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We have known for some time now that Honda is more than just a driving economic force. In our community, the Honda plant in Lincoln employs 4,000 associates who turn out quality vehicles that are among the best selling cars in the country. But Honda here has also been a leader in the community, stepping up whenever it was needed to help local efforts to improve the quality of life in our area.
Now, in the wake of Super Storm Sandy that devastated New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, as well as other places, American Honda Motor Co, Inc. has pledged $500,000 to the American Red Cross for relief efforts in the affected areas. And, the company is also donating Honda products — portable generators and water pumps — for use by those who need them for relief and rebuilding efforts.
And, the parent company will match dollar for dollar any contributions made by local plants — including the Honda Manufacturing of Alabama plant in Lincoln. Judging on the past record of Honda associates, we would anticipate a nice gift from Alabama folks, matched by Honda’s parent company in America, will soon be on its way to the storm victims.
As we all remember, Honda and its operations were greatly affected by the tragic tsunami that rocked Japan last year. Its parts pipeline was interrupted and that could have caused layoffs in Lincoln. Instead, Honda worked out a plan to keep associates working or taking vacation days to avoid layoffs and weeks without pay. That plan showed Honda to be a company concerned not only with profits, but with keeping paychecks coming for those who depend on them for their living.
That same concern for others is now shown through the $500,000 donation for relief efforts. Honda’s reputation for quality automobiles is well known, and well deserved. We know it also deserves recognition for its commitment to providing assistance to those in need.
Japan is a long, long way from Lincoln. But Honda is truly a wonderful neighbor and we appreciate their role in our community.


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Daytona gets its ceramic bezel
ROLEX'S steel Daytona chronograph finally got its ceramic bezel this year - nearly a decade after the brand introduced it. All of Rolex's sports and professional models have already gone ceramic. Even the rose gold and platinum versions of this iconic chronograph were given the ceramic rim on their cases. So it was a matter of time before the stainless steel model of the Cosmograph Daytona was fitted with the hard and scratch-proof bezel. While many watch fans saw it coming this year, the lack of surprise hasn't made the new Daytona any less desirable.
The first shipment of the watch was not expected until after July - although reportedly a few well-connected collectors got the first few pieces earlier. But the word was already out that most buyers would have to pay a premium price of S$40,000 - more than two times the retail price of around S$17,000 - for the new Daytona, or wait five years for it.
The well-known singer-songwriter John Mayer, among the lucky few who already own one, has put a street price of US$30,000 on the new chronograph, which is reminiscent of the 1965 model and comes in a white or black dial with the black ceramic bezel.
As expected, the watches which subsequently arrived quickly flew off the shelves. One major retailer on Orchard Road claims he sold two pieces of the new Daytona for S$50,000. But most of the watch boutiques in the central shopping district cleared their stocks at premium prices of S$25,000-S$28,000.
At People's Park shopping complex, the new Daytona was snapped up at S$26,000-S$30,000. Buyers got a better deal with parallel importers - quite a few are located in shopping malls - paying around S$23,000 for the watch.
"The Daytona has always commanded a premium price," says one dealer at People's Park. "The premium for the latest model is the highest so far."
Apart from the ceramic bezel, which replaces the 1965 Plexiglas and the more recent steel rim, the new Daytona is more reliable and accurate. The Superlative Chronometer certification on it says the whole watch, not just the movement, passed the tougher tests which Rolex put it through.
Rolex introduced the tougher drill last year because the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute, COSC, focused only on the movement, and because it wanted to raise the quality of its watches.
Thus the new Daytona's precision is in the order of -2/+2 seconds per day, twice that required of an official chronometer.
Rolex would know how to make a better chronograph by now. It produced its first in 1933, more than 80 years ago, and would have learnt a lot since then. Also, Rolex could adapt the improvements made in its other watch models for the Daytona.
The early Rolex chronographs were not called Cosmograph Daytona but simply Rolex chronographs. Instead of steel bracelets, most of them had leather straps. And they often had other functions on the dial - a tachymetric scale for measuring speed, a telemetric scale to track distance, or a pulsometer to check heart beat.
They were also not waterproof. The Oyster waterproof case didn't appear until 1926 and, even then, it was only used on the Rolex chronographs in 1939.
Yet, the chronographs didn't earn the "Oyster" inscription on their dials until 1965, when the screw-down chronograph pushers replaced the earlier models' pump pushers to provide the case full protection against the risk of water running into the case.
It appears that the chronograph model has always been among the last to be fitted with the improvements made at Rolex. It took even longer to go automatic - in 1988, when Rolex equipped the Daytona with a modification of Zenith's highly respected El Primero movement. Before that, the Rolex chronographs were powered by a hand-wound Valjoux-based movement.
Rolex only introduced its own in-house automatic chronograph movement in 2000. With the switch to a self-winding movement in 1988, the size of the Oyster case housing the Rolex chronograph movement was expanded from 36mm to 40mm.
The Cosmograph Daytona made its debut in 1963. It was initially known as the "Cosmograph" because of the fascination with space travel at the time when it was launched. "Daytona" was added in the following year after Rolex sponsored the annual 24-hour car race at Daytona Beach in Florida.
But the Daytona - the name for all Rolex chronographs produced since 1963 - only really became famous after it was spotted on the wrist of actor Paul Newman, a racer himself.

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Nuance Communications is apparently in talks with a number of companies about a possible sale, one of those companies is Samsung, according to a recent report by the WSJ.
Nuance is used in a number of voice powered applications, in smartphones, TVs, and GPS, the technology is also used by Apple’s voice activated assistant, Siri.
Samsung also uses the Nuance technology in its smartphones, tablets and TVs, and car makers like Daimler and games console maker Nintendo, it is also used in Microsoft’s Cortana and Google Now
The company had revenue of $1.86 billion last year, and Nuance’s largest business is it health car unit, which develops software that it used to digitize patient records. The company has market capitalization of around $5.5 billion and its largest shareholder is Carl Icahn.
As yet there are no details on how much Samsung are looking to pay or Nuance Communications, and also no details on what they would do with the company’s voice technology if the deal goes ahead.
As soon as we get some more information on the proposed deal between Samsung and Nuance, and also more details on what Samsung’s plans for Nuance are, we will let you guys know.
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Second Malaysia-India economic meet in April `07
Kolkata, March 2
Malaysia is looking for opportunities for joint ventures and other forms of business co-operation with Indian business, particularly in software development and infrastructure (housing) sectors. Opportunities are also being explored for Malaysian products and services in the metros.
Speaking at an interactive session on `Building trade with Malaysia', organised by CII, Eastern Region, Mr Chua Jui Meng, Chairman of National SMI Consultative Center, Malaysia said that the time was ripe for establishing stronger economic ties between India and Malaysia.
Leading a 21-member Malaysian trade delegation to India, Mr Chua said that there was need for a continuous dialogue between the two countries.
He also said that the second Malaysia-India Economic Conference in April 2007 would play a big role in fostering bilateral trade relations.
Recalling the long-standing trade relations between the two countries, Mr Sanjay Budhia, Honorary Consul of Malaysia in Kolkata, said that though the current trade balance was tilted in favour of Malaysia, there was big potential for Indian companies in sectors such as palm oil refining, drugs and pharmaceuticals, textiles, power, railways, civil construction, training, and IT.


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The Halloween candy hasn't yet gone stale. The Thanksgiving meal is still strutting around. Already a fat guy in need of a shave was spotted wandering around an out-of-state mall, which has some people feeling stressed-out but, hey, "Let it go, let it go, let it go."
Instead of humbugging the holidays as rushed forward, think of them being slowly stretched out.
This Saturday, about 20 shops, galleries and restaurants on Alberta St. will flip the holiday switch.
Lights will twinkle. Carolers will stroll the streets singing. And, naturally, there will be sales, specials and trunk shows. Five percent of sales that night go to Sisters-of-the-Road charity so you can shop well and do good at the same time.
What:Wrap It Up on Alberta Street
When:Saturday, Nov. 22:
Time: The lights shine at 5 p.m; carolers until 9 p.m.
Where: Between 12-30th Avenues on N.E. Alberta St. in Portland


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Johnson Publishing Company’s CEO Desiree Rogers announced that the company has “sold a minority stake” to J. P. Morgan Chase & Co. Reportedly, the undisclosed amount will be funneled back into the company as Rogers and her team continue to bring the iconic black publication into the digital age and into the hands of younger readers.
The deal marks the latest in a series of business moves that the Harvard-educated Rogers has implemented to accelerate the turnaround for Johnson Publishing Company, parent company of Ebony and Jet and Fashion Fair Cosmetics.
In November of 2010, the company sold the Johnson Publishing building to its neighbor, Columbia College, for nearly $8 million. It had been home to the publishing titan for four decades.
The once lavishly decorated 11-story building, located in Chicago’s South Loop, includes an enclosed commercial-sized garage.
In 2009, during the depths of the printing industry decline, the publishing company had liens against it for unpaid bills and it also slowed its payments to printer R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co.; in response, Donnelley took out mortgages totaling nearly $12 million on the properties.
Nonetheless, the sale of the building made fiscal sense according to company officials, because only 40 percent of the building is utilized. The company now leases the building it once owned, and will relocate within ten months.
At the time of sale, Rod Sierra, spokesman for Johnson Publishing, said all debts on the property had been settled.
Rod Sierra has since left Johnson Publishing Company to start his own business; he is also a new board member of the Chicago Public Schools.
Johnson Publishing Company founder John H. Johnson wrote of using a white “front man” to purchase the building because the owners did not want to sell to an African American.
Rogers has said that the company is moving with Johnson’s vision in mind: “We’ve transitioned that business to be innovative and creative and think about how can we take these magazines, these books, and change them into what he was thinking 65 years ago.”


