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Twitter Feb. 22 said its users were sending a combined 50 million Twitter messages each day, indicating a huge bump in Twitter use despite other claims that the Twitter machine is slowing.
“Folks were tweeting 5,000 times a day in 2007. By 2008, that number was 300,000, and by 2009 it had grown to 2.5 million per day,” said Twitter analytics staffer Kevin Weil. “Tweets grew 1,400 percent last year to 35 million per day. Today, we are seeing 50 million tweets per day-that’s an average of 600 tweets per second.”
It’s easy to dismiss Twitter’s analysis as pure public relations puffery. But don’t look at the 50-million-tweet-per-day statistic as a sign of where Twitter is now; look at where Twitter is going as it seeks to compete with Facebook and Google Buzz in the social Web arena.
If the growth rate keeps up, it could signal great things for the microblog service, which is building professional services and an ad platform around which to make money. Here are 10 reasons why Twitter’s tweet count matters.
1) Twitter is going strong
Showing the world that Twitter has grown from 35 million tweets per day in 2009 to 50 million per day in the first two months of 2010 shows that Twitter use is accelerating, not declining, even if unique user growth is slowing in the United States.
2) You are judged by your status updates
Tweets and status updates point to the frequency with which users are using your Website. One could argue that status updates are more important as user totals, where users are tweeting sparingly. It’s better to have 50 million tweets per day than 50 million users who aren’t tweeting.
3) The competition is a tweet away
Facebook boasts 60 million status updates per day. However, only 35 million of its 400 million users are posting status updates daily. If more people start posting updates on Facebook, it’s possible they will stop tweeting.
4) Get ‘Buzzed’
With tens of millions of users jumping on Google Buzz in the last two weeks, Google’s new social service is coming on strong. Twitter needs to keep people at its Website or risk losing mind share, let alone market share. If the tweet rate drops, it might be a sign that users are turning to Buzz or Facebook to post status updates.
5) Twitter ecosystem
A huge application ecosystem has mushroomed around Twitter that relies on the frequency of tweets to thrive. The more people tweet, the greater the opportunity is for developers leveraging the Twitter API to build new services.
6) It matters to marketers
If it’s the repeat tweeters help that keep Twitter humming, the marketing factions capitalize on tweeters’ presence on Twitter. Dell, Pepsi and others are making millions of dollars from Twitter-based marketing.
7) From marketing to sales
If people are constantly on Twitter, marketers can blast out pitch tweets on behalf of their products and clients. They won’t stay on Twitter if the Twitter audience fades.
8) This all matters because …
Twitter is building an ad platform. Accentuating its tweet statistics is itself a form of advertising and will be crucial in luring advertisers to the service.
9) Advertisers will come
With Twitter use growing, it will increase the advertising opportunities for Twitter’s ad partners because it means people are keeping their eyes on Twitter and its associated apps.
10) Wanted: frequent tweeters
A Twitter ad platform could be a huge step forward in helping the industry grok how to make money from the real-time Web, something that has eluded Twitter, Facebook, Google and the flurry of real-time search engines. If Twitter goes quiet, the ad platform will fail, rendering Twitter to the Web 2.0 abyss.


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British Gasoline has been pressured to apologise to hundreds of lots of consumers over its failure to mend and repair damaged boilers this iciness.
The power massive promised to improve its customer support after going through complaint for its new coverage of allowing staff to paintings from house several days every week.
Consumers have been left without heating and hot water as a cold snap strategies this weekend, with heavy snow fall and temperatures anticipated to drop to as low as 21.2F (-6C)
It comes after the declaration that energy expenses will upward thrust by means of £SEVEN HUNDRED in April – a file leap of more than 50 in line with cent – amid a growing value of residing situation.
British Gasoline shoppers with damaged boilers say they have got confronted weeks of delays and cancelled callouts in spite of deciding to buy the company’s HomeCare scheme, which charges from £14 a month to provide breakdown cover and an annual carrier to round 3.4 million other folks.
A Few customers have faced their annual products and services being not on time time and again over, with the corporate admitting that it is dealing with a “scarcity of normal appointments in some areas”.
Requests for emergency callouts are also taking weeks to be fulfilled, leaving customers with out ok scorching water or heating.
How the cost cap may modification
Other Folks were additionally complaining approximately equivalent issues within the autumn.
British Fuel, which has received court cases from tens of hundreds of shoppers, apologised for its bad carrier and promised to enhance.
A British Gasoline spokesman said: “We Now Have known the place the problems are and we are taking the precise steps to mend them. Our shoppers are essentially the most important thing. we are sorry and consider us that we’ll improve.”
However, the company has been warned over the problem via the Monetary Behavior Authority.
The FCA mentioned it was conscious about the issues and is working with the company to resolve them, with British Gas expected to offer a timetable for how it plans to enhance its provider.
The scandal has no longer but prompted an entire research by the watchdog, which might in the end lead to doing away with the company’s permission to promote insurance or issuing an important effective.
A spokesman for the FCA, that is accountable for regulating and investigating how financial services operate, stated: “we are acutely aware of the problems and are running with the firm to verify those are resolved as briefly as possible and that consumers are treated fairly.”
‘Time to get tricky’ on British Fuel
Sir John Hayes, the former power minister, mentioned it was “time to get difficult” on British Gasoline.
“Corporations need to be made to live up to their tasks and provides customers the deal they deserve,” he stated.
“it is time to get difficult as a result of people are being saved looking forward to far too long. Families with youngsters live without heating or scorching water, and that’s merely now not good enough.”
the problems had been blamed on body of workers shortages on account of Covid, to boot as strike action.
Chris O’Shea – chief govt of Centrica, which owns British Gas – has come beneath fireplace in up to date weeks for proceeding to work at house, despite the national energy difficulty and rising consumer proceedings.
Anthony Vickers, 46, a data analyst from Basingstoke, has been unable to run a hot bath for his youngsters, aged two and 5, for over a month on account of an issue with his boiler.
He first asked for an engineer to visit in early January and has two times had callouts cancelled inside a day of after they had been imagined to happen.
He has had the British Fuel insurance policy for the reason that heart of 2019 and can pay £20 a month for the HomeCare plan, which covers the upkeep of his boiler and central heating.
The settlement says an additional £60 should be paid for each problem that needs to be fastened – meaning that in general, as soon as the engineer attends, he’s going to have paid out £300 over the prior yr and greater than £SIX HUNDRED since the coverage began.
His efforts to get the £60 charge waived as a result of the two cancelled visits have been initially rejected by the company.
“we’ve got the selection of either having paid the cash out, cancelling them and necessarily having to start out the method once more, or we can just have to try to stick it out, try and get them out, and then I Will cancel,” he mentioned.
A British Fuel spokesman stated: “we’re very sorry for the service Mr Vickers has received and this is now not what our consumers must be expecting from us. we will be able to be waiving the £60 breakdown repair excess on this occasion and we have spoken to him to confirm an appointment for Monday.”
‘British Gasoline playing speedy and loose with the principles’
Masses of shoppers took to social media with an identical proceedings, with some having regimen boiler services and products rearranged for a fourth time.
Closing 12 months, research by means of shopper rights team Which? discovered that a policy with British Gasoline is worthwhile for simply 0.4 in step with cent of customers. For other companies, it is price-effective for one per cent of individuals.
Boiler restore can value among £ONE HUNDRED FIFTY for a minor restore as much as round £400 for the most severe problems. A boiler service begins at around £SEVENTY FIVE.
Alexander Stafford, the Conservative MP for Rother Valley and member of the trade and effort make a choice committee, stated he could elevate the issue in Parliament.
“this is an absolute disgrace,” he stated. “when you pay for a service, you should get it.
“British Gas are playing rapid and unfastened with the foundations and appearing in a completely irresponsible method.”

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SLIM President outlines lessons from brand excellence
Monday, 19 August 2013 00:00
The Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) recently announced the launch of the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards 2013, adding yet another significant awards ceremony to its series of events organised annually to uplift the standards of the marketing fraternity in Sri Lanka.
“Over a period of a decade, SLIM Brand Excellence has evolved to enable the best practices in branding being rewarded. Even if one doesn’t take part, it is worthwhile to merely fill out the entry kit to align thinking towards the brand as well as reflect upon your strategy,” said SLIM President Gamika de Silva.
“Many brand managers do not get an opportunity to showcase the efforts put into creating a successful brand. Therefore, SLIM Brand Excellence provides the best opportunity to showcase such success at a national level.”
Analysing the reasons for not participating in the awards program, he stated that some may be scared of competition. They may lack self-confidence or lack experience but they should still take up the challenge, he encouraged.
Recalling his own experience, he revealed that he was quite nervous at first to come and present his case. “It’s a once in a lifetime experience for a brand manager and he must muster sufficient courage to come forward and meet the panel and present a success story in front of the judges,” he pointed out.
SLIM has arranged workshops and discussions to familiarise newcomers in order to assist with filling out the entry kit. “A newcomer should fundamentally remember that one has to bring the case to life when he presents his case in the second round,” he advised.
Quoting common mistakes, he noted how participants previously had failed to get authentication for the submitted data or did not provide adequate data. These should be avoided, he insisted.
Summing up SLIM’s role as a professional institution, he said that SLIM has a clear mandate, to uplift the standards of marketing as a profession and drive the economy of the country. “In this light, the marketing professional is a distinct stakeholder.
“In order to add value to the fraternity, we conduct many programs. Among them, our reward and recognition programs take centre stage. We are proud to say that we have developed world class award shows to recognise marketers and the fraternity really looks forward to them. SLIM Brand Excellence, Effies, NASCO and People’s Awards are some of these.”
Appreciating the help and guidance given by Professor Uditha Liyanage, he thanked him for being “the guiding light, without who we wouldn’t have been able to reach such a high standard.” De Silva also thanked the project chairmen, the sponsors and the participants who will help make this year’s event a success.
“As a brand custodian, don’t deny the opportunity for your brand to be showcased out there,” he advised.


