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First announced way back in May 2012, it goes without saying that a lot has changed in the gaming world over the past 8 years. But, with Cyberpunk 2077’s release just around the corner, it’s clear that Polish developer CD Projekt Red, the team behind The Witcher games, have remained at the cutting edge.
Launching players into a dystopian near future amid a fictional Californian city named Night City. In this alternative world, the US has undergone severe socioeconomic collapse since the 1990s, causing shockwaves around the planet and handing over control to a number of mega-corporations.
Equipped with all the cyberpunk staples—augmentations, futuristic weaponry, dingy slums, neon-lit sidewalks, bars, big business and plenty more—players take control of V, a mercenary who is crafted to fit each player’s desires. This comes in the form of cosmetic changes, body modifications, swapping out clothing and, most exciting, providing a unique backstory to V.
While exploring the game’s vast open world, players will also be able to select unique combinations of stats, from hacking and machinery to combat, perks and decide on branching dialogue which will impact the overall shape of a playthrough—providing a huge range of player agency across the entire experience.
In the gameplay released by CD Projekt Red to date, we have seen how these elements will manifest. Beyond the cutting-edge character, world and lighting design, we find all the dialogue decisions occurring in real time, outside of more traditional menu screens—quite similarto the systems seen in Red Dead Redemption 2. With dialogue decision-making building a good portion of the game’s playtime, and RPG draw, this system will have a huge impact on the way the game feels.
Gunplay also looks exciting, providing a sufficiently weighty and futuristic flair. Traversing Night City’s six-region vertical metropolis will likely be a joy, given the swath of vehicle choices, including autonomous cars, and the game’s Grand Theft Auto-esque pedestrians who litter the streets. And this traversal should be smoother than ever as CD Project Red have remained dedicated to having “no loading screens” throughout their vast open world, similar to how The Witcher 3 functioned.
Formerly set to release April 16, 2020, then September 17, we now know the game will launch in autumn on November 19. This gives any avid fans additional time to check out the various pre-order deals, ripe with collectibles—including a SteelBook, 25cm V statue, art book, embroidered patches, keychain, pin set, world compendium, world map, postcards and much more.
As fans worldwide have been awaiting its release for years, we’re all hotly anticipating the launch of Cyberpunk 2077—eager to dive into its thrills, extensive customisation, rich narrative and sprawling world when it comes to PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One on November 19. And with further releases on Google Stadia, PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X in the pipelines, along with a supposed multiplayer mode to be released down the line, it’s clear that there’s a lot to look forward to about Cyberpunk 2077.


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The report 'Lessons From Switzerland', released by London-based think tank Civitas, analyzes non-EU member Switzerland's relationship with the bloc, saying that "UK trade would have much to gain if Britain took a similar approach to Switzerland" as it would give the country the opportunity to set its own agenda and allow for attempts to negotiate large-scale trade deals with different countries.
How night Britain go about business outside the EU? Our new report, out today, looks to Switzerland as a guide: http://t.co/YBYxQgQNDJ— Civitas think tank (@Civitas_UK) October 16, 2015
Author Jonathan Lindsell says that if Britain left the bloc it would open up trade opportunities, rather than inhibit them as "many possible trade partners are intimidated by the EU's great size.
"This can delay or halt EU negotiations, which are anyway slowed by competing internal demands. Britain alone would not be such a threat or suffer such internal division, but would still be an attractive market," the report notes.
As well as encouraging other countries to take part in trade talks, Lindsell says that the UK could refine agreements to better suit local British industries.
"By representing itself rather than being one of 28 jostling partners, Britain could focus on winning tariff concessions for its own goods and granting them where the government considers appropriate. Independent control of trade policy would also give Britain more options to use trade as a diplomatic tool."
Report to Boost 'Out' Campaign
The report will be welcomed by those backing the 'Out' campaign in Britain's upcoming referendum on EU membership, to be held before the end of 2017.
Why would any business campaign to stay in EU with its stunted growth when the rest of world is growing. #Brexit— Standing Leave.EU (@david_standing) October 14, 2015
Many Euroskeptics say that EU red tape and being tied to the 28-member bloc inhibits Britain's business and trade prospects, arguing that the UK would be better off if it was able to make its own agreements that better suit the country's interests.
— Daniel Hannan (@DanHannanMEP) October 14, 2015
In order to assess Britain's trade prospects outside of the EU, the report analyzed Switzerland's non-member association with the bloc, while paying special attention to the success of the 2009 Swiss-Japanese free trade deal, highlighting the similarities between the UK and Switzerland.
"Switzerland offers the best proxy one could reasonably hope for. Both countries have unusually large financial services sectors and strong tourism sectors. Both control their own currencies and have central banks independent of government. Whilst Switzerland's population is smaller than Britain's, it has a similar population density and distribution."
Lindsell believes that the UK would be able to successfully negotiate similar deals to the Swiss if the event of a Brexit.
"There are indications that Britain could have a successful independent free trade policy and conclude agreements with the world's largest economies. This would not be simple or automatic, and comes with risks as well as opportunities."
'In' Campaigners Warn of Economic Ruin
The report's assertion that such a deal would be within Britain's grasp contradicts the argument put forward by many pro-EU campaigners, who have argued that the UK would struggle to build strong trade links outside of the bloc.
Among those backing the 'In' campaign, Lord Rose, the former chief of British retail giant Marks & Spencer, said leaving the EU would be a "leap into the dark" that would damage the country's economy.
Many 'In' campaigners fear that Britain could be locked out of the EU single market in the event of a Brexit, which would have a devastating impact on the UK's economy. The report acknowledges the importance of maintaining access to the European market and bases its findings on such a premise.
The findings will place more pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron to try and win substantial concessions from European leaders during reform negotiations, the PM stating that his preference is for the UK to remain in the bloc under a reformed EU.
Cameron has announced that European leaders will have a detailed list of his requests by early November, amid frustration from some Brussels diplomats over London's vague approach to setting down demands.

domain: news


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UPDATE: The trailer is now live, showing a new world, a possible team up with Bowser Jr, and gigantic Mario and Bowser facing off. Original story is below the embed.
Nintendo is preparing to blow out Bowser’s Fury tomorrow.
A new trailer for the February 12 release will be available tomorrow at 9 a.m. Eastern time / 6 a.m. Pacific / 1400 UTC. It promises that “Bowser’s Fury will be unleashed”.
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) January 12, 2021
Source link : Nintendoworldreport


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This article is more than 1 year old
POW! Sprint kills T-Mobile US bid ... BAM! CEO Hesse is out
And new head honcho talks up 'extremely cost efficient' future... hmmm
Sprint has confirmed industry rumors by announcing the departure of its CEO, and has abandoned its pursuit of T-Mobile US.
The telco said Wednesday morning that big cheese Dan Hesse will leave the biz and hand the reins to Brightstar CEO Marcelo Claure. Hesse will leave the position effective Monday, August 11.
Claure cofounded Brightstar, which provides services and support for mobile operators, in 1997. His firm then sold a controlling share to Softbank for $1.26bn. Hesse, meanwhile, leaves a CEO role he took over in 2007. In 2013 he oversaw Sprint's acquisition by Softbank, a Japanese telcoms giant, so his departure a year later is not unexpected.
"I'm proud of the resilience of Sprint's people during a difficult transformation and I'm optimistic about how they will build on a foundation of innovation to succeed in the future," outgoing Hesse said in a statement.
"It's been an honor to have led such dedicated teammates for more than six-and-a-half years."
In announcing the CEO shake-up, Sprint also served notice that it was – as rumored – giving up its efforts to acquire rival T-Mobile US. The much-anticipated deal appears to have been thwarted by US antitrust authorities weary of any moves to further limit choice in mobile carriers in the US.
A combined Sprint-T-Mob would have created a third mobile carrier giant to compete with kingpins AT&T and Verizon.
"In the short-term, we will focus on becoming extremely cost efficient and competing aggressively in the marketplace," Claure said. And yes, "extremely cost efficient" caught our eye, too.
"While consolidating makes sense in the long-term, for now, we will focus on growing and repositioning Sprint," the new CEO added.
Meanwhile, Tom Wheeler – chairman of US comms watchdog the FCC – indicated this morning the proposed acquisition never had much traction with his agency. "Four national wireless providers are good for American consumers," Wheeler said.
"Sprint now has an opportunity to focus their efforts on robust competition."
Meanwhile, T-Mobile US boss John Legere offered his own, er, take on the matter... ®
If you needed just one more reason to leave Sprint and join T Mobile….Now you might just have it….total Chaos at Sprint! #sprintlikehell— John Legere (@JohnLegere) August 6, 2014