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Atlas which was owned by Microsoft several years back was purchased by Facebook. This purchase took place early 2013 and Facebook has not really done much with it since. However, Facebook has announced that the new Atlas has launched to take on the largest competitor Google. Atlas is meant to be different from Adsense by one simple fact it doesn’t worry about cookies it worries about people. This is meant to be the future of advertising in a way where browsing data is not what matters but the person.
Facebook owning Instagram as well as its own social media website is able to collect information on hundreds of millions of people. This information could be monitored by tools such as the Facebook like button where Facebook could monitor what you like, what your interests are and more. Not to mention the sheer treasure trove of information that is put into your profiles on these social networking websites. Now Facebook can build an advertising profile of you and display advertisements according to the information that you have given to them.
This is a giant stab at Google who is the largest advertising company in the world as Facebook now has a tool that Google failed to create. The idea behind Google Plus was that Google could make a social media website and use that data to create a better advertising network. While this is speculation we have Facebook who has done just that.
However, there is an issue and that is Atlas solutions has a tainted name not only as an advertising network but in general. WOT warns all users accessing the website that it is an untrusted website and this is frankly true. The advertising network has had a troubled past and now people have to go back and change their views of the website for the bad rating to go away.
Is this a smart move for Facebook? Publishers are being given very little information on the network, there is just not much information being passed around with this new service but we can be certain that if Facebook can get large advertisers than this will be a huge success. However, if Facebook fails then it is doomed to fail like the rest of the smaller advertisement networks.
What are your thoughts on Atlas is it worth the shot for Facebook or is this a major privacy issue?


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Nobody knew nothing about newspapers in driveways…or driveways even. No one drove Fiats. And what passed for social media back then was probably something akin to some caveman dude clubbing a Raquel Welch lookalike and dragging her back to his hole in the ground for a bit of body painting.
And five buck greeting cards like the one I bought at Urban Outfitters Sunday? That was back to the future stuff.
Unfortunately for hometown card company Hallmark, what goes around comes around and the company’s business model seems to be headed in the direction of those bygone days. Because only the Fred Flintstones of today (and me once, maybe once or twice a year) still buy greeting cards.
The rest of society – under 50 – has mostly moved on, like George Jetson.
Leaving the card counters at Hallmark up you-know-what creek.
Not only that, but in the space of a week Hallmark has been hammered for gender insensitivity towards gays and getting out of the “party ware” biz, Resulting in the laying off 250 more locals and bringing down the size of the company’s workforce here to under 3,000 for the first time in…I dunno…ages.
The awful truth: according to research giant IBISWorld, total greeting card revenue will decline at the rate of 6 percent a year over the next five years.
I realize it’s a more complicated than that, but taken at face value, a 30 percent hit, coupled with reports that people in their 20s and 30s do not appear to be buying greeting cards period doesn’t bode well for Hallmark. Making it hard to be optimistic for one of the Cowtown’s once-brightest business stars.
That’s almost like expecting tony Halls Plaza shoppers to migrate to Crown Center next year after Restoration Hardware takes over at the vaunted Plaza retailer’s historic digs.
As for Hallmark’s “gay” Christmas sweater ornament controversy, at least there’s a glimmer of good news where that’s concerned…if you wanna call it good news.
Americans for Truth About Homosexuality are defending Hallmark’s decision to substitute the word “fun” for the word “gay” on the sweater’s front. As in, “Don we now out gay apparel,” from the song Deck the Halls.
“Who could blame Hallmark for changing the Christmas carol from ‘Don we now our gay apparel’ to ‘Don we now our fun apparel’ because homosexual activists stole the word ‘gay,'” says the organization’s Peter Barbera. “It used to mean ‘happy’ and ‘joyful’ – and now it means, basically, identifying a sexual perversion: homosexuality. So I don’t blame Hallmark for making this change.”
Like I said, rough week for the hometowners.


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Are you a fan of The Hobbit SBG and the Lord of the Rings game from Games Workshop? Are you free September 16 and 17? Then the Throne of Skulls event might be for you.
It’s the Weekend!
Time for some
The team behind the SBG Magazine focused on bringing you a dose of awesome Lord of the Rings & Hobbit content, are proud to announce their latest issue is now available for you to snap up.
Forge World continue to build on their Middle-Earth range with some new Iron Hills Dwarves With Crossbows for those budding Battle Of Five Armies collections out there.
The Windlord himself, Gwaihir has now been added to the Forge World webstore for those of you looking to expand your Middle-Earth collection.
Come and join us to take a look at some great new models that have been painted up this week by our community members in the Hobby & Painting Forum.
Forge World was showing off all manner of interesting miniatures at Warhammer Fest over the weekend but I was surprised to see some more for The Hobbit: Strategy Battle Game.
Forge World has now begun taking pre-orders for their new Iron Hills Dwarf Chariot which will also be available at Warhammer Fest next weekend too as part of The Hobbit range.
Forge World are going to be releasing some new creations for the world of The Hobbit at Warhammer Fest this month.


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March 16, 2010
1 Min Read
The Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA) has announced its support of a bipartisan Senate bill that would help small and medium-sized manufacturers, which include many SOCMA members, promote their products overseas.
The Export Promotion Act of 2010 (S. 3084), spearheaded by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and George LeMieux (R-FL), helps small businesses by increasing export promotion and outreach efforts through the Department of Commerce. Importantly, it restores staffing levels to roughly 1600 for the International Trade Administration’s program specializing in matching small businesses with potential export markets.
"Promoting trade is one of SOCMA’s top legislative and regulatory priorities and this legislation will help increase the competitiveness of the chemical industry among those that need it most – smaller companies," said Bill Allmond, SOCMA’s vice president of government relations. "Data shows that increased exports mean an increase in job opportunities here at home. This bill complements efforts by the Obama Administration to double US exports over the next five years."
Further efforts by SOCMA to promote trade expansion by our members include partnering with the U.S. Commercial Service to help members companies collaborate with the U.S. government trade experts located in regions where members want to penetrate the marketplace. Earlier this month, SOCMA held a joint webinar with the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Commercial Service to educate SOCMA members about this partnership.
SOCMA is the leading trade association serving the batch, custom, and specialty chemical industry since 1921. SOCMA’s nearly 300 members employ more than 100,000 workers across the country and produce 50,000 products valued at $60 billion annually. For more information, visit www.socma.com.
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If you're wondering about the future of cellphones, look across the ocean -- either ocean. Both Europe and Asia are often way ahead of the US in terms of new cellphone technology. Here are some of the new services and features already released in Europe that we'll see sooner or later:
* Broadband phones: We're starting to see phone networks speed up already, but nothing like the widespread use in Europe and Asia. And along with high-speed pipes come high-speed services like TV, video on demand and GPS. For gadget geeks and casual users alike, this will be big.
* True digital camera phones: Samsung just released a 10 megapixel digital cam phone in Korea. We won't see that for a while, but you can expect to soon see phone cams rival average digital cams in terms of resolution and features. For cameraphone fans, this is good news.
* Complete convergence: Expect to see cell phones that combine high-speed pipes, full-featured still and video cams, and powerful computers in smaller and smaller packages.
Now one of the top on-line publishers in the world, LifeTips offers tips to millions of monthly visitors. Our mission mission is to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Expert writers earn dough for what they know. And exclusive sponsors in each niche topic help us make-it-all happen.