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For decades, the holiday season has been the busiest time of year for industries like travel, retail, and logistics. And 2022 is predicted to be bigger than ever! Travelers have lost time to make up for!
2020 was an unprecedented holiday season with most families choosing to celebrate separately and from the safety of their own homes. And while more people were traveling in 2021 with the introduction of vaccines, a survey determined that 60% of Americans were still planning to stay home for the holidays last year.
In 2021 there was a 160% increase in airport travel than in 2020. This is huge considering only 40% of people were considering traveling that year. And we expect this number to increase drastically this year as more safety protocols are being lifted. Most travel plans were put on pause for two years, so now as restrictions are easing up and people feel more comfortable, they are looking to restart those travel plans.
Not only are people expected to travel more this holiday season than in previous years, but they are also expected to give the gift of travel too. Cruise tickets, beach house rentals, holiday trips to see the family, and much more are going to be great gifts after more than two years of pandemic precautions. In a recent study, it was reported that about 77% of people have a larger appreciation for separating professional and personal life. Therefore, travel will be a big hit for consumers this holiday season.
As the second largest search engine in the world, travelers will be turning to YouTube to learn about travel destinations, seek packing hacks, view resort walkthroughs and so much more. In fact, watch time for “travel hack” videos on YouTube is on the rise. In the last few years, YouTube has seen 600% growth in watch time of travel vlogs. And 65% of travelers say they search for travel videos online by destination before they travel.
With more than 110 million people expected to travel during the 2022 holiday season, that is a lot of people turning to YouTube for travel content. As holiday shopping is expected to start before October this year, you can imagine that holiday travel planning will begin early too. Travel and logistics brands will want to get in on this early rush and start their ad campaigns earlier than in previous years.
VuePlanner is the most technologically advanced member of the YouTube Membership Program and the best equipped to handle your holiday travel ad campaigns. With VuePlanner’s technology we can help strategize your holiday campaign to ensure it is reaching the right target and driving results. For more information visit us at www.vueplanner.com.


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Google Meet update improves hand raise feature
Google has updated Google Meet with several improvements. The most notable improvement is in the hand raise feature. Now it makes it easier for people to notice the raised hand. Google has improved the visual icon and animation on the video title. So, it now catches the attention of other users easily.
Google Meet will also send an audio notification to other participants when a person raises hands for the first time. There will also be a clickable notification to the admin. Clicking on it will show a notification that will show the number of raised hands and a link to see an ordered queue of all participants with raised hands.
After raising the hand, if the participant is done speaking, the hand icon will disappear from the grid and his order will be lowered in the queue.
This feature will be turn on by default. There is no admin or user setting for this feature.
These new features will be available in meetings across most of Google’s business products, apart from G Suite Basic, Google Workspace Business Starter customers, and personal Google accounts. Google began pushing this update starting June 16. This is being done in a phased manner and should be visible within 15 days of the rollout to all users.


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BEIJING, Nov. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Forum on the Development of New Energy Vehicle Industry, one of the parallel forums of the 2021 World Manufacturing Convention, kicked off in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province on Saturday.
At the forum, experts and enterprise representatives expressed that efforts should be made to accelerate technology progress and energy conservation in NEV industry with an attempt to achieve carbon neutrality goal.
China's automobile industry has yielded fruitful achievements in energy conservation and emission reduction in recent years. As of 2020, the production, sales and inventory of China's NEVs have topped the world for six consecutive years with the car stock of NEVs amounting to 6.78 million by the Q3 in 2021.
Improving the energy saving level and reducing fuel consumption of fuel vehicles is an important aspect of reducing carbon emissions in the automobile industry in the near future, said Li Yizhong, president of China Federation of Industrial Economics, adding that efforts should be made to promote the development of new energy vehicles in the medium and long term.
China has regarded the development of NEVs as an important measure to address climate change, promote green development and achieve carbon peak and neutrality, said Xu Yuchang, president of China Economic Information Service (CEIS).
According to Shi Jianhua, deputy secretary-general of China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), marketization is the core requirement for the development of the new energy automobile industry during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.
China can basically realize the goal that by 2025, the sales of new energy vehicles would account for 20 percent of the total sales of new vehicles, added Shi, and by 2035, pure electric vehicles would become the mainstream among new energy vehicle sales.
During the forum, a report on the high-quality development of China's NEV industry was jointly released by CEIS and CAAM, analyzing the current development status of the NEV industry at home and abroad, and proposing suggestions to accelerate the high-quality development of the industry.
The forum is hosted by the People's Government of Anhui Province, undertaken by Foreign Affairs Office of Anhui Provincial People's Government and CEIS, and supported by China Federation of Industrial Economics.
Original link: https://en.imsilkroad.com/p/324969.html
SOURCE Xinhua Silk Road


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Alexa is becoming smarter with each update, and that’s great news for fans. The popular virtual assistant from Amazon is now capable of delivering music for a wider range of activities. For example, if users want the best music for taking a nap, Alexa can bring them to the forefront.
To get the best music for your favorite activity, simply ask Alexa. As of right now, the feature only works with Amazon Music Unlimited and Amazon Prime Music. For those who are unaware, Amazon Music Unlimited is designed to compete with Spotify and other music streaming platforms.
The product is designed especially with Alexa and the Echo in mind, which means, they work exceptionally well on these devices. This is because these speakers are capable of responding to voice commands that go further than mere song requests.
Demonstrating the power of Alexa
What Amazon has done here is demonstrate that it is possible to tie Alexa to a music service along with the company’s own hardware. Now, for those who are interested in Amazon Music Unlimited, prepare to spend $9.99 each month. However, with an Amazon Prime membership, the cost goes down to $7.99 per month.
The cost of Music Unlimited is in line with what competitors are charging. Any platform that cost less likely doesn’t have the same amount of music and features.
Over 500 different activities
Here’s the thing, guys, the new “music for activities” goes way beyond requesting Alexa to play music for sleep or sexy time. In fact, there are over 500 different activities that consumers can take advantage of using Alexa. Furthermore, it’s smart too seeing as users can also combine their request.
For example, folks can ask for “rock music for sleeping,” “pop music for a dinner party,” “classical music for cooking,” and much more.
Want music for your newborn child to listen to, no problem. Amazon has thought of everything it seems, which ultimately makes Alexa quite smart at its job. This is machine learning at its finest, and it’s only going to get better from here.
The feature is live right now on Alexa, and so far, consumers are taking advantage of what it has to offer. According to TechCrunch, 27 percent of the requests are people seeking the right music to de-stress. With the intense political climate and folks coming home from a hard days work, it wouldn’t be surprising if it moves from 27 percent to 50 percent in the months to come.
It should be interesting to see how competitors respond to Amazon’s “music for activities.” It’s already proving to be quite useful and has definitely improved Alexa to be smarter than ever. No doubt the likes of Apple, Google, and Microsoft will come up with a clone.


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Many Android smartphone users are not that much fond of carrier branding on their devices and here is one surprise for such Android devices users. In the past few weeks there have been several leaks of the Samsung smartphones and recently @evleaks has posted a picture of the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3. The Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 in the image posted by @evleaks has a White Frost colour. Our keen observation on the shown Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 is that this Android smartphone will not carry any carrier branding like the Sony Xperia Z1 by T-Mobile. Even though this is a Sprint powered Android device , there will not be any branding of the carrier at all.
This move by Google can wobble Huawei's smartphone business outside China as all the devices will immediately lose access to all future Android updates.


