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Stealth-mode enterprise data storage startup Qumulo still hasn’t announced its first product, but is gearing up to do so with a just-closed $40 million Series B funding round.
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) led the round, along with existing investors Highland Capital, Madrona Venture Group and Valhalla Partners. The new round brings Qumulo’s total funding to $67 million.
In effect, it’s a reunion of the cast from scale-out NAS storage vendor Isilon, which EMC acquired in 2010 for $2.5 billion. Along with CEO Peter Godman; Neal Fachan, vice president of engineering; CTO Aaron Passey and others, Isilon founder Sujal Patel is joining the new company’s board, along with Wen Hsieh, partner at KPCB, and Matt McIlwain, managing director at Madrona Venture Group.
“We’ve had a really positive initial response to the product we’ve built, and we’re raising this money because we’re ready to really get serious about go-to-market – build out sales and marketing and really get rolling,” Godman said.
“We had been in the unique position of having been in one storage revolution—[the founders worked on Isilon’s OneFS distributed file system] —and Neal and Aaron having participated in highly scalable databases, it’s about marrying those two technology areas into one storage product that is really good at helping people understand their data footprint. If you think about a bank safe that’s really great at telling you about your investment accounts or whatever.”
Founded in 2012, the Seattle-based company raised $26.8 million in its first year and has conducted around 600 interviews with companies to understand how they use storage on a day-to-day basis.
“What we learned about it really surprised us. The problem we worked on at Isilon was how to scale storage itself. How to take little buckets of data … and turn that into one giant bucket that you can scale indefinitely,” Godman said.
“We learned when we talked to people that everyone who had a big bucket had the same-ish problem – and that problem didn’t have anything to do with having a big-enough bucket – it was keeping track of everything inside that bucket. Those people who had previously stored a terabyte of data were now storing hundreds of terabytes or a petabyte or 10 petabytes. … The enormous sprawl of data just became really, really difficult for companies.”
At the same time, companies were looking to gain insights from their data, but their systems were slow or inadequate to the task.
Qumulo has had a product in production with partner companies for five or six months – in one instance for more than a year – with no outages and no data loss, Godman said. While most infrastructure companies are still operating on a release cycle measured in years, Qumulo has been releasing a new build every two weeks, with company feedback appearing in modifications within four weeks.
Its product also is designed for commodity hardware.
“Our software can run in a virtual machine context, software-only context, it could run in a cloud instance context or an appliance context. … We expect the future to be one where information technology continues to be complex—on premises, public cloud and all sorts of different operating environments. The storage technologies that win in the future will be ones that don’t care about where they’re actually running,” he said.
The company has about 90 employees and will be growing rapidly in the next year, Godman said. While he’s not ready to name the company’s product, customers or reseller partners – it will be totally sold through resellers – he says that will be announced “very, very soon.”
Investors have been pouring about a billion dollars a year into enterprise-storage startups, Simon Robinson, a research vice president for storage and information management with 451 Research, told Fortune magazine.
Among the investments announced in 2014 alone: Pure Storage ($285 million), Nutanix ($241+ million), DataStax ($106 million), SolidFire, ($82 million), Tintri ($75 million), Kaminario ($53 million, $15 million in January), DataGravity ($50 million): PernixData ($35 million).
That article notes that KPCB has invested in DataStax and PernixData as well.
Storage solutions implemented as software on commodity hardware are clearly a growing market opportunity, according to Mike Matchett, senior analyst and consultant at Taneja Group. They can deliver rich and innovative storage features more quickly and often more cheaply than traditional customized hardware/firmware and software stack solutions.
“Tremendous CPU power can now be had rather cheaply, and used to deliver in-line capabilities like data deduplication that formerly required low-level hardware support. Flash in its many forms has helped accelerate this trend too, as a software-based storage solution leveraging commodity flash hardware to deliver performance greater than traditional HDD-based arrays.
At the same time, software-defined storage represents a challenge to existing storage vendors, as more players are finding it easier to enter the game, offer more value, and drive down the price per gigabyte, he said.
“We expect competition to further heat up this year as the software-based approach enables developing advanced data insights, storage-side analytics, and use cases around the data and metadata that’s being stored. Instead of just persisting data, expect to see storage solutions offering rich data-powered perspectives and even storage-side data processing natively.”


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Have you heard? California just banned gaming PCs! If they took his job And now they also take your PC for games !!! (more exclamation marks indicate more outrage).
Well that’s what you’d think if you read a headline that screamed: “Several US states are banning gaming PCs” or “High-end gaming PCs banned in six US states after Calfornia’s power law limits sales of high-performance PCs. “
This all started when Alienware put notices on your website of certain desktop PC models that cannot be sold in California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, and Vermont, due to “power consumption regulations adopted by those states. All orders made to those states will be canceled. “
This has been going on for a long time.
While we’re surprised that Alienware had to take this step, the reasons why aren’t really new. I had researched this trail in 2018, after being told by two PC companies that the end was near in California due to regulations that had been passed in 2016. through hundreds of pages of California Energy Commission reports and meeting minutes. At first glance, it looked like California’s strict power regulations would end most desktop PC sales in California on July 1, 2019.
The truth, of course, has many more nuances. PPower regulators were primarily looking for ways to control the power use of PCs in idle mode, as a way to manage power use during the workday. Regulators were primarily targeting the typical compact or all-in-one PC seen in banks, hospitals, and businesses, not gaming PCs. However, in standard bureaucratic style, it’s not easy or clear to know which PC you’re targeting, unless you can understand Intel’s Expandability Score Calculation table below better than we can.
Power guidelines look at GPU memory bandwidth, power supply efficiency, and even the number of USB ports and other seemingly random PC parts, to calculate a score so complicated you have to use a sheet. calculation to find out.
Counterintuitively (or maybe it’s regulators giving component manufacturers an outlet), the more powerful a PC is, the more loopholes the power regulations give it, which is a good thing for PC enthusiasts. PC. Two large component suppliers told me they thought California energy regulators listened to concerned companies and created reasonable restrictions on the rules. Considering What some environmental groups pushed at the time (we can kindly call them the ‘Zero Watt Coalition’), regulations primarily dictate idle power consumption, not active use.
It would be easy to jump to a conclusion and assume that Alienware was only the first company to stop shipping gaming PCs to those states, and others will follow. But these six states have not necessarily banned “gaming PCs.” Alienware apparently met the standard on some models, but several don’t make the cut. The company will simply cancel orders for those customers who try to buy them.
When asked for additional information, Alienware officials told us: “Alienware has always been known to push the boundaries when it comes to innovation, performance, design and superior quality. We follow the laws of every city, state and country in which we do business and always strive to balance power and performance with energy efficiency. While our most powerful gaming systems are available in all 50 states, select configurations of the Alienware Aurora R10 and R12 are required not to be shipped to certain states due to recent California Energy Commission (CEC) Level 2 regulations. ) that came into force. on July 1, 2021. New models and configurations will meet or exceed these regulations, in line with our long-term approach to addressing energy and emissions. ”
What’s unclear to me is why Alienware didn’t have these particular systems ready to meet the stricter guidelines by July 1, but frankly, I can’t blame Alienware either. California’s attempt to regulate computer power consumption is pretty much all we’ve discovered expect from years of government training.
Gaming PCs Weren’t Banned – Not Then, Not Now
The good news is that on July 1, 2019, PC sales didn’t stop in those states. And on July 1, 2021, when the second tier came into effect, most gaming PCs weren’t banned, just some Alienwares.
BBut that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Politics (and it’s politics here, because bureaucrats can’t choose what their jobs are) dictates that pressure will continue to be put on the PC industry to build more efficient machines.
In an ideal world, the industry would solve the challenge without complicated regulation, because energy efficiency is one of the easiest ways to give you more performance today. However, this is not how politics works. As long as there are groups that ask for stricter regulations, there will be politicians who heed them. Desktop gaming PCs weren’t banned, but clearly this segment has a goal on its back.

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With another Christmas in the books and another year of impressive and popular technology gadgets making headlines, it is once again time to look ahead to what 2013 will bring us. Two of the most anticipated tech gadgets for next year are by far two new gaming consoles from both Microsoft and Sony. Even though there are still rumors and speculations revolving around when the new Xbox and PlayStation will hit shelves, it is certain that both companies have been very hard at work on their company newest console, keeping tabs on each other as well.
For Microsoft they are in the works of the next version of Xbox which they have tentatively called the Xbox 720. It appears the 720 will most likely be cheaper and smaller than the xbox 360, and will try to continue to promote its vastly popular Xbox Kinect device. When it comes to head to head comparisons for the 720 and the PlayStation 4, analysis have suggested that the Xbox 720 is being searched more than the PlayStation 4. As far as popularity index goes the 720 is at around 66% while the PlayStation 4 sits around 34% according to Seeking Alpha.
When it comes to the PlayStation 4 the new system will look to run even smoother if possible, with a new Sony dual setup. The dual setup will make the new system run smoother and enhance the graphics as well according to Examiner. Even though the release date is not set yet Industry analyst Michael Pachter believes that Sony will make sure not to launch their new system after Xbox already releases theirs.
After we get past the gaming console world, the smart phone world is the next gadget that will certainly take 2013 by storm, and the Blackberry 10 is on that list. Blackberry has not really been that much of a factor trying to compete with the likes of the iPhone or Samsung Galaxy SIII, but there has been much anticipated for the newest Blackberry phone set to hit the market next year.
Even though the company lost contracts with the US government over security and reliability issues with RIM products, they have an operating system that looks to rival its competitors now. With the new Blackberry QWERTY keyboard, and touch screen version of the phone the company hopes to get back into the top brand names for smartphones come January 2013.
To wrap things up for projected top gadgets for 2013 we head to the tablet world where the Microsoft Surface Pro and the iPad 5 have tons of fans in anticipation for their release. Let start with the tablet/notebook that is the Microsoft Surface Pro, the newest version to this device is the Windows 8 pro version of it which is set to release in early 2013. The new version will still all of those wonderful Windows 7 apps, along with this it will feature a 10.6 inch display that allows user to marvel large high-resolution displays according to CNET.
The device will have the power and system of a regular desktop or laptop computer, and with 64 bits it is a very top of the line tablet that has fans much anticipated for its release as well. This two pound device will come with a pen for those business minded individuals. Last but not least is the highly talked about and worldly anticipation of the iPad 5. The technology giant company of Apple never seems to ease up on producing products; with a heck of a year this year dishing out various new products, they now focus their attention to 2013 products.
At least one thing on the company list of new products will be the iPad 5.With much success from previous versions of the iPad including the most recent popular iPad mini, fans of Apple are eager to see what the iPad 5 will feature. The new iPad 5 is rumor to be release in March of 2013 which is the same time when the iPad 3 was released according to LA Times. Two generations of iPad’s later we have what is likely to the thinnest and lightest iPad of them all, with the iPad 5 being 2 millimeters thinner and 17 millimeters narrower, along with boasting a retina display.
2012 was a very competitive and successful year for technology gadgets; let’s see what 2013 has to offer.


