text:
Flowserve Marches Into China's Energy Market
The new plant of US-based Flowserve Corporation, a giant of the world's flow motion and control products and related services, was opened on April 17 in Suzhou Industrial Park as the first manufacturing base in China, marking an important step in Flowserve's 20 years business operation in China and its implementation of global strategy.
The 200-year-old Flowserve is a major supplier of pumps, valves, and sealing products and related services for petroleum, natural gas, power generating, chemical industries, and water works. Its customers include some of the large-scale Chinese energy enterprises such as Sinopec and Petrol China. Flowserve's sales revenue in China rose from 9% of its global sales few years ago to 14% last year, which gives Flowserve reason enough to set up a manufacturing center in China.
According to Mr. Lewis kling, President and CEO of Flowserve, the 15,000m2 Flowserve Suchou plant will provide localized and procured products and services to back up the business in Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, and Shenzhen, with the ultimate aim to become a global manufacturing center through a 3-year expansion plan.
The establishment of Suzhou plant is the first step of Flowserve's China strategy. The cost-effective investment in China is not the only factor in implementing the strategy, and more importantly, Flowserve is motivated by the fastest growing Chinese market to invest more in China than anywhere else in the world. The business expansion by Flowserve will also take the forms of setting up joint ventures, cooperation, merging, and acquisition, etc.
April 18, 2007


text:
Two Tokyo-based corporations, helo and wwwaap have co-produced a 12-episode net anime sequence "Tadaima! Chibi Godzilla," and its 30-second first episode is now obtainable on YouTube.
The "Chibi Godzilla" venture was launched to rejoice the 65th anniversary of Toho's Godzilla franchise. With the background of wanting a broader technology to like Chibi Godzilla, the manufacturing and streaming of the unique net anime sequence have been determined.
TOMMY Hino, who lately labored on the PASTEL LIFE quick anime for the BanG Dream! franchise, serves because the director on scripts by the My Roomie Is a Dino manga's story author Moriko Mori. A brand new episode will probably be posted each Wednesday at 17:00 (JST) from July 15 to September 30.
— ちびゴジラ【公式】 (@chibigodzi) July 15, 2020
Supply: helo press launch
TM & © TOHO CO., LTD.

domain: news


text:
According to a new report, the majority of consumers are serious about demanding social media transparencyfrom companies and brands. The results of the report, Social Media and the Evolution of Transparency, emerged from a survey of 1,000 individuals in the United States, and found that 86 percent believe it is more important than ever before for brands to be transparent in their social media marketing and communications.
The report demonstrates that consumers are more willing to be loyal to brands that display qualities such as being open (59 percent), clear (53 percent) and honest (49 percent). Loyalty to brands that exhibit social media transparency was demonstrable even in cases where customers had had a negative experience with the brand; 89 percent of people said they would be willing to stick with the company and give them a second chance, while 85 percent said they would remain loyal to transparent businesses through a crisis.
In a similar vein, lack of transparency was viewed negatively by the vast majority of consumers. A lack of social media transparency on the part of a brand would lead 86 percent of consumers to take their business elsewhere. In terms of purchasing decisions, 53 percent of people surveyed said that they are more likely to consider their next purchase from a brand that is transparent in its social media marketing and communications.
One particularly interesting result from the survey was the strong burden of transparency that consumers put on businesses – 81 percent said that companies have a higher responsibility for social media transparency compared to politicians (79 percent), non-profit organizations (77 percent), CEOs (75 percent), themselves (71 percent), friends and family (66 percent) or celebrities (57 percent).
The report shows that many stakeholders in businesses fail to connect the dots on how social media transparencydemonstrates authenticity to customers and potential customers, and encourages brands to come to terms with the fact that the vast majority of individuals “expect to have relationships and communication with brands that fuel a sense of personal and direct connection.”
The results of the survey make clear that the very nature of social media marketing and communications means that businesses must “commit to transparency in advance, in multiple formats and in real time.” In essence, brands that regularly practice transparency — both proactively and reactively — are building a safety net for their reputation, customer retention and long-term loyalty.
At Beyond Fifteen we believe that social media transparency is at the heart of building a relationship of trust with both existing and potential customers. It is both a business imperative and a differentiating factor that should be core to social media marketing efforts and the messages you present to consumers about your brand.


text:
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA, BRKB) sold off parts of its massive holdings of consumer giants Kraft Inc. (KFT) and Procter & Gamble Co.
But Berkshire also initiated a new position in oil-field-equipment maker National Oilwell Varco Inc.
The moves, disclosed in a regulatory filing Tuesday, reveal an uncommonly active quarter for Mr. Buffett and Berkshire's new portfolio managers, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler. Together, the three men sold more stocks than they bought, with the cuts in Kraft and Procter & Gamble leading the way.
Berkshire's stake in P&G fell nearly 20% to about 60 million shares valued at about $4 billion at Tuesday's closing price. Berkshire's retreat from the company comes at a key time for P&G, which continues to lose market share and is feeling increasing pressure from activist hedge-fund investor Bill Ackman.
The stake in Kraft, meanwhile, dropped 25% to about 59 million shares valued at about $2.4 billion. Mr. Buffett is trimming his company's Kraft stake as the food giant is close to completing its split up into a global snacks company and a North American grocery business. Tuesday, Kraft's board approved a spinning off of its grocery business that is scheduled to occur Oct. 1.
Berkshire also reduced stakes in J&J, U.S. Bancorp
The stake in National Oilwell Varco Inc.
Berkshire's total U.S. stock investments were worth $74.3 billion at the end of the second quarter, down slightly from the $75.3 billion Berkshire reported a quarter earlier. Mr. Buffett's company, like other investment firms that control an investment portfolio of more than $100 million, is required to report stock holdings 45 days after the end of a given quarter, giving the public its freshest possible glimpse into the investing decisions of the "Oracle of Omaha."
But Buffett has repeatedly warned that not all the moves in the investment portfolio are his. A portion of the portfolio was long managed by Lou Simpson, the investment manager at Berkshire-owned car insurer Geico Corp. He stepped down more than a year ago, and Mr. Combs and Mr. Weschler have stepped in.
"When our quarterly filings report relatively small holdings, these are not likely to be buys I made but rather holdings denoting purchases by Todd or Ted," Buffett wrote in his widely read shareholder letter in February.
An earlier filing with securities regulators disclosed that Berkshire had spent about $1.86 billion on equities in the second quarter, while selling about $3 billion of stocks.
-- Peter Loftus and Paul Ziobro contributed to this article.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires


text:
Even though there are a plethora of theories surrounding the origin of kabaddi, it emerged as a competitive sport only in the 1920s.
News in Focus
Technical analyst Sudarshan Sukhani has suggested three BUY Calls and one SELL Call for today’s trading session.
Nowadays, schools tend to compete with each other to provide the best facilities to their students.
Market analyst Mitesh Thakkar has suggested two BUY Calls and two SELL Calls for today’s trading session.
Technical analyst Sudarshan Sukhani has suggested two BUY Calls and two SELL Calls for today’s trading session.
Main Regional Stories
Technical analyst Sudarshan Sukhani has suggested three BUY Calls and one SELL Call for today’s trading session. Indian markets are expected to open slightly lower today but we could see markets taking support from lower levels.
South Korean automotive manufacturer Hyundai Motor Company will recall a large number of its electric vehicles (EVs), including the Kona Electric, the IONIQ Electric and the Elec City Bus, to replace their batteries.
American auto giant Ford Motor Company will invest $1 billion to transform and modernize its Cologne car manufacturing facility into an electric vehicle (EV) factory as part of its plans to sell only electric passenger cars in Europe by the end of
NASDAQ-listed electric vehicle (EV) pioneer Tesla Motors invested a considerable amount in Bitcoin and has pocketed a significant return on its investment on the controversial cryptocurrency, according to emerging reports.


text:
Single buyer cover online
ONLINE business credit insurer coverclick.com is extending its range of protection products to allow SMEs to insure themselves against payment default by single buyers or individual clients.
Businesses can buy the Single Buyer policy - the first of its kind - on the internet. It can protect companies for a given period, usually a year, against a named customer going bust or failing to pay an invoice in reasonable time.
Coverclick believes this sort of protection will increase in importance particularly as economic downturn is looking likely.
To cover up to £10,000 against one customer failing to pay up costs from £400 a year if it is a low risk company. To cover insolvency of a customer with medium risk for a year the premium would be £700.
Coverclick's founder and CEO David Neckar says the new policy has been developed following feedback from existing customers: 'Our customers come to us because they are busy people and we save them time as well as money. Our Single Buyer policy makes us even more flexible and convenient.'
Neckar, at coverclick, says that insurance brokers are now using coverclick for the small, uneconomic cases which until recently have generally been ignored: 'Brokers see it as a useful way to open up the SME sector,' he says.
Coverclick has sold credit insurance on an invoice by invoice basis since last December. All policies are backed and underwritten by Royal SunAlliance. To find out more and get cover immediately go to coverclick.com
More about Coverclick
Most watched Money videos
- Britain's Garage of the Year 2021 nominee's incredible construction
- Tesla Model Y: Electric compact SUV goes on sale in UK
- Britain's best used car this year: The French-made Peugeot 5008
- Scaled-down electric Aston Martin DB5 marks release of new Bond film
- Taking a look at the E10 fuel hoping to help the UK go net zero
- Taking a look at the electric converted Lunaz Aston Martin classic
- Taking a look at the Jaguar XJ220 from all angles on a test drive
- Rolls-Royce begin testing on their first fully electric car model
- The classic Moke is reborn as an electric vehicle
- MGB Roadster Limited Edition in detail
- Rolls-Royce reveals its first fully electric car arriving in 2023
- Take a glimpse of the Bugatti supercar set to be auctioned for £2.1m
No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.
We are no longer accepting comments on this article.