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WWE SummerSlam a Hot Weekend Ticket
This weekend marks the 28th annual SummerSlam, the WWE pay-per-view wrestling event. With an average resale price of $310 a ticket, this year’s show tops any Wrestlemania, WWE Raw and other WWE event since 2010.
Those who waited until the last minute to purchase tickets may end up spending a bit extra, as secondary market prices have risen over the past few weeks. A month ago the median listing price for a ticket to the event on SeatGeek was $225, but since then it has almost doubled to $419, where it currently stands. The get-in price has shown a similar trend, going from $156 a month ago to $277 currently.
SummerSlam 2015 Tickets
The most expensive seats are those on the floor, which are reselling for an average of $1,073 a ticket. Fans can save a lot of money by moving up to the lower level, where tickets are going for just $437 on average. The cheapest seats are those upstairs, which have an average resale price of $185.
While the event will attract wrestling fans from around the world, the majority of those looking for tickets on our site live in New York (45 percent) and New Jersey (22 percent). Massachusetts (7 percent), Pennsylvania (4 percent) and Connecticut (3 percent) round out the top five. Interestingly, 2 percent of those looking for tickets on our site live in England.


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FINLAND: Retailer S Group cautious about 2014
Finland-based retailer S Group has warned the slowdown in the country will continue this year.
The co-op, which labelled 2013 "a difficult year", reported a profit before extraordinary items and taxes of EUR226m (U$309.7m), compared to EUR212m in 2012.
However, S Group's said its "operational result" was lower, standing at EUR196m, versus EUR206m in 2012.
Retail sales, excluding VAT, were up 1.2% at EUR11.35bn, helped by higher grocer sales.
However, S Group said last year's challenging economic conditions, amid a slowdown in consumption and low consumer confidence, would continue in 2014.
"The slowdown of retail trade will also continue this year. According to a forecast by the Finnish Commerce Federation, a recovery can only be expected in 2015," S Group said.
CEO Taavi Heikkilä added: "In addition to strict cost control, S Group addresses the difficult situation by developing new operating models. We also hope that the Finnish government will refrain from taking action that decrease consumers' purchasing power and the trade sector's opportunities of providing jobs."
The co-op, which has stores in Finland, the Baltic states and Russia, booked a 3.8% increase in grocery revenues for 2013 to EUR6.96bn.
Sales from S Group's supermarkets, which also includes sales of other consumer goods, were up 3.5% at EUR7.81bn.
S Group said it opened 21 more supermarkets in 2013, taking the number of those outlets to 938.
The company also runs service stations and department stores, and has interests in travel hospitality, the automotive trade and agricultural trade.
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Startup seeks to pair office, 3-D holograms
One recent morning, Stephanie Rosenburg arrived at work to find her PC monitor had vanished. She looked around the office and saw members of her team were wearing headsets with see-through visors and grabbing invisible objects with their hands. Rosenburg had just returned from vacation, so it took her a few seconds to process what was happening before she clued in: “Oh,” she thought. “It’s my turn now.”
Rosenburg handles marketing for Meta, a San Francisco startup that makes augmented reality headsets that overlay holographic images on the real world. Users can manipulate 3-D models with their hands or browse web pages, send emails and write code from floating virtual screens.
Her boss, Meta founder and Chief Executive Officer Meron Gribetz, is determined to end what he calls the “tyranny of the modern office” by replacing monitors, keyboards and eventually even cubicles with augmented reality.
When Gribetz revealed the plan last year at the TED Conference in Vancouver, he was under no illusions about the challenge. “I was extremely nervous about this,” he recalled. “You’re going against 50 years of computing tools.”
Gribetz, 31, founded Meta in 2012 after studying neuroscience and computer science at Columbia University. He made the first Meta prototype with an oven-heated knife and hot glue gun. Last year, Meta raised $50 million from investors like Lenovo Group and Tencent Holdings. Today, its devices are used by developers and companies-ranging from architects to designers to auto manufacturers. By year-end, Meta expects more than 10,000 people will be using the $949 headset.
Meta’s goal is to make its augmented reality (AR) technology a seamless extension of the real world — enabling people to interact with holograms much the way one interacts with real objects. Instead of clicking, dragging and pushing buttons, the technology lets users control 3-D content with their hands.
Gribetz believes AR hardware will become quickly commoditized, so he’s focused on perfecting the software, taking inspiration from Apple’s intuitive user experience.
In his vision, office workers will huddle around holograms to collaborate on pretty much any kind of task. That means no computers, cubicles, regular desks or chairs. Gribetz’s own office provides a glimpse of how a future workplace might look. He has a thin slab of wood at standing height as a desk. It’s just wide enough for the headset to rest on it. He plans to redesign the rest of Meta’s office in a similar way.
Tall with impeccable posture, Gribetz believes AR eventually will place a meta-layer of information around everything in the real world. Touch a piece of food and immediately see its nutritional content; hold a flower and see its DNA; shake someone’s hand at a conference and see a sort of virtual LinkedIn page appear.
Some may find that creepy, but Gribetz believes augmented reality is about bringing people closer to the real world.
“This won’t happen overnight,” he said. “But certainly if you move forward about a decade or even less, people will have strips of glass that will look very much like the glasses I have on, that will be able to do everything that a computer, a tablet, or a phone will be able to do, and a whole lot more.”
Meta isn’t the only company with big ambitions for augmented reality. Microsoft and Apple also are devoting considerable resources to developing the technology; Apple’s Tim Cook told Bloomberg he was so excited about AR he wanted to “yell out and scream.” Gribetz believes he has a chance of snatching the lead from better-financed rivals by testing his technology on employees who are focused the singular goal of transforming the workplace through AR. Many tech companies use this tactic, known as dog-fooding, but employees at larger firms often have multiple projects and incentives.
Inevitably the technology made some jobs at Meta easier and others harder. Esther Lekeu is designing the next-generation headset. In the past she would bring two-dimensional drawings to design-review meetings. Now, everyone dons a headset and looks at the mockup as a 3-D hologram, moving it around and viewing it from all angles. “That’s been night and day in terms of communicating my idea,” Lekeu said.
On the other hand, the early phases of the design process were harder for Esther in the headset. It was painstaking to make small iterations to sketches in augmented reality, compared to being able to make quick changes on the fly in Photoshop. It’s not that this is necessarily a limitation of augmented reality, she said, just that the technology — at least for now — is better for some tasks than others.
Lekeu sees a future where AR is one of various tools we use in our everyday lives, much the way we still use pen and paper for some things, and our phones and monitors for others. Her boss, of course, believes AR will supplant everything.


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Bahamas to open beaches and major hotels in October
Starting October 15, the Bahamas will enter Phase 3 of the Tourism Readiness & Recovery Plan ahead of the busy holiday season, which will include the reopening of beaches and major hotels.
Since 1950, tourism has played an integral role in the Bahamas’ economy, accounting for more than 50% of the country’s GDP and 60% of national employment. The COVID-19 Pandemic has had an unprecedented effect on global tourism and The Bahamas’ economy has felt the impact, particularly following 2019’s record-breaking tourism numbers, where the country welcomed 7.2 million visitors.
As part of Phase 3, beaches and major hotels will reopen on all islands. Minister of Tourism & Aviation Dionisio D’Aguilar announced that all hotel guests must abide by a 14-day Vacation-In-Place (VIP), which will allow guests access to all amenities, including hotel spas, gyms, bars and more. Additionally, Phase 3 will also see the reopening of attractions, excursions and tours on November 1.
Ahead of the reopening, The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation is working with airline partners to secure direct airlift from key markets where the curve has been flattened. Additionally, the Ministry’s communication team is prepared to commence an agile marketing campaign, complete with authentic storytelling and aggressive PR and sales strategies, leaning into current travel trends, such as the preference for vacations closer to home, as well as options that afford seclusion and outdoor pursuits.
Following the safe move into Phase 3, The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation along with the Ministry of Health and other government agencies will recommend an appropriate date to enter Phase 4, which pertains to the reopening of vendors, select attractions, casinos, cruises and ferries.
The top priority of The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation remains the health and safety of its citizens, residents and visitors. In an effort to curb the spread of the virus, the Ministry continues to work closely with the Ministry of Health to establish and evaluate protocols and timelines with respect to the RT-PCR testing in advance of travel.


