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Samsung Omnia Pro B7330 now official; all Omnia phones to get WM 6.5
Samsung has officially announced the Omnia Pro B7330, a Windows Mobile Standard smartphone that was first seen at the end of August.
The Omnia Pro B7330 will be available starting October, coming with Windows Mobile 6.5, a square 320 x 320 pixels display, full QWERTY keyboard and HSUPA connectivity.
The new smartphone also features a 3MP camera, FM radio and powerful messaging functions. As you probably already know, the Omnia Pro B7330 looks similar to the Samsung Omnia Pro B7320:


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Tue, Jan 05, 2010 | 16:46 GMT
Kart racing game Zero Gear lands on Steam next week
Nimblebit has announced that Zero Gear, its kart racer for PC, will go live on Steam January 12 with a discount to those who pre-order.
The standard price for the game is $19.99, but you get five-bucks off and access to the beta if you pre-order.
Watch the cute little video of it below. There’s loads more media through here.

domain: news


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Stats from PWC show that those of us who plan to shop this Black Friday will be spending a whopping £5 billion over the course of the weekend.
The annual festival of consumerism falls this year on Friday 23 November (as ever, on the first Friday after Thanksgiving).
While some will be getting gifts for their loved ones ahead of Christmas, plenty will be eschewing the spirit of giving altogether and treating ourselves instead.
There are plenty of great bargains to be had when it comes to clothes, and some stores will be hitting us with discounts of up to 70%.
Heres what we know so far, but well keep the page updated as we find out more.
Topshop last year offered up to 50% off, and added the sweetener of free delivery.
It could be the same this year, but so far weve heard nothing from the brand. They have got a sale on already if you really cant wait, though.
Asos are being extremely tight-lipped about what their discounts will be on the day.
We contacted them, but were told its all a secret until everything goes live.
Club members will likely get the best prices on Black Friday this year, as there tends to be an extra 10% off sale prices for them.
For everyone else, and based on past Black Fridays, it could be up to half price on selected lines.
Its a veritable smorgasbord of bargains in the run up to Black Friday. Heres what you can expect:
- Thursday/Friday 16/17 November – Up to 30% off selected brands
- Monday/Tuesday 19/20 November – Up to 50% off going out
- Wednesday/Thurdays 21/22 November – Up to 50% off winter shop
- Friday and weekend – 50% off hundreds of lines
- Cyber Monday – 20% off and free delivery
If last year is anything to go by, there could be big savings to be had at New Look.
In 2017, there was 25% across the site and in-store, and the sale lasted from the start of Black Friday to the end of Cyber Monday.
Due to recent store closures, there may be a limited menswear selection in your chosen location, so have a look beforehand if theres anything you have your eye on.
Pretty Little Thing
PLT will be offering up to 50% on certain lines, starting on Black Friday itself.
You can sign up to receive updates or – if youve ordered from the site recently – use the Unicorn code on their Black Friday page that promises a special prize.
Offers here will last from Friday 23 to Monday 26 November, and be available both online and in store.
There will be up to 50% various items, but all jeans are £17, all boots are £20, which could be perfect for a Christmas walk get-up.
Again, this sale will last from Friday 23 to Monday 26 November, so youll have all weekend to shop.
There will be up to 50% off everything in store and online, but the week before will see some introductory offers with up to 30% off.
In 2017, Missguided surprised us and started their sale early.
There was one day last year where the brand offered 50% off absolutely everything, so keep your eyes pealed for something similar.
Sign up for updates on the site to stay ahead of the curve.
Like Missguided, Boohoo did a half price errythang day during their deal last year.
Keep your fingers crossed for more of the same, and sign up for an alert when it goes live here.
This sale starts earlier, on Thursday 22 November, and finishes on Sunday 26 November
There will be introductory offers on different categories from Sunday 18 November, with the full range of sale products going as low as half price.


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In a pretty interesting move for Zynga that could prove to be a huge one of gamers accept is its new "Zynga with Friends", a gaming network that could have a potentially huge influence on multiple platforms from mobile to PC to consoles. It'll compete with Apple, Google, Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, and a few other gaming networks.
And with this move, it catapults Zynga, which relies a lot on Facebook for audience, can now have other options should Facebook ever go the way of MySpace. Not only that, because of the ubiquity of casual gamers in mobile, it will have found a more secure way to generate revenues from ads and in-app purchases that Facebook and Google has failed to do thus far.
Presenting a challenge to incumbents and newcomers alike, like Apple's Gamecenter, ZwF will feature many social features like chats and stream besides cross-platform game play. What ZwF will do is enable Zynga to create a level of engagement that I think Xbox is the only one that has been able to do. That is all we hear about.
ZwF could, in fact, become a direct challenge to Facebook, which would be Zuckberg's worst nightmare apart from the Instagram threat. Maybe, Zynga could be snatch up by one of the larger mobile players like Google. Or maybe, Facebook will be forced to spend its billions to keep it away from Google.
What will be interesting is if ZwF's social initiative takes off, we can see Zynga not only as a huge mobile player but social as well. In fact, years from now, we may be talking about Facebook being "myspaced" by Zynga, becoming a bigger challenge to Google+.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
At first glance, you might think that the title of this article is a clickbait considering that China is the second biggest economy in the w...
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The 529 Plan is one of the better idea for those who can afford it. It is a education savings account that allows parents and students to s...
Deglobalization And Emergence of Regional Blocks May Increase Cryto Adoption (Especially Those Who Are Anti-West)Source: CNBC . Russian aggression and invasion of Ukraine has brought a realignment of global affairs and changed the normal flows of politi...


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Demand could be high as HP is selling all it makes
It appears that people like the idea behind HP's Envy X2 "detachable PC" with Snapdragon 835 SoC as although it is now once again available, HP seems to be selling out as soon as it puts some online.
Demand for Windows 10 always-connected PC might be real
Although many had their doubts regarding Snapdragon powered always connected notebooks/tablets, it appears that there is quite a demand as it appears that HP's Envy X2 has sold out in a matter of hours.
12.3-inch WUXGA+ screen and Snapdragon 835 SoC
HP has now officially launched the product page for its upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 powered HP Envy X2 tablet with a detachable keyboard, revealing a few more specifications.


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Women’s Outerwear Line for the Sam’s Club Division of Walmart for 5 Years
Media Coverage Estimated Placement Value
Over $40 million
Increased in-store sales by as much as 2,000%
Featured on numerous local and national TV programs, including “The View”, “The Today Show”, “Fox News”, “Conan”, “ ESPN”, and "The Oxygen Network"
Featured in various business publications, including Fortune. The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, as well as on CNBC and the Fox Business Channel


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iOS 7 features and release date
A report by our sister title The Full Signal last week suggested today would be the day when all was revealed. And how right editor Marin Perez was!
iOS devices are used by many business users due to the availability of apps, security and ease of use. We’ve picked the seven core features we would like to see Apple introduce in iOS 7.
7. Refreshed interface/customisable skins The iOS interface has been the same since day one and is due an upgrade. While we don’t think Apple will carry out a complete overhaul of the interface, refreshed icons and new ways of navigating could be more likely.
We’d also like to see Apple offering users different themes that can be applied without having to go to the App Store, so users can customise their handsets.
6. Widgets/Interactive icons Apple has been an opponent of widgets, claiming they are not necessary when you have apps.
The firm is unlikely to start rolling them out. Perhaps, it is more realistic that it will introduce interactive icons – where a long press on will bring up a preview of the app so you can quickly glance at the latest email, for example.
5. Quick settings in the notifications menu One thing which is far superior in Android is the notifications menu. Apple has already “borrowed” the drop down list to show emails, texts and other notifications, and it would be a good idea to add a quick settings portion to this.
This would prevent users from having to go into the “Settings” menu to execute simple commands such as turning on/off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS connections.
4. Improved multitasking iOS doesn’t quite have full blown multitasking, which is also available in Android. Apple has stuck with “app switching”, which allows users to cycle between open apps after double tapping the home button.
This isn’t that intuitive and we’d like to see Apple offering up full app previews. We’d also like the ability to run two apps side-by-side on devices such as the iPad. Being able to browse the internet and read email, for example, would be an invaluable feature.
3. Actionable notifications Instead of having to open up full applications when you receive a notification such as a text message, it would be great to be able to tap a “reply”, quickly fire off a response and get back to what you were doing. Similarly it would be good to have an “accept” button in the notification.
2. Battery saver mode The battery life on the iPad has generally been strong, but the iPhone has been plagued with issues.
A battery saver mode that automatically kicks in when the level hits the 20 per cent mark would be ideal. Better yet, would be a system that allows users to optimise performance when the battery is low.
1. Enhanced keyboard The keyboard has long been the worst feature of iOS devices. It’s too basic, and simple tasks such as changing the position of the cursor or copying and pasting can cause frustration.
There are many concept videos out there, but it’s these additions to the iOS keyboard, from Daniel Hooper, which we would like to see most:
(This article was originally published on 26/04/13 and updated on 09/06/13 as Apple's developer conference neared and then again on 10/06/13 following the WWDC keynote. It was updated again on 01/07/13 to include further details about the release date of iOS 7, the iPhone 5s and iPhone
Release date- September 2013 date is not exactly officially confirmed


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Even though we’re several months away from E3 2020, and Sony Playstation and E3 Coliseum producer Geoff Keighley have both declined attending this year, there are still other publishers attending.
Nintendo and Xbox will once again attend along with publishers Square Enix, Ubisoft, and Capcom.
Here is the list thus far:
- Square Enix
- Take-Two Interactive
- Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Warner Bros. Games
Keep in mind, this isn’t the full list. The ESAwill be announcing additional details as we get closer to June.