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Netflix taxes coming soon to a screen near you
The way we consume entertainment has changed dramatically. While the ancient tradition of live theater lives on and movies theaters still limp along, Americans are now more likely to stay home and stream shows and movies than head out the door.
It takes time to adapt tax laws to technological changes. But, as the examples below illustrate, laws are changing. Cities, counties, and states (and provinces) are finding ways to tax digital streaming services: some as an amusement, some as a sale, and some as a utility.
In 2015, Chicago became the first city of size to tax online streaming services. The tax was immediately challenged. On May 24, 2018, the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, ruled the extension of the city’s 9 percent amusement tax to internet-based streaming services such as Netflix does not violate the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act, the United States Commerce Clause, or the uniformity clause of the Illinois Constitution, nor represent an extraterritorial application of Chicago’s taxing power.
According to the City of Chicago’s Amusement Tax Ruling #5 (issued June 9, 2015), the amusement tax applies in part to “charges paid for the privilege to witness, view or participate in amusements that are delivered electronically,” including “watching electronically delivered television shows, movies or videos, listening to electronically delivered music, … and participating in games, online or otherwise.” The tax is sourced to the residential or primary business street address in Chicago, as reflected in the credit card billing address.
The recent ruling from the Circuit Court of Cook County is a victory for Chicago, but it doesn’t mark the end of the legal battle over the tax. The ruling is expected to be appealed, and another case is still making its way through the courts. On June 5, 2017, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) filed a suit challenging what it calls Chicago’s “illegal and harmful expansion of its existing Amusement Tax to include online video game play occurring through streaming and subscription services.” That case has yet to be resolved.
Tax doesn’t currently apply to sales of iTunes, Netflix, Spotify, and other non-Canadian streaming services in Canada because America’s northern neighbor doesn’t tax digital content service providers that don’t have a physical presence in Canada.
That’s set to change in Québec. The francophone province’s new budget calls for “a tax fairness action plan” that will “ensure fairness between Québec retailers and retailers outside of Québec.” The Québec Economic Plan provides for “the implementation of measures making the collection of the Québec sales tax [QST] mandatory on digital services and incorporeal property sold from outside Québec.” It takes effect January 1, 2019, and is expected to generate approximately $155 million by the end of the 2022–2023 fiscal year.
At present, there are no plans to tax these services in the other Canadian provinces. During his tenure, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he was “100% against a Netflix tax — always have been, always will be.” Despite repeated calls to tax foreign streaming services the same as Canadian streaming services, his successor Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he, too, is firmly opposed to taxing these services.
Could that change if Netflix develops a physical presence in Canada? Time will tell. The U.S. company is in the process of developing its first permanent production presence outside of the United States — Netflix Canada — and has committed to investing $500 million (Canadian) in Canadian content, including French content.
In the meantime, the call to tax foreign streaming services is unlikely to be muted in Canada. Policy analyst Rosalie Wyonch of the C.D. Howe Institute, says “Quebec is pushing the envelope in Canada for correcting competitive issues. There is no good economic reason not to shift our policy.”
California and Iowa
A great deal of controversy has surrounded the application of the utility users tax (UUT) to streaming services in numerous California cities, including Pasadena.
A bill calling for a five-year moratorium on “any tax on the sale or use of video streaming services or any utility user tax on video streaming services” was introduced in January 2017 but died in committee in January 2018. Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, sponsor of the bill, says more information is needed: “the potential impact of a moratorium on local revenue, the issue of fairness between types of service providers and whether providers are complying in places where the tax may already apply.”
Sales tax is also being extended to online streaming services in Iowa, starting January 1, 2019. These taxable services include on-demand video and pay-per-view. Iowa will also start taxing digital audio works (e.g., music and ringtones), digital audiovisual works, digital books, information services, and Software as a Service.
The rest of the world
Canada and the United States aren’t the only countries grappling with if or how to tax the online streaming services.
Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, and Taiwan tax streaming services by foreign companies. Australia extended its goods and services tax (GST) to streaming services in July 2017, inspiring Singapore to do the same by 2020. Argentina starts taxing sales of digital services on June 27, 2018. And after Brazil passed a law to tax streaming services in December 2016, Rio De Janeiro and Sao Paulo introduced similar taxes at the local level.
Though such taxes continue to be contested, the trend is moving toward taxation. The European Union recently upheld a German levy on Netflix and similar streaming services “to help fund German-language films and television programs.”
How states and localities tax digital goods and services and other products is always changing. Learn more.
The 2021 sales tax changes report: midyear update
Your guide to navigating the complicated world of tax compliance and preparing for the future
Stay up to date
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- A California appeals court heard arguments on Tuesday from Uber and Lyft as they appeal a recent ruling that would force the companies to reclassify drivers as employees.
- A lower court determined in August that Uber and Lyft drivers are employees, not contractors, under the state’s gig work law, AB-5, but delayed enforcing the ruling while the companies appeal it.
- Uber, Lyft, and other gig companies have fought AB-5 aggressively, pouring more than $180 million into a ballot measure aimed at California voters that would permanently exempt them from the law.
- The companies argue reclassifying drivers as employees will reduce their flexibility, while proponents of AB-5 say Uber and Lyft’s business models rely on underpaying drivers and skirting labor laws.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
A California appeals court heard oral arguments Tuesday from Uber, Lyft, and the state over whether a lower court reached the right conclusion in August when it ruled that the companies’ drivers are employees under the state’s gig work law, AB-5.
Judges from California’s first district Court of Appeal pressed lawyers for Uber and Lyft over drivers’ wages and autonomy, and questioned the companies’ arguments that AB-5 would require them to reduce drivers’ flexibility, according to The Washington Post and The New York Times reporter Kate Conger.
The judges also asked a lawyer for the state about potential harms to Uber and Lyft and drivers’ preferences around their employment status, according to reports.
The landmark case could fundamentally alter the contractor-based business model that Uber and Lyft have relied on, and the companies are aggressively fighting the law in court and via a ballot measure that California voters will decide on in November.
AB-5, which went into effect at the beginning of this year, allows companies to treat workers as independent contractors instead of employees only if workers meet three criteria: they’re “free from the control and direction” of the company; they perform work “outside the usual course” of the company’s business; and they’re “customarily engaged” in their own independent business.
California state and city attorneys general sued Uber and Lyft in May over their refusal to comply with the law, arguing that ride-hailing drivers don’t pass that test. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman sided with the state in August, ruling that Uber and Lyft must reclassify drivers as employees, but the ruling was stayed by Schulman and again by the appellate court while the companies appeal.
In Tuesday’s oral arguments, Uber lawyer Theodore Boutrous Jr. argued the ruling would cause “irreparable harm” and that “Uber would have to turn into a different company” and cut jobs if the ruling is upheld, The Washington Post reported.
Video: Metro East could see looser COVID-19 restrictions (KSDK-TV St. Louis)
But according to Conger, Judge Brown questioned Uber on that claim, asking what part of AB-5 would require the company to reduce drivers’ flexibility.
Uber and Lyft have focused heavily on flexibility in their opposition to the law, citing drivers’ alleged preference to work as contractors, but critics of the business model say it allows the companies to cut costs by depriving drivers of protections like minimum wage, health insurance, and unemployment insurance that other California workers are entitled to.
Matthew Goldberg, a lawyer from the San Francisco city attorney’s office, responded to a question about drivers’ preferences by saying “employees should not have the right to work without those underlying benefits. … You are not permitted to work for less than the minimum wage, even if you want to.”
When pressed by the judges on potential harms to Uber and Lyft, Goldberg responded that every other company follows the law and so Uber and Lyft should have to as well, The New York Times’ Kate Conger tweeted. He also said Uber and Lyft were causing harm to drivers: “This is dollars and wages and money that is being stolen from drivers by virtue of the misclassification.”
Uber and Lyft have repeatedly claimed that the law doesn’t apply to them in the first place — an argument Lyft lawyer Rohit Singla brought up again Tuesday, while Boutrous cited changes Uber has made to its app that should exempt its drivers, according to The Washington Post.
But the judges appeared skeptical, Conger reported, pointing out that Uber still sets the base fare for drivers.
They also cast doubt on Lyft’s claim that underpayment of drivers’ wages isn’t irreparable harm, according to The Washington Post, with one asking: “Are you suggesting that the specter of thousands of individual claims for back wages is something that is insignificant and something that need not be considered in balancing the appropriateness of an injunction at this point?”
California’s Labor Commission brought a separate lawsuit against Uber and Lyft over the same issue in August, alleging they’ve been committing wage theft by classifying drivers as contractors.
Uber and Lyft have sought to head off a potential loss in court by pouring more than $180 million into a ballot measure, Proposition 22, that would exempt ride-hail and food delivery workers from AB-5. That’s the most money ever used to back a ballot measure in the state, according to Ballotpedia.
Uber and Lyft also came under fire earlier this week after SF Gate reported that the companies indirectly funded ballot guides sent to California voters urging them to vote for Proposition 22 by falsely claiming to be affiliated with Sen. Bernie Sanders and other “progressive” groups.
Both Sen. Sanders and the California Democratic Party have opposed the measure.


