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Press Archive 2009
Bank Danamon, one of Indonesia's largest private banks, is growing fee-based transactions at the ATM with Wincor Nixdorf’s Direct Marketing software.
Wincor Nixdorf has received an important software contract from one of the leading bank groups in Europe. In the future Crédit Agricole will control its 22,000 self-service systems throughout Europe with Wincor Nixdorf’s ProClassic/Enterprise Retail Banking Solution Suite (PC/E).
NTUC FairPrice is the first retailer to introduce and pilot an automated reverse vending system in Singapore.
The topic of cash cycle management will be the focus of Wincor World 2010, which will take place in Paderborn from January 26 to 28.
Against the backdrop of a severe economic crisis, Wincor Nixdorf emerged from the fiscal year just ended with only a moderate fall in sales, although profit contracted at a more pronounced rate.
Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), a new world-class family entertainment resort in Singapore, has adopted Wincor Nixdorf’s integrated retail solution to ensure customers enjoy a premium consumer experience.
Wincor Nixdorf has extended its relationship with Shell International Petroleum Company Limited (Shell), an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell plc. The IT solutions provider has been selected to equip Shell service stations internationally with a new hardware solution platform in a move to further standardize large sections of the global service station network.
State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, has awarded Wincor Nixdorf and its local partner AGS Infotech an order for 1,000 ATMs.
Wincor Nixdorf has closed a deal with Oldenburgische Landesbank AG to manage operations of more than 200 self-service systems installed at branches of its Allianz Bank unit.
Wincor Nixdorf, a leading provider of hardware, software and services technology to banks and retailers, has acquired Siemens Inc.’s Information Technology Products & Services (ITPS) Division.
CNOOC, China’s top offshore oil and gas producer, has awarded Wincor Nixdorf its first ‘site management’ project in China for service stations.
The continuing economic crisis has had an impact on Wincor Nixdorf AG’s results in the first nine months of fiscal 2008/2009. The company, which specializes in IT solutions for bank branches and retail stores, posted net sales of 1,729 million euros, a decline of 1% over the previous year (1,738 million euros).
Postbank customers can now pay their fuel bills at Shell service stations and withdraw cash at the same time.
Sevenval GmbH and Wincor Nixdorf have formed a strategic partnership, bundling the expertise of both companies to enable financial institutions to have fast, easy access to the mobile world.
prosystemsIT, a Wincor Nixdorf company, has been commissioned by Sparkasse KölnBonn with the operation of the bank’s voice-over-IP (VoIP) systems for the next five years.
Bank Central Asia (BCA), one of Indonesia’s largest banks, has partnered with Wincor Nixdorf to rejuvenate its branch network.
Baden-Württembergische Bank (BW-Bank), a Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) subsidiary, is set to deploy software from Wincor Nixdorf's ProClassic/Enterprise Retail Banking Solution Suite (PC/E) in the front office at its 200 branches.
Taiwan FamilyMart, one of the largest convenience store chains on the island, has installed more than 2,200 Wincor Nixdorf self-service kiosks - a new milestone for both companies.
Wincor Nixdorf has won a large order from NETTO Marken-Discount, a subsidiary of EDEKA Handelsgesellschaft that is headquartered in Ponholz near Regensburg, to equip NETTO’s stores with 1,500 reverse vending machines. This makes Wincor Nixdorf NETTO’s primary supplier of reverse vending.
Wincor Nixdorf has signed a frame agreement with Coop Trading, the internordic procurement company for Coop in Scandinavia, to equip their stores with reverse vending systems in Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
Stockholm Public Transport is optimizing the cash processes at its ticket windows with cash management technology. At all of its 162 ticket offices in Stockholm, cash flows will be processed using Wincor Nixdorf’s iCash banknote and coin systems.
Wincor Nixdorf as technology partner in the GS1 Knowledge Center
Wincor Nixdorf, a leading provider of IT services and solutions for the banking and retail sectors, is now present as a technology partner of GS1 Germany at the standard organization’s new international Knowledge Center in Cologne.
Wincor Nixdorf has acquired a controlling interest in Connections Canada Inc. (CCi), effective May 1.
Wincor Nixdorf has signed a frame agreement with ICA, Sweden’s largest retailer, to supply reverse vending systems to ICA stores in Sweden.
At this year’s Service Station Operators (Tankstelle und Mittelstand) trade show from May 6 to 7, Wincor Nixdorf presents IT solutions for enhanced customer service and optimized service station processes, including transparent pricing, fuel pump management and back-office as well as head-office processes mapping.
At “Kiosk Expo,” the international trade show for kiosk solutions that takes place in Essen, Germany, from May 5 to 7,
Wincor Nixdorf presents new and proven solutions for customer service, marketing communications at POS and optimized sales and cash processes.
Wincor Nixdorf and NICE Banking, an independent deployer of ATMs in South Korea, have partnered to grow a network of cash dispensers at sites owned by the country’s top communications provider Korea Telecom.
Wincor Nixdorf has concluded a framework agreement with leading German food retailer Edeka to equip some of the group’s stores with reverse vending machines
Wincor Nixdorf AG closed the first six months of fiscal 2008/2009 with an increase of 4% in net sales and 2% in operating profit (EBITA). An expert in IT solutions for bank branches and retail stores, Wincor Nixdorf increased its net sales in the first half of the year to 1,234 million euros (1,183 million euros) and EBITA to 103 million euros (101 million euros). Profits for the period rose by 5% to 64 million euros (61 million euros).
Puregold, a leading hypermarket operator in the Philippines, is the first retailer in the country to begin installing TPLinux software across its point of sale (POS) and store server network.
ING Belgium will deploy 1,200 ProConsult transaction terminals from Wincor Nixdorf over the next two years. Belgium’s fourth largest bank will install the systems in 550 branches in which cash is dispensed exclusively through terminals and in 250 larger branches.
Best Buy, a global consumer electronics retailer, has adopted Wincor Nixdorf’s New Store Opening solution to support its business in China.
Given the importance of the Australian market, Wincor Nixdorf has expanded into Australia, today announcing the opening of its new local subsidiary and office in Sydney.
Galp Energia, a leading petroleum corporation in Portugal and the country’s largest service station operator, is planning to operate all of its approximately 1000 service stations in Portugal and Spain with an IT solution from Wincor Nixdorf.
Wincor Nixdorf has established a Global Distribution Center (GDC) in Singapore to support its growing operations in Asia Pacific.
In the first handelsjournal competition for the best products for retail businesses, Wincor Nixdorf’s BEETLE /NetX nd BEETLE /iSCAN systems were awarded gold and silver in the categories environmental friendliness and customer satisfaction.
Wincor Nixdorf has received an order from the retailer real,- SB Warenhaus GmbH to deliver and install reverse vending systems.
Wincor World 2009, which was held in Paderborn from January 20 to 22, has once more proven to be the place where experts from retail banking and retailers gather.
The Tesco retail chain in Poland has chosen Wincor Nixdorf to maintain its 4,600-strong estate of POS systems and servers from different vendors.
The transfer and processing of transactions with debit and credit cards generates a high administration overhead for financial institutes and retail companies alike, and also requires a suitable IT infrastructure. Capital and operating expenses can be reduced if this field of activity is delegated to a service provider.
The Mexican financial institution Banco Santander has awarded Wincor Nixdorf a contract for service for all now about 4,000 automated teller machines installed in Mexico.
Wincor Nixdorf ensures security at branches with an enhanced product offer called ProTect. ProTect’s three-tier concept begins with analysis of potential risks, continues with a solution portfolio for minimizing risks, and offers service components for complete monitoring of branches and systems.
Wincor Nixdorf is expanding its portfolio of professional services for banks, and will be presenting this spectrum of products and services at Wincor World 2009.
Wincor Nixdorf is presenting a number of technical innovations that optimize the cash handling process. A new automated teller safe permits cassettes to be swapped in specific deposit, dispensing and cash recycling systems.
From the opening of new branches to their operation and modernization – Wincor Nixdorf presents its end-to-end offer for a branch’s entire lifecycle and shows what state-of-the-art branch design can look like.
Wincor Nixdorf supports banks in networking their delivery channels and enables new customer services by continuously developing its ProClassic/Enterprise Retail Banking Solution Suite.
At this year’s Wincor World, Wincor Nixdorf will present a wide range of products and services, demonstrating how the IT solutions provider can reliably and competently support banks and retailers in their business and strengthen its own competitiveness through innovation.
Wincor Nixdorf is moving toward the new European standard EPAS (Electronic Protocols Application Software), which is now available as part of the introduction of SEPA for integrating cashless payment solutions in checkouts.
According to a survey conducted by the EHI-Retail Institute (Cologne), more than a third of large retail chains are planning to use digital advertising media at their stores in the near future.
Wincor Nixdorf has further developed the technology of its BEETLE POS family for international retail companies and added new systems to the product portfolio.
Wincor Nixdorf has expanded its software portfolio for international retail companies to include new functions to enable central control of processes at the store level.
Maximum customer acceptance, user-friendliness, and a refined consulting and rollout concept are the focus of Wincor Nixdorf’s expansion of its checkout automation portfolio.
Wincor Nixdorf is set to equip Shell International Petroleum Company Limited (“Shell”) service stations internationally with a new service station solution and, in doing so, further standardize large sections of Shell’s service station network.
The shareholders of Wincor Nixdorf AG approved all items on the agenda of today's Annual General Meeting in Paderborn with overwhelming majorities. For fiscal 2007/2008 shareholders in the company will receive a dividend payment of €2.13 per share.
Wincor Nixdorf reaffirms outlook, but attunes
to economic crisis
Wincor Nixdorf AG completed the first quarter of the current fiscal year with 7 percent growth in net sales and an 8 percent increase in operating profit (EBITA).