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“Extra! Extra! Tweet all about it?” News for the Smartphone Generation
All three social media giants have released new apps or features to deliverbreaking news to their users. Facebook recently announced a’s standalone news app, Notify aggregates print, digital and video news content straight from the publishers for their users based on different topics. Twitter, using a similar idea, rolled out “Twitter Moments” on their web and mobile platforms to curate top trending tweets across different categories such as News, Sports, Entertainment. Snapchat’s Discover function allows users to access publisher-curated content from the last 24-hour news cycle. With three very similar products, these social media companies need to rely on their brand saliency and image to propel them outside of their usual media offering and into the world of news.
In today’s brandscape, most traditional forms of news media have found themselves to be Unknown/Unfocused or a commoditized brand. New forms of media have now taken the top spots in consumer hearts, with Facebook as the leader of the pack.
According to the overall US population, Facebook is also their social media brand of choice. Facebook is used regularly by over 40% of its users compared to Twitter’s 10% and Snapchat’s 4%.
Facebook’s large user base might be the key selling point for news publishers to join ranks with this new distribution platform. But what does Facebook actually stand for?
- Facebook is more Up To Date than 99.6% of all other brands and 99.1% more Progressive
- Facebook is the most Social brand across all categories, which is especially important to the smartphone generation as they like to discuss current events with their peers
- Facebook is also more Trendy than 99.1% of all other brands
This is not to say that Facebook should sit back and relax while its competitors fight amongst themselves. Snapchat is not far behind in Intelligence, with only 9% of brands sitting between Facebook and its newer competitor that offers real-time updates that are so timely they disappear once they are no longer relevant. Though today’s smartphone generation wants quick news, but they also expect sources to be Intelligent and Reliable. So the question is – can Facebook be that source?


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Apple unveiled a slew of hardware products and software updates this week, including new desktop computers featuring the G5 processor, the company's first-ever 64-bit desktop CPU.
Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive officer, announced three new desktops, shipping in August, that will offer the company's next-generation G5 chip. Designed in co-operation with IBM, the processor will run at up to 2GHz at launch, and will support both 32 and 64-bit applications. Jobs revealed the products at the Apple World Wide Developers conference in San Francisco.
To move desktop computing from 32 to 64 bits, and to catch up with the Windows-based competition in terms of processor speed, Apple and IBM decided to create a CPU dramatically different from the existing G4, said John Kelly, senior vice president of the technology group at IBM.
"We took the core of a 64-bit supercomputer and put it in a desktop chip," he said. The processors are fabricated in IBM's new $3 billion semiconductor facility in New York.
While Jobs, and others, repeatedly noted the G5's 64-bit pedigree, he did not offer any specifics about when the company's operating system would offer support for 64-bit desktop applications. Today's desktops are 32-bit machines, as are the operating systems and applications that run on them.
In addition to 64-bit support, the new G5 offers a 1-GHz frontside bus (up from 167 MHz in today's G4), for bandwidth of up to 16GB per second. Comparable Intel Pentium 4-based systems offer an 800-MHz frontside bus for a maximum of 6.4 GBps throughput.
The processor, along with its accompanying system controller chip, offers support for a range of additional next-generation technologies, Jobs said. Those technologies include up to 8GB of 400MHz DDR memory, Serial ATA interfaces, PCI-X slots, and AGP 8X Pro.
The processor is based on IBM's 130-nanometre technology and contains more than 58 million transistors, of which Jobs said, "I don't know how they count them."
Apple isn't a processor vendor, so new processors mean new PCs. This time around, Apple's designers opted for a slick, all-aluminum chassis created to help keep the new chip -- and its surrounding components -- running cool.
To improve cooling, the new desktops include nine fans, Jobs said. However, because each fan is independently controlled and runs only when needed, the system is actually much quieter than previous desktops, he said.
Apple will offer three retail desktop configurations; buyers can also build their own computer at the company's Web site.
Apple's entry-level $US1999 system will include a 1.6GHz G5, an 800MHz frontside bus, 256MB of 333MHz DDR memory (4GB maximum), an 80GB hard drive, an NVidia GeForce FX 5300 graphics card with 64MB of DDR RAM, three PCI slots (33MHz) and a 4X SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW). The $2399 unit will include a 1.8GHz G5, a 900MHz frontside bus, 512MB of 400MHz DDR memory (8GB maximum), a 160GB hard drive, three PCI-X slots (two at 133MHz, one at 100MHz) and the same graphics card and optical drive.
The top-of-the-line unit will sell for $2999 and will include dual 2GHz G5s, dual independent 1GHz frontside buses, 512MB of 400MHz DDR memory (8GB maximum), a 160GB hard drive, a Radeon 9600 Pro graphics card with 64MB of DDR RAM, three PCI-X slots (two at 133MHz, one at 100MHz) and the 4X SuperDrive.
After unveiling the new hardware, Jobs showed benchmarks in which the new systems competed well with existing Windows-based PCs.
Then he and a parade of executives from other companies demonstrated the new hardware's real-world prowess by running side-by side demonstrations of high-end applications against a fast PC from Dell. Of course, the Apple machines won each demonstration handily. Panther on track
Hardware was only part of Apple's story this week: Jobs also unveiled a long list of new features the company will roll into its next update of the Mac OS X operating system, code-named Panther. Available now in beta and due out at the end of the year, the software will sell for $129.
The update includes more than 100 new features, Jobs said. Chief among them: The new Finder feature that puts common folders, drives and servers in one easy-to-find location; the new Expose tool that lets you view all open windows immediately, and Apple's FileVault, which instantly encrypts and decrypts files you store in your home directory.
Finally, Jobs pulled out the big guns for a demonstration of the new IChat AV. Based on Apple's existing IChat instant messaging program, Jobs said the new software offers audio and visual features that make it "video conferencing for the rest of us".
The program requires zero setup since it uses existing instant messaging technology, he said. To use the audio tools you need a microphone and a dial-up connection; for video you need a camera and broadband.
Apple launched the free beta version of IChat AV today; the final product will ship as part of the Panther OS and will also be available separately for $29. In conjunction, the company also launched a new $150 FireWire-ready video camera called the ISight.


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REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. (CBS.MW) -- Oracle shares traded higher Tuesday after the software giant's top executives said they expect no growth in fiscal second-quarter profit compared with last year.
The company ORCL, +0.26% also forecast a 15 percent decline in software license sales. Oracle cited a continuing decline in corporate spending on information technology during the economic slowdown.
"We don't think things are recovering," said CEO Larry Ellison. "We are anticipating that things will get slightly worse."
Shares rose 27 cents to $11.28. Oracle shares lost 45 cents, or 4 percent, in heavy Nasdaq trading on Monday.
Jeff Henley, Oracle's chief financial officer, said in an interview that the company did "as well as could be expected" in its fiscal first quarter ended Aug. 31. The company announced Thursday that its first-quarter earnings rose 2 percent, and that it beat analyst earnings expectations with help from cutting costs and from services sales.
Henley said his best guess is that earnings growth will be "relatively flat" for the current quarter ending in November, compared with the company's year-ago profit of 11 cents a share.
Henley said he expects sales of software licenses to be down about 15 percent for the second quarter, compared with a year ago, because of customer spending delays brought about by uncertain economic conditions.
Henley also said he expects the company will have difficulty beating year-ago results until its fiscal 2002 third quarter, when Oracle sees easier sales comparisons. Executives pointed out that sales of Oracle's software to dot-com companies started to wane early in 2001.
"We feel good that we've been able to maintain profitability without having to have wholesale job cutbacks," Henley said. "We're investing in research and development, and waiting it out until the economy comes around and business picks up."
Oracle's fiscal first-quarter earnings rose to $510.6 million, or 9 cents a share, compared with 8 cents in the year-ago quarter. The company beat its 8-cent earnings target, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
The company released its earnings Thursday, but postponed its analyst conference call until Monday. Oracle's earnings release was the first major corporate report following Tuesday's attacks on New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Northern Virginia.
First-quarter operating margins widened to 33 percent compared with 29 percent in the same period last year.
Sales of $2.24 billion were roughly flat with the $2.26 billion the company reported in the same period a year ago. Services sales rose to $1.51 billion, up from $1.45 billion in the same period a year ago. Software license sales declined 9 percent to $731 million, down from $807 million in the year-ago period.
Nearly all sectors reported increased sales, except for Oracle's sales to dot-com companies, which declined between 85 and 90 percent, Ellison said.
Oracle's operating expenses dropped 7 percent to $1.5 billion. The company cut its cost of services by 9 percent to $610 million, while trimming sales and marketing expenses by 6.5 percent to $535.5 million. Research and development spending rose by less than a percent to $253.3 million.


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With Sprint and LightSquared’s recent partnership, it’s without doubt that Sprint eventually plans to introduce 4G LTE network coverage, with speeds that would trump their current 4G WiMAX offerings. With Verizon already rolling out more LTE coverage and with AT&T following behind, and given that Sprint would be in a precarious position should the AT&T and T-Mobile acquisition go through, they would need something better than WiMAX if they hope to keep their customers around.
Sprint has just sent out several invites to the press, inviting them to an event that will be held on the 7th of October discussing Sprint’s strategy update. It is unclear as to what exactly the event will be about, but some are speculating that based on the graphics of the event, it will be about network infrastructure and possibly the announcement of plans to roll out 4G LTE network coverage. Naturally this will be a big deal which might explain the need for an event to properly announce and explain Sprint’s plans.
Alternatively some are speculating that this will be when Sprint will announce that they will be carrying Apple’s next-generation iPhone, and given that Sprint has been rumored to be one of the carriers to support Apple’s upcoming iPhone, it’s not a huge stretch to think that an iPhone 5 announcement could also be what this event may be about.
Either way if it’s about 4G LTE network coverage or an iPhone 5 announcement, you can be sure that we will be on it, so check back for updates!


