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Card Limits Fall as Americans in Collections System Sets Record
March 05 2013
Aggregate credit card limits dropped during the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 (down $9 billion or 0.3%), according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, while the percentage of people with at least one account under third-party collections hit a record high.
Aggregate consumer debt rose slightly in the same period, by $31 billion, a reversal from a trend in place since the fourth quarter of 2008.
An estimated 14.6% of consumers had an account with a third-party collector in the fourth quarter, up slightly from 14% in the third quarter. The previous high point occurred in the second quarter of 2011, at 14.38%.
There are 383 million open credit card accounts, a slight uptick from the third quarter.
Balances on credit card accounts increased by approximately $5 billion, the second consecutive quarterly increase.
The number of credit inquiries within six months an indicator of consumer credit demand continued to decline slightly through the end of 2012. There were 164 million inquiries, a little lower than
the 167 million seen in the third quarter.
Total consumer indebtedness as of Dec. 31 was $11.34 trillion, 0.3% higher than in the third quarter of 2012. Overall consumer debt remains considerably below its peak of $12.68 trillion in the third quarter of 2008.
Mortgages, the largest component of household debt, were roughly flat. Mortgage balances shown on consumer credit reports in the fourth quarter stand at $8.03 trillion, roughly unchanged from the level in the third quarter. Home equity lines of credit (HELOC) were the only product to see a substantive decline in the fourth quarter; balances dropped by $10 billion (1.7%) and now stand at $563 billion.
Non-housing household debt balances increased for the third consecutive quarter and now stand at 2.75 trillion, up by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. All non-housing components increased, with auto loans
up by $15 billion; student loans up by $10 billion, and credit card balances up by $5 billion.
Overall, delinquency rates continued to improve in the fourth quarter. As of Dec. 31, 8.6% of outstanding debt was in some stage of delinquency, compared with 8.9% in the second quarter last year.
About $978 billion of debt is delinquent, with $712 billion seriously delinquent (at least 90 days late or “severely derogatory”).
Delinquency transition rates for current mortgage accounts were stable through 2012, with 1.8% of current mortgage balances transitioning into delinquency in the fourth quarter. The rate of transition from early (30-60 days) into serious (90 days or more) delinquency was also roughly stable, ending the year at 26.1%. The cure rate – the share of balances that transitioned from 30-60 days delinquent to current – improved slightly in the quarter and now stands at 28.1%.
An estimated 336,000 consumers had a bankruptcy notation added to their credit reports in the fourth quarter, a 21% drop from the same quarter last year, and the eighth consecutive drop in bankruptcies on a year-over-year basis.


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Join me, Stoel Rives’ Chief Information Security Officer (and Global Privacy & Security Blog® author) Jon Washburn, for a panel discussion in which I will partner with top industry CISOs and CIOs to address the most pressing cybersecurity challenges of 2021. Register now for free for the Seattle & Portland Virtual Cybersecurity Summit
The Senate Commerce Committee held a second hearing on consumer data privacy, this time with privacy advocates
This past Wednesday, the Senate Commerce Committee held another hearing on consumer data privacy, this time giving voice to prominent privacy advocates. Previous testimony in September from leading technology businesses focused on concerns with the complexity of having to comply with a patchwork of different state privacy regulations, broad definitions of “personal information” in the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and a desire to see Federal legislation enacted that would preempt state laws and create a single, unified US privacy law.
While a national privacy law would simplify compliance, in Wednesday’s hearing Nuala O’Connor, the President and CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology, cautioned the committee that the “price of preemption would be very, very high”, and Laura Moy, Executive Director and Adjunct Professor of Law at the Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology, laid out in her written testimony six strong recommendations that we should expect to see in any proposed national standard:…
Continue Reading The Senate Commerce Committee held a second hearing on consumer data privacy, this time with privacy advocates
Drop By and Visit Us at the Privacy + Security Forum in DC!
We are happy to announce that we are sponsors of this year’s Privacy + Security Forum and one of our own, Amy Carlson is speaking on Healthcare Data Breaches: Unique Industry Issues and Prevention Strategies. Please stop by and learn more about Stoel Rives LLP Privacy and Data Security Team.

domain: news


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The video gaming industry has gone through many changes in the past few years, given the eons of technological advancements taking place in the tech world. As such, free gaming and bonus features are taking the mainstream marketing methods in the online gaming industry. These two features can attract a wide range of web traffic to online gaming websites.
To go with this flow of technology and to attract more and more enthusiasts to this online gaming platform, Betzest, the online casino and sportsbook operator, has made an important announcement of going live with PG SOFT. Betzest casino announced this exciting news after signing a collaboration deal with Play’n Go, which is a renowned software supplier. With this new collaboration, the online casino Betzest will be now in a position to increase its offerings along with the top online gaming platforms. More precisely, the casino will now be able to reach more and more new players.
Betzest came up with Sportsbook last year in August and proved to be a great opportunity for all online European bettors, irrespective of their wager being on SportsBook or online casino. The Betzest sports betting has all the exciting features like in-play betting, cash-out systems in sync with the future markets, etc. Its website is one of the best in the online casino market with neat, easy to play and stylish interfaces. The portfolio now includes over 1500 premium slots for online casino allowing them to attract more players globally.
Thrilled with this new expansion, the founder of Betzest, Marius Filip commented,


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Scorpion Sports Inc. USA (SSI) will be partnering with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) to produce a limited-edition IMS commemorative riding jacket. The “1909 IMS” is an exclusive vintage leather jacket that will be available at this summer’s MotoGP event in Indianapolis.
“Our goal is to fuel the passion behind motorcycle racing in America through one of the most iconic brands in motorsports,” said Jayson Wickenkamp of Scorpion USA. “Indianapolis Motor Speedway has always been synonymous with world-class racing, we are excited to provide the fans with a world-class motorcycle garment that bears the wing-and-wheel emblem.”
The “1909″ Premium Vintage Leather Jacket is expected to be available in late July and will be for sale in limited quantities at the Grand Prix on August 8th, 9th, and 10th.
For more information visit www.scorpionusa.com
or visit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Gift Shop.


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Cotton Has Best Quarter in 10 Years as China Snaps Up U.S. Fiber
(Bloomberg) -- Cotton futures rose to the highest in almost a decade, with poor weather hurting crops around the world and unrelenting demand for fiber from the U.S., the top shipper.
Prices have climbed 20% this quarter, the most since March 2011. That’s signaling higher costs for apparel as manufacturers respond to hikes in raw-materials, adding to inflationary pressures rippling through the global economy this year.
Despite the rally, demand for American cotton isn’t slowing down. China is snapping up U.S. exports amid a cool-down from Brazil, the second-largest shipper, according to a Rabobank International report. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which projects two world deficits through this season, may need to increase its estimates for world consumption, the report said.
In New York, the December contract jumped as much as 4% to $1.0403 a pound. Gains have also been intensified by traders rushing to cover short positions.
Prices could top out around $1.12 a pound, said Jordan Lea, senior trader for DECA Global LLC, a textile supplier. While current shipping disruptions are frustrating, a decade ago when prices rose to a record, world reserves were half of what they are now.
To be sure, there’s no inventory for immediate delivery, and so far the higher prices haven’t affected demand, Lea said. If prices rise further or shipping snags prevent Asian consumers like Vietnam or Bangladesh from getting the cotton they need, they may turn to polyester to make up for the lack of cotton, he said.
In other soft commodities, arabica coffee fell 1.6% to $1.941 a pound, heading for the second drop this week. The beans used by brands such as Nestle SA’s Nespresso are still up 22% this quarter, and 51% for the year after droughts and frost slashed prospects in top-grower Brazil and amid shipping headwinds.
The weather market has kept coffee prices supported this month, but there may be signs of a shift in Brazil, according to Rabobank. Forecasts are “showing good volumes of rainfall in areas previously missed,” the report said.
Rising energy costs, logistics issues and inflationary concerns could curtail consumption in the fourth quarter, and current prices could spur demand destruction, the bank said.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.


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As the Associated Press reports, second-quarter results are in for many issuers, and life is grand at American Express.
- According to a survey by Zacks Investment Research, revenue, net of interest expense, jumped to $10.24 billion from $7.68 billion last year, stronger than the $9.47 billion that Wall Street was looking for.
- Shares of American Express Co. climbed 3.4% at the opening bell.
- “We saw cardmember spending accelerate from the prior quarter and exceed pre-pandemic levels in June, with the largest portion of this spending growth coming from Millennial, Gen Z, and small business customers,” Chairman and CEO Stephen Squeri said in a prepared statement.
The release of loan loss reserves from Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL) helped push the revenue projection increase.
- The current quarter included $866 million in credit reserve releases.
Investor reports at American Express indicate a 33% increase YoY in Total Revenues Net of Interest Expenses, with Billed Business on par to 2019, which is a win for the network/issuer. U.S. Billed Business recovered ahead of International business, which remains about 20% behind the Q120 mark. Additionally, U.S. consumer T&E recovered more than International Consumer and Large and Global Corporate.
American Express loan write-off rates continued an excellent trend with only 1.0% entering charge-off, 1500 basis points better than Q120. Credit card net write-offs were a mere 0.3%.
New cards booked at American Express were 2.4 million, slightly lower than the Q120 peak of 2.5 million, but steady improvement for the four proceeding quarters. In line with the increase was a $1.3 billion investment in marketing for Q220.
Growth in vertical spending is always interesting at American Express. Airlines remain 63% lower than the 2019 baseline, but restaurants are only 10% off, as you can probably validate from personal experience. Lodging is down 50%.
Cardmember receivables now include 15% from International Consumer, 27% from U.S. consumers, 25% from corporate cards, and 33% from Small Businesses.
Amex exits COVID on two feet, with strong operational performance, reduced risk, and confident enough to reduce its loan provisions. The firm’s performance is on par with many other strong reportings, and for credit cards, it appears that “happy days are here again.”
Overview provided by Brian Riley, Director, Credit Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group


