghan delighted royal fans when they stepped out in Cardiff on Thursday afternoon, who had been waiting since the early hours in the hope of catching a glimpse of the engaged couple. Meghan even took a selfie with one fan, and signed an autograph for a young schoolgirl – breaking royal protocol by doing so.
During their visit, Harry and Meghan went to visit the historic Cardiff Castle – one of the city's biggest attractions. Prince Harry's fiancée has fast become one of the biggest fashion influencers following the news of her engagement, with many of her chosen items becoming instant sell-outs as soon as she is seen wearing them. Meghan caused a sensation online when she visited Brixton on 9 January; the $80 knit jumper she wore from British high street chain Marks & Spencer not only became a sell-out, but was selling for four times the amount on eBay.


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Tourism ad: Come to Wisconsin for supper clubs
BARABOO - New television ads that promote Wisconsin tourism feature the unpretentious appeal of supper clubs and the joy of a family romping with their dogs on the shores of Lake Superior.
Gone are the Hollywood movie-inspired tourism ads that featured former Milwaukee Bucks star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and actor Robert Hays from "Airplane!"
Tourism Secretary Stephanie Klett says that instead of celebrities featured in the 2014 ads by Hollywood directors David and Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, this time Wisconsin is the star of the ad campaign.
"I can think of no better way to encourage people to spend their vacation dollars in the state than by showing real people having fun experiences anyone can enjoy," Klett said in a release.
The ads are part of the state Tourism Department's $12.5 million marketing and promotions budget and will run during the NCAA men's basketball tournament. The State Journal says the main $3 million summer advertising campaign begins in May and will include five supper club-themed billboards in the Chicago area.
Innkeepers, restaurant owners and others in the hospitality industry previewed the new ads during the Governor's Conference on Tourism at the Ho-Chunk Gaming Hotel & Convention Center near Baraboo this week.
One of the spots was shot at the Buckhorn Supper Club on Lake Koshkonong in Milton and shows a bartender making an Old Fashioned and a couple dancing in a noisy, laughter-filled dining room with a deer head mounted on the wall.
Another ad follows a family and their two dogs playing along the lakeshore in Bayfield. The boy in the ad says "dogs are always welcome in Wisconsin. And if they want, they can bring their people too!"
Tourism officials said that for every $1 the state spent on ad campaigns in 2015, $8 was returned to state and local governments in incremental tax revenue.


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A tough economy has not hampered demand for a $1200 nail service.
Claimed to be the most expensive in New Zealand, the manicure features 24-carat gold dust.
Verdo Nails owner Amber McIver, who designed the manicure, says she was shocked by demand for the exclusive service.
“We have offered the treatment to our existing clients and have already done three treatments, with another three booked in the coming weeks.”
The salon gets gold dust from a local jeweller to ensure purity and quality. The manicure takes about an hour and lasts about three weeks.
Ms McIver says it looks similar to Kelly Osborne’s controversial $US250,000 manicure last year.
“It's not glitter but it has a lovely gold shine to it.”
Depending on their wishes, clients can wear a couple of hundred dollars of gold at a time on their nails.
The beauty therapist says despite tough times she has a steady clientele wanting something different.
“My business grew 30% last year and 20% this year. Women are finding money to spend on themselves.”
While nail art was becoming popular, Ms McIver says she wanted to create a product that suits more sophisticated older women.
“For some people money is not an issue and they don’t want something mainstream.”
Ms McIver says she will continue to look for different materials to use on her high-end clients.
“We’re looking for outside the norm. Diamonds have crossed my mind but that would be at a huge cost.”
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Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S on AT&T finding Google Wallet available
0. phoneArena 03 Feb 2012, 00:00 posted on
There hasn't been any official announcement, but suddenly today the Google Wallet app has started showing up for certain devices on a specific carrier, and amazingly enough, the carrier is one of the major backers of the ISIS NFC payment system...
This is a discussion for a news. To read the whole news, click here
1. willardcw4 (Posts: 169; Member since: 01 Oct 2011)
Maybe AT&T should start selling the G Nex. That way I don't have to pay $600+ for it! LTE version please!!! =D


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The NFT Marketplace is a sector of the crypto ecosystem that has grown exponentially over the past year. But as sales have fallen in recent months, blue-chip NFT holders are looking for other opportunities to scale.
NFT’s global sales volume reached $4.6 billion in January but fell nearly 50% to $2.4 billion in late March, according to data from NFT data aggregator CryptoSlam.
Weak projects with loosely connected communities may be partly responsible for the decline in overall NFT sales, according to the founder of Burnt Finance, known by the alias Burnt Banksy.
While total NFT sales have fallen, advanced NFT projects such as Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), and Azuki have increased by 169%, 199.6% and about 146% respectively in the past 30 days , according to CryptoSlam data.
While some NFT owners are selling their digital assets, others have “strong beliefs” in their NFTs and want to hold onto them, Banksy said. So there is an increase in NFT loans as owners want to use them as assets to gain liquidity and in turn generate extra returns elsewhere or buy more assets, he added.
According to data from Dune Analytics user Gideontay, NFT lending volume on decentralized NFT marketplaces Arcade and NFTfi is up 171% from $30.63 million in Q4 2021 to $83.17 million in Q1 2022.
“Most of the credit market is focused on the established high-quality NFT collections,” Stephen Young, CEO of NFTfi, told Marketingwithanoy. “While overall NFT sales may be lower, the top projects still retain significant value.”
As with other assets, people borrow their NFTs to gain liquidity and maximize their own capital efficiency, Marco Manoppo, research director at Digital Asset Research, told Marketingwithanoy.
“This can be done through notable crypto brokers like Genesis or through decentralized applications that seek to facilitate NFT lending through smart contracts, adhering to a certain set of parameters to manage liquidation risks,” he said.
Arcade specializes in providing NFT owners with the opportunity to get a loan by putting up their digital collectibles as collateral, rather than having to provide another asset like a house or car. The company’s platform has approximately $17 million in loan volumes and more than $25 million in blue-chip NFTs locked in escrow, said Gabe Frank, CEO and co-founder of Arcade.
“If primary NFT sales are declining and lending is increasing, it’s because there’s more awareness and education about what people can do with their NFTs,” Frank said.


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Vivo V11 launched at Rs 22,990: Here's what it packs
Updated : September 25, 2018 02:55 PM IST
The device is powered by a 3315mAh battery with dual-engine fast charge.
The Vivo V11 features a 16MP+5MP dual rear camera and 25MP artificial intelligence (AI) selfie camera.
The device sports a 6.3-inch "Halo FullView" display with 19.9 aspect ratio.