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Two Canadian Companies Selected for 500 Startups
Last week, 28 lucky companies started working as part of 500 Startups latest accelerator program. Having hosted seven sessions before, there are two major differences for the 8th batch of participants this time around. For starters, this program is based out of 500 Startups’ new San Francisco office. Secondly, this group is more diverse than ever with two companies hailing from Canada (yay!) and France, as well as startups from Spain, India, Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Brazil, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
According to 500 Startups, “Batch 8 is pretty eclectic, with companies that do everything from exclusive restaurant experiences to massage on demand and online rap battles.”
Based in Toronto, FameBit is “a marketplace that makes it easy for businesses to find, hire, and work with YouTube influencers for product and service endorsements.”1 VenueSpot is an online marketplace where venues bid to host your events. They are from Vancouver.
A big congratulations goes out to FameBit and VenueSpot! With over 1,000 applications, you should be very proud of this amazing accomplishment.


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Get access to everything we publish when you sign up for Outside+.
What did the SNEWS team read this week that other fitness insiders might find interesting? Read on to find out.
- Jesus seemed like he loved everybody and withheld all judgment, but some of his followers are having a problem with women in Old Town Spring, Texas, pole dancing to Christian music to honor Jesus, according to this NBC Sports story.
- A few months ago, SNEWS did a piece about the growing popularity of rowing machines, and highlighted a product called Indo-Row, designed for Indo-Row classes. This New York Times story discusses Indo-Row and several other virtual reality rowing exercise classes.
- There has been a growing trend of fashion designers collaborating on active apparel, but nothing as high-profile as Stella McCartney designing the Adidas uniforms worn by Great Britain’s Olympic Teams. Take a look at this slideshow from the Guardian to get a sneak peek at what the high-fashion athletic apparel looks like. McCartney has been designing yoga and other fitness apparel for Adidas since 2004.
- What’s keeping some of the SNEWS team members from running the Boston Marathon? Speed. What kept 81-year-old Clarence Hartley from running it? Well, when he was young he didn’t really want to, and then there were the Korean and Vietnam wars and battles with lymphoma and prostate cancer. But Hartley will take to the starting line in Boston on April 18, and he’ll finally run the race he’s had his sights set on since 2005. Check out this NBC Sports story.
- On Monday, SNEWS will bring you a report on all the cool suspension training equipment at IHRSA, but this Reuters story discusses the super-awesome antigravity training equipment and courses such as the Alter-G antigravity treadmill and antigravity yoga classes where participants hang from hammocks.
- It’s spring now, and columnist Shelly Greenfield wants to know if you and your customers are still on track with their New Year’s fitness and health goals. She notes in her Post Bulletin column that many people work hard only to just stop and give up, but she offers some tips on how to get back — and stay — on track.
- Chances are, a lot of your customers are making the workout mistakes recently released by the American Council on Exercise, and reviewed in this Sacramento Bee article. Some of the common mistakes include landing on the heel or ball of foot improperly while doing plyometrics, not doing active recovery intervals during high intensity interval training and incorrectly using kettlebells. Share this information with your customers purchasing equipment for any of those activities.
- Still need help convincing that customer to purchase that elliptical or treadmill? Share this information from the Cleveland Clinic, recently published in U.S. News, that said aerobic (cardiovascular) exercise helps lower blood pressure, lower harmful LDL cholesterol, improve endurance, decrease heart rate, lose or maintain weight loss, manage stress and improve quality of sleep.
- It’s a topic that is constantly debated: What is more important, fitness or BMI? This press release posted in the Houston Chronicle calls for fitness experts to take part in a survey about the topic so hopefully it can be put to rest.
- Oh, abs, we’ve been searching for you for so long, at the gym, while on a run, while cooking “flat-belly foods,” but according to this post on NaturalNews.com, there are five exercises that can help us better find you, including an old-school bicycle exercise, leg raises and crunches. Do you have any accessories that can help your customers better perform such exercises?
- Perhaps it has something to do with it being election time? Those government types in Washington, D.C. are flocking to get fit. The Washington Post reports that fitness gyms and clubs “were among the most active leasing space throughout the Washington region in 2011,” accounting for about 20 percent of retail leases signed for spaces 20,000 square feet or more.
Have you read anything interesting you’d like to share with us? Maybe we’ll include it next week’s column with a little shout out to whoever sent it to us. Send a link to the story with the subject line “SNEWS Reads” to be considered.


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So I’ve decided to do a weekly roundup of some interesting LEGO news. Not sure what day this will be on and may keep you all guessing – I don’t want to become too predictable!
Drum roll please….
- LEGO Dimensions have flashed up the first official pictures of the new Goonies Sloth Minifigure. I have to admit I’m really excited about this LEGO Dimension set (ET and Gremlins as well). Plays massively into my upbringing during the 80’s and this movie was a firm favorite – HEY YOU GUYS! LEGO have done a stirling job.
- LEGO Batman Movie minifigure series has all but been confirmed with several sites listing the series as coming soon. We are still awaiting official confirmation, but the minifigure series was expected based on previous minifigure series releases with the LEGO movie.
- Just when you thought you couldn’t get more fanatical about LEGO, but a cycle helmet comes alone in the design of LEGO hair! I do feel a strange urge to buy one though anyone else?
- Brickset – LEGO Seasonal Holiday Bauble for 2016 has been released and this year we are getting a LEGO Reindeer in a bauble. The bauble will join previous designs (Santa, Fire Engine, Xmas Tree and so on…). Sadly looks like it’s a re-release again with the previous outing being in 2013.
- Lastly to round up on the first time funny, but now annoying shark image doing the rounds on social media. Seriously after being tagged or shared in more than 20 times makes me want to jump in the waters off Western Australia and scream bite me!
Well that wraps up my mini news blog. I hope the monday blues haven’t been too bad today and let’s see what the week has in tale for all of us LEGO nuts! Bring on official news of the 10th anniversary LEGO Creator Expert Modular!!!
Feel free to post any comments or feedback on here or over on the facebook page.


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Pharma head: Technology will disrupt all aspects of healthcare
Healthcare is fast shifting towards the digital age, with all stakeholders rushing to join the digital era. As major players in the healthcare industry, pharmaceutical companies are not spared the rush. MIMS Doctor speaks to Suresh Pragasam, regional general manager, Southeast Asia, Mundipharma Pharmaceutical, for his views on the uptake of technology and the digitization of healthcare and Mundipharma’s efforts to keep abreast with the trends.
Suresh believes the pharmaceutical industry has been late in embracing technology. Due to many factors, one of which is resistance to change, the pharmaceutical stakeholders have been hesitant in investing in technology, which would drastically change the delivery of healthcare. Suresh said there are plenty of ideas floating around but players hesitate to initiate or invest in new technology or ideas as they are worried about the venture failing. He said (in reference to a successful framework of digital health): “I think it is important that people look beyond the Return-on-Investment and keep trying. There will be a lot of failures before we find something which works.”
The expenditure on digital marketing accounts for the bulk of expenditure utilized by companies worldwide and this trend is no different in the pharmaceutical industry. Suresh said: “About 85 percent of our marketing budget is focused on the digital front while the rest of traditional mass media only account for the remaining 15 percent.”
On his part, Suresh has been focusing the company’s direction on developing technology and digital tools to help improve healthcare delivery. “We are at a stage where therapeutic agents are potent and effective, and yet it doesn’t translate into improvements in disease control rate eg, asthma and diabetes,” said Suresh. He alluded to the treatment of asthma, where disease control has been stagnant even though new and effective medication are available. “The problem, then, is the user.”
The problem with inhaler usage is the coordination between actuation and inhalation. To this end, Mundipharma resorted to technology and created an app, called breatherite™, which utilizes augmented reality (AR) to teach patients the right inhaler technique or to be used by physicians to demonstrate proper inhaler technique to patients. The app isn’t specific to Mundipharma’s products and can be utilized by all physicians and is applicable to multiple inhaler devices.
Mundipharma has also been actively using AR and virtual reality (VR) in their communication with HCPs. “We have an HCP education system, which helps doctors visualize the pharmacokinetics of a drug as it goes into a person’s body. It shows how the drug binds with receptors and the reactions that occurs, and it gives the doctor a very concise form of communication on how a drug works.”
In 2016, Mundipharma partnered with Caris Life Sciences Inc, a leading innovator in molecular science focused on comprehensive tumour profiling.
Suresh noted, no two tumours are alike. Therefore, it is imperative to have the most advanced, personalized treatment assessment available when making treatment decisions. Caris Molecular Intelligence® can help to understand the tumour biology. Examining the unique molecular biology of a patient’s tumour, oncologists can personalize cancer therapy by comparing the tumour’s biomarkers with data from clinical studies from thousands of the world’s leading cancer researcher.
With this comprehensive tumour profiling approach, oncologists can receive predictive, prognostic and therapeutic information early in the diagnosis stage and are empowered to make informed decisions and consider treatment options that have the highest likelihood of success with positive clinical outcomes. This process can also help to optimize resource allocation and avoids unnecessary side effects as well as potential toxicity in a patient. The tumour profiling test provides a detailed report approximately 14 days after the test is ordered.
Strength in diversity
Mundipharma believes in diversity in its portfolio and to this end, has branched out into the consumer sector in Malaysia. Suresh said: “We have different divisions in different countries. Each country is unique and not all will have the same market. Malaysia serves to be the launching pad for the consumer division and if it performs according to plan, we will launch similar divisions in other countries in Southeast Asia.”
Similarly, Mundipharma has also created a Nutrition division in Vietnam. “We try to function like a local company—tailoring our services to the local HCPs and consumers in the country of presence.”
Beyond tailoring to local needs, Mundipharma has also looked into strategic partnerships with other multinational pharmaceutical companies. “For example, in some countries in Southeast Asia, Mundipharma has taken over the promotional and marketing role for ophthalmology products from Novartis,” said Suresh. “We’ve also taken over the marketing of some established oncology drugs, and the feedback we received from HCPs has been positive.”
These partnerships, said Suresh, represent a win-win situation for both parties as the portfolios include older, established drugs, which are deemed ‘matured’ and no longer worth promoting. By leveraging on Mundipharma’s existing network, some established brands are currently seeing a revitalization of sorts.
How goes the way forward?
Stressing on the need for investment in digital health initiatives, Suresh said: “Nobody has an answer [as to which will work]. All we can do is keep trying.” Here, pharmaceutical industry players must be willing to invest in digital health initiatives and be prepared for some of those to fail.
With regard to applications for use in the local setting, many are adapted from overseas apps for local use. Those developed specifically for the local population are still few and far between, leading to a dearth in local-centric apps.
In a nutshell, Malaysia and the healthcare provider stakeholders still have a long way to go in embracing new technologies in healthcare research.


