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Nexon’s mounted combat MMO called Dragon Hound, previously only known as ‘Project DH’ will be making an appearance in this year’s G-Star event. G-Star 2018 is a large game show convention in South Korea that takes place every year. Dragon Hound was first introduced two years ago in G-Star 2016. The game uses Unreal Engine 4 and is developed by DevCat, the same folks behind Vindictus.
KOG Games has revealed that a closed beta testing phase is coming up for the PvP-focused anime action MMO KurtzPel. Sign ups for the closed beta is already open via a Google form. This event will be from November 15th to 18th. KOG has also announced that KurtzPel will be participating in G-Star 2018 which will take place on the same days as the closed beta. G-Star is the biggest game show convention in South Korea.
If this is your first time hearing about KurtzPel, the anime MMO consists mainly of PvP activities with small-scale PvE like 2-man co-op dungeons as part of its progression. While a story with animated cut-scenes will exist, we do not know how that will integrate with the game’s content.
Trion Worlds, known for publishing and developing MMOs such as ArcheAge, Defiance and Rift has been acquired by Gamigo, a Germany-based game publisher known for publishing free-to-play MMOs and browser games. The official statement posted on the Rift forums says that Trion will be under new ownership, but the games they publish will continue on in capable hands.
The acquisition involves letting go of some of Trion’s staff. The full extent and details of the transition has yet to be revealed. For more information, visit the official Rift forums and Trion Worlds site.
Dynamight Studios has rebooted their crowdfunding for the upcoming SpatialOS-based sandbox MMO Fractured. For those who missed out on the successful Kickstarter campaign in July of this year, a new store has been opened on the official Fractured site that will allow supporters to contribute towards the development of the game by purchasing basic pledge packs. The packs currently range from €20 to €300 and will grant access to various testing phases.
Gloria Victis has been updated with a handful of new features that are sure to set an interesting and fresh gameplay atmosphere for the PvP-heavy medieval MMORPG. Most prominent of all, Open PvP has been upgraded with new systems such as the Soft Lock system for choosing servers, a workers system for gaining workers that gather resources for your guild, and increased experience gain from Open World PvP and arenas.
Instead of the original release date of September 19th, the next major content update for Sea Thieves named Forsaken Shores is now set to sail on September 27th. The slight delay seems to be due to player feedback and bug reports that were necessary to be dealt with in order to deliver a stable and polished experience.
Forsaken Shores introduces a new region called The Devil’s Roar for players to explore, conquer and plunder.
Warframe is expanding to yet another console! During this year’s Nintendo Direct presentation, Digital Extremes announced that the sci-fi MMO shooter will be available for digital download on Nintendo Switch starting November 20th.
Bossa Studios has announced that preparations are being made to launch a big content update for the sandbox world-builder MMO Worlds Adrift. The update is coming on September 6th. The upcoming update will focus on bringing PvE features and will bring many new things such as a new map, loads of events and more.


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Motorola is said to be working on Motorola P40 Play – the successor to Motorola One, which was launched earlier last year. Ahead of the launch, we are seeing more leaks around the Motorola P40 Play.
Now, tipster OnLeaks and CompareRaja have partnered to reveal image renders and 360-degree video the phone. Full specifications of the device have also been leaked.
According to the report, Motorola One’s successor will be first launched in China as the Motorola P40 Play with a 5.6-inch display with an aspect ratio of 19:9 and a dual camera on the back.
To recall, Motorola One was launched as Motorola P30 Play in China. We will have to wait for an official launch to know what the P40 Play be called in global markets.
The device will feature a waterdrop style notched display instead of the rectangular notch we saw on the Motorola One. The render images also reveal slightly thicker bezels with no Motorola branding on the chin.
The company will likely ditch the glass back in favour of plastic or metal back panel. The upcoming Motorola phone, just like its predecessor, will feature a physical fingerprint scanner on the back, which will be embedded inside the Motorola logo.
Motorola P40 Play is expected to feature a vertically aligned dual camera setup with a 13MP primary sensor paired with a smaller sensor, details of which are unclear at this point. The phone will be a part of Google’s Android One programme, just like Motorola One, and will run Android 9.0 Pie out of the box.
Motorola could use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 625 processor in P40, which will come in 3GB/4GB RAM and 32GB/64GB internal storage options.
📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

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NEW YORK — Importers that sell to major U.S. retailers report they have or plan to move a portion of their manufacturing outside of China due to increased costs of raw materials and logistics, as well as the difficulties faced by Chinese factories in obtaining financing.
According to Capital Business Credit’s Global Retail Manufacturers and Importers Survey, 50 percent of U.S.-based importers have moved some of their manufacturing outside of China, and 34.2 percent are considering moving manufacturing outside of Asia.
When asked to which countries manufacturing is being moved, Vietnam was most popular at 33.3 percent, and the U.S. was also cited as a top choice at 27.8 percent. Other countries that were popular manufacturing destinations included Pakistan at 22.2 percent and Bangladesh at 16.7 percent. The Global Retail Manufacturers and Importers Survey polled more than 50 manufacturers and importers during the week of Feb. 27. Respondents consisted of manufacturers and importers in the apparel, housewares, home furnishings, fashion accessories and furniture industries.
There’s been heightened interest in U.S. manufacturing in the last few years, as costs in China rose and retail and consumer buying patterns shifted toward faster delivery of better quality merchandise. A report from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization showed U.S. apparel production increased 2.6 percent in 2011, as U.S. textile manufacturing grew 3.8 percent. The U.S. Commerce Department said this month that U.S. apparel and textile exports to the world grew 13.7 percent to $22.4 billion in 2011 compared with 2010.
“While China will continue to be the dominant player when it comes to the manufacturing of goods sold in the U.S., there is an interesting shift that is occurring,” said Andrew Tananbaum, executive chairman of Capital Business Credit, a commercial finance company specializing in providing creative supply chain financing solutions. “The lending environment combined with a number of other factors, including cost of labor, raw materials and logistics, have made manufacturing in other countries, most importantly the U.S., more attractive. As the American economy continues to recover and retail sales continue to improve, the manufacturer-importer relationship will be critical in ensuring that enough goods are made and shipped to keep store shelves stocked.”
Breaking News: @louisvuitton's men's artistic director @mrkimjones is leaving the French fashion house after nearly 7 years. Jones joined Louis Vuitton in 2011, following a three year tenure as creative director of British luxury goods brand Alfred Dunhill. Jones is to exit Louis Vuitton after showing his fall 2018 collection for the brand in Paris on Thursday. Read the full exclusive story on WWD.com. Link in bio. #wwdnews #wwdfashion
For men’s fall 2018, @giuseppezanotti drew on elements from streetwear, sport, biker, combat and rock ‘n’ roll. Pictured here are a pair of shoes from the collection, featuring zippers, rhinestones, and silver hardware. Head to WWD.com to see a roundup of the accessories from Milan’s men’s fall 2018 shows. #wwdfashion (📷: Andrea Delb)
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of @ralphlauren’s snowboarding collection, the brand is mining its archives. The iconic brand is reintroducing vintage styles and dropping new designs for a color capsule that will be available in Ralph Lauren stores and @openingceremony on January 25. The capsule will consist of 10 pieces, including the Snow Beach Pullover, pictured here, which is a collector’s item that rapper Raekwon wore in Wu-Tang Clan’s “Can It Be All So Simple” video. #wwdfashion (📷: Tom Gould)
For @rochasofficial’s pre-fall 2018 collection, creative director Alessandro Dell’Acqua channeled the sophisticated and intriguing Catherine Denevue in the film “Belle de Jour.” Polished collarless coats, midi skirts, suits and ’60s graphic motifs were all featured in the collection, adding a sense of discreet luxury. See the rest of the photos on WWD.com #wwdfashion
“We tried to produce clothing of that couture quality, but the most daunting part was that we only had a matter of days [to do it],” said costume designer Lou Eyrich, who recreated Gianni Versace’s iconic looks for @americancrimestoryfx. Eyrich searched online retailers and vintage shops for original pieces from the design house and for @penelopecruzoficial, who plays Donatella Versace. Head to WWD.com to read how she created the Versace world. #wwdfashion
Only three months after her stellar debut catwalk season, @kaiagerber has inked her first big design collaboration –– with @karllagerfeld. The collection blends Lagerfeld’s Parisian chic aesthetic and the model’s signature West Coast casual style via RTW, accessories, footwear and more. The #KarlLagerfeldxKaia collection will launch in September with a series of events. Get all the details on WWD.com. #wwdnews #wwdfashion
Harrods plans to remove the famous statue of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed from the bottom of the Egyptian escalators and hand it back to Mohamed Al-Fayed. “We are very proud to have played our role in celebrating the lives of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Al Fayed at Harrods and to have welcomed people from around the world to visit the memorial for the past 20 years,” said Michael Ward, Harrods managing director. “With the announcement of the new official memorial statue to Diana, Princess of Wales at Kensington Palace, we feel that the time is right to return this memorial to Mr. Al Fayed and for the public to be invited to pay their respects at the palace.” More on the news, with reporting by @loreleimarfil, at WWD.com. #wwdnews