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Back-to-school shoppers in Texas can save about 8 cents on every dollar from Aug. 5-7 on certain purchases—including clothing, backpacks and school supplies—during the annual Sales Tax Holiday weekend.
Items purchased must each be priced at less than $100, according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts office’s website. For example, two items each priced at $80 would qualify for the exemption, but a purchase of a single $160 item would not qualify.
“If you’re a parent and you’re looking to save money, it’s a good way to load up on some things,” said Kevin Lyons, press secretary for the comptroller’s office.
Lyons said the annual tax holiday began in 1999. The exemption applies to all Texas stores and Internet or catalog sellers based in the state.
Wolf Ranch Town Center, which features more than 80 stores, is participating in tax-free weekend for back to school clothes and supplies.
On Aug. 13, Wolf Ranch will feature a "back-to-school round-up" from 10 a.m.-noon. The event features western-themed entertainment and activities to win school supplies. Georgetown ISD representatives will be be at the event to provide information on the 2016-17 school year.
Tax-free weekend shoppers are also encouraged to bring new school supplies for the “Fill the Bus" campaign hosted by the Georgetown Area Junior Forum this weekend. Supplies can be dropped off Aug. 6-7 at the Wal-Mart shopping center, located at 620 S. I-35, Georgetown. Supplies and cash donations will be given to GISD students.
The sale extends from 12:01 a.m. Aug. 5 to midnight at the end of the day Aug. 7. Layaway plans also can be used on qualifying purchases during the tax holiday.
Sales tax on individual items priced at more than $100 is charged at the usual rate, according to the comptroller’s office. Rentals, alterations and cleaning services on clothing and footwear are not included in the exemption.
For a detailed list of exempt and taxable items, visit www.texastaxholiday.org
Correction: Wolf Ranch Town Center is hosting the "back-to-school round up" event on Aug. 13, not during tax-free weekend.


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Amazon Studios doesn’t publicize the number of people who stream its original content, with the public or even show creators, Adweek reported.
The head of the studio, Jennifer Salke, reportedly said that Amazon “doesn’t embrace” the strategy of sharing metrics while she was speaking in Los Angeles.
“We agree that it’s not a strategy for us,” Salke said at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour. “We know what the numbers are, and that may change over time, but right now … we’ll talk about the success of our shows and single out shows that are overperforming.”
Despite not showing metrics to creators, Amazon Studios’ COO and co-head of television Albert Cheng said “we have ways” of measuring performance, according to Adweek.
At the Los Angeles event, Salke did explain that the studio’s “most successful shows” were season 2 of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," Tom Clancy’s "Jack Ryan," "Hannah," "Good Omens" and "Homecoming," according to Adweek.
Salke added that even though there are more and more streaming services being created, the studio isn’t worried.
“We’re not in the volume business; we’re in the curated business of bringing individual shows to our global, diverse audience that they will love, and they will come to count on, coming to AmazonPrime Video and seeing shows that are of a certain quality and that are great,” Salke said.
The outlet also reported that Nielsen Global Media will start measuring Amazon’s shows and movies as part of its SVOD Content Ratings in the near future -- much like Nielsen did for Netflix, so at least some of Amazon’s numbers will be public.
Meanwhile, Netflix has only recently begun revealing its own metrics. Four days after the third season of “Stranger Things” was online, the company tweeted to tout the 40.7 million accounts who had been watching the show and the 18.2 million accounts that had already finished it.
The streaming giant is also investing hundreds of millions to make three big-budget films in a move aiming more to retain and grow its subscriber base than blow out the box office, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The streaming giant will spend nearly $200 million to make the Dwayne Johnson action movie “Red Notice,” which will be filmed next year at exotic locations, and also stars Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot, according to the Journal. In addition, Netflix plans to release later this year “6 Underground,” a Michael Bay-directed action film that is costing about $150 million, and Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman.”


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First phase of upgrades underway at Alliston Honda plantsJan 2nd, 2015
Honda investing $857 million in Alliston plants
The investment includes a 10 per cent contribution from the province, or $85.7 million.
During the announcement, Jerry Chenkin, President and CEO of Honda Canada, called the government’s help crucial in being able to stay competitive in the global market, where financial pressures continue to increase from countries where manufacturing costs are significantly lower.
Company spokesperson Mike Page said the first phase of the investment to upgrade all the vehicle assembly lines started this year.
He said the upgrades will pave the way for Alliston to become the first facility to build the new generation Civic, a first for the company outside of its headquarters in Japan.
“HCM will be the first plant to launch the new model,” he wrote. “We are responsible for creating the manufacturing/process flow and we will share that with other plants globally so they can incorporate the processes into their production of the Civic.”
Page said new consolidation facilities, where the company receives its auto parts, are also being built next to the plants on the north side of Industrial Parkway, which will eliminate the need to truck parts across the road.
Page said the company expects the first consolidation centre to be in operation at the start of next year, with construction of the second facility to be completed in 2016.
He said new companies are being sought to move into the Simcoe Parts Service consolidation buildings on the south side of the road.
“That could move new jobs into our community although we have no idea how many,” he added.
As part of the project, the company is building a new entrance to Plant 2 just west of the current entrance.
Honda of Canada Manufacturing opened its doors in Alliston in 1986, where it currently produces the Honda Civic and CR-V between its two vehicle plants and engine facility.


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Intel’s Haswell refresh is coming very soon and the SKU list as well as pricing have been listed online. This list is for the non-K variants, so for all the overclockers out there you are going to have to wait just a little longer for information on those chips.
Just recently Intel has released 9 new Haswell mobile processors and a single new Celeron processor. These new processors feature the normal architectural improvement as well as increasing the frequency by 100 MHz compared to the previous versions.
It was known that the Haswell ‘Celeron’ Processors will not be launched till the first quarter of 2014 but Intel has already rolled out two SKUs ahead of the launch date. While these two are available for purchase already, the other will be available next month.
As expected Intel is planning to launch their Haswell refresh processor lineup in Q2 of 2014. Nothing really new is being added to the architecture except clock speed improvements. VR-Zone has revealed the full Core i7 Haswell refresh lineup and starts with the Core i7-4790 leading the way.
AMD’s APU project has really progressed over the past year. Ideally we would like an APU to be a 50/50 distribution of CPU and GPU Power. AMD’s upcoming Kaveri APU is the closest thing to it with 47% of it being made up of the GPU. Below you can see a comparison between AMD’s Kaveri and Intel’s Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge and Haswell architecture.
We already had a long list of ASUS announcements and releases going around on the web pages and here we have another video from ASUS. It recently posted a video which featured an upcoming all in one PC which is probably on its way already. This all in one PC has been tagged as the model ET2321.
Apple has finally refreshed their iMac lineup. This new refresh includes adding Intel’s newest Haswell processors with Iris Pro integrated graphics and NVIDIA’s 700 series dedicated graphics cards. This is a nice refresh for iMac users and will lead to much better performance on these machines.
HP has finally released its newest laptop featuring the Leap Motion technology. After months of anticipation, the worldwide leader in computer manufacturing has revealed the HP Envy 17 Leap Motion (Special Edition). All the hype created with this newest release can be justified with understanding this Leap Motion technology which enables the users to control the computer with the hand movements in the air. Though the Leap Motion technology was available in the Leap Motion controller, it’s the first time the technology has ever been housed inside a laptop.
One of the world’s very first NFC enabled desktop has been launched by ASUS. The multinational computer hardware and electronics company has announced the M70 PC which will be equipped with the latest fourth generation Intel core processor for a remarkable performance and to make increased support for all sorts of demanding tasks, the best […]


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Two consignments stores in Sacramento reopened their doors Tuesday after a fire swept through the complex and killed one of the owners.
The Kings’ stores at 101 E. Third St., 103 E. Second St., and 114 E. Ninth St. are open.
The Sacramento Fire Department said it had been battling the blaze in the complex since Monday night.
Fire officials said one of those stores, the St. Francis Consignment store at 101 East Third St. was the one that had been destroyed.
The store was open for business as of 6 p.m.
It was closed Tuesday due to a “fire safety hazard.”
The other Sacramento Consignment stores, at 103 West Third St.; 110 Third St; and 116 Third St, were closed, officials said.
In a statement, the Kings said they would continue to work with the Sacramento Fire Dept. and other agencies in their efforts to determine the cause of the fire.
“The Kings will continue to monitor the situation and provide all of the support we can, in order to assist in the restoration of the St Francis Consignments,” the statement said.
The fire was reported just before 2:30 p..m., authorities said.