text:
A new screenshot duo from @evleaks makes plain the Windows Phone influence on Nokia’s Android UI.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen a multitude of leaks from Nokia’s rumoured ‘Normandy‘ Android smartphone, developed for the Indian market as a dual-SIM device. While the hardware looks every bit a low-cost Asha derivative, the forked Android UI — that is, a version of Android independent of Google, akin to Amazon’s Fire OS — generously borrows from Windows Phone for design inspiration.
Looking at what appears to be the home screen, app icons exist in a Live Tile-like square, even traditional Android apps not designed for the purpose. And though it appears that Nokia has kept Android’s drop-down notification bar, it doubles as a recent app launcher; missed calls blend in with recently-used apps and alarms in a simple, flat interface. It all looks quite intuitive.
Most interesting, though, are the prevalence of Android apps like BBM, Plants vs. Zombies 2 among Nokia’s own first-party offerings, like MixRadio (which isn’t currently available on Android), HERE Maps and a variant of the Nokia Camera app.
Now that Microsoft has gobbled up Nokia’s hardware department, Normandy may not launch at all — hence the recent trickle of leaks — but if it does, it could be a very interesting alternative to Android proper, especially in cost-sensitive developing markets.


text:
Crypto: Top 10 most downloaded apps of 2021!
In 2021, the crypto universe grew significantly. In particular, going from a global marketcap of 700 to 2,300 billion dollars. In mid-November, the market even flirted with the 3,000 billion dollar mark before falling. This development has also had an impact on the proliferation of apps or platforms. Exchange, wallet, brokers, all have worked to develop the market.
According to data from Adjust and Apptopia, crypto app downloads grew by more than 900% between 2020 and 2021. A trend largely impacted by a very strong market. Let’s take a look at the hit downloads of 2021 together!
2021: The Exchanges Had The Coast!
No wonder exchanges hold the upper hand. They are the bedrock on which the entire crypto ecosystem is built. Because it is through these applications or platforms that it is possible to hold, buy and exchange digital tokens. Thus, in 2021, the first three places were monopolized by exchanges. The Binance platform wins the prize for the most downloaded crypto application of the year in the world. In detail, 20% of downloads came from Turkey, for about 10% from the United States. It was therefore in 2021 that Binance took over Coinbase, which dominated the ranking the previous year.
Then come the Coinbase platform and Crypto.com to complete the podium. As part of the crypto sector, we will also rank the eToro platform on this segment of exchanges. If the online broker offers a wider choice of financial products, including stocks, commodities, currencies or even stock indices, it also offers nearly 60 digital assets. Fourth in 2020, eToro has therefore demoted in favor of more specialized applications and exchanges. It has especially, as we will see, suffered from the emergence of digital wallets.
Wallets: Big Winners Of 2021!
If the exchanges displayed a group shot in the first three places, the next three places are held by wallets. Thus, Trust Wallet, Metamask and Coinbase Wallet arrive in order at the fourth, fifth and sixth ranks of the most downloaded crypto applications in 2021.
Note that among the “management” apps, the Coinmarketcap platform has made a spectacular leap. In 2021, it ranked eighth in the most downloaded crypto apps.
+ 902% Download In 2021!
The report jointly conducted by Adjust and Apptopi also analyzed the download volume between 2020 and 2021. Between these two years, downloads exploded even faster than the crypto market: + 902% worldwide. Growth largely driven by the American market: +645% or even by the Asia-Pacific market.
Among the explanations, we can obviously cite the explosion in the price of Bitcoin and the global cryptocurrency market. If the main projects have seen the rise, 2021 has also been the rise of meme coins with the development of projects like Dogecoin (DOGE) or Shiba Inu (SHIB). Two tokens that are among the most traded over the year.
The development of markets like that of NFTs or metaverses has also prompted more users to become interested in crypto. And indirectly to its flagship applications.
What About 2022?
For 2022, in the “Finance” category, the Binance app ranks eighth on the App Store behind many banking apps. Coinbase appears in the twenty-fifth position and therefore retains its second place among the most downloaded crypto apps. The third step of the podium also remains unchanged since the Crypto.com application retains its position (31st Finance app on the App Store), just ahead of Coinbase Wallet (32nd).
The wallet of the Coinbase platform now seems to overshadow Metamask. Anyway, the platforms could well continue to surf their marketing and sponsorship strategies. As they have been able to do during events with global reach such as the Super Bowl. It is at this price that widespread adoption could take place. From 2022? And why not!
According to Adam Blacker of Apptopia, 2022 could see the number of downloads grow even further:
Our data shows a massive increase in demand for crypto wallets and exchanges over the past year. We expect to continue to see crypto applications grow alongside digital currency.


text:
Sierra Pacific Industries Appoints New Management for Windows Division
Sierra Pacific Industries made several key appointments in its Windows Division, including hiring Tom Takach as vice president of Operations, and promoting Bob Taylor to vice president of Business Development and Customer Service and Dominic Truniger to vice president of Sales & Marketing.
In his new position, Takach will oversee manufacturing and operations for Sierra Pacific’s Red Bluff, Calif., windows plant as well as the two newly acquired Hurd and Superseal Window and Door plants in Wisconsin. Takach joins SP Windows with over 21 years of experience in the window and door industry, primarily with Jeld-Wen.
“We are pleased that Tom has joined Sierra Pacific at a time when we are expanding our sales and manufacturing capabilities,” says Kendall Pierson, president of Sierra Pacific Windows. “His background and experience have prepared him for managing the increases in sales and production we expect at our Red Bluff and Hurd facilities."
Taylor played a key role in the success of the SP Window and Door operations and was previously the plant manager at the SP Windows Plant in Red Bluff, Calif. “The company will benefit from Bob’s 23 years of experience as we expand into new markets for our products,” says Pierson. “Bob's vast knowledge of our production processes and sales operations will be a great asset in the expansion of our window and door production."
Truniger joined SPI as part of the company’s recent purchase of HWD Acquisition (dba Hurd Windows & Doors). As president and CEO of Hurd since 2006, he successfully guided the Hurd brand to double its market share. “We are excited about Dom’s branding expertise and proven track record at Hurd,” says Pierson. “We’re anticipating that kind of success for our entire window line.” Truniger has 32 years of experience in the window and door industry. Prior to Hurd, he held sales and marketing leadership roles with Jeld-Wen, Crestline and Semco.


text:
Quit downloading too many apps: Google now lets you order food directly via Search & Maps
Users can pick between pickup and delivery and select which service they want.
Google now lets you take a virtual walk on Mars
Washington, Oct 20 (IANS) If you are curious about the unknown terrains of the Red Planet, here is your chance to take a walk on Mars for free all the while staying in your living room, thanks to Google'...
Google's 'Now service' is a bombshell for the future
What Google just announced at its I/O developer conference is a bombshell for the future of the company.
Paytm wallet now available as Google Now card
Mobile wallet Paytm has become the official launch partner of Google Now, an intelligent personal app that helps users find valuable information at any time.
Yahoo wants to compete with Siri, Google Now, and Cortana
Yahoo has already taken a step on this journey, launching the "Aviate" Android home screen app last year. But it's still early days for that app.
Voice assistant for your gadget? Consumers may not be as excited anymore
With Alexa, Siri, Cortana, Google Now and S Voice, tech companies have thrown their hat in the ring and shown what they believe is the user interface of the future.
10 awesome features of Google Now
The mind-reading personal assistant for iOS and Android has got a ton of updates lately. Here’s a list of the coolest stuff it can do
How Google's 'Now on Tap' could change everything about your smartphone
The web has thrived and grown in no small part because of Google’s ability to track, organise and understand all of its disparate pieces.
Copyright © 2019 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service


text:
Electronic games, toys and interactive entertainment are booming in Australia despite the economic downturn claims research group GFK. In their latest report they say that between January to July 2009 more than $2.8 billion was spent on the category representing a 7% increase over the same period in 2008.
One of the key factors driving sales is children who have successfully managed to apply peer pressure on parents and family members to spend money on them as they stay at home more.
GFK said that interactive games and toys in particular have experienced healthy value growth, with both categories up 9%. Despite a decline of 2.4% pre-recorded videos are performing better than in Australia than most other developed countries.
The European research group said that Australia is unique in that the toy retailers enjoy ‘Christmas in July’, with the annual July toy catalogue sales accounting for 20% of total sales for the year, while Christmas accounts for 25%.
The toy catalogue season was not quite as strong this year, with unit sales declining by 7.5%. Value sales grew by a modest 1.6%, indicating that consumers took advantage of retailer promotional activities and purchased toys at higher price points but in lower quantities.
Contributing to the growth has been the Federal Governments stimulus package, coupled with aggressive retailer catalogues said GFK.
Also contributing was the fact that consumers spent more time at home in 2009 than in the past and this led to them “snapping up toys to keep their kids entertained, with outdoor & sports toys performing particularly well”.
This resulted in pre-catalogue sales (January to June) growing 14.1% compared to a growth for the same period last year of 4.6%.
They predicted that the timing of Christmas Day falling on a Friday should help retailers maintain sales with the research group tipping sales growth of 6-7% for the toy sector which includes gaming consoles and hand held gaming devices.


text:
Ford has announced the launch of the first mobile health app to connect to certain Ford models via the car company's Sync AppLink platform: IMS Health's Allergy Alert app, which is powered by data from IMS Health's Pollen.com site. Gary Strumolo, Manager, Vehicle Design & Infotronics, Ford Research and Innovation explained that Ford had developed three ways for mobile health services to interact with its cars: Bluetooth connectivity between the car's computer and personal medical devices, remote access to cloud services via the car's computer, and synching up to the health apps users already have on their smartphones.
Allergy Alert was one of mobile health apps that were on display at Ford's event last year. Medtronic and WellDoc also showed off their wares: Medtronic demo'd a continuous glucose meter (CGM) that connected to the car via Bluetooth and allowed users to hear alerts about their blood glucose readings instead of having to fumble with their monitor's screen while driving. WellDoc demonstrated its cloud-based DiabetesManager service, which could encourage drivers to double check their blood sugar right when they get behind the wheel if they had a low reading earlier that day.
More recently, Ford Motor announced that it had built on its in-car health monitoring initiative by teaming with Microsoft and Healthrageous to research how people can monitor their health and promote wellness with connected devices while in their vehicles. The number of allergy related apps is on the up and up. Allergy-related apps, like IMS Health's Allergy Alert, are an emerging and fast-growing subcategory of iOS health apps.