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Tesla Motors Inc NASDAQ:TSLA slumped drastically on Monday, dropping 9% to $253 per share at the close. The dip in the stock is seen as the after-effect of a report from Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas on Monday, in which he maintained an Overweight rating on the stock but noted various “sobering factors” for investors considering the stock.
Driverless cars could impact Tesla
One of the primary factors that Jonas noted is “Our 15 year [discounted cash flow] coincides with the end of human driving and the dawn of crowd sourced mobility and mega fleets.” The analyst then questions what the strategic and competitive advantage Tesla Motors Inc NASDAQ:TSLA will hold at that time to justify itself as a “provider of mobility.” Jonas further notes that the environment is changing fast and that to adapt “the (disappearing) steering wheel,” many auto makers are also changing, citing an example of BMW.
The ACAP Strategic Fund's managers see a "significant scarcity of attractive asset allocation choices globally," but also a strong environment for fundamental stock picking. Q2 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more According to a copy of the fund's second-quarter investor update, which ValueWalk has been able to review, its managers currently hold a balanced Read More
The reference of a “disappearing” steering wheel might be in connection to Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s self-driving car concept, which is a futuristic technology.
EVs’ success depends on breakthroughs
Jonas added that the demand of Tesla’s Model S and Model X in China will be far more than the supply over future quarters due to inadequate dealers and service infrastructure. However, the analyst noted that the high acceptance of electric vehicle needs “breakthroughs” that may be too unreasonable to take for granted as a base case. On this basis, Jonas considers Tesla a niche player and not a mass manufacturer.
In the report, Jonas also noted that the shift towards electric vehicles is slowing down. “EVs are failing categorically on a global scale,” the report says, and he adds that many big names in the auto industry have put their EV development plans on the back-burner and are supporting hydrogen as the “future of emission-free transport.”
Still bullish on Tesla
Despite the “sobering factors,” the Morgan Stanley analyst does not restrict himself to one aspect and believes that despite the risks, the stock is worth $320, “but perhaps not as quickly and not for some of the reasons we believe are driving the market.”
In the end, Jonas said that he believes in Tesla Motors Inc NASDAQ:TSLA’s strategy and sticks to the claim that it is the world’s most important car company. However, he expects the stock not to rise so consistently and “one directionally” from the present point.


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More than five years after Vision Creation Newsun, the ex-Boredoms now known as V∞redoms recently visited North America but still have no plans to record.
May 31 2005
As the whirlwind of New York hype continues to sweep up anything with tussled hair, ill-fitting denim, and fashion shootability ...
June 1 2002
Merzbow, Metal Machine Music, and noise music as a tool for shutting out the world.
July 23 2001


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Facebook and Google reveal plans to build subsea cables between U.S. and Southeast Asia
The vessel used to lay one of Google's other subsea cables. Facebook and Google are planning to lay two huge subsea cables that will link the U.S. West Coast to Singapore and Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy and home to a growing number of smartphone users. The Echo and Bifrost trans-Pacific cables will increase the data capacity between the regions by 70% and improve internet reliability, Facebook said Monday. While Facebook is investing in both cables, Google is only investing in Echo. "As part of this effort, we're proud to announce that we have partnered with leading regional and global partners to build two new subsea cables — Echo and Bifrost — that will provide vital new connections between the Asia-Pacific region and North America."cnbc.com
Amazon Alexa can now tell you the nearest spot to get a Covid-19 test — here's how to use it
You can ask Alexa to find the nearest place to get a Covid-19 test. Amazon recently added a new feature to its Alexa voice assistant that lets you find the nearest place to get a Covid-19 test. Alexa will return a list of nearby places using data pulled from GISCorps and other sources, such as Yelp. If you tap a location, you'll see a phone number you can call to confirm that there are appointments available, if one is needed. If you're using an Echo that doesn't show each location, just say, "Alexa, call the first one" to call the recommended testing location.cnbc.com
Here's how to stop Alexa from spilling the beans on gifts you ordered
Amazon's smart voice assistant Alexa can automatically tell you what's being delivered if you own an Echo. If you want to retain the element of surprise in the holiday gifts you order for other people, you can turn this feature off in the Alexa app. Uncheck the box titled "For items in delivery updates" under the section "Let Alexa say or show titles for items you've ordered." You'll also notice there's an option to remove updates on items in your shopping cart marked as gifts. This means you can still receive updates on other packages -- but this relies on you to mark gifts properly when you order them.cnbc.com
ECHO's 2020-21 Season Calls Upon Chamber Groups And Chutzpah
Entering its seventh season, Energy Corridor of Houston Orchestra, otherwise known as ECHO, learned quickly it didn't have luck on its side. The resulting season ECHO planned is a feat forged not from luck but instead engineered out of chutzpah and ingenuity, combining the best of all realistic possibilities: outdoor performances; small, socially distanced chamber productions; online pre-recorded concerts; and hopefully a triumphant return in the spring. The first, labeled as "ECHOes in the Area," offers a variety of chamber orchestra-sized groups playing at outdoor spaces, restaurants and public venues. For it's regular season, the December 31 "Rockin' NYE" concert, music lovers can purchase a ticket to a pre-recorded virtual program. ECHO's 2020-21 season kicks off at 5:30 p.m. on October 25 at Plazas on the Parkway, 1127 Eldridge Parkway.houstonpress.com
Amazon unveils new Echo clock and Alexa privacy features
The company announced at its Seattle headquarters a series of new products coming to its lineup, including a new $59 Echo dock smart speaker with a built-in clock. As expected, Amazon unveiled its own high-end Echo speaker, called Echo Studio, to compete with some companies such as Sonos that already offer Alexa-compatible premium speakers. Over the past five years, the market for smart speakers that use virtual assistants has ballooned. According to data from tech market researcher Canalys, companies including Amazon, Google, and Baidu shipped 26.1 million smart speakers in the second quarter of this year. Amazon is sitting on top of this market: Canalys reports Amazon shipped a quarter of these speakers, or an estimated 6.6 million between April and June.
Here's everything Amazon just announced
Amazon announced more than a dozen new Alexa-enabled products at its annual hardware event in Seattle on Wednesday. Amazon hardware chief Dave Limp stands next to a photo of new hardware products the company unveiled in an event in Seattle on Sept. 25, 2019. To bring Alexa mobile outside the home, Amazon announced a competitor to Apple's AirPods called the Echo Buds. The Amazon Echo Flex, plugs into any outlet, allowing Echo functionality almost anywhere. Amazon also announced two new updates to Alexa Hunches, which makes suggestions based on your daily behavior.cnbc.com
Amazon will hold product launch event later this month
Amazon said Thursday that it will hold a press event later this month in Seattle, where the company is headquartered. At the event, which is scheduled to take place on Sept. 25, Amazon could unveil new Echo devices and other gadgets or services. At an event last September in Seattle, Amazon announced a long list of new Echo and Echo-related devices, including new Echo smart speakers, an Alexa-controlled microwave and wall clock, and a DVR device for recording live TV. Amazon kicked off the smart speaker category in 2014 with the release of its first Echo smart speaker and has been iterating on the product since. In March, Amazon added a feature that allows users to ask Alexa to delete their recordings.
Siri creator on new AI platform Viv and conversational commerce
Virtual assistant technology is rapidly spreading on smartphones and devices like Amazon's Echo. But Silicon Valley is taking note of a less mainstream product called Viv that comes from two of the men who dreamed up Siri, before it was bought by Apple. Viv co-founder and CEO Dag Kittlaus joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss the new generation of virtual assistants powered by artificial intelligence.cbsnews.com


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We missed this earlier in the week, but it’s worth covering in depth. Bebo has announced its Open Media initiative, which it describes rather grandly as “a new vision for social media and entertainment”. Translation: they’re partnering with lots of broadcasters to distribute their video via Bebo’s social network.
On board already are the likes of the BBC, BSkyB, MTV, Channel Four and ITN, as well as Web 2.0 firms like Last.fm and Premium TV. These companies will be launching their own customised video players on Bebo, which users can embed in their profiles and share with their friends.
The broadcasters sell their own advertising and keep all the revenues, with Bebo figuring the presence of all this top-drawer video will lead to users spending more time on its website, and thus plump up its own advertising and sponsorship revenues. As a result, Bebo says it now wants to be known as a ‘social media network’, not just a social network.
“Every media company is looking for better ways to deliver their content online,” says Bebo president Joanna Shields. “By opening our platform to media owners, who gain free access to our community while retaining control over their brand, their content and their revenues, we are creating valuable new inventory for advertisers and a new business model for the entire media industry.”
From a user’s point of view, it’s all based around their Personal Video Profile, where they collect their favourite videos from Bebo’s partners. For example, the BBC has clips of The Mighty Boosh, Strictly Come Dancing and Dragon’s Den, and MTV has My Super Sweet 16 and Living On The Edge. You can also subscribe to channels to get alerts when they add new stuff.
So why is this important? It’s the general principle of big broadcasters accepting that they can distribute their shows through other people’s sites without losing control of the advertising or the branding. This didn’t start with Bebo, mind. There’ve been moves afoot within the TV industry all year, as they come to terms with the impact – and more importantly the potential – of distributing content through social networks, media sites and other Web 2.0 services.
What I like about Bebo’s approach is that it’s not just about slapping TV shows onto their own pages and hoping users will watch them. The sharing aspects are important, as is the ability to pick and choose shows from different providers and put them into your own customised channel (if this isn’t already possible on Bebo, hopefully it will be soon).
Open Media does raise questions though. What about the film studios: will they have a role to play in this? Will people watch full-length movies through their social networking profiles, or share trailers? How about the music industry – there are some music videos on Open Media, but there’s scope for a lot more in that area.
How will it tie into a recommendation engine to create a customised channel of stuff it thinks you’ll like, rather than stuff you’ve compiled? Is Bebo the new TiVo, in other words? And if so, how could this kind of service get onto your actual television, so your evening’s big-screen viewing is being served up from your social network.


