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Huawei U8520 Gains FCC Seal of Approval
The FCC has announced a new Android device, the Huawei 8520. This device will be running Android 2.2 on an HVGA display, 1GHz processor (most likely single-core), 3MP camera, and your usual Android fare (WiFi, GPS, etc.) The 8520 is Huawei’s first dual-SIM device, with one SIM running on 3G networks, and the other having access to GSM networks. The device will have WCDMA II and WCDMA V capabilities, so it could (theoretically) be launched by AT&T, although we don’t see that happening in the near future.
The 8520 can be found on a few Australian and Chinese websites, which may be Huawei’s target audience. No word on an official release date, pricing, or really any kind of important information on this device, but we’ll keep you in the loop if anything pops up.
So, is anyone thinking about grabbing one of these low-end devices when it drops? Leave a comment below!
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We finally have an official AIM app for Android. The popular instant message service launched its app this week with a special surprise. It comes with Facebook Chat integration, which
Our friends over at the world’s 2nd largest 3rd party app market, Get Jar, have launched some new functionality on their site that allows consumers to have yet another way
After more than 14 million iPhone downloads, Zippo’s popular virtual lighter application has landed on Android. Available immediately in the Android Market, this official Zippo app comes with 28


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Read the full story in the Louisville Courier Journal.
As thousands of Kentuckians struggle to feed their families, nonprofits hope a new law will encourage supermarkets to donate food they typically throw away by shielding them from being sued if someone gets sick after eating their donations.
Read the full story at Phys.org.
Pop quiz: What’s the difference between “best by,” “sell by” or “expires on”?
If you’re not sure, you aren’t alone. Americans toss out $165 billion worth of food each year, often out of safety concerns fueled by confusion about the meaning of the more than 10 different date labels used on packages.
Grocery manufacturers and retailers are finally taking pity. Recently, the Food Marketing Institute and Grocery Manufacturers Association announced they would voluntarily streamline date labels and begin using two standard phrases: “best if used by” for quality and “use by” for highly perishable items like meat, fish and cheese that can be dangerous to eat if they are too old.
Food manufacturers will begin phasing in the change now, with widespread adoption expected by summer 2018.
Food policy experts from across the University of California praised the new guidelines, calling them a positive step that could help consumers and the environment.
Read the full story from NPR.
This month, I ventured to ask the man behind the counter at a Whole Foods Market what kind of shrimp he was selling. “I don’t know,” he replied. “I think they’re just normal shrimp.” I glanced at the sustainable seafood guide on my phone. There were 80 entries for shrimp, none of them listed “normal.”
What about the cod? Was it Atlantic or Pacific? Atlantic. How was it caught? I asked. “I’m not sure,” he said, looking doubtfully at a creamy fish slab. “With nets, I think. Not with harpoons.”
The shrimp had a blue sticker shaped like a fish on it, which appeared to be some type of official approval. Plus, they were on sale. I bought half a pound.
I was using the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch app, one of a handful of sustainable seafood guides which base their recommendations of sustainable seafood on a range of factors, including where the fish came from, how it was caught or farmed and how the local environment was affected. Spend an hour trying to make sense of these guides, and you may feel more confused than when you started — and guilty about putting an unsuspecting grocery employee on the spot.
Read the full story in the Democrat & Chronicle.
Some local grocers and national retailers are taking a harder look at what’s in their trash to increase the bottom line by diverting food from landfills and to those most needing it.
Wegmans Food Markets joined an effort late last year with several businesses and the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Agriculture to cut food waste in half by 2030.
Read the full story in The Guardian.
As public outrage over food waste grows, almost every British supermarket has responded to consumer pressure and linked up with food redistribution organisations such as FareShare and Foodcycle.
But while good practice is emerging, supermarkets’ work with charities is barely denting the waste problem. Fareshare, for example, estimates it accesses just 2% of supermarkets’ available food surplus.
Read the full story in the Daily Review Atlas.
Hy-Vee has partnered with global produce company Robinson Fresh to offer a line of “Misfits,” or “ugly” produce, at almost all of its more than 240 stores, according to a news release from Hy-Vee. The items are delivered weekly based on what’s available, and are sold on average at a 30 percent discount, the release said.
Read the full story from Public Radio International.
The Fillery is designed to reduce waste and save money: Shoppers will bring their own reusable containers and buy only what they need. The store hopes to open its doors in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, later this year.

domain: news


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While unlikely to dampen interest in Facebook’s first day of public trading, the company has been hit with a $15 billion class-action lawsuit.
Representing a number of Facebook’s users, the suit claims that it invaded their privacy by tracking their Web usage -- ironically, exactly how investors expect Facebook’s to further monetize its service.
“As a public company, Facebook will be expected to grow its advertising revenues very rapidly, putting it under considerable pressure to collect more and more user data to help it target its ads,” The Telegraph reports.
“If the claimants are successful in their case against Facebook, they could prevent Menlo Park from collecting the huge amount of data it collects about its users to serve ads back to them,” ZDNet writes.
And, that’s exactly what the law firms are after. “This is not just a damages action, but a groundbreaking digital-privacy rights case that could have wide and significant legal and business implications,” David Straite, a partner at Stewarts Law -- one of the firms leading the case -- told Bloomberg News.
Already, “Facebook … has been scrutinized by regulators in the U.S. and Europe over how it protects users’ private data,” Bloomberg reminds us.
Like the previous lawsuits, Facebook is being accused of violating the Federal Wiretap Act, which provides statutory damages per user of $100 per day per violation, up to a maximum per user of $10,000.
The complaint also asserts claims under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Stored Communications Act, various California Statutes and California common law.
Yet, as ZDNet adds: “It’s worth noting that similar cases against Facebook and others filed under the wiretap law have been thrown out because browser cookies are simply not considered wiretaps and plaintiffs have difficulty proving any harm.”


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John Curtius over the last two years became synonymous with the most disruptive force in venture capital—Tiger Global Management.
The news that he will start his own startup investment fund next year throws the future of Tiger’s tech investing into question. During Curtius’ tenure, the hedge fund turned startup investor poured more than $10 billion into hundreds of private tech companies, fueling investor competition that lifted valuations to levels that now look inflated. He has pushed the firm—best known for bigger bets in mature companies such as Roblox and Coinbase before they went public—to invest in younger, Series A– and B–stage startups where they can buy larger stakes for less. That ruffled the feathers of longtime Silicon Valley investors who suddenly had to contend with another big-pocketed rival.
While Curtius (pronounced “KURT-us”) has agreed to stay at Tiger until next year, a startup founder of a company who previously raised capital from him told The Information on Monday that the departure means founders in Tiger’s portfolio will be anxious about whether they can count on future investments from the firm should they need them. (Update: Curtius abruptly exited the firm on Oct. 6, contrary to the previously announced timeline.)


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Verizon Communications' (NYSE:VZ) recent decision to purchase the 45 percent of Verizon Wireless that Vodafone owned for $130 billion is going to make the company more unified and allow it to become more agile and innovative, said the telco's chairman and CEO.
McAdam (Image source: Verizon)
Speaking at the Goldman Sachs 22nd Annual Communacopia Conference today, Lowell McAdam said the company will reap the benefits of its purchase of the rest of Verizon Wireless by being able to more fully integrate its services.
"When I look at cloud, security, telematics, FiOS and the mobile assets coming together, I think there will be services that we will see in 12 to 24 months that will allow us to utilize all of those," he said. "I see a future of converged services."
McAdam said that the company is already making strides in integrating wireless and wireline. Under the Verizon One program, the company has already merged its financial operations, created one supply chain and one product development group, which McAdam said is critical to the company's video products.
On the wireline side, McAdam said that John Stratton, president of Verizon Enterprise Solutions, has already eliminated 200 products this year in an effort to streamline the wireline business and reduce costs. "This type of discipline helps us streamline the infrastructure and makes it easier to do business with us," he said.
McAdam noted that Verizon's FiOS broadband service has an average market share of 33 percent and its video service has an average market share of about 30 percent, but that the company is gaining in some markets, particularly Texas where it has a 50 percent penetration rate in broadband. Interestingly, he also noted that New York City is the fastest growing market for FiOS, but not because of Time Warner Cable's (NYSE: TWC) recent retransmission battle with CBS.
McAdam also said that he expects to see major shifts with FiOS because the company is focusing on making it more efficient. For example, Verizon is testing a media server in the home which eliminates all coaxial cable and slashes installation time.
- see this transcript
McAdam: FiOS Media Server will 'eliminate the need for coax' and speed installs
Verizon to take FTTH to Hurricane-ravaged Fire Island, NY
TechAmerica names Verizon's McAdam as Packard award recipient
Verizon to introduce 500 Mbps FiOS for $310 per month
Verizon's wireline consumer revenue rises to $3.6 billion on strong FiOS adds


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Its investments include adding a loyalty program, beefing up technology and rolling out delivery boxes created to keep pizzas hotter. The Yum Brands company started Tuesday testing beer delivery in Phoenix.
Pizza Hut's beer delivery menu in Phoenix includes six packs of Budweiser, Bud Light, Shock Top and Kilt Lifter, a local brew. The company hasn't decided which wines will be available for delivery, or whether it will offer full bottles or single serving options.
Want some beer with your pizza?
The company would not reveal to CNN which cities will be next to get delivery service. Of course, individual stores will need to acquire liquor licenses, but a Pizza Hut representative told CNN plenty of locations already have one, so that should not be too big a hurdle in the process.Читайте также: QS Investors LLC Cuts Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD)
All drivers who deliver the alcoholic beverages will be at least 21 years old and they'll also make sure to check the customer's identification for age as well.
Customers will be required to show their IDs at the door.
More than 1,700 of Pizza Hut's roughly 7,600 US units already have liquor licenses, the company said.При любом использовании материалов сайта и дочерних проектов, гиперссылка на обязательна.
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Radiohead announce global streaming event
The band, so far, have been vague about specifics but shared a statement on their social media which explains that the event will take place on Friday, June 17 at record shops around the world:
"A UNIQUE RADIOHEAD EVENT TAKING PLACE ON FRIDAY JUNE 17 AT RECORD STORES GLOBALLY. FEATURES AN EXCLUSIVE DAY LONG AUDIO STREAM FROM THE BAND, COMPETITIONS, INSTRUCTIONAL ARTWORKS AND MORE."
At the moment, a total of 14 UK-based record stores have been confirmed as participants and they include Banquet Records and Rough Trade East in London, and Spillers in Cardiff to name a few. Earlier in May, Radiohead released their new album 'A Moon Shaped Pool' and it scored them a No.1 in the UK.
Watch their amazing video for 'Burn The Witch' here:
Latest 10 Radiohead News Stories