text:
- Subscribe NowLimited Time Offer
With founder Ronning gone, Digital River outlines next steps
Company says revenue growth will be 'difficult to achieve'
Send this to a friend
Digital River Inc. executives told investors Thursday the company will struggle to grow revenue next year, and they outlined three steps it will take to improve its position in the market.
Thomas Donnelly, president and chief operating officer of Digital River, said a soft economy — particularly in Europe — and sliding PC sales will make it “difficult to achieve revenue growth next year.”
He outlined three actions the company will take to respond to challenges, including un-bundling some of its e-commerce services and offering them to customers on an “à la carte basis.” The company also plans to invest in its infrastructure and offset some of those costs with lower operating expenses. He didn’t detail how Digital River will reduce expenses, but said more will be revealed at the company’s February earnings call.
Analysts on the call didn’t ask for further details on Ronning’s departure, though there have been signs for a while that shareholders were unhappy with his performance — and his pay, the Star Tribune reported. Ronning has been paid more than $16 million over the last three years.
“Digital River has a successful franchise that they built from ground up, but the last few years have not been good for the company or its investors,” Daniel Ives, an analyst with New York-based FBR Capital, told the newspaper. “There had been a series of missteps in execution and strategy. Most investors will think that fresh blood coming into the company at this point is positive.”
Katharine Grayson covers med tech, clean tech, technology, health care and venture capital.
- Most popular
- Target's St. Louis Park liquor store OK'd; more planned in west metro
- The Loop will open third location in West End's former Figlio space
- Bank of America plans new format for its first Twin Cities branches
- General Mills rolls out naughty and nice holiday foods (Photos)
- Mall of America hires 'dream team' to fill expansion project
- U.S. Bank CEO Richard Davis announces hiring spree
- All 11 Minnesota Alco stores to close
- Edina man charged with scamming investors via Craigslist
- Whole Foods-anchored 222 Hennepin could be the next big apartment sale
- NFL suspends Vikings' Adrian Peterson for remainder of 2014 season
Work For: Polaris Industries Polaris Industries | Minneapolis, MN
Business Development Manager TCI Architects Engineers Contractor | National
MNsure Small Group Market Director MNsure | Saint Paul, MN
Retirement Planning/Financial Counselor Principal Financial Group | Hopkins, MN
Sales - Insurance Agent – Entry Level Sales Representatives – Training Provided Bankers Life and Casualty Company | Stillwater, MN


text:
GlobalFoundries’ new ecosystem partner program, called RFwave™, aims to simplify RF design and help customers reduce time-to-market for a new era of wireless devices and networks (read the full press release here). The program aims to give designers a low-risk, cost-effective path to highly optimized solutions that leverage GF’s platforms including RF on FD-SOI and RF-SOI. The target is wireless applications such as IoT across various wireless connectivity and cellular standards, standalone or transceiver integrated 5G front end modules, mmWave backhaul, automotive radar, small cell and fixed wireless and satellite broadband.
As such, the RFwave™ partner program provides GF customers with IP design elements, EDA tools, design consultation and services and OSAT product packaging and test solutions. These products and services are validated, and comprise a plug-and-play catalog of design solutions. With this level of integration, GF customers can create high-performance designs while minimizing development costs.
Bami Bastani, senior vice president of GF’S RF Business Unit, says, “As a leader in RF, GF’s RFwave program takes industry collaboration to a new level, enabling our customers to build differentiated, highly integrated RF-tailored solutions that are designed to accelerate the next wave of technology.”
Initial members of the RFwave Partner Program are: asicNorth, Cadence, CoreHW, CWS, Keysight Technologies, Spectral Design, and WEASIC.


text:
AGA Medical heart defect repair tool:
This article was originally published in Clinica
AGA Medical claims it has become the first firm to gain Japanese approval for a transcatheter occlusion device for repairing an atrial septal defect (ASD), an opening in the heart's septum. The Amplatzer septal occluder consists of a minimally invasive, catheter-based device that is delivered via a vessel to the heart, where it serves to clamp shut the septum opening. Already marketed in over 90 countries worldwide, including the US, the product provides an alternative to open heart surgery. The Minneapolis, Minnesota firm is one of several companies making transcatheter occlusion devices.
You may also be interested in...
The Environmental Working Group and Scientific Analytical Institute say inadequate testing of talc-containing personal-care products is to blame for findings of asbestos in cosmetics, including three of 21 powder-based cosmetics SAI analyzed at EWG’s request. They continue to push for updated testing standards that include electron microscopy as a core component.
Can Atlas Biomed unlock Japan's self-care market with its direct-to-consumer DNA and microbiome tests? HBW Insight catches up with the company's co-founder and CEO to discuss this and also how Atlas has been driving its European expansion plans despite coronavirus.
France's ANSES warns women using oral contraceptives not to use a supplement marketed by UK firm Hairburst after linking the product's consumption to two cases of severe acute hepatitis.


text:
|2015 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Best of Show|
|PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (August 17, 2015) -- An Italian Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Cabriolet that once turned heads and garnered top prizes in the classic era glided to victory at the 65th Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance on Sunday.
The competition drew 219 cars from 16 countries and 29 U.S. states to the 18th fairway of Pebble Beach Golf Links. It also raised over $1.8 million to help people in need. Through the Pebble Beach Company Foundation, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this ...[Read more...]|
|Postwar Ferrari Named Best of Show at 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance|
| ||1954 Ferrari 375 MM Scaglietti Coupe Named 'Best of Show'
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (August 17, 2014) -- Excited cheers echoed across the 18th fairway of Pebble Beach Golf Links Sunday when a 1954 Ferrari 375 MM Scaglietti Coupe was named Best of Show at the 64th annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The car, owned by Jon Shirley of Medina, Washington, was the first postwar car to take the top award at the prestigious event in nearly five decades. It was also the first Ferrari to win.
|63rd Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Names 1934 Packard 'Best of Show'|
|The competition showcased 248 cars, including 48 from abroad
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (August 18, 2013) -- A 1934 Packard 1108 Twelve Dietrich Convertible Victoria owned by Joseph and Margie Cassini III of West Orange, New Jersey, was named Best of Show at the 63rd Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, held Sunday on the 18th fairway of Pebble Beach Golf Links at Pebble Beach Resorts. The event showcased 248 cars from 36 states and 12 countries and raised $1,277,007 for charity.
'This Pack...[Read more...]|
|Blackhawk Automotive Museum Salutes The Automotive Legacy Of Briggs S. Cunningham An American Hero|
|DANVILLE, California. (June 10, 2013) - In the history of competition, few figures have participated in more than one sport at the highest level; even fewer have made history in two. Briggs Swift Cunningham II not only won the America's Cup, the most cherished prize in yacht racing, but he also brought American sports car racing to the international stage in a grand manner. With the America's Cup Trials in San Francisco Bay this summer, Tim McGrane, Executive Director of the Blackhawk Aut...[Read more...]|
|Final Countdown Underway To South Florida's Premier Collector Car Auction|
|• Auctions America kicks off its 2013 auction season, March 22-24 with its highly anticipated Fort Lauderdale Collector Car Auction
• Celebrating its 11th year, the multi-day auction features more than 550 quality collector cars
• Latest feature attractions include an outstanding 1963 Shelby Cobra and a 1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS
• Digital catalog now available for download at auctionsamerica.com
AUBURN, Indiana (February 27, 2013) – With the final countdown underway to its highly an...[Read more...]|


text:
Monthly HELOC originations (non-seasonally adjusted)
The home-equity line of credit (HELOC) market continues to recover, HELOC originations showed a 28 percent increase in November 2013 compared with November 2012, and are on pace for an overall 20 percent increase in growth for 2013. Share of subprime HELOC originations fell to 1.25 percent for the year--a 7 percent decrease from the previous year and the lowest since we began tracking these numbers.
HELOC delinquency rates remained steady in January. Delinquency rates as a percentage of balances are at their lowest point since March 2008.
SOURCE: Equifax Inc., Atlanta Equifax is a global leader in consumer, commercial and workforce information solutions that provide businesses of all sues and consumers with msight and information they can trust Equifax organizes and assimilates data on more than 600...


text:
We recently came across photos of a truly epic looking “Tiffany Blue” wrapped Porsche 911 GT3 by Californian wrapping company Protective Film Solutions. The turquoise-like wrapping job was done for GMG Racing.
The 991 GT3 is in production since 2013 and is already a pretty rare sight on the streets by itself. The owner of the German sports car took an additional step to let the GT3 stand out even more. The new and fresh look of this 911 GT3 is sure to turn many heads when it drives by. What are your thoughts on this wrap? Check out the gallery below!


