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OSO — After a tumultuous season last year, in the wake of the Oso slide, the Fruitful Farm & Nursery on Highway 530 aims to have an upgraded facility this season.
Aaron Hall, manager of the Fruitful Farm, promised to open on time this year, at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 25, as opposed to last year, when the March 22 slide forced him to delay opening until May 9. Customers will notice an addition behind his stand at 21308 Highway 530 NE this year.
While the front display area will retain its gravel flooring, the back will have an easy-to-clean concrete floor, and incorporate a walk-in cooler, a produce washing and packing area, and more retail space and storage. Hall also plans to use the large covered area to host community apple cider pressing events and educational workshops.
“It’s designed to meet many needs at once,” Hall said, as workers finished laying foundation and concrete floor for the 42-foot by 42-foot structure, which broke ground in March after planning began last November.
Hall has been raising money online to build the addition at www.fruitfulfarm.net/fundraiser, but he also hopes that more customers and an expanded selection of products will bring more business as well.
“After folks read about us in the paper last year, so many more people came out to shop with us,” Hall said. “We never expected that level of support. Between that and the fact that two of our local grocery stores have closed since last year, we’re expecting to see a lot of new faces this year.”
Hall was referring to Haggen and Food Pavilion, which closed in Arlington.
Fruitful Farm has branched out into heirloom plants, hanging baskets, sedums and new varieties of tomatoes. Hall has even found a source of organic seed in the Ukraine that seems to be coming up well so far.
In the meantime, Hall is more than halfway toward his initial goal of $10,000, to help purchase the rest of the lumber, doors and building materials.
“This new multipurpose building will give us the tools to expand our services to our local community, continue building and strengthening relationships, sharing knowledge and enriching lives,” Hall said.


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That the Beatles were fans of Elvis Presley is no secret. John Lennon said, "Before Elvis, there was nothing." Elvis’ famous white buck shoes have now become a new addition to the Beatles Story exhibition. The shoes – worn in the 1957 film, Jailhouse Rock – have been lent to the Albert Dock-based collection by the estate of Presley himself.
George Harrison said, "I remember at school there was all that thing about Elvis. When a record came along like ‘Heartbreak Hotel' it was so amazing. We know Elvis is great. Seeing Elvis was like seeing the Messiah arrive."
Paul McCartney also told of his love for Elvis. "Every time I felt low, I just put on an Elvis record and I'd feel great, beautiful." So maybe it's not so ironic that the Beatles Story is displaying Elvis' shoes this month. It's the first time the shoes have been displayed outside of Presley's Graceland home.

domain: news


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Kianjoya company Ltd has 2 million ordinary shares outstanding at the current market price of Sh.60 per share. The company requires Sh.8 million to finance a proposed expansion project. The board of directors has decided to issue a 2 for 25 rights at a subscription price of Sh.50 per share. The expansion project is expected to increase the firm‟s annual cash flows Sh.1,660,000. Information on this project will bereleased to the market together with the announcement of the rights issue. The company paid a dividend of sh.6 per share last year. This dividend together with the company‟s earnings is expected to grow at 6% annually.
(i) Compute the price of the shares after the announcement of the rights issue but before they start selling ex-rights.


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More than five tons of drugs were seized off the coast of Panama after authorities spotted what appeared to be a semi-submersible vessel, the country’s ministry of public security said.
Rosie Batty says the death of a Brisbane mother and her three children at the hands of their father was the “final act of power, control and ultimate revenge”.
If you have ever held concerns Amazon’s Echo speakers are recording to your private conversations, your worst fears might have just been confirmed.
An online fundraiser to send a nine-year-old victim of horrific bullying and his mother to Disneyland has raised almost $50,000.
A seven-hour trip from Sydney to Melbourne last week ended up taking 18 hours because of major faults in the same part of the line where a train derailed overnight, killing two people.
A third person has been charged following the alleged kidnapping of a Brisbane school teacher.
A senior Queensland detective is “gutted” at the phrasing he used to describe the deaths of a woman and her three children in Brisbane, amid widespread condemnation from anti-domestic violence campaigners.
As New York and London Fashion Weeks continue to dazzle the gaze of global style watchers, Australia has made its first designer line-up announcement ahead of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia (MBFWA).
This year the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Foundation (DAAFF) will make its MBFWA debut, presenting The Australian Indigenous Fashion Showcase on Friday May 15.
Indigenous Australian Model Charlee Fraser Honoured At Prestigious Fashion Awards
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Modelling Agents Told Love Island’s Phoebe: ‘We’ve Already Got A Black Girl’
From The Back Of A Ute To The World Stage: The Story Of Indigenous Drag Superstar Nana Miss Koori
Both Indigenous and non-Indigenous models will wear the creations designed by five Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander designers, while Indigenous stylists and other creatives will be involved in managing and producing the show.
“This runway event will bring together collections from five of Australia’s leading First Nations designers and is a unique opportunity for the Australian and international fashion community to connect to the world’s oldest living culture,” said David Giles-Kaye, Indigenous Fashion Projects DAAFF in a statement to HuffPost Australia.
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Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Foundation announced on Thursday that expressions of interest for designers and fashion industry professionals will open on Wednesday February 26.
Other shows to feature at MBFWA in 2020 will showcase Resort 2021 collections from returning designers Aje, Anna Quan, Bec + Bridge, Bondi Born and Ten Pieces.
Designers alice McCALL, Aqua Blu, bassike, Ixiah, Lillian Khallouf, Ginger & Smart, Mariam Seddiq, Matteau, Steven Khalil, Tigerlily and We Are Kindred will be part of the MBFWA: The Experience, which offers consumers a select number of tickets to attend shows.
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia will take place from May 11 to 15 at Carriageworks in Sydney.
One in eight Australians adults and one in six children are living in poverty, a new report has found.


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At a recent BMC event, CEO and Chairman Bob Beauchamp stood on stage and gave a view on how the rise of the autonomous car could result in major changes in many different areas.
The argument went something along these lines – as individuals start to use autonomous cars, they see less value in the vehicle itself. The “driving experience” disappears, and the vehicle is seen far more as a tool than a desirable object. By using autonomous vehicles, congestion can be avoided, both through the vehicles adapting to driving conditions, accidents being avoided, areas where non-autonomous vehicles are causing problems being by-passed and so on. The experience becomes an analogue to SDN – the car’s function can be seen as the data plane (it gets from point A to point B) is decided by a set of commands (control plane deciding what should happen) through commands issues by the management plane (what is the best way to get from point A to point B?).
It is then seen that the tool is not being used that much – for long periods of time, it is in the garage, drive or roadway doing nothing. It needs to be insured; needs to be maintained – it becomes an issue, rather than a “must have”.
Far better to just rent a vehicle as and when you need it – a “car as a service” approach means that you don’t need to maintain the vehicle. Insurance is a moot point – you aren’t driving the vehicle anyway; it is the multiple computer “brains” that are doing so, working a full 360 degrees at computer speed, never getting tired; never failing to notice and extrapolate events going on around them. Insurance is cheaper and only has to cover damage caused by e.g. vandalism and fire: theft is out, as the vehicle is autonomous anyway and can be tied in to a central controller.
Insurance companies struggle; car manufacturers have to move away from marketing based on seeing fast cars driving on deserted roads to selling to large centralised fleet managers who are only interested in overall lifetime cost of ownership. Houses can change – no need for a garage or a drive and cities can change with less need of parking spaces. More living space can be put in the same area – or more properties on the same plot of land. Autonomous driving means less time spent commuting; less frustration; less fuel being used up in stop-start traffic.
When Bob first said this, my immediate response was “it will never happen”. I like my car; I like the sense of personal ownership and the driving experience that I get – on an open road.
However, I then took more of an outside view of it. Already, I have friends in large cities such as London who do not own a car. They use public transport for a lot of their day-to-day needs, and where they need a vehicle, they hire one for a short period of time. Whereas this may have been on a daily basis via Hertz or Avis in the past, newer companies such as City Car Club allow you rent a vehicle by the hour and pick it up from a designated parking bay close to you and drop it off in the same way wherever you want. The rise of Uber as a callable taxicab company is also showing how more people want the ease of using a car, but not in owning the vehicle themselves. These friends have no requirement for a flashy car badge or for the capability to get in “their” car and drive it at any time – in fact, the majority do not like driving at all, and would jump at the chance of using an autonomous vehicle, so removing this last issue for them.
As tech companies like Google improve their autonomous vehicles on a rapid basis, manufacturers such as Mercedes Benz, Ford and GM are having to respond. Already, over fifty 500 tonne Caterpillar and Komatsu trucks are being used in Australia to move mining material, running truly autonomously in convoys across private roads in the outback, allowing 24×7 operations with lower safety issues.
Just as the car manufacturers are coming out of a very bad period, they now stand a chance of being hit by new players in the market. Elon Musk, of Tesla electric car fame, is a strong proponent of autonomous vehicles. Amazon would like to take on Google, and it is likely that other high-tech companies will look to the Far East for help in building simple vehicles that can be used in urban situations via a central subscription model.
Sure, such a move to a predominantly autonomous vehicle model will take some time. There will be dinosaurs such as myself who will fight to maintain ownership of a car that has to be manually driven. There will be the need to show that the vehicle is truly autonomous; that it does not require continuous connectivity to a network to maintain a safe environment. More companies such as City Car Club will need to be brought about, and suitable long-term business and technology models put in place to manage large car fleets and get them to customers rapidly and effectively without a need for massive acreage of space to store cars not being used. Superfast recharging systems need to be more commonplace; these vehicles need to be able to recharge in minutes rather than hours, or to use replaceable battery packs.
Certainly, moving to the use of autonomous electronic vehicles where overall utilisation rates can be pushed above 60% would result in far less congestion in city centres and so in less pollution, less impact on citizens’ health and less time wasted in the morning and evening rush hours. Indeed, Helsinki has set itself a target of zero private car ownership by 2025.
At the current rate of innovation and improvement in autonomous vehicles, it is becoming more of a “when” than an “if” as to when we will see a major change in car ownership. The impact on existing companies involved in the car industry cannot be underestimated. The need for improved technology and for technology vendors to work together to ensure that an autonomous future can and will happen is showing signs of being met.