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By Tony Winterburn •
Published: 23 Feb 2021 • 11:40
Spain still not in the UK's green travel list.
Airlines and tour operators report a surge in demand for Spain’s Malaga and Alicante after the UK Government roadmap is revealed.
Budget carrier easyJet said bookings for the summer season were more than four times higher compared with the previous week. Foreign holiday bookings have surged after Boris Johnson revealed his roadmap to recovery for the UK- brilliant news at last for Spain’s tourism industry.
A Government taskforce will produce a report by April 12 recommending how international trips can resume for people in England with the possibility of foreign holidays from May 17. In the hours after the Prime Minister’s announcement, EasyJet said bookings by UK customers for the summer season were more than four times higher compared with the same period during the previous week.
The budget airline’s holiday division saw an even larger rise, with demand up seven-fold. The most popular destinations for this summer are beach resorts including Malaga, Alicante and Palma in Spain, Faro in Portugal and the Greek island of Crete. Greece has just signed an agreement with Cyprus and Israel that guarantees the easy movement for travellers that have had the vaccine.
August is the most booked month, followed by July and September. EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren said: “We have consistently seen that there is pent-up demand for travel and this surge in bookings shows that this signal from the Government that it plans to reopen travel has been what UK consumers have been waiting for.
“The Prime Minister’s address has provided a much-needed boost in confidence for so many of our customers in the UK with demand for flights up 337 per cent and holidays up 630 per cent already compared to last week and beach destinations proving most popular for this summer.”
Lundgren added: “While the summer may be a little while off, we will be working around the clock to ensure we will be ready to ramp up our flights to reconnect friends and family or take them on a long-awaited holiday to remember.”
EasyJet has insisted that customers can “book with confidence” as it has a flexible policy for allowing changes to itineraries.
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All very well saying they’re going to release them in the UK and let them travel here.
But is Spain ready for them? Take a look at the Coronavirus data on Andalucia.com. Would tourists really want to travel from a country that is highly vaccinated to a region of Spain where vaccination is so slow?
Quote from the site “it will take 4.7 years to vaccinate (two doses) all Andalucia. Data to 21-02-2021.”
Andalucia has administered 607.936 doses since the beginning of the campaign. This is 89% of the 679.510 delivered. (133.600 were delivered last week, nearly twice the January weekly delivery.) 215.021 are second doses, which is 71% of the 299.792 first doses administered 21 days before. At this rate (19.404 per day) it will take 4.7 years to vaccinate (two doses) all Andalucia. Data to 21-02-2021.
Since there is only a handful of planes landing each day at Alicante airport.
1 more is a surge !
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Trade and industry representatives of Surat raised several concerns about the upcoming Goods and Services Tax (GST), which will come into force across the country from July 1, at an outreach programme by Hasmukh Adhia, revenue secretary, Union Ministry of Finance, on Saturday.
The GST outreach programme was organised by the Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax Department in association with South Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) and Surat Art Silk Cloth Manufacturers Association, at the convention hall of Veer Narmad South Gujarat University.
Adhia said the government’s attempt was to reduce corruption by minimum human interference in the system and get rid of parallel economies like black money and terror funding activities in the country. “There would be uniform tax system in the country. It will now be a common national market, abolishing the different tax systems by different states. If common tax rate is implemented in the country, then warehousing logistics and transportation requirements will go down and we will get the benefit of the input cost. Goods will be cheaper,” he said.
Adhia added the main reason, due to which the GST is superior to the old tax systems, is the seamless flow of input tax rate in India. “The cascading effect of tax will end. Secondly, it is completely an Internet based system, starting from registration to return filing. One will even get the refund in his or her bank account mentioned during the registration,” he said.
The industry people, however, raised several concerns.
SGCCI president B S Agrawal, raising a concern on the maintenance of records, said, “The textile industry of Surat, which produces 40 per cent of India’s synthetic cloth, is unorganised. The industry players will face the burden of keeping records for GST. So they expect that the GST be first levied on the yarn and second at the garment stage, while remaining be kept exempted. If this does not work, then the rates of GST should be kept minimum as fabric is an essential item.”
Agrawal also raised the issue of exemptions granted to MSMEs, having an annual turnover of Rs. 1.5 crore under Central Excise Act. “If GST is applied then the exemption benefits will cease. The MSME in Gujarat is the backbone of its economy,” he said.
Bharat Gandhi, chairman of Federation of Indian Art Silk Weaving Industry, raised the issues of the powerloom sector. “The local manufacturers are going through a crucial period as they have to pay the excise duty and other taxes and also face tough competition from cheap fabric, imported from China.”
Recently the powerloom sector had raised concerns about how business was low and factories were gradually shutting to make way for embroidery units.
A delegate from Surat Diamond Association demanded that a special rate of 2 per cent tax be fixed for the industry as it is export-oriented.
Southern Gujarat Hotel and Restaurant Association president Sanat Relia demanded that the restaurants, whose annual turnover is below Rs 50 lakh, be allowed to pay the composition charge (without input credit) at 2.5 per cent and those above at 5 per cent.
Adhia explained that for textiles, “if the total amount of commission or service charge exceeds Rs 20 lakh per annum, then the firm will have to pay the GST.”
“Our motive is that genuine business should be done in the country and see that genuine businessmen should not get cheated by unethical players as they damage the economy. It is our duty to identify them and remove them from the market,” the revenue secretary said.
He added: “The Federal Reserve Bank of America had carried out a study with the help of two economists on the GST and it states that the GDP of Indian economy will rise from current growth by an additional 4.2 per cent. Our economy will reach up to 12 per cent in the coming days. How prosperous India and Indians will be then?”
On e-way permit, he said that rules had been drafted but was open for suggestions. “We are coming up with a small mobile application wherein if you feed details, a unique identification number automatically gets generated for the transaction. The number would be given to the driver or transporter through SMS. We have found that 33 per cent time is wasted at check posts between states. All these obstacles will be overcome. During transportation of consignments between states, the concerned party has to pay GST and the truck driver will not have to waste time at check posts,” he said.


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It doesn’t matter where you’re from; everyone wants to get paid fairly for their work.
Here at Keene State College, efforts have been and continue to be made on acknowledging this ideology for workers in developing countries. The notion is known as fair trade. Items made and sold as fair trade are “made with respect to people and [the] planet” according to fairtradeusa.org.
The website continued to say, “Our rigorous social, environmental and economic standards work to promote safe and healthy working conditions, protect the environment, enable transparency and empower communities to build strong, thriving businesses.”
Here at Keene State, students feel propelled to have the institution recognized as a fair trade college. This wouldn’t really mean too much other than the recognition, but it could encourage people to be more mindful of their purchases and lifestyles.
KSC senior Kayla Winterson started a proposal this semester, followed suit with the Fair Trade Club members before her.
The group has been trying for years to get KSC recognized as a fair trade college. As of now, the current petition has over 100 signatures and the current members of the club said they have been trying to get KSC President Anne Huot to sign the document since October. This would be the final step in getting that recognition. At the time of The Equinox printing, President Huot had yet to sign off on their proposal.
An interview request from The Equinox went out to Huot, but Director of Strategic Communications and Community Relations Kelly Ricaurte informed The Equinox that President Huot was away.
Winterson said if KSC was to become recognized for its fair trade efforts, this could have a ripple effect on others. “It’s making a public endorsement that…as a college, we have elements that support the fair trade movement and allow fair trade options on campus,” she said.
She continued that this could also attract people to the college. “The recognition of KSC as a fair trade college is making a commitment to conscience consumerism and raising awareness for fair trade,” she said. Winterson said for her, being involved in the Fair Trade Club at KSC gives her a greater sense of the world around her.
“In this community that is educated and eager to be involved, it’s an outlet that allows students to be passionate about a social justice cause,” she said.
Another member of the Fair Trade Club, KSC senior Nicole Verrilli, said she feels like as a group, they do everything they can to raise awareness to other students. “What we really want this semester is to make Keene State College a fair trade college,” she said. Verrilli said Keene State already meets the requirements set to be recognized as a fair trade college.
These requirements include but are not limited to having an active club on campus, being involved with other campus outlets such as Lloyd’s and the dining commons, where fair trade items are included and implementing educational resources for the greater community of Keene State.
“We met all the requirements to become a fair trade college…,” Verrilli said. “It’s just a title for Keene State College to have to show support for the fair trade movement. We wouldn’t have to change anything on campus.”
Verrilli said there’s a much bigger picture at play here too. “Fair trade helps empower farmers and workers in third world countries to ensure they earn a living wage [and] work in safe conditions. [It] empowers women, child labor and so much more. It makes sure in a more global society that third world countries are not being taken advantage of,” she said.
In an e-mail interview with the General Manager of Sodexo and the Zorn Dining Commons, Josef Quirinale stated that KSC sells and provides many fair trade items.
These include Equal Exchange chocolate bars and teas, Maine Root Soda, fruit and Runa beverages and teas. Quirinale also stated that all coffee options at the dining commons are fair trade.
He stated the coffee is “very popular.” He also stated that it’s always different how well the fair trade items do in regards of selling well. “Some do and some do not,” he stated. “In retail, Equal Exchange chocolate sells pretty well. Since the tea is a flavor option, it’s hard to determine if it sells because it is fair trade. The sodas are moderate sellers, but not the most popular. Our local coffee roaster Prime Roast provides one fair trade blend for us [called] Demon Roast. It is the most popular blend.”
Quirinale stated that Sodexo makes decisions based on the need and demand of the college community, as well as the costs associated with what is provided.
“It is easier to provide fair trade in retail because we can price it so [the school] does not lose money – our operating budget is derived from student meal plan money and it would not be fiscally responsible to sell an item that would diminish funds meant for daily meals. Sodexo is contracted by KSC to provide the dining service and manage the student’s meal plan [money],” he stated.
He stated that often there can be problems for fair trade items aren’t always sold in retail. “As an example, we tried to provide fair trade bananas as an alternative a few years ago, and size and quality were not consistent or acceptable, availability was spotty [because] a storm prevented shipment and at one point we were not able to get the shipment,” he stated. “In addition, having more fair trade items in a student’s meal plan could incur a price raise.”
“If we were able to get fair trade bananas consistently, their cost is three times that of what we purchase now. Providing all dining commons options to every student at an average meal cost of roughly $5.80 is challenging and the addition of fair trade would mean the meal plan cost would need to increase or [the] variety of offerings would need to be curtailed,” he stated.
Quirinale stated that at times, getting fair trade items can be difficult because the school depends on outside resources. However, he stated they do try to accommodate as best they can. “Our vendors have been very good providers of fair trade products when we have special requests,” he stated. Even with some troubles, Quirinale stated that incorporating fair trade at a college does matter. “Providing fair trade items is important because of the moral and sustainable implications,” he stated.
For more information, see The Equinox editorial on A5.
Dorothy England can be contacted at firstname.lastname@example.org


