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Location-Based Mobile Services Becoming Increasingly Popular: Over 25% of Americans Have Used Location-Based Services for Recommendations
Posted by: Micah Pratt, social networking research & development
Using location-based services to find the closest restaurant or to get directions is becoming the newest trend in mobile technology. Here is an article from The Washington Post on how Americans are using location-based services.
The latest research from Pew’s Internet and American Life Project found that 28 percent of American adults have used mobile or social location-based services to get recommendations such as the best-rated nearby cafe or directions from their current location.
Only about 5 percent of those surveyed used services that post their current locations, though smartphone users were more than twice as likely to signal their location to their friends. In a similar vein, about 9 percent of all users used the location-tagging options on social media.
As once might expect, younger smartphone users are more likely overall to use check-in services, but there was no clear divide on age when it came to hitching a location-tag to a Facebook or Twitter message.
September 9, 2011 | Categories: Blogged, Blogging, Facebook, Google, Mobile Marketing, SEO, Smartphones, SMS, Social Media Marketing, Twitter | Tags: 2011 smartphones, advertisements, analysis data, android app, android apps, android google apps, app market, app store, app stores, apple, apple iphone, apple store, apple technology, applied research, apps, apps for android, apps store, audience, audiences, badges foursquare, best apps, best iphone, best smart phone, best smartphone 2011, best smartphones, best smartphones 2011, blog marketing, branding, business apps, business marketing, check-in, checking-in, chrome apps, consumer, creating an ap, decsion making, direct marketing, download mobile application, email marketing, feature phones, foursquare, foursquare api, foursquare badges, foursquare check-in, foursquare checkin, free android apps, free apps, free mobile application, free mobile application download, free mobile applications, Google, google app engine, google applications, google apps, google apps android, google apps blog, google apps marketplace, google mobile applications, gps locator, how to develop a message, how to please consumers, influencer, influencers, interactive marketing, internet advertising, internet marketing, internet marketing tools, iphone 4, iphone 5, iphones, itouch apps, Kansas City, KC, location based service, location-based marketing, location-based services, making an app, market research, marketing, marketing advertising, marketing communications, marketing ideas, marketing message, marketing messages, marketing plan, marketing research, marketing research companies, marketing services, marketing strategies, marketing strategy, marketing tools, mashable.com, media marketing, media plan, media plans, mobile, mobile application, mobile application developer, mobile application developers, mobile application development, mobile application free download, mobile application software, mobile applications, mobile applications download, mobile applications downloads, mobile market, mobile marketing, mobile phone applications, mobile phone tracking, mobile tech, mobile technologies, mobile technology, new iphone, new technology, on data mining, online advertising, online data, online data entry, online marketing, phone apps, product marketing, product reviews, public relations, purchase decision, purchase process, purchasing decisions, research, research a company, research and development, research methodology, research methods, research sites, research topics, sample size, sample sizes, samsung smartphones, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, search engine optimization marketing, search engine ranking, search marketing, SEO, seo marketing, seo search engine optimization, small business marketing, smart phones, smarthpone apps, smartphone, smartphone applications, smartphone reviews, Smartphones, smartphones reviews, sms marketing, social data, social data network, social marketing, Social Media, social media and marketing, social media how to, Social Media Marketing, social media marketing company, social media marketing firm, social media marketing services, Social networking, technologies, technology, technology development, technology research, the app store, the best smartphone, the washington post, tip, tips, top apps, trends, Twitter, Twitter Apps, twitter marketing, viral marketing, Washington Post, washington post news, web ap, web apps, web marketing, website advertising, what is a smartphone, what is foursquare, what is research, windows mobile applications, www.washingtonpost.com | Leave A Comment »
Posted By: Carlee Vellinga
Groupon is a prime example of the growing popularity of coupon and check-in businesses. Groupon launched a holiday store today. The store, Grouponicus, will offer new deals daily with a focus on holiday gift options. This article by Kit Eaton at fastcompany.com reveals the growing focus on social media shopping.
Check-in/Coupon Business Exploding: Groupon Gets Into Digital Music Downloads
Groupon is soaring like a rocket at the moment: Today it opens the Grouponicus Store, with Rihanna’s new album as the star offering and social media links a-plenty built in. It’s the latest sign that the check-in/coupon digital marketing phenomenon is exploding.
As well as the “variety of unbeatable features that have made Groupon a global phenomenon” the press release states, “LOUD will be available as a $5 digital download in the inaugural holiday store of Groupon, the Grouponicus Store, beginning November 22, 2010.” That’s a pretty big coup for Groupon, given the big-star status of Rihanna, and the fact that LOUD is running at $9.99 in Apple’s iTunes store–the biggest music retailer in the U.S.
The company is calling it a “first of its kind” deal, and while it’s definitely a success, it’s probably almost as much thanks to the clever marketing that Rihanna’s team are using for the new record, which includes “aggressive” social media activity across the usual suspects of Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace.
November 22, 2010 | Categories: Blogged | Tags: check in rewards, check-in, coupon applications, coupon apps, groupon, grouponicus, holiday shopping, holiday stress, search engine optimization, search engine optimization company, search engine optimization marketing, search engine placement, search engine ranking, search marketing, SEO, seo marketing, seo optimization, seo search engine optimization, seo service, seo services, social good, social marketing, Social Media, social media and marketing, Social Media Marketing, social media marketing company, social media marketing firm, social media marketing services, social media shopping, social media use, Social networking, social networking site, social networking sites, social web | Leave A Comment »


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OIC Economic Outlook 2017 Date : 21 November 2017
SESRIC has launched the OIC Economic Outlook 2017, the flagship report of the Centre, during the 33rd Session of the COMCEC, which was held in Istanbul on 20-23 November 2017. The main highlights of the report were presented by H.E. Ambassador Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General of SESRIC, during the meeting.
As is the case in every year, the OIC Economic Outlook 2017 analyses the trends in major economic indicators for OIC member countries as a group and investigates these trends in a comparative manner with their counterparts in the groups of developed and non-OIC developing countries as well as with the world average. Doing so, the report highlights a number of constraints and challenges confronting the efforts of OIC member countries towards enhancing their economic development and progress.
This year’s report also includes a special part on industrial development for structural transformation in OIC member countries. According to the report, industrial development process in OIC countries, as a group, has been rather sluggish over the last several decades. The share of OIC countries in total world manufacturing value added increased from 4.9% in 1990 to only 7.7% in 2016. There is also a strong growth in trade deficit in manufacturing products, reflecting the inadequate manufacturing production capacity in OIC countries.
Therefore, the report argues that OIC countries need to refocus their attention to economic diversification in manufacturing sector in order to narrow the gap in economic development and increase the level of economic diversification. A well-diversified economy requires a strong and sophisticated manufacturing industry in order to enhance and retain its competitiveness in the global economy. In this regards, while designing industrial policies, it is critical to understand the issues behind the successful and failed experiences of previous industrialization attempts. It is also important to create a synergy between trade and investment policies of the member countries, with particular attention given to the measures that stimulate product value chains in industrial development.
Online Electronic Version

domain: news


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The European Union threatened on Wednesday to retaliate if the US proceeds with slapping tariffs on $7.5 billion worth EU goods.
"If the US decides to impose WTO authorised countermeasures, it will be pushing the EU into a situation where we will have no other option than do the same," the EU said in a statement.
Earlier in the day, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) approved US tariffs on $7.5 billion of EU goods over illegal subsidies for Airbus.
The trade dispute between the two major airframe makers began in 2004 when Washington accused the UK, France, Germany and Spain of providing illegal subsidies and grants to Airbus.
In 2005, the EU fired back, observing that Boeing had received $19.1 of prohibited subsidies from the US government between 1989-2006, according to France24.
Earlier this year, the WTO ruled that the US had failed to remove all of its prohibited subsidies.


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Marco’s Pizza is adding units and growing sales. Prime territories are still available.
Marco’s Pizza has been named to the Franchise Times Top 200+ list of top performing franchises based on total global sales. Marco’s has been soaring up the list for years as our brand has grown from 112 locations in 2004 to nearly 1,000 locations today.
The annual list “is the result of a five-month research and reporting effort that leads to the most credible and objective franchise ranking available,” said Franchise Times Editor Laura Michaels. Franchise Times published the full list in its October issue.
What’s driving Marco’s growth
Marco’s was founded by Italian native Pat Giammarco in Toledo in 1978 and remained a regional brand for three decades. He met our current CEO, Jack Butorac, in 2003. Jack was floored by the quality of Marco’s food and saw an opportunity for nationwide expansion. He brought on board a team of managers with decades of experience from competing brands like Domino’s, Little Caesars and Papa John’s.
Together, the team has worked to expand franchisee support and build the infrastructure needed to support an iconic brand. Over the past 5 years, Marco’s has doubled in size.
Quality remains at the core of Marco’s Pizza’s identity. Pat, who sold the brand to Jack but remains as a multi-unit franchisee, instilled a passion for quality ingredients and recipes. Marco’s still uses the sauce recipe Pat learned in his grandmother’s Italian kitchen. Customers can tell the difference.
Franchisees can, too. Marco’s commitment to quality includes hiring great people to support our franchisees and providing the systems, tools, and marketing to drive the brand’s success.
Take a deep dive into the factors driving our success
To learn more about the factors that have made Marco’s a top performing franchise, fill out the form on this page. You’ll receive a copy of our Free Franchise Report, which outlines how we stand out from competitors and financial results. Once of our team members will then reach out to answer your initial questions and if you decide to move forward, we’ll schedule a “Winning Formula” webinar to walk you through more of the key factors that are helping our brand — and franchisees — thrive.