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Recently, Arizona, Kentucky, and Hawaii have jumped on the bandwagon to regulate earned wage access (EWA) products and services. Arizona’s proposed bill makes clear that EWA services are not considered to be loans or money transmissions, and voluntary tips or gratuities are not finance charges. It further requires EWA providers to be licensed, provide mandatory
Taylor focuses her practice on providing regulatory advice on matters related to federal and state consumer protection, consumer finance, and payments laws, including those that apply to payment cards, lines of credit, installment loans, electronic payments, online banking, buy-now-pay-later transactions, retail installment contracts, rental-purchase transactions, and small business loans.
We are pleased to share our annual review of regulatory and legal developments in the consumer financial services industry. With active federal and state legislatures, consumer financial services providers faced a challenging 2023. Courts across the country issued rulings that will have immediate and lasting impacts on the industry. Our team of more than 140 professionals has prepared this concise, yet thorough analysis of the most important issues and trends throughout our industry. We not only examined what happened in 2023, but also what to expect — and how to prepare — for the months ahead.
On January 9, a group of five bi-partisan South Carolina Senators introduced Bill 910, which would, among other things, require persons (non-bank lenders) providing “consumer installment loans” or “deferred presentment loans” to conduct ability to repay (ATR) analysis. Insured state and federally chartered banks and credit unions are exempt from the provisions of the proposed law, which is currently before the Committee on Labor, Commerce, and Industry for review.
Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued a proposed rule with request for public comment to prohibit covered financial institutions from charging nonsufficient funds fees (NSF) for payment transactions that are instantaneously declined. The proposed rule would treat fees for transactions declined in real time to be unlawful under the Consumer Financial Protection Act.
Last month, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law Assembly Bill 2672, which both prohibits sellers from charging a credit card surcharge greater than what they are charged by the credit card company and requires sellers to clearly post the price of the credit card surcharge. The law will take effect on February 11, 2024.
On January 17, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued a proposed rule with request for public comment to amend exemptions to Regulation Z so the Truth in Lending Act (TILA)/Regulation Z would apply to certain overdraft “credit” provided by insured financial institutions with more than $10 billion in assets, in furtherance of the Bureau’s crusade on “junk fees.” At a highlevel, the CFPB’s proposed rule would provide covered financial institutions with two options for offering overdraft “credit”: (1) a “courtesy” overdraft service with “breakeven” fees exempt from TILA/Regulation Z; or (2) a “covered overdraft credit” line/loan in connection with debit card or routing/account number transactions with “above breakeven” fees subject to TILA/Reg. Z. Under the proposal, an institution subject to the rule would have to provide full TILA disclosures and comply with other substantive TILA requirements for overdraft fees if they exceed costs or a low CFPB safe harbor amount.
Late last month, the Revenue Based Finance Coalition (RBFC), a trade group of sales-based financing providers, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Bureau) final rule under § 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Final Rule). As discussed here, § 1071 amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to impose significant data collection and reporting requirements on small business creditors. Specifically, RBFC objects to the CFPB’s characterization of sales-based financing as a form of credit subject to the Final Rule’s collection and reporting requirements.
On January 9, SB 1146, entitled the Earned Wage Access Services Act, was introduced into the Florida Senate. The bill would require earned wage access (EWA) providers to register with the Florida Financial Services Commission. The bill also requires EWA providers to develop procedures for dealing with consumer questions and complaints, requires consumer notifications…
On January 10, HB 254, entitled the True Lender Act, was introduced before the Maryland House of Delegates. The Act would amend the Maryland Commercial Law to add an article containing both predominant economic interest and totality of the circumstance tests to determine the “true lender” of a loan. A hearing on HB 254 is scheduled on January 23.
On January 9, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (CA DFPI) announced a consent order with Credova Financial, LLC, (Credova) to resolve allegations that, in violation of the California Consumer Financial Protection Law, the company failed to disclose potential third-party fees to consumers. Pursuant to the settlement, Credova is required to pay a $50,000 penalty and disclose potential third-party convenience fees to consumers in the future.

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Marvel’s Spiderman PS4 is one of the best games of this generation. However, Spider-Man PS4 has managed to make a record which is becoming the fastest selling superhero game in the US history.
This is an according to NPD analyst, Mat Piscatella. The analyst took to his Twitter account and revealed that Spider-Man PS4 has managed to become the fastest-selling superhero game in the US History. Furthermore, Spider-man PS4 managed to achieve this goal in just three months following its launch.
Bonus November 2018 Video Game market sales data update from The NPD Group – Over the first three months in market, Marvel’s Spider-Man is now the fastest selling superhero game in US history. Congrats again to @insomniacgames! pic.twitter.com/TRiOJY1M05
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) December 20, 2018
This comes as no surprise as Spiderman PS4 was praised by critics for its narrative, combat mechanics, and the world.
Not only that, Spider-Man PS4 is a single-player only title which indicates that gamers still want to play games with an incredible story to tell.
Speaking of the game, developer Insomniac Games recently rolled out a small update for the game. With the update, the studio included the webbed suit to Spiderman PS4 from Sam Raimi Spiderman movies.
If you are wondering how to get Sam Raimi suit in Spider-Man PS4, all you have to do in boot up the game and the suit is yours.
However, Spiderman might not be the only game based on Marvel Comics to release. According to creative director at Insomniac, Spiderman PS4 will potentially be followed up by other Marvel video games.
One of my fave parts of this video is when [Bryan] talks about how Marvel’s Spider-Man is intended as ‘the Iron Man of Marvel video games,’ which is exactly how we view it. As with that first MCU hit, [Marvel’s Spider-Man] kicks off a new era for Marvel console games.
Furthermore, shortly after the game’s release Mortal Kombat developer, Ed Boon, posted a video showcasing how the Spiderman PS4 combat would look if it was developed by NetherRealm Studios.
Spider-Man PS4 is an open-world action adventure game developed by Insomniac Games. The game is available exclusively for PlayStation 4.


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NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Whirlpools' ( WHR)'s Maytag division and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission have announced a recall of 1.7 million units of dishwashers.
The concern is an electrical failure in the dishwasher, which can pose a serious fire hazard. Maytag has already received 12 reports of these failures; they resulted in fires and dishwasher damage, including one report of extensive kitchen damage from a fire. No injuries have been reported. The recall includes Maytag, Amana, Jenn-Air, Admiral, Magic Chef, Performa by Maytag and Crosley brand dishwashers. Click here for a full list of recalled Maytag models>> The affected dishwashers were manufactured with black, bisque, white, silver and stainless steel front panels. -- Reported by Andrea Tse in New York Follow TheStreet.com on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.


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- Delta Air Lines beats expectations with Q1 2023 earnings, reporting a revenue of $11.2 billion and an adjusted EPS of $0.98 per share.
- The airline credits increased demand for travel as COVID-19 restrictions ease and its focus on leisure travel and customer experience for its success.
- Delta still faces challenges such as rising fuel costs and the industry-wide labor shortage.
- The airline plans to increase capacity by 30% in the upcoming months and invest in technology and infrastructure to improve customer experience and expand its international routes.
- Delta's Q1 2023 earnings report is a positive sign for the airline industry's recovery, but the company will need to navigate challenges to sustain its success.
Delta Air Lines (Stock: DAL) reported its Q1 2023 earnings, beating expectations with a revenue of $11.2 billion and an adjusted EPS of $0.98 per share. The airline credited the strong results to increased demand for travel as COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease. Delta's CEO also announced plans to increase capacity by 30% in the upcoming months, signaling confidence in the airline industry's recovery.
Delta's Q1 2023 earnings report in detail
Analyzing the factors that contributed to its success and the challenges the airline still faces. We will also explore Delta's future growth plans and how they align with the broader industry trends.
From the earnings report, it is clear that Delta's revenue and earnings have rebounded strongly compared to the same period last year, reflecting the recovery of the airline industry as a whole. The company's decision to focus on leisure travel and invest in customer experience has paid off, with the increase in demand for travel and the rise in average ticket prices.
However, Delta still faces several challenges, including rising fuel costs and the ongoing labor shortage in the industry. The airline's CEO acknowledged these challenges and emphasized the importance of managing costs and improving operational efficiency in the coming months.
Delta is betting on continued growth in leisure travel and plans to expand its international routes. The company is also investing in technology and infrastructure, including the development of a new terminal at its hub in Atlanta. These investments are aimed at improving customer experience and enhancing Delta's competitiveness in the market.
Delta's Q1 2023 earnings report is a positive sign for the airline industry's recovery, but challenges remain. Delta's strategy of focusing on leisure travel and investing in customer experience has proven successful, and the company's plans for future growth align with industry trends. However, the airline will need to navigate rising costs and a labor shortage to sustain its success.
Institutions Holding DAL
- # of Institutions 1,170
- Shares Held 424M
- Call Options Held 27.1M
- Put Options Held 23.5M
About DELTA AIR LINES, INC.
- Ticker DAL
- Exchange NYSE
- Sector Industrials
- Industry Airlines
- Shares Outstandng 641,187,968
- Market Cap $29.9B
- Delta Air Lines, Inc. provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Airline and Refinery. Its domestic network centered on core hubs in Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, and Salt Lake City, as well as coastal hub positions in Boston, Los A...


