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The average cost of a wedding in Grayson County is on the rise. In the last five years, the average wedding cost has increased by $2,000, and from current trends, the amount couples, families and friends are paying for the chance to say “I do” is not going down anytime soon.
According to The Wedding Report, there were 806 weddings in Grayson County in 2017, and the average wedding cost then was $24,016. Back in 2013, the average wedding cost was just $22,200.
In the recent past, the years with the most Grayson County weddings were 2012, which had 1,009 events, and 2008, which had 1,024 weddings.
In comparison to the rest of the state, Grayson County is not far behind in wedding costs. According to The Wedding Report, there were 157,577 weddings in Texas in 2017, and the average cost was $24,016. That number is expected to increase to $25,154 by 2022.
More than 45 percent of Grayson County weddings are more than $10,000, with 10 percent more than $30,000.
For the state, there was a $4,000 jump in wedding costs from 2017. The 2013 average was $25,313.
Taking it even further, in the United States, the average cost of a wedding in 2017 was $25,764, and there were 2.1 million people that wed during the time period.
One big difference between how Texas fairs and how the country fares is that wedding cost overall is on the decline. While in 2013 the average wedding in the US was around $25,200, the average wedding cost in 2017 was only about $500 more.
The Wedding Report says that average cost was increasing up until 2016 when the average wedding cost was $26,700. Then 2017 saw a big turn going down about $1,100.
Since these are averages, that means there were many weddings above these price points as there were below.
Most popular seasons
It is no surprise that a lot of people become engaged during the month of December. In 2017, about 15 percent of the couples chose that month to begin the wedding planning process. The average length of engagements was 16 months.
The Wedding Report also proved when the most popular season for weddings is. About 12 percent of weddings are held in June with almost 10 percent being held in April, May, and October. The next most popular months are March, July, and August. The least popular months are January and February, which both saw less than five percent of knots tied.
Another big factor for many couples is the number of guests to have at an event. That influences budget greatly, and unsurprisingly, the more guests, the more the wedding will cost.
For weddings in Grayson County that had less than 25 attendees, couples spent just over $10,000. And for those that had more than 300 guests, the bill was a bit over $70,000. The majority of weddings reviewed in the report had between 50-150 guests and a cost of about $16,794-22,234.
What to wear
The first glimpse of wedding style often happens when the bridal party enters the ceremony space. For area brides, the average spending on the party was $1,193, and the median spending was $863.
That means brides cannot forget accessories for the individuals in their wedding party. There were about 17 weddings in 2017 that spent $5,000 on accessories for the wedding party members. And, the average cost that Grayson County brides spent was between $501-1,000. About 230 brides paid that price for items like dresses, tuxedos, jewelry for the party, shoes and other items.
And the attire costs just keep adding up. For men, the average suit rental is about $204, and local 2017 grooms spent about $138,000 all together on their duds for the big day.
As for women, attire is far more costly, and the gown or gowns are generally purchased, meaning they can be sold to recoup a portion of the price. The average bride spent about $1,200 on her wedding gown, and for the year, combined area brides spent almost $900,000 on wedding dresses. That means the wedding attire industry in Grayson County could have brought in over $1 million if couples purchased all their nuptial outfits in the area.
The culmination of the day generally ends with a party for family and friends. The reception includes food and drinks, catering staff, the venue and transportation for the wedding party as well as the bride and groom. To help the bride and groom coordinate everything for the entire day, the wedding planner first has to be worked into the budget.
On average, couples in this area are paying about $800 to an event planner who helps gather vendors of different types. A day-of coordinator will run the same amount of money, but it may be worth it to just have one person perform all planning services. That will run about $2,700 for a full service coordinator who stays with the couple from start to finish, including making sure everything moves smoothly through the rehearsal the night before, the ceremony and the reception.
While many couples think that it is okay to cut costs on the food at a wedding, generally that portion of the affair takes up a good percentage of the budget. Between bar service and food at the reception, as well as the rehearsal dinner, couples are spending about $7,000 in Grayson County. That does not include the wedding cake, which adds another $400 to the budget.
Coming in at $2,237 in average bar service costs, vendors made about $1.2 million from providing services at weddings in 2017. And, coming in at $4,399, vendors generally made about $2.8 million for providing food service at the county’s weddings.
Also included in the receptions costs, couples may have their event at a separate location from their ceremony. On average in 2017, the location cost couples $3,400, and rentals for the event ran about $1,600. Neither of those costs include the transportation to and from the reception, which could cost around $480.
Not to be left off the list, The Wedding Report says that in Grayson County, the average couple spent about $297 on their hotel room after the reception before jet setting away to the honeymoon to start their life together.
The Wedding Report is a research company that tracks and forecasts wedding numbers that include spending and consumer trends. Information gathered in the report comes from public reports from government entities a well as pre-wedding and post-wedding surveys.
For more information about The Wedding Report, visit http://www.TheWeddingReport.com


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Moolec Science – which has developed a ‘molecular farming’ platform to produce plants that express animal proteins – is going public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC)* in a deal expected to close later this year.
Royal DSM, a global science-based company active in nutrition, health and sustainable living, has announced the extension of its Dairy Safe cheese biopreservation portfolio, with a selection of new phage-robust culture rotations.
FrieslandCampina Food & Beverages is leveraging its expertise in spray-dry powders to bring plant-based innovation to the bakery and desserts market. FoodNavigator hears how the group is building on the heritage of Kievit.
It has been almost a decade since global bioscience company Chr. Hansen launched its first generation of FreshQ, a range of food cultures for improving the bioprotective effects of fermentation in dairy.
With digital commerce sales accelerating during the pandemic and expected to climb from $35 billion to more than $250 billion by 2025, Danone North America is reallocating traditional marketing dollars to online in a bid to better drive consumer engagement...
Brazil's Marfrig pledges to keep all its meat plants operating; Mercado Libre cuts commission for non-perishable food products; Ambev brewery is now producing alcohol gel. We take a look at how the food industry is responding to the coronavirus outbreak...
When ultra-processed food costs more, it is associated with lower prevalence of overweight and obesity in Brazil, suggesting taxes could be an effective tool to fight obesity, argue the authors of a recent study.
We talk to Tetra Pak about its packaging made from “fully traceable” Brazilian sugarcane certified by Bonsucro. “The decision to source in Brazil is part of our sustainability commitment,” says the company’s director of sourcing and manufacturing.
Mexico's nutrition label is once again on path to enter into force as a court revokes the decision to provisionally suspend it, although industry says it will continue to oppose the regulation using "all legal means".
Brazil’s GMO logo has been mandatory since 2003 but three-quarters of Brazilians do not recognize it, according to a recent study. Should it be removed - as a draft law currently proposes - or redesigned?
FoodNavigator's weekly round up of new products from around Europe includes the launch of instant Starbucks coffee from Nestlé, a move the company says delivers a convenient premium coffee experience. Elsewhere, health and wellness drives saw the...
Using a patented technology, Brazil's Fibervita transforms co-streams from the cassava processing industry into a multi-functional ingredient that can clean up processed products' ingredient lists, it says.
Certified sustainable palm oil supplier Agropalma's investment in a specialty ingredients refinery has allowed Brazilian manufacturers to source key ingredients, such as cocoa butter substitute, domestically, it says.
Cutting edge artificial intelligence technology is promising to disrupt environmental monitoring in the food and drink processing sector by dramatically improving efficiency in the way pathogen monitoring programs are managed.
Operating in both Silicon Valley and Argentina, Michroma uses CRISPR-engineered filamentous fungi to create novel, natural food colors, and is already attracting interest from multinational food manufacturers.
Demand for gelatin in Latin America shows no sign of abating thanks to the popularity of jelly desserts and the protein-rich ingredient's health halo, according to supplier Gelita, which is looking to increase production capacity.
From Brazil's food guidelines - and its advice to avoid 'ultra-processed' foods - to the influence of social media, a number of factors are converging to help make the country's food healthier and nutrition-based, says one expert.
Brazilian company NoMoo says it tricks bacteria to feed on the sugar molecules in cashew milk instead of dairy lactose - "a game-changing find" that has allowed it to create an entire portfolio of plant-based, fermented products.
Global bioscience player in the nutrition and food space, Chr. Hansen, reveals that its Latin American operations saw the most positive results in Q1 2019/2020. Speaking to NutraIngredients-LATAM, a spokesperson for Chr. Hansen shared why the region is...
In a bid to pursue growth in the worldwide dairy industry, global science-based nutrition and health company, DSM, has purchased specialty dairy solutions provider Koninklijke CSK Food Enrichment C.V. (CSK).
As Mexico becomes the latest country in Latin America to set national plastic-reduction goals, increasing numbers of Latinos are looking for plastic-free packaging options, according to market analysts. But how feasible is going plastic-free?
Growing palm oil on degraded pasture instead of deforested land can reduce net ecosystem carbon losses by 99.7% and results in a crop that is almost completely carbon neutral, according to a Colombian study.
Coffee and cocoa farmers often grow avocado and mango as part of sustainable agroforestry systems - but these are vulnerable to climate change and should be swapped for more resilient crops, according to a recent study.