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More than 2,000 items have been discounted at Weis Markets, while Wegmans has instituted a price freeze for more than 50 products.
Monday, January 7
Weis Markets announced Friday a 90-day price freeze on more than 2,000 products. It is the company's 10th round of price freezes, according to a release. Weis has markets in Palmer and Forks townships, while Wegmans has a location in Lower Nazareth Township. The discounted products include name brand and private brand products in grocery, frozen, dairy, meat, health, beauty care and general merchandise, according to the release. Customers can identify the items through store signage and shelf tags and in weekly circulars. Wegmans has instituted a price freeze for more than 50 products. Prices for these products will remain in effect through April 6, 2013. The discounted products include name brand selections in meat, seafood, produce, …
A Palmer Township man and his Bethlehem Township friend are charged with stealing $1,300 of meat and lobster tails from Weis and Wegmans.
Eric William Thompson and Michael Richard Moran are apparently fond of surf and turf dining. Thompson is accused of stealing about $1,300 in surf – all lobster tails – and turf – filet mignon and steaks among other meat – on five days in December from the Weis Market in Palmer Township. Moran, a 56-year-old Bethlehem Township resident, is accused of being his accomplice in some of those incidents, according to court records. On the day he was apprehended, Moran blocked store employees at the exit from catching Thompson, who got away, the records say. Thompson, a Palmer Township resident who turned 37 on Sunday, already has been charged with stealing items from Wegmans in Lower Nazareth Township in December. Police subdued him with a taser …


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Most people don’t have to worry that their dog won’t eat the food put in front of them. But there are some finicky canine eaters out there, and besides, we all want our pets to enjoy the flavor of the food we feed. To that end, researchers reporting in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry fed the same food with different volatile (aroma) compounds to a small group of beagles to see if they had any preferences.
The upshot: the dogs preferred food spiked with any of three different molecules: one that gives off what we humans would consider an unpleasant fatty odor; one that smells sulfury, roasted, and smoky; and a third that could best be described as “meaty” (no surprise on that one).
The researchers say that while their results are preliminary, studies such as theirs can help dog food manufacturers make kibble that dogs will find even more palatable. These investigations can also help the small contingent of dogs who turn up their noses at mealtime.


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Tesla CEO Elon Musk will resign as chairman of the electric automaker and pay a $20 million fine under a settlement reached with the US Securities and Exchange commission (SEC).
In August, Elon Musk set off a catastrophic chain of events by tweeting that he was “considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.” Musk provided no financing details, and the Securities and Exchange Commission later determined that he never finalized any kind of deal with the Saudi sovereign wealth fund behind the ostensible buyout. Last week, it slapped him with fraud charges for making “false and misleading” statements and not complying with regulatory requirements.
Reportedly, Elon Musk has agreed to a settlement in which both he and Tesla will pay out separate $20 million fines, and Musk will step down as Tesla’s chairman for at least three years, however her will be allowed to remain the company’s CEO. Although Elon Musk has agreed to resign within 45 days, but has not yet formally done so.
In a statement, the SEC wrote:
The SEC also today charged Tesla with failing to have required disclosure controls and procedures relating to Musk’s tweets, a charge that Tesla has agreed to settle.
The settlements, which are subject to court approval, will result in comprehensive corporate governance and other reforms at Tesla—including Musk’s removal as Chairman of the Tesla board—and the payment by Musk and Tesla of financial penalties.
Tesla shares have been hit hard since the SEC filed the lawsuit. On Friday, its stocks on Nasdaq had already closed down around 14% on Friday at $264 per share.
A computer animation professional with over 23 years of industry experience having served in leading organizations, TV channels & production facilities in Pakistan. An avid car enthusiast and petrolhead with an affection to deliver quality content to help shape opinions. Formerly written for PakWheels as well as major publications including Dawn. Founder of CarSpiritPK.com


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"iPhone 5 pre-orders have shattered the previous record held by iPhone 4S and the customer response to iPhone 5 has been phenomenal," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior VP of worldwide marketing, in a statement issued Monday. "iPhone 5 is the best iPhone yet, the most beautiful product we've ever made, and we hope customers love it as much as we do."
Two million people placed orders for the iPhone 5 in the first 24 hours it was available from Apple's website. Apple didn't say how many iPhones have been preordered in total so far.
AT&T, too, said that it set a sales record over the weekend for new iPhones, though it declined to provide any hard sales figures for its share of the iPhone 5 pie.
The iPhone 5 is "the fastest-selling iPhone the company has ever offered. Customers ordered more iPhones from AT&T than any previous model, both on its first day of preorders and over the weekend," said AT&T.
[ Not buying into the hype? See 5 Alternatives To The Apple iPhone 5. ]
AT&T said that customers looking for the iPhone 5 can still purchase one from its website, but shipping times have slipped to "14 to 21 days." AT&T reminds people that if they'd prefer to pick an iPhone up in person, its stores will open at 8 a.m. Friday morning.
Preorders for the iPhone 5 kicked off at 3 a.m. Eastern time Friday, September 14. Heavy initial demand for the device from Apple.com sapped its launch stock of the phone. As with AT&T's site, Apple.com now shows that consumers preordering the phone today won't receive it for "2 to 3 weeks."
Apple said that interest in the iPhone 5 has been staggering. "Preorders for iPhone 5 have been incredible," said Apple spokeswoman Nat Kerris to AllThingsD. "We've been completely blown away by the customer response."
Sprint and Verizon Wireless have yet to make any statements regarding preorders for the iPhone 5, though both carriers are offering the device, as well.
The iPhone 5 has a larger 4-inch Retina Display, A6 processor, LTE 4G (AT&T, Sprint, Verizon), an improved 8-megapixel camera and user-facing camera, wideband audio, better noise cancellation, and 8 hours of LTE Web surfing. Pricing for the iPhone 5 ranges from $199 to $399, depending on storage capacity.
It will be available in stores beginning September 21.


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Will Other Big Tech Companies Follow Baidu?
China has seemingly changed their tune on blockchain technology a few months ago following a few announcements by the government. This included praises of blockchain tech, removal of cryptocurrency mining from a list of undesirable industries and developing a digital Yuan.
Chinese corporations have seemingly taken note of the attitude change within the government. Often called "Chinese Google", Baidu has a near stranglehold on the internet on the Chinese mainland. Baidu an internet giant, have just announced their blockchain project called Xuperchain.
Baidu's Xuperchain Blockchain
Reports from China have stated that Baidu's Xuperchain will be an open source project. Xuperchain will not develop a currency for its blockchain but instead operate a blockchain as a service (BaaS). It will allow individuals and companies to develop dApps and functionalities on its blockchain.
Baidu's Xuperchain will be rather private with only 7 super nodes which includes Tsinghua University. Likely applications could be supply chain management and logistics.
Baidu's move echoes that of two other tech behemoths. That includes Amazon, which launched Amazon Managed Blockchain & Microsoft which partnered with Ethereum to create the Azure Blockchain.
Facebook's Libra is also worth mentioning although there is a big difference between their approach to Microsoft & Amazon's. Libra intends on being a fully fledged "low volatility" cryptocurrency of sorts for payments. There a a sharp distinction between that and blockchain-as-a-service. It might also be worth noting that Libra might not launch due to regulatory issues.
Seeing the rising interest from the competition, Google could hypothetically launch their own blockchain service in the future.
Written by Jonathan Ganor
Writer & cryptocurrency aficionado


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Family operated gift shop and art gallery celebrates 35 years
Jamestown Designs turns 35 this week, and all are invited to an open house on Saturday, May 12, to celebrate the event. The shop is famous to locals for its custom framing, art and gifts offered with warm, island hospitality.
Helen Anderson and her two daughters, Carol Anderson and Deborah Swistak, are the founders of the store. They spoke candidly about their odyssey as a stream of customers passed through, some buying presents and others looking for jewelry. One visitor, back from a winter trip, was so happy to see Helen that he swept her into his arms for a dance. Everyone who walks through the doors is instantly charmed.
The three women launched the gift shop in 1972, just three years after the Newport Bridge opened. Their initial location was in the Hunt Block, the storefront row facing East Ferry, according to Deborah. With Helen's business knowledge and her daughters' ideas, they made a perfect team.
"Carol found a great showroom. It was like a mall, only everything was wholesale," Deborah said. In the first year, they bought pewter and wampum jewelry which is made from quahog shells. The women also sold plants, Virginia Mill crafted brass, and pottery. Children's books were a big seller, as they still are in the store today.
The family has stayed tight-knit through the years. "We got along wonderfully. They didn't want any trouble from mother," the older Anderson kidded her daughters.
Carol and Deborah both gave credit to their mother for the success of the business. "Mother kept a watchful eye on the finances, and did bookkeeping for many years," Deborah noted.
Helen brought professional savvy to the shop, the daughters agreed. Their father owned Anderson's Dairy Farm, and Helen was the office manager, doing everything from payroll to accounts payables, "She was the executive director of her day," Carol said.
Deborah remembered her mother coaching them by saying, "Buckle up." With Helen's encouragement, they always paid the bills, even in times when the economy was weak. "Mother said we needed to pay as we go," Deborah said.
Over the course of the years, challenges arose, no doubt. Yet the three maintained a bond that was strengthened by people close to them. They reminisced about Deborah's daughters joining the activities of the shop, and a longtime worker, Cheryl Parker, who is considered family. "Cheryl stepped up to the plate when we needed her," Deborah remarked. Carol agreed, adding, "Cheryl is invaluable to us."
Deborah's daughters, Julie and Katherine, became interested in the shop as they got older, and helped out. "We all go on buying trips together. The girls have a good eye and pick out nice things at the craft shows," Deborah noted. Caroline, Deborah and Carol's niece, also joined the clan.
The retail store is filled with specialty items, many one of a kind. "Our niche has evolved into finding goods made in America, particularly highlighting local artists," Carol noted. The store continues to offer custom-made framework, done on the premises.
In addition to the all-day open house event this Saturday, Jamestown Designs plans to hold a reception on May 25 to commemorate three and a half decades of retail service to the town. Details will follow as Memorial weekend draws closer.
For more information about Jamestown Designs, visit online at www.jamestowndesigns.com or call 423-0344.


