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LG Electronics is expanding its line-up of Windows PCs with a number of new products, including the 13Z940 Ultra PC laptop, which has a 13.3-inch full HD screen and weighs 980 grams.
LG Electronics is planning to unveil its first product built around the Google Chrome operating system at the International CES show in Las Vegas next month.
Home appliances, cars and computers could soon be talking to one another thanks to an open source framework that has the backing of consumer electronics manufacturers in a new industry alliance.
More powerful processors will allow smartphone vendors to turn their high-end models into gaming consoles, but slower growth will also force them to focus more on improving their less expensive products next year.
Smart TVs manufactured by LG Electronics are sending information about users' viewing habits and files back to the company's servers. The company confirmed the behavior and said it plans to release firmware updates to correct it.
LG Electronics' new smartphone based on Firefox OS, the Fireweb, offers slightly better hardware specs than competing products.
After years of rumors, LG Electronics may soon announce a number of Chrome OS devices. The Korea-based company recently snapped up several U.S. trademarks with the term "Chrome" in them including ChromeOne, ChromeDesk, and ChromeStation.
Fresh off the heels of Samsung's new Gumby-y handset, the Galaxy Round, we've gotten our purported first look of the curved G-Flex phone from LG that is widely expected to be unveiled next month.
Not to be outdone by Samsung, LG says it's ready to mass produce its first flexible OLED display panel for smartphones.
Smartphone vendors have rekindled their infatuation with enterprises as the consumer segment fizzles; this week's exhibit is the launch of LG Electronics' Gate, which separates users' professional and private lives through virtualization.
LG hasn't given up on the ultra-wide smartphone, as its new Vu 3 handset sports a 4:3 aspect ratio. The device has an almost square-shaped look, with a 5.2-inch, 1280-by-960 resolution display.
A smart watch from Samsung Electronics, an Acer smartphone that can shoot 4K video and a Sony one with a 20-megapixel sensor, plus a plethora of tablets and TVs are all expected at this year's IFA consumer electronics show.
Worldwide smartphone sales to end users accounted for nearly 52 per cent of mobile phone sales in the second quarter, surpassing feature phones sales for the first time as a result of growth in Asian countries like China, Gartner said.
LG Electronics and Motorola Mobility are betting on updated user interfaces on smartphones in a bid to differentiate their latest products, but analysts aren't convinced that's enough to break Apple and Samsung's dominance.
LG is the world's third-largest smartphone manufacturer, but the company's devices have never really garnered much buzz. That all changed this week with the announcement of the LG G2, the company's latest Android super phone.
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Kentucky Ag News
Vol. 7 No. 23 • December 15, 2014
The Kentucky State Fair brought home numerous awards from the International Association of Fairs and Expositions Convention in Las Vegas, including two that involved Kentucky Department of Agriculture programs.
January will mark the one-year anniversary of the launch of Canine Correct, a dog food made with local ingredients by Cynthiana businessman and farmer Avi Bear.
Kristen Branscum, executive director of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture's marketing office, says Kentucky Proud's brand recognition has grown over the past five years.
Kentucky’s annual agricultural output now stands at over $5.6 billion thanks in part to Kentucky’s tobacco-funded Agricultural Development Fund, state lawmakers were told in December.
Kentucky has been awarded five grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture totaling nearly $313,000 aimed at getting more local foods into Kentucky schools, the USDA announced Dec. 2.
One in seven Kentuckians, or more than 600,000 people, stand in the state’s emergency food lines each year, according to a new study released today by the Kentucky Association of Food Banks.
Chris and Rebekah Pierce of Pulaski County were honored as Kentucky Farm Bureau’s (KFB) 2014 “Outstanding Young Farm Family” during the organization’s 95th annual meeting in Louisville.
Read more about KFB's 95th Annual Meeting.
- Basic Horticulture Production and Wine Tasting
- Kentucky Farm Bureau 95th Annual Meeting
- Community Farm Alliance Annual Meeting
- UK Precision Dairy Showcase
- UK Early Bird Meetings
- Eastern Kentucky Food System Collaborative Meeting
- Kentucky Agritourism Workshop
- KCARD Grant Workshops
- Wholesale Success Trainings
- Kentucky No-Till and Cover Crop Soil Health Forum
- Kentucky Fruit and Vegetable Conference
- Kentucky Cattlemen's Association Convention and Tradeshow
- Kentucky Pork Producers Annual Meeting
- Council for Burley Tobacco Annual Conference
- Kentucky Commodity Conference
- UK Equine Showcase and 6th Annual Breeders Short Course
Kentucky Farm Fact
With the new Kentucky Proud website, you can use the state-of-the-art search engine to find products and producers, download the Kentucky Proud Locater app, search recipes, and much more. Go to www.kyproud.com to find Kentucky Proud gifts for the whole family.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook greets as he opens the door of the newly renovated Apple Store on Fifth Avenue on September 20, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) (Photo credit should read KENA BETANCUR / AFP via Getty Images)
KENA BETANCUR | AFP | Getty Images
Apple Shareholders voted on Tuesday to approve the compensation for Apple executives, including a stock package announced last year that could net CEO Tim Cook 1 million new shares if the company achieves certain goals.
The vote was non-binding and consultative. Apple shareholders also voted against a shareholder proposal opposed by Apple this would force the company to reduce executive pay relative to the median Apple pay of employees.
The votes, …
Read More On Original Publisher
This Content is Original Published by @www.cnbc.com


text: Investors have backed a US$43.7 million share sale by mainland ceramics maker Eagle Brand Holdings in Singapore despite negative sentiment surrounding mainland listing candidates. Chief financial controller Frank Lai Ni-hium said more than 100 international fund houses had subscribed for the shares, although it could only satisfy about 80 of them. The international share sale was completed last week and the public offer in Singapore will close today. Of those committed, Warburg Pincus of the United States took 10 per cent. 'The international tranche of the sale was well oversubscribed,' Mr Lai said, adding the exact subscription level would only be revealed when the public offer closed. Helped by encouraging responses at the start of the roadshow, Eagle Brand raised the issue size from the original 15 per cent to 20 per cent of the enlarged share capital. The backing of Singaporean Government was another drawcard, he said. The Foshan-based company issued 230 million shares, comprising an international placement of 207 million shares and a public offer of 23 million shares. Priced at 19 cents each, the issue was priced at 6.1 times estimated earnings. Following the share sale, the Shiwan town government in Foshan city, Guangdong, will remain in control of 33.5 per cent of the company, followed by a company backed by the Singapore Government with 24 per cent, Hong Leong International (HK) with 10 per cent and Walden International with about 6.5 per cent. Trading in the company's shares on the Singapore's main board is expected to begin on Monday. The issue is sponsored by DBS Asia and China International Capital.


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The main U.S. inflation rate surged last month to its fastest in three decades, according to a Labor Department report Wednesday likely to be closely tracked by bitcoin traders.
The Consumer Price Index for all items rose 6.2% in the 12 months through October, the highest since 1990. Economists had projected an increase in the October CPI of 5.9% over the past 12 months.
Inflation is closely tracked by cryptocurrency traders, since many bitcoin investors say the digital asset – whose supply is limited by the underlying blockchain’s programming – can serve as a hedge against rising prices.
Bitcoin’s price has more than doubled this year, supporting a broad rally in cryptocurrencies, where the total market value of all digital tokens recently topped $3 trillion for the first time.
The bitcoin price hit an all-time high close to $69,000 earlier this week.
As of press time the largest cryptocurrency was changing hands around $67,400 – up 1.4% since the report came out at 13:30 coordinated universal time (8:30 a.m. ET).
Economists say that supply-chain bottlenecks, shipping constraints and even limited warehouse space as the coronavirus pandemic retreats might be helping to fuel higher prices. That’s in addition to a tight labor market that has put upward pressure on wages. Companies often try to pass these extra costs along to consumers in the form of higher retail prices.
There’s also speculation that the trillions of dollars of money-printing over the past couple years by the Federal Reserve and other central banks might be contributing to dollar debasement – further supporting the investment case for bitcoin, since its supply is tightly controlled.
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With JP Morgan and others offering their own digital currencies as cryptocurrencies find their way into mainstream finance, this question looms: How should developers handle the secretive nature of blockchain exchanges, based on two unknown entities interconnecting through a secret code?
Google’s managed data service, BigQuery, has now loaded the entire datasets of the leading cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, to give the new financial technology credibility and transparency. As a result, Google has stripped some of the black-box anonymity from blockchain, a record of cryptocurrency transactions maintained across several computers linked in a peer-to-peer network.
“In the future, moving more economic activity on chain won’t just require a consensus level of trust,” says Allen Day, a senior data scientist for Google Cloud who has worked on BigQuery. “It will require having some trust in knowing about who it is you’re actually interacting with.”
Google has loaded the data from Bitcoin's and Ethereum’s blockchains into BigQuery, and in early February, Google added six more cryptocurrency datasets: Bitcoin Cash, Dash, Dogecoin, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin and Zcash.
Each dataset is updated every 24 hours, according to Google, and developers designed the system to add additional cryptocurrency datasets in the future. Google also is working on providing real-time streaming transaction data for all blockchains.
Operators can extract data from BigQuery via queries, using the SQL database management language. The queries can provide evidence that a given currency is storing its value or can show how mining of a specific currency is progressing.
BigQuery's Deciphering PowerUsing BigQuery to decipher how cryptocurrencies are used has proven to be popular. Its data has been used for more than 500 new analytical tools to provide insights into how the blockchains function. One such tool delivers visual data on who -- as identified by the unique blockchain key -- has the most bitcoins and notes the highest-value transactions completed last year.
The data can also provide intelligence on broader trends - for example, the information that Day has been able to discover through analyzing Bitcoin trends that bitcoin cash is not used primarily for small transactions, as once had been envisioned, but is instead being hoarded by a small group of investors.
As a data service, Google’s BigQuery faces limited competition from Amazon and Microsoft. In 2018, Amazon Web Services partnered with a company called Kaleido and offered a simplified blockchain cloud platforms for its clients.
“Kaleido eliminates 80% of the custom code needed to build a given blockchain project by providing an array of tools and protocols that are ‘plug-and-play’, spanning needs from back-end development to front-end app user interfaces,” says Stephen O'Neal, writing for Cointelegraph.com.
Last May, Microsoft began offering a similar product called the Azure Blockchain Workbench designed to make the creation of blockchain apps easier. It is configured to use Ethereum as its consensus protocol.
BigQuery's DifferenceStill, experts say that BigQuery has differentiated itself from the Microsoft and Amazon data analytical tools in its ability to allow users to interact with the blockchain data itself, rather than merely building blockchain-related tools, offering understanding of how the cryptocurrencies are used.
Independent developers are also taking advantage of the opportunity to load their own datasets onto BigQuery.
But what really differentiates BigQuery from the other offerings is its tremendous speed. The lightning-quick results of queries are the result of its design, which is based on Google’s Dremel. Dremel was designed to run SQL-like queries without requiring an intermediary server.
“This is where the service’s server-less architecture can demonstrate its raw, unadulterated processing power,” Alex Woodie says in Datanami, a data science publication. “Billion-row queries that would bring modest on-premise clusters to their knees are processed in a handful of seconds, making BigQuery an ideal solution for ad hoc queries.”