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This brave new world of legalization means Colorado is at the forefront of tax distribution. As Denverâ€™s shops thriveâ€•with almost
$1 billion in revenue for 2015 and $135 million in taxes and feesâ€•the question becomes, how do we effectively funnel this tax money into local communities? $35 million is already earmarked for school construction projects; other tax funds will go to social programs. The numbers are growing each year, and with them, the opportunity to create other helpful programs.
What does this mean for consumers? When you shop at a Denver dispensary like Altitude, you are effectively putting some of your money towards tax-funded scholarships and other school programs.
The First of its Kind
One innovative application of the marijuana tax is the establishment of a scholarship program for prospective college students. The Pueblo Hispanic Education Foundation is offering $1,000 scholarships to 25 students with funds generated from the legal sale of marijuana at local dispensaries. County planners project that as many as 400 students per year will get the scholarship from a fund of $3.5 million by 2020. The voter-approved measure in Pueblo County applies a 5 percent excise tax on marijuana growers, meaning this is the first time scholarships are funded entirely by cannabis tax money.
As the first such program of its kind, but almost certainly not the last, we get an indication of the possibilities that the regulated cannabis industry represents. Treating marijuana as a retail commodity, in a regulated industry, results in a more transparent and safe market. Pueblo County has blazed this particular trail, and it stands to reason that the rest of the state will follow suit, especially considering the sheer number of weed shops in Denver, Boulder, and the surrounding areas.
Striking a Balance
The students who receive these scholarships wonâ€™t be legally allowed to touch the substance that is funding their college tuition. It creates an odd dynamic, perhaps even a perilous contradiction: legislators are required to warn these students under 21 to stay away from marijuana while encouraging sales of the product to fund the program. Instead of being a source of great controversy, however, the Pueblo community, including lawmakers and growers, appear supportive of the program overall. The measure passed handily, with over 60 percent of voters in favor of it. Helping students succeed is the priority, more so than the source of funding.
A Bold Beginning
Marijuana tax revenue created by shopping at Denver area dispensaries has exceeded the cost of regulating the industry to such an extent that the field is wide open for disbursement opportunities. This is only the beginning for the beneficial use of marijuana tax revenues. Weâ€™re sure to see other creative and constructive programs implemented that are designed to help community projects. If the past two years are any indication, the weed industry will only continue to grow, providing a revenue stream whose limits remain boundless.
Come by Altitude Dispensary, your go-to dispensary in Denver, where our knowledgeable budtenders can help you find the right medical or recreational product to suit your needs. With three locations
to choose from, itâ€™s easy to contribute to an industry thatâ€™s finding new ways to give back to the community.


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Dell Confirms Interest In Chrome OS
‘Dell’ has finally decided that Chrome OS will be it’s operating system of choice for it’s upcoming netbooks and possibly even it’s laptops. Dell’s Amit Midha, president for greater China and South Asia confirmed this today;
“There are going to be unique innovations coming up in the marketplace in two, three years, with a new form of computing, we want to be on that forefront … So with Chrome or Android or anything like that we want to be one of the leaders,”
This was confirmed during an interview Amit Midha had with Reuters. With such a company as putting all it’s weight behind Chrome OS; it’s success is now almost guaranteed. Already Acer has shown great interest and commitment in releasing Chrome OS powered devices, hence Dell’s recent revelation is sure to bolster Chrome OS.
According to Google, Chrome OS will be released during the end of the 3rd quarter of this year. We await with great anticipation.


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High-powered magnets that aren't sold in toy stores but are are commonly used as desk toys for adults may pose a major health hazard to young children who can easily mistake the products for candy.
Lawmakers last year passed law allowing people to sell homemade goods at farmers' markets, but county officials refused to accept registration applications.
Calumet City woman says she kept getting run-around from Wells Fargo when she applied for a home loan modification.
Inspectors shut down more than 2,000 gas pumps in Cook County last year.
Though issuers downplay the risks, RFID technology in credit and debit cards could be putting consumers at risk.
Several student loan borrowers say they were hit with higher payments and fees after their loan balances were transferred to another servicer, they say, without warning.


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Boat dealer makes magazine’s top 100 ranking
by MBJ Staff
Published: January 10,2013
BAY ST. LOUIS — Breath’s Boats & Motors has made Boating Industry magazine’s eighth-annual Top 100 Dealers program, which recognizes the best-of-the-best from the thousands of marine dealers in North America.
“Our editorial staff was extremely impressed with the dealership’s knowledge of its local market,” said Jonathan Sweet, Boating Industry magazine’s editor-in-chief. “For example, Breath’s added five brands in 2011 to better appeal to local residents with unquestionable success.”
The magazine’s editorial staff examined hundreds of online applications, which asked both qualitative and quantitative questions that touched on all aspects of a marine dealership.
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We are moving to crypto legitimacy in major markets
Moves by senior execs, payments platforms and regulators point to long-term legitimacy for cryptocurrencies.
Over recent weeks, there have been a number of major moves that tell us cryptocurrencies are moving out of the fringes of the financial world and into the mainstream.
Last week, Marc O'Brien, the long-time CEO of Visa in the UK and Ireland, announced that he joined cryptocurrency startup Crypterium, taking the mantel as the company's CEO.
In an interview with Business Insider, O'Brien said, “The idea is that cryptocurrency is actually quite difficult today to use as an everyday method of payment. If you were to go to an exchange with your bitcoin or your ether it would probably take you 3 to 7 days to get that money paid out into a normal bank account. What Crypterium will do is make that whole process seamless and give an opportunity for a consumer to actually use their cryptocurrency to pay for everyday items".
O'Brien's appointment came after an executive search with the company hoping to partner with major credit card companies to launch cryptocurrency cards.
His appointment follows recent moves by many Wall Street execs to the crypto world, a phenomenon we call "the flippening". Former Goldman Sachs managing director James Radecki moved into the cryptocurrency sector as did another former Wall Street maven, Mike Novogratz, who founded Galaxy Digital in September of 2017.
And he followed successful Goldman Sachs' trader, Timothy Tam, who left the relative safety of Wall Street for the world of crypto to become the CEO of CoinFi.
Crypto and payments
Twitter founder and CEO, Jack Dorsey launched his own payments platform, Square, and has also launched a bitcoin exchange. And while that platform sold $34.1 million in bitcoin in the first quarter, the company spent $33.9 million to purchase the cryptocurrency, leaving them with an adjusted revenue from bitcoin of just $200,000.
Square allows bitcoin trading for almost all users of its cash payments app. But Square is also one of the most popular new payment systems around and it is increasing in popularity as small businesses try to avoid the relatively high costs associated with mobile payments and the EFTPOS system. It, potentially, can introduce a lot of people to the cryptocurrency world through a familiar platform with a trusted partner.
Regulators are getting onboard
We've also seen regulators around the world pay serious attention to cryptocurrency exchanges, ICOs and other elements of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
For example, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States launched their HoweyCoin site to help educate the public about detecting bogus ICOs, and AUSTRAC has created a Digital Currency Exchange Register that requires exchanges to conform with anti-terrorism and money-laundering laws.
The big picture
What we are seeing is three different phenomena that point to a single theme:
- Senior people from the traditional world of banking and finance are seeing new opportunities.
- Payments companies are looking for how to engage the mainstream in cryptocurrency markets.
- Regulators are getting serious about what is happening in cryptocurrency markets.
Those factors tell us that cryptocurrencies aren't just a flash in the pan, doomed to disappear. And the assumptions that built the wealth of people like Warren Buffett, who says cryptocurrencies are "a mirage", probably don't apply in this new world.
While it's likely the markets will see a shake-up – it's hard to imagine a world where there are over 2,000 different cryptocurrencies surviving – the markets will continue to exist. When people like O'Brien and Jesudason leave high-paying and secure jobs, they do it because they see some significant upside.
The involvement of regulators and payments providers like Square points to the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies and an acceptance of the fact that they are here to stay.
Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author holds BTC, EOS, ETH, ETH, STR, LTC, TRX, BCC, ADA, XRP and GAS.
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- Bitcoin price in slight recovery as Fed chair hints at delaying interest rate hike
- Ethereum price rises sharply despite severe mining disruptions in Kazakhstan
- Bitcoin’s price showcases signs of a local bottom but emerging inflation data suggests more dips