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Event Date:Start at 10:30 AM
March 25, 2021
LocationMercure Convention Center, Kiev
In March, the 7th Blockchain and Bitcoin Conference will be held in Kiev on trends in the crypto market and the future of digital currency in Ukraine
The COVID-19 pandemic, quarantines, and the need for digital transformation of all areas of activity sparked a new boom in the popularity of cryptocurrency. Recently, there has been a rapid growth in the crypto market and an increased interest by large companies in blockchain technology. During the past year, new trends have emerged in this area that require detailed discussion. That is why Smile-Expo will take place on March 25th Blockchain and Bitcoin Conference in Kiev For the seventh time ! The event aims to bring together the best industry representatives to discuss the prospects for cryptocurrencies, the opportunities to make money in this market and the nuances of legislative regulation of digital assets. Why is the conference taking place? In addition to the fact that the cryptocurrency market has already gained a lot of momentum, experts predict that it will continue to grow exponentially in 2021. The demand for blockchain technology is also increasing: both government organizations and their own institutions are interested. The proliferation of coding, the development of decentralized financial services, and the establishment of a legal framework to regulate the trading of digital assets creates ample room for discussion. What trends are being observed in the cryptocurrency market? How profitable is investing in Bitcoin and other digital currencies now? What changes would happen in the industry if the Virtual Assets Act was adopted in Ukraine? Could Solution All these problems are in Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Kyiv 2021. Find out the first speakers who will speak at the event.
- Mark Ginsburg He is the founder of Ukrainian Investment Holding, President of the Federation of Robotics of Ukraine, and Ambassador of the Global Blockchain Business Council in Ukraine. As part of the event, MARC will unveil the theme “The Leading Cryptocurrency Course: 2021 Analytics and Outlook”.
- Igor Boruch Analyst And a trader in the cryptocurrency market , Director of business development at PM Partners, and owner and founder of Porokh & Co. Member of the Board of Directors of the Entire Ukrainian Business Community.
- Yuri Malashenko He is the co-founder and General Manager of the Security Services Group. Adviser to the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council and Head of the State's Special Communications Department on issues of cybersecurity on a voluntary basis.
- Mining opportunities in 2021: the current situation.
- The NFT Ecosystem: Features of the Collectible Tokens Market.
- Cryptocurrency Trading: Principles, Strategies, and Key Perspectives.
- The future of the Ukrainian digital asset market.
- Business representatives
- Founders of IT startups and technology companies;
- Gambling operators;
- Financial analysts;
- Legal advisors;
- Crypto Lovers
- Anyone who wants to make money with blockchain or virtual assets.


text: JEDEC is still finalizing the standards for DDR4, but that doesn’t mean component manufacturers are holding back on developing the tech now. Samsung announced the first DDR4 DRAM module last year, and now Micron has announced that it’s developed a working part of its own. Using its 30-nanometer technology, the 4GB x8 part is just the first of many products in the company’s DDR4 portfolio — it will expand to include x16 and x32 parts with initial speeds of 2400 MT/s and eventually the JEDEC’s targeted of 3200 MT/s. So when will DDR3 seem like a distant relic? Well, Micron is already sending around samples to clients, and it hopes to begin full-scale production by the end of the year. As always, jump past the break for the full press release.


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Fashion firm Boohoo and some of its suppliers - including those in Leicester - could be banned from exporting goods to the United States due to allegations over the use of slave labour.
US Customs and Border Protection believes it has grounds to launch an investigation into the company's practices following a campaign by an organisation called Liberty Shared, which fights modern-day slavery,
Duncan Jepson, who runs the campaign, said Boohoo is not doing enough to stop the use of forced labour in the Leicester factories which make many of its clothes, Sky New reports today.
Mr Jepson told the broadcaster: "The evidence of Boohoo and forced labour is quite compelling.
"I think it will be a wake-up call for British institutions about how they're handling modern slavery enforced labour, particularly in a community like Leicester East.
"What we'd all like, those of us interested in improving labour conditions, is for Boohoo to really get to grips with governance of their supply chain to ensure there is no wage theft and people have proper contracts.
"It must look at all 11 indicators the International Labour Organisation sets out for forced labour and see there is compliance with those."
Last year Boohoo's sales in the US were £263.6m, more than a fifth of the company's total revenue, according to Sky.
The UK's former anti-slavery commissioner Kevin Hyland told Sky: "If they do identify this in the supply chain in Leicestershire, the potential sanctions to not trade in the US are enormous.
"The aim of the petitions is very clear, that companies which think they can benefit from forced labour and the exploitation of others are shown that they cannot and will face a sanction that they can't trade in the world's largest economy.
"But what it will do as well is create a gap for good businesses to come in and pay people properly."
Last summer a Sunday Times investigation exposed evidence of illegally low wages and poor working conditions in Boohoo's supply chain in Leicester, where 40 per cent of its clothes were reportedly being manufactured.
The Government set up a multi-agency task force, including the National Crime Agency, to investigate the claims.
Boohoo asked lawyer Alison Levitt QC to review the working practices of its clothing manufacturers and she produced a damning report which found the allegations of poor working conditions 'substantially true', Sky reported.
Her review prompted Home Secretary Priti Patel to say: "I am deeply concerned by the findings in this review, of illegal and unsafe working conditions."
Saeed Khilji, chairman of the Textile Manufacturers Association of Leicestershire, told Sky a US import ban would hurt, but insisted factory working conditions had improved.
He said: "If the American government took action and if they have enough evidence to do that, yes there will be an effect, but I'm sure now on there won't be a problem in Leicester. I'm 100 per cent confident."
Boohoo told investors in a stock market announcement that it was confident with the actions it is taking to ensure its products meet customs criteria to halt items made using forced labour from entering the US.
The company said it was not aware of an investigation by the US authorities and said it was continuing to fulfil orders for US customers.
It said it would “work with any competent authority to provide assurance that products from its supply chain meet the required standard”, the Press Association reported.
In a statement, it said: “Over the past eight months the group has been working closely with UK enforcement bodies.
“If the group were to discover any suggestion of modern day slavery it would immediately disclose this to the relevant authorities.
“In addition, Alison Levitt QC’s independent review into Boohoo’s Leicester supply chain, published in September 2020, stated that ‘there is no evidence that the company itself or its officers have committed any criminal offences’.”