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NebuAd, the controversial online behavioral advertising vendor, does not collect personally identifiable information or keep the information it collects for an extended time, the company’s chairman and CEO said Wednesday.
NebuAd, which has reportedly worked with more than a dozen ISPs (Internet service providers) in the U.S., collects information about users’ Web surfing habits, then delivers targeted advertising based on those results. Privacy critics have protested the service, saying it uses common Internet attacks to collect data and may be illegal because it does not get affirmative consent from both the ISP subscribers and the Web sites they visit.
But Robert Dykes, chairman and CEO of the California company, told a U.S. Senate committee that NebuAd collects limited data about users and it anonymizes the data it collects, including the IP (Internet Protocol) numbers. In the data’s aggregated forum, it would be impossible to identify a subscriber of an ISP that has a partnership with NebuAd, he told the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
If the U.S. government asked NebuAd to identify users, the company wouldn’t be able to comply, Dykes told senators. “No one, not even the government, can determine the identity of our users,” he said.
NebuAd only collects information to use to create profiles for a limited number of advertising categories, Dykes said. All other data collected is deleted, he said. In addition, users can easily opt out of NebuAd’s data collection, he said.
The Senate committee scheduled the hearing after Charter Communications, one of the largest providers of cable-based broadband service in the U.S., announced in May that it was testing NebuAd’s service. After privacy objections, the ISP said last month it was suspending its partnership with NebuAd.
The practices of NebuAd and other behavioral advertising services have led to privacy questions, said Senator Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat. “Many consumers express concerns about the privacy and data security implications of being targeted,” he said.
On Tuesday, privacy advocacy group the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) released a report suggesting NebuAd’s practice may be illegal under some state wiretap laws. In June, privacy advocates Public Knowledge and Free Press released their own report suggesting that NebuAd hijacks browsers, employs man-in-the-middle attacks, uses packet forgery and installs unwanted cookies in order to track users’ Internet habits.
NebuAd has disputed the information in those reports.
One NebuAd critic at the hearing said she was skeptical that the information the company collects is truly anonymous. NebuAd should be able to identify individual users based on their searches and other Web activity, said Leslie Harris, president and CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), a privacy and digital rights advocacy group.
“[NebuAd is] building profiles,” Harris said. “I think it’s pseudonymous. It can’t be entirely anonymous.”
Harris, as well as officials from Google and Microsoft and some Democratic senators, called on the U.S. Congress to pass comprehensive privacy legislation that would govern how personal information can be used online. Voluntary rules set up by the online advertising industry and recommended privacy practices from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission aren’t enough, Harris said.
Others at the hearing questioned the need for new privacy laws. Targeted advertising supports Internet content, and Internet users have differing levels of privacy needs, depending on what Web service they’re using, said Clyde Wayne Crews Jr., vice president for policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.
“Privacy is not a thing to legislate, it’s a relationship expressed in countless ways,” Crews said. Legislation would be complex and would likely not keep up with technological advances, he added.
In addition, Internet users understand that the Web has privacy limitations, he added. “If privacy is what you want, the Internet is probably not for you,” he said.
Senator Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican, suggested that competition, and not legislation, will solve most privacy issues online. “In some ways, we’ve got a solution in search of a problem, as the industry moves very quickly to cut off these problems before they occur,” he said.


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U.S.P.S. employees demand that their new boss stop sending official documents that hemorrhage glitter.
U.S.P.S. workers re-install 700 recently removed mailboxes: “Gypsies, Stamps, and Thieves” campaign has launched!
Postmaster decrees that all stimulus checks be sent in envelopes featuring unicorn decals, Swarovski encrustation.
The Washington Post’s Robin Givhan laments that the new Bob Mackie–designed mail-carrier uniform is “a Cirque de Soleil of leather and feathers.”
Postmaster tries to convince roving mail carrier that his redesignation as a stationary mail sorter will be like “a residency at Caesars.”
U.S.P.S. issues commemorative stamp that celebrates the invention of wig tape.
Postmaster tells United Nations that all damaged mail is beautiful in its own way.
Postmaster deadpans that most of her exes can be found at the Mail Recovery Center.
Henry Alford writes regularly for AIR MAIL


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ASIC said the scam offers users a commission to receive money into their bank accounts and transfer it out again, advertising itself as a legitimate money making opportunity.
Director of consumer communication for ASIC, Dr Michael Dunn, says the scam is similar to the Nigerian letter scam that asks the recipient to take delivery of a sum of money for a commission ranging between 7 to 15 percent.
"The promoters have sometimes dressed up their Web sites with logos from reputable banks (without the banks' permission) to make the dodgy offer appear more credible," he said.
Dr Dunn says the scammers use inventive excuses to trick the recipient into believing the scam is real, however he describes the tall-tales as a little "too good to be true".
"Unless there's something shady, why would someone pay extra fees for transferring money through your account to someone else?" he said.
In an example of one such e-mail received by ASIC, Dr Dunn says the e-mail that claimed to be from Germany said the transfer scheme was designed to "get around a supposed '25 percent tax' on money transfers between Australia and German companies".
According to Dr Dunn, ASIC followed up on the claims and found that no such tax exists, saying the story is most likely a foil to get to consumers' bank account details.
"ASIC suspects the offer of commission is just a bait to lure unsuspecting people into giving their banking details and other identification, as a first step to extracting money for various fees, in a similar way to the better-known 'Nigerian letters' and fake lottery scams," he said.
Dr Dunn advises computer users to delete the e-mail if they should receive it, asking consumers not to "encourage scammers by replying".


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The World IPv6 is already set on June 6, 2012 but as early as last year ICANN and other other agencies concerned with the rapid growth of internet has been conducting IPv6 prelaunch and campaigns and top companies has already switched to IPv6 and dropped the ageing IPv4. The question now is are you aware or your companies IT team on the global IP change that is to happen this coming June?
IPv4 was able to provide IP addresses up to four billion but the current population now is more than 7 billion so surely there will be a shortage of IP addresses. Another thing is that most internet users has more than one device like a laptop, a desktop, smartphone, tablets and even console games which requires separate and different IP addresses. Definitely IPv4 will not be able to handle the rapid growth of internet users and thus IPv6 must be implemented.
Just last month, almost 6,700 IPv6 networks were publicly routed on the Internet and more to come in the coming months and also Internet service providers, web companies and home networking equipment manufacturers around the world are asked to permanently enable IPv6.
The major challenge is getting everyone ready for the big change, IPv4 is running out and it is essential that the internet community must play their part. If you work in an internet service provider company or even work as a web developer, there are steps in which you can help yourself and your company be ready in the coming IPv6.
Here are a few steps that can be helpful:
1. Appoint A Project Manager / IT in-charge – It is essential that the company appoints a team head to oversee the changes from IPV4 to IPv6 and its effects in your services. If you are providing web services and your hardware and network are not in compliance with IPv6 then problems will arise.
2. Talk To Your ISP – Probably as of now your ISP provider has switched to IPv6 but they will not tell you about it yet. It is the best thing to call them and ask them regarding the changes from IPv4 to IPv6.
3. Identify the Hardware and Network Infrastructure To be Upgraded – You can call your manufacturer and inquire for upgrades and the latest IPv6 compatible hardware and network components. Since IPv6 has been the buzz in the internet comunity, your manufacturer has probably upgraded all their products to IPv6.
There are only 4 months left before the big switch to IPv6 and most of us probably have not even heard of IPv6 but it is essential that we are aware of it for a simple glitch in the system can cause a major problem in the industry and the global change from IPv4 to IPv6 is not just a simple glitch of a system.


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"I had a discussion with the Health Minister (A Ramadoss) about the desire they have to create a Food and Drug Administration in India. We want to be supportive of those efforts and we are willing to provide technical assistance as their plan proceeds," Michael O Leavitt, US Secretary for Health and Human Services (HHS) said.
Leavitt, who visited a maternity centre run by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi here and administered polio drops to children, said: "We have a mutual commitment to ensure that products that are produced for consumers are safe and of high quality." The Secretary, who has met Ministers of Health, Commerce and Agriculture during his visit to India so far, said the US was committed to support India for eradication of polio, malaria and HIV.
"The US is committed to help India along with other organisations to eradicate polio forever. India is one of only four countries where polio continues to exist. It must be focused on until it is gone," he said.
On the partnership with India regarding HIV, Leavitt said: "We have a great deal of effort in our country on (treating) HIV/AIDS. We see a partnership with Indian government.
"Our Food and Drug Administration has recently begun to approve HIV drugs that are generic. Out of 57 we have approved, 52 have come from India. That is a very important partnership," he said.


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Digital TV News: Lindsay Gardner
T-Mobile closes Layer3 TV acquisition
Jan 23, 2018 – T-Mobile US (NASDAQ: TMUS) has announced the completion of its acquisition of Layer3 TV. The Layer3 TV team has joined T-Mobile and will drive the Un-carrier’s initiative to launch a disruptive new TV service in 2018.
News categories: T-Mobile, Layer3 TV, John Legere, Digital TV, MnA, Mobile, OTT, USA
Layer3 TV announces allHD Platinum
Sep 14, 2016 – Layer3 TV is launching the next generation of cable. Layer3 TV is embracing the majority of consumers who demand a full bundle by offering a robust HD programming package with select 4K.
News categories: Layer3, Lindsay Gardner, Justin Connolly, Cable TV, Digital TV, USA
Channel Islands and Digisoft.tv integrate targeted advertising systems
May 26, 2009 – Channel Islands and Digisoft.tv have announced the formation of a partnership to offer integrated targeted advertising systems to IPTV operators worldwide.
News categories: Digisoft.tv, Channel Islands, Advertising, Cable TV, IPTV, Middleware
- Verimatrix introduces DRM for video protection between devices
- Omdia cuts 2020 TV shipment forecast by 10 percentage points
- Comscore research shows continuing surge in U.S. daytime TV viewing
- FCC proposed rule change to support ATSC 3.0 distributed transmission
- VideoAmp creates combined Smart TV and STB viewing dataset for the U.S.
- Roku OS 9.3 begins roll-out
- Italian local re-broadcaster RAS goes live with Synamedia virtualized DCM
- Altice Europe terminates discussions on acquisition of Partner Communications
- Asia Pacific set for 417 million SVOD subscribers
- Velocix introduces CDN software for 5G video streaming
- Comscore sees notable rise in U.S. streaming usage
- Movies Anywhere app comes to LG Smart TVs
- Singtel puts HOOQ into liquidation
- COVID-19 pandemic to reduce global TV brand shipments by 5.8% in 2020
- Six million viewers for Italy's tivùsat
- Wicket Labs adds $1.9m of extra funding
- NENT Group to launch Viaplay in Iceland on April 1st
- TV antenna usage in US broadband households up 25% in 2019
- Coronavirus expected to add 5% to global VOD subscriptions in 2020
- COVID-19 response to bolster cloud gaming revenues