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Deliveroo's got a delivery problem. For more than a month, customers have been complaining that their accounts have been broken into, with orders for huge quantities of food sent to seemingly random addresses.
Dozens of Deliveroo users have complained to the London-based company saying their accounts have been accessed, delivery addresses added and orders made. And it's not the first time it's happened – three years ago Deliveroo faced a similar spate.
"On January 9 my boyfriend Joe woke up to an email to say his Deliveroo account details had been changed – specifically his email address and phone number, rendering him unable to access the account full stop," says Emily Cramp, who, along with her partner Joe, was one of the people caught up in the scam. Two payments of £24.99 and £10.99 had been taken.
Four days later, Cramp says, she received a similar email saying her Deliveroo address details had been changed. Out of precaution she had already removed her payment details from the account so no orders were placed. The company did not quickly respond when complaints were made, Cramp says.
Similarly, YouTuber's Joel and Lia had a £51.58 bottle of Ciroc vodka ordered from a North London shop, while living in the South West of the capital. An automatic email from Deliveroo had arrived minutes before saying a new address had been added to the account.
"I called them immediately to which they told me they would freeze my Deliveroo account and send me an email," Joel says. However, he adds, the amount was taken from his bank account "I've called my bank and they have cancelled the card and blocked the device which made the order from making any further payments with my details." He also complained of delayed replies from Deliveroo.
Joel and Lia, as well as Cramp, provided WIRED with details of the fraudulent orders and their subsequent correspondence with Deliveroo. The New Statesman has reported more than 40 people have recently experienced similar problems.
And it turns out all the fuss is being caused by crooks using the relatively unsophisticated technique of credential stuffing. This involves hackers obtaining usernames and passwords from data breaches and testing the same details against a myriad of other online accounts.
"Sadly cyber criminals rely on the fact that people reuse the same passwords on multiple online services and use data breaches elsewhere to try gain access to other accounts on the web," a spokesperson for Deliveroo said, adding that none of the company's systems has been compromised. "We continuously roll out measures to combat fraudsters and Deliveroo has introduced further measures in recent months to protect customer accounts."


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Scavengers Studio is making its battle royale game Darwin Project free-to-play, just over a month after it launched with a premium price on Steam Early Access and Xbox Game Preview.
Darwin Project has already switched to free-to-play on Steam, and the Xbox version will follow suit after an update this week - it currently has a price of £12.49 in the UK, and $14.99 in the US.
The Montreal-based studio has agreed to refund anyone who has paid for the game on Steam, regardless of when they made the purchase, starting this week.
"We've been fortunate to have a core community of players join us at a very early stage, with many still supporting us during Early Access, and the last thing we want to do is let those passionate players down," said creative director Simon Darveau in a blog post.
"Lately, members of our community have reported longer queue times and difficulty finding matches in lesser populated servers. To bring in new players and maintain a level of activity that ensures players are able to get the most of out Darwin Project, we've decided to make it more accessible by removing the price tag.
"We're aware that it's a big change, and we want to reiterate that we're remaining true to Darwin Project's vision as we move forward."
Tomorrow, the game's progression system will receive a complete overhaul, with the introduction of cosmetic items that can earned by levelling up. More than 200 items will be added to the game with the next update, and the game's existing owners will receive a "Founder's Pack" containing a selection of them.
Scavengers Studio has made it clear that it, "will never sell items that give a competitive advantage."


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As the saying goes, you can run but you can't hide. Skiplagged may be marketing Southwest flights for now and helping flyers book them, but this practice doesn't have a bright future.
Dennis' Online Travel Briefing
Editor’s Note: Every Wednesday, Executive Editor and online travel rockstar Dennis Schaal will bring readers exclusive reporting and insight into the business of online travel and digital booking, and how this sector has an impact across the travel industry.
Online Travel This Week
Give flight discounter and hidden-city ticket enabler Skiplagged credit for its resourcefulness when it comes to offering verboten flights from Southwest Airlines, but the nine-year-old startup could be playing a dangerous game.
Skiplagged had been using Kiwi.com to access flights from Southwest, which notoriously touts Southwest.com as the only place for leisure travelers to book its tickets. But with a Southwest hometown federal court in Dallas barring Kiwi from scraping Southwest and settlement talks between the airline and Kiwi under way, Skiplagged is still earning money promoting Southwest flights.
Skiplagged now enables its customers to find Southwest flights on Skiplagged.com, and then points flyers to DestinaHolidays to book them. Does DestinaHolidays scrape the Southwest website to access the flights or grab them as part of tour packages? Both methods would presumably be unauthorized. Efforts to reach DestinaHolidays for comment were unsuccessful.
So Skiplagged, founded by Aktarer Zaman in New York, seems to be staying one step ahead of the airline, which has won multiple lawsuits and issued a torrent of cease and desist letters against startups and other online travel players seeking to offer Southwest flights on their own websites. Skiplagged didn’t respond to a request to comment about its strategy.
Asked whether Skiplagged is playing with fire when it comes to Southwest, one of the biggest carriers in the U.S., Kayak CEO Steve Hafner said: “They’ve been playing cat and mouse with airlines for years. Eventually, the cat gets the mouse.”
I can see both sides of the equation.
On the one hand, I admire little Skiplagged’s audacity in standing up to the airline. It hurts consumers that Southwest’s fares aren’t showing up for comparison or booking purposes in metasearch engines such as Kayak, Google Flights or Skyscanner.
On the other hand, Southwest flights from Skiplagged via DestinaHolidays are often more expensive than on Southwest.com. A Dallas Love Field Southwest flight to Chicago O’Hare on December 13 was $20 more on DestinaHolidays than it was on Southwest.com, for example.
In addition, the airline wants to market its flights in its own style, and the scrapers aren’t equipped or authorized to do so. In fact, they can’t even use a Southwest logo because that would be trademark infringement.
Southwest offers three brands of fares, lets consumers know that they can check “two bags for the price of none,” and provides information about how many Rapid Rewards points the flight will earn. All of that marketing sizzle is absent from the scraper websites.
Southwest and Skiplagged are involved in two lawsuits over the latter’s unauthorized use of the airline’s fares in Texas and New York, and there is a pending settlement involving Southwest and Kiwi over similar matters in Texas.
Southwest noted in the New York lawsuit involving Skiplagged that with Kiwi barred in a third lawsuit in Texas from offering Southwest flights, “Skiplagged has changed tactics … and is now marketing Southwest flights in partnership with Ovago.com.“ Southwest asked the New York court for permission to provide additional information about Skiplagged’s partnership.
However, Skiplagged may have changed its modus operandi yet again because we only saw Skiplagged referring customers to DestinaHolidays to complete their bookings, and not Ovago.com.
For now, at least, Skiplagged seems to be burnishing a Teflon reputation because airline efforts to crush some of its activities so far haven’t stuck. Skiplagged used jurisdictional arguments to finesse its way around a United Airlines lawsuit, and so far keeps marketing Southwest flights even though longtime partner Kiwi ran into a legal brick wall.
It is difficult to see Skiplagged prevailing, though, in the long run.
Expedia CEO on 2 Issues: Sabre and Getaroom
In an interview with Skift at site of the Phocuswright conference in Florida September 17, Expedia Group CEO Peter Kern addressed the company’s decision to downgrade its use of the Sabre global distribution system, and Booking Holdings’ acquisition of Getaroom.
- Kern said Expedia Group opted to greatly reduce its use of Sabre’s global distribution system as part of Expedia’s efforts to simplify operations, and for the economic benefits, which will only become apparent when the travel recovery kicks in. He said Expedia will continue to use Sabre modestly, and will remain multiple GDS, meaning it will use Amadeus and Sabre.
- Asked whether he knew that hotel wholesaler and distributor Getaroom had been up for sale, Kern said Expedia knew something was going on. He claimed Getaroom distributes wholesale rates in an unauthorized manner at times — in Kern’s words Getaroom puts “rates out into the wild.” He argued that Expedia wanted to be “the good guys,” and wasn’t keen on buying.
While Tripadvisor had to reboot its subscription program over hotels’ rate parity concerns, eDreams Odigeo, the flights online travel agency based in Spain, saw its subscriber roster double to 2 million in the past six months. One of the key differences is eDreams is flight oriented while Tripadvisor’s membership program focuses on hotels, where rate parity concerns can be acute. Skift
Tripadvisor announced that Lindsay Nelson, its chief experience and brand officer, will be leaving her post in January, and characterized the move as a “termination of employment without cause.” Nelson played a major role in incubating Tripadvisor Plus, as did CEO Steve Kaufer, who the company announced several weeks ago will be stepping aside pending the culmination of a CEO search. Skift
Search engine marketing in the U.S. in October produced website traffic on desktops approaching pre-pandemic levels, according to SimilarWeb data. Expedia Group outspent everyone else, and it’s all good news for Google. Skift
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Consumer confidence is reported to be sharply higher. That sounds good, but if history is any guide, the latest readings from the Conference Board survey may be a bad omen for both stocks and President Clinton. That is because consumers' views of the future are significantly less optimistic than their views of the present. And in the past, such a divergence has been a negative indicator for the stock market.
Had someone bought and sold the stocks in the Dow Jones industrial average based on an indicator derived from the consumer confidence data since 1969, the portfolio would now be up 515 percent. By contrast, a buy-and-hold investor would have gained 313 percent. And with this week's results, the indicator has issued its first sell signal since June 1987.
Looking only at the indicator in the survey closest to midterm elections, it has been a perfect forecaster of the results of the next Presidential election. If consumers felt the future looked better than the present, as they did in 1970, 1982 and 1986, they went on to re-elect the incumbent President, or his party's candidate if he did not run.
And when consumers felt the other way, as they did in 1974, 1978 and 1990, they voted the incumbent out of office two years later. It is that unfortunate group that Mr. Clinton is in danger of joining.
The latest poll by the Conference Board, which was released on Tuesday, produced an overall level of consumer confidence of 101.3 for November, the highest since July 1990, just before a recession hit the country, and up sharply from October's 89.1.
But the surge came mainly from very optimistic views of the present situation, which registered at 108.3, also the highest since mid-1990. The outlook for the next six months was only 96.7, less than it was just after Mr. Clinton was elected two years ago.
It makes sense that people would put more money into stocks when they think the future is better than the past, and would grow cautious when they fear the future will be worse. And it turns out that consumer confidence has been a fair indicator of the stock market.
The rule, first discussed in this column two years ago, is that if the expectations index is at least nine points below the index of current conditions, a sell signal is created. That signal continues until the expectations index is at least nine points higher than the current index, when a buy signal is given. That range keeps the indicator from flipping over on small changes.
When the Conference Board began its poll of consumers in February 1969, they were less optimistic about the future than the present, and so an investor would have stayed out of the stock market. By August 1970, when the future looked better, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 15 percent from where it had been when the first measure was taken. Over the succeeding years, the indicator would have called for selling at the end of February 1973, buying in December 1974, selling in May 1978, buying in June 1980 and selling in June 1987, shortly before the 1987 crash.
That crash shook consumer views of the future, and it was not until February 1991, well after the stock market had made up the losses from the crash, that it provided a new buy signal, which remained in effect until this week.
For purposes of computing the history, all buy and sell signals were considered to be executed on the last day of the month in which confidence moved past the trigger for buying or selling. Because the Conference Board sometimes revises its figures a month after they are released, it is possible that some of those signals were given a month later than indicated.