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Noida, UP India (PressExposure) May 09, 2011 -- According to our research report "China Credit Card Market Outlook to 2014", credit card market has been one of the fastest growing markets in the region for the past few years driven by robust economic growth, rising income levels, growing middle class population, and most importantly government's initiatives to allow issuance of credit cards to increase the level of consumer credit in the country. Moreover, it is expected that the Chinese credit card market will reach 630 Million by 2014, growing at a CAGR of around 31% during 2011-2014.
Ongoing research found that, the strong growth in credit card issuance has been marked by a big push from the domestic banks, such as Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, China Merchants Bank, and Bank of Communications to gain a leading position in the credit card market. They have been considerably spending on infrastructure and marketing.
The report outlines that, the increasing usage of Internet media (particularly for online shopping) has emerged as one of the recent trends propelling growth in the usage of credit cards across the country. Besides, the country continues to experience rapid improvement in the credit card infrastructure, with more and more retailers or merchants now accepting credit card payments at their point-of-sale terminals.
Besides, the report analyzes factors critical to the success of the Chinese credit card industry. It has also identified key players in the market and included their detail business description. Additionally, the report sheds light on the emerging industry trends, which are expected to decide the future of the Chinese credit card industry.
"China Credit Card Market Outlook to 2014" provides future forecast on the industry based on the correlation of past drivers, challenges, and opportunities for expansion. In this way, the report presents a complete and coherent analysis of the Chinese credit card industry, which will prove influential for clients. Detail data and analysis will help investors, financial service providers, and banks to navigate through the latest trends in the Chinese credit card market.
For FREE SAMPLE of this report visit: [http://www.rncos.com/Report/IM002.htm]
Check DISCOUNTED REPORTS on: http://www.rncos.com/promotion.htm


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With exchanges changing into a spotlight because the FTX fiasco continues, a brand new analysis paper urged that nearly three out of 4 transactions in unregulated exchanges are faux.
A working paper titled “Crypto Wash Buying and selling” was lately published by the Nationwide Bureau of Financial Analysis (NBER). Utilizing statistical and behavioral patterns to find out which transactions had been official or not, the paper studied 29 unregulated exchanges and got here to a conclusion that, on common, greater than 70% of the quantity inside the platforms are wash trades.
The researchers discovered that some exchanges’ wash buying and selling quantity goes as excessive as 80% of the overall buying and selling quantity. The researchers wrote that in twelve “tier-2 exchanges,” wash trades amounted to nearly 80% of the overall commerce quantity. The researchers wrote:
“These estimates translate into wash buying and selling of over 4.5 trillion USD in spot markets and over 1.5 Trillion USD in derivatives markets within the first quarter of 2020 alone.”
Based on the researchers, there are short-term incentives for wash buying and selling. The research urged that faux transactions usually impression the rankings of the exchanges on knowledge and statistics web sites like CoinMarketCap. As well as, faux transactions additionally have an effect on the crypto costs inside the exchanges over the brief time period.
In the meantime, the FTX debacle continues to gain attention as wallets linked to Alameda Analysis have proven actions, funneling round $1.7 million in belongings via crypto mixers. The actions had been noticed days after the previous FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was launched on a $250 million bond.
Because the FTX collapse broken individuals’s belief in centralized exchanges (CEXs), executives engaged on CEXs have voiced their sentiments on how they could win back user trust. On Nov. 25, Cointelegraph spoke with varied leaders inside crypto exchanges and located that many are constructive that the business can nonetheless recuperate post-FTX.


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In 2022 & 2023, market players expected to sail in rough waters; might incur losses due to huge gap in currency translation followed by contracting revenues, shrinking profit margins & cost pressure on logistics and supply chain. Further, U.S. economy is expected to grow merely by 3% in 2022. Purchasing power in the country is expected to fell nearly by 2.5%.
On the other hand, European countries to see the worst coming in the form of energy crisis especially in upcoming winters!! Right after COVID-19, inflation has started gripping the economies across the globe. Higher than anticipated inflation, especially in western world had raised concerns for national banks and financial institutions to control the economic loss and safeguard the interest of the businesses. Increased interest rates, strong USD inflated oil prices, looming prices for gas and energy resources due to Ukraine-Russia conflict, China economic slowdown (~4% in 2022) disrupting the production and global supply chain and other factors would impact each industry negatively.
Kitchen equipment is used for handling, cooking, baking, etc. of food in household kitchens and in hospitality sector. Kitchen equipment market is one of the growing markets across the globe. Rising urbanization in developing nations and growing need of modular and advanced kitchen equipment is expected to accelerate the market for kitchen equipment during the forecast period 2016-2023 in the global market.
Get more information on this report: Download Sample PDF
Under kitchen equipment market, the kitchen appliances segment is expected to reach USD 242.5 Billion by 2023 by registering a CAGR of 6.5% over the forecast period i.e. 2016-2023.
In addition to this, the cooking appliances segment is expected to witness the highest growth and projected to contribute highest revenue share over the forecast period i.e. 2016-2023 owing to rapid growth of infrastructure in residential and hospitality sector.
Riding on the back of factors like rebound in construction of residential buildings and rise in personal disposable income, North-America market is anticipated to dominate in terms of revenue generation across the globe over the forecast period of 2016-2023. On the other hand, Asia-pacific region is expected to be the fastest growing market over the forecast period i.e. 2016-2023 across the globe. Factors such as presence of growing economies in the region, positive GDP growth, rapid expansion of residential & hospitality sector and increase in gross disposable income of the population are expected to catalyze the growth of Asia-Pacific region in near future.
Further, adoption of energy efficient, time-savings feature and ease of handling equipped kitchen equipment by the population is rising in order to consume better quality food. Fuelled by availability of modular & better quality kitchen equipment in the market, a steep demand has been captured in recent years across the globe. Moreover, infrastructural growth in residential and hospitality sector in the recent years across the globe has fueled the kitchen equipment demand in past few years. Trending (do-it-yourself) DIY methodology is yet another strong reason which is believed to propel the demand for smart and compact kitchen appliances substantially in the coming years across the globe.
Our in-depth analysis segmented the global kitchen equipment market in the following segments:
Global kitchen equipment market is further classified on the basis of region as follows:
Rise health consciousness, increasing gross disposable income, availability of technological advanced & smart appliances, rising concerns towards reduction of energy consumption and shift towards eco-friendly equipment are some of the factors projected to open new avenues for the kitchen equipment supplier base. In addition to this, factors such as rising concern towards health and hygiene, growing trend of consuming ready-to-cook food, busy schedules of working population owing to rapid growth in urbanization, availability of smart and multi-tasking kitchen equipment such as grinders, mixers and juicers are some of the major factors likely to foster the demand for kitchen equipment equipment over the forecast period i.e. 2016-2023.
Moreover, increasing quality concern in hospitality sectors and rising penetration of food junctions and restaurants in growing economies have also catalyzed the growth of kitchen equipment market.
However, high cost of smart and advanced equipment, less demand in under-developed nations due to low incomes and slow growth in urbanization, poor quality of low cost kitchen equipment, absence of stringent government regulations are some of the factors curbing the growth of kitchen equipment market across the globe.
The key vendors of kitchen equipment market are as follows:


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The Department of Irrigation has further extended the Amber flood warnings issued for Nilwala, Aththanagalu Oya and Gin Ganga for another 24 hours until 09.00 a.m. on Tuesday (Oct. 03). MORE..
2 Oct 2023 (12:45 PM)
The Department of Excise announces that all wine stores and liquor sales outlets across the island will remain closed tomorrow (Oct 03), in view of the World Temperance Day. MORE..
2 Oct 2023 (9:32 PM)
Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella says that a decision has been taken to immediately halt the emergency purchases of medicinal drugs.
2 Oct 2023 (3:41 PM)
Minister of Ports and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva has revealed that the recent delays of eight flights have caused losses to the tune of USD 06 million to the national carrier SriLankan Airlines. MORE..
2 Oct 2023 (6:04 PM)
Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles has ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to launch a comprehensive investigation into the events that led to the resignation of Mullaitivu District Judge T. Saravanarajah and his departure from the country. MORE..
2 Oct 2023 (1:46 PM)
The All-Island Three-Wheeler Drivers Association says that although the fuel prices were increased, any revisions will not be made to the three-wheeler fares. MORE..
2 Oct 2023 (4:57 PM)


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Southern style: RHS 2020 grad launches men’s clothing business
For many new college students, the transition from high school to pseudo-adulthood proves to be a challenging time in life. Between making new friends, enjoying new levels of independence, handling a full course load of classes and solidifying basic life skills like doing laundry and grocery shopping, most 18-19-year-olds find their plates are plenty full.
Then there’s Sydney Medley.
The 2020 Russellville High School grad finished her first semester at the University of North Alabama, celebrated her 19th birthday and launched her own men’s clothing store within the space of a month in December 2020.
Born and raised in Russellville, the daughter of Cassie and Jamie Medley said she once thought she might be a nurse or a teacher. With her mother’s role as director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, however, she wound up with plenty of opportunities to work with local small business owners – and she fell in love with the local business community, especially “the interaction with people, being able to help them find something they need and provide customer service.”
A conversation with Chase Sparks at Russellville Florist pushed Medley to take her own leap and join the Russellville business community with Kyle and Company Menswear, a men’s clothing shop named after her brother, Nathan Kyle. With her parents’ support, Medley made her new business official Dec. 27, 2020.
“It’s growing little by little every day,” Medley said. “I’ve loved every second of it.”
Although right now her business is conducted solely online and based out of her Russellville home – “My house looks like a storefront has thrown up a little bit, if we’re being honest,” – Medley said she hopes to one day join downtown business owners with a brick-and-mortar Russellville shop. Basing the business in her hometown is a no-brainer. “I love Russellville. I know they will rally behind me,” Medley said.
The UNA marketing major/sales minor said she has put her business focus on providing clothing for the Southern gentleman, as well supporting other locally-owned small businesses across the nation. Kyle and Company carries four brands – Burlebo, based in Texas; Southern Fried Cotton, based in North Carolina; Live Oak Brand, based in Maryland; and Smathers and Branson, also based in Maryland. T-shirts constitute the bulk of her merchandise so far, but the shop also offers dress shirts, shorts, caps and other items, and Medley said she aims to continue to expand.
“This is something she has dreamed about for a while now,” explained mom Cassie. “Hopefully by the time she is finished with college and has her degree, she can have it already established and be ready to work.” She said she is proud to see her daughter take the initiative at such a young age to embrace the local business community and follow her passion. “It gives you hope for the future, that others will step up and do the same. I love new businesses coming in and being part of the chamber.”
The 6-month-old business has already received community support, as the younger Medley has leaned on people like Sparks – “He was the one who pushed me to actually create a business. He was like, ‘Just go for it. I wish I would have done it at your age,’” – and Yaneli Bahena, co-owner of The Ville Nutrition and a fellow 2020 graduate. Her parents have also been her continuous cheering section.
“I have leaned on my mom a lot, and it’s been awesome for us to get to do stuff together,” Medley said. “She saw the need just like I did.”
Medley said although she knows many new business fail, she is determined hers won’t be one of them.
“I’m just not going to give up. I’m not going to be the one who closes after a year,” Medley said. “I’ve learned a lot about how I just have to roll with it.”