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WNWN Food Labs gains major funding for scaling up cocoa-free chocolate
British-based WNWN Food Labs, a cocoa-free chocolate business has confirmed a key step in its development, after raising $5.6 million to enable scaling up of its operations, reports Neill Barston.
The company, which was among winners at our World Confectionery Awards last year, has gained strong momentum for the sustainability credentials for the business, which has been developed as a direct response to the sector’s major supply chain issues of child labour and deforestation.
WNWN has already released two cocoa-free chocolate products via direct-to-consumer channels to test its concept. Both its dark choc thins and Waim! bar, its take on the classic Daim bar, sold out immediately—a positive signal to future retail partners.
As the firm explained, the funding round was led by PeakBridge, a foodtech VC firm investing in innovative, scalable, climate- and health-focused companies with protectable technologies. The company is a core member of EIT Food, which reportedly invests globally in early-stage and Series A companies, having a long-term positive impact on food systems.
Food Labs extended its commitment with follow-on investment. The round also included participation from Geschwister Oetker Beteiligungen Group via its subsidiary Martin Braun-Gruppe, Mustard Seed Maze, PINC, Investbridge AgriTech, and HackCapital.
WNWN will use the investment to scale up manufacturing and add headcount as it prepares for a UK retail launch later in 2023.
“This blend of VCs gives us deep and strategic food tech experience to make a significant positive impact, and with PeakBridge’s partnership and team, we are well on our way to create a tastier, more ethical future of food,” said WNWN CEO Ahrum Pak. “This investment is also very timely given the new European ban on cocoa linked to deforestation, as WNWN can reduce the cocoa supply chain’s strain on the planet and on cocoa farmers entrenched in poverty.”
As we previously covered, the business employs a proprietary fermentation process to transform widely available plant-based ingredients like cereals and legumes to create cocoa-free choc that tastes, melts, snaps and bakes just like chocolate. Its formula is vegan, caffeine-free, gluten-free, palm oil-free, lower in sugar than comparable products, and safe for dogs since it contains no theobromine. Cocoa-free WNWN products produce 80% less carbon emissions than conventional chocolates, based on an internal lifecycle analysis.
“Ingredient innovations like WNWN’s are key to building a more resilient, equitable, sustainable food system, and this in turn opens the doors to other goals like responsible production and consumption,” said Erich Sieber, Founding Partner at PeakBridge. “Not only does WNWN‘s product have the potential to offer health benefits and address sustainability concerns, but it also opens up a world of exciting flavor possibilities. We are confident that WNWN will lead the charge in this category and are proud to be part of this journey.”
“This funding is a validation of our science and our ability to scale,” said WNWN CTO Dr. Johnny Drain. “With demand for chocolate said to be increasing year over year, conventional supply chains can’t keep up, at least not at the expense of the planet and human dignity.”
Since the product launches the company has taken on a new facility that increased its production space eightfold. With its expansion, WNWN has begun supplying partners with ingredients and finished products for projects like curated gifts and high-end restaurants and bars.


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A game about drink games, drinking games, and drinking games is finally coming to Fortnose, Fortnites creator Tim Schafer announced this week.
The free-to-play game was originally announced in February, and now has a full launch.
It’ll be available to play from today through September 11.
Schafer also says that there are no plans to charge players.
The game’s creator says it’s aiming to make Fortnits drinking games “fun, entertaining, and accessible.”


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Conventions and Incentives New Zealand (CINZ) is welcoming a $10m funding boost for development of the Māori tourism sector announced in the 2017 Budget.
“For the business tourism sector, Māori culture is what sets New Zealand apart on the world stage,” CINZ Chief Executive Sue Sullivan says. “We applaud the work of NZ Māori Tourism, and the support from the government for Māori-led initiatives to build the capability and capacity of Māori tourism operators throughout New Zealand … From the welcoming experience to the hospitality, our culture creates a strong sense of place for people visiting New Zealand for business events. This is a real point of difference … We are excited about the growth in emerging Māori tourism experiences, cultural quality and authenticity bringing this into the business events sector. The opportunities are significant and, with the support of NZ Māori Tourism, we are looking to further develop the current product offering.”
New Zealand’s unique Māori cultural experiences and Māori tourism products will be on show to 500 buyers at the country’s largest business events exhibition, CINZ MEETINGS 2017 in Auckland next week.


text: Around 900,000 Honda Odyssey minivans have been recalled due to faulty second-row seats. According to Honda, the second-row seats in certain 2011 to 2017 model year Odysseys may not be properly fastened and could tip forward. The problem has been linked to 46 reports of minor injuries, the Japanese automaker said. Around 800,000 of the vans are in the United States, with an undisclosed amount in Canada and Mexico. Around 2,000 of the vans are located outside of North America.