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A ground-breaking innovation, designed to measure added sugar in foods, launches today.
The technology is the only way of independently measuring the added sugar in foods without requiring recipe information from manufacturers.
The Sugarwise certification programme uses this test to award a kitemark to those products low in added sugar, helping people to quickly identify them in order to control their added sugar intake.
It has been hailed as one of the most important breakthroughs in the fight against the negative health effects associated with high sugar intake.
Chief Scientist, Vinicius Ferreira, from Caltech developed the method working with Cambridge University Scientists.
Sugarwise, which was the first UK company to move its headquarters to the US following the Brexit vote, has been warmly received by American health campaigners.
Vinicius Ferreira, Sugarwise Chief Scientist said: ;An overwhelming majority of the American population far exceeds their added sugar target on a daily basis. Obesity levels are soaring and sugar related illness is rising rapidly. We have developed the test and certification to help people take control of their sugar intake. If Sugarwise encourages the food industry to address added sugar content the knock on effect could be huge.’
‘We have to start drawing a distinction between added sugars and overall sugars, because added sugar content, rather than the total sugar content currently displayed in nutritional labels, is the critical measure of the quality of a food's nutritional profile. Foods high in added sugar are almost universally deficient in other nutrients and fibre, and when the population starts getting a large proportion of their daily calories from foods high in added sugar, they fail to meet their daily requirements for nutrients and fibre.
‘Moreover, foods high in added sugar are typically digested faster and lead to more frequent feelings of hunger. To get the most “nutritional bang for your buck'” Sugarwise promotes consumption of foods low in free sugars, and, to cut through the noise and misinformation regarding sugars, my scientific colleagues and I have developed a new Sugarwise standard to evaluate foods. Foods that meet our criteria will carry our Sugarwise brand, which will enable consumers to easily and quickly identify products that are truly Sugarwise’
Rend Platings, Sugarwise founder, said: ‘I was shocked to hear my daughter’s generation may live a shorter life than their parents. It’s not that we don’t know about the dangers of sugar, we do; the problem relates to our lack of access to healthier choices. I am hoping that Sugarwise will have the potential to change things in the same way Fairtrade and Organic labels have – both have successfully driven up demand and availability of products in their categories. We would all benefit if the same was the case for low added sugar products.’


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Donald Trump is literally on a roll in China.
Though the presumptive GOP nominee has built a platform of anti-Beijing rhetoric and tariffs on the East Asian nation, a Chinese company is cashing in on Trump’s image by printing his face on toilet paper.
Qingdao Wellpaper Industrial Co., based in north China’s Shandong province, said sales of its “Dump with Trump” rolls are on the rise since mid-February.
“At the start, orders were for around 100 rolls a time, but now we’re getting orders for 5,000 rolls,” a saleswoman from the company told China Daily on Tuesday.
Rolls sell for about 50 cents each, and buyers can choose from three prints based on Trump’s facial expressions: smiling Trump, pointing Trump and pouting Trump.
Many of its buyers are based in America, and they include US women’s national soccer team star Sydney Leroux, who posted a photo of it on Instagram in May.


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A&O introduce smartphone payments
Yapital and A&O HOTELS and HOSTELS are enabling fast and easy payment by smartphone at 21 A&Os in Germany. Guests simply need to open the free Yapital app on their smartphones, scan the QR code displayed on the card terminal and confirm the amount.
Motivated by a 250% increase in mobile bookings in 2015 and following the successful launch of its customer service via WhatsApp, A&O is now introducing an additional mobile tool in the form of mobile payment.
“We have wanted a safe and easy-to-use payment system for our customers for a long time. With Yapital, we have now found a reliable partner who allows us to simplify payment. Signing receipts, entering PIN numbers or counting cash will become a thing of the past. Mobile payment is a great innovation in the hotel industry, and we are proud to be one of the first. We are constantly developing in the mobile area – the next step is opening doors by smartphone. First tests are underway in this area too,” said a pleased Oliver Winter, General Manager at A&O.
Karsten Cornelissen, Managing Director at Yapital: “Our journey continues: we are very happy to expand our partnerships in the travel business with A&O HOTELS and HOSTELS. The smartphone has become an indispensable travel companion. Especially when travelling abroad, the smartphone comes in handy when trying to find your way or looking up public transport information. It is therefore very practical and easy to also be able to pay for your stay with it.”


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TrueCar Steers Between Buyers and Dealers En Route to Wall Streetby
Everyone likes having a new car; buying one is a different matter. A range of businesses try to sell price transparency as a way to level the playing field between the average car shopper who goes through the process about once every 10 years and the teams of professionals who do it about 10 times a day. Now we’ll get a closer look at one of them: TrueCar, a Santa Monica (Calif.)-based company that filed initial public offering paperwork last week.
Formerly known as Zag.com, TrueCar is interesting, because it isn’t just a platform for listings or a portal for pricing data. It essentially acts as a broker that allows car buyers to reach an agreement with a local dealer without an afternoon of excruciating negotiations and “what-can-I-do-you-for” chitchat. TrueCar says it’s hoping to trade under the ticker “TRUE.”
If a shopper decides on a make, model, and offer, TrueCar routes him a “price certificate” guaranteeing a certain level of savings. If the person uses that certificate and actually buys the car, the dealer pays TrueCar a fixed $300 fee.
So far the company has almost 7,000 dealers playing along, about one in five U.S. car lots. And last year TrueCar booked about $119 million in referral revenue. At $300 a pop, that suggests the company brokered about 397,000 deals last year, close to 3 percent of all vehicle purchased in the U.S. TrueCar has also sold its model to USAA. The military-focused bank owns 22 percent of TrueCar shares and routes its car-buying clients to the platform.
For dealerships, TrueCar offers a good way to reach potential customers and manage inventory. If a lot is trying to clear out a glut, it can selectively sell some cars for peanuts without blasting big incentives to everyone in the market. For buyers, it offers some transparency and an end run around negotiating, even if the final prices aren’t always as low as absolutely possible.
But TrueCar is walking a fine line. If dealerships don’t make some money off of TrueCar browsers, they won’t keep pushing vehicles onto the platform. Indeed, at the end of 2011, roughly one-third of TrueCar dealers split because they thought the service was too much of a threat to their business model.
The company has shored up its relations with car sellers, but if TrueCar doesn’t help buyers get prices as good or better than they can find elsewhere or hammer out on their own, consumers will go elsewhere. And its model stops short of actually closing a transaction or letting a customer lock in everything from floor mats to financing.
Perhaps the biggest challenge TrueCar faces is how to constantly win an entirely new group of consumers; most people simply don’t buy a new ride very often.
Not surprisingly, the cost of getting the word out has been steep. TrueCar spent almost $8 million on a national advertising campaign in late 2011. And sales and marketing burned up roughly one out of every two revenue dollars last year.
Profit, meanwhile, is a milestone TrueCar has yet to pass.


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Poor weather may have delayed the start of MotoGP testing activities at Aragon on Tuesday, but Repsol Honda were able to unveil this prototype version of the 2014 RC213V.
HRC used a similar tactic to great effect last season - the 2013 bike making its debut in July's Mugello test, then being raced by eventual title runner-up Dani Pedrosa from the following Laguna Seca round.
This time around Pedrosa is already leading the championship, by seven points from Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo, with rookie team-mate Marc Marquez in third.
Yamaha, Suzuki and the satellite Honda teams, which tested at Catalunya on Monday, are also due to join Repsol Honda at Aragon.
The 2014 MotoGP regulations for official manufacturer entries require one less litre of fuel per race, down from 21 to 20 litres, and use of the control ECU hardware but freedom to continue developing their own software.
Don't miss out! The next round of the 2013 MotoGP World Championship takes place at Assen on June 27-29 - CLICK HERE to see ticket prices from the Official MotoGP Ticket Store.


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LONDON — Cable & Wireless Communications, the U.K.’s biggest cable operator, has posted a pre-tax profit of £151 million ($247.6 million) before exceptionals for 1997, up 110%. Sales were up 12% to $3.74 billion.
After an exceptional charge of $328 million, however, which the company said was related to “fundamental reorganization costs,” the result for the year was a loss of $80.4 million.
CWC’s television sales for the year were $305 million, up 30% on the back of 26% growth in cable TV subscriptions, now totaling 780,000 homes. The company said that early results for its pay-per-view movie service, which launched in January, were “very positive” with take-up rates “higher than expected.”
CWC was created last year through a four-way merger between the telco Mercury and cable operators Nynex, Bell Cablemedia and Videotron. CWC said it had achieved cost savings of $223 million through the integration of the companies.
Graham Wallace, CWC chief exec, said: “Significant cost savings and operating efficiencies have been achieved … the merger created the critical mass necessary to invest in marketing, service and infrastructure.”


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In our rapidly advancing global economy, the digital transformation of commodity supply chains represents a critical pivot towards greater efficiency, transparency, and sustainability. In a recent episode of the Digital Supply Chain podcast, I delved into this subject with Andrea Aranguren, CEO of MineHub. Our discussion illuminated the profound shifts and strategic imperatives driving this transformation, underscoring its far-reaching implications.
The traditional commodity supply chain model, often mired in paper-based processes and manual interventions, faces numerous challenges. Inefficiencies, lack of transparency, and environmental concerns are just a few. However, with the advent of digital platforms, there’s a clear trajectory towards more streamlined, transparent, and sustainable operations. The merger of MineHub and Waybridge, as Andrea Aranguren discussed, is a prime example of this shift, focusing on enhancing trade management for crucial commodities like copper and aluminium.
The significance of this digital shift extends far beyond mere process automation. We’re talking about a fundamental transformation in how supply chains operate. For instance, according to a report by McKinsey & Company, companies that aggressively digitise their supply chains can expect to boost annual growth of earnings before interest and taxes by 3.2% – the largest increase from any business area studied.
A compelling aspect of digital transformation is its role in enhancing sustainability. Digital supply chains enable precise tracking and reporting of environmental impact, a critical factor in an era where ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) compliance is becoming a boardroom priority. For example, blockchain technology, increasingly adopted in supply chains, offers traceability and transparency, crucial for verifying sustainable practices and ethical sourcing.
Overcoming resistance to this digital shift, as Andrea noted, is challenging yet essential. Traditional industries often exhibit a reluctance towards new technologies. However, the tide is turning. Leaders like Codelco demonstrate the tangible benefits of digital integration, from considerable cost savings to operational efficiencies. Such examples underscore the potential of digital platforms in transforming supply chains.
The broader industry context also points to an increasing move towards digital solutions. According to a Gartner report, 87% of global companies will invest in robust supply chain resilience, focusing significantly on digital technologies. This investment is not merely for efficiency; it’s a strategic move to build robust, responsive, and responsible supply chains.
Looking ahead, the digital transformation in commodity supply chains isn’t a mere trend; it’s an evolving ecosystem. We’re likely to witness further market consolidation, with integrated digital solutions becoming the norm across various commodities. This evolution is pivotal not just for business efficiency but for driving global trade towards a sustainable and transparent future.
For a deeper dive into this critical shift in supply chain management, I encourage you to listen to the full episode of our podcast.
In conclusion, the digital transformation of the commodity supply chain is a strategic imperative. It’s about adapting to a world where efficiency, transparency, and sustainability are not just valued but demanded. As industry leaders, embracing this transformation is not just beneficial; it’s essential for future success and resilience.