text:
Researchers in Sweden have combined the country’s experience in the paper industry with special plastics to create a new record-breaking material which can store energy. The new power paper could be used to store energy generated by wind or solar, giving a potential solution to the energy storage problem often encountered when using renewables.
The team, led by Professor Xavier Crispin at Linköping University’s Laboratory of Organic Electronics, has been working on conducting polymers – plastics that conduct electricity – for many years. They wanted to combine the assets of conducting polymers with a material called nanocellulose to improve the properties of both and came up with a composite material that is cellulose-based and can also store energy.
Strong, flexible and very thin
Nanocellulose is a material derived from wood fibres, with strength that can be on level pegging with Kevlar. Once blended with the plastic, the mixture is poured into a petri dish where it sets. The resulting product is just one micron thick, shiny, very strong and flexible.
"We could not go above that without losing the properties of the material," says Crispin. "If we made them thick, they get fragile so they are not really flexible and tough anymore."
Computers, smartphones and other everyday electronic devices become thinner and thinner every year but this trend cannot be observed in power supply devices, so this technology could hold the answer.
Dubbed ‘power paper’ by the researchers, the paper-like material conducts electricity and ions. It is just a few tenths of a millimetre thick and can store up to one farad of energy when charged with one coulomb of electricity. The researchers demonstrated just how durable the material is by folding it into origami shapes.
The power paper is cheap to produce and the materials required to create it are easy to acquire, which is a unique selling point as that is not always the case when building advanced storage batteries, for example lithium-ion batteries such as the Tesla Powerwall.
"Nowadays, the materials used for good batteries are quite expensive and sometimes are composed of materials that are rare," says Crispin. "[Power paper] materials are based on trees physically; cellulose and a conducting polymer, which are just a kind of special plastic, composed of carbon and oxygen. These are all very abundant atomic elements."
Proportionally, this makes power paper very cheap, which means that the technology can be used to build super capacitors and batteries on a large scale. The paper is also light and no dangerous chemicals are involved in its production.
Another novel characteristic of the material is that it conducts both electrons and ions, which makes it a mixed conductor. The material has even set a new world record in simultaneous electron and ion conductivity.
"You need absolutely to have those materials when you want to build batteries or a super-capacitor," says Crispin. "When we looked at the survey of materials, we found out that our material has the best combination of the electronic conductivity and ionic conductivity."
Crispin says that combining very good ionic and electronic conductivity is unique. So, although power paper may not the best material in terms of storing large amounts of energy, it is the only one capable of combining ionic and electronic conductivity on this scale.
"In terms of amount of energy per volume, it’s not the best one," Crispin says. "We need to improve that; that is the next step in the research."
Each piece of power paper can be recharged within seconds, hundreds of times. The team admits that more work needs to be done on the material so that it doesn’t discharge so readily and can be used in more advanced battery technology.
Power paper could, however, be used in super-capacitors, devices that store energy for a short time and release it quickly.
Future research and applications
Given the speed of technological progress in wearable computers and devices, ultra-thin battery technology could have very widespread applications once the system’s shortcomings are addressed.
"[Power paper] can be electrodes in super-capacitors for energy storage, or potentially later on, if we improve that, it will be good electrodes for batteries," says Crispin. "The point that we wanted to make is of course the necessity in our society to basically be able to store large amounts of electricity."
As its name suggests, power paper looks like paper and is manufacturable with similar machines as conventional paper because it has the same kind of mechanical properties. It is formed from a regular pulp which has to be dehydrated. Sweden is already very well equipped to develop materials such as this, being the world’s second largest exporter of paper, pulp and sawn wood products, and its paper industry is the third largest in Europe, behind Finland and Germany.
Resilient, flexible, easy charging materials such as power paper are likely to be popular partners to sources of renewable energy. The problem of how to store energy when the sun goes down or wind stops blowing is one that will stick around, and cheaper options to do this are going to be the most attractive.
It may be in early development still, but the future of power paper looks promising, particularly while there is such an emphasis on making energy storage cheaper and more reliable. If power paper becomes better at storing energy, then we could see technology such as this appearing in many devices in the future.


text:
Thrive World Wide Inc. (TWWI.OB), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Daily Hot Deal, is the newest entrant into the social shopping ‘deal of the day’ business. The company is differentiating itself from its competition by creating a video spotlight for each participating merchant at no charge to the business itself.
This video gives the merchant a branded piece and Daily Hot Deals’ members the opportunity to watch the video and see features of the deal. The video in sent in Daily Hot Deals daily email to its members and is featured on the company’s Facebook fan page and You Tube channel as well as its DailyHotDeals.com website.
Third World Wide announced today that it has hired its initial San Diego sales representatives. This sales team is an experienced sales team with experience in the San Diego community. This team will be responsible for acquiring merchants to market their daily deals on DailyHotDeal.com.
The company believes that San Diego is a vital market for its success. It has good reason to believe so. San Diego not only has a population of over 3 million people, but is also a popular tourist destination. Thirty million tourists visited San Diego in 2009. Many tourists have begun using Daily Deal sites to plan activities when vacationing in areas such as San Diego.
For more information about Thrive World Wide and its Daily Hot Deal subsidiary, please visit the company’s website at www.thriveworldwide.com.
Let us hear your thoughts below:


text:
San Diego, CA, June 07, 2014 --(PR.com
)-- A new apparel company, Vet Brand Apparel Company, has launched with a focus on celebrating the service and dedication of the United States veteran community and providing new products that allow them to show their pride in their duty and their country.
Vet Brand Apparel Company was founded by Neil Stevens, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, that had problems finding shirts that honorably expressed his status as a veteran with both the fit the style he was searching for. “I kept looking around but just couldn’t find something that carried the message I wanted to represent,” said Stevens. “One day I just decided to put my passion into action and design my own apparel. The more designs I showed to other veterans, the more I was asked when they would be available for purchase.”
Based on the interest he received, Stevens decided to move forward and launch Vet Brand Apparel Company on his own and develop working relationships other veterans. “I recruited another veteran to help me create the web presence and found a production shop that is also a veteran owned small business to produce the shirts. It is very important to me to keep this company as veteran connected as possible to showcase the wide reaching skills veterans have.”
The motivation behind Vet Brand Apparel is simple, to create products that veterans, military personnel, and patriotic Americans will revere and show their joy in being a veteran, their involvement with different military campaigns or their love of our country.
With the current state of unemployment in the United States, Stevens sees Vet Brand Apparel as a way to combat the epidemic that is veteran unemployment. “There are too many skilled veterans that are being overlooked for the few positions that are available today. Vet Brand Apparel, to me, is my way of highlighting the immense value and the wide array of talent that lies within the veteran community. Becoming an entrepreneur is the ultimate example of the fortitude of our community.” said Stevens. Vet Brand has plans to find their future employees through the current pool of veterans going to college on the GI Bill. “I have an 11 year marketing background on top of my military service and I still have problems finding employment. If I can do something to help another veteran get a start and help them finish school it will all be worth it.”
Vet Brand Apparel Company is not only focused on making people look good but also help them do good, Vet Brand Apparel has pledged that 10% annually will go back to helping organizations that support combat wounded veterans. “As a company we will always focus on helping those that not only served, but also sacrificed,” said Stevens.


text:
BEIJING – Under pressure from the Chinese government, American Airlines has changed the way it labels Taiwan on its website ̵
The move came about three months after Beijing ordered it as a Chinese territory or world second-largest aviation market.
By Wednesday morning, Chinese users could no longer see the name "Taiwan" on a map of Asia on the American Airlines website, while China, Japan and the Korea remain. The change is expected to reach all of the airline's online content, though updates may have lagged in some markets, a spokeswoman said.
"American Airlines spokeswoman Shannon Gilson said in a statement.
American Airlines tweaked its language just before Beijing's July 25 deadline. So far, United and Delta have not followed suit, listing the island online as its own country – not "China Taiwan" or a similar title, by the request of President Xi Jinping's government.
Beijing has been claimed as part of its territory under its "one-China policy." But driving US carriers to self-censorship is a symbolic victory for Chinese leaders and an example of the nation's business leverage.
Taiwan broke out of China after Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist Party fled to the island in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's Communists. Taiwan and China's relationship remains fraught, despite a number of talks between the parties in recent years.
On Tuesday, Chinese officials called on American carriers to swiftly edit their language.
"We hope that the U.S. Government wants to be the same as possible, "Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters.
The State Department, however, expressed that
"We have told China that the United States strongly objects to China's attempts to compel private firms to use specific words of a political nature in their publicly available content," a spokesperson for the US Embassy in Beijing said Tuesday.
Disobeying China, however, carries a steep economic risk for airlines in the rapidly expanding market. Roughly 549 million passengers in China took flights last year, compared with 184 million in 2007.
Analysts say Beijing can not get access to these fliers by ramping up regulations, crashing websites tourists who are allowed to travel to the United States.
The risk of noncompliance is a doozy, said Bob Mann, at airline industry in New York.
"They can not sell within China," Mann said.
The Trump administration has called Beijing's demand "Orwellian nonsense, "but industry groups suggested Wednesday that more US carriers may comply.
Chinese officials have called the matter nonnegotiable and have at least one request from the White House to discuss the issue.
"As with other sectors of the economy, the U.S." airline industry is a global business that must contend with a host of regulations and requirements, "Airlines for America, a lobbying group for the industry, said in a statement.
The United States kicked off a trade with China, imposing tariffs on $ 34 billion in Chinese imports. Beijing has been repaid with levies on an equal amount of American goods.
President Trump has slated to pay an additional $ 200 billion in Chinese products as early as September.
Yang Liu contributed from Beijing.


text:
>> Doors opened to the New York International Auto Show, Friday. And in the Big Apple, that means luxury models are on full display, including two new Porsches that have enough style to make the ordinary man feel like the next James Bond. Ford's upscale Lincoln name plate turning the Navigator Raptor, a concept of a few years ago, into a real life luxury mega SUV.
Another in the bigger is better category, the Infinity QX80, which is ditching shiny paint in favor of a matte look. The hottest selling category right now, compact SUVs, where Hyundai is looking to get a piece of the action through the Genesis Luxury brand, but it's not yet ready to hit the road.
What is ready, Mercedes Benz and the GLC 63. Mercedes hoping to regain lost ground in its premium market, which is clearly much more crowded than it used to be. I'm Conway Giddens in New York. Underneath all this shiny chrome there's more concern than there was at the Detroit Auto Show just a few months ago.
That's because US sales are starting to stall after a record sales boom. But without high gas prices to worry about or the threat of higher fuel standards from a Trump White House, high end models just keep on coming.


text:
MARTINSVILLE, Ind. – The annual Morgan County Fair runs through August 4th and it's all about rides, food, concerts and 4-H competitions.
It's also one of the last county fairs in central Indiana leading up to the Indiana State Fair, which begins Friday, August 3.
The Morgan County Fair overs entertainment every night on the Morgan County Free Stage. Some of this year's concerts include Highland Ridge, Eddie VanZant Band, the Golddust Band as well as Terry Lee and Rockaboogie Band.
And what would a county fair be without food?
Sweet corn is grown locally and picked fresh daily. Pizza, tenderloins, pork sandwiches and ice cream are all available in the food area.
You can take a selfie at the Grilled Cheese Booth and win a lemon shakeup.
This year, thanks to improved wireless service, some food vendors will even accept credit or debit cards.
The fair does not charge for admission, but there is a $4 parking fee.
And for those who have trouble walking, there’s a free shuttle service from the parking lot to the gate.