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DEWA’s Digital Transformation Accelerates Dubai’s Smart City Vision
With its steadfast commitment to innovation, Dubai is on the fast track to becoming the world’s smartest city. The driving force behind this remarkable journey is the visionary leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. His Highness has set in motion a unique digital transformation journey that aims to make Dubai a global leader among smart cities.
At the centre of this vision is a commitment to elevate the quality of life of Dubai’s people and turn it into the world’s best city to live, work and visit. By embracing advanced new technologies and fostering a culture of constant improvement, Dubai strives to create standards of wellbeing that rival that of the world’s leading cities.
One of the key government organisations leading the emirate’s charge to actualise this vision is the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). Right from the launch of Dubai’s digital transformation strategy, the utility provider has been at the forefront of delivering world-class smart services that cater to the growing needs of Dubai’s population. DEWA was one of the first government organisations to receive the 100% Paperless stamp from the Digital Dubai Authority in 2021, after it completed the digital integration of more than 70 projects with over 30 government and private organisations.
Shaping the future of utility customer services
Harnessing the power of the latest disruptive technologies, DEWA has elevated its digital services and crafted a new exceptional customer experience. The Authority provides all its services through diverse digital channels, including its website and smart app, which are available on Apple, Android and Huawei platforms. DEWA also provides several services through Rammas, its virtual employee available through the DEWA’s website, Facebook page, Google Home, robots, WhatsApp Business and Amazon’s Alexa.
Earlier this year, DEWA became the first utility in the world and the first government organisation in the UAE to use ChatGPT to enrich its services. Last year, the Authority also became the first local government organisation to provide its services on a Metaverse platform.
Emphasising the organisation’s dedication to consolidating Dubai’s position as a global digital leader, His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, said: “DEWA continues to work to achieve the digital vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. We also seek to be a major contributor to achieving the Dubai Economic Agenda D33’s goal of turning the city into one of the top 10 digital economies in the world.
“We are on a relentless quest to provide high-quality digital services, driving continuous improvement and reshaping traditional business frameworks through innovative models to create a smoother and richer customer experience. By engaging stakeholders and fostering local and international partnerships with technology leaders, our ultimate goal is to be one of the world’s most future-ready utilities. Moreover, as a pioneering sustainable institution, we are committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Our journey towards sustainable development is geared towards preserving the environment, safeguarding natural resources, and securing a better future for the coming generations, echoing the spirit of the UAE’s Year of Sustainability.”
Digital DEWA: advancing innovation, efficiency and sustainability
The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s digital arm Digital DEWA is at the centre of its ambitious digital strategy. Launched in January 2020, Digital DEWA has four pillars: Solar Energy; Energy Storage; Artificial Intelligence (AI); and Digital Services. The subsidiary is mandated with leveraging advanced technologies to create a sustainable and smart utility, and optimise energy and water resources while enhancing customer experiences and services.
The backbone of Digital DEWA’s operations is its subsidiary the Moro Hub, a state-of-the-art data centre and innovation hub that provides data hosting and managed services not only for the Authority but also public and private sector entities in the UAE and the region. It also offers advanced digital infrastructure and solutions, including cloud computing, big data, Internet of Things and AI technologies to support various digital initiatives and nurture service excellence.
Digital DEWA has orchestrated a remarkable transformation of the Authority’s Customer Service Centre into an interactive digital hub. Operated by Moro Hub, the centre helps customers complete their transactions smoothly on multiple channels, apart from providing a wide range of services and solutions through its 24×7 AI-powered Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. Customers can apply for electricity, water and green charger services through the IVR system.
Further, DEWA’s constantly updated digital database ensures personalised attention, particularly for customers with specific needs such as people of determination and senior citizens. The platform also serves as an information hub for all services offered by the Authority. The centre also provides the Ash’ir service round the clock for speech and hearing-impaired customers, and the Hayak service, an online text and video-chat service on DEWA’s smart app and website for customers to communicate directly with its call centre staff.
DEWA Customer Care Centre was ranked as one of Dubai Government’s top three call centres in an assessment conducted by the Dubai Model Centre in partnership with Digital Dubai Authority as part of a wider evaluation by the Hamdan bin Mohammed Programme for Government Services.
Pioneering digital initiatives for sustainable living
DEWA’s digital transformation has enabled it to encourage sustainable practices in the community. Committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the Authority actively promotes awareness of environmental preservation and the need to reduce the carbon footprint in line with the goals of the UAE’s Year of Sustainability.
DEWA’s ‘Smart Living’ initiative enables customers to monitor and manage their energy consumption through digital dashboards. Its features, such as ‘My Sustainable Living’ programme and high-water usage alert service provide personalised reports and prompt detection of potential leaks to reduce waste.
Further, the organisation’s interactive voice response (IVR) tool offers customers a comprehensive survey on electricity and water consumption. DEWA’s commitment to sustainable practices extends to campaigns like ‘Make Smart Summer Choices Your Habit’ aimed at empowering customers to make intelligent decisions to manage electricity and water consumption. The campaign encourages customers to benefit from smart apps, understand consumption patterns, and access customised tips to reduce waste and adopt sustainable practices.
Customer Happiness Centres: digitally empowering the community
While DEWA has transformed the digital experience for its stakeholders, it has also redefined the experience at its physical Customer Happiness Centres by converting them into self-service centres. These centres leverage AI and robotic devices to enable customers to complete transactions independently while also providing video call assistance from Customer Happiness Officers.
DEWA has five Customer Happiness Centres, including: Head Office Customer Happiness Centre, Al Quoz Sustainable Building Customer Happiness Centre, Future Customer Happiness Centre – Burj Nahar, Future Customer Happiness Centre – Ibn Battuta Mall, and Future Customer Happiness Centre at Dubai Municipality – Al Twar Centre.
In a significant recognition of its commitment to providing top-notch digital customer experiences, DEWA scored 100% in the prestigious International Digital Customer Experience Standard (IDCXS: 2022) certification. The Authority is the first organisation worldwide to adopt and implement the standards and requirements of this new certification.
Overall, DEWA’s customer care set an outstanding service quality level of 96.22% in 2022. Responding swiftly to customer needs, DEWA maintains an average speed of answering calls in just 15 seconds. DEWA also achieved 98% in the Dubai Government’s Instant Happiness Index 2022, which is managed by the Dubai Digital Authority.
One of DEWA’s remarkable strengths lies in its diverse team of qualified and trained staff, proficient in various languages, including Arabic, English, Hindi, French and Urdu, among others. This multilingual capability ensures that customers from different backgrounds receive personalised and attentive service.
Artificial Intelligence Technologies
DEWA started using AI in 2017 by developing a roadmap to enrich the experiences of its customers, employees and other stakeholders. It is now working to enhance its services with Generative AI. DEWA was also the first utility globally and the first UAE government entity to use ChatGPT technology to improve its services.
DEWA started the pilot use of ChatGPT since April 2023 on its website through Rammas, DEWA’s virtual employee, to enhance customer experience.ChatGPT contributes to enhancing DEWA’s capabilities due to its superior ability to interact with users and better understand their needs. It also enables DEWA to improve the ability of Rammas to learn, understand and analyse customer enquiries based on available data and information to respond promptly and accurately.
Rammas services are available round the clock in Arabic and English through DEWA’s website (http://www.dewa.gov.ae), its smart app, its Facebook account, Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, robots, WhatsApp Business at (046019999), and DEWA’s Instagram channel through the ‘Message’ feature.


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Immunomedics, Inc. News
Stocks Edge Higher, Samsung, Merck, GameStop And Boris Johnson in Focus - Five Things To Know
Stock futures nudge higher after Fed minutes; Samsung posts strongest quarterly profit in four years; Seagen shares jump on report of $40 billion takeover by Merck; GameStop share surge after 4-for-1 stock split plans and Boris Johnson to resign, but seek to stay on as prime minister until autumn.
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Maybe Merger Mondays are back, says Jim Cramer. News of mergers, acquisitions, investments and earnings show there are still some great deals out there.
Immunomedics, Scientific Games: 5 Top Gainers for Monday
Immunomedics, Scientific Games, Axsome Therapeutics, Seattle Genetics and Vaxart are some of the top gainers for Monday.
Stocks Finish Higher on M&A News and Vaccine Progress
A flurry of mergers and acquisitions news and signs of progress on a coronavirus vaccine boost stocks on Wall Street.
Buy Gilead on Immunomedics Deal? Let's Look at the Charts
Gilead Sciences is up slightly on Monday after announcing an agreement to buy Immunomedics. Here's how the stock is setting up on the charts now.
Gilead Sciences Agrees $21 Billion Takeover Of Cancer Drug Specialist Immunomedics
Gilead said it will pay $88 per share for Immunomedics, a price that values the Morristown, New Jersey-based drugmaker at just over $21 billion.
Dow Futures Gain As AstraZeneca Resumes Coronavirus Vaccine Trials, Tech and Pharma Deals Boost Market Sentiment
Nasdaq futures look set to lead Wall Street higher Monday following the worst week for the tech-focused index since March as sentiment improves amid AstraZeneca's move to re-start its late-stage coronavirus vaccine trial.
TikTok Picks Oracle, Nvidia Buys Arm, Gilead Buys Immunomedics - 5 Things You Must Know Monday
M&A news and progress on a coronavirus vaccine lift stock futures; Oracle is the preferred buyer of TikTok's U.S. operations; Nvidia buys chip designer Arm.
Immunomedics Gets Double-Downgrade to Sell From Goldman Sachs
Immunomedics receives a double downgrade to sell from buy at Goldman Sachs.
Johnson & Johnson Stock Lower After Unveiling End To Global Baby Powder Sales In 2023
Johnson & Johnson, which began selling Baby Powder in 1894, will end all sales of the talc-based product next year.
Apple Stock Edges Higher After Report Indicates iPhone Demand Confidence
Apple is asking assemblers to put together 220 million iPhones this year, Bloomberg reported, a tally that largely matches 2021 levels.
Rivian Stock Higher As 2022 Production Hopes Offset $5.45 Billion Loss Forecast
"The supply chain continues to be the limiting factor in our production rates but we remain confident in our ability to achieve our target," said CFO Claire McDonough.


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It's been a long time since Valeant Pharmaceuticals (BHC -3.96%) stock was in a legitimate uptrend. Despite the hiring of a new CEO last year to right the ship, Valeant's share price has continued to fall.
The question that investors must ask now isn't when Valeant will turn things around. Instead, the key question is whether it will happen at all. Can Valeant Pharmaceuticals ever regain its mojo?
Why it won't happen
Let's first put to rest the notion that reducing its debt load will somehow make things magically better for Valeant. It won't.
Granted, a lower debt would allow the company to breathe somewhat easier. After all, Valeant paid a whopping $1.84 billion in interest expense last year. That's a huge sum of money that the drugmaker wasn't able to use for other worthwhile purposes -- like, say, developing new drugs that could ensure the survival of the company.
The latest reports are that Valeant is having trouble getting the amount of money it wanted for selling off iNova. Apparently, Valeant hoped to receive $1 billion for the subsidiary, which sells prescription drugs and over-the-counter products in Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and South Africa. However, The Australian reported that potential buyers are bidding closer to $900 million.
My view is that receiving $100 million or so less than expected isn't a crushing blow for Valeant in its effort to things around. The company paid $625 million up front for iNova back in 2011 and was on the hook for another $75 million in potential milestone payments. At least Valeant appears to be on track to make a reasonable level of profit on the deal. It could be worse.
The bigger issue, though, is that debt reduction simply isn't enough by itself to turn things around for Valeant. Even if CEO Joe Papa fully achieves his goal to reduce the debt by $5 billion through sale of assets, I don't expect investors to flock back into Valeant stock. The company must start seeing earnings growth before that will happen.
What it will take
Valeant lost $2.4 billion last year. To return to earnings growth, the drugmaker has to first make up that gap. But even that goal is more difficult that it appears. Valeant lost patent exclusivity for several products in 2016 and faces the loss of even more this year. These losses are expected to negatively impact 2017 earnings by around $715 million. So Valeant needs to find roughly $3.1 billion in new profits -- just to get back to breakeven.
However, the stock market would react positively if Valeant could achieve significant improvement in adjusted earnings. Adjusting away things like amortization of intangible assets and goodwill impairment helps tremendously. Will Valeant be able to return to adjusted earnings growth anytime soon? Unfortunately, no. The company expects lower adjusted earnings in 2017 than it reported last year.
What about adjusted earnings growth in 2018? Valeant plans to launch more than 50 new products this year that could really begin to pay off in 2018 and beyond. That should help.
One product that the company has high hopes for is Siliq (brodalumab). The drug received U.S. regulatory approval for treating plaque psoriasis in February. Valeant reported positive results from a late-stage clinical study in which Siliq proved more effective than Stelara, a drug that generated $3.2 billion in sales for Johnson & Johnson last year.
Don't expect Siliq to be nearly as big a hit as Stelara, though. Siliq comes with a black-box warning related to suicidal ideation and behavior. RBC Capital analyst Douglas Miehm projects peak sales for the drug of around $400 million by 2020, with sales of perhaps $170 million next year.
New sales from Siliq will help, but Valeant needs a lot more additional revenue and profits to return to growth. Sales for the oral version of opioid-induced-constipation drug Relistor could pick up in 2017. Valeant launches its Bausch & Lomb contact lenses for astigmatism this year. The company also has another psoriasis product, IDP-118, that could potentially win regulatory approval in 2018.
Will all of these new products prove to be the ticket for Valeant to become what Joe Papa calls "the greatest turnaround opportunity of a lifetime"? Maybe, but I wouldn't count on it.
Papa says that Valeant stabilized in 2016, will turn things around this year and next year, and will be transformed in 2018 and beyond. I don't question that he has taken some of the right steps. Selling off assets was a must for Valeant. So was launching new products. Still, I can't share Joe Papa's optimism about where things are going for the beleaguered company. A return to any mojo for Valeant seems increasingly more likely to be a no-go.