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Media attention has largely focused on AMD's Phenom processors lately, but the company's notebook processor business is far from dead. As we reported last December, AMD still plans to introduce a new mobile platform dubbed "Puma" this year. Puma will combine a new processor code-named "Griffin," a new RS780M chipset, and a new M8x graphics processor. AMD also has a "Shrike" platform planned for 2009 that will apparently include its first chip with a built-in GPU core, dubbed "Swift."
AMD hasn't revealed many details regarding the processors in its upcoming Puma and Shrike platforms, but the folks at German site Computerbase.de have laid their hands on some leaked "draft" roadmaps that contain new information. According to the roadmap slides, Griffin will launch in six different flavors in the second quarter of this year: three Turion Ultras, one Turion, one Athlon, and one Sempron. All models will have dual cores except for the Sempron, cache sizes will range from 2MB to 512KB, and clock speeds will go from 2.3GHz to 1.9GHz. The number of fancy power management options will scale down from the fastest to the slowest chips, as well.
Moving on to Shrike, Computerbase.de's leaked draft roadmap suggests its Swift processor will come in the second half of 2009 in two flavors. "Black Swift" will have two cores (both based on the same architecture as Phenom), while "White Swift" will have just one processor core and one GPU core. The two chips will be based on 45nm process technology, and they'll both have support for DDR3 memory.


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Earlier this year, I traveled to Puerto Rico to meet with sixth-generation rum maker Roberto Serrallés, vice president of business development at Destilería Serrallés. We met at the company’s rum distillery in Ponce, located on the southern coast of Puerto Rico and separated from San Juan by a winding mountain highway.
A Little History
The company’s founders came from the Catalonia region of Spain in the 1820s and began distilling rum in Ponce by 1865. A son of those founders was Roberto Serrallés’ grandfather. Roberto’s father, Felix Juan Serrallés, Jr., is the company’s largest shareholder, president and CEO.
Serrallés’ largest rum brand, Don Q, was created in the 1930s. Following tensions with a former importer, Serrallés became a bulk supplier throughout the 1980s and 90s. Then in 2006 the company entered the New York and Florida markets with Don Q, building on the high market share within the rum category that Don Q enjoys within Puerto Rico.
The Magical Part of the Process
“For us, we feel like our thing is making a really clean distilling, with just the right amount of rum taste,” Serrallés says. “We let the barrels do the aging — not as much work as with Bourbon, but we use twice-used light whiskey barrels.”
The company likes to use barrels that are six years post-Bourbon and never re-chars them. Serrallés uses a very short, controlled fermentation and thinks of itself more as an aging and blending company than strictly a rum maker.
“The distilling process is very technical, but the blending and aging are more magical and exciting and artisanal,” Serrallés says. “That’s what gets me excited about making rum.”
Watching Waste Water
“Disposing of waste water when you don’t have sugar growing next to your distillery is a big problem,” Serrallés says. “We don’t put anything in the ocean, and that’s difficult when you’re creating 350,000 gallons of waste water when the plant is going full blast.”
Those concerns about the environment are what brought Roberto Serrallés back to the family business. Under his watch they’ve instituted a dual-system treatment process, which the company borrowed from Anheuser-Busch. The system uses both anaerobic and aerobic bacterial digestion, which can reduce organic content in the waste water and reduce the company’s oil consumption as well.
“Now we’re testing a micro-filtration system as a pilot, and a system for separating solids,” Serrallés says. “It increases costs by $1 per proof gallon, but doing things the right way is often more expensive. Hopefully people will come to expect that and other companies will have to catch up to us.”
Growing Sugar Cane
The company hasn’t grown sugarcane in Puerto Rico in about two decades, choosing instead to import molasses, but Serrallés is looking to change that.
“I’ve embarked on a project with the government and we’re already growing 500 acres, which is our seed area,” he says. “We saved samples of all the varieties we used to grow. Eventually we’d like to grow this into a 20,000 acre operation of growing sugar cane within Puerto Rico.”
Growing sugar in Puerto Rico will reduce costs, increase efficiency, control quality, and allow the company to experiment with single estate sugar cane products.
A Final Thought
“Those are some of the things that make us different,” Serrallés says. “We’re careful and meticulous on the production side, focused on blending and aging, and we’re working on being cleaner and more efficient.”
Full Disclosure: Serrallés USA paid for my travel and lodging so I could visit the distillery in Ponce, Puerto Rico.


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Kingdom Hearts 3D gets a release date
Square Enix has announced a European release date for their long awaited 3DS Kingdom Hearts title.
Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] will feature series favourites Sora and Riku as they are sent by King Mickey and Yen Sid into the Sleeping Worlds in order to pass their Mark of Mastery exam to prepare for a threat that looms over the kingdom.
Series fans will be able to play as both Sora and Riku to fight their way through the Sleeping Worlds. There will be new creatures as well with the denizens of the Sleeping Worlds split into two types Spirits and Nightmares. Players will be able to breed over 50 different Spirits to aid them in battle.
The game will also wind its way through some new Disney worlds including Tron Legacy's The Grid and La Cite des Cloches from The Hunchback Of Notre Dames.
Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] will be released in Europe on July the 20th.
- Hearthstone win-traders will be permanently banned says Blizzard
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- Your PC will need this much power under the hood to play The Crew
- LittleBigPlanet 3 will be fully backwards-compatible
- PS4 sales soar past the 13.5 million mark
- Resogun is coming to the PS Vita
- Smaller, cooler Xbox One processor in the works
- Prey 2 finally gets officially canned
- SEGA confirms the rumoured PC version Valkyria Chronicles, gives a release date


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Amazon To Buy Palm?
Amazon, or whoever eventually ends up landing Palm, will likely paid a whole lot less than that.
The acquisition would be an intriguing one for Amazon, which just announced the Android-based Kindle Fire to much acclaim. It’s possible that Amazon could retool Palm’s webOS and have itself an alternative to Android for its future mobile devices, which could be an interesting little shakeup for the mobile market.
The Android platform is absolutely dominating the mobile right now, and a little more competition would, as always, be a healthy thing.


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Farmers get an online lifeline
A new website aims to connect busy consumers and local farmers in Albany County.
No more standing in lines on sticky summer mornings at the farmers market just to get some local berries.
An Albany woman will bring the finest farm offerings from the Hilltowns to customers' laptops, so they can order honey, eggs, grass-fed beef, pork, poultry, seasonal produce and other products and have it delivered to their homes. Consider it the Amazon.com of local agriculture.
The Heldeberg Market opens its virtual doors today, with the first deliveries going out June 10, says Sarah Avery Gordon, the owner of the market who also runs an environmental consulting business in Albany.
"I've seen so many of the farms up in the Hilltowns shut down because they haven't had enough local sales and enough profits to keep their farms going, and it's really heartbreaking to see because some of these people have had these farms in their family for generations," said Gordon, who helped her father move sales of the grass-fed beef he produces at Gordon Farms in Berne online early this year with much success. "They're producing fresh, local, healthy food, and I want to see them be able to make a livelihood off of that."
The Heldeberg Market will serve those who live in Albany County or can organize a drop-off point for orders (like a community center or office) within Albany County's borders. The residential delivery charge is $5 per order, but the market will deliver at no cost to groups of five or more.
About 10 farms in the Hilltowns have signed up to offer goods so far, with more expected to come on as the season progresses, Gordon says.
Among the farmers participating are Betty and Dan Pillsbury, who own Green Spiral Herbs in Huntersland.
They'll offer some of the 300 herbs they grow on their herb farm and certified botanical sanctuary, as well as homemade items they produce, like salves and lip balms.
"Everybody is so crazy-busy, meaning farmers and consumers, and we (as farmers), just did not have time to do one more vending event. All our time is needed on our property doing herbs and everything," Betty Pillsbury said.
The business is meant to address several of those kinds of challenges facing farmers, says Gordon, who has a master's degree in natural resources and spent a lot of time studying agricultural issues.
Farmers may not have the experience, time or know-how to set up online ordering. And though farmers markets are a great way to meet customers and sell products at a fair price, they swallow up large blocks of farmers' time during the growing season because they have to man their booths.
With the Heldeberg Market, farmers tell Gordon what they want to charge, and she tacks on a small administrative fee to come up with the price customers pay. They drop off their freshly harvested products at a central location, where orders will be sorted and then delivered that day.
Although she's serving just Albany County for now, Gordon hopes that one day Schenectady County farmers will grow food for Schenectady residents, Rensselaer County farmers for Rensselaer residents, and so on, until each community is sustaining its own agricultural system.
She doesn't see her Heldeberg Market as competing with farmers markets, which have abounded in the Capital Region in recent years as the interest in local food grows.
Getting out to farmers markets weekly can also be challenging to some customers, who may contend with jam-packed schedules on Saturdays, a time when most farmers markets are held. Her market, she says, will allow those who had the will, but not the way, to purchase local food in the wee hours of the morning if they want to.
"The diehards that are able to go out to the farmers market every week are still going to try to do that because it's a priority to them," Gordon says. "I'm trying to open up the avenues for people who want to eat locally and don't necessarily have the time and resources to do that every week."