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LONDON -- Britain and France agreed on plans for a small European rapid-reaction force to spearhead United Nations peacekeeping missions. But at a meeting of their two leaders Monday it was clear that differences over Iraq and the broader issue of how to organize European defense remain.
For most of this year, the two countries have been at loggerheads over the U.S.-led war in Iraq, which the United Kingdom staunchly supported and the French vocally opposed. Monday's summit between U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac appeared to be aimed at repairing some of the damage sustained by the two countries' relationship. Mr. Blair likes to talk about the U.K.'s role as a bridge between Europe and the U.S., and Mr. Chirac's visit came just three days after U.S. President George W. Bush concluded a state visit to the U.K.
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A group of companies across the global food supply chain has announced a blockchain collaboration with IBM, intended to further strengthen consumer confidence in the global food system.
The consortium includes Dole, Driscoll’s, Golden State Foods, Kroger, McCormick and Company, McLane Company, Nestlé, Tyson Foods, Unilever and Walmart, who will work with IBM to identify new areas where the global supply chain can benefit from blockchain.
Every year, one-in-ten people fall ill and 400,000 die due to contaminated food. Many of the critical issues impacting food safety such as cross-contamination, the spread of food-borne illness, unnecessary waste and the economic burden of recalls are magnified by lack of access to information and traceability. It can take weeks to identify the precise point of contamination, causing further illness, lost revenue and wasted product. For example, it took more than two months to identify the farm source of contamination in a recent incidence of salmonella in papayas.
Blockchain is ideally suited to help address these challenges because it establishes a trusted environment for all transactions. In the case of the global food supply chain, all participants growers, suppliers, processors, distributors, retailers, regulators and consumers can gain permissioned access to known and trusted information regarding the origin and state of food for their transactions. This can enable food providers and other members of the ecosystem to use a blockchain network to trace contaminated product to its source in a short amount of time to ensure safe removal from store shelves
and stem the spread of illnesses.
Dole, Driscoll’s, Golden State Foods, Kroger, McCormick and Company, McLane Company, Nestlé, Tyson Foods, Unilever, Walmart and others are now coming together with IBM to further champion blockchain as an enabling technology for the food sector. Together they will help identify and prioritize new areas where blockchain can benefit food ecosystems and inform new IBM solutions. This work will draw on multiple IBM pilots and production networks in related areas that successfully demonstrate ways in which blockchain can positively impact global food traceability.
“Unlike any technology before it, blockchain is transforming the way like-minded organizations come together and enabling a new level of trust based on a single view of the truth,” said Marie Wieck, general manager, IBM Blockchain. “Our work with organizations across the food ecosystem, as well as IBM’s new platform, will further unleash the vast potential of this exciting technology, making it faster for organizations of all sizes and in all industries to move from concept to production to improve the way business gets done.”
New IBM Blockchain Platform
Beyond food supply chain applications, blockchains are now being used to transform processes and streamline transactions for everything from flowers, real estate and trade finance, to education, insurance and medical services.
To accelerate this adoption, IBM is introducing the first fully integrated, enterprise-grade production blockchain platform, as well as consulting services, that will allow more organizations to quickly activate their own business networks and access the vital capabilities needed to successfully develop, operate, govern and secure these networks. The IBM Blockchain Platform is available via the IBM Cloud.
The platform builds off of the successful blockchain work IBM has delivered to more than 400 organizations, incorporating insights gained as IBM has built blockchain networks across industries including financial services, supply chain and logistics, retail, government and health care.
Extensively tested and piloted, the platform addresses a wide range of enterprise pain points, including both business and technical requirements around security, performance, collaboration and privacy that no other blockchain platform delivers today. It includes innovation developed through open source collaboration in the Hyperledger community, including the newest Hyperledger Fabric v1.0 framework and Hyperledger Composer blockchain tool, both hosted by the Linux Foundation.
The integrated platform allows multiple parties to jointly develop, govern, operate and secure blockchain networks to help enterprises accelerate blockchain adoption.
Features of the IBM Blockchain Platform include:
- Govern – The platform offers all participating members a level of control, while preventing any one member from having exclusive control. A new class of democratic governance tools is designed to help improve productivity across the organizations using a voting process that collects signatures from members to govern member invitation distribution of smart contracts and creation of transactions channels. By quickly onboarding participants, assigning roles and managing access, organizations can begin transacting via the blockchain.
- Operate –The platform is underpinned by an architecture that operates more than 55% of today’s global transactional systems.*** It is the first offering available to allow updates to be made to the network while it is running without any downtime. Running in the IBM Cloud, it offers unique protection from insider credential abuse, protection from malware and hardware encryption key protection. IBM Blockchain Platform provides the highest-level commercially available tamper resistant FIPS140-2 level 4 protection for encryption keys. IBM cannot access the blockchain ecosystem’s encrypted data, even under court order.
In addition to food safety, IBM is advancing other blockchain supply chain initiatives using the IBM Blockchain Platform for an automated billing and invoicing system. Initial work to use blockchain for invoicing is underway starting with Lenovo. This will provide an audit-ready solution with full traceability of billing and operational data, and help speed on-boarding time for new vendors and new contract requirements.
To complement the new platform, IBM Global Business Services offers Blockchain Services, which brings deep industry expertise from its 1,600 blockchain consultants who have helped clients deploy and integrate active networks. These consultants can apply design thinking to help enterprises conceptualize and implement blockchain enabled business models to realize optimal value. For example, during recent blockchain projects with major shipping and retail organizations, IBM consultants have been able to improve food safety traceability by 99.9 percent and decrease trade document workflow by 97percent, potentially unlocking millions of dollars in cost savings and market capital.
The IBM Blockchain Platform offers a range of pricing options, starting at $0.50 per hour, to support rapid adoption for networks of all sizes. To support blockchain ecosystems among different organizations, the cost of the network can be shared across all network members.
Strengthening Trust Across the Global Food Supply Ecosystem
In parallel trials in China and the U.S., IBM and Walmart recently demonstrated that blockchain can be used to track a product from the farm through every stage of the supply chain, right to the retail shelf, in seconds instead of days or weeks.
These trials also demonstrated that stakeholders throughout the global food supply chain view food safety as a collaborative issue, rather than a competitive one, and are willing to work together to improve the food system for everyone.
“As an advocate for greater transparency in the food system to benefit customers, Walmart looks forward to expanding on our initial work by collaborating with others to accelerate exploration on how this technology can be used as a more effective food traceability and food safety tool,” said Frank Yiannas, vice president, food safety, Walmart. “Blockchain technology enables a new era of end-to-end transparency in the global food system – equivalent to shining a light on food ecosystem participants that will further promote responsible actions and behaviors. It also allows all participants to share information rapidly and with confidence across a strong trusted network. This is critical to ensuring that the global food system remains safe for all.”
“IBM has deep experience and a commitment to business processing and security needs, which are exactly the skill sets needed to bring blockchain to full maturity for food safety and all associated transactions,” said Guilda Javaheri, chief technology officer. As a customer and partner with IBM for more than forty years, Golden State Foods is pleased to collaborate with IBM and this group of trusted food companies.”
“Safety is a key value for Kroger, and our partnership with IBM positions us to explore and test blockchain technology as a solution for enhanced food safety across our business,” said Howard Popoola, Kroger’s vice president of Corporate Food Technology and Regulatory Compliance. “Food safety is a universal priority for food retailers and companies. It’s not a competitive advantage; it benefits our customers to have greater transparency and traceability in the supply chain.”
“We’re excited about the possibilities that come with this technology and are glad to collaborate with IBM and others,” said Scott Stillwell, Ph.D., senior vice president of food safety and quality assurance for Tyson Foods. “Producing safe food is critical to our business; it appears blockchain can help provide trust not only about the origin of food, but also about how that food moved through the supply chain.”
Expanding the Blockchain Ecosystem Across Academia and the Start Up Community
To help meet the increasing demand for a skilled technical workforce trained in blockchain, IBM is making available a wide range of resources including software, training and professional partnerships free of charge to more than 1,000 universities in the IBM Academic Initiative. Offerings include six months of access to the IBM Cloud for use of the IBM Blockchain cloud sandbox to help students hone development skills.
IBM is also working with select universities including Baruch College/CUNY, Fordham University, University of Arkansas, University at Buffalo and University of British Columbia to fund research grants, develop customized curricula and host workshops and hackathons. For technologists who want more in-depth guidance, IBM has refreshed its blockchain training and educational materials on developerWorks for Hyperledger Fabric 1.0.
As interest in Hyperledger Fabric continues to grow, IBM is also working with other companies such as Boldstart Ventures, to provide support and resources that broaden access. Boldstart Ventures has launched Fabric Foundry, the first accelerator dedicated to this framework, to foster adoption.
Revealing the real cost of ‘free’ online services
A free service by Finnish cybersecurity provider F-Secure reveals the real cost of using “free” services by Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon, among others.
What do Google, Facebook, and Amazon have in common? Privacy and identity scandals. From Cambridge Analytica to Google’s vulnerability in Google+, the amount of personal data sitting on these platforms is enormous.
Cybersecurity provider F-Secure has released a free online tool that helps expose the true cost of using some of the web’s most popular free services. And that cost is the abundance of data that has been collected about users by Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon Alexa, Twitter, and Snapchat. The good news is that you can take back your data “gold”.
F-Secure Data Discovery Portal sends users directly to the often hard-to-locate resources provided by each of these tech giants that allow users to review their data, securely and privately.
“What you do with the data collection is entirely between you and the service,” says Erka Koivunen, F-Secure Chief Information Security Officer. “We don’t see – and don’t want to see – your settings or your data. Our only goal is to help you find out how much of your information is out there.”
More than half of adult Facebook users, 54%, adjusted how they use the site in the wake of the scandal that revealed Cambridge Analytica had collected data without users’ permission.* But the biggest social network in the world continues to grow, reporting 2.3 billion monthly users at the end of 2018.**
“You often hear, ‘if you’re not paying, you’re the product.’ But your data is an asset to any company, whether you’re paying for a product or not,” says Koivunen. “Data enables tech companies to sell billions in ads and products, building some of the biggest businesses in the history of money.”
F-Secure is offering the tool as part of the company’s growing focus on identity protection that secures consumers before, during, and after data breaches. By spreading awareness of the potential costs of these “free” services, the Data Discovery Portal aims to make users aware that securing their data and identity is more important than ever.
A recent F-Secure survey found that 54% of internet users over 25 worry about someone hacking into their social media accounts.*** Data is only as secure as the networks of the companies that collect it, and the passwords and tactics used to protect our accounts. While the settings these sites offer are useful, they cannot eliminate the collection of data.
Koivunen says: “While consumers effectively volunteer this information, they should know the privacy and security implications of building accounts that hold more potential insight about our identities than we could possibly share with our family. All of that information could be available to a hacker through a breach or an account takeover.”
However, there is no silver bullet for users when it comes to permanently locking down security or hiding it from the services they choose to use.
“Default privacy settings are typically quite loose, whether you’re using a social network, apps, browsers or any service,” says Koivunen. “Review your settings now, if you haven’t already, and periodically afterwards. And no matter what you can do, nothing stops these companies from knowing what you’re doing when you’re logged into their services.”
***Source: F-Secure Identity Protection Consumer (B2C) Survey, May 2019, conducted in cooperation with survey partner Toluna, 9 countries (USA, UK, Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Brazil, Finland, Sweden, and Japan), 400 respondents per country = 3600 respondents (+25years)
WhatsApp comes to KaiOS
By the end of September, WhatsApp will be pre-installed on all phones running the KaiOS operating system, which turns feature phones into smart phones. The announcement was made yesterday by KaiOS Technologies, maker of the KaiOS mobile operating system for smart feature phones, and Facebook. WhatsApp is also available for download in the KaiStore, on both 512MB and 256MB RAM devices.
“KaiOS has been a critical partner in helping us bring private messaging to smart feature phones around the world,” said Matt Idema, COO of WhatsApp. “Providing WhatsApp on KaiOS helps bridge the digital gap to connect friends and family in a simple, reliable and secure way.”
WhatsApp is a messaging tool used by more than 1.5 billion people worldwide who need a simple, reliable and secure way to communicate with friends and family. Users can use calling and messaging capabilities with end-to-end encryption that keeps correspondence private and secure.
WhatsApp was first launched on the KaiOS-powered JioPhone in India in September of 2018. Now, with the broad release, the app is expected to reach millions of new users across Africa, Europe, North America, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
“We’re thrilled to bring WhatsApp to the KaiOS platform and extend such an important means of communication to a brand new demographic,” said Sebastien Codeville, CEO of KaiOS Technologies. “We strive to make the internet and digital services accessible for everyone and offering WhatsApp on affordable smart feature phones is a giant leap towards this goal. We can’t wait to see the next billion users connect in meaningful ways with their loved ones, communities, and others across the globe.”
KaiOS-powered smart feature phones are a new category of mobile devices that combine the affordability of a feature phone with the essential features of a smartphone. They meet a growing demand for affordable devices from people living across Africa – and other emerging markets – who are not currently online.
WhatsApp is now available for download from KaiStore, an app store specifically designed for KaiOS-powered devices and home to the world’s most popular apps, including the Google Assistant, YouTube, Facebook, Google Maps and Twitter. Apps in the KaiStore are customised to minimise data usage and maximise user experience for smart feature phone users.
KaiOS currently powers more than 100 million devices shipped worldwide, in over 100 countries. The platform enables a new category of devices that require limited memory, while still offering a rich user experience.
* For more details, visit: Meet The Devices That Are Powered by KaiOS
* Also read Arthur Goldstuck’s story, Smart feature phones spell KaiOS