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Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Samsung Electronics Co. are negotiating a major deal that would give Google products more prominence on the South Korean company’s smartphones, according to correspondence viewed by Bloomberg News.
The talks involve giving Google more control over search on Samsung handsets globally.
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SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE -- Fromm grew up in Santa Clarita, a hot and smoggy place north of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County. The liquor stores and corner stores there are in strip malls, but she loved them just the same.
“In the L.A. area, a lot of the signage is over the top, and it’s everywhere,” she says. “I was always attracted to that aesthetic.”
But she didn’t figure that out until she’d gone to San Francisco State University to major in studio art. She was also drawn to a limited color palette using acrylic and house paint because it was faster and cheaper, two things that fit that student lifestyle.


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We recently updated our “Where to Stay” section with a list of nearly 30 hotels and inns in central Arkansas that gladly welcome well-behaved dogs. If you’re like us and love to take road trips with your dog, we encourage you to show them some love, and give one of the places on our list your business.
People vacationing with their pets is becoming one of the hottest trends in the travel industry. In fact, a July 2012 survey co-sponsored by AAA and Best Western hotels found that a full 51 percent of travelers with pets say they would bring their pets along on every vacation if they could. One of the main considerations of those travelers…? Ninety-five percent indicated finding places that accept pets was their top priority.
Additionally, according to a 2012 survey regarding summer travel conducted by PetRelocation.com, a whopping 85 percent of those surveyed said they planned to bring their dogs along when they hit the road in 2012, compared to 58 percent of respondents in 2011. Noticing a bit of a trend?
Forty percent of those same folks said that when it comes to prohibitive factors regarding travel with their dogs, number one on the list is that there aren’t enough pet-friendly hotels to choose from.
So, it’s somewhat disheartening to discover that Little Rock’s major tourist area, the River Market District, has a distinct lack of hotels that allow dogs.
The Peabody, which used to be very dog friendly (and was our hotel of choice when we came to visit from Atlanta), has been purchased by Marriott. Unfortunately, beginning May 1 they will no longer allow pets to stay with their people. The only hotel in the River Market District that will permit dogs, as far as we can determine from our legwork, will be the Residence Inn Little Rock Downtown, scheduled to open in June. The fact that Residence Inn is also owned by Marriott is somewhat perplexing.
Frankly, we’d be willing to lay down a pretty hefty wager that irresponsible humans damage hotels more frequently and more extensively than dogs do. And, with prime tourist season on the way, we’re going to do everything we can to encourage our local hotels to reconsider their pet policies.


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London, England — MININGREVIEW.COM — 11 February 2011 – The De Beers Group “’ the world’s largest diamond producer “’ returned to profit in 2010 as production rose 34% amid a strong recovery in diamond prices, but the group remains cautious about the market this year.
In a statement issued here, De Beers revealed that it had posted net earnings after one off items of US$598 million, compared with a net loss of US$220 million in 2009, after recovering a better-than-anticipated 33 million carats. It had targeted production of about 30 to 31 million carats for 2010.
“The price of rough diamonds has recovered strongly as confidence returned to most parts of the diamond pipeline,” the company said. “Notwithstanding this, the industry is not back to pre-recessionary levels in terms of production or sales, and a high degree of global uncertainty remains.”
De Beers said it planned to increase production to 38 million carats this year, approaching full production which would, as planned, be achieved in 2012.
De Beers is 45% owned by mining group Anglo American, 40% by South Africa’s Oppenheimer family and 15% by the Botswana government.
Anglo American, which is due to report its full-year earnings later this week, said it would post underlying earnings of US$302 million for the year from its investment in De Beers. “While the directors remain cautious about the diamond market in 2011, continued positive growth is expected, albeit at a lower rate,” De Beers added.
“After a better than expected Christmas retail season, the U.S. market is expected to continue its recovery, and the exceptional growth seen in China and India is expected to be sustained,” the statement continued.
De Beers did not comment on its search for a new chief executive, after its previous CEO’s surprise departure in July.


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Tesco wants to be a brand that is “more purpose driven” as it launches its first press and social campaign talking about its commitment to tackling food waste.
The campaign focuses on Tesco’s primary goal that no food safe for human consumption will go to waste within its UK operations by the end of 2017. Although Tesco has been on a journey to combat food waste since 2009, the campaign marks a bold step change for the supermarket’s marketing, which is typically focused on food or in-store features and services.
Speaking to Marketing Week, Tesco CEO Dave Lewis admits there has been a realisation internally that the brand must now push its ethical causes “even further”.
He tells Marketing Week: “We’ve been at the forefront on reducing waste for quite some time. Before my time here, Tesco was the first retailer to publish an audited end-to-end food waste report back in 2013; we’re now in our fourth year of that. But yeah, I’ve acknowledged we now have to pick this up and push it even further [through our communications].”
According to data from Lewis’s old employer Unilever, 33% of adults would buy a product from a brand because they believe it is doing social or environmental good. That equates to a €966bn (£817bn) untapped opportunity, given that the size of the marketing for sustainable goods is €2.5tr (£2.1tr).
And Lewis admits to Marketing Week these findings have inspired his thinking when it comes to Tesco’s renewed push into combatting food waste.
He adds: “I’m aware of the Unilever report and it proves what consumers need now is trust in the business behind a brand and we want our customers to know Tesco will behave responsibly on their behalf.
“We want to become a brand that is purpose driven as ultimately this builds trust and is exactly what any customer should expect from a business like ours.”


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- BlackBerry maker Research In Motion plans to cut about 11 percent of its workforce as it struggles to keep pace with Apple and Google in the mobile market it once dominated.
- CEO Pay in 2010 Jumped 11%
- Study finds Macs account for 11 percent of corporate computers
- McDonald’s first quarter profits up 11% – Australia and China Fueled Growth
- Nearly 11% of U.S. houses empty
These were a few of the headlines that came up when I searched 11 percent on Google. Why 11 percent? Well, I’m updating some of my social media training materials and wanted to put some numbers into perspective.
Everyone is talking about Facebook and how it’s everywhere and how you have to be using it to market your business! But is it really everywhere? Does it have to be part of our marketing strategy? Well, looking at the numbers, Facebook is currently reporting over 750,000,000 users. And while that is certainly a big number, the current population of the world is 6.954 billion. So, if you do the math, Facebook users actually only represent 11% of the worlds population! Doesn’t seem all that impressive. BUT lets look again. Only19% of our world is considered “developed countries.” So now if you consider 19% of 6.954 billion and then look at the percentage of Facebook users it comes out to 57%.
57% of the people in developed countries are considered active users of Facebook. hmmmm. Looks like a no brainer now doesn’t it?


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DURHAM, North Carolina: Nearly two-thirds of US marketers are now using social media, and this channel is set to increase its share of total expenditure into double figures over the next five years, according to a new study.
The CMO Survey was based on a poll of 511 senior marketers by Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, in conjunction with the American Marketing Association.
It found that 65.4% of companies are using social networks like Facebook as part of their efforts to connect with consumers.
This compared with 52.3% utilising video- and photo-sharing sites like YouTube and Flicker, 50.9% writing corporate blogs, and 44.4% with a presence on "microblogging" services like Twitter.
Among the firms employing these tools, 81% did so for "brand awareness and brand-building", with 55.8% hoping to "acquire new customers", and 51.9% introducing new products via these portals.
A further 47.6% of participants argued their activity on such platforms focused on retaining their existing customers, while 46.1% used them for market research, and 42.2% for promotions.
While the typical marketer spent 3.5% of their budget on this medium over the last year, this is expected to rise to 6.1% in the next 12 months, and to 13.7% by 2013.
By contrast, adspend through traditional media will fall by 7.9% for the year ending in August 2010, although online outlay will increase by 9.5% in this period.
Financial support for brand-building initiatives will also grow by 4.5%, with CRM expenditure climbing by 6.4%, and new product introductions posting an uptick of 9.3%.
In terms of consumer spending habits, 48% of contributors agreed purchase volumes will increase in the next 12 months, while 28.3% predicted overall sales would decline.
In terms of customer preferences, 34.1% regarded "low price" as being the main driver of behaviour, with 19.6% applying this status to "trusting relationships", and 18.8% to "superior product quality".
Brands, however, were seen as the primary factor in shaping purchase decisions by just 5.3% of the sample, rising to 7.2% for "superior innovation", and 15.3% for "excellent service".
Almost a quarter of the panel cited the emergence of "new global competitors" as the likely major dynamic in their category in the next year, with a similar number saying the same for a new domestic rival.
In terms of their spending priorities, 45.6% of respondents said they would focus on promoting existing products in current markets.
By contrast, 17.7% plan to push their present portfolio in new markets, 26.2% will launch new products in their present areas of operation, and 10.4% will introduce new products in new markets.
Data sourced from Duke University; additional content by WARC staff