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Twitter has opened the DM flood gates. Here's how you can ensure not just anyone can message you.
"Guardians Of the Galaxy" star Chris Pratt helps "Saturday Night Live" prove that Marvel's next superhero blockbuster could be "Bus People" or "Pam."
Twitter dives into social-media fueled shopping with a "Buy" button that lets consumers purchase goods without leaving its site.
Simple.TV says it doesn't anticipate any legal issues for its new feature allowing users to share their recorded shows with up to five others, regardless of whether or not the invitees have the paid service.
New tech used by Apple and Microsoft promises to uncork bottlenecks. That's great for computer users who want new features, but brings new complications for those who build our software.
The company's latest acquisition adds advertising retargeting technology.
The on-demand car service declares its loyalty to the credit card company with a new payment integration.
Vudu has announced its users can now "loan" their digital movie and TV collections to as many as five friends with the new Share My Movies service, but it's easier for those who haven't used Vudu before.
[Q&A] Decidedly old school and proud of it, Pegasystems CEO Alan Trefler says the current app culture has abandoned the concept of customer-centricity with serious consequences for the US' ability to make software.
Technically Incorrect: A Washington State University study suggests men overestimate their brains, while women are quite accurate. This may lead more men to study math and science than women.


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Licensed motor vehicles up by 503 in 4th quarter
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The stock of licensed motor vehicles rose by 503 in the fourth quarter of 2008, to stand at 294,658.
As at the end of December 2008, the stock of licensed motor vehicles stood at 294,658. Of these, 75.6 per cent were private vehicles while commercial vehicles accounted for 16.4 per cent.
New licences issued during the fourth quarter of 2008 amounted to 2,897. Private vehicles accounted for 1,887 new licences, or 65.1 per cent of the total. In the reference quarter, the majority of new licences were issued to private vehicles falling within ‘Class 1’ (<1300 cc). This class accounted for 918 licences, while vehicles in ‘Class 2’ (1301-1449 cc) accounted for 217. Newly-licensed ‘new’ motor vehicles amounted to 1,221, or 42.1 per cent of the total, while newly-licensed ‘used’ motor vehicles amounted to 1,676.
Exported, scrapped and garaged
In the fourth quarter of 2008, 33 vehicles were exported. Scrapped vehicles numbered 784 of which nearly 62 per cent were ‘Class 1’ private cars (<1300 cc). In the quarter under review, 2,150 vehicles were garaged. This means that as at end December 2008, garaged vehicles accounted for just over 68.0 per cent of total vehicles that are no longer on the road.
In 2008, newly licensed vehicles totalled 13,096 – 6,944 new and 6,152 used vehicles – an increase of 507 vehicles or 4.0 per cent over 2007. Exported and scrapped vehicles amounted to 86 and 2,694 respectively, while 5,938 vehicles were garaged. Therefore, in 2008, 8,718 vehicles were removed from the roads.


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Energy Minister Claire Perry has praised OVO Energy’s electric vehicle offering – enabled by smart meters – for rewarding off-peak energy use.
- growing number of electric car owners could save and even make money from innovative technology by selling energy back to the grid
- smart energy innovations, including smart tariffs, could save the UK as much as £40 billion between now and 2050
Energy Minister Claire Perry today (16 August 2018) hailed OVO Energy for its “innovative” electric vehicle (EV) products – enabled by smart meters – which could see millions save and even make money from their electric cars.
OVO Energy, based in Bristol city centre and London, is one of just a few companies already using smart meters to offer innovative products, such as rewarding customers for charging their electric vehicles at off-peak times. These offers, made possible thanks to a smart meter, help customers use energy at times when there is less demand on the grid, in turn saving money on their bills.
Smart charging and Vehicle to Grid charging could become a cornerstone of the way we use energy in the UK, with more than 8 million people in Britain considering buying or leasing an electric vehicle in the next 5 years. With this technology, customers will not only be able to choose to use energy at the cheapest times but also make money by selling energy from their vehicle’s battery at times when it is most in demand. This will support the growth of renewable energy generation in the UK.
Smart energy innovations, such as smart tariffs and smart charging, could save the UK as much as £40 billion between now and 2050.
Smart meters also support OVO’s intelligent platform VCharge, which is enabling residential appliances such as electric vehicles, electric heaters and in-home batteries to help balance the grid and reduce energy costs.
Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry said:
More than 11 million meters are already empowering consumers to reap the rewards of a smarter energy system, putting homes and small businesses on the road to a smarter future.
Smart meters will be the cornerstone of a cleaner, flexible and efficient energy system, saving the country tens of billions of pounds.
New innovative products and tariffs like these will put consumers in the fast lane when it comes to control of their energy use, saving and even making them money when using their electric vehicles.
These products are just one of the ways smart meters save money. They put people in control of their energy use by showing them how much energy they use in pounds and pence via an easy to understand In-Home Display. With this information at their fingertips, consumers can easily understand how they can make small changes to the way they use energy in order to use less and save money on their bills – up to £1.2 billion a year by 2030.
Stephen Fitzpatrick, CEO and Founder, OVO said:
Getting the smart meter rollout right should be the top priority for the government and the energy sector in the UK right now so it’s encouraging to see the minister here today.
The smart meter rollout is a huge and complicated programme. However, there’s no question it needs to be done as we can’t build the energy system of the future unless we know accurately how much energy people are using and when.
OVO is using technology like electric vehicles, smart electric heat and batteries to help lower energy bills for consumers and enable us to use more renewable energy. None of this technology will work without smart metering.
We welcome the government’s recent efforts to improve the delivery of smart meters but there is still more work to do.
At OVO’s offices, the minister also met with their smart meter installation engineers, who undergo thorough training ahead of installations. When having a smart meter installed all homes and small businesses benefit from a free visual safety check of their gas appliances and electricity supply; and the past 18 months alone, installers have raised 430,000 safety notices for issues not related to smart meters during installation visits as part of the free visual safety check provided.
More than 400,000 meters are being installed by energy suppliers across Great Britain each month. Consumers can call their supplier and book and appointment to have one installed.
More than 500,000 households in the South West have already had a smart meter installed and those still without one could save a collective £50 million if they had a smart meter installed. If every household in Great Britain got a smart meter, we could save enough energy to power every household in Exeter, Plymouth and Swindon for 2 years.
Apprentices powering Hinkley Point C
Separately, the minister also visited new nuclear site Hinkley Point C today, where a 250-strong apprentice force is powering this Somerset nuclear project – site owners, EDF expect 1,000 apprentices to work on the project during its lifespan.
Hinkley Point C is the UK’s first new nuclear power station in a generation and is poised to make a major contribution to the UK’s move to reduce carbon emissions through clean energy production.
Nuclear energy already provides around 20% of the UK’s electricity from existing sites and Hinkley Point C’s future output will significantly boost this figure. The clean electricity it will generate upon completion is all part of this government’s modern Industrial Strategy, which actively encourages clean growth in business and energy production, helping to create better higher-paying jobs across the UK.
Hinkley Point C remains on track to meet its next major milestone, the 2019 nuclear concrete construction target of completing the foundations for the first reactor. Energy production is expected to start in 2025.


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It was around 2010 when Google chose to withdraw efforts to have a presence in China, abandoning a potentially huge market for its products due to concerns of cyberattacks and government censorship of internet content. It was a calculated risk, but one made to assert Google’s commitment to internet freedom. And even then, China is still home to numerous gadget manufacturers that put out devices that use Google’s Android ecosystem. As China’s lucrative growing market continues to draw companies in, would Google finally eat its humble pie and come crawling back?
China’s internet policies have not had any major changes over the past few years, and yet Google cannot deny the power of a ginormous market for technology that China has. Apple already bought into the Chinese market, selling its iPhones and iPads in the country, as well as allowing for a government-censored App Store. To get a piece of this growing market, Google will have to bring itself back to the country and establish the Google Play Store, or whatever version of it the government allows for.
And therein lies the current problem for Google – they abandoned China and the country wasn’t particularly happy about that decision. Google will need the help of businesses and manufacturers to help bring it back into the country. Huawei, Google’s rumored partner for its new Nexus 6 phone, could start bundling the Google Play Store again with its products. But these companies will need incentives from Google – something that the mothership will realize is a price they have to pay.
Rumors say that the government will only allow the Play Store in China if Google will agree to block apps that the Chinese government doesn’t approve of. It doesn’t look like Google has any choice there. But rumors also say that Google is looking at a launch of the Play Store in the country by fall this year, and that the software they will be launching will only work with Android Marshmallow, Google’s upcoming version of Android.
VIA: The Information


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As Norbert Anderson looks through the trays of vintage jewelry in his Vancouver shop, he stops and holds up a ring made in the 1920s.
“Look at the rubies they used to use,” Anderson says as he inspects the ring’s center stone. “The color and the clarity … you can’t find that today.”
Anderson’s Pacific Jewelers will be one of 20 or so dealers selling fine jewelry at the 2010 Clark County Antique & Collectible Show, which runs today and Sunday at the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds. “Jewelry is very, very popular in collecting right now,” said show manager Chris Palmer. But she added that the large number of dealers at this year’s show, roughly double that of year’s past, was somewhat of a coincidence. The dealers with that specialty were available to participate.
Items in high demand include lavalieres from the late 1800s and early 1900s, jewelry made with seed pearls, filigree work, platinum and diamonds, Anderson said.
But the interest in jewelry is at all price points.
Designer and name-brand costume jewelry, such as pieces made by Eisenberg, Miriam Haskell and Hattie Carnegie, are also in vogue, said Colleen Seger, co-owner of Accent on Antiques and Collectibles in Vancouver, which will also have a booth at the show.
Vintage jewelry can be a bargain as well as an outfit maker.
Among the bargains are wrist watches. Customers can buy a gold Tiffany watch for about $700 to $1,000, Anderson said. A new, comparable Tiffany watch could cost $3,000 to $5,000.
Estate jewelry diamonds also represent a value, priced sometimes at about half what they cost new at retail, he explained.
Platinum dominates estate jewelry collections, because those settings are more durable and survived the test of time, said Anderson, whose store is on Main Street in Vancouver.
Anderson also sells some two-tone pieces. These designs, made with both white and yellow gold in the 1920s and 1930s, didn’t sell well at the time, explained Tim Murray, a manager at Pacific Jewelers. But today they are popular among estate jewelry buyers.
Palmer attributes the interest in vintage fine jewelry to people’s desire to have something unique.
Victorian earrings, for example, are “a little frilly.” she said. “You won’t find two that are the same because they’re all done by hand.”
In costume pieces, the quality of vintage pieces makes them stand out.
Stones are hand- and prong-set, which makes them more durable.
“The jewelry is still wearable and beautiful 100 years later and will be for another 100 years,” Seger said.
It’s also very much in fashion.
“A lot of young people are dressing in the vintage clothing,” Seger said. “They want the vintage jewelry to go with the vintage clothes.”