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- ISIL creates all-female brigade to terrorize women into following Sharia law
- ISTOOK: Obama wants to be impeached
- Obama to Latin leaders: Help with border
- Military bans troops from Baptist church event honoring ‘God’s Rescue Squad’
- ‘Pocket drones’: U.S. Army developing tiny surveillance tools for the next big war
- Belgian cafe posts sign: Dogs allowed, but Jews stay out
- Gen. Dempsey: Pentagon studying Russian readiness plans not viewed ‘for 20 years’
- John McCain: Botched, two-hour execution of murderer is ‘torture’
- House GOP ready to move border bill
- Bomb squad called after live WWII artillery washes on Cape Cod beach
President wants everyone but himself to pay more
Topic - Yahoo Inc.
Alibaba Group, the king of e-commerce in China, is dangling a deal that could turn into one of the biggest IPOs in history.
Yahoo will release two new comedy series next year in hopes of becoming an even more serious player in Internet video programming.
An alarming lapse in Internet security has exposed millions of passwords, credit card numbers and other sensitive bits of information to potential theft by computer hackers who may have been secretly exploiting the problem before its discovery.
Yahoo has added more layers of security in its effort to shield people's online lives from government spying and other snooping.
Britain's signals intelligence division is stealing screenshots from hundreds of thousands of innocent Yahoo users' webcam videos, according to the Guardian newspaper, which also reported that the years-long operation has swept up a huge haul of intimate photographs.
WhatsApp isn't your average Silicon Valley startup.
Carnegie Mellon University and web browsing firm Yahoo Inc. have announced a five-year, $10 million research partnership in which the Pittsburgh school will help develop more user friendly smartphone apps that can learn and be personalized from users' habits.
Yahoo Inc. is about to start construction on a new building at the University of Illinois and plans to almost double its workforce in Champaign.
Five major technology companies have released previously confidential information that confirms the U.S. government has been snooping on the digital lives of thousands of people in the name of national security.
Yahoo confirmed a number of customer email accounts and passwords have been hacked, but company heads won't disclose just how many have been affected by the breach.
Usernames and passwords of some of Yahoo's email customers have been stolen and used to gather personal information about people those Yahoo mail users have recently corresponded with, the company said Thursday.
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is cutting loose her top lieutenant in a possible sign that the Internet company's efforts to revive its long-slumping advertising sales aren't paying off.
Yahoo has refreshed its logo for the first time since shortly after the Internet company's founding 18 years ago.
Yahoo Inc. promised Monday "not to screw up" Tumblr's reputation for "cool" when it takes over — even as many of the trendy social network's 300 million users took to the site to complain about just that possibility.
Yahoo has bought Silicon Valley startup Jybe so it can bring back five of its former engineers to help the Internet company build better mobile applications.


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New iPod Cases and Server Racks at MacWorld
GizMac Accessories Will Exhibit New iPod and Xserve Products During the MacWorld Expo
PR9.NET January 06, 2007 - Torrance, CA – GizMac Accessories, designer and manufacturer of innovative products for the iPod and Xserve platforms, announce new iPod and Xserve products to be shown at MacWorld.
GizMac will be exhibiting in a bigger way this year at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco. Increasing their booth size to a thirty by twenty foot space, GizMac will display and demonstrate several new products for the first time during the show.
Known for the Titan line of iPod cases and accessories, GizMac plans to show an expanded line of iPod products at their MacWorld booth. The current Titan family of iPod cases and accessories will be joined by new iPod products next week when the expo begins.
GizMac's XRackPro2 noise reducing server rack product line will also be joined by a couple new products at the MacWorld Expo. Although GizMac recently released a 4U and a 25U version of their XRackPro2, they plan to exhibit additional new XRack products in their MacWorld booth.
"MacWorld will be extra exciting for us this year." Says Ken Vitto, Director of Marketing for GizMac Accessories, "Our iPod cases and accessories, as well as our noise reduction server rack product lines, will have great new products to show off throughout the expo."
The MacWorld Expo exhibition portion runs from January 9 through 12 at Moscone Center in San Francisco, GizMac invites attendees to visit booth S2410 in the South Hall to see their new and existing products. Additional information about GizMac and current products can be found on their web site at http://www.gizmac.com.
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About GizMac Accessories LLC
GizMac Accessories LLC, headquartered in the United States, designs and manufactures innovative “Gizmos for Your Lifestyle”.
|Recent News Headlines
|Industry Category of Current Press Release


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The Porsche 911 GT3 is getting a big brother: the 911 GT3 RS,..
Porsche is strengthening its presence with the opening of a new, interactive showroom..
The 911 GT3, representing the epitome of Porsche’s unrivalled motorsport technology into a..
Porsche has set a new record for road legal sports cars on the..
If you’ve had a craving for station wagons, then the new Panamera Sport..


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Qubole, the creator of Apache Hive, is set to take on rivals Hortonworks and Cloudera after raising $13m in funding.
The three-year-old firm, which created Facebook’s big data platform, closed a Series B funding round this week led by Norwest Ventures Partners.
The funding brings the company’s total to $20m and will be used to develop its big data services in the cloud.
"We know the real power of big data is getting it to the right people at the right time. Our mission is to help every company and every person at that company leverage big data to make a meaningful business impact," said Ashish Thusoo, CEO and co-founder of Qubole."
"We’ve seen tremendous adoption for our self-service platform and expect this to accelerate as our customers experience the incredible business outcomes that occur when everyone can access, process and collaborate with cloud data."
The announcement comes at a time when the market of Hadoop vendors becomes increasingly competitive. The likes of Hortonworks, which recently filed an S-1 for an IPO, and Cloudera, which has raised more than $300m in funding, are trying to stake a claim.
Qubole’s flagship product, Quality Data Services (QDS), uses Hadoop infrastructure to allow users users to prepare, integrate, and analyse their data in the cloud.
The firm, whose customers include Pinterest, Quora and MediaMathm, claims it processes 83 petabytes of data per month and that its customers used 4.96 million cloud compute hours in November.


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IND Vs PAK | Match 22 Jun 16, 2019
PAK 86/1 (19.1)
JER Vs NOR | Match 7 Jun 16, 2019
JER 146/4 (18.0)
ITA Vs GGY | Match 8 Jun 16, 2019
ITA 117/9 (18.4)
Latest News on Xiaomi Android One
Showing of 0 - 10 from 2 results
Xiaomi Android One - Total results - 2
Jan 04, 2019
Xiaomi is working on a new Android One smartphone, possibly the Mi A3Xiaomi is expected to launch its Android One based Mi A3 sometime in July 2019.
Oct 13, 2017
Top five budget smartphones you can buy between Rs 8,000 and Rs 15,000 this DiwaliConsidering the number of smartphone options available from a number of brands in the market, we have created a list of recently launched smartphones that will help in making your smartphone buying decision easier this Diwali.


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SCRANTON (AP) - Police in northeastern Pennsylvania say tips on social media have helped them nab teenagers involved in a spree of 'gallon smashing' at stores.
The Times-Tribune of Scranton reports (http://bit.ly/16J23Mc) Dickson City has seen five cases of the prank in the past month, most recently at a Wegmans store Sunday. It's part of an online trend in which people carrying gallons of milk or other beverages throw themselves to the floor and smash the products.
Police Chief William Bilinski says Sunday's incident involved men smashing beer bottles.
Bilinski says police have identified the participants in that incident after posting videos and photos on the department's Facebook page. The names of the teens were not released.
Police say they've also received tips on four similar incidents at Target earlier this month.
Information from: The Times-Tribune, http://thetimes-tribune.com/


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H&M’s continue their commitment to sustainability with their 10th-anniversary fashion-forward Conscious Collection that launches on 26th September.
The Conscious Exclusive Collection 2019, fall and winter in a new statement piece from the limited-edition are made from sustainable materials —recycled polyester, recycled brass, recycled zinc and a blend of Tencel and Refibra, a branded lyocell fiber made from discarded cotton.
Inspired by masquerade balls, the new fall and winter collection includes eveningwear such as softly tailored check separates, figure-fitting dresses and oversized hoodies, in an earthy color palette of light neutrals, black with pops of orange and red.
“H&M’s Fall 2019 Conscious Collection is all about the timeless classics and wardrobe staples you never get tired of,” said Maria Östblom, Head of Design Womenswear of H&M.
“Long-lasting design in more sustainable materials and the autumn must-haves you need to update your wardrobe,” She added.
“We’re always on the lookout for new innovations, new fabrics and new processes.”
H&M’s vision is to lead the change towards a circular and renewable fashion industry while being a fair and equal company. Using their size and scale, they are working to catalyze systemic changes across their own operations, their entire value chain and the wider industry. In this way, they want to continue to engage customers and provide great fashion and design choices — today, and into the future.
“We’re always on the lookout for new innovations, new fabrics and new processes,” said H&M Creative Advisor Ann-Sofie Johansson. We wanted to show that sustainable fashion doesn’t have to look boring or beige or like a burlap sack.”
H & M group was ranked amongst top 5 in fashion revolution’s 2018 index with a score of 55% (Highest score 58%) H&M Group has developed 2030 GHG emissions reduction goals that have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative.
It has also plan to use 57% of all materials for their products are recycled or other sustainably sourced materials. 95% of cotton used by H&M Group is recycled or other sustainably sourced.
H&M Group has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for several years now, this year reaching the highest possible score in the categories of Quality & Recall Management, Social Reporting, Environmental Reporting and the best industry score in Supply Chain Management.
Today fashion and sustainability is no longer a contradiction in terms, reusing and recycling is an important initiative across fashion. It is really inspiring that fashion-forward designs being made from recycled materials.


