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Grocery is a big category. There’s brick-and-mortar retail, where competition is so fierce that the media has branded it “the grocery wars.” There’s online food purchasing, whether for delivery or pickup, where Amazon is gunning to be top dog. And there are meal kits, a huge and widely varied subset of the vertical.
It’s not easy to stand out in any one of these subcategories, let alone in grocery as a whole. So, what made Benchmark Capital confident enough to put $50 million behind Good Eggs, a San Francisco-based, curated, on-demand grocery store specializing in “absurdly fresh” local meats and produce? Not only that, but Benchmark’s biggest name, Bill Gurley, will be taking a seat on Good Eggs’ board of directors.
Notably, Gurley was the first investor in Uber; he’s not about to throw millions at anything unless he thinks it’s going to be big. The Silicon Valley legend has an eye for young companies that are out to change their category and works with them to execute their vision.
In a recent interview with Karen Webster, Bentley Hall, CEO at Good Eggs, explained what the grocer is doing differently — both from its contemporaries and from the company’s own past efforts.
Size Does Matter – But Bigger Isn’t Better
Hall was brought on as chief executive in 2015 after Good Eggs’ overly aggressive growth plans forced it to shut down operations outside San Francisco and undergo multiple rounds of layoffs.
Since then, Hall said the company has had to pivot to focus on its core customer: a West Coaster much like himself, who works full-time, has a wife who works full-time and has two children. Good Eggs’ core customer cares deeply about what goes onto his plate and into his stomach, but doesn’t want to sacrifice time with loved ones to prepare dinner every night.
He said that’s why Good Eggs now stocks and bundles a full assortment: curated, on-demand, locally sourced groceries, meal kits, alcohol, lunchbox kits and flowers.
Yet even as Good Eggs’ assortment grows, Hall doesn’t anticipate the number of SKUs in stock exceeding the 6,000 to 8,000 range — nor does he want it to. Instead, he said Good Eggs is focused on three pillars: sourcing “absurdly fresh” ingredients, offering a complete solution and keeping the “heart and soul” in the company by focusing on its community and its core customer before even thinking about growth.
In terms of sourcing, Hall said the company gets more than 70 percent of its food directly from local growers. By cutting out the middleman, providers earn more than they could get from a distributor, yet the company still pays less than it would working with a distributor, said Hall.
In terms of delivery, the CEO said Good Eggs owns the last mile, making 70 percent of deliveries with its own team — which earns a living wage, benefits and equity in the company, he added, a very different approach from what some of the big names in the space are doing.
“We’re not a big corporation,” said Hall. “For most customers, those are compelling reasons to join.”
The Meal Kit Component
The different options for food delivery may look the same from the outside, said Hall, but these models are all vastly different. There are big companies and small ones, mail-order companies and ones that sell their products on the prepared foods shelves of stores, companies that purport to make healthier products and ones that focus on faster subscription services and one-off orders.
And yet, said Hall, many of them share the same strengths and weaknesses. He believes the existing meal kit format falls short in one key way: It’s completely unsustainable.
Shipping all over the country is expensive and wasteful, Hall said, and the packaging aftermath of doing so is a huge flaw. While some meal kit companies are starting to see the value in distributing via grocery stores — which can save on packaging and transport — Hall still felt the format could be improved.
How? By making the meal kit a part of a whole, rather than the company’s entire focus.
“A complete solution across categories is stickier,” Hall said.
What Good Eggs creates is not so much a meal kit as a method of creating healthier meals more easily in the timeframe that’s right for each customer’s family. Whether customers want something that can be cooked in 20 minutes, in a single pot or with components that have been kitchen-prepped and are ready to eat, the idea is to bundle ingredients to solve a problem.
What these “kits” replace isn’t grocery shopping, Hall added, but takeout. Something simple and tasty can be prepared with the same investment of time and effort as ordering from a fast-casual restaurant, he said, but without the unhealthy downsides of doing so.
“In the old world,” said Hall, “you flipped through a cookbook and wrote a shopping list and went to the grocery store and tried to find each thing in each aisle. We’re just saying, ‘You like this recipe? OK, add it to your cart — done.’”
What Growth Will Look Like
Hall said Good Eggs is not about to make the same mistake again regarding growth: The current round of funding will enable Good Eggs to expand throughout California over the next few years. Then, over the next decade, the company hopes to expand along the entire West Coast.
He believes the company is ready to expand in a contiguous geographic way, always keeping its eye on the core customer.
“There’s a difference between growing quickly and growing at all costs,” Hall said. “We’ve learned how to grow thoughtfully and efficiently and how to find and serve the right customers — because not every customer is a good customer. We don’t have to serve every customer; we just have to serve the core one — the one who cares deeply about food — better than anybody else.”


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PMA, United Fresh to expand Joint Committee on Responsible Labor Practices
U.S.-based industry groups the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) and United Fresh Produce Association plan to augment a recently formed joint committee that proactively addresses the issue of responsible labor practices.
The groups' boards of directors formed the joint committee in late 2015 - launched with 16 members equally divided among produce suppliers and buyers - and to date have had two meetings discussing goals and objectives.
Now the committee is looking for additional expertise and has made a request for proposals aimed at engaging a consultant with expertise in the field.
"Responsible labor practices are an important issue for our industry, and we recognize the growing interest of stakeholders in transparency throughout the global supply chain," said the groups' chairmen Russ Mounce (Sam's Club, PMA) and Brian Kocher (Castellini Group of Companies, United Fresh).
"This Joint Committee is working to help ensure our industry has a clear and well-defined commitment to treat all workers with dignity and respect as they work to bring fresh produce to consumers.
"Members have met to discuss the wide range of information available on labor issues, which supports an industrywide approach to help drive consensus across the produce and floral supply chain and increase consumers' confidence that the produce they buy is responsibly sourced."
Mounce and Kocher emphasized the input and collaboration of many stakeholders on the issue was important for driving real change.
"We know that multiple perspectives are critical to bringing consensus and positive movement. It is also important to acknowledge the huge diversity among commodities, growing regions and cultural practices in the broad produce and floral industry.
"We want to meet with grower organizations, labor employers and others serving different aspects of the supply chain to ensure that we understand their specific views and incorporate their thinking into any future action."
The committee will meet in late June, and will review and approve a workplan for the consultant.
"We want our members to know that this will not be a short process or an easy one. But, we believe this is a critical discussion we need to have as an industry."

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Apple to hold special iPhone 4 press conference on Friday
Apple is inviting select media representatives to a special press conference that will be held on Friday, July 16. The company provided no information about the conference other than to say it would focus on the iPhone 4.
TUAW will provide up-to-the-minute coverage of the press conference on Friday to keep you informed of what's going on. There has been some speculation of a recall of the phones, discussion of a software update to fix reception issues, and a lot of shenanigans dealing with disappearing threads in the Apple support forums. We can only hope that the company will provide straightforward answers to the questions that a lot of Apple fans are asking.
[Tip of the TUAW hat to @pdparticle and Loop Insight]
Apple is inviting select media representatives to a special press conference that will be held on Friday, July 16. The company provided no...
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Mango started a project to replace paper packaging with paper bags, becoming the first major textile company to do so in Spain.
Givenchy unveils the Antigona Soft handbag collection, which is the latest addition to the Antigona family of bags, and is unique in colors and textures that mimic the Fall / Winter 2021/2020 season.
The collaboration led to the creation of the SIGNATURE Canvas limited edition travel supplies collection, signed by Berloti for the first time.
Altering the aesthetic of conventional school uniforms, Kim added unusual materials and elements such as beanbags and leg warmers to her garments.
Celine is pre-launching a new soft day bag June 5 and it is poised to see lovers of the French house’s accesories fall hard.


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Bikes for Kids fundraiser at Sealed With A Kiss
If you would like to help S.W.A.K. donate to the Boys and Girls Club, now is your chance.
From noon to 7 p.m. Saturday, and 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Sealed With A Kiss will be hosting a dance party featuring DJ Tony Dove. Stop in to enjoy some music and soft drinks and most importantly, go shopping. A percentage of all purchases at Sealed With A Kiss this weekend will go toward purchasing 10 bikes and helmets for the Boys and Girls Club of South Lake Tahoe.
The store hopes to raise $1,500 by close of business Sunday. Jana Walker Spano and her husband Dan are both avid cyclists and have always wanted to do a “Bikes for Kids” fundraiser.
Each year, S.W.A.K. raises money and donates clothing to the South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center and other local organizations. With the Amgen Tour of California coming to South Lake Tahoe, this seemed like a perfect opportunity to step in, Spano said.


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Appia, the Durham-based provider of a global marketplace and storefronts for mobile application developers, is offering more ways for developers to cash in on their creations.
The additions include:
A Pay Pall Install advertising service
Support for Google Play
“Over the past twelve months, we’ve seen proof of our open app marketplace platform strategy with the explosive growth of our user base. This growth has allowed Appia to identify a major opportunity helping publishers and advertisers improve customer targeting, acquisition, and retention,” says Jud Bowman, Appia’s founder and chief executive officer. “Our robust advertising network now represents one of the largest platforms available to developers for targeted user acquisition, and we’re excited to announce support for Google Play along with expanding the services designed to promote and facilitate downloads, while vastly improving ROI and advertising effectiveness.”
Appia works with developers worldwide and says its service has delivered more than 15 million apps installations over the past year since it launched a pay per download service.
Read details here.