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For the first time since the 1959 revolution, Cubans will have the right to buy and sell cars in one of the reforms being made by President Raúl Castro. The liberalising of car sales, which takes effect on Saturday, was one of more than 300 reforms approved in April. Previously only cars that were in Cuba before the revolution could be freely bought and sold, which is why there are so many old cars, most of them American-made. Reaction to the change was swift on Revolico.cu, a website where Cubans trade goods and services. Prices ranged from the equivalent of £16,000 for a 1951 Chevrolet to £3,000 for a 1948 Dodge. The average monthly salary is under £13.
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With another layer of scrutiny brought to an industry that is within the federal spotlight, a collection of state attorneys general is getting ready to begin a joint antitrust investigation into big tech.
It is forecasted that the effort will be formally started as soon as September and explore whether a few platforms are tapping into their marketplace abilities to hinder competition, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources.
The multistate group’s composition is a work in progress. But the report noted that a bipartisan probe could provide the investigation with broader leverage and aid in insulating GOP officials from questions about whether political concerns are motivating their actions (like how digital platforms handle conservative speech).
A spokesperson for North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said per the report that he is “participating in bipartisan conversations about this issue.” And Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said in a statement per that outlet that he is still “concerned with the aggregation of data in the hands of a few.” He added he is “always watchful of any monopoly.”
In addition, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had put out a statement after a meeting last month that he, along with other attorneys general, discussed “the real concerns consumers across the country have with big tech companies stifling competition on the internet.”
The news comes after reports surfaced in July that the Justice Department (DOJ) will open a new, separate investigation into the potential antitrust activities of tech companies. (That was said to compound troubles for companies like Apple, Google and Facebook.)
The separate probe will look into whether these big-name companies are tapping into their influence and power to stifle competition. The main avenues to be examined are said to be shopping services, social media practices and internet search.


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Microsoft has unveiled plans to double the amount of ads injected to the start menu in Windows 10. This tweak will go live alongside the Anniversary Update, which is expected to hit in July — marking a year since Windows 10 launched in 2015.
At present, users can expect to see five promoted apps interspersed with their own content whenever they open the Start Menu. Once the Anniversary Update has been applied, this number will grow to ten promoted apps, and there’s sure to be scores of users who are upset with this kind of embedded advertising.
Microsoft has stated that any promoted apps that are preinstalled can be completely removed from the system, according to a report from The Verge. The company has also confirmed that promoted items can be removed from the start menu, but it seems that this only refers to individual apps, rather than an option to block all advertising.
Many were surprised when Microsoft announced its intentions to release Windows 10 for free, but now we’re seeing the fruits of its efforts. This form of content promotion could be a very attractive proposition to advertisers, given that there’s a captive audience of 300 million to put products in front of.
Windows has long been the top OS for choice users, but now it’s in competition with mobile operating systems like Android and iOS. In this new landscape, a prosperous app store is vital — and giving users another way to discover new apps is something that developers will welcome with open arms.
However, it remains to be seen whether or not an injection of more ads will harm the user experience. The Anniversary Update also marks the cutoff for free upgrades from previous versions of Windows, but changes like this one are sure to make traditionalists think twice about making the jump.
- What is Twitter Blue and is it worth it?
- This simple Windows File Explorer trick blew my mind
- Microsoft Build 2022: What to expect for Teams, Edge, and Windows
- HP Spectre x360 13.5 hands-on review: Refinements that matter
- The Windows 11 update rollout has finally ended


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Scientists at the US’ Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have created a ‘freeze-thaw battery,’ designed for the electric grid that locks in energy for months without losing much storage capacity. It is considered a step toward batteries that can be used for seasonal storage.
In a paper published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science, the researchers explain that the battery is first charged by heating it up to 180 degrees Celsius, allowing ions to flow through the liquid electrolyte to create chemical energy. Then, the battery is cooled to room temperature, essentially locking in the battery’s energy. The electrolyte becomes solid and the ions that shuttle energy stay nearly still. When the energy is needed, the battery is reheated and the energy flows.
The freeze-thaw phenomenon is possible because the battery’s electrolyte is molten salt—a molecular cousin of ordinary table salt. The material is liquid at higher temperatures but solid at room temperature.
The freeze-thaw concept dodges the issue of batteries self-discharging when they sit idle. A fast discharge rate, like that of batteries in most cars or laptops, would hamper a grid battery designed to store energy for months. Notably, the PNNL freeze-thaw battery has retained 92% of its capacity over 12 weeks.
In other words, the energy doesn’t degrade much; it’s preserved, just like food in a freezer.
In terms of its components, the aluminum-nickel molten-salt battery is made of earth-abundant, common materials. The anode and cathode are solid plates of aluminum and nickel, respectively. They’re immersed in a sea of molten-salt electrolyte that is solid at room temperature but flows like a liquid when heated. The team added sulphur to the electrolyte to enhance the battery’s energy capacity.
One of the biggest advantages of the battery is the composition of the separator placed between the anode and the cathode. Most higher-temperature molten-salt batteries require a ceramic separator, which can be more expensive to make and susceptible to breakage during the freeze-thaw cycle. The freeze-thaw battery’s chemistry, however, allows for the use of simple fibreglass. This cuts costs and makes the battery sturdier when undergoing freeze-thaw cycles.
According to the research group, the battery’s energy is stored at a materials cost of about $23 per kilowatt-hour, measured before a recent jump in the cost of nickel. The team is exploring the use of iron, which is less expensive, in hopes of bringing the materials cost down to around $6 per kilowatt-hour, roughly 15 times less than the materials cost of today’s lithium-ion batteries.
The device’s theoretical energy density is 260 watt-hours per kilogram—higher than today’s lead-acid and flow batteries.
In their paper, the PNNL’s team also points out that batteries designed for seasonal storage would likely charge and discharge just once or twice a year. Unlike batteries designed to power electric cars, laptops or other consumer devices, they don’t need to last hundreds or thousands of cycles.
“You can start to envision something like a large battery on a 40-foot tractor-trailer parked at a wind farm,” coauthor Vince Sprenkle, senior strategic advisor at PNNL, said in a media statement.
“The battery is charged in the spring and then the truck is driven down the road to a substation where the battery is available if needed during the summer heat.”


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Sources say that mobile phones powered by Intel’s new Medfield processors are likely to hit the market as early as Q3 of 2011.
Intel has reportedly increased the testing of their processors to end ARM’s processor reign in the mobile phone segment.
Intel claim that their processor will beat ARM in terms of power efficiency. AAVA Mobile has been showing prototypes of phones with the new 32nm processors.
Intel also hopes to make use of the acquisition of Infineon to improve their mobile phones and tablets.