text:
TikTok has flourished in the US, where its monthly active user numbers are currently threatening Facebook and Twitter. The social media platform launched almost five years ago in September 2016, but didn’t explode into the mainstream until recently. Most of its 689 million monthly user base remains in the US, and to spread it around the world it has introduced a new feature; Crown.
How do you get a crown on TikTok?
Some people may have recently discovered profile pictures adorned with a gold crown.
The new feature has confused many people, both content creators and users.
But there is a simple explanation for the new jewelry and an easy way for people to get their own.
READ MORE: Lidl launches £ 2.99 worth of mochi ice cream balls that follow the TikTok trend
In short, according to TikTok staff, only celebrities, public figures, brands, and publishers are verified.
Verified badges indicate that someone authentically has an account, according to the platform’s newsroom.
Only the most notable users, like celebrities or popular content creators, can get one.
Verified TikTokers need a large following, with high quality and widely distributed videos or without that pre-existing celebrity.


text:
Tecno is set to unveil the Camon 19 series in Kenya next week. The phone is currently available on pre-order across the country. The interesting this is that Tecno has not revealed how much this phone will retail for when available to purchase, you just have to pay a deposit and hope the price will be within your budget.
The good news is we now have a good idea as to how much the phone will be available for. The phone has been listed on Masoko for Ksh 24,499. This is the price of the standard Tecno Camon 19 and not the Pro variant, the Pro should be a bit more expensive.
Update: The Camon 19 Series has officially been launched in Kenya and you can read more about it here.
Those who pre-order the Camon 19 will get the new Tecno earbuds and a backpack. Those who pre-order through Masoko will also get 7GB of data.
Read: The Tecno Camon 19 Specifications and Price in Kenya
I will be getting the Tecno Camon 19 Pro to review and you should watch out for that in the coming weeks.
Here are some of the key specifications you get on the Tecno Camon 19:
- Display: 6.67-inch, 1080 x 2408 pixels
- Front Camera: 16 MP
- Rear Camera: 64 MP + 2 MP + 0,8 MP
- Processor: Helio G88
- RAM: 4GB
- Storage: 128 GB
- Battery Capacity: 5,000mAh
- OS: Android 11


text:
"I'm on the plane!" Ofcom has set out proposals for allowing mobile phones to be used on aircraft. The regulator is planning to permit airlines to install base stations in planes which will relay...
Backbytes: YouTube bans "dangerous challenges and pranks" following car crashes inspired by Bird Box challenge
Crackdown comes after idiots copying popular Netflix show uploaded dangerous stunts to YouTube
Developers will be expected to provide both 32-bit and 64-bit builds of their apps - but 32-bit apps will be deprecated in Google's Play Store
Cait O'Riordan, chief product and information officer at the Financial Times, explains that every business is dependent on technology to deliver growth, and successful IT leaders understand product strategy and focus their efforts there
Apple COO Jeff Williams claims that the company had no choice but to go to Intel


text:
Reasons the demand for rCB increases
The demand for newly manufactured tyres is expected to continue to grow by over four per cent per year over the next few years. A growing middle class in developing countries increases the demand for cars. Another reason is that the average annual mileage in the world is increasing.
"The fact that the entire tyre market increases could result in a cooperation between several different forces resulting in increased demand for our recovered carbon black, EnviroCB. The main driver for Enviro is that most of the major players in the tyre industry sets goals to increase the proportion of recycled materials in newly manufactured tyres”, says Thomas Sörensson, CEO Enviro.
Global tyre sales have been estimated at 3 billion units in 2017 according to Imarc Group. Research firm Freedonia Group Inc. says that higher income levels in developing countries and a growing global economy are contributing factors. Also, the increase in average annual vehicle mileage worldwide boosts tyre replacement rates.
"We follow the demand for tyres closely as it drives the overall demand for carbon black. Here, we strive to be right positioned on a world market that’s clearly turning towards a more circular economy. For two years now, we are supplying recovered carbon black to the automotive industry which only speaks to our advantage.”
The quality of Enviros recycled carbon black, EnviroCB, has already been confirmed by several international tyre manufacturers and production testing is currently being conducted by several others.
The major tyre manufacturers own words:
- Continental’s sustainability report: “…will increase the recycled materials in new tyre production to 10% before 2025.”
- Michelin’s webbsida on objectivs for 2020 “Contribute to the development of the circular economy, with 30% of renewable or recycled materials, in the manufacture of tyres.”
- Bridgestone shows in their environmental report that they will increase the recycled materials in production in the vision for 2050 The graph shows a goal for 25–50% recycled materials.
- Pirelli’s folder about sustainability: “From green sourcing and new materials innovation to end-of-life tyre management, Pirelli takes an active leadership role.”
For more information, please contact:
Thomas Sörensson, CEO of Enviro, Tel.: +46 (0)735-10 53 43, email@example.com
Alf Blomqvist, Acting Chairman of the Board, Enviro, tel: +46 (0) 733 149 700, firstname.lastname@example.org
Enviro is an environmental technology company that offers profitable recovery of tyres and processed materials primarily to the rubber industry. The company sells turn-key environmental facilities to industrial investors and also operate their own plant for end-of-service tyres in Åsensbruk, Sweden. Enviro, headquartered in Gothenburg, was founded in 2001, has 20 employees, and is listed on the Nasdaq First North securities exchange with Mangold Fondkommission AB, tel. +46 (0)8 5030 1550, as its Certified Advisor. https://www.envirosystems.se/en/


text:
New H1 2021 .IE Domain Profile Report shows continued year-on-year increase in new .ie domain registrations as pandemic accelerates e-commerce, digital trends
- H1 2021 (January–June) best first half-year period on record for new .ie domain registrations
- .ie domain holds 51% market share of all hosted top-level domains in Ireland, ahead of .com
- .ie domain the second fastest-growing country domain in Europe, behind .pt (Portugal)
- New .ie web addresses with explicitly pandemic-related keywords decreased 76.4% year-on-year, but general health-related keywords increased 18.8%
- Number of .ie websites with security certificates increasing; .IE expects further increase after HSE ransomware attack fallout
- .IE CEO says figures ‘good news for Irish economy’ as new domain registrations ‘a forward indicator of digital intent and future e-commerce activity’.
There was an increase of 64% in the number of new .ie web addresses with ‘outdoor summer’-related keywords in the first half of 2021 (H1 2021: 1 January–30 June) compared to the same period in 2020, according to the latest .IE Domain Profile Report.
The report, published biannually by .IE, the company that manages Ireland’s country domain name, shows .ie web addresses containing the word ‘pool’ increased by 187.5%, ‘barbecue’ by 100%, and ‘tent’ by 55.6%, among other outdoor activities and hospitality products.
Explicitly pandemic-related keywords, such as ‘Covid’, ‘sanitiser’, and ‘vaccine’, decreased by 76.4% in H1 2021 vs H1 2020, while general health-related keywords, such as ‘doctor’, ‘pharmacy’, ‘wellness’, and ‘fitness’ increased by 18.8%.
Commenting, David Curtin, Chief Executive of .IE, said: ‘Homeware stores, garden centres, GPs, and pharmacists who may previously have been reluctant to invest in their online presence are now benefiting from the convenience and revenue-generating power of online sales and virtual consultations.
‘When the Government announced lockdown restrictions, we have seen a concurrent rise in the number of new .ie domain registrations. A website and e-commerce functionality mean SMEs can adapt quickly to changing economic circumstances and remain open to customers even if their physical premises are closed.
‘Even with the option to shop in-store, for convenience or price reasons many consumers now simply prefer to buy online, or at the very least browse or research products online before buying them in-store. The pandemic has greatly accelerated the trend towards omni-channel retail, whereby the process of buying and selling a product or service integrates digital and physical platforms. A rise in .ie domain registrations suggests SMEs are increasingly prepared for this reality.’
New registrations and database growth
H1 2021 is the best first half-year period on record for new .ie domain registrations. A total of 33,815 new .ie domains were registered, up 1.6% on the same period last year.
Broken down, new .ie domain registrations were up 34% on Q1 2020 but down 22% on Q2 2020. For comparison, lockdown commenced only midway through the final month of Q1 2020, reaching its peak in Q2. Q1 2021 was dominated by the strict post-Christmas lockdown, but Q2 was largely defined by the re-opening of non-essential retail and hospitality and acceleration of the vaccine rollout.
At the end of H1 2021 (30 June), there was a total 324,074 .ie domains in the database, up 9.6% on the same period last year.
‘These figures are good news for the Irish economy given that new domain registrations are a forward indicator of digital intent and future e-commerce activity,’ said Mr Curtin.
.ie market share
At 51%, the .ie domain holds the highest market share of all hosted top-level domain names in Ireland. The .com domain has a 32% market share, followed by .uk with 8% and .net with 2%.
Ireland is the second fastest-growing country code domain in Europe, behind Portugal, with 9.6% growth year-on-year.
‘Authentically Irish and trusted at home and internationally, the .ie domain remains the domain of choice for Irish businesses and individuals,’ said Mr Curtin.
.ie domain holders can add extra layers of security to their website by purchasing security certificates and other tools from trusted third-party providers and domain registrars.
100,576.ie websites have a security certificate (indicated by a URL beginning with https://), a 20.4% year-on-year increase. Security certificates prove to website visitors’ browsers that they are on an authentic and secure site.
The number of .ie domains with DNS Security Extensions/DNSSEC (a cryptographic security protocol) and Registry Lock (a manual service that minimises the risk of unauthorised or unwanted changes to a domain) is, however, much lower, at just 0.11% and 0.01% respectively of the .ie database.
‘After the ransomware attack on the HSE, the importance of cybersecurity to government institutions and private businesses has come into sharp focus,’ said Mr Curtin.
‘While security certificates are crucial to trust and privacy, additional features, such as DNSSEC and Registry Lock, provide extra layers of domain security and peace of mind to the owner and to users. We strongly encourage all .ie domain owners to contact their domain registrar or a trusted, verified third-party provider for more information about their use.’