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TOKYO: A Japanese drugmaker whose dietary supplements are at the centre of a growing health scare reported on Thursday two more deaths potentially related to its tablets.
Last week, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical recalled three supplement brands — “Beni Koji Choleste Help” and two others — after customer complaints of kidney problems.
The over-the-counter products contain an ingredient called red yeast rice, or “beni koji”, which is supposed to help lower cholesterol.
Thursday’s announcement brings the total number of deaths under investigation by the company and health ministry to four, with more than 100 other people hospitalised.
“We were told yesterday by a bereaved family that a person who had been using Choleste Help had passed away due to kidney disease,“ the drugmaker said in a statement.
It added it had been told separately that another person who had used Choleste Help in recent years had died.
“We are in the process of confirming the facts and causal relationships in both of these cases,“ the statement said.
“However, we decided to make this report public from the viewpoint of prompt disclosure.”
Medical studies describe red yeast rice as an alternative to statins for lowering high cholesterol, but also warn of a risk of organ damage depending on its chemical make-up.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical sells a wide range of health products marketed through television adverts in Japan.
The Osaka-based company says it has also supplied red yeast rice to around 50 other firms in Japan and two in Taiwan.
Government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said Thursday that authorities were doing “their utmost to ensure food safety, including identifying the substance that caused the health harm and how it became present in the product”.
The government has ordered various health-food makers to review their products, while informing foreign countries about the issue through Japan’s embassies, he said.
Dozens of Japanese firms that used beni koji provided by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical have also separately announced recalls.
The affected products include health tablets as well as a rose-coloured sparkling sake, salad dressing, bread and miso paste used in many traditional dishes.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical has said analysis had found a possibility that the products contained “ingredients we had not intended to include”.
But it said it did not find any citrinin produced by red yeast rice, which is toxic and can damage the kidneys. -AFP


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CHICAGO - Wild Oats Markets, Inc., a national natural and organic foods retailer, and Peapod, Ahold USA's Internet grocer, are now offering more than 200 Wild Oats branded to Chicago-area shoppers on the Peapod online grocery site.
"So far there are approximately 225 products online, and we expect it will be 300 by the end of the year as we introduce additional private label products," Sonja Tuitele, Wild Oats' director of corporate communications, told Progressive Grocer.
The selection of products ranges from cage-free eggs, orange juice, and organic milk to all-natural cookies, imported Italian sodas, and environmentally friendly paper goods. With only two stores in the area -- Wild Oats Natural Marketplace in Hinsdale and People's Market in Evanston -- this partnership provides Chicagoans who hunger for more Wild Oats natural and organics one-click access to convenient home delivery of such products. This is Wild Oats' first foray into online food retailing.
According to Tuitele, Dayville, Conn.-based United Natural Foods, Inc., a wholesale distributor to the organic and natural foods industry, will handle distribution to Peapod, which will deliver the products to the end consumer.
"The No. 1 request we get from shoppers is that they want us to put a Wild Oats store in their neighborhood," noted Perry Odak, Wild Oats' president and c.e.o.. "People will drive great distances to shop at our stores because they know they can find products -- particularly our own Wild Oats-branded products -- that aren't available elsewhere. With Peapod we can deliver our products right to customers' doorsteps."
In addition to meeting consumers' needs for convenience in today's hectic world, natural and organic products fit like peas in a pod with online retailing in terms of consumer attributes.
"The Peapod site allows consumers to easily sort the types of products they are looking for to meet their dietary needs and taste profiles," said Tony Stallone, Peapod's v.p. of fresh markets and merchandising. "Being able to sort by calories, fat, fiber, and sodium can also save time. We are adding the Wild Oats line of products to our assortment because we believe that they have the most stringent quality standards in the industry at a price our customers can appreciate."
The Wild Oats online products are being marketed with advertisements in the Chicago Tribune, flyers, and bag stuffers in Wild Oats stores, as well as by a direct mail campaign.
Remodeled Pet Aisles
In other Wild Oats news, the company recently had an exclusive launch with Pet Promise, a new line of pet food that uses all-natural remnant beef, poultry, lamb, and pork from the same suppliers that provide Wild Oats' all-natural meat products for its meat departments, including Coleman Natural Beef, Petaluma Poultry, and Beelers Pork.
"We have reset and remodeled all of our pet aisles, and are the only stores offering the Pet Promise line," said Wild Oats' Tuitele. "Consumer research shows that one of the highest-indexing behavior traits of natural foods shoppers is pet ownership, but a small percentage of our shoppers were shopping that aisle of the store, so we believe this is a big opportunity for Wild Oats."


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In an effort to protect the interest of Ghanaian consumers and promote financial integrity, the Ghana Fintech and Payment Association (GFPA) has issued a strong warning against using financial products and services offered by unlicensed and illegal mobile lending enterprises.
This warning follows the Bank of Ghana’s second notice, which specifically warned the public against borrowing money from the staggering 97 unlicensed entities operating through mobile money platforms.
The GFPA, an association devoted to supporting innovation in the field of financial technology, vehemently opposed these unlawful lending practices.
Citing exorbitant interest rates, frequently surpassing an alarming 100% per annum, the association aptly characterized the activities of these illicit businesses as fraudulent.
In an official statement released, the GFPA urged its members, as well as all other payments service providers, to refrain from facilitating the operations of these unlicensed actors by denying them access to their esteemed payment gateways.
By strategically positioning themselves as intermediaries in the financial ecosystem, GFPA play a vital role in ensuring the integrity and legitimacy of transactions. Their steadfast commitment to combating financial malpractice is evident as they align their efforts with the Bank of Ghana, the regulatory body overseeing lending activities, as well as other pertinent state agencies.
The GFPA noted its partnership with the Bank of Ghana, highlighting their shared goal of curbing the proliferation of these unscrupulous practices and safeguarding the interests of consumers.
By actively working together, GFPA disclosed its intention to create stable and safe digital financial environment with the BoG, where people may confidently obtain financial services from legally recognized institutions without worrying about falling for shady tricks.
GFPA Set To Curb Financial Fraud With BoG’s Partnership
More so, according to GFPA, with the rapid expansion of financial technology and the ease of access to digital services, it becomes increasingly crucial for consumers to be discerning and selective in their choice of financial partners.
The ramifications of falling prey to unlicensed mobile loan businesses, as stated by GFPA, can be severe, resulting in crippling debt burdens and irreparable damage to individuals’ financial well-being.
Thus, the GFPA’s proactive stance in raising awareness about these unscrupulous entities provides much-needed protection for consumers, shielding them from the perils of extortionate interest rates and deceitful practices.
This collaborative effort between the GFPA and the Bank of Ghana underscores the significance of a multi-faceted approach to tackle such challenges effectively.
By leveraging their expertise, industry knowledge, and regulatory frameworks, they aim to eradicate the menace posed by unlicensed mobile loan businesses, thereby preserving the sanctity of Ghana’s financial sector.


text: 16 December 2008 "Your computer is infected" fake anti-virus pop-up alert scams SCAMwatch warns consumers to be wary of fake anti-virus alerts. NEVER click on pop-up anti-virus alerts. 19 September 2008 Telemarketing calls promising 'free' holidays SCAMwatch is warning consumers to be wary of telemarketing calls informing recipients that they have won a 'free' holiday. 7 August 2008 Inheritance scam in your letterbox The Australian community is warned to be wary of inheritance scam letters from scammers. 1 July 2008 'Death threat' SMS scam The Australian community is warned to beware of death threat spam text messages from scammers pretending to be a hired hitman in order to extort thousands of dollars from their victims.


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ERA’s Quick Connections is issued twice a month. ERA invites you to share recent newsworthy items and calendar dates with your fellow members at firstname.lastname@example.org.
Monthly POS Reports
Budde Marketing, which provides monthly POS Index reports to ERA members, issued its latest summary, running from January 2018 through October 2020. Visit era.org to view the new index. According to the new report, October 2020 dipped slightly from September 2020 POS numbers. This year’s numbers through October reflect a 7 percent drop when comparing the first 10 months of 2019 POS numbers. However, April through August 2020 were all down significantly, while the past two months show signs of improvement, so the worst seems to be behind us for the remainder of 2020. For details on Budde Marketing’s services, visit BuddeMarketing.com.
“2021 will see some unique trends in the distribution section that contradict the hype around a slowdown in strategic growth and technology investment,” according to a recent Industrial Distribution report. From mergers and acquisitions to on-site inventory vending machines to workflow automation are just some of the unique trends in the distribution section. Read more at IndustrialDistribution.
2020 has been a turbulent year for the electronics industry, mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic impact and other factors such as Brexit, tariff wars and technology trends taking off. However, the industry seems to be in good shape at the moment. Read more at eBOM.
Worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $39 billion in October 2020, an increase of 6 percent compared to the October 2019 total of $36.8 billion and 3.1 percent more than the September 2020 total of $37.9 billion, the SIA reported. Read more at Evertiq.
Vendor revenue in the worldwide server market grew 2.2 percent year over year (YoY) to $22.6 billion during the third quarter of 2020 and worldwide server shipments declined 0.2 percent YoY to nearly 3.1 million units, according to IDC. “Global demand for enterprise servers was a bit muted during the third quarter of 2020 although we did see areas of strong demand,” said Paul Maguranis, senior research analyst, Infrastructure Platforms and Technologies at IDC. Read more at IDC.
Phil M. Jones will present the March 3 General Session “Exactly What to Say … Now” at the 2021 ERA Virtual Conference, scheduled March 1-3. “Phil Jones has helped teams and sellers all over the world discover the secrets to growth and success, and we are extremely excited to have him speak at the 2021 ERA Virtual Conference,” said General Session Sub-Committee Co-Chair, Bryan Teen, CPMR, President of Tech Marketing. Read more at ERAConference.
ERA extends its deepest thanks to the many valued sponsors of the 2021 Virtual Conference. We could not accomplish our goals without the generosity and enthusiasm of our committed supporters. For details, visit ConferenceSponsors.
ERA announces updates to the Chapters of the Year and COLT (Chapter Officers Leadership Training) programs. The new Chapters of the Year program is introducing new recognition categories — Education, Membership and Networking. ERA will be inviting chapters to nominate their member activities in the coming weeks. ERA also announces that the 2021 COLT Program is moving to a virtual platform and will be available free for any chapter members who wish to attend. For details, visit ERANews.
For Your Calendar
Click here to browse the searchable ERA Industry Calendar and ERA Chapter Events listings!
Thinking of Joining ERA?
If you are thinking about joining the hundreds of representatives, manufacturers and distributors in the electronics industry who benefit from their ERA membership, click here for more info!