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The latest additions to the World Food Market tell their stories
The World Food Market, located on Yonge Street across from the Sheldon & Tracy Levy Student Learning Centre, is home to various food vendors who create all kinds of international dishes. From authentic Mexican street food to Middle Eastern cuisine, Ryerson community members can have a taste of the world within footsteps.
With additional vendors recently added to the site, we decided to get to know the people behind the food a little better and also find out how these vendors have been adjusting to their campus-based space.
Mazeh Modern Middle-Eastern Kitchen
Mazeh Modern Middle-Eastern Kitchen was created by Lebanese-Palestinian owner Mary Freji five months ago along with her Persian co-owner. Freji noticed the space a few times about two years ago and got in touch with the owner once she felt like she was ready to rent. Although she’s enjoying the location, she has noticed that construction on Gould St. has affected her business. “Less people are taking this route,” said Freji. She mentioned how she can’t wait for the construction to finally be done.
The restaurant has a small menu of seven items that includes four different wraps, a rice bowl and two salads. Customers have the choice of getting beef, chicken, halloumi cheese or a vegan option for their wrap which is $7.
Montreal Smoked Meat
Montreal Smoked Meat is the newest addition to the World Food Market. Owner Mostafa Barkaoui said they’ve only been at the market for a few weeks. Prior to being downtown, Barkaoui used to do his smoked meat endeavors back in Montreal. He decided to bring the business to Toronto to “try it out and see how it goes.”
The signature item on the menu is the smoked beef brisket cushioned between two slices of rye bread with the option of regular or Dijon mustard. Barkaoui also adds a complimentary pickle with every order.
La Marquesita was started a year ago by 23-year-old Pablo Morales. Morales used to come to the area often and noticed one day that a spot was available, so he decided to set up shop. He said many people from the Ryerson community love eating at his restaurant. However, he also said that not too many people have been coming by due to road closures on Gould Street.
Morales sells authentic Mexican street food ranging from $6 to $15 that’s inspired by his family’s recipes.
Vegan Bear was created by 28-year-old Rachit Kumar. The kiosk has been at the market since April 2019. After quitting his job as a corporate recruiter, Kumar decided to take his engineering degree to the market. “That’s just the millennial thing to do,” said Kumar.
Vegan Bear’s signature item is a vegan shawarma for $9.95, which Kumar often refers to as a Gyro.


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Stanford University researchers have now created see-through lithium-ion batteries; when combined with transparent screens, keyboards, and circuitry, manufacturers may be able to create fully transparent electronic devices. So soon, rather than searching frantically for those set of keys you somehow misplaced, you can spend your time trying to find your see-through cell phone sitting right in front of you.
Scientists usually make devices like solar cells appear translucent by creating ultra-thin versions of their components. But this doesn’t work with a battery because its electrodes need to be thick enough to store a decent amount of energy. So, the Stanford researchers, in their study recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (pdf), took a different approach: they created lithium-ion electrodes out of components too small for the naked eye to see.
Essentially, the team made an electrode grid housed in PDMS, a flexible and clear polymer often found in contact lenses, and wrapped it all in plastic. The researchers created a functional battery when they stacked two of the electrodes on one another (with a clear electrolyte gel in between for conductivity and separation). The lines of the grids were each only about 35 microns thick (the maximum resolving power of the human eye is between 50 and 100 microns), and there was enough electrode material in the grid trenches that the battery could store about half of the energy a normal lithium-ion battery of the same size could. The batteries were able to let about 60 percent of all light pass right through them.
But why would anyone even want transparent batteries and devices?
There are several practical reasons. First, the see-through components will allow researchers to actually study the chemical reactions going on inside the batteries, as they are happening, something scientists couldn’t previously do. Additionally, the technology could help reduce the size of portable devices (as if our cell phones weren’t small enough already), chemist Hiroyuki Nishide told Nature. And as LiveScience points out, the transparent batteries could be useful for augmented reality—say, a clear iPad that lets you virtually superimpose images onto the world around you.
But maybe you don’t care about any of that. Maybe, like lead research Yi Cui, you think a transparent device would be just plain cool. “I want to talk to Steve Jobs about this,” Cui said in a Stanford news release. “I want a transparent iPhone!”


text: CHINESE AI STARTUP SECURES $15 MILLION FUNDING ROUND: AI-powered startup Ahi Fintech has raised a $15 million Series A round led by Chinese VC firm Sinovation Ventures, with participation from Hillhouse Capital, Danhua Capital, and Changfeng Zhiqing Investment. The Beijing-based enterprise, which was founded in 2017, uses AI technology to provide businesses with risk control and anti-fraud services. Combining semi-supervised machine learning technology with AI computing power, Ahi Fintech has developed an AI prediction model and decision engine that provides decision-making platform services for business, including for risk control and internal control compliance. The company has earmarked the proceeds from this round for team expansion and enhancement of its AI risk control capacity, as well as developing its system platform and tools. A key feature in the development of the digital economy has been the opening up new opportunities for criminals, who are using this enabling technology for increasingly sophisticated and organized cyberattacks. Customers of financial institutions (FIs) face growing risks from malicious attacks that look to defraud users’ information for illegal purposes, including money laundering. As a result, there is growing demand for anti-fraud and risk control services like those offered by Ahi Fintech.


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Princeton appears to have a long future with retail marijuana dispensaries.
On Monday, the Princeton City Council voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance outlawing all types of cannabis shops, cannabis distributors, and Princeton-based cannabis delivery services from operating.
According to officials, the municipality’s 23-member cannabis task force needs additional time to develop cannabis retail company operations recommendations.
Councilwoman Eve Niedergang said the cannabis task force was not able to undertake all of the research and examine all of the concerns that they believed needed to be answered to have opt-in legislation available during the council’s public meeting Monday night.
“A temporary opt-out ordinance is on the agenda for tonight,” said Councilwoman Michelle Pirone Lambros. “The cannabis task group will keep working and aims to offer the council a restricted opt-in policy focusing on retail cannabis sales shortly.”
Princeton Task Committee Debates on Cannabis Shops
According to Lambros, the task committee debates the maximum number of cannabis shops and their operating hours. Other operational challenges the task team is investigating include infrastructure availability, parking, mass transit, and technological access.
Leticia Fraga, the council president, said the task force wants to make sure that social and restorative justice issues are taken into account when it comes to cannabis policing and enforcement. In a statewide referendum in November 2020, New Jersey voters overwhelmingly approved legalizing recreational marijuana use by adults 21 and older.
Municipalities now have the right to regulate both medicinal and legal marijuana companies in their communities, according to the governor’s signing of a marijuana legalization bill earlier this year. They can also punish people who use cannabis in public. Still, they can’t stop people from using cannabis on their property or getting it supplied outside the town.
NJ Towns Ban Several Cannabis Establishments
New Jersey towns have until August 21 to ban such enterprises or establish rules limiting businesses, the number of dispensaries, and the zones in which they can operate. Towns that do nothing will lock in a five-year standard set of laws for cannabis enterprises.
South Brunswick has decided not to allow local cannabis shops to operate in the township, but Lawrence has agreed. In the city of Lawrence, two regulated recreational cannabis retail businesses will be allowed in regional and highway commercial zones.
The Zen Leaf medicinal marijuana dispensary recently opened on Route 1 in Lawrence.
Because current registered medical marijuana operators are free from the retail store limit, The Zen Leaf could also sell cannabis to the general public. Lawrence could have three cannabis dispensaries as a result.
Before the August deadline, municipalities around the state have hurried to pass legislation prohibiting cannabis businesses from operating within their borders. Some communities, such as Princeton, are taking a conservative approach and banning everything until the matter is thoroughly investigated. Some localities want to examine how retail dispensaries perform in other cities and towns before allowing them.
Original article: https://planetprinceton.com/2021/07/13/princeton-officials-decide-to-hold-off-on-sanctioning-local-cannabis-businesses-in-order-to-study-the-issue-further/