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Hollywood's relationship with video game makers is finally coming to maturity after two decades of tension and mistrust, transforming the entertainment industry in the process, experts said.
The two industries, born from vastly different ages of technology, have long flirted with one another but are only now fully coming to terms with just how lucrative a strategic marriage can be for both.
In the past fortnight, a flurry of deals has been announced between Tinseltown's venerable old studios and the young upstarts of the multibillion-dollar game industry that will allow digital characters to make the leap from the gaming console to the silver screen.
The ultra-violent games Hitman and Alice, a dark interpretation of Lewis Carroll's children's classic Alice in Wonderland, will soon become feature films, with action star Vin Diesel portraying the assassin in the first film and Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar playing Alice in the second.
"What's happened recently is that a few things have come together," said Chris Marlowe, digital media editor for the Hollywood Reporter.
"Games have become more sophisticated, there happens to be a similarity of thought, so it might be easier for filmmakers to turn them into motion pictures," she said.
The two industries first had dealings in the early 1980s, with game makers adapting movie characters for the small box, with mixed results.
"In 1982, the ET video game on Atari 2600 was a huge flop," said Daniel Morris, editor-in-chief of the monthly US magazine PC Gamer, referring to the game version of Steven Spielberg's mega-hit film.
Millions of unsold ET game cartridges had to be crushed, dealing a devastating blow to Atari, despite its onetime 80 percent market share.
After barely three decades in existence, the video game industry's global turnover has topped US$28 billion a year and is expected to double again by 2008. The movie industry turns over just US$45 billion annually.
"In just two days, Halo 2 made US$120 million in sales, and the Hollywood moguls have seen that," Morris explained.
"No film made that in such a short time," he said of Halo 2, in which the player slays alien invaders in a realistic digital battle to the death.
Even the creator of the Star Wars movies, George Lucas, has bolstered his fortune through the success of LucasArts, which produces games with characters based on his intergalactic movie series.
But while the growing cross-over between the two once mutually suspicious industries used to consist of movies becoming games, the reverse is now increasingly true.
"Hollywood is always looking for new sources of inspiration, like novels, TV shows and now video games," said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst for Jupiter Research in New York.
"When there's a strong franchise, there's an opportunity to develop it into a film," he said.
But while a big-selling game franchise will achieve brand recognition with its fans, there is no guarantee that the concept will make a good film.
A 1993 movie based on the world's most popular electronic game, Super Mario, flopped spectacularly, leaving the two industries to reconsider just how far cross-over market appeal can go.
But their spirits were buoyed in 1995 by the success of the movie Mortal Kombat, starring Christopher Lambert, and, more recently, by the blockbuster hit Tomb Raider, a 2001 film based on a video game and starring Angelina Jolie, which also spawned a money-spinning 2003 sequel.
And the two industries now also work together on special effects, while actors including Dennis Hopper, Ray Liotta, Burt Reynolds and Judy Dench have all lent their voices to video games.
These successes and massive advances in video game technology have meant that the game industry no longer comes to Hollywood as an upstart child, but as the dominant partner in negotiations between the two media.
Software giant Microsoft reportedly demanded that studios stump up a US$10 million advance payment as well as a whopping 15 percent of gross receipts for the rights to transform its game Halo into a film.
All but two studios, 20th Century Fox and Universal, found the demand too rich and pulled out earlier this month.
Adding to the boost provided by the technological advances of video games was the demographic fact that former PlayStation fans are now in their mid-30s and are decision makers at the studios, Hollywood Reporter's Marlowe said.
"In the early days, [Hollywood turning to video games showed] a lack of imagination. Now, ... you have creatures that exist on their own," he said.
Warren Hsu (許華仁) sees chocolate making as creating art and performing magic. Zeng Zhi-yuan (曾志元) “talks” to his cacao beans and compares the fermenting process to devotedly caring for a child. Despite their different products and business models, the two helped put Taiwanese chocolate on the map in 2018 at the prestigious International Chocolate Awards’ (ICA) World Finals when Hsu’s Fu Wan Chocolate (福灣) claimed two golds, five silvers and two bronzes, while Zeng took home four golds. That year, Taiwanese chocolatiers burst through the gates with a total of 26 medals, an impressive feat given that many locals don’t
Chen Zhiwu (陳志武) says that the COVID-19 crisis puts into sharp focus that we are in a new cold war, with China and the US being the two protagonists. “It’s almost literally in front of us,” says Chen, Director of Asia Global Institute and Chair Professor of Finance at the University of Hong Kong. Political observers were hesitant, Chen says, even up to the beginning of this year, to confirm a new cold war was underway. “But ... the coronavirus has made clear the clash in values and way of life between what China would like to pursue, and what
For tourists visiting Hualien, Taroko National Park (太魯閣國家公園) is the first order of business. But if you find yourself in the city with half a day to spare — your train back to Taipei will leave mid-afternoon, say — it’s hardly worth busing out to Taroko Gorge. Instead, borrow or rent a bicycle or a scooter, or hail a cab, and set out for one of these attractions. At only one of these places is there an admission charge. CISINGTAN SCENIC AREA A literal translation of Cisingtan (七星潭) would be “Seven Stars Pond,” but there’s no pond here, just the vast Pacific
To bring sustainability and prosperity to their farms, some agriculturalists in southern Taiwan have embraced innovative types of companion planting. In contrast to the monoculture that dominates much of the rich world’s farmland, companion planting is the cultivation of different crops in proximity, usually to optimize the space, for pest control or to enhance pollination. The symbiotic relationship between cacao trees and betel nut, which may be unique to Pingtung County, is striking when one visits the cacao plantations maintained by Choose Chius (邱氏可可) and Wugawan (牛角灣) in Neipu (內埔). The history of growing cacao in Taiwan goes back to Japanese colonial