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Goodwood Hillclimb to Feature in Gran Turismo®6
Goodwood’s renowned 1.86km Hill Climb, centre piece of the British stately home’s annual Festival of Speed, has been announced as a new track to feature on the forthcoming Gran Turismo®6 for PlayStation®3. Polyphony Digital Inc., creators of PlayStation®’s best-selling Gran Turismo® franchise, recently announced a deal to partner the Goodwood Festival of Speed (11-14 July). A new GT6™ demo will now give some of the expected 185,000-plus spectators their chance to challenge Nick Heidfeld’s 1999 41.6s course record set in a Formula 1 car. The demo will include a range of stunningly recreated cars to race up the virtual version of "the Hill".
The Goodwood Festival of Speed has an enviable international reputation as a celebration of all things automotive and motor sport. The annual event, held at the family home of the Earl of March, features an array of cars that spans from the beginnings of the automotive industry at the end of 19th century to the very latest cars proudly displayed by the manufacturers. The range and scope of the event is mirrored by Polyphony Digital’s aspirations for "The Real Driving Simulator".
"I have always been a huge admirer of the Festival of Speed and what Lord March has achieved," explains Polyphony Digital President and legendary creator of Gran Turismo, Kazunori Yamauchi. "I love the incredible range of cars on display – from the priceless, rare and exotic, to the latest family hatchback and full on racing cars – I love the challenge of the Hill Climb and the rally stage. Goodwood represents every type of motoring and motor sport which very much mirrors what we aim to achieve with Gran Turismo and so it is very special that we have forged this partnership. There will be no better feedback than that provided by the Goodwood fans to tell me if we are heading in the right direction with Gran Turismo 6!"
Priceless classics, new and old pure racers, the latest supercars and an array of other different, rare, innovative or simply quirky cars are piloted up the Hill by an exclusive group of top drivers and invited guests. With the iconic Goodwood Hill Climb now gloriously recreated in full Gran Turismo detail, the legions of GT players around the world will have their chance to experience the excitement and honour that has been reserved for only a handful of top drivers, with the added bonus of having the huge range of cars that will be available on Gran Turismo 6 from launch to choose from.
Festival-goers will also be able to race or cruise up the Hill Climb on special demo version of Gran Turismo 6 installed on PlayStation "race pods" at The Goodwood Road Racing Club, The Family Area and Goodwood Hotel. Nissan and Alfa Romeo will make the GT6 demo available on their stands while Mercedes-Benz, Ford and Nissan also have pods on their Moving Motor Show displays. For those that are inspired by all of the racing drivers on display at Goodwood, Nissan, PlayStation’s partner in the innovative GT Academy programme, will be running a "wildcard" competition on its Moving Motor Show display for a chance to reach this year’s GT Academy UK National Final.
The addition of the Hill Climb to the hugely popular Gran Turismo is an exciting prospect for Goodwood Festival of Speed founder The Earl of March: "I am very excited to welcome Polyphony Digital Inc. to Goodwood, and I feel proud and honoured that the Festival of Speed has been chosen to showcase Gran Turismo 6 globally, as I cannot think of a more fitting gaming partner for this celebration of motor sport and car culture, especially in this, our 20th anniversary year. I am particularly looking forward to driving the Hill Climb on Gran Turismo 6, although I suspect I may have to tear my children away from playing it for me to get a look in!"


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Hilton Linzhi Resort opens in Tibet
Hilton has announced the opening of Hilton Linzhi Resort in Tibet.
Hilton Linzhi Resort is the company’s first hotel in the region and home to Tibet’s first nine-hole golf course.
Located between the Himalayas and Yarlung Zangbo River, Hilton Linzhi Resort sits atop 800 lush acres dotted with big flower peonies (Paeonia Ludlowii), a symbol of traditional Tibetan medicine.
“We are constantly looking to be in the places that matter most to our guests, and Tibet – or as locals refer to it, ‘The Throne of the Sun’ - is a remarkable, culturally vibrant area to debut our flagship brand,” said Sean Wooden, vice president, brand management, Asia Pacific, Hilton.
“Hilton Linzhi Resort is an exceptional new property in a majestic destination where we look forward to introduce visitors with Hilton’s renowned hospitality.”
Hilton Linzhi Resort is located within the historic King of Gongbo site, at an elevation of 3,000 meters.
The resort is served by Nyingchi Airport, which is just seven kilometres away, and provides easy access to attractions including Namjagbrawa Mountain and the Medog Grand Canyon Adventure Tourism Area.
“Hilton Linzhi Resort is a world-class destination resort that caters to the increasing demand in Tibet’s leisure and MICE segments,” said Bruce McKenzie, senior vice president, operations, Greater China & Mongolia, Hilton.
“The region has been benefiting from the on-going efforts of the Tibet Tourism Bureau, and we are pleased to celebrate Hilton’s entry to this growing market as we continue to expand our portfolio.”
Reminiscent of grand Tibetan palaces, Hilton Linzhi Resort incorporates Chinese architectural flourishes and modern luxuries.