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Stephen Simpson, CFA
Stephen Simpson, CFA
Stephen Simpson, CFA
Wed, Jun. 29, 10:53 AM
- "We believe that Weyerhaeuser's (WY +4.2%) primarily domestic focused business will allow fundamentals to stay well-insulated from the outside noise," says D.A. Davidson, upgrading to Buy from Neutral following the stock's Brexit-related drop.
- The $33 price target suggests near-20% upside from yesterday's close.
- Investing in WY is essentially a play on the domestic housing recovery and American timberland as an asset class, says the team, and thus relatively uncorrelated with what's happening across the pond.
- Should the U.S. economy slow down, it means lower interest rates, which should make WY's 4.3% dividend especially attractive.
Mon, May 9, 3:36 PM
- Weyerhaeuser (WY -2.1%) is downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a $33 price target, trimmed from $34, at DA Davidson, following Q1 earnings that topped analyst estimates while revenues came in below expectations.
- Davidson says the main source of the variance was share count, as it used anticipated shares outstanding at quarter-end while WY used the weighted average shares outstanding, which was substantially lower; assumptions on share count could factor in variance again in Q2, although to a smaller magnitude, the firm says.
- The firm cautions that it would take a minimum of a full quarter to be able to better calibrate WY's acquisition of Plum Creek, and estimates were likely to be revised down at that time.
- Davidson now expects WY to post full-year EPS of $0.62 in 2016 and $0.99 in 2017, down from a respective $1.03 and $1.25 previously.
- Now read Weyerhauser: The stars are aligning
Dec. 7, 2015, 5:40 PM
Nov. 9, 2015, 9:06 AM
- The two companies are currently holding a joint conference call to discuss the deal with investors and analysts.
- Webcast and presentation slides
- WY -5.35% to $28.84 and PCL +13.6% to $45.75 premarket.
- The deal is expected to close late in Q1 or early in Q2, and the merged company's 13-member board will have eight from WY and five from PCL. The $1.24 per share annual dividend is maintained for WY holders, but represents a 13% increase for PCL owners. FAD per share accretion is expected in year one.
- The merger is not contingent on WY's ongoing strategic alternatives review of its cellulose fibers business. Options are still business as usual, or a sale/spin of the unit.
- Previously: Weyerhaeuser acquiring Plum Creek to make $23B timber giant (Nov. 8)
Apr. 25, 2014, 11:42 AM
- Timberlands segment net sales of $377M up from $364M in Q4, with contribution to pre-tax earnings of $164M up from $134M. The Q2 outlook is for comparable earnings as boosted Chinese export log sales will be more than offset by lower average prices.
- Wood Products segment net sales of $898M fell from $926M in Q4, with contribution to pre-tax earnings of $64M up from $58M, "despite the effect of the severe winter weather." The Q2 outlook is for significantly higher earnings thanks to seasonally higher sales across all product lines and slightly higher prices for OSB and engineered wood products.
- Cellulose Fibers segment net sales of $461M vs. $478M in Q4. Q2 outlook is for significantly higher earnings.
- Real Estate net sales of $248M down from $488M due to seasonal issues.
- Previously: Weyerhaeuser EPS beats, revenue misses
- WY +1.7%
Aug. 20, 2013, 9:07 AM
May 14, 2013, 8:35 AM
Aug. 27, 2012, 1:27 PM
Weyerhaeuser (WY +1%) gets a bump higher after BMO upped the shares to Market Perform earlier today, speculating that surging lumber and panel prices should give a boost to its bottom line and prompt the company to pay out larger cash distributions in 2013 and 2014. Barron's also highlighted the company over the weekend, noting that signs of a housing rebound are likely to lift the shares.| Aug. 27, 2012, 1:27 PM | 1 Comment
Feb. 6, 2012, 12:13 PM
Feb. 3, 2012, 10:47 AM
Weyerhaeuser (WY +4.2%) trades up in relief after its Q4 beats consensus estimates despite a 62% Y/Y drop in earnings on slowing sales and write-downs. Wood products - the company's biggest segment by sales - saw revenue decline 14% Q/Q, while its loss from continuing operations also widened sequentially, but the hit was not as great as anticipated.| Feb. 3, 2012, 10:47 AM
Jun. 27, 2011, 12:49 PM
Universal Forest Products (UFPI -11.7%)) drops to a new 52-week low after saying sales through May were worse than expected, and demand will be weak for the remainder of FY11. As a result, it plans to cut costs through layoffs and reduced spending.| Jun. 27, 2011, 12:49 PM
Jun. 7, 2011, 2:52 PM
International Paper (IP +1.1%) and Temple-Inland (TIN +42.3%) are in focus after IP's $30.60/share bid was rejected despite being a 46% premium to Monday's closing price. Other packaging and paper stocks rally on calls from bullish analysts that the industry is heading for consolidation: PKG +6.9%, WY +6.2%, BZ +5.6%, KS +4.3%, RKT +3.1%.| Jun. 7, 2011, 2:52 PM
May 27, 2011, 9:26 AM
Weyerhauser (WY) -3.4% premarket after shares are downgraded to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank, citing mounting evidence of a downward correction in West Coast log markets. "The stock has been heavily promoted in recent months by 'timber bulls' and driven by the big gains in Chinese export volumes," setting up shares for a pullback.| May 27, 2011, 9:26 AM


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The entertainment industry has been terribly crippled by the measures put in place in the hope to flatten the curve and stop the spread of Covid-19. This has resulted in players seeking alternative career paths. Whether it means leaving their flamboyant lifestyles behind and doing odd jobs, our local celebs are not shying away from getting their hands dirty.
H_art The Band
The talented boy band has had to contend with numerous cancellations of shows since the pandemic was declared. However, in order to manage their dwindling funds, they quickly resulted in other skills that were hardly known to most of their fans. Kenchez Muya, a fitness enthusiast has been putting his craftsmanship skills to proper use by making fine wood products.
“I love attention to detail and I have actually acquired a few orders,” he reveals. His bandmates have not been left behind with lead vocalist Mordecai Dex shifting his focus to fashion while poet Skoko is currently trying his hand in growing horticultural products in a greenhouse they have erected. ’We all have natural talents, which are transferable and can be monetized. However, we are still making more music for our fans, but a lucrative side hustle comes in handy,” he said. Deejay Leqs
Alex Gatheru, popularly known as Deejay Leqs, Kaka Empire’s resident deejay has stepped aside from the decks to pursue farming.
“It’s time the youth make the best of their side hustles without fear of being trolled on social media. Ukulima sio ushamba. As long as it pays, I will continue doing it,” he said during our interview. “You can only be afraid of losing yourself by trying to please everyone around you by posting lovely pictures. I now use my page to market my farm products.”
Deejay Lisney who was one of the top and most sort after female deejay’s in the country recounts how the corona affected her deejaying career. She nevertheless says that doing business has always been her cup of tea, which gladly shares with her social media fanbase.
“I now run Lisney’s Beauty World since my events company Elite Sound was greatly affected. We’ve had to shut down one outlet as clients opt to purchase our products online. I use digital marketing as my social fanbase has really grown wide and it gets me relating with my clients on a personal level,” she revealed.
The Leo Ni kutesa hitmaker has been on a roll and currently riding the airwaves with her hit releases.
However, the pandemic contributed to the cancellation of her shows and scheduled tour abroad. The founder of Financial Discipline journey has nonetheless started her own business venture under her Mwihoko Fashions outfit and is currently making personal sales, deliveries and installation of wallpapers.
He is a talented deejay with numerous skills. He was once a dancer and even choreographed for Madtraxx’ music videos before settling for the decks. However, with no gigs coming, the Daqchild has switched gears to chicken farming.
“You cannot survive in the city without any money thus I was left with no option but to get my hands dirty in order to feed my family,” he said.
The Masters degree holder is a talented jack of all trades. From trying his hand on music to offering university lectures, HD, as he’s known in the music circles, surprised many with his superb culinary skills, which he now broadcasts on his social pages.
As his numbers grew thanks to curious fans and food lovers, so did corporate sponsors who wanted to have him use their products.
“It doesn’t matter when the money trickles in, especially during these financially challenging times,” he opined.
Crème De La Crème
Sensing that life may get a bit bumpy, the celebrated deejay-cum-music producer relocated with his family to Kericho where he says life would be more affordable as compared to the city where gigs were hard to come by. With his Esko Clothing Apparel still doing well with online sales, George Njuguna as he’s natively known, also got into selling animal pharmaceuticals from his fathers’ shop in the county.
“I’m definitely going into business, but before it all shapes up why not offer a helping hand where available and make a coin to feed my family. You move different when you want different. Besides, it’s all money.” Deejay Double Trouble
The Ghetto Radio deejay surprised many when he was spotted with a team comprising of doctors from Ruai Family Health. He then confirmed he would be taking up a marketing role in the health facility.
“The money we are getting from regular jobs cannot match the lifestyle we desire, especially now that entertainment spots have been shut. I decided to take up the job to increase my financial inflow,” he revealed.
He has been in the industry for a long time and his entrepreneurial skills have elevated him to his status. In preparation for his fourth album launch in October, the legendary hip-hop artist has been selling his branded merchandise. These include his personalised t-shirts, bags, branded cups and caps - sometimes, he even does his own deliveries.
The deejay has had a fairly successful career journey playing for various local stations and party gigs across the country. Until he went solo, he was the start up deejay occasionally opening the set for deejay Crème De La Crème. However, he has recently joined the construction industry with pictures of him painting an unfinished house sparking conversation on social media.
“There’s nothing else to do since there have been no gigs for the last eight months, it’s why I decided to get into construction to earn my daily bread until everything normalizes,” he said.
Having left a well-paying job as a bank clerk, the self-made deejay banked on the lucrative career as a deejay. He has managed to rise through industry ranks to emerge as one of the most popular deejays in the social scene. However, since no gigs have been coming by, he ended up organizing tours and travels for outdoor events to make an extra coin.
“So far it has been paying my bills since most revellers are stuck at home and need space to unwind. I’ve started my tours firm that also specialises with outdoor events.”
After exchanging nuptials with her long term partner, singer Dela and hubby Dr Reign have also ventured into a lucrative venture of producing and selling chilli sauce for your barbecue and domestic consumption. The sauce known as Mzee Mchomee has been retailing locally and has had numerous endorsements by local celebrities besides sponsoring an online podcast show dubbed, Hot Wings.
“It comes in different mouth watering flavours and is highly recommended for all meals. Some come as extremely hot, but very palatable too,” they assured.
Owago is among celebrated and talented comedians who have openly admitted to be pushed against the wall since social gatherings were banned. As a result most of them have opted for virtual entertainment but for Owago, virtual entertainment could not sustain his family. His passion for cooking was his fallback plan something, which has seen him rise rather quickly securing him two great ambassadorial deals. “There is a gig we were supposed to do with Rayvanny in Eldoret, the sponsors were already out. Then Covid came”…..he said. “For the cooking business it was out of passion, but due to Covid it turned into business,” He told Pulse.
Owago has signed two endorsements with Farmers Choice Limited and Peptang Ke.