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DMO under fire over gilts policy
The Government's Debt Management Office has been criticised for being too timid in its approach to resolving distortions in the gilts market.
The Association of British Insurers' Michael McKersie, appearing before the Treasury sub-committee, described the conservative way in which the DMO had organised its switch auctions as a 'missed opportunity'.
Switch auctions are aimed at alleviating the imbalance between supply and demand of long-dated gilts.
Shorter-dated paper is bought back by the DMO and replaced with bonds of a longer maturity. But the DMO has chosen to limit these switches to narrow maturity bands.
The National Association of Pension Funds also complained.
Demand for long-dated paper massively outstrips supply. As a result, holders of short-dated paper receive a bigger return than those of long-dated riskier bonds.
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The ELLE Beauty Awards are slated to make a smashing comeback this month, and we can’t keep calm. After the pandemic, this edition of the beauty awards is all set to take place on November 16th 2022 at St Regis, Mumbai. Designed to celebrate the best in beauty, right from skincare to makeup and hair care, the ELLE Beauty Awards (EBA) are going to be a night to remember.
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As always, winners of the ELLE Beauty Awards are chosen by a jury panel – experienced industry leaders – and editorial votes. Watch out for our set of jury members this year who have tried and tested a wide range of dynamic and high-performing beauty products to reach the verdict- there are the usuals and there are more than a few surprises.
The process of choosing the best is elaborate. It begins with shortlisting a multitude of products that are tested by the jury panel for their textures, efficacy, formula, pigments, and functionality. After a few robust rounds of voting, the votes are calculated to decide on the winners.
EBA comes with a legacy of over a decade of successful editions; it’s a star-studded night where celebrities and beauty brands with exceptional contribution and products, respectively, are recognised for their efforts. Along with the glitterati, we will also be seeing some of the biggest names in the beauty industry gather together.
Outstanding makeup looks, glamorous guests and a night filled with conversations about beauty. Gear up for ELLE Beauty Awards 2022!


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The DP World Tour has bolstered its distribution in the DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) region by agreeing a new media rights partnership with DAZN, that will see the global sports and entertainment platform broadcast all tournaments on the DP World Tour.
DAZN will now have co-exclusive live subscription OTT rights, alongside Sky Germany. The first tournament that will be available to DAZN customers will be this week’s Porsche European Open in Hamburg.
This agreement has also seen DAZN secure the rights to broadcast delayed highlights of the 2023 Ryder Cup, which takes place from September 29th – October 1st at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome. DAZN will also be showcasing features on golf’s greatest team contest in the build up to the event.
Speaking about the new agreement Richard Bunn, Managing Director of European Tour Productions, said; “DAZN are growing their golf coverage – tapping into growing consumer demand as golf’s popularity continues to rise – and we are delighted that they have focused on the DP World Tour for their first venture into men’s professional golf. Together we can further bolster the coverage we are offering our fan base across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.”


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ASICS TIGER 'BEAUTY AND THE BEAST'
To coincide with the release of Disney’s live-action movie “Beauty and the Beast”, which was released in UK cinemas on 17th March, ASICS have given sneaker-heads the chance to be the Belle, or Beast, of the Ball thanks to the launch of a series of limited edition sneakers.
The sneakers feature actual fabrics and patterns from costumes worn in the motion picture, capturing the fairytale and giving the story a modern day twist! I think this is such an awesome detail, plus we're a sucker for a Disney inspired trainer!
We love them! Did you pick up a pair? #TalkCasuals on Instagram and Twitter and show us your fits!
Available now at END, Pam Pam and online at Asics Tiger. See more imagery below!


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NICK GRIMM, PRESENTER: Whether it's climate change or simply a run of bad luck, recent Snowy Mountains ski seasons haven't been quite up to scratch lately. This week the mountains celebrated the Winter's first real dump of snow and a belated official start to the tourist season. Until a few days ago, there had been very little snow and very few tourist dollars. While some of those who see this as a long-term trend might feel like drowning their sorrows, other enterprising individuals are seeing opportunity and finding new way to make a mountain living independent of the snow.
Siobhan Heanue reports.
SIODHAN HEANUE, REPORTER: Alpine culture came to Australia in the late '50s, brought by the European workers who emigrated for the Snowy Mountains scheme. They came for the work but some stayed for the play. And in turn, they transformed snow sports into a lucrative business. They saw what many Australians, with their preference for surf and sand, had overlooked. Seizing on commercial opportunities, they opened up resorts like Thredbo and the Australian Alps became a snow-loving sanctuary. It was a thriving industry, built on good times and good snow. But those were the days when the region enjoyed reliable snowfall.
When the ski season kicked off a few weeks ago, the key ingredient was missing. Some hotels were still charging summer rates. The snow-making machines whirred all night long, but by midday, the man-made snow had melted away - and so had business.
NICK GREGORSKI, SNOW MOUNTAINS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: I think everybody's down. It's simply just a numbers game. If there's no people here, then there's no money to spend.
SIODHAN HEANUE: After recent marginal years, Australian ski resorts are more determined than ever to build their reputations as year-round destinations.
KIM CLIFFORD, THREDBO GENERAL MANAGER: I think people have to - I mean, in the local area - and I think more and more people are understanding that they aren't open just for the 90 or 120 days of the Winter season,. They actually have to be open 365 days of the year to be successful.
NICK GREGORSKI: Yeah, we can't just survive alone on Winter trade, we need that summer trade.
SIODHAN HEANUE: With some snowfalls this week, the resorts are hoping the season has finally turned the corner. Forecasters say there will be enough snow over the crucial school holiday period to keep the kids and the cash registers busy. But in recent years, those first few weeks have followed a grim pattern as retailers and tourism operators play a nervous waiting game. For some, it's just not worth waiting around anymore. A former ski instructor, Brad Spalding, has always derived his income from the snow, but a few years ago he made a big move, down the mountain and into business. He opened the first Schnapps distillery in Australia.
BARMAID: So this is a nice sweet peach, this one. Very distinctive. Most popularly put with champagne or orange juice.
BRAD SPALDING, SCHNAPPS DISTILLER: Oh, geez, that's nice.
SIODHAN HEANUE: The market research showed Schnapps wasn't exactly popular in Australia; in fact, consumption was declining.
But Brad Spalding was passionate about this powerful fruity brew.
BRAD SPALDING: It's a bit nerve-wracking but we pulled it off.
SIODHAN HEANUE: While traditional alpine industries have just 12 weeks to make the bulk of their annual income, the distillery delivers a year-round income, something even a bumper snow season could never guarantee.
BRAD SPALDING: It is a blessing. I worked - and I've worked in tourism and in the mountains my whole working life, and you can never take away that feeling that the snow and, "Is it gonna come?", and, you know, "Is it gonna be a great season?" That's always in you and affects every business.
SIODHAN HEANUE: Branching out into all-season tourism carries inherent risks. One thing holding back adventurous initiatives like the distillery is the reluctance of surrounding mountain townships to stay open all year-round.
BRAD SPALDING: Well, traditionally we've been a seasonally-based area where Winter has been so dominant that a lot of businesses were set up just for Winter. We need everything to be open so that year-round there's a consistent service.
SIODHAN HEANUE: Brad Spalding says being open for business year round doesn't mean slaving away for the tourist dollar. In fact, he says seeing the money steadily roll in promotes a more relaxed pace.
BRAD SPALDING: It eases it a little bit. It takes a little bit of that pressure off, knowing that you have a year-round destination as opposed to just, "Yeah, I rely on every snow flake."
SIODHAN HEANUE: And with the pressure off, that's business all wrapped up.