text:
The German Businesses Association (GBA) and the Delegate of German Industry and Commerce in Vietnam are hosting the GBA Oktoberfest Vietnam 2017 in HCM City from September 21 to 23 at Hotel Nikko Saigon.
VOV.VN - Those craving for a traditional taste of Greek cuisine might want to pop by the Equatorial Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City October 6-16 when the restaurant buffet dinner will be taken over by guest chef George Diakomichalis.
VOV.VN - The Melia Hotel has joined forces with the Russian Export Centre and Hanoi Television for a ‘Taste of Russia’ two-day extravaganza demonstrating the quality and diversity of Russian farm products.
Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers will hold the Wine Dinner event on September 13.
VOV.VN - The Oktoberfest 2017 festival will take place at JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi on October 5-7 and Hotel Nikko Saigon in HCM City on September 21-23. Deputy Chief Representative of German Industry and Commerce in Vietnam Bjoern Koslowski said on September 7.
Eastin Grand Hotel in Phu Nhuan District, HCMC will have a special vegetarian cuisine program at its Tung Garden restaurant on level 1 of the hotel in honor of the Vu Lan festival, a special time for people to express their gratitude to their parents.
A Vietnamese culinary month was jointly launched by the Vietnamese Embassy in the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Lotte Seoul Hotel on August 24 in the RoK’s capital city of Seoul.
The competition in the market is heating up and luxury hotel developers are struggling to scramble for clients. Still, the market is large enough thanks to the increasing number of travelers to Vietnam.
VOV.VN - Global Construction has named Atlas Hoi An Hotel in the central province of Quang Nam among top 10 unusual green buildings in the world.
As Vietnam is a bright spot in the region for tourism, hotels and resorts in Vietnam are being eyed by more investors.
One in every three travelers who make online hotel bookings uses the smartphone, the second highest ratio behind laptops in terms of devices used for online bookings, according to a recent report from marketing company Criteo.
The People’s Committee of the southernmost province of Ca Mau has issued a long-term tourism development plan, aiming to make tourism a spearhead sector by 2030.
A hotel in the famous beach city of Nha Trang, located in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa, is still operating despite myriad violations and repeated penalties from authorities.
VOV.VN - With an expanding room inventory and more on the development schedule, the competition in the upscale lodging industry in Vietnam will likely heat up over the next two-three years, says Grant Thornton.
VOV.VN - Upscale Swiss brand Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has announced the signing of a contract to construct a riverside property in the coastal Vietnamese city of Danang.
More Vietnamese travelers are staying at four- and five-star hotels in Vietnam despite the cost, according to a recent survey on upscale hotels and resorts in the country.
With an expanding room inventory and a lot of projects scheduled to launch in the near future, the competition in the upscale hotel market will start to heat up, especially in the five-star segment, according to the 2017 Vietnam Hotel Survey released on July 11.
VOV.VN - Ho Chi Minh City has put in place a number of solutions to realize the target of receiving 5.6 million foreign visitors this year. The city. They include the release of a Code of Conduct for tourists.
Vietnam's southern metropolis has been voted among the friendliest in the world.
Ibis Style Nha Trang Hotel will be launched on July 1 in Nha Trang City which is famous for its pristine white sand beaches, pure sea water, stunning islands and interesting sightseeing spots.


text:
Chiefs from Wassa Fiase and Mpohor have pleaded with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to resuscitate the two major defunct factories on the Wassa land, Aboso Glass and Bonsa Tyre Factories.
Paramount Chief of Mpohor Traditional Area Osabarima Kwaw Entsie II who spoke on behalf of the Chiefs when the president met them at Tarkwa on Saturday June 9 said, the two factories if brought back to life would go a long way to support the one district one factory policy the government is undertaken.
The factories which are situated in Aboso in the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipality and Bonsa in the Tarkwa Nsuem Municipality until their collapse employed many Ghanaians especially those in the Wassa area.
After many years of routine promises from past governments to revive the factories to produce glass, tyre and other rubber related products, the state of the factories remain same since the promises did not see the light of day.
It is at this background that the Chiefs made such a passionate appeal to President Akufo-Addo to revive the factories as part of the one district one factory policy to employ the teeming youth in the Wassa areas who are jobless.
Osabarima said, the companies especially, Bonsa Tyre factory will not lack raw materials if it is ran since there is a vast rubber plantation stretching from the Western Region to Central Region.
“There is a lot of rubber plantation spanning from Western to Central Regions. So we plead with you to revive the Bonsa Tyre Factory and Aboso Glass Factory as part of the one District One District One Factory policy to absorb indigenes”. Osabarima stated.
He on behalf of other Wassa Chiefs believes that, the youth will not travel to cities in search of jobs which may not even be found.
They also commended the Akufo- Addo led government for its numerous social interventions such as Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) which is offering some temporary jobs to the many unemployed graduate and the free senior high school.
In response to the plea, His Excellency Nana Addo Adankwa Akufo- Addo said, feasibility studies on the defunct two factories are currently been undertaken and will soon be completed for the next step to be taken.
The President said, “Feasibility studies are almost complete on Bonsa Tyre and Aboso Glass Factories, which will direct us on what to do. We cannot continue to be raw material exporters, which is not my motive. So we must make good use of the rubber here. We will tell you the outcome of the feasibility studies when it is finally completed.”
President’s meeting with the Chiefs from Wassa East, Tarkwa Nsuem, Prestea Huni-Valley and Mpohor, which was held at Tarkwa was part of the President’s three day tour of the Western Region.
Aboso Glass Factory
Bonsa Tyre Limited


text:
Bottle Bazaar wins Theo Paphitis' SBS Competition
Oh my gosh, we've fully experienced the power of Twitter this week!
We have a lovely group of twitter followers that's growing gradually but we received a huge boost to our numbers this week on 23rd November after we won a retweet from TV's Dragon's Den star Theo Paphitis!
Every week Theo runs an iniative called Small Business Sunday where he invites people to tweet him about their businesses and he chooses his 6 favourites to retweet on Monday.
Theo chose ours!
Here's what we said:
Theo's tweet went out to his 454,000 followers and within minutes we had so many retweets, favourites and comments, we couldn't keep up with them! It's fantastic to know there's something about Bottle Bazaar and our personalised wines that caught his eye and the increased awareness that the competition's brought is amazing.
The competition runs every week so I urge anyone with a small business they want to promote to get involved and tweet @TheoPaphitis on Sunday between 5pm and 7.30pm and include the hastag #SBS.
Here's how we celebrate at Bottle Bazaar!
Your comment has been sent successfully. Thanks for comment!