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StartTalking lets drivers send texts by voice
Distracted driving is dangerous. Boston-based AdelaVoice says it has come up with a free Android app called StartTalking to address the issue.
StartTalking is billed as the world’s first smartphone app that lets motorists keep their eyes glued to the road and hands upon the wheel when composing a text. The company claims that unlike other text messaging apps that require you to peek at or touch the handset at some point, StartTalking is all voice-controlled all the way. There’s no need to open any app or navigate menus. It can even operate when the phone screen is dark or the keypad is locked You simply bark out a pre-assigned name to “wake up” the phone and start StartTalking. Following audio prompts—”Speak to create a text message for Ed or say ‘cancel,'” you can dictate and properly route your message. StartTalking can play back texts too.
You can have StartTalking send regular text messages to a mobile phone or have it send audio recordings in your own voice to the device. Though free, Adela plans to extend its technology to third party developers, and expects to charge down the road for premium services. The app, which is still in beta, will be available in the Android Market store on Thursday. Adela also plans to develop versions for other smartphone platforms.
By Ed Baig


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However, the economic situation of our country is more worrisome right now than the North Korean missiles launched into the East Sea.
Last month's trade balance was also in the red.
It is the first time in 25 years since the 1997 Asian financial crisis that it recorded a deficit for six consecutive months.
Reporter Hoon-Kyung Jang on the sidewalk.
trade deficit was again due to energy source imports.
As the government increased imports of oil, gas and coal ahead of winter, imports increased by 8.05 billion dollars more than a year ago.
However, as exports hit an all-time high in September, the trade deficit fell to $3.77 billion from August.
However, export growth has slowed.
Because of the global economic slowdown.
An executive in charge of semiconductors at Samsung Electronics also said, “Recently, we have reduced our sales forecast for the second half of the year by 30% compared to last April by 20 trillion won.” Compared to the previous year, it has decreased by more than 20% and inventories are up by more than 67%.
[Eo Woon-seon/Statistics Office Economic Trends Statistics Review Officer (Yesterday): As exports and (semiconductor, etc.) mining and industrial production were somewhat sluggish, the economic recovery or improvement trend stagnated following last month (July)…
Exports to China, its largest trading partner, continue to decline, but it turned to a surplus for the first time in five months as imports declined even more.
The trade deficit until September of this year has already exceeded the $28.8 billion mark in 1996, which was just before the financial crisis.
[Young-Moo Cho / Research Fellow, LG Business Research Institute: (This year) The global economy is highly likely to fall into recession in developed countries and even emerging countries next year.
The export slowdown is likely to go on for quite some time (I think)]
As the trade deficit continued and concerns about the foreign exchange crisis emerged, Deputy Prime Minister Choo Kyung-ho said, "We have 25% of our gross domestic product as foreign exchange reserves." said.
Deputy Prime Minister Choo also spoke by phone with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, saying, "We reaffirmed that the two countries will work closely to implement liquidity supplies if necessary."
(Video coverage: Kim Min-cheol, video editing: Jeon Min-gyu)


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Dodge Charger Hellcat Offers 22mpg, SRT 392 Hits 25
The EPA has announced the fuel economy numbers for the 2015 Dodge Charger SRT lineup including both the 392 Hemi and the new Hellcat Hemi and, not surprisingly, the Charger offers the exact same official fuel economy figures as the 2015 Dodge Challenger with the same engines and transmission. First up, the 2015 Dodge Charger […] More »
Chrysler wants to know what high schoolers think the future of the company looks like, and they’re willing to pay for it at the Detroit Autorama High School Design Competition 2015.
While the 2015 Dodge Charger features an aggressive new look, a plush interior and a drivetrain lineup that includes the most powerful American production engine ever, one of the key features that we haven’t discussed is the price of the new full sized sport sedan. Dodge hasn’t rolled out the full pricing details for the […] More »
This week’s Tire Shredding Tuesday video features the world’s most powerful sedan – the 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. This video was captured at the recent media drive event for the entire 2015 Charger lineup and while my wave of the Charger launch had three Hellcat cars doing a burnout together, a later wave got […] More »
Back in 2011, the halo Hellcat project wasn’t awarded any scarce product development money. Then it was shelved. Luckily, the SRT folks kept pushing to make it a production engine. After four months, Chrysler’s product development committee decided to play along.


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If you think this picture looks good, you should see the Fisker Karma in person, out on the road. The car's designers -- led by Heinrich Fisker, CEO and former head of design for Aston Martin -- paid great attention to how light would ripple over the car's skin as it rolled by.
I've rarely seen light ripple better.
But the Karma's supposed to do more than just look good. A "range extended" electric car, it's supposed to be a performance vehicle while also being thoroughly "green." Honestly, few automakers pay such painstaking attention to the environmental impact of their craft.
This is luxury with a conscience. But, I fear, this car may be a mixed metaphor on wheels, sending more messages at one time than the market can hear.
Carmakers have gathered in Motown to show off their latest wares and future offerings.
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Columbia Borough police
COLUMBIA: Kyle Thomas, 47, of Lancaster, was charged with harassment after an incident in the 1000 block of Barber St. at 11:49 a.m. July 5, police said.
East Earl Township police
EAST EARL TWP.: Corey B. Gentile, 19, of East Earl Township, was charged with terroristic threats after a domestic dispute July 10, police said.
EAST EARL TWP.: Michael A. Hall, 29, of New Holland, was charged with retail theft after police said he stole merchandise worth $399.99 from a business in East Earl Township June 30.
UNSWORN FALSIFICATION TO AUTHORITIES
EAST EARL TWP.: Rodler Alcine, 27, of Philadelphia, was charged with unsworn falsification to authorities after he made false written statements on a firearm transaction record form while attempting to purchase a firearm at The Sportsman's Shop at 1214 Main Street on March 19, police said.
EPHRATA TWP.: Jediah Coleman, 19, no address provided, was charged with retail theft after he stole $180 worth of vaping products from a convenience store on North Reading Road on July 20, police said.
Susquehanna Regional police
CONOY TWP.: Raymond L. Vanzandt, 63, no address provided, was charged with disorderly conduct after an incident in the 2300 block of River Road on July 17, police said.


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Invite-only Fortnite is already the top iPhone game in the US
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 with AI Dual Camera Launched in China
More Evidence Surfaces to Suggest that Modern Warfare 2 is Being Remastered
Sea of Thieves' gameplay launch trailer features its monstrous kraken
Kepler Space Telescope is dying
Hands On With the Vivo Phone's In-Display Fingerprint Scanner
12 January 2018, 07:37 | Justin Tyler
But as the competition became intense, Synaptics started to actively develop in-display fingerprint sensing technology, says TrendForce.
During the time we got to spend trying out the phone in Las Vegas, the on-display optical sensor, which is snugly fitted between the printed circuit board and OLED panel, only failed the device unlocking process a couple of times.
However, maybe you prefer fingerprint sensor over even a state-of-the-art face unlocking like Face ID, and you definitely want it in the front because you need to unlock the phone a billion times a day while it's laying on the desk, and you still want a huge display that takes up almost all the room from the front face of the phone.
Like many other smartphones, the fingerprint scanner is always waiting to detect a fingerprint when screen is off.
Its competitor Goodix, for instance, recently sent sample products to major mobile phone vendors for testing; Qualcomm cooperated with Vivo in developing ultrasonic fingerprint sensing in 2017; FPC, the Swedish biometric authentication solutions provider, released its ultrasonic fingerprint sensing technology at the end of 2017. The near-final design uses an optical signal so the sensor can see right through the display.
According to TrendForce, phone-makers recognised there is insufficient space on the front side of the smartphone for a standard capacitive fingerprint sensor, and put their focus on in-display fingerprint sensors in recent years. That if true will no doubt make for an exciting proposition. Once the fingerprint is registered, unlocking the phone works just fine, like any other physical fingerprint sensors.
Vivo has emerged the first company in the world to come up with a production ready smartphone that features an under-screen fingerprint reader.
Until Vivo officially launched the technology, device manufacturers had to find various alternative methods in order to achieve a bezel-less display on the phone. It also enables quick and secured authentication.
In-display fingerprint scanner was long awaited by smartphone fraternities since the advent of bezel-less displays.
The Chinese firm had announced previous year that they had developed the "in-display fingerprint scanning" technology for a prototype phone in China. The availability of Vivo's first in-display fingerprint scanning smartphone will be announced in early 2018.
'Dixie' dropped from name of Dolly Parton's dinner show
Officials said the existing locations re-open for the 2018 season from late January through early spring depending on location. Music legend and celebrity Dolly Parton has altered the name of her popular tourist attraction near her hometown in Tennessee.
Selena Gomez Unfollows All But 37 People On Instagram
In a severe contrast, Justin Bieber's parents love that Selena is back in his life as she is a positive influence for him. Perhaps Gomez's family will find solace in the fact she's still not following Bieber on Instagram .
Deepika Padukone turns 32
Bollywood's heartthrob Ranveer Singh is vacationing with his recent film co-star Deepika Padukone in Sri Lanka. The couple have been seeing each other for five long years.
Ball brothers combine for 29 in Lithuania debut
I would go close to nearly threatening, 'If you keep opening your mouth. we are going to trade your son from the Lakers'. Vytautas' next game is Saturday night in a Lithuanian league contest at Lietkabelis that counts in the standings.