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Ebay chief Wenig steps down amid strategic overview
Ebay’s president and chief government Devin Wenig has stepped down after disagreements with the net retailer’s new board, as the corporate pushes forward with a strategic overview of its enterprise.
The departure comes six months after the ecommerce firm bowed to investor strain and appointed representatives from two activist shareholders, Elliott Administration and Starboard Worth, to its board.
Since then, development in its core market enterprise has flagged, including to tensions that resulted in Tuesday’s departure, based on an individual conversant in the corporate.
Mr Wenig admitted to the disagreements in a farewell put up on Twitter. “Previously few weeks it grew to become clear that I used to be not on the identical web page as my new Board. Every time that occurs, it’s finest for everybody to show that web page over.”
A former Reuters government, he took the helm at eBay 4 years in the past because it tried to a kind via a collection of earlier acquisitions and revive its authentic ecommerce operations.
The corporate had spun off each Skype and PayPal, however below Mr Wenig held on to its categorized promoting and the StubHub ticket gross sales operations, drawing hearth from Wall Road critics.
The activist buyers didn’t instantly push to oust Mr Wenig after becoming a member of eBay’s board this 12 months. However his departure now is just not a “full shock, given the relative underperformance of core market through the years and the continued activist involvement”, mentioned Youssef Squali, an web analyst at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
The overall worth of products bought via eBay’s market fell 5 per cent within the first half of this 12 months, including to investor frustrations. Beneath Mr Wenig, the corporate has seemed for development via including funds and promoting choices for its sellers, however makes an attempt to enhance the expertise for consumers and sellers have failed to stop an extra erosion of its share of on-line commerce.
The ecommerce pioneer, which had its beginnings as an public sale web site, mentioned its strategic overview of its asset portfolio, together with StubHub and eBay Classifieds Group, is constant to maneuver ahead with Goldman Sachs advising.
Ebay mentioned it will perform an inside and exterior seek for a brand new chief. Scott Schenkel, who most lately served as the corporate’s finance chief, will function eBay’s interim chief. In the meantime, Andy Cring, presently vice-president of worldwide monetary planning and evaluation, will function interim chief monetary officer.
The California-based firm additionally reaffirmed its full-year steering for natural income development of between 2 and three per cent, and adjusted earnings of $2.70 to $2.75 per share. eBay shares, that are up almost 39 per cent year-to-date, fell 1.5 per cent to $38.96 in morning commerce.
In a press release, Thomas Tierney, chairman, mentioned Mr Wenig had been “a tireless advocate for driving enchancment within the enterprise, notably in main the corporate ahead after the PayPal spin-off”. He added: “However this progress, given quite a lot of concerns, each Devin and the board consider that a new CEO is finest for the corporate presently.”


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Whole Foods Market is coming to Benton County.
A planned mixed-use development in Rogers will combine the organic grocery store with a shopping center and apartment space near the corner of Promenade Boulevard and New Hope Road.
The project's estimated opening is in late 2024, according to a representative of the developer, Atlanta-based firm SJC Ventures.
SJC Ventures was also responsible for the Whole Foods Market in Fayetteville. The only other Whole Foods store in Arkansas is in Little Rock, according to the company's website.
The city of Rogers has approved two rezonings for the developer over the last several months, though SJC had not previously announced what grocery store would anchor the shopping center.
The first rezoning was for 12.25 acres at 1750 and 1800 S. Osage Springs Drive, northwest of the intersection of Promenade and New Hope. The second involved the 8.67-acre empty lot east of Home Depot and between Seminole Drive and Seneca Road.
The shopping center will include 80,498 square feet of retail space -- a 37,009-square-foot grocery store and four shop buildings totaling 43,489 square feet -- and 350 apartments, according to plans by the firm.
The representative declined to comment on the specific plans for the empty lot east of Home Depot.
Before any construction begins on the project, a large-scale development plan will have to be approved by the city.
Casa Alejo opens today for lunch in downtown Springdale.
It is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday at 101 W. Emma Ave.
The limited lunch hours are a part of a phased opening, according to the restaurant's social media posts.
The road in front of the restaurant is currently closed, but visitors can find parking behind the business.
SALATA SALAD KITCHEN
Salata Salad Kitchen is planning to open a location in Fayetteville.
The Houston-based fast casual chain has more than 80 stores across the United States.
The restaurant's menu primarily includes customizable wraps and salads, with more than 50 toppings and a variety of dressings available.
The Salata concept began in downtown Houston and has grown with franchise partners in other parts of Texas, Georgia, California, Louisiana and North Carolina.
FARMER'S TABLE CAFE
The Farmer's Table Cafe in Fayetteville, a popular brunch spot, has offered some unique dinner specials over the last few months. Weekly offerings have ranged from Greek and Polish cuisine to barbecue and meatloaf.
This week is Indian week, featuring dishes like butter chicken and lentil daal curry.
Of course, the restaurant continues to partner with farmers to bring locally sourced ingredients to the cafe, even if the inspiration comes from around the world.
Farmer's Table is open at 1079 S. School Ave. from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday with additional dinner hours from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
We all love eating out. What restaurants have you been thankful for this year? In a paragraph or two, tell us what you love about your favorite restaurant. Email [email protected], and your answer could be featured in an upcoming column.


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Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) are having a well-documented feud – make that a “thermonuclear war” as the late Steve Jobs put it – that has been wide-ranging across a number of fronts. From patent-infringement suits (through proxies like Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., for instance) to battles over apps that are or are not included on their respective Android and iOS platforms, things have really started to get ugly. And in some cases, the consumers have been hurt.
But at least in one area, while consumers may have been inconvenienced a bit, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has found itself is better financial position by one of Apple’s rejections. Perhaps Larry Page should send Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook a bouquet of flowers. Or maybe he should pitch in to that $600,000 cup of coffee with Cook and make it a $1 million cup. There is definitely a thank-you to be had. Why?
Well, it all started last fall when Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) showed Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) who was boss by bumping all Google apps off the native iOS 6 platform and kicked all of those apps back into the Apple App Store – including the ever-popular Google Maps and YouTube – for users to download. While that led to some inconvenience by users – and some grumbling, because Google Maps for example was not placed into the App Store until weeks after iOS 6 launched and Apple’s native mapping app was a dismal failure – it led to what has turned out to be a windfall. You see, because YouTube was no longer a native iOS 6 app, Google was able to provide the app for free with ad support; if it had stayed a native app, Apple was not allowing ad support.
The result has been dynamic, according to some estimates. On analysts has suggested from his analysis that Google’s mobile ad revenue from YouTube alone has gone up about 300 percent in the last six months – which is about parallel to the introduction of the YouTube app to the Apple App Store. The estimate by Wedge Partners is that YouTube generated about $350 million in mobile ad revenue just in the first three months of 2013. If that is accurate, that would signal a three-fold increase in mobile ad rev in one year.
What does that mean in the big picture, as $300 million doesn’t seem like much to a company with a $250,000 million market cap?


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Check out all the on-demand sessions from the Intelligent Security Summit here.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Big data is thrown around a lot as jargon, but some powerful case studies out there show how data is reshaping industries.
Today at VentureBeat’s DataBeat/Data Summit, executives from six companies from health care, fashion, education, media, transportation, and business shared examples of how they are using data to create opportunities that never existed before — and create a more personalized experience for their customers.
Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation
Joel Dudley is the director of biomedical informatics at Mt. Sinai, which is the largest private health care system in New York State. Its 6,000 physicians conduct over 3.4 million patient visits a year.
Mt. Sinai’s CEO recently made a $100 million commitment to integrate data and genomics into every aspect of its organization to create more precise, positive patient outcomes. It brought in 100 informaticians and data scientists help doctors and nurses make data-driven decisions.
“No one is more aggressive or committed to changing health care into a data-driven, science-driven practice,” Dudley said onstage. “We need to be more predictive and understand more precisely where the patients fit into our data universe, what the optimal treatments are for them to achieve the best outcomes, and how to keep them healthy the longest.”
Dudley talked about the problem of “data exhaust” in health care — a huge amount of data comes in, but it’s never stored or looked at and “goes up into the air.” Mt. Sinai aims to use this data to create a broader view of individual patients as well as to create an overarching view of its entire population to identify trends and patterns.
Genomics plays a big part in this. Mt. Sinai has collected genomic data for 25,000 patients and combines this with electronic medical record information (EMR) and lab results to create what Dudley described as a “new taxonomy of disease.”
He gave the example of Type 2 Diabetes. By creating a map of diabetes cases, along with other genetic markers, physicians can get a more nuanced picture of their patient and prescribe treatment accordingly.
Stylitics gathers more data than ever before on women’s closets. Cofounder and CEO Rohan Deuskar said that despite decades of research and millions of dollars, brands, retailers, and publishers still don’t have access to the answers to three key questions: where women shop, what they buy, and how they wear it.
“This is an impossible dataset, but it is really valuable for the fashion industry,” he said. “This bizarre situation emerged where retailers base marketing, recommendations, and offers based on 5 percent of the information about you, but they miss the other 95 percent of your purchasing behavior. Getting this data was the challenge we set out to solve.”
Deuskar described this type of information as “best friend data” — a complex and intimate source of information that is only available from consumers themselves.
Stylistics aims to acquire this information through its “digital closet platform.”
Women enter the clothing they wear into Stylitics, with information about brand, color, style, and price. In exchange for this raw data, Stylitics gives it back to users in a more organized, accessible form. The application makes all your clothes sortable and searchable (like in Cher’s closet in Clueless), offers a smart style assistant, and makes personalized shopping recommendations.
However, the real impact is on the retail side. Merchants can use Stylitics’ database to access information about specific population segments and demographics and find out what is in the closets of the consumers they are trying to reach.
“This is the largest stream of outfit and purchase data out there, and this is shifting how brands and retailers think about consumer insights,” Deuskar said. “If they want to know what shades of pink teenage girls are likely to wear for athletic attire, they can do it without spending the time or money on traditional surveys or market research. This is turning the fat, long tail of the fashion industry on its head.”
Apollo Education Group
Data is the only way the University of Phoenix can give every one of its 300,000 students the attention they need.
The University of Phoenix was one of the first online universities and is currently one of the largest educational providers in the world. It has served 2.5 million students over the past 20 year and at its peak saw 500,000 students enrolled at one time. It currently has 36,000 staff members.
Rob Wrubel is the chief innovation officer for University of Phoenix parent company Apollo Education Group. He said the organization relies on data to figure out the when, where, and how of engaging with its students.
“The University of Phoenix is aimed at working adults, many who have been out of the school system for many years and carry significant challenges,” Wrubel said. “They are juggling time, lives, and finances, and we are under significant pressure to drive outcomes for our students, improve retention, engage in academic success, and keep our costs down.”
The university assigns multiple counselors and support staff members to every student, but it’s impossible to regularly check in with every one about their academics and finances.
Using data, the University of Phoenix is able to realize which students need interventions when and for what and allocate its resources accordingly. It is also working on adaptive learning technology to tailor the classes for each students’ needs.
“Our content and learning variability is enormous,” Wrubel said. “We have 1,700 different courses, tens of thousands of pieces of content, and multiple types of learners coming from very different backgrounds from very different life circumstances. Data provides a low-cost, high-return way to preserve our students and pull out insights about complex behaviors.”