text:
There’s no shortage of data breaches these days, but this one should make you sit up and pay attention.The newly discovered “Collection 1" is the largest public data breach by volume, with 772,904,991 unique emails and 21,222,975 unique passwords exposed.The breach was first reported by Troy Hunt, the security researcher who runs the site Have I Been Pwned (HIBP), where you can check if your email has been compromised in a data breach.In his blog, Hunt says a large file of 12,000 separate files and 87GB of data had been uploaded to MEGA, a popular cloud service.The data was then posted to a popular hacking forum and appears to be an amalgamation of over 2,000 databases.The troubling thing is the databases contain “dehashed” passwords, which means the methods used to scramble those passwords into unreadable strings has been cracked, fully exposing the passwords.
Slack's chief product officer April Underwood announced Thursday that she'll be leaving the $7.1 billion startup to focus on Angels, an organization she co-founded that focuses on investing in female founders.Underwood is widely considered the strong right hand to Slack CEO and cofounder Stewart Butterfield — she's in charge of much of Slack's strategy and product decisions.Underwood will be replaced by Tamar Yehoshua, who previously led the search business at Google.On Thursday, Slack Chief Product Officer April Underwood announced she will be leaving Slack to take a full-time role in venture capital investing.Over the course of her 4 years with the company, Underwood played a vital role inmaking Slack's office messaging app as popular as it is today.She's widely considered to be the second-in-command to CEO and cofounder Stewart Butterfield, as her remit included much of Slack's strategy and product decisions.
Breach includes 22 million passwordsCollection 1: a data trove of over 2.6 billion rows of stolen passwords and email addresses has been discovered on a hacker forum, sparking new concerns over the damage that data breaches can cause.Australian cybersecurity expert and Microsoft staffer Troy Hunt was tipped off about the data collection and when he went to investigate he found 772,904,991 unique email addresses publicly displayed.The collection totaled more than 12,000 separate files amassing 87GB of data and contained 21,222,975 unique passwords.Mr Hunt wrote a blog post on his website exposing the stolen data breach, one in which he too states he was a victim: “My own personal data is in there and it’s accurate; right email address and a password I used many years ago.”The breach has been named Collection 1 after the title the hackers gave the root folder.
We adjust the settings on the TV that went haywire after that time the cat walked over the remote.Whenever we look at our parents’ computer screen, we die a little on the inside as we take in the wealth of bloatware that has crept into the browser that we cleaned just last month.So why is it that we voluntarily pull down our protective pants and pay to get shafted right in the privacy?Ever since the digital revolution went mainstream we have been utterly hopeless at protecting ourselves from intrusion.AI assistants are the current trend and they are – coincidentally – the worst offenders to date.We are OK with paying to wheel the mother of all trojan horses into our kitchens because it can look up recipes for us when we ask it to.
The current generation of consumers is savvy enough to read almost everything about a product online before entering a store, so they’re not necessarily looking for information about a product.What they are looking for is a more experiential environment where they can test the product in ways that best suits their needs.For a brand to connect with its consumers, it has to provide immersive experiences, and Samsung is doing just that with its newly revealed Multi-Experience store in Dubai Mall – an innovative first in experienced-based retail solutions for the MENA region.Featuring a rich portfolio of its products, the Samsung store showcases how it’s connected device ecosystem works.For example, you can use your Samsung phone to seamlessly connect with your Samsung TV at the Connectivity Zone and enjoy your mobile games on a much larger screen.In fact, if gaming is your thing, a Gaming Zone features a large QLED TV connected to an XBox console with gaming chairs to get you in the action.
When Bailey Richardson joined Instagram as head of community in 2012, her team was working out of a small room in California.She was one of the original 13 employees at the company and handled the app’s community strategy and events like InstaMeets.Later that year, Facebook acquired the app, and two years after that, Richardson resigned.She and some of her colleagues believed that the intimacy, artistry, and other factors that made the app what it was in its early days had been lost.But she never got over her love for community building.“However I can do more of this work and supercharge [companies and users] by connecting them is what I want to do.”
Scientists are trying to revolutionise potatoes and, in the process, cure the tubers’ depression, the result of generations of inbreeding.Potato depression is obviously nothing like human depression, of course.A team of Chinese scientists looked for a better way to make potatoes reproduce, and along the way learned more about the genetics behind spuds’ “inbreeding depression.”You probably have seen sprouts, or eyes, grow out of potatoes.That’s how farmers plant new potatoes – by cutting up old ones and letting those eyes germinate into new plants.Generations of cloning means that harmful genetic mutations remain in the genome, but the plants have a buffer against that – most varieties are “tetraploid,” meaning they have four sets of chromosomes.
It's Amazon how quickly these monopolies beginColumn At the annual spectacular of crap that we optimistically term the Consumer Electronics Show, I found myself locked into a room with Alexa.And yes, disembodied AI servant though she may be, she still filled every corner of a rather spacious room with all of the various products now connected to and enabled by Alexa - everything from alarm clocks to refrigerators to automobiles to - kitchen taps?Kohler Konnect (klever) ties a connected kitchen water tap into Alexa, because... “Alexa, pour me 500ml of water.” That’s why.It’s less about activation than precise control - something easy for a smart faucet and much harder for a human.The Kohler Konnect is a kitchen robot of sorts, very good at doing exactly one thing - pouring out precisely the amount of water you need.
We’re just over two weeks into 2019, and one of the biggest data leaks in recent years has surfaced.Today, renowned security researcher Troy Hunt reported a massive leak consisting of 773 million unique email IDs and 21 million unique passwords, which he refers to as Collection 1.Hunt said that multiple people reached out to him last week and pointed to a constellation of 12,000 files with a total size of 87GB, and nearly 2.7 billion records, hosted on MEGA.He added that the files have been removed from the hosting platform, but they persist on a popular hacking forum (that he didn’t name).Hunt said the forum post described the source of the data as “a collection of 2000+ dehashed databases and Combos (combinations of email addresses and passwords) stored by topic.”This is arguably the biggest data leak after Yahoo’s colossal debacle of 2013 that affected nearly three billion accounts.
Reese Witherspoon isn’t someone I generally feel I have a lot in common with.I have an easier deal than a lot of parents, yet getting myself and my offspring out of the house completely sucks – the mechanics of my wife, my toddler and I getting sufficiently ready for a day of work and nursery are like something out of a ‘Mission: Impossible’ film.My daughter wakes up at 5.40am and we leave the house at 7.45am, yet somehow every minute second of that is filled.I often work from home – commuting into town, working a full day and commuting home takes longer than a full day at nursery – yet I’m frequently late.Between changing my daughter’s nappy, dressing her, cleaning her teeth, packing her bag for nursery, making coffee, wolfing down some toast, reading that really shit book about the bear yet again because she insists, trying to stop her flinging herself down the stairs, trying to stop her climbing in the shower with my wife whose cleaning routine is vastly more complicated and time-consuming than mine, coaxing her into her buggy and negotiating the buggy out of the hallway which it’s exactly the same width as – it’s a photo-finish.That leaves just enough time to have the obligatory polite 30-second chat with whoever’s on the front desk, shove the buggy in the buggy park with no real care, and run home.
If you hurt yourself at work, your employer is legally required to have a first aider on hand to help.It’s currently not compulsory for employers to have members of staff trained in mental health first aid (MHFA), but that may soon change thanks to a public petition which has received 200,000 signatures, cross-party support from over 60 MPs and backing from over 50 UK businesses.More than 340,000 people in England have learned the skills to date – and for those who have been helped by it already, it’s proven life-saving.MHFA is the mental health equivalent of physical first aid training, providing people with the skills and confidence to recognise the signs and symptoms of common mental health issues.Receiving an email from Dermalogica’s newly-trained mental health first aid team last summer, Rachael contacted them immediately.I didn’t really know who else to go to,” she said.
Huawei Targeted in U.S. Criminal Probe for Alleged Theft of Trade Secrets – WSJWhat happened: Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei could face charges over the theft of trade secrets in a new investigation.US federal authorities in Seattle are pursuing charges against Huawei for allegedly stealing trade secrets from US business partners.The secrets include a T-Mobile robotic device called “Tappy,” which is used in testing smartphones.In a 2014 filing, T-Mobile claimed that Huawei employees stole the trade secrets for the company’s research and development in China.The investigation is reportedly at an advanced stage, and an indictment could come soon.
This article is from an episode on Asia VC Cast hosted by Daniel Song.For the full interview, go here.He’s also a professor of marketing at New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business.We decided that we would do something on our own, and that’s how Rekonext started.We’re very intrigued by how Chinese businesses have traditionally been able to grow successfully by leveraging relationships and networks or clan associations.Senior clan members and young businessmen sit around a table for a meal and have conversations, and it’s an opportunity for younger members to be mentored.
The Pew Research Center today released the results of its latest survey of Facebook users, this time about the ad categories they’ve been assigned by the site’s algorithms.The users’ surprising ignorance of the information Facebook accrues highlights the disconnect between the platform and its users.According to the results, several users weren’t even aware of the list of ad categories Facebook keeps on them: 74 percent said they “didn’t know the categories existed.” So just to get everyone up to speed, Facebook allows you to browse the ad categories to which it’s assigned you.Not everyone gets a list — the study found 11 percent weren’t assigned categories.But that means that, of the people who did get a list, 88 percent weren’t aware of it until they were directed to the page.When asked about the accuracy of the categories, users admitted Facebook was right more than not.
I don’t have any plans to die, ever.But if I do eventually eat it for some unseen reason, having my 6,000-year-old corpse loaded onto a canoe and immolated at sea by a perfectly aimed flaming arrow would be the way to go, in my humble opinion.As with many dreams of mine, it turns out this is illegal—at least under US law.Jack Denton, a dedicated killjoy at Pacific Standard, wrote recently about the legality of sea burials, a subject I have no expertise on because, as I said, I have no plans on becoming a dead person.And while maritime law evidently has more teeth than you’d expect, the dumping of bodies close to US shores (and by US boats in international waters, which are considered “flag states”) is firmly within the purview of America's Environmental Protection Agency.The EPA allows cremated remains, or full bodies in a shroud or casket filled with holes.
Veeam Software announced Wednesday that it has raised $500 million in funding from Insight Venture Partners.Veeam is capitalizing on the cloud wars because as more customers shift to the cloud, Veeam can help customers with moving and managing their data.Data management company Veeam Software raised $500 million in venture funding on Wednesday and signalled plans to bulk up with acquisitions this year.The 12-year-old company, which is based in Switzerland, raised the money from Insight Venture Partners, with "strong participation from" the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board."We're looking at a few opportunities so might have one [acquisition] this year in 2019 and are evaluating different companies," Ratmir Timashev, Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of Veeam told Business Insider.The next two to three years are going to be packed with major potential for Veeam, Timashev said.
What happened: Chinese online retailer Suning.com is planning to open 15,000 offline stores in 2019.It is also promoting smart retail solutions in its massive sales networks across 350 domestic cities.Zhang Jindong, chairman of the Suning Group, described its grocery stores as the pathfinder in the company’s “Great Development” plan, aiming to drive businesses in Chinese neighborhoods and rural markets.Why it’s important: Founded by Zhang Jindong and his elder brother in 1990, Suning is China’s largest omnichannel retailer with more than 10,000 offline stores nationwide, including shopping centers, consumer electronics outlets, and community stores.According to Chinese media, e-commerce giant Alibaba held a 20% stake in Suning in 2016.It later helped Suning-affiliate Suning Sports complete a $600 million round of fundraising in June 2018.
You can say what you want about Mozilla’s attempts at earning money but you can’t criticize it for lack of trying.In fact, the non-profit open source organization has a knack for throwing out ideas and experiments and getting users to be their guinea pigs.Or brave testers, if you will.Those experiments all came from the Firefox Test Pilot garage, which is sadly now closing up shop.Mozilla assures fans of the browser, however, that experiments will stop.In fact, it promises there will be even more.
Tencent-backed WeChat banned three social networking rivals within one day on its platform—including Bytedance’s just-launched video-based messaging app Duoshan—taking China’s social media war up another notch in 2019.Other apps affected by the WeChat ban included: Kuairu Technology-owned, Smartisan-backed Liaotianbao, which is an updated version of the once-popular messaging service Bullet Messenger; and Matong, an anonymous social media app developed by Shenzhen-based Ringo.AI.All three apps were rolled out on Tuesday.WeChat blocked the download address of Bytedance’s Duoshan for “hazardous content complaints from users.” The blocking of Duoshan came as the app was being announced by its product manager during its launch event in Beijing.A spokesperson for WeChat declined to comment when contacted by TechNode on Wednesday morning.Bytedance is seen as a challenger to Tencent’s social media business by offering a fresher take on WeChat’s social patterns.
The start of a new year is as good a time as any to start using all the tech around you to live and work smarter: Get more done in less time and free up some space for doing the stuff that you really enjoy.1) Use voice dictation (and voice commands)You might not realise all the ways you can use your voice to get through everything that needs doing in a faster time.You might already be familiar with using Siri or Google Assistant to do stuff on your phone, but make sure you know everything that your assistant of choice can do.Both these apps let you send emails and text messages with just your voice, for example, which again can save you some time.Both Windows and macOS include native support for multiple desktops, so you don’t have to keep all your windows crammed into one space.


text:
CHENNAI: Southern Railway has introduced a renovated AC chair car in the Chennai Central-Tirupati Sapthagiri Express.
The coach, renovated at a cost of Rs. 8 lakh, has added facilities such as cell phone charger, audio music system, automatic atomised room aroma dispenser and state-of-the-art soap dispenser. Photographs of annual functions of Tirumala and the temple view are also displayed.
Inaugurating the new coach, General Manager Thomas Varghese said its standard would be maintained to make travel a pleasure.
He also declared open an automatic platform ticket vending machine at Chennai Central.