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There are no shortage of groups working with food in Wyoming.
Across the state, nonprofits are looking for ways to improve the nutrition of children and adults, while local farmers and businesses struggle to get their products purchased by customers in their own backyards. Meanwhile in food pantries and church basements across the state, good-hearted people wonder how to feed their neighbors while Wyoming — with 13 percent of its people going hungry every night, according to federal data — boasts some of the lowest participation rates in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the country.
Some believe all of those problems can be solved together. They just need a way to do it.
Wyoming, notably, is the only state in the country without a food council and, for decades, these groups have been left to sort out their problems in isolation, doing the best they can where they can. At the top, leaders have longed for a way to make sense of the chaos – looking for a way to turn the state’s myriad organizations into a cohesive and coherent network where no one goes hungry, economies can thrive and citizens can live healthier lives.
It’s the reason why on Friday afternoon, dozens of people from around the state descended on Casper to participate in the first-ever Conference on Forming a Wyoming Food Coalition and Action Agenda – a wide-ranging meeting to discuss ways the private and nonprofit sectors could collaborate with one another to build a sustainable food system in Wyoming.
Friday’s conversation did not begin in a bubble, University of Wyoming professor and Community and Public Health Chair Christine Porter said. Rather, it comes after years of meetings around the state to evaluate the health of Wyoming’s agricultural economy and some of the struggles they’ve had in finding their niche within the state’s economy. Those conversations, however, seem to have come to a head this year, as groups like the Wyoming Business Council have begun to grow their commitment to growing the state’s agricultural sector while others, like First Lady Jennie Gordon, have begun working to understand the barriers needed to address hunger in Wyoming communities.
When approaching the issue from a community resiliency standpoint, Porter said Wyoming can build a system where food grown locally can help feed local people, creating communities that are not just healthier from an economic perspective, but a health perspective as well.
“This requires us to think of this as a citizenship issue,” Porter said. “Whether you’re a producer, an eater or a marketer, food is not just about economics — it is also an opportunity to build our communities.”
What does a sustainable food system look like?
If successful, a healthy food system would support an agronomic landscape with vibrant, local farms, strong local economies, healthy people and sustainable ecosystems – a broad mission relying on a collaborative relationship between everyone from farmers and ranchers to well-informed consumers and a cooperative government.
At this point, the challenge is figuring out how to get there.
For many of those goals to be successful, groups across Wyoming first need to learn to work with one another to leverage the abilities they do have, whether that means small producers coming together as a farm-led cooperative to nonprofits with similar missions deciding to work with one another.
“You start with the people who want to do it, and then you keep moving from there,” Ageno Otii, an organizer for Denver-based engagement nonprofit Civic Canopy, told attendees. “That’s the paradigm shift – it’s not business as usual.”
From there, those groups need something to work for. In an open-ended forum at the meeting, participants shouted out exactly what each pillar of the food system would look like, from specific recommendations on policies to their own aspirations, like improved health care for farmers to an expansion of meat processing facilities in the state.
But it also requires an understanding of how growers locally can lay the groundwork for strong economies and communities statewide. Luckily, the potential for understanding is already there.
“In Wyoming, we already have so many people who are connected to the land — we’re not full of high fructose corn syrup or Doritos factories,” Porter said. “A lot of us come from the land — some of us get all of our meat from hunting. I think we’re more prepared to think of our food system in a more connected way.”
A policy shift
Ultimately, the ambitions of Wyoming’s growers and nonprofits will require imagination.
Between major socioeconomic shifts that have impacted consumers to the consequences of the dominance of big agriculture, both producers and the people they feed exist in a food system that, in many instances, is not sustainable. Farmers often work on thin margins against stiff competition while consumers sometimes find themselves subject to the whims of the economy beyond their borders, where the money they spend rarely circulates locally.
Brad Tyndall, president of Central Wyoming Community College, sees a way out.
Beyond educating producers and consumers on the benefits of a local food economy, Tyndall laid out a vision where backyard farms could become small farms, and small farms could grow into medium farms, building up an agrarian economy centered on Main Street that could retain young people, create jobs and produce local goods at a scale that, one day, could provide 25 percent of all the food in local schools and hospitals.
Getting there, he said, will require a lot, including supportive legislative, incentives to buy local and back-end support to help ranchers and growers take advantage of the resources available to them.
Right now, Wyoming lags well behind on that front. According to numbers provided by Porter, Wyoming currently ranks 50th in the country in “food investments,” or initiatives that support regional food systems and make nutritious foods readily available. The state also has some of the nation’s lowest participation rates in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – which can be a ready supply of fresh, nutritious food for underprivileged communities – and boasts pitifully low rates of local produce sales, at just two-tenths of a percent.
The issue of cooperation already has visibility, gaining the ear of First Lady Jennie Gordon as part of her “Feeding Wyoming” hunger initiative. But there’s room to grow and, within the year, Porter not only hopes to have a food council in the works, but tangible policies to help build that network.
“That’s my prediction,” she said. “I’ll put money on it.”


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SOURCE: Simply Electronics
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Nov 26, 2012) - Technology, especially that used in the design and manufacture of consumer electronics, is ever changing. A Fox News article reported on the trends on display at the recent Hong Kong Electronics Fair. Popular online retailer of consumer electronics, Simply Electronics, took note of the push to provide consumers with electronics that remain easy to use as they offer more features.
According to the article, the annual Hong Kong trade show hosts the largest number of exhibitors, and this year welcomed 3,900 manufacturers. For the most part, the companies present focused on small electronics like tablets and smartphones. The article notes this year the event also showcased the trend to take televisions online.
As recent as one year ago, 3D televisions were thought to be the next big thing in television innovation. At the most recent trade show, the article noted it was apparent this technology is no longer at the forefront. What did make a splash were televisions manufactured with processors and Wi-Fi capabilities.
A popular online retailer of consumer electronics, Simply Electronics, commented on this trend. In a statement to the press, the company noted: "The advent of televisions built with many of the same components as computers will return a feeling of excitement back to watching shows. This technology will allow consumers to access a variety of programs, as well as movies, from subscription services. With the click of a button, customers will enjoy settling in for an evening of entertainment."
The company refers to streaming services that are gaining in popularity among consumers. One such service offered by Netflix allows individuals to select from programs by tapping into their on-demand offerings. Consumers presently have to purchase a special Wi-Fi compatible box to access these subscription services. The article indicates that building the features of the boxes into the televisions themselves will enhance the viewing experience. Or at least simplify it.
In addition to the innovative televisions, the article reported devices built to transform one type of device into another were popular. Technology is now available to make a tablet function like a gaming system and turn smartphones into monitoring devices. These items are expected to become more popular as they are refined over the next year.
Simply Electronics is a popular online retailer that offers a variety of well-known brands of electronics to customers. Their wide array of products includes everything from professional photography equipment to mobile phones to tablet computers. Simply Electronics offers consumers more than a decade consumer electronics industry experience. The company is committed to providing consumers with the best possible value on electronics.


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Feb. 22, 2011
-- A Federal Government report disclosed last week that consumer prices jumped for a second month in a row in January sparking a concern that the overprinting of dollars by the Federal Reserve is raising inflation fears. In times of inflation, the price of gold coins jump as investors buy gold to protect themselves against inflation.
Not only was the prices of gasoline and food up, but the prices of clothes, rent and travel also increased. Overall, the average price of goods and services purchased by Americans was up 0.4 percent from December and up 0.2 percent overall, the highest increase since October 2009.
The rise in consumer inflation should increase the demand for gold coins as people invest in gold. It should also support the price of precious metals with silver coins hitting a 31 year high just last week. The price of gold is expected to increase as the continued expansion of inflation continues.
Global Gold Group has high quality gold bullion coins and pre-1933 gold coins available to help protect your life savings from the current inflation threat. The threat is real and is affecting consumer prices. Protect yourself today – visit http://www.aglobalcurrency.com