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£10.44 Aldi theft puts Ipswich shoplifter behind bars for five months
An Ipswich man has been locked up for stealing a sandwich, biscuits, scotch eggs and sweets from Aldi less than a month into his suspended jail sentence.
William Hutchinson was led to cells at magistrates’ court in Ipswich on Monday, after admitting two counts of theft from the Meredith Road Aldi on February 2 and March 2.
The 45-year-old was in breach of a 26-week suspended sentence handed down for burglary, theft and shoplifting on January 18.
Hutchinson attempted to return the confectionary he had placed in a bag before leaving Aldi on March 2.
Solicitor Michael Stephenson said he was under the impression that returning the goods, despite having concealed them, would provide a defence against prosecution.
Magistrates activated 20 weeks of the suspended sentence and added two weeks for Hutchinson’s latest crimes. He must also pay £5.73 in compensation and £200 in court fees.
- 1 Three youngsters try to kick down Ipswich family's door
- 2 Face masks to be compulsory in shops and public transport, PM announces
- 3 European store wants to sell alcohol at old Co-op store in Ipswich
- 4 Snow falls in Suffolk overnight as cold snap set to continue
- 5 Van driver jailed after A12 crash left motorist with life-changing injuries
- 6 Homes with 'stunning' coastal views by Felixstowe golf club up for sale
- 7 More than 20 drivers caught at speeds of 100mph on A14 within an hour
- 8 Matchday Recap: Outrageous Celina wins it for Town
- 9 Ipswich homes left without electricity after power cut
- 10 Could American fast food chain Wendy's open a Suffolk restaurant next year?


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Rebecca Black fans are gearing up for the premiere of the singer's second single, which hits the web at 8pm Est tonight (18th July 2011). Black's viral hit 'Friday' garnered over 167 million YouTube views and anticipation for the follow-up has been building since its announcement several weeks ago.
A new video for 'My Moment' will debut on Black's official YouTube channel, as well as her official website, tonight. Centred around her monumental rise to fame, the clip will feature real-life events include the singer's hosting of the MTV's Online Music Awards. The single will be available to purchase on iTunes and other online retailers from Tuesday (19th July 2011) and Rebecca is currently putting the finishing touches to a 5 track EP, set for release in August. Black's first single, which quickly acquired the undesirable tag of being "the worst song ever recorded", featured heavy auto-tuning and suspect lyrics including, "Seven a.m, waking up in the morning, Gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs, Gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal". It is not clear whether 'My Moment' will draw on similar themes or feature similar production .
Rebecca Black, who recently featured in Katy Perry's video for 'Last Friday Night', received death threats during the height of 'Friday's' fame.


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U.S. Oil has partnered with FST Logistics to build a Gain Clean Fuel station in Columbus, Ohio. The new station will provide compressed natural gas to FST's truck fleet and will be available for use by other companies and individual drivers.
This will be U.S. Oil's 12th such station, and it plans to add 50 new CNG stations within the next three years.
FST is a full-service logistics company based in Columbus, with core customers in Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Based in Appleton, U.S. Oil is a division of U.S. Venture Inc., an energy and transportation products distributor and marketer.


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Bandai Namco has revealed details about the first major Ni No Kuni 2 DLC, which is slated to arrive sometime in winter 2018. The upcoming DLC, titled?“Labyrinth of the Ghost King,” will not be the first DLC to hit Ni No Kuni 2 Revenant Kingdom. However, it will be the first to introduce a brand new dungeon to explore, as well as new features and content.
According to the most recent issue of the Weekly Famitsu (as translated by Gematsu), the new Ni No Kuni 2 DLC will add a dungeon called “Labyrinth.” This new dungeon will be very difficult and is set to be even harder than the Faraway Forest dungeon that was introduced in the free update earlier in August 2018. A new boss named “The Ghost King Lamikyl” will arrive alongside the new dungeon, providing a new challenge for those who have beaten the base game.
Additionally, players can look forward to a new battle mechanic called the “Gokui System.” As of now, not much has been revealed about the Gokui System, besides the fact that some characters will drop or “leave behind” Gokui items. We will have to wait for further clarification from developer Level-5 to find out what exactly these Gokui items are, or what purpose they will be serving during gameplay.
Last but not least, the massive new Ni No Kuni 2 DLC will also add over a whopping 80 pieces of new equipment and weapons, as well as new side quests focusing on the pasts of protagonist Evan’s companions. Players may even get the opportunity for a rematch with a boss they’ve defeated in the base game. Keep in mind that the names of the content for the upcoming DLC in this article are based on unofficial translations, so they might end up being a bit different in the official localized version.


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|By PR Newswire||
|August 26, 2014 03:09 AM EDT||
BERLIN, August 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
elumeo SE brings together existing joint venture operations of both partners and pools all Group-wide activities
Berlin-based Juwelo TV Deutschland GmbH, a leading e-commerce retailer of gemstone jewellery in Europe, and Silverline Distribution Limited, jewellery manufacturer and operator of the New York Gemstones online store, headquartered in Hong Kong, China, have merged, thereby creating one of Europe's foremost jewellery groups with more than 1,100 employees worldwide. Newly formed elumeo SE, Berlin, brings together the business activities of the two entities as well as those of the other international sites. In particular, the manufacturing unit located in Chanthaburi, Thailand, will be integrated into the Group. Having worked together as part of a joint venture for several years, the two companies have thus created a formal framework to govern their collaborative efforts. Additionally, the new structure will strengthen the Group's position within the European jewellery market and create a launch pad for business expansion, particularly with regard to e-commerce activities currently being pursued by the company.
elumeo Group operates from six global offices located in Berlin, Rome, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Chanthaburi and Leamington Spa (UK) and employs more than 1,100 people in total.
Operating profitably almost as soon as it was formed in 2008, the company is expected to generate Group revenue of about €70 million in 2014. In launching new online shops in the Netherlands and Spain in May 2014 and June 2014 respectively, elumeo has further cemented its position as an e-commerce operator in two of Europe's key markets. elumeo Group has thus established a local (internet) presence in six European major markets. They include Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom. Global deliveries to elumeo customers are handled by New York Gemstones, Hong Kong, a division of Silverline Distribution Limited.
About elumeo SE:
Based in Berlin, the elumeo Group is one of Europe's leading manufacturers and distributors of high-quality jewellery. Operating through a range of sales channels in the areas of e-commerce and smart broadcasting, the company offers customers throughout Europe coloured gemstone jewellery at affordable prices. Its business model is based solely on direct selling.
Stefanie Frey, Helena Seidel
Erkelenzdamm 59/61, D-10999 Berlin
E-mail: [email protected]
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SYS-CON Events announced today that Enzu will exhibit at the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Enzu’s mission is to be the leading provider of enterprise cloud solutions worldwide. Enzu enables online businesses to use its IT infrastructure to their competitive advantage. By offering a suite of proven hosting and management services, Enzu wants companies to focus on the core of their online busine...
Oct. 24, 2016 08:30 PM EDT Reads: 1,347


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Besides the iPhone 6 and the Apple Watch, one of the biggest revelations to come from Apple’s epic press conference last month was about Apple Pay, a mobile payment system. We knew it was set to launch sometime in October and—according to the tech giant’s CEO Tim Cook—Monday, October 20 is the day.
Positioned as a way to revolutionize how you pay for stuff, Apple Pay—which will roll out as part of iOS 8.1—basically eradicates the need for wallets by allowing you to make credit and debit card payments with your phone via something called a near-field communication (NFC) chip that’s embedded in the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and—when it launches—Apple Watch.
It’s worth noting that in order for Apple Pay to work, stores have to install a special reader—retailers already signed on include Starbucks, Macy’s, and Whole Foods—so shoppers can just scan their phones near the reader and use the Touch ID fingerprint sensor to confirm the transaction.
Apple Pay’s big selling point? Card numbers aren’t transmitted, aren’t saved on store’s devices, and aren’t even shared with retailers, making it a safety game-changer.