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Monday, November 18, 2013
'November 14, 2013 (Boston, MA):
Leverage Networks, Inc. announces that it is reinventing the core business of the former Pegasus Communications, Inc., through a new, online platform. Having acquired most assets of Pegasus, including The Systems Thinker® newsletter, publications, webinars and other resources, the new company is focusing on creating effective change by spreading the use of Organizational Learning, Systems Thinking, System Dynamics, and related fields by providing relevant, accessible resources and support. The new company will be led by Rebecca Niles (Co-President), Kristina Wile (Co-President), and Kathleen Skaare (Marketing and Operations Director). Early advisers include industry thought leaders and former Pegasus board members: LeAnne Grillo, Ginny Wiley, Dave Packer, and Elayne Dorsey. Investors include Ohana Holdings LLC, an investing arm of Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay.
Leverage Networks will launch an interactive online platform (www.leveragenetworks.com) for information hosting, community building and referral services supporting the broader Systems Thinking communities in an effort to increase adoption of the field. The platform will include many of the original publications as well as new digital and physical media such as articles, games, webinars, videos, interactive mobile apps, a matching service for coaches and practitioners, and an industry event calendar. For more information about the launch of Leverage Networks, including product sales and partnering information, please contact us: firstname.lastname@example.org'
Posted by Ray at 12:24 pm


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Fashion lovers will be excited to hear that Zara's more affordable sister company, Stradivarius, is launching in the UK.
The Spanish retailer, which has grown in popularity thanks to its more affordable price point, will open on British soil this summer.
According to the brand's website, it is geared towards women aged 20-35 and focuses on fun, trend-led pieces for those 'who are too young to dress like their mothers but too sophisticated to dress like teenyboppers.'
Stradivarius, which launched in Spain in 1994, is already available in 57 countries, and will set up shop at London's Westfield Stratford shopping centre toward the end of the year.
But if you can't wait that long to get your hands on goodies from the womenswear brand, it is already available online.
Judging by its online success, we're sure to see a lot more of the rapidly-expanding label.


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A feature rich and highly configurable, professional Joomla theme.
PANDORA Jewelry has partnered with leading designers to host runway shows for Coachella's fashion elite. The PANDORA Jewelry Fashion Experience™ featuring Nanette Lepore, Plenty by Tracy Reese, WHiT and Siwy Denim will showcase Spring and Summer 2015 collections. Executive Fashion Show Producer, Tod Hallman for THPFashion Inc. will produce the event at the Parker Palm Springs during the first weekend of the Coachella Music and Arts Festival.
Love them or hate them, most jewellers will agree, Pandora has been the biggest thing to hit the jewellery industry in modern times. Pandora’s mission, to be the most recognized jewellery brand in the world, appears to be on track, and their strap-line “affordable luxury” has certainly reached out to the UK’s every-day shoppers.


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Impact of ad-blocking trend on Facebook and Google is disturbing both the digital advertising giants.
Facebook Inc and Google Inc, both online tech giant companies, values advertising as the most important tool by which they continue to be the active force behind the cosmic financial progress. According to the last quarterly report, Google achieved $17.7 billion, which is the 90% of its growth from ads only. The dependence of digital marketing ads is even higher for Facebook.
It is observed this year that the social networking website broke all the quarterly records amongst all its competitors for the first time. Facebook business recorded around $4 billion making a history, just like Google. The organization can be grateful to its world’s best capability to target ads to the suitable person at the right moment for representing it among more than 2 million marketing associates. Genuinely, it is very good at fascinating the advertisers that increased around 95% of past quarter’s turnover from selling spots, videos, etc.
The users on social network are joining ad-blocking technologies to avoid digital advertisings, which indicate a rise in the ad-blocking tech. Flawless data is difficult to come now when calculating users that use ad-blocking methods. Regardless of the firm conducting blocking ads research, the results are same. The number of consumers, who have received enough online ads at first, is growing with the high rate.
Last year in June, with respect to the information by PageFair, there were 144 million users using ad-block technology actively, which is around 4.9% of the world’s online population. Nevertheless, this figure is increasing since 2013. A survey report released in June 2013 states that 70% rise is observed since last year and the trend is still progressing in 2015.
By June, there were apparently 200 million ad blockers internationally for both – organizations and several digital advertisers – that achieve a major portion of ad trade from the countries. This news brought worse situation for them. According to the eMarketer report regarding the digital ad investment, the U.S digital ad expenditure will be $59 million approximately in 2015, approximately double than that of China’s $31 billion. They are also the leading firms in utilizing ad-block solutions, according to the research analysis by the Oxford University. Facebook and Google are preparing for the new strategies and planning for to overcome the ad block trend.
Advertisements might affect user experience while surfing and internet browsing. Thus, companies are conscious about using ad features. The same is observed for Google and Facebook, which are already striving to keep the interface user-friendly and clean.
The post Should Facebook and Google Be Bothered About Ad-Blocks appeared first on Stock Price Diver.


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In a move that claims to immediately establish its U.S. operational footprint and lay the groundwork for the company's growth strategy in the region, Bragg Gaming Group (TSXV: BRAG) will reportedly acquire Nevada-based interactive software developer and distributor Spin Games LLC for approximately $ 30 million transactions cash and shares.
Announced Wednesday, May 11th, 2021, terms of the final agreement include receipt by the Reno-based company $ 10 million cash payments next to $ 20 million in common Bragg shares , of which $ 5 million is to be issued after closing the deal, is subject to regulatory approval and the balance paid over the next three years.
Bragg Gaming Group CEO Richard Carter explained in a press release that “Spin has state gaming licenses and well-established integrations with online casino operators covering most of the US market place our company in a unique position for future growth in the North American market. "
The deal, Carter said, "provides a solid foundation for our strategy of building a vertically integrated Level 1 iGaming business in the US."
The Spin Games (RGS) remote game server and casino content are fully licensed and distributed in Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and a distribution license is pending in Canada's westernmost province, British Columbia. Established in Reno, Nevada in 2012, the company's portfolio includes over 150 interactive games including slot machines, bingo, video poker, virtual sports games, keno and "pre-built content concepts". It also has content and RGS licensing agreements with industry-leading content providers, including a designer, developer and producer of entertainment products from Illinois, Incredible Tecnologies, Inc, Everi, and Konami Gaming.
The merger agreement is in line with the previously announced strategy of the global provider of B2B gaming platform to diversify revenues from European regulated markets and increase business in the US, trying to take advantage of the rapidly growing online casino markets in the United States and Canada.
Lead operator access :
Courtesy of the transaction, an international gaming technology company is gaining access to "Relationships with key strategic operators" in the US, including WynnBet, Unibet, TwinSpires, Rush Street Interactive, Resorts, Penn National Gaming, Parx, Hard Rock, Golden Nugget, Caesars, BetMGM / Roar Digital and two of the country's largest fantasy sports companies North America, DraftKings, and FanDuel.
Bragg says his intention is to use the aforementioned key operator relationship to sell his existing casino content which is currently available in European markets while continuing to develop "US focused content creation".
A new role for young people:
Spin Games founder and CEO, Kent Young, who has over three decades of experience in managing the gaming sector, will immediately join Bragg Gaming Group as President - America. There will be " play a key role ”In managing the group's development strategy on the American market.
Young said ...
“On behalf of the entire Spin team, we are pleased to announce this acquisition, which will put the combined company in a better position to extend support to the fast-growing US iGaming market with our proprietary third-party content and content, and our leading remote game server technology.
Profitable move :
“Since becoming one of the first RGS and iGaming content companies approved for online gaming in the US, we've expanded our presence in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan and have been granted British Columbia business approval. In addition to strengthening our support to our existing customers and markets, this is an acquisition will accelerate Spin's ability to expand our content library, capture new markets and use our technology to support iGaming here and in new markets as they open . We are very excited to join the Bragg team and look forward to a very successful future together. "
The deal will close upon final approval from state gaming regulators and meeting other customary closing conditions.


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Alaska Airlines upgrades, expands terminal in Seattle
September 1, 2019
In mid-July Alaska Airlines announced completion of the first phase of the Sea-Tac’s North Satellite Modernization Project. As part of the $658.3 million project, the Port and Alaska Airlines unveiled eight new gates, expanded locally-based dining and retail options and the brand-new, flagship Alaska Airlines Lounge.
“The old North Satellite worked for 45 years and worked well, but it’s become a living time capsule. We are now headed into the future with a stunning facility that improves the passenger experience with more space, light and services. Alaska, Seattle’s hometown airline, is a perfect partner to grow with Sea-Tac,” said Port of Seattle Commission President Stephanie Bowman.
Travelers will have access to new restaurants and services inspired by the best of the Northwest, including family-owned Bambuza Vietnam Kitchen, Seattle’s beloved Skillet, locally owned Caffe D’Arte and travel retailer The New Stand.
A brand-new nursing suite on the upper-level mezzanine opened for traveling mothers in early August. With spa-inspired design and high-end finishes, Sea-Tac Airport is among the first airports to offer a nursing suite of this caliber to multiple users. There are three curtained alcoves for privacy, a lounge with comfy seating, stroller storage, charging stations, a restroom, multiple sinks and ample counterspace.