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collected by :Clara William
The Apple ‘s iPhone 8 will not be available in white, according to a report on Wednesday.
The well-connected Japanese blog Macotakara says it’s “not possible” to produce the device in white, but didn’t get into specifics as to why.
Whether that means no all-white handset, or none of the current rose gold, silver or gold shades with white faces, is unclear.
Related: iPhone 8Macotakara also weighed in on more of the heavily-speculated features, believing it unlikely Apple sticks with the status quo and keeps Touch ID within a power button.
MPU 1 (Desktop / Tablet)The question is whether Apple fans, who’ve been waiting for a fresh take on the handset since the iPhone 6 launched in 2014, will care if the device takes another couple of months.
Apple’s iPhone supplier Foxconn can get very big tax deal for america plant
It was unclear how the funding for the deal would be spread among the state, federal and local governments.
More: ‘Big, big, big’: Trump tells paper Apple has plans for 3 U.S. plantsMore: Apple iPhone supplier Foxconn may bring plant, 10,000 jobs to WisconsinReeling in the company would take big bucks.
Tyson Cook, who tracks air emissions for the Clean Wisconsin, said his group — for now — is not commenting on the Foxconn situation.
A fifth source said the deal at one point was expected to be worth $3 billion but had come down since then.
Company officials have talked about a massive investment in the United States that would create thousands of jobs.


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Filed in Ports
Saturday, August 01, 2015
On the heels of the labor disruptions on the U.S. West Coast in late 2014 and early 2015, as well as less dramatic port congestion issues in Europe and Asia, delays to containerized cargo movement have been the subject of many of our news stories and features over the last year—and understandably so.
Friday, July 31, 2015
While many industry analysts contend that distribution centers near U.S. East Coast ports will see a surge of new business after the Panama Canal expansion, real estate experts say this phenomena is already underway.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
The three California port directors who faced the wrath of shippers at the annual meeting of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC) in San Francisco late last June, surprised many with their candor and heartfelt mea culpas.
Posted on 07/29 at 07:48 AM
Ocean Cargo •
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Last week, more than 100 business groups, which included transportation and logistics providers and other supply chain concerns, penned a letter to U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune, heralding the approval of the Ports Performance Act by the Committee.
While organized labor has yet to weigh in on Executive Order B-32-15, leaders should recognize that California's complex freight transportation system is responsible for one-third of the state's economy and jobs, with freight-dependent industries accounting for over $700 billion in revenue and over 5 million jobs.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
New evidence that U.S. West Coast ports are losing market share to ports in the East and some Gulf regions surfaced in a new report issued by Zepol, a global trade and intelligence provider.
Posted on 07/16 at 08:10 AM
Global Trade •
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
In a development certain to resonate with logistics managers, the Federal Maritime Commission has just released a report entitled U.S. Container Port Congestion & Related International Supply Chain Issues: Causes, Consequences & Challenges.
Wednesday, July 01, 2015
With the expansion of the canal scheduled for early 2016, many shippers are hoping that ocean cargo efficiency will be greatly enhanced. However, experts are of mixed minds on whether this will indeed be the panacea all industry stakeholders are seeking.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Oakland handled 213,260 cargo containers last month. That was the most since it reported volume of 216,276 containers in August 2011.
View all categories and topics
Thursday, June 04, 2015
As the Port of Houston and other Gulf cargo gateways recover from last months big storm, Hurricane specialists have identified the most vulnerable regions in the nation’s supply chain.


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RadioShack and Target Break Up
RadioShack today announced that it has disolved its business relationship with Target. RadioShack has helped Target manage its post-paid mobile business in more than 1,500 stores for years. The two companies have been renegotiating their contract since October 2012, but have been unable to agree to new terms that both firms find satisfactory. The split, which RadioShack calls "amicable," will take place April 8, 2013. This only affects Target's post-paid business, and not its prepaid and mobile accessory businesses.
Target Adds Mobile Payment Feature to its App
Target today made it possible for people to make in-store payments with their smartphones through the Target mobile app. Similar to Walmart’s offering, shoppers can link their debit cart to the new Wallet function within the Target app.
Judge Approves Sale of RadioShack Stores
A U.S. judge has given RadioShack permission to sell its 1,740 stores to Standard General, a hedge fund that plans to operate the stores with Sprint.
LeEco Selling the Pro3 and S3 Through Target
LeEco has struck a distribution deal with Target and is now selling its Pro3 (pictured) and S3 handsets via Target's web site. The two phones are available online for $400 and $250, respectively, and are sold unlocked.
RadioShack Declares Bankruptcy, to Sell Stores to Sprint
RadioShack today filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and signed an agreement to sell approximately 1,750 of its stores to Sprint. Under the terms of RadioShack's Chapter 11 filing, RadioShack will sell the stores to Sprint and General Wireless, a subsidiary of one of RadioShack's major investors.
Google Assistant On Phones to Gain Voice-Based Shopping
Google today expanded the scale of its Google Express service with the addition of Target stores nationwide. Starting immediately, people who live in the 48 contiguous states can ask Google Assistant on the Google Home product to purchase items from Target.
So long Radioshack.
Target Mobile isnt goin anywhere tho!


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Spotify has expanded video podcast creation to six new countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, and Mexico, allowing podcast creators to embed video off-platform in the same way that YouTube videos can.
After introducing these tools to creators in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom in April.
This marks the first time the audio streaming company is making this feature available in non-English speaking countries.
This rollout also included monetization tools like subscriptions and engagement features like Q&A.
“These are markets with especially strong podcast creator communities that have shown a healthy appetite for new ways to create and experience podcasts. Video-native podcasters will now have access to Spotify’s audience around the world, while audio-native podcasters will be able to start experimenting with video and deliver content that their listeners can engage with more deeply,” the firm said in a statement.
Spotify has been heavily focusing on podcasting to make it a commercial success after spending more than $1 billion on related acquisitions.
“Just as we have built a suite of innovative creation tools for podcasters, and we’re now doing the same for video content. Video podcasts are a historically underutilized medium, but one has the potential to grow by unlocking a new way to help audiences engage with their favorite podcasts. Video podcasts allow listeners to feel more connected to the creators behind their favorite shows, whether they’re listening on audio-only or watching the video, or even toggling between the two,” the company said.
Daniel Ek, CEO of Spotify, said while the company is in investment mode for podcasts, it believes the vertical has potential for a 40-50 percent gross margin.
It also launched a test in New Zealand to allow users to record and publish a podcast clip directly from the Spotify app without any additional tools.