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Voluntary Recall Issued for Fentanyl Patches
Two manufacturers of the analgesic skin patch — the fentanyl CII patches — issued voluntary recalls of the product in February and March. When contacted by Neurology Today, company representatives at both manufacturers — Actavis for fentanyl and PriCara for Duragesic — offered no details about specific events that led to the recall, but said the recall was precautionary.
Actavis spokesperson Hjördís Arnadottir explained that some of the patches might have a fold-over defect that causes the patch to leak, and direct exposure to the fentanyl gel could lead to serious adverse events, including respiratory depression and overdose.
The PriCara patches could contain a slightly different defect: a cut in the lining where the fentanyl gel is stored, which is visible on opening the sealed foil pouch.
Actavis was unaware of “anyone being affected by a gel leak before the recall was issued,” Arnadottir said in an e-mail message.
Actavis issued their recall to include lots in 25, 50, 75, and 100 mcg/hr doses with expiration dates between May 2009 and December 2009. PriCare recalled only 25 mcg/hr patches with an expiration date of December 2009 or before; the recall includes all generic 25 mcg/hr fentanyl patches sold by Sandoz Inc., because all are manufactured by ALZA Corporation, an affiliate of PriCara.
FDA spokesperson Karen Mahoney confirmed that the companies initiated the recalls “based on the potential for a serious adverse event with exposure to fentanyl-containing gel, not because there have been any actual cases.”
“We don't have an exact count of reports of complaints about the leaks for either the Actavis or PriCara product, but the companies have done reviews,” she said. “The FDA has not found any reports of serious adverse events due to leaks related to these two recalls.”
The fentanyl patch is used to treat persistent, moderate-to-severe pain in opioid-tolerant patients — those who need continuous, around-the-clock narcotic pain medication for an extended time period. Fentanyl patches are only intended for patients whose pain cannot be managed by non-steroidal analgesics, opioid combination products, or short-acting narcotics, and should not be administered for occasional pain, headaches, or acute pain following surgery.
Charles E. Argoff, MD, assistant professor of neurology at New York University School of Medicine and director of the Neurology Pain Management Center at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, NY, said that the patch could be used to treat intractable pain associated with migraine, diabetic neuropathy, post-herpetic neuralgia, and multiple sclerosis. “While I am certain that many neurologists prescribe it, I am equally certain that many neurologists have limited experience prescribing it as well,” he said.
However, the recall is only a temporary setback, Dr. Argoff said, adding he'll continue to prescribe the patch for appropriate patients assuming additional safety issues do not emerge.
Fentanyl patches sold by Actavis in Europe and by PriCara in Europe, Latin America, and Asia are not affected by this recall.
The recalled lots are listed on the company Web sites: www.actavis.com and www.duragesic.com/duragesic/.


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How Wine Brands Can Successfully Utilize Virtual Tastings to Drive Consumer Sales
From offering the right product mix to creative partnerships and formats, here’s how wineries are monetizing virtual tastings
By Jess Lander
Seven Fifty Daily -- June 8, 2020
"The virtual tasting model, which wineries embraced en masse to connect with consumers while their tasting rooms were closed, looks like it’s here to stay. According to a recent survey conducted by Napa Valley Vintners, 64 percent of wineries have hosted at least one virtual tasting since March, and 72 percent of wineries plan to continue virtual tastings after shelter-in-place orders are lifted. But while this format offers a new opportunity to reach wine drinkers around the globe, the market has quickly become saturated and consumer Zoom fatigue is only increasing. SevenFifty Daily spoke to winery principals and other experts to understand the virtual tasting strategies that drive engagement, and most importantly, sales.
... Kathleen Inman, the winemaker for Inman Family Wines in Santa Rosa, California, has found sales success after promoting private virtual tastings for corporate clients..."


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It would speed up delivery of online orders, but the technology is at least three or four years away.
Amazon.com is testing delivering packages using drones, CEO Jeff Bezos said on the CBS TV news show 60 Minutes Sunday.
The idea would be to deliver packages as quickly as possible using the small, unmanned aircraft, through a service the company is calling Prime Air, the CEO said.
Bezos played a demo video on 60 Minutes that showed how the aircraft, also known as octocopters, will pick up packages in small yellow buckets at Amazon’s fulfillment centers and fly through the air to deliver items to customers after they hit the buy button online at Amazon.com.
The goal of the new delivery system is to get packages into customers’ hands in 30 minutes or less, the world’s largest Internet retailer said. Putting Prime Air into commercial use will take “some number of years” as Amazon develops the technology further and waits for the Federal Aviation Administration to come up with rules and regulations, the company added.
Bezos told 60 Minutes that the service could be up and running in as few as four years — although he noted that he is an optimist when it comes to such things.
“One day, Prime Air vehicles will be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road today,” the company said.
This is the latest futuristic effort by Bezos, who was an e-commerce pioneer in the 1990s and more recently popularized the e-reader — while pursuing personal projects such as private spaceflight and a 10,000-year clock built inside a mountain.
Drones have mostly been used by the U.S. military to shoot missiles at enemy combatants in countries such as Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, the cost of these unmanned aircraft has dropped precipitously in recent years, making them more accessible to commercial users, such as companies, small businesses and entrepreneurs.
However, the FAA currently limits the use of drones in the U.S. to public entities such as police forces and hobbyists, meaning the devices cannot be used in return for payment. The regulator said recently that it plans to have regulations governing commercial use in place by 2015.
Source: USA Today.
The roads to Rome have always been filled with blood and good intentions. Likewise, profit makers in the USA will be used as the ultimate excuse for the onslaught of unlimited evil.
A drone can surely be used to deliver a book form Amazone.com. But when the airspace is opened for drones, also paparazzi’s, poison and bombs can quickly be delivered to your balcony. All what a terrorist will need, is the GPS coordinates of your smartphone.
If the civilian airspace is opened for drones, man must be permitted to shoot down incoming unwanted drones. The innovation of drones, will lead to arming of large sectors of society. We will face a permanent cilvil war kind of situation is very township across the Earth.
Man is surely the most insensitive, self-destructive and cruel of all animal’s that is walking on the face of the Earth. In our flesh there is nothing good. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and need to be saved. Saved from our life in self-indulgences, destructive attitudes that wages war on God’s perfect creation. Jesus the Messiah is the only savior there is. Only by His blood man can get classed from their sins. If we reject Him, we will surely die in our sins, and perish.
Written by Ivar


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On Code Pc735
On Code Pc735 on Technology News and Updates AdmaTechnology.com at Wednesday, April 23, 2014
AMD (03/13) announced the first time the presence of AMD Elite A-Series Accelerated Processing Units (APUs), which was given the code name of “Richland”.
AMD A-Series APUs will present the latest innovation for users, such as log-in using [...]
Among other things, failing to hide bank accounts.
Millions of Android app users, according to a research, be lured to reveal personal data.
The researchers tested 13,500 Android apps and found nearly 8 percent failing to protect his bank account and [...]
This week, modifier application to be like a cartoon face or an application iMadeFace in the 4th position popular iPhone apps in iTunes. IPhone users is being fond iMadeFace. So what’s so special?
On the iTunes page, iMadeFace claimed as the number [...]
Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 astronaut, plans to sell graffiti sheets contains instructions and guidelines that he uses when for the first time landing on the Moon.
Sheets of paper that contains guidelines used Aldrin when Neil Armstrong was driving the Lunar [...]
Angry Birds Seasons seems to immediately have a theme and a new level in the near future.
The new version is expected to take the theme of spring.
Quoted from Ubergizmo, Monday (15/4), Angry Birds Seasons this will be the 16th series.
Rovio is often [...]
Microsoft also released membership on Xbox live has increased by 15% during the third quarter of 2012.
Based on data obtained from a number of media releases Microsoft, stated that the number of sales of the Xbox 360 console has sold over 70 million [...]
Players must try yourself to get the additional level.
Good news for lovers of the game Angry Birds. Rovio, the company behind games angry bird, the re-launch 24 new levels for Angry Birds Rio.
Angry Birds Rio was first launched in March 2011 and never [...]
Cover story this week will discuss the new smartphone Samsung Galaxy S4.
One thing that most attracted the attention of the successor to the Galaxy S3 is the availability of Octa-core processors (8-core), which is believed to provide exceptional performance.
Right now who do not know Instagram, a photo sharing application. If you include people who have an account Intagram, here’s how to play smart application.
Not a photographic aesthetic interest to many people but that enshrined [...]
An average of 377 of every 1000 people who live to age 15 years will die before reaching the age of 60 years
Man who live in the tropics tend to die sooner, 7.7 years younger than other humans different hemisphere, according to a study initiated by the [...]
Apple has recently released iOS 6 operating system update to the new version, the iOS 6.1.4.
Quoted from Ubergizmo, Friday (3/5), strangely this update is only intended for those users of the iPhone 5.
It is something that is not unusual for Apple to [...]