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Despite a $450 price tag, a limited-edition line of rose-gold-colored metal Starbucks gift cards sold out Friday in less time than it takes to order a latte.
The offering marked the second year the coffee chain has partnered with high-end daily deal site Gilt.com to sell the cards. With only 1,000 cards available, the deal was the more exclusive of the two.
"It took just seconds this year to sell out, which was phenomenal," said Alexis Maybank, Gilt Groupe co-founder and chief business development and strategy officer.
"We call them shopping athletes for a reason," she said. "Our customers are savvy and fast, and they were refreshing the page constantly. ... The second it opened up, they bought it,"
When the sale went live at noon, Maybank said, Gilt.com's hits per minute beat those on Cyber Monday by nearly 2.5 times. Within 30 minutes, more than 11,000 people had tried to get on a wait-list for the card.
About 500 cards were available to general Gilt.com members. About 400 had been made available a bit earlier to people who had achieved gold status in Starbucks' loyalty program; about 100 were sold accidentally when a link prematurely went live on Gilt on Thursday, according to Linda Mills, Starbucks' director of retail brand public relations.
Some would-be buyers took to Twitter to express their frustration at not being able to score a card.
This holiday season, Starbucks will be looking to repeat last year's performance, which CEO Howard Schultz called "stunning and almost unbelievable" on its fiscal first-quarter earnings call.
"Our Starbucks card had its best holiday season in history, as measured by any metric, with more than $1 billion loaded during Q1, the most ever loaded onto any kind of Starbucks card," he said according to the call transcript, provided by Morningstar. "Mobile e-gifting also delivered record holiday results, with the most popular days for e-gifting being Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
(Read more: Giftcard spending to reach an all-time high)
Each card comes with $400 preloaded and gold status in Starbucks' loyalty program. The card is slightly unusual in that it sells for more than the merchandise value.
Mills attributed the price differential to the premium nature of the rose-gold card—a color Starbucks chose to project exclusivity. (The card does not contain gold.)
"It actually costs us more than $50 to produce this card," she said. "That's what you're paying for—the quality of the card itself."
(Read more: 10 quick tips for stress-free holiday shipping)
Last year, customers snapped up the limited-edition cards—which also cost $450—in about six minutes.
"We absolutely exceeded our wildest expectations," Mills said of the sale in 2012. "It was the first time that we did it. We went out on a limb to see if people would value the card, and they did."
While Mills could not say what percentage of Starbucks gift card sales were represented by last year's steel cards, she said that roughly 10 percent of Americans received a Starbucks gift card for the holidays.
(Read more: McD's tone-deaf holiday advice for workers)
Those who weren't quick enough to snap up a card shouldn't fret. Even before the sale opened to the general public, a handful of cards were available on eBay from sellers saying they already had confirmed orders for the cards.
If 2012 is any indication, this year's cards could eventually fetch steep prices. Many of the 5,000 stainless-steel cards later sold for multiples of the original price on eBay.
—By CNBC's Katie Little. Follow her on Twitter @KatieLittle
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that the Startbucks rose-gold-colored gift card does not contain gold.


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iPhoneForums.Net News Team
- Jun 18, 2010
- Reaction score
According to a report in ETNews, via MacRumors, Samsung will be supplying Apple with NAND flash memory chips in 2017, five years after it last supplied Apple with the chips, for the iPhone 5 back in 2012. Apparently Samsung stopped making the chips for Apple because it wasn’t willing to comply with Apple’s electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding needs by changing packaging or adding special coating to the memory packages.
As MacRumors notes, the fact that Samsung is back on board again could have something to do with an earlier report from ETNews saying that Apple is intending to shield more parts inside its devices for the purposes of performance and EMI compliance.
While it seems that Samsung’s current sputter coat EMI shielding techniques were not adequate for Apple’s stringent requirements, the development of new spray techniques for ultra-thin metal shielding could well have led Apple back to Samsung for this particular product.
Source: Samsung Said to Supply Apple with NAND Flash Memory in 2017 After Five-Year Hiatus


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A branch of Layers Bakery at Bahria Town in Rawalpindi has been sealed by authorities after a video of a cockroach inside the display rack went viral on social media. According to the details, Assistant Commissioner (AC) Qandeel Fatima Memon was directed to take immediate action by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Rawalpindi.
Layers, a popular bakery with multiple branches in Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Islamabad is not new to such kind of publicity. Earlier, a video went viral showing a lizard baked into a Layers Bakery cake. However, the popular chain was quick to deny the rumors and claimed that it was an attempt to malign their reputation.
However, this time the evidence was much clear as the recorded video that went viral clearly shows a live cockroach roaming inside one of their display racks. As a result, Punjab Food Authority (PFA) has inspected Layers Bakery alongside AC Memon and sealed the premises.
#Islamabad #Rawalpindi: Just received the video.— Shaheryar Hassan (@shaheryarhassan) September 10, 2023
Location: #Layers #BahriaTown Phase 7
Time: Around 9:30pm 10/9/23.
Issue: Cockroach spotted. #CAOTG #ChampAlertsOnTheGo @PunjabFoodTeam @HealthPunjabGov pic.twitter.com/eM3SL2OvsQ
Layers Bakery will remain closed until thorough inspection and cleaning / disinfection takes place to ensure all food safety standards are met.


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Tyson Foods awards $50,000 grant to Southeast Missouri Food Bank
SIKESTON — Southeast Missouri Food Bank announced Wednesday it has received a $50,000 grant from Tyson Foods to fund 24 mobile food pantries in Stoddard, Scott and Dunklin Counties.
The grant will allow the food bank to provide mobile food pantries in these counties from June 2020 through May 2021.
“We are grateful to Tyson Foods for this funding,” said Joey Keys, chief executive officer of SEMO Food Bank. “One in six families in Southeast Missouri struggles to put healthy food on the table. Tyson’s grant will have a significant impact on hungry families in these counties.”
The investment from Tyson Foods will provide extra protein and fresh produce at each distribution. Part of the protein will consist of Tyson chicken.
“Two of the top items the people we serve request are protein and fresh produce,” Keys said. “Tyson is instrumental for fulfilling this request.”
“We’re proud to support the Southeast Missouri Food Bank and its efforts to fight hunger insecurity,” said Debra Vernon, senior director of corporate social responsibility for Tyson Foods. “We have a history of investing in the food bank’s mobile pantries and know that it takes creative solutions to reach our most vulnerable neighbors in need and make nutrition food and produce as accessible as possible.”
Dates and locations for the mobiles will be announced and publicized later this year.
Details for all mobile food distributions can be found on the food bank’s website at: semofoodbank.org/prograrns/mobile-food-pantry or on the SEMO Food Bank Facebook


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With concerns looming over food security in light of global COVID-19 restrictions, cocoa farmers are again calling on the Government to put measures in place to revitalise the cocoa industry.
Speaking with Guardian Media at the Lions Civic Centre in Siparia, Oscar Cadet, president of the Siparia Erin Cocoa Allied Farmers Association, said the cocoa industry could once again become a mainstay of the economy.
Reminding the population that T&T’s cocoa is one of the best in the world, he said, “As of 2015, we use to export at least about $15 million dollars worth of cocoa and cocoa products, now just a few private chocolate makers doing anything.”
Noting that the demise of the cocoa industry began several years ago as the oil sector gained more prominence, he said people lost interest in the cocoa industry and it became uneconomical.
But, he said the final nail in the sector’s coffin occurred in 2016 when the Cocoa Industry Board was shut down and the Government seized its assets.
“We had over $40 million in assets there, we don’t know where it gone,” he said.
He, however, said the farmers believe that money belongs to them “because they were buying the cocoa underprice, selling it underprice, and then whatever funds they get they putting it in the coffers.”
Cadet complained that in 2010, when a fire destroyed 200 acres of bearing cocoa trees, farmer received no compensation or assistance from the Government.
As it stands now, he said, the cocoa sector is in a mess, thousands of acres of cocoa trees are idle and unemployment is high.
Calling on the Government to hold a meeting with all stakeholders in the cocoa industry, he said, “The Government needs to establish a proper revitalisation programme for the cocoa industry. This will call for subsidies and proper working conditions because for far too long the agriculture and cocoa industry people are living by bits and pieces. We want a proper structure put in place so that farmers and workers engaged in this industry, it could be profitable to all.”
He complained that numerous meetings across the board with several governments over the years have borne no fruit.
“The Government needs to do something seriously at this point in time when we not sure what will happen next year with food security. They need to come to the cocoa sector and let us show them how to make money,” he said.
Calling for a national consultation on the revitalisation of the cocoa sector, he said, “We want them to look at Grenada and St Vincent and all the other islands that are doing extremely well. They putting the subsidy in the wrong place. Come talk to us and we will show them how to make money.”
Vice president Basdeo Ramsaroop said during World War Two the person who owned cocoa land had food on their table. “If history repeats itself now with this and we cant get foreign food (with COVID-19)…the man who had a piece of cocoa land will have food. It is so beneficial besides cocoa, it has the best breadfruit, zaboca, fig and it preserves the wildlife and the waterbed.”