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Each year, Mobile World Congress (MWC) is the event that mobile phone enthusiasts wait for with anticipation and excitement. It’s the biggest mobile tradeshow of the year.
MWC 2019 officially kicked off in Barcelona yesterday (February 25th), and will be ongoing until February 28th.
What are we likely to see at this year’s MWC? Well, we know that the foldable Huawei Mate X has been planned for the show, as well as a 5G prototype from OnePlus, and of course, the arrival of LG’s Flagship phone – G8. Microsoft will also be unveiling HoloLens 2. That’s a lot to take in.
In a time where folding phones are coming into their own light (see below), Sony is leading its innovation towards 21:9 ratio screens, which they feel will, improve the movie watching experience. What this will look like in our day-to-day lives is yet to be determined, however. The range will include a flagship, plus a few other 21:9 ratio phones, at this year’s MWC.
Huawei have a lot going on this year with the P30 and Mate 30 ranges, as well as something a little different – the Mate X, Huawei’s interesting flagship, which comes with 5G connectivity, all wrapped up in a folding design.
Take the leading mixed reality headset and add the much-needed improvements on comfort and improved optics, which cleverly track where your eyes are looking. This will ensure a more reactive and immersive AR experience for the user.
Surly not the first time you’ve heard about the extremely innovative Nokia 9 PureView, which has a history and market changing, five lens camera arrangement. This is the phone all phone enthusiast have been waiting to see in the flesh.
No doubt there’ll be more interest news revealed this year. Keep an eye on our social media channels and blog, for all the latest!


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We know they are already working, but these folks are just like, “eff an education?!” Here’s what Bruce Jenner had to say about his daughters attending college:
“If they want to go to college, certainly, I think it’s a good idea. But I’m not the advocate of, ‘You’ve got to go to college!'” Bruce said. “I think by the time they graduate from high school, they will probably be in a position to go right to working.”
Like their older sisters Kourtney, 32, Kim, 31, and Khloe, 27, Kendall and Kylie are becoming branded businesswomen, Bruce explained. “They’ve just developing their clothing line for Sears — it’s a little more teen-oriented, the clothing line. And they’re working all the time on the show.”
Didn’t Kourtney at least go to college??? One of them needs to follow in her footsteps.


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Samsung is one of the companies that has struggled to bring the front camera built into the screen of their smartphones. Despite all the rumors, this technology has not yet reached the market, but that is expected to change as early as next year.
According to a report from South Korea, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 will arrive to the market with this technology. The same report also states that the folding smartphone will be revealed in the third quarter of the year.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 with built-in camera is a possibility
It is not the first time that the possibility of Samsung launching a flagship with the front camera built into the screen is discussed. In fact, this rumor is several years old, but it has never been closer to materializing than it is now.
Believing in what the new report reports, the South Korean will use a “special” screen type to be able to incorporate the so desired technology. This new screen will have larger pixels where the smartphone’s camera is located.
This larger opening between the pixels of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 screen will allow more light to pass between them and reach the camera sensor. A process that will be very important to improve the quality of the captured images.
First smartphone with camera built into the screen disappoints in the quality of the photos
Even if the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is actually launched with a camera built into the screen, it will not be the first to have this technology. This milestone belonged to ZTE, with the launch of the Axon 20 5G, a mid-range device that has been available in China for several months.
With the use of some users in that market, it became known that the quality of the images captured with this camera is far from perfect. In fact, it is said that the quality of the images falls far short of several Device in the same segment.
This reality should not be a surprise to anyone, since this has always been one of the prescriptions regarding this technology. . The next battle for technology companies will be this: improving the quality of images captured with cameras under the screen.
Androidvillaz editors recommend:
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip Lite may be on its way and can become the “King of the folding”!
- Samsung may surprise everything and everyone, the first with a “scrollable” smartphone
- Samsung Galaxy M 31 with limited time discount.


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Katsina State recorded a massive 41.46% jump in the number of mobile internet subscribers the fastest growth by any state in the country. This is according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. The data focus on mobile internet subscribers via GSM phones.
Katsina state recorded 3.679 million internet subscribers in the first quarter of 2020 compared to 3.17 million and 2.6 million subscribers in the 4th quarter and 1st quarter of 2019 respectively. This represents a 15.8% jump quarter on quarter and 41.5% jump year on year. No other state comes close.
Edo State was however second year on year recording a growth of 36.8% to 4.3 million internet subscribers. Katsina was also recorded the fastest growth quarter on quarter followed by Sokoto State.
Nigeria’s Mobile Internet Subscribers Data
According to the data from the NBS, the total number of internet subscribers in Nigeria as at the first quarter of 2020 is 136, 203, 231. This compares to 126, 078, 999 in the 4th quarter of 2019 and 116, 310, 154 in the first quarter of 2019. This represents a QoQ growth of 8.03% and year on year growth of 17.1%.
Nigeria’s commercial cities of Lagos, Rivers State, FCT and Kano also recorded growth in internet subscribers year on year.
Subscribers – 17.02 million
YoY Growth – 7.16%
Subscribers – 5.12 million
YoY Growth – 9.77%
Subscribers – 8.33 million
YoY Growth – 33.19%
Subscribers – 6.13 million
YoY Growth – 13.3%
Internet Subscribers by Geopolitical Zones
We also observed the South West still retains the number one position in terms of internet subscribers per geopolitical zone with 39.1 million subscribers out of a total of 136.2 million in the country. The North-Western part of the country recorded the fastest growth of 29.9%. See below;
Internet Subscribers by GSM Companies
MTN continues to lead with 57.2 million subscribers. They also grew the fastest YoY by 23%
MTN – 57,282,123
GLO – 33,871,456
AIRTEL – 36,827,677
9MOBILE – 7,762,068
Others – 459,907
Total – 136,203,231
Upshots: Internet subscriber’s growth in Nigeria continues to record double-digit growth and one of the fastest in the world. The competition for mobile data subscription is intense and could end up being a winner take all activity. As GSM companies move in search of growth, the North seems the area with the most potential for double-digit subscriber growth.


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JUNE 15, 2021
GOING ALL-IN ON EVS: COLOGNE SITE BEGINS $1 BILLION TRANSFORMATION.
At Ford, we are taking a significant step forward in our European transformation, with a commitment to go all-in on electric passenger vehicles, and to substantially grow and electrify our leading commercial vehicle business.
Today, we committed that by mid-2026, our entire passenger vehicle range in Europe will be zero emissions capable whilst driving, all-electric or plug-in hybrid, and will be completely all-electric by 2030.
Similarly, our entire commercial vehicle range will be zero emissions capable whilst driving, all-electric or plug-in hybrid, by 2024, with two-thirds of our commercial vehicle sales expected to be all-electric or plug-in hybrid by 2030.
The news comes after we reported, in the fourth quarter of 2020, a return to profit in Europe. And we announced planned investment of at least $22 billion globally in electrification through 2025, nearly twice our previous EV investment plans.
Central to the transformation of our operations in Europe over the past two years were: a $1 billion improvement in structural costs; addressing underperforming markets; the creation of a more targeted vehicle line-up within three customer-focused business groups; and partnerships to drive growth and improved levels of profitability across the business.
COLOGNE $1 BILLION INVESTMENT
Spearheading the advance into an all-electric future is a new $1 billion investment to modernise our vehicle assembly facility in Cologne, Germany, one of our largest manufacturing centres in Europe and the home of our European operations. The investment will transform the existing vehicle assembly operations into the Ford Cologne Electrification Centre for the manufacture of electric vehicles: our first such facility in Europe.
We also confirmed that our first European-built, volume all-electric passenger vehicle for European customers will be produced at the facility from 2023, with the potential for a second all-electric vehicle to be built there under consideration.
This is a transformative time for Ford and the entire motor industry. We're excited about the future and look forward to sharing more about our electrification plans, as well as progress at the Cologne site, with you over the coming months.


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A zesty show of battery bragging that may not be pulp fiction
Richard Yu claims device will arrive 'within a year'
Firm says it 'respects consumers' right to choose what to do with their devices'
Mid-ranger offers a AI smarts, a 3,750mAh battery and a notch, of course
No new phone - but the new SoC is a beast
Australia the global trend-setter for a change
China's state-controlled press warns that country will 'neet their nemesis'
Strewth! It's not a g'day for the Chinese firms
This is the second example of photo fakery from the Chinese firm
Chip will be 40 per cent more power efficient than its 10nm counterpart
Huawei slams bill as 'ineffective, misguided, and unconstitutional'
What's that, Gods of irony? You want us to lick you?
Security chief tells staff to ditch devices even if they're free
The smartphone market is no longer a two-horse race
Firm will adopt 'expensive' heatsink to keep device cool
Chinese firm will use 'inferior' OLED in bid to 'attract attention'
Firm's 'abnormal' battery management policy broke VLC audio-playback
HCSEC sounds the alarms over 'critical' shortfalls by Chinese firm
Huawei wants you to flick one off the wrist and fill your ear canal with it
Firm claims it'll bring a 60 per cent boost to graphics processing efficiency
Firm's rotating chairman says sanctions would be 'hard to imagine'
Talk, talk, talk, talk - my mother on a quiet day
The P20 Pro's baby brother is all grown up
Prepare yourself for Killer Croc's boyband
Huawei takes on the MacBook and wins
Shady letter asks Google to cut ties with the Chinese firm
But latest issues means it'll only be available in China to begin with
Which laptop do you buy? We round up the best of the year so far
Another data-sharing debacle...?
We round up the best devices available this year so far
Will make its phones far less desirable for developers
A fix is incoming, so you can get back to Ubering
And it's available to buy today from £399 SIM-free
US officials fear Chinese gov could use devices to snoop on comms
Homegrown OSes primed for us in 'worst-case scenarios', claims report
And it'll be launching in the UK next month
Hints that the Mate 30 could be among first 5G-enabled devices
Move comes as US gov sounds alarm bells over 'Chinese espionage'
But its camera might be even better than we first thought
Calls espionage claims 'nonsense'
FCC plans to prevent US government funding from being used to buy from foreign tech firms seen as security threats
Chairman Ajit Pai is up to his tech meddling tricks again
A war cry challenge to Samsung and Apple
Hands down, the best smartphone camera ever. Period. And we've got a full review first
Retail giant will stop selling firm's devices in 'the coming weeks'
Oh, you've got a new phone next week Huawei? We had no idea
Main lens will be joined by 20MP and 8MP sensors, claims leak
Twitter tipster also reveals which variants are coming to Europe
But don't get excited unless you speak Chinese