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This year marks the 30th anniversary of the introduction of the M3 and to celebrate it, BMW is releasing the anniversary edition "30 Years M3."
May 2016 Archives
Subaru has unveiled the updated 2017 BRZ, which gets lots of upgrades, including revised styling, suspension upgrades and updates to its four-cylinder boxer engine.
Ford has announced the specs for the updated 2017 Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid, which now has a longer driving range than the 2016 model. With a total driving range of 610 miles, the 2017 Fusion Energi can now travel further than any other plug-in hybrid on the market.
Now that Toyota has released an all-new Prius, what does Toyota have planned for its cousin, the Lexus CT hybrid? Well fans of the Lexus CT will probably be disappointed to hear that there are rumors that the CT hatchback will be replaced by a new smaller crossover.
The all-new second-generation Acura NSX is now officially rolling off the production line at Acura's new Performance Manufacturing Center (PMC) in Marysville, Ohio. The first customer, Rick Hendrick, earned the right to custom order the first production NSX with a winning bid of $1.2 million at the Barrett-Jackson auction in January.
Toyota and Uber have announced the beginning of a partnership to explore collaboration in the world of ridesharing. The signed memorandum of understanding will see the two companies start with trials in countries where ridesharing is expanding. As part of the partnership, Toyota Financial Services Corporation and Mirai Creation Investment Limited Partnership are making a strategic investment in Uber.
This fall the electric car segment is about to get the boost that it needs with the arrival of the 2017 Chevy Bolt with its 200-mile driving range. The Bolt will be followed by other 200 mile range EVs from other automakers, like Tesla and Nissan. Hyundai is now confirming plans to throw its hat in the segment with its own 200-mile range electric car.
Honda is reportedly planning to celebrate its upcoming 70th birthday by launching a successor to the S2000. According to a source that spoke with Car & Driver, Honda's engineers are hard at work on the new sports car.
Aston Martin has unveiled its latest creation, the Vanquish Zagato concept, which is going to debut this weekend at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, held at Lake Como in Italy.
Acura continues to work on self driving technology and now it's unveiled its second generation automated development vehicle. Based on the RLX sedan, the automated vehicle features a new suite of radar, Lidar, camera and GPS sensors, complemented by higher performance CPUs and GPUs, and improved cabling, heat management and circuitry.
While GM has had success with the Chevy Volt that is now well into its second generation, its cousin, the Cadillac ELR hasn't met the same fate. Sales of the ELR were doomed from the start, largely because of its $75,000 sticker price and now production has officially stopped.
Volvo has unveiled two new concept cars, which are a preview of its upcoming 40 Series lineup. The 40 Series concepts are a preview of the next-generation S40, V40 and XC40 models.
Infiniti has announced the pricing for the 2016 Q50 3.0t models, which are powered by a 300-hp 3.0L twin turbocharged V6. The arrival of the 3.0t models, completes the 2016 Q50 lineup, which is now available with a choice of four powertrains.
BMW has unveiled the updated 2017 2 Series lineup, which includes the new 230i and M240i models, that replace the old 228i and M235i models. As the updated names suggest, both versions get updated and more powerful turbocharged four-cylinder and six-cylinder engines.
We've been hearing reports about a mid-engined Corvette for a while, but Chevy has never confirmed any of the rumors. Now Car and Driver claims that the Corvette will switch to a mid-engine layout when the all-new C8 Corvette debuts in early 2018 at the Detroit Auto Show.
Now that Volvo has released the all-new XC90, S90 and V90 models, the automaker is focusing at the other end of its lineup with the new 40-Series compact models. Volvo is working on a new S40, V40 and XC40, which will be previewed later this month with the debut of the V40 and XC40 concepts.
BMW's next electric car will serve as the flagship for the brand's i-sub brand, which currently includes the i3 and i8 models. BMW CEO Harold Krueger recently shared the news during a shareholders' meeting, where he revealed that the BMW "next" will feature self-driving technology when it arrives by 2021.
Chevy has unveiled the 2017 Silverado High Desert package, which is based on the concept vehicle with the same name that debuted at the 2014 SEMA show. With its lockable and water resistant cargo system, Chevy says that the Silverado High Desert package blends the capability and utility of Silverado with the refinement and luxury of the Suburban.
Mitsubishi's future has been unclear for years, especially in the U.S. where its lineup continues to shrink. Now the automaker's fate has gotten even worse, following its latest emissions scandal, which involved cheating on fuel economy tests. But there's hope, since it's being reported that Nissan is in talks with Mitsubishi to buy a 34 percent controlling stake in automaker.
MINI has unveiled the first special edition of the new MINI models - the MINI Seven. The 2017 MINI Seven special edition pays tribute to the original that debuted in 1959 and is available in both Cooper and Cooper S variants of the MINI Hardtop 2 Door and 4 Door.
The Chrysler 300 has been one of the shining lights in the Chrysler lineup for years, but Chrysler may be working on a successor that will be dramatically different than today's rear-wheel drive sedan. Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne recently hinted that the 300's replacement could share the same front-wheel drive platform as the new Pacifica minivan.
If you're in the market for a bright yellow truck, Ram has your answer - the limited edition 2016 Ram 1500 Stinger Yellow Sport. The very limited-edition (only 2,500 will be built) Ram 1500 features unique interior colors, body-colored accents and most importantly, bright yellow paint.
Honda has released the pricing for the all-new 2017 Ridgeline pickup, which is going to arrive in showrooms next month. The 2017 Ridgeline will be offered in seven trim levels, with the base RT model starting at $30,375 with the destination fees included.
Even though Buick unveiled an all-new Verano compact sedan last year in China, it's being reported that the Verano's days are numbered in the U.S. According to sources, the current Verano will continue in the U.S. through the 2017 model year.
A new report claims that GM and Lyft are going to start testing self-driving versions of the Chevy Bolt EV next year on public roads. GM recently invested $500 million in Lyft and now its reportedly looking to buy Cruise Automation Inc., a self-driving technology startup for $1 billion.
Ever since the MINI Rocketman concept debuted back in 2011, there have been off and on-again reports about a production version. While it's unlikely that a traditional gas powered version will ever enter production, MINI is reportedly throwing around the idea of a fully electric version.
VW has announced that the Golf GTI Clubsport S - the most powerful Golf GTI ever has broken the lap record for front-wheel-drive cars on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, with a time of 07:49:21.
Earlier this week BMW unveiled the updates to the 2017 i3, which includes an upgrade to the battery, which will give it a 114 mile driving range. What does BMW have in store for the i8? A new report claims that the i8 is going to get a power upgrade as part of its mid-life cycle update, next year.
Porsche has confirmed plans to introduce a wagon version of the next-generation Panamera in the U.S. within the next two model years. Often referred to as a shooting brake design in Europe, the Panamera wagon will borrow styling traits from the Sport Turismo concept car Porsche showed at the 2012 Paris Motor Show.
Chevy has announced the pricing for the 2017 Corvette Grand Sport, which will be priced at $66,445 for coupe models and $70,445 for the convertible.
Ford has announced that it is the only automaker to offer an available factory-installed strobe warning LED light kit, which is now available to F-150 fleet customers for the first time. The strobe light kit is designed for use by utility, road construction and municipal crews that need enhanced vehicle visibility while working on-site to warn motorists and others that workers.
As expected, BMW is giving the 2017 i3 a battery upgrade, which now means that it can travel up to 50% further than before, which gives it a driving range up to 114 miles. A new version with of the 2017 BMW i3 has a capacity of 33 kWh thanks to the higher energy density of the lithium ion cells, but the best part is that the battery dimensions remain unchanged.
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The next generation of rucksack has arrived today, simply allowing commuters and city travellers to leave behind worries of pickpockets to enjoy safe, smart and secure travel without concern for the safety of their belongings. The revolutionary rucksack has launched on Kickstarter, and after a few hours is already a “staff pick.” After Phil Hufton, London Underground COO, stated this year that pickpocketing was the most common type of crime experienced in the transport system, one UK entrepreneur has come up with an elegant and intuitive way to protect personal possessions from fear of wandering hands in our densely populated cities.
The RiutBag flips the old rucksack design, placing all zip openings against the wearer’s back to ensure that data-rich belongings – from passports and purses to smartphones, laptops and tablets – are fully protected in transit. For busy commuters, regular travellers and residents of the world’s biggest cities, the RiutBag makes public travel a breeze and offers invaluable peace of mind that all belongings are safe and secure.
The London Underground and corresponding transport systems in the world’s busiest cities are packed with commuters, tourists and travellers who will go to any length to secure their belongings and protect themselves from potential crime. Whether they wear their backpacks on their front – a favoured option in Beijing and Shanghai – or frequently check zips and fastenings, travellers in bustling urban centres are aware of the flaws in conventional backpack design. The RiutBag allows them to enjoy a new freedom while travelling, knowing that there are no exposed openings that could lead a pickpocket to their treasured smartphone, car keys or identification.
Sarah Giblin, founder of Riut and creator of the RiutBag, says, “The RiutBag concept came to me after years of commuting and travelling with my trusty rucksack. In the crush one day I realised the problem: when you wear a normal rucksack as intended, the person behind you can get access your things better than you. We’re bombarded with crime statistics and warnings to look after our belongings, yet the rucksack – choice of many commuters – isn’t helping us in urban spaces. Pondering an easier way to carry our bags without suspicion of anonymous fellow commuters around us, I set to work designing the RiutBag.”
Billed as a ‘Revolution In User Thinking’ or ‘Riut’, the entrepreneur’s personal design mantra, the RiutBag is the perfect accessory for commuters, travellers and tourists that frequent busy cities and bustling transport systems. All zips are neatly designed against the wearer’s back, so there’s no risk of a nearby thief having easy access to the smaller compartments where smartphones, passports or tablets tend to sit. The minimal exterior is suited to those travelling for work – it’s sleek enough to accompany office attire, and inconspicuous enough to ensure it doesn’t draw attention for the wrong reasons in the way a smart briefcase or expensive handbag might.
Ms Giblin adds, “The technology we carry with us, and our urban environment, has seen much change and innovation in the last few decades – yet the rucksack has fundamentally stayed the same. It’s time to look at non-tech items as a legitimate focus of innovation, like the humble rucksack. So here it is: the RiutBag is the next generation of rucksack. Until the day that teleportation is an accessible reality for all, I want to keep revolving rucksack design anew around the needs of the user now and in the future. But it all starts here, with the first and fundamental revolution of the rucksack.”
The RiutBag launches today (27 October 2014) on Kickstarter, crowdfunding platform, attempting to secure enough backers to put the bag into full-scale production. For more information about the RiutBag, or to pledge your support to the crowdfunding campaign, visit the Kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1090074666/the-revolutionary-rucksack-riutbag


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FORT MILL — A short walk from the main commons area, among language and computer classrooms at Fort Mill High School, startup company Visionary, Inc. is quickly becoming the go-to spot for students wanting iPhones, tablets and tech gear.
Well, sort of.
“Keep in mind, it’s virtual,” said Avery Carter, vice president of marketing.
Carter is a junior at the school. He’s one of more than 20 students in a virtual enterprise class that facilitator Renita Rochester believes is the closest they’ll come to navigating in the corporate world pre-graduation. Students participate with thousands of schools online in creating, distributing and marketing products.
They also take on more menial tasks – expense reports, company user names and passwords, audit prep, spreadsheet checks.
“Basically it’s a real world business, but it in a class,” said CFO Ryan Long, a senior in his second year with the class. “We don’t just get to do the fun stuff.”
Upper level management must interview at least twice for the jobs they want. All employees get “paid” and most have virtual company stock. They have credit cards, bank accounts. And every Wednesday is corporate attire day, meaning employees tend to stick out from the crowd in the cafeteria or between classes.
Senior Halle Hillman is vice president of human resources. She figures everyone goes into business sooner or later, so Visionary, Inc. gives students like her an advantage in knowing what to expect, and what’s expected of them.
“This, to be honest, should be a mandatory class in high school,” she said.
The class is in its seventh year at the school, and others in the area have had it or still do. Rochester said it’s the hardest but most rewarding teaching she’s done, managing personalities rather than instructing curriculum. Students come to the class having already taken accounting or business, technical education or the like.
“We use this as a course that will culminate their knowledge in other courses,” Rochester said.
Amid loan applications, salaries and rent to be paid, business is going well. In its first month the company has nearly 300 virtual sales, including 180 at a recent trade show at the school.
There are times when virtual business can be confusing. Junior Olivia Adams, vice president of marketing, said sometimes potential customers at lunch or elsewhere are just about ready to pony up for the technology.
“We’re not actually selling you a real product,” she said. “The idea of what we’re selling you is real.”
Advertising and marketing departments produce brochures, fliers and catalogues, while planning for open houses or trade shows. Accounting tackles accounts payable and receivable. Students say they’re not sure how familiar would-be employers are with the program in terms of the class boosting their resumes. But they’re confident they’ll be prepared in other ways to wow potential bosses.
“It’s really teaching you some soft skills that you’ll use in your future,” Carter said. “Until you’re out in a business, you don’t really know.”


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Chrysler LLC and Nissan Motor co Ltd said both companies will join a project to manufacture cars for each other, the groups announced on Monday.
Nissan will produce a small sedan car for Chrysler, similar to the Versa and Chrysler will build Nissan a version of its pick up Dodge Ram.
Chrysler will produce the pickup for Nissan at a factory in Saltillo, Mexico, the companies stated today. Nissan's small car for Chrysler will be assembled at its plant in Oppama, Japan and sold in North America, Europe and other international markets by 2010.
With this, both companies signed their third fabrication agreement and the second to be disclosed in the past four months, the Fortune magazine said.
Some analysts believe Chrysler's plan to produce its own small sedan follows the need of the company to expand beyond North American market.
As for Nissan which recently had announced an investment of over $100 million dollars in a Mississippi plant, the agreement could bring the Japanese company closer to the U.S. market dominated in its majority for General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co.
Shares of Nissan closed 0.69 percent down to $15.93 at the close of Monday trading in Nasdaq.