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With Black Friday kicking off tomorrow, it’s no surprise that just about everybody is having some or other sale or special. Blizzard? They’re no different – they’ve got discounts happening across several of their IPs.
Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm, and Legacy of the Void can now all be grabbed for cheap. Blizzard have slashed the price on the entire trilogy!
Before AI can take over the human race, it first has to beat a professional player at Starcraft II. Can South Korea save humanity?
Despite a disappointing weekend for Diablo fans, BlizzCon delivered some fantastic eSports.
Loads of announcements were made at BlizzCon this past weekend. Did you miss the entire conference? Don’t worry, we’ve got your back! Here’s a recap of all the important stuff.
Patch 3.7 for StarCraft II is chockfull of neat stuff. It’s out today.
Over a year ago, Carbot Animations took to Indiegogo to find the funds to make their own StarCraft II mod. They’re now ready to release their creation to the world.
Blizzard have shown off some of patch 3.7’s features. It’ll contain seperate MMR per race, a new commander, and more!
After almost twenty years, Blizzard are dropping the Battle.net name entirely. They’ll be moving forward with something brand spanking new in the near future.
Fancy knowing what digital goodies await those who purchase a BlizzCon 2016 Virtual Ticket? Look no further – Blizzard have just revealed most of them!
At Gamescom last month, Blizzard announced a whole lot of new content for StarCraft II. It’s now all available in the RTS compliments of Patch 3.6.
Chris Metzen has been a part of Blizzard for over two decades, and now, he’s retiring. He explained why in a post on Battle.net.


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Over the weekend huge crowds of people took to the streets in Montreal to protest lockdown measures, particularly the return of the 8 p.m. curfew that was rolled back from 9:30. What began as an incredibly dangerous stunt, given that many of the attendees were . . .
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How sweet, fresh meat! Or fresh auction meat anyway.
Famed London auction house, Prop Store, has announced an auction that will thrill horror fans — and scare their accountants.
The cache of creepy TV and film ephemera includes Michael Myers' mask from "Halloween: Resurrection,” and Freddy Krueger’s terrifying razor fingers glove from "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors," which is expected to scare up anywhere from $27,600 to as much as $41,400.
If you win, just don’t count the money with the glove on.
It’s not all blood and guts though. Less haunting artifacts dot the auction too, like Toby Macguire’s Spiderman costume from "Spiderman 3" (estimated take, 70k), Will Ferrell’s “Elf” costume, the Hogwarts Student Gryffindor House robe from "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," and more superhero stuff, like Batman’s sonar batsuit display from “Batman Forever,” that might fetch upwards of $82k. Now that’s scary!
The weirdest thing about the auction might be that it doesn’t take place until after Halloween — November 9 thru 11.
Lights, camera, action! Get the latest updates on movies and television from The Reel Buzz on Audacy.


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Google Dominates the Final Viral Video Chart of 2015
The last Viral Chart of the year brings some holiday wish fulfillment for parents of teenagers, honors to U.S. veterans and a flight safety video especially for soccer fans.
AT&T shot right to the top with a holiday ad for parents mourning their children's loss to smartphone obsession. It got 19.2 million views this week, likely aided by repeat views from moms and dads wishing their kids would follow the example of the girl in the ad.
Google occupied three spots in the chart, which covers the week ending Sunday, and four, if you count YouTube's 2015 retrospective. Two campaigns promote products the new Nexus phones and the Google app campaign, and one features this year's Veteran's Day parade, when Google created a virtual parade for veterans in nursing homes.
Ad Age's Viral Video Chart, powered by Visible Measures, focuses on brand-driven social video ad campaigns. Each campaign is measured by True Reach, an MRC accredited metric that includes views from brand-driven and audience-driven social video clips. The data are compiled using the patented Visible Measures platform, a constantly growing repository of analytic data on hundreds of millions of videos tracked across hundreds of online video destinations.
Note: This analysis does not include Visible Measures' paid-placement (e.g., overlays; pre-, mid-, and post-roll) performance data or video views on private sites. This chart does not include movie trailers, video game campaigns, TV show, or media network promotions. View counts are incremental by week.
**Indicates percent change in views compared with the same period the week before.
To notify Visible Measures of an upcoming social video ad campaign, please contact Visible Measures directly.


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© Reuters. FILE PHOTOS: Signs of JP Morgan Chase Bank, Citibank and Wells Fargo & Co. bank are seen in this combination photo from Reuters files. REUTERS/File Photos
By Michelle Price
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The four largest U.S. consumer banks posted another strong quarter this week as the rebounding economy allowed them to release more cash they had set aside for pandemic losses, while sizzling deals, equity financing and trading also boosted their bottom lines.
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Well Fargo and Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), seen by analysts and economists as bellwethers of the broader economy, reported a combined profit of $28.7 billion for the third quarter, beating analyst estimates.
Much of that was driven by the release of a combined $6 billion of funds the banks had put aside for pandemic loan losses which have not materialized thanks to extraordinary government stimulus, aid programs and loan repayment holidays.
With the national vaccination roll-out allowing Americans to get back to work and resume socializing after 19 months of pandemic-related business closures and travel restrictions, consumer spending has boomed, the banks said.
Loan growth, a key metric closely-watched by analysts, was mixed across Wall Street however. Some lenders are still struggling to grow their loan books as consumers and businesses, flush with cash from government aid programs, continue to pay down loans.
Overall, though, executives were cautiously optimistic that the economy is on a healthy trajectory, despite some risks on the horizon including the latest wave of COVID-19 infections and inflation worries.
“The outlook for the economy is promising,” Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) Chief Executive Charles Scharf told analysts on Thursday.
“Consumers’ financial condition remains strong with leverage at its lowest level in 45 years and the debt burden below its long-term average. Companies are also strong as well.”
The bank’s customers are flush with cash and are looking to spend he added, noting consumer customers’ median deposit balances remained above pre-pandemic levels.
JPMorgan said combined debit and credit card spend was up 26% year-on-year, while card payment rates stabilized contributing to modest card loan growth. At Bank of America, combined credit and debit card spend was up 21%.
Spending on Citi-branded credit cards in the United States jumped 24% from a year earlier, but with so many customers paying off balances net interest revenue from credit card accounts fell 3%. In a sign that the trend may be turning, net interest revenue on the cards was up 5% from the second quarter.
Sizzling capital markets over the past six months have also buoyed the country’s largest lenders, with easy monetary conditions driving record-breaking volumes of both mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and initial public offerings, fueling fees.
That has helped cushion a decline in fixed income trading this year, which was turbo-charged last year by intense market volatility.
Investment banking giant Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Inc crushed estimates on Thursday, reporting a $3.58 billion profit, up nearly 38% on the year-ago-quarter. That was thanks in large part to a record $1.27 billion in revenues from advising from advising on deals.
“The investment bank, itself, and M&A, is on fire,” James Gorman, the bank’s chief executive, said in an interview with CNBC after the results. “We’ve got global GDP growth, enormous fiscal stimulus, record low interest rates. People want to transact.”
The highlight for JPMorgan’s third quarter was also its Corporate & Investment Bank division, where advisory fees almost tripled due to strong M&A and equity underwriting. All told, that division reported a 6% rise in net revenue to $12.4 billion.
At Bank of America, revenue from its equities division rose 33% year-on-year, driven by growth in client financing activities and strong trading performance, while Citigroup said revenues for its equity markets business had jumped 40%.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Wall Street’s most prolific dealmaker, will wrap up bank earnings season on Friday.
While consumer spending and capital markets shone, loan growth remained mixed.
JPMorgan said on Wednesday that, on average, loans were up 5% across the bank compared with last year, while Citi was broadly flat. Bank of America and Wells Fargo reported declines in loan growth year-on-year.
However, lending appeared to be trending in the right direction at Bank of America, its CEO Brian Moynihan noted in a statement. Loan balances were up $21 billion compared with the second quarter of this year.
“The economy continued to improve and our businesses regained the organic customer growth momentum we saw before the pandemic,” Moynihan added.