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Here’s the latest news from the technology industry, which is coming under increasing global scrutiny from governments and consumers.
UK Debuts New Digital Markets Unit
The United Kingdom has rolled out what it refers to as a “tough new regulator” to make sure companies such as Facebook and Google can’t stifle rivals and innovations by harnessing their outsized place in the market. The Digital Markets Unit (DMU) will be based in the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
“Online platforms bring huge benefits for businesses and society. They make work easier and quicker and help people stay in touch,” according to a U.K. government release. “But there is a consensus that the concentration of power among a small number of firms is curtailing growth and having negative impacts on consumers and businesses which rely on them.”
Apple To Pay $3.4 Million In Chile Over Purported iPhone Slowdowns
One-hundred and fifty thousand owners of various iPhone models sued Apple regarding the so-called iPhone Slowdown problem that tech company has been fighting as of 2017. Those who are registered participants in Chile can receive as much as $50.
Vietnam Proposes Rules For Tech Tax, Data Access
To bolster regulation in one of the quickest growing digital markets worldwide, Vietnam has put forward two potential regulations that would make international tech firms like Google and Alibaba pay greater taxes and hand over more data, Nikkei Asia reported.
One proposal would “introduce a tax collection regime” in the words of Nikkei Asia, while the other would provide government officials with access to an online shopping site’s internal information regarding merchants.
Tech Mahindra CEO: Big Tech Regulation Necessitates Balancing Act
The CEO of a software service provider believes that tech regulation can’t be put into place “too soon” or “too late”, CNBC reported.
“The need for tech governance only comes in when you have a problem or when you anticipate a problem,” Tech Mahindra CEO C. P. Gurnani told CNBC. “You do it too soon you stifle it (innovation). You’re doing it too late, you allow the misuse to happen.”
He said that “governance too soon means bad for innovations, bad for (research and development) and bad for that early initiative guy who creates.”
The news comes as American Big Tech firms such as Facebook and Google are encountering rising scrutiny from watchdogs in the U.S., among other places.
Apple, Epic Games Unveil Arguments Before Antitrust Trial In Legal Filings
Epic Games and Apple revealed their arguments in a dispute over the latter company’s control over the App Store ahead of an antitrust trial scheduled to start in May via their own separate legal filings.
Apple will argue, among other contentions, that its 30 percent fee essentially matches that of digital stores like Google Play or shops for video game hardware, while its commission has dropped over time.
Epic will argue that Apple controls the lone conduit to install software on an iPhone via the App Store, among other contentions.
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The New Instant Companies
CHEAP DESIGN TOOLS. OFFSHORE FACTORIES. FREE BUZZ MARKETING. HOW TODAY'S STARTUPS ARE GOING FROM IDEA TO $30 MILLION HIT--OVERNIGHT.
(Business 2.0) – The creation of a shoe is a far more complex endeavor than its appearance might suggest. Footwear companies can spend up to 10 months designing new styles, which retailers expect to see long before stocking them. So it might have seemed crazy that in May 2003, just eight weeks before they would need samples for their summer 2004 line, Jim Van Dine and his three partners were still debating the merits of Mary Janes.
The four were sitting in a conference room in Hayward, Calif., banging out the concept for Keen Footwear, their new shoe company. Everyone agreed on the core product, an athletic sandal with a protective cap at the toe. But Van Dine, hoping to make Keen more than a one-shoe wonder, argued for a broader array of styles, including clogs, slip-ons, and the strap-and-buckle design known as a Mary Jane. "We had one shot to get it right," he says. "I didn't want to just be a sandal company."
Rolling out so many shoes at such a late date would have been unthinkable for an established shoemaker, let alone a brand-new one. But Van Dine knew that Keen had at its disposal resources far more powerful than what has traditionally been within reach of a startup. For one thing, one of Van Dine's partners, a guy with overseas manufacturing contacts, had already reserved capacity in two Chinese factories for massive production runs. Thanks to Van Dine's experience in the industry--including 10 years at Reebok--he knew there were plenty of freelance shoe designers who could quickly translate his team's vision into manufacturing specs. What's more, having helped stoke the hype that made Reebok's aerobics sneakers popular in the 1980s, he believed that Keen could make its brand a household name--in enough households at least--while spending virtually nothing on advertising. In sum, four guys with a great idea, some good contacts, and a loan to cover initial inventory figured they could go head-to-head with Nike in just 60 days.
Two months later a factory in China was churning out the clogs, the slip-ons, and, yes, the Mary Janes--16 styles in all. The rest is footwear history. According to Van Dine, in 2004 Keen sold $30 million worth of shoes--around 700,000 pairs--with Mary Janes and other nonsandals accounting for 45 percent of the total. To put that in perspective, it took Teva three years to reach just $1 million in annual sales. Within months of Keen's launch, some of the most highly trafficked hipster websites and outdoor-gear blogs were singing the brand's praises, generating free buzz worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. "You could say we were birthed full size," Van Dine says.
Keen's overnight rise reflects many elements of traditional brand building: a product customers love, a talented management team, even old-fashioned tactics like telling retailers the shoes are sold out just to stoke demand. But the company's swift transformation from industry nobody to brand somebody also makes Keen something else: an example of a new breed of product-oriented startups that's going from concept to contender at warp speed.
In apparel, toys, sports equipment, electronics, motor vehicles--you name it--small but savvy new companies are wedging themselves into established industries, unburdened by the fixed costs of infrastructure past. They're doing it with the help of resources never before available so cheaply to startups, like outsourced manufacturing, Internet-powered publicity, and robust design tools. To get to market fast, they farm out everything they can, from logistics and billing to sales and support. "This," says Timothy Faley, managing director of the University of Michigan's Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, "is how the manufacturing moguls of the future are getting started."
Of course, if you're reading this magazine, chances are that like Van Dine, you've had an idea for a hit product. Maybe you didn't quit your job to pursue it because you didn't know the first thing about designing a prototype. Maybe you figured you could never come up with the scratch to hire overseas labor, buy advertising, and build a sales channel. Maybe you were just plain terrified by the thought of all the people you'd have to hire. Any more excuses? Here's how the new class of manufacturing entrepreneurs is launching instant empires, and how you can too.
DESIGN THE NEXT HIT PRODUCT
The first question for anyone who wants to build the next superstar widget is this: What's it going to look like? Arriving at an answer was traditionally an arduous task, an age-old struggle between designers and manufacturing engineers to balance what's desirable and what's possible.
But the new army of hit makers is getting it done faster and cheaper than ever before. Take Kidrobot founder Paul Budnitz, who describes himself as a "decent artist and database programmer." Just three years after Budnitz began selling collectible dolls on the Web, sales of the figurines--inspired by hip-hop culture and Japanese anime--are on track to hit $5.5 million in 2005. There are bustling Kidrobot stores in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco and a TV cartoon deal in the works. Aside from salespeople in the stores, Kidrobot has only 11 employees.
"Can we double the size of that hammer?" Budnitz writes in an e-mail to a man in China who's in charge of manufacturing a sci-fi Mexican wrestler dubbed El Robo Loco. Two days later an image of an electric-blue robot holding an extra-large mallet appears on a monitor in Kidrobot's modest downtown Manhattan offices. "That's better," Budnitz says.
To create new characters, Kidrobot's designers first sketch them using Adobe Illustrator, the off-the-shelf drawing program that goes for $500 a copy. They produce six views of each toy, plus blowups of detailed areas like eyelashes. Then they move to Basecamp. Released less than a year ago by software maker 37signals, Basecamp is a Web-based application that links everyone who works on Kidrobot's toys--from its New York City design team to manufacturers in China. Established toy companies spend tens of thousands of dollars shuttling designers around the world to iron out product details. Kidrobot pays about $100 per month for Basecamp.
Once Budnitz is satisfied with the initial designs, his team uses Basecamp to share Illustrator files with engineers in China who transform them into clay or wax models. One week later the models arrive in New York. With Basecamp acting as the messenger, the two sides repeat the back-and-forth until the toys meet Budnitz's approval. The final design--along with specs for paint and form-fitting packaging--is then uploaded to Basecamp, and 30 days later finished toys march off production lines in China. "I can have as many as 40 toys in various stages of production at one time, and we can still manage all of these projects with just a few people," Budnitz says. "It's stupid simple."
So simple, he says, that Kidrobot can get a new toy designed, manufactured, and available for sale in four months. Mattel and Hasbro, hamstrung by massive product design teams and elaborate production procedures involving paper forms, consider themselves lucky to get a new toy out in less than a year, according to industry experts. Budnitz talks about those behemoths as if they were has-beens. "What we are doing in toys is almost like what JetBlue is doing to the major airlines," he says. "Our competition just doesn't move this fast."
In fact, affordable Web-based services like Basecamp--part of the software category called product life-cycle management, or PLM--are the key to ramping up quickly, especially if your product is complex. In 2002, Boston-based lighting manufacturer Color Kinetics, then a six-year-old startup doing $16 million a year in sales, suddenly began winning big orders from hotels and casinos for its power-saving LED lights. But with engineers scattered between the company's Boston headquarters and a factory in China, design changes caused delays of up to a month.
Knowing such lag time could jeopardize the new business, engineering VP Fritz Morgan considered his options. "You can get an Oracle database and some fancy PLM software for hundreds of thousands of dollars, buy a $100,000 server, and hire a full-time IT guy," Morgan says. "But we didn't have that kind of time or money." Instead, he connected Color Kinetics's employees--20 at the time--on the cheap with a $10,000-a-year PLM platform from Arena Solutions.
In just three years, Color Kinetics has scaled to more than $40 million in annual sales and nearly 100 employees, but it still relies on Arena. The software tracks every design change, where it originates, and when it's implemented. Thanks to the technology, Morgan estimates that his team can now execute changes in just 24 hours. This year Color Kinetics will release more than 40 new lighting products, and Morgan says one reason is that Arena lets his team do what it does best. "We are experts in designing lighting systems of tomorrow, not in managing IT," he says. "I shouldn't have to put a server in a room and run it. We are debt-free and profitable because we haven't done things like that."
Another reason Color Kinetics is thriving, Morgan says, is that the company leaves the actual manufacturing of its lights to someone else.
That someone else is Joyce Yu.
HOW TO DO PRODUCT DESIGN FAST AND CHEAP
1 SKETCH YOUR VISION. Kidrobot uses in-house designers, but freelancers are also widely available.
2 COMMISSION A PROTOTYPE. Cheap software tools let specialists turn your designs into the real thing. Kidrobot sends sketches to clay modelers in China using Web-based software called Basecamp.
3 MOVE INTO PRODUCTION. Once you're satisfied with the prototype, e-mail designs to a manufacturing partner. Factories in Hong Kong and mainland China make Kidrobot figures based on final models.
GET SOMEONE TO BUILD IT
When you call Union Electric in Taiwan, a tinny-sounding rendition of "It's a Small World" plays through the phone system. Ain't that the truth, one can't help thinking, as a staffer tracks down Joyce Yu on one of her three cell phones. Yu is an account rep for the company, her family's business. It's one of thousands of contract manufacturers in Asia that can bring a new product to market with unprecedented speed and efficiency.
Outsourced manufacturing has long been available to the big guys. But thanks to folks like Yu, it's now an option for anybody. Born and raised in the United States, Yu is as comfortable in North America as she is flitting between her office in Taiwan, her shipping center in Hong Kong, and the Union Electric factory in southern China. In addition to Color Kinetics, Yu's clients include Brookstone, Discovery Channel Stores, and RadioShack. She has shepherded the manufacture of singing cake cutters, golf pedometers, and scads of digital recording devices. Through her, companies tap into some of the deepest manufacturing expertise on the planet--at a third of what similar work would cost in the United States. "In the States they have such great ideas, but they don't know how to put those ideas into production and they don't have the infrastructure to do it," Yu says. "We do."
Surprisingly, her clients don't take that as an insult. According to Color Kinetics's Morgan, Yu is right: His people really aren't interested in how to best manage an assembly line to make lights. Yu's team of industrial designers and mechanical and electrical engineers can take an idea for a complex lighting assembly from Color Kinetics and have it ready for production in just two months. When the lights roll off the line, Yu can also drop-ship them to a wholesale customer--even someone who has just bought them off the Web.
Of course, if you're looking to find a manufacturer for your idea, a Google search will deliver dozens of people like Yu. Experts say a better place to start, though, might be eBay. Find a product that's similar to your brainchild and work backward to find out who made it, advises Larry Mangel, a veteran sourcer. Mangel says big companies also offer clues: He once tracked down the maker of McDonald's Happy Meal trinkets and signed up the factory to make high-end chess sets.
Chicago-based Genuine Scooter, in fact, has mastered the art of blazing a trail in the wake of an established frontrunner. The three-year-old company makes Vespa knockoffs under the brand name Stella. Genuine founder Philip McCaleb had been running a scooter-parts business for nine years when in 1999 he heard that Piaggio, Vespa's parent company, was going to end its production alliance with LML, a scooter manufacturer in India. After learning that tooling from the Indian-Italian partnership would still belong to LML, McCaleb began wondering if he could make a modified version of the iconic Vespa for less than the European original. "I thought, why not introduce an Indian factory to the notion of private labeling?" he says.
With a staff of three, McCaleb rolled out the Stella for $2,699--37 percent less than its Italian competitor. He anticipates selling all of the 2,500 bikes he'll produce this year and expects to move twice that many in 2006. That's not to say there haven't been bumps in the road, though. McCaleb warns that anyone interested in pioneering such an arrangement should be prepared to deal with cultural clashes. For one thing, he says, Indian consumers don't yet share the quality standards of their American counterparts. "I had to make several trips over there to explain things," he says. "If the paint on the bottom of the scooter isn't perfect, maybe an Indian customer won't complain. But an American wants a discount."
McCaleb eventually hired a man in India to oversee production, but if you're not tied to a particular plant or person, independent factory reps--who have relationships with multiple plants--are another great option. That was the route taken by Orbit Baby, a new car-seat and stroller maker co-founded by former Ideo designers Bryan White and Joseph Hei. Having never before run a company, White and Hei found that the biggest advantage of independent reps was the ability to find the right manufacturing partner quickly. "Sourcing in China is so relationship-based that it's really hard to jump right in if you don't have those connections," White says.
Orbit Baby turned to Hong Kong-based DB Tech, which took detailed notes on the startup's needs. Because Orbit Baby will have to worry about infant safety, the founders wanted factories with quality certifications and procedures to handle liability claims. They also needed a partner that could sew, work with aluminum, and craft plastic parts. DB came back with eight candidates, mostly auto-parts factories that had already made car seats for European companies. White and Hei jumped on a plane to China and toured all eight factories in four days. They began negotiating a deal with one of them in May and expect to have car seats on the market by September. Their advice to others: Look for plant executives who take an active interest in your business. "If the managers don't ask any questions," White says, "you know you're in trouble."
Of course, you'll also be in trouble if another group isn't talking--the masses of potential customers congregating on the Web.
HOW TO FIND YOUR HIT FACTORY
1 DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Start with Google: Type in "China," "manufacturer," and your product and you'll get a list of factories. Or look on eBay for something similar to your gizmo and research who made it.
2 FIND A CONDUIT. Overseas plants often have a liaison fluent in English. Independent reps can find a plant matching your needs but generally charge a 5 percent commission.
3 BUILD RELATIONSHIPS TOO. Try to nurture long-term partnerships with factories. They'll eventually act less like contractors and more like allies, helping you to improve future versions of your product.
LEVERAGE THE HYPE MACHINE
So you've figured out how to design and build your hit product. Now you have to sell it. Yes, go to trade shows. By all means, meet as many potential customers as you can. But as an instant-company builder, you have to approach marketing just like everything else. That's right: Get others to do it for you.
In May 2004 the popular blog Cool Tools--which gets 240,000 hits a day--ran a post praising quick-drying Keen sandals as "a gift from above." Months later Diego Rodriguez, owner of a blog called Metacool, proclaimed, "All the cool kids are wearing them." Above Rodriguez's post was a photo of Apple CEO Steve Jobs hawking an iPod U2 Special Edition while wearing a pair of Keens. During the fall 2004 season, Keen sold 400,000 pairs of shoes--while spending virtually nothing on ads--in what is typically an off-season for sandals. "The goal was, get the shoes on as many influential feet as possible," says Keen's Van Dine.
For years marketers at even the biggest companies have been shifting dollars away from big advertising campaigns and toward PR, hoping to tap the awesome power of word of mouth. But the blogosphere, along with myriad forms of online bulletin boards and social-networking sites, has enabled a quantum leap in the speed at which the masses can learn about, buy, and recommend new stuff. Even products from established companies, like the microchip-equipped Adidas 1, have gotten big boosts from blog mentions. White, the Orbit Baby co-founder, plans to show car-seat samples to the burgeoning legions of "daddy bloggers." "It's important what these guys think," he says. "Especially if you have any illusions of doing direct sales."
Of course, "going after" bloggers can backfire because they can smell a desperate pitch a mile away. But have no fear: If you have the next hot product, they'll find you. That's what happened at Freebord, a skateboard company founded in 2001 that still has just five employees. In November, 36-year-old CEO Bayard Winthrop got an e-mail from a designer in New York asking about Freebord's unique six-wheel rides. Winthrop e-mailed back a patient explanation.
The designer turned out to be Josh Rubin, owner of Coolhunting.com, which gets more than 125,000 unique visitors a month and has a readership that is 73 percent male and 81 percent age 35 or under. After Rubin's post about Freebord, traffic on the company's site exploded, increasing fivefold almost immediately. Sales jumped too, but it was the surge in awareness that really amazed Winthrop. "We weren't very well known, and suddenly everyone was checking us out," he says. "We heard from skaters and from investors who wanted in on the company." Overseas blogs then started writing about Freebord, resulting in two European distribution deals. Freebord still does no advertising and spends its entire $1,800 marketing budget on stickers, but Winthrop says revenue will double this year to $1.5 million.
And once they've gotten the word out, entrepreneurs can outsource shipping and warehousing to create instant distribution channels. Genuine Scooter's Stella models, for instance, have been featured on blogs ranging from Girlbike to Motorbyte. By turning over logistics to Chicago's AIT Worldwide, Genuine founder McCaleb built a network of more than 70 dealers in just three years. A Web application from AIT lets McCaleb track every scooter from the time it arrives from India until the moment it moves off a dealer's lot. "They tie all the trucking and inventory together for us," he says. "We don't have to touch the product."
Of course, even instant companies eventually mature to the point where they want more contact with products, suppliers, and customers--when they start acting like bigger players. Keen, for instance, is now a 30-person operation with 11,000 square feet of comfortable office space near a marina just outside San Francisco. Most of its shoes are now designed and manufactured according to a timeline that's closer to what's normal for the industry. The company will launch a serious ad campaign this year.
But if Van Dine has his way, Keen will never be Nike. He continues to rely on freelance designers for fresh ideas and says that as much as 20 percent of Keen's styles will remain 11th-hour decisions to better catch trends. "I'm always pushing to go faster," he says. No matter what stage they're at, the new hit builders seem to agree that there are more ways to grow quickly than ever before. As Orbit Baby's Hei puts it, "It seems like everything is aligned for smaller folks like us now. I don't know why you would create a company any other way."
HOW TO CAPTURE THE BUZZ
Mentions in popular blogs can make a brand famous overnight. Here are some of the most influential tastemakers and products they've helped popularize.