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Amazon today has Apple's AirPods Pro 2 available for $199.99, down from $249.00. This price is just about $2 away from the best price we ever tracked on the accessory, and this is only the second time in 2023 that we've tracked this deal.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Although they were around $197 on Woot for Black Friday, that sale was very rare and disappeared quickly. The $199.99 price tag has been the most consistent deal on the AirPods Pro 2, and Amazon is estimating a delivery window of mid-February for most orders placed in the United States.
Apple's AirPods Pro 2 earphones feature better noise-canceling technology, improved Transparency mode, and an H2 chip. Head to our full Deals Roundup to get caught up with all of the latest deals and discounts that we've been tracking over the past week.
Apple has discussed selling a new top-of-the-line iPhone alongside the Pro and Pro Max models in 2024 at the earliest, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Based on this timeframe, the device would be part of the iPhone 16 lineup or later.
In a September 2022 edition of his weekly "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said there was "potential" for an iPhone 15 Ultra to replace the iPhone 15 Pro Max this year. In today's edition of his newsletter, however, he suggests Apple might instead release the Ultra as a new highest-end, higher-priced model next year at the earliest.
"But instead of renaming the Pro Max 'the Ultra,' Apple could add an even higher-end iPhone above both Pro models," said Gurman. "Internally, the company has discussed doing just that — potentially in time for the 2024 iPhone release."
It's unclear how the new high-end model would differ from the Pro and Pro Max, but Gurman speculated that the device could feature additional camera improvements, a faster chip, a larger display, and perhaps a portless design without Lightning or USB-C. He said the device would be "pricier" than the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which starts at $1,099.
A new version of the Mac Studio with the "M2 Ultra" chip is unlikely to arrive in the near future, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that since the upcoming Apple silicon Mac Pro is "very similar in functionality to the Mac Studio," Apple may wait until the release of M3- or M4-series chips to update the machine, or simply never refresh the device at all:
I wouldn't anticipate the introduction of a Mac Studio in the near future. The upcoming Mac Pro is very similar in functionality to the Mac Studio — and adds the M2 Ultra chip rather than the M1 Ultra. So it wouldn't make sense for Apple to offer an M2 Ultra Mac Studio and M2 Ultra Mac Pro at the same time. It's more likely that Apple either never updates the Mac Studio or holds off until the M3 or M4 generation. At that point, the company may be able to better differentiate the Mac Studio from the Mac Pro.
To date, little has been rumored about the next-generation Mac Studio, so Gurman's latest remarks are the firmest indication yet that a new version of the machine is unlikely to arrive any time soon.
Last month, it emerged that Apple reportedly scaled back its plans for the first Apple silicon Mac Pro, scrapping the "M2 Extreme" chip and falling back on non-user-upgradable memory and the same design as the 2019 model. The device is now expected to offer the M2 Ultra only – a chip that would also have logically come to the next-generation Mac Studio.
The M2 Ultra chip is almost certain to double-up the capabilities of the recently introduced M2 Max chip, which is currently only available in the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro. With reduced modularity and similar performance on the upcoming Mac Pro, Apple's move to hold off on updating the Mac Studio's hardware may make sense until it can work out a better strategy for the machine's positioning going forward.
Online retailer TigerDirect has slashed pricing on the M1 iPad Air in several colors, offering the base 64GB configuration for just $313.99 in Purple and Pink.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with TigerDirect. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
That's a savings of 48% compared to Apple's normal $599.00 pricing, and is by far the lowest price we've ever tracked for these current-generation models. Both models are listed as in stock and should ship the next business day.
For those who prefer cellular connectivity, the 64GB M1 iPad Air is similarly discounted to $391.99 from $749.00 in Purple and Pink. The Starlight color option is also listed at this price but described as "available for pre-order" and thus not in stock for immediate shipping. The Starlight model also requires a $9.99 shipping fee, whereas the other colors come with free shipping.
If 64GB isn't enough storage, TigerDirect is also heavily discounting some cellular 256GB models down to $469.99 from $899.00. This pricing is available in Blue, Purple, and Pink, but as with the Starlight 64GB cellular models, these configurations are listed as available for pre-order and will incur a $9.99 shipping fee.
With discounts this steep, we can't rule out the possibility that this is a pricing error and orders could be canceled by TigerDirect, but this is an excellent opportunity for those willing to take a chance on a fantastic deal on the current iPad Air. For those unfamiliar with TigerDirect, it is a longtime computer retailer that was merged with MacMall and which also absorbed online assets and operations of notable now-defunct brick-and-mortar retailers Circuit City and CompUSA.
For even more Apple-related products and accessories, be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop.
This week saw the launch of the final product from Apple's January hardware announcements, with the second-generation HomePod making its way into customers' hands.
Other news and rumors this week included signs of an interim iOS 16.3.1 bug fix update in the works as we await a fresh round of beta testing for a more significant iOS 16.4 update, a report on the potential dangers of using AirTags to track your pets, and Apple's earnings release for the December quarter, so read on for all the details on these stories and more!
New HomePod Reviews Offer Hands-On Look at Sound Quality and More
Priced at $299, the new HomePod features a virtually identical design as the full-size HomePod that Apple discontinued in March 2021, but with two fewer tweeters and microphones. Reviews tested the new HomePod's sound quality compared to the original model and more.
And if you're just getting your new HomePod, make sure to check out our comprehensive guide with all sorts of tips and how-tos to help you make the most of your new smart speaker.
Apple Explains Why HomePod Was Released Again, Wi-Fi 4 Limitation, and More
A pair of Apple employees discussed the new HomePod this week in a series of wide-ranging interviews, revealing some fresh details about the speaker.
Apple is working on a new iPad-like accessory that is designed to serve as a central hub for smart home management. The Apple TV and the HomePod are already home hubs, but Apple is reportedly designing an all-in-one home management device.
Apple Preparing iOS 16.3.1 for iPhone as Wait for iOS 16.4 Beta Continues
Apple appears to be preparing an iOS 16.3.1 update for the iPhone, based on evidence of the software in our website's analytics logs this week. It's unclear when the update will be released, but it will likely be available at some point in February.
In the meantime, the wait continues for the first beta of iOS 16.4, which will likely be a more significant update with new features. See: When Will iOS 16.4 Be Released?
Report Highlights Danger of Using AirTags for Tracking Dogs
Apple's AirTag may provide a convenient way for tracking dogs that might get off leash or otherwise lost, but there are dangers associated with the practice, as outlined by a report from The Wall Street Journal. For example, there have been some incidents of dogs swallowing an AirTag, which can cause harm.
Following the launch of the AirTag in 2021, Apple stressed that the accessory is designed to track items, not people or pets.
Apple Reports 1Q 2023 Results: $30.0B Profit on $117.2B Revenue Amid 'Challenging Environment'
Apple on Thursday released its financial results for the quarter ending in December, reporting a roughly 5% decline in revenue compared to the year-ago quarter. Apple cited a "challenging environment" that included iPhone supply issues which hampered its ability to ship devices to customers.
Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.
Google's Chromium developers are working on an experimental web browser for iOS that would break Apple's browser engine restrictions, The Register reports.
The experimental browser, which is being actively pursued by developers, uses Google's Blink engine. Yet if Google attempted to release it on the App Store, it would not pass Apple's App Review process.
Apple's App Store rules dictate that browser apps on iOS and iPadOS must use its own WebKit browser engine. This means that while browsers like Chrome and Microsoft Edge are built with Chromium on macOS and Windows, their iOS counterparts are forced to use Apple's WebKit, making them behave similarly to Safari.
Based on the visible code commits, the app purportedly looks like the start of an alternate browser build and is still missing some key features at this early stage. Google claims that the app is merely "an experimental prototype [...] with the goal to understand certain aspects of performance on iOS," and "it will not be available to users and we'll continue to abide by Apple's policies."
Even so, Google's experimental iOS browser project could be a sign that the company is anticipating changes to Apple's platform rules that would enable it to release a truly home-grown browser. Apple's browser engine restriction is the subject of growing antitrust scrutiny, most recently by the Biden administration, which has recommended the passing of new legislation to ban "gatekeeper" companies like Apple from banning alternative browser engines on its platform.
Similar recommendations have been made by antitrust authorities in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan. The European Union's Digital Markets Act is expected to compel Apple to allow third-party app stores and lift its browser engine restrictions as soon as next year. At minimum, the active project means Google would have a considerable head-start on developing a Blink-based browser for iOS if one is able to be distributed in the future.
Design wise, the second-generation HomePod looks a lot like the first-generation model, featuring the same rounded design and acoustic mesh fabric. It's ever so slightly shorter, and the main external change is the swap to a new recessed edge-to-edge touch display.
The display makes a notable aesthetic difference as it feels more integrated into the speaker, but it has the same general function as the display on the original HomePod. It lights up and changes with Siri requests, and various tap gestures can be used for play/pause, volume adjustments, and swapping songs.
With the S7 chip (which is an Apple Watch SoC), Siri activates quicker on the new HomePod model, but you probably won't notice much else in terms of performance differences. As for sound quality, it's remarkably similar to the original HomePod even though Apple has cut down on the number of tweeters. There are five beamforming tweeters inside, down from seven tweeters, and there are also just four microphones instead of six. Despite that, the new HomePod seems to respond just as quickly to Siri commands.
Apple says that it remade the HomePod after discontinuing the first model because it started seeing customer interest for the "acoustics of a richer larger speaker" and because the HomePod team loves the shape and form factor of the original.
For those who want something that outperforms the HomePod mini, the second-generation HomePod is worth picking up, and Apple has priced it at $299, the same price as the former HomePod before it was discontinued.
We're just over one week away from Valentine's Day, which falls on Tuesday, February 14 this year. Similar to years past, many third-party Apple resellers and accessory companies have opened up notable discounts on Apple products and accessories to coincide with the holiday.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Additionally, there are a few solid discounts on Apple products like the iPhone 14, AirPods, Apple Watch Series 8, and iPad Air. In this article you'll find deals on Apple devices collected first, followed by special Valentine's Day sales from companies like Belkin, Pad & Quill, JBL, and more.
AT&T is offering up to $1,000 off the iPhone 14 Pro Max and other iPhone 14 devices with eligible trade in and purchase on qualifying installment plan. You can get an iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro at no cost under this deal.
You can get up to $1,000 in bill credits with smartphone trade-in value of $230 or higher; up to $800 in bill credits with trade-in value of $130 to $229; and up to $350 in bill credits with trade-in value of $35 to $129. Credits start within three bill cycles.
Verizon is still hosting its "Welcome Unlimited" deal from the holiday season, where you can get $25/line per month for four lines when signing up for Verizon Unlimited, with this price guaranteed to be locked in for three years. You'll need to add four new smartphone lines and a $180 credit will be applied per smartphone over 36 months.
Otherwise, you'll find Verizon matching AT&T's iPhone 14 deals. You can save up to $1,000 when you trade in an older smartphone and purchase any iPhone 14 device on a Verizon Unlimited plan. If you're buying two, you can buy one iPhone and get another at up to $800 off as well.
Visible is offering new customers a gift card worth up to $200 with the purchase of select iPhone models. You'll need to join Visible and transfer your number from an eligible carrier to get this deal.
Apple's AirPods 2 are back down to $99.00 on Amazon, from $129.00, which remains one of the best prices we've tracked so far in 2023 and is overall a second-best price on the headphones. Shipping is delayed as of writing, but there's always a chance to get the AirPods sooner if you place your order today to lock in the savings.
If you want the 256GB Wi-Fi iPad Air, you'll find it also on sale at a record low price or $649.99, down from $749.00. There are also both models of the 2022 iPad Air with cellular connectivity at $99 off and all-time low prices on Amazon.
Apple Watch Series 8
Lastly for Apple products, Amazon is discounting the 41mm GPS Apple Watch Series 8 to $349.00, down from $399.00. This is only available in (PRODUCT)RED and it's a match of the best price we've ever seen on this version of the Series 8.
Additionally, a few cellular models are available at a discount today on Amazon. You can get the 41mm cellular Apple Watch Series 8 for $449.00 and the 45mm cellular for $479.00, both of which are $50 discounts.
Pad & Quill
Pad & Quill has kicked off its Valentine's Day sale, offering 25 percent off select leather goods. This includes savings on iPad cases, AirPods cases, Apple Watch bands, iPhone cases, AirTag keychains, travel organizers, bags, and more.
Belkin has 20 percent off must-have accessories for your Apple products, including savings on screen protectors and wall chargers. You'll need to enter the code SPWC20 at checkout to see these savings.
Casely's Valentine's Day promotion has 25 percent off everything in the retailer's "V-Day Shop" with the code BESTIES used at checkout. Casely's shop includes colorful iPhone 14 cases, charging accessories, and more.
JBL is providing up to 67 percent off select Bluetooth speakers and wireless headphones for Valentine's Day. We've collected a few items on sale below, none of which require coupon codes, and you can find the full list on JBL's website.
Emergency dispatchers continue to raise awareness about Apple's Crash Detection feature causing an influx of false 911 calls from skiers and snowboarders.
Crash Detection launched last year for all iPhone 14 models and the latest Apple Watch models, including the Series 8, Ultra, and second-generation SE. The feature is designed to detect a severe car crash and automatically call emergency services if a user does not respond to the device within 20 seconds, but it appears that iPhones and Apple Watches sometimes mistake a skier or snowboarder taking a tumble as a car crash.
A report from The New York Times today focused on Colorado's Summit County, where several ski resorts are located. There, a dispatcher and a police officer complained that responding to false 911 calls triggered by iPhones and Apple Watches has been a time-consuming task and threatens to divert resources away from legitimate emergencies.
The report quotes dispatcher Trina Dummer:
"My whole day is managing crash notifications," said Trina Dummer, interim director of Summit County'’s emergency services, which received 185 such calls in the week from Jan. 13 to Jan. 22. (In winters past, the typical call volume on a busy day was roughly half that.) Ms. Dummer said that the onslaught was threatening to desensitize dispatchers and divert limited resources from true emergencies.
Mark Watson, a sergeant with the local sheriff's office, also said the situation is impacting his ability to carry out his duties effectively.
In response to the report, an Apple spokesperson said the company is "aware that in some specific scenarios these features have triggered emergency services when a user didn't experience a severe car crash or hard fall." The spokesperson noted that Apple optimized Crash Detection with iOS 16.1.2 and watchOS 9.2 last year to reduce the number of false calls, and said the feature has "already contributed to saving several lives."
The report notes that Apple also sent four representatives to the Summit County call center to observe Dummer and her team for a day.
There have been several reports about the issue in other skiing areas like Colorado, Utah, New York, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and British Columbia, Canada since Apple introduced the feature last year. It's unclear if the optimizations that Apple made have led to a reduction in false 911 calls from skiers and snowboarders; in any case, it will likely take some time before all users update their iPhone or Apple Watch to the latest software versions. It's also unclear if Apple plans to make any further optimizations.
When a severe car crash is detected, the iPhone or Apple Watch displays an alert, which users have 10 seconds to act on. If the user is unresponsive, the device begins another 10-second countdown while sounding an alarm and aggressively vibrating or tapping, and then calls emergency services if the user remains unresponsive. But since skiers often wear thick outerwear, some are unaware when the feature is triggered.
Apple says the feature relies on sensors like the accelerometer and gyroscope in the iPhone and Apple Watch, along with "advanced Apple-designed motion algorithms trained with over a million hours of real-world driving and crash record data" for increased accuracy.
Sonos has kicked off its annual Super Bowl sale, offering discounts on speakers, subwoofers, and soundbars. This event will run through February 12 and offers up to $280 in savings on these Sonos products.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Sonos. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
The sale is split between solo products and bundles; we've listed all of the individual products on sale below as well as a few of the bundles. You can find the full list on Sonos' website, and note that no coupon codes are required as all sales have been automatically applied.
Following Samsung's announcement of the Galaxy S23, S23+, S23 Ultra, and Book3, we weigh up how some of the devices compare to the iPhone and MacBook Pro. We also look at the recent reactions to the new HomePod's audio quality, how it compares to the original, and the controversy around it continuing to leave white rings some wooden surfaces.
Finally, we take a look at this week's rollercoaster of rumors about Apple's plans for foldables. On Monday, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple is planning to launch a foldable iPad with a carbon fiber kickstand in 2024. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman then said that he had not heard of any such device in the pipeline for next year. Display analyst Ross Young reiterated Gurman's sentiments, but added that Apple was working on a notebook with a 20.5-inch foldable display for 2025. Amid these reports, we try to get to the bottom of what is really going on with Apple's first foldable device.
The latest version of macOS Ventura breaks compatibility with Pioneer's lineup of USB-connected CD/DVD/Blu-ray drives for the Mac.
Apple released macOS 13.2 in late January with support for a new Security Keys for Apple ID feature and various bug fixes. Unfortunately, users who have installed the update have said that their Pioneer disc drives are no longer recognized by their Mac, with complaints about the issue found across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, Twitter, Apple Support Community, and elsewhere online over the past two weeks.
The root cause of the issue is unclear at this time, but Pioneer has acknowledged the matter on its website and says it is investigating.
"We have confirmed that our optical drives are not recognized by macOS Ventura 13.2 released by Apple on January 23, 2023," reads a notice on Pioneer's optical drive product listings. "We are currently investigating this symptom. We would like to ask our customers who are using our optical drives to refrain from updating to macOS Ventura 13.2."
We have reached out to Apple for comment and will update this story if we receive a response.
Amazon today has a new Gold Box sale on Beats headphones, with multiple discounts matching all-time best prices we've ever seen on select headphones. In total, you'll find deals on Beats Studio Buds, Beats Fit Pro, and Beats Studio3 Wireless Headphones.
Starting with earbuds, Amazon has the Beats Studio Buds in all colors for $99.95, down from $149.95. This is ultimately a second-best price on the Beats Studio Buds, but still a solid deal at only $10 higher than the previous low price.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Both versions of the Beats Fit Pro are discounted on Amazon right now: the regular Beats Fit Pro are $149.95 ($50 off) and the Beats Fit Pro x Kim Kardashian are $179.95 ($20 off). For the regular model, all colors except white are available at this all-time low price.
Finally, the over-ear Beats Studio3 Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones are available for $199.99, down from $349.95. This one is available in three colors: Matte Black, Midnight Black, and Shadow Gray.
Have you picked up a new HomePod? Perhaps it's your first. Then it might surprise you that Apple doesn't include an extensive manual in the box. That's why we've compiled this list of how-to articles to help you make the most of your new smart speaker.
Below, you'll find help on how to set up your new HomePod and master the basic controls, as well as how to get the best out of the many audio functions. We've also covered some of the more advanced features that Apple's latest speaker is capable of. Click the links to learn more, and be sure to bookmark this post.
A report commissioned by the Biden administration this week recommended new legislation to make major changes to Apple's platform restrictions and App Store policies.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is the president's main advisor on telecommunications and Internet policy. In April last year, the NTIA announced that it had launched an investigation into competition in mobile app ecosystems. The investigation was triggered by an executive order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy from July 2021, with the aim of making recommendations for improving competition, reducing barriers to entry, and maximizing user benefit.
Months after its contents were shared with the White House, the NTIA this week published the "Competition in the Mobile Application Ecosystem" report – the first such report into Apple's ecosystem by a federal organization. On the basis of the investigation's findings, the report recommends:
Third-party app stores should be permitted and users should not be prevented from sideloading apps outside a gatekeeper's own app store. Legislative and regulatory measures should prohibit restrictions on sideloading, alternative app stores, and web apps.
Requirements that ban developers from using alternative in-app payment systems should be banned.
Pre-installed apps, default options, and anticompetitive self-preferencing should be limited, including in search results.
Users should be able to choose their own apps as defaults and delete or hide pre-installed apps.
App store review processes should be more transparent.
The report says that new legislation and additional antitrust enforcement actions will likely be necessary to remedy existing issues and boost competition in mobile app ecosystems. See the NTIA's full report for more information.
Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
After years of discussions with local authorities, Apple Pay in South Korea has been approved by the financial regulator, paving the way for the mobile payment system to launch in the first half of this year (via The Korea Herald).
"Having taken into consideration relevant rules and regulations and their interpretations, we confirm that credit card companies can push for the introduction of the Apple Pay service as they have obeyed necessary procedures," the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said in a release.
The FSC emphasized that credit card firms should not transfer fees arising from the use of Apple Pay to customers or shops, while calling for measures to ensure customer protection from such risks as the theft of personal information.
Market watchers initially expected the service to be launched late last year. But according to the report, experts now say that Apple Pay could be launched in the middle of the first half of this year.
Initial discussions on bringing Apple's digital payment system to the country began way back in 2017, but Apple struggled to gain registration as an electronic financial business operator while regulators investigated whether Apple Pay runs counter to local regulations and laws.
Negotiations around a possible launch also hit technical roadblocks because of South Korea's lack of wide NFC terminal adoption in retail stores at the time.
Adoption has increased since then, although the preponderance of Samsung smartphones in the country has allowed Samsung Pay to become the dominant payment method, therefore the launch of Apple Pay is expected to strengthen competition in the local mobile payment market.
Ever since its launch in the United States in 2014, Apple Pay has slowly expanded to more countries worldwide while at the same time expanding the list of financial institutions that support the feature. With Apple Pay, users can easily add their credit or debit cards from supported banks to their iPhone and Apple Watch to make purchases at contactless payment terminals around the world. Apple Pay is also available on the Mac for web purchases.
Apple's second-generation HomePod launches today, with the new smart speaker available for pickup at Apple Stores in the U.S. and select other countries. Online pre-orders also begin arriving to customers today, and pre-ordering is no longer required.
Apple customers can use the Apple online store or App Store app to order a HomePod for Apple Store pickup. Simply select the "I'll pick it up" option at checkout, enter your ZIP or postal code, and select the most convenient Apple Store location. Customers can then select a pickup date and 15-minute check-in window.
Priced at $299 and coming in Midnight and White color options, the new HomePod looks very similar to the original HomePod that Apple discontinued in 2021, but there are some subtle design changes and several new features.
The second-generation HomePod has a refined design with a larger backlit touch surface and a removable power cable, while inside there are five tweeters (as opposed to seven in the original model), four far-field microphones (as opposed to six), and new temperature and humidity sensors.
The new HomePod is powered by Apple's S7 chip, and comes with Thread support, a U1 Ultra Wideband chip to support music handoff, and Wi-Fi 802.11n connectivity. It also supports Spatial Audio. Two HomePods can be used together to form a stereo pair, but original HomePod owners should note that the new HomePod can't be stereo paired with the first-generation model.
The new $299 HomePod is available from today in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK, the US, and 11 other countries.
Apple will not launch a second-generation AirPods Max until at least the second half of next year, and could possibly wait until the first half of 2025 to refresh the headphones, according to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
In his latest series of tweets outlining industry expectations, Kuo said he believes Apple's "next important acoustic product refresh time" will be between the second half of 2024 and the first half of 2025. Kuo lists three products due for a refresh in this window of time, including a second-generation HomePod mini, AirPods Max 2, and a "low-cost version" of Apple's AirPods.
As for what we can expect in AriPods Max 2, Kuo did not offer any additional details about Apple's premium over-ear noise canceling headphones, although features that would make sense for the next-generation pair include a USB-C port instead of Lightning, improved noise cancelation, longer battery life, new color options, a U1 chip for Precision Finding in the Find My app, and more. AirPods Max were first released in December 2020 for $549.
In a previous prediction, Kuo said that Apple is aiming for a $99 price for the more affordable standard AirPods. Currently, the $129 second-generation AirPods are the cheapest option from Apple, while the third-generation AirPods are priced at $169 with a Lightning charging case and at $179 with a MagSafe case. Analyst Jeff Pu has also predicted the arrival of lower-priced AirPods next year.