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On March 21st Governor Cuomo announced the introduction of a new $70 million electric car rebate. The initiative will contribute to Governor Cuomo’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030. Drive Clean rebates will be made available to New York residents who purchase eligible electric cars at participating car dealerships. Audi Albany, Basil Toyota, and Garden City Nissan are only some of the dealerships participating in the program. The other dealerships participating in the program can be found on the Drive Clean Rebate website.
Cutting back on transportation emissions is key for New York in the effort to reduce its environmental footprint as the transportation sector accounts for an estimated 40 percent of New York’s greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing transportation emissions will also have significant benefits for public health. It has been shown living in areas with large amounts of congestion and busy roads, such as New York City, can have a negative impact on the respiratory system due to the particles released by car emissions. In crowded cities like New York where exposure to car emissions is high, respiratory illnesses are more likely to occur. The rebate initiative will help to lessen the amount of emissions by promoting the sale of emissions-free electric cars.
$55 million of the funds dedicated to the rebate initiative will be devoted to reducing the costs of electric cars. Buyers can receive a rebate of up to $2,000 when purchasing an electric car under the new initiative. Governor Cuomo explained, “These highly-anticipated rebates will make electric vehicles more affordable and accessible and support this state’s nation-leading efforts to build a cleaner, greener New York for generations to come.” The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority will coordinate the new initiative. With the initiative, New Yorkers will be able to be more active in reducing the state’s emissions.
Governor Cuomo’s effort to install 500 new electric car-charging stations ties in perfectly with the Drive Clean Rebate, as a major roadblock to purchasing an EV is lack of access to charging stations. The stations will be located across various workplaces and throughout the Thruway. Through these efforts the Governor hopes to increase the overall adoption of zero-emitting electric vehicles. The charging stations well be be spread throughout Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, Utica, Albany, the Hudson Valley, Westchester County, New York City, and Long Island. The rebate initiative and charging efforts also coincide with the Governor’s recent announcement to dedicate $3million to municipalities so they can invest in purchasing electric vehicles.
Electric Vehicles are an important part of New York State’s goals for sustainability. Without promoting electric cars it would be difficult to realize the goal of reducing emissions 40% by 2030. The New York League of Conservation Voters has supported past efforts to promote the use of electric vehicles and will continue to support initiatives that help to make New York a greener and healthier state.
If we are to meet our ambitious goals for getting 700,000 zero emissions vehicles on the road in New York by 2025 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030, implementing a consumer tax rebate on zero emissions vehicles is simply essential. At NYLCV, we are pleased to see Governor Cuomo implement this important tool to drive demand, in addition to his growing commitments to build out a robust network of charging stations.


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Don’t have a place to sleep tonight? Don’t worry, this Bud could be for you.
Anheuser-Busch’s latest guerilla marketing campaign has sparked the ire of officials in Liverpool, England after members of a Bud Light marketing team were spotted dispensing free beers in the city streets this week.
Free beer may sound like a fun idea but according to Metro UK, the beer was being offered to homeless people with one man claiming he ended up with a “trolley full” of sample cans.
"I've had reports from members of the public that they've seen street drinkers and other vulnerable residents being handed free cans of beer by Bud Light," Liverpool Councilor Nick Small said.
He added that Anheuser Busch initiated the stunt “without permission from the council’s Licensing Team or City Centre Team.”
But one man who appeared to be sleeping on the street said he certainly wasn’t upset by the free booze.
“They were just handing them out to everyone, I ended up with a trolley full,” he told Metro UK. “I think it’s okay giving them out. It doesn’t do any harm, really?”
“I’m outraged that this is happening when Liverpool schools are on half-term, too,” said the city councilman. "I'm demanding that enforcement action is taken against the company for what appears to be a flagrant breach of alcohol promotion guideline and licensing laws.
"This has no place whatsoever in Liverpool or anywhere else."
After the Bud Light-branded pickup trucks were spotted on the streets, officials from the Liverpool council’s licensing and city center teams quickly shut down the operation.
Bud Light, the bestselling beer in the U.S., hasn’t been available in U.K. for over 16 years and the stunt was part of a new campaign—the “U.K. Bud Light sampling tour”-- to reintroduce the brew to drinkers across the pond.
But Bud Light’s parenting company recognizes it may have missed the mark and says the campaign is being temporarily suspended after the gaffe in Liverpool.
“As a company and founding member of the Portman Group, we are committed to not only promoting responsible drinking, but also to showing good moral conduct across everything we do. We take these duties very seriously and apologise [sic] on this occasion for any offence the sampling of our products may have caused,” said Anheuser Busch in a statement to Metro UK.
“For our UK Bud Light sampling tour we have strong processes in place to make sure only those of legal drinking age and who are not under the influence receive a single 150ml sample can of Bud Light. With these measures we also aim to be inclusive whilst ensuring our products do not fall into the hands of vulnerable people. All of our teams conducted ID checks as part of the Challenge 25 scheme and stamped individuals’ hands after they received a free sample to ensure just one was given per person.
“We are investigating how this incident, which we believe to be isolated, came to pass but until then we are putting a hold on any further public sampling activity.”


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At a recent Locally Crafted Marketing seminar hosted by ReachLocal, Bo Pulito, strategic partner manager with Google, shared three important Google technology trends that are changing consumer behavior. These trends are critical for local businesses to understand, because businesses must really understand their consumers and how they are using technology in their day-to-day lives in order to reach them through marketing.
Here are three practical tips and strategies he discussed that your local business can use to to take advantage of these trends.
1) The Internet of Things Demands an Integrated Marketing Strategy
The Internet of Things is essentially bringing Internet capabilities to ordinary things, says Pulito. And it’s a trend quickly gaining traction. Already, there will be about 5 billion devices connected to the Internet this year. Within just 5 years, this will blossom to 50 billion devices.
The massive, quick growth rate of the Internet of Things is a trend that local businesses need to be aware of, because this device connectivity will impact and shape how consumers use devices and the Internet. And if you want to reach consumers, you have to understand how consumer behavior is changing.
When it comes to marketing, this trend is already making a visible impact. Our televisions, phones, and other common household devices are becoming connected first, and this has already adapted consumer behavior. For example, look at the “multiscreen” trend in which most people watch television while also using another digital devices. From a marketing perspective, this consumer behavior presents a huge opportunity.
According to Pulito, the average consumer looks at 10.7 sources of information before making a purchase decision – think of this as 10.7 opportunities you have to get in front of that consumer before they decide to buy.
This means that today, you need a marketing strategy is not siloed by where it’s being displayed. You need to think about a marketing strategy across the cohesive ecosystem – search, TV, radio, display, video – all of this needs to speak to each other and to the consumer as one cohesive message.
2) Mobile Means it’s time to Think Local
Today, mobile is becoming a central source of information. In fact, we check our phones 151 times per day, Pulito says, and though most people have other ways to access the Internet, 80% of all mobile searches occur within close proximity to a laptop or desktop. Mobile has become a matter of preference. This is a key consumer trend local businesses need to adapt to. Especially because local is such a critical piece of mobile intent.
Last year was the first time that the number of searches on mobile devices surpassed that of desktop searches. One in 3 of those searches had local intent. And the use of the term “near me” increased 33 times in the last 4 years.
The behavior of consumers on mobile devices is different than on a desktop, Pulito says. They want the information now, and to take action on it quickly. People want information about a specific business they’re trying to find.
There are many important ways that businesses need to incorporate a mobile marketing strategy, from having a mobile website to incorporating mobile into their advertising strategy to making sure they show up in mobile apps.
One quick win local businesses can have in mobile marketing?
Claim your Google My Business profile, says Pulito. This helps ensure the information in Google Maps and local search is accurate, because that is stored in the Google My Business system. One of the biggest challenges Google sees is that when this information is not right it impacts both business’ search results and traffic to their business.
3) Personalization Means Increased Capabilities for Targeting
The “Internet of Me” is an era in which mass technology now has the ability to be hyper-personalized for the end user, providing new and useful things unique to each user.
Take, for example, technology like Google Now, which is a predictive search technology trying to answer a question for you before you ask the question. For example, it will send you directions to the airport before you need to leave to drive there if it sees a plane ticket confirmation for the following day in your email inbox. It can set helpful reminders, recommend places to eat, and provide useful information – without you ever having to ask for it. This app is already available on Android phones and you can download it on iPhone as well.
This is the future of search – technology that knows what you will need or be looking for and predicts the answer for you – before you ask the question, and there are many opportunities for marketing based on the information this personalization leverages.
Today, there are already many ways local businesses can target their advertising to take advantage of this trend. One of the most powerful is remarketing (also known as retargeting), which gives you the opportunity to bring back customers after they’ve left your website. It’s one of the highest performing types of targeting that exists in online marketing, because it’s targeting people who already showed an interest in your business.
What do you think about these technology trends and how they’re impacting consumers? Do any of these influence you on a daily basis?
How have you adapted your marketing to make sure that you’re reaching consumers online?
Share your thoughts in a comment!