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IN A LAWSUIT, ELON MUSK'S TESLA IS CHARGED WITH FRAUD AND DECEPTIVE ADVERTISING OF "AUTOPILOT" TECHNOLOGY
Tesla is being sued by motorists who claim the firm misled them about the capabilities of its autopilot technology.
Briggs Matsko, a Tesla customer who claimed to have paid $5,000 for the autopilot update in a 2018 Tesla Model X, filed a class-action complaint this week in a California court, asking for damages and a jury trial.
The lawsuit cited a number of comments made by Musk online and by the business on its website regarding Tesla's Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, the name of its autopilot technology.
According to the lawsuit, the film is still displayed "prominently" on Tesla's website.
In 2016 and again in 2019, Musk promised, Tesla vehicles would be capable of doing a completely autonomous cross-country travel.
There hasn't yet been a totally autonomous cross-country journey.


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Target is set to report its financial results for the holiday quarter, as well as provide an outlook for the year ahead. The Wall Street analysts surveyed by LSEG are expecting the following for the company’s fourth quarter:
– Earnings per share: $2.41 expected
– Revenue: $31.83 billion expected
Target, known for its sales of discretionary items like clothing and home goods, has been experiencing declining comparable sales over the past two quarters. The company has acknowledged that this trend is likely to continue, even during the holiday season. In an effort to attract value-focused shoppers, Target has focused on offering low prices and emphasizing high-frequency categories such as food and beauty. The retailer also made an effort to provide a wide range of toys and gifts under $25 during the holiday season.
One of the challenges faced by Target is its smaller presence in the grocery business compared to big-box rival Walmart. While groceries account for about 20% of Target’s annual sales, they make up nearly 60% of Walmart’s annual sales in the U.S. This discrepancy puts Target at a disadvantage, as groceries are known to drive foot traffic and ensure steadier sales, even during times when shoppers are cutting back on other categories.
In addition to the grocery challenge, Target has also been dealing with the closure of pharmacies within some of its stores. CVS Health announced in January that it would be shutting down certain pharmacy locations in Target stores, as part of a broader plan to reduce its store count. While the exact number of closures was not disclosed, this move could potentially impact Target’s overall store traffic and sales.
Target will be holding a financial meeting with investors in New York City to discuss its results and outlook. Despite a 6% increase in its share price so far this year, Target’s performance falls short of the approximately 8% gains of the S&P 500 during the same period. As of Monday’s close, Target’s shares were trading at $150.49 apiece, giving the company a market value of nearly $70 billion. Investors are eagerly awaiting updates on Target’s performance and future prospects during the upcoming meeting.


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Austin (TX) - LCDs now represent almost six out of ten sold monitors for the desktop, according to a report released by DisplaySearch. Users bought more than 21.2 million desktop LCDs in the fourth quarter of last year, posting a 26 percent growth over the third quarter of 2004.
Aggressive LCD monitor street level pricing in the fourth quarter of last year built the base for a significant sales boost for the monitors and had a negative impact on worldwide CRT monitor demand at the same time. Market research firm DisplaySearch said worldwide LCD desktop monitor shipments rose 26 percent quarter over quarter to 21.2 million units worldwide in Q4 of last year.
LCDs now account for about 57 percent of the total desktop monitor market, which reached slightly more than 37 million units in Q4. Worldwide CRT monitor demand, which was previously anticipated to remain flat in Q4, fell 2 percent to 16 million units, dominated by the sales of 17" flat front CRT devices, DisplaySearch said.
Despite the substantial shipment increase, LCD monitor manufacturers saw their revenues climb by only 10 percent. DisplaySearch attributed this fact to a continued erosion of LCD monitor street level pricing, falling to "magic" price points such as $149-$199 for 15" LCD monitors, $199-$299 for 17" LCD monitors and $359- $399 for 19" LCD monitors.
Dell dominated sales of desktop LCDs with shipments of almost 4.2 million units. Growth of 51 percent translated into a 19.8 percent market share for the company. This is almost twice as large as the second largest player in the market, Samsung, which had 10 percent of the worldwide unit volumes in Q4. Dell's market position is even more dominant in the US, where the company commands a 39.5 percent market share, according to the data released by DisplaySearch.
The worldwide market share ranking is completed by Hewlett-Packard (9.1 percent), Acer (6.2 percent) and LG (6.1 percent). For the US, Hewlett-Packard is second with 9.7 percent, Samsung has 5.4 percent, Viewsonic 4.7 percent and Sony 3.9 percent.


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Condemned Northern California Home Sells For $1.23 Million"There are so many 20-year-old millionaires in the area that it really didn't surprise me," said listing agent Larry Gallegos.
Tesla Launches Model XTesla CEO Elon Musk rolled out the all-electric SUV at his company's Fremont factory at about 8:50 p.m. Tuesday.
3 Workers Injured In Fire At Calif. Tesla FactoryThree workers were injured Wednesday in an industrial accident at the Tesla factory in Fremont.
NorCal Battery Company 'Appalled’ Product Used In Boston Marathon BombingsOfficials at a Northern California battery company said Wednesday they believe a battery they manufacture was used in the Boston Marathon bombing.
Parents Want School To Expel 1st-Grader For Allegedly Stabbing, Choking StudentsParents lined up at Fremont Elementary School say there's a violent threat in their kids' classroom: a first-grade boy we'll call "John".
Registered Sex Offender Accused Of Assaulting Girl, 2A registered sex offender being held on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 2-year-old girl in a Union City retail store is due back in court Monday.
Suspect In Assault On Fremont Cop Arrested In Los AngelesAuthorities say a parolee wanted on suspicion of ramming a stolen van into a Fremont motorcycle officer has been arrested in Los Angeles.


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In one of the biggest video game company acquisitions in history, Activision Blizzard is to buy the creator of Candy Crush Saga, King Digital Entertainment, for $5.9bn.
It is the biggest video games company acquisition since Microsoft acquired Minecraft for $2bn last year and it is certainly the biggest acquisition of a mobile gaming company ever.
Activision, maker of the popular Call of Duty console game franchise, has been itching to get into the lucrative mobile games space, but this is its biggest bet yet.
Mobile gaming revenues are projected to reach $36bn in 2015 and the sector is projected to grow by more than 50pc by 2019.
Combined audience of more than 500m active users
This acquisition will create one of the largest global entertainment networks with more than half a billion combined monthly active users in 196 countries. This global audience will reach across casual and core gamers, female and male players, and developed and emerging markets throughout the world.
During the 12 months to end 30 September 2015, Activision Blizzard had non-GAAP revenues of $4.7bn and King had adjusted revenues of $2.1bn.
“The combined revenues and profits solidify our position as the largest, most profitable standalone company in interactive entertainment,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard.
“With a combined global network of more than half a billion monthly active users, our potential to reach audiences around the world on the device of their choosing enables us to deliver great games to even bigger audiences than ever before.”
Activision will pay $18 a share in cash, which is a 16pc premium on top of King Digital’s closing price of $15.54 last night.
Both companies said that combining one of the largest mobile gaming communities with Activision Blizzard’s leading franchises creates potential opportunities to grow and cross-promote content to a diverse audience, while providing players more opportunities to engage with its content.
“We are excited to be entering into this Acquisition with Activision Blizzard,” said King CEO Riccardo Zacconi. “Since 2003, we have built one of the largest player networks on mobile and Facebook, with 474 million monthly active users in the third quarter 2015, and our talented team has created some of the most successful mobile game franchises.
“We believe that the Acquisition will position us very well for the next phase of our company’s evolution and will bring clear benefits to our players and employees. We will combine our expertise in mobile and free-to-play with Activision Blizzard’s world-class brands and proven track record of building and sustaining the most successful franchises, to bring the best games in the world to millions of players worldwide.”
Candy Crush image via Shutterstock


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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures pared early gains slightly on Tuesday after home construction posted a bigger-than-expected gain in April, but permits for future groundbreakings fell sharply.
Following the reports, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 48 points, while Standard & Poor's 500-share futures gained 7 points and Nasdaq Composite futures rose 10 points. Prior to the data, Dow futures had been up 60 points, S&P futures were up 7 and Nasdaq futures rose 13.
The Commerce Department said Tuesday that housing starts rose 5.8% to a seasonally adjusted 672,000 annual rate compared with the prior month, the department said Tuesday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected starts to rise 3.8% to a level of 650,000. But building permits--a sign of future construction--decreased 11.5% to a 606,000 annual rate, when economists had expected permits to drop only 0.4%.
Meanwhile, U.S. wholesale prices edged lower in April as energy prices dropped. The producer price index for finished goods fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in April from March. Economists had expected a 0.1% increase. Core producer prices, wholesale inflation rose by 0.2%, more than the expected 0.1% increase.
Overseas, U.K. CPI ran a faster-than-forecast 3.7% in April, while euro-zone inflation rose 1.5%.
Core CPI was 0.8% in the 16-nation euro bloc, according to the data released Tuesday. Last week's data showing core inflation turned negative in Spain rattled the market.
Among stocks in focus, Wal-Mart Stores rose 0.8% in premarket activity after first-quarter earnings beat Wall Street expectations, though its second-quarter earnings guidance is mostly below estimates. The retail giant's international net sales rose more than 21%.
One day after home-improvement retailer Lowe's disappointed investors, Home Depot gained 0.9% after its fiscal first-quarter earnings jumped a better-than-expected 41% as strength in seasonal items and improved profitability aided results.
Meanwhile, Boeing climbed 1.6% after saying late Monday it would increase the rate at which it builds 737 jets. Jefferies & Co. lifted its Boeing 2012 earnings per share estimate to $6 from $5.75.
Google edged up 0.2% said it's buying a Norwegian internet voice and video communication company, Global IP Solutions (GIPS) Holding AB (GIPS.OS) for $68 million.
The dollar weakened against the euro, which was steady at $1.2413, but strengthened against the yen. Crude-oil futures bounced back above $72 a barrel, while gold futures declined.
Led by banks, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.6% in late morning trade. The Shanghai Composite bounced back after Monday's hammering, rising 2%.