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WMG just signed a significant label deal with New York-based digital collectibles platform Blockparty.
WMG has announced a strategic relationship with The Sandbox, marking its “first step into the NFT metaverse realm”.
OneOf, a “Green Web3 Company developed for music” announced today (January 31) that it has struck a “first-of-its-kind preferential partnership” with WMG to build unique NFTs for WMG artists.
OneOf was created by Lin Dai, Joshua James, and Adam Fell, alongside Quincy Jones and Quincy Jones Productions.
In May 2021, the firm raised $63 million from major tech and music industry figures.
OneOf NFT platform auctioned off an unreleased Whitney Houston recording produced when she was 17 years old for $999,999 in December.
In fact, OneOf says their “Green NFT platform” produces NFTs up to “2m times more energy efficient”.
The firm recently signed three-year relationships with the Grammy Awards, iHeartRadio, and MusiCares.
Alesso, The Game, Chief Keef, Pia Mia, Doja Cat, Whitney Houston, and others have all released “record breaking NFT collections” since OneOf began in September.
Get started with as little as $10.


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Individuals looking to put cash into higher-risk investments might be required to view academic videos or pass an online test first, the City regulator has actually recommended.
The Financial Conduct Authority stated the present “threat cautions” on investments were typically ignored by customers, and it likewise drifted the concept that individuals may have to reveal their wage and other personal information as part of the sign-up process for certain items.
The regulator is worried that a lot of investors– particularly a brand-new breed of mainly more youthful DIY financiers– are taking big monetary threats by putting money into items that may be unsuitable for them, such as cryptocurrencies and forex, and could wind up losing some or all of their cash.
It has actually expressed concern about the growing influence that sites such as YouTube, Instagram and TikTok are wielding.
Some analysts state the FCA has been stung by criticism over its mishandling of previous high-risk financial investment plans that have actually failed. It has been slated over its failure to appropriately regulate the “mini-bond” company London Capital & Financing (LC&F) before it collapsed in 2019. Taxpayers now deal with a ₤ 120m bill for compensating thousands of individuals who lost cash because scandal.
Publishing propositions to strengthen the rules relating to “monetary promotions”, the FCA said: “Frequently consumers are buying high-risk investments they do not understand and [which] can lead to substantial and unanticipated losses.”
Other financial investments specified as potentially high-risk include investment-based crowdfunding and peer-to-peer loaning.
Many financial adverts and sites carry cautions along the lines of “your capital is at risk”, but the FCA stated these were typically viewed as “white noise” by numerous financiers.
Some investments already bring limitations, but the regulator said it wanted to do more to avoid people from just “clicking through” and signing up for dangerous products they did not comprehend and which did not match their danger hunger.
It stated measures it may consider included requiring prospective financiers to watch instructional videos on subjects such as investment danger and “the benefits of diversification”, and flushing out those individuals who were not adequately knowledgable about financial products by needing that they take, and pass, an online test.
Other ideas drifted include introducing “frictions” into the process such as requiring a text confirmation before an investment is made, and making people provide additional information such as details of their income, net properties and just how much they have actually previously bought other high‑risk schemes.
Becky O’Connor, head of pensions and cost savings at the site Interactive Financier, stated: “In a world of TikTok investment influencers and bitcoin advertisements on the London Underground, and at a time when some people are feeling flush after lockdown and crazy about finding quick ways to make a profit, there are real dangers that individuals will catch high-risk financial investments that aren’t right for their situations.”


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It starts tomorrow (November 24) and continues through November 30.
Offers include discounts of up to 20 per cent on purchases with a Kasikorn credit card, dinner with actor Mario Maurer, and up to Bt9,750 in tax returns.
“The campaign aims to provide customers with great savings during the end of the shopping tax-break period,” says Mall Group general manager Nonglak Lohamanop.
“The tax break has already boosted sales by 15 per cent and amassed 160,000 tax invoices. As a result, the final stretch of the tax break, coupled with the Midnight Sale, is expected to boost sales by 20 per cent.”
Kasikorn credit cardholders and M Card members who spend Bt5,000 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday will recent discounts of up to 20 per cent. Customers who spend Bt2,000 any day have a chance to win discount coupons. The 30 top spenders will be able to dine out with actor Maurer at the EmQuartier restaurant D’Ark.
The Emporium and EmQuartier will have a three-hour Black Friday Midnight Sale tomorrow beginning at 6pm, in which the price of many top-brand items will be halved.
Nonglak expects the seven-day campaign to generate around Bt1.2 billion in sales.
Published : November 23, 2017
By : The Nation


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Croatian Inflation Falls in April
Photo by esfera/Shuttestock.com
Croatia's consumer prices increased by 8.9% year-on-year in April, from 10.7% in the previous month, the Zagreb-based Croatian Bureau of Statistics (Crostat) said on Tuesday, slightly raising its first estimates.
This reading came slightly above the preliminary estimates of 8.8% but was the lowest since March 2022, as prices eased for all the categories, namely food, beverages & tobacco (14.0% vs 15.4% in March 2023), non-food industrial goods without energy (8.8% vs 9.7%), services (7.8% vs 8.2%), and energy (1.4% vs 7.4%).
On a monthly level, consumer prices added 0.9% in March.
Measured by the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP), in April compared to April 2022, the prices of goods and services for personal consumption increased by 8.9% on average, while compared to March they increased by 1.2%.
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text:
At the eleventh hour, just two days before the retail launch of Windows 98 last week, Microsoft won a key legal victory that will enable the software giant to bundle its Internet Explorer web browser with...
Internal Apple documents found on child's MacBook in folder named 'hacky hack hack'
Intel's 10nm Core i3-8121U CPU comes to the NUC mini PC
Poorly-configured protocols are leaving whole networks open to attackers
Short lived campaign delivered FlawedAmmyy remote access Trojan via .pub and PDF files


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After two years of wallowing in the dumpster, the cannabis sector is off and running again.
A big reason? Cannabis laws are beginning to loosen around the world.
That country’s Chamber of Deputies approved a bill on March 10 that legalizes recreational cannabis.
The next step is for the Senate to vote on the bill.
Members are expected to pass it.
Once they do, it will then go to President Obrador (who has signalled support for the measure).
The time was 2008.
The place, a supermarket in DeSoto, Texas.
Anita Ortez had just finished shopping there and was ready to head home.
But as she started her Toyota 4Runner, she knew something was very wrong.
Was that Ed?
Ed was a friend of my dad’s who used to be CEO of a multi-million-dollar consulting firm.
I hadn’t seen him in years…
Or so you’d think.
The Ever Given, the ship that clogged the Suez Canal for nearly a week, has been freed.
The backlog of 400 ships created by it has cleared through the canal.
M&A activity in the gold sector has been hot, hot, hot this month.
Since March 10th we’ve seen three major acquisitions of junior mining companies – which is not surprising when you consider that gold stocks have been underperforming of late. Gold producers that are sitting on a lot of cash have been able to capitalize on discounted prices, and with interest rates being so low, there’s also a lot of cheap money available to finance these kinds of M&A transactions.
Despite a shaky chart over the last few months, we remain bullish on gold in the long-term. We think there’ll be a lot more M&A deals happening in the sector in the coming months, especially acquisitions of juniors that are in possession of high quality deposits that are in production or near production.
Let’s take a look at what’s happened this month.
Dear Fellow Retail Investor,
Back in my hippie days (I’m old), I remember buying a bag of weed that reeked of mold.
Obviously I couldn’t complain to the Better Business Bureau about it.
Headquartered in Ayers, Michigan, Gage Cannabis Co. is a cultivator, curator, and retailer of high quality medicinal and recreational cannabis products. Gage also brings internationally recognized cannabis brands to market.
Despite its reputation, gold hasn’t really been the safe haven when things have gotten really ugly in the past.
In 2008, before starting a three-year bull run, gold dropped 30% in the panic sell-off.
Dear Fellow Retail Investor,
I once had an online business that sold holistic health information.
And over the 13 years I ran it, monthly income grew from $0 to about $3,000.
Not a fortune… but it was a hobby business I enjoyed (and I didn’t mind the extra money).
All that changed in 2012.
That’s when Google unleashed its Penguin algorithm.
On July 26, 2018 I bought some shares of a small Canadian biotech company at CAD $1.08 – of course, the price started to fall immediately after I bought it. Not a huge deal, I reassured myself as I watched the share price slide, and my money disappear right along with it. Ugh.