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Remember the scene in Pretty Woman when snooty assistants in a designer clothes shop refuse to serve Julia Roberts because of her – ahem – unorthodox attire, thereby depriving themselves of an enormous commission, funded by Richard Gere’s credit card? New academic research suggests that the luxury goods industry has learnt its lesson. Read more
Two years ago, I awarded Angela Ahrendts a prize. The chief executive of Burberry, I thought, should be honoured for her tireless services to business jargon.
And so I made her my winner for Outstanding Services to Bunkum in recognition of the most baffling paragraph ever written by a CEO in an annual report. In her statement in the 2011 report she wrote the immortal words: Read more
The appointment of Angela Ahrendts, chief executive of Burberry, to manage Apple’s retail operations is intriguing in many ways. One footnote is that she gets upgraded to a triple-A executive – her name and title will be alliterative.
In response to my pointing this out on Twitter, my colleague Andrew Hill argued that Ms Ahrendts has corporate rivals in alliteration: Read more
Ingvar Kamprad’s withdrawal from key operational roles at Ikea, the company he founded, has more steps than the furniture retailer’s most complex product assembly manual. The question, though, is once he has built his legacy, will it hold together?
The latest move, announced on Wednesday, sees him step down from the board of Inter Ikea Holding, putting his youngest son Mathias in as chairman of the unit, which reaps the royalties from the stores and owns Ikea’s brand and intellectual property. Read more
I can’t remember a declaration of war as emphatic as the one made by Neil Ashe of Walmart on Wednesday. The chief executive of the US retailer’s ecommerce arm told the FT:
We own what we own, and we’re going after what we don’t. We can get to every customer in the world via ecommerce. It doesn’t matter where they live or how much they earn.
In Walmart’s sights: Amazon, the online jungle’s biggest beast. Read more
Not since Sweeney Todd has there been such uncertainty about what exactly goes into processed meat. This time, it isn’t the customers of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street but Romanian horses.
Horsemeat scandal leaves severe cracks in Tesco's reputation. Getty Images
Tesco has defined the limit of mutual responsibility for supply chains. Having inquired into the provenance of beefburgers that contained horsemeat, it has dumped Silvercrest, its supplier of frozen burgers, essentially for deviating from the list of Tesco-approved meat suppliers.
“The breach of trust is simply too great,” said Tim Smith, the UK retailer’s technical director, in a statement. (The owner and founder of Silvercrest’s parent told the FT earlier this month it had been “let down” by its own suppliers.) Read more
No corporate activity is as dispiriting, as futile, or, unfortunately, as common as blame-shifting. The tawdry process is familiar to anyone who has worked in business. However, the temptation to lay blame first and ask questions later is greatest at big companies with their web of complex, global suppliers.
I predicted that HMV would fail – two years ago. The survival of the venerable British brand, defying doomy analysts’ forecasts, the digital musical revolution and generalised High Street decline, was arguably more surprising than its eventual slide into administration overnight on Monday. It still hurts – even if there is sense in the cold argument that “zombie” companies need to be cleared out before recovery begins. Everyone has shopped at HMV. Its demise has left my son as an unsecured creditor, with £30 of unspent HMV gift vouchers that now have purely souvenir value.
The fact the company lasted this long was partly down to the misfortune of rivals like Virgin Megastore, Woolworths, Game and Zavvi, whose earlier collapse drove CD, DVD and computer game buyers to the few remaining physical outlets. Read more
Coffee chain to open in Vietnam. Getty Images
Much is being made of Starbucks’ plan to open an outlet in Ho Chi Minh City in February – “taking on Vietnam’s coffee culture”, as the FT headline has it.
In fact, Starbucks is a little behind schedule – it intended to open in Vietnam in 2012 – and, in any case, I wonder if the significance of the move is not in the headline but in the small print, where the Seattle-based group makes its now familiar commitment to “work closely with local farming communities”. Read more
The post-Christmas come down is a depressing time for a lot of people. For many retailers it is the final straw, when they have to admit that even the December shopping binge has failed to provide enough cash to keep the business trading legally.
As a result, insolvency practitioners and shrewd business journalists will be watching like hawks this week for filings at Companies House, when those in dire straits need to admit that they are planning to call in the receivers or look for a fire sale buyer. Read more
There is no need to ask who will be to blame if and when Tesco’s US adventure is brought to an end. Sir Terry Leahy, ex-chief executive of the UK retailer, has already admitted it will be him.
The Fresh & Easy venture comes under “Courage” in Sir Terry’s book Management in 10 Words, published earlier this year. In the book, he called the investment in the new brand “a calculated risk” and pointed out that “even if the entire investment ultimately had to be written off, it would not threaten Tesco’s underlying viability”.
He reiterated that he was “certain that Fresh & Easy [would] be a success”, well-placed to benefit from economic tailwinds “thanks largely to the courageous people who stepped forward to turn an ambition into a reality”. Read more
Troy Carter, Lady Gaga’s manager, says he wants to know “how the fans smell”: he walks the arena during the star’s show to get a sense of how they’re receiving the act. Phil Clarke, chief executive of Tesco, has set in motion a retraining scheme for the UK retailer’s managers called “Making Moments Matter”, preparing them for face-to-face contact with customers.
Yet both men work for organisations (if Gaga can be described that way) that have also pioneered the use of technology – the Little Monsters Gaga fan site, the Tesco loyalty ClubCard – that helps them know their customers and run their businesses more efficiently.
The mixed approach they advocate illustrates a theme that emerged strongly from this week’s FT Innovate conference, where both men spoke: how to put the personal touch back in technology? Or, as Aimie Chapple of Accenture summarised at one roundtable session: how do you add the love to Big Data? Read more
Jeff Bezos is on a mission to seek out and destroy military metaphors at work. “You ‘target’ your customers,” Amazon’s chief executive told an audience in New York last year. “I’m, like, what? Why would you do that? That doesn’t make any sense.”
Royal Dutch Shell’s plan to reintroduce attendants to the forecourts of Britain’s petrol stations is bothering me.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all in favour of better service, but, as everyone knows, such improvements – particularly the personal “shall I check your tyre pressures, madam?” service promised by Shell – cost money. I’ll drink a litre of unleaded if the Shell plan isn’t really based on selling more stuff. Read more


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Hybrid ultrabooks, devices that can be used like a tablet or a laptop, will soon be a common sight in the workplace. At least, that's what Intel and Microsoft are hoping. The former sees the format as...
The latest version of Windows 10 was released last week
The new MacBook Pro is powered by 10th-generation Intel Core processors
Both AMD and Intel are continuing to produce CPUs at near full capacity despite the COVID-19 outbreak
France’s competition authority claims Apple struck deals to keep iPad prices high
The launch of Apple’s upgraded entry-level iPhone SE2 has been pushed back from this month into the second quarter


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PUTTING healthy foods at eye level in the fridge could help you lose weight because you eat what you see first, psychologists have found.
Simple changes like moving chocolate out of sight and putting more wholesome foods where they can easily be seen can help dieters to eat better without even realising it.
Serving food on smaller plates and eating in the kitchen or dining room rather than in front of the television can also help you subconsciously reduce the amount you eat without testing your willpower.
Addressing the American Psychological Association yesterday, Dr Brian Wansink said when our mind is on other things we simply eat what is in front of us whether we are hungry or not.
Avoiding "hidden eating traps" like easily accessible junk food, and having meals at the table where we are more aware how much we are eating, can help us lose up to 2lb a month, studies showed.
One experiment at Cornell University found that people pour 37pc more liquid into short, wide tumblers than tall, thin glasses.
Another test in which 60 people were served soup in 650ml bowls, half of which secretly refilled themselves as diners were eating, showed that those with the "bottomless bowls" ate 73 pc more without realising it.
Dr Wansink said: "Most of us have too much chaos going on in our lives to consciously focus on every bite we eat, and then ask ourselves if we're full.
"The secret is to change your environment so it works for you rather than against you."