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The Government announced as one of their measures to help businesses affected by the pandemic that VAT payments that would normally be due with VAT returns at the current time could be deferred.
I detailed the arrangement in my blog: https://alliotts.com/blog/covid-19-vat-and-tax-deferral/
The deferral is set to end on 30 June 2020 and there has been no further extension announced, so far.
If your business normally makes VAT payments by direct debit and you cancelled this for the deferral, you will need to remember to reinstate the direct debit ahead of the next payment date.
If you have any questions please contact us.


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A look at the making of a limited edition Hermès, Leica M9-P.
High-top textured leather padded sneakers in white. Black suede and clear rubber paneling throughout. Round toe. Tonal lace-up closure. Black eyelets. Woven leather paneling at shoe face and tongue. White rubber sole with textured foxing at toe and logo stamp and foxing at heel. Tone on tone stitching
Croatian automotive startup Rimac has officially opened the order books for the electric supercar it debuted at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show. Only 88 of these exotic vehicles will be produced, but don’t feel like you have to rush to order. Rimac may have a hard time finding buyers willing to throw down the near $1 million it will take to purchase the Concept One.
Aston Martin recently released images of its’ limited edition, DBS Ultimate,” cars. The cars will be available in a Volante or Coupe with three colors choices, Quantum Silver, Silver Fox and Carbon Black II.


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Dr Archibald Letsa, Volta Regional Minister, says industrialisation is key to breaking out of the poverty cycle and accelerating socio-economic development.
He said investing in industrialisation was one of the best ways to support the private sector.
He noted that industry was the heartbeat of the private sector, while the private sector was the nerve centre of local economic development.
Dr Letsa, who said this at the launch of the 2023 Volta Trade and Investment Fair, stressed that the job of the government was to provide an enabling environment conducive for private sector growth.
The fair’s theme, ‘Leveraging the African Continental Free Trade for Local Economic Development,’ resonates with the broader vision of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA)
He noted that it was important for citizens to take advantage of the enabling environment created by the government to engage in productive activities.
The Minister disclosed that about 400 indigenous exhibitors and foreign companies were expected to participate in the event, from across the Region and beyond, including India, Kenya, Togo, and Nigeria.
“We are expecting over 4,000 visitors from investors, business communities, diplomats, and contractors, professionals in the building industry, young entrepreneurs among others.”
Dr Letsa said the fair would, among other things, expose the full potential and opportunities existing in the region to the rest of the world and foster partnership and synergy between the RCC and the private sector.
He charged local exhibitors to pay attention to packaging and modeling their products for sale as the massive industrialisation drive by the government included a way of disposing of the products; hence, packaging must be done.
“We can only grow competitive industries when our economies are on the producing end and not on the receiving end…our mission as Coordinating Council is to create a productive local economy where citizens participate in growing.”
The Fair is slated for November 26 to December 20, 2023.
The event was graced by Dr. Angela Lusigi, UNDP Resident Representative; Mr Eliphas M. Barine, Kenya High Commissioner to Ghana; Dr Fareed Kwesi Arthur, National Coordinator, Ghana National AfCFTA Coordination Office; and chaired by Togbe Dorglo Anumah VI.


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Hugo winner Liu Cixin predicts the market for sci-fi books in China will grow in time. Mei Jia reports.
Surrounded by fans at a World Book Day event in Beijing last Saturday, Chinese sci-fi writer Liu Cixin attributed the success of his Three Body trilogy to chance.
The English edition of the first book of the trilogy - The Three-Body Problem - translated by Chinese-American sci-fi writer Ken Liu (unrelated to the author) in 2014, sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide, according to Liu Cixin.
Last year, that book also won Liu a Hugo Award, which is an annual global honor given to sci-fi and fantasy works.
But even so, Liu, 53, says sci-fi as a genre isn't mainstream in China.
"Readers of sci-fi novels in the country are still in a minority. That hasn't changed despite my winning. I'm talking about facts here, not showing my modesty."
While The Three-Body Problem has sold way more copies than other translated Chinese novels in the recent past, the numbers of new sci-fi books printed in China each year are on an average less than 10 percent of those in the United States.
That's also a reason why noir films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Matrix, Gravity or Interstellar are made in Hollywood.
The sales of his novels outside the trilogy and books by his Chinese peers haven't risen either, says Liu.
Even his wife and daughter are not readers of his works, he jokes.
Besides, there are only a handful of known sci-fi writers in the country.
But by winning a top international award, Liu has debunked the theory that Chinese sci-fi writers lack imagination.
"The readership will mature in time and so will the market (in China)," says Liu, holding out hope.
Italian scientist and writer Giulio Prisco, who has read The Three-Body Problem in English, describes the book as a classic and "vintage space opera".
"Chinese writers are taking the lead in bold, imaginative science fiction (that is) able to ignite minds and energize whole generations," Prisco says.


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Tesco has announced plans to complete the roll out of its online grocery platform to all 12 of its international markets by 2014. The retailer plans to launch in Thailand in April, followed by China in June or July, and finishing with Turkey in January of next year.
Tesco is the largest online food retailer in the world and provides online grocery shopping in the UK, Ireland, Korea, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Malaysia, with the UK serving as a blueprint for its international roll out. A common technology and operational model allows the retailer to launch in any market within three to six months, with the grocer typically starting in the capital city and using local stores as hubs.
Tesco’s two biggest international businesses are in South Korea and Thailand, where Tesco hypermarkets are often located within shopping centres. In the UK, Tesco is seeking to develop its supermarkets into similar ‘retail destinations’ with the recent acquisition of the Giraffe restaurant chain and Harris + Hoole coffee shops.
Trevor Masters, Tesco’s Asia Chief Executive, said: “Creating retail destinations is something we have been doing for some time in Asia and we have learned a lot about creating a compelling offer for local customers. In the UK we are working on creating retail destinations and Asia gives us valuable experience to learn from. Every market is different and one size won’t fit all but it means we have insight which may help to guide our thinking in other markets.”
Tesco’s Chief Executive, Philip Clarke, recently said that Tesco intends to increase its investment in digital technology to $750 million this year as consumers worldwide increasingly shop via online, mobile devices and tablet computers.
Profitero.com: web based competitor price monitoring for retailers and brands
Pricing intelligence company Profitero provides retailers with actionable price intelligence data, monitoring over 50 million products across 4,000 eCommerce retailers every day, observing pricing, promotions and stock availability. We work with the world’s leading retailers, enabling them to acquire new customers and grow profit margins by monitoring and responding to changes in competitor pricing and promotional activity as they happen. For more information on Profitero price intelligence and competitor monitoring, visit www.profitero.com or email email@example.com


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A news site in HTC’s homeland, Taiwan, is reporting that HTC will in fact have three new devices to show off at CES this week.
We are all expecting the HTC Thunderbolt to be announced alongside a handset by Motorola and Samsung as the launch handests for Verizon Wireless’ 4G/LTE network. Although Verizon lit up their 4G network December 5th they announced that we would see handsets at CES.
The second device is presumably the HTC Evo Shift 4G headed to Sprint. The followup to the extremely popular HTC Evo 4G features a slide out qwerty keyboard.
The third device could be the mysterious HTC Scribe which was trademarked last week. It could also be a new Android device headed to AT&T.
We will let you know more as soon as we do.
Source: Focus Taiwan


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Porch: Fewer Headaches, More Home Improvement
In just three short months, Porch is already taking the remodeling industry by storm.
The startup announced a strategic partnership with Lowe’s that will supply the employees at some of the store’s locations with tools that will allow them to use the new app’s network to connect customers with local professionals, according to this article from Inman.
Say You Want to Hire a Fort Myers-Based Interior Designer
This is how it works:
Choose your category (in this case we will select Interior Designers) and type in your city. Hit search and the top professionals will pop up right before your eyes. The site will tell you how long the professional has been in business and whether or not Porch is still gathering information on them. You can also request a reference or endorse the professional for their services.
How It Works
As part of the partnership, Lowe’s employees in 139 stores in North and South Carolina as well as the Seattle area will instantly be able to take advantage of the new in-store kiosks or a special mobile app to pull up local professionals on Porch who can provide services that Lowe’s does not offer through its installation program. They then can refer those professionals to their customers, Porch said in a statement.
It’s a win-win. Lowe’s customers leave more informed and local professionals enjoy increased business from referrals.
“By partnering with Porch, Lowe’s can help our customers achieve their home improvement dreams by providing them with the confidence of knowing who their neighbors have used successfully, and benefit our professional customers by providing them greater opportunities to grow their businesses,” said Jay Rebello, vice president of new business development and corporate innovation at Lowe’s.
One of the app’s unique features is that users may also view information on nearby projects, including the type of project and the cost.
The site is free for homeowners and professionals. But professionals may pay a monthly fee of $35 if they’d like to have their projects featured on the site or add more information to their existing profiles.
Why Its Different and Where It Plans to Go in the Future
Ehrlichman says the startup stands out from competitors because it wraps information on both projects and professionals into one experience. Typically, he said other remodeling sites tend to focus on one or the other. But now you can do both in one stop.
It raised $6.5 million in seed funding in October 2012, and also claims to provide data on 90 million home projects and 1.5 million professionals around the country. And according to CEO Matt Enrlichman, Porch has obtained that information mostly through a variety of private partnerships that it nurtured for a year before officially launching three months ago.
The startup is using that large pot of seed funding to rapidly expand, quadrupling the number of employees to 80 since officially launching just three months ago.