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When will we reach the tipping point and lose all of our financial sector to Florida?
The 2% grocery tax fell flat, so the legislature is now imposing a 7.35% tax on certain foods at the grocery store.
State income tax makes people move out.
Property tax rate: FL 9.8 mills, CT 20.7 mills. Median cost of a house: FL $179K, CT $270K.
Moving nearly 150 Connecticut jobs to Richmond, Virginia or Jacksonville, Florida.
When will Hartford listen?
CT DOT will no longer report $250 million in transportation spending as “administrative costs” and instead report it as “Expenditures for Non-Transportation Services.”
(c) Connecticut Insights 2019


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You didn’t think that T-Mobile G2x with stock Android would miss out on CyanogenMod, did ya? Of course not! Steve Kondik – the head of the CyanogenMod project – has tweeted a picture of what appears to be the software information screen of a T-Mobile G2x with CyanogenMod at the helm. A teasing picture isn’t all we’re given, though – nightlies are available. Head over to their mirror to get yours, but be warned: these are not stable and should not be relied upon to be daily drivers. Let’s see if T-Mobile can beat Cyanogen to the punch. [Thanks Brian!]
- Samsung Galaxy S6 vs Galaxy S5
- Samsung Galaxy S6 release date
- Samsung Galaxy S6 vs HTC One M9
- Official: Galaxy S6 and Edge
- Check out the T-Mobile G2X forums, see the specs, or find news and reviews.
TAGS: T-Mobile G2x


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Wed 2 September 2020:
Unilever has said it will eliminate the use of fossil fuels in its cleaning products by 2030 as part of efforts to transition the entire firm over to net zero emissions.
The consumer goods firm said that chemicals used in its cleaning and laundry products make up the greatest proportion of their carbon footprint (46 per cent) across their lifecycle.
It has therefore decided to transition away from fossil-fuel-derived chemicals in product formulations for its major brands such as OMO (Persil), Sunlight, Cif and Domestos.
Unilever also said it will develop “novel” ways of reducing the carbon footprint of its brands and expects this to reduce the carbon footprint of the product formulations by up to 20 per cent.
Instead of petrochemicals, the products would substitute constituents created from plants and other biological sources, marine sources such as algae, and waste materials.
The step is a component of Unilever’s Clean Future programme, designed to change the way its cleaning and laundry products are created, manufactured and packaged.
The programme is aimed at helping Unilever deliver its pledge of net zero emissions from its products by 2039.
Peter ter Kulve, Unilever’s president of Home Care, said: “Clean Future is our vision to radically overhaul our business.
“As an industry, we must break our dependence on fossil fuels, including as a raw material for our products. We must stop pumping carbon from under the ground when there is ample carbon on and above the ground if we can learn to use it at scale.
“We’ve seen unprecedented demand for our cleaning products in recent months and we are incredibly proud to play our part, helping to keep people safe in the fight against Covid-19.
“But that should not be a reason for complacency. We cannot let ourselves become distracted from the environmental crises that our world – our home – is facing. Pollution. Destruction of natural habitats. The climate emergency. This is the home we share, and we have a responsibility to protect it.”
Last year Unilever said it had transitioned all of its facilities to run on electricity from renewable sources and had halved carbon emissions per tonne of production since 2008.
But the firm has not always had a glowing environmental record and its activities have been blamed for everything from deforestation in Indonesia to a salmonella outbreak in India after the disease infected some of its cereals. It has also been cited as one of the top ten global plastic polluters.


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Specialized Communications Corporation Announces Companion Product to Panasonic P2 Technology
Specialized Communications Corporation has announced that its latest product, the CinePorter Model CP-2, will debut at the Government Video and Technology Expo 2005 (GVExpo 2005). Working closely with Panasonic P2 technology, Specialized Communications Corporation is developing the CinePorter as a complimentary option for P2 users.
"Panasonic has made great strides in moving the industry to a tapeless video format with P2 technology and has changed the video industry forever. Working closely with Panasonic P2 technology to develop the CinePorter has allowed us to expand on that technology by offering more options to P2 users," says David Linetsky, president, Specialized Communications Corp. "The CinePorter will work like a very large P2 card while writing to a shock-mounted on-board hard drive."
It will assist users who "need a longer recording time," according to Andrew Hoffman, senior operations manager, Specialized Communications Corp. "At the end of the shoot you move all your files to your editor right from the camera. You can remove CinePorter from the camera and take it anywhere, or attach it to another camera and keep recording."
The CinePorter is small and has an independent power source.


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Spotify rolled out wearable apps across other platforms over the past few weeks, and now it launches the very first iteration of its Apple Watch app.
The watchOS app will roll out to Apple Watch users over the next week and users will have to own the latest version of the Spotify iOS app on their iPhones in order to download the app.
Similarly to Spotify’s other wearable device apps, the program for the Apple Watch focuses on controlling playback on your iPhone from the watch.
Users will be able to pause, skip, play and rewind their music, podcasts, and more tracks. They will also get the chance to add new music that they find in their libraries and like.
Most of these features (aside from adding music to the library) are available in Apple’s native Now Playing application that allows users to control playback from almost any audio source on their connected iPhone.
According to Ars Technica, “The Apple Watch app also has Spotify Connect support, which lets users manage connections and playback with Bluetooth devices. Directly from the watch, you can choose which devices—like laptops, speakers, headphones, and others—you want to play music.”
New features might be released shortly
Spotify makes sure to highlight in their release notes that this is the very first version of its Apple Watch application and we assume that this means that brand new features will be on their way shortly.
Spotify also mentioned its ability to listen to music and podcasts offline.
Other apps such as Overcast and Audible are already allowing users to download podcast episodes and audiobooks to listen to them while offline.
This means that users can leave their iPhone behind and listen with some paired Bluetooth headphones.
This first iteration that Spotify has of its Apple Watch app resembles its recently launched Wear OS app.
After finishing Theatrical Journalism at the Faculty of Theatre and Television in Cluj-Napoca, Rada reviewed movies, books, theatre pieces and she also wrote articles from the IT niche as a content editor for software producers. At the moment, she is working with various online advertising firms.