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Coca-Cola returned to the Super Bowl this year to plug its new energy drink with a little help from filmmaker Martin Scorsese and actor Jonah Hill.
The 60-second spot from Wieden & Kennedy Portland focuses on a text conversation between the pair, with Scorsese urging an unenergetic Hill to save him from an awkward costume party. After a tense period of “dotting” (when a three-dot text bubble pops up to show another person is typing), Hill cracks open a can of Coke Energy and makes it to the party, refreshed and ready to mingle.
“[Hill] and his team came back immediately and said we should work with my buddy, Martin Scorsese,” Geoff Cottrill, Coca-Cola’s senior VP of strategic marketing for creative, told Ad Age. “It was very clear to us that they are friends, they do have a relationship, and it came together.”
The commercial for Coca-Cola’s new energy drink was part of a larger investment in the product as it looked to compete with established rivals in the category including Monster and Red Bull.
Coke Energy’s “Show Up” spot aired in the Super Bowl’s second quarter and revived its long-standing presence in the game. Coke ran an in-game ad every year from 2006 to 2018, though the company sat out last year in favor of a pre-game ad.
AGENCY: Wieden & Kennedy Portland
QUARTER AIRED: Q2
SUPER BOWL: LIV


text:
He tried everything for nearly 20 years. Nicotine patches, therapy, acupuncture, hypnosis.
Nothing helped Thomas Hanscome of San Juan Capistrano stop smoking cigarettes until he discovered a new form of nicotine consumption that's fast become a trend in Orange County and throughout the country.
Electronic cigarettes vaporize flavored, liquid nicotine that gives users their fix without the tar and chemicals that come with tobacco. And there's no smoke involved. The battery-powered devices led Hanscome – a self-described pack-a-day smoker for decades – essentially to abandon a habit he said he always hated. He gradually weaned himself down to just a few milligrams of liquid nicotine each day and says the reason he continues isn't addiction. Rather, he simply enjoys it.
“Technology has come to the point where it will eliminate tobacco from people's lives if they want it eliminated,” Hanscome said. “It's self-therapy.”
The discovery also led Hanscome, who is retired from the financial services and investment industry, to open a store in San Juan Capistrano that sells electronic cigarettes and accessories.
Open since May 18, Vaperie in the Marbella Plaza is among about a dozen such stores in the county to open in the last few years, including in San Clemente, Lake Forest and Mission Viejo. E-Cig City, which opened on Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach about three years ago, is believed to be the first e-cig store on the West Coast.
But the new form of nicotine consumption hasn't come without controversy. Research into the health effects is inconclusive. The University of California recently announced a ban on all smoking and tobacco products that will be go into effect in January on all campuses, and it includes electronic cigarettes.
A police-led forum on new drug trends held in Laguna Niguel this year focused on e-cigs and their capacity to contain substances such as THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. The Capistrano Unified School District also recently revised its student disciplinary policies to include the devices under the tobacco products ban.
Meanwhile, business owners like Hanscome are capitalizing on a trend that's only gaining more momentum. On June 10, NJOY, an Arizona-based company that manufactures e-cigarettes, announced it had raised $75 million from a group of Silicon Valley investors. NJOY says it will use the money to study and develop the product through research, marketing and international expansion.
Investors include entrepreneur Sean Parker, who created the file-sharing software Napster and said in a statement that he's “drawn to disruptive companies in explosive new markets.”
Samantha Burkhalter and Andrea Wyatt of Irvine gathered around a display cabinet in Hanscome's shop last week, considering various kits – Hanscome said he specializes in start-up kits – and sampling flavors. Strawberry daiquiri. Cinnamon. Banana cream. Bourbon and cola.
Wyatt quit smoking cigarettes 10 years ago, but the flavors and soothing nature of the liquid nicotine prompted her to buy a kit. She and her husband, Jason Wyatt, who works at Vaperie with Hanscome, used to enjoy visiting Hookah bars.
“This is similar,” Jason Wyatt said. “And it's healthier.”
How much healthier? No one knows for sure. The long-term effects of nicotine consumption and vapor inhalation have yet to be studied conclusively.
In a June 9 Wall Street Journal article, FDA tobacco czar Mitch Zeller described the e-cigarette market as “the wild, wild West” in terms of regulation and declined to discuss possible regulatory attempts.
Hanscome sells about 35 flavors at his store in San Juan Capistrano. Hundreds more are available, but Hanscome said he only sells what he's tried and likes. It's part of his approach to business: Appeal to upper-middle-class customers looking for a place to purchase products that doesn't resemble a marijuana-laden head shop.
“I'm trying to appeal to the typical San Juan resident,” he said.
A DIFFERENT VIEWPOINT
While Hanscome said he enjoys vaping even without being addicted to nicotine, not all e-cigarette supporters promote the products as a leisure activity. Aaron Obdendorf, who has worked at E-Cig City in Laguna Beach for about a year, said he discourages people who don't smoke from trying vaporization.
“I can't stop them from buying it, but I can discourage it,” said Obdendorf, whose stepfather, Jason Shaeffer, owns the store.
Richard Bracamonte, owner of Marbella Plaza, said he hopes the devices help smokers quit.
He also sees e-cigs as a public alternative for smokers unable to light up because of state and local restrictions.
“If somebody smokes and they want to smoke someplace where smoking isn't allowed, you can use one of these,” Bracamonte said. “This is a way they can smoke and not bother anybody.”
But others aren't so sure. Just as the University of California plans to ban the devices, some city councils, including in Riverside County, have added e-cigarettes to ordinances that prohibit smoking in public. And some businesses won't allow it: Jason Wyatt said he tried using an e-cig at a lounge in Irvine but was asked to leave.
Hanscome said he's prepared for possible regulations: He obtained a state license to sell tobacco products in anticipation that it will soon be required of all e-cigarettes sellers. So far, no such requirement exists, according to the California State Board of Equalization.
But as the trend grows, Hanscome said more people seem to accept e-cigarettes. Or at least he .
“I've had some strange looks in restaurants, but most of the wait staff knows what I'm doing,” he said. “Bartenders especially.”
- Hit Korean boy band BTS is ready to take over Anaheim
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- The Classic festival: How to see Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Journey at Dodger Stadium
- $80,000 later, why this trio gave up their 'Star Trek' wax figures, Enterprise replica
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text:
- Cofounders Eddy Lu and Daishin Sugano’s story doesn’t start with the sneaker app GOAT.
- The two developed thick skin from failed venture after failed venture before launching the online sneaker marketplace in 2015.
- Now the company has a fresh $US60 million in funding with traction and popularity to match.
Eddy Lu and Daishin Sugano quit their boring corporate jobs on the same day eleven years ago.
The two college friends had no idea they would eventually run a super-buzzy online sneaker marketplace called GOAT that has scooped up nearly $US100 million in funding and has 7 million fervent users. Sneakers were the furthest thing from their minds. And it would be many years, and many failed business ventures, before the duo found the right formula by tapping into the passionate ranks of sneakerheads.
At the time, the only thing the two budding entrepreneurs knew was that they didn’t want their corporate lives and they had a hunch that the recently released iPhone would provide an important platform for new types of businesses.
“We were just like, ‘Let’s do a business together,'” Lu tells Business Insider.
The multiyear journey took Lu and Sugano to different cities and different industries, not to mention through the depths of the financial downturn. And the events that led them to create GOAT is a case study in the perseverance, passion and simple chance that often form the basis of a startup success story.
“In our wildest dreams we never thought this would really happen,” says Sugano, 37, shortly after GOAT announced the acquisition of Flight Club, an iconic sneaker store that will give the startup its first retail presence.
Certified tea masters and cream puffs
Lu and Sugano, who both grew up in LA, each had contacts in China. So they first gave the Import/Export business a try. They launched a golf apparel company, during which time Lu took sewing classes to hone his seamster skills. They ran an online tea business and to this day can call themselves certified tea masters as a result of the endeavour. They built countless 99 cent gaming apps for iPhone users. Nothing stuck.
One day the two wandered into a Beard Papa’s restaurant in LA, and, blown away by the flaky, custard-filled cream puffs in their hands, decided to franchise the Japanese chain for some “passive income” while they worked on their projects. But it was 2008, the financial crisis was in full swing and, because of the downturn, they couldn’t hire managers.
“Going through 2008 as a business owner you definitely earn your stripes,” said Lu.
Lu and Sugano’s cream puff days were painful, but they taught the entrepreneurs fiscal responsibility and resilience. And it provided the spark for their next adventure.
Who wants to eat with strangers?
In 2010 Lu and Sugano moved to Chicago with the intent of expanding upon Beard Papa’s presence in the Windy City. Once there, they discovered how difficult it can be to meet people in a new city.
So they founded GrubWithUs, a dining app that arranges meals between strangers. The concept was innovative: reserve a seat at a participating restaurant for a meal that piques the user’s interest. When four people reserve a spot for the same meal at the same table, the meeting is set, and a handful of lonely strangers could socialise with their peers over dinner.
The startup got funding from Y Combinator, and the two moved back to California in 2011 to run GrubWithUs from there. But the app never became very popular. Users either had too many dietary restrictions for the meals listed in the app, didn’t like the menu, thought the restaurant was too far away, or were too skittish about having dinner with unfamiliar faces. GrubWithUs gradually fizzled out over the next few years.
Everything changed thanks to a pair of fake Air Jordans.
Sugano has been a bona fide sneaker enthusiast and basketball player since at least ten years old when his dad bought him his first pair of Air Jordan 5 Grapes. In 2013, the shoe was re-released 23 years after its debut (Michael Jordan’s jersey number was 23).
When he saw the Grapes were made available once again, he acted fast.
“Nostalgia hit me, I saw the photos: I had to have the shoe again,” Sugano recalls. So he turned to eBay, which was then the largest sneaker marketplace. He mined the site for the shoe, ordered it, and when it showed up on his doorstep, he realised it was a fake.
When he complained to Lu about how the online sneaker market had no authentication process, Lu asked him if there was room in the industry for a brand devoted to monitoring fraudulence between sellers and buyers.
“I did my due diligence and came up with nobody,” said Sugano. “From that point on, we decided that this is something we could solve.”
They launched GOAT shortly after in July of 2015, hoping the sneaker app would live up to its namesake (Greatest Of All Time.)
A Black Friday fiasco that turned into a blessing
The founders started off with $US7.6 million in funding from a handful of venture firms, including Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian.
Their first step was to build and refine an authentication process to combat fraud in the online sneaker market.
Both sellers and buyers use the app, with sellers required to apply before they can sell their sneakers. They’re also required to take standardised photos from different angles of the shoe, i.e. the heel, the sole and the lateral sides, which are then processed. GOAT uses these images to build a database of what authentic sneaker models look like – and how to spot replicas.
“It’s a combination of image recognition with machine learning because we get so many of the same type of shoes in our building every single day,” said Lu.
Only once the sneaker passes the authentication process does it become activated for sale. From then on the seller interacts with buyer offers and receives a shipping label from GOAT once a sale has been made. Then the item is sent to either the company’s Culver City or New Jersey distribution center, quality controlled, further authenticated and shipped out to the customer in a GOAT-designed shoe box all in one day.
Lu and Sugano had learned their lesson with GrubWithUs: remove as much friction as possible for consumers in the marketplace and make it easy for the product to leave the seller’s hands and ship to the buyer’s door.
After four months of operation, in November of 2015, the then-nobody company launched a Black Friday campaign discounting the hottest styles of the year at retail prices.
“That year we were talking about the Turtle Doves, the Supreme Fives,” said Lu. “The internet picked it up and it kind of blew up, and every kind of blog picked up this Black Friday campaign.”
Over a hundred thousand users installed the app to take advantage of the sale, causing the newly-launched startup app to crash repeatedly. Some users got in, but mostly everyone was shut out from access to the discounted sneaks.
“We were pretty hated in the community then, but at that point it was better to be hated than to be unknown,” said Lu.
Tapping into star power on court and off court
The Black Friday fiasco put GOAT on the map, and the company hasn’t stopped growing since.
The app currently has 7 million users, up from one million at this time last year. There are 100,000 sellers on the app and the marketplace has more than 400,000 sneakers, including iconic kicks like the Yeezy Boosts, Nike Air Max’s and the Chanel X Pharrell’s, which are listed at $US20,000.
The company does not disclose its financial results, other than saying it’s revenue last year increased 500%. The company says that several individual sellers on its platform have raked in as much as $US2 million in sneaker sales.
The brand is building its buzz through events like the after party it hosted during the NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles this year. Houston Rockets point guard James Harden hosted the event.
And GOAT is building up its bench internally, bringing on former Twitter COO Adam Bain to its board last year. The company’s headcount has swelled to 300 employees on staff, up from 20 employees two years ago.
After raising $US60 million in fresh funding from Index Ventures, Accel and other venture capital firms last month, GOAT is embarking on its next phase of growth beyond the app. In February it acquired Flight Club, which has retail locations in Los Angeles and New York.
GOAT also recently launched a bi-annual, 150 plus-page lifestyle magazine for the brand called “Greatest” spotlighting people across various industries that are defining their own success stories.
But despite the company’s wild success, the founders know they have been fortunate. They know they have caught a culture wave, one that paying sneakerheads are glad to ride. It’s a humbling experience that the guys work to keep in mind.
“It is funny because we did an all-hands meeting yesterday and you’re talking and there’s a hundred something people in the audience as opposed to just two years ago when we had less than twenty people,” said Lu. “Yeah, we’ve just been very fortunate.”