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Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday that seeks at least $50 million from Google. In the suit, Gabbard alleges that the tech giant infringed on her free speech after it suspended her campaign’s advertising account in the aftermath of the first Democrat presidential debate.
“The lawsuit, filed on Thursday in a federal court in Los Angeles, is believed to be the first time a presidential candidate has sued a major technology firm,” The New York Times reported. “Tulsi Now Inc., the campaign committee for Ms. Gabbard, said Google suspended the campaign’s advertising account for six hours on June 27 and June 28, obstructing its ability to raise money and spread her message to potential voters.”
The Times further noted that, following Gabbard’s appearance during the first Democrat presidential debate, she was the most searched-for candidate on the search engine.
“Her campaign wanted to capitalize on the attention she was receiving by buying ads that would have placed its website at the top of search results for her name,” The Times added. “The lawsuit also said the Gabbard campaign believed its emails were being placed in spam folders on Gmail at “a disproportionately high rate” when compared with emails from other Democratic candidates.”
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced this week that it is opening an antitrust probe of big tech companies and that it will “examine practices of online platforms that dominate internet search, social media and retail services,” CNBC reported.
“Without the discipline of meaningful market-based competition, digital platforms may act in ways that are not responsive to consumer demands,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Antitrust Division. “The Department’s antitrust review will explore these important issues.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that the companies the DOJ will be looking into include Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple.