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Telefónica has made its pay TV service Movistar+ available on Apple TV – the latest move by TV operators to expand their footprint beyond the confines of the operator-controlled set-top box.
The operator said that the move represented another step in the expansion of the ecosystem of devices through which its TV platform is available and reinforced its leadership position in driving the digitisation of the home.
The Movistar+ app is compatible with Apple TV fourth and fifth generation boxes, the latter providing access to 4K UHD services.
Movistar+ customers with Apple TV boxes can search for the Movistar+ app in the App Store and download it.
Apple TV users can also use Siri voice control to search for content by voice or change audio tracks and subtitles using the microphone option built into the Apple remote control.
The operator said that the Apple TV app offered the same level of functionality as Movistar+ apps for smart TVs, and would also enable customers to take their subscription abroad to other European Economic Area countries.
The launch of the Apple TV app follows a series of new innovations from Movistar+ including picture-in-picture functionality, compatibility with Chromecast for apps on Android phones and iPhones and iPads.
Telefónica revealed in June that the number of devices connected to the Movistar+ pay TV service has surpassed 10 million, with the service being viewed on some six million TV sets each month.
The operator said that the coronavirus lockdown had helped boost the number of devices connected to the service to a historic record of over 10 million each month, up 15% on the figure for October 2019.
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Disney Raises Some Theme Park Prices
It now costs $92 for someone 10 or older to visit Magic Kingdom.
Published: Monday, June 3, 2013 at 11:58 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, June 3, 2013 at 11:58 p.m.
LOS ANGELES | It just got more expensive to visit the Happiest Place on Earth. Again.
Walt Disney Co. raised entry prices to its theme parks in California and Orlando. The change took effect Sunday.
A single-day ticket to Magic Kingdom in Orlando and either Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim for visitors 10 or older now costs $92, up from $87 — a jump of nearly 6 percent.
The cost of the day pass has risen 28 percent since early 2010, when it was $72. Prices were previously raised in August 2010, June 2011 and May 2012.
"It's just good old supply and demand, and there continues to be demand for Disneyland," said Robert Niles, editor of Theme Park Insider, an online guide to the nation's most popular theme parks. "So long as people want to go, they are going to continue raising prices."
The price of a ticket for a child age 3 to 9 increased also — it went from $81 to $86. And the price of parking at the Anaheim property is now $16, an uptick of $1.
The prices of annual passes went up too. The Deluxe Annual Passport, which allows admission to both Anaheim parks 315 days of the year, now costs $499, up from $469. The Premium Annual Passport, which has no blackout dates, now costs $669, an increase of $20.
Disney declined to make executives available for interviews on the topic. In a statement, the Burbank, Calif., company said: "Like any business, we evaluate and adjust our pricing based on a variety of factors."
The company is now nearing the $1,000 mark for its ultra-pass. The Disney Premier Passport, which allows unlimited admission to the attractions not only in Anaheim but also in Florida, now costs $979, up from $849.
"That one is tailored at people who are really uber-theme park fans," Niles said. "I don't know how many they sell or if they are out there as a conversation starter."
For patrons who now hold annual passes, Disney is offering discounts of up to $40 to those who renew before their passes expire. In some cases, the discounts will offset the price hikes.
Recent price boosts at theme parks have helped Disney's bottom line. Its parks and resorts posted operating income of $383 million for its fiscal second quarter, a gain of 73 percent from a year earlier.
"Increased guest spending was due to higher average ticket prices, food, beverage and merchandise spending and daily hotel room rates," the company said May 7. "Higher costs were driven by new guest offerings, including investments in systems infrastructure at Walt Disney World Resort and expansion at Disneyland Resort, as well as labor and other cost inflation."
Shares of Disney sank $1.57, or 2.4 percent, to $63.08 on Friday. The stock is up 27 percent this year.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


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Artificial intelligence (AI) underlies many, if not most, of Google Search’s features. It’s how Google News personalizes podcast, video, and article recommendations, and how Google’s lightweight Search app for Android Go reads the text of websites in more than two dozen languages. And the Mountain View company is intent on expanding its influence. At an event […]
Google opted in the Spring not to disclose that the data of hundreds of thousands of Google+ users had been exposed because the company says they found no evidence of misuse, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Silicon Valley giant feared both regulatory scrutiny and regulatory damage, according to documents reviewed by the Journal and people briefed on the incident.
In response to being busted, Google parent Alphabet is set to announce broad privacy measures which include permanently...
We're just three days away from Google's Fall 2018 event, and the leaks are still coming.
Both 9to5Google and MySmartPrice spotted an FCC filing for an "Interactive Video Streaming Device" in September. And now, thanks to Jon Prosser via Twitter we might have our first look at marketing materials for this rumored "Home Hub."
SEE ALSO: Images of Google's new Pixel tablet leak before its October event
Hey, speaking of @madebygoogle.Enjoy this "leak" straight from us. Was gonna wait until...


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Cannabis Testing Laboratories has become the first cannabis testing lab in the state of Nebraska.
CTL has received what's known as ISO-certification, which the Nebraska Department of Agriculture requires for cannabis labs to operate in the state.
CTL is renting space from Doane University on its Crete campus the house it's primary laboratory. Dr. Andrea Holmes, Director of Cannabis studies and a chemistry professor at the university, is the founder of the laboratory.
“Being the first ISO-accredited and state-approved cannabis testing laboratory in Nebraska will allow farmers, processors, vendors, and even consumers of CBD and hemp products to have local access to high-quality and reliable testing”, Dr. Holmes says.
“For farmers, continuous testing is of utmost importance so they don’t grow hemp over 0.3% total THC levels, at which point hemp is categorized as marijuana, which is currently illegal in Nebraska. Consumers of CBD products will also benefit from private testing as oftentimes CBD-infused products don’t actually contain what the label says.”
The lab will serve as a resource to the university but operate separately, according to Holmes.The goal is to teach students about that rapidly growing industry.
(Photo: courtesy Cannabis Testing Laboratories)


text: Listen up pilgrims. It's Apple's favorite product launch day -- Tuesday -- and we're once again sitting on a pile of rumors. So what's it going to be? A 16GB bump to the iPhone, new MacBook Pros running Intel's latest mobile Penryn processor with enhanced multi-touch touchpad, or maybe a few more countries added to the iPhone rollout in Europe? Who knows. Really, anyone know?


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Formula 1. NASCAR. Indianapolis. LeMans. Daytona. The name “Andretti” has seen success in almost every form of motorsport, from the dirt tracks of Nazareth, PA to the World Driver’s Championship and more. Now, the Andretti family is set to take its storied legacy into the future, by announcing that their Andretti Autosport team would be America’s first official entry in the upcoming Formula E electric racing series!
Browsing the "race" Tag
Imagine a solar-powered electric car with room for 4 (four) adults and their luggage that has a full-charge operating range of more than 300 miles that can re-charge itself in a parking space without the need for a charging station. It’s here – and it’s called the Stella!
This past weekend marked the 81st running of the 24 Hours of LeMans, and the 90th anniversary of the first 24 hour race at LeMans. As exciting and fantastical as the event always is, however, we should remember that part of the thrill of speed comes from its proximity to a very unforgiving edge. So, while Audi’s tremendous win and Toyota’s serious challenge to their dominance certainly deserve to be celebrated, let’s not forget that speed is an unforgiving mistress, and take a moment to talk about Aston Martin driver Allan Simonsen.
Back in 2011, it seemed like Green GT’s open-topped race car would be fielded in the 2012 24 hour race at LeMans as part of the Garage 56 program for innovative new technology. It wasn’t to be. Team Green GT was given an extra year to get ready for its star turn, but announced last week that it would, once again, NOT be ready for LeMans.
The first cross-country trip in U.S. history took months, and even after the invention of the automobile, it could still take weeks to get from one coast to another. With the dawn of the electric vehicle era comes a whole new set of records to make and break, and Terry Hershner just became the first man to drive from one coast to another on a pure electric motorcycle. Our hats off to you, Terry.
It has been a rough few years for Japanese automaker Mitsubishi, especially in regards to their cheap electric vehicle, the i-MiEV. But Mitsubishi hasn’t given up yet, and they are determined to prove how awesome EVs can be, which is why they’re returning to Pikes Peak with two dedicated electric race cars to challenge Toyota for racing supremacy.
Last week the annual Mexican 1000 off-road race drew competitors from around the world seeking to prove that their trucks can handle the rough desert of the Baja peninsula. Joining these competitors for the first time was an all-electric dune buggy, the EV1, built in conjunction with the Strategic Recovery Institute and EV West, and we’ve got the video to prove it.
For a while there, it seemed like the only thing standing between Audi and another LeMans trophy was Toyota and their hybrid racecar … but it wasn’t meant to be, as one of the two cars took part a dramatic aerial flip (after a collision with a GT car) and a smaller accident followed by […]
While electric cars haven’t found as many buyers as automakers had hoped, electric motorcycle sales are doing just swell. In fact, electric motorcycle racing has become a hot topic in the two-wheeled world, and a collection of amateurs and semi-pros are clamoring for more events t compete in. Hollywood Electrics and the M1-Grand Prix are teaming up to offer a class for electric racers in the M1-GP series.
Mazda’s SkyActive technology program has been batting .1000 since its inception, giving us better cars, kickass commercials, and one of the sexiest endurance race cars to come out of anywhere since anytime. The fact that the new Mazda 6 diesel racer is dead-sexy AND has 4-doors (getting it the coveted “A-OK” from the wifey) is almost too much to process.
It’s little wonder that EV West – in a bid to prove the endurance of their electric product offerings – is headed to Baja in the VW Beetle-based electric beastie you see here.
In a few weeks, one of Switzer’s customer cars – the 1000 hp E1K GTR that took the TX2K10 and TX2K12 invitationals – will be headed out to Shift S3ctor’s Airstrip Attack event.
Cannondale’s new CERV concept (Continuously Ergonomic Race Vehicle) was developed as a working prototype by Ohio-based Priority Designs. The design had to allow the handlebars to move up and down without altering the distance from the bike seat to the crank, maximizing rider comfort and muscle efficiency.
Saying that my love lust for Honda’s diminutive and sporty CR-Z hybrid is “well-documented” might be a bit of an understatement. Heck, I even burned some bridges at the Detroit News to “stand up” for the little car way back when! So, try imagine my surprise when, nearly 2 (two) years later, I find myself […]
Lola Cars has had more than its share of troubles in the boardroom lately, but on the track? That’s a different story, as the storied brand keeps pumping out win after win and, has plans to dominate next year’s EV series. This week, however, brought another round of good news that saw the Lola-Drayson B12/69EV […]
This post was written by Brandon Miller, a member of the Electric Cowboys EV racing team. Brandon was at this weekend’s REFUEL event, a racing event at the famed Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca for electric vehicles only. This is his firsthand account of the action. As the “Bike of Doom” rider Luke put it, […]