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Female founders of women’s health brands say censorship makes it challenging to properly address women’s concerns.
Smithingham talks about how brands can properly engage with consumers in gaming environments in a bullish market.
The acquisition marks an era of consolidation in the gaming space as the industry grows up.
Trust has declined across all institutions, including media, government and business, the report found.
Three lucky winners will be chosen to document all-expenses-paid vacations in Marriott Bonvoy’s 30 locations.
iSpot.tv will measure ads and program ratings including cross-screen viewing, reach and frequency, and impressions.
The book was created based on the docu-series Nuclear Family.
Health startups focused on menopause, pelvic pain, pregnancy, menstrual health and sexual wellness had ads removed from the platform for violating “adult product” policies.
Eva Nosidam Productions will be led by chief production officer Maya Brewster-Dorian.
Marketers agree that the shift to digital during the pandemic has led to a deeper focus on customer engagement, the need for more efficient operations and placed greater value on the customer experience.
Tandem Marketing Communications managing editor Ian Twinn says very sparse crowds and lack of major media presence is making for an unprecedentedly challenging show.
The global brand campaign, debuted at CES 2022, aims to empower the next generation to change the world from their laptops with the new Lenovo ThinkPad Z series.
The TL;DR: Support creators, educate audiences, keep content fresh.
The decision comes amid growing calls to diversify TV measurement strategies.
Fajt powers the platform designed for virtual reality socializing to forge connections in real life.
The campaign aims to engage the gaming community and promote Xfinity’s gigabit service.
A continuously updated list of which brands are tapping in and sitting out this year’s Big Game.
While several agencies have shut office doors indefinitely, others have expanded their spaces in 2022.
The agency network’s rigorous ‘Bullseye’ strategy evaluates local creative against an international backdrop.
The nonprofit launched the #Goodwilling campaign to educate customers on its mission and job placement services.


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Many alternative mobile operating systems like Firefox have fallen by the wayside while Android and iOS continue to dominate, but Samsung's Tizen has survived.
After years of inactivity, Tizen is now back on the map with a major OS upgrade. A new version of the OS - Tizen 3.0 - was announced this week at the Samsung Developers Conference in San Francisco.
Tizen 3.0 is a big technological upgrade that should make it compatible with some of the latest smartphones and tablets. Other improvements prime the OS for installation in smart appliances, wearables, in-car entertainment systems, drones, TVs, and virtual reality headsets.
Tizen 3.0 will be a 64-bit capable OS, like iOS and Android. It will work on devices with some of the latest 64-bit ARM and x86 processors.
A beta release of Tizen 3.0 may come in July, with a final release planned for September. Devices with the OS will ship later, though Samsung couldn't nail down a specific date.
Tizen 3.0 will work with 4K screens, and it could be a good gaming platform with its support for Vulkan APIs. The graphics engine in Tizen 3.0 is 30 percent faster than the one in the older Tizen 2.4 OS.
Tizen was first announced in 2012 as a mobile OS but has been considered a failure in that market. Two smartphones with the older Tizen 2.4 shipped in India, said Mohan Rao, senior vice president at Samsung.
Samsung is using Tizen in smart TVs and wearables like the Gear S2. Rao hinted at a continued mobile focus with Tizen 3.0 but said the operating system's future could be in the emerging Internet of Things market.
Tizen 3.0 is "IoT ready" and will power smart refrigerators, light bulbs, washing machines, and even vacuum cleaners, Rao said. Samsung could start shipping home appliances with the OS
Samsung estimates 21 billion connected devices will be in the market by 2020. Tizen 3.0 will be compatible with Samsung's Artik developer boards, which can be used to make smart devices. Samsung this week also announced Artik Cloud, which offers cloud services for IoT devices.
Tizen 3.0 is similar to Windows 10, in that a developer can write applications that can work with large- and small-screen devices. The OS is based on the Linux LTS (long-term support) kernel, making it stable.
Key improvements in Tizen 3.0 include support for Bluetooth 4.2, which is central to communication between IoT devices. The OS also supports Open Connectivity Foundation's IoTivity protocol, which allows for easy pairing of compatible devices.
The OS will have APIs for face and emotion recognition. It will have voice control, as well as engines to convert speech to text and vice versa. With voice control, developers could add voice-activated assistants, much like Cortana in Windows PCs and Siri in Apple's iPhone.
Tizen 3.0 is also more secure compared to the previous version. It will have an antivirus framework for screening content and applications.