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HMD Global recently unveiled its Nokia 7.1 smartphone at an event in London. Although the smartphone runs Android 8.1 Oreo, it announced at the event that the mobile phone will soon be getting an upgrade for Android 9.0 Pie.
And it seems like the company is keeping its promise. Just two weeks after Nokia 7.1 got launched, the smartphone has reportedly appeared on Geekbench with Android 9.0 Pie. The report further said that this means that that the company will be rolling out the latest Android version’s update to the smartphone next month, as it was initially scheduled.
To recall, Nokia 7.1 sports a 5.84-inch FHD+ IPS LCD display and comes with PureDisplay screen technology. The smartphone is powered by 1.8GHz Snapdragon 636 processor clubbed with 3GB/4GB RAM and 32GB/64GB of onboard storage. Nokia 7.1 comes with 12MP+5MP dual rear cameras that come with Zeiss-branded lenses. It also has an 8MP selfie camera on its front panel. The smartphone houses a 3,060mAh battery and is ARCore certified.
It is worth noticing that all Nokia smartphones that we have seen getting launched recently are a part of Android One program, and we consider this to be a big plus for any smartphone. Being a part of Android One program, the smartphone receives timely security patches for three years from the date of launch, And regular Android updates for two years.
The company also plans to roll the latest Android version update to Nokia 6.1, Nokia 6.1 Plus, Nokia 8 and Nokia 8 Sirocco. While Nokia 6 and Nokia 6.1 are scheduled to get an update this month, Nokia 8 and Nokia 8 Sirocco users will have to wait till next month.
HMD Global has also said that it plans to roll out the Android 9 Pie updates to Nokia smartphones other than the ones it mentioned.
The company recently also launched the Nokia 3.1 Plus smartphone in India. Although Nokia 3.1 Plus (first impressions) runs with Android 8.1 Oreo, it also falls under Google’s Android One program, much like other Nokia smartphones.
So although it has not been announced, it is very likely that we will see the smartphone getting the Android 9.0 Pie update too. And it this turns out to be true, then Nokia 3.1 Plus will be one among the first budget smartphones in the country to get the Android Pie update.
Image courtesy: GSMArena


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Royal Philips NV agreed to sell a majority stake in its lighting components unit to Apollo Global Management LLC in a cut-price deal valued at $2 billion after a U.S. national security panel blocked a more lucrative transaction with a Chinese buyer almost a year ago.
Philips will receive cash proceeds of $1.5 billion for Lumileds and participating preferred equity for the 80% stake, the Amsterdam-based company said in a statement Monday. Philips will retain the remaining shares.
After The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States blocked the planned $2.8 billion sale to China’s Go Scale Capital Ltd. in January, CEO Frans van Houten said accepting the lower-premium offer from the U.S. private equity firm makes sense as it’s a safer bet. Apollo doesn’t have the same industrial synergies, so wouldn’t match Go Scale’s bid, he said, declining to give a detailed financial comparison.
“It’s quite a different deal,” van Houten said on a call Monday. The enterprise value “is obviously a setback for us. We’re confident that this time it will succeed, as Apollo is an American buyer.”—
The value was also lower than what analysts had expected. The final price is “marginally disappointing,” Morgan Stanley analyst Ben Uglow said by phone.
Philips fell 1.4% to 27.64 euros ($29.32) at 11:03 a.m. in Amsterdam, giving the company a market value of 26 billion euros ($27.58 billion).
Lumileds is the biggest supplier of lamps to the automotive industry, equipping one out of every three cars in the world, according to its website. The stand-alone company was created in 2014 to combine the LED components and automotive-lighting businesses. Philips, a Dutch maker of household goods like electric razors and hospital equipment including scanners, is selling the unit as it increasingly focuses on the global health-care market.
A market shift in the lighting industry toward smaller and more energy-efficient light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, which are reliant on semiconductor technology, has intensified competition and prompted rival Siemens AG to also exit the lighting sector.
As part of the strategy shift by Philips, van Houten also spun off and listed its general lighting division earlier this year. Philips Lighting, as the new company is called, is facing increased pressure in LED sales from competitors in Asia, as consolidation drives down prices.
The deal with New York-based Apollo is expected to close in the first half of 2017, Philips said.
By Andrew Noël and Oliver Sachgau


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Much goes big for the holidays
The Bell Media-owned channel has brought back The Big Jingle, with new ad and sponsorship opportunities available around both the live concert and the TV broadcast.
Bell Media-owned channel Much is getting ready to deck the halls this December with a bigger version of Much Presents: The Big Jingle.
Now in its second year, the holiday-themed event, targeted at youth and adults aged 12 to 34, will feature performances by Canadian acts Serena Ryder and Down With Webster, as well as Fall Out Boy and Icona Pop (past performers were Carly Rae Jepsen, Cody Simpson and Simple Plan).
Cat Halliday, manager, brand partnerships, Bell Media, tells MiC that Much will also be looking to add to this lineup before the live concert at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre on Dec. 7.
Much has once again teamed with Virgin Mobile Canada, but this year the two brands will work together to support Virgin’s Re*Generation and Eva’s Initiatives, charities aimed at helping homeless youth. One dollar from each ticket sold will go to help the charities, and Much and Virgin will also match donations made.
Meanwhile, Astro Kik will be on-site offering sampling of its newest flavours, H&M will have on-site gift giving teams as well as teams in cities across Canada, which consumers can follow through the hashtag #hmgiftgiving, and electronics retailer The Source will host a contest offering one viewer two backstage VIP passes and a meet-and-greet with one of the performers.
Halliday says Much is currently working on rolling out additional on-site opportunities, as well as ad and sponsorship opportunities around the Dec. 14 TV broadcast of the event. She adds that Much is also looking to add two large sponsors to its roster, noting that beauty, beverage or QSR brands would all be good fits for The Big Jingle.


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Yesterday, Bloomberg News carried an interview with Takashi Murakami in which the artist told the news service that he considered the prices at his current exhibition at Gagosian Gallery in London to be too expensive. Here is the relevant part of the interview:
Still, Murakami is baffled by what his art costs today. He says he discussed prices with dealer Larry Gagosian before the show, and hearing the figures, told Gagosian that they were “a little bit expensive.” According to Murakami, Gagosian replied, “No, this is big, this is big!”
The Bloomberg article goes on to directly quote Mr. Murakami to the effect that he finds his current prices too high:
Does he think he’s too expensive? “I think so, yes, honestly, yes,” Murakami says.
The only problem is, we don’t know what those prices are. (The only price Bloomberg cites is for Murakami’s 1998 sculpture My Lonesome Cowboy, which sold for $15.2 million at Sotheby’s in New York in May 2008.) The Observer understands from a source close to the gallery that the prices for the artworks in Mr. Murakami’s current exhibition range from $1.8 million to $3.5 million. (The Gagosian Gallery does not comment on prices.)
The exhibition is comprised of triptych paintings that reference the Japanese painter Kuroda Seiki, as well as larger-than-life-size figurative sculptures created with manga artist Seiji Matsuyama and figurine sculptor BOME, including the huge-breasted “3-Meter Girl.”
With due respect to Mr. Murakami, by the standards of today’s once again booming art market, his prices do not seem that expensive.
Correction: July 13: The amount above originally appeared in pounds. It has been corrected to $1.8 million to $3.5 million.


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Live video platform Grabyo has launched Grabyo VIP, a native video sharing app that allows social media stars to turn engagement into revenue, while giving media companies and content rights holders a growing talent-based network for video distribution on Facebook and Twitter.
Grabyo’s live video platform is used by content owners globally to monetise social video. The newly launched Grabyo VIP mobile app powers multi-platform distribution of native video ie autoplay on Facebook and in-line video playback on Twitter and offers the ability to share native video with integrated sponsorship and advertising assets. It is available to all verified users on Facebook and Twitter, including talent, media publishers, rights holders and brands.
“Grabyo VIP is a powerful way for capturing what’s happening right now and sharing it with fans, while providing compelling inventory to brands for social video campaigns,” commented Gareth Capon, CEO at Grabyo. “This is not a consumer app we’re targeting rights holders and global stars with the largest social media followings.”
Furthermore, Grabyo VIP enables discovery and re-sharing of premium video content that has previously been distributed across the Grabyo platform by broadcast and rights holder partners. Users follow the partners’ accounts on Grabyo VIP to access their videos, which are surfaced in-feed within the app and updated in real time. Grabyo’s customers can use its Grabyo VIP network to accelerate organic discovery, engagement and monetisation of real time video clips, all of which is tracked by Grabyo’s platform and analytics.
“Our data shows that talent can generate up to twenty times the engagement per fan than content shared by traditional rights holders. This superior engagement, combined with the unparalleled reach of star talent, highlights the scale and potential of this new business model,” continued Capon. “We’re delighted to have the support of these new strategic investors as we continue to expand the Grabyo VIP network and offer rights holders a powerful new way to activate digital audiences.”