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Burning Man went virtual this year, and we all learned a lot in a hurry. It wasn’t the first festival to go all-online (Outside Inside Lands streamed on Twitch this year, and Glastonbury’s Shangri La went virtual as Lost Horizon), but virtual Burning Man certainly raised the bar for sheer size and audacity. Sure, there were performances, but Burning Man and events like it are about exploring places, art, and people. It’s close, but not there yet for me.
There was a lot of fact and fiction flying around this weekend over an alleged “1,000-person gathering to celebrate Burning Man” at Ocean Beach Saturday night that shamed Burners in the national news and drew a stern Sunday morning rebuke from Mayor London Breed. SFGate described it as “A crowd
This list of great places to eat in the Bay Area will leave you smiling and probably drooling. All these joints are incredibly well priced, locally owned, delicious, and serving takeout in 2020. Check their links for store hours, menus, and ordering info, because things are always changing these days,
You know how at Christmastime there’s that channel that’s just a Yule log burning for a like a week straight? Well, local artist Shalaco has created one for Burners who are missing the Playa this year. Titled “Burn Barrel on Open Playa Burning Man Style ASMR” and running for 40 minutes
The online Burning Man is now underway, after the event decided way back in April that they would not hold an in-person gathering at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. But it’s not really an online Burning Man — it’s actually eight different online Burning Mans, all built by different
It’s technically been years in the making, but with only two weeks left before Burn Week it’s also time to finalize 3D models, particle effects, and interactions from dozens of theme camps participating in the BRCvr virtual world, as part of the globally-connected virtual Burning Man in 2020.
Yo, still looking for ticks bro? We got the most expensive, fakest tickest to Burning Man you’ve ever seen.
Any other year that headline might seem like some kind of satirical article like “Burning Man is totally cancelled because it’s not as cool as it used to be.” But I assure you this is no joke. Burning Man, the legendary weeklong festival in the Black Rock Desert has been


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Grapegrowers have voted overwhelmingly to keep paying a levy on the grapes they produce for wine making.
A vote is required every six years on the levy.
At the current rate of 0.75% of vineyard returns, it provides the Grape Growers Council with almost $2 million per year, which it spends on research, information and advocacy services and a sustainability programme.
The council says almost 87% of growers who voted, support the levy.
President Stuart Smith says it's heartening to have such strong support from growers at a time when there are enforced production cuts and reduced prices as the wine industry responds to falling demand amid a world recession.
He says the pressure on growers heading into the 2010 harvest is even greater, with wineries tightening up their expected grape supply requirements for the next vintage.
The council has suggested New Zealand needs to cut grape production by 20,000 tonnes for the next vintage to balance supply with expected demand.


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The plastic ban makes Maharashtra poorer by 15000 crores and results in loss of 3lakh jobs informed the plastic manufacturing industry.
On March 23 the government of Maharashtra has given an ultimatum to all manufacturers to shut the shop within 3 months. This grace period was given to clear their stocks. On 23 June the deadline ended and the administration all over the state swooped on plastic bags manufacturers, stockists and users. In two days time, they have gathered Rs 3 lakhs as fines from the uninformed users.
The ban encompassed manufacture, use, sale, distribution and storage of plastic materials such as one-time-use bags, spoons, plates, PET and PETE bottles and thermocol items. Suddenly the consumers were clueless about how to deal with this eventuality. There is no real alternative to the plastic as a material for packaging and carrying goods. The reckless use of single-use plastic bags and other such use and throw items have created irreparable damage to the environment.
The simple principle of reuse, reduce and recycle was not followed to deal with this menace. Banning Plastic is an inevitable decision. But the social tragedy that may result in Maharashtra is humongous. Mumbai is one of the biggest customers of plastic goods resulting in huge job creation for manufacturers, stockists, and distributors. All these people have no other option but to close shop.
Plastic Bags Manufacturers Association of India general secretary Neemit Punamiya told that the overall loss is estimated to be Rs15000 crores large enough to dent the state GDP. Some 3lakh people will be jobless. There is even a greater problem. All the companies manufacturing plastic goods may not be able to honor their loan commitments to banks. The banks are going to bear this whole burden with the declaration of more NPAs.


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Is the world's retail giant about to swallow Africa?
The decision to allow Wal-Mart to enter South Africa will threaten hundreds of smaller, local competitors, claim critics of the move
By Alex Duval Smith in Cape Town
Friday, 3 June 2011
Stallholders could lose out to retail giant Wal-Mart
Pavement trader Babalwa Ngcolo makes a "fair living" selling tomatoes at one rand apiece (8p) from a board laid out on two plastic crates near Cape Town railway station. "Of course, there is competition," she says glancing at the woman to her left with identical stock, "but if she has a good day today, I may have a good day tomorrow".
Mrs Ngcolo cannot imagine any of the large stores ever threatening her small business. But according to trade unions, the landmark decision on Tuesday by the South African Competition Tribunal to allow US retailer Wal-Mart to enter the African continent is bad news for Mrs Ngcolo and millions like her.
Eight months after the world's biggest store group made its first offer to buy warehouse retailer Massmart, the Pretoria-based tribunal allowed the purchase of 51 per cent of the South African group for £1.5bn.
"We're pleased that the competition authorities have recognised the benefits that our investment in Massmart can deliver," Wal-Mart International chief executive Doug McMillon said. Massmart chief executive Grant Pattison greeted the news with a pledge to create 3,000 jobs in 200 new stores in the next three years.
But Mike Abrahams, spokesman for the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union said the tribunal's decision was a "disappointment". "The tribunal disregarded our evidence about the broad public impact of the takeover. They completely failed to consider that when you talk about Wal-Mart you are talking about a whole different history and scale than in any other takeover situation."
The Arkansas-based group has 4,000 stores in the US and as many outside. It trades in 14 countries and, until this week, had a presence on every continent except Africa. It is the biggest retail group in the world. Its buying power makes competitors tremble and the company has notched up hundreds of court appearances on four continents for union-bashing, discrimination and price-fixing. The group's annual sales are three times the South African national budget. If Wal-Mart were a country, it would be listed among the world's 30 top economies.
Massmart, which was set up in 1990 by entrepreneur Mark Lamberti, is South Africa's biggest food and general goods retailer with 288 stores in 14 African countries. The company last year shed 1,500 jobs and has been accused of doing so in preparation for the deal with Wal-Mart. Its revenue last year was 47bn Rands (£4.1bn), the latest in a series of 10 per cent year-on-year increases.
Massmart's target customers are the growing Southern African middle class who, like professionals everywhere, drive cars and enjoy topping up their weekly shop with a bargain garden table or kitchen appliance. South Africa is the continent's most vibrant consumer market and forecasters say that the 59 million Africans who earn at least £5,000 a year will have doubled in number by 2014.
Proponents of the Massmart takeover see it as crucial to investor confidence in South Africa where the influential trade union confederation, Cosatu, is part of the African National Congress governing alliance. Those backing Wal-Mart's arrival also claim it will create jobs: "All new employment is worth having in our country where up to 60 per cent of the population doesn't enjoy the dignity of having a formal job," said Johannesburg-based economist Mike Schüssler.
Tuesday's tribunal ruling followed months of talks and discomfort in the ANC alliance which accommodates strongly pro-market forces alongside apartheid-struggle comrades from the unions and the communist party. In December, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel put in place an expert panel to consider the offer and his department and two others – Agriculture and Trade and Industry – came out against the deal.
Among their claims was that if Wal-Mart shifts Massmart's local procurement policies by as little as 1 per cent, as many as 4,000 jobs will be lost. In their evidence to the tribunal, the unions cited a German study suggesting that for every two jobs Wal-Mart creates when it opens stores, three are destroyed as competitors go out of business.
While the tribunal said it would release its full reasons for the judgment only on 29 June, Mr Abrahams said the decision seemed to mark a complete "capitulation" by the respected competition body. Indeed, while the judgment included a short list of conditions – including no sackings at Massmart for two years, a pledge to recognise collective bargaining agreements for three years and the creation of a 100m Rand support programme for local suppliers – the very same "demands" had been contained among sweeteners offered by Wal-Mart at the tribunal's hearing in March.
But experts in competition law said South Africa had been left with little choice than to open the door to Wal-Mart. As a member of the World Trade Organisation and signatory of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, South Africa would not have been permitted to demand, for example, that Wal-Mart should buy domestic products.
"If Wal-Mart's entry into the South African market had been denied, South Africa would have been breaching its international commitments," said Paul Kruger, a researcher at the Trade Law Centre for Southern Africa.
Outside Cape Town station yesterday, Mrs Ngcolo declared herself happy with the business of the day. She had never heard of Wal-Mart. Neither had she ever set foot in the nearby Massmart-owned Game store. "Game is too expensive for me," she explained, "and it is too expensive for all the people who buy tomatoes from me. I am not too worried."http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/is-the-worlds-retail-giant-about-to-swallow-africa-2292467.html