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Brave Rewards Launches in the Brave Browser Android App, BAT Price & Accumulation on Surge
Brave Browser has taken yet another step forward as it makes Brave Rewards available in the Android app and grants 100,000 BAT for Android users. This has BAT price surged over 10% while a new report states increase in BAT accumulation in the last five months.
The company had already launched its Brave Rewards program on personal computers running Mac OS, Windows, and Linus but now it has brought the program for the Android mobile operating system.
With its mission to fix the web by providing the users faster and safer browsing experience, it grows support for content creators through an attention-based ecosystem of rewards. The browser has ad trackers and blocks ads by default whose option Brave Rewards system lets you send cryptocurrency payments, in the form of BAT to YouTubers, website publishers, and Twitch game streamers.
Its browser has currently 5.9 monthly users out of which 55 percent use a mobile version so the fact that now the rewards feature is extended to android apps, it’s a significant expansion of its core technology.
100,000 BAT Grant for Android Users
If you wish to participate, you just have to activate the Brave Rewards by clicking on the BAT logo in the URL bar. This means users can reward their content creators viz. YouTube channels and publishers with Twitch streamers soon to come though Brave’s native token, Basic Attention Token (BAT).
Currently, there are 50,000 verified creators in the Brave Publishers Program ready to have BAT donations. Users get to choose the monthly amount that they want to donate and can reward their favorite creators with single tips as well.
“Soon, Brave Rewards will feature Brave Ads, and users who opt into viewing those ads will receive BAT for their attention, which they can in turn distribute to creators or later exchange for real-world rewards.”
In order to celebrate this new release, the company has decided to allocate 100,000 BAT grants to Android users. These grants can be received by simply clicking on the ‘accept’ button in Brave Rewards.
Internet archive Receives $2500 In BAT Micropayments
Just recently, The Internet Archive shared that it has received $2500 in BAT tips. The team said they were pleasantly surprised at the account was initially created as a “fun experiment” to test the new technology.
“Last week, we hooked up our cryptocurrency wallet to our Brave creator account. Those tiny micropayments that Brave users had tossed into the Archive’s virtual tip jar had accumulated, growing into more than 9k Brave Attention Tokens (BAT) – the equivalent of $2500 USD!”
Though in comparison to $2.8 paid by advertisers per thousand impressions in Google Ads, this $2500 looks a little amount, as the adoption grows, the gap would start narrowing.
All of this has BAT price surging as at the time of writing, it has been trading at $0.368 with 24-hours gains of over 10 percent as per Coinmarketcap data.
Moreover, according to a recent report by Glassnode insights BAT whales have been speeding up their accumulation for the last five months with “52% of BAT tokens” being held by
“only the top 0.6% of addresses!”


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Yahoo Japan plans facial recognizing, content personalizing billboards
Apr 13, 2009 16:28
Sometimes it seems like the worlds of science and marketing are in a constant struggle to present us with the future described in science fiction. Whether its flying cars, the OS from Minority Report, or robots that play "rock, paper, scissors," the old saw is true: you can't fight progress. And now it looks like Yahoo Japan has jumped into the fray, with a little help from Comel, a Japanese company that manufactures billboards. The two firms are collaborating on electronic signage that photographs passersby, analyses it using NEC's facial analysis technology, and guesstimates his or her age. Once the demo is confirmed, the device spits out appropriate advertising content. According to the poorly translated press release, the "face image data" is then erased, saving only a record of the passerby's age and sex -- so you Civil Libertarians can rest easily. Right.
As the year draws to a close, it’s time to reflect on some of the great tech we’ve seen in 2015. There have been some new developments and mind-blowing reveals. I’ve picked out a few things that I saw this year, and will definitely keep an eye on next year. Here’s my look at some exciting tech to watch out for in 2016: Read more


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The adultness individuals can get cigarettes ought to maintain obtaining greater to develop a “smokefree generation”, a federal government testimonial states.
According to a brand-new record it ought to come to be significantly hard for young adults to begin cigarette smoking which can be attained by elevating the youngest age limitation each year.
Some individuals under a particular age ought to consequently be not able to get cigarettes and also various other cigarette items in their life time.
In October 2007 under-18s were outlawed from purchasing cigarettes complying with a trading criteria study which discovered that 12% of stores agreed to market cigarette to youngsters plainly under 16.
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Need discounts on pet supplies? I gotcha.
The state’s two-week disaster-preparedness tax holiday began this past Memorial Day weekend and thanks to the Girl Scouts, for the first time ever, shoppers will be able to avoid paying sales taxes on numerous types of pet supplies. The puppies have to eat too!
The holiday was part of a broad tax package (HB 7071) that lawmakers passed in March and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed on May 6.
At the request of a Girl Scout Troop 60601 in Palm Harbor, (thank you ladies) lawmakers will be lifting sales taxes on ...
- Pet carriers that cost $100 or less
- Pet beds that cost $40 or less
- Bags of pet food that cost $30 or less
- Bags of cat litter that cost $25 or less
- Leashes, collars and muzzles that sell for $20 or less
- Packages of pet-waste disposable bags that cost $15 or less
- Cans of pet food that cost $2 or less.
This year’s disaster-preparedness holiday also includes other products including smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide detectors that cost $70 or less as they become more critical when it comes to safety. Also, people can avoid paying sales taxes on generators that cost $1,000 or less.
We like this! Which items will you be grabbing tax-free in the next two weeks?


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For his just released book On Such a Full Sea, Chang-rae Lee‘s publisher Riverhead Books created a 3-D slipcover. In an interview with Time.com, Riverhead Books’ art director Helen Yentus (whose design credits include Elizabeth Gilbert‘s Eat, Pray, Love) explained she had to learn the technology to fully understand what was capable.
“You get used to the six-by-nine rectangle where everything is flat,” she told TIME. “Even now with digital we’re still designing in that same six-by-nine rectangle, it’s just much smaller. It’s really exciting to be able to think of coming off the page.” The slipcover shows the title of the book raised and distorted, hinting at the “imagined future” America Lee has created in this new work.
Only 200 slipcover copies were printed, “a number partially decided by how many could physically be printed in time for the shelf date,” TIME says. Just a matter of time before more books make use of technology to make the reading experience even more immersive.