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When cooking club members design their own menus, the Julia-Child wannabes can get as high-falutin' or as lowbrow as they like.
"One of our lunches was from 'The French Laundry Cookbook,'" said Nancy Richards of Santa Rosa, a member of the Friends of Epicurus. "For Maine, we went overboard and had imported lobster, haddock and pink shrimp."
But for the past 22 years, the 13-member club also has dished up simple fare like soup and salad, Cracker Jacks and hot dogs, and al fresco favorites for "Martha's (Stewart) Perfect Prison Picnic."
Friends of Epicurus
Along with lunches and laughter, members enjoy a variety of culinary activities, including cooking classes, field trips and even week-long vacations to destinations around the globe.
"Every few years, we travel somewhere together," said Joanne Enemark of Santa Rosa, one of the travel planners for Friends of Epicurus. "We've gone to Oaxaca, Santa Fe, New Orleans, Puerto Vallarta and Portland, Maine. In March, we're going to Charleston and Savannah."
While adventure is great, the main ingredient for the success of these clubs appears to be a shared passion for venturing into the kitchen.
"I love the trips and the women, but it's mostly about the food," Enemark said. "I like to learn about new ingredients and techniques."
Michelle Brown of Windsor started her own cooking group five years ago, bringing together a "hodge-podge" of people from her Wine Country circle of friends.
"One of the ladies graduated from Le Cordon Bleu (cooking school), and some didn't even know how to cook," she said. "You have to like food and want to eventually cook something."
Friends of Epicurus, which was founded by Kathie Murphy of Santa Rosa, meets September through May, on the second Thursday of the month.


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What car to buy!Americans can’t pay off their car loans, delinquency rates are higher than the peak of the financial crisis
Under global inflation, Americans are having a hard time, consumption has turned red, and car loans can’t be repaid….
The percentage of subprime auto borrowers who are at least 60 days past due on payments rose to 5.67% in December from a seven-year low of 2.58% in April 2021. That compares with the peak of 5.04% in January 2009 during the financial crisis.
Soaring used car prices have forced buyers to take out more loans for their vehicles amid the coronavirus pandemic. In an era of government stimulus checks, a tight labor market and a soaring stock market, monthly loan payments may seem like a no-brainer. But things have changed for many as inflation eats into consumer budgets and the job market cools.
More Americans are now delinquent on their auto loans in the United States than during the financial crisis. The percentage of subprime auto borrowers who are at least 60 days past due on payments rose to 5.67% in December from a seven-year low of 2.58% in April 2021, according to Fitch Ratings. That compares with the peak of 5.04% in January 2009 during the financial crisis.
Higher interest rates make it harder for Americans who borrow to buy cars to make monthly payments. The average new-car loan rate was 8.02% in December, up from 5.15% in the same period in 2021, according to Cox Automotive. Interest rates for subprime borrowers can be much higher, with some even paying over 25% on their car loans.
Auto auction company Manheim will repossess 11% more cars in 2022 than the previous year, but still down 26% from 2019.
When a lender’s car is repossessed varies by state, but according to the FTC, in many cases it happens whenever a borrower defaults—that is, doesn’t make payments on time. Usually, the car is repossessed after the owner fails to pay on time two or three times.
Once the vehicle is repossessed, the borrower’s credit score is affected and it stays on the credit report for up to seven years. This is especially unfavorable for those young people who have just entered the society. They have just started working and their credit scores are lower than those who have worked for many years. Once there is a problem with the loan, their credit score will only be lower, making it difficult for them .


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When car-share co-op Modo started in Vancouver almost two decades ago, its utilitarian members cared so little about automotive esthetics that tacking hubcaps onto their humble grocery-getters seemed overly frivolous.
With that lineage in mind, the co-op's addition this month of a pair of turbocharged Lexus sports sedans and a premium BMW SUV with plush leather interiors, tinted windows and shiny 18-inch alloy wheels marks a major departure.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
While the co-op is making the shift into premium autos this month to attract drivers who are uninspired by more mundane models like the Kia Rondo, Pontiac Vibe or Toyota Yaris, its pilot program is also in keeping with a broader industry attempt to expand the appeal of sharing cars.
Selena McLachlan, a director of marketing at Modo, said that while the co-op's value-driven members may be unimpressed by the shift into premium autos, the evolution was good for business and the environment. "I know we can justify it," McLachlan said in a recent interview. "Modo has always stood for diversity and choice and inclusion, and the more variety the better. If we can get more people to share fewer BMWs, I think we're doing a good thing."


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BRISTOL, TN (WJHL)- National Farmers Market Week kicked off Saturday morning with the 17th Annual Corn Fest in downtown Bristol. Free corn on the cob was served for breakfast as vendors sold local produce. Organizers say this week is all about showing appreciation to local farmers.
“National Farmers Market Week is about our vendors and our customers because it’s our vendors and our customers that help make the farmers market special,” said Mike Musick, recreation superintendent.
About 150 ears of corn were given away at this morning’s event, free of charge.
Copyright WJHL 2017. All rights reserved.


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SEGA Shop have announced a new line of TUBBZ ducks with Ryo Haz(Quack)zuki making his long awaited debut! Pre-order now for release in July!
Eagle…(duck?) eyed shoppers may have noticed the “1” on the packagaing for the new Ryo Hazuki Tubbz! Could we potentially see a line of different characters? Who would you like to see?


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As many of you know, in an effort to fight obesity, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proposed a ban on the purchase of large sugary drinks from restaurants. People either think it’s a wonderful idea to combat a growing epidemic (half of New Yorkers are overweight), or think that the government is overstepping its bounds.
As someone who is very passionate about changing the direction of our nation’s health and has worked with obesity programs in the past, I respect the fact the Mayor Bloomberg has a track record of being concerned about New York’s life expectancy and obesity consequences. After all, NYC was the first city to require food chains to post calorie counts to help consumers make better, more informed decisions about what and how much they are eating.
However, I’m concerned about the government taking it upon themselves to control people’s ability to choose the healthy option. People who want to drink a lot of soda or sweet tea can simply buy two of the small size or get it from the grocery store where the ban does not apply. Where does the regulation stop? Are we going to ban the sale of all unhealthy foods, too? Good-bye to tasty chips and cookies! It’s a slippery slope.
Soda is not a healthy option, can contribute to excess calories, and puts toxins in our bodies. I believe drastic measures are necessary if we ever want to see progress in our country’s wellness, but a problem with the patterns and lifestyles of the people needs to be fixed by behavior change in the people. Effective change comes from seeing how helpful good nutrition affects someone else’s life and then emulating that example. If people are educated on what is actually healthy, then they can be proud when they choose what’s best for them.
Sure the ban may be a good thought, a step in the right direction, and could keep some people accountable, but definitely it is not a solution. We need to find the courage to choose the right option for ourselves, trusting that good nutrition will create a better self, instead of imposing another regulation. From what I’ve experienced, there’s something empowering in making a right choice, even when it goes unnoticed or uncelebrated, and seeing its benefit in your own personal life.
What do you think? Is the ban helpful for people’s health or not?


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About NBR“Nightly Business Report produced by CNBC” (NBR) is an award-winning and highly-respected nightly business news program that airs on public television. Television’s longest-running evening business news broadcast, “NBR” features in-depth coverage and analysis of the biggest financial news stories of the day and access to some of the world’s top business leaders and policy makers.
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Tonight on Nightly Business Report, why your local drug store may soon look more like a wellness center.
Plus, the national debt hits a milestone.
CVS Health is unveiling its new health-focused concept store that’s designed to help the drugstore become more like a health-care provider than a place to pick up prescriptions and greeting cards.
Retailers have already announced 2,187 new store closures since Jan. 1, including Gymboree, J.C. Penney, Charlotte Russe and Ann Taylor parent company Ascena Retail, according to Coresight Research.
Activist investor Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Holdings is off to a strong start in 2019 thanks to some key new stakes.
Ford is aware of five accidents involving a defect that can cause up to 1.48 million F-150 trucks to suddenly downshift to first gear, potentially causing whiplash.
The trade deal U.S. negotiators are seeking will have some teeth in case China goes back on its trade promises, The New York Times reported.
General Motors and Amazon are reportedly in talks to invest in Rivian Automotive, indicating a massive shift in the “next and potentially imminent” electric vehicle market of pickup trucks, Morgan Stanley says.
Congress is rushing to finalize legislation to avoid a government shutdown, but President Donald Trump has not yet committed to signing it.
President Trump may be willing to extend the March 1 deadline on China tariffs if a deal is near. Eunice Yoon reports that both sides are expressing optimism – but that Chinese negotiators say some of the US’ demands are too harsh.
Ylan Mui reports that lawmakers have reached a shutdown compromise – but it remains unclear if President Trump will sign the deal.
Seema Mody reports that markets rallied Tuesday amid optimism on talks around two issues – trade with China and averting another government shutdown.
Fed chair Jerome Powell recently visited the Mississippi Delta, where many poor residents don’t have bank accounts. Steve Liesman reports from the region, where credit unions are now bringing banking services to some of the poorest people in the country.
Julia Boorstin reports that while movie sales are down – upcoming blockbuster hits may help turn the tide.
Josh Lipton reports that revenues are down at video game company Activision Blizzard – and that the company is reporting a weak outlook for the first part of 2019. This comes as the company cuts 8% of its workforce.
Tonight on Nightly Business Report, stocks rally as lawmakers reach a tentative deal that would avert another partial government shutdown.
Plus, why sitting in traffic is costing tens of billions of dollars.