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| Oct 9, 2013
| 6:41 PM
Organizers of the 2013 L.A. Auto Show announced that 22 vehicles would be making their world debuts at the show in November, with a total of 56 vehicle debuts overall.
"As one of the world's largest media hubs and car buying markets, Los Angeles...
| Nov 5, 2013
| 7:00 AM
Where would the Valley be without cars? Probably about 15 miles east of civilization. Few regions owe as much to the automobile as the sprawling San Fernando Valley. With wide, long boulevards and just about every freeway in the world crossing through,...
| Nov 2, 2013
The Honda Accord covered my 11-mile morning commute to downtown Los Angeles, downhill on the 110 Freeway, without burning a single drop of gas. In the evening, I made it halfway back before the gasoline engine tapped the tank.
In all, the plug-in hybrid...
| Nov 5, 2013
| 7:32 AM
Toyota Motor Corp. revealed a sneak peak of its FCV Concept hydrogen fuel cell vehicle Tuesday, an early version of the car it thinks will popularize fuel cell autos just as the Prius made hybrids mainstream.
“It is a very intriguing proposition...
| Nov 6, 2013
| 8:35 AM
Tesla Motors shares plunged in early trading Wednesday after the electric car maker said a battery shortage was limiting sales and that it is spending heavily on research and development to bring new models to market.
Shares of the automaker dropped 16%...
| Nov 8, 2013
| 8:24 AM
With reports of car fires and other bad news driving the price of Tesla Motors shares down 30% from its all time high reached almost six weeks ago, is this the time to start buying into the electric car company?
Not yet, said Efraim Levy, a S&P...
| Aug 29, 2013
| 5:00 AM
With the ink barely dry on our review of the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Coupe, GM President Mark Reuss swung by the L.A. Times office in a gleaming new Cyber Gray Metallic Stingray Convertible.
On his mind were consumers’ changing buying...
| Aug 30, 2013
| 5:49 PM
Like the American kid who returns from study abroad with a German accent, Chevrolet's latest Cruze sedan will come with a decidedly European flair.
Starting in September, Chevy will offer the compact sedan with a diesel engine. It joins the two gas...
| Sep 3, 2013
| 1:57 PM
Despite the fact that he "doesn't like heights," Volvo Trucks President Claes Nilsson recently spent two hours standing on the front panel of a Volvo FMX construction truck dangling 66 feet above the ocean.
There was no stunt double. It really was...
| Sep 3, 2013
| 9:25 AM
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a preliminary investigation into 2013 Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti JX35 models for a possible issue with the transmission.
The probe, which affects about 110,000 vehicles, will look at...
| Sep 4, 2013
| 8:21 AM
Toyota announced Wednesday it was voluntarily recalling about 235,000 vehicles for two separate issues.
The first recall affects the Toyota Highlander Hybrid for 2006-10 and the Lexus RX400h hybrid for 2006-10. Toyota said a component of the hybrid...


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Samsung's Polish website has finally put to rest rumors of the Galaxy Note 3 Neo by officially unveiling the smartphone. Not only does the device come with all the features, not to mention warts, that we expected, it even comes in 3G and LTE models.
While there is still no official announcement for the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo, what we have here might be the closest thing to a confirmation. A Belgian retailer has reportedly put the hybrid S Pen phablet up for pre-order, though that page is currently unavailable for customers to see.
We're now getting a glimpse of what is called the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo, what is probably the rumored Galaxy Note 3 Lite. What is interesting in this most recent leak is that this smartphone actually more closely resembles the older Galaxy Note II.
Another carrier branded Galaxy Note II is getting an update. This time around the update is rolling out to AT&T users and the update as a whole will likely sound familiar as we recently saw it arriving for T-Mobile users. Basically, that is to say AT&T Galaxy Note II users are getting Android 4.3 which means support for the Galaxy Gear smartwatch.
According to a “leaked” document, the more recent Samsung devices may see Android 4.4 early next year. The Galaxy S4 and Note 3 are set to get the upgrade in January, while the Galaxy S3 and Note 2 may wait until April. It all sounds like good news, but it asks as many questions as it answers.
Last week we mentioned that the long-awaited Android 4.3 update to last year's Samsung Galaxy Note II has been spotted in Samsung service centers in India. Now it seems that a version of that firmware has been leaked out and is getting passed along over the Internet.
The wait might soon be over for owners of last year's Samsung Galaxy Note II. This latest leaked info places the much-awaited Android 4.3 update for the S Pen-powered phablet in the hands of Samsung's service centers, suggesting that an over-the-air rollout will be happening quite soon.
Samsung has just announced a long list of partners that will be offering services and promos to users of its ticket and coupon management Samsung Wallet app. Unfortunately, not only is it limited to Samsung devices, the service is even limited to a very small number of Samsung smartphones.
Manufacturers are no strangers to criticism and discontented customers, but it becomes a bigger issue when a government itself is the one pointing its fingers at you. It seems that Samsung has found that out the hard way and is now offering its apologies and peace offerings to its Chinese customers.


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RIM's new iPad competitor, the BlackBerry PlayBook, has been shown off again in a detailed video to highlight some of its high end features.
At a network event in Canada, the new device was put through its pace for a few minutes, highlighting a few things users can expect.
The first was two styles of gestures - the normal way of flipping through screens, and then using the frame, so pulling down from the top will open up controls, much like the Android way of seeing notifications.
Video also featured prominently in the walkthrough, with the 1080p capabilities on show and working smoothly, despite the early build.
The next generation
The RIM spokesperson said: "We wanted to make sure devices like this are a true crossover, moving away from merely messaging and into a combination of media, internet and more."
The video even continued playing as the internet was brought to the foreground, and also when dropping out to view the multi-tasked apps in thumbnail, which seems pretty impressive.
Sadly the browser isn't fully up to speed, not harnessing the dual core power of the PlayBook, but we should see more as the Q1 2011 release date (for the US at least) draws ever nearer.
Via BB Leaks


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L.A. Times Travel Show to welcome new, returning headliners in 2014
Essayist. Actor. Activist. Author. Those are just some of the labels you might apply to Adam Richman, Alyssa Milano, Henry Rollins and Arthur Frommer, the keynote speakers for the Los Angeles Times Travel Show on Jan. 18 and 19 at the L.A. Convention Center.
By Catharine M. Hamm, Los Angeles Times Travel editor
November 6, 2013


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Realme X7 and Realme X7 Pro launch in India has been teased on Flipkart. The online marketplace has created a dedicated microsite for the new Realme X-series phones. Separately, a tech blogger seems to have accidentally revealed the India launch date of the Realme X7 and Realme X7 Pro. The launch date is expected to be February 4. A tipster on Twitter has also leaked the Realme X7 and Realme X7 Pro storage variants that are headed to India in the coming days.
The microsite on Flipkart, which is accessible specifically through mobile devices, gives us a brief recap of the Realme X series in India. It also confirms that the new smartphones by the Chinese company will be available soon through Flipkart — alongside other channels. There is, however, no clear mentioning of which new models are coming to the country. The microsite also doesn’t provide a launch date for the new Realme phones.
Tech blogger Amit Bhawani tweeted three images of what appeared to be an invite for the Realme X7-series launch in India. The images clearly carry the name of both phones alongside their launch date as February 4.
Although Bhawani had deleted the tweet by the time of filing this story, tipster Abhishek Yadav on Twitter reshared one of the images tweeted by the blogger along with the link to the tweet. A cached version of the deleted tweet is also live on the Web archive.
Separately, a tipster named Himanshu leaked the Realme X7-series India variant details on Twitter. The Realme X7 is said to have 6GB and 8GB RAM variants with 128GB storage as standard. The phone is expected to come in Nebula and Space Silver colour options. The Realme X7 Pro is reported to come in a single 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant that could feature Fantasy and Mystic Black colour versions.
Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth also recently tweeted an image of the Realme X7 variant that is speculated to be the Nebula colour variant. This seems to be close to the ‘Koi’ colour option that debuted on the Realme V15 earlier this month.
The image shared by Realme India CEO also suggests that the Realme X7 in India could be slightly different from the one launched in China in September, alongside the Realme X7 Pro. The Indian model appears to have triple rear cameras, similar to those of the Realme V15. It is worth pointing out that the Realme V15 also reportedly surfaced on the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) site shortly after its launch in China.
Given the amount of details appeared on the Web, Realme is expected to make the launch details of the Realme X7 series official soon.


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G5 Entertainment has released its Q3 2021 financial report.
Revenue increased 1% year-over-year to $38 million.
New games released since summer 2019 made up half the revenue during the past quarter with 36% year-over-year growth. Self developed games accounted for 66%. Both were new records for G5.
Net earnings were $5.5 million.
“The company has shifted to a higher gear thanks to the great game titles the G5 development team has produced and excellent work of our marketing team, so we look forward to seeing how we perform in the seasonally strong Q4 and Q1,” said CEO Vlad Suglobov.
The gross margin increased from 59% to 64% with a larger share of revenue coming from own games combined with lowered store fees on Microsoft, whose platform changed from 30% to 12% in August 2021.
Compared to the same period last year, the average number of daily users decreased by 2% to 6.7 million whilst the number of daily users increased by 2% to 1.8 million.
The number of monthly unique players decreased by 7% to 197.7 thousand, but the monthly revenue per user increased by 13% to $68.1.
The full report can be read here.