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One eagle-eyed entrepreneur has pointed out how a single photo sums up the crisis tech companies across Australia are currently facing.
On Tuesday, Evan Clark, the founder and boss of educational tool ClickView, stumbled across a sad sight on social media.
While browsing Facebook Marketplace, he noticed an ad for Herman Miller’s Mirra office chairs.
One photo shows a room full of chairs in Sydney selling for $465 each – when the chairs sell for around $2000 brand new.
On Twitter, Mr. Clark wrote: “Nothing says ‘tech meltdown’ like hundreds of Herman Miller office chairs on Facebook Marketplace.”
“That’s a hefty discount if they’re legit!” he added.
“The many office chairs for sale on online marketplaces are one of the few signs that things are not good,” Mr Clark told news.com.au.
“Shrunken Christmas parties – and staff being forced to take advantage of their increased holiday in December and January are two I’m already seeing.”
In the last six months, the Australian technology industry has been gripped by a crisis as investors were frightened by dramatic falls in valuations, making it difficult to find financing.
Current market conditions have caused many companies, big and small, to lay off jobs or go under as they struggle to stay afloat in the turbulent marketplace.
Just last week, the Australian branch of delivery giant Deliveroo went bankrupt as the company failed to turn a profit.
Also last week, cryptocurrency exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy. News.com.au knows of Australian workers in their mid-20s who have gone from being worth millions to nothing as a result of the crypto giant’s collapse.
News.com.au has previously reported on a technical worker who lost his job before his first day at work and another worker who was made redundant three days before the company went into liquidation.
In August, news.com.au reported on a governance and risk management technology firm called FirmGuard that went bust because it owed creditors $2.3 million.
In the months leading up to its demise, a worker went unpaid and the company’s CEO began paying employees from his own bank account.
Later that same month, an Australian quit his six-year job to work at a tech startup called Zenbly, but was devastated to learn there was no longer a job for him as the new company had gone into liquidation.
He couldn’t return to his old job because he had already quit and was unemployed while a new baby was on the way.
Then there was Metigy, an artificial intelligence platform that made headlines for owing investors a staggering $32 million following its collapse.
A Melbourne-based esports company called Order, which raised $5.3 million in funding last year, also collapsed as bankruptcy trustees sought an urgent sale of the company.
In July, Australia’s first neobank launched in 2017, Volt Bank, went under, 140 employees lost their jobs while 6,000 customers were urged to withdraw their funds urgently.
Other failed companies include grocery delivery service Send, which went into liquidation in late May after the company spent $11 million in eight months to stay afloat, and a Victorian grocery delivery company called Deliver, which posed as a rival to UberEats, also collapsed in July as it became unprofitable.
In July, news.com.au asked questions about another Sydney-based tech company, D365 Group, which develops software for healthcare, real estate and accounting services.
Employees claim they haven’t been properly paid in months.
Are you affected by Australia’s tech crisis? Get in touch | firstname.lastname@example.org
Many Australian tech companies have also slashed their workforces in hopes of saving money.
Cryptocurrency exchange Swyftx laid off one in five of its employees in August, while a Brisbane-based telecoms and IT infrastructure company called Megaport revealed it spent a whopping $1.6 million to pay off the 10 percent of the laid-off employees.
An Australian social media start-up called Linktree, which was recently valued at $1.78 billion, laid off 17 percent of its employees from its global operations.
Another crypto platform Immutable, which was valued at $3.5 billion, faced a backlash for laying off 17 percent of its employees from its gaming division while continuing to “hire aggressively” after she raised $280 million in funding in March.
Then there was Australian health start-up Eucalyptus, which offers treatments for obesity, acne and erectile dysfunction, which laid off up to 20 percent of its staff after an investment firm withdrew its funding at the last minute.
Collections startup Indebted laid off 40 of its employees near the end of its fiscal year, despite its valuation rising to more than $200 million, with most of the layoffs in sales and marketing.
The growing list of layoffs also included Australian Buy Now, Pay Later provider Brighte, which offers money for home improvement and solar energy, and in June laid off 15 percent of its employees whose roles are primarily in corporate and new product development.
Another buy-now, pay-later provider with offices in Sydney, BizPay, laid off 30 percent of its workforce, blaming market conditions for the huge downsizing in May.
#Tragic #photo #exposes #Australian #nightmare


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Gauteng: Comments sought on draft liquor laws
IOL News/ Sapa - Feb 18th, 10:32
Johannesburg - Gauteng residents should make use of a consultation process to comment on proposed draft liquor regulations, the economic development department said on Wednesday.
“(The department) has noted public concerns on some aspects of the proposed draft liquor regulations,” economic development MEC Nkosiphendule Kolisile said in a statement.
“Public consultation is a critical aspect of a caring government and a principle that provincial government takes very seriously,” he said.
“We will carefully and genuinely consider the views of the public in finalising draft regulations.”
He said the proposed regulations were not meant to stifle economic activities relating to the liquor trade.
The public has until February 25 to make submissions.
In terms of the proposed new legislation, every licence must be awarded on an annual basis, the board must consider issues of compliance with licence conditions and the broad-based black economic empowerment act, and it may also refuse to renew a licence.
Licences issued prior to the act will be renewed subject to conditions of the new legislation, and there must be compliance with the act.
There are also new trading hours and stricter zoning requirements.
Certain establishments will not be allowed to sell alcohol on Sunday.
This will apply to traders who sell alcohol only to take-away, such as liquor stores and supermarkets, and not to institutions which serve alcohol for consumption on the premises, such as restaurants.
It provides that traders have a responsibility to ensure their patrons behave in a way that does not affect the rights of ordinary citizens who live near the outlets. - Sapa
Shell South Africa and SPAR South Africa announce SPAR Express Trial
15/08/2013 - 10:12
Shell South Africa and SPAR South Africa have launched an exciting and exclusive retail partnership in the forecourt convenience market.
Unemployment drops in Gauteng
28/05/2013 - 08:05
Johannesburg - Unemployment in Gauteng decreased by nearly 5% between 2011 and 2012, Premier Nomvula Mokonyane said on Monday.
Informal traders get a leg up in Gauteng
06/05/2013 - 09:04
The informal economy is the major contributor to a number of emerging economies globally. In sub-Saharan Africa, the sector constitutes 70 percent of the workforce while in other countries such as Ghana, the informal economy employs 85 percent of the workforce. In India 400 million people work in this sector.
Nedbank backs Tembisa's new MegaMart with R238m Loan facility
29/04/2013 - 08:39
Tembisa in the East Rand, will soon get a new shopping mall by November 2013, thanks to the development of the Tembisa MegaMart following Nedbank Corporate Property Finance’s recent approval of a R238 million finance facility.
Under-21s face drinking ban in South Africa
26/03/2013 - 09:12
Johannesburg - Eighteen-year-olds can drive, pay taxes and join the army – but will be banned from drinking alcohol if Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has his way.


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Hooman Toyota Proud to Feature Brand-New 2014 Toyota 4Runner SUV
May 29, 2013 (PRLEAP.COM) Business NewsLong Beach, CA - Hooman Toyota, one of the leading Toyota dealerships in the Long Beach area, is excited to report that the new 2014 Toyota 4Runner will be available. The new Toyota 4Runner has received a new, more rugged exterior design, along with attractive refinements to the interior.
The Toyota 4Runner has long been the go-to choice for drivers who like to be able to drive anywhere. The fifth-generation 4Runner stands alone as a fully featured and capable mid-size SUV, complete with quality construction and comprehensive suspension technology. For those crave maximum off-road capabilities in their SUVs, the new 4Runner comes in the Trail grade. The Toyota 4Runner also features the optional full-time multi-mode 4x4, along with a powerful five-speed automatic transmission paired with a 4-liter, 270-horsepower V6 engine.
On top of the new 2014 Toyota 4Runner SUV, the Hooman Toyota in Southern California offers a full line-up of quality Toyota vehicles. Among Hooman Toyota's available new and pre-owned vehicles, customers can find the Toyota Yaris, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Camry, the Toyota Prius, and many more. According to a spokesperson for the Long Beach Toyota dealership, "We're proud to offer our customers the very best in Toyotas, plus a complimentary membership in the VIP program that's worth nearly $7000."
About Hooman Toyota
For a number of years, the Hooman Toyota dealership has provided Long Beach, California with quality service and unmatched value. The company features an exclusive VIP Membership Program for loyal customers, offering several complimentary services for every Toyota sold. From pre-owned to new cars to specials, there's something for every customer at this Toyota dealer, and with the new 4Runner SUV, off-road enthusiasts have even more to appreciate.


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Google Glass Going Upscale And Stylish With Cool Luxotticca Ray-Ban And Oakley Frames
This partnership marks the latest effort by Google to make its Glass platform trendy and hip. You may recall that earlier this year, Google launched the Titanium Collection, and if you fast forward to today, Google says there are more than 40 different ways for Explorers to make Glass their own.
As for this new partnership, it's tough to tell what exactly Google Glass and Luxottica have planned. One thing the Google Glass team did say is that, "You're not going to see Glass on your favorite Oakleys or Ray-Bans tomorrow, but today marks the start of a new chapter in Glass's design." In other words, give it some time before you see a custom pair of Oakleys rocking Google Glass.
We also expect to see some brand new Glass options from this partnership. The Google Glass team says Luxottica will bring its design and manufacturing expertise to the mix, and together the two outfits will offer even more Glass style choices to its Explorers line.


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Colorado legislature passed a bill this year to legalize marijuana hospitality businesses, leaving the final decision to allow such businesses to local governments. However, this new law has got the entrepreneurs contemplating on the possibilities and unique avenues that can be explored.
As the city of Durango gears up to initiate a public process to decide on whether marijuana lounges be allowed in the town or not. Business owners have already got a whiff of the huge business opportunity present here; their innovative minds have already started toying with creative business plans like hosting festivals featuring marijuana or serving cannabis while playing a game of snooker.
Kevin Hall, assistant city manager and community development director at Durango City Council is of the view that there is a potential for economic development in the sector of marijuana hospitality businesses and so he has directed asked city officials to study the prospect further.
A member of the city staff expects that the community feedback regarding permission for marijuana hospitality businesses and a rough draft for regulations can be presented in late January.
Durango Marijuana Hospitality Association President Jaime McMillan said that the legalization of marijuana hospitality business opens up new economic prospects. It would be a good business as it will be catering to the locals, as the local residents consume 80% of the cannabis bought in the state.
At present, the city has no rules that govern marijuana hospitality businesses, but there are state’s rules for such ventures and city rules for retail and medical marijuana business. Rules of the city for retail and marijuana shops would possibly not apply to marijuana hospitality businesses.
According to the bill passed, the state can give license to two categories of marijuana hospitality businesses:
The first category of business is allowed to provide space for the consumption of recreational marijuana, but they cannot sell it. This means that customers have to carry their own.
The second category of business can both sell cannabis and provide space for consumption. The first category allows mobile business, whereas the second one does not; also, in second class, business customers are not allowed to bring their marijuana from outside into these establishments.
The state law has mandated that the establishments where public consumption of marijuana happens, alcohol cannot be sold there. Also, the businesses have to ensure that marijuana consumption is not visible from the outside of the business.


text: Forget Star Wars Land or Episode VII. Breaking news out of Disneyland. From across the Star Trader I could've sworn I spotted a familiar Muppet-esque creature on a shelf. As I got closer and closer, I confirmed that a large latex figure of Salacious Crumb is now being sold at the exit to Star Tours. He's 20-something bucks and selling fast.