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Have you ever thought of buying a Samsung Galaxy S4 from a retail store in the middle of the night? What you often do is that you will wait till morning to fulfill your wish. If you are a Delhi resident, then you don’t have to stay hesitant. You can go ahead to ‘HOT’ also known as the house of technology, the first 24×7 gadget store in India.
“We don’t have electronics stores that cater to late-night shoppers. The idea is to cater to this latent demand and at any time throughout the week,” says Vipul Jain, CEO of Unique Infoways who will open a 24×7 outlet at Delhi’s Nehru Place Metro Station today.
This shop will be spread over 40,000 square feet area and Jain claims that HOT will be the single largest electronics retail outlet in the country. This store will have 350 employees, working in shifts to handle customers who walk into the store at any point of time in a day. They can buy anything ranging from pendrives to smartphones. You might have heard about 24×7 dine-ins and medical shops, but nobody have ever come up with such a unique concept. As we live in a tech dominated era, such outlets have a great prominence. It will be beneficial for thousands of people who are too busy to go for shopping in the day time or who just can’t wait till morning to fulfill their craving.
Amar Babu, managing director at Lenovo India, says extended hours will help IT retailing going through a phase of improving customer experience. “However, it remains to be seen whether it’s economical to run a 24×7 electronics store,” he adds on.
Alok Bharadwaj, executive vice president at Canon India, mentions that stores like Ikon, a printing and document management chain, and electronics retailer Circuit City run a few 24×7 stores in the US and Sydenham Square in Singapore offers late night electronic shopping options. “The need may not be imminent as we don’t have the option in the country. But once the option is there, it will be great for working people,” Bharadwaj says. “Location is the key in such formats.”
Right now, Unique Infoways sells more than 100 brands through nine electronics stores that shut at 7:30 pm. They are planning to open up more 24×7 shops in the future. “In large cities like Delhi where there is a huge population, there are all kinds of buyers. There are people who like to shop late or early morning,” Jain says. “We will open more such stores… We believe this format will work in cities with at least 50 lakh population.”
However we will have to wait for few more months to know if such concepts can be successful.


text: China's soaring trade surplus with the United States will provide a sensitive backdrop to President Jiang Zemin's forthcoming summit with Bill Clinton. Beijing has tried to minimise the impact of yesterday's revelation that this year's surplus will break all records by unveiling a further package of tariff reductions. But not even the most optimistic mainland officials believe this will be enough to ensure the terms for China's entry into the World Trade Organisation can be finalised during the October summit. Too many other issues remain unresolved for an early agreement. China has made impressive progress in reducing tariffs on manufactured goods over the past year. But, even after these latest cuts, they are still more than twice the level the European Union is insisting on as a pre-condition to WTO entry. As a Beijing trade official yesterday acknowledged, differences also remain over services and agricultural goods. The US and Europe see these negotiations as their chance to force open the mainland's huge services market. China, like many Asian nations, fears its domestic companies are not yet strong enough to survive such unrestricted competition from their Western counterparts. Such concerns have led to repeated delays in the unveiling of Beijing's package on improving access to its services sector, which was originally scheduled for July. But even when it does finally arrive, it is unlikely to be viewed as satisfactory by Western nations, so prompting further protracted negotiations. China is making progress towards WTO membership, with its hopes of early entry boosted by reports that Japan is now insisting on less stringent tariff reductions than the US and the EU seek. However, it is Washington's attitude which will be decisive. In an ideal world, the fact China has enjoyed a good harvest, and so is importing less grain from America, would be irrelevant to WTO negotiations. But, in the real world, the resulting increase in the bilateral trade imbalance will inevitably make these talks more difficult, hence Beijing's warnings yesterday against expecting early progress. While some symbolic headway towards WTO membership may still come out of the October summit, it would be unrealistic to expect all the obstacles still obstructing China's entry to be resolved until next year at the earliest.


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Much has been made of Huawei’s US and Google-related woes, with the lasting impact of the entity list status yet to be fully known. A potential effect is Huawei’s dominance in China, which according to a report from Counterpoint Research, shows signs of wavering in 2021. This as fellow Chinese smartphone maker Oppo commanded more market share during January.
More specifically, Oppo registered a market share of 21 percent, followed by Vivo with 20 percent and a three-way tie between Huawei, Apple and Xiaomi with 16 percent each.
The report adds that Oppo’s recent growth is as the result of a growth of sales, with 33 percent and 26 percent registered for month-on-month and year-on-year respectively.
As for why Oppo proved more successful than Huawei, Varun Mishra, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research noted that the smartphone maker was simply able to cater to a wider segment of the market than the traditional leader was.
“OPPO has been successfully able to reposition its product lines in 2020. The rebranding of the Reno series and launching a more capable device at a lower price point than its predecessor helped OPPO capture the affordable premium segment. The strong momentum of the A series in the mid segment strengthened the product portfolio for OPPO and it was able to cater to the 5G demand in China across a wide price band. This was further helped by the decline of Huawei,” explains Mishra.
It looks like 5G demand is a key area for the success too.
“Over 65% of devices sold in China in Q4 2020 were 5G capable. Any absence of 5G models reduces the addressable market size for Huawei in China,” adds the report.
Whether the recent trends in China will be emulated in other markets where Huawei has a presence, remains to be seen, but given that Oppo launched in the country last year, we could see a decrease in market share for Huawei this quarter.
This as Oppo, Xiaomi and OnePlus look to take advantage of the situation, not to mention the fact that affordable 5G smartphones will be needed once spectrum is allocated and made available by SA operators.
Either way it looks like Huawei’s entity listing is beginning to have a larger impact than the company may have anticipated, which coupled with COVID-19-related issues, could spell another tough year for the company.


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Sony becomes third manufacturer to sign up for O2 green initiative
O2 customers who select the Sony Xperia SP will have to pay extra for a mains charger after Sony became the third major manufacturer to sign up for the operator’s sustainability campaign that hopes to see all phones sold without chargers by 2015.
It is believed that at least 70 percent of all existing mobile phone users already have a USB charger that can be used with almost any handset, yet nearly 30 million phones sold each year include such a piece of equipment.
O2 says that the unused chargers amount to 18,700 tonnes of components, 124,274 miles of copper wire and plastic covering and the volume of landfill required if they were thrown away would be enough to fill four Olympic swimming pools.
Green Sony Xperia SP
The Sony Xperia SP will ship with just a USB to micro-USB cable that can be used with an existing mains adapter or a PC and if customers do not already have a charger, they can purchase a charging unit from O2 for a discounted price.
“As an industry, we have a duty to our customers to behave in a way that is environmentally responsible, making our businesses leaders in sustainability,” said Ronan Dunne, CEO of O2. “Taking chargers out of the box is a small change that has a huge environmental benefit – cutting down not just on waste, but also the environmental costs of transport, storage and component manufacture.”
O2 believes that by taking chargers out of the box, 24 million fewer units could be sold each year, a figure which could rise as people become aware that they already have the necessary equipment.
HTC was the first manufacturer to partner with O2, with 82 percent of customers who purchased the HTC One X+ choosing to take the greener option, exceeding the target of 70 percent. Nokia has also signed up and will ship the Nokia Lumia 925 on O2 without a charger.
“We have trialled this scheme with two major handset launches and have been able to show our partners that consumers are ready to buy phones without the chargers – if the environmental benefits are explained clearly to them,” added Dunne. “Sony backing our campaign is a major step towards making chargers out of the box the norm in the UK and I very much hope that we will see others joining us over the course of this year.”
What do you know about Green IT? Find out with our quiz!


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Black Pumas were the musical guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Monday, where the duo performed “Colors” as well as discussed their experience at the Grammy Awards last year, where they were nominated for Best New Artist.
Last week, Black Pumas released a deluxe edition of their debut album on digital platforms. The expanded version features the original 10-track recording, in addition to three previously-unreleased songs, in-studio performances, as well as covers of The Beatles, Tracy Chapman, and Bobby “Blue” Bland.
The segment opens with the original American Idol winner interviewing the duo of Eric Burton and Adrian Quesada about how their sudden and meteoric rise to fame, somewhat similar to her own experience, has impacted their lives. Quesada confesses to being a bit star-struck after their appearance at the Grammy’s when they were invited to play The Roots‘ afterparty, where they also saw comedian Dave Chappelle.
Even more than the Grammy’s, what really showed the two that they made it, according to Quesada, was the creation of their own beer. In July, Austin, TX brewery 4th Tap Brewing Co-Op announced the launch of the Stay Gold Hoppy Pale Ale, named after “Stay Gold” on the group’s debut record.
“A Grammy was a huge one for sure and unexpected, but even better than that was we have our own beer coming out, which I think is a personal highlight for both of us,” Quesada quipped. “I think it’s like this is when you retire, Michael Jordan, six championships kind of style.”
With that, the video cut to a pre-recorded performance of Burton and Quesada playing “Colors”. The song, which rose to number 1 on Billboard‘s Adult Alternative Songs chart, gets the stripped-down treatment as Burton dons an acoustic guitar and Quesada provides delicate accompaniment on his electric. As the release of Amazon Music‘s The Electric Deluxe Edition showed, Black Pumas are able to reinvent and reimagine their most familiar songs into something completely new whenever the situation calls for it.
Watch Black Pumas’ appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show.
Black Pumas – “Colors”
[Video: The Kelly Clarkson Show]