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A Provo company that sells Dish Network Corp.'s satellite TV services has agreed to pay a $75,000 fine for hanging up on customers, federal regulators said Tuesday.
Provo-based Star Satellite LLC will pay $75,000 after the company was accused of making telemarketing calls that failed to connect consumers to a live telemarketer within two seconds after consumers answer the call. The Federal Trade Commission said the company, its president and other defendants were "unjustly enriched" by these "unlawful practices."
The FTC said the two-second rule was implemented after concerns by consumers, especially women and the elderly, that they were being stalked when they picked up the phone and no one answered.
Telemarketers would make several automated calls at once and route the first consumers who answered their phones to live marketers. Because of the company's limited staff, other consumers wouldn't be connected at all, said FTC spokesman Mitchell Katz.
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Ford reinvents Mustang as a battery-powered crossover
The Mustang is Ford’s signature sports car, having sold more than 10 million units
The Ford Mustang Mach-E electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) sits on display alongside other Mustang vehicles during a reveal event in California
Ford is reinventing one of its marquee models - the Mustang muscle car - as a battery-powered crossover to become a player in the electric-vehicle market that is expected to take off in the coming decade.
In a splashy ceremony Sunday ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show, the carmaker unveiled the Mustang Mach-E, a swoopy hatchback with distinctive pony-car haunches and familiar shark nose that it claims has the power to take on Porsche. When it goes on sale next fall, Ford hopes to convince mainstream buyers its electrified Mustang is an alternative to the Tesla models dominating the EV market.
And Ford, which exited the battery-car business last year when it pulled the plug on its slow-selling Focus EV, is betting it’s cracked the code on turning a profit on plug-ins. By building the Mach-E in Mexico, where labour costs are low, and with a price starting at $43,895, the automaker says it will avoid the losses automakers typically suffer selling high-cost EVs.
The Mach-E will make a profit “on vehicle one,” Ford chief executive Jim Hackett told Bloomberg TV. “That’s surprising a lot of people because electrics have not had a history of making money. This will.”
Mr Hackett said it will turn a profit because the vehicle “creates the passion that follows with Mustang” and prices start in the mid-$30,000 when US subsides on electric cars are factored in. “So it’s attractive to customers.”
Ford is building it in Mexico because it had an open factory there and it needed to be overhauled to build an electric vehicle.
Still, it’s a high-risk gambit. The Mustang is Ford’s signature sports car, having sold more than 10 million units since it debuted in 1964 with simultaneous cover stories in Time and Newsweek. When Ford decided to abandon the traditional passenger-car business last year, it spared only one model: The Mustang.
For more than half a century, the Mustang has embodied high-octane power and unbridled strength. And Ford will continue to make gasoline-fueled versions of the classic muscle car.
The Mach-E is not only the first electric version of the Mustang, it’s also the first time it has been configured into a sport utility vehicle. That will test the elasticity of a brand built on low-slung speedsters.
“Calling this a true sports car would be stretching it,” said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting for researcher LMC Automotive. “The market obviously has gone in the direction of the SUV body type, that’s what’s selling. But the Mustang is not an SUV. It’s been a sports car.”
Ford, having struggled to sell more mundane electric cars, is embarking on a strategy to electrify its icons, starting with the Mustang and following quickly thereafter with a plug-in version of its top-selling F-150 pickup. It is part of $11.5 billion the automaker is investing to roll out 40 electric and hybrid vehicles by 2022. The idea is to show that Ford’s EVs can be fast and tough and are not just “compliance cars” intended to meet more stringent environmental regulations around the world.
“We changed our whole strategy two years ago,” Ted Cannis, Ford’s global head of electrification, said at a briefing on the Mach-E at the company’s design studios in Dearborn, Michigan. “We said, ‘Let’s play to our strengths - performance vehicles, pickups, vans, SUVs, the things Ford knows how to do.’”
Regulations to curb emissions will drive demand for electric vehicles over the next decade, especially in China, the world’s largest auto market. In the US, where president Donald Trump has eased fuel economy rules, EV growth will be slower, but still strong. Sales of battery-powered vehicles will quadruple by 2025 to 809,537 models, accounting for 4.8 per cent of the US car market, up from 1.3 per cent now, according to LMC Automotive.
New electric offerings will mushroom to 110 choices in the US by the middle of next decade, from just 19 now, LMC predicts. Standing out in such a crowded field will be difficult, especially for Ford, which ranked fifth behind Toyota, Tesla, Honda and Nissan among consumers surveyed recently by CarGurus on which brand of electric vehicle they would consider buying.
That’s a key reason Ford decided to affix the Mustang pony to the front of the Mach-E, which originally was conceived in 2017 as merely inspired by the sports car. But as Ford executives were shown design concepts by the small team working on the project, they kept asking for more Mustang influence. By early last year, the decision was made to call it a Mustang.
“This had massive implications,” said Jason Castriota, brand director of battery-electric vehicles for Ford. “You can only imagine the amount of tension and strife this brought through the company.”
That pressure was most acute on the engineers, who had to come up with a way to translate fossil-fuel fury into clean-running power from lithium-ion batteries.
“When we realised we weren’t really doing a Mustang-inspired thing, we were doing a Mustang, the pressure ratcheted up,” said Ron Heiser, the Mach-E’s chief engineer. “We’ve got a lot of people in this company that are staking their engineering reputations that we’re delivering a Mustang.”


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LIFE in the fat-free lane is time consuming, frustrating and annoying. Every time you think you've got the hang of it, something makes you jam on the brakes.
Fat is good. Fat is bad. Fat doesn't make any difference. It sounds like a Jackie Mason routine.
The most recent confusion began last June, with sizzling headlines in newspapers across the country debunking the relationship between health problems and the overconsumption of fat. This turned out to be a one-day story. The consumption of prime beef has not skyrocketed. More chicken than beef is still being sold. Ice cream sales continue to be threatened by frozen yogurt sales, because frozen yogurt is perceived as a product with less fat; it often is.
The headlines in question referred to a study by the University of California that concluded, in part, that even if every American reduced fat intake from 37 percent of calories to 30 percent, the average American would only live three or four months longer. In other words, the drop in deaths caused by heart disease and cancer of the breast, colon and prostate would only prolong life a few more months on average. So why should anyone bother changing?
For a lot of reasons. First of all, no individual is an average. "It's impossible to dramatically change average life expectancy in a population that's already living into its 70's," wrote Bonnie Liebman, director of nutrition for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based consumer advocacy group, in the July-August issue of the consumer group's publication, "Nutrition Action."
"For example," she went on, "if scientists found a cure for all cancers tomorrow, the average person would only live two years longer. That doesn't mean we should stop trying to cure cancer."Continue reading the main story
And eating a diet lower in fat might reduce the risk of nonfatal heart attacks, meaning that the quality of life in the last years might be better.
Fat is still on everyone's mind -- food producers, restaurateurs, grocery stores, the Federal Government and, of course, the consumers who are always trying to get rid of it.
Anxious to help each and every American live longer while it sells more turkey, Shady Brook Farms has begun selling ground turkey breast meat. The company pokes a bit of fun at the pork industry's ads that dub pork "the other white meat" by referring to turkey as "the great white meat."
Other companies offer ground turkey made from everything, white and dark meat (with six grams of fat in a three-ounce serving). Shady Brook's use of turkey breast alone insures that the company's is truly a lower-fat product, with two grams in a three-ounce serving.
Serving sizes are a major source of contention within the industry. While the turkey people tag three ounces as a serving size, Perdue chicken uses a one-ounce serving size to provide nutrition information on its packages. Perdue says this information shows, "how low in saturated fat a Perdue chicken is and how few calories it has."
In complaints to the United States Department of Agriculture and the Federal Trade Commission, the Center for Science in the Public Interest has asked that Perdue be prohibited from using a one-ounce serving size. It was the U.S.D.A. that had given Perdue permission to use the one-ounce measurement.
"The Perdue system would work fine," said Bruce Silverglade, the Center's director of legal affairs, "if the company included a small scale and pocket calculator with each package of chicken."
The Food and Drug Administation says a serving size of fish or seafood is four ounces. But the F.D.A. does not have jurisdiction over meat or poultry. And if this isn't confusing enough, according to Department of Agriculture data, the customary serving size for chicken is about five ounces.
"If U.S.D.A. fails to require nutrition labels on meat and poultry to match those on F.D.A.-regulated foods," Mr. Silverglade said, "comparing the nutritional value, of say, fresh fish and fresh poultry or meat will be about as easy as converting dollars to yen."
It would be in the best interests of the public if an independent referee were sent in to resolve the differences between the two agencies.
Still, the F.D.A. is making an effort to banish some of the confusion. True to his claim in June that he would go after "percent fat free" label claims on products that are not really low in fat, Dr. David Kessler, the F.D.A. Commissioner, has sent the agency's district offices on a hunt for such offenders.
The F.D.A. said in its instructions to its field offices that in order for a food to be considered low in fat it must contain "three grams or less fat per serving and three grams or less per 100 grams of product."
So far only one company, Kraft General Foods has made a commitment in writing to remove such claims from its product labels.
Companies who fail to comply with the agency's standards will receive regulatory warning letters that could lead to fines and seizure of products.
But not all companies producing lower fat foods are trying to pull the wool over consumers' eyes. Guiltless Gourmet Tortilla Chips have only 1.4 grams of fat, 110 calories and 46 milligrams of sodium in a one-ounce serving. That compares quite favorably with the regular tortilla chips, which carry an average of 8 grams of fat, 139 calories and 140 milligrams of sodium. The Guiltless taste pretty good, too.
And for those who don't want to pop their own popcorn but don't want the fat usually associated with the already-popped version, there are Bearitos No Salt No Oil Air Popped Popcorn. A one-ounce serving has 1.4 grams of fat, 98 calories and 2 milligrams of sodium. Regular popcorn popped with oil has 10 grams of fat, 158 calories and 344 milligrams of sodium.
On the lowfat issue, even the National Restaurant Association is paying attention, recommending to is members that they feature a few vegetarian main dishes.
A nationwide study conducted by Gallup for the restaurant group found that 88 percent of 1,001 respondents said they selected vegetarian items in restaurants for health reasons.
The groups's president, John Farquharson, said that interest in vegetarian entrees is driven by increased concern about cholesterol reduction. Remember when vegetarian food meant communes and hippies?Continue reading the main story