text:
Battlefield V hasn’t embodied the best of the Battlefield franchise. From a staggered release to identity politics to revisionist history to a complete destruction of the setting to huge controversies like corporate comments all have taken a huge toll on not only the game but the franchise itself and the community that have sticked through the game’s problems. Post-launch content also have taken its toll on the community and has extremely tempered any excitement for the future of the game.
Admittedly, Battlefield V is at a bad place right now and there’s a lot of doubt that the game will make the comeback that it needs. Promised content was delayed, promised features were cut, bugs have crippled the game, things are not looking too well for the future of the game. At some point, there has to be a saving grace and the question needs to be asked has Battlefield V finally hit rock bottom? I’m hopeful but I wouldn’t be surprised if the game ultimately burns into a fiery grave.
For the first time ever, Battlefield V has harmed the franchise and has harmed the future of the franchise and it has hit new franchise lows when it comes to post-launch support like map count and communication between the developer and the community, for example; last week, the roadmap of Chapter 4: Defying the Odds was completely wrong as we were promised new vehicles and gadgets but that isn’t happening due to a miscommunication between DICE and their marketing team. Unfortunately, this is a mistake but it’s in a long line of mistakes that has harmed the game and harmed the community on top of cutting a competitive mode that was promised for Chapter 4. This competitive mode had its roots in Incursions, a Battlefield 1 competitive experience that arrived too late. It was cut to make the base game of Battlefield V better which is nothing wrong as more hands would be on deck but it’s sending a boatload of questions to the community that makes DICE look very incompetent when it comes to this particular game. After 16 years of developing Battlefield titles and delivering hit after hit, what is going on over at DICE Stockholm that makes them appear so incompetent and useless when it comes to Battlefield V?
From cutting content like the competitive mode to missing features like vehicle customization to combating hackers on Asian servers seems to be a challenge for DICE. DICE has said that they’re indeed working to improve anti-cheat but so far, nothing has been done on that front. On top of this, it appears that DICE is losing a lot of developers and the worst thing is that politics has entered the picture at DICE which changes everything which tells us that DICE developers care more about politics then making a good videogame. The Glassdoor reviews paint a very serious picture that doesn’t paint DICE in a good light and paints a picture that Battlefield V was a product of politics and ineptitude. If DICE wants to change Battlefield V then they’re going to have to win a uphill battle that involves pushing the game into the sun and have its day in the sun. All of the delays, cancellations, the development time, the concerns, the controversies has left the community absolutely stunned, baffled, and clearly upset.
In an open letter to the community, Ryan MacArthur promises bug fixes, stability, content, and better communication. However, words are just words and action is truly needed to make a miracle happen. I’ve been a Battlefield fan since 1942 and I have never experienced a game like this where the fan morale is this low and where a company like DICE who started out with WW2 betray everything the franchise stood for for some political points which in turn not only hurt the franchise going into the long-run but has absolutely tanked their reputation. I hope we have reached the end of this tunnel and the buildup to the surface begins by taking action and by doing the right thing. It’s going to take serious effort to turn this game around.
I believe it can turn around due to past history. Battlefront II killed itself over questionable lootboxes which were P2W and were tied to progression, DICE removed the lootboxes 24 hours later and it took a handful of months to rebuild the progression, however, it was too late and the game had missed the mark. Much like Battlefield V, Battlefront II had its fair share of bugs and unfortunate patches and low map counts, thanks to the live service but in time, it rose from the ashes and now it’s thriving and healthy and an actual good game. It remains if the same thing can happen with Battlefield V.
If Battlefield V can indeed raise itself from the ashes and from the fiery hell that it faces then it all begins with the Pacific Theater and Operation Underground. DICE needs to nail the release of the Pacific and continue updating the front with new and iconic battlegrounds and head into 2020 with a W under their belt; failure to do so will absolutely harm the game even more and kill the remaining playerbase if Modern Warfare doesn’t steal them away. How DICE handles Battlefield V’s failure is one for the history books as it will set a precedent for the future of the franchise and for the game immediately after Battlefield V; DICE has a certain pedigree in which they delivered some of the most groundbreaking and iconic games in the medium and they need to get back to that. Battlefield V has already tanked their reputation and tanked their once stellar record, don’t let it be the death of you.
* * * * *


text:
I saw this article at the Huffington Post Canada website. A restaurant called Kukum Kitchen owned by an Indigenous Canadian began serving raw seal meat as part of its menu. The decision to serve seal meat was instantly met with protest by non-Indigenous protestors.
The menu offering seal meat was noticed by non-Indigenous environmentalists who began a boycott campaign against the restaurant to pressure them to remove seal meat from their menu. A petition has already attracted 4,500 signatures.
“Toronto-based Anishinaabe artist Aylan Couchie launched a counter-petition in response, which has been shared by musician Tanya Tagaq and has nearly matched the support of the original campaign.”
“Lenore Newman, the Canada Research Chair for Food Security and Environment and author of “Speaking in Tongues: A Canadian Culinary Journey,” considers some of the practices in raising chicken and pork for consumption to be far more cruel — and far more common — than the seal hunt.
“Like Newman, he thinks there’s some degree of hypocrisy in animal rights advocates who protest the seal hunt rather than factory-farmed chickens or industrial abattoirs.”If (seals) weren’t cute, we would probably have a much easier job.”
This would be a great article to use to begin classroom discussion on the topic of food use and cultural practice.
(A photo showing the restaurant Kukum’s Kitchen. Indigenous chef John Shawana shown next to menu offering seal tartare.)


text:
Holden dealers expected to sell out of cars “within weeks” after buyers rush showrooms
Holden dealers are likely to clear their showrooms well ahead of the brand’s exit at the end of this year.
Buyers looking to snap up a new-car bargain – driven by discounts of up to $17,500 – are running out of time and choice as Holden dealers sell out of stock faster than expected.
An investigation by CarAdvice has found most Holden dealers are keen to clear their remaining stock as quickly as possible, and some are now likely to run out of vehicles “within weeks”, while a small number of outlets are trying to stockpile and keep trading for a few months.
Sales at most leading Holden showrooms have tripled over the past week, leaving them with fewer than one or two dozen vehicles to clear.
“It’s like the 1990s again,” said a Holden dealer located in metropolitan Melbourne. “If we could have sold cars at this rate before, we wouldn’t need to shut down.”
In their most recent prime, successful Holden dealers sold between 100 and 150 new cars per month, but many had trickled to between 20 and 50 sales per month over the past two years.
Since the announcement of Holden’s closure, however, some dealers have cleared a month’s worth of cars in just one week.
Some lease companies and car-buying services are now finding it hard to locate vehicles and, in many cases, are being knocked back altogether.
Not every Holden dealer is almost sold out, however.
A small number of Holden dealers – usually those with standalone dealerships and not part of a multi-franchise site – are trying to continue trading for as long as possible, not discounting as much, and are stock piling vehicles in an attempt to keep selling cars for the next few months.
“The dealers who have another (car) brand ready to move in are trying to clear their Holden showrooms as quickly as possible,” said another major Holden dealer. “I don’t know why you’d want to hang on to it, to be honest, it’s gone.”
Another dealer warned that showrooms who were trying to stockpile and continue trading for as long as possible may end up getting stuck with cars if they don’t pass-on the savings.
As reported last week by CarAdvice, Holden head office issued a bulletin to dealers advising there would be discounts of between $7500 and $17,500 across the range from March 1. It sparked a stampede at Holden showrooms across the country. However, it is up to the discretion of each dealer how much of the discount they pass-on to the customer.
It seems the majority of Holden showrooms are passing on most of the savings because the bonus money is in addition to the dealer’s profit margin.
“It’s a win-win, to be honest,” said the Melbourne Holden dealer. “The customer is getting a great deal and we are able to keep our (profit) margin in the car. At this rate I reckon most (Holden showrooms) will be sold out within weeks, not months.”
MORE: Holden axed in Australia
MORE: Holden by the numbers: the highs and lows since 1948
MORE: Holden history: from the beginning to the end
MORE: The man who saved Holden four times in 10 years, but was beaten in the end
MORE: Where did it all go wrong for Holden?
MORE: Holden posts lowest sales since 1954
MORE: Why the Commodore's days were numbered
MORE: Commodore: the final autopsy
MORE: Holden ends manufacturing
MORE: Exclusive: Holden dealers meeting with the Prime Minister this morning after rejecting General Motors’ initial compensation offer


text:
From better battery to enhanced cameras, there are a few standard features that top iPhone users' wish lists every year. An unexpected request has also been doing the rounds for the last couple of years, mainly thanks to the pandemic – but if you've been holding your breath for the return of Touch ID, get ready for bad news.
As anyone who's tried unlocking an iPhone with FaceID while wearing a mask will attest, the whole process doesn't exactly scream 'Apple design'. Leaks have suggested that the iPhone 14 will feature a fingerprint scanner under the display – but now, renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has poured cold water over the idea. (Don't fancy waiting? Check out the best iPhone 13 deals available now.)
In a new tweet (below), Kuo suggests an under-display fingerprint scanner is unlikely to appear within the next two years – if ever. Kuo had previously suggested the tech could arrive by 2023, but claims this is no longer the case.
I previously predicted iPhones would support under-display fingerprint sensing/Touch ID in 2023 at the earliest. But the latest survey indicates new iPhones in 2023 & 2024 may not adopt under-display Touch ID. Face ID with a mask on iPhone is already a great biometrics solution.March 30, 2022
While Apple isn't exactly known for reversing its design decisions (that headphone jack is not coming back), Touch ID, is making a rare comeback of late. The fingerprint scanning tech has already returned to the iPad Air 4 and the iPad mini, so I was hoping to see it make its way to the iPhone 14. And to have it hidden under the display would be delightfully futuristic. (Ah well, there's always that sci-fi-esque iPhone copy and paste hack.)
Still, as Kuo points out, Apple has taken steps to fix FaceID. For a while, we had to make do with a makeshift workaround involving the Apple Watch, but the company recently, finally, rolled out Face ID with mask, in which the facial recognition tech analyses the eyes. This isn't perfect, though – for one thing, it's limited to the iPhone 12 and above.
From the nixxing of the notch to incredible camera tech, we've already heard plenty of iPhone 14 rumours lately. It'll be a shame if Touch ID doesn't make the cut, but there's already plenty to look forward to. Want the best iPhone deal available now? Check out today's best Apple deals.