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- VSR’s pilot NFT program for race cars will help the team authenticate and audit its racing fleet.
- The program could also protect VSR’s intellectual property for other products.
- VSR plans to expand its NFT certification program to official merchandise.
Vincenzo Sospiri Racing (VSR), a GT racing team supported by Lamborghini Squadra Corse, today announced a new program that authenticates car parts using NFTs.
Former racing champion Vincenzo Sospiri from VSR said that the team will build NFT certification for their race cars in partnership with Go2NFT and blockchain platform Skey Network.
Vincenzo Sospiri believes that the NFT certification program would prove to be another use case for the technology and benefit the racing team.
“This also brings great responsibility – to ensure that we can securely authenticate and audit every part of our racing fleet to monitor performance and ensure provenance. “We are excited to pilot with Go2NFT and the renowned team at Skey Network to build NFT certification across our cars and other products to ensure we maintain the highest standards of quality,” he said.
Go2NFT CEO Boris Ejsymont said that the integration of NFTs could protect the intellectual property of VSR and solve problems that most brands face regarding IP rights.
“We believe that NFT utility can help create more trust and transparency for brands and their fans. This project with VSR is just the start of many such co-operations for beloved brands across the globe,” said Ejsymont.
VSR plans to expand its NFT certification program to official merchandise and other products and aims to promote trust among fans who purchase the team’s products.
Racing teams and organisations have been driving Web3 and NFT adoption this year. In February, Aston Martin F1 partnered with crypto.com for an NFT drop showcasing the team’s 2022 Grand Prix car. In the same month, Red Bull Racing signed a $150 million three-year partnership with crypto platform ByBit to broaden the team’s fan engagement.
In April, the Mercedes F1 team also launched a series of NFTs on FTX to improve fan engagement. As the sponsor of the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix, crypto.com created a collection of NFTs generated in real-time by the speed, sound and data of the race cars in May.
Stay up to date:


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Experts are anticipating a reduction in the rates of excise duty from the upcoming Union Budget for the Indian auto sector. According to auto makers and analysts, the excise duty must be brought down to 10 per cent for small cars and commercial vehicles from current 12 per cent. In addition, large cars and utility vehicles are presently witnessing an excise duty of 25 and 27 per cent, respectively, which is expected to come down to 22 per cent.
Reportedly, the Indian auto sector has emerged as one of the significantly developing growing sectors in the last few couple of years. The auto industry of India has witnessed a tremendous growth in all the sections, right from two wheelers, three wheeler and passenger car section. It must be noted that some industry experts are also of a view that this much cut in excise duty has less likelihood; however if it comes as reality, the sluggish auto industry will witness a momentous boost in sales.
In relation with the upcoming Budget to auto industry, the Managing Partner at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants India, Wilfried Aulbur said, “The coming budget should provide a significant boost to an ailing automotive industry. Despite best efforts, we are quite likely falling short of the goals set in the AMP 2016 by several tens of billions in terms of contribution to GDP and several millions in terms of jobs.”
According to him, the government must keep a check on the emission norms in spite imposing additional excise duties on diesel models. Speaking in the favour of industry experts, an analyst at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Abdul Majeed said that auto industry is expecting that the 2013 Budget will add to the moral of sector and will come up as good news for the entire industry.


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As we welcomed the presidency of China to the South African shores on Tuesday, we were starstruck by the Chinese first lady, Peng Liyuan whose fashion sense seems interesting.
Upon arrival, where she was shown the ropes by our first lady, Dr Tshepo Motsepe, Liyuan donned a green polka dots collar dress with matching purse, and an olive green coat, a look that we found elegant.
From left: China's first lady, Peng Liyuan, the president of China, Xi Jinping, South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, and South Africa's first lady, Dr Tshepo Motsepe. Picture: @PresidencyZA.
South Africa’s first lady, who’s on the cover of Destiny Magazine Women’s Month issue wore a royal blue flounce skirt with matching blazer, and to complete the look, she wore her signature hair, fluffy curls.
Peng Liyuan walking on red carpet with Dr Tshepo Motsepe. Picture: @PresidencyZA.
The presidents’ wives seem to be getting along very well as they spent a day at Uthando Christian Day Care Centre in Mamelodi, Pretoria, where they sent out gifts and played with the children at the centre.


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This Black Friday is set to be bigger than ever, with pre-sales already up 19 percent year over year, according to IBM. But there is huge overlap on product offerings for many big box stores and if social media is any indicator, the core opportunity (and challenge) is differentiation on anything other than price.
Have you heard the news that Apple CEO Tim Cook is gay? Are you thinking, "OK, was anybody asking?" or perhaps more pointedly, "Who gives a flying f***?"? Then this blog post is for you!
There is a lot to look forward to in the New Year for food trends and the evolution of supermarkets. Expect to see smoked as this year's key flavor and a huge rise in popularity for fermented foods.
As Pope Francis slammed Europe as "elderly and haggard" in an address this week in Strasbourg, the speaker of the Polish parliament, Radek Sikorski, warned in the WorldPost that Europe's starkest challenge is defending "a world of rules" against an aggressive Russia. Writing from the Vatican for our "Following Francis" series, Sébastien Maillard looks at the "holy ghostwriters" behind the pontiff's tweets and encyclicals. WorldPost Middle East Correspondent Sophia Jones reports from Istanbul on yet another retrograde move in Turkey's modern history taken by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who declared this week that men and women can't be equal. Though Erdogan still considers the Kurdish Democratic Union Party a terrorist organization, Nazand Begikhani writes from Iraqi Kurdistan about how women from that party who have taken up arms to defend their fellow Kurds from the radically misogynist Islamic State are also advancing equal rights in their own society. This week, as the Israeli cabinet moved to define Israel as a "Jewish state," the French parliament, like other European parliaments of late, is voting on whether to recognize a Palestinian state. Writing from Paris, Bernard-Henri Lévy argues passionately that such a move, intended to enhance peace, will perpetuate war. (continued)
Certainly, starting a business is hard work. It typically involves long days. But there's one major difference: you will be putting all your time, creativity, and effort toward fulfilling your own dream, not someone else's.
Uber has been in the news a lot lately. Unfortunately, most of the stories have been negative. From day one, Uber has had a target on its back because it provides a product that many believe is superior to established taxi and shuttle services.
Although society seems to be shifting to accommodate the professional woman who also has a family, we still have a ways to go in engendering workplace cultures that value work-life balance.
Bad bosses cost companies millions per year, and the worst part, like snakes (yuck), they're able to slither through their superiors and make it seem like they're doing an outstanding job; however, their good job is coming at the expense of other employees' happiness and well-being.
Sure, I love a half-price blender as much as the next girl. But the lines, the crowds, the fighting over a 20% off Elsa dress like survivors battling over a can of tuna on The Walking Dead -- those are all things I can live without.
It seems that companies are tossing around the innovative word like it's a piece of candy to be chewed on and enjoyed because it tastes so sweet. Maybe some companies can innovate that way and actually benefit from the process. However, I am not quite so sure the innovation process works that way.
Figuring out a brand strategy for the new generation begins with understanding who the new generation is.
Whether you're ready for it or not, your future will come, and when it does (usually quicker than expected), you will likely
In theory, news of Bob Stiller's challenge grant should have the fair trade movement jumping up and down. Instead, many of us are wondering if this may be the final blow to the meaningful fair trade that we have advocated for so long.
As we read about the travails of General Motors and recent foreign-exchange scandals, it's difficult to explain the enduring and elusive challenge that companies and organizations seem to face: the importance of learning from past mistakes.
We've all been there. Things are running smoothly, then whack, seemingly out of nowhere you get hit over the head. You lose your job, your competition takes away your best business or someone in your personal life drops a bomb on you.
It's Saturday morning in Plympton, Mass., and the sun has yet to dry the dew from the windows at the Mayflower Cranberries farm, but owner Jeff LaFleur is already on a knee in his bog inspecting his crimson bounty in preparation for the fall harvest.
All businesses have hierarchies, of course - without order, there is chaos. But some hierarchies are more rigid than others. The danger for employees stuck in stricter environments is that they actually become accustomed to not speaking up.
It's one thing to create a grand plan to grow your company, it is a whole other thing to get your team consistently executing.


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Marketers of petroleum products in the country have agreed to work towards improving industry reputation as captured in the new Nigerian Corporate Governance Code 2018.
Such areas include health, safety, environment & quality (HSEQ), corporate governance, customer satisfaction at the station forecourts including accurate dispensing of product.
The markets under the umbrella of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) stated this recently during their 2019 CEOs’ strategic retreat/workshop facilitated by Junios Consulting, an indigenous management firm, with emphasis on the corporate governance code.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of MOMAN, Mr. Clement Isong, stated that good corporate governance practices was at the core of good business performance impacting all stakeholders including shareholders, employees, service providers, transporters, dealers and ultimately, the Nigerian customer.
Isong, reminded participants that the image of the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry had, over the years, suffered considerable damage as a result of some underhand practices, particularly the penchant of some petrol station dealers for cheating at the pumps.
He equally condemned the unwillingness of some oil product transporters to present fit and proper vehicles and trained drivers for the movement of hazardous cargo such as petroleum products.
He also informed participants of their CEOs’ desire for a serious and sustainable relaunch of corporate governance mechanisms so as to adequately tackle challenges in the industry and boost stakeholder returns.
Also speaking at the event, the Chairman of Junios Consulting, Mr. Osifo Segun Akpata, described the speedy adoption of better governance practices in the industry as an imperative for progress.
Akpata, welcomed the launch of the new code, stressing that if compliance with the code’s provisions by companies operating in Nigeria was rigorously enforced by the relevant authorities, the corporate space in the country would, in a few years, become very different.
According to him, beyond improving productivity and reducing reputational risks, well-run organisations are an irresistible attraction for foreign and domestic capital.
The consultant also emphasised that resources expended by an organisation in stepping up its corporate governance practices should be seen as an investment.
The participants who were exposed to the provisions of the new code and the practical measures to be taken by companies to ensure compliance, however, committed themselves to working for the entrenchment of the code’s principles in their respective companies.