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"You’ve heard it a million times – you need to eat more vegetables, particularly your greens. In Australia, this adage appears to be ringing true, particularly in the area of Asian Vegetables. In the year ending 28 January 2017, Nielsen Homescan data showed that volume sales for Asian vegetables jumped by 22% versus the previous year, while dollar sales jumped by 17%.
Asian Vegetables including (but not limited to) Pak Choi, Bok Choy, Choy Sum, Chinese Cabbage/Wom Bok, Gai Choy and Chinese Broccoli can be found in one-in-three (34.5%) Australian homes. Asian vegetables are purchased around five times per year on average, with shoppers spending $2.92 each time. Category growth has been boosted by an increase in all of these key consumer metrics over the past 12 months.
Households in New South Wales and Victoria are the biggest consumers of Asian vegetables - accounting for almost two-thirds of total dollar sales (64%) for the category. Asian vegetables are particularly popular among smaller households (1-2 people), with this group of consumers representing just under half of sales.
Non-supermarkets i.e. greengrocers and specialty Asian stores account for 37% share of the total volume of Asian vegetables sold, however, sales in this channel declined by -5% in the past 12 months. Conversely, the supermarket channel is gaining ground with most of the key banners posting strong volume and dollar sales growth for Asian vegetables over the past year.
There is room to drive volume growth further by encouraging a greater supply of Asian Vegetables to mainstream retailers and attracting new consumers who wouldn’t typically shop outside of a supermarket. Promoting the benefits of Asian Vegetables in terms of ease of preparation and cooking and versatility of use in many dishes will help to remove trial barriers for new consumers."
By Ben Heyhorn, Client Service Analyst, Nielsen


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Like a lot of things, the idea of Mayochup started on Twitter, when the world lost it's mind over a picture of mayonnaise in a Heinz bottle...mixed with ketchup. The product was actually available in the Middle East, officially branded Mayochup.
After the internet blew up, Heinz released a poll to see if we were really down to mess with Mayochup on a global level. Just about 500,000 fans voted "yes" on whether or not we get Mayochup in US stores, so now we wait!
There is another vote going down though. Today and tomorrow, September 17 and 18, Heinz is letting Twitter users decide where the new condiment mixture will hit stores first. Whichever city gets the most votes will get treated to a "food truck takeover," which means free french fries and Mayochup before Heinz stocks the good stuff cross country.
Even if you're not in one of the cities chosen for early release you'll still be able pick up some Maychup in stores by the end of this month and will be available on Amazon and Walmart in 16oz bottles. And don't expect Mayochup to go anywhere though, Heinz says it's here to stay.
Per a press release, the brand is "excited to officially welcome Heinz Mayochup sauce to the Heinz family of products, including ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce and our mos recent addition, Heinz mayonnaise."
Check out the poll, New York you know what to do...


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Food fun stuff: QT food, Spindle City fundraiser, free ice cream
Made-to-order food at QT: Two local QuikTrip locations will soon be selling made-to-order food. The business is installing QT Kitchens in most of its stores across the country and recently launched a new menu of food, drinks and frozen treats. The stores at 310 E. Long Avenue and 1843 W. Franklin Blvd. will offer the full-service menu starting Monday. On July 7, managers at the two locations said that construction crews were on site. Menu items will include sandwiches, wraps, salads and pastries.
Food for a good cause: This Friday, Spindle City Café customers will help fight child abuse. Ten percent of food proceeds that day will go to Prevent Child Abuse Gaston to help them buy cards that warn of the risks of leaving children alone in vehicles. The store is at 207 W. Main Avenue, Gastonia, and hours are 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Give a Pint, Get a Pint: Ben & Jerry’s and the American Red Cross are teaming up once again for their “Give a Pint, Get a Pint” event. On Thursday, blood and platelet donors at participating locations will be treated to ice cream and also receive a coupon for a free pint and a free T-shirt. The Gastonia store, 3908 E. Franklin Blvd., will be accepting blood donors. Hours are 10 a.m.-7 p.m.


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NBC's Today Show this morning showcased the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a segment about lost airport luggage. The clip shows a replica TNA World Heavyweight Title at a shop that sells lost airport luggage and other belongings. You can watch the segment below.
Got a news tip or correction? Send it to us by clicking here.


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Sunday Riley Has Donated $50K to COVID-19 Relief Efforts in India
Last spring, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 100 beauty brands announced their efforts to help provide relief and life-saving medical supplies for those affected by the virus, including front-line medical workers and families who were displaced by its economic effects.
Skin Care Is Reaching New Heights With This Sunday Riley x United Airlines Collection
Whether you're jet-setting across the globe or just a few hours away, airplane cabins have an impact on your skin — flights zap the moisture straight from our faces, leaving us with duller complexions, tightness, and even irritation, dermatologist Kavita Mariwalla, MD told POPSUGAR.
I Tried the Vitamin C Serum Everyone's Obsessed With, and My Skin Has Never Felt So #Blessed
For as long as I can remember, my skincare routine has been three steps: cleanse, tone, and moisturize.
Advertiser Content From POPSUGAR Must Have


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Huawei is pushing a new app update for its mobile keyboard app, Celia Keyboard, and started installing the new large Language Model (LLM) AI feature to improve typing.
Celia Keyboard with version 220.127.116.114 has been spotted with a package size of 22.8 megabytes. This new update brings an AI typing assistance feature using the Pangu Large Model. However, the feature is limited to Huawei Mate 60 series and Mate X5 foldable smartphones.
Other than these, the new Celia keyboard update also includes a toolbar supporting custom emoji icons. It also has typing engine optimizations and bug fixes.
At the Huawei Developer Conference 2023, Huawei announced the use of a large language model in its Celia voice assistant. With this new capability, the company enabled various smart features in its assistant including the ability to write on a subject and do more stuff inside the smartphone as compared to the non-LLM version of the voice assistant.
Providing such use of AI to the typing section, Huawei will help Celia Keyboard users to get better typing suggestions and assistance during their conversation, searching inside the phone, and lots of other activities related to input.
For now, the new LLM-powered AI typing assistance feature for Celia Keyboard is limited to the top two models but it may expand to other devices in the near future.


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Numerous area flower shops are readying for the rush as Valentine's Day approaches.
Blossoms Floral and Gift, 2630 23rd St., ordered 1,000 roses in preparation, 10-times more than what it orders in a typical week. Assistant Manager Amanda Jackson and the rest of the store's staff have been busy crafting floral arrangements leading up to the big day. She said most people put in their orders either the day before or the day of Valentine's Day.
“The day of Valentine's Day just comes and goes so fast,” Jackson said. “It’s a crazy holiday- is what it is.”
Marge Rinkol, owner of Flowers From the Heart, 1263 25th Ave., is also busy at work. But the family-run businesses of 27 years is no stranger to the season of love.
“Valentine's is always a busy time,” Rinkol said. “It’s an exciting, and a busy time.”
This year at Hy-Vee Floral Shop, Cyndi Jarecke said she ordered 15,000 roses for the store. That's a jump from 9,000 in 2011.
Rinkol said she's noticed the season is slightly less busy when the holiday falls on a weekend (it's on a Thursday this year). Jarecke said it's common for people to have flowers sent to their significant other at work when they're unable to go out and celebrate.
“People have more options on the weekend when they’re not working,” the Jarecke said.
Seasons Floral and Gifts, 2409 13th St., orders a couple thousand roses in about a dozen colors in preparation of the day. Designer Amy Bierman said the store begins prep work starting Feb.1 with planning and advertising. The majority of its orders are last minute as well, coming in on Feb. 12 or 13.
Along with roses, the store carries lilies, carnations, tropical flowers, daisies and mixed arrangements for those who want something a little bit different. While Mother’s Day is just right around the corner on May 12, Bierman said Valentine's Day is busier because of delivery quantities.
“With Mother’s Day, you can deliver all week,” Bierman said. “Where Valentine’s Day, they want it that specific day, which makes it a little bit more difficult for us.”
Those wanting something besides flowers are in luck. This year, Blossoms Floral is selling a new candy bouquet. These will be available for purchase along with other goodies at a pop-up shop inside The Broken Mug, 2200 28th Ave., which is open all day Valentine's Day. The new initiative comes from Mitchell Tucker, who took on ownership of the flower store from Renee Norris in December 2018.
"It's pretty hectic around Valentine's Day for sure - keeps everybody rolling," Tucker said about the season. "You don't know what you're going to get into. But we have all the girls that have worked here for a few years now, so we're pretty sure we'll be able to handle it."
Whatever may come in the future, the classic rose is here to stay.
“It’s a sign of love, flowers are always special,” Rinkol said.
Eric Schucht is a reporter for The Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at email@example.com.


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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — ClearWater Tech will showcase their advanced water purification systems, including a new Mobile Disinfection Cart at the 2014 WQA Aquatech exhibition today and tomorrow, according to a press release.
ClearWater Tech LLC has established a solid reputation for developing ozone based sanitation equipment for the commercial, residential and industrial water industry since 1986, noted the release.
ClearWater (booth 617) will highlight three products at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando this week, the release reported.
The New C1 Mobile Disinfection Cart is powerful, effective, well designed and reliable, yet affordable, continued the release, and built with stainless steel construction designed specifically for clean-in-place and surface sanitation using ozone enriched cold water supplied at the rate and concentration you desire.
Joining ClearWater’s Mobile Cart will be the CD30nx, an ozone generator that is compact, wall-mounted, built to last with reliable state-of-the-art on-board technology and powerful top-of-the-line components and produces 30 grams/hour at 5 percent concentration by weight with oxygen feed gas, the release reported.
According to the release, for smaller ozone applications, ClearWater Tech will also display the Pro400 ozone recirculation system for holding tanks, water stores, aquaculture, home water storage and spas.