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BufferBox to close its locker service soon, shifting focus to Google Shopping products
Nearly a year and a half after being acquired by Google, BufferBox is finally planning to shut down its delivery lockers. In a blog post, BufferBox states that closing the standalone service was a pretty hard decision to make, but it is now time to “bring the learnings, technology and expertise of the team to future Google Shopping products” — such as Shopping Express and other services that may come out of Mountain View in the future. Consequently, BufferBox won’t be welcoming any new users on its site as of today. Meanwhile, warehouses will no longer accept packages after March 31st of this year, and the last day to pick stuff up from a BufferBox locker is shortly thereafter, on April 21st. Those who were big fans of the service can check out this FAQ here, in which BufferBox tries to answer any lingering inquiry you might have.
Engadget Live in 2014: bringing gadgets and geeks together in a city near you! (maybe)
2013 was a banner year for our fledgling series of gadget get-togethers, Engadget Live. Now that 2014 is here, we’re running it back with a slate of events across the country that’ll be better than ever. For the uninitiated, Engadget Live is all about bringing folks together to geek out on the latest gadgets — and for us to connect with you, our readers, face-to-face (as opposed to face-to-screen). Naturally, it also gives you a chance to play with the latest gear from companies you know and love, and maybe from some companies you don’t know, but should love. If that’s not enough to entice you, perhaps the promise of free stuff will do the trick. We’ll be giving away a bunch of that very same gear and tons of swag to attendees at every event.
The tour kicks off on Friday, June 20th in Austin, Texas — with stops in Seattle on July 18, Boston on August 22 and Los Angeles on October 3. Just hit the linked locations above, and you can buy your tickets to any Engadget Live right now for $7.50 apiece. Oh, and keep in mind our nationwide tour culminates in the third Engadget Expand conference in New York City on November 7-8.
We’ll have more info to share about each Engadget Live (and Expand, too) as we get closer to each event, so keep your eye on Engadget.com to get all the latest updates. Still, you should mark your calendars now, and we’d recommend arriving early to every Live event — the lines can be city blocks long. And, if you’re a company interested in sponsoring or participating in any Engadget Live, drop us a line at firstname.lastname@example.org. See y’all there!
Filed under: Announcements, HD, Mobile, Alt
Netflix’s internet provider claims Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner are causing streaming bottlenecks
In the ongoing he said/she said saga surrounding Netflix streaming potentially being throttled, we’ve got a new, potentially volatile piece of information: the CEO of the company that provides Netflix’s bandwidth (Cogent) straight up says that Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner are causing the issues. “Every Internet user is suffering today in their ability to access all the applications, content, and other users across the Internet,” Cogent CEO Dave Schaeffer told Ars Technica in a recent interview.
Due to the consumer-based ISPs (Comcast, etc.) demanding money from Cogent for an already existing, free (though mutually beneficial) relationship, and Cogent refusing to pay, streaming internet (and all other bandwidth, for that matter) has suffered. Specifically, he claims, Verizon (and others) refuse to upgrade the equipment that handles ISP traffic across the country. “Once a port hits about 85 percent throughput, you’re going to begin to start to drop packets. Clearly when a port is at 120 or 130 percent, the packet loss is material,” he told Ars, in reference to the existing ports being overused.
We’d advise taking his claims with a grain of salt: Verizon’s demanding money that he doesn’t want to give, and he’s using the public forum to negotiate — that much is clear, regardless of the streaming situation. That said, he’s far from the first to make the claim of traffic issues surrounding Netflix streaming. For what it’s worth, Verizon contests the claims: “It is categorically false that we are doing anything to adversely impact Netflix traffic to benefit Redbox.” Meanwhile, those of us simply trying to marathon House of Cards‘ second season are left screaming at our TVs.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Networking, Internet, Software, HD
Source: Ars Technica
Your Facebook privacy settings will now live on after you pass
It’s not a topic we discuss often here, but if you’re active online, you may (or may not, ultimately) be concerned with how your data is handled after you die. On Facebook, accounts can be “memorialized” by a friend or family member, with some data remaining visible indefinitely. Previously, after the social network flipped the switch, your remaining content would be accessible only by your friends. Going forward, however, Facebook will match your existing privacy settings, so if your profile was visible to the public, it’ll stay that way after you pass. Additionally, friends and family members will be able to request a “Look Back” video, though we’d recommend getting on that now, while there’s still time to click the edit button.
Filed under: Internet, Facebook
BitTorrent app updated with new design and better management
Imagine how our lives will be without torrents? Hard to imagine, right? And thanks to BitTorrent app for Android, which made the downloading easy, but the application was missing some really important options, but not anymore. BitTorrent has updated their application for Android with a complete overhaul of the user interface, along with some new features such as:
- Select files within a torrent
- Choose torrent download location before or after torrents have started
- Choose to delete torrents only, or torrents & files
Here’s what people think about the latest version of BitTorrent:
★ This app is now everything I could have asked for.”
★ “With this update they fixed the only problem I had with this.The developer is actually listening to the criticism and finding ways to fix them.”
★ “I can now select files! My life is complete!”
Are you fan of µTorrent or BitTorrent? Tell us what you think in the comment box below.
The post BitTorrent app updated with new design and better management appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Fitbit Issues Recall for Fitbit Force Over Skin Irritation Reports [iOS Blog]
Fitbit today stopped sales of its Fitbit Force and issued a voluntary recall of the product following multiple consumer complaints of skin irritation.
First released in October of 2013, the Fitbit Force is the company’s latest wearable activity tracker, monitoring sleep, steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, and stairs climbed.
Reports of skin irritation from the Fitbit Force began gaining traction in January after a report from The Consumerist pointed to multiple users experiencing contact dermatitis after prolonged use of the band.
Fitbit quickly began offering refunds or product replacements to affected customers and suggested the problems could be caused by a nickel allergy, as nickel is an element of the stainless steel used in the band. Fitbit’s full recall letter is below, courtesy of TechCrunch:
We wanted to provide an update on our investigation into reports we have received about Force users experiencing skin irritation.
From the beginning, we’ve taken this matter very seriously. We hired independent labs and medical experts to conduct a thorough investigation, and have now learned enough to take further action. The materials used in Force are commonly found in many consumer products, and affected users are likely experiencing an allergic reaction to these materials.
While only a small percentage of Force users have reported any issue, we care about every one of our customers. We have stopped selling Force and are in the process of conducting a voluntary recall, out of an abundance of caution. We are also offering a refund directly to consumers for full retail price. We want to thank each and every member of the Fitbit community for their continued loyalty and support. We are working on our next-generation tracker and will announce news about it soon.
For additional information, please contact our support line at: 888–656–6381, or visit http://www.fitbit.com/forcesupport.
According to Fitbit co-founder and CEO James Park, only 1.7 percent of Fitbit users have reported skin irritation issues. An independent study did, however, determine the Fitbit is causing allergic contact dermatitis in some users, likely as a result of nickel contact or from the strap materials/glue used in the device’s construction.
Fitbit Force owners can request a refund for their devices from the Fitbit website, with the company promising to send a reimbursement check within two to six weeks after a returned device is received. Fitbit is also working on an updated hypoallergenic version of the Force to be released sometime in the near future.
iOS 7 Roundup Updated
The current publicly available version of iOS 7 was updated to iOS 7.0.6 on February 21, adding a fix for SSL connection verification.
iOS 7.1, which is likely slated for release in March, may include new Mobile Device Management options designed to allow corporate and educational organizations to manage a large number of devices. New over-the-air supervision could alleviate the need for management via Apple Configurator and the update may also introduce new methods to prevent students from bypassing restrictions on school issued devices.
iPad Air Roundup Updated
According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is planning to introduce a new iPad Air in 2014, offering an upgraded A8 processor along with a Touch ID fingerprint sensor.
Kuo does not believe that Apple will debut an updated Retina iPad mini in 2014 as Apple is said to be focusing its resources on the 12.9-inch “iPad Pro.” The larger iPad could be released in limited quantities in late 2014 or in early 2015.
Wi-Fi Calling comes to Sprint, on Select Devices
One of the greatest little features T-Mobile has had over the competitors for a quite some time was their Wi-Fi calling function. Simply put, it let you use your Wi-Fi connection to make and receive calls. It was a great benefit to those that lived on the outskirts of a coverage zone. Of course it was a built-in function that was only sometimes able to work with custom ROMs and such. For the stock user out there, it was pretty good. Now Sprint is jumping on the bandwagon and is bringing Wi-Fi calling to two of their devices. Beginning today the Samsung Galaxy Mega and Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini will be granted an OTA that will enable the function.
- Enhanced coverage for in-building coverage or areas with challenging network conditions.
- Easy Setup: Once activated, everything is seamless and happens in the background.
- Unlimited voice calling and messaging on Wi-Fi: All domestic calling and messaging is FREE (standard CDMA international rates apply for international calls).
Sprint is fully planning to expand the Wi-Fi calling functionality in an OTA to more devices through-out the year.
Talks of an Amazon Set Top Box are Revived Once Again
The rumors that Amazon was working on a set top box to sell to consumers have been floating around for about a year now. Obviously we don’t have one yet, but it doesn’t mean that one isn’t on the way. According to recode, “Amazon is currently gearing up to take on Apple and Roku, again.”
Sources are saying that Amazon is shooting for a possible March announcement. Unsurprisingly they say the software side of things will be Android powered with their forked version Kindle style overlay. I fully expect it to look fairly similar to how your Kindle looks, but on your TV. I also expect them to offer an app to use your Kindle as a remote to control it too.
Details as far as size, cost and internal specs are still guarded. Speculations also are arising that it is possible that Amazon will be including some sort of gaming function as well. They have been hiring game developers as of late and a side report last month pointed towards a possible game box too.
It is such a hard side of the industry to really stand out in. Google did amazing with the launch of the Chromecast at just $35. With the recent release of the SDK and the APIs, we are starting to see more and more apps taking advantage of it. I have no doubt that Amazon Instant Prime will never offer cast support, especially if they are going to be bringing their own box to market. Are there enough die hard Amazon users to warrant a sepperate set top box for access to the video library? If they are making a gaming side to it, would that make you consider it at least?


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Fisher-Price named Best Baby Toy Brand
Team celebrates third consecutive win at annual Tommy’s Awards
Fisher-Price has outshone tough competition to be named Best Baby Toy Brand at the 2017 Tommy’s Awards for the third year running.
More than 36,000 parents voted for the brands they think have gone above and beyond to be baby and parent-friendly, with Fisher-Price taking the top prize in the category. All winners were announced at the awards ceremony at the Landmark Hotel, London presented by celebrity mummy blogger and Mother of the Year winner Giovanna Fletcher.
Wendy Hill, Director of Brand Activation at Mattel UK, said: “This is a wonderful accolade for us to receive for the third year running and we are very proud to be acknowledged for making parents lives easier its certainly something that we strive for in our products. We would like to thank everyone that voted for us and we will continue to strive to help make a difference to parents.”
Tommy’s Awards, now in its 22nd year, is the largest charity to provide funding into research about the causes of miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth, while also providing support for parents-to-be.


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Kaia Gerber is on her way to becoming the next Cindy Crawford in the modeling world.
Which makes total sense considering that’s her mom.
But it isn’t just her genes that are shooting the young star to fame. The 17-year-old has an undeniable sense of style, a stunning model walk and she truly knows her best angles. Plus, she has amassed a huge following across the world. On Instagram alone, the young model has over four million followers who are itching to get a peek at her daily life.
The number of people who follow Kaia comes as no surprise to the brands that have enlisted the teen as one of the faces for their companies. She represents Yves Saint Laurent’s beauty line with actress Zoë Kravitzand has collaborated on fashion lines with Karl Lagerfeldhimself.
An even more impressive feat is her award for 2018 Model of the Year at The Fashion Awards, which is decided by the British Fashion Council.
To see why Kaia is the fashion icon to follow, check out the gallery below!
This is just the beginning of a decades-long career. Her mom, Cindy, is proof of that.