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Honor View40 bags FCC certification, global launch imminent
Honor's latest smartphone, the View40 (V40 in China), will make its debut in the global markets soon. According to tipster Mukul Sharma, a Honor handset with model number HJC-LX3, believed to be the View40, has received FCC certification. To recall, the handset was launched in China last month with a MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ chipset, a triple rear camera setup, and 66W fast-charging support.
Honor View40 boasts of a 120Hz display
Honor View40 features a bezel-less display with curved edges, a pill-shaped cut-out, and an integrated fingerprint sensor. On the rear, it packs a triple camera setup. The handset bears a 6.72-inch Full-HD+ (1236x2676 pixels) OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and a 300Hz touch sampling rate. It is offered in Midnight Black, Rose Gold, and Titanium Silver color options.
The handset sports a 50MP main camera
Honor View40 packs a triple rear camera setup comprising a 50MP (f/1.8) primary sensor, an 8MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide lens, and a 2MP (f/2.4) macro shooter. For selfies and video calling, it offers a 16MP front-facing camera accompanied by a ToF 3D sensor.
It is powered by a Dimensity 1000+ chipset
Honor View40 is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ processor, paired with 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. It runs on Android 10-based Magic UI 4.0 and packs a 4,000mAh battery with 66W wired and 50W wireless fast-charging. For connectivity, the device offers support for dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, 5G, NFC, and a Type-C port.
Honor View40: Pricing and availability
At present, there is no information regarding the global launch and pricing of the Honor View40. For reference, in China, the handset costs CNY 3,599 (roughly Rs. 40,000) for the 8GB/128GB variant and CNY 3,999 (roughly Rs. 45,000) for the 8GB/256GB model.


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The IBA’s response to the war in Ukraine
Disrupted industries – the example of the automotive industry
Virtual Entrepreneurship Conference
18–29 May 2020
Black Swan Ruling: entrepreneurship and the economy under and after the pandemic
Webinar presented by the Closely Held and Growing Businesses Committee
Wednesday 20 May 2020
Marco Rizzi Bratschi, Zurich; Chair, IBA Closely Held and Growing Business Enterprises
Andreas Kloyer Luther, Frankfurt; European Regional Forum Liaison Officer, IBA Closely Held and Growing Business Enterprises Committee
Alexis Poinsard Fidal, Paris
Chris Owen Penningtons Manches Cooper, London; Senior Vice Chair, IBA European Regional Forum
Oya Deniz Kavame Kavame, Istanbul;Young Lawyers' Liaison and Scholarship Officer, IBA European Regional Forum
Anna Dabrowska Wardynski & Partners, Warsaw
Andreas Stoltze SONA AutoComp Germany GmbH, Munich
Jean Obst Robert Bosch, Stuttgart
Joost Vantomme ACEA, Brussels
Javier Fontcuberta Cuatrecasas, Barcelona
Norihito Sato Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, Tokyo
The welcome address was given by Marco Rizzi, Chair of the IBA Closely Held and Growing Business Enterprises Committee, and the topic was introduced by Chris Owen, on behalf of the IBA European Regional Forum Committee.
If there is an industry being disrupted in Europe, it is very likely to be the automobile industry.
Five different features can be found within disruptive industries such as the automobile industry. These are:
- large transformation. Combustion engines are less popular, car manufacturers in Europe have high fixed costs with a collapsed sales market and a poor reputation following the ‘dieselgate’ emissions scandal;
- new forms of mobility, such as electric, autonomous, micromobility or car sharing. This fragmentation is the second element of a disrupted industry. The industry is in transformation due to new competitors like Tesla (with only twenty parts in a Tesla vehicle). A huge amount of fragmentation has taken place over the last ten years. Over €100bn of investments by non-car manufacturers were made in the mobility services industry, notably by United States tech companies and state-owned Chinese companies;
- the issue of regulation, where huge changes have been made, such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) at European Union level, telecommunication, energy and so on. The automobile industry now must deal with a very complex multi-layer regulatory landscape;
- collaboration, involving specialists, such as data analysts, software experts or telecom engineers; and
- despite what was said by the panel, the reality is that more mobility services are needed. Some may not be jumping into a car to go the supermarket, but instead buying online.
Dealing with a highly disrupted industry is an occasion, and for us, it’s fascinating to see these five different aspects working together to create a highly disruptive industry, one with a wonderful prize for the winners at the end of the day.
Following this introduction, the webinar was split into two parts of almost 25 minutes each. The first dealt with the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on supply chains, and the second focused on mass versus individual transport as the concept for future mobility.
How Covid-19 impacts the structure of supply chains in the automotive industry
Andreas Stoltze began by giving the audience his view from a supplier’s perspective on the impact of Covid-19.
The coronavirus pandemic had caused production at automotive locations worldwide to be shut down in March/April 2020. Now, the automotive producers and suppliers are systematically preparing for a gradual ramping up of manufacturing. However, the slow recovery in customer demand has forced suppliers to introduce appropriate and speedy restructuring measures, including:
- ramping up production. Automotive companies have put numerous health and safety measures in place to ensure that associates are adequately protected against coronavirus infection; and
- the first and quickest financial emergency response to the Corona pandemic was to apply for short-time work in some countries. In Germany, the Government supplements 60 per cent of personnel cost, which helps to significantly compensate the losses resulting from the sales drop (up to 60 per cent). Almost all European nations created short-term bridge financing solutions, which, for most of the companies concerned, was no more than just a drop in the ocean.
Consumer demand is shaped not only by real factors such as disposable income, but also by psychological factors that cannot be planned for. Unexpected buyer reluctance could stem from households’ worries about the future economic situation after the coronavirus pandemic. The latest figures show, for example, that the Volkswagen Group had 83 per cent fewer orders in April 2020 in relation to April 2019.
Based on the current market situation, distressed companies will have to consider carefully whether there is still the basis to carry out an out-of-court restructuring process or if restructuring within the scope of an insolvency proceeding is the better approach for successful crisis management.
In many countries (such as, Germany) we find the legal restructuring tool for a self-administered insolvency proceeding – comparable to the US Chapter 11 Code – that allows cutting off claims of creditors through an insolvency plan designed by the debtor and approved by the creditors.
Many operational restructuring measures (such as, mass layoffs, customer price re-negotiations/continuation agreements and so on) can be easier and less expensive under the protective shield of an insolvency court than in out-of-court restructuring situations.
Joost Vantommethen described the overall perception from the perspective of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
From an ACEA (the EU association of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) with 16 members) perspective, there is a change within the European car industry in respect of regulatory policy issues and communication strategies.
Transport, notably by car, buses or trucks, is critical for the functioning of our economies and societies. However, today, motor vehicle production and sales have come almost to a complete standstill. In April, passenger car registrations dropped against the figures from a year ago by between 90-98 per cent in lockdown countries. A severe impact on Q1 2020 financial results and the outlook for 2020 is now certain.
A renewal of the vehicle fleet is required in order to restart the market and generate demand. Most factories were shut down and are reopening only gradually. The loss of production is estimated at 2 million vehicles. Production is restarting slowly but it’s difficult to get the whole supply chain moving again. The outlook for sales and registrations are disastrous, down at least 25 per cent according to HIS, as vehicle purchases are not the number one priority for consumers in the wake of the crisis. Over 1.1 million jobs are affected (in auto manufacturing). This situation leads to a liquidity shortage (VW burns €2.2bn per week in cash). The situation for suppliers is even more critical.
So far, ACEA has taken the following action:
• assessing the impact of Covid-19 and the type of support needed via its members and national associations;
• raising awareness of the impact of Covid-19 and requesting support from its various counterparts (eg, the Commission President and Secretary General, regular interactions with Commissioners and so on); and
• preparing for the aftermath of the crisis through an exit and relaunch strategy or working jointly with various organisations (eg, CLEPA, CECRA, ETRMA).
Among the exit and relaunch strategy tools, ACEA has made some recommendations, such as:
• short-term liquidity and/or credit facilities;
• coordinated strategy at EU level to safely relaunch production; and
• regulatory adjustments.
After these impressive presentations, Oya Deniz Kavame and Javier Fontcuberta gave an insight on their respective home jurisdictions, Turkey and Spain. From a lawyer´s perspective, Kavame pointed out how severely Turkey has been hit by the supply-chain disruption caused by Covid-19. Fontcuberta touched upon the sensitive aspects of the Spanish car and automotive industries and showed what is needed by, and done for, the industry by state governments on a regional as well as nationwide level. Both made clear that the disruption is an international phenomenon and will not be solved by national measures, but by internationally coordinated action. As highlighted by Vantomme, too, the relaunch of the industry will very certainly need EU-wide coordination across the entire supply chain as well as regulatory adjustments.
Will the crisis cause a re-think in future mobility concepts of the antagonism between individual and/or mass transportation?
Jean Obst began his presentation by picking up a question from the audience in respect of where the automobile industry would be going.
Obst went back to what Owen said in his introduction and to the last IBA conference in March where the need for collaboration and other topics had been addressed. Many challenges had been identified but Covid-19 is a big hit, which makes it even harder for transformation.
However, there is some good news as the transportation market will continue to grow. The world’s population will grow by one billion over the next ten years, which will increase the need for mobility.
Today, we are facing changes with e-mobility, connected cars and combustion engines. It’s a growing market, but how can the automobile market grow with massive transportation? The market may not grow in certain urban areas such as Berlin, Paris or London, for example, but it may grow in other places where there are no motorways or subways. New markets, such as Africa, will also represent opportunities.
An intelligent solution will need to be found to ensure the coexistence between mass transportation and individual mobility.
Vantomme was then asked to comment on the following question from the audience: ‘How do you see the EU plan for promoting the fleet renewal with climate target of CO2 emission?’ This is at the heart of ACEA’s discussions with the European Commission. ACEA has identified relaunch measures such as:
• a 25-point action plan with CLEPA (the suppliers’ association);
• an EU green deal agenda;
• increasing charging facilities for electric vehicles (EVs); and
• various regulatory changes (VAT reduction, incentives, etc) to be taken by Member States or at EU level.
In addition, an EU recovery plan is expected in the coming weeks.
Following this insight from the industry speakers, Anna Dabrowska and Nohirito Sato pointed out what future concepts of mobility would look like in Japan and Poland. Both stressed the growing importance of joint services and connectivity in the plans for new transportation solutions and how intensively software companies, automotive suppliers and the regulators are cooperating in order to shape the necessary framework for the required integrated concepts. This applies to small and growing companies as well as to well-established industrial conglomerates specialising in this field.
Andreas Kloyer and Alexis Poinsard closed the webinar by underlining the growing importance of developing smart and integrated solutions for traffic in the decades to come, and being able to meet the challenges in a fast-changing environment with various aspects to meet, for example, a growing population worldwide, the climate crisis, or the importance of being connected with friends and colleagues wherever you are. This all will also create a significant amount of legal work and the need to implement new legal structures of cooperation among the industry players, all of which will make it interesting to follow up on the next developments in the automotive industry.
The webinar can be watched here: /Disrupted-Industries