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Telstra 'reassured' as ACCC looks into NBN pricing
Victorian land values cross-checked with Azure AI
Google begins responding to Texas antitrust investigators' data demands
Uber faces UK tax challenge
NAB reform push offers discounted Cisco security product
Don't have an account? Register now!
HP Inc culls up to 9000 jobs in new restructuring push
Around 16 percent of global workforce to go.
Oct 4 2019 11:08AM
Major vendors' business printers remotely abusable
Updates issued to fix slew of flaws.
Aug 9 2019 11:24AM
Godfather of IT outsourcing Ross Perot dies aged 89
Founder of two IT services heavyweights.
Jul 10 2019 12:35PM
HP, Dell, other tech firms plan to shift production out of China: Nikkei
Spurred by bitter trade war between Washington and Beijing.
Jul 4 2019 6:57AM
Autonomy founder Mike Lynch denies wrongdoing in HP fraud case
Defence argues management incompetence, politics and infighting at HP.
Jun 27 2019 6:58AM
Dell, HP, Microsoft, Intel oppose proposed tariffs on laptops, tablets
Oppose Trump's proposal for Chinese goods targeted for tariffs.
Jun 20 2019 12:53PM
Meg Whitman happy to throw HP predecessor 'under the bus' over deal
Moment of anger over the botched acquisition of British software company.
Jun 6 2019 12:30PM
China smashes counterfeiting ring that sold hard drives
More than 210,000 disks produced by a counterfeit ring.
May 13 2019 12:34PM
Sims Metals moves to scrap the cloud
Targets AWS, Microsoft, Google and banks.
Apr 9 2019 6:50AM
Autonomy founder Lynch set for US$5 billion HP court showdown
After six-year dispute over disastrous deal.
Mar 25 2019 7:05AM
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ATO reveals 2017 data.
Dec 14 2018 6:45AM
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Mega deals set to end.
Dec 4 2018 11:52AM
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Beat analysts' estimates.
Nov 30 2018 12:05PM
Mega vendors tie-up $100m Centrelink WPIT work
Systems integrators picked for next tranches.
Nov 1 2018 5:00AM
HP to compensate customers over printer 'security' firmware
Rejected non-HP ink cartridges.
May 3 2018 11:27AM
HPE servers targeted by ransomware criminals
Management interfaces left open to the internet abused.
Apr 27 2018 9:25AM
Laptops with 5G connectivity coming next year
Intel partners with Microsoft, Dell, HP, and Lenovo.
Feb 23 2018 9:37AM
HP recalls enterprise, consumer laptop batteries over fire risk
Envy, ProBook, Pavilion, ZBook, x360 affected.
Feb 19 2018 9:13AM
HP patches remote exploit bug in enterprise printers
Over 50 models affected by flaw reported in August.
Nov 23 2017 10:50AM
Fires destroy Hewlett Packard's 79-year history
Documents and personal correspondence lost to flames.
Oct 31 2017 6:52AM
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Camacho, an Oettinger Davidoff brand, announced the release of new box-pressed extensions of their Connecticut, Corojo and Ecuador blends in Robusto, Toro and Gordo formats.
Davidoff Cigars is releasing a new cigarillo line named Golden Leaf with a limited production of 600,000 10-count golden tins made in the Dominican Republic. The blend features an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper and Mexican and Dominican tobaccos.
Davidoff introduces the new 702 Series to the market, a version of the classic Davidoff cigars with a 702 Ecuador wrapper indead of the original Connecticut Ecuador wrapper.
Famous Smoke Shop has announced the fifth release in their exclusive Vudu cigars series, Vudu Damballa. Like its four predecessors, Vudu Damballa comes to retail with a low price point, averaging just under $4.50 (MSRP) per cigar.
General Cigar announced the debut of Punch Gran Puro Nicaragua, a full bodied four-vitola blend made at General Cigar’s HATSA factory in Danli, Honduras.
Cigar Golf Club, a company that offers cigars for golfers, has launched in the USA. Cigar Golf Club is associated with Plasencia Cigars and aims to build an exclusive brand of cigars for golfers worldwide.
All Out Kings is a collaborative project between the two companies that was announced early in 2016, and formally introduced at the 2016 IPCPR Tradeshow. The companies announced that the shipping will be postponed.
The Alec Bradley HJ10-I blend is making its third appearance onto tobacconists’ shelves worldwide. The newly released 2016 Fine & Rare is a 6 inch by 52 ring gauge cigar boasting ten different tobaccos ranging from 3 years aged to 6 years aged.
The Edición Regional 2016 for Switzerland, Juan López Eminentes, arrived at the Swiss market end of November.
Villiger Cigars is set to ship the new Villiger 1888 today Monday, December 12, 2016 nationally to cigar shops in the U.S. Villiger 1888 was first released in 2010 as a limited edition with a black and yellow band, commemorating the company’s 100 year anniversary in Germany.
Manila cigar lovers recently gathered at 1824 Whisky and Cigar Bar for an indulgent affair that previewed two of Tabacalera Incorporada’s newest blends, the Don Juan Urquijo 20 Anniversario and the 1881 Perique Bold.
Ventura Cigar announced the introduction of PSyKo Seven Connecticut, the third blend within the PsyKo Seven portfolio. PSyKo Seven Connecticut is rolled in the Dominican Republic with an blend of premium of seven tobaccos.


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NY, Feb. 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — (By way of ZEXPRWIRE) Don’t look now, however each CovCare and Dogecoin are turning heads and making headlines because the upstart medical provides firm introduced that they are going to now settle for Dogecoin as a type of cryptocurrency and cost methodology.
Whereas Dogecoin is at the moment ranked because the No. eighth largest cryptocurrency, for a brand like CovCare who just lately surpassed 100,000 orders positioned, it’s pretty much as good as some other type of on-line cost as individuals bounce on the likelihood to proceed buying PPE because the Coronavirus pandemic rages on.
Final week Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, jumped to Twitter to ramp up the dialogue calling Dogecoin “the individuals’s crypto”, because the cryptocurrency dramatically surged up the inventory market in unprecedented trend for a fake coin. Created in 2013 by programmers Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus, Dogecoin has develop into the primary meme cryptocurrency to soar over the previous few months in the course of the period of the at-home retail investor amid the pandemic. Because the Shiba Inu-themed digital coin surpassed 8 cents for the primary time late final week, Dogecoin now has a market worth of $10 billion.
What higher time for CovCare to buck the pattern by turning into the primary firm to simply accept Dogecoin as a type of cost. This isn’t the primary foray into accepting cryptocurrency for CovCare.
Again in 2015, CovCare’s dad or mum firm, Wooter, was merely a yr into their start-up infancy after they emerged as an early trendsetter by turning into the primary sports activities attire firm to simply accept cryptocurrency Bitcoin as a cost type (mockingly sufficient, Musk additionally helped Bitcoin hit an all-time excessive as Tesla invested $1.5 billion into the cryptocurrency). It was the appropriate transfer on the proper time for the Staten Island firm that has develop into the one-stop-shop for sports activities groups, leagues, and organizations desirous to customise their whole sports activities expertise — from jerseys and uniforms, to league and crew web sites. Whereas firms like Starbucks, Microsoft, Nordstrom, Expedia, and Entire Meals started accepting Bitcoin in 2019, Wooter and Wooter Attire led the best way as soon as once more within the sports activities attire world by not solely accepting Bitcoin as a cost type however by additionally providing clients a free $10 in Bitcoin for many who signed-up with digital forex trade, Coinbase.
Six years later, CovCare is borrowing a web page from Wooter in terms of accepting a complete new stage of cryptocurrency — meme cryptocurrency.
For CovCare, adopting Dogecoin as a cost methodology was not solely about turning into one of many first firms to simply accept the cryptocurrency, however the medical provides firm additionally views the chance to as soon as once more seriously change how the business operates. Potential CovCare clients in want of face masks and different PPE now have a spot the place they will put their “ineffective” meme cryptocurrency to make use of for the better good in defending themselves from COVID-19.
That truth alone is fairly doggone fascinating.
Media Contacts - Identify - Alex Aleksandrovski Telephone No. - (929) 262-3530 Firm - CovCare Tackle -727 Web page Avenue - Staten Island, NY. 10309 Nation - United States


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The new Google Chromecast is displayed during a Google special event at Dogpatch Studios in San Francisco, California.
It appears Google's TV device Chromecast is a big hit among consumers.
The dongle that allows users to stream Web video straight to their television has already sold out on Amazon and Best Buy. It's still available through the Google Play store, but consumers must wait 2-3 weeks to receive the device.
On Thursday, Google said they had to halt a promotion that offered 3 free months of streaming service ...


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Denny’s is reinforcing its “real” breakfast dominance by challenging fast food (quick service) restaurants for the first time. Denny’s is out to bust so-called “fake” breakfast.
Denny’s AOR Publicis Mid America in Dallas developed the integrated campaign entitled “Don’t Fall for Fake.” From national broadcast, diverse digital, PR, in-store merchandise, and guerrilla marketing efforts, the scrappy campaign targets men and women 25-40 and reinforces the overwhelming appeal of real, as consumers are faced with real versus fake.
Components include two new TV spots Tony Sirico, formerly of “The Sopranos.” In “Phony Money” (:30 & :15) Tony tosses down fake money at a fast food joint to pay for breakfast — his rationale: fake money for a fake breakfast. In “Line Up” (:30) Tony and an upset man are featured behind a two-way mirror, along with a police officer, and they’re viewing a lineup of fast food workers in various crazy themed costumes. The man picks out the offender that sold him a fake breakfast.
The national broadcast buy via Optimedia catches consumers during “American Idol” and “Grey’s Anatomy” and spans primetime/premium syndication, early morning, late night/overnight, general syndication, African American syndication, late night cable and general cable.
Denny’s is also introducing a new Spanish-language TV campaign titled De verdad verdad (Really Real) via :30 and :15 television spots.
Real versus fake also employs a digital strategy developed by Optimedia. The engaging campaign ranges from humorous banner ads, mobile alerts, offer-based online games, video ads, to paid searches and music polling/custom playlists such as your top fave breakfast songs.