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Matthew Ball, CEO of Venture Capital firm Epyllion, believes that the metaverse economy could value between $10-30 trillion in the next decade – but the current big tech players won’t have it all their own way.
Ball, who launched a metaverse ETF with Roundhill investments in June of this year, made the prediction in an appearance on Bloomberg News this week. It has been claimed by Nvidia CEO Jensen Wang that the metaverse economy could one day even eclipse that of the real world ($80+ trillion), but Ball offered his own bullish, but slightly more conservative take.
“Even if you have more modest expectations, precedent from the digital economy, the internet, the mobile internet, suggests that this is a $10-30 trillion opportunity that will manifest in a decade or a decade and a half,” said Ball. “Our belief is that value will be widely distributed across the semis, the computes, the payment companies, virtual platforms, and other infrastructure providers.”
In any event, whether you prefer the analysis by Wang or Ball, the argument boils down to just how many trillions of dollars the market will eventually be worth.
Public interest in the metaverse has skyrocketed since Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would rebrand to Meta. While Ball believes that Meta could prove to be a significant player in the sector, lessons from history suggest that their success is by no means guaranteed.
“Conventional wisdom would suggest that we’re going to see some of today’s leaders thrive in the next-generation internet or metaverse, but in particular, we’ll see new companies come to the forefront,” said Ball. “The consensus was that AT&T and AOL would lead in the internet era, that Microsoft’s advantages would endure, and in fact, none of that happened.”
Even in the existing market Ball points out that the traditional big five – Google, Apple, Meta (Facebook), Amazon, Microsoft – did not have things entirely their own way, making up only 10% of the digital economy.
Interest in the Metaverse surged following Facebook’s rebrand (Google Trends)
While the Metaverse remains in its relative infancy, crypto projects such as Decentraland, Sandbox Decentral Games and Decentral Games are making significant strides.
We spoke with Decentral Games Advisor and former Decentraland Management Advisor Lee Lin Liew to ask whether the increasing interest from tech’s biggest players was a good thing for crypto metaverse projects.
“Yes,” stated Liew. “When major names like Facebook and Microsoft share announcements for their metaverse plans, they indirectly generate awareness and exposure for the existing metaverse projects. Nonetheless, I believe the growth and success of metaverse will be driven by the decentralized nature of user-owned projects rather than centralized platforms.”
It’s an opinion that will certainly play well in the cryptosphere, and the early evidence seems to back it up. The token prices for crypto Metaverse-related projects have been rising since Facebook’s Meta announcement, with Decentraland (MANA) up 260.4%, Sandbox (SAND) up 193.4%, and Decentral Games (DG) climbing by 7% over the past 14 days.
“It’s a new frontier with lots of opportunities, especially from the socioeconomics perspective,” said Liew. “The metaverse essentially facilitates a borderless market and community, shifting current systems of globalization to virtual globalization. The creation and developments made in the metaverse we have now, are already changing the way we socialize, work and earn incomes.”
“Take play-to-earn games for example. These games have congregated players from all socioeconomic strata, regardless of geographic locations, and created new economies within. Soon, we will see more forms of active participation in the metaverse that can benefit society in general.”
One of the promises of the Metaverse is that we will be able to work and earn there. At this stage of the development cycle, however, the idea seems a long way off. Outside of the specific GameFi niche, how far away are we from seeing real job opportunities and working in the virtual domain? According to Liew that day has already come and gone without much notice in the physical world, with Decentral Games already creating job opportunities in the virtual realm.
The Metaverse may still be in its early days, but while the world slept, the virtual reality universe became very real indeed.
What do you think about this subject? Write to us and tell us!
All the information contained on our website is published in good faith and for general information purposes only. Any action the reader takes upon the information found on our website is strictly at their own risk.


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N.J. Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Allow Tesla to Continue Selling Cars
Nearing next month when Tesla is expected to lose its ability to sell cars directly to consumers in New Jersey, a lawmaker has proposed a bill that would keep the electric car maker in business in the Garden State. Assemblyman Tim Eustace has created the bill to make an exception for the automaker, stating that "Because of this new rule, an interested buyer looking for more fuel-efficient, environmentally-friendly vehicle options can go look and ask questions about an electric car in New Jersey, but will have to go to Pennsylvania or New York if he or she actually wants to buy the car," Eustace said in a statement. "How does sending business to other states help New Jersey's economy?" The decision to discontinue Tesla's New Jersey license was made by an eight-person committee, including members from Gov. Chris Christie's staff. The line of reasoning given to the public was that dealerships protect consumer interests.However, franchise laws were largely constructed to protect independent retailers from automakers undercutting them. Tesla has no independent retailers of its cars, thus no one to undercut. Seeing how in many cases dealerships are struggling to learn how to sell electric cars next to more profitable gas-powered cars, it may be in Tesla's best interests to keep a tight grip on the company's message. After April 1, Tesla will only be allowed to keep its galleries open in malls. It will not be allowed to tell customers how to order their vehicles or deliver them in New Jersey. Those looking to purchase a Model S will have to go to a nearby state. Tesla will continue to fight the good fight, having been disallowed from selling vehicles in a handful of states. That is, unless it decides to sell cars through an independent dealership franchise. Source: Automotive News (Subscription required)
Will GM expand its massive recall for faulty ignition switches?


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Home Tags Self-driving cars
Tag: self-driving cars
Google’s self-driving car project stopped working on a system similar to Tesla’s Autopilot and Cadillac’s Super Cruise in 2013 becau...
In 2013, Google's self-driving car division was developing a semi-autonomous system that would allow for hands-free driving on highways.
My Lyft driver taught me so much about his Tesla Model 3, I feel way more compelled to buy one. Here are the 10 most interesting features I discovered...
Earlier this week, I took my first-ever ride in a Tesla Model 3 when I hailed a car via Lyft. I now feel way more compelled to buy this car.
DeepMind offered Waymo a technique for training AI, inspired by Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
Tesla makes great cars but it's always struggled to manufacture them according to the long-accepted best-practices of the global auto industry.
Coopetition means that Ford and VW can save money on shared engineering while breaking ranks later when they take new vehicles and services to market.
Ford and VW have stepped up their alliance — Ford will develop an electric vehicle using VW tech by 2023
The VW Group also announced on Friday that it would invest $2.6 billion in the self-driving-car startup ArgoAI. Ford invested $1 billion in 2017.
VW is investing $2.6 billion in ArgoAI following a cash infusion from Ford, valuing the self-driving-car startup at more than $7 billion
ArgoAI would remain an independent company post-deal, which would allow it to seek additional investment from other partners.
Elon Musk said older Teslas will probably get the chip the company designed to make its cars self-driving near the end of this year
All Tesla vehicles made since around the end of 2016 are able to receive the self-driving chip, Elon Musk said.
Waymo is the fourth company to receive California's autonomous-vehicle pilot permit, after Zoox, AutoX Technologies, and Pony.ai.
Apple has been quietly but seriously working on its own self-driving cars, too.


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A proposal that would provide additional scrutiny for big-box stores that wish to sell groceries was shot down by a coalition of neighborhood planners.
The Community Planners Committee on Tuesday voted 14 to 12 against a draft ordinance that would require supercenters to prepare an economic impact analysis to determine whether their projects would harm surrounding neighborhoods and businesses.
Councilman Todd Gloria’s proposal comes three years after a City Council vote to ban big-box retailers with full-service groceries was vetoed by Mayor Jerry Sanders. Gloria said he was trying to garner community support for the new measure before taking it to the full council.
The intent of the ordinance is to educate planning commissioners and the council about the financial impacts of proposed supercenters on neighborhoods, Gloria said. Ninety-two percent of businesses in San Diego are classified as small, and the city spends more than $1 million annually to stimulate growth and revitalize business districts, he said.
“It seems as if we often work at cross-purposes when we permit large-box retailers at the same time that we’re trying to promote small businesses,” Gloria said. “This is in no way a ban and it is not targeted to any one retailer. It is simply an opportunity to provide more information to decision makers on the impacts of development.”
Patrick Edwards, president of the San Diego Business Improvement District Council, said it took 40 years for North Park to recover after Mission Valley became a shopping destination.
“It scares me that a company can come in like Walmart with their funding and take away the character of my neighborhood overnight,” Edwards said. “When they’re done, they walk away from it, and what’s left? How could you rebuild a city? We’re all under attack here.”
But critics say the proposed ordinance is an attempt to kowtow to unions, particularly because there are no known supercenter applications on file with the city. Aaron Rios, a spokesman for Walmart, called it a “thinly-veiled effort to restrict grocery options and consumer shopping choices in San Diego that’s promoted by special interests.”
“The residents of San Diego spoke loud and clear in 2007 and they were opposed to efforts by government officials to dictate how and where they should shop,” Rios told the committee. “While the city is facing double-digit unemployment and historic budget deficits, this measure will only stand in the way of opportunities to generate new tax revenue and stimulate local economic development.”
A supercenter is defined as a big-box retailer with more than 90,000 square feet and more than 10 percent of floor space dedicated to nontaxable items such as groceries and prescription drugs, according to the draft ordinance. Large stores requiring memberships would be exempt.
Jim Varnadore, chairman of the City Heights Area Planning Committee, said the proposal was problematic for communities where residents are struggling financially and need as many affordable options as possible.
“I would like to see this whole thing simply dropped, left alone,” Varnadore said.
Guy Preuss, representing Skyline-Paradise Hills, said as a retiree whose annual income is $18,000, big-box stores have been his saving grace.
“I would be naked if it wasn’t for Walmart,” Preuss said. “Everything I am wearing tonight, as most days of the week, I bought at Walmart.”
An economic analysis would require assessing the number of jobs that would be created and displaced by a supercenter. It also would include a traffic study and how the store would affect wages and benefits.
The Community Planners Committee, tasked with addressing citywide planning and land-use issues, consists of one representative from each of the city’s neighborhood planning groups. Members serve in an advisory capacity to the San Diego Planning Commission and City Council.