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As part of the plan, Amazon has agreed to purchase 100,000 electric delivery vans from vehicle manufacturer Rivian.Technologyread more
The plan will allow Medicare to negotiate lower prices on as many as 250 drugs and also apply those discounts to private health plans.Health and Scienceread more
President Donald Trump on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. and his longtime accounting firm Mazars.Politicsread more
The Democratic-held House plans to move forward with a bill to fund the government through Nov. 21 and avoid another government shutdown.Politicsread more
Jim Chanos, founder of Kynikos Associates, revealed Thursday a stock he has been shorting for years: kidney dialysis company DaVita.Delivering Alpharead more
GM's usage of temporary workers, potential closure of plants and health care contributions remain major sticking points, according to people familiar with the talks.Autosread more
The U.S. economy will have a tough time at the start of 2020, says the head of one of the largest bond managers in the world.Delivering Alpharead more
A new Hollister store is coming later this month to New York, right down the block from Macy's, Target and Victoria's Secret in the busy Herald Square shopping district.Retailread more
Newly public ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft have tumbled 25% since their initial public offerings, but Light Street's Glen Kacher still believes there's a path for...Delivering Alpharead more
The Federal Reserve has calmed the overnight funding market and brought its fed funds rate back in line with its target.Market Insiderread more
Wal-Mart is creating a home for luxury fashion online.
The big-box retailer announced Monday it has partnered with Lord & Taylor to create an online "flagship store" for the apparel retailer. The landing page will launch on Walmart.com in spring 2018.
"Our goal is to create a premium fashion destination on Walmart.com," Denise Incandela, head of fashion for Wal-Mart's U.S. e-commerce division, said in a statement. "We see customers on our site searching for higher-end items, and we are expanding our business online to focus on adding specialized and premium shopping experience, starting with fashion."
Incandela previously worked as chief marketing officer for Saks Fifth Avenue, which, like Lord & Taylor, is part of Hudson's Bay. She just moved to Wal-Mart in October and is responsible for the company's fashion business across Walmart.com, Jet.com and Shoes.com.
Through this partnership, Walmart.com will provide Lord & Taylor dedicated space on its website, as the department store chain continues to operate its own e-commerce platform.
"Walmart.com is a shopping destination that reaches a wide base of customers looking for premium fashion brands," Lord & Taylor President Liz Rodbell said in a statement. "As retail continues to change, this flagship store creates enormous growth opportunities for Lord & Taylor and our brand partners."
It was rumored in October that this deal would come to fruition.
The Wall Street Journal reported at the time that this was part of Wal-Mart's broader effort to build a shopping destination online that rivaled that of Amazon.com.
The Arkansas-based retailer's strategy of late has been to acquire smaller brands, many of them with a focus on fashion. The list of apparel and accessories brands now owned by Wal-Mart includes Bonobos, Modcloth, Shoebuy and Moosejaw. In a move to beef up its grocery offering, Wal-Mart also acquired Jet.com, bringing Quidsi co-founder Marc Lore to its management team.
Lore has specifically said he wants to "elevate the Walmart.com brands." At a recent investor day, he also explained that Wal-Mart has plans to redesign its website, with a focus on household goods and fashion.
"Expect to see those experiences get elevated," Lore said about Wal-Mart's home and fashion departments.
Wal-Mart said Monday it's beginning to build out "elements of discovery and inspiration" within the fashion portion of its website. The company declined to comment on whether there will be more brand partnerships in the future.
In working with Lord & Taylor, Wal-Mart could begin to shift Walmart.com's image away from that of a discount site for consumer packaged goods and into that of an online platform with luxury brands.
Meantime, Lord & Taylor has problems of its own, met with declining sales and weaker foot traffic. In a bid for fresh capital, the retailer recently announced that its flagship store on Fifth Avenue will soon become the new global headquarters of WeWork. After the holidays, Lord & Taylor will occupy only a small portion of the building.
A Wal-Mart partnership could entice more shoppers — and new ones at that — to the department store chain's brands.
The two companies have yet to reveal which retailer will be shipping purchased items. But the Journal reported in October that — in the event of a deal — Lord & Taylor would own the inventory and fulfill orders from the new website.
Monday's announcement comes as Amazon has been making its own push into fashion. One example of this is Prime Wardrobe. The internet giant also recently unveiled two private-label athletic apparel brands, as it continues to lure top brands, such as Nike, to sell directly from Amazon.com.
Earlier this year, Amazon began working with department store chain Kohl's to sell some of its electronics in the retailer's stores. In turn, analysts are already predicting Kohl's locations will be a testing ground for Amazon's private-label apparel business.
Kohl's and Amazon declined to comment on future initiatives.
All things considered, competition is only intensifying within the industry. Wal-Mart is also reportedly raising prices on some items across its website, in a move to drive store traffic where Amazon doesn't operate, the Journal reported Sunday.
Wal-Mart is set to report third-quarter earnings before the bell on Thursday.
— CNBC's Courtney Reagan contributed to this reporting.


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Within its first few days of availability, Apple sold an estimated five million units of the newest generation iPhone. And, as a result, supply took an enormous hit as crushing demand showed - and continues to show - no sign of decreased momentum.
Unfortunately for Apple, the demand burden will only be amplified in the coming hours as Apple prepares to introduce the iPhone 5 to nearly two dozen additional countries across multiple large and small wireless carriers in those particular geographic locations.
Although Apple isn't speaking to the rumor, it is speculated that the iPhone 5 could be immensely difficult to come by this weekend as first-run stockpiles rapidly dwindle.
On Friday, the iPhone 5 will arrive in 22 new countries. They include: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Compounding the supply crunch in North America, the iPhone 5 is also launching tomorrow across multiple smaller carriers in the US. As of Friday, you can get the iPhone 5 through such carriers as Cricket, C Spire, Bluegrass Cellular, Cellcom, GCI, Golden State Cellular, Nex-Tech Wireless, Pioneer Wireless, Appalachian Wireless, MTA Solutions, and Alaska Communication Systems and nTelos.


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Discover more from Fingers
Why doesn't anybody want Goose Island's NFTs?
On tokens, tap handles, and timing the market
Please support this independent journalism about drinking in America with a paid subscription to Fingers:
I depend on readers to underwrite the labor that goes into producing this newsletter. Thanks for reading!—Dave.
It’s a long-held article of financial faith that you can’t time the market. Goose Island Brewing Co.’s non-fungible token project rollout is proof that the wisdom applies to web3 just like it does to everything else.
Earlier this month, the pioneering Chicago craft brewery announced it would introduce its first-ever NFT collection “made up of 2,022 NFTs commemorating Bourbon County Stout’s 30th Anniversary.” What might be a challenging venture for an independent brewery1, is for Goose Island, a matter of institutional corporate knowledge. Having been acquired in 2011 by macrobrewer Anheuser-Busch InBev, the Chicago-based outfit has access to all the web3 experience its parent company has gleaned from previous projects with Budweiser, Stella Artois, Bud Light Next, and other portfolio brands.
Better still: Bourbon County Brand Stout is Goose Island’s crown jewel. It’s a legitimately coveted annual release that still attracts diehard fans and enterprising resellers despite the explosion of top-notch breweries in the intervening three decades since its introduction (not to mention Big Beer’s controlling interest in the firm for the past 11 years.) BCBS is a longstanding exemplar—even a progenitor, to some extent—of hype-heavy “drop culture” in American craft beer. If you were looking for a perfect use case for leveraging IRL scarcity and existing customer behavior to simultaneously cash in (the tokens were originally priced at $499 apiece) and consolidate an offline fanbase into an owned-and-operated online community, Bourbon County Stout would be pretty damn close to the ideal.
ABI and Goose Island thought so, too. In a press release prior to the release Goose Island’s president, Todd Ahsmann, touted the so-called Barrel House Collection project as a logical next step to “innovation” that’s “always been a part of our DNA.” “Now our BCS community - and NFT fans - can collect some digital keepsakes to go with the prestigious beers,” he’s quoted as saying. (After pitching Fingers on coverage of the BHC launch, a representative for Goose Island did not respond to specific questions about the project sent via email.)
In hindsight, the brewery might have opted against scheduling the sale for Friday the 13th.
No sooner did Goose Island set the date than the price of Ethereum—a cryptocurrency, and the blockchain on which BHC and many other NFT projects are based—began to tumble. A day before the Goose Island mint, ETH had fallen around 20%. The Chicago brewery tried to adjust in kind. “[W]e can’t ignore this week’s market volatility and the fact that overall purchasing power is down,” it wrote in a blog post on 5/12. The BHC rollout would continue as scheduled, but for the matter of price: instead of $499, each token would be $399, a discount that proportionally mirrored ETH’s slide.
Alas, it wasn’t enough. In the intervening 10 days since BHC tokens have been available for purchase, under 300 have been minted, by around 200 wallets, according to information from the NFT trading platform OpenSea. Six of the NFTs were minted by a wallet that appears to be controlled by Goose Island itself. It’s hardly the sold-out reception that greeted Budweiser’s collections in late 2021, and when to the strong demand that the corresponding barrel-aged stouts still generate each November at real-life retail, it’s damn near flop territory for BHC. What happened?
The plummeting price of ETH and the broader crypto crash is certainly part of the story. You can’t really blame Goose Island for mistiming the market, because as we’ve already established, it’s not the sort of thing anyone can consistently and accurately predict anyway.2 But another factor in BHC’s super-slow start is the relative lack of “utility”—i.e., privileges conferred upon token holders. In short, there just didn’t seem to be much of a point to buying a Goose Island BHC token.3 The lowest and most common tier of token entitled holders to an autographed tap handle, a barrel stave, and a “NFT-owner only limited edition snifter.” That’s not nothing! But also not “worth” the mint price unless you’re a Goose Island superfan with plenty of disposable income. In ABI’s Budverse Discord server—I didn’t name it, please stop yelling at me—two members summed up the apparent aversion to the Goose Island project (emphasis mine):
[User A:] It looks like a good looking collection / professional launch. But niche market and feels geographically bound with limited leadup promotion and bad market timing... If I lived in Chicago I'd buy it in a heartbeat...
[User B:] I'll buy it on 5/20 when it dumps after reveal. If they weren't so vague about utility I'd be a buyer. Most BCBS customers don't want tap handles, they want BCBS.
To be fair, higher-tiered tokens come with additional privileges, including the “guaranteed opportunity” to buy a $30 ticket to the 2022 BCBS release event (known as Proprietor’s Day or Prop Day) and the “ability” to buy $130 worth of BCBS. If you get ahold of the rarest “Gold” BHC token, you don’t even have to pay for that stuff at all! But also to be fair, there’s only one Gold NFT in the entire 2,022-token project, and the type of token buyers got was randomized anyway.
But while the the reasons for the BHC project’s flat launch seem fairly straightforward, the implications for ABI’s overall push into the web3 space are harder to discern. The firm bet big on NFTs early on, launching a string of projects affiliated with its brands and reportedly investing in VaynerNFT, the web3-focused media services agency of unflappable rise-and-grind namesake Gary Vaynerchuk. Many of those projects sold out quickly: Budweiser’s Heritage Can NFTs were gone in a matter of hours, and according to trading activity on OpenSea, they have mostly held their value. But not every NFT project from the world’s biggest beer company has been a winner: the tokens minted at $399 apiece for Bud Light Next’s Super Bowl debut earlier this year currently trade at a floor price of just around $40, a tenth of what original holders paid for them. (The corresponding beer has only fared slightly better on real-life store shelves since its release.)
Reporting on the Heritage Can project last year for VinePair, I interviewed Dr. Merav Ozair, a leading blockchain expert and fintech professor at Rutgers Business School. The challenge that lay ahead for corporate early-adopters like ABI rushing into uncharted digital territory, she warned, wasn’t simply a matter of getting in on the ground floor. They’d have to follow through on their promises, roll with the punches, and deliver actual value (read: utility) to holders. “Being a first mover is good, but the question is, can [they] build on that momentum?”
In other words: timing isn’t everything, it’s just one small piece of the puzzle. Maybe that’s good news for Goose Island and its sluggish NFT debut.
📬 Good post alert
Don’t miss out, follow Fingers on Instagram today. It’s frand your feed will thank you. (Not really, that would be weird. But you know what I mean.)
As Friend of Fingers Michael Kiser recently told me with a laugh in a phone interview about early web3 adoption and implementation efforts in the industry: “Oh god, nobody in craft beer knows how to do that. You’re gonna need some kind of consultant in that space to basically like, hold breweries’ hands and make it happen. But I'm old enough to remember when breweries needed people to help them fucking set up their Facebook pages and like, develop a Squarespace site. So it's not surprising to me that craft brewers who are not necessarily historically technological hub of any sort, would need help with that. And there's no shame in that.”
I mean, you can, in the sense that they didn’t have to do a big promotional/commercial initiative on the blockchain, and by doing so opened themselves up to the volatility inherent even in established cryptocurrencies like ETH. But downstream of that, it’s not like they chose to launch their project during a historic crypto crash.
The obvious dunk here is that there’s no point to buying NFTs generally. Which is a pretty fair take in reference to the profile picture (PFP) projects that fanned the flames on the NFT bubble/craze in 2021. But there are some firms doing interesting online-to-offline stuff with the technology, too—including some craft breweries. Nuance!