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Vodafone has launched a fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) broadband offering for the small office/home office (SoHo) sector.
The offer is applicable to SoHo businesses with fewer than 10 employees which can now obtain a dedicated full-fibre connection direct to their business premises.
Vodafone full-fibre broadband now covers 26 UK towns and cities, and will rise to 35 locations in the coming months as the roll-out continues and is being delivered through partnerships with full-fibre CityFibre and BT-owned broadband provision division Openreach.
To give a measure of the general availability of full-fibre, the Connected nations 2021 report from UK regulator Ofcom estimates gigabit-capable coverage to be currently available to over 60% of the UK.
As well as offering a dedicated full-fibre connection direct to their business premises with speeds starting at 100Mbps, a FTTP connection also allows businesses to connect to broadband directly, without a traditional phone line, which means such firms will not be impacted by the shutdown of ISDN and PSTN phone lines in 2025.
Indeed, Openreach announced its switch-off plan in 2020, proposing that by December 2025, the existing telephone network will have reached end of life and new digital services will be in use. The programme is intended to result in homes and businesses not being able to buy copper broadband if they are upgrading, regrading or switching telecoms provider, and instead will only be able to order FTTP broadband networks.
Vodafone said its new offer has a number of key benefits. With download and upload connectivity speeds faster than traditional copper broadband, the result will be “painless” video-conferencing, smooth buffering and clear audio, it said. It also guarantees “next-generation” reliability, providing “complete connectivity peace of mind”, and a future-proof infrastructure, with full support for next-generation voice and no traditional phone line required.
Installation for the new service is free, with no upfront costs, and Vodafone promises fast and simple switching, with support available from a dedicated team of business experts.
“Small businesses operate in an increasingly digital-first environment, one where virtual meetings, hybrid working and online commerce are the norm,” said Andrew Stevens, head of UK small and medium business at Vodafone. “People are now more likely to first encounter and engage with a typical small business online than they are in ‘real life’, and business owners need to know they can stay connected with remote teams to serve their customers and keep everything running smoothly.
“We have made it really simple to switch to superfast full-fibre, with no upfront installation costs – perfect for today’s busy SoHo businesses that want to prioritise productivity and growth post-pandemic.”
Read more about UK full-fibre
- Just weeks after claiming to have taken a huge competitive step in the UK broadband market by hitting its target of gigabit capability to all its customers, Virgin Media O2 seeks joint venture for UK full-fibre extension using financing to fuel further growth.
- Accelerating full-fibre gigabit growth sees Independent Networks Cooperative Association enjoy continued membership boom as altnets maintain momentum in UK after several years of record investment.
- Vodafone anchors CityFibre nationwide network for UK full-fibre leadership as part of expanded strategic partnership designed to bring roll-out of full-fibre gigabit broadband to up to eight million homes, with long-term volume commitments.


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Marriot International hit with £99m fine for data loss
Leading US hotel chain Marriot International faces a massive financial penalty for a data breach that affected hundreds of millions of people. Earlier this week it was announced that British Airways is also facing an eye watering penalty of £183.39 million for a data breach last year that affected half a million customers.
The European Union’s controversial General Data Protection (GDPR) legislation claimed two victims this week, with intentional fines totally hundreds of millions being issued to a major hotel chain and airline. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK enforcement arm of the GDPR, announced its decision to fine the Marriott Hotel chain more than £99 million in a statement of intent issued yesterday.
The announcement said: “Following an extensive investigation the ICO has issued a notice of its intention to fine Marriott International £99,200,396 for infringements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).” According to the ICO said that data breach happened when the systems of the Starwood hotels group were compromised back in 2014.
Marriott then acquired Starwood in 2016, but the exposure of customer information was not discovered until 2018. The ICO’s investigation said that Marriott failed to undertake sufficient due diligence when it bought Starwood and should also have done more to secure its systems.
Tim Dunton, MD of Nimbus Hosting said: “Two monumental fines over the course of two days for breaking GDPR guidelines shows the ICO are really starting to take these breaches of security seriously – as they should be. Businesses must begin to understand the power they have when collecting and storing customer data and must face severe consequences when they fail to properly secure this.
Dunton continued, “Website security must be the biggest concern for businesses who store personal customer information and they have to begin to ensure they are using a secure system to host their websites.”
We are wholly dependent on the kindness of our readers for our continued work. We thank you in advance for any support you can offer.


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It’s not just Indian brands that have been reluctant to import from the USA.
The country’s largest kitchenware maker, Fahey Kitchenware, recently said it would not make any orders for its products from the country, and has pulled out of the US entirely.
Fahey is one of the largest manufacturers of the Paradise, the first and only high-end line of Indian kitchenwares.
In an interview with Quartz, Faherty said, “I am very disappointed to have made this decision because of the challenges of the trade agreements.”
Fahey, which is owned by Indian multinational Tata, is the largest maker of India’s premium luxury brands.
Faherty, who is also the chairman of the board of directors of India-based furniture maker Tata Group, said he was frustrated that the Indian market was not ready for the import of some of the brands.
“It is disappointing to see companies like Fahey and Bose of India continue to import the products of countries that have policies against them.
The quality of the products has to be good,” he said.
The decision is also hurting the local production.
“The products we import are going to be manufactured in India and we don’t want to have the products from countries that are going through this difficult situation,” said Faherty.
The Indian manufacturers have to import a certain amount of materials from the United States, but they have to pay a tariff, which varies from country to country.
“We have to go to the US for the materials and for the equipment.
They have to charge us a lot more for this than we do,” said the chairman.
He said that since the current trade deal is only with the US, the cost of the imported products is going to go up.
“I think it’s the biggest obstacle that we have in our path.
If they don’t do the work, we can’t make our products,” he added.
The companies that have decided to stay away from the world market, and have opted to export, are the ones that have not been given preferential access.
“They are the only ones who can afford to do it.
I don’t think any of the companies are going into the market,” said Shailendra Kulkarni, CEO of New India Kitchenware and Appliances, which has a factory in India.
“All the major brands are not willing to work with us.
We have to export to the world markets.”
The company’s production, he said, is limited to the USA, Canada and Mexico, and imports from these countries are only for the domestic market.
“At the moment, we don´t have any options.
We are going for the most economical export.
It is not possible for us to export into other countries,” Kulkarki said.
“In the US we have a certain number of orders to fulfill and we are not allowed to export.
The US has to decide who gets to make these orders and to whom.”
In the meantime, the company has been facing problems in its supply chain.
The company imports the equipment from the American company Paradis Manufacturing, which it is also partnering with in the future.
“This is not a situation where we have to work in Mexico.
We can make these items in the US if the manufacturers want to do that,” said Kulkar, adding that if the US refuses to sell the items to India, they can easily import them from China.
“You have to sell them from India because India has a very high tariff on imported goods.
It can be as low as $25,” he explained.


text: It is expensive, but the GV60 is up there with the best EVs, said The Daily Telegraph. Front seats are comfy and supportive, and top models get air pockets which inflate at speed to support the driver and passenger. Space isn’t over-generous in the back, however, and boot capacity is only 430 litres. Genesis cars come with a five-year care plan, plus a personal assistant who will be on hand through the buying process and beyond. UK price: from £47,005.


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Sep 10, 2018
HONG KONG COMMERICIAL DAILY
On September 7th, the 2018 Creatineer Intelligence Entrepreneurship Competition Finals and Awards Ceremony was held at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park. Youcan Robot won another award. With the completely independent and original intelligent tracking underwater robot BW Space, it reached the final and was ranked the top three in the 2018 Creatineer Intelligence Entrepreneurship Competition. Youcan Robot became a "dark horse" in the field of robotics.
The 2018 Creatineer Intelligence Entrepreneurship Competition lasted more than three months with 200 Creatineer registration project. Youcan Robot stood out from the crowd. After a series of selection, they finally won the Hong Kong Creatineer final. At the final stage, Youcan Robot competed with other four projects, scored through investment institutions' intentions, preliminary online voting, final online voting, and three types of judges, and finally achieved a proud achievement.
In an interview, the CTO of Youcan Robot said, "Our company is in the lead in the underwater intelligent tracking robot industry, which largely thanks to our original technology. There are four main advantages of our underwater robot technology: The first is the tracking function. In March 2018, Youcan Robot first released the BW Space intelligent tracking underwater robot, which is the world's first underwater drone with intelligent tracking function. The second is that we have created a set of underwater positioning system, which is currently rare to see in this industry. The third is the motion algorithm, our anti-shake underwater motion algorithm is relatively advanced. The fourth is the obstacle avoidance function. currently other existing underwater robots have not developed this function."
The research and development of underwater products is a complex and systematic project, which requires very high requirements for related subjects, including fluid mechanics, motion control, image recognition AI algorithms, industrial interconnection, software integration, which is a great challenge for underwater robots practitioners. However, this market is widely accepted now and has huge potential for development. It can be widely used in underwater entertainment, underwater photography, underwater exploration, fishing, scientific research, marine protection and other fields.
For the first time, image recognition and intelligent tracking technology are applied to underwater robot products by Youcan Robot. Using powerful motor algorithms, image recognition and interconnected information processing technology, BW Space can track and shoot underwater target person, as well as automatically adjust the light according to the environment and support underwater live broadcast. It is known that Youcan Robot's products can shoot 4K high-definition images and dive to a depth of 100 meters, with 7 hours of battery endurance and the body easy to carry. According to Hu Zifeng, the technology of Youcan Robot are developed all by the team itself. After long-term accumulation and experimentation, many core technologies with independent intellectual property rights have been developed. This is the reason why Youcan Robot is in the leading position in the industry, and it is also a important weight to win the prize in the Creatineer Intelligence Entrepreneurship Competition.
This is not the first time that the Youcan Robot has won an international award. The Best Robot Startup and Best Lifestyle Startup Awards at CES Asia which is really an Asia's top technology feast and the Chapeck Award for 2017 Technology Innovation Award proved that Youcan Robot has received the market recognition after years of accumulation of strength.
"At present, the competitors are still in the initial stage: no main competitors and leading enterprises in the industry. So this is our opportunity to rapidly seize market share and create popular products that meet the needs of the customers in a short period of time through the continuous growth of our own technology and other strengths." Hu Zifeng pointed out that Youcan Robot has participated in numerous entrepreneurial technology competitions and exhibitions on the road of development. While promoting the brand of Youcan Robot, he hopes to cooperate exchange and learn from each other in the industry through these platforms, so that to drive the rapid growth of Youcan Robot and make persistent efforts to make the underwater robot better.
October 26, 2016The Most Successful Engineering Contractor
Jul 02, 2018Snow Lee: Obsessed with Underwater Robots