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PSYCHOLOGY TODAY - July 28 - Past studies have indicated that while brains boost men's attractiveness, they can be detrimental to a woman's allure. However, a new study indicates that on Tinder, men are not deterred by a woman's intelligence. Two researchers from Belgium conducted an experiment on Tinder. They created 24 profiles and randomly assigned each to one of four different education/pay levels. Based on 3,600 swipes, the researchers replicated past findings that women prefer more educated men. However, they failed to replicate the findings that men reject more educated women. Interestingly, they also did not replicate prior findings that people partner with those with a similar education level.
DAILYMAIL.CO.UK - July 27 - Tinder gathered data from Australian users to determine which star signs receive the most swipes right. A Scorpio woman is the most appealing. A Scorpio woman is fiery and will challenge her significant other to express himself in a deeper way. For those seeking a male partner, reliability and stability were the prevailing characteristics. The Taurean man came out on top.
TECH CRUNCH - July 24 - Users who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer on Tinder will no longer automatically appear on the app when they arrive in an oppressive state. This feature, called Traveler Alert, relies on users' phone network connection to determine its location. From there it will give users the choice to keep their location private. If users opt-in to make their profile public again, Tinder will hide their sexual orientation or gender identity from their profile to safeguard the information from law enforcement and others who may target them. There are 69 countries that consider same-sex acts illegal. Nine of the countries, including Iran, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia allow for prosecutors to pursue the death penalty against same-sex acts and relationships.
PCMAG - July 20 - A new survey from HighSpeedInternet.com reveals that more than half of Americans (55%) have had a serious relationship from a dating app. 27% of survey respondents admitted using a dating app while in a relationship. Moreover, one-third said they don't even consider swiping on Tinder while in a relationship to be cheating.
INVESTORS - July 19 - Match Group shares jumped 4.8% to 76.68 on the stock market today. The Match stock rally comes as the company reportedly explores new ways to monetize the Tinder app, possibly by bypassing the Google Play store on mobile devices. Match/Tinder is among the largest payers of app store commissions in the world. Federal regulators are reportedly looking into the Google and Apple online store policies.
BLOOMBERG - July 19 - Tinder joined a growing backlash against app store taxes by bypassing Google Play in a move that could shake up the billion-dollar industry dominated by Google and Apple. Tinder now skips Google Play and forces users to enter their credit card details straight into Tinder's app. Once a user has entered their payment information, the app not only remembers it, but also removes the choice to swap back to Google Play for future purchases.
INDEPENDENT.CO.UK - July 18 - Tinder has dealt with accusations of banning transgender and non-binary users from the platform for years, with little controversy or backlash resulting among its 50M users. Transgender users have frequently spoken out about the issue, however. One woman sued Tinder last year after her account was removed shortly after including in her bio that she was a "preop trans woman." Several others said they had also been banned from the platform without any sort of recourse. Tinder released the following statement in 2017: "We stand behind our pledge to make sure no one is ever removed from Tinder simply because of their gender."
OPW - July 16 - Ten years ago I tried an experiment doing video news updates from locations like Prague and Venice. They were a lot of work, and and way too long really. I think 2-3 minutes is about all the time you have, so here's a new experiment. Two Minute Tuesday News Updates. Please let me know your thoughts.
TECH2 - July 11 - WhatsApp in India prohibits promotional content, restricts mass distribution of brand messages. Big brands like Zomato, McDonald's, Reebok, Tinder, among others are reportedly using branded GIFs and stickers to push ads on WhatsApp.
LA MAGAZINE - July 12 - Erin Gallagher was swiping on Bumble when a picture of her longtime crush, Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, popped up. It seemed too good to be true but she noticed the blue check verification next to his name, so it had to be him. Erin swiped right and, to her surprise, it was a match. Erin had fallen for an expertly executed promotion. So is it ethical of a celeb to dangle a dating carrot in front of women on Bumble Date without the intention of actually dating? Tinder has taken heat in the past for promotions using celebrities.
CNBC - July 12 - Tinder's position as an influential brand among young adults can help it withstand competition from Facebook, said Elie Seidman, CEO of Tinder. "I like our position. We're going to stay very focused on what we're good at," he said.
VOX - July 11 - In 2000, psychologists Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper wrote a paper on the paradox of choice - the concept that having too many options can lead to decision paralysis. Seventeen years later, two Stanford classmates, Sophia Sterling-Angus and Liam McGregor, landed on a similar concept while taking an economics class on market design. "Tinder's huge innovation was that they eliminated rejection, but they introduced massive search costs," McGregor explained. "People increase their bar because there's this artificial belief of endless options." Sterling-Angus and McGregor had an idea: What if, rather than presenting people with a limitless array of attractive photos, they radically shrank the dating pool? What if they gave people one match based on core values (based on complex compatibility questions), rather than attraction? Their study called "Marriage Pact" focused on matching people with their perfect "backup plan" - the person they could marry later on if they didn't meet anyone else. It quickly became a viral phenomenon on campus. They've run the experiment two years in a row, and last year, 7,600 students participated: 4,600 at Stanford and 3,000 at Oxford. Next year the study will be in its third year, and McGregor and Sterling-Angus tentatively plan to launch it at a few more schools including Dartmouth, Princeton, and the University of Southern California. But it's unclear if the project can scale beyond the bubble of elite college campuses.
THE VERGE - July 10 - Tinder Lite app is 25 times smaller than the main app, and while it maintains the core functionality, like swiping, it nixes more data-heavy ones, like the Feed. The idea is that Tinder Lite is faster, requires less battery life, and reduces data usage. For now, Tinder Lite users can't upgrade to a Tinder Plus or Gold subscription within the app, but the company says it plans to do so over time. The app will be available through Google Play in Vietnam in the "coming weeks" and will subsequently come to other areas in Southeast Asia and South America.
PHILLIPINE DAILY INQUIRER - July 6 - A 2018 Tinder survey shows that "Women were more likely than men to say that they want to enjoy being single while they are still young." Contemporary researches actually found women are happier than men being single. Speaking at the Hay festival last May, Paul Dolan, a professor of behavioural science at the LSE and a best-selling author who does research on the measurement of happiness, said "The healthiest and happiest population subgroup are women who never married or had children." Meanwhile, it's the men who are more likely to benefit from marriage. He explained, "They take less risks, earn more money at work, and live a little longer."
by B. Del Rio
See full article at Phillipine Daily Inquirer
TECH CRUNCH - July 4 - According to a new report from Sensor Tower, the iOS App Store and Google Play combined brought in $39.7B in worldwide app revenue in the first half of 2019, up 15.4% over the $34.4B seen during the H1 2018. However, at that time, the $34.4B was a 27.8% YOY increase. Apple's App Store continues to massively outpace Google Play on consumer spending, the report also found. In H1 2019, global consumers spent $25.5B on the iOS App Store, up 13.2% YOY. It is 80% higher than Google Play. #1 App Tinder pulled in ~$497M across the iOS App Store and Google Play, combined. That's up 32% YOY.
THE MOTLEY FOOL - July 2 - Tinder surged in popularity in recent years. However, the market's growth will decelerate over the next three years, according to projections from eMarketer, as fewer new users sign up and users drift between existing apps.
Match Group is preparing for that slowdown with three key strategies: increasing its revenue per subscriber with new premium tiers, acquiring niche challengers like Hinge, and expanding into overseas markets.
MARKETWATCH - July 2 - Tinder introduced a dating policy for its employees this year that doesn't prohibit relationships between employees and their direct higher-ups. "We're a company focused on helping people make connections," said a Tinder spokeswoman. "We don't prohibit workplace dating, but there are restrictions when the relationship is between a manager and subordinate."
BLOOMBERG - Jun 28 - To win over Asia, Tinder is reinventing itself. In South Korea, the app is trying to shed its reputation as a hookup app - instead, it's selling itself as a place to find new friends. In university towns, new billboards have emerged for Tinder: "New Year, New Friends, New You." The way young Koreans have traditionally found romantic partners is sogaeting, where a mutual friend sets two people up on a blind date, or meetings where groups of friends all hang out together and pair off. Those familiar with Tinder's more transactional reputation in the West are bemused. "Tinder is so tied into American culture, the thought that it could hide its identity in Korea is kind of absurd," said University of Michigan Professor Fred Feinberg, who has studied the marketing behind online dating apps. Match's foray into Asia stretches beyond South Korea. Match CEO Mandy Ginsberg is betting big on this corner of the world, spending more money on marketing in Korea, India and Japan than anywhere else in the world, despite the Asia Pacific region only pulling in 12% of Match's revenue last year. She said this would increase to 25% by 2023.