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It looks like someone at Playground Games has once again let the cat (or is it pig?) out of the bag. After a brief glimpse of what appeared to be a 911 GT3 4.0 RS during E3 2016, the brand has once again been spotted, this time within Forza Horizon 3‘s menus.
Up top is this past weekend’s Forzathon event as it appears in-game. Behind that shiny Huayra is a varied row of rides. From right to left, we’ve got an E92-era BMW M3, the latest Audi TT, the Fiesta Zetec S — oddly, a currently unplayable traffic car — Lancia’s awesome 037 Stradale, and … a headlight. Not just any headlight, but one that looks suspiciously like the one attached to the nose of the 991-gen 911 Turbo S. Take a look for comparison purposes:
Of course, the big question with Porsche in the Forza franchise is when it’ll arrive. The Stuttgart manufacturer has shown up as standalone DLC in three titles now (FM4, FH2, and FM6), the same number of times its been included from day one.
In the latest showing (Forza Motorsport 6), Turn 10 faced some criticism for a large amount of returning content from previous packs, something some players take more of an issue with when faced with a price premium. Now that the Forza franchise isn’t the only place console players can find Porsches to drive — Assetto Corsa’s first Porsche pack arrives tomorrow — it will be interesting to see how Playground differentiates its offering.


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As companies seek to emulate success, embracing artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming one of the biggest imperatives in business today. It’s no wonder, with quirky startup turned $100-billion entertainment company Netflix attributing 75 per cent of content consumed by some 125 million subscribers to its AI recommendation system.
Retail is one sector undergoing an AI-driven revolution, with predictions of application and services in the market reaching $27 billion by 2025, up from $713 million in 2016, according to the Artificial Intelligence in Retail Market Report 2018-2025. But, as with all revolutions, there will be winners and losers. We’re already seeing the winners emerge and AI is at the centre of their story.
Amazon is leading the way, with AI infused into its product recommendations and every part of its retail operations. Now more than a third of Amazon’s sales are driven by its machine-learning-powered recommendation algorithm, a form of AI, and 44 per cent of all US ecommerce sales in 2017 went to the retailer.
The technology is pivotal in driving the retail revolution, becoming as critical as a customer relationship management or automated marketing system for the sector’s big players. With a unique ability to make more informed decisions and act as a catalyst for business growth, the next wave of success is not possible without AI.
However, while leveraging AI and data is one of the most important things a business can do in this day and age, it’s also one of the most challenging. The technology is complex and fast moving, there is a severe skills shortage and, most importantly, deploying AI can be too time consuming and expensive for most businesses to make a success of it on their own.
In response to this, Peak has taken the big idea of helping businesses do great things with data and developed its innovative AI System, enabling businesses to bring AI and data into the heart of their operations to drive growth through insights and optimisation.
There is a huge opportunity for retailers here if they want to outperform the competition and catch up with big players
The AI System acts as a centralised brain that is fully managed by our team of data scientists, applying machine-learning algorithms to data generated from multiple sources to deliver valuable insights continuously. These insights are then fed into wider business systems to drive automation, decision-making and ultimately improve the business’s bottom line.
For retailers, this could mean anything from predicting customer behaviour to boost sales and revenue, to forecasting demand based on buying patterns to optimise stock and inventory holdings.
Our cloud-based AI System has already been adopted by a number of retailers. Online motoring service Regit used it to predict when it’s 2.5 million users are likely to change their vehicle, enabling the company to send those customers relevant communications. This increased sales by 27 per cent in just 30 days and reduced Regit’s operational costs by 35 per cent, enabling them to staff their call centre at the optimal times of day, when sales were most likely.
There is much talk about high street stores struggling against online competition. Our research recently found that growth of online retailers is double the rate of those operating in-store, so by 2028 ecommerce will own a large portion of the market and account for 32 per cent of all sales made in the UK.
There is a huge opportunity for retailers here if they want to outperform the competition and catch up with big players such as Amazon, but they’ll need to move quickly to become smart – and AI is the only way to do it.
What was once a luxury is no longer an option and over the next few years this will become clear. The companies that fail to utilise AI and the insights it generates to optimise revenue and efficiencies will struggle. The winners in the retail revolution will be those that make their data work hard for them.
For more information please visit Peak.ai


text: Last week, my colleague Seth Goldberg and I published a client alert highlighting a series of cases filed in Oregon federal court against Curaleaf for allegedly mislabeling THC products as containing only CBD, which allegedly caused consumers of those products to experience and unwanted “high” resulting from ingestion of the products. A consumer class action lawsuit seeking $200 for each consumer who purchased the products was filed by the same Plaintiffs’ counsel. This class action lawsuit further highlights the fact that cannabis manufacturers need to ensure that proper SOPS, protocols, and measures of compliance are in place to ensure the safety of their products, and it demonstrates the types of claims that can be asserted when cannabis product safety issues, such as labeling discrepancies, arise. Class action claims, given the number of potential class members who may potentially recover, raise the stakes of litigation resulting from product safety issues. In addition, there also may be regulatory action taken and statutory fines imposed.


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The new application by a Cameroonian secures financial transactions and overcomes the stress of having to meet physically during tontines.
The creation of the online application “Djangui” was motivated by growing demands for transparency in the way money is managed in traditional tontines, some members who stay absent transferred money to tontines but it never reached, some as a result of being physically absent from the tontine paid fines, meanwhile keeping tontine data or those of other forms of meeting on papers has proved risky, especially if there is disaster like fire outbreak.
With this, Jules Guilain Kenfack, Cameroonian, who has been studying in Germany, has come up with the new application that is now wildly used to hold meetings or tontines online in Europe and Africa via Android phones, I-phones or directly on computers. “Djangui” as the application is called, is also widening the scope of job opportunities to many a young Cameroonian. In Douala, seven youths have gained employment with “Djangui” in various areas, including canvassing for investors and clients, coordinating the day-to-day functioning of the system.
“As many people become acquainted with the advantages of the application and clients get to increase, it will further create jobs for all categories of people,” Kenfack told the press in Douala December 20. Since its creation and functioning in May 2016, over 4500 Use the application the world over, including about 900 users in Cameroon. Many who use online “Djangui” enjoy security of transaction as it is difficult to escape with money, discuss and make proposals online right from their handsets even when communication network is interrupted.


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A cuddly three-month-old polar bear was the belle of the ball as she was introduced to the media for the first time at Buffalo Zoo in upstate New York Friday. Click here to watch a video of the cub playing.
NEW YORK (AP) — Amid chatter of “Facebook fatigue,” real or imagined, the world’s biggest social networking company is getting ready to unveil a new version of News Feed, the flow of status updates, photos and advertisements its users see on the site.
STOCKHOLM (AP) – Furniture retailer Ikea says it has halted all sales of meat balls in Sweden after Czech authorities detected horse meat in frozen meatballs that were labeled as beef and pork.
TUSTIN, Calif. (AP) — The 20-year-old woman who was the first victim in a shooting rampage across Southern California was an aspiring actress who had a social media alter-ego named “Kitty Kitanna.”
NEW YORK (AP) — Three lucky couples have celebrated Valentine’s Day weddings at the Empire State Building.
The couples won their weddings by submitting their love stories to the landmark skyscraper’s Facebook page.
MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. (AP) — Two New Jersey men have sued Subway, saying the world’s biggest fast-food chain has been shorting them on its so-called footlong sandwiches.
There’s OUTRAGE online right now that Subway’s footlong really ISN’T a foot long. It’s only 11 inches. People have been posting photos to Subway’s page of their subs with measuring tape on top showing they’re […]
NEW YORK (AP) – Here are some tips for remaking Facebook so it’s less a tabloid feed of unwanted updates and more a warmer, personal space that better reflects your real-life social circle.
BROOKLINE, Mass. (AP) — Author Dennis Lehane is offering an unusual reward for the person who finds his family’s beloved missing beagle. Lehane says he’ll name a character in his next book after whoever finds Tessa, who disappeared this week.
MARICOPA, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona woman who knew she couldn’t compete head on with her neighbor’s elaborate Christmas light display is attracting attention for her response. Using red and green lights, Kristina Green […]