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You already know that pineapples are delicious and super rich in Vitamin C, but did you know that they could be transformed into a fabulous purse or great pair of running shoes?
It’s hardly a secret that eating a vegan diet is kinder to animals, and many experts believe that a plant-based diet can have life-changing effects on the health of an individual and even the world at large. With the number of vegans around the world on the rise, it’s not just the food industry that needs to adapt. The growing public demand for alternatives to leather and other animal products when it comes to clothing and textiles means that companies are coming up with all sorts of creative options. One London-based company, Ananas Anam, has devised a delicious solution to creating vegan materials: Pineapples.
Called Piñatex, the environmentally-friendly textile is created from the fibers of leftover pineapple leaves, which are extracted through a process known as "decortication." Since the leaves are a byproduct of the pineapple harvest, there is no need for extra water, land, fertilizers, or even pesticides to produce the material. It has a low environmental impact, can be easily mass produced and, perhaps most importantly, is affordable for consumers looking to give their wardrobes a socially-conscious makeover. As the pineapple leaves are harvested in the Philippines by local farmers, Ananas Anam’s products are also helping to create more jobs.
“The farming communities in the Philippines will benefit from the added income from the extraction of the fiber,” Jeanne Rideau, Ananas Anam’s public relations and communications manager tells mental_floss. “Moreover, the potential use of biomass, which is the byproduct of the fiber extraction, will give the farmers the opportunity of using natural fertilizers.”
Image courtesy Ananas Anam
Spanish designer, researcher, and entrepreneur Dr. Carmen Hijosa is the founder and chief executive officer of Ananas Anam. Hijosa’s first company was based in Ireland, where she designed and manufactured leather products for such companies as Harrods. Her work eventually brought her to the Philippines, where she saw a traditional Filipino shirt made out of pineapple leaves.
“As a designer, my objective was to create a product that carried social and ecological responsibility throughout its life cycle, and through it, do something about how to sustain and indeed to heal planet Earth through our actions,” Hijosa says. “Piñatex represents a sustainable solution in the face of today’s social and sustainable dilemmas.”
In an interview with Crane.tv, Hijosa explained that to create the final Piñatex material, the pineapple leaf fibers are made into a mesh, which then goes through both "mechanical and chemical processes to make it into a very strong product" that can be used to create a variety of products, including clothing, shoes, purses, accessories, and even upholstery.
Designed and made by NAE Vegan // Image courtesy Ananas Anam
You are probably wondering where to get some cool pineapple shoes of your own. Well, the wait is over—at least in certain parts of the world. A selection of the company’s products are available for purchase in the UK, as well as online. And well-known brands including Puma and Camper have already made prototypes using Piñatex.
Perhaps the even bigger question everyone is wondering is: do Piñatex products actually smell like pineapples? “No, there is no smell,” Rideau says. Now you know.