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A report from Gartner predicts that “market demand for mobile app development services will grow at least five times faster than internal IT organizations’ capacity to deliver them, by the end of 2017.” However, it is also true that competition is on the rise and enterprises expect more sophistication in their mobile apps. So you just can’t create a mobile app on the cheap anymore.
To take advantage of the rising demand for ‘quality’ mobile apps, the developers have to deploy new technologies that will not only bring agility and flexibility to the app development process, but also lead to significant improvement in the quality of the final product.
Think about the following stats
➤ According to a Flurry Analytics Research, the typical US mobile consumers invest 86 percent of their “smartphone-time” on apps. The research discovered that smartphone users spend around 2 hours and 42 minutes on average on mobile phones, from which app usage commands 2 hours and 19 minutes.
➤ Since May 2014, mobile phones account for virtually 60 percent of the total digital media time spent and 51 percent of that time was represented by app usage.
➤ Nielsen report suggests that smartphone users invest around 89 percent of their media time in mobile apps, and the continuing to be 11 percent on mobile web.
➤ Provided these stats, it is evident that mobile apps are all set to make ubiquitous presence in the coming days. it is important to stay upgraded about the most current trends in the mobile app development landscape, however also capture the future patterns well in advance to survive the marketplace competition.
Here are some predictions regarding mobile app development in 2016 that the developers must be mindful of:
1. IoT and Mobile App Integration- Enterprises in key verticals such as healthcare, payments, automotive and energy will start experimenting with Internet of Things (IoT) devices in 2016. Such efforts are going to require adoption of a more complex mobile integration platforms, which will entail massive modernization of enterprise backend infrastructure to ensure that the data is available to all devices.
2. Cross-Platform Mobile App Development- Their continued popularity of mobiles in the workplace will lead to increased demand for cross-platform mobile solutions that help mobile workers transition back and forth between a desktop environment and mobile devices, The expectation will be to use the same applications with the same power, look and feel, to perform their tasks and manage and visualize massive amounts of data no matter what the screen size
3. Cloud-Driven Apps-By making optimal usage of cloud Technology, developers can retain the small size of mobile apps while having the facility of syncing their apps across multiple devices. Such technologies are now having greater demand because of the rise of wearable tech. Cloud makes it much easier to deal with bandwidth and any memory issues.
4. Mobile CRM and Wearable Tech- As per Gartner's recent report, Mobile and social will soon be integrated seamlessly into CRM platforms and 40 percent of sales organizations will rely primarily on mobile digital technology for their sales automation initiatives by 2020. as the trend rate and focus of mobile/wearable technology increasing there are chances that this day would come sooner even before the time predicted.
5. IoT and Data Visualization- With IoT becoming a reality for enterprises, there is now the need for solutions to visualize large sets of complex data. All the data that is generated by scores of connected devices must be presented in a format that is easily accessible to all the stakeholders so that decisions can be taken more efficiently and transparently. The mobile apps could be performing the task of data collection and presentation.
6. App Security Comes At The Fore- The stringent security protocols are fairly reasonable, considered that apps today are progressively saving individual and extremely delicate information including bank details and SSN of the user. Any type of security spaces can result in hacking and information leakages, which has actually currently been a significant focus for app developers this year in 2016.There is no way that security spaces in mobile applications should be neglected if it is present in the app shops.
7. Location-based Services- Beacon and location-based services have already gained awareness among several businesses. These services will introduce a new world of possibilities for many prospects that help to interact with potential customers. Lately, the retail businesses have adopted this technology vastly. They use it to deliver the right information at the right place as customers walk by. We can expect that this trend will continue to gain force this year and will spread largely into various businesses.
8. Consumerization of Enterprise Apps- In Today’s mobile-first world, user experience plays the central role because of which all enterprise app are being revolutionized to give it a look of consumer applications unlike earlier time where app were built primarily on the foundation of strong engineering and secondary on design.This trend continued all through 2015 and is expected to conclude by the end of 2016 drastically changing the way enterprise softwares will be used.
9. Mobile Centers of Excellence- To see improved development efficiency, scalability and mobile success, many large enterprises are using mobile center of excellence, which enables multiple stakeholders from lines of business and IT to work together on mobile app development. More organizations should establish a mobile center of excellence and start reaping the benefits of greater collaboration through centralizing mobile best practice and bringing the business and IT together to achieve common goals.
10. More Mobile App Personalization- Employees accept that it's easier to do jobs when they can access work remotely from a mobile device, mobile reinvention of time-consuming tasks is a good way to improve the employee experience, it’s important to commit to mobile app personalization over mobile app saturation to drive higher adoption of tools and customer engagement in the field.
The mobile app development industry is set to see a great number of major shifts in 2016, which will completely redefine the app landscape as we know it. Savvy development companies are already starting to prepare for the many changes investing into better security, new programming skills, and the IoT approach. But for now, suffice it to say that 2016 will bring both great opportunity for improving app development.


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Enovix, the silicon battery company, has announced its third-quarter financial results, which have exceeded expectations. After the release, Enovix’s stock experienced an 11% surge in after-hours trading.
Impressive Q3 Performance
Enovix reported a loss per share of 29 cents on revenue of $200,000 for the third quarter. This represents significant improvement compared to the year-ago period when the company reported a loss per share of 53 cents and revenue of $8,000. Analysts had anticipated a loss per share of 31 cents, but Enovix outperformed these estimates.
Promising Outlook for Q4
Enovix is optimistic about its fourth-quarter prospects, anticipating a sequential increase in revenue. The company estimates a revenue range between $3 million and $4 million. This growth is attributed to a partial quarter from Routejade and ongoing shipments of silicon batteries for the U.S. Army program.
Enovix received positive feedback from Polaris Labs, a third-party testing lab commissioned by a prominent wearable company. The lab confirmed that Enovix’s advanced batteries not only met the customer’s performance specifications but also demonstrated the highest energy density among the cells evaluated. In fact, Polaris Labs acknowledged that Enovix’s batteries outperformed other silicon products they have assessed in their lab.
Enovix’s robust performance and positive validation from third-party experts indicate a promising future for the company. With continued growth expected in the upcoming quarters, Enovix is poised to solidify its position as a leader in the silicon battery industry.


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Production of fruits and vegetables overtook India's foodgrain production by 31 million tonnes in 2014-15
Consecutive droughts and freak weather in 2014 and 2015 dented India’s foodgrain production and worsened rural distress. For farmers, the weather woes came on top of a drop in prices of key crops like rice, wheat, cotton and sugar. But one sector that escaped the weather shocks--if not the price drops--is horticulture.
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BY: Sade Williams/Business a.m.
United Nigeria Airlines and Wakanow, Africa’s top travel tech company, have integrated aspects of their operations that will enable the fast rising airline to provide greater value to its customers by delivering real-time inventory and flight schedules.
Under the partnership Wakanow has become the only online travel agency with United Nigeria’s Live Inventory bookable, in real time, enabling the delivery of seamless booking experience for Wakanow customers and United Nigeria passengers.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to United Nigeria, Adebayo Adedeji, chief executive, Wakanow, said, “We are excited to commence this partnership with United Nigeria. With the support of Wakanow, the airline will concentrate on her core mandate, which is moving travellers across the country, while we will ensure that travellers have the best-in-class booking experience.
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“We have promised our customers that we are the best plug for their local and international travels. We will continue to deliver on this promise and with this partnership, we have gone a step further to delight African travellers,” he added.
Also commenting during the visit, Adenike Macaulay, CCO of Wakanow, noted that with this integration, Nigerians should be rest assured of a seamless booking experience for domestic flights with United Nigeria. “Our expertise as an innovative travel tech company is a great value addition to the airline which will be leveraged extensively as we deepen our partnership.
“We will be upping the ante of the booking experience of United Nigeria Airlines as a partner,” she said.
Obiora Okonkwo, chairman and CEO, United Nigeria said, “United Nigeria is glad to have Wakanow as a partner to provide this bespoke service to us in delivering best-in-class booking services. We are sure that their support for United Nigeria will aid our growth and overall success in the aviation industry.”
Osita Okonkwo, executive director/COO, United Nigeria, explained that as the airline continues to evolve and take on more destinations, the potential of the tourism sector of Nigeria will all be better known.
According to him, “Wakanow has demonstrated leadership in the travel industry, and we are sure that this will impact on our airline as well and provide the travelling public dear to not only its booking platform but also other services. It will complement United Nigeria’s objective of uniting cities, cultures, businesses, friends and associates through delivery of safe and exceptional flight experiences to its customers.”


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Jaipur : As the world celebrates International Women's Day, we at CarDekho salute these extra ordinary women in the Auto Industry. Overcoming the... ...http://www.cardekho.com/india-car-news/women-who-drive-the-automotive-industry-12591.htm
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Valentin Ramirez, formerly with the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, has been tapped for the new position of Vice President/Managing Director Consumer Hispanic Markets, Americas for McCormick and Company, Inc.
With Wrigley, Mr. Ramirez was most recently Managing Director-Spain/Portugal. Prior to his seven and a half years with Wrigley, Mr. Ramirez was with Procter and Gamble for 10 years in a number of assignments through the Caribbean and Latin America.
In this new position with McCormick, Mr. Ramirez has responsibility for all McCormick’s Hispanic businesses, including a Hispanic subsidiary (Mojave Foods), a joint venture in Mexico, a business in Central America and an export business in the United States, South America and the Caribbean.
“We see significant growth opportunities for our brands with Hispanic consumers,” said Mark Timbie, President – North American Consumer Foods. “Valentin will provide the strategic leadership to capitalize on these growth opportunities.”


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UK retail sales saw a slump in January, falling 0.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis.
The BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor revealed this drop in sales (food and non-food) compared with a 2.6 per cent increase in January 2016.
However, on a total basis, sales rose 0.1 per cent in January, but this is compared with a 3.3 per cent increase in the same month last year.
Over the three months to January, non-food sales rose by 0.2 per cent on a like-for-like basis and 0.3 per cent on a total basis. This was below the three-month average of 0.8 per cent, which is the lowest since July 2012.
Meanwhile, the BRC-KPMG Online Retail Sales Monitor showed that online sales continued to dominate with an eight per cent increase of non-food sales in January.
Over the three months to January, online non-food sales grew by 8.6 per cent, and increased 9.5 per cent on a 12-average basis.
Online sales represented 22.9 per cent of total non-food sales in the UK in the month, compared with 21.6 per cent in January last year.
On a three-month basis, online accounted for 24.9 per cent of sales.
However, in the same three months, in-store sales fell by 2.2 per cent on a total basis and 2.4 per cent on a like-for-like basis, which is the deepest decline recorded since the online monitor began in December 2012.
British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Online channels achieved the highest share of total non-food retail spend on record in the three months to January, despite the eight per cent growth being somewhat below the trend of late. In fact, the rolling 12-month average growth to January 2017 is the lowest since the monitor began in 2012, falling below double-digits for the first time.
“As with total sales, online sales in January were set against a strong comparative period, as January 2016 recorded the highest growth of last year. However, with £1 in every £4 of non-food spending being spent online consistently over the past three months, this provided enough momentum to largely shield online growth from the slowdown of non-food sales overall. It was stores that bore the brunt of the slowdown; posting their deepest three-month decline on record as the demand during retailers’ clearance sales was predominantly online.
“As the clearance events came to an end, full-price items didn’t attract the same demand, echoing a sense of caution from consumers and ultimately resulting in a quiet end to the month for many retailers.”
Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG, added: “Unlike the chilly high street, online retail sales continued to grow in January, with non-food online sales up eight per cent compared to last year. The month’s cold snap is likely to have encouraged high street hibernation, with shoppers preferring to browse from the comfort of their own homes.
“Indeed, consumer focus really did turn indoors during the month, with sales of furniture and other household items performing particularly well.
“Online retail channels will continue to grow in popularity, and with increased pricing pinching the consumer purse, retailers will need to balance price, personalisation and customer experience seamlessly in order to grab the attention of their customers.”
Patrick Munden, global head of retail at Salmon, concluded: “News that sales last month slipped highlights the change in consumer shopping patterns, and that January is no longer the peak shopping period it once was. In previous years, January would see strong sales thanks to retailers holding off discounts until after Christmas and during the January sales. Now however, with the emergence of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the subsequent sales weeks in the run-up to Christmas, we have seen the development of a much longer sales period, reducing the need for shoppers to maximise their efforts in the January sales.”