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In its latest crackdown on deceptive and illegal credit card practices, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is ordering GE Capital Retail Bank to pay $225 million in refunds to customers.
Credit card issuer GE Capital, which changed it name to Synchrony Bank earlier this month, was ordered to pay $56 million to 638,000 customers that the CFPB said were misled about certain add-on products -- like debt cancellation services that it said were free when they weren't, and charging people without their knowledge.
But the biggest chunk -- $169 million -- will be refunded to 108,000 customers who were allegedly discriminated against when the bank excluded them from debt relief offers because they lived in Puerto Rico or asked to receive communications in Spanish. That makes this the largest credit card discrimination settlement yet, according to the Justice Department.
"The blatant discrimination that occurred here is unlawful and will not be tolerated," said Jocelyn Samuels, acting assistant attorney general for the civil rights division of the Department of Justice, in a statement. "Borrowers have the right to credit card terms that do not differ based on their national origin, and the settlement today sends the message that the Justice Department can and will vigorously enforce the law against lenders who violate that right."
GE Capital said it has already refunded the vast majority of the money to consumers, with only about $34 million left to dole out. It also said that it self-reported the discrimination to the CFPB and began resolving the problem before federal regulators even got involved.
"The Bank identified this matter through its own internal audit, promptly reported it to the CFPB, and commenced a remediation," the bank said in a statement. "The Bank regrets this error. Its priority is treating customers fairly and when issues are identified, it is committed to making it right."
This is the sixth action the CFPB has taken against a credit card issuer for illegal actions surrounding credit card add-on products, but only the second it has taken against a bank for discrimination issues.
In April, it ordered Bank of America ( to pay )$727 million to customers duped by the bank's illegal credit card marketing and billing practices -- the largest refund the government watchdog has ever ordered.
Over the past two years, Capital One ( was ordered to )refund customers $140 million, Discover ( )refunded $200 million, Chase's ( )refunds totaled $309 million and American Express ( has )refunded customers $60 million.
"We will continue to take action against marketing tactics that trick consumers into buying credit card products they do not want or cannot use," CFPB Director Richard Cordray said in a statement.
In addition to refunds for consumers, GE Capital was also ordered to pay a $3.5 million penalty to the CFPB.


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Ella Montalban, Bohol Island News Staff | Posted on Oct. 20, 07:00 a.m.
Starting Monday, there are now two regular trips from Sibonga town in Cebu to Loon town in Bohol province.
M/V Siargao Princess, which officially sailed on Saturday, announced this following the recent launching of their trips.
Now, those living in the southern part of Cebu can now reach Loon town after an hour of sea travel.
Here is their schedule:
ROUTES TO BE SERVED:
Catagbacan Norte, Loon Port Bohol to Sibonga port & Vice Versa
Monday to Thursday
Catagbacan, Port 8 am (departure); 9 am (arrival)
Sibonga, Port 10 am (departure); 11 am (arrival)
Catagbacan, Port 12:30pm (departure); 1:30pm (arrival)
Sibonga, Port 3 pm (departure); 4 pm (arrival)
Sibonga, Port 4pm (departure); 5pm (arrival)
Catagbacan, Port 1pm (departure) 3:30pm (arrival)
The route is more convenient especially for Marian devotees, who wish to also visit the Simala Shrine in Sibonga.
For bookings and other information, you may call the following contact number: Contact: 09071064551


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Overview Highlights Benefits Features Brochure Prevent accidents and avoid damage to valuable goods and equipment with the VIA Mobile360 AI Forklift Safety Kit. With its rich visual intelligence and smart detection features, the kit enables operators to safely maneuver their vehicles in the most demanding warehouse environments by delivering real-time alerts whenever it detects potential […]
Last Wednesday we had the great pleasure of welcoming the Taiwan media to our headquarters for a strategy update by Epan Wu, President of VIA Embedded, and a live demonstration of the new VIA Mobile360 AI Forklift Safety Kit. The kit combines a VIA Mobile360 M810 system with four FOV-190° cameras installed on each face […]
We recently had the opportunity to work with a company in China keen to improve safety standards, specifically regarding forklift truck operators. They enlisted our help to upgrade their existing forklift fleet with the latest safety technologies.


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Goffs, the Irish-based bloodstock auction company that is in talks to take over Britain’s number two firm, Doncaster Bloodstock Sales, announced on April 30 an extra set of bonuses involving the Goffs Million yearling sale in October.
The winners of the 2008 Parknasilla Hotel Goffs Million colts and fillies races, which are only open to horses sold at the 2007 sale and each have first place prize money of one million euros, will gain a further one million euros if they go on to victory in the Irish group I classics, the 1,000 or 2,000 Guineas, the following year.
Goffs is providing this extra incentive at no additional cost. The company is in a fierce marketing battle with Europe’s leading bloodstock auction firm, Newmarket, England-based Tattersalls, which introduced three sales incentive races linked to the 2007 Tattersalls October yearling sale (part one).
Sales races attached to Goffs Million sale were established for the 2005 auction ,and chairman Eimear Mulhern said: "This thrilling new incentive represents a genuine opportunity to win not one but two million euro at no extra cost.."
Sales races are largely funded by owners through entry fees and the two Goffs races last year linked to the 2005 Goffs Million Sale raised more than the prize money offered.


