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By| November 5, 2015
In her five years at the company, Yaccarino has transformed NBCU’s advertising sales organization. Her groundbreaking “one portfolio” plan has amplified the enormous power and reach of the company’s broadcast, cable and digital assets. As a result, under Yaccarino’s leadership, NBCU was the only media company to record growth in volume and dollar value during the 2015 Upfront. Earlier this year, she announced the company’s audience targeting platform, NBCUx—a programmatic platform—and “NBCU+ Powered by Comcast,” which empowers clients to make better data-driven decisions.


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The U.S.-China trade war has not spared European companies in China. More than one-third of them are feeling a direct impact on their businesses and fear the situation will worsen in the coming weeks.
“They [European companies] are feeling more anxious than they felt last year, rising tensions such as the trade tensions that we are facing currently that don’t seem to be on the point of being sorted out quickly,” European Chamber Vice President Charlotte Roule told VOA.
The trade conflict has come on top of several other problems faced by European companies in China.
“Macroeconomic challenges such as the Chinese economic slowdown and global economic slowdown are worrying them,” Roule said.
In a survey conducted last January and released Monday, the European Chamber of Commerce in China reported the trade war has impacted 25% of its members engaged in U.S.-bound exports from their operations in China.
Since January, the United States has since expanded its tariff measures against China-made goods, while Beijing has announced its own set of retaliatory measures. These moves would affect a larger number of European companies, including those that import products from the U.S.
Source : VOA

domain: news


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China Conducts First Centralized Purchasing For Medical Consumables
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
China's Ministry of Health has successfully conducted the 2008 national centralized purchasing of high-value medical consumables, at an average 10 percent lower rate. The first such exercise to supply medical institutions nationwide, the products purchased are classified into four categories: cardiac pacemaker, electrophysiology, cardiac intervention and peripheral vascular intervention (neurological intervention). MOH will publicize candidates' product catalogs and pricing in the near future. Non-profit medical institutions across the country may purchase these items; in principle, they should not buy similar products outside the catalog. Experts point out that the centralized purchasing can unify pricing of different regions in China, paving the way toward formulating standardized charging for medical care services. (Click here for more - Chinese Language)
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China's Ministry of Health has published the 2008 candidates' product catalogs for the national centralized purchasing of high-value medical consumables (PharmAsia News, Aug. 11, 2008), with the details posted on its International Communication and Cooperation Center website. MOH requires all regions to execute the purchase from Oct.1, within a one-year purchasing cycle. China's urban health care institutions' expenditure on medical consumables increased at an annual rate of 22.4 percent from RMB 9.693 billion ($1.417 billion) to RMB 39.831 billion ($5.825 billion) between 2000 and 2007, far exceeding drug expenses. Experts reveal that the government plans to include all medical devices into centralized purchasing by 2010. The country's increased investment of RMB 150 billion in public health and government purchase, with priority for local brands, will boost the domestic medical devices industry. (Click here for more - Chinese Language)
Can Atlas Biomed unlock Japan's self-care market with its direct-to-consumer DNA and microbiome tests? HBW Insight catches up with the company's co-founder and CEO to discuss this and also how Atlas has been driving its European expansion plans despite coronavirus.
France's ANSES warns women using oral contraceptives not to use a supplement marketed by UK firm Hairburst after linking the product's consumption to two cases of severe acute hepatitis.


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Capturing WOW, an experiential festival for professional and commercial photographers and film-makers invites photographers across the globe to learn the art of photography from the leading photographers. Along with photographic skills, their aim is also to provide a platform to the community to showcase their best pictures and videos and thus get introduces to the top-most event and wedding planners.
The Jury includes internationally acclaimed names like Scott Kelby, Peter Hurley, Lindsay Adler and Jatin Kampani. The 2 day event is scheduled on 28th and 29th June 2019 at Hotel Pullman, New Delhi Aerocity and is curated by Luv Isrrani , a celebrated fashion and wedding photographer from Signature Films and Isrrani Photography. Co-Located with WOW Awards Asia, the event will comprise of intriguing Master-classes, Live-shoots and a Mega-summit between event and wedding planners as well as photographers.
Vishal Nagdev, the founder of WOW Awards states “Over the past 11 years of WOW Awards Asia, the most important objective has been to bring together the sub-communities of the larger event and wedding industry on a business and knowledge exchange conducive platform. Capturing WOW furthers that objective and we are thrilled to welcome the creative and talented community of event and wedding photographers and film makers to join #TheWOWTribe”
“It has been a great journey putting together this exciting initiative. My goal is to bring about a radical shift in the industry by bringing the most premium opportunities to our community so that Indian photographers and filmmakers can make a mark on the global map, the talent and capability for which exists in abundance in our country!” says Luv Isrrani.
The activity is emphatically supported by leading partners like Canon, Panasonic Lumix, GoPro, Lacie – a top notch storage solution for experts via Seagate and Vitec group which includes brands like Manfrotto, Joby, Gitzo, Avenger, Litepanels, Lowepro and National Geographic to name a few. These brands have even arranged exciting activities to be held on 28th and 29th June and participants can anticipate winning some astounding prizes and treats!


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Ads that pop up less often and allow publishers to offer full versions of games will make players happier in the long run, promises a Google exec.
New software developer kit removes apps' ability to access the unique string of numbers that individually identifies each cellular device.
Want to know what your next phone's operating system will look like, how Google wants to manage all your photos or how you'll pay with your Android phone? Look here.
It's unknown why Google is interested in InMobi in particular; what is clear is that Google needs to bolster its efforts in mobile advertising.
The world's largest social network is expanding its advertising technology to other app makers, hoping to grab an even larger piece of the ad pie.
The ad technology will allow Facebook partners to target ads at users on and off its website.
iPhone maker is reportedly allowing brands to spend just $100,000 to initiate a campaign, down from the $1 million they were required to put up back in 2010.
The social network is getting ready to launch a mobile ad platform that will allow it to better challenge Google's AdMob, Recode reports.
Social network is expected to give app makers a way to feature banner and custom Facebook ads. It's part of company's ongoing effort to help developers monetize, and to boost its own sales.
The social network's blossoming smartphone business brought in 59 percent of advertising revenue during the first three months of 2014.


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Back in the last century GM introduced OnStar as an alternative to a bag phone or an antiquated car phone… but that was then and technology has far out-paced even consumer’s demands in today’s market.
What seems to be pushing the market ever-forward is the proliferation of the smartphone. Consumers are starting to ask a similar questions “So, if my phone can do all of those fancy things, why can’t my automobile?” Auto manufacturers are scrambling to create the technology that provides the driver the connectivity they want.
Ford Motor Company, with its Microsoft Sync systems, and now with its MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch systems, seems to be light years ahead of the competition.
Not a day goes by at a Ford dealership when a customer discovers all of the services they can obtain through Sync and Ford’s Traffic, Directions and Information (TDI) service and they realize that it’s a whole lot of technology for them to use in their vehicles.
Recently Hyundai announced that some of its 2012 models would have Bluetooth technology with the Assurance (basic) package costing $79 a year and the Guidance (advanced) package costing $279 a year. GM is planning to have available on some of its models a telematics system similar to Ford’s Sync, by its 2012 model year. GM’s OnStar system ranges in price from $199 to $299 a year (and it essentially requires you to get an additional cell phone service contract and pay for the minutes used).
Those are unbelievable prices… the Ford Sync system is available on most of its vehicles NOW at no additional charge (it’s bundled into its options packages) and its TDI service is free for the first three years. Even after three years, the voice-activated turn-by-turn navigation (the TDI service offers features like sports, news, weather, horoscopes, point-of-interest search and so on) only costs $65 a year.
Probably the area where Ford shines the most is that the Sync system is software based and is easily upgradeable. Its system will interact with apps like Pandora and Stitch. There are already smartphone apps that tie in real-time driving information between the phone and your car. It seems that the biggest challenge with these telematics system using Bluetooth technology is to get the multitude of cell phone and smartphones to work with your vehicle… but Ford has been doing it for years now. On top of that, Ford will be offering its Sync system with TDI in 19 languages for 2012.
With the MyFord Touch or the MyLincoln Touch systems, you can use an aircard or a 4G phone to create your own Wi-Fi zone in your vehicle. You can run multiple laptops and/or computers to access the Internet.
It seems that Ford is ahead of the game with its technology. It offers more complex telematics systems on more of its vehicles offering a wider range of services for far less cost – and it’s upgradeable so it can keep up with changing demands. For more information, visit www.bobhurleyford.com or www.ford.com/technology .
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It was only a matter of time but thanks to researchers from MIT and Microsoft, we now have a smart, wearable tattoo.
Incredibly, the wearable tattoo which is only temporary, can be used to remotely control your smartphone or share data using NFC.
Called the DuoSkin, MIT reports that the tattoo is a circuit capable of being created with any graphic software. The tat can then be stamped out into a gold leaf, conductive to electricity, at which point other interactive components can be added to ultimately make the design interactive.
Many wearable tech experts are comparing DuoSkin to “smart” patches more so than tattoos but if I’m being honest, the terms “smart tattoo” or wearable tattoo sound much cooler.
Anyhow, the fact that people may soon be walking around with temporary tattoos capable of controlling their electronics is a testament to just how rapidly wearable tech is advancing.]


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Fintechs advised on Cyber Security.
Published by New Vision.
With financial technology companies (fintechs) increasingly gaining prominence as facilitators of financial transactions and drivers of financial inclusion across markets, the rate of their vulnerability to cyber risks is also equally growing.
Cyber risk is any risk associated with financial loss, disruption to operations or damage to an organisation’s reputation from a negative event impacting the organisation’s information or information systems.
When a business’ online security is breached, information including your customer database, confidential customer details like payment information and bank details, valuable employment data, intellectual property, stored data or social media accounts passwords and logins are stolen and the attacker can use it to their advantage.
Over the past few years, big global companies have fallen victims to cyber-attacks, wiping out millions of dollars.
With cyber-attacks, a single incident can cost a business billions of shillings and can even wipe it off the scene completely.
Although the 2017 Uganda Cyber Security report put cybercrime-related losses at over $42m (sh154b), it is said that majority of cybercrime incidents in Uganda go unreported, mainly due to fear of brand reputation damage.
To guard against this, however, Oscar Ofumbi, the Head of Business at Lend in a Box, urged fintechs to embrace cyber insurance so as to externalize risks by allowing the insurance company take on any related costs suffered in case of an attack.
Despite being launched as a product about five years ago, the uptake of cyber risk insurance in Uganda is still very low.
Ofumbi also urged fintechs to use a two-factor authentication, a multi-factor method that requires users to input different pieces of evidence before they are granted access to the account or system.
This, according to Ofumbi, will ensure an enhanced level of security for players in the fintech sector.
He noted that cyber risks are becoming a challenge for the sector, given that it could either be perpetuated by either an employee or a third-party service provider and that using insurance or a two-factor authentication would be very helpful.
Ofumbi was speaking during a two-day fintech landscape exhibition at Sheraton Kampala Hotel last week.
The exhibition sought to mark the end of the 40-days-40-fintechs project, which was organised by HiPipo, in partnership with Crosslake Tech, ModusBox and Mojaloop Foundation.
The engaged fintechs were equipped with interoperability skills, using Mojaloop, a switching platform with a centralised service that brings together digital financial service providers to help boost financial inclusion in Africa.
It is estimated that only about 43% of people in sub-Saharan Africa are financially included. In Uganda, the number is estimated at 78% – both formally and informally.
This is mainly because of high transactional costs, especially across different service providers, which experts say is an obstacle to achieving meaningful financial inclusion.
Currently, providers of digital solutions have to build everything on their own, which is expensive as there is no single loop. This means that they have to charge high transaction fees that are hard for poor customers to afford. Additionally, more services end up being a closed-loop where customers can only transact with other customers using the same service.
The Craft Silicon Uganda Team Leader, John Baptist Ochieng, noted that while Mojaloop is a good solution, more effort must be put towards ensuring that it guarantees safety of end-users’ money.
“Mojaloop will help some businesses and entities that want to connect to several platforms to go through it. My only concern would be around the safety of open source software for financial services,” he said.
Review open source software.
Ochieng urged companies to review the security of the open-source software and ensure it is secure for use before adoption.
The public service state minister David Karubanga also alluded to the cyber risk threat, saying that players need to invest in building robust security systems to ensure safety of users’ information and funds.
He noted that government is trying to work with international organisations to address the challenge but urged players to report cyber risk occurrences to help the government investigate.
The HiPipo chief executive officer Innocent Kawooya also alluded to the need to secure payment platforms, saying that without that, people will lose trust and confidence in the digital payments systems.
“Without cybersecurity, you cannot achieve full financial inclusion because if there is a lot of fraud and businesses losing money in an ecosystem that is not secure, people will not use it; they will keep it in their bags or assets and in the end, we shall not have money to grow the economy,” Kawooya said.
He pledged HiPipo continued support in advocating for a level playing field for all fintechs to thrive.
Kawooya noted that with an open-source software, HiPipo will be able to create an interoperable payment solution to enhance financial inclusion by breaking all the barriers and create one ecosystem that will benefit everyone.
He added that the successful execution of the 40-days-40-fintechs project is expected to change the way financial inclusion is done in the world, transform millions of lives in years to come and change the way financial inclusion will be done in Uganda going forward.
This story was originally published by New Vision on 20th July, 2020.


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Designers and design business owners got a chance to let their hair down and leisurely mingle with their fellow associates during the Designers Meet-And-Greet networking event, jointly presented by the DesignSingapore Council, the Design Business Chamber Singapore (DBCS) and the Singapore Institute of Landscape Architects (SILA).
Held at the cozy National Design Centre, the event began with welcome addresses from Mr Tai Lee Siang, President of the DBCS as well as Mr Damian Tang, President of SILA. Following that, participants were in for a treat as Mr Lawrence Chong, CEO of Consulus Pte Ltd, shared practical advice on how companies can take their design business abroad, perhaps even become a leading global player in creative services. Before the networking session, the DesignSingapore Council spoke about some of the assistance schemes available to design companies.
In all, more than 80 participants spent an evening with good food, good company as well as good information that will help them in their business in one way or another.


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Market volatility is just a sign that investors are resetting their expectations — and it’s nothing to be afraid of, The Carlyle Group’s Glenn Youngkin told CNBC.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 2.8 percent, easing back into correction territory. The S&P 500 fell 2 percent. The rout in tech stocks started when Lumentum Holdings, which makes technology for the Apple iPhone’s face-recognition function, cut its outlook for the fiscal second quarter of 2019 and said one of its largest customers asked the company to “materially reduce shipments” for its products.
The damage was not contained to Apple alone, however, with the other companies among the so-called FAANG stocks — Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google — also experiencing dropping by varying degrees of between 2 and 5 percent on Tuesday.
Youngkin said investors are starting to scrutinize tech stock valuations more closely.
“The tech sector has been valued under this expectation that, again, trees are going to grow to the sky, and we’re going to sell more and more and more of everything in an unlimited fashion,” he said. “And so, all of a sudden, people are beginning to recognize that maybe valuations got ahead of where they probably should have been and they must reset.”
The International Monetary Fund forecast in October that the U.S. economy would grow 2.5 percent in 2019. Youngkin said The Carlyle Group was slightly more optimistic, predicting GDP growth of between 2.5 percent and 3 percent. He said that would bode well for sectors, like tech, that “find their demand principally driven by confidence in the consumer.”
He questioned the idea that lower growth will lead to lower earnings, saying that “the concept of slowing growth does not mean declining earnings … Headlines are always that things are declining, but they’re not,” he said. “Growth is slowing.”
Youngkin added that a moderation of the growth rate was normal.
“Over the course of the last 12-18 months, most people have felt like the economy was going to grow to the sky and all of a sudden we have this very natural slowing of growth – not stalling – and the markets are appropriately resetting.”
– CNBC’s Fred Imbert contributed reporting to this story.


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2020 was the year that no one could’ve predicted. Most elements of everyday life for people around the globe significantly changed with the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a huge shift towards conducting everyday life online, and technology ended up being the one thing able to keep us connected while we were physically apart.
While over 600,000 Australians lost their jobs during the pandemic, a study by ING has also revealed that one in three (35%) Australian adults are likely to look for a new job post-pandemic going into 2021.
So while in Australia we slowly make our way back to normal, there is no doubt that there’s been a huge shift in how workplaces are run across multiple industries, as well as a big move in popularity towards STEM-based (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) roles.
With technology proving to be the pivotal part of what kept most companies operational throughout the pandemic, it’s no surprise that in-demand skills have changed. Looking at what roles have become more popular, as well as where the future of work now lays we’ve pulled together some of our top predictions for top tech jobs to watch in 2021.
Trending Tech Jobs to Watch in 2021
Cyber Security Specialists
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) report identified Australians lost over $634 million to scams over the past 12 months, with over 100 reports of COVID-19 themed scams.
With the significant rise in cyber attacks and malicious scams, it’s no doubt that cyber security professionals will continue to be highly regarded and sought after going into 2021.
Management/Organisation Specialists & Analysts
Behind all the technology that was pivotal in keeping organisations running in 2020, the people behind the software that were able to organise and analyse teams of thousands became increasingly vital.
Tracking and analysing how teams and companies performed throughout the year, is often what separated those companies that boomed through the pandemic to those that did not. There’s been a significant increase in searches for management/organisation specialists and analysts, and given the importance they play in an organisation we don’t see this trend decreasing going into the New Year.
Software and Applications Programmers
Good programmers are always hard to find and in high demand. With the drastic changes in technology in 2020 many companies had to make the shift online, thus needing software and applications programmers to help support their overall technological growth.
Across multiple coding languages, the never-ending search for talented programmers will undoubtedly continue into and well beyond 2021.
A great positive to come out of 2020 was the creation of so many new small businesses. In today’s market all companies need a professional website to operate. We saw a huge rise in the amount of searches for talented web developers to support the creation of new websites, or completely overhaul existing ones to keep up with the new wave of technology. We see this trend continuing well into 2021.
Throughout the year we all had a lot more free time, in which a lot of us spent that time turning to video games. While being a video game designer has always been a popular job path, with a significant increase in those actively participating in online gaming platforms we predict a trend in the amount of game designers and developers needed in the future to keep up with the growing demand.
Computer User Support Specialists
With the whole world moving online to communicate and work, there was an influx of people who needed support in doing this. Computer user support specialists, helpdesk professionals, and general computer teachers were in demand throughout the year as many people wanted to be able to make the switch online with ease.
Having the ability to both understand and easily explain technology to anybody is not an easy task, and the search for talented people who are able to do both of these sufficiently grew. We predict the need for these skill sets in the oncoming years to only grow as working remotely online becomes the new norm.
Digital Marketing Specialists (eCommerce)
As most organisations transitioned into the digital world, companies that were once brick and mortar stores progressed into eCommerce platforms, needing specialist support to do just so. Digital marketers with the technical ability to build stores, analyse performance and optimise online sales were very sought after, but often difficult to find.
The search for a good digital marketing specialist, especially those with an eCommerce background will only grow as people continue to see the benefits of transitioning their stores online in order to continue sales growth beyond traditional non-digital methods.
Already looking to apply for a top trending tech job before 2021? Get in touch with the Discovered People team here for a confidential chat.
Written by Ebony McCabe for Discovered People


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At a time when the tech world greets Amazon Echo Show, a new smart home assistant from the American e-commerce giant, the company has announced some exciting updates related to the device. The all new Echo Show, which is powered by Amazon's cloud-based voice service Alexa, will soon get optimised visual interfaces as the company is going to add new functionalities to the Alexa Skills Kit.
The Amazon Echo Show comes out of the box with over 12,000 Alexa skills created by developers. These skills display any skill cards users currently return in their response objects, something which is similar to how users see Alexa skill cards on the Alexa app or a Fire Tablet today. Amazon doesn't want these cards to replace the voice experience, but to deliver value-added content with extra information.
Now, Amazon is making it even easier for developers to send a video to the Echo Show via an Amazon-built video player. The video could be rendered on the device while allowing customers to control the playback with voice and touch.
"When we introduce display interfaces in ASK later this summer, you'll be able to choose from several GUI templates for your skill. You will also be able to stream videos on Echo Show using the new video player interfaces in the Alexa Skills Kit," Amazon said in a blog post, addressing developers.
The Smart Home Skill API for Alexa is also getting enhancements to allow the Echo Show to display a video feed from a smart home camera, requiring minimal effort from developers.
According to Amazon, Echo Show currently includes updated skills from Allrecipes, Jeopardy, Uber, OpenTable, CNN and more while developers are working on to get "more delightful customer experiences" to the device.
Meanwhile, a new report from Emarketer has brought some good news for voice-activated digital assistants in the U.S., estimating that 35.6 million Americans will use such a device at least once a month in 2017 -- an increase of 129 percent over last year.
The report is even more encouraging for Amazon as its Echo speaker is projected to account for 70.6 percent of all digital assistant use in the US. Google Home is expected to trail far behind with just 23.8 percent share of the market.


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This month, PUBG: Battlegrounds, the game that was recently renamed, has announced that it will be collaborating with the extremely popular K-pop group Blackpink for an event that will begin later this month.
The PUBG x Blackpink collaboration was announced on Twitter with a short announcement video set to the group’s iconic song, “How You Like That,” serving as the background soundtrack. As a result of the collaboration, a number of new features will be added to the game, including purchaseable items, cosmetic map tweaks, and in-game event missions.
Disclaimer: Please note that the faces included in the video are not part of the BLACKPINK Collaboration Bundles in PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS.
Starting today, a variety of different Blackpink cosmetic items will be available for purchase in-game until the end of 2021, with the majority of them being limited edition. It is expected that there will be a total of thirty-five different cosmetics, with separate bundles for each member of the K-pop group – Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa, and Rose – to be released. Hairstyles, nameplates, helmets, outfits, weapons, and other accessories are included in the bundles, as well as a variety of other items.
In conjunction with the Blackpink collaboration event, which will take place between August 18 and September 7, special in-game event missions will be introduced, which players can complete in order to earn points that can be redeemed for exclusive Blackpink items. Players will have the opportunity to obtain their very own Level 3 Blackpink themed helmet in-game, as well as additional contraband coupons, as part of the package.
PUBG is releasing a variety of themed elements across many of the game’s maps throughout the duration of the collaboration to commemorate everything Blackpink throughout the collaboration. These will take place between August 8 and September 7 on PC, and between August 12 and September 15 on consoles and other devices. Players can expect to see Blackpink-themed decals on building walls, a Blackpink drop-plane tail, and themed supply crates among the various elements.
In recent weeks, a number of high-profile events have taken place on the battleground, including a Blackpink-themed collaboration. Spurs footballer Son Heung Min recently collaborated with the game, which resulted in the addition of a “Sonny” skin to the game as well as other in-game items in the store and additional features.
If you’re currently dropping into PUBG Battlegrounds for some Battle Royale action, you might want to take a look at this article about the game’s update patch, which included the addition of flaming planes to its roster of in-game features. Alternatively, you can learn more about the PUBG animated series, which is being produced by Adi Shankar, the producer of the Castlevania TV series.
The Sinulog Festival in Cebu City, Philippines is a vibrant celebration of culture, faith and music. Honoring the Santo Niño, the parade features colorful costumes, traditional dances and live performances. Recently it also incorporated EDM festival and nightlife scene. A must-see event for visitors and tourists. Experience the rich culture of Cebu City during Sinulog Festival.
DJs’ roles are being enhanced rather than replaced by artificial intelligence and technology. Learn how DJs are using artificial intelligence to create unique performances and share them with a global audience.
Explore the booming rave culture in Asia with Ultra Music Festival and top EDM clubs. Join the party and see the rise of electronic dance music in Japan, South Korea, China and Indonesia.
One of the most exciting new electronic artists coming out of Asia.
The techno titans come together for one hell of a project.


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In the face of increasing government-led crackdowns on social media, Google Inc should not force Internet users to reveal their real names for some services, says Vint Cerf.
Startup mania has taken hold even behind the faded granite walls of California's most notorious prison.
West African country of Mali is planning to let anybody register .ML domain names for free.
When asked to name the most notable rags-to-riches entrepreneur that his firm has funded, venture capitalist Ben Horowitz doesn't hesitate: Christian Gheorghe, a Romanian immigrant who came to the United States without speaking English, and rose from limo driver to founder of a business-analytics company, Tidemark.
Microsoft simply lacks Nokia's retail and supply chain experience in the Finnish company's most important markets, says an analyst.


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The next GST Council meet is expected to take place on March 1 through video-conferencing, but with a limited agenda of simplifying the return process.
At the 25th meeting of the GST Council held on January 18, Finance Minster Arun Jaitley said there was a general consensus on simplifying the return filing process where GSTR 3B will continue, but a final decision would be taken in the next Council meet. Click to read more
Exporters are continuing to struggle to get their refunds for the Integrated Goods & Services Tax (IGST) paid on exports, with officials raising various issues over the required documentation in the absence of a checklist.
With just about 30 per cent of the claims for refunds met so far by the government, Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia expressed her concern on the delayed payments at a recent meeting of the National Committee on Trade Facilitation, which was chaired by the Cabinet Secretary. Click to read more
The Goods and Services Tax or GST Council is scheduled to huddle for its next meeting on March 1 via video-conferencing. In this meeting, it is expected that the council may focus on simplification of the GST return process to strengthen the “honest tax payers” base.
At its 25th meeting in January, the council had reduced tax rate on 29 items and 54 categories of services.
Initially, when the GST was launched on July 1 last year, the businesses were mandated to file a simplified sales return 3B and also final sales returns (GSTR-1), purchase return (GSTR- 2) and finally the two returns were required to be auto-populated to generate GSTR-3. Click to read more
Reckitt Benckiser, the British consumer goods major, said its Dettol hygiene brand saw a sales slowdown in India during calendar year 2017, due to a new tax regime and a cyber attack that crippled operations.
Last week, peer GlaxoSmithKline Consumer had also indicated the Goods & Services Tax (GST) which was introduced on July 1 had impacted growth in India. And, that it would continue to do so in 2018. Both multinational companies follow a January to December accounting year. Click to read more
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a uniform tax system, making the nation one market. Materialising the concept of ‘One Tax One Nation’, the GST has been incepted in the country. In order to understand the differences between direct and indirect taxes being levied upon citizens, the GST Commissioner, Pramod Agrawal apprised about the difference of both the taxes and benefits of GST.
Being the new system of taxation and its calculation are different, the need of skilled workforce having knowledge about the fundamentals of GST, its calculation, mode of application on different products as per its category and level of taxes. Click to read more
The next meeting of the body that looks into the implementation of the new taxation – Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council is set to meet on March 1 via video conferencing.
Of the changes the different stakeholders are looking at, simplification in the filing of forms have been a consistent demands.
Also easier compliance for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and small traders could be another factor under consideration by the council.
Earlier, Talking to KNN, Animesh Saxena, an MSME garment exporter informed that the complications under the new taxation continue to haunt their sector. Click to read more
The Indian Express on Monday reported that the restaurant industry in Mumbai and Bengaluru feels the impact of Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been largely positive, but lack of clarity on regulations remains a major hurdle, according to a survey.
More than 70% of the restaurant owners in the two cities believed GST is a positive decision for the industry, while 68% businesses felt it will ease compliance since it is backed by technology, said the survey by Grant Thornton India, a leading assurance, tax and advisory firm.
High rentals and difficulty in retaining experienced staff are key challenges faced by the restaurant industry in Mumbai and Bengaluru, said the survey titled ‘Bon Appetit – Emerging trends, opportunities and challenges in Indian restaurant industry’. Click to read more
The goods and services tax (GST) has had a positive impact on the logistics of businesses, says a Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) survey. More than three-fifths of the respondents reported better inter-state transportation of goods and over half of them said goods vehicles are no longer stopped and checked at state borders.
Around three-fifths of the respondents cited reduction in transportation time after GST was implemented. The survey was done between November 2017 to January this year covering micro, small and medium enterprises and large companies, according to a FICCI press release. Click to read more
The E-way bill, an accompaniment to the nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST), has got almost as much media attention as the term input tax credit in the last few months. But after being rolled out on February 1, 2018 with much fanfare, the E-way bill has met with the same fate as some of return filings on the GST. It been deferred indefinitely after taxpayers complained of technical glitches that stymied all their attempts to generate it online. Click to read more


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Heello is an online social networking service and microblogging service launched in August 2011, and owned and operated by Heello Inc. Heello enables its users to send and read text-based posts and to share pictures and videos. Heello was founded by Noah Everett (the founder of Twitpic), exactly one day after Twitter rolled out its official photo-sharing app. Heello is financed by the money generated by TwitPic through online advertising. Within the first day, there were about average 4 Pings a second. On 12 August 2011, Noah Everett reported that Heello had reached 1 million Pings in just 2 days.
As of September 2012[update], the Heello API has not been released, so the developers are trying to create applications/tools using alternative ways.
The Heello team announced that they are working on a new version of the website, via Twitter on the 8 August 2012.
The link, new.heello.com, that they Tweeted on their Twitter account and Pinged from their website, mentions the development of mobile applications for the iPhone and Android platform.
A post from their blog  States that the new version's main features are going to be:
simple UI that focuses on your timeline
inline photos and videos in timelines
native check-in functionality backed by a global database of over 58 million places
a big focus on our developer ecosystem
users will own their data
On the 12th of January 2013, Heello launched its new, updated web service to over 1 million Heello users. The new update included Private Pings, header photos (similar to that of Facebook or Twitter), as well as a cleaner, slimmer design and an improved API. These changes were widely welcomed throughout the Heello user base and was admired for its modern design. Although it still has an ample of errors throughout the platform, the Heello community is working to help pull Heello back to its feet, and after 4 days of launching the new Heello, it already has over 65% of its user base back on and Pinging.


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Senate Banking Chairman Michael D. Crapo and New York state Attorney General Letitia James said they will probe the data breach suffered by credit card issuer Capital One, which the company reported late Monday.
“I have concerns about all aspects of this,” Crapo said about the Capital One breach during a Tuesday morning hearing on cryptocurrencies. “We want to understand how this happened, how other breaches happened … and we want to know how vulnerabilities [appear] in systems and figure out what we must do to deal with them at a policy level. I don’t have answers yet, but yes, we need to figure that out and we do have concerns about those vulnerabilities.”
In New York, James issued a statement saying, “My office will begin an immediate investigation into Capital One’s breach, and will work to ensure that New Yorkers who were victims of this breach are provided relief. We cannot allow hacks of this nature to become every day occurrences.”
James’ office joined attorneys general from 49 other states to sue and win a $700 million settlement last week from credit score reporting agency Equifax Inc. for its 2017 breach that led to information from 147 million consumers being lost to hackers.
Although Congress held hearings and scolded Equifax’s executives, lawmakers have not passed federal data breach legislation, leaving states to take the lead in holding companies accountable for such breaches.
Last week New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the SHIELD Act, which governs data breach notification requirements, consumer data protection obligations, and broadens the attorney general’s oversight regarding data breaches impacting New Yorkers. The act goes into effect March 2020 and tightens existing provisions.
James said the law was a top legislative priority for her and would be used to fine companies that fail to safeguard consumers’ data.
Separately, Cuomo also signed into law last week another bill that would require credit reporting agencies that suffer data breaches to provide five years of identity theft prevention services to consumers at no cost to them. That law goes into effect in 60 days.
Credit card issuer Capital One said that a hacker had breached the company’s computer system and took information that consumers and small businesses provide when applying for credit cards. The breach affects at least 100 million Americans and 6 million Canadians, the company said Monday.
The FBI has arrested the person responsible for the hacking, according to Capital One. Separately, news reports citing court records said the agency had arrested Paige A. Thompson, a Seattle-area woman, on charges of computer fraud and abuse. The woman had reportedly worked for Amazon Web Services, the provider of cloud computing services to the company, according to news reports.
In addition to credit card application information, which includes names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth and self-reported income, the hacker also obtained information on credit scores, balances, payment histories, as well as transaction details for short periods of time.
The hack did not lead to loss of bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, or login information, the bank said, with the exception of 140,000 customers who used Social Security numbers as part of their application.
“I sincerely apologize for the understandable worry this incident must be causing,” Richard D. Fairbank, the company’s CEO said in a statement.
The hacker breached the company’s cloud system using a “specific vulnerability in our infrastructure,” Capital One said. The breach came to light after a security researcher alerted the company on July 17 using its disclosure program, which allows researchers to alert companies and agencies to potential breaches.
The company investigated and found that the breach had occurred on March 22 and 23, according to Capital One.
While the company routinely encrypts its data, the hacker had managed to decrypt the information, the company said, adding that the breach could cost the company about $150 million.


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Rapid advances in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and the Internet of Things are making the agriculture sector the “Next Big Thing” in Silicon Valley.
Although the farm dominant Mid-West only accounted for 1.4 percent of the venture capital deals in the second quarter of 2017 and only 0.3 percent of the deal value, according to Pitchbook, major agribusiness companies are beginning to spend big bucks buying tech start-ups and funding research and development shops in Silicon Valley.
Monsanto started the Silicon Valley ag-boom when it paid $930 million in late 2013 to buy San Francisco-based Climate Corporation that uses analytics and the Internet of Things to calculate crop insurance risk profiles in 100 milliseconds, and then names a price, and insurance acts as the policy underwriter. In the last year, John Deere paid $305 million to buy Sunnyvale-based robotics experts Blue River Technology and DuPont spent $300 million to buy San Francisco-based agricultural analytics software firm Granular, Inc.
Farmers were the original American entrepreneurs because they disruptively traveled thousands of miles to frontier regions to apply technology in search of wealth and fame.
The U.S. farm workforce at the end of the U.S. Revolutionary War in 1780 was 3.5 million, or 90 percent of the nation’s population. The number of American farmers peaked in 1917 at 32.1 million, or 31 percent of nation’s labor force, and has relentlessly declined to only 6 million members of farm and ranch families, or 2 percent of the U.S. population.
The key to shrinking America’s farm workforce has been the use of technology that allows each farmer on America’s 2.1 million farms to feed 165 people. As a result, the industry feeds America and still generates $135.5 billion of exports, about one-third of production.
Agriculture is only the 19th largest industry in America, with an average of about $400 billion in revenue for each of the last three years. The industry’s expected net revenue is expected to hit $63.4 billion this year, or a 15.5 percent return on revenue. In 2013, net revenue was $123 billion, or a stunning 30 percent return on revenue.
Those rich net revenue ratios are far above what venture capital and private equity funds can generate by investing in mature U.S. industries. The key to maintaining agriculture’s net revenue percentage has been productivity increases from new seeds, advanced machinery, and analytic farming techniques. For example, the pounds of feed a dairy cow needs to eat to produce 100 pounds of milk has fallen by 40 percent in the 40 years.
With 257,454 millennial farmers, about 20 percent of all full-time farmers, the tech-savvy generation is looking to engage in scientific farming that will include the drastically better use of energy and water, leveraging themselves with drone equipment; and selling directly to local consumers to grab back a big percentage of agriculture’s net revenue losses.
The AgTech Investing Report for 2015 stated that ag-tech and food start-ups were $2.36 billion in 2014; spiked to $4.6 billion on 499 deals in 2015, and then reached 580 deals on $3.2 billion in 2016. The hottest ag sectors were food e-commerce; precision agriculture and irrigation; and water technology.


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Royal Brunei Updates Agent Incentive Program
APG-Canada reports that effective June 11, Royal Brunei Airlines will be paying commissions on all published fares. Royal Brunei will pay agents a 3% commission booking the airline on flights throughout their network.
“Royal Brunei Airlines has a world class product and a business class service that’s been award a four-star rating from SkyTrax,” said Karl Muller, director of APG Canada. “The airline values travel agents and understands the importance of travel agents to their success. Now, travel agents can earn 3% commission on flights between Royal Brunei and London, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Hong Kong, Manila and other great destinations.”
Royal Brunei offers daily flights from London to Dubai and on to Royal Brunei.


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New retail figures from seafood industry body Seafish show Easter 2017 sales of fresh fish in the UK hit a three-year high.
Seafish said a total of 6,051.6tonnes of seafood were sold during the Easter fortnight, up by nearly 188tonnes, or 3.2% since 2015.
More people were eating fish of all kinds during those two weeks, compared to the previous fortnight, delivering an increase of 92.4tonnes, or 0.7% in sales volume, Seafish added.
The organisation said “good value options” such as warm water prawns, basa, haddock, cod, crabstick, plaice, trout and whitebait all proved popular over Easter, increasing their volume sales from both the previous fortnight and Easter 2016.
Replicating Christmas 2016 consumption trends, fresh fish topped the market segments in terms of increasing volume sales – up 0.3% – from a year earlier. Fresh fish sales by value grew by 7.6% to more than £85million.
Frozen seafood sales grew 0.2% by volume and 5.8% by value, to £28.5million, compared to Easter last year, Seafish said.
Julia Brooks, market insight analyst at the trade body, added: “It’s clear from this data that the tradition of enjoying fresh fish at Easter, such as a haddock and cod, is still going strong.
“The high increase in whitebait consumption was a trend we noted at Christmas which appears to have continued throughout 2017.
“In addition, we’ve seen certain species, such as basa, making a splash this year. This could be down to consumers looking for a cheaper alternative to traditional staples such as cod, haddock and monkfish.”


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Food waste is considered a major environmental problem. The World Food Programme (WFP) reports that almost 700 million people suffer from hunger, yet it’s estimated that one-third of all food produced in the world is lost or wasted. According to the multinational groceries retailer TESCO, the environmental impact of food waste is significant: 40 per cent of food is uneaten and food waste is responsible for 9 per cent of total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
On the day of the Budapest Climate Summit, CEENERGYNEWS spoke with Matt Simister, Central European CEO of TESCO about the achievements of the company in the region, the new targets and the partnership with WWF Central and Eastern Europe on providing scientific evidence-based recommendations for sustainable food systems in CEE.
Thanks to a significant reduction of food waste across the region since 2017, TESCO has already achieved the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 of halving food waste by 2030. But there is certainly a lot to be done yet.
“Climate change is one of the greatest challenges we face, as a society and as a business,” Matt Simister begins. “The food sector is responsible for 30 per cent of Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Urgent action is needed to meet international climate goals and avoid the most severe consequences of climate change.”
TESCO has already taken action in its own business, reducing operational emissions across the Group by 52 per cent since 2015, switching to 100 per cent renewable electricity in all of the store stores and cutting food waste by 69 per cent.
“But the majority of emissions and food waste associated with our business are generated in our supply chain, or through the consumption of our products,” he points out. “Last year we strengthened our ambition to tackle climate change by announcing a new Group-wide target for our operations to be climate neutral by 2035. The new target applies to all our businesses. We have also committed to be net zero across our value chain by 2050, in line with the UN’s aspiration to keep global warming below 1.5C.”
Often referred to as Scope 3 emissions, Tesco’s 2050 commitment covers all emissions generated across the entire value chain, including the sourcing of raw materials and food production, where emissions are generated through agriculture and manufacturing; in the use of Tesco products in the home, including food waste and cooking; and in peoples’ dietary choices.
Indeed the current situation (inflation, geopolitical turmoils, high energy prices, war in Ukraine, food crisis) has impacted Tesco’s operations in the region.
“The war in Ukraine required our immediate assistance to support refugees, those who remained in Ukraine and colleagues in cooperation with our strategic partners,” underlines Mr Simister. “Our goal was to provide the fastest and most effective support possible by working together and combining our professional competencies.”
He goes on by saying that high inflation and rising energy prices have also hurt customers who respond rapidly, changing what they buy, how often, which brands and where from.
“We’re absolutely committed to doing what we can to help customers manage their budgets at a time when we know many families are struggling,” he continues. “Our operation is similarly affected by the increasing supply chain costs, mostly through the increase of energy cost.”
“Amid these circumstances, we had to develop a bold and agile response to the changing customer needs, in parallel with reducing our overhead costs. Customers are paramount to Tesco and we are with them every step of the way. Our Low Price Guarantee, Clubcard prices and other discount options (for example, the one available in Hungary for the retired on Tuesdays) provide great deals to balance the costs well.”
Tesco has been committed to tackling food waste from farm to fork since 2016/17 when it published its food waste data for the first time as the first retailer in Central Europe.
“Since then we’ve taken a target-measure-act approach to reduce waste firstly in our own operations and then in collaboration with some of our most important Tesco brand suppliers,” Matt Simister explains.
“So far, across Central Europe, we’ve managed to reduce the food waste in our operation by 69 per cent by saving more than 87,092 tonnes of food that would have gone to waste.”Matt Simister
“Our year-on-year waste reduction was mainly the result of operational improvements that help reduce levels of unsold surplus food,” he adds. “This includes simplifying our product ranges to reduce the number of slow-selling lines and match supply and demand more accurately through our store forecasting and ordering systems. In addition, we continue to improve our reduce-to-clear process in stores which further reduces levels of unsold food. The continued rollout of our food surplus redistribution programme helps ensure that food not sold in stores is offered to those in need (for human charity or to animal shelters) and only the remaining products become waste. However, some of them are recycled as energy in biogas plants. We’re also using technology to help us, such as the innovative Food Cloud app which we use in the Czech Republic and Slovakia to match unsold food with food banks and charity groups who can put it to good use.”
As no one can tackle food waste alone, cooperation is key.
“That’s why, since we first published our food waste data, we’ve been working with our suppliers to halve food waste in our supply chains by 2030,” Mr Simister explains. “In these years of unprecedented challenges for retailers, suppliers, and customers, tackling food waste has never been more urgent. It not only contributes to climate change, but it also has an impact on our pockets.”
He believes that we can control what we measure, which is why TESCO encourages suppliers to disclose their waste data and develop reduction plans.
“We are therefore very pleased that we have been able to increase the number of our suppliers who publicly report their data on food waste every year to 16 this year, which is 7 more than in 2021,” he says. “Having 16 strategic Tesco suppliers on board makes a strong sustainable impact on our food supply chain. We’d love more of our suppliers to join us in reducing waste all the way along the chain.”
In October, Tesco partnered with WWF for the launch of the Principles for Sustainable Food Systems in Central Europe.
“While agriculture has occupied half of all habitable land on the planet, the food system is also one of the biggest drivers of global emissions and a significant threat to nature, causing 60 per cent of global biodiversity loss.”Matt Simister
“To guide the industry towards a transformation at the scale and speed that is critically needed, we have worked with WWF to create seven Principles for Sustainable Food Systems in Central Europe, which have been adopted by Tesco for implementation in its own business and with its partners to support the transformation for sustainable production and consumption,” says Mr Minister.
He explains that WWF Principles for Sustainable Food Systems in Central Europe is a scientific evidence-based recommendation for retailers, food processors and food producers. Specific goals are set for the food industry in areas such as Climate, Food waste, Packaging, Deforestation and Conversion, Agriculture, Fishery and Aquaculture and Diets.
“Adopting these principles in business practice is a journey to cut emissions, reduce food waste, make packaging more sustainable and work with partners to improve supply and help create sustainable choices, affordable and attractive for customers,” he concludes. “WWF, together with Tesco, invites retailers and food producers to join the principles and implement them into their businesses and policymakers to support them in this critical journey.”


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The new sandwich will be available for free on launch day with “insurance.”
Popeyes is adding a new sandwich to its roster, the Cajun flounder sandwich. The new sandwich comes just in time to celebrate another Louisiana tradition, Fat Tuesday. After all the success the restaurant had with its chicken sandwich last year, the company felt it was time to challenge fast food’s version of a fish sandwich. Popeyes already offers shrimp, but this is the first time a fish sandwich will be on the menu.
McDonald’s was the first fast-food restaurant to put a fish sandwich on the menu. The restaurant wanted to boost sales during the lent holiday when Catholics and Orthodox refrain from eating meat on Fridays. Lent begins the day after Fat Tuesday, the end of the raucous Mardi Gras celebration, and runs through April.
Popeyes' new fish sandwich has some of the same qualities as its chicken predecessor including the brioche bun and barrel cured pickles.
“After seeing the response to our Chicken Sandwich in 2019, we are excited to deliver yet another delicious sandwich to our fans that is sure to reset industry standards,” says Sami Siddiqui, President, Americas at Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. “At Popeyes, we don’t take shortcuts on quality and strive to ensure our ingredients are the best of the best. That’s why we’re proud to be serving up the most authentic, Cajun Flounder Sandwich in QSR.”
The sandwich has a deep-fried flounder filet sprinkled with cajun seasoning and topped with tartar sauce. Popeyes is betting big that fans will love it, offering to replace it with a chicken sandwich on launch day. Just purchase the launch day insurance for 15 cents through the Popeyes app and you’ll get the option to trade your fish for chicken if you don’t like it. The new Cajun flounder sandwich launches nationwide on Thursday, February 11.
Did you insure your fish sandwich? Even more so, did you replace it with the chicken sandwich or not? Let us know in the comments.


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Rolls-Royce has embraced its dark side, unveiling a collection of 70 Dawn and Wraith special editions as part of the Adamas Collection.
Adamas picks up where the Black Badge left off, taking the base Wraith and Dawn packages in a sportier, darker direction with a number of bespoke touches – the most eye-catching of which is undoubtedly the carbon-fibre Spirit of Ecstasy on the nose.
Maria Sharapova and Mark Webber take the 911 GT2 RS on a speed date - Video
What do ex-F1 and World Endurance Racer Mark Webber and tennis star Maria Sharapova have in common? They're both ambassadors for Porsche.
In this new video clip, the pair take the 911 GT2 RS for a spin around the company's test track in Weissach – spoiler alert, Maria shrieks once or twice.
Powered by a 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat six, the 911 GT2 RS claims outputs of 515kW and 750Nm – making it the most powerful 911 ever made.
Ford and ACCC reach settlement, penalty over PowerShift
Ford and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) have agreed on a penalty and settlement over the long-running, widely-noted problems with PowerShift dual-clutch transmissions.
The settlement will see Ford pay a $10 million fine, and undertake the actions listed below:
For a full breakdown of the PowerShift saga, check out Alborz Fallah's article from June 2017.
The MG X-Motion concept has been given a full debut at the 2018 Beijing motor show.
Stylistically, the concept takes themes established by last year's E-Motion electric coupe and scales them to suit a crossover.
Up front, the X-Motion features a fascia heavily inspired by Mazda, while the "stellar field" grille insert calls to mind a number of Mercedes-Benz models. There's also more than a hint of Infiniti in the profile and headlights.
Mid-sized SUVs like the Mazda CX-5 and Nissan X-Trail are poised to replace small cars as the nation’s most popular type new vehicles.
VFACTS data compiled by industry peak body, the FCAI, shows car companies sold 52,886 vehicles classified as Medium SUVs over the first quarter (Q1) of 2018, up 15 per cent over the same period last year.


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Every Friday, I post my TOP 5 blog posts about social media and digital communication of the week. It’s basically an #FF for blogs.
I think we’ve all been waiting to see where this would go, so here is one of the first Google Glass concepts specifically made for the healthcare sector, and in particular to link Philips Healthcare technology patient data into the Google Glass Display.
As Twitter gets ready to go public, everyone is keeping a close eye on its leadership, namely its lack of females at the executive level. Claire Cain Miller pointedly shows Twitter that it’s not so hard to find a few women for the board — despite what Twitter execs say — by giving them a list of 25 nominees — including Cindy Gallop, Shelly Lazarus and Indra Nooyi.
This week, Instagram turned three. In approximately 1000 days since inception, the photo-sharing app has transformed from the new kid on the block to one of today’s most popular social media platforms.
Instagram Three Years Later http://t.co/SDlmqy4iWB
— Instagram (@instagram) October 6, 2013
Kevin Systrom and Mike Kreiger launched Instagram in October 2010, with the simple mission of helping mobile photos look a bit less “lame.” With the combination of cool (and flattering) filters and easy sharing options, Instagram was an immediate hit. Since then it’s launched versions in 25 different languages, attracted 150 million active users and seen more than 16 billion photos being shared worldwide.
An assortment of 3D printed items, accompanied by Duann Scott (left), myself (center), and Savannah, (right) at the Shapeways 3D “Factory of the Future” in Queens, NYC. Behind us are rows of high-end 3D printers, polishing machines, designers, QA teams, and operations experts.
Trying to configure, calibrate, and properly print a 3D object is a clunky experience. Fortunately, there are services that enable this: Meet Shapeways, a 3D factory available now for you.
An Infographic Profile of the Modern Travel Blogger from the Sandymount Hotel in Dublin, Ireland, takes a closer look at answering the question “Who are these travel bloggers?”
As today marks the start of the TBEX European Conference – the world’s largest gathering of travel bloggers, writers and new media content creators – we thought we would celebrate their choice of Dublin as this years’ venue with an infographic profile of the modern travel blogger.


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- New bill wants tech companies to tell you how much your data is worth 3 Months Ago
- AOC has the best response to Steve King’s ‘concentration camp’ criticism Today 10:19 AM
- Did Jake Paul and Tana Mongeau just get engaged? Today 9:26 AM
- Leaked documents reveal all the ‘red flags’ about Trump officials Today 9:02 AM
- Elon Musk, who wants to colonize space, thought the moon was Mars Today 8:56 AM
- How to watch ‘Legion’ for free Today 8:46 AM
- Netflix’s ‘Bolívar’ reduces hero’s tale to irredeemable melodrama Today 8:18 AM
- How to watch the U.S. vs. Spain at the World Cup for free Today 7:55 AM
- How to watch ‘The Hills: New Beginnings’ for free Today 7:40 AM
- Inside the pornographic video game that took Kickstarter by storm Today 7:00 AM
- Why everyone wants to debate AOC, and no one wants to debate Ilhan Omar Today 6:30 AM
- How to watch the Trvl Channel online for free Today 5:30 AM
- Are we going to get a ‘Community’ movie on Netflix? Sunday 2:46 PM
- Kmitting social network bans all posts supporting Trump and his administration Sunday 2:07 PM
- YouTube is testing hiding its comments section Sunday 1:23 PM
An awesome game only gets better when you can pet the dog.
Spencer Campbell, writing for Electronic Gamer Monthly gave Enter the Gungeon a 9/10 rating, saying “It takes the rogue-like formula of its predecessors and combines it with the mechanics of a pattern-heavy bullet hell like Ikaruga, then layers a heaping dose of its own charm on top. The end result is a hellishly difficult, vastly rewarding game with a tone all its own.”
But that isn’t to say the game was perfect. People noticed one flaw, and boy was it a big one: You could not pet the helpful dog that followed you around.
This was highlighted by the Twitter account “Can You Pet the Dog?” which, as the name implies, tells you which video games allow you to pet the dog in the game and which do not.
You cannot pet the dog in Minecraft pic.twitter.com/mCeQC2ew9E
— Can You Pet the Dog? (@CanYouPetTheDog) April 7, 2019
You can pet the dog in Haunting Ground pic.twitter.com/KwlQIgF4oH
— Can You Pet the Dog? (@CanYouPetTheDog) April 4, 2019
You cannot pet the dog in Bloodborne pic.twitter.com/ReTjfGtOAB
— Can You Pet the Dog? (@CanYouPetTheDog) April 5, 2019
The person who runs the “Can You Pet the Dog?” account, who wishes to remain anonymous, told us via email that they deleted the original tweet about Enter the Gungeon because it is no longer accurate. Instead, they replaced with this much, much better one.
New: Following an update, you can now pet the dog in Enter the Gungeon pic.twitter.com/kUOuF9ljL6
— Can You Pet the Dog? (@CanYouPetTheDog) April 5, 2019
It seems the initial tweet caught the attention of Dave Oshry, CEO of New Blood Interactive, who replied to it with a crying emoticon. He also tagged Dave Crooks, the man who designed Enter the Gungeon. Crooks took this as a challenge and replied: “Hold my beer.”
Hold my beer
— DodgeRollDave (@dave_crooks) March 12, 2019
And behold, just a few weeks later, when the “Farewell to Arms” update dropped for Enter the Gungeon, a very important change had been made.
— Enter the Gungeon (@DodgeRollGames) April 5, 2019
The gaming community rejoiced.
Enter the Gungeon is the best game ever made. Why? Because you can pet the dog.
— 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗻🏳🌈 (@SomeTrashCan_) April 6, 2019
me when Enter The Gungeon releases new content:
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
me when you can now pet the dog in Enter The Gungeon:
( ͡⊙ ͜ʖ ͡⊙)
— Pladd (@itspladd) April 6, 2019
— NewGame+ (@MegaHodgson) April 5, 2019
Enter the Gungeon released it's final update, "A Farewell to Arms" and I'm checking it out tonight. Oh yeah, you can finally pet the dog!
— Romcomm (@Romcommm) April 8, 2019
OH MY GOD YOU CAN NOW PET THE DOG YEShttps://t.co/kJrtkFDlrn
— INEXSONZAI (@Wonderis_) April 5, 2019
Although they were obviously happy about the change, the person behind “Can You Pet the Dog?” was reluctant to take credit for it.
“I attribute the addition of a pettable dog in Enter the Gungeon in large part to the game’s community, including the r/EnterTheGungeon subreddit,” they told us. “Their vocal support of the idea was then heard by the responsive team at Dodge Roll Games, who implemented a great dog-petting feature. Overall, I had very little to do with these events, but I am pleased with the outcome.”
A few articles have attributed this development solely to me, which I believe is inaccurate — the game's community, including the active r/EnterTheGungeon subreddit, are responsible for bringing this issue to light.https://t.co/tGHBXWCZp2
— Can You Pet the Dog? (@CanYouPetTheDog) April 9, 2019
Although certainly, their tweet had a some role in the update.
— динозавр на скейте (@Ravinggus) April 8, 2019
And it wouldn’t be the first time. “A handful of developers have implied that they were inspired by the account,” they said. “Two recent games that come to mind are Headliner: NoviNews and Knights and Bikes.”
— Knights And Bikes! (@foamswordgames) March 16, 2019
We interrupt your feed to bring you this public service announcement:
🐶 You can now pet the doggo 🐶
You may resume casual scrolling 📲 pic.twitter.com/kowK2fo9Kp
— Unbound Creations 🕹 (@UnboundCreation) April 9, 2019
Petting digital dogs is clearly important to the gaming community. After all, the whole point of video games is to escape into a better/more exciting world, and who wants to live in a world where you can’t pet a dog? Still the creator of “Can You Pet the Dog” offers a few words of caution.
“It is great to see more dog-petting in games,” they said, “but I hope that anyone who goes on to request such a feature does so politely and with respect to the developers.”
In other words, only good boys get treats.
David Britton is a writer and comedian based in Rhinebeck, New York who focuses on internet culture, memes, and viral news stories. He also writes for the Hard Times and is the creator of StoriesAboutWizards.com.


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symbolset writes "The first Aakash tablet proposed for India schools has failed. Datawind managed to deliver the $45 Android tablet as reported here previously, but suffering a breach in faith by both their contract manufacturer and the accepting agency in India had to put the project on hold. Facing a loss in revenue it's turning into a disaster for the small Canadian company as they are now proving unable to deliver both the Aakash tablet and the parallel retail product. Senior executives have begun to flee. The company has presold a great many tablets, and delivery failure reports are beginning to mount. Is this the Phantom console of this decade?"
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Hugh Pickens writes "Sascha Segan writes that although Verizon adamantly denies steering customers away from Apple's iPhones in favor of 4G LTE-enabled Android devices, he is convinced that Verizon has a strong reason to push buyers away from the iPhone. 'Here's the problem,' writes Segan. 'Verizon has spent millions of dollars rolling out its massive LTE network' but the carrier can't easily add capacity on its old 3G network. Since the iPhone isn't a 4G phone, sales of Verizon iPhones just crowd up their already busy 3G network while their 4G network has plenty of space. 'The iPhone is a great device. But it's making a crowded network more crowded. Until the LTE iPhone comes along, to rebalance its network, Verizon may quietly push Android phones.'"
MatthewVD writes "A new, user interface-enabled generation of electronics that you wear under your skin could be used for convenience, or even pleasure, rather than medical reasons. Scientists at Autodesk Research in Toronto have implanted electronics with user buttons, pressure sensors and LEDs under the skin of a cadaver's arm and wrapped in artificial skin. The electronics could buzz you when you have an appointment, carry memory cards with data, or connect you in a social network with others wearing electronics."
bonch writes "Apple has quietly replaced the iPad 2's A5 with a smaller 32nm die that increases battery life by 15 to 30%. It's theorized that Apple is using the iPad 2 as a test bed for the new hardware platform, which shrinks the surface area of the A5 to 57% of the previous size."
aesoteric writes "The combustion of an Apple iPhone 4 after a regional flight in Australia was likely caused by a botched repair of the handset by an unauthorized repairer, according to air safety investigators in the U.S. and Australia. A small metal screw had been misplaced in the battery bay of the handset. The screw punctured the battery casing and caused an internal short circuit, making the iPhone emit dense smoke (PDF)."
nk497 writes "Nokia has been hit with a class-action suit, with the claimant accusing the company of making 'false and misleading' statements about the ability of its deal with Microsoft to revive the struggling mobile maker. 'The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants told investors that Nokia's conversion to a Windows platform would halt its deteriorating position in the smartphone market,' read a statement (PDF) from the law firm Robbins Geller Rudman and Dowd. 'It did not.'"
MrSeb writes "Back in the olden days, when WiFi and Bluetooth were just a glimmer in the eye of IEEE, another short-range wireless communications technology ruled supreme: Infrared Data Association, or IrDA for short. IrDA was awful; early versions were only capable of kilobit-per-second speeds, and only over a distance of a few feet. Trying to get my laptop and mobile phone to link up via IrDA was, to date, one of the worst tech experiences I've ever had. There's a lot to be said for light-based communications, though. For a start, visible (and invisible) light has a frequency of between 400 and 800THz (800 and 375nm), which is unlicensed spectrum worldwide. Second, in cases where you really don't want radio interference, such as hospitals, airplanes, and other sensitive environments, visible light communication (VLC), or free-space optical communication, is really rather desirable. Now researchers at the National Taipei University of Technology in Taiwan have transmitted data using lasers — not high-powered, laboratory-dwelling lasers; handheld, AAA-battery laser pointers. A red and green laser pointer were used, each transmitting a stream of data at 500Mbps, which is then multiplexed at the receiver for a grand total of 1Gbps."
itwbennett writes "In a filing to the FCC, Bay Area Rapid Transit general manager Grace Crunican defended last August's mobile shutdown, saying that 'a temporary disruption of cell phone service, under extreme circumstances where harm and destruction are imminent, is a necessary tool to protect passengers.' Taking the opposing position, digital rights groups, including Public Knowledge, Free Press, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Center for Democracy and Technology, told the FCC (PDF) that 'wireless interruption will necessarily prohibit the communications of completely innocent parties — precisely those parties closest to the site where the emergency is located or anticipated.'"
judgecorp writes "The British Government has announced its plans to handle solar storms. The idea is to improve the resilience of infrastructure, including satellite communications — which the government says will also be useful against the future possibility of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapons. From the report: 'National Grid and DECC are building on the work of the Space Environment Impacts Evaluation Group and E3C to analyse the range of impacts of extreme space weather events, with the Carrington Event being adopted as the reasonable worst case. These scientific assessments have enabled National Grid to change the design requirements for its Supergrid transformers, and to increase its reserve holding of transformers. National Grid is currently developing improved monitoring tools with the British Geological Survey (BGS) and installing or reinstalling Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GIC) monitoring devices into its Strategic Asset Management program. The next steps will be for National Grid, in association with BGS and working with E3C, to develop more detailed modelling of severe space weather events including impacts on generator transformers. This will extend and strengthen its analysis on the electricity transmission system completed so far.'"
Earlier today, Tizen, Intel's post-MeeGo mobile OS, announced the availability of their first stable release. The H has a summary of the new features: "The source code for Tizen's Larkspur release has seen a number of new features added. The Web capabilities have now got full W3C/HTML5 specification support with 'key' WebRTC features incorporated and APIs to access the local camera and vibration. ... Tizen's graphics are based on X11 with a compositing window manager based on Enlightenment Foundation Libraries ... The SDK's IDE includes a new browser based tool which offers support for the Tizen APIs within a browser; this should allow developers to run and debug Tizen 'web applications' and see how those applications run with various device profiles. The alpha release of the browser based simulator should reduce the need to work with the emulator for many applications." The SDK release notes and source release notes have the gritty details. A new community wiki has been created, and source is available via git. This release comes just before the first Tizen developer conference, May 7-9th in San Francisco.
arcite writes "Research in Motion Ltd's new CEO, Thorsten Heins, unveiled BlackBerry 10 in Florida today. Will new features such as a virtual keyboard that learns from typing behavior and a camera that easily focuses on faces be enough to scrape back precious market share (which could possibly fall to 5%) from the likes of Apple and Android? With no physical device yet revealed and a release date ranging anywhere from August to October, it will be an uphill battle." Engadget had some brief hands-on time with a dev Alpha. It seems RIM is trying to jumpstart app development through its App Generator and financial incentives.
judgecorp writes "Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has praised the user interface of Microsoft's Windows Phone, saying that aspects of its user interface are more 'beautiful' than comparable sides to the iPhone. The comments, in a New Domain, follow on from a comment by Forrester boss George Colony who blogged that Apple would decline in the post-Jobs era. Both pieces have kicked off the kind of online argument you would expect."
theodp writes "Meet Engineer Doe. A NY Times report has identified Marius Milner as the software engineer at the center of the uproar over a Google project that used Wi-Fi sniffing Google Street View cars to collect e-mail and other personal data from potentially millions of unsuspecting people. Milner, creator of the wardriving software NetStumbler, referred questions to his lawyer. Google declined to comment. A patent search shows the USPTO awarded Google and Milner a patent in June 2011 for protecting Internet users from 'hackers and other ne'er-do-wells [who] may seek to tap into communications on a network.'"
First time accepted submitter NGTechnoRobot writes "In a turn for the books the BBC reports that Microsoft has invested $300 million in Barnes and Noble's Nook e-reader. The new Nook reader will integrate with Microsoft's yet-to-be-released Windows 8 operating system. From the article: 'The deal could make Barnes and Noble's Nook e-book reader available to millions of new customers, integrating it with the Microsoft's new Windows 8 operating system. The as-yet unnamed new company will be 82.4% owned by Barnes and Noble, with Microsoft getting a 17.6% stake.' Guess the lawsuit's over, folks."
redletterdave writes "While downloading and storing digital media with online service providers has become commonplace — more so than purchasing DVDs and CDs at physical retail stores — it's not very easy to transfer digital files from one individual to another, usually because of copyright laws. Some digital distributors have systems for limiting usage and distribution of their products from the original purchaser to others, but often times, transferring a copyright-protected file from one device to another can result in the file being unplayable or totally inaccessible. Apple believes it has a solution to this issue: A gift-giving platform where users have a standardized way for buying, sending and receiving media files from a provider (iTunes) between multiple electronic devices (iPhones, iPads). The process is simply called, 'Gifting.'"


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Through the ‘Connect’ portal, Eko works with multiple distributors serving as community cashiers for retailers across the country. It transfers money on their behalf to customers, suppliers, dependents in their family, or any other intended recipient. Till date, Eko has serviced more than 40 million customers.
“Our partnership with Eko will further our vision of facilitating financial inclusion for India’s huge SME sector. By providing Eko’s cash distributors with the credit line services, we will also help empower a greater number of retailers across the country to access the company’s simple and convenient money transfer solution,” said Alok Mittal, chief executive officer, Indifi Technologies.
The Eko network currently consists of more than 180 partners and one lakh merchants across more than 150 cities and continues to grow exponentially with the addition of 5000 merchants each month.
“The association with Indifi Technologies will help our partners scale up their money transfer activities with the help of a flexible credit line, thus allowing more retailers to boost their business,” said Abhinav Sinha, chief operating officer, Eko India Financial Services.


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Intel's 2017 financial forecast confirms continued high prices
January 27, 2017 | 10:46
Companies: #altera #intel
Intel has closed its 2016 financial year on its highest-ever quarterly revenue, defying the continued slowdown in the traditional PC market which has been going on for five years straight, and the company predicts higher profits for 2017 - despite the upcoming launch of rival AMD's Ryzen chips.
In the company's latest filing for the fourth quarter of financial year 2016, Intel boasted of $16.4 billion in revenue - up from $14.9 billion for the same period last year - with a total for the year of $59.4 billion, up from $55.4 billion for its 2015 financial year. The additional revenue, though, was offset by increased costs: The company's profit margin slipped from 62.6 percent to a still-healthy 60.9 percent, thanks to a 0.7 point increase to its tax rate and a five percent boost to its spending on research and development and for mergers and acquisitions.
Over the year, Intel's analysis reveals, the bulk of its business units saw growth: The Client Computing Group, responsible for desktop and laptop processors, grew two percent year-on-year; the Data Centre Group, which handles Intel's server products, shot up eight percent; the burgeoning Internet of Things group, though, was the stand-out success with a growth rate of 15 percent over the year. These figures, though, need to take on very important aspect into account: Intel's financial year 2016 was a week longer than 2015, giving the company an extra week to pump up those revenue figures.
'The fourth quarter was a terrific finish to a record-setting and transformative year for Intel. In 2016, we took important steps to accelerate our strategy and refocus our resources while also launching exciting new products, successfully integrating Altera, and investing in growth opportunities,' claimed Intel's Brian Krzanich during the company's earnings call. 'I’m pleased with our 2016 performance and confident in our future.'
For the coming year, anyone hoping to see Intel discounting its products in the face of AMD's upcoming Ryzen launch will be disappointed to hear the company projecting a return to a 62 percent profit margin. The 2017 financial year will also include the divestment of the Intel Security Group, formerly known as McAfee, which in 2016 brought in $2.2 billion of the company's overall revenue.


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Alipay, the famous payment service developed by Alibaba is knowing a huge success throughout China and is looking forward to take its services overseas. Platforms like Aliexpress or Tmall Global are already aiming to a more internationalized market and now it is time for Alipay to follow the same path, the cross-border path.
Alipay is crossing boundaries
The Alibaba group is working hard to extend the use of its electronic payment solution by making it available outside mainland China. Some deals have been operated by Alibaba in Hong Kong or Taiwan for example. But it seems like the ambition is bigger, after announcing a serious partnership with the huge Japanese e-commerce actor, Rakuten, ASOS the famous British Fashion E-Commerce website also added Alipay as a payment option. Even Japan will start integrated Alipay to its services. All these measures could really make cross-boarding shopping easier for Chinese consumers, used to pay with Alipay, so they don’t have to adapt to overseas payment systems like PayPal.
And now, South Korea
Alibaba operated a partnership with the top conglomerate Lotte, which owns Lotte.com the leader in the Korean retail industry Lotte.com (with duty free shops and department stores). Alibaba is estimating Lotte’s users at 16 Million, and among these 16 Million users, Chinese consumers seem to represent the largest part. The Shopping mall now allows its dear Chinese customers to purchase Korean products with Chinese Renmibi via their Alipay accounts.
Need a cost effective TP (Tmall Partner) to sell in China?
We are an Official Tmall Partner e-commerce Agency. Our Services: E-Commerce, Search Engine Optimization, Advertising, Weibo, WeChat, WeChat Store & PR.
Chinese consumers who absolutely love their cosmetics, apparel and healthcare products will no longer have to go to Korea to purchase what they want. All this was made possible thanks to the alliance with the Korean bank, Hana Bank, it allows Chinese tourists to create temporary barcode which they can use in many affiliated offline stores to pay (20 for the moment). Moreover, Hana Bank is getting commissions on transactions made.
Benefit to retailers
They were 18 million of online Chinese cross-border shoppers in 2014, they spent an amount of RMB 216 million (USD 35 million). The forecasts anticipate a number of Chinese cross-border shoppers doubled to 36 million by 2018. They are expected to spend RMB 1 trillion that is to say USD 160 billion.
Alipay represent a priceless opportunity for foreign companies wishing to penetrate the huge market of Chinese consumers. It gives these companies the opportunity to have a presence on the market without needing to compete with Chinese E-Commerce market actors. Alibaba’s first ambition is not to export its online platforms but more like becoming the Eastern PayPal. Alipay is already the most used electronic payment solution in Mainland China and it is performing more than 1,500 partnerships with overseas retailers from over 34 different countries and regions.
Bringing outside China inside
Chinese consumers are getting more and more sophisticated, increasingly looking outside China’s frontiers to buy high quality goods like imported food matching their recently improved lifestyle.
Cross bording is the fastest way for foreign companies to step into the market riding the e-commerce wave, a phenomenon that is drastically changing Chinese consuming behaviours (Check here).
Alibaba or other major e-commerce players make it easier for foreign brands in an attempt to cease the booming imported goods market. Will you take your chances? We are here to help you with that!
Our e-commerce news


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Stephen Riggio remembers telling executives at Barnes & Noble that the Internet was the future of bookselling in 1994, before Amazon.com had even begun. But he has never gotten much credit for it. By the time he founded Barnesandnoble.com, in 1997, Barnes & Noble had become watchwords for letting an Internet upstart eat your lunch.
Last week should have been heartening. Amazon.com lost its president, missed its revenue projections and saw its stock plummet amid doubts about its ability to branch into new markets. One Lehman Brothers analyst even questioned how long the company would be able to pay its bills.
But Barnesandnoble.com suffered, too. The company reported a wider-than-expected loss and missed its projected revenue by more than 10 percent, a sign to some analysts of a growing saturation of demand for books from people already online. Investors sent its stock tumbling more than 25 percent to close on Friday at $3.75 a share, down from a 52-week high last fall of $23.50 a share.
This week should come as a welcome relief from the bad news for Mr. Riggio, who is acting chief executive of the online spinoff and brother to Leonard Riggio, chief executive of Barnes & Noble. He will enjoy a novel role reversal. Now is his turn to play the new media visionary.
Barnesandnoble.com is teaming up with Microsoft to open tomorrow the first major online store selling digital books, available for downloading and reading on a screen or in single paperback copies printed on demand on high-speed presses -- technological capacities that Amazon.com does not yet have.Continue reading the main story
The opening is a pivotal event for the company and a bellwether for the industry. Although many consider the idea of reading on a screen awkward and far-fetched, some publishers hope that electronic books will provide a new avenue of growth in an otherwise nearly flat business, just as first paperbacks and then audio books did in the past. As the first major outlet for digital books, the new store will assay the depth of consumer demand, the prices readers are willing to pay and the danger of piracy and hacking. For Barnesandnoble.com, analysts say, selling digital books could some day hold out the potential for new, more profitable sales within the company's traditional franchise -- books.
Partly for that reason, Mr. Riggio has been pushing the e-book idea for years, according to current and former employees. One of Mr. Riggio's first directives when he resumed Barnesandnoble.com's day-to-day management in January, long before the idea took off with publishers, was to install a tab for electronic books on its home page.
The digital-book store is a big bet for a small company, considering that no one yet knows the size of the potential demand. To build its presence in the digital book market, Barnesandnoble.com invested $20 million in MightyWords, which publishes short digital books. The company spent undisclosed millions more on technology for downloading electronic books, providing storage space and processing payments.
For its part, Microsoft will introduce tomorrow the latest version of its free software for reading on screens. The new edition is easier to use than its predecessors and is available for desktops and laptops as well as expensive hand-held devices. Microsoft executives say that no skeleton-key code-breaker will be able to open all of the electronic books available for its software, but no single electronic book is fully hacker-proof.
The joint debut offers Barnesandnoble.com a chance to benefit from Microsoft's formidable marketing strength. Microsoft is backing the new venture with a sizable campaign, and in the process promoting Barnesandnoble.com. In an unusual boon to authors and publishers accustomed to begging for attention, Microsoft is actually paying some of them for the right to advertise their books with its software. Microsoft, in turn, hopes to make its money in the form of a small commission on each sale of a digital book for its software.
Barnesandnoble.com and Microsoft did not disclose the terms of their agreement. Microsoft expects to work with other Web sites. Barnesandnoble.com also sells electronic books for other formats.
The site will begin with more than 2,000 digital titles available in the Microsoft format, adding about 150 new titles a week. In addition to selling electronic books, Barnesandnoble.com hopes to use them to keep its customers coming back, another area where the company has lagged behind Amazon.com. The company will offer virtual shelf space to customers by investing in computer servers that will store shoppers' digital books online. Customers can download the same title to the same one or two computers as often as they like, easing the need to store the electronic texts on their hard drives.
The digital-book store also sets the stage for a new battle with publishers. Mr. Riggio said the company planned to expand Barnes & Noble's long-standing publishing program into digital books. ''Publishers really add very little value to the distribution of book content,'' he said. ''They are not terribly good at physical book distribution, and they are not very good at technology. They will have a place in the digital world, but smaller than it is today.''
Barnes & Noble, which holds a large stake in the online unit, previously published its own editions of books in the public domain, like ''Leaves of Grass'' or ''Middlemarch.'' But now Barnesandnoble.com has hired a respected former illustrated book publisher, Michael Fragnito, who has begun meeting with agents to discuss buying the digital rights to previously published works still under copyright.
That puts Barnesandnoble.com into direct competition with traditional publishers, its major suppliers, who are themselves now scrambling to acquire the digital rights to their authors' back lists. As Chris MacAskill, MightyWords' chief executive, discovered when he published some authors' short essays, traditional publishers can be very territorial. ''Publishers get very, very jumpy about digital rights,'' he said.
But Mr. Riggio says the digital rights originally belong to the author, not the publisher. ''We strongly believe that the author is entitled to a very big share of the savings that result from the distribution of digital content,'' he said. What royalty rate Barnesandnoble.com will offer for digital rights to previously published titles remains to be set, he said.
He maintains that, in time, Barnesandnoble.com will flourish in the online world in part because most of its products -- books, videos and music -- can be delivered over the Internet. To promote its products, he says, the site is already becoming an online broadcaster. Barnesandnoble.com began a network for 16 online radio stations, soon expanding to 120. It is testing online video programming about authors and books, BNTV.
In the short term, some analysts say Barnesandnoble.com's most promising innovation may be more low-technology delivery techniques, particularly its same-day delivery program. In Manhattan, any order before 11 a.m. is delivered by 7 p.m., at no extra charge, by a fleet of Barnesandnoble.com trucks and messengers. Mr. Riggio says the company is evaluating similar services in other cities. Barnesandnoble.com also lets people return online purchases at Barnes & Noble stores. (Until recently, it was even possible to receive a refund greater than the online price.)
But, although most analysts support Barnesandnoble.com's investment in electronic books on the chance of a payoff years ahead, few expect it to help the company's sagging stock price any time soon.
Spurred by the low share price, rumors have spread through the industry that Bertelsmann was seeking to buy the online bookstore outright. Bertelsmann and Barnes & Noble each own 40 percent of Barnesandnoble.com. Flush with cash from selling a stake in America Online, Bertelsmann has been buying up struggling Internet retailers to build an Internet commerce empire under its own brand. Bertelsmann executives have pointedly declined to comment on the question.
Mr. Riggio, too, declined to comment on any talks, except to say that ''we talk to them about all kinds of things.'' Both Barnes & Noble and Bertelsmann are ''committed to the business,'' he said. The online store expects to begin making a profit in 2002, and analysts say its profits could help Barnes & Noble bolster its own sagging shares. In the meantime, Mr. Riggio says, Barnesandnoble.com has over $350 million in cash and no debt -- plenty of capital to stay in business till the company turns a profit.
Still, Mr. Riggio has a long way to go to restore Wall Street's faith in the company. For one thing, some say that, after more than doubling from one year to the next, the days of explosive growth in online bookselling in the United States are over. People already online seem to be buying as many books via the Internet as they will, said Mark Rowen, analyst at Prudential Securities. As a result, he says, growth in the online book market is slowing significantly, to about the rate that new consumers hook up to the Internet or a little faster -- about 20 percent to 30 percent a year, he said.
Anthony Noto, analyst at Goldman Sachs, said Barnesandnoble.com faced an uphill battle because it was locked into marketing agreements with other companies like Internet access providers, limiting its ability to cut costs when revenue growth slows. Worse, he said, Barnesandnoble.com thus far has failed to take advantage of Barnes & Noble's 544 retail stores to win new customers.
''You expect their customer acquisition costs to be lower than pure Internet companies, and, the bottom line is, they still are higher than Amazon's,'' he said.
Part of the problem, Mr. Noto said, is motivational. The online store threatens to steal sales from the retail stores, and, except for the Riggios, Barnes & Noble executives have little incentive to pull for the online spinoff. Others blame a lack of stable management. Mr. Riggio assumed the title of acting chief executive seven months ago, and the company still has no replacement.
But Mr. Riggio said that the analysts were ''very wrong.''
''I don't know the analyst who has been inside the company or met with its management,'' he said, calling his management team ''one of the most stable in the sector.''
Cooperation between the chain and the online store, he insisted, was coming along fine. He declined to name specifics but promised ''exciting things in the next six months.''
He predicted the company's marketing costs would decline, too. Heavy spending to advertise in print, radio and television is ''behind us now,'' he said, and the company could use its access to Barnes & Noble stores to strike advantageous marketing deals, such as its current agreement with America Online. ''We'll be around in 10 years, or 20 years. People are more motivated to work with us now than with companies in the Wild West shootout that had been the Internet,'' he said.
As for hiring a new chief executive, Mr. Riggio said, his day-to-day management ensured continuity, enabling the board to take its time. ''I am among the candidates being considered,'' he said.Continue reading the main story