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Rarely does the face of a major legacy spirits brand speak superlatively about one of its products in relation to the others, but Bushmills master blender Alex Thomas has no qualms about picking favorites. “I think this is the best liquid we’ve ever released,” Thomas casually remarked at an NYC event in May, hoisting a caramel-hued dram overhead in the universal gesture for “sláinte.” The liquid in question — the second in a limited-edition series of Irish single malts titled “The Rare Casks” — spent 29 years resting in various ex-bourbon, oloroso sherry, and Pedro Ximénez sherry casks.
That makes Bushmills Rare Cask No. 2 a full two decades older than the vast majority of Ireland’s distilleries, underscoring the brand’s unique position as consumers rediscover premium Irish whiskey. Exploding interest in the broader Irish whiskey category has recently driven the total number of Irish distilleries into the 40s, just a few decades after a string of economic and political factors shrunk the industry to just two operational distillers. Bushmills — a survivor since the 18th century — managed to keep its doors open throughout the industry’s struggles, often by concentrating marketing and distribution resources on its popular blended whiskeys. Though the distillery continued to lay down barrels of its high-quality single malt, it marketed, bottled, and sold relatively little.
That’s created a unique moment for Bushmills, and whiskeys like The Rare Casks No. 2 — and there are many more like it in the distillery’s vast warehouses, Thomas says — represent its latest reinvention. Just one year into her tenure as chief product developer, Thomas knows she’s sitting atop an unrivaled stockpile of ultra-aged Irish single malt as well as a collection of rare and diverse casks that took decades to assemble. Ireland’s new class of recently opened distilleries simply doesn’t have these things, creating an opportunity for a very old brand to reimagine itself for a new generation of eager single malt consumers.
Thomas aims for nothing less than the restoration of Irish single malt to its once-vaunted place as the world’s standard-bearer for premium single malt whiskey, a mantle seized by Scottish distillers during the second half of the 20th century. And Bushmills — backed by supportive new ownership, a recently completed distillery expansion, an innovative new master blender, and a deep inventory of ultra-aged Irish single malt — is perfectly positioned to realize that vision. “We’ve got such an array of casks here, just sitting and waiting,” Thomas says. “And now we’re finally ready to release them.”
Under New Management
Prior to joining Bushmills some 18 years ago, Thomas spent a decade in the timber industry, where she gained a more than casual appreciation for all things wood and an expertise in timber types and quality that’s carried straight through to her work in barrel selection and cask maturation. After serving in several roles at Old Bushmills Distillery (most recently as master blender for The Sexton Single Malt, a position she retains) Bushmills elevated her to master blender in November 2021.
Since then she’s overseen the launch of Bushmills 12-Year-Old Single Malt Whiskey, which joined the brand’s core lineup of 10-, 16-, and 21-year-old single malts, as well as the rollout of a new bottle and package design for the entire single malts range. She selected all 10 of the whiskeys for this year’s Causeway Collection, an annual release of rare, highly limited single malts available only in select markets. And while her influence on the The Rare Casks bottlings predates her official designation as master blender, Rare Cask No. 2 marks the first release from the series on her watch (joining a 30-year-old Cognac cask-matured single malt that debuted in 2020).
But if releases like The Rare Casks exemplify what Bushmills can do, they don’t necessarily represent what the brand has been doing. Bushmills survived a century that most Irish distilleries did not, and by the 1960s only a pair of production facilities remained: New Midleton Distillery (where Jameson, Powers, Redbreast, and various other labels consolidated production) in County Cork, and Old Bushmills Distillery in County Antrim on Northern Ireland’s windswept northern coast.
The Irish whiskey industry was on the mend by the time spirits giant Diageo bought Bushmills from Pernod Ricard in 2005. But the new ownership tasked Bushmills with regaining market share at the lower end of the market, where Bushmills Original — the distillery’s flagship blend of malt and grain whiskeys — jockeys with other popular Irish names like Jameson, Powers, and Tullamore D.E.W. for space on the back bar. Playing second fiddle to Diageo’s portfolio of dozens of prestigious Scotch whisky labels, Bushmills Irish single malts were an afterthought.
“We had constraints on us because of our past owners,” Thomas says. “They didn’t really want innovation, and they didn’t want us doing certain things.” At the distillery, however, the Bushmills team quietly kept its single malt portfolio top of mind, acquiring new and interesting casks and laying down prodigious stores of single malt, patiently waiting for an opportunity to let its single malts shine once again.
Making Up for a Lost Century
That moment came in late 2014, when Diageo offloaded Bushmills to Proximo Spirits (and by extension, Proximo owner Becle, a.k.a. Jose Cuervo), which has variously called the acquisition “the most important purchase made by Cuervo in its history” and described Bushmills as “one of the biggest brands” in its portfolio. No longer a small fish in Diageo’s vast ocean, Bushmills refocused on its single malts portfolio. And in Proximo, it found a very supportive partner.
“Over my past 20-plus years at Bushmills, one of the most significant and beneficial changes to the business that I’ve been part of has been the prioritization of the production and release of our whiskeys, specifically of our single malts, since the business was acquired by Proximo Spirits/Casa Cuervo in 2014,” says Bushmills master distiller Colum Egan.
If Diageo was the caring but distracted parent, Proximo has proven more doting and attentive. It has supported Bushmills in elevating its single malt range, green-lighting a complete redesign of the packaging. More significantly, it has invested heavily in Bushmills’ infrastructure, completing a massive distillery expansion in 2021 that will effectively double production volume. Reflective of the Bushmills brand, the new distillery nods to the past while facing squarely toward the future, housing a state-of-the-art distillery capable of producing 6.5 million liters annually within a stone exterior built by local stonemasons using methods traditional to the region. The buildout also provides additional warehouse space for single malt maturation (ensuring adequate future supplies), and expanded facilities for further cask experimentation and maturation trials.
And when the distillery team wanted to hire from within to fill its vacant master blender position last year, Proximo agreed.
The parent company’s investments in Bushmills have paid off, as both its blends and single malts have experienced tremendous growth, Egan says. Irish whiskey as a category has exploded in popularity of late, notching a compound annual growth rate of 22 percent by volume from 2020 to 2021, according to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis. Exclude blended whiskeys — i.e., Jameson and, to a lesser extent, Proper No. Twelve — from that data, however, and that number jumps to 38 percent. According to Proximo, Bushmills is now the fastest-growing brand in its competitor set at price points above $40, indicative of the “premiumization” trend that’s taken hold across the broader spirits market. Consumers who have long associated the term “single malt” strictly with Scotch whisky are discovering Irish offerings, and that increased product awareness has translated directly to sales.
“People are wanting different maturations, finishes, different technical styles, different mash bills — they want to taste stuff that’s 25 or 35 years old,” says Jack McGarry, co-founder and managing partner of The Dead Rabbit, a New York City shrine to Irish whiskey. “There’s definitely a market for them anytime these products come online.”
As such, it’s no coincidence that higher-end Bushmills offerings like The Rare Casks series and the Causeway Collection have all launched in the last few years as Proximo’s investments — and its willingness to let Bushmills be Bushmills — have begun to bear fruit. While Ireland’s new class of young distilleries wait patiently for their recently casked liquids to mature (or scour the country in search of old stocks to purchase), Bushmills sits atop what is arguably the world’s largest and most varied collection of long-matured Irish single malts at a time when consumers are beginning to clamor for them.
“There isn’t anybody else who can really stand up and say they’ve got the quality and quantity of casks that Bushmills has,” master blender Thomas says. Bushmills recently released its third edition of The Rare Casks, a 30-year-old single malt that’s been resting in ex-bourbon, sherry, and Madeira casks since 1991. The Causeway Collection will continue to showcase very old and very rare cask expressions (the 2022 turnout included a 2002-vintage single malt matured in sweet vermouth casks “that went down phenomenally well,” Thomas says).
Bushmills stockpile of aged single malts runs sufficiently deep that the company will also add two new aged single malts to its core range next year, slotting into the lineup at older age statements than the 21-year-old that’s currently the eldest of the bunch. “We’re in a position where we can put that stock out into the market as a regular release, every year, as part of the core brand,” Thomas says. It will take younger Irish distilleries decades to get to the same place.
Meanwhile, Thomas and company continue to experiment, laying down more and more single malt and amassing an ever-widening variety of casks. “We don’t have to stick to just oak,” Thomas says, referring to Scottish whisky regulations that dictate all single malt Scotch whiskies must be aged in oak barrels. Bushmills distillery store sells an acacia wood-finished single malt that’s proved extremely popular with visitors, for instance. Thomas demurs when asked what sorts of specific casks — oak or otherwise — excite her at the moment, but confirms she’s acquired several “weird and wonderfuls” that could figure into future Causeway Collections or Rare Cask releases.
Whether or not all that is enough to restore Irish whiskey’s reputation as the world’s finest single malt depends largely on the consumer. But Thomas, Egan, and the rest of the distillery team understand they face a rare opportunity, even in the context of Bushmills’ centuries-long history. Timing is everything in a business where production timelines can run into the decades. And right now, everything — from its supportive new ownership to its expanding distillery capacity to its existing collection of aged stocks to its ambitious new master blender — is trending in Bushmills’ direction at a time when demand for Irish single malt is also on the rise. Over the coming decade, Bushmills will continue to release new ultra-aged single malts that differ from anything released previously, Thomas says, providing ongoing opportunities for consumers to find their way into Irish single malt.
“In a way, they did all of us a favor, because the market is in a better place than it was even 10 years ago,” Thomas says, nodding to the many years Bushmills spent stockpiling aged single malt under previous owners. “But now the time is right.”