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SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) today announced that Joe Burton, CTO and SVP of Technology, Development and Strategy, and Cary Bran, senior director of Innovation and New Ventures and the head of PLT Labs, will be speaking at Enterprise Connect 2014, on related topics that address the growing opportunity for businesses to leverage wearable technology in the enterprise.
Plantronics has been a wearable tech pioneer for decades, developing and delivering personal audio solutions that are used by millions to communicate. With its advances in on-board sensor technology and its open APIs, the company has moved the classic headset beyond audio and transformed it into a wearable device and platform that opens up new avenues for workplace efficiency and improved workflows.
Burton’s session, “Impact and Opportunities: Wearable Tech In the Enterprise,” will address advances in big data, analytics, cloud, contextual information, wearable tech, sensors, and mobility, and outline how this perfect storm of technologies is helping to redefine the future of enterprise efficiency and collaboration.
Cary Bran, senior director of Innovation and New Ventures for Plantronics and head of PLT Labs, will co-present with Tom Richards, product management lead on Desktop Video Collaboration for Cisco, about advances in communications and collaboration related to context-aware computing, wearable devices and mobility.
Additionally, Bran will also present at the WebRTC Conference, an event co-located with the Enterprise Connect show. During that conferences’ demo session, Bran will show how the Plantronics Voyager Legend and PLT Labs Wearable Concept 1, integrate with WebRTC environments.
Palms Resort and Convention Center
6000 W Osceola Pkwy
Kissimmee, FL 34746
Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication to Bluetooth® headsets to gaming solutions, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100™, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and various mission critical applications for those on the frontline. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.
Plantronics and Voyager Legend are trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. registered in the US and other countries. PLT, PLT Labs, and Wearable Concept 1 are trademarks of Plantronics, Inc.
The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks of Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Plantronics is under license. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.


text: We've seen Android used for home theater purposes before, but it's been rare that a company has wanted Google's OS used almost exclusively with that purpose in mind. Panasonic is gambling that its UN-W700 can use Android (2.3, unfortunately) for an all-singing, all-dancing compact video device. The 7-inch, 800x480 standee plays media from its SDXC card slot or over DLNA, including recordings normally destined for Blu-ray from one of Panasonic's Diga set-top boxes. If you'd rather dish out video than just receive it, there's a front camera for Skype video calls -- and the W700 is still Google-blessed, so you can visit Google Play if you'd rather play Death Rally than watch Death Race 2000. We're not sure about the idea of a tablet without much of the portability, but Japanese shops will give the opportunity to decide for yourself on July 25th for an unofficially estimated $446.


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AKRON — Goodyear suffered a 49.8% drop in segment operating income and a net loss of $101 million in the quarter ended March 31 as the negative effects of lower sales volume, reduced production and inflation offset benefits such as the price/mix effect.
Segment operating income fell to $215 million on 0.7% higher revenue of $4.94 billion, Goodyear said, dropping the operating ratio four points to 2.5%. The net loss $101 million contrasts with net earnings of $96 million a year ago.
Goodyear set tire unit sales volume was off by over 7%.
Despite the loss in the quarter, Goodyear management — citing the expected synergy benefits of its acquisition of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. in early 2021 — said the company should achieve second-half segment results that would drive the operating margin closer to the near-term target of 8% that the company disclosed when it announced the Cooper acquisition.
The company said it is "driving toward" strong operating results throughout the rest of the year, particularly in the Americas and Asia/Pacific regions, as the company works through continuing cost inflation and "contractionary demand" in many markets.
Management said it anticipates "relative stability" in industry demand during the third quarter and year-over-year growth in the fourth quarter, while also benefiting from falling raw materials costs and moderating inflation.
As noted already, Goodyear expects to suffer a sales drop of $110 million to $130 million in the second quarter as a result of lost production tied to the tornado that struck the Cooper Tire plant in Tupelo, Miss.
The Americas business unit reported a 63.4% drop in operating income, to $79 million, on 1.6% lower sales of $2.87 billion. Unit sales volume dropped 7.5%, but sales revenue was buoyed by a 6% increase in revenue per tire.
Goodyear said the results were impacted negatively by softer industry volume and the ongoing effects of inflation. Americas consumer replacement volume declined approximately 9%, driven by a strong comparable 2022 period and channel destocking.
Similarly, commercial volumes have normalized in line with 2019 levels, consistent with the industry, Goodyear said. Results included continued benefits from strong price/mix while U.S. consumer replacement market share remained stable year-over-year.
Segment operating income was impacted by lower sales volume ($44 million), unabsorbed overhead from lower production in the fourth quarter ($49 million), higher raw materials costs ($106 million) and inflation ($99). On the positive side, price/mix benefits were booked at $149 million, and the firm benefited from a duty refund of $21 million on imported tires.
Goodyear's replacement market unit sales volume in the Americas fell 9.9% while OE volume increased 4.8%, reflecting the ongoing recovery in auto production.
Goodyear noted in its letter to investors that U.S. industry retail sales to end consumers (i.e., "sell out") were down approximately 2% from the 2022 quarter and that its sales dropped more than the industry wide decline but they were in line with other U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association members.
Elsewhere, net sales in the Europe/Middle East/Africa segment increased 4.6% to $1.49 billion, driven by a 24% increase in revenue per tire (excluding the impact of foreign currency), which offset a 9.1% drop in unit sales volume.
In the Asia/Pacific region, net sales increased 2.6% to $582 million on the positive effects of a 13% increase in revenue per tire. Tire volume fell 2.2%.


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House Democrats Primed to Introduce 13(b) Legislative Fix
On Thursday afternoon, the future of the Federal Trade Commission’s enforcement authority took center stage during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing entitled, “Safeguarding American Consumers: Fighting Fraud and Scams During the Pandemic.” While the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee hearing was ostensibly focused on pandemic-related fraud, calls to clarify the agency’s ability to use Section 13(b) of the FTC Act to provide restitution dominated the discussion. For their part, House Democrats appear ready to move forward with a legislative fix – perhaps even before the Supreme Court issues its ruling on the scope of 13(b) in AMG Capital Management, LLC v. Federal Trade Commission later this year.
During Thursday’s hearing, Representative Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) announced plans to introduce legislation to clarify the FTC’s ability to use Section 13(b) to provide refunds to consumers victimized by fraud and deception. In highlighting the need for the legislation, Representative Cárdenas cited an October 2020 letter from all five FTC Commissioners urging Congress to “act quickly so that the FTC can continue to effectively protect American consumers.” Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Chair Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) expressed strong support for the legislation, as did full committee Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ), who noted that “the FTC’s ability to make consumers whole is under threat in the Supreme Court.”
Witnesses at the hearing – including former FTC Chairman William Kovacic and former director of the agency’s Bureau of Consumer Protection Jessica Rich – expressed concern that an adverse ruling by the Supreme Court in AMG would severely weaken the agency’s enforcement power. A top legislative priority, in Kovacic’s words, should be “repairing what is likely to be a hole in 13(b) authority.”
Notably, the witnesses were divided on the issue of whether Congress should act before the Supreme Court rules. In response to a question from Subcommittee Chair Schakowsky, Kovacic expressed concern that acting before the Court’s decision would “lead to the conclusion that the authority was never intended” by Congress. Rich and TINA.org Executive Director Bonnie Patten, however, noted that the agency’s ability to pursue restitution under 13(b) has already been severely curtailed by the courts and that Congress should move quickly.
While Representative Cárdenas urged committee Republicans to work with him on the legislation, none lined up in support of the yet-to-be introduced bill on Thursday. Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) spoke about the importance of 13(b), but expressed concern that the agency might abuse the authority and use it “primarily to leverage defendants into settlements.” On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate Commerce Committee’s top Republican Roger Wicker (R-MS) included a 13(b) fix in a comprehensive privacy bill introduced last year – a point not lost on Representative Cárdenas.
Although the timing for legislative action remains uncertain, Thursday’s hearing strongly suggests that the new Democratic Congress is intent on revising the statute to provide the FTC with the express authority to obtain monetary penalties.
Sign up for our Ad Law News and Views newsletter to get more on 13(b) and to stay current on advertising law and privacy law matters.