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CNP Program Outside the US
This year’s Customer Choice for Best CNP Program Outside the U.S. is Computop, a global payment service provider with 16 years of payment and industry experience. Computop provides end-to-end payment solutions for Samsung, Metro Cash&Carry, Fossil and other leading brands, and currently offers more than 50 domestic and international payment methods.
The company says its think-global-act-local approach explains much of its Paygate payment platform’s success. After expanding its reach to the east in 2012 by connecting to the international platforms of Alipay, the company decided it needed a payment solution that catered more to China’s payment landscape—one in which PSPs like Visa, MasterCard and PayPal are not yet prevalent. As a result, it developed Paygate China, a payment gateway that grants access to five Chinese PSPs and 100 Chinese banks.
The company says the platform acts as a technical processing interlink (middleware) between client applications and several Chinese PSPs, facilitating the exchange of electronic payment instructions through a single interface; merchants benefit not only from lowered processing and implementation costs, but also streamlined revenue management and a faster TTM. Specifically, the company says, merchants who use the Paygate China solution see improved conversion rates (due to the extensive range of payment options and bank coverage), and they benefit from a least cost routing (LCR) function.
Combining local presence with market expertise, Computop says its Paygate China solution has enabled many merchants to expand to China. Swarovski is one such example: with the Computop-Alipay integration, Swarovski’s customers now have the option to shop and make payments on the Chinese Swarovski website—and Swarovski effectively avoids the hurdles of setting up Chinese bank accounts, conducting credit checks and validating buyer profiles to boot.
Other merchants, like illy Café, have tasked Computop with the challenge of integrating a local payment tool with their corporate e-shops; the company says illy Café’s success has been so great, its team in China is currently at work to increase online payments across a total e-shop transaction.


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Mass. Outpaces U.S. In Q2 Economic Growth
Two reports out Friday offer encouraging news for the Massachusetts economy.
MassBenchmarks, a report from the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute with the Boston Federal Reserve Bank, says the state's economy grew at an annual rate of 4.3 percent last quarter.
The Massachusetts growth rate easily outpaced the growth of the nation's economy, which expanded at a meager rate of 1.3 percent rate in the second quarter.
"We sell information technology, medical science and knowledge-based goods and services to other states and other countries, and those sectors have performed better than the U.S. economy as a whole," said Alan Clayton-Matthews, a Northeastern University economics professor and MassBenchmarks' editor.
It's the fourth consecutive quarter Massachusetts has outperformed the national economy.
MassBenchmarks says it expects Massachusetts growth to stay at similar levels through the end of the year.
Another forecast, from the Beacon Hill Institute, offers a more tempered prediction of just under 3 percent growth through the end of the year.
The Beacon Hill Institute report says it also expects the state to add 84,000 jobs by the end of 2011.
This program aired on July 29, 2011. The audio for this program is not available.


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- The South African Brewery (SAB) expects to cash in more sales during the World Cup event in the country, during the month of June to July.
The SAB, which has noted that the South African winter season is normally a low sales period, expects to sell at least an extra 100000 hectolitres of beer – about 30-million pints, during the month-long event.
The group, according to local media reports, will also be expecting its sales to up as a result of the company’s link sponsorship to the South African national soccer team.
“We are not a sponsor (of the World Cup). We can only continue to work behind Bafana Bafana as our platform,” Alastair Hewitt, the marketing manager for Castle Lager, was quoted saying in the media.
The SAB has also noted that even though the World Cup has come up with strict business and trade rules, companies not directly associated with the event will still need to survive.
For instance, the company has noted restrictions such as those barring advertising closer to the event’s venues, as well as well as the monopolistic beer sales rights given to the Fifa accredited brands.
However, the SAB is optimistic that all visiting soccer supporters would at least want to taste the South Africa beer brand, while local supporters at different sports bars and venue outside the Fifa restriction areas, would also continue to support the local beer brand.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.


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Australian, N.Z. Stocks: Aristocrat Leisure, Mainfreight, Rio
The following were among the most active shares in the market today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (API) slid 1.2 percent to 40 Australian cents. The distributor of pharmaceutical products had its stock rating cut to “equal- weight” from “overweight” by analysts at Morgan Stanley.
Carsales.com.au (CRZ AU) dropped 4.6 percent to A$5. Australia’s most popular automotive website fell the most in four months in Sydney trading after Nine Entertainment Co. sold its 49 percent stake at a discount to raise A$566 million ($574 million).
Cochlear Ltd. (COH) retreated 0.5 percent to A$80.46. The maker of the world’s best-selling hearing implant had its stock rating cut to “underweight” from “equal-weight” by analysts at Morgan Stanley.
Rio Tinto Group (RIO AU), the world’s third-largest mining company, fell 1.6 percent to A$84.15. A measure of metals traded in London slipped 0.3 percent on March 4.
Sonic Healthcare Ltd. (SHL) fell 1.8 percent to A$11.26 after its stock rating was cut to “underweight” from “equal- weight” by analysts at Morgan Stanley.
Mainfreight Ltd. (MFT) surged 5.8 percent to NZ$8.59. New Zealand’s largest trucking company agreed to buy Netherlands-based Wim Bosman Group for 110 million euros ($153 million) in its first European acquisition.
To contact the reporter on this story: Shani Raja in Sydney at email@example.com.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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SAMANTHA ENSLIN-PAYNE: It's getting harder to take the taxman for a ride
The gig economy is providing much-needed income for cash-strapped South Africans - whether you are an Uber driver, an Airbnb host or have a side hustle to cover your expenses. But for those operating through the platforms of multinationals, the days of earning under the taxman's radar are fast coming to an end. Last month, the government announced plans to regulate Airbnb, and it has generated much outrage. The proposed regulations may limit the number of nights per year that accommodation can be rented.
It's not unprecedented. In London, homes on Airbnb can only be listed for 90 days a year, while in Barcelona, Airbnb had to remove hundreds of listings that did not have licences. Other cities, such as San Francisco and Berlin, have also tackled the issue with regulations, not always with success. In Paris, which is one of the largest Airbnb markets, city officials have been concerned about the purchasing of second apartments with the express aim of using them for short-term rentals, because of the impact on the long-term rental market and the fact that entire neighbourhoods were being turned over to tourists, forcing Parisians out of the city.
And if you are wondering how cities enforce these rules, Airbnb does it for them, at least in some locations.
In SA, Airbnb has tens of thousands of accommodation options to rent, from homes to apartments to rooms - often sharply undercutting hotels and traditional bed-and-breakfast establishments.
Airbnb said "the overwhelming amount of money generated by the Airbnb platform stays with hosts and their communities. Last year hosts and guests in SA boosted the local economy by an estimated R8.7bn and the economic impact of local hosts supported the equivalent of 22,000 jobs." The company added that "we follow the rules and continue to pay all of the tax that is due in all of the places that we do business".
But whether its hosts do is really the question.
Airbnb says "hosts on Airbnb want to pay their fair share of tax. We frequently remind hosts to check and follow tax rules and have downloadable transaction histories for hosts." Taxman take note.
Hotels, guesthouses and caravan parks, which generated income of R45.9bn in 2016, according to Stats SA, have a broad impact on the economy, by investing in bricks and mortar and the jobs that come with that. They pay tax (including collecting a tourism levy from guests used to market SA as a tourist destination) and pay city councils commercial rates (rather than lower residential rates) on their properties. There are zoning and labour laws, and health and safety regulations to comply with.
There might be an element of schadenfreude that Airbnb hosts have been able to thumb their noses at the establishment, leaving hotels suffering due to fierce competition from rentals in private homes. But consider that if a hotel group was not paying tax, we would have a lot to say, so why, then, should those who rent their properties to travellers be able to shirk their responsibilities?
As Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, the CEO of the Tourism Business Council of SA, points out, the flipside of not regulating short-term rentals in private homes is that it could become a free-for-all - no rules for any business in the tourism industry. While he is not proposing that, he raises it to highlight what "true disruption" could look like. But if consumers are to be protected, there need to be rules, which he concedes do not necessarily have to be the same as for hotels but could, for example, require a homeowner to register for a business licence if they rent their home for more than 30 days a year.
There is scope to allow for healthy competition in the market, but if everyone wants to benefit they need to play by a set of agreed rules and pay their dues.
• Enslin-Payne is acting editor of Business Times