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Germany’s leading business executives will meet the press this week and dare to do something they usually take pains to avoid: Take a political position.
Heads of car companies, such as Martin Winterkorn of Volkswagen Group and Dieter Zetsche of Daimler, will be in Berlin explaining why free trade with the U.S. is so important for the industry and requires passage of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
“Yes to TTIP” is their robust reponse to those yelling “Stop TTIP.”
The European Union has been negotiating for over a year and a half with the U.S. over a common trading zone without customs and other obstacles such as production standards.
This is seen by proponents as a way to create new growth and increase prosperity for all countries. The broader thinking is that countries freely exchanging goods tend to treat each other amicably rather than belligerently.


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Korean and Chinese magnet firms, including an Apple supplier, are set to open factories in Viet Nam, told Reuters in its article released on August 22. The article noted that Viet Nam has untapped rare earth deposits second only to China's, as well as a fledgling processing industry, giving the country the potential to be a much bigger competitor.
South Korea's Star Group Industrial (SGI)'s Viet Nam project, for instance, targets 2025 output of 5,000 tons of high-end neodymium (NdFeB) magnets per year, enough for 2 million electric vehicles (EVs).
Moreover, U.S. officials have signaled growing interest in Viet Nam's rare earths potential, and South Korea signed a deal with Viet Nam in June to boost its supply chain of critical minerals.
Magnet makers are also drawn to Viet Nam by low labor costs and market access afforded by multiple free-trade deals. They also want to move closer to Viet Nam-based clients, such as automakers and electronics firms, industry insiders said.
Viet Nam is the only country beyond China with all stages of the magnet supply chain, from mining rare earths to downstream production, according to Reuters.
SGI, which supplies magnets to Vietnamese EV maker VinFast and Korea's Hyundai Motor, told Reuters it is investing US$80 million in its new Viet Nam factory with production starting in 2024.
The plant would nearly double the company's current output of 3,000 tons a year from factories in South Korea and China.
The Southeast Asian country has the world's second-largest reserves of rare earths-an estimated 22 million tons-second only to China, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Its rare earths production jumped to 4,300 tons last year from 400 tons in 2021, the USGS said.
Viet Nam will develop three to four new mines after 2030, aiming to raise its raw rare earths output to 2.11 million tons by 2050, the document showed.
Rare earths are a group of elements that have applications in electronics manufacturing and batteries, making them important for the global transition towards cleaner sources of energy and in defense.
Apart from mining, the country said it will also seek to invest in rare earth refining facilities, with a target of annually producing 20,000-60,000 tons of rare-earth oxides (REO) by 2030.
The plan aims to raise the annual REO output to 40,000-80,000 tons by 2050.


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Between concerns around too much screen time and exposure to inappropriate material, parents struggle with balancing the need to provide children with a tool for communication while protecting them from exposure and excessive use. ZTE and Gabb Wireless partnered to create the newly available Gabb Z1 to help overcome these challenges.
The New Safe Network
Many adults admit they find it difficult to put their phones down. In fact, even their kids are concerned about them. Since nearly 89% of parents blames themselves for their kids’ over use of cell phones, many adults — including Silicon tech execs — are searching for ways to help their children use technology more responsibly.
Gabb Wireless was founded to give parents more options. The company previously announced its intent to launch “the nation’s first entirely safe mobile phone and mobile phone network, a platform designed to provide cellular-safety for kids and peace of mind for parents.”
“Our mission is to give families a safe mobile experience, one without risks like addiction to gaming, exposure to pornography, sexting, cyberbullying and the anxiety and depression that result from social media dependence,” says Gabb Founder and CEO Stephen Dalby. “We are not against technology but rather seek to provide parents with age-appropriate solutions for introducing technology to their kids.”
None of the phones approved for the Gabb Wireless Network will be equipped with an Internet browser nor be able to connect to an app store. Gabb phones will operate on the nationwide Gabb Wireless Network, powered by the country’s premier 4G LTE provider.
The Gabb Z1 phone operates on a Gabb Basic service plan, which costs $19.99 per month and provides users with unlimited talk and text. No long-term contracts are required, so parents can start and stop service for their children at any time.
“From our first meeting, ZTE has demonstrated a clear desire to provide safe cell phones for children and peace of mind for parents,” says Dalby. “Our launch simply would not have been possible without the tremendous vision and support we’ve received from them.”
Now available in Utah, the Gabb Z1 is a Quad Core 1.1 Hz Android device. It has a 5-megapixel back camera and 2-megapixel front camera. All Gabb phones come with calendar, calculator, alarm and FM radio apps built into the operating system. The price is $99.99, including activation and shipping.
Visit www.gabbwireless.com for more information.


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News.com reports that Google has no plans to sell music anytime soon. Chris Sacca, head of business development for Google, said Thursday at a NARM (National Association of Recording Merchandisers) conference; We are not going to be selling music." There were many rumors about a Google Music coming soon, check out our rumor coverage here. So does this mean Google Music is dead?
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The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector, the cornerstone of Indian economy, has got a boost in the Interim Budget, with the government offering 2% subvention for loans up to ₹1 crore and extending the Government eMarketplace (GeM) platform to support domestic services and trade.
With the Budget largely focused on the rural segments of the country, this will benefit the MSME sector greatly as 51% of all 634 lakh MSMEs are based in rural areas, consequently being a vital source of rural employment.
‘Step in right direction’
Rajiv Talreja, an entrepreneur and a business coach, said, “Keeping the politico de facto aside, I believe this is a good budget for the MSMEs. A 2% interest subvention for loans up to ₹1 crore is certainly a step in the right direction. Most importantly, the government has opened a new market for the home-grown entrepreneurs by allowing sourcing from MSMEs through government up to 25%, including 3% from women-run organisations.”
The government has increased the share of its procurements from MSMEs through GeM to 25%.
So far, GeM has registered transactions of more than ₹17,500 crore, which has led to savings of 25%-28%. It is expected that GeM would be scaled up to add more and more participants while easing the flow of funds to MSMEs. Mr. Sunil Gupta, founder and director, ExportersIndia.com, said, “In government projects, the decision to source 25% material from SMEs and 3% from only women-owned SMEs, is a case of leading by example. Interest subvention for SME for loans up to ₹1 crore is yet another positive. The path set to tackling unemployment by becoming the manufacturing hub of the world is another promising note. These measures, along with digitisation and automation, will help the SMEs and online businesses become a bigger force to reckon with.”
Talking about Trade Receivables Discounting System (TreDS) that has enabled working capital finance to MSMEs, Kalyan Basu, MD & CEO, A.TReDS Ltd., said, “In the 2018 Budget, Arun Jaitley proposed to bring public sector banks and corporates to the platform and link it with the GSTN. This has helped bring in more credit and ease out the cash flow for MSMEs. In fact, TReDS is going to be a major source of fund flow for MSMEs in the future.”


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Crowds of people turned out for the Apple Fayre procession in the town on Saturday where 25 different varieties of the fruit were on sale at the farmers’ market.
The annual event saw dancers, musicians, an apple cart carrying Tring’s deputy mayor Roxanne Ransley and school pupils, march from The Kings Arms pub in King Street to the farmers’ market in Brook Street.
Organiser Martin Hick said: “It went really well. The market was heaving with people and we almost sold all the apples.”
The event, which is in its eighth year, had a scarecrow making competition, which was won by the pupils of Goldfield School and there was a cooking competition that was won by Anusia Cafe in Tring High Street.
Mr Hicks said that the procession, which is the main event of Apple Month, was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to promoting English varieties of apples to the people of the town.
He said: “This week at the Friday Cafe at High Street Baptist Church we will be selling apples to people there. They are mostly elderly and it’s part of our mission to bring these English varieties to all people in the community.”


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The Legend Hotel Saigon is offering relaxing services with live entertainment for the festive season.
A Festive Package at the riverfront, five-star international hotel is recommended for people who want to spend their holiday luxuriously.
Available from December 16, 2011 to January 8, 2012 the package from US$99 for single or double occupancy in a deluxe room includes buffet breakfast at Atrium Café, 10 percent discount on food and beverage, and a 20 percent discount on massage services.
The rate also includes use of the fitness center and swimming pool and high-speed Internet access.
For a more relaxing time, guest can check in early from 11:00 a.m. instead of after 2:00 p.m. and check out until 3:00 p.m. instead of by 12:00 p.m.
Adding to the festivity, the known Atrium Café will serve gala dinner buffets for Christmas Eve and
New Year's Eve with free flowing beverages, a variety of entertainment, and a live performance by Filipino band Infinity at the hotel's exotic poolside setting. The five-member band will play a medley of popular hits and festive favorites into the late hours of Christmas Eve.
A Santa Clause will deliver gifts to children, while adults can join a midnight toast at the New Year's Eve countdown with a balloon drop.
Buffet brunch on Christmas Day and New Year Day will be complemented with a guitar and violin duo.
Tickets will be available for sale at the hotel lobby counter starting December 10.
The hotel's Japanese restaurant, Yoshino, will also feature special menus for the celebrations.
Christmas set dinner, or Christmas Omakase, will be served from December 20-25. A traditional eight-course omakase will be served on New Year's Eve, and a traditional set lunch and dinner on January 1 and 2, 2012.


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Penguin Patrol News
TNT, Colors and more
A long-awaited 3DS art package, a DSiWare puzzler and a WiiWare racer make up this week's digital downloads in North America. Here's the Nintendo Download: 5th April 2012 for Europe. 3DS Download Software: Colors! 3D (Collecting Smiles, $6.99, 226 blocks) — A much-anticipated release for 3DS, this 3D art software was supposed...