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Nuance Aquires SVOX
Nuance Communications today announced that it has acquired a company called SVOX. SVOX provides the automotive industry with in-car voice services. Nuance believes that by adding SVOX's technology to its own, it will be able to create better, more natural, conversations between people and their mobile phones, electronics, and vehicles. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. In other Nuance news, the company today announced that it has closed on its acquisition of Equitrac, and Nuance is offering the American Spanish version of its FlexT9 app for Android for free for a limited time. The application is in the Android Market.
Microsoft Debuts Hyperlapse App for Windows Phone and Android
Microsoft today released an application for Windows Phone and Android handsets called Hyperlapse. The app can be used to stabilize shaky footage or to create fast-moving time-lapse videos.
MixRadio Expands to Android and iOS
MixRadio today made its customized radio service available to Android and iOS devices for the first time. Microsoft acquired MixRadio when it purchased Nokia's handset business, but later divested it to a messaging company called Line.
Sony Debuts News Suite App for Android Phones
Sony today announced News Suite, a free news app for Android handsets. The app is a dramatically overhauled version of Sony's older SocialLife app.
Google's Bulletin App Lets Everyone Be a Local Reporter
Google is testing a new application called Bulletin, a way for people to contribute stories about their own community. The free app lets people capture photos, videos, and text on their phone and then publish those microstories directly to the web without forcing people to create a blog or build any sort of web site.


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The timing for Facebook could not be worse. Blue chip advertiser General Motors plans to stop advertising on Facebook after the company's marketing team decided that the social network's ads were not wooing new customers. The story was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which says GM will continue using Facebook's free pages to promote its products.
Facebook's IPO is set for Friday morning and is expected to do very well. But this news adds to the growing chorus who say that the social networking giant's business may have peaked. The company reported weaker-than-expected financials for the first quarter of 2012, with its advertising business slowing and its profit dropping.
The company recently threw a lavish party at the Museum of Natural History in New York to woo big advertisers like GM to its new suite of paid advertising products that integrate with the its Timeline. And while Mark Zuckerberg has so far blamed the recent financial woes on a soft ad market, Facebook's biggest competitor for online ad dollars, Google, reported strong earnings for the same period.
GM spends about $40 million a year on its Facebook marketing efforts, about $10 million of which was paid advertising.
We have reached out to Facebook for comment and will update with any response, but don't expect much, since the social network is still in the SEC enforced "quiet period" leading up to their IPO.
Sources close to the situation say that GM worked closely with its new media agency, Carat, spent heavily building apps for Facebook, but spent little on paid distribution through Facebook's newsfeed. "They didn't play Facebook's game. It was kind of, if we build it, they will come, and clearly it didn't pay off," said our source.
We attended Facebook's recent marketing event in New York, where auto makers like Ford shared success stories from their advertising efforts on the social network.
Update 2: Bloomberg spoke with GM spokesperson Pat Morissey, who said that GM is "reassessing our advertising," but that the company has "not pulled ads and no decision has been made." Unspoken, of course, was the inevitable "yet."


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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The sex shop chain “Hustler Holywood” is planning to open its first Richmond location. But the proximity to the Children’s Museum of Richmond and Science Museum of Virginia is raising some eyebrows among residents.
Nearby resident Rebecca Fergusson has a three-year-old son. Speaking with 8News on Wednesday, she told 8News that, at the end of the day, it was her responsibility to teach him.
“My job as a parent is to help guide him in the right direction and while he may be exposed to certain things it’s my job to teach him right from wrong,” she said. “While I don’t think it’s a good idea if it does [open], it won’t be the end of the world.”
Another man, Jonathan Marcus, told 8News he disagrees with the shop’s location and questions the city’s decision to allow it.
“There’s obviously some sensitivity to having a sex shop in the neighborhood and if there [wasn’t] sensitivity to it, there wouldn’t be an ordinance to begin with,” Marcus said.
However, 2nd District City Councilwoman Katherine Jordan told 8News that the Hustler Hollywood store doesn’t need the city council’s approval to open because it is not considered an adult entertainment business or bookstore. The application filed with the city defined the shop as a general retail store, according to the city’s Department of Planning and Development Review.
Another nearby resident, Dina Mitchell, said the outrage some are having towards the adult shop is a bit much considering the building — formerly a Pizza Hut — has been vacant for a long time.
“I don’t think we should get a mob together and make sure they don’t come into town,” Mitchell said. “We need to let them open up and see what they’re going to do, and it just may be a non-issue.”
According to Hustler Hollywood’s business description, “there will be no adult books, magazines or DVDs” at the location and 80% of its floor space would be for items such as lingerie, t-shirts, novelty candy and condoms. The other 20% of its products would be in the adult novelty area, including “anatomically correct massagers and other similar products, according to the filing.
8News has reached out to Hustler Hollywood for comment but is still awaiting a response.


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By Jon Swartz
LAS VEGAS — Impossible Foods added pork to its plant-based menu on Monday, and Chief Executive Pat Brown will not stop there.
Impossible Foods, the Beyond Meat Inc. /zigman2/quotes/211617595/composite BYND +9.91% rival that has raised nearly $800 million in venture investment, introduced products called Impossible Pork Made from Plants and Impossible Sausage Made from Plants at CES 2020 on Monday evening, a year after debuting its newest beef product at the giant trade show. Brown told MarketWatch before the event that consumers can eventually expect plant-based substitutes for lamb, goat, fish and dairy products in the near future.
“What we’re working on is the most significant science project and business endeavor in the world,” said Brown, a vegetarian since the 1970s who, during a recent visit to the company’s Redwood City, Calif., headquarters, donned a green hoodie and T-shirt emblazoned with the picture of a cow in a red circle with a slash through it.
It isn’t merely following up its Impossible Burger with pork, but continuing to play a vital role in addressing the “two biggest threats to the word: climate change and the meltdown of biodiversity,” Brown said. He previously was a professor of biochemistry at Stanford University’s School of Medicine, where he and his colleagues developed DNA microarrays — a new technology that made it possible to monitor the activity of all the genes in a genome — along with the first methods for analyzing, visualizing and interpreting global gene expression programs.
Pork is an important step in that process, Brown said. In the U.S., beef may be “king,” as Brown put it, but “pork is the No. 1 consumed meat in the world.”
“It is the natural follow-up for us,” he added.
Many wonder if an Impossible Foods initial public offering will be the natural follow-up to Beyond Meat’s blockbuster 2019 IPO. Impossible Foods is also laying out grand business plans that could lead to an initial public offering in 2020, but Brown parried a question about a possible IPO this year.
“We replan our annual plan every month,” he said.
Since going public in early May, plant-based burger maker Beyond Meat’s share price more than tripled before cooling off. In that same time, Impossible Foods secured an additional $300 million in funding, bringing its total to a whopping $784 million.
A recent IDTechEx report, “Plant-based and Cultured Meat 2020-2030,” projects the global market for “novel meat substitutes” to top $30 billion by 2030. And the greatest opportunity resides in China, where 62.4 million tons of meat was consumed in 2019, according to Euromonitor International Ltd. The U.S. was a distant second, at 21.1 million tons.
D.A. Davidson analyst Brian Holland estimates U.S. restaurant and food service revenue of $1.1 billion for Beyond by 2028, though he acknowledged the threat of Impossible. “Larger players with more resources have entered the fray in short order — thereby impacting Beyond’s first mover advantage time,” Holland wrote in an Oct. 29 note.
“Any company that helps the mission against the animal-food industry is good with me,” Brown said, alluding to Beyond Meat, Eat JUST Inc., and others.
The animal-farming industry, Brown said, is responsible for more greenhouse-gas emissions than the entire global transportation industry, and it’s the single largest global land user, gobbling up 45% of the land that’s not covered by ice. “It uses the land that should be capturing carbon through trees and grasslands,” he said.
“There have been feeble commitments to the environment,” said Brown, who last month attended COP25, the 25th United Nations Climate Change conference in Madrid, to accept an award .