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Moynat relaunches Russia leather production
Russia leather is a rare, water-proof type of leather traditionally used in bookbinding and perfumery. It has a distinctive scent, and it is processed starting from horse, reindeer, goat or veal hides. It was especially popular in the XVIIIth century, when it was regarded as one of the world's most precious types of leather, before going out of fashion a century ago.
A year and a half ago, Moynat, well-accustomed to working with rare leather, and its Creative Director Ramesh Nair, decided to relaunch the label's production of Russia leather, partly starting from leathers that were over 300 years old, in collaboration with the Tannerie Roux, a tannery belonging to the LVMH group.
The rare, distinctively fragranced leather - a mix of incense, smoked leather and myrrh -is now featured as 'imperial calfskin' in the new Moynat collection, notably the Gabrielle handbags. These will be available in stores from early 2017, alongside other new models such as Moynat's first backpacks and a series of mini-vanity cases.
In parallel, the French trunk-maker will shortly launch a new line of clutch-bags and small leather goods designed by French artist Mambo. The latter has already created a decorated trunk, available at Moynat's corner within Parisian department store Le Bon Marché.
As for Moynat's own store network, the label's President Guillaume Davin has announced the opening of a new shop in Taiwan in early November, after those in New York in March and Seoul at the end of August. "The plan is for three to four openings a year," he confirmed, "in about ten of the world's major cities, each time with a directly owned store and one within a major department store." After Taiwan, in 2017 Moynat is expected to showcase its trunks and leather goods in a Tokyo and London department store.
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SINGAPORE: Visitors to Lazarus Island will soon be able enjoy a variety of non-motorised water sports and indulge in meat and cheese platters from a “premium” convenience store.
A site with nine glamping units will also be launched, adding to the short-stay options on the island. Currently, five eco-friendly “tiny houses” are already available for those looking for a staycation out of mainland Singapore and to reconnect with nature.
The new offerings, announced by Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) on Thursday (Oct 5), are the latest steps to transform Lazarus Island, alongside the other connected islands of Seringat, St John’s and Kias, into a “light touch” destination over the next three years.
This means visitors will be able to experience the island’s rustic charm, while minimising their impact on the environment, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan earlier this year.
Various nature groups, such as Friends of Marine Park (FMP), were consulted during the planning of the new offerings to ensure that best practices are adopted to protect the island’s natural environment.
A “Discover the Southern Islands” guide has also been collaboratively developed, providing guidelines for visitors to enjoy their time at the islands responsibly.
Other special measures to protect the environment include the use of smaller boards, covering up the propellers of its unmanned rescue device if used, and the marking of a single designated zone for the launching of all watercraft.
The decision for the specific zone was made after speaking with marine biologists to minimise the impact of human activity on the area’s sea bed, Ms Tan told CNA while on a tour ahead of the official announcement.
Maps with markings to indicate areas with coral reefs and seagrass, as well as other information on how to responsibly interact with wildlife and the environment will be shared with participants during safety briefings.
Moving forward, Camelot plans to arrange other activities, such as conservation-related workshops and beach clean-ups.
Ms Tan said one reason the company has set up shop on the island is to share the beauty of Eagle’s Bay with more people.
“I like to think of this place as a get-together point where people who love nature and love watersports can come,” she added.The Lazarus Sea Sports Centre will officially open on Friday.
A “HYBRID” CONVENIENCE STORE
The island will soon see its first convenience store by the end of this month, but it will be more than just that, said its operator Bespoke Dining Club (BDC).
“It’s a hybrid of a day-to-day convenience store and a food truck,” said BDC’s chef-owner Samuel Quan.
Currently, rows of biscuits, chips, drinks, as well as health and beauty essentials, have already been put up. Microwaveable ready-to-eat meals, ready-to-grill food items and barbecue pits that utilise eco-friendly materials will also be available.
The finishing touches are being added to a “food booth” section. When ready, premium offerings such as cheese, meat and oyster platters will be served. Also on the menu are fresh locally-sourced produce like barramundi from a nearby hatchery and Singapore-farmed mussels.
“I think the fun and enjoyable part is being able to offer island goers a much (more) premium experience on the island, such as things they wouldn’t expect in terms of food,” said Mr Quan.
In line with the eco-friendly theme, the storefront is repurposed from shipping containers.
Customers who require bags for their purchases will be offered a sustainable option made with cassava starch. These plastic alternatives are biodegradable and can even be broken down in seawater into food for fish, Mr Quan said.
The convenience store officially opens in end-October and operating hours are 10am to 6pm on Fridays to Sundays.
LOW-CARBON “TINY HOUSES”
Since its official launch in May, there has been huge demand for the five “tiny houses” operated by home-grown firm Big Tiny.
More than 1,000 people have spent the night in these cabins, located a stone’s throw from the jetty, which offer a relaxing view of the seafront. The site is “almost fully booked” until next February, said Big Tiny’s co-founder Jeff Yeo.
While these standalone units – each between 150 and 170 sq ft in size – look tiny from the outside, they are well-stocked with the amenities of a regular hotel room.
They are air-conditioned and come with a queen-sized bed, a kitchenette and a bathroom equipped with a hot-water shower. The bigger units have an additional sofa bed for two more people. Wi-Fi is also available in each room.


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Microsoft has rolled out the updated version of its Bing search app for Android users. The updated version of the app is available on Google Play Store so users can easily enjoy it by updating the app.
Bing, the second most popular search app after Google is updated with some great features, providing relief to users. While Android users are the lucky ones to receive the updates, iOS users who rely on this search service already received the update a few weeks back.
Bing Search App for Android Updated with new Features
The new update has come up with a new home page that shows the top stories of the day along with multiple updates on the topics that a user was previously looking for. The homepage is house to other tools of Microsoft that can be quickly opened. Moreover, one can search about anything from their home screen and get multiple responses regarding it.
With the new update, you can get to know about the weather in your area just as you open the app. By tapping on the current temperature and conditions, one will get an expanded forecast for the day and coming week. Bing facilitates you with conversion to 70 languages, so if your native language is different from English, you can easily convert to it.
The new Wallpaper selection feature facilitates users with giving their device a new look. Moreover, the update has brought a new feature for sports lovers with which they can track their favorite teams on the scoreboard and in standings. The new Microsoft button can help you conduct a voice search which can be used to covert unit measurements. The best thing is that you can now ask the app to solve your maths problem by just taking the picture of it.
While there are many more exciting features, the bottom line remains the same ie; Google has to cope with a strong competitor.


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In early April 2020, EasyJet unfortunately confirmed that 2,208 of their customers have had their credit/debit card details (amongst other personal information) unlawfully accessed. Then, on the 19th May 2020, EasyJet further confirmed that they suffered a cyber-attack that has affected approximately nine million other customers of theirs. These customers had their personal data (such as their name, email address and travel details for EasyJet flights/holidays booked between the 17th October 2019 and 4th March 2020. Although not fully confirmed, we believe that the said ‘travel details’ is that of linked passengers to the lead customer whom made a booking between the above-mentioned dates. In order to book flights or holidays, we all know that customers have to also provide further details to names and email addresses such as date of birth and passport numbers.
The personal information of the affected EasyJet customers may have been accessible to an unknown number of parties for a long period of time. EasyJet should have ensured, as data controller, their networks/IT systems etc were kept safe and secure so as to ensure that the personal data of their customers would not be compromised.
As a result of EasyJet’s failure, they are potentially liable under the GDPR for this apparent loss and control of their customers’ personal information. Further, EasyJet also failed to process the said data in a manner that ensures that the data is secure which breaches the confidence of their customers by misusing private information and infringed their customers’ right to privacy of their said personal information.
Am I affected?
If you have received an email either in April or May 2020 from EasyJet confirming your personal data has been exposed/accessed in this incident, you will be able to join other customers in our group claim against them. In addition, if you know a friend or family member who booked an EasyJet flight or holiday between the 17th October 2019 and 4th March 2020, contact them, ask if they received an email from EasyJet and if they did, they too will be able to join this group claim.
How do I claim?
In order to join the said group claim, all you then need to do is complete the below contact form and one of our specialist team will contact you to start your claim.


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State Trading Organisation (STO) has announced that they have started delivery services of staple food to stores in the Greater Male’ area.
Managing Director of STO Hussain Amru has tweeted that stores can place the order via its hotline number. In addition to that, the amount of staple food supplied to different regions of the country can be traced online.
Amru has also stated that amid this challenging time, STO’s main aim is to maintain the supply of staple food to all regions of the country.
STO has arranged the online purchase of its products via e-STOre, and they have also started the delivery services of medicines.