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WILMINGTON — The Annual Cape Fear Fair and Expo is just days away. Crews began setting up Tuesday morning to get the fairgrounds ready for the hundreds of attractions, and thousands of visitors expected to attend.
The Cape Fear Fair and Expo starts on Thursday. Fair organizers say they expect more than 45,000 people and it features more than 30 rides.
Fair manager Skip Watkins said, "The rides are going up to be expected Wednesday and Thursday, so we’re ahead of schedule."
The fair will have more than 100 vendors, and exhibitors from local organizations.Booths will be judged and the winner receives a cash prize. The 4H Club from Pender County has been working on their booth for weeks. Audrey Thompson with pender county 4H In addition to rides, there will be food, games and arts and crafts.
The fair has generated millions of dollars in past years, and organizers say it’s a shot in the arm for the local economy. Advance tickets are on sale for $10 at local Scotchman, S&E food stores and First Citizens Bank locations until Wednesday. They cost a bit more at the door. The fair runs until November 3 next to the Wilmington International Airport.


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The competition watchdog has announced it will not oppose Energizer Holdings’ acquisition of global battery and portable lighting business Spectrum Brands Holdings, Varta.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said the proposed acquisition will likely lessen competition in the Australian market for consumer batteries, but will not have a substantial impact.
“This means that the proposed acquisition would not breach section 50 of the Competition and Consumer Act,” ACCC Commissioner Roger Featherston said.
At present, Spectrum has less than 5 per cent market share for consumer batteries in Australia, according to the ACCC.
The ACCC’s recent investigation analysed whether Spectrum will provide a strong competitive constraint on the market leaders, Energizer and Duracell, despite its small share of sales.
According to Featherston, Spectrum has limited brand recognition in Australia, meaning it is unlikely to be a strong constraint on Energizer and Duracell in the medium-term.
“We also believe there are other brands and private-label products that could fill a similar competitive niche in the market to Spectrum,” he said.
“Energizer also faces strong competition in consumer batteries from Duracell, which is the other player in the market with a significant market share and strong brand recognition.”
Featherston said that Energizer and Spectrum do not generally compete for the same customers in Australia in the separate market for hearing aid batteries.
“A combined Energizer-Spectrum would also be constrained by several other branded and private label suppliers,” he said.
The ACCC did not consider there were competition issues in relation to the sale of portable lighting devices, such as torches.


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AS part of its work to further develop and promote the Dingle Peninsula as a food destination, the Dingle Food Network Group, with the support of Fáilte Ireland, launched a new Food Trail last week.
The trail highlights the 44 businesses on the Dingle Peninsula who have all signed up to a customer promise that they will offer at least 35 per cent local ingredients in their menus (increasing depending on what's in season).
The idea behind the food trail concept is to combine the efforts of food producers and providers in promoting promote Dingle's as a high quality food destination.
"This trail will provide visitors to the area an opportunity to experience, see and taste a truly unique food offering, thereby generating more business for the local area," explained Kathleen Sheehy of the Dingle Food Network. "Food Tourism adds to the economy not just by creating employment but also by attracting both domestic and overseas visitors to come for the food. This has a knock-on effect of job creation and results in a boost to the local economy.
"It's all about authenticity. Serving local food, visiting local produces, tasting their produce and hearing their stories reflects our image as a natural, unspoilt and hospitable destination."
The food trail brochure is available at Dingle Tourist Office as well as other Fáilte Ireland Tourist Offices in Kerry and the various premises that have signed up.


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Yahoo has updated its local search product, broadening search results beyond business listings to include user-generated content.
A local search on Yahoo of any city in the United States will return listings of local events, user-recommended restaurants and other local establishments. Now, it will also show what other searchers in the same city have been looking for lately, and highlight the most recent ratings and reviews of local businesses.
The strategy has significant implications for local businesses, not only in that it presents a new audience for targeted local advertising, but because it also presents a new — and free — opportunity to get their business information in front of users. By ensuring their business profile information is updated and accurate, businesses are more likely to appear in results for relevant searches. Providing incentives to current customers for ratings and reviews means business can rank higher in search results.
“What we’re beginning to see here is a broadening of the definition of what local search is. It’s a lot more than finding a business when you’re in need — it’s about community,” observed Justin Sanger, president of local Internet marketing firm LocalLaunch.
By harnessing the local information and expertise distributed among local residents and bringing it together in one place, Yahoo has the potential to differentiate its offering from a growing number of competitors, according to Greg Sterling, director of the interactive local media program at The Kelsey Group.
“We’ve had IYP [Internet Yellow Pages] and local city guides for a long time. In terms of a general-purpose front door to local information, this brings together a lot of elements that are invaluable,” Sterling said.
While the advertising opportunities themselves have not changed — Yahoo still offers its Local Sponsored Search pay-per-click ads and enhanced local listings for $9.95 a month — the potential for increased traffic and additional ways to be found that user reviews and ratings present add value to both.
“This creates new advertising opportunities if they get more traction. They’ve already established themselves in a leadership position, and this will only put them farther ahead,” Sterling said.
They're arguably the most annoying video ad formats in existence, but soon they'll be a thing of the past, at least on YouTube.
On Thursday, Twitter reported its earnings for Q4 2016, and the results have raised questions about the company's long-term future.
From its $1.5 billion air cargo hub to its growing network of contract last-mile delivery drivers, Amazon is increasingly looking like a logistics company; but shipping and logistics giant FedEx isn't sitting idly by.
Havas Group's Meaningful Brands report delivers sobering news for brands: consumers wouldn't care if 74% of the brands they use disappeared off the face of the earth.


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By Lee Ohanian – Re-Blogged From Prager University
By Thomson Reuters – Re-Blogged From Newsmax
U.S. consumer spending barely rose in August likely as Hurricane Harvey weighed on auto sales and annual inflation increased at its slowest pace since late 2015, pointing to a moderation in economic growth in the third quarter.
The weak report from the Commerce Department on Friday did little to change expectations that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates in December. Chair Janet Yellen said on Tuesday the Fed needed to continue gradual rate hikes despite uncertainty about the path of inflation.
“We think current economic conditions are heavily impacted by the effect of the recent hurricanes,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG in New York. “The Fed will rightly look over any soft patch for economic growth in the third quarter.”
By Frank Shostak – Re-Blogged From http://www.Silver-Phoenix500.com
According to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the institution that dates the peaks and troughs of the business cycles,
A recession is a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales. A recession begins just after the economy reaches a peak of activity and ends as the economy reaches its trough.
In the view of the NBER dating committee, because a recession influences the economy broadly and is not confined to one sector, it makes sense to pay attention to a single best measure of aggregate economic activity, which is real GDP. The NBER dating committee views real GDP as the single best measure of aggregate economic activity.
President Donald Trump’s economic team paints a rosier picture about what his policies could accomplish than the economics profession is willing to endorse.
His team is formulating budget and tax proposals that project 3 percent annual growth, while the number crunchers at the Congressional Budget Office estimate only 1.9 percent.
How fast the economy can grow comes down to the simple sum of likely worker productivity and labor force growth. Since the financial crisis, productivity has advanced about 1 percent a year, as compared to the 2 percent in prior decades.
By Graham Summers – Re-Blogged From http://www.Gold-Eagle.com
Yet another “unmassaged” data point has shown that the US economy is rolling over.
If you’ve been reading me for a while you know that one of my biggest pet peeves is the fact that headline US economic data (GDP growth, unemployment, inflation, etc.) is massaged to the point of being fiction.
For this reason, in order to get a real read on the economy, you have to look for economic metrics that are unpopular enough that the beancounters don’t bother adjusting them.
Case in point, look at the latest employment trend for S&P 500 companies (H/T Sam Ro).
By Gerald Peters – Re-Blogged From http://www.Silver-Phoenix500.com
So we have once again seen official reports about sub-par economic growth. Some are constantly perplexed as to why growth is so weak. I believe it will eventually become more obvious to everyone that debt is one of the major problems causing our current stagnation.
Looking at the above chart, we see GDP growth rates have been getting weaker each decade. The economy used to grow at 7 or 8 %…then 5 or 6%…then 4%…then 3%. Currently. There is only 2% growth. Moreover, after the next recession we will be lucky to see 1% growth as the norm. Follow the trend and we see that the US economy will probably be at 0% economic growth after 2030. To be sure after 2040 we will probably see negative growth as the norm. By the way, the chart of retail sales growth looks the same. This trend has continued regardless of which political party controls the White House or Congress.
By Michael Pento – Re-Blogged From PentoPort
The accumulation of Debt, at its very essence, is simply borrowing consumption from the future. And this is true on any level of debt, be it either public or private. Just as savings is deferred consumption, the exact opposite is true for debt. Therefore, it can only be beneficial in the long-term if it leads to an expansion of productivity in the present. If the funds borrowed do not improve output per unit of labor it is much more difficult to pay back that debt and any perceived benefit ends up being nothing more than an ephemeral illusion.
This is the reason why public debt is the most pernicious variety. The problem with government spending is that it mostly amounts to little more than hole-digging and filling. Borrowing money to pay people to empty the ocean onto the beach may temporarily increase employment and demand in the economy. But since this is merely state directed busy work, it does not grow the economy and expand productivity. Thus, the result is a rise in the debt to GDP ratio.
The 2008 financial crisis led to the passage of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, referred to as TARP, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and a rapid increase in government transfer payments, which produced multiple years of record deficits. The accumulation of those deficits sent the U.S. National debt to GDP ratio leaping from 64% in 2007, to over 104% today.