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Some of the emerging tech in the autonomous technology market is truly exciting, like something out of Blade Runner or the Jetsons (yes, there are flying cars, but we’ll save that for another issue). And the growth potential is substantial, with the self-driving vehicles market projected to balloon to $802 billion by the middle of this decade alone. And it’s not just personal use vehicles, we’re seeing an explosion in demand for self-driving busses and so-called robo-taxis, especially with growing calls for a reduction in the amount of single-person use vehicles on the road. It seems that, globally, there’s a call for more public transportation and ride-sharing, and self-driving vehicles are coming to the rescue.
Multiple Routes To The Destination
Let’s take a look at what’s considered an autonomous (self-driving) vehicle… there are levels to this.
Autonomous driving is defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) on a six-point scale and describes the extent to which the vehicle can take over driving tasks. On one end of the spectrum, you have Level 0, a car with no driver aids whatsoever, and on the other, a Level 5, which has no steering wheel, pedals, or any other mechanism with which a human driver could control the vehicle.
What a lot of people may not realize is that we’ve had some level of automation in cars for decades, and you’ve probably only ever driven a true Level 0 car if you are of a certain age (conjuring images of crank cars… just kidding, that’s too far back). Older cars didn’t have any sort of driving automation technology at all to assist drivers. Level 1 vehicles have some of this technology, including cruise control, lane departure warnings, and emergency braking functions. They help with safety and convenience, but don’t replace human drivers in any way.
Level 2 combines assistance systems to enable the vehicle to independently perform some driving functions like parking, or getting through traffic, but the driver is still largely in control. Level 3 is called conditional automation, and this is where the car can actually start to drive itself a bit. A person is free to do other things (maybe you’ve seen the videos of Tesla drivers asleep on the highway). Drivers still need to navigate the hard stuff, but the car can do plenty alone at this stage.
Level 4 is high automation, and here we see cars able to handle an entire trip (mostly) without human intervention. The car is equipped for human control, but the car is ultimately doing the heavy lifting. Finally, we have Level 5, where stuff gets wild… this is full automation. In this case, riders don’t even need a license, because they become the passenger and there aren’t any pedals or a steering wheel. No human input necessary, period… all the person does is tell the car where they want to go, and they are free to enjoy the ride.
Get Ready For Science Fiction
When we think of self-driving cars, they may seem like some far-off, futuristic tech… or like only the really wealthy will get to enjoy them anytime soon. Remember the movie Judge Dread with Sandra Bullock and Sylvester Stallone? The writers imagined a time in the year 2102 where cars drove themselves and took passengers out to dinner at the only restaurant available, Taco Bell (vegan only, of course). Well that future is now, and we don’t have to wait 100 years… it’s happening.
Speaking of movies, be sure you check out this week’s Crypto Corner, where we cover how blockchain is disrupting the movie industry!
If you’re familiar with this space at all, you are probably familiar with Waymo (Google’s self-driving car project launched in 2009). That project has come full-circle and we’re now living in a time where they have made the robo-taxi a real-life thing. It’s called the Waymo One and it’s a ride-hailing service that offers a fully automated ride experience. You simply call the car (like you would an Uber), and it takes you where you need to go. Wow!
The vehicle is Chrysler Pacifica-based and outfitted with 19 cameras, one long-range and one mid-range LiDAR sensor, four short-range LiDAR sensors, and six radar sensors. The data from these high-tech cameras, radars, and ultrasonic sensors is pulled together into a stream with high-definition map data and processed by a computer, acting as the vehicle’s “eyes and ears”. Currently, the service is limited to customers in a few areas in Arizona, but will expand, and is testing rides in San Francisco.
Toyota Versus Tesla
Tesla’s Elon Musk has announced his plans to manufacture and deploy self-driving taxis on a massive scale. He wants to help with the transition to sustainable energy on a scale that will truly have an impact. Recently, at the opening of a factory in Texas, when talking about the project, he stated that Tesla would “… move to truly massive scale — scale that no company has ever achieved in the history of humanity.”
Toyota has big plans in the space as well. Its subsidiary Woven Planet will be using low-cost cameras, artificial intelligence, LiDAR, and radar to collect data and train its self-driving fleet through a Neural Network. The company recently acquired Level 5, a division of Lyft, dedicated to self-driving technology and has taken over Carmera Inc, an AI company based in the U.S. that specializes in next-generation road intelligence… all this in an effort to position themselves in a spot of leadership in the self-driving vehicles game.
And don’t count mighty Apple out.
We’ve seen some impressive companies IPO in this space recently, such as Rivian (RIVN) at $77 billion in November (the company is an EV startup that rolled out their first all-electric pickup truck in 2021) and Lucid Motors (LCID), an electric vehicle manufacturer headquartered in New York offering semi-autonomous technologies, via a SPAC merger. For this year, we’re expecting a couple of possible IPOs, with the key companies we’ll be watching being Argo AI and Intel’s Mobileye.
Argo AI, an autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Pittsburgh, is working to develop self-driving systems that would completely remove drivers from behind the wheel and is engaging in private fundraising in order to pursue an IPO later this year. The company, which is testing prototypes in six cities in the U.S. (and soon Europe), has partnered with Ford and Volkswagen Group. Both companies plan to launch services using Argo AI technology in the near future. Argo AI’s most recent valuation was $7 billion.
Intel will list shares of its self-driving-car unit Mobileye, which develops autonomous driving technologies and driver-assistance systems, mid-year 2022. The company owns 100% of shares and will retain majority ownership following the completion of the IPO. In its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Intel indicated that it hasn’t determined how many shares will be offered or how much they will cost, the IPO will come after the completion of the SEC review process. I love Mobileye. We made money on it before Intel bought it.
Whether you’re a science fiction fan or not, it’s an exciting time to be an investor in this space. It’s easy to imagine the transformation that self-driving vehicles will have on our society and how different things could look, and how the public will get around, in just a few years. Stick with us as we keep exploring the possibilities in future newsletter and keep watching to find out whether we recommend either of these innovative companies for my Buy List later this year.


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7 Days is a weekly roundup of the Editors' picks of what's been happening in the world of technology - written with a dash of humor, a hint of exasperation, and an endless supply of (Irish) coffee.
It’s tough to keep up with everything that’s going on around the tech world, with so many announcements, rumors and updates to keep track of. But don’t worry if you missed anything – 7 Days is here to walk you through what’s been happening lately.
Our journey this week begins by going back to the future, home of the self-lacing shoe. But that future will arrive on December 1, when Nike finally releases its long awaited HyperAdapt 1.0 sneakers for $720.
Over in the UK, there was troubling news for internet users, as the government passed its controversial Investigatory Powers Bill. The so-called 'Snooper's Charter' has been severely opposed by privacy advocates and others who claim it amounts to blanket surveillance of all citizens' online activities.
And there was bad news for those on mobile network Three in the UK too, as the company admitted that customer data had been stolen in a recent breach.
In somewhat happier news, Brits can now sign up to Amazon's Music Unlimited service, priced from as little as £3.99 a month.
Amazon also launched its new Music Unlimited family plans for up to six people, but they're currently available only in the United States.
Apple recently launched its new MacBook Pro featuring a distinctive thin 'Touch Bar' between the keyboard and display, prompting many to wonder if a full touchscreen would have been more sensible. Apple's Phil Schiller shot that idea down, saying that "to reach over the air to try to touch and do things" would be "absurd".
Of course, plenty of people think the Touch Bar is a strange idea too - and given that sales of touchscreen notebooks have been doing well while MacBook sales have been falling, Schiller may just be a little out of touch himself.
Speaking of Apple's not-so-magic touch, some of its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets have been afflicted by non-responsive touchscreens and flickering displays over the last few months. Apple acknowledged the 'Touch Disease' issue this week, but placed the blame entirely on its customers and how they'd treated their handsets, offering to repair them only if they pay $149.
Mozilla released Firefox 50 on Tuesday bringing significant improvements in start-up performance, and a range of other new features.
It also launched Firefox Focus, a new, simple, privacy-focused web browser, which is available now for iPhones and iPads.
Meanwhile, Facebook bowed to pressure from privacy watchdogs, as it halted its controversial collection of data from WhatsApp users in Europe.
WhatsApp also launched its new video calling feature, bringing it to over a billion users on iOS, Android and Windows devices.
Qualcomm announced its new flagship-class system-on-a-chip, the Snapdragon 835, which will come to high-end devices next year. Built in partnership with Samsung, it brings a 27% boost in performance, with 40% less power consumption.
Qualcomm also revealed details of its new Quick Charge 4.0 technology, which promises "five minutes of charging for five hours of battery life".
Recent reports have claimed that Samsung plans to refurbish and sell its troubled Galaxy Note7 flagship - but as we explained here, that seems extremely unlikely.
Samsung began rolling out its second Android 7.0 Nougat beta to the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. The company is also working on its Nougat update for the Galaxy Note 5, S6, S6 edge and Tab S2 - but it still hasn't given any indication of when the update will actually be released for any of its devices.
Given Samsung's record when it comes to updating its devices, it could be a long wait.
Security seems to be an endless problem for Android devices, with major issues popping up with alarming frequency. This week, researchers discovered that some budget smartphones sold by US brand BLU were transmitting personally identifiable user data - including text messages, call logs and location info - to Chinese servers every 72 hours.
HTC launched its latest high-end handset, the Bolt, on US carrier Sprint. Bizarrely, the device comes with the outdated Snapdragon 810 processor - two months after HTC released the Desire 10 Lifestyle with the years-old Snapdragon 400.
It looks an awful lot like HTC is relying on the ignorance of its customers to sell them new devices with ageing specs.
As you may know, HTC is the manufacturer of Google's Pixel flagships - but this week, Huawei confirmed that it turned down the opportunity to build the Pixels. Huawei has plenty of other devices to keep it busy, though, as you can see in these articles from the last few days:
- Huawei reveals a more affordable Mate 9 Pro
- Introducing the Mate 9 Lite
- MediaPad tablets launch in the US
- Huawei's dual-camera P10 gets teased in new leak
Following weeks of rumors, OnePlus unveiled a more powerful version of its mobile flagship:
- OnePlus 3T: Snapdragon 821, larger battery and new 16MP camera, priced from $439
- OnePlus 3 discontinued in the US and Europe
- How the OnePlus 3 and 3T will get Android 7.0 Nougat, OxygenOS 3.5, and other updates
New images popped up a few days ago claiming to show the new Moto Droid Turbo 3, which promises to be a fiercely powerful flagship.
And a leaked roadmap suggests that the Moto X could be making a comeback in Lenovo's 2017 lineup.
Rumors and a leaked image point to the possibility of a smaller version of the Mi MIX, Xiaomi's stunning handset with a 6.4-inch display that extends to the edge of the device, and into its curved corners. But the Mi MIX's distinctive design also appears to be its greatest weakness - at least in drop tests.
The Mi MIX will soon have competition from another device with an ultra-thin bezel. The Meizu Pro 7 is expected to launch in December, priced from $395 - a good deal lower than the Xiaomi handset's $520 price tag.
Remember the YotaPhone 2? The stylish Android flagship has a conventional display up front, along with a full-size e-ink display on the rear, and was originally priced at $859. Now, though, you can grab it for less than $120 (and make sure you read our review before you buy!).
HP unveiled its new Z2 Mini workstation, an ultra-compact powerhouse that's "smaller than a cup of espresso". Priced from $699, it will be available with Intel Xeon processors, up to 1.5TB of storage, and Nvidia Quadro GPUs with "M620-class professional graphics".
HP's Elite x2 tablet launched on Verizon, with integrated 4G LTE connectivity. The Windows 10 Pro device comes with a detachable backlit keyboard and Wacom pen and digitizer, offering similar specs to Microsoft's entry-level Surface Pro 4, and is priced from $899.99.
Microsoft released its latest driver and firmware updates for the Surface Book - but once again, the company failed to publish details of those updates at the same time that they began rolling out. Thankfully, it did eventually reveal those details - and unlike its last set of updates, it didn't take three days to do so.
Microsoft has also been offering chunky discounts on its Surface devices. In the US, buyers can get $200 off all Surface Book Core i7 models without its new Performance Base; and in the UK, Surface Pro 4 buyers can get up to £110 off certain models - but both of those deals end this weekend.
Microsoft has lined up some more juicy offers for Black Friday, though, including up to $430 off Surface devices, and discounts on the Xbox One S. Gamers will also be able to buy over 250 Xbox titles - including some of the latest releases - with up to 40% off.
European antitrust regulators expressed 'concerns' about Microsoft's proposed $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn last week. In response, Microsoft has offered unspecified 'concessions' ahead of the European Commission's ruling on or before December 6.
Microsoft held its Connect() developer conference this week, where it made a series of announcements about its Visual Studio development suite (although it had already ruined the surprise for one of them):
- Visual Studio for Mac gets its official reveal; preview available to download
- Microsoft announces Visual Studio 17, along with Release Candidate
- Visual Studio Mobile Center unveiled, promising a "mission control for mobile apps"
And in a rather unexpected twist, Microsoft revealed that it has joined the Linux Foundation (!!) as a platinum member.
It also announced its first public preview of SQL Server on Linux.
After launching the Bot Framework at its Build developer conference earlier this year, Microsoft announced its Azure Bot Service this week, a cloud service designed to make it easier to "build, connect, deploy and manage intelligent bots".
Microsoft's new Surface Dial interaction device went on sale last week for $99.99, and the company is already looking at ways to support it in more of its applications. It added new interaction features for the Dial in its Windows 10 Maps app, along with other improvements for those without a Dial.
Windows Insiders in the Fast ring got a separate update for the Maps app, allowing users to send corrections from their PCs or phones to help improve the quality of mapping data.
Insiders got their first official taste of the new Office Hub for Windows 10 too.
And Microsoft pushed out a general update to its Photos app for all Windows 10 users, adding ink support to let users draw and scribble on their favorite snaps.
Windows 10 users are also getting new pop-up notifications from Microsoft telling them that its Edge web browser is "safer" than rivals such as Firefox and Chrome - but thankfully, there is a way to turn those notifications off.
It's been another busy week for Windows updates. On Tuesday, Microsoft released Windows 10 Mobile build 10586.682 for devices not on the Anniversary Update - including for handsets that didn't get an 'official' upgrade to Windows 10 Mobile.
There were plenty of new builds of the upcoming Windows 10 Creators Update too:
- Insider Preview build 14965 heads to PCs in the Slow ring
- Slow ring Windows 10 Mobile users get their first Creators Update preview with build 14965
- ISOs released for Windows 10 build 14965
- Windows 10 build 14971 rolls out to PCs in the Fast ring
- Known issues, fixes and improvements in Windows 10 Insider Preview build 14971 for PCs
Alienware's general manager said that companies like his saw the value of Valve's Steam Machine consoles two years ago because Microsoft had "really stepped away from gamers" with Windows 8. But he added that, since then, everything has changed with Windows 10.
No surprises here: Microsoft's Phil Spencer said this week that Project Scorpio - which will launch next year with support for native 4K gaming and virtual reality - will be a "premium console" and "will cost more than" the Xbox One S.
Nvidia's latest Game Ready drivers apparently weren't as ready as the company thought. There have been widespread reports of flickering issues and decreasing performance from users who have installed them.
It looks like retail giant Toys R Us prematurely revealed the price of Nintendo's new Switch console.
But Nintendo itself announced the official price of its new mobile game Super Mario Run, which launches on iOS on December 15... and it won't be cheap.
But our odyssey around the tech world this week comes to an end with Apple, which unveiled new 10- and 13-inch books, priced from $199, filled with pretty pictures of its products.
Yep, two hundred bucks to feed Apple's sense of superiority and its desperate need for self-congratulation - and all you get out of it is a brochure of its old devices.
Before we wrap things up for another week, let me first highlight a few extra bits around the site that I hope you’ll enjoy reading.
First up, you may be interested in our feature article about Microsoft. Many people still think of Microsoft as the bland, beige behemoth of yesteryear - but it's a very different company these days, and there are many reasons to be excited about what it's working on.
Rich Woods got his hands on Lenovo's 6.4-inch Phab 2 Pro, the first phone with Google's Project Tango technology. Ahead of his full review, check out his unboxing video and first impressions of the device.
Usama Jawad got his game on with his review of Silence for PCs. He called it a "gorgeous point-and-click adventure game" with stunning visuals, simple gameplay and an engaging storyline - but it's not quite perfect.
And finally, we asked our readers what they think about the Continuum feature in Windows 10 Mobile, which allows owners to use a mouse and keyboard with their handset when connected to a larger display. Is it genuinely useful, a pointless gimmick, or a good idea with flawed execution?
Stay tuned to Neowin in the days ahead for what’s sure to be another exciting week, filled with official news, lots of updates, and plenty of insights from around the world of technology.
For now, though, there’s lots more to read across the site – including all sorts of interesting discussions over on our forums.
From all of us
on the Neowin team,
have a great weekend!


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Six months ago Men’s Wearhouse (MW) was a case study in mismanagement. As Breakout co-host Matt Nesto and I discuss in the attached video, the company and its board has been bailed out by none other than competitor Jos. A. Bank (JOSB) in one of the weirdest back-and-forth struggles in recent retail history.
Today, Men’s Wearhouse seemingly put an exclamation point on the struggle by offering a hostile $57.50 bid for Jos. A. Bank in a fight to play the lead role in a merger that would create a mega-chain of 1,700 discount men’s apparel stores.
The fight started last fall when Jos. A. Bank made an unsolicited $48 a share all cash offer for Men’s Wearhouse shortly after Men’s badly missed estimates. This despite the fact that the much-smaller Jos. A. Bank would need to gut its own balance sheet to close the deal. Feeling the pressure do something after awkwardly canning founder Geroge Zimmer just months earlier, Men’s Wearhouse fought back by flipping the script and offering to buy Jos A Bank.
The back and forth has resulted in Jos. A. Bank putting in place a poison pill and Men’s Wearhouse, which as you’ll see opposed any sort of transaction just months ago going hostile today. Meanwhile shares of both formerly moribund companies are up 31% in the last half year.
Nesto suggests getting Men’s Wearhouse may have been the sucker all along here. Speaking of Jos. A. Bank, Nesto suggests this may have been their “dark plan all along.” When Jos. A. Bank started this fight, they were a company trying to lever-up wildly to take out a much larger rival. Now Jos. A. Bank is in a situation where Men’s Wearhouse is bidding against itself to jam together two slow-growth companies. Somewhere Sun Tzu is smiling.
Meanwhile the big winner is George Zimmer. Owner of 1.8 million shares of Mens Wearhouse, Zimmer has made around $30 million and been strategically exonerated since his ouster.
Disclaimer: Merrill Lynch is not responsible for the editorial content of this program.
More from Breakout:


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On 23 March, the UK announced lockdown measures that would change the way we consume, market and live for the foreseeable future. As companies grappled with the new reality one trend started to appear – big business coming forth to help local ones.
Whether it was Barclay’s, Vice, Time Out or Diageo, brands across sectors extended a helping hand to local businesses.
In part this was driven by a change in consumer behaviour. According to Nielsen, a quarter of consumers say they are visiting local stores more than they did before the pandemic. And a survey by Deloitte Digital found that 57% of consumers say they will be spend more on locally-produced products after lockdown is lifted than they did before.
However, there are challenges ahead. While consumers might say they are spending more locally, spend overall is down. Channel 4 data finds that 41% say they are likely to spend less on retail shopping over the next 12 months than they did before lockdown.


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Two of the world's super powers have united as US President Barack Obama and China President Hu Jintao announced a package of seven measures to strengthen co-operation between the countries on clean energy.
The US-China Electric Vehicle Initiative follows on from the US-China Electric Vehicle Forum announced in September 2009 and includes a clean energy research centre, an energy efficiency action plan, a renewable energy partnership, 21st Century coal, a shale gas initiative and an energy co-operation programme.
Under the initiative, activities will include a joint standards development under which the countries will explore the development of joint product and testing standards for electric vehicles including a common design for plugs to be used in the vehicles and common test protocols. There will also be joint demonstrations of electric vehicles in both countries and a joint roadmap which identifies research and development needs as well as issues that relate to the introduction of electric vehicles. The countries will also develop materials to improve public understanding of electric vehicle technologies.
Additional measures include the establishment of the Clean Energy Research Centre, which will use teams of scientists and engineers from both countries and be supported by public and private funding of at least $150million over five years. An energy efficiency action plan will also see the two countries work together to improve the efficiency of buildings and industrial facilities, along with consumer appliances.
Currently, the two countries are the world's largest automobile markets and in the past year both have made significant investments in electric vehicles. The US, for example, established the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and expanded a $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric vehicles; while China has provided significant investments for battery research and has included charging infrastructure in its economic recovery plan.


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After months of speculation, the country's largest wireless company, Verizon Wireless, is finally back in Verizon's hands. British cellular company Vodafone bought a 45 percent cut of Verizon Wireless for $70 billion over a decade ago and has now reached an agreement with Verizon that will see the communications giant buy back the stake in its wireless arm for a massive $130 billion in cash and stock. Verizon has confirmed the deal via its official PR page, estimating that the purchase will close by the end of Q1 2014 pending regulatory approvals.
Reflecting on the finalized deal, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said, "This transaction will enhance value across platforms and allow Verizon to operate more efficiently, so we can continue to focus on producing more seamless and integrated products and solutions for our customers. We believe full ownership will provide increased opportunities in the enterprise and consumer wireline markets."
Since 1999, when Vodafone first invested in Verizon Wireless, mobile communications have represented an increasingly large portion of Verizon's total earnings. Generally, wireless revenues are now double the size of the company's wireline incomes. Despite healthy revenues, Vodafone has expressed dismay at the meager returns on its investment. But CEO Vittorio Colao highlighted the positives of the Verizon partnership today. "Our two companies have had a long and successful partnership and have grown Verizon Wireless into a market leader with great momentum," he said, wishing Verizon "continuing success" as it assumes total ownership of the carrier. Verizon and Vodafone will hold a conference call to discuss the landmark transaction tomorrow at 8AM EST.