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Tag Archive: Wente Vineyards
•Carlton McCoy, Jr. and the Lawrence family are launching the Ink Grade wine brand from Napa Valley into national distribution, represented by sales and marketing partner Demeine Estates in a targeted rollout. Continue reading →Posted in News on April 1, 2022
•Wilson Daniels has added Châteauneuf-du-Pape Estate Domaine de Beaurenard to its national import portfolio. Continue reading →Posted in News on August 6, 2019
Following years of rapid progress, Wente Vineyards’ namesake brand posted a volume decline in 2014, falling 4.3% to 330,000 cases, according to Impact Databank. But 2015 saw a return to growth, as the Livermore, California-based winemaker posted sharp gains in volume and value. In Nielsen-tracked channels, the flagship Wente brand increased 15.5% to 162,000 cases in the 52-week period through November 7. The total portfolio returned to double-digit growth by the end of 2015, and the company sees further expansion ahead.
•Wente Vineyards has launched a new single-vineyard Riva Ranch Pinot Noir. Continue reading →Posted in News on February 23, 2015


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Here’s what to eat, drink, buy, cook and more from the past week in metro Atlanta.
Restaurant news and events
Several new food and drink businesses have signed on as tenants as part of Studioplex's second phase of development. The complex at 659 Auburn Ave., right off the Beltline's Eastside trail, will also feature a new connection from the Beltline to the Studioplex campus. The complex will be be home to Beetnix Juice Bar, serving juices cold-pressed on site; a craft cocktail, apertif and coffee bar from the team behind Ponce City Market's 18.21 Bitters; and the first Atlanta location of Hawkers Asian Street Fare, a Florida startup offering street food from across Southeast Asia including baos, skewers and stir-fried noodles.
Columbia Ventures LLC, the company behind the Studioplex expansion, also oversees the Spoke development in Reynoldstown and E.Co in Decatur.
Popular Southern restaurant to open its fourth location at Avalon
Hookah lounge and bar headed for downtown Atlanta
Help the Vortex celebrate 25 years with deals, specials
This Atlanta brewery wants to know how you enjoy your beer
People were upset about the paella emoji, so Apple fixed it
Taking MARTA? Here's where to eat and drink at the busiest stops
Healthier dining options coming to Georgia Tech
Two Atlanta non-profits joining forces to support sustainable farming
Taco franchise teams up with former NFL player for more Atlanta locations
New concept bringing Cuban fare to East Cobb
Popular Athens brunch spot opening second location
Restaurant openings and closings
Next phase of restaurants now open at Avalon
Popular Atlanta coffee shop opens a third location
Chef Kevin Gillespie is opening a Mexican-inspired beer garden
Buckhead Indian restaurant closing after almost 40 years in business
Whiskey Bird brings Asian flavors to American cuisine
Craft beer bar opens second location in Atlanta
Where and what to eat, what to cook, what to buy, what to drink
Why you should drink Terrapin's Chopsecutioner Bat Wood Aged IPA
Another beer-related project is headed for the Beltline
5 negronis to sip on in Atlanta
We're over the moon for the palak paneer from this Marietta Indian restaurant
Buy This: 3 things you need for your grill
First Look: Local Republic in Lawrenceville
Read these cookbooks to get ready for summer fruit and corn
Learn to make Tuscany At Your Table's spaghetti torte
Make The Mercury's spring garlic and green onion dressing to use with in-season lettuce
All about Easter
10 places in metro Atlanta for Easter brunch
Easter is about new life, be it chicks or babies
Support real journalism. Support local journalism. Subscribe to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today.
Your subscription to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution funds in-depth reporting and investigations that keep you informed. Thank you for supporting real journalism.


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The mini-variant of Micromax’s first full-HD smartphone Micromax Canvas Turbo that is Canvas Turbo Mini is now officially listed on company’s website. This smartphone is priced at INR 14,990 for Indian market. This smartphone was first listed on e-commerce websites like Filpkart and Snapdeal at the same official price. But now as it has been listed on company’s website too. All the specifications and price is completely clear now. This smartphone comes with some handy smart camera features like you can create GIF’s on the go with Cinemagraph and enhance pictures moments with the object eraser by removing unwanted objects.
Metis Learning on 22nd January 2014 launched India’s first Android-based learning tablet for kids. We have a lot of tablets out in the market that too running on Android operating system then what’s there in this tablet to be called designed for kids? We did a video review of the tablet which has been attached below.
According to ET News, the south Korean Smartphone giant LG could launch the successor of its LG Optimus G Pro at the MWC 2014 which is going to held lately in next month. This new Optimus G Pro 2 will come with some high end specifications like 3GB RAM and LTE- advanced. LG usually launched its smartphones in Mobile World Congress. So as routine it will surely launch some new devices too this time. Last year at MWC 2013 LG launched LG Optimus G Pro and Optimus F5 and F7 too. The LG launch its device with different designs, like it launched LG G2 with power and volume rocker buttons at back of the smartphone. So it will be interesting to see if it will come up with something new this time too.
Recently Sony has updated the Android version on its high end Xperia devices like Xperia Z, Zl, Z Ultra and Xperia Tablet Z. Sony has already included, or pre-installed camera apps like Superior auto, Manual, Picture effect and Sweep Panorama with the Sony’s Android 4.3 firmware update. Or you can also install these apps via Sony Select on your Xperia device. However, Sony told that it has not included Timeshift Burst in the library of camera apps through select. This is unfortunate for Xperia users, as they cannot find this from Sony.
Sammy Hub first spotted Samsung Galaxy S III and now Samsung has made available this device on its China website officially without pricing and availability details. This latest device is launched in China, but there is not any information about availability in the rest of the world. Samsung has recently launched its new phablet and successor of Galaxy Grand in Indian market. The Galaxy Grand 2 has been priced at INR 22,999 in India. However, there is not any information about Galaxy S III Neo+ in India. As it sports decent specifications, it will be a good mid-range smartphone in India too.
Many rumours are around the web on next iPhone’s specifications. Now Wall Street Journal has reported that there are two different big screen iPhones are in work. Therefore, as Apple has launched two iPhones last year, Apple is going to make it two this year too. As WSJ reported, from its sources, that one new iPhone will be bigger than 4.5 inches, and other will be bigger than 5 inches. In addition, both iPhones will be clad in metal like the iPhone 5S has. Moreover, this time there will be no plastic polycarbonate casing in new iPhones.