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CES 2023: MC²’s Most Decorated Year Yet
PARAMUS, New Jersey — MC2 is pleased to announce four of its client partners have been recognized on EXHIBITOR Magazine’s 2023 Best of CES list celebrating the Top 20 exhibitors at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the most for any agency.
From January 5-8, the tech world gathered in Las Vegas, Nevada with over 115,000 attendees making their way to the show floor, the largest global tech event since 2020, according to the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). With the stage set and the standard set high after witnessing three clients land on last year’s Best of CES, this year’s show did not disappoint for MC2 with Samsung, SK Group, Hyundai Heavy Industries, and John Deere paving the way onto EXHIBITOR Magazine’s 2023 Best of CES List.
Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and highlight our award-winning presence at CES 2023!
John Deere (Rank #13)
As a leading brand in manufacturing agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, drivetrains, and more, it still surprises many when they see the recognizable green and yellow upon entering the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). Fast forward to today, and over half a dozen CES Innovation Awards, John Deere has become a staple at CES with its tech portfolio elevating the brand to new heights.
For CES 2023, John Deere partnered with MC2 to champion both design and fabrication for its 100×110 show footprint. The exhibit was designed to cohesively display their newest planting technology known as ExactShot, helping farmers decrease starter fertilizer by 60-70%, and an electric excavator powered by a Kreisel battery improving reliability, safety, and performance on the construction site. After it was all said and done, John Deere ranked #13 on this year’s Best of CES list, its 4th appearance in a row. Not bad for an agriculture brand, huh?
Hyundai Heavy Industries (Rank #10)
New to MC2, Hyundai Heavy Industries and its agency of choice, Cheil Worldwide, created a captivating floor presence broadcasting the brand’s commitment in creating a sustainable ocean transformation through numerous ocean-related plans dubbed its Ocean Transformation strategies. Spanning over 6,000+ square feet, Hyundai Heavy Industries and five of its sister brands saw themselves walk away with a total of nine CES 2023 Innovation Awards and landing the #10 spot on this year’s Best of CES list.
SK Group (Rank #8)
Having the title of Best of the Best is no easy feat, let alone on your debut year to arguably the single most important tech show in the world, but that’s exactly what SK Telecommunications, Ltd. did at CES 2022! With the bar set high for this year’s appearance, SK went big rolling out the show floor carpet for eight of its business units and ten global partners to display 40+ eco-friendly technologies and products, including its Urban Air Mobility solutions.
SK Group’s storytelling was on full display the moment you entered their space with groups of attendees being welcomed into a room showcasing its eco-conscious product line in an immersive experience via image mapping, similar to their breathtaking experience last year. For this year’s list, SK Group saw themselves ranked #8 in the Top 10!
Samsung Electronics (Rank #3)
If there’s a list of must-see brands at any CES, Samsung is certainly a must-see when it comes to their show presence, product offers, announcements, and more. At this year’s show, the end results were no different with Samsung being a showstopper with its 125×290 show footprint in the LVCC’s Central Hall. With this year’s theme being, “Bringing Calm to Our Connected World,” Samsung Electronics and its partner of choice, Cheil Worldwide, welcomed attendees into a bright, luring floor plan focused on not only Samsung’s connectivity between tech devices but the connectivity between people and the environment.
This is Samsung’s 7th year in a row on EXHIBITOR Magazine’s Best of CES list taking the podium as the 3rd best exhibit at this year’s CES!
We have always believed a strong approach is built off strong collaborative efforts and CES is the perfect stage to challenge such efforts. The success we have experienced with having four brands in the Top 20, three of which made the Top 10, is a testament to all parties involved, including our clients and partners alike. We would like to thank each and every one of our clients, both listed and not listed in this article, as well as our partners at Cheil Worldwide, NMR Events, Fine Design Associates, Inc., and Racepoint Global.
For any inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact email@example.com.


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Red Bull is to launch an accelerator for startups -- called Red Bull Amplifier -- that aims to connect digital innovators to the company's audience of music fans »
A non-profit startup accelerator programme called IP Bootstrap has launched in the UK with the view to help companies form teams, get training and attract seed funding »
In what is best described as a flash memory willy-waving demo, Kingston has unveiled a 1TB USB thumbdrive -- that’s over a thousand gigabytes on your keyring »
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Wired.co.uk reviews the Samsung Galaxy K zoom »


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In Phoenix, one of those booming Sunbelt cities that keeps growing but still isn't all that interesting, a local Ford dealership is running a disturbing, :30 ad that hauls out every cliche in the book, from little boys saluting soldiers to eagles to waving flags to people singing "what you drive, drives America."
This runs incessantly, along with equally disturbing ads showing nice family people petting their children and talking about how they are going to vote for Proposition 102, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman in the state constitution, barring any "activist" judges from allowing same-sex unions in the state. Now that's progress!
Essentially, the Ford ad, for a dealership in suburban Glendale, is out-Detroiting modern-day Detroit in its old school insistence that people who do not buy American cars are dirty pinko commie traitors. (Why do you hate America, Prius drivers?)
Again -- make more cars that matter/last/are affordable to drive, and people will buy them. Why is this so hard to understand?


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Flying the Aussie Flag at the Grammys
Everywhere the camera turned on the Grammy Awards red carpet today, there was a distinct Australian flavour to the scene.
Style icon Louise Roe kicked it off when she hit the red carpet first in her sexy black Manning Cartell dress, and her efforts were soon matched with those of presenter Giuliana Rancic, who looked stunning in orange lace Alex Perry. Sydney designer Johanna Johnson also had her wares on display — model Chrissy Teigen looked absolutely incredible in a sparkly gold number, while singer Pink went with a coral-red strapless dress that hugged in all the right places.
Flying the flag in physical form? Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, who had the attention of everyone on the carpet thanks to her Elie Saab dress, and Perth model Nicole Trunfio. Click through to see the Aussie effect at the Grammys.


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© Reuters. A trader looks at screens as he works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York
By Amy Caren Daniel and Arjun Panchadar
(Reuters) – U.S. stocks surged more than 1.5% on Tuesday after the Trump administration said it would delay 10% tariffs on some Chinese products, including laptops and cell phones, driving a 4% rally in shares of iPhone maker Apple Inc (NASDAQ:).
In a statement, the administration also excluded video game consoles and certain items of footwear and clothing from the 10% rate, which had been scheduled to start next month, an abrupt pull-back from its hardline stance on trade.
That eased the fears of a recession driven by the protracted trade war that has dominated trading on Wall Street this year and spurred a bout of extreme volatility following President Donald Trump’s announcement of a new round of tariffs on Aug. 1.
“The escalation of the U.S. China trade war has been an overhang … and the fact that we have got a bit of a reprieve on that is putting a bit of optimism into markets,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities in New York.
“There was a risk that China would retaliate by not even showing up to the negotiating table, so now it feels like we got a step in the right direction towards negotiation and perhaps an end to the trade war.”
A 4.2% jump in shares of Apple, which makes iPhones and MacBooks in China, along with a rise in chip stocks pushed the technology sector 2.24% higher. The Philadelphia chip index () rose 3.16%.
Industrial bellwethers 3M Co (N:) and Caterpillar Inc (N:), traditionally among the most sensitive to trade concerns and China, jumped about 3% each, while the S&P 500


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IT’S a long-time problem that continues to victimize countless people, particularly those living in far-flung communities across the Philippines, and worry concerned government authorities.
Admittedly, “online scams” are perpetrated by “highly-enterprising” but “unscrupulous” individuals, who use the many wonders of modern technology to enrich themselves.
Recently, these modern-day scammers used the name of the Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost), a government-owned and controlled corporation, to hoodwink their intended victims.
In fact, PHLPost has received a number of inquiries and complaints involving online messages received from a fictitious website (www.parceltrackandtracing.com).
PHLPost warned the public to be cautious of “online scams.” Coming from the fictitious website, a text message is sent to the supposed beneficiary of a shipment of an electronic gadget.
But the recipient of the gadget, an Apple iPhone 11 which is ready for delivery, must cough up a shipping fee of P19.00. More often than not, the supposed gadgets do not exist, said PHLPost.
It urged the public to disregard messages sent through the said website, pointing out that “PHLPost does not have an active “online promo” where the public can get free electronic gadgets.
At the same time, the government-owned corporation reminded the public not to disclose any personal information, particularly bank or financial data, to the “online scammers.”
Perhaps, concerned authorities should look deeper into the “online scams” considering the still mushrooming number of Filipinos using cellular phones and other electronic gadgets.
“Online scammers,” like the ordinary criminals and thieves in government uniform, ought to rot in jail.