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MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images
Belgium may have lost to Argentina in the knockout round of the 2014 World Cup, but hey, at least their fans are super-hot. That counts for something, right?
Seventeen-year-old Axelle Despiegelaere was spotted in the crowd at the Belgium-Russia game on June 22, because camera guys love their game of "spot the hottie." The Internet definitely took notice of the beautiful teen all decked out in Belgium gear and cheering for her team. Turns out, it wasn't just the Internet who was into her.
Axelle announced on Tuesday on her Facebook (that has since been made private) that she has accepted a modeling gig with L'Oreal. Just by simply showing up at a soccer game. So aspiring models, maybe it's time to attend more sporting events.


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European toilet paper gets passionate
Thu Mar 9, 3:08 PM ET
LISBON (AFP) - After launching black toilet paper last year, one of Europe's biggest producers of household paper products has introduced a new red version for those wanting to inject more passion into their bathrooms.
Portugal's Renova introduced its new line of red toilet paper -- along with black paper handkerchiefs -- at upscale stores in Austria, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands last month and it plans to make the items available in other markets, including the US, over the coming months.
"It is a red that makes a huge impact, like a Ferrari," Renova international brand manager Jose Manuel Pinheiro told AFP.
A company statement said the new shade of toilet paper would "target the most hip points in town," adding that red "is the colour of our hearts, of passion, lust, fury, laughter, anger, love, fire."
The prime targets of the black paper handkerchiefs are "pop stars, fashion models, football players, film producers or Hollywood actors," it added.
The company decided to launch the two new products because the black toilet paper it put on the market in 2005 posted strong sales, Pinheiro said.
"We are trying to create a niche market for value-added household products in nations with a high purchasing power," he said.
World-famous department store Harrods put the black handkerchiefs and toilet paper on sale along with gourmet food and drinks at a new "luxury convenience" store it opened earlier this month opposite its main store in London.
Renova charges 2.50 euros (2.98 US dollars) per roll of the coloured toilet paper and six euros for six packages of the black handkerchiefs when the items are ordered through its Internet site.
The company, based in Torres Novas located some 120 kilometres ( 75 miles) northeast of Lisbon, posted sales of nearly 120 million euros last year, about half of it outside of Portugal.
It has introduced novelty household products in the past, including toilet paper with moisturising lotion and multi-coloured paper towels.
Yes, red, formerly the colour of passion will henceforth be the colour of..................ick


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Social Media Wrap Up: Pizza Hut’s vegan flatbreads; Tim Hortons continues drive-thru openings; Costa’s reusable cups range
Find out what QSRs have been up to on social media this week.
BRAND AND STORE UPDATES
Costa Coffee launched a range of brand new reusable travel cups and bottles.
Tim Hortons opened a new drive thru restaurant in Westbrook, Warrington.
7Bone Burger Co. opened a restaurant in Staines.
NEW ON THE MENU
Pizza Hut is promoting its new vegan flatbreads.
Caffe Nero has a new vegan sausage ciabatta, done in partnership with This.
Ole & Steen introduced its first vegan pastry: the Raspberry & Almond Swirl.
Cooplands is bringing back their vegan Devonshire Split.


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Outdoor Dining in Great Barrington Gets a Facelift This Year
On a recent edition of the WSBS 'Let's Talk' program, Jesse Stewart spoke with Great Barrington Town Manager, Mark Pruhenski as well as Assistant Town Manager, Chris Rembold. We covered a variety of topics regarding local happenings, local government, entertainment and more related to the town.
One of the items we discussed was the fact that outdoor dining will once again take place on Railroad Street during the spring/summer months. Like last year, the town is going to narrow Railroad Street which means eliminating the parking on Fridays and Saturdays and turn it into a dining area.
Chris Rembold made the following statement to the WSBS listeners:
The town has some funds leftover from last year. The funds will be used to purchase planters, furniture and equipment to make the scene look a little bit nicer. I think last year it was hastily put together as we all pivoted in the COVID-19 era and Railroad Street kind of looked like a construction zone...sometimes. This year we'll have some much nicer planters and street furniture for folks, maybe some lights strung between the new light poles and make it feel like the living room or the dining room for Great Barrington. We're really excited to be able to do that.
Mark and Chris will be announcing a start date for outdoor dining on Railroad Street soon but they did mention that town residents along with area merchants are looking forward to the outdoor dining days once again. Some area merchants did voice their concern recently about closing the street. According to the Berkshire Edge, the town is looking to find ways to make the experience safer and less disruptive for those who own non-dining businesses on Railroad Street.
In addition, Mark and Chris mentioned that there will be live music once again but this time around the mini concerts will expand to a variety of locations throughout downtown which will keep the area vibrant. This is a huge win for local musicians as well as folks who love live music. Stay tuned and keep checking back for more details on the expanded live music locations in downtown Great Barrington.


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SAN JOSE, Calif. IBM Corp., Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp. on Thursday (Jan. 12) said they have begun a new, five-year phase of their joint technology development alliance in ICs.
As part of this broad semiconductor R&D alliance, the three companies said they will work together on fundamental research related to advanced process technologies at the 32-nm node and beyond.
Research and development will take place at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.), the Center for Semiconductor Research Albany (N.Y.) NanoTech and at IBM's 300-mm fab in East Fishkill, N.Y.
Over the last five years, the companies have collaborated on the "Cell" microprocessor design and its underlying silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process technologies at 90-and 65-nm.
Japan’s Toshiba is said to be involved in other chip ventures; the company could be hedging its bets.
For example, seeking to regain lost ground in ICs, Hitachi, Renesas and Toshiba are expected to be among the first companies to form the long-awaited foundry fab venture in Japan, according to a report.
Complicating matters, NEC Electronics and Toshiba recently announced that the two companies would share the development of 45-nm CMOS logic manufacturing processes. In addition, starting with this joint development, the two companies have begun discussions on the possibility of a comprehensive alliance that would range from design and product development through to manufacturing.
Toshiba and Sony have been collaborating on process technologies up to 45 nm also. But a Toshiba spokesman didn't specify whether the companies would collaborate beyond 45 nm.
"This is a winning combination," Masashi Muromachi, president and CEO of Toshiba's Semiconductor Company, said in a statement.
"With Toshiba's cutting-edge process technology and manufacturing capabilities, Sony's various semiconductor technologies and deep knowledge of consumer markets and IBM's state-of-the-art material technology, we can anticipate breakthrough process technologies for the 32-nanometer generation and beyond. Toshiba will apply these advances to assuring continued leadership in cutting-edge process technology and the accelerated development of essential devices for the age of ubiquitous connectivity."
Yoshiko Hara contributed from Tokyo.


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The One Face Mask Hack You're Not Doing But Should Be
No more loose-fitting masks, thanks to this dentist's hack that went viral on TikTok.
Whether you live in a state where coronavirus cases are surging or one where things are a bit more under control, it's likely strongly recommended or required that you wear a face mask in public. And if you are like many people who use run-of-the-mill blue surgical masks as their primary means of face protection, you know that they don't always provide the best fit and can leave parts of your face open to exposure. But thanks to one medical expert's helpful face mask hack from TikTok, you have one less thing to worry about when it comes to wearing your face mask properly.
In a recent TikTok video that went viral, Olivia Cuid, MD, a dentist in Montreal, shared a simple but enormously effective trick that will have your bulky surgical mask fitting like a glove in a matter of seconds.
In the video, Cuid, who's TikTok handle is @oliviacuidmd, demonstrates the four easy steps to making a better fitting mask:
- Wash your hands.
- Fold your mask in half.
- Tie each ear loop as close to the edge of the mask as possible.
- Open the mask and fold in the cloth to close up the small space around each ear loop.
@oliviacuidmdHighly requested 60s version of my viral mask hack ##fyp ##doctorsoftiktok ##masktutorial ##covid19 ##viral ##maskhack ##learnontiktok♬ original sound – oliviacuidmd
Cuid says that her trick is especially helpful for "people with small faces," but is useful to everyone. "In absence of N95s, this might be a good alternative," she says in the video.
The video caught on quickly thanks to celebrities like Kristen Bell and Katie Couric posting it to their Instagram accounts, and has garnered more than 400,000 views on TikTok at the time this article was published. And for some mask misinformation to avoid, check out This Face Mask Claim Is Going Viral—and It's 100 Percent Wrong.


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FedEx announced December 3 that it will increase standard rates for FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery by an average of 4.9% next year. The rate changes take effect January 4, 2010.
The shipper previously announced that it will raise shipping rates for FedEx Express by an average of 5.9% for US domestic and US export services, effective next month.
FedEx saw its fiscal 2010 first quarter earnings fall 53%. The shipper disclosed quarterly earnings of $181 million, compared to $384 million a year ago.
Rival UPS announced November 20 that its 2010 shipping rates will increase by an average of 4.9% for UPS Ground packages and consumers will see an average net increase of 4.9% for air express and US origin international shipments. Those rate changes also go into effect on January 4, 2010.
UPS on October 22 announced revenues of $11.2 billion for this year’s third quarter, a year-over-year decline of 14.9% from last year’s $13.1 billion.
The US Postal Service, which recently concluded a fiscal year 2009 when it ran a $3.8 billion net loss, announced recently that it will not raise rates for 2010 on its “market dominant” products, a category that includes services largely used by direct mailers and publishers. However, it also disclosed a mix of increases and rate cuts on other services for next year.