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14th September 2012
Beef Products Inc. sued ABC News, Inc. for defamation Thursday over its coverage of a meat product that critics dub “pink slime,” claiming the network damaged the company by misleading consumers into believing it is unhealthy and unsafe.
The Dakota Dunes, S.D.-based meat processor is seeking $1.2 billion in damages for roughly 200 “false and misleading and defamatory” statements about the product officially known as lean, finely textured beef, said Dan Webb, BPI’s Chicago-based attorney.
Perhaps this will start a trend. That would be amusing.


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E-invoice mandatory for biz with over Rs 50 cr turnover from Apr 11
New Delhi: The government has made it mandatory for businesses with over Rs 50 crore turnover to generate e-invoices for B2B transactions from April 1.
Under Goods and Services Tax (GST) law, e-invoicing for business-to-business (B2B) transactions has been made mandatory for companies with turnover of over Rs 500 crore and Rs 100 crore from October 1, 2020, and January 1, 2021, respectively.
E-invoicing will be extended to companies with turnover over Rs 50 crore from April 1, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said in a notification.
Under e-invoicing, taxpayers have to generate invoices on their internal systems (ERP/accounting/billing software) and then report them online to the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP).
The IRP will validate the information provided in the invoices and return the digitally signed e-invoices with a unique 'Invoice Reference Number (IRN)' along with a QR Code to the taxpayer. EY Tax Partner Abhishek Jain said e-invoicing has been made mandatory for businesses for Rs 50 crore plus turnover from April 1, which showcases the proactiveness and the intent of the government to wider the net of digitisation.


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The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an affiliate of the nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has actually supposedly passed a resolution requiring a restriction on cryptocurrency in India. “Disobeying the restriction must make person/entity responsible to punitive damages,” the resolution states.
Swadeshi Jagran Manch Desires Crypto Outrightly Banned in India
The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), the Indian financial, political, and cultural company connected with the nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, supposedly passed a resolution about cryptocurrency Sunday.
SJM co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan informed PTI publication: “The resolution was gone by the 15th Rashtriya Sabha of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, which concluded in Gwalior today.”
The resolution states:
The federal government must outrightly prohibit purchasing, selling, investing and otherwise handling cryptocurrencies by anyone homeowner in India.
It likewise mandates crypto financiers to offer or exchange their cryptocurrencies within a brief time period, based on the arrangement of sending details to the Earnings Tax department. In addition, the resolution highlights, “Disobeying the restriction must make person/entity responsible to punitive damages.”
The SJM argued that providing cryptocurrency acknowledgment in India might result in heavy speculation which might negatively affect the nation’s monetary market. The company elaborated:
Acknowledgment might likewise lead to cash laundering and horror funding along with capital account convertibility from the back entrance.
In its resolution, the SJM even more got in touch with the Union ministries of customer affairs and business affairs to introduce an “aggressive” customer awareness project after prohibiting cryptocurrencies. The company worried the requirement to recommend individuals not to fall victim to “misleading ads” it declares are being distributed by cryptocurrency exchanges.
The Swadeshi Jagran Manch likewise went over reserve bank digital currency (CBDC), which the reserve bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is dealing with.
“The law connecting to issuance of digital currency by the Reserve Bank of India must be framed rapidly. The CBDC must be thought about as legal tender,” the SJM’s resolution includes, keeping in mind:
Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, ethereum, and so on must not be acknowledged as property or digital property since it will indirectly end up being legal tender like currency.
The Swadeshi Jagran Manch’s resolution echoes what the reserve bank has actually been stating about cryptocurrency. In its current conference of the main board of directors, the RBI stated that cryptocurrency should be totally prohibited which a partial restriction will not work. The reserve bank has actually likewise consistently voiced severe issues concerning cryptocurrency, which it stated might adversely affect the nation’s monetary system.
A cryptocurrency expense was noted to be used up in the winter season session of parliament. Nevertheless, the expense was not presented and the federal government is supposedly revamping the expense. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is supposedly taking a decision on the nation’s crypto legislation. He just recently stated that crypto must be utilized to empower democracy.
What do you consider Swadeshi Jagran Manch requiring a total restriction on cryptocurrency? Do you believe the Indian federal government will observe its recommendations and restriction crypto? Let us understand in the remarks area listed below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
Disclaimer: This post is for educational functions just. It is not a direct deal or solicitation of a deal to purchase or offer, or a suggestion or recommendation of any items, services, or business. Bitcoin.com does not supply financial investment, tax, legal, or accounting recommendations. Neither the business nor the author is accountable, straight or indirectly, for any damage or loss triggered or declared to be triggered by or in connection with making use of or dependence on any material, products or services discussed in this post.


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Manufacturer taking over all aspects of the terminal for two weeks, featuring the rebrand ‘Terminal Samsung Galaxy S5’
Samsung is to rebrand Heathrow Terminal for two weeks to raise awareness of its flagship Galaxy S5 smartphone.
The campaign, in conjunction with JCDecaux Airport, begins on Monday. It includes a takeover of all signage throughout the ‘Terminal Samsung Galaxy S5’ terminal – at the entrance and drop-off locations, in the lounges, at security and at all the gates.
All 172 digital panels in the main terminal, gate rooms and baggage reclaim areas will feature the rebrand ‘Terminal Samsung Galaxy S5 and images of the smartphone.
The Terminal 5 website home page will also be rebranded as this. In addition, signage in the airport lounges will drive passengers to the Dixons Travel stores where they can get their hands on the phone.
Samsung Electronics UK and Ireland vice president of corporate marketing Russell Taylor said: “We are always looking for ways to maximise brand impact and this activity is testament to that. The partnership with Heathrow Airport and JCDecaux was a one-off opportunity to push the boundaries like no other brand has been allowed to do before.”


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SHANGHAI: China’s automobile sales in January tumbled 15.8 percent from a year earlier, the country’s top auto industry association said on Monday, as the world’s largest auto market hits the skids with the slump in sales extending to the seventh month.
China’s Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said in an emailed statement to Reuters that sales dropped to 2.37 million vehicles last month. This follows a 13 percent drop in December and a 14 percent fall in November.
“Car sales in January continued to decline, and there was no sign of improvement. We estimate that February wholesales will also drop sharply” said Xu Haidong, CAAM assistant secretary general.
“The reason for the sales drop is still the slowing overall economy, and consumption decline in small and medium-sized cities” Xu said.
China has been grappling with slowing economic growth as well as the fallout of trade frictions with the United States, forces which contributed to its auto market contracting for the first time in more than two decades last year.
Beijing is now trying to persuade consumers to loosen their purse strings and has pledged to provide subsidies to boost rural sales of some vehicles and purchases of new energy vehicles.
“Q1 sales were good last year, so this year the industry expects to have negative growth in the first quarter” Yale Zhang, head of consultancy AutoForesight, said, but he predicts sales to gradually pick up in the next three quarters.
Industry executives also say China’s car sales in January and February tend to be affected by the Lunar New Year holiday, as consumers hold off on their car purchasing decisions around the festival.
The holiday’s dates change annually but tend to occur in either month. It took place in the first week of February this year.
China’s sales of new energy vehicles, however, continued to buck the trend, totaling 95,700 in January, a year-on-year increase of 140 percent, CAAM said.