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Myanmar people with internet access are able to sign up with a number of local companies that provide online trading platforms. Users can then make trades on futures markets in foreign countries, such as Thailand, Singapore and New Zealand. At their most basic, futures contracts are agreements to buy an item, such as a commodity, at an up-front price, with delivery at a later, specified date. The contracts are then often heavily traded on international markets, as the underlying item changes in value before the delivery date.
Competition has been increasing in the market since Telenor and Ooredoo entered the market last year, and MPT began a significant revamp with support from Japanese firms KDDI and Sumitomo. MPT has extended promotional prices for users of its Swe Thahar plan, offering half-priced internet beginning in March. It also allows MPT users to call three other MPT numbers at K25 a minute, a discount from its usually K35. Last year, MPT provided a 20 percent bonus from April 12 to 21, though it currently does not plan a similar bonus for its non-Swe Thahar users this year.
With a background in computer programming, he has become a leading advocate for free software, the concept that software should be open to use, modification and distribution by anyone. Mr Stallman visited Yangon last week, bringing his often controversial message to local audiences. Along with other wordplay, puns received particular preference in his talk on free software and much more at downtown Yangon innovation lab, Phandeeyar, and helped demonstrate his distaste for proprietary software such as Microsoft Windows. At the April 2 event, he called Apple’s app store the “Crap” store, and renamed Amazon’s Kindle reader the “Swindle”.
In Yangon, Myanmar, it’s been a few years since the military made the decision to let citizens govern themselves. The city’s infrastructure is still not well-developed, and the residents remain quite traditional. One thing that is noticeable, however, is that a lot of people use smartphones in Yangon. Opera, an active player in the global web browser business, came to Yangon last weekend to share an initiative with the emerging market.
This form of social media arrived in 2011 and took off in 2012. This year, you can find all the details you want to know about the names, locations and facilities of every pandal in town, as well as ticket prices. “I used to find out what I needed to know about Thingyan arrangements in pamphlets and advertising boards. Now I go to Facebook, thanks to our country’s developing communications,” said Ko Min Min Hein. Kaung Kaung, organiser of the Barrack pandal team, said the same phenomenon had pushed up his advertising rates.
The Qatari telco’s new “Red” promotion, which public and community relations senior manager Ma Thiri Kyar Nyo called a New Year’s present, rolled out yesterday. With the campaign, Ooredoo Myanmar is K5 below Telenor’s price and K15 below state–owned telco MPT’s Swe Thahar plan. Telenor charges K25 and Swe Thahar costs K35 per minute for making calls respectively.
While the local handset market has traditionally been dominated by a handful of brands, several new entrants are pushing their products in the hope of growing market sharing in a rapidly expanding business. A June 2014 survey by On Device Research placed Chinese manufacturer Huawei as the brand of choice for the country’s consumers, followed by international heavyweights Samsung and Apple. Yet other companies – often based in China – are also attempting to make their mark with consumers.
The Norwegian telco has inked an agreement to spruce up traffic huts in Yangon and Mandalay, outfitting the booths with a Telenor logo and an LED screen displaying a set of traffic rules in Myanmar language. Telenor Myanmar CEO Petter Furberg said it has not paid any money to the authorities. “The only cost Telenor has is painting and fixing the booths, as some were in a pretty bad state,” he told The Myanmar Times last month.
“We haven’t reached an agreement with Yangon University to provide the service, because the university hasn’t replied to us,” he said. “But if Yangon gives us an agreement, we will give free WiFi service inside the university.” Yangon University rector U Aung Thu said the university currently provides sufficient connectivity for students, though will take up Redlink’s offer it finds it needs help.
SIM cards on every corner – and at prices people can afford, instead of the thousands of dollars they once cost – have opened up mobile services to record percentages of the population. The country’s number of mobile users grew by millions since 2013, driven by the availability of SIM cards and affordability of service, said Ovum research analyst Vivek Roy in a press release. At the end of 2014, mobile subscribers had reached 14.8 million in Myanmar, the release said.
Ooredoo also said that eight out of every 10 of its Myanmar users currently access the network through smartphones – making for healthy returns from its average customer, according to the press release. The Qatar-based telco claimed 2.2 million users in Myanmar at the end of December 2014. Its rival Telenor claimed 3.4 million subscribers in Myanmar at the same date at the end of last year.
Companies are crowding in to online shopping in a bid to be Myanmar’s version of Amazon or Alibaba. With all the competition, though, it is increasingly difficult to stand out in an industry that is only now finding its feet. Zaw Gyi Mart has been around for two years, but counts only 10,000 total users since its inception, said U Zaw Min Aung, managing director of parent company Za Information Technology.
The company’s Net Monday events started last year before the Telenor network had even launched. Since then, the series has reached 10,000 students from five universities and travelled to four cities, according to Telenor Myanmar CEO Petter Furberg. Conditions have changed quite a bit for Telenor since it held its first Net Monday last year. Since its first event, the Norway-based telco has scaled up service sites to number 1622 in Myanmar – putting its network at just over 20pc complete, by its own metric.
The event, aimed at an industry audience, saw steady levels of attendees over last year, according to Yangon Heartz Media CEO U Zaw Zaw Myo Lwin. The expo puts a wide range of tech community members in one place, gathering the likes of software houses, developers, and software importers and connecting them with startup freelance developers and more, AppExpo’s website said. Exhibitors ranged from Samsung to local startup, Nex, according to its website.
Authorised resellers are required to receive extensive approval from the American tech firm in everything from store location and design to stock they carry before receiving approval. The high standards can push a shop to become better, but require significant investments of time and money. Apple has four authorised resellers in Myanmar: Futureworld, mDrive, The Analytics Company (TAC) and Wai Yan Electronics. All have the go-ahead to start selling iPhones, but their launches have so far been different.
K1500 SIM cards, quality phone connections and zippy internet are now close to the norm for urban dwellers. But while Yangonites, Mandalarians and residents of Nay Pyi Taw have had the choice of Telenor, Ooredoo and MPT for six months, that is far from the case elsewhere in the country. Myanmar’s telecoms race is in full swing. Tower companies are rapidly putting steel in the ground further and further from the largest cities, while fibre and microwave links are connected, generators fired up and equipment switched on.
The move to extend Myanmar language support to Gmail, Google’s email service, brings the firm closer to its goal of making language a non-issue on the internet, and is one of a number of company initiatives aimed at encouraging the exchange of information into and out of Myanmar. The American search titan will also put on a local translation marathon February 28 under a new project surrounding Google Translate: “Love your Language”.
Campana Group, based in Singapore with a Yangon subsidiary, will deliver international connectivity, a reliable submarine network and massive capacity at an economical price, U Myo Myint Ohn said. The firm’s MYTHIC cable project joins others currently in the works and aims to disrupt the effective monopoly state-owned incumbent Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) enjoys in doling out international capacity. The telco, as part of a consortium, currently runs the SEA-ME-WE 3 cable, which connects Myanmar to 33 other countries around the world. Soon, MPT will operate SEA-ME-WE 5, which will link up with 17 other countries.
Total Gameplay Studio’s Pawthoot Android app, named for lovable rascal and Myanmar cartoon cultural icon Thamain Pawthoot, has gained 40,000 users. An iOS version is in development. “We are expanding this game in the Myanmar market, and we will expand this game in the world,” said U Myint Kyaw Thu, Total Gameplay Studio chief technology officer.


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Spot iron ore vessel bookings from Brazil to China set a new record in July as Australia suspended spot sales to China following the detention of Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto’s top sales executives in Shanghai, Reuters reported. Vessel bookings from Australian iron ore ports to China have declined to 12 this month from an average of 40 in the last quarter and a record 55 in March. Shipments from Brazil increased to a record 31 vessel bookings. Falling freight costs have also made shipping from Brazil less expensive. Demand from China, which has so far failed to negotiate contracts with suppliers for discounts on iron ore prices, drove spot prices to an eight-month high. Benchmark iron ore prices rose to US$84.4 per metric ton Tuesday, adding US$3 in only a week.
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Initial reports suggested a far longer construction schedule, but it looks like it's full steam ahead for La Urbana, the new Mexican restaurant and "mezcaleria" from the Colibri folks that's taking over the former Plant It Earth space at the corner of Divisadero and Grove. Their reps reached out today with some new details, and saying that they're now aiming for a (fingers crossed!) mid-July opening you may recall that this elaborate mural just went up last week to disguise the construction site. The restaurant is the project of local entrepreneur Eduardo Rallo and Mexican architect/restauranteur Juan Garduño who both want to keep mezcal as a focus, but also will offer Mexican street food with homemade tortillas, and other small bites. There will be over 30 different varieties of artisanal mezcal, and cocktails from bar manager Lucas Ranzuglia, like the La Urbana Margarita (made with lime essential oils), and the Mezcal & Cacao (a blend of mezcal with Oxacan cacao made in the French style of hot chocolate). Initial hours will be 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. daily, and come fall, there will be a daytime component as well, with mezcal retail sales, tastings, and Mercado Urbano, a lunch spot that will transform into a lounge at night. [Earlier]
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Lyft is positioning itself as the ethical alternative to Uber. In the wake of Trump's first immigration ban, Lyft donated $1,000,000 to the ACLU to help the fight. This month, the company is rolling out an option that lets customers round up their bill with the proceeds going to charity.
Their CEO described his company as the "better boyfriend" compared to Uber. In an interview with TIME, he said:
“We’re woke. Our community is woke, and the U.S. population is woke,” Lyft President John Zimmer told Time. “There’s an awakening … Our vote matters, our choice matters, the seat we take matters.”
While Lyft isn't a perfect company, it's not an outright bad company like Uber. You don't see headlines about Lyft execs visiting escort bars in Korea because Lyft is a different kind of company.
But Lyft has had a reputation as a more welcoming, friendly company than "other rideshare programs," as one survey commissioned by the company put it, since the ride-app war began. From early days, Uber and Lyft positioned themselves as different services, even though they provide essentially the same function for customers. Lyft, founded in 2012, was all fist bumps and fluffy pink mustaches, advertising ride-sharing as a way to build community and encouraging drivers to invite riders to sit in the front seat. Uber, launched in 2009, was all black-cars and cool factor, advertising the promise that everyone deserves their own private driver, the type of employee with whom one has little obligation to chitchat.
Lyft's positive image is just that—an image. Substantively, Lyft is lock step with Uber. It supports union busting in Seattle. It worked with Uber to fight the background check rules in Austin, and when they lost, the two companies left the market together in a temper tantrum. Lyft is just as guilty as Uber is, Uber just happens to be extra shitty.
Still, the goodwill toward Lyft persists. This week, the company said this week it’s going to allow riders to round up their bill, and it will donate the extra change to a charity. How sweet.
But it’s not such a neat move for a company that, just six months ago, championed a driver for picking up a passenger while heading to the hospital to give birth. Because that’s the ideal boyfriend: one who wants you to keep working when you’re nine months pregnant, while also not providing maternity leave or basic healthcare. That’s your “woke” Lyft.