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Why UpScalio is betting on the utility sector to make it big in the rollup space
In a recent conversation with YourStory’s Daily Dispatch powered by HSBC, Nitin Agarwal, Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer, UpScalio talks about the company’s journey and discusses roadmaps for the future.
Gurugram-based rollup ecommerce firmhas been in the news lately with a slew of acquisitions. The latest acquisition of home and gardening brand Truphe took place in January 2022 — which marks the company’s 10th acquisition to date.
Speaking about the company, Nitin Agarwal, Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer, UpScalio tells YourStory’s Daily Dispatch that the last nine months have been great for the company. “Within a very short period, we gathered together 10 very bright and exciting brands in the UpScalio house,” he says. He adds that his personal journey helped him a great deal in tackling situations.
He shares that the company is nearing the close of their first wave of acquisitions — which had started in October 2021 — and are currently looking out for more brands to acquire. “The depth in the ecosystem is huge, which means there are more such brands out there which could be the right fit for UpScalio,” says Nitin. The company also has a growth team that focuses on managing the growth of the brands that they have onboarded.
In terms of acquisitions, UpScalio is more focused on the utility categories, wherein there is longevity in products and space to create numerous online brands. “We are looking at doing another 10-15 acquisitions, so by 2023, we should have about 30 brands in our portfolio,” shares Nitin.
Nitin explains that even though there are several rollup firms in the ecosystem, there’s a lot of new D2C brands are also coming up. While rollup firms cater to different categories, for UpScalio, the focus is on utility where there is a healthy pool to pick from. “The difference is vis-a-vis any of the consumer sectors, this is not a winner takes all market,” he says.
Commenting on the investment, Nitin mentions that capital is a raw material for acquisitions in this line of business. As of now, UpScalio is very well capitalised and their investment pipeline is quite healthy as well. In terms of revenue, he shares that the company is already touching Rs 300 crore and their focus is on touching the billion-dollar mark as soon as they can.
Edited by Kanishk Singh


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Preventing Your Business Website from Cyber Attacks
Cyber security is one of those issues that small business owners know they should be concerned about, but sometimes never get around to. That was the case of Eric Erikson, and he regrets the day he didn’t take cyber security seriously.
As recounted in a story on CNN.com a few years ago, Erickson was selling pest control products online when his site was hacked and infected with a virus. Erickson took action, spending several thousand dollars to rebuild it, but not before customers got infected by going to the site and Google blacklisted it, warning potential site visitors that Erickson’s site was infected with malware.
It took three months to get the site back up and listed on Google, but Erickson said, “The whole experience crushed us.” He survived, and good news is that when his site was attacked again last year, Erickson had installed security software and was able to repel the attack.
But don’t just think that cyber attacks can shut down your site. The bad news can be far more serious than that. Cyber crooks can install “keystroke software” on your computer, steal your passwords and drain your bank accounts. They can hack into your social media accounts and create defamatory posts. And they can steal your customer lists or infect your hard drives.
They can put you out of business.
According to the McAfee blog, “In the last year alone, cyber attacks have not only increased in frequency, but also in severity. A serious enough breach has the power to cripple any small business.”
And consider this sobering statistic: The 2012 Data Breach Investigations Study by Verizon found that 71 percent of the attacks they analyzed occurred against businesses with fewer than 100 employees. According to Mike Pugh of J2 Global in the Huffington Post, “Even more frightening: According to an August 2013 story in PCWorld, of those small businesses whose systems are breached, roughly 60 percent go out of business within six months after the attack.”
It is not hard to understand why cyber crooks are increasingly focusing on small and medium businesses – we have less security, generally speaking, than other entities. Large corporations and governments are well versed by now in cyber security, but SMBs remain fairly oblivious, and that therefore makes for easy pickings.
So the answer is yes, you can be hacked and cyber-security is one of those things that you definitely need to bring to the top of your to-do list in 2014.
So how do you keep your site, data, passwords, bank accounts, social media accounts, and vital information safe? Here are seven tips:
1. Install software: This is No. 1 for a reason. Having security software in the cloud is the easiest, smartest, and best way to ensure that your confidential information stays secure. Make sure the software that you get protects you across the board, with antivirus, malware, spam, phishing, and spyware protection.
2. Train your staff: Even though most of us know this, train employees not to open unknown e-mail attachments. Similarly, these days, scammers are capturing data simply by getting people to click on phony social media links and websites, so again, the rule is – if you don’t know it, avoid it.
3. Avoid unknown updates: Let’s say that one day you are on Facebook and Jim has an update that says, “Check out this amazing hang-gliding video!” You click the link and are then directed to “update your Java software” (or whatever).
Updates need to be done systematically and from approved sites.
4. Use strong passwords, and change them often: You know the drill by now, but do you do this? You should. You better.
5. Create an inventory of your devices: Including laptops, tablets, thumb drives, and smartphones. That way you will know if something goes missing.
6. Protect your network: Use firewalls and virtual private networks (VPNs).
7. Create policies and enforce them: Your whole team needs to know how seriously you take cyber security. Explain how you plan to protect your data, what the approved processes are, how to use and dispose of confidential information, what your social media policies are, etc.
Finally, consider buying fraud protection insurance. Just in case.


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U.S. Fortune 500 consumer goods company, Proctor & Gamble Co., has started production and distribution of The Gillete Guard, a low-cost razor, in India. The company has designed the $0.34 razor and $0.11 blades in its efforts to increase its market share among Indian users (400 million men). Though the razor has not been designed specifically for the BOP, the company has taken a different approach to its product development by looking at what lower-income customers can afford and adjusting the production processes and included features to stay at or below that level. By ELLEN BYRON
Gillette’s newest shaving system has just one blade, a light plastic handle and a sharply lower price. And it isn’t available in the U.S.
The Gillette Guard, the latest razor from the Procter & Gamble Co. unit, instead will begin hitting stores in India next week.
The move by the maker of five-bladed, battery-powered gizmos reflects P&G’s aggressive push into emerging markets for new customers and growth. That focus is forcing P&G to be more modest on scale and more flexible on price.
Gillette commands about 70% of the world’s razor and blade sales, but it lags behind rivals in India and other developing markets, mainly because those consumers can’t afford to buy its flagship products.
The stripped-down Gillette Guard is designed to be affordable. The razor costs 15 rupees, or 34 cents, and uses blades that cost five rupees, or 11 cents.
By contrast, the Mach 3 blades that Gillette has been selling in India cost about 100 rupees, around $2.24.
“The first job is to bring more consumers into Gillette,” says Alberto Carvalho, P&G’s vice president of male grooming in emerging markets. “When they start enjoying a better shave, they’ll be more open to all solutions.”
Gillette Guard is aiming to lure users of double-edge razors, about 400 million men in India, according to P&G estimates. In India, a brand called Super-Max holds the lead in double-edge blades, which cost roughly 1.5 to 2 rupees, which is half of the cost of even Gillette Guard.
Winning over low-income consumers in developing markets is crucial to the growth strategy of P&G’s chief executive, Robert McDonald. Over the next five years, Mr. McDonald wants to boost the company’s total customer base for its many products to five billion of the world’s expected population of seven billion. Many of these new consumers will have to come from markets like India, where P&G has a small presence compared to Unilever PLC and some other competitors.
The need to grow in emerging markets is pushing P&G to change its product-development strategy. In the past, P&G would sell basically the same premium Pampers diapers, Crest toothpaste or Olay moisturizers in developing countries, where only the wealthiest consumers could afford them. To reach more consumers, P&G changed course by creating pared-down products specifically designed to be less expensive, like Naturella’s extra-absorbent, cotton feminine-hygiene pads and Downy Single Rinse fabric softener, which requires less water.
P&G uses what it calls reverse engineering. Rather than create an item and then assign a price to it—as in most developed markets—the company starts with what consumers can afford and then adjusts the features and manufacturing processes to meet the target.
For Gillette Guard, the target was five rupees, about the cost of shampoo sachets or small tubes of toothpaste. The price takes into account not only consumers but the kiosk owners who serve most shoppers in developing markets. The lower cost will encourage more small store owners to stock up on the item, P&G hopes.
To cut costs, P&G eliminated the lubrication strip and colorful handle designs Indian men weren’t willing to pay for. Though most men in the U.S. and Western Europe prefer a heavy razor handle, P&G found Indian men prefer a lighter weight, which also cut costs.
P&G has a lot of ground to make up in India, where it estimates just 10% of men who shave use Gillette blades, compared with about 50% world-wide. Its plan is to get men to start using its products and then upgrade them as India’s economy grows.
The back-to-basics approach in India contrasts with P&G’s shaving strategy in developed markets, where an arms race of blades and battery power has produced devices that have become targets for comedy writers.
In June, P&G launched its most expensive razor yet in the U.S, the Fusion ProGlide. A four-pack of the manual cartridges sells for $16.99, about a 15% premium to regular Fusion blades. P&G says the Fusion ProGlide is now its best-selling razor.
P&G will introduce Gillette Guard first in emerging markets, says Mr. Carvalho, who doesn’t rule out the possibility of bringing the cheaper razor to developed markets like the U.S. “We haven’t yet looked in a detailed way if it makes sense doing this in developed markets,” he says. “We’ll probably know that in the next six to 12 months.”
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Also a big thank you to our neighbors that have helped us cleanup and bring food for the workers. Thanks just doesn't seem enough.
Maine weighs revoking seat belt law days after 75-car pileup
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — It's an effort that even the bill's sponsor acknowledges is poor timing. Just two days after a 75-vehicle pileup injured at least 17 people in the state, lawmakers in Maine are considering legislation that would allow adults to opt out of wearing seat belts. Full Story
World's biggest private Harry Potter collection on display
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A young Mexican's fascination with Harry Potter has grown into the world's biggest private collection of toys, books, clothes and other items related to author J. Full Story
Scarlett Johansson defends John Travolta's Oscars behavior
“Lucy” actress says red carpet encounter was 'very sweet’ and 'totally welcome.’