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Solan, March 15
Shoolini University will be vibrant with colourful blooms at the seventh three-day Flower Fest that begins on March 17. A wide array of flowering and ornamental plants will be on sale and display. The main attraction, said Shoolini University Assistant Director Landscape & Chief Creativity Officer Suresh Sharma, will be the lucky draw, where the first 50 visitors can participate and win flowers, saplings, and attractive gifts.
Eco-friendly flower pots and vases, designed and created by students from waste materials will also be exhibited. Visitors can buy plants and planters at an attractive discount during the fest. In addition, gardening experts at the helpdesk will share tips and tricks about growing healthy indoor and outdoor plants.
There will be a variety of food stalls, fun games, and meditation and Yoga sessions for visitors. Anyone can participate and avail of the benefits.
Dean of Student Welfare Poonam Nanda said every year Shoolini University campus welcomes college/school students to enjoy the riot of colours. With an emphasis on nature and the environment, the festival showcases the beauty of flowers. It promotes the importance of sustainability and ecology something that has always been a priority for Shoolini. From garden tours to interactive workshops, visitors will learn about the significance of nature while indulging in its beauty and colours, she added.
The chief guest at the event, Nauni University Vice Chancellor Prof Rajeshwar Singh Chandel, will inaugurate the flower fest.


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Samsung Developers Conference 2018 – A Brief Overview
2018-11-19The 2018 Samsung Developer conference is over - but it was an amazing ride. This year there were over 5,000 people attending the conference. They worked in 60 group-oriented technical sessions, visited and staffed 35 booths, and built connections in one of Samsung's yearly showcase events for digital developers. The conference was held in San Francisco's world-famous Moscone West Convention Center. The theme of the conference was "Where Now Meets Next."
The conference focused on the worlds of artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and new developments in mobile technology like the upcoming 5G rollout. There were also group sessions relating to SmartThings, Bixby, UX/UI designers, and more to help enable people in the tech space to utilize the most advanced tools available on the market. These innovations have the end goal of making people around the globe more interconnected and creating efficiencies in business and life.
The first day of the conference brought a ton of exciting news for developers. Samsung revealed a number of steps forward in tech that will help developers and their partners utilize artificial intelligence solutions in their product lineup and dev kits. Much of this growth is driven by the fact that the internet of things is becoming a huge part of our everyday lives- from smart TVs to smart toasters.
There were a number of important speakers at the developer portion of the Samsung conference. These included DJ Koh, who is the current CEO and President of the IT Communications/Mobile Divisions at Samsung. He was joined by luminaries from the Bixby Dev Studios, and together they introduced the brand new Smartthings Dev workspace. This tech ecosystem will help Samsung create new opportunities for the internet of things to reach consumers in their homes.
They also brought out Samsung's One UI
, which made its debut earlier this year in Seoul, South Korea. In addition to the new user interface
, they also released their Infinity Flex display
, which holds a great deal of promise for foldable/bendable phone screens and tablets. Many consider the new Infinity Flex line Samsung's number one differentiating factor when compared to their primary rivals in flagship smartphones, Apple's iPhone.
Samsung's app release talks also saw considerable foot traffic. There were two primary parts of the app release announcements. The first was the display area, where users were encouraged to try out some of the new apps on Samsung's internet enabled devices. These included new versions of Samsung's voice assistant Bixby
, Samsung TV's
, and a variety of other products that run digital applications. There was also a series of talks by in-house and contract developers for apps.
All in all, the 2018 Samsung Developers Conference was a smashing success in the city by the bay. Samsung debuted a number of new technologies in the ongoing war for tech supremacy, and it looks like their competitors will have a number of problems on their hands, especially relating to internet enabled devices and voice operating systems like Siri.


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Everstream has agreed to buy the Detroit startup service Rocket Fiber, which launched in 2015 to serve residents and businesses in the downtown areas although the company has expressed plans to expand to the suburbs. Everstream, a Michigan-based provider that serves major-market businesses in the state and other Midwestern locales, has plans to lay 6,000 miles of fiber throughout Michigan.
Everstream will acquire Detroit's Rocket Fiber
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CBS Local– A new addition to Walmart shelves this week is a product called Tropickles: fruit punch flavored pickles.
Since their release, Walmart has found a skeptical reaction from consumers since they rolled out the new flavored pickles. Tropickles have been making plenty of headlines and found their way to social media, though mostly not due to overwhelmingly positive feedback.
The company says that the idea came from recipes on Pinterest.
“The modern-day couple, the pickle and fruit punch met on social media (they bonded over recipes on Pinterest, to be exact); now, we are celebrating their union on Walmart store shelves,” Walmart said in a statement.
Cute pitch aside, consumers still don’t seem to be infatuated the same way the pickle-fruit punch combo appear to be with one another.


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New York - Since April 1 several major retailers and manufacturers have made significant management changes within their operations.
Here is the latest batch, the first group being retail related and the second from the manufacture side.
- Ray Brown, electronics VP/general manager of Sears, has been named marketing VP of retail, replacing Jeffrey Haines, who was named VP of strategic marketing and merchandising integration. A Sears spokesperson added that Brown will continue to be responsible for Sears' electronics business until a replacement has been named.
- In a continuing change in Best Buy's management structure, Lee Simonson has been named business team leader for Picture, which includes TVs. Chris Koller has the same responsibilities for Source, which includes DVD, DBS, PVRs and digital cable, and John Maskell, business team leader for Sound, which covers audio. Lisa Carlson, former projection TV senior buyer, moves to camcorders. Replacing Carlson is Alan Halvorson, who was the 27-inch and under TV buyer.
- Philo Pappas, formerly senior VP/merchandising for Staples, has joined Tweeter Home Entertainment Group as senior VP/chief merchandising officer, a new position reporting directly to CEO Jeff Stone.
- James Gist has joined AVAD, the 11-member distributor group, as national sales manager, a new position.
- Andy Regan, former Meridian America sales VP, named director of sales and marketing for custom installer Audio Advisors of West Palm Beach, Fla.
And from the manufacturers:
- JVC Company of America made a series of appointments in its Marketing Division. Karl Bearnarth, who continues as Consumer Audio Division VP, is now VP of the new Corporate Product Strategy Department, which is part of the division. Chad Vogelsong, formerly national product and marketing manager for the Mobile Entertainment Division, has been named national manager of the new department. Rob Payesko, former merchandising manager for the Consumer Video Division, was named GM of the new Retail Merchandising Department. Steve Howcott, ex-East Coast branch sales manager, has been named Consumer Audio Division GM. John G. Seiersen, former regional sales manager for the East Coast branch, has been named East Coast branch sales manager.
- Russ Johnston, previously senior VP of marketing and strategic planning for Pioneer Automotive Electronic Sales, named senior marketing VP at Pioneer's Home Entertainment Division. Johnston replaces Craig McManis, who becomes Home Entertainment Division's sales VP for national accounts and industrial display VP.
- John Arce, ex-Yamaha, M&K Sound exec, joins Onkyo as sales director.
- Yusuke Kojima was hired by Kodak to be general manager of the company's consumer digital camera business, reporting to Willy Shih, president of Kodak's Digital & Applied Imaging business.
- Victor J. Moorhatch , national sales manager of Atlantic Technology, promoted to sales and training director.
- Julia Uribe, formerly president of the National Kitchen & Bath Assn.'s Northern California chapter, has joined Marvel Industries as marketing manager.
- David W. Huffman, ex-audio products VP for Sonicblue, joins Oregon Scientific as product marketing VP North America.
- Ted Fox named executive director of the Photo Marketing Association in the wake of the retirement of Roy S. Pung, who stepped down following 38 years of service.
- Karen Richardson, ex-U.S. sales VP for Bryston and PMC, named Genelec national sales manager for home theater. Stuart Perriam, formerly senior product manager with Recoton's Jensen, named to head new accessories division at Schneider U.K.
- James Burton Shaw II was promoted from executive VP to president of Warrantech's consumer products division.


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FamPay, a payments app for the teenagers and their families, has now secured an investment of $4.7 million in the seed funding round led by the Venture Highway, Sequoia India, Y Combinator, and GFC.
Some of the angel investors also participated in this funding round.
The payments platform will invest this funding in building a world-class engineering team to develop its technology and even accelerate growth.
Founded by the recent graduates from the IIT-Roorkee – Sambhav Jain and Kush Taneja, FamPay is building the future of payments for the teenagers in India.
Sambhav Jain, Co-founder of FamPay, said, “It’s an interesting market to crack because the demands and lifestyle of a teenager are very different and they are not served by anyone yet. We believe that empowering teenagers with their accounts can create a new network of users and open numerous opportunities in the market. As this is the habit-building age, there’s a huge scope for innovation and redefining how payments are done. We aim to grow as our users grow, developing new products for an expanding user base.”


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(Reuters) - Finnish mobile game maker Supercell plans to launch a third game next month, hoping to replicate its success with hits "Clash of Clans" and "Hay Day" that helped it to earn $892 million in revenue last year.
The growth in revenue from $101 million in 2012, to an average of around $2.4 million a day, underscores a boom in mobile gaming and Supercell's spectacular rise since it was founded in 2010.
In October, Supercell sold a 51 percent stake in the company to Japanese tech and telecoms group SoftBank Corp for 150 billion yen, a deal that valued it at $3 billion - more than Zynga, which sold former hits such as "FarmVille."
Its popular games "Clash of Clans" and "Hay Day" reached the top spot in Apple's App Store in 137 and 96 countries respectively, SoftBank said in October.
The games were initially released on Apple devices but were also introduced on Google's Android operating system last year. The company said it had no plans to expand its games to Microsoft's Windows Phone system adopted by Nokia.
Supercell said its annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) grew to $464 million from $51 million in 2012 and a loss in 2011.
Chief Executive Ilkka Paananen said its third game called "Boom Beach," a battle game set on beaches and currently in a trial phase, would be available from March. He said there were plans for more to follow.
"There's a roadmap of three, four years of ideas," he told reporters on a conference call.
In a sign of further sales growth this year, a hacker recently posted online that Supercell was earning $5.15 million in revenue per day. Paananen declined to confirm or deny that figure but acknowledged internal information had been stolen.
The Finnish gaming industry, which is also led by Rovio, creator of mega-hit "Angry Birds", has been a bright spot in a small Nordic economy which has struggled with weakness in traditional industries such as paper and machinery as well as the decline of Nokia, once the world's biggest handset maker.
Supercell said the company and its founders paid $345 million in taxes to Finland last year.
(Editing by Mark Potter and Anthony Barker)


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Destination BC, B.C.’s tourism marketing organization, has launched a special campaign to promote wine tourism as part of B.C. Wine Month.
The advertising and promotional campaign draws attention to opportunities for British Columbians and visitors to experience B.C. wine.
“Thousands of people visit British Columbia each year to explore and enjoy our wineries,” said Lisa Beare, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture. “Culinary tourism is one of the fastest-growing segments of the travel industry, and we want more people to visit our wine regions all year around. This campaign will inform people about the wine and culinary adventures that are available in B.C. This is one way our government is working to ensure B.C. tourism operators involved in this sector continue to thrive.”
In March 2018, the Province committed $150,000, through Destination BC, for a special marketing campaign to encourage B.C. residents to add wine and food touring to their 2018 vacation plans. Television commercials, videos and advertisements in print and social media have been created for this new campaign, which was launched at the start of April. The campaign invites travellers to “swirl, sip and explore.”
“With more travellers guided by their taste buds and the distinctive quality of B.C.’s wine and culinary experiences, we are perfectly positioned to capture a greater share of local visitors and world travellers,” said Marsha Walden, president and CEO of Destination BC.
B.C. Wine Month showcases world-class wines produced in B.C.’s recognized wine regions, and beyond. It features an online contest to win a trip for two to the Chef Meets Grape Taste of Okanagan event, wine and food pairing events in all 18 British Columbia Vintners Quality Alliance (BC VQA) wine stores and BC VQA wine-paired dinners.
“We are grateful for provincial support to promote the many B.C. grape growers and wineries, most of which are small, family-owned and operated businesses, here at home,” said Miles Prodan, president and CEO of the BC Wine Institute. “We are celebrating all things grown, crushed, raised and produced in B.C., and working with restaurants, liquor stores, tourism organizations, including Destination BC, and wineries throughout the province in a collaboration of efforts to support B.C. Wine Month.”
B.C. Wine Month will also tie into Buy BC: Eat Drink Local, a dine-out campaign funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, and run by the BC Restaurant and Food Services Association. This promotion involves B.C. restaurants and bars highlighting local foods and beverages to customers during May 2018, so British Columbians can experience restaurant preparation of B.C.-grown and produced food and beverages.
- British Columbia is home to 929 vineyards, including more than 350 licensed wineries.
- According to the BC Wine Institute, B.C. wineries won over 2,000 medals in national and international competitions in 2017, more than ever before.
- There are 4,130 hectares of wine grapes grown in B.C.
- More than 60 grape varietals are produced in the province, including Merlot, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc.
- 58 per cent of B.C. residents consider their province an appealing wine touring destination, and 37 per cent are likely to engage in wine touring in B.C. in the next two years.
- In 2016, B.C. wine exports increased four per cent over the previous year to $9.7 million, and were shipped to 17 international markets.
- The top international markets for B.C. wine in 2016 were China (54%), Taiwan (23%) and the United States (11%).
- B.C.’s wine industry employs about 12,000 people, and contributes approximately $2.8 billion per year to the B.C. economy.


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Japan To Import Maruti Suzuki Cars – PM Modi
An outcome of the India-Japan Business Leaders Forum in New Delhi, and PM Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, is that Maruti Suzuki cars will be imported by Japan. “Maruti (Suzuki) will manufacture here… Japanese company will manufacture here and export it to Japan,” Modi said. He stated at the Forum that ‘Make in India’ is in full flow not only in India, but in Japan as well.
Modi expressed his eagerness to move forward along with Japan, and revealed that Japan has created a fund of $12 billion for Make in India. “Today, there is a ‘Make In India’ movement in Japan. I have been told that $11-12 billion fund has been earmarked for it. This clearly indicates how both the countries can move forward,” said Modi, referring to India as a ‘land of possibilities’. He added that on his last visit, a figure of $35 billion was decided upon as Japan’s investment, and with the economic progress made by both countries, this target seems achievable.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe praised Modi’s speed of implementing policies and reforms, as well as his reform agenda, comparing them to the speed and safety of the Japanese bullet train Shinkansen.


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The state House of Representatives and the state Senate approved a bill for the tax-free shopping and sent it to the desk of Gov. Deval L. Patrick, who said on Monday that he will sign it.
William C. Rennie, vice president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, said he was pleased and grateful to legislators.
"It's pro consumer," Rennie said outside the Senate chamber after the bill was passed. "It's pro Main Street. It's very important."
Rennie said the two tax-free days are among the busiest shopping days of the year, similar to a weekend near the holidays. He said sales usually top $500 million.
During those two days, purchases of single items $2,500 and less are exempt from the state's 6.25 percent sales tax.
Rennie said the tax-free shopping days should help generate sales that otherwise might occur over the Internet or in New Hampshire, which has no sales tax.
Rennie said the two-day holiday is especially popular for sales of furniture, electronics, appliances and jewelry.
The governor is expected to sign the bill this week. The bill contains a measure sought by Patrick to finance the sales tax holiday, which costs about $20 million in state revenues.
According to the bill, the $20 million will be reimbursed to the state's general fund. The $20 million will come from one-time legal settlements or judgments that otherwise would go into the rainy day fund.
"I am very happy to support this initiative," said state Sen. Michael R. Knapik, a Westfield Republican, in a statement. "I know it has been beneficial to my constituents and their families who get a chance to save some of their hard-earned money, especially during back-to-school time. It is also helpful to area businesses which have traditionally seen enormous increases in transactions on these days."
It would be the state's ninth sales tax holiday in the past 10 years. The holiday did not occur in 2009 amid a state fiscal crisis.
Connecticut will have a sales tax holiday during the week of Aug. 18 through 24. Connecticut will suspend its 6.35 percent sales tax only on sales of clothing and footwear costing less than $300.
Taxes are rarely simple and a sales tax holiday is no exception. The tax-free weekend includes a series of special rules on the sales tax.
The sales tax, for example, will still be charged on certain items including motor vehicles, motorboats, restaurant meals, telecommunications, tobacco products and single items costing more than $2,500.
There is never any sales tax on clothing priced $175 or less, or groceries.


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SOMERSWORTH, N.H.—Automotive hose maker Thermopol is expanding its plant in Somersworth almost two-fold to significantly boost the facility's capabilities and work force.
A business unit of ContiTech A.G., which is a division of Hanover, Germany-headquartered Continental A.G., Thermopol plans to add more than 38,000 square feet to its 46,000-sq.-ft. factory in Somersworth, a spokes- man said.
Presently, the facility produces silicone hose for manufacturers of cars and heavy-duty trucks, the food and pharmaceutical industries, and other industrial applications.
The multimillion dollar project will allow the company to significantly boost those capabilities.
A new extrusion line is expected to be added at the factory, and once it's in place the plant also will be capable of producing rubber hose, including those in systems for exhaust gas cleaning in diesel motors, the spokesman said. That upgrade would tie in with growing environmental awareness and more stringent future federal regulations expected in the U.S.
Thermopol, which is headquartered in London, is aiming to complete the expansion project sometime in the fall.
Because of the addition, new product line technology and the new extrusion line, the company is expected to add another 80 employees to its present work force of about 140 in the next year. New jobs likely will include engineering, production, management and quality control posts.
Once the expansion is complete, the spokesman said, the Somersworth facility will have technologies that so far have been lacking at the site.
With the technology, Thermopol can offer its customers even higher-quality hoses, he said. Moreover, “car manufacturers in the NAFTA zone attach great value to having local suppliers” with strong technology, which should be in place by year-end.
The company broke ground on the plant expansion April 13. Site and usage plans previously had been approved by the Somersworth planning board.
ContiTech acquired the industrial hose maker from private investment groups for an undisclosed price in early 2007. The Somersworth silicone hose operation was formed in 1992 as a joint venture between Thermopol and Dowry, Palmer & Chenard. It has made its products out of the same plant since then.
The factory primarily supplies a number of vehicle manufacturers, including General Motors Corp., Volvo Car Corp. and Ford Motor Co.
While Thermopol was breaking ground on its expansion in Somersworth, ContiTech was busy in Grossa, Brazil, where on April 29 the firm opened a conveyor belt and textile steel cord production facility that spans almost 54,000 square feet. About 60 jobs will be created by the expansion.
ContiTech has invested more that $13 million in the project.
“Brazil is far and away the largest market in South America,” said Hans-Jurgen Duensing, head of ContiTech Conveyor Belt Group. “It accounts for about 50 percent of total volume in the conveyor belt sector in that part of the world.”
Earlier in the month, Hanover-headquartered ContiTech purchased the Flexowell conveyor belt operations and other assets of Metso Corp., headquartered in Helsinki, Finland.
A Metso Minerals (Deutschland) GmbH plant in Moers, Germany, also was acquired by ContiTech in the transaction. It will be run by ContiTech Transportbandsysteme GmbH. The deal was expected to close May 1.


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"Sheffield's time to shine": Sheffielders respond to possible John Lewis closure
Sheffield shoppers and retailers have responded to the news that John Lewis retailers are ‘not ruling out’ closing its city centre store.
Following the announcement that John Lewis were ‘not ruling out’ closing their city centre store after posting a £517m loss, Sheffield’s residents and business owners have had their say today.
Some believe that it would be a ‘real blow’ for the city centre, for staff, and for shoppers.
Others, meanwhile, believe that Sheffield’s commercial sector can bounce back and it may even ‘make way for smaller brands' and independents.
Michelle Walton, owner of Bird’s Yard, an independent gift store on Chapel Walk, thinks the closure may give indies their ‘time to shine’ in the city centre.
Michelle told the Sheffield Telegraph: “Whilst I understand huge corporate stores are a pull for some, I would like to think that this is Sheffield’s time to shine, with their excellent independent designers and shops.
"Use the money to help make this happen so that customers travel far and wide for the unique, one off, exclusive ,exciting and designer owned shops, that you can’t get anywhere else.
"More and more people are moving towards this kind of shopping. And lockdown has brought about many people having time to put their time into their passion and finally following their dreams.
"I’ve been going over 10 years and seen many people grow into their own shops and that makes me so proud.
"Put the money back into the city you live in and see it thrive. I’m sorry for any shop to have to close but I like that it potentially makes way for smaller brands to thrive. Bring it on.”
Tom Wolfenden, the CEO of Sheffield Technology Parks and city centre renovation project Leah’s Yard, agrees that the people of Sheffield and its commercial sector could ‘make it work’ despite the hole it would leave.
He said on Twitter: “Naturally it'd be a disappointing loss.
"But there is far more happening in Sheffield CC than John Lewis alone. We'd make it work.”
Kerri Hickman, a Sheffield resident, believes it would be a ‘real blow.’
She said: “It would be a real blow for the city centre, it's about the only store worth making a special journey into town for.”
Another Sheffield resident, Tracy Molloy, agreed, but also thought the solution could be to coalesce with company partners Waitrose.
She said: "I couldn't agree more. Sheffield is dead without John Lewis and Atkinson's.
“The thing is I feel it is a store you need to physically go to. Which is not good, given Covid.
"I love the store and the lovely staff. Could the not repurpose the ground floor to a Waitrose? Move maybe electrical to online and put the men's wear and china within other floors.”
A representative from MJB Commercial Property, a business based on Joiner Street in the city centre, went even further and said that the closure would be a ‘disaster’, calling on the council to make sure it does not happen.
They said: “This would be a disaster for the city centre which still needs all the help it can get.
"Time for the City Council to step up to the plate.”


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When it comes to fashion goals in Bollywood, there’s none like Sonam Kapoor. The pretty actor has had hardly any miss when it comes to sartorial choices. From fusion saris to bold pantsuit, ethnic or western wear, she is a true fashionista in every sense. And many a time one has wondered if they too can flaunt the same attires and accessories worn by the ‘Neerja’ actor.
So, the good news is, now you actually can! Yes, the Bollywood fashion queen is giving away her clothes and bag for charity. The ‘Delhi 6’ actor will auction a dozen of her designer clothes to aid an NGO, which she says is very close to her heart.
According to reports, she will be auctioning 12 stylish couture from her possessed collection that would also include vintage gowns along with few branded bags.
Fashionista Sonam Kapoor turned up the heat in a metallic structured black and blue sari by designer Rimzim Dadu at the 69th annual Cannes Film Festival. With hair in a bun, the actor finished out her look with Suhani Pittie earrings and fuchsia lips. (Photo: AP)
In 2016, the ‘Khoobsurat’ actor became the goodwill ambassador for Mumbai-based NGO, Fight Hunger Foundation which aims to eradicate starvation among children. The money raised through the auction will be donated to this NGO and a portion of it will be donated to an organisation she represents, Cuddles Foundation that works for children battling cancer.
Sonam Kapoor looked like a princess right out of a Disney movie in a beautiful tulle gown with an embellished sheer bodice, complete with a tulle cape. (Source: Varinder Chawla)
“Given that she is a big name in the fashion space, big funds are expected to be generated from the auction,” Mid-Day reported quoting an industry insider.
However, this is not the first time the ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’ star has donated money raised by auctioning her clothes. In 2012, she had announced an online auction of some of her clothes for charity during Christmas. She had turned Santa for many children then and auctioned her clothes on her friend-cum-stylist Pernia Qureshi’s online fashion boutique. The proceeds were donated to Smile Foundation, an NGO which works to support poor children.


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Softbank and Nvidia agreed to terminate the deal because of “significant regulatory challenges preventing the consummation of the transaction, despite good faith efforts by the parties,” says SoftBank.
SoftBank will keep a $1.25 billion breakup fee.
Softbank boss Masa Son says he expects Arm’s debut to be “the biggest” in the history of the semiconductor industry.
Rene Haas says Arm’s technology is becoming more widely adopted. “We are now becoming the de facto standard in cars. Some have 10 to 20 chips, some even have as many as 30 to 40 chips,” he says.
Haas is seen as a good man to secure and promote the independence and organic growth of Arm after several years of the company becoming the plaything of billionaires.


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Illuminati part 3-Under the hood EET Videos 7/24/2011 Post a comment In part three of our interview with Illuminati Motor Works, founder Kevin Smith shows us the engine compartment and the various tradeoffs his team made to get to 207 mpg-e.
System realization: hype or hope? EET Videos 7/7/2011 Post a comment System realization methodologies are evolving quickly as hardware and software become increasingly entangled in the design process, according to Michal Siwinski,group product marketing director with Cadence.
Battle-hardened veterans of the electronics industry have heard of the “connected car” so often that they assume it’s a done deal. But do we really know what it takes to get a car connected and what its future entails? Join EE Times editor Junko Yoshida as she moderates a panel of movers and shakers in the connected car business. Executives from Cisco, Siemens and NXP will share ideas, plans and hopes for connected cars and their future. After the first 30 minutes of the radio show, our listeners will have the opportunity to ask questions via live online chat.


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Juilliard415: Handel in Rome
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For the first time, Juilliard415 is joined by Belgian vocal ensemble Vox Luminis and its co-founder and artistic director Lionel Meunier, for an all-Handel program, featuring Juilliard Historical Performance faculty member Elizabeth Blumenstock as concertmaster.
White Light Festival Packages
are now on sale at whitelightfestival.org
Single tickets on sale to general public on June 28


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Here's a contest for our Bolingbrook frozen yogurt fans.
Yumz Gourmet Frozen Yogurt will crown a King and Queen Tuesday in a froyo eating contest. You can stop by the Bolingbrook location between 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. to fill a cup with as much frozen yogurt as you can eat.
You must eat the frozen yogurt in the business and with no help from others. Multiple cups or servings of yogurt is allowed but toppings are not necessary.
The winners will be announced Wednesday and will receive a certificate for a free cup of frozen yogurt and a T-shirt.
Yumz Gourmet Frozen Yogurt is located at 1235 W. Boughton Rd.
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(Pocket-lint) – PlayStation Plus is down. PS5 and PS4 owners around the world are reporting issues connecting to online games, with PlayStation Network appearing to be the problem.
The issues started early this morning (UK time) and are apparently affecting users who have downloaded and installed the new system software on their consoles.
We’ve tried Grand Theft Auto Online and FIFA 22 and can’t access online multiplayer game modes on either. On FIFA 22, we are thrown back to the Ultimate Team menu screen every time we try to start a match (in all multiplayer modes). GTA Online presents an even bigger problem – it claims we don’t even have an active PS Plus subscription.
The same problem is reported for many other online games and by many users.
DownDetector showed problems since about 9am GMT.
PlayStation has yet to comment, with its UK customer service Twitter account saying @AskPS_UK, simply stating that it is “aware that some players are experiencing issues with PlayStation Plus functionality” in responses to affected players. He also says the team is “investigating immediately.”
The new system software was first made available today, Wednesday, March 23, 2022. It adds voice control, user interface improvements, and a number of fixes.
It also seems to have screwed up PS Plus. For now, at least.
Written by Rik Henderson.


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Stop-Start Tech Could Reach 8 Million North American Cars by 2017 – Do You Want It?
Stop-start technology has been around for almost three decades, but the system is just now catching on with American consumers. In fact, start-stop is becoming so popular, it may be found in more than eight million cars in North America by 2017, AAA predicts, but would you want it in your car?
Stop-start technology saves gas by shutting off the engine when the car is stopped in traffic or at a stoplight. The system restarts the engine when the driver releases the brake, though some cars (including Mercedes-Benz models) will respond when the steering wheel is moved. So far, U.S. car buyers can find the technology on a few vehicles like the BMW 328i, Porsche Boxster, and even the Kia Rio. The Chevrolet Malibu Eco has stop-start tech, which we found to be seamless and smooth. The system is even making its way into the supercar world, with Lamborghini planning to include cylinder deactivation and stop-start technology for the 2013 Aventador.
AAA calculates that start-stop can save $167 in annual fuel costs a year if gas costs $3.75 per gallon and the driver drove 12,000 miles at 20 mpg. Another benefit, of course, is the reduction in emissions. Forty percent of the cars in Europe and Japan are said to already have the technology, which can improve fuel economy by up to 12 percent.
With stop-start technology’s upfront cost, is it worth pursuing or should automakers focus on other fuel-saving technologies?