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Apple and Samsung have been in a patent battle for the last 7 years and it has finally reached its end.
The trial started in 2011 when Apple sued Samsung for infringement of design and utility patents of their phones.
These patent violations include Apple’s app layout design, the rounded edges of the physical device, and many others.
With the world’s largest cell phone manufacturers butting heads, the case became more and more complex.
Let’s walk through this crazy battle of giants.
In 2010, Apple warns Samsung that some of their phones and devices infringe on Apple’s patents.
Considering Samsung as a major supplier, Apple doesn’t want to sue initially so they try to make a deal with them.
Apple offers Samsung a licensing deal in which Samsung would have to pay $30 and $40 per phone and tablet that infringe on patents, respectively.
Samsung strongly declines the offer.
In 2011, Apple sues Samsung for infringement of their patents, trademarks, user interface, and style with demands of $2.5 billion in damages.
Within the same week, Samsung swings back with a countersuit against Apple.
Samsung claims that Apple infringed on their 3G technology patents, taking the suit international by filing claims in Korea, Japan, and Germany.
By the end of 2011, the battle includes about 30 cases spanning North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia.
In 2012, a UK court forces Apple to publicly announce that Samsung did not copy the iPad.
The UK judge ruled that Samsung tablets don’t give the same impression and are just “not as cool” as the iPad.
Back in the U.S., both companies battle it out in the courts, ticking off Judge Lucy Koh for leaving out evidence until the last minute.
After just 3 days of deliberation, the U.S. jury comes to a verdict in favor of Apple awarding them over $1 billion for 26 Samsung products that infringed on Apple’s design patents.
Soon after the win, Apple files a second lawsuit against Samsung for 21 other products, including the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note, that infringe on Apple’s patents.
In December, the U.S. Patent of Trademark Office began to question Apple’s patents specifically rejecting Apple’s patent for the “pinch-to-zoom”.
This also led to Apple’s permanent injunctions against Samsung to be denied by Judge Koh, meaning that all of Samsung’s infringing products are still able to be purchased.
2013 begins with Judge Koh invalidating $450 million of the $1 billion awarded to Apple previously, claiming that the U.S. jury miscalculated the damages and calls for a retrial.
In June, the U.S. International Trade Commission, ITC, rules in favor of Samsung, stating that older iPhones and iPads infringed on the standards-essential patent belonging to Samsung.
The ruling by ITC was soon vetoed in August, just two days before it went into effect.
In November, the retrial for the invalidation of damages begin.
Apple is now seeking to get $379 million and Samsung fights for it to be $52 million instead.
During the trial, a Samsung representative admits that some of Samsung’s devices contain parts that are Apple property.
Apple wins the lawsuit once more and is awarded $290 million in damages, taking Samsung’s total penalty from $1.05 billion to $929 million.
But it isn’t over yet!
Once the ruling from the first U.S. trial becomes official, Samsung decides to file a formal appeal.
Apple gets the ball rolling for the second lawsuit brought against Samsung, seeking to get $2 billion in damages.
The trial ends with the court ruling once again in Apple’s favor awarding them $120 million in damages.
Samsung also found Apple infringing on one of their patents and was awarded $160,000.
Both companies agree to drop all international litigation.
After 3 years of appeals, retrials, and litigation, the two tech giants finally reach an agreement.
Samsung agrees to pay $539 million in damages to Apple, much less than the initial $1 billion awarded to Apple back in 2012.
These trials revealed two major conclusions.
First, no matter how large of a corporation, patent infringement is not something you can do and get away with.
Second, even if you haven’t committed infringement, you better be able to prove it in a court of law.
Both Apple and Samsung were guilty of patent infringement, but the results of the cases speak for themselves.
Apple dominated Samsung in the courts almost every time without any penalties falling on them, or at least none that were worth mentioning.
These giants have finally made peace after this 7 year battle, but I doubt this will be the last time we see them in the courts.
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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stocks are trading near record highs and again striking fear into investors with fresh memories of the financial crisis, but prospects for the U.S. economy are looking up and equities remain a good bet for ordinary investors.
Nowadays, digital technologies permit entrepreneurs and executives to use capital much more efficiently to start new ventures, distribute products and manage supply chains.
Read More: Warren Buffett's Top 10 Dividend Stocks
Google (GOOGL) used off-the-shelf servers and the free Internet to convert its search engine into a global company and in only five years convert an investment of $25 million in 1999 into a company worth $23 billion at its initial public offering. Industrial era entrepreneurs such as Henry Ford required a lot more capital and decades to build networks of factories, suppliers and dealers, and never accomplished such a quick return on initial investment.
The low cost of building out new ideas and reinvesting in established businesses is why so many U.S. companies are flush with billions in extra cash and new businesses such as Twitter (TWTR) and Uber can be launched on a shoestring.
All that makes capital cheap and plentiful and stock prices high but not overvalued.
The Federal Reserve is phasing out purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, yet bond prices are surging and interest rates on fixed-income investments remain low, making stocks an attractive alternative. For example, an S&P 500 index fund yields a higher quarterly dividend than ordinary folks can earn on a three-year bank CD.
China is printing and selling billions of yuan to buy U.S. Treasuries to push down the yuan exchange rate against the dollar. Troubles in the Ukraine and Middle East, along with concerns about another recession in Europe and the long-term security of investments in China are causing investors to seek safe haven in U.S. bonds.
In 2015, those factors will frustrate Federal Reserve efforts to raise medium- and long-term interest rates by pushing up short-term bank borrowing rates.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which encompasses about four-fifths of U.S. publicly traded companies, is trading at about 1990 with a price-to-earnings ratio of about 19.2. That is not terribly high, considering that the average for the past 25 years is 18.9. And digital technologies permitting business to create more wealth with less cash likely justify P/E ratios much higher than the historical norm.
All that means stocks could surge another 25% over the next two or three years, and individual investors should continue buying stocks.