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CNN has published a lit of the “The 10 Biggest Tech ‘Fails’ of 2010,” and Apple made the list twice. The news powerhouse named the iPhone 4’s “Antennagate” kerfuffle as the #1 “Tech Fail” of 2010, while Ping was included as #10, both of which were included in our Ted Landau’s list of the five “bottom” stories of the year where Apple was portrayed in a bad light.
Taking the top spot in the list was the so-called “Antennagate” problem where some users lost all signal to their carrier when holding the device in certain way that became known as the “Death Grip.”
“First Apple said the problem didn’t exist,” CNN’s Doug Gross wrote. “Then they said it was a software issue. Then they kind-of admitted it existed and gave away free cases to help. Then, they said it doesn’t really exist anymore and stopped giving away the bumpers.”
All of which is fairly accurate and to the point, but CNN also noted that, “Months later, the problem is all but forgotten and the phones show no sign of dipping in popularity. So ‘fail,’ in this case, is a pretty relative term.”
Which begs the question of how this qualifies as one of the biggest “Tech Fails” of the year — the iPhone 4 is the single most successful smartphone on the planet, after all.
Then again, he labeled the scandal as a “Tech Fail,” and not the device itself, an important distinction. Apple’s effort to correct perceptions was massive, and the company received more negative ink for this issue than it has since the days when Michael Diesel was hiding under his desk in Cupertino or Gil Amelio was wielding the corporate firing axe like Paul Bunyun on a killing spree.
While Apple came out the other side of this problem just fine, it took a Herculean effort by the company to do so.
Falling in at #10 is Apple’s Ping music social networking service built into-iTunes. “There’s a whole social network set up in Apple’s iTunes store now,” Mr. Gross wrote. “Didn’t know that? Well, there you go.”
He noted that not all artists participate in the service, and that it doesn’t integrate with Facebook. “And, a lot of the time,” he wrote, “it simply pushes you to buy music. Needless to say, Ping hasn’t really caught on.”
Also included in the list are:
- 2. 3-D TV
- 3. Microsoft Kin
- 4. Nexus One
- 5. Facebook privacy
- 6. Google Buzz
- 7. Gawker media sites hacked
- 8. Content farms
- 9. Digg relaunch


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If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits $17... you’re going to see some serious shit.
This audiobook version of The Hobbit won’t put even a hobbit-sized hole in your wallet. At just $4, you can listen along to Bilbo’s unexpected adventure while you’re cleaning, driving, or cooking all six of your daily meals.
Twitter has not exactly survived the last few months with a sterling reputation, in between continued controversy over its failure to adequately address rampant harassment, allegations it sold political ads to Russian foreign agents, and most recently news it had verified the account of neo-Nazi Charlottesville…
Note: This link only seems to work on desktop browsers, sorry!
At $8 per month for Prime members, Amazon Music Unlimited was already more affordable than Spotify Premium or Apple Music, but Amazon’s sweetening the pot for new members by offering three months for just $1, for a limited time.
Numerous advertisers pulled out from Sean Hannity’s Fox News show this week after Hannity urged his viewers to treat claims Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore sexually molested minors decades ago with entirely too much skepticism. Among them were Realtor.com, 23andMe, and ELOQUII, but most notable was Keurig, which…
President Donald Trump denied on Saturday reports that he had ordered the Department of Justice to halt the $85.4 billion merger between AT&T and Time Warner unless the combined company sells off Turner Broadcasting, a group of cable channels which includes Trump’s hated arch-enemy CNN.
On Monday afternoon, as a few hundred people gathered at New York’s City Hall to protest the shuttering of local news sites DNAinfo and Gothamist, a carousel of speakers took turns proclaiming their love for journalism—including frequent targets of the press. Tragedies make strange bedfellows.
After AT&T and Time Warner announced their planned $85 billion merger last year, it became clear that there might be a political problem: President Donald Trump’s seething hatred of CNN, which is owned by Time Warner. And now, it is all coming to pass.
Amazon has marked down Margaret Atwood’s increasingly-less-fictional The Handmaid’s Tale to just $3 for your Kindle. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.
Facebook tests of a major change to the way its News Feed works in at least six countries have once again raised fears the social media giant—a powerful gatekeeper between publishers and audiences—could be preparing to doom parts of the media, the Guardian reported.
Kindle Unlimited is basically Netflix for ebooks and audiobooks, and Amazon’s offering a very rare discount on the service today. You’ll save 33% off the $10/month regular price when you buy one year, or 40% when you purchase two. If you love to read, this should pay for itself, and it would also make a great holiday…
Google is planning to roll out a new system in which it helps news publishers zero in on potential subscribers in exchange for a revenue split—but the search giant says the feature is not anywhere near release.
We’ve posted a couple of deals on classic monster DVDs lately, but this one’s a Blu-ray, and it’s cheaper than ever.
Nintendo created three gorgeous books that are must-owns for any Legend of Zelda fan, and all three are on sale today. They aren’t all-time low prices (except for the Zelda Encyclopedia, which comes out next year), but they’re solid discounts off what you’d normally pay, so you won’t have to break too many pots or cut…
Wonder Woman was the rarest of all things: A good DC Comics film. You can own it forever via Amazon Instant Video for just $10 right now, if you’re a Prime member. Go watch and enjoy it before Justice League ruins everything again.


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JC Penney continues struggle during overhaul effort
JC Penney’s stock fell 8 percent Nov. 9 in premarket trading, after the department store posted a $203 million loss for the third quarter.
According to a report in CNNMoney, the retailer continues to struggle amid a massive overhaul effort.
JC Penney’s loss amounted to 93 cents a share for the quarter — more than thirteen times worse than what analysts were expecting. The report said sales at stores that have been open at least a year declined more than 26 percent — the most since CEO Ron Johnson took over leadership a year ago.
The company’s total sales of $2.9 billion were also well below consensus expectations.
“Today, JCP is really a tale of two companies,” Johnson said in a statement reported by CNNMoney. “By far the largest part of our store is the old JC Penney, which continues to struggle and experience significant challenges as evidenced by our third quarter results. However, the new JCP, centered around the shop concept, is gaining traction with customers every day and is surpassing our own expectations in terms of sales productivity which continues to give us confidence in our long term business model.”
Read the full report here.
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Analyst bureau IDC today shared forecasts for desktop and laptop shipments over the coming years, and despite the appending rise of cloud gaming, it does not expect the PC gaming market to be negatively impacted by the dawn of the new technology.
The numbers, via the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Gaming Tracker, December 12, 2019 report, are for the EMEA market (Europe, Middle East and Africa), so it doesn't represent expectations for the U.S. Additionally, IDC's research only included desktops (opens in new tab)and laptops (opens in new tab)with a "premium- or performance-grade GPU." Any system that doesn't have a dedicated graphics card (opens in new tab) or has an AMD Radeon Pro or Nvidia Quadro GPU are not included in the forecast calculations, as these serve a different market and won't be representative of the gaming community.
IDC's forecasts show that closing the year 2019, a total of 2.99 million desktops and 5.54 million laptops will have shipped.
Advancing forward to 2023, and desktop shipments are expected to sit at 2.87 million with notebooks up to 6.94 million, showing a small decline in desktops but a notable increase in gaming notebook shipments.
"In the mid- and long-term forecast, the market will benefit from increasing consumer awareness and growth in the gaming community. Gaming systems are of major interest to vendors because of their higher costs and margins, as well as their more frequent replacement cycles," Nikolina Jurisic, program manager, IDC CEMA, said in a statement. "End users are therefore benefitting from a broad gaming range, new product launches and more attractive pricing due to fiercer competition. Cloud gaming is still in the early stages of acceptance in CEMA and is not expected to negatively affect the gaming market in the mid- or short-term forecast."
Some examples of cloud gaming services are Google Stadia and GeForce now. In our Google Stadia review (opens in new tab) last month, we concluded that while the premise is promising, it was clear that the service hadn't ripened enough to offer the best experience.
With that in mind, it's also interesting that Liam Hall, senior research analyst at IDC in Western Europe, noted that "beyond early adopters, it is unlikely we will see a sizeable migration of gamers away from traditional hardware in favor of the cloud any time soon."
"Conversely, by providing a lower barrier of entry for new gamers, cloud gaming could actually act as a gateway into console and PC gaming for those who otherwise wouldn't have discovered their passion for gaming and now want to take it to the next level," the analyst said.