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Scottish Power sued in US
SCOTTISH Power is being sued for alleged manipulation of electricity prices during the crippling power crisis on the West Coast of America two years ago.
In the first of what is expected to be a barrage of lawsuits claiming billions of dollars in damages, the Port of Seattle blamed the British utility company, through its formerly troubled PacifiCorp subsidiary, and ten other power marketing and trading companies, for sending charges soaring in 2000 and 2001.
The crisis caused blackouts shortages and, in some cases, a ten-fold increase in prices.
The lawsuit claims that power companies doing business with Enron and other traders helped ramp up prices by using false information supplied to them. The claim, lodged in the US District Court in Seattle, does not specify the damages being sought, but experts expect the sums involved in this and other cases in the pipeline to be huge.
'It was apparent to many early on that this big train wreck didn't happen by accident,' said Philip Chabot, a lawyer representing the Port of Seattle.
Scottish Power, led by chief executive Ian Russell, has claimed that it, too, was a victim of a cadre of powerful energy-trading companies creating shortages to drive up prices.
In 1999, Scottish Power paid £3.86bn for PacifiCorp.
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Peloton interactive stock was flying high on reports that multiple companies, including Nike and Amazon.Com, were interested in acquiring the hard-pressed stationery- bike maker.
Peloton stock (ticker: PTON) gained 32% to $32.40 even in the face of reports that it was now a takeover target. The stock fell by 31% in 2022 and 84% over the previous year as of Friday’s close amid dropping sales of the company’s connected bikes, treadmill recalls, and other issues.
On Friday, the wall street journal reported that Amazon was listed among the peloton bidders, while the Financial Times reported that Nike was also on that list. Meanwhile, a Wedbush analyst, Dan Ives, said he “would be shocked if Apple is not aggressively involved in this potential deal process.”
As if all this chaos wasn’t enough, Peloton is meant to release its earnings report on Tuesday. However, the numbers will probably be less important than the information it releases about cost cuts, production, and other issues.
Even then, the takeover will take centre stage. Amazon (ticker: AMZN) makes sense as a potential suitor since Peloton uses Amazon Web Services, plus its chief technical officer was a presenter at AWS conferences. Rohit Kulkarni, an MKM analyst, said, “In other words, Amazon and Peloton have had a working relationship. Arguably, fitness can be seen as the next consumer experience to be digitized, after books, music, video and video games.”
The main question for investors of course, is Peloton’s actual worth. Using Netflix (ticker: NFLX), Roku (ticker: ROKU), and Lululemon Athletica (ticker: LULU), which trade at 5.5 to 6 times next- fiscal year revenue and 25 to 35 times next fiscal year EBTIDA- earnings before taxes interest and depreciation- as benchmarks would place Peloton stock at $34 to $36 basing on fiscal 2023 sales of $5 billion and EBITDA of $350 to $450 million.
The other alternative would be to compare the company to FitBit, which was previously acquired by Alphabet (ticker: GOOGL) in 2019. Alphabet paid 1 times enterprise value/ sales. Still, Kulkarni believes that Peloton deserves a multiple of 2.7 times EV/ Sales simply because Peloton’s “business model and it’s overall value proposition deserve a clear premium to FitBit.” This alone would place Peloton’s price tag at roughly $30.


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Vauxhall has won the Editor’s Choice category at the 2020 Business Car awards, impressing the industry title with its cost-efficient vehicle range and excellent customer service. Vauxhall was chosen by Business Car editor Simon Harris for the award win thanks to its deep knowledge and expertise in the fleet sector.
Simon Harris, editor of Business Car, said: “Vauxhall is always thinking of its fleet customers, and understands them in ways that many others participating in the fleet sector don't. As company car drivers pay tax based on a car's official price, Vauxhall's strategy to position Business Edition variants of the Grandland X Hybrid substantially lower than the retail-focused versions was innovative. As products are improving, the brand should be able to win more customers. It has great customer service, and its website has excellent information and insight for fleet operators and company car drivers.”
Earlier in the year, Vauxhall became the first mainstream volume manufacturer to achieve full RDE2 compliance across its entire model line-up, giving company car drivers and businesses significant savings.
Diesel cars that already meet RDE2 standards are currently exempt from a 4% minimum surcharge to the Benefit-in-Kind (BIK) company car tax rate, which has been applicable to all diesel models since 2018*, bringing significant savings to company car drivers and fleet operators.
James Taylor, General Sales Director, Vauxhall, said: “Vauxhall remains one of Britain’s leading fleet providers and we are happy to be recognised by such an influential title in the field. Earlier in the year, we became the first mainstream volume manufacturer to achieve full RDE2 compliance, passing significant savings to company car users. As well as the massive strides we’ve made in reducing CO2s, 2020 has also seen us launch a range of BEVs and hybrids including Corsa-e, Mokka-e, Grandland X Hybrid range & the brilliant, all electric Vivaro-e LCV. It’s also great to see our high standards of customer service also recognised as part of the Editor’s Choice award.”


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2015 Toyota Tundra Diesel is here. Many carmakers nowadays are changing to smaller, greener, improved engines to make sure that than can take in less gas and also discharge less exhaust fumes. Toyota is among the largest car manufacturers, advertising its hybrid autos while attempting to make the fuel cell modern technology come true. Overall, […]
2016 Ford Ranger is coming soon. First specifics have actually been shown up regarding brand-new 2016 Ford Ranger. As we have actually all been observing these last years approximately, US small truck market has actually been instead plain as well as uninspiring. Key reason for that was the absence of competitors, yet with GM going […]
2016 Nissan Titan XD is coming soon. The Nissan Titan XD is a totally upgraded durable pickup, powered by a powerful Cummins engine. It is arranged to take place sale in late 2015. You ought to maintain reviewing this article to learn all the details.
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The automotive landscape is buzzing with excitement as the 2024 Maruti Suzuki Dzire has been spotted undergoing rigorous testing once again, this time braving the chilly terrains of Himachal Pradesh. As Maruti Suzuki gears up to elevate the compact sedan segment, the new Dzire is poised to blend familiarity with innovation, promising a refreshed experience for sedan enthusiasts.
Fresh Design and Enhanced Features
While retaining the essence of its beloved predecessor, the upcoming Dzire showcases a silhouette that resonates with the current model but with significant aesthetic enhancements.
The reprofiled front grille coupled with the sophisticated sweptback headlamps are set to offer a more modern and sleek appearance. The car’s profile is accentuated by a coupe-like roofline and a compact rear section, giving it a sporty yet elegant stance.
One of the most intriguing updates is the inclusion of a sunroof in the test mule, hinting at the possibility of Maruti Suzuki integrating this sought-after feature in the new model. This addition would undoubtedly elevate the Dzire’s appeal, offering a touch of luxury to the compact sedan segment.
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Anticipated Interior Upgrades
The 2024 Dzire is expected to be laden with an array of contemporary features to enhance the driving and passenger experience. A 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system is likely to be the centerpiece of its cabin, providing seamless connectivity and entertainment.
Additionally, automatic climate control, keyless entry, and cruise control are anticipated to be part of the package, ensuring convenience and comfort for occupants.
Powertrain: Efficient and Reliable
Under the hood, the new Dzire will inherit Maruti Suzuki’s latest innovation – the Z-series 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine. Known for its efficiency and performance, this engine is expected to deliver 82 BHP and 108 Nm, offering a balance of power and fuel efficiency.
This engine will also power the next-gen Swift, indicating Maruti Suzuki’s confidence in its new powertrain technology.


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UK: Fever-Tree owners to sell stake to private equity group - report
A private equity firm is expected to take a stake in Fever-Tree, reports suggest
The owners of Fever-Tree are set to pocket “tens of millions of pounds” by selling a stake in the business to a private equity group, according to reports.
Charles Rolls and Tim Warrillow, the London-headquartered company's founders, are close to agreeing a deal with LDC, a private equity house backed by Lloyds Banking Group, the Sunday Times reported yesterday (10 March). The two owners are expected to offload a “chunk” of stock, but remain investors, it was reported.
A Fever-Tree spokesperson told just-drinks today that a press release was being issued in “the next few days”, but declined to comment further.
Fever-Tree's core product is tonic water, but its range also includes ginger ale.
The company was set up in 2005 and now exports its products to 35 markets. Last August it appointed its first international sales and marketing manger to further target overseas growth.
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The latest auto news, first looks and first drives.
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