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The video game industry is suffering from a COVID hangover even a bottle of Pedialyte and a bacon, egg, and cheese can’t fix. After explosive growth throughout the pandemic, game sales are finally plummeting back to Earth.
Both Microsoft (MSFT) and Sony (SONY), two of the world’s leading game companies, revealed this week that their gaming divisions saw year-over-year revenue declines, as soaring inflation takes a toll on the industry. It’s not just hardware and games sales that are taking a hit.
Gamers are also spending less time playing than last year. Both Microsoft and Sony reported less engagement on their respective online gaming services, Xbox Live and PlayStation Plus.
The likely reason? People around the world are venturing outside again as pandemic fears subside.
How bad is the drop? According to NPD, June U.S. spending across game hardware, content, and accessories collapsed 11% year-over-year to $4.3 billion. Still, that’s far more than pre-pandemic levels, where NPD said June U.S. spending totaled $959 million in 2019.
The game industry certainly isn’t dying. But after such massive growth during the pandemic, it now has to reckon with a return to normalcy that could hurt.
Gamers aren’t buying as many games
In their latest quarters, Microsoft and Sony reported declines in game software sales versus 2021. Microsoft said that content and services revenue fell 6% year-over-year due to lower engagement and monetization of third-party and first-party titles.
The company doesn’t break out specific numbers between games and hardware sales, but said its More Personal Computing segment, which includes Xbox-related sales as well as Windows sales and ad revenue, fell 2% year-over-year to $14.4 billion.
Sony, meanwhile, reported a 13% year-over-year drop in software revenue from 346 billion yen ($2.6 billion) to 302 billion yen ($2.3 billion). Game unit sales fell 26% year-over-year from 63.6 million units to 47.1 million units.
Like Microsoft, Sony blamed the slowdown on a decrease in both first-party and third-party game titles. The most popular game in the U.S. during the latest month, according to NPD, was From Software’s “Elden Ring,” which has already been out for five months.
Gamers are also playing less than they were this time last year.
“Total gameplay time for PlayStation users declined 15% year-on-year in Q1,” Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki said when the company released its earnings report. “Gameplay time in the month of June improved 3% compared with May and was down only 10% versus June 2021, but this is a much lower level of engagement than we anticipated in our previous forecast.”
Microsoft didn’t provide data on engagement declines, only noting that it impacted Xbox content and services revenue.
Gaming hardware sales are taking a hit
Throughout the pandemic, game hardware, such as Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X, have been incredibly hard to come by.
Supply chain disruptions and the global chip shortage made getting your hands on a next-generation console largely impossible unless you spent your time glued to Twitter checking for inventory updates at places like Best Buy. Not to brag, but I pulled this off for three different friends.
According to Microsoft, Xbox hardware sales declined 11% year-over-year. Sony, for its part, saw PS5 sales increase from 179.7 billion yen ($1.3 billion) to 196.1 billion yen ($1.5 billion) year-over-year. The PS5 is still in short supply, though the company says it’s pulling more supply into the holiday season. That said, Sony isn’t changing its projection for 18 million units shipped in 2022.
NPD, meanwhile, said that industry-wide, first-half U.S. hardware sales fell by 8% to $371 million. New console sales in the first half of the year also fell 9% to $2.1 billion.
The holidays will be important for game companies
As with most consumer tech companies, video game sales are cyclical. The holiday season is traditionally the industry’s best time of year with major titles and other product releases designed to goose overall sales.
And Sony has already said it has a slate of high-powered games ready to drain consumers’ wallets coming, including “God of War Ragnarok” and “The Last of Us Part 1.” Microsoft is also working to complete its purchase of Activision Blizzard, which will add “Call of Duty” to its list of first-party titles, further boosting its overall game sales.
For now, we’ll need to wait to see how the rest of the industry fares as companies continue to release their financial results. Nintendo (NTDOY), Take Two (TTWO), EA (EA), and Activision Blizzard (ATVI) report their earnings next week.
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Photo credit: Photo: Roy Inman Photographs
Vinyl still holds the dominant position in the U.S. residential siding market, but not as securely as it once did. Fiber cement siding products are gaining market share with mid-priced homes where vinyl traditionally has held a strong position, while brick/stone and stucco/EIFS continue their popularity with owners of higher-end homes.
These insights and more come from Principia in Malvern, Pa., a marketing consulting firm focused on building materials, which for 10 years has tracked the U.S. siding market, conducting surveys and releasing reports every two years. The fifth edition of its siding market report is scheduled to be released this month, and the consulting firm has shared results and analysis with Qualified Remodeler. The report covers product popularity as well as contractor preferences, among other topics.
To no one’s surprise, re-siding activity claimed a higher percentage of the market in 2013 compared to new construction after the housing crash. The crash favored products such as vinyl, fiber cement and engineered wood, and products that suffered included brick and stucco.
“When you look at the graph [see Graph 1 on this page], you’re looking at a variety of different siding products used on homes with varying values, says Gary Acinapura, vice president of operations, Principia. “If you go back 10 years, vinyl would have maintained a fairly consistent percentage of the market across all home values. The recent falloff in vinyl usage is made up by the usage of fiber cement, which the market has shifted to for higher-priced homes. But when you talk about the fiber cement category, you’re really talking about a single producer that dominates the market. That manufacturer represents the category, and as such you have a unified voice, which you don’t have in the vinyl category. I don’t think the value of vinyl will ever be touched in terms of longevity and price point, but it’s clear that as homes move up in value the shift is away from vinyl.”
Value of brand
In the vinyl siding category, price beats brand [see Graph 2 on this page], says Ken Jacobson, partner, Principia. “When you look at brands of vinyl siding, there’s a lot of confusion. One manufacturer might have four to eight brands in its portfolio, so there’s a blurry view on behalf of property owners about the value proposition of each brand. There has been some consolidation of manufacturers in recent years in an attempt to eliminate that, but that’s a relatively new development,” Jacobson says.
To a degree, some form of a loyalty program from siding manufacturers is expected, which makes those programs less important, Acinapura says. “Secondly and equally important, contractors tend to already be aligned with brands, so they don’t need to be incentivized. They place more value in other services offered by a manufacturer.”
Jacobson adds, “Maybe those programs were needed 10 or 15 years ago to establish brand loyalty and the credibility of each brand, but today those are legacy programs that don’t carry as much value.” Now, it’s about helping contractors grow their business and keeping them competitive.
What contractors value
Siding contractors expect manufacturers to help them get the job done, not provide unneeded programs by delivering product where and when contractors need it. “A few years ago during the downturn, product availability would have been the No. 1 attribute contractors look for from a siding brand [see Graph 3] because there had been periodic outages during the course of the remodeling seasons. Supply couldn’t keep up with demand,” Acinapura says. Contractors also dislike when manufacturers introduce new products but are unable to keep up with demand, he adds. “But finally, it looks like that dynamic has sorted itself out.”
Product performance and quality reign supreme with contractors, and price isn’t far behind. “This is what contractors are interested in and what will drive their decisions,” Jacobson explains. “There’s a lot of commonality in manufacturers’ value propositions, and overlap in their product lines, so there hasn’t been much shift in market share. It will be interesting to see what will move the needle.”
For information about obtaining the full siding report, contact Dawn Habgood, VP, research solutions, by sending email to DHabgood@PrincipiaConsulting.com.


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Certificate of Plant Quarantine Centre, which is required for import and export of agricultural products, will be available online from now onwards, which is expected to lessen the problems of the traders and save time as well.
This automation process includes all activities related to Import Permit Certificate, Phytosanitary Certificate, Release Order Certificate, Anchorage Certificate for agricultural products.
Agriculture Minister Md Abdur Razzak virtually inaugurated the automation programme of the Plant Quarantine Wing under the Department of Agricultural Extension on Monday from the conference room of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The customer will be able to apply for and collect the certificates online. On the other hand, a secure database will ensure transparency and security of these certificates. Moreover, it will be easier to verify the authenticity of the certificate using the specific number of a certificate.
As the chief guest of the event, the agriculture minister said the acceptance of the certificate would reduce the suffering and ensure transparency in the whole process. Revenue evasion will stop too.
At present, there are about 4,000 importers and exporters in 30 departments under the Department of Agricultural Extension who are directly or indirectly involved in the import and export of goods. After this automation process, no more certification will be carried out manually.
At the same time, due to the introduction of the call centre, any kind of problem of the customer will be solved easily.


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ESA President Explains Why E3 2023 Got Canceled
"We were off to a strong start… Ultimately, however, there were challenges that proved too large to surmount," ESA's head boss says.
The ESA president and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis gave an interview explaining why E3 2023 was canceled. He largely attributed E3 2023's demise to a combination of publishers adjusting their marketing plans due to changes in the economy and deciding to run their own digital showcases. Covid-19 also played a part, Pierre-Louis added, in changing game development timelines.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Pierre-Louis said," We were off to a strong start. There was interest among exhibitors, industry players, media and certainly the fans. Ultimately, however, there were challenges that proved too large to surmount."
"First, several companies have reported that the timeline for game development has been altered since the start of the COVID pandemic. Second, economic headwinds have caused several companies to reassess how they invest in large marketing events. And third, companies are starting to experiment with how to find the right balance between in-person events and digital marketing opportunities," Pierre-Louis concluded.
Pierre-Louis did not confirm whether or not E3 will return in 2024. How E3 will change going forward was also something Pierre-Louis did not have an answer for at this time.
He acknowledged that the marketing needs of publishers are changing, something the ESA is looking for a way to accommodate.
"It's a matter of finding the right pitch… for the needs that are evolving. [Publishers are] continuing to experiment with how they market their works," said Pierre-Louis. "We're seeing other shows coming back slowly, but coming back. They're at a different scale and investment commitment than E3 so we have to continue to work on how we create a dynamic and sustainable model that meets the needs of the industry."
ReedPop and the ESA announced E3 2023's cancellation after months of uncertainty surrounding the event. Big publishers like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo said they'd skip the event, and just recently, Ubisoft also said it was pulling out in favor of holding its own Ubisoft Forward showcase.
This doesn't sound like the end for E3, as Pierre-Louis said in the interview, "We remain committed to providing a platform for industry marketing and convening but we want to make sure we find the right balance for the industry's current and on-going needs."
Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email firstname.lastname@example.org


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Europcar will add the new Peugeot iONs to its fleets in London after the car rental service made a global partnership with PSA Peugeot Citroen in October 2010. The car will initially be available for day-rental only so that the cars can be recharged daily at Europcar electric vehicle locations, the company announced in an Aug. 25 press release.
The electric vehicle will be available in several Europcar locations with one at the Luton Airport, as well as Europcar’s King’s Cross location for Eurostar travellers and near the Mable Arch — a major cross-street area and entrance to the city’s rapid transit system, London Underground.
Europcar, which provides service to six million users, will be the first rental provider in the United Kingdom adding the Peugeot iONs, the release states. This electric vehicle can go up to 60 miles on a fully charged battery without emitting any carbon dioxide, which gives cost benefits to business travellers because they won’t have to pay congestion charges in the large U.K. cities.


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THE future looks bright for a Welsh specialist lighting thanks to increased demand for its technology.
Chepstow-based i-Vision UK specialises in light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, used in entertainment and architectural lighting.
The company employs 10 staff, and increased business means that it is looking for two new employees.
Of its current staff two are designers and four are engaged on LED production, with the remainder split among management and other functions.
Viewers of breakfast television will already have seen the company's lighting in action.
Among the contracts that the company has won is to light the set seen by GMTV viewers each morning.
One of the key factors in the company securing the deal was the considerable energy savings that its LED-based technology could provide.
The lighting system installed by i-Vision allowed GMTV to cut its lighting energy bill for the studio by more than 60% and had the added bonus of reducing heat in the studio.
The system also allows the colour scheme of the studio to be altered to create different identities for different sections of the programme.
The successful scheme saw the Chepstow company win the Special Projects category at the 2005 Lighting Design Awards.
"The installation paid for itself in 39 weeks," said i-Vision's sales director Dave MacKay. "That sealed the deal really."
The success of that set lighting deal has seen the company secure more work.
"Since then we've done another spin-off for GMTV, for a children's programme," he added. "We are also looking at doing several other projects at the moment."
The company does everything from design and manufacturing of its products through to installation.
In addition to its work for the likes of GMTV the company also does specialist lighting for events, its systems having been used for a Jaguar cars launch and by L'Or al.
But the biggest sector of its business is now architectural lighting, because its LED technology allows buildings to be lit up in changing colours.
"We are moving more and more to the architectural lighting business," said Mr MacKay.
"We are not just selling to other trade people but doing our own design and projects," he said.
The architectural lighting side of the business has grown rapidly and now accounts for about half of the company's turnover.
"It has really been driven by the designers and the technology," said the sales director. "The LED technology is relatively new and has only been around in its current form for about three years. Even now people know what they want to do but don't know how to do it."
Within Wales the company's projects have included the Millennium Plaza in Cardiff and the Castle Bingo site in Bridgend, but the scope of the company's work is far wider.
"We have done some massive nightclubs in Scotland, big projects for O in Germany, nightclubs and hotels in Norway, the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool and lighting for the Hard Rock Hotel in Madrid," said Mr MacKay.
"Growth has been fantastic," he added. "Our export growth over the past 12 months has been outstanding and we have opened up new markets in Ireland. We are now looking at jobs in Hungary and a nightclub in Moscow."
The company is now keen to capitalise on this increased demand for its products and believes there is considerable scope for growth.
"We are looking to grow very quickly and double our turnover in the next 18 months to two years - we don't think that's unrealistic," said Mr MacKay. He added that the company would aim to achieve this through sustainable organic growth, funded by reinvestment of profits."
The company is keen to grow the export side of the business, particularly in the emerging markets of central and eastern Europe and is looking at finding new distributors.
It also has the challenge of continuing to invest in research and development to ensure that its lighting technology remains at the cutting edge of the market.