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- Four minutes read
Payments in VR, AR and the Metaverse: consumers are ready for new experiences
We look at the current state of payments in VR and AR, the future of buying in the metaverse, and how businesses can help customers embrace change.
Consumers have grown increasingly accustomed to the world of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), mainly thanks to their adoption in retail and other experiential settings. And these blossoming tech trends are only set to become more popular, with excitement building around Apple’s recently announced Vision Pro headset.
However, despite the growing prominence of VR and AR, our Lost in Transaction 2023 research found that consumers are yet to embrace paying for products while in an augmented or virtual world.
We look at why this may be the case, how payments in VR and AR could be a boon for businesses, and what the next great tech trend – the Metaverse – could mean for customers’ buying experiences.
The current state of VR and AR
VR and AR’s use in retail was pioneered in 2014 by clothing chain Topshop and home improvement company Lowe's, but now countless others embrace this technology to enhance the shopping experience, from Ikea, to Amazon and ASOS. Using VR and AR in these settings, customers can 'try' products or 'see' them before they buy.
Unsurprisingly, the success of VR and AR in bringing new experiences to customers has seen it proliferate through other industries, from travel to online gaming, iGaming, sports, cinema, and other entertainment products.
As a result of this, payments are being integrated into VR and AR to ensure consumers can complete purchases without disrupting the experience. But according to our research, customers are yet to respond, with only 3% of respondents having used AR or VR to purchase goods.
There are, however, signs of progress, with appetite for VR and AR payments growing with demand for VR and AR-driven experiences.
Security is no issue with VR and AR payments
Security concerns often pose the greatest barrier to adoption for any new payment technology. This is understandable – financial data is arguably the most sensitive data a consumer can share. It’s no surprise customers want full trust in a technology before handing over this information.
However, while they are still relatively new additions to consumers’ lives, our research found that security concerns around VR and AR payments are presenting little barrier to adoption.
While older respondents — over 65s in particular — are more likely to say VR and AR doesn't seem safe than younger respondents, concern about the technology's security is low across the board. Overall, only 12% of respondents say they wouldn't use AR or VR to purchase goods because they don't seem safe.
Excitingly, there seems to be growing appetite for payments in VR and AR. In our report, we asked if respondents see themselves using VR and AR to purchase goods in the next two years. Over a quarter (27%) of respondents see themselves using VR and even more (28%) see themselves using AR if these technologies become more widely available and they learn more about them.
With this in mind, it’s clear that expanding the availability of these technologies is essential to greater payments usage.
What is the future of buying in the Metaverse?
While VR and AR may be relatively new technologies, the Metaverse is younger still. In fact, this single, shared, 3D version of the internet is still technically hypothetical, even if some online videogaming universes have been described as forming part of it.
However, its nascency doesn’t seem to have impacted consumers' views about payment safety.
While the number of consumers who wouldn’t purchase goods in the Metaverse because it doesn’t seem safe is higher (17%) than those who wouldn’t purchase using AR or VR, the number is still relatively low. Much like VR and AR, security is yet to become a barrier to adoption for payments in the Metaverse.
This may change when the Metaverse is released, but the current appetite for making payments on the platform is encouraging, to say the least, with just over a quarter (26%) of respondents seeing themselves making a purchase in the Metaverse in the next two years if the technology becomes more widely available and they learn more about it.
As adoption of AR, VR and the Metaverse grows, payments will play a significant part in how businesses evolve their offerings to customers, delivering more seamless experiences of the latest and greatest tech.
To learn more about how consumer payment trends are changing, download our Lost in Transaction 2023 report.


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Leading restaurateur Terry Laybourne has announced ambitious plans for Newcastle’s dining scene which include a new fish restaurant and a revamped Cafe 21.
The star chef is expanding his hugely successful 21 Hospitality Group and top of his to-do list is new venture Saltwater Fish Co which will open as part of the multi-million-pound Food Hall redevelopment at Fenwick. And recruitment is already under way for the eight new jobs he will create.
Laybourne has also announced the closure of Cafe 21 on Newcastle quayside – but just for two weeks while he invests in a new look for the popular seven-year-old eaterie which will be re-named simply 21.
The Saltwater Fish Co, which will have counter seating and an open kitchen, is set to open in early October, offering fast and casual seafood dining, while anyone wanting a touch of luxury can drop in for a perfectly-matched treat of oysters and fizz.
The opening will mark the return of a fish outlet in Fenwick’s Food Hall where Laybourne has also been acting as a consultant, advising on its overall redevelopment.
His new restaurant will operate as a fish bar and fishmonger and also signals a return to his roots as it was in fish and seafood that the chef built his reputation in Newcastle in the early 1980s.
So diners can expect dishes, based on mainly locally-caught fresh ingredients, created by a master of the art.
Laybourne said: “Fish will be lightly treated, grilled or steamed, to showcase their natural flavours.
“Fish cookery is all about the product, precision and restraint. Fish really needs a light touch in order to show it at its best.
“People often get this wrong at home but we hope our experienced team will be able to demonstrate how to get the most out of great seafood.”
He will recruit eight fishmongers and chefs de partie and is looking for creative talents in the kitchen as well as knowledgeable service staff.
A London-based consultancy, CADA Design, has been involved in creating the restaurant’s modern look and its open layout will add to a dynamic atmosphere and allow diners to see – and discuss with staff – how the seafood is prepared and cooked.
On the menu will be whatever fish is “in season” with fresh deliveries made daily from boats on the North East coast.
Laybourne said: “Our chefs will work hand in hand with the fishmonger, taking a ‘we cook what we sell, we sell what we cook’ approach.
“Fish is seasonal so both our fishmonger and menu will be constantly on the move, reflecting the rhythm of the season.”
Saltwater will also serve oysters from different beds, French-style fruits de mer platters, salt and pepper squid, seafood cocktail, crab sandwiches and salads.
And a “fish-focused” wine list will complement the menu.
Laybourne added: “Due to our network of suppliers and producers that’s been developed over many years, we will only select the best of seasonal seafood and go wherever it takes to find the best.
“Our fishmongers will ensure we consistently offer the finest, highest-quality seafood that comes from the fabulous larder off the North East coastline as well as other ports around the UK.”
The restaurant will open seven days a week from 11am to 7pm and include a daily 5pm-6pm Oyster Happy Hour.
In the meantime Cafe 21 regulars will have a two-week wait from August 23 before the favourite will re-open for business as 21.
Seven years on from its opening, Laybourne is planning to cater for more contemporary tastes and changes will include a bigger, more distinctive “destination bar” serving a wider range of cocktails and encouraging casual customers to call in for a drink. There will be a fresh decor and furnishings to create a more luxurious look and style for the restaurant which is set to re-open on September 8.
Anyone interested in the new job opportunities at Saltwater should visit www.21hospitality.co.uk/careers


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Indian ecommerce giant Flipkart is reported to be launching a DRM-free music store in the country this month as it expands its services for Internet users there.
The service will sell DRM free music, in the same way that Amazon does, with each user permitted to download a tune five times after purchasing it. Flyte will include single track downloads and, according to the report, each song will be priced between $0.20-$0.30 (10-15 INR).
The service will have a massive advantage over iTunes and other international music stores that compete for the attention of India’s 120 million Internet users. In addition to more local payment options, and a device agnostic approach, Flyte could boast a sizable catalogue of Indian music.
The site has been formed after the acquisition of streaming service Mime360 and Flipkart purchase of a collection of bollywood content from Chakpak. Mime360 manages content for a number of the country’s biggest publishers and services, and together the two acquisitions could give Flyte a whole lot of music.
Interestingly, Flipkart is also reported to be keen to enter the ePublishing space, a move that it had previously dismissed. It seems that the acquisitions and significant growth are giving it increased ambition to expand into new areas before Internet access in India goes mainstream.
Right now, less than 10 percent of the country enjoys Web access while smartphones remain a small niche of the total number of devices shipped to the country. That said, both access points are growing across India’s 1.2 billion population.
Flipkart recently welcomed new competition to its core market after retail giant Amazon rolled out Junglee, its first local offering in India. The service is currently in beta and lacking a number of features — notably on-site payment options — but it looks set to develop and offer greater rivalry with Flipkart.
News of Flyte follows another high profile development of music in India after Saavn revealed its integration with Facebook. The service more than 1 million tracks of Indian music, and other genres, to users of the social network worldwide.


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Many thanks to all who helped us launch our joint awareness campaign in all three McDonald’s Restaurants in Rugby on 7 Feb, #TimeToTalk Day 2019. Our goal is to get everyone talking about mental health, and to highlight helplines and other resources available to all in Rugby. Sky News covered the launch and we’ll post an update as soon as we know when their item about the campaign will be broadcast; in the meantime, you can see photos of the launch here. For more information about the awareness campaign, including help available in Rugby, see: Cameron Grant Memorial Trust at McDonald’s in Rugby
SurveyHero.com is supporting us with the free creation of online surveys.
Great initiative from a group of teenagers in Maryport #MHFA
Many thanks to @rugbyadv for this coverage. Pop into and if the 3 #McDonalds in #RugbyTown to collect one of #CameronsCoasters and more info before Sun night.
If you’re in Rugby this weekend, don’t forget to visit one of the three McDonald's we’ve taken over to see our Coasters in the restaurant. #TimeToTalk
Help support mental health in young people whilst shopping! Buy with AmazonSmile and 0.5% of the net purchase price (on eligible items) will be donated to your chosen charity – and you can now choose to donate to Cameron Grant Memorial Trust.


text: A major study has found that eating processed meat, like bacon and sausages, may raise the risk of breast cancer in women. According to the review of studies involving more than one million women, eating higher levels of processed meat could result in a 9% greater risk of developing breast cancer. The research by a team from Harvard University’s T H Chan School of Public Health reviewed 15 related studies. It supports previous findings by the World Health Organisation (WHO) which suggest processed meats cause cancer. However, while the study has identified a potential link between processed meat and breast cancer, there is no clear evidence to show these types of foods are actually the cause. Furthermore, as outlined by the study authors in the International Journal of Cancer, their findings only relate to processed meat, not red meat. Bacon, sausages, salami, ham, hot dogs and corned beef are all examples of processed meat. And while it is not fully known why these foods are associated with a greater risk of cancer, it is thought that preservatives, like salt, may react with protein in the meat turning it carcinogenic. But rather than eliminating processed meat from your diet completely, the advice is simply to cut down. At present, current NHS guidelines recommend eating no more than 70g of red and processed meat a day. If you’re eating more than that on a regular basis, maybe it’s time to make some dietary changes.