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A federal judge has dismissed all charges in the antitrust case brought by three independent video rental businesses against Blockbuster Video and several major Hollywood studios. The defendants were charged with price discrimination and conspiracy to prevent independent stores from gaining access to the same revenue-sharing deals available to Blockbuster.
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After more than four years of fighting to block three big box retailers, the town of Old Saybrook, Connecticut, has adopted an ordinance banning stores over 88,000 square feet. That’s about the size of two football fields, but smaller than a typical Home Depot or Target store. The new law also restricts commercial buildings in some parts of town to no more than 25,000 square feet.
A grassroots group, Citizens Organized for Responsible Development (CORD), in Ellsworth, Maine, has gathered the 1,109 signatures needed to place a measure calling for a temporary moratorium on new retail development on the November ballot.
If it passes, the referendum will suspend construction of retail stores larger than 80,000 square feet on undeveloped land and commercial expansion of more than 40,000 square feet on developed land for a period of six months.
With much fanfare and, it seemed, the expectation of much praise, Wal-Mart unveiled plans in April for an "urban" style supercenter in downtown Dallas. The 220,000-square-foot supercenter would be situated on Mockingbird Lane in a residential neighborhood near Love Field. Unlike the standard suburban Wal-Mart, this one would feature a Spanish-style façade, landscaped gardens, underground parking, and a door that opened onto the sidewalk.
A profile of the first Independent Business Alliance.
Plotting the overthrow of the franchised world, bookstore owner David Bolduc and political organizer Jeff Milchen strategize on how to preserve hometown businesses in Boulder, Colorado, and around the country. Continue reading
To counter competition from big box retailers, independent lighting stores are banding together in a cooperative called Lighting One. The coop enables members to reduce costs through joint purchasing and gain access to services and expertise that otherwise would be unaffordable.
"Lighting One puts us on a level playing field with the big boxes," says Marilyn Shulman, second generation owner of Bayshore Lighting, a 60-year-old lighting store in Long Island, New York.
Just a few years ago, industry observers were predicting the demise of independent funeral homes. Four giant companies were buying up thousands of independent mortuaries and rapidly consolidating the industry. By processing bodies at large regional embalming plants, buying in bulk, and sharing employees across multiple homes, the chains were expected to gain a significant financial edge over their independent competitors.
The now defunct Intimate Bookshop of North Carolina has filed suit against Barnes & Noble and Borders Books alleging that the chains used their market power to pressure publishers for special discounts and terms unavailable to other retailers.
According to documents filed in the case by Intimate’s attorney, Carl Person, the chains received an effective discount of 60 percent off the cover price, compared to only about 40-46 percent given to independent bookstores.
A coalition of neighborhood, small business, and environmental groups has gathered more than 4,000 petition signatures against a proposed Wal-Mart store in Vancouver, Canada. Continue reading
Rumors of a citizens lawsuit are beginning to circulate in New Orleans less than a month after the city council approved a 200,000 square foot suburban-style Wal-Mart supercenter. The 17-acre development will be situated along Tchoupitoulas Street in the Lower Garden District, a historic neighborhood wedged between a bend in the Mississippi River and downtown.


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Press Release – NZIER
• Economic downturn much longer than most businesses expected • Businesses who have invested through the recession performing better • Businesses revenue projections over last four years have been too optimisticMedia Release: 4th December
Investment Key to Surviving Longer than Expected Downturn
• Economic downturn much longer than most businesses expected
• Businesses who have invested through the recession performing better
• Businesses revenue projections over last four years have been too optimistic
The economic downturn has lasted far longer than expected, but businesses that have invested in business development have been the most likely to find a path back to growth, according to a new study.
A New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) analysis of four years’ worth of results from the MYOB Business Monitor found that the majority of businesses had expected the economy to recover by the end of 2011 and had been overly optimistic in their revenue projections over the last four years.
In April of 2010, 78% of businesses said they expected the economy to be fully recovered by the end of 2011. The recovery, however, has disappointed, with 48% of businesses saying they believed that economic recovery would still be more than 18 months away in June of 2012.
In the slow recovery from recession, business owners who classified their strategy as “business building” – focused on business development and upgrading their systems and processes – have seen their business performance improve over the last four years. However, businesses which tried to wait out the downturn by cutting costs or deferring investments have struggled.
Businesses focused on business development have seen revenue growth over the previous 12 months improve from -9% in early 2010 to +17% in June 2012. In contrast, other businesses report sales have slowed from -6% in early 2010 to only +8% in June 2012.
NZIER Principal Economist Shamubeel Eaqub says that these results confirm that this recession is different to recent downturns and that a different business approach has been needed.
“All the economic data shows this has not been a typical downturn. The recession lasted nearly twice as long as other recessions in the last 50 years, and the recovery since has been quite shallow.
“This has meant that businesses who have taken the approach of tightening their belts during tough times and trying to wait out the downturn have actually not performed as well as businesses who have focused on their core strengths and invested their way through the recession.”
Market Share, Staff, and IT Key Areas for Business Development
Three of the most productive areas for businesses to invest in were securing market share, hiring talented staff and increasing use of information technology.
12% of businesses that said they were focused on business development were increasing the amount of fulltime staff in their business, compared to just 4% of other businesses. A business development approach was also more likely to lead to higher wages for staff, with 24% of businesses following an investment approach looking to increase their staff’s wages.
An even more appealing investment was an increased emphasis on retaining existing customers, with 49% of businesses taking an investment approach saying they had increased the amount they spent on customer retention, compared to just 29% of other businesses. Customer acquisition was also a key area for investment, with 42% of those with a business development approach investing in new strategies, compared to just 18% of other businesses.
Finally, businesses looking to grow their way out of recession were also far more likely to make a sizeable investment in information technology over the last four years, with 23% increasing their spend on IT systems, compared to just 11% of other businesses.
MYOB general manager Julian Smith says that businesses that took an investment approach to the recession could find themselves coming out of the downturn with their market positioning improved.
“If you are in an industry where many of your competitors are losing market share or failing to make new investments, and your focus is on growing your business through better systems and staff, that is a real competitive advantage.”
Business Revenue Projections Over-Optimistic
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the unexpected depth and length of the economic downturn, many businesses have found that their revenue projections have been overly optimistic during the last several years, making it even harder to survive through cost cutting alone.
In 2009, a net 20% of firms were forecasting an increase in revenue whereas a net -14% had actually experienced revenue growth. That trend stayed consistent right throughout the slow recovery, with nearly a net 25% of businesses expecting revenue growth in the year ahead at the start of 2011, but only a net -4% having actually seen revenue growth over the last year. In the most recent survey in June 2012, a net 24% of businesses were forecasting revenue growth, but only a net 1% had actually seen revenue growth in the last twelve months.
Julian Smith says this uncertainty was another reason that business development had proven to be the right course of action over the last four years.
“It can be very hard for businesses to plan ahead at the best of times, but the longer than expected economic downturn has made planning even more difficult. Especially for small businesses which may not have a lot of capital, the first instinct is often to be cautious and hold off investment until the economy recovers, but what these results show is that now isn’t the time for a business as usual approach.
“Those businesses that continue to invest in staff, customers and IT systems – while it may have been a brave move at the time – are now reaping the rewards of their strategy.”


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Here is some good news for all existing and would be owners of the Streak tablet from Dell. The OS update to the latest Android 2.2 Froyo can now be expected to drop sometime soon, which stems from two interesting developments. First, Dell has already has units of the Streak with the Froyo update already in shipping units in Japan. It will be available to the market there early December 2010.
The second indication of the impending Froyo update is the availability of the Backup and Restore app which Dell has developed in partnership with Nero and has launched for free on the Android Market. All current users of the Dell Streak can download the app free of cost and use it to backup their data before they choose to upgrade to Android 2.2.
Also, if you think that’s still not reason enough for you to go and grab a Streak, well Dell has gone ahead and brought down the price of Streak from a quite hefty £449 to only £399. The price is inclusive of VAT as well as all other applicable taxes though the above price reduction is only applicable in the UK.
In order Dell Streak news, it will be available in Canada for a few different vendors, including Rogers sometime in November. They will offer a 3 year contract for $149.99 and will offer the Streak straight up for $549.99.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in the world of technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles as well, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. Motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot and maybe I’ll make a film sometime in the future.


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Telstra has just launched Australia’s first 5G smart hub
Telstra has just launched Australia’s first 5G mobile device, the HTC 5G Hub.
Australia’s largest telecommunications company says that the announcement is a significant milestone in the transition to 5G.
Telstra says that the hub is able to work on 5G and 4G networks and that it can be used by both consumers and businesses alike.
The hub is said to be capable of up to 24 hours of active use and can support up to 20 devices via Wi-Fi.
“Our launch of the HTC 5G Hub is the moment 5G becomes a reality for Australian consumers,” explained Telstra CEO Andrew Penn.
“Since 2016, we have been working with some of the world’s leading technology brands to ensure Australians are among the first in the world to be able to access 5G.
He added: “HTC has been a key partner for Telstra, innovating new technologies and driving greater connectivity for our customers.
“This launch of Australia’s first 5G mobile device is a testament to that partnership and we are proud to be launching it today”.
The hub is available online today and will soon be sold in Telstra stores.
Thomas Dexmier, Country Manager HTC Australia and New Zealand, said that HTC was proud to partner with Telstra to bring the first 5G media hotspot to Australia.
“With the HTC 5G Hub, customers will be able to experience the power and speed of Telstra’s 5G network in an innovative device, that combines the advanced capabilities of a mobile hotspot with the versatility of the Android operating system, allowing them to connect at home, at work, and on the go,” he added.
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Shares of Aruba Networks Inc. jumped more than 22 percent on Friday following a strong earnings release the day prior.
The Sunnyvale wireless networking equipment firm saw its biggest gain in over three years after exceeding analyst estimates for sales and profit. The earnings release points to the increase in mobile devices and the BYOD culture in more work environments.
This BYOD environment, in which employees use their own devices for work, has spawned a trend known as the consumerization of IT, which has opened many doors for Silicon Valley companies that specialize in networking products that address this shift in the market, including Aruba.
Consumerization of IT and the proliferation of mobile devices allow people to work anywhere at any time, but also poses significant challenges to the traditional model of workplace IT systems. Companies like Aruba benefit as they see opportunities for growth providing software and hardware to address changing IT needs.
Aruba stock (NASDAQ:ARUN) closed at $25.40, up from Thursday's close of $20.80, and hitting a 52-week high.