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There are approximately 200 million people worldwide who suffer from the often whispered about disorder known as urinary incontinence (UI)—the loss of bladder control. Not only can this be a very embarrassing problem, but it can also greatly affect quality of life. While diapers, pads, exercises and medications all exist to help with this disorder, sometimes the best help can be a greater understanding of when occurrences are the most likely. Now there is an app for that.
iDry, developed by Jeff Pepper, founder of Three Ten LLC (with assistance from the National Institute on Aging and the department of urology at a major university), can help people overcome UI by logging events, tracking progress, predicting future success, identifying factors that affect UI and sharing progress with their doctor. This free app, available for Apple devices, can also help users track how UI is affect by various interventions such as exercises, behaviors, diets, drugs, devices and medical procedures.
“iDry gives you an incredibly easy and discreet way to log your UI events when they occur,” says Pepper. “Then, iDry uses your log data and its built-in database of hundreds of pad and diaper brands to show you in detail the progress you are making in overcoming your UI, including the date when, if trends continue, you will be completely dry.”
Crowdsourcing Drug Funding
Kickstarter (www.kickstarter.com) has proven to be successful at helping people raise money to get their creative projects off the ground—with some even raising millions of dollars. If this can work for creative ideas, then why not pharma? CureLauncher is a new company that hopes to find out.
At CureLauncher.com, people can connect with medical innovators and donate money toward clinical trials. The current featured project is a metastatic breast cancer treatment from NIH cancer researcher Dr. Lee Roy Morgan, CEO of DEKK-TEC, Inc., who hopes to raise $10,000 through the site. At press time the project had raised $1,115 through 14 different funders. People are also promised different incentives based on their donation. For example, at least $25 gets you the opportunity to ask the researcher one question about the project while $500 results in a personal thank you phone call from the researcher.
The site is not just for funding projects; it also lists clinical trials that are still looking for participants. Considering that 80% of the 50,000 clinical trials that take place annually in the U.S. are delayed due to low enrollment, this is just another way the site helps get innovation rolling.
Eli Lilly Faces Steepest Cliff
Every pharma company faces huge sales declines due to patent expiration, but according to Fitch Ratings no company faces a steeper patent cliff than Eli Lilly. Over the next three years, approximately 35% of the company’s sales (for the latest 12 months ending June 30, 2012) are subject to patent expiration. According to Fitch, the loss of exclusivity for Cymbalta and Humalog in 2013 could result in sales decreasing at a compound rate of nearly 8% between 2012 and 2014, and that is including the potential addition of the company’s late-stage R&D products to the commercial market. The news only gets worse for Lilly, as the company faces another steep decline in 2017 with the losses of Alimta, Strattera and Cialis.
In order to overcome the first patent cliff, the company is putting an emphasis on its research program. At the end of the second quarter of 2012, the company has 12 projects in Phase III or registered to drug agencies. However, even if all 12 reach commercialization, Fitch still believes that the company would not meaningfully benefit until the ease of the patent crash by 2015.
Over the next three years, approximately35% of Eli Lilly’s sales are subject to patent expiration. The loss of exclusivity for Cymbalta and Humalog in 2013 could result in sales decreasing at a compound rate of nearly 8% between 2012 and 2014.
Three Ten LLC


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The Leading Hotels of the World Roadshow is coming to Sydney and Melbourne next week, and to mark the occasion, three of the association’s European members – The Dolder Grand of Zurich, Badrutt’s Palace Hotel of St Moritz and La Réserve Paris – made time to sit down with Signature Media’s CEO & Group Editor, Cathy Wagstaff, and their Australian PR representative, Nicole Lenoir-Jourdan of Five Star PR.
With an iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge view from Aqua Dining at Milsons Point, the quintet enjoyed a lunch of fresh seafood while discussing the latest from their properties.
Mariano Tribelhorn, senior sales manager of The Dolder Grand, spoke about the holistic wellness offerings available at the Zurich grand dame. The sprawling Dolder Grand Spa is home to a menu of facials and massages, as well as meditation walks to promote relaxation, detox rituals, waterbed treatments and even medical wellness, thanks to the Aesthetic+Health Link network of doctors on hand.
In one of the more unusual hotel offerings out there, Ilaria Braga, sales executive at Badrutt’s Palace Hotel, mentioned that the legendary Alpine getaway is the ideal place to see not only snow polo but also ice cricket. The event made its debut in February, with international cricket stars playing on the frozen surface of Lake St Moritz. The hotel was also named as one of only four ambassadors of Krug Champagne in Switzerland in time for the 2017/2018 season.
La Réserve has recently established a Sydney office with Léa Seguier as Sales Ambassador. La Réserve has properties in Paris (both a historic hotel and apartments, favoured by Australians on longer stays), Geneva and Ramatuelle in Provence, as well as owner Michel Reybier’s private family retreat, The Chartreuse at Cos d’Estournel in the Médoc region. Léa also represents the Myconian Collection, luxury travel planner Sacré Bleu Paris! and Paris-based DMC, Exclusive & Private. La Réserve Paris in the chic eighth arrondissement is ideally positioned around the corner from the boutiques of Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré and boasts rich, Belle Époque-style interiors courtesy of Jacques Garcia, a spa and heated indoor pool (a rare feature in the heart of Paris), Michelin-starred dining and a distinctive lipstick-red front door.
The Leading Hotels of the World Roadshow begins next week in Melbourne on Monday 10 September and ends in Sydney on Friday 14 September.


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By Zuzanna Szymanska
3 Min Read
(Reuters) – German food delivery company Delivery Hero DHER.DE raised its 2019 revenue guidance for the fourth time as increased investments helped boost order volumes.
The Berlin-based company said it recorded a ramp-up in order volumes helped by its own delivery capabilities and targeted customer acquisition investments.
“We continue to allocate resources to the markets with the most compelling long-term opportunities,” Chief Executive Niklas Östberg said in a statement.
It raised its full-year revenue guidance to 1.44 billion-1.48 billion euros ($1.61 billion-$1.65 billion) from 1.3 billion-1.4 billion euros.
Delivery Hero shares were up about 4.5% in early Frankfurt trading.
Half of Delivery Hero’s gross merchandise volume is currently generated in profitable markets, while best-in-class markets achieved an EBITDA margin over 50%, the company said.
“In an era when fears abound around sector growth and returns, Delivery Hero’s execution and decision to pursue growth investments in unencumbered markets made total sense,” Jefferies analysts said.
Strength in Asia in particular suggests that the company’s significant investment in the region is paying off, analysts at Credit Suisse said.
The brokerage added it takes the focus of Delivery Hero’s third-quarter release on new initiatives such as dark stores, virtual restaurants and multi-vertical offerings as a positive, especially considering the competitive landscape in online food delivery.
Third-quarter revenue rose 117% to 391 million euros on a constant-currency basis and topped the 360 million expected on average by analysts in a Refinitiv poll.
The firm maintained its outlook for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), but said it expected to reach the lower end of the previously announced range because of the accelerated investments.
Europe is expected to reach adjusted EBITDA break-even in the fourth quarter, it said.
The German company hit headlines this week after a shareholder accused it of undermining one of the two rival offers in a takeover battle for British food ordering service Just Eat JE.L, a claim which Delivery Hero denied.
Reporting by Zuzanna Szymanska in Gdansk; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman & Shri Navaratnam
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays.
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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — There was proof Thursday that one act of kindness can go a long way.
As COVID-19 threatened to shut down St. Mane’s Sporting Goods in south Minneapolis, an idea was born.
Everett’s Foods and Meats has been in the same spot in south Minneapolis since 1956. St. Mane stepped in to help the business with a $5,000 check Thursday, and he didn’t stop there. He also made at stop at Berry Sweet Kitchen, run by Nancy and Jon Rud.
“You being a woman-owned business, it was a no-brainer to give you this check for $5,000,” St. Mane said.
Nancy Rud said she had “no words” for St. Mane’s genersity.
“So thankful,” Nancy Rud said. “It means everything for us because we have so many customers helping us. But this? Who does that anymore?”
St. Mane said his continued generosity is all due to Stan Hawkinson, a WCCO viewer who recently lost his wife, Carolyn. St. Mane’s actions sparked Hawkinson to donate $10,000 to help St. Mane’s Sporting Goods stay open.
“This past weekend, my wife and I were talking about Jan. 1 being our last day of retail, and when this gentleman gave us the money, $10,000 he gave us, and that won’t help us survive,” St. Mane said.
So he decided to help others even if he can’t help himself.
“This is really going to be a shot in the arm to help us, you know, get through at least the rest of the year,” Jon Rud said.
But St. Mane is “Minnesota Strong.” His daughter Morgan and best friend, Chaz Millionaire, believe because of all the good he is doing, Minnesotans will continue to support his efforts.
“The support that he’s received and the turnaround, you know, we will make it through and together, you know, we are better together,” Millionaire said.
You can help St. Mane Sporting Goods stay afloat and continue to help others buy purchasing a “Minnesota Strong” T-shirt or sweatshirt.
“Be Minnesota strong, show your support for what’s happening throughout the state and throughout the country, and buy a shirt for ‘Minnesota Strong,'” St. Mane said.
Click here to order a shirt online, or visit St. Mane’s store in south Minneapolis.