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Wall Street Journal: Look Beyond India’s ‘Poor Man’s’ Market
Monday, January 30, 2012
First there was the bottom of the pyramid. And now there’s the global emerging middle class, or as consulting firm PwC puts it, the “Next 4 Billion.”
Seeing the slowdown in the developed economies, companies with global businesses should creates goods and services for the emerging middle class across the developing world to grow their business, PwC says in a new report.
PwC defines the “Next 4 Billion” as countries that have an average annual per capita income that ranges between $1,000 and $4,000, and that, together, are home to four billion people – or more than half of the current global population of 7 billion. Apart from India and China, this group includes Indonesia and countries in Latin America and Africa.
Globally, about 2.3 billion people are currently in this market segment and it’s only going to get bigger, thanks to high birth rates and above-average economic growth in many countries in the group. The report says that it will represent a combined annual market in excess of $6 trillion by 2021.


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Is it time to stand and work? One of the hottest movements amongst startups is standing and working. While on the surface this may sound like a horrible idea, there’s actually a lot more too it. Over the past month, I’ve had the chance to use the Ergotron Workfit-D...
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ROCKVILLE—The Rockville Police Station is providing a safe place to conduct transactions that start online on platforms like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace.
Websites that facilitate the buying and selling of goods provide a cheap way to thrift shop or get rid of items that are no longer useful. However, there is a certain amount of risk associated with doing deals with strangers over the internet. There isn’t a guarantee that products are as functional as they are described, and not everyone using the online platforms has the best of intentions.
Over the years there have been many instances in which criminals use classified websites to lure potential victims under the guise of ordinary circumstances.
The FBI reported in 2017 that a jewelry heist in California that targeted sellers of high-end items on Craigslist. The criminals arranged for transportation of the sellers, who took the victims to a predetermined location. Once there the thieves assaulted and robbed the sellers of their items.
There have also been reports of even-worse situations devolving from the online platforms, such as murders and rapes. For instance, in 2009, the “Craigslist Killer” Philip Markoff was accused of robbing and killing three women he met in the personals section of Craigslist, according to The Washington Post.
The nature of the internet itself is perhaps partially to blame for the criminal use of platforms like Craigslist. According to an article written by Loretta Stalans of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology and of Psychology at the University of Chicago, the internet allows for malicious behavior because it provides anonymity.
“Maintaining anonymity or bogus identities during the commission of crimes is easier in virtual spaces than in real physical space,” she wrote. By being “faceless,” she explained, the internet facilitates concealing criminal behavior.
In her article titled “Understanding How the Internet Facilitates Crime and Deviance,” Stalans described the internet as multilayered and fragmented, which increases criminality because there is no centralized governing body overseeing it. She also explained that crimes can be more difficult for law enforcement to solve with a savvy web user.
The Rockville police station is trying to reduce criminal incidents like these by using the parking lot and lobby of the station for safe transactions.
Maj. Michael England of the Rockville City Police Department explained that the parking lot is well lit and has video surveillance cameras, and the police station itself is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“If something goes awry during the sale or they don’t have a very good feeling they could basically go in and make contact with an officer, and they can have an officer speak with them,” England said.
Even just suggesting meeting someone online at a police station might be enough to deter some would-be criminals.
“We did have one individual who wanted to meet somebody here at the police station, but the buyer refused to come meet here,” England said. “So that basically was a red flag, and then the individual was told that they would need to buy from someone else.”
Community members who want to use the police station don’t need to make an appointment or call the station before the meeting.
The idea to bring online transactions to the Rockville Police Department is not a new one. England estimated that it had been around for a number of years.
“There was a recent incident that occurred in Rockville where a couple of individuals came to sell an iPhone and basically the buyer got ripped off,” he said. “So, we dusted off this initiative and put it back out there.”
The city of Rockville isn’t the only jurisdiction working toward safe spaces for online transactions. Howard County police have a similar initiative, and in fact, places like Mobile, Alabama; Fairfax, Virginia; and Kaysville, Utah, among others, have set up safe transaction zones as well.
For buyers and sellers who truly want a cut-and-dry transaction, they shouldn’t have any problem making the exchange near a police station.
“So, if the other person in the transaction is reluctant to come to us and meet you here to buy something that they want and they don’t have any nefarious intentions, why not come here?” England asked.


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The technology publication InformationWeek has been published for a long time now. The publication has announced that it intends to offer digital only versions of its publication starting this year. Four digital-only issues will be offered this year in an attempt to go green.
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Many print publications are eyeing digital issues for other reasons, to save money. The print world is in a crisis with the current economy, reduced advertising, increased costs and less subscribers. PC World went digital this year in an effort to stay viable.
According to InformationWeek, four issues of the publication will be offered as digital only in 2009 and for each of the first 5000 downloads, the publication will plant a tree with a total of 20000 new trees planted by the magazine. The printed total of the magazine will be decreased four issues for the year.
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Continuing to win the hearts of its customers, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India has successfully achieved 1 crore units mark in the Western region that includes Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa since inception in 2001. The two wheeler brand had earlier taken 14 years to hit to delight 50 lakh customers with the 50 Lakhs coming up in just three years.
Thanking customers for their trust and talking about this landmark feat, Mr. Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Senior Vice President – Sales & Marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, said, “Honda family takes pride in welcoming 1 crore valued customers in West and thanks them for trusting Honda for their daily ride. We remain committed to delight our customers through our products & services and wish them the joy of riding a Honda.”
Honda two wheelers have a market share of 47% in the marker and have been the preffered choice by many in the market with popular products like the Activa, Activa i and Dio tasting phenomenal success. The brand has announced that on an average 45% of the customers have bought scooters pan India.
With growing demand and model ranges, Honda has setup its 4th plant Vithalapur, Gujarat in 2016 with installed capacity of producing 1.2 million units and creating 15000 new jobs in Gujarat.
Honda two wheelers model range in the Indian market include a range of scooters and motorcycles. The scooter range includes the Activa—I, Activa 125, 5G Activa. Cliq, Navi, Dio, Aviator and Grazia. The motorcycle range includes the CB Hornet 160R, CB Hornet 160, CB Unicorn, CB Shine and CB Shine SP and recently introduced X-Blade. Honda also retails premium and fast sportbikes like the Goldwing, CB1000RR, CB1000R, CBR650F and Africa Twin.
Honda is also actively involved in CSR activities in the field of rural education, women empowerment and curbing child labour. Honda also runs a lot of Safety campaigns to promote the road safety; Honda has adopted a traffic park in Yeole, Nashik. Honda has also educated over 2 lakh individuals of all age groups in West region on safety riding activity with special focus on empowering females & kids.


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Instragram made the jump to the big 4.0 back in June, introducing the ability to record video clips over twice as long as those made using Vine. There was a catch, though. While many Android devices could playback video, only those running Jelly Bean could capture it. With the update rolling out today, handsets running Ice Cream Sandwich will also get to feel the love. And as any Instagram user would expect, these videos are just as susceptible to filters and frames as the photos the service is known for.
The update also introduces the ability for users to import pre-existing video clips directly from their Android devices.Read More


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PLAY Expo Manchester 2017 was a fantastic weekend, packed to the rafters with everything gaming. From an almost exhausting amount of arcade cabinets, through to
PLAY Expo Manchester 2017 is set to deliver more enthralling content than ever before.
Fighting Games Exhibition and Tournaments
Taking place on 14th and 15th October, chief among this
PLAY Expo Manchester, the largest video game expo in the North of England, is returning to EventCity Manchester on October 14th and 15th.
PLAY Expo Manchester is a
PLAY Expo Manchester, the largest video game expo in the North of England, has announced their greatest-ever Indie showcase, arriving at this year’s event taking


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Samsung in Cambodia organised a reunion of trading partners and its official presentation smartphone Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and Galaxy S7 on March 16 at Raffles Hotel Le Royal. The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and Galaxy S7 flagship smartphones use two SIM or additional memory cards of up to 200GB.
Smartphone also have enhanced capabilities such as IP68, which prevents water and dust, and cameras have dual pixel with Len 1.7 (Aperture 1.7), which can capture clear and quality images. The gala launch included a raffle for prizes, including five Galaxy S7 smartphones.
The bodies of four Cambodian peacekeepers killed by a Christian militia in Central African Republic were repatriated to the Kingdom and honoured in an airport ceremony on May 21.
As the name suggests, Ptsa Nak Battambang – which in English means Battambang's house – is the right place for those who want to try some of the province's typical dishes in Phnom Penh.
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday threatened to unleash war on the opposition party if he loses patience with their campaign for the June 4 commune