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Today’s award goes to
People Eating Tasty Animals People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). By overreacting in the most hysterically over-the-top way to a restaurant food promotion, they’ve ensured that a local (one-city-only) promotion has people talking about it all across the country.
Popeyes, a US fast-food fried chicken franchise, recently launched a promotion at Philadelphia’s airport. With all the fuss about fake “emotional support animals”, the local operator figured that a play on words would help sell more chicken: so they started selling an “emotional support chicken meal”. Click the images for a larger view.
PETA promptly lost its collective marbles. It’s produced this hit job aimed at shaming the restaurant into withdrawing its promotion.
PETA’s frothing-at-the-mouth overreaction has, of course, made Popeye’s promotion go viral, nationwide. From a simple local promotion at a single airport, I understand people all over the country are starting to ask for it. Heck, here in North Texas, with only a relatively small municipal airport in the vicinity, I’ve heard folks talking and laughing about it! Way to go, PETA. You’ve probably killed more chickens (for Popeye’s to fry) with your protest than died from natural causes over the past half a year or so. I might just go to the nearest Popeye’s and add to their profits, just to raise a middle digit at their critics!
(My favorite emotional support animal is still the one said to have been registered by the owner of Dreadnaught Industries here in Texas. I’m told that, fed up with all the fuss over the issue, he spent the money to get official paperwork for his own emotional support animal – a longhorn steer! That caused a lot of gigglage in this neck of the woods, as people visualized him trying to take it on board an airliner. The imagined reaction of the poor lady at the boarding gate led to hilarity, to put it mildly!)
(EDITED TO ADD: More about the emotional support longhorn here, including photographs.)


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Japan’s major grocery retailers are looking to their Asian neigbours for expansion, as their home country’s bleak economic landscape has stymied growth in recent years. Petah Marian investigates Japan’s economy and which countries these retail giants are looking to conquer.
Japan’s major grocery retailers have been struggling over recent years, hurt by continued low consumer confidence, deflation, increasing channel saturation and a stagnant economy.
Earlier this month, Japan’s cabinet office again reported a worsening in consumer sentiment, with the consumer confidence index falling to 41.2, down from 42.4, deteriorating for the third straight month. A reading below 50 suggests consumer pessimism.
“Japan’s economy is recovering from the recession, but is very much hindered by the very strong yen, making exports not as competitive as they should be, and is also impacted by low consumer confidence, particularly as the fear of unemployment weighs heavily on them,” says Euromonitor International retailing analyst Raphael Moreau.
Additionally, consumer behaviour has shifted in the last couple of years, with shoppers becoming accustomed to the deflationary environment, becoming more interested in bargain hunting, and, Moreau says, “more likely to look to pay less for products, where in the past they would not believe a product was of high quality if they paid less”.
Moreau paints a mixed picture of the retail sector in Japan. He says the industry is struggling due to “low margins” but explains that performance is quite a varied, with convenience stores remaining “quite resilient” with many continuing to expand. This comes, Moreau says, despite the Japanese retail sector being highly competitive and a “very mature market”.
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In recent quarters Japan’s major grocery operators have largely managed to maintain profit growth through cost cutting as sales remain lacklustre.
In Aeon’s first-half results, for example, sales fell by 0.9% yet the company managed to book a 75.2% increase in operating income, which it largely attributed to its efforts to “revise selling, general and administrative expenses”.
Meanwhile, Seven & I Holdings, parent of the 7-Eleven c-store network, posted a 42.9% increase in net profit for the first half despite just a 0.5% increase in revenue, which it attributed to lower SG&A expenses.
The picture was bleaker for Lawson, with net profit declining 22% in the first half due to a number of one-off losses. Despite the one-off charges, revenue did still fall 2.4% over the period.
FamilyMart was the one retailer buck the trend. Like Seven & I, it already has a broad international footprint, and saw net profit climb 15% during the first half while revenue grew 14%.
Cutting costs to bolster profits is not a sustainable long term strategy. While synergies are important, and reduced overheads are always welcome, there are only so many costs that can be cut.
With the bleak consumer landscape in Japan showing no immediate signs of improvement, and the high retail saturation levels in the country’s major cities, aggressive international expansion seems like the only way to drive long-term growth.
“All the convenience store operators now have major ambitions outside Japan, because competition in Japan is too strong for margins to increase,” says Moreau.
In recent weeks there has been a spate of announcements by Japan’s major retailers of aggressive expansion growth across Asia.
This week, reports emerged that Aeon plans to nearly double its operating profit in three years through expanding in Asia. It plans to invest JPY800bn (US$9.91bn) in new stores; a quarter of that money has been earmarked for countries such as Indonesia and Thailand. Today (29 October), Aeon held the opening ceremony for a large mall in the major Chinese city of Tianjin.
Two weeks ago, Japanese retailer Uny and Taiwan-based Ting Hsin established a joint venture to operate stores in China. The companies plan to invest US$33.1m in the venture with the first outlet to open in Shanghai in 2012.
Earlier this month, reports emerged that President Chain Store, a 7-Eleven franchisee in China, plans to double the number of stores by the end of the year to reach 100 outlets, and hopes to reach 300 stores in five years.
Moreau sees convenience operators’ shifts towards international franchising as a great opportunity to help them expand quickly. “It’s fairly new for some of the convenience store operators in other markets than Japan, and it’s the same story in Japan to some extent, because they see that they can grow that way. By encouraging more franchised stores, they can continue to expand in Japan, but even more so in places llike Malaysia and Thailand.”
While China seems to be the most promising of Japan’s neighbours, Moreau says Japan’s convenience operators should not necessarily see China becoming their biggest market in Asia.
“For example, we see Seven & I seeing long-term potential for 3,000 stores in Malaysia and 200 stores for 2010,” he says. “In Thailand, they managed to open around 50 stores in 2009 to reach about 500. In Thailand the proportion of franchised stores was about 45% at the end of 2009 and 7-Eleven thinks they can raise this proportion to 60% in five years.”
FamilyMart is also focused on Thai expansion, and is working to build strategic alliances in the country, Moreau says. “It currently has about 70 planned company-owned outlets in 2010. That will be the first step towards having a strong presence in the country and then they will move on to work on building franchised stores in the country.”
However, Moreau was quick to pour cold water on these retailers’ aggressive expansion plans. “Whether they will achieve those goals remains debatable, as some of them are too ambitious,” he says.


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Uber South Africa has announced that its UberEATS app has been downloaded 550,000 times since its launch a year ago.
“Delivery partners have driven almost 5,000,000km, Along the way, it has expanded the number of restaurants it has partnered with to over 1,200 restaurants across Cape Town and Gauteng,” said Uber.
“One of the best features of UberEATS is the no minimum order size, which customers take advantage of.”
Uber South Africa said the largest single order in UberEATS to date is:
- 39 cheeseburgers
- 21 cokes
- 22 cream sodas
- 16 fried chicken burgers
- 14 Stoneys
- 3 green salads
Top items ordered on the app include cheeseburgers, margarita pizzas, salmon fashion sandwiches, salmon California rolls, and butter chicken, said the company.


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When Google updated its Play Newsstand, Google+, Chromecast companion app and the recent Play Store 5 to a new Material Design, we thought that was the end. Lets look at some Google apps that’s being branded with a new Material Design.
Google Drive, Docs, Slides and Sheets is one of the few apps that is ingrained with the Material Design. The updated version of the trio office suite apps – Docs, Slides and Sheets including the conjunction of Google Drive will take a few days to get it to the gen-pop before it starts rolling out straight away.
Users will notice a big change in the addition of an “Incoming” link in the left hand menu. This feature holds all of the titbits that others have shared through Google services. The Material Design improvements are about as good as users expect. The “hamburger menu” gets a little modernized and there are a few dandy new animations to enjoy.
In addition, Google Sheets is acquiring a tiny addition that will make some users very happy. That means, users can now select a range of cells by tapping and dragging while editing a formula.
Another new update with Material Design is Google Wallet and Play Games. Google Play Games doesn’t seem to offer any other changes beside a new Material Design and a new iconography. On the other hand, Google Wallet does bring some minor changes including the ability to set up a persisting bank transfer to users account and also a new low balance alert.
There’s no surprise to see Google pushing its new Material Design to many of its apps. All of this is possible with the looming arrival of Android 5.0 Lollipop. In a classic fashion, users can expect the updates to roll out over the next few days and it could be as long as a week before they reach to everyone.


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I told you everything we knew over the weekend about how Kim Kardashian wore her hair and makeup to marry Kanye West in Italy, but we now know a little more thanks to Instagram photo-booth shots from the wedding guests as well as some blurry shots posted on Twitter by fans (check out this set for the best shots I've seen so far of her hair). Thank goodness for social media.
UPDATE: Kim herself has posted official shots on Instagram. Behold:
Here's a shot where you can see her ceremony hair and makeup:
Her sister Khloe went a with makeup a little smokier but also otherwise very close to Kim's:
Kourtney and Kylie have yet to post their looks, but I have a feeling we'll see them all soon. Until then, we all need to recuperate. This wedding took a lot me. Out of Kim Fusaro. Out of the world.
P.S. If you want to see more shots of the dress, head here.