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Tango smartphone can map world around it
Tango Smartphone Can Map World Around It. Google Has Reportedly Built Aprototype Android Smartphone Device That Is Capable Of Learning And Mapping The World Around It.
Washington: Google has reportedly built aprototype Android smartphonedevice that is capable of learning and mapping the world around it.
The Advanced Technology and Projects group, one of the fewMotorola elements that Googlehas retained, announced Project Tango, which aims to make the phone learn the dimension of rooms and spaces just by being moved around inside of them.
Johnny Lee, leader of Project Tango said that the goal of Project Tango is to give mobile devices a human-scale understanding of space and motion, the Verge reported.
According to Greenbot.com, the custom 5-inch Android phone comes with a 4-megapixel camera, an additional motion-tracking camera, and a third depth-sensing camera, including a pair of processors optimized for computer vision
The phone tracks its absolute position and orientation in 3D more than 250,000 times a second, while making a virtual 3D map of whatever it's pointing at.
19 Sep 2019 9:51 PM GMT


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Kolkata, 17th May 2019: Areteans, a leading digital transformation consulting, solutions & services partner of Pega® announced their Pan India Expansion Plan today at Godrej Waterside. The event was graced by Mr. Suman Reddy Eadunuri, Managing Director and Country head, Pegasystems India, Mr. Deepak Kunhikannan, Regional Director, Pegasystems India, Mr. Salil Shivhare, Strategic Alliance Executive, Pegasystems India, Mr. Mahesh Agrawal, CEO, Areteans Technology Solutions Pvt Ltd, Mr. Sid Mohanty, CTO, Areteans Technology Solutions Pvt Ltd and Mr. Agniswar Chatterjee, Vice president, Areteans Technology Solutions Pvt Ltd.
Areteans is a leading sales & implementation partner of Pegasystems Inc., a leader in software for customer engagement and operational excellence. Pega’s adaptive, cloud-architected software – built on its unified Pega Platform™ – empowers people to rapidly deploy, extend and change applications by balancing flexibility with robustness and agility with uniformity to meet strategic business needs. Over its 35-year history, Pega has delivered award-winning capabilities in CRM and digital process automation (DPA), powered by advanced artificial intelligence and robotic automation to help the world’s leading brands achieve breakthrough business results. Areteans supports digital transformation for businesses to transform by implementing Pega software in the right way. Areteans is best known for serving Fortune 500 companies by delivering innovative solutions through Pega technology.
Kolkata has one of the largest concentrations of experienced Pega consultants and developers across India and hence Areteans chose to make Kolkata their first delivery center apart from their headquarters in Hyderabad, India. Speaking about their journey in Kolkata, Mr Mahesh, their CEO stated the strong growth seen by the company has only been possible by remaining true to their unique selling proposition i.e. hundred percent focus on Pegasystems software and a collaborative approach to delivery which makes Areteans to act as a partner rather than a vendor to their customers.
Addressing the media on the occasion, Mr. Suman Reddy Eadunuri, Managing Director and Country Head, Pegasystems India said, “As the market demand for Pega rapidly expands worldwide and in India, partners play a critical role in orchestrating digital transformation for our leading customers. We are delighted to witness Areteans growing rapidly and launch a world-class delivery center in Kolkata. We will continue to support the growth of this market as an emerging technology hub. The team, led by Mahesh comes with a great track record, and we look forward to working together and pursue larger deals, expand our offerings and grow the ecosystem here.”
Also speaking on the occasion, the CEO of Areteans Technology, Mr Mahesh Agrawal quoted, “Our journey in Kolkata started with small steps, a strong belief in the talent present here and a group of 10 consultants initially. In our journey in Kolkata over the past 18 months, we have seen a fivefold growth of the team here to around 50+ Areteans. We continue to be amazed at the talent, commitment to getting things done & the pride to deliver the best as a team from our Kolkata center. We are hiring a lot of local talent both experienced and fresh industry graduates from engineering colleges in & around Kolkata to sustain the demand we foresee; hence we are investing to open this 120+ Seater Advanced Delivery Center. It will also be the home of our Insurance based COE focused on delivering strategic & holistic solutions based on Pega to our esteemed customers in India and across the globe.”
Areteans is also looking to expand by taking the Pegasystems offerings pan India across BFSI & Government sector and in terms of practice growth; Areteans is looking to double their overall headcount to over 400 as well as revenue within the next 24 months. Areteans is also focused on building solution accelerators for their target customers using Pega software which can be used to jump-start implementations and reduce configuration effort for industry-standard customer journeys in an optimal manner. This will mark their foray towards building solutions targeted at ASEAN & Indian markets. Areteans is also planning to expand onto newer geographies such as UK, Europe and USA with their service offerings.
Areteans was founded in the year 2015 and currently provides digital transformation services across nine countries that include United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Vietnam. With the help of 5 Technical and 3 Domain practices, Areteans is leading the charge to make organizations digital by default in India & abroad in order to serve their end customers in a friendly way. With a team of 200+ Pega® consultants spread across the globe & an industry first Pega® focused LABS pioneering innovation, Areteans is helping to deliver simple to complex digital transformations across the globe accelerating their customer’s time to market. Being a 100% Pega® focused organization inhabiting the intersection of Business, Technology & Consulting, Areteans is proud of themselves on being Solution Providers and Problem Solvers straddling the entire Pega® Technology Landscape with deep business consulting roots. In India, the organization is serving some of the largest Insurers, Banks, Corporate and State Governments to optimize Customer & Citizen experiences along with bringing forth efficiency by automating operations. For more information on Areteans visit www.areteanstech.com.
Pegasystems Inc. is the leader in software for customer engagement and operational excellence. Pega’s adaptive, cloud-architected software – built on its unified Pega Platform™ – empowers people to rapidly deploy, and easily extend and change applications to meet strategic business needs. Over its 35-year history, Pega has delivered award-winning capabilities in CRM and digital process automation (DPA), powered by advanced artificial intelligence and robotic automation, to help the world’s leading brands achieve breakthrough business results. For more information on Pegasystems (NASDAQ: PEGA) visit www.pega.com.


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Boutique London-based agency Boom Licensing has kicked off 2013 with the signing of two new deals.
First up, the firm has been appointed to represent Alfred Shaheen, pioneer of the Hawaiian shirt.
Boom will be working with the brand’s New York agent, Product Lounge, to help develop the licensing programme in Europe. It will be looking at sectors including apparel, sportswear and outdoor furnishings.
In addition, Boom will also be working with Product Lounge to develop the Thomaspaul brand in Europe. The fashion brand is already well-known in the US, with a range of home products.
Boom will be targeting partners across a range of luxury home and gift categories including rugs, bedding and social expression.
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Northern Irish cleantech startup Rock Extraction has raised £500,000 for a rock-breaking tool designed to provide a green alternative to explosives used in the mining industry.
The Lisburn-based company was founded to reduce the reliance on explosives that can release large quantities of harmful compounds into the atmosphere. Rock Extraction’s Volt 100k extraction tool, according to the company, is a greener alternative for breaking rocks.
The company says it is “more precise than existing hydraulic hammers”.
“With the environmental impacts, danger and disruption caused by the use of explosives in mines, we are committed to developing cleaner and safer alternatives and our technology is revolutionary for the industry,” said Ian Dawson, co-founder of Rock Extraction.
“Our growth plans are firmly in place and this investment will help us to bring the product to market, scale our business and expand our sales team.”
The funding came after the company founders pitched their project at a Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN) quarterly event.
The financing from HBAN was then matched by Co-Fund NI, an investment fund for Northern Irish startups in association with the Regional Angels Programme from British Business Investments. Co-Fund NI is managed by Clarendon Fund Managers.
“The cleantech industry is booming and there is more demand than ever for cleaner alternatives for large companies,” said Sian McLaughlin, investment manager at Clarendon.
“The investment was further strengthened by attracting local HBAN business angels with international experience of bringing innovative products to global markets who can support the company to rapidly scale.”


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While the model that Microsoft launched this year just get an additional optional LTE antenna for mobile connectivity.
Microsoft will "overhaul" the design of Surface Pro 6, which is rumored to be launched in mid 2019. Reportedly, Microsoft will add USB-C / Thunderbolt 3 port on the laptop.
Resource persons also confirmed the rumor that says that Microsoft will introduce the tablet Surface with a smaller size and more affordable price this year. The tablet will compete with Apple's iPad.
In addition, reportedly, Surface Hub 2 50-inch touchscreen computer from Microsoft will also be launched next year. This year, it is possible, Microsoft will release Surface Pro and Surface new Laptop with Intel 8th generation processor.
Another rumor is that Microsoft will introduce a tablet with two screens this year. The device was not impossible to make. Not long ago, Intel has exhibited a prototype Tiger Rapids with two screens.


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Physical copies of Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1+2 soundtrack recently hit Japanese store shelves, which includes a booklet that fans believe is possibly teasing Mega Man X9.
The booklet, screenshots of which were shared by Twitter user guutara, provides a summary of Mega Man X7 and X8, followed by text that literally translates to “The story of X’s fight is not yet over.”
— guutara＠C94金曜ペ31a (@guu_tara) July 18, 2018
Fan blog Rockman Corner was quick to point out that this tease is very similar to the one found in a 20th anniversary book, which contained the text “The legend is not yet complete.” It later turned out that Capcom was teasing Mega Man 9.
Destructoid notes that Capcom previously slipped in a piece of Mega Man 11 concept art in the gallery section of the other Mega Man Legacy Collection series. Fans didn’t think much of it at the time but it later turned up in the Mega Man 11 debut trailer.
Given Capcom’s history with teases, we can’t completely write this off as speculation but only time will tell if the developer is dropping hints about Mega Man X9 or not.
What do our readers think?
Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1+2 releases for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on July 24.
Mega Man X Legacy Collection Album Possibly Teasing Mega Man X9