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The FCC is poised to vote on reclassifying broadband services as a common carrier, innocuously referred to as net neutrality regulations. From the outset, the net neutrality rules were unnecessary, did not address any apparent market failure, and protected companies instead of encouraging competition. While advocates for these regulations promised free, open and neutral internet, it is not clear what consumers would actually get from the deal. Instead, a host of studies showed that net neutrality regulations would eventually affect consumer welfare enhancing pricing, raise network costs, discourage investment, and affect quality and service differentiation.
No Market Failure to Justify Regulations
Years ago, the FCC touted a “hands off” approach to regulation, cited unprecedented growth, innovation and investment due, and stated “we can have openness and competition by allowing this market to develop unfettered by regulation.” That approached seems to have worked. While the industry can be characterized as having high fixed costs and economies of scale, the market performance of the industry points to extraordinary growth, increased competition, faster speeds and lower prices. To date, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for Internet Services and Electronic Information Providers indicates that prices have fallen by half in real terms since 1998. Meanwhile, broadband speeds have increased.
Based on SEC filings covering the latest three years of operations, the top 10 network service companies have invested over $165 billion. In addition, a study by Darby, Fuhr and Pociask found that network communications companies reinvested 64% of cash flow from operations, compared to 28% for edge companies. The study also found that network companies earned 14% of their cash flow as profits, while edge companies earn 49%. In other words, the broadening and deepening capital formation underway is occurring without extraordinary profits. As we have shown in past, the profits by Internet Service Providers have been generally below the average S&P 500. In other words, there is no evidence of market failure and, therefore, no economic justification for a regulatory remedy.
While the FCC may seek to impose net neutrality regulations, it has yet to identify exactly what market failures exist that these regulations would fix, nor has there been any empirical or cost/benefit analysis to demonstrate how consumers would benefit. However, there have been numerous studies demonstrating that net neutrality regulation would, in fact, harm consumers. This, in fact, was the conclusion of the United States Department of Justice in their September 2007 filing to the FCC:
The FCC should be highly skeptical of calls to substitute special economic regulation of the Internet for free and open competition enforced by the antitrust laws. Marketplace restrictions proposed by some proponents of “net neutrality” could in fact prevent, rather than promote, optimal investment and innovation in the Internet, with significant negative effects for the economy and consumers.
Regulations Make Consumers Pay More
The FCC has proposed rules would clearly prohibit ISPs from offering differentiated prices to applications and content providers, effectively banning multi-sided pricing. Multi-sided pricing exists when a platform brings together independent groups that value each other’s participation in the market. For instance, a newspaper (as the platform) brings together readers and advertisers — collecting subscription fees from readers and selling ad space to businesses. Hahn and Wallsten observed that banning multi-sided pricing (effectively setting the ISP price for content providers at zero) would lead to consumer welfare losses.
In a comprehensive study on this issue published in Media Law & Policy, Darby and Fuhr found that a ban on multi-sided pricing would require consumers to pay for all of the upgrades to the Internet, thereby increasing consumer prices and decreasing broadband demand – both of which would reduce network investment. The study estimated the present value of lost consumer welfare to be as much as $32 billion over 10 years, or about $285 per broadband household. In a piece written in the Journal of Competition Law and Economics, Sidak later evaluated and modified Darby’s figures and re-estimated the welfare losses to be in the range of $3.44 to $7.74 billion per year. In another study, Pociask found that restrictions on multi-sided market pricing would mean that consumers lose $69 billion in potential benefits over the next 10 years. We also know that preventing sponsored data agreements (zero pricing) also prevents a Pareto Improvement in consumer welfare and guarantees that consumers are worse off.
Net neutrality could also prevent ISPs from providing enhanced quality of service to unaffiliated content providers. Litan and Singer estimated that this would lead to billions of dollars of consumer welfare losses – including a $1.5 billion decrease in consumer welfare just for foreclosing enhanced quality of service offerings to online multi-player video game providers. In other words, net neutrality would prohibit voluntary commercial agreements with unaffiliated content providers – a practice that would keep consumers from getting lower broadband prices or more bandwidth, while making consumers pay for all of the investment and upgrade costs for the next generation network.
Net Neutrality Would Make the Network “Dumb” and Costly
The FCC says it would allow reasonable network management by ISPs, but how that is defined could make all of difference of whether consumers are adversely impacted by increased congestion, unwanted spam and malicious online attacks. Even requiring ISPs to provide public details on their network management techniques could provide hackers and others the information they need to circumvent network management techniques and protect online consumers.
Rules that effectively make the Internet a dumb pipe point will have adverse consequences for consumers, according to numerous studies. Litan and Singer cite one study’s estimates that an unmanaged network would cost as much as $466 per month. In another study, Ford, Koutsky and Spiwak found that a neutral network could cost consumers $300 to $400 more in costs per month than an “intelligent” network. Yukel, Ramankrishnam, Kalyanaraman, Houle and Sadhvani showed that an undifferentiated service network could require nearly twice the provisioning (and therefore twice the network costs) as a managed network.
Net Neutrality Would Raise Prices for Low-Income Consumers
Net neutrality restrictions on price discrimination could limit the ability of Internet Service Providers to offer significantly lower priced broadband services at slower speeds and service quality. The effect of this prohibition would be to average service speeds and quality across all consumers, and, accordingly, price. That averaging would benefit high-end consumers by potentially lowering their price, but it would raise prices for lower-end consumers. This point is echoed by Greg Moore in the Asbury Park Press, executive director of the National NAACP Voter Fund:
The effects could be disastrous for low-income and minority communities, pricing them out of the broadband market by guaranteeing a free ride to companies such as Google and eBay while shifting costs for broadband expansion back to consumers. Although net neutrality activists claim to be protecting free speech, net neutrality regulations would effectively silence many minority voices, as low-income communities drop off the online landscape because they can’t afford the price of admission.
Since broadband services are price elastic and since consumers with lower incomes are apt to be more price sensitive than other online users, any restriction on price differentiation would lead some lower income consumers to drop their online service. One study by Pociask documents that limiting price differentiation would disproportionately harm lower income consumers:
Net Neutrality regulations would also increase the price of broadband services, because it increases the cost of the network that provides those services. Because broadband services are very price sensitive, just a $5 increase in price could lead to a 15% drop in total broadband subscribership and a 60% decline in demand for lower-income, price sensitive consumers.
The late Dr. Frank Bowe, longtime distinguished professor for the Study of Disabilities at Hofstra University, wrote that net neutrality regulations would inhibit supportive technologies that can help millions of Americans with special needs. If Internet regulations prohibit ISPs from offering tailored services to customers, some unique network-based applications would never be developed to help the elderly and infirm. Dedicating bandwidth to integrated monitoring and interventions systems for chronically ill patients could be illegal, since it would require prioritizing medical needs over less critical information – like music downloads and other entertainment content. According to a study by Litan, accelerating broadband use – just for senior citizens and those with disabilities alone – will add $620 billion in economic benefits in the next 25 years. However, Litan sees the imposition of Internet regulations as a real threat to these benefits. One endocrinologist, Max E. Stachura, M.D., correctly summarized the problem with way:
A telehealth provider could conceive a new application for monitoring or remote management and therapy, but a network neutrality framework could preclude the broadband provider from offering the necessary bandwidth configuration. The point is that it is impossible to know today the network requirements of tomorrow’s telemedicine. Policymakers would be unwise to lock in regulations that can only limit the flexibility of the broadband Internet.
Reclassifying Internet services from an “information service” to a “common carrier service” will open up these services to a whole array of new taxes. One article details six new taxes that will be hitting broadband providers and consumers. The result will guarantee that Internet service prices will increase. The FCC was warned about these tax implications and their effects on consumers, but some have chosen to ignore it and pretend that it won’t happen, but it will.
Conclusion: Public Utility Regulations Will Be Costly for Consumers
This essay has provided many examples of how net neutrality rules would impede investment and innovation, and would push costs to consumers – particularly, lower-income, those with special needs, low-end online users and others. To summarize, net neutrality regulations would do little to protect consumers, but it would have a substantial affect in limiting service and price differentiation. Specifically, net neutrality would prohibit two-sided pricing that would reduce consumer prices; it would limit service innovation like providing “broadband-on-demand” services, it would prevent data prioritization that would benefit consumers, and it would favor “one-size fits all” services in a market of differentiated demand.
In the absence of any clear market failure, policymakers need to be cautious about promulgating rules that create more costs than benefits.