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Predator: Hunting Grounds launched last month to rather mixed reviews, with one criticism of the game being that it lacked the big personalities of the classic films. Where were Jesse Ventura, Danny Glover, and, of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger? Well, it seems Hunting Grounds is getting a bit of a charisma infusion, as it’s been announced Dutch is coming to the game, with voice acting from Schwarzenegger himself.
Dutch won’t just be a skin and a handful of soundbites either – Schwarzenegger has recorded a series of audio logs that detail what happened to the character in the time since the original Predator movie. Apparently, this stuff is canon, so this is the first real update we’ve had on the character in 33 years. Here’s what Illfonic chief creative officer Jared Gerritzen had to say about the new audio logs…
The premise of it is [Dutch] recorded these tapes since '87 after the first movie. Throughout these tapes, there are those arrows [pointing to] what he’s doing, kind of like safeguards if he gets killed or captured. These tapes are gonna be used to essentially keep his story going.
Our team at IllFonic sanity-checked it with me. We had a lot of meetups, working with myself and the design team, to get this story to be bulletproof because we do weave it throughout the universe. It's not like after '87 [Dutch] went and did nothing to do with the universe. We actually tied it to the universe.
Illfonic has also released a Hunting Grounds roadmap, which hints more favorite characters from the franchise may be on the way…
Here’s hoping Illfonic can bring Predator: Hunting Grounds up to snuff with updates and new content, because, again, the game is pretty rough right now (check out Wccftech’s full review here).
Predator: Hunting Grounds is available now on PC and PS4. The Dutch DLC drops on May 26.


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The state court hears arguments on whether a southeast Kansas gun shop may be held liable for selling a firearm that was later used by a convicted felon to kill his son.
The question before the justices Wednesday was whether to reinstate a negligence case filed against Baxter Springs Gun and Pawn Shop.
The case involves the 2003 murder-suicide of Russell Graham of Baxter Springs, a convicted felon who used a shotgun bought by his grandmother to shoot himself and his son. Graham was initially denied the sale of the gun by the shop owners.
Elizabeth Shirley, wife of Russell Graham, filed the liability lawsuit against the gun shop owners. A lower court dismissed the case, but the Kansas Court of Appeals reversed that decision in 2010, ordering a trial.
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Lamb’s Yacht Center is back in the hands of Bronson Lamb’s descendants, who have big plans for it...more
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Boat dealers sell new or used boats, or both, in combination with other activities, such as repair services. They may also sell new or used boat engines, trailers, marine supplies, and parts and accessories. A single dealer may sell several brands of boats and boats of different sizes and types. ranging from personal watercraft to large yachts.
Whether it’s frugality in a new economy or a societal sea change about valuing experiences more than possessions, rentals and fractional ownership start-ups have clearly gained traction in the industry.
Freedom Boat Club franchise owner Lisa Almeida received Flagler College’s Professional Achievement Award for 2015 during the recent Alumni Weekend.
Hatteras Yachts has appointed Total Offshore Yacht Sales of Wilmington, N.C., to its network of sales representatives.
A new model called the Wake Tractor is part of a brand-new company making boats that will be geared to millennials.
MarineMax said it has launched a “United by Water” burgee campaign to promote boating and boating enthusiasts.
HMY Yachts, which has 11 locations and 45 yacht brokers on its staff, is opening a new office in Kiawah Island, S.C.
California-based Marina Shipyard recently signed with PierVantage for Boat Yards.
South Florida’s largest boat repair center is being sold.
Yacht charter company The Moorings will invest more than $50 million this coming year on new sail and power yachts for vacation destinations worldwide.
MarineMax in Brick, N.J., will sponsor the second annual Warriors for Warriors charity shark tournament on Friday and Saturday.


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Epic Games’s brand new Unreal Engine 5 is now available in early access for all game developers. The Unreal Engine 5 will support all existing platforms including last-get consoles and mobile platforms, but Epic showed today new UE5 footage captured on Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 and things are looking really good.
“This Early Access build of Unreal Engine 5 is not production-ready, but this is where, for the first time, you can get your hands on some of the technology that caused so much excitement when it was showcased in last year’s announcement—not to mention some you’ve never seen before,” Epic said today. The first UE5 demo captured on PlayStation 5 last year was pretty short, but the 15 minutes video below goes more in-depth on the possibilities for creating incredibly detailed worlds.
A couple of developers have already announced upcoming games being developed with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5, such as Ninja Theory with Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. The Coalition, the Microsoft studio behind the Gears of War series also recently announced that it was using Unreal Engine 5 for “multiple new projects,” and that probably includes the unannounced Gears 6.
Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 4 currently powers many blockbuster games including Fortnite, PUBG, Sea of Thieves, or Borderlands 3, and it will be interesting to see how the first Unreal Engine 5 games will look like. In recent years, the Unreal Engine has also been used in movies and TV shows such as The Mandalorian and Westworld.
“We are hoping to ship the full release in early 2022 with many memory, performance, and quality improvements, as well as additional new features that will benefit creators in all industries,” Epic Games said today. You can learn more details on the Unreal Engine 5 Early Access on this page.


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Waddesdon: A year by numbers
It’s been a busy year here at Waddesdon and we wanted to share our highlights of 2018. We hope you’ll join us in 2019 for many more exciting plans.
This year’s Silver Caesars exhibition came in 17 crates brought by ten couriers from across the continents. It was enjoyed by over 20,000 visitors.
In aid of Young Carers Bucks, staff baked 43 cakes for the Great Waddesdon Bake Off.
25 chicks were reared to independence. This included rearing a Black and White Laughingthrush, for the first time in four years!
90 weddings took place across Waddesdon, the Dairy and the Five Arrows Hotel.
Since teaming up with ethical coffee brand Redemption in August, we’ve sold over 45,000 cups of coffee.
The Waddesdon Wine Shop has sold over 19,900 bottles of wine since April, with all profits supporting the upkeep of the Manor and its Collections.
We waved goodbye to our grand Dubois desk in March 2017 for conservation works carried out last year and this year, it will be returning in January 2019.
This year the Waddesdon Greenway opened, a safe 4km route connecting Waddesdon to Aylesbury Vale Parkway station.
This year little (and big) visitors to Waddesdon have decorated over 3,380 Christmas baubles and hunted for 3,634 Easter eggs!
Thank you to our fantastic volunteers who gave, on average, 126.5 hours each.


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Despite Windows 10 Mobile's rocky start, yet another manufacturer has signed up to make a smartphone running the mobile operating system. The manufacturer is none other than VAIO, the former laptop unit of Sony that is now owned by Japan Industrial Partners, which just launched its VAIO Phone Biz.
Gartner is forecasting that by the end of this year, 82 percent of mobile phones shipped worldwide will be smartphones, up an impressive 12 percent from last year.
Microsoft is working on a "breakthrough" smartphone, according to Chris Capossela, chief marketing officer at Microsoft.
Mozilla has decided to stop selling Firefox smartphones through carriers, according to Ari Jaaksi, senior vice president of connected devices at Mozilla.
Startup Sonavation promises to build the fingerprint scanner right into the phone's glass and make it available for mobile devices or even Internet of Things devices.
Fossil is giving folks a look at its Fossil Q line of connected wearables that was developed with chip giant Intel.
The rugged smartphone is gaining popularity in the enterprise, providing a more ergonomic and touch-centric alternative to rugged "brick-style" handheld computers, observed Kathryn Nassberg, an analyst with VDC Research.
Using location information in a person's smartphone, Amazon's drones will be able to deliver packages wherever the recipient is located--at home, on the job, out for a walk, or on a boat--according to a patent application Amazon submitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Google unveiled Wednesday handwriting input for Android apps, which enables users to handwrite text and emojis into any Android app in 82 languages and using 20 distinct scripts.
While BlackBerry has abandoned any hope of being a mobile handset leader in the consumer market, the enterprise mobility company is still cranking out smartphones and tablets. Its latest effort is the Leap smartphone, which has a distinctly enterprise feel to it.


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In follow-up of the Prime Minister of Pakistan’s visit to Azerbaijan last month, Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Defense Production has developed a joint action plan to enhance exports to $500 million.
The decision was taken during an Inter-Ministerial Working Group held here the other day, which was co-chaired by the Minister for Commerce, Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan and Minister for Defense Production, Mr. Rana Tanveer.
The Prime Minister had constituted a committee headed by Minister for Commerce and including Secretaries Ministries of Commerce, Defense Production, Industries & Production, Information Technology & Telecom, National Food Security and Research and Foreign Affairs as its members for enhancing trade and economic relations with Azerbaijan.
The Secretary Commerce has been nominated as the focal person for trade and economic relations. The committee was entrusted with the responsibility of finalizing the way forward clearly listing the steps to be taken up.
It was also decided during the meeting that under the action plan, the Minister for Commerce will lead a delegation to Azerbaijan later this month, which would comprise of prominent businessmen from export-oriented sectors of Pakistan.
On the sidelines of the visit, a meeting of Pakistan-Azerbaijan Joint Business Council will also be held in Baku for which FPCCI has already finalized members of JBC from Pakistan side. The plan also includes holding of trade exhibitions and restoring trade connectivity between two countries. After soliciting input from all the relevant ministries, the working group decided to submit the recommendations of the forum to the PM Office within two weeks.
During the meeting, Minister for Commerce said that Azerbaijan has shown particular interest to import pharmaceuticals and experience sharing in textile value addition from Pakistan as part of the enhanced cooperation plan.
“We have prepared a Five Years Trade Cooperation Plan to increase the bilateral trade to US$ 500 million and for diversification of export sectors,” he said.
“The plan envisages of enhanced market access to Azerbaijan through the preferential trading arrangement, which subsequently will be upgraded into a free trade agreement with mutual consent,” the Minister added.
Minister for Defense Production, Rana Tanveer said that Azerbaijan is more inclined towards Pakistan to import defense-related products, technology, and technical training.
This is pertinent to mention here that the total Pakistan exports to Azerbaijan were $60 million by the year 2015-16, which is dominated by a single product i-e Rice. Whereas, Pakistan’s imports from Azerbaijan were only $0.031 million for the same year.
Source: Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage