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The single biggest challenge when travelling internationally is to remain connected. In the first of a series of articles on travel technology, ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK looks at the most vital of needs: Airport Wi-Fi.
The biggest benefit of an international flight from or to South Africa is that, for anything from 8 to 16 hours, one is out of touch with the world and forced to catch up with work – or sleep, reading, entertainment or conversation.
That, of course, it also its biggest drawback. Especially in business travel, where it is almost dangerous to be uncoupled from the office for more than half a day, the first priority on getting off the plane is to get connected. But even for leisure travellers, there is often a great psychological need to reconnect, download email and deal with anything urgent that may have cropped up during the time in communications limbo.
For South African travellers, using mobile data is out of the question – unless one is desperate or – more rarely these days – on a generous expenses account. For MTN, Vodacom and Cell C customers, roaming data in most countries outside Africa costs a near-criminal R100-plus per Megabyte.
This means that someone using 10GB – which would cost less than R1000 as a bundle in South Africa – would face a bill of more than R1-million on returning home. And it does happen, especially on arrival in another country, when mobile data has not been disabled and the user allows the phone to update apps via that mobile data. Without even knowing it, you can be ruined before you’ve left the airport.
Fortunately, most international airports now offer a quota of free Wi-Fi. A business traveller in particular should be aware of the fact that mobile data should be disabled as a first priority when switching on the phone. Some assume that Wi-Fi should be included in that disablement, when it is in fact the solution rather than the problem.
The key is to find the network offering free airport Wi-Fi. In most airports, posters advertise the presence of hotspots, but the danger exists that one may inadvertently access a fake hotspot, set up by a hacker to con people into typing passwords for online banking and the like into this “honeypot”. If it is at all unclear whether official Wi-Fi is being accessed, financially sensitive sites like online banking should be avoided.
It is fairly easy, however, to find out in advance what Wi-Fi is offered at the airports in which one is likely to need a connection. As they say in beginners’ guides, Google is your friend. Make sure the information is up to date, though.
At the time of writing, among major airports, unlimited free access is offered at Dublin, Hong Kong, Moscow Mumbai, Singapore, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Toronto and Vienna.
Heathrow has just upped its quota from 45 minutes to 4 hours free, going one up on Stockholm’s 3 hours. Amsterdam and Zurich both offer the first hour free. South African airports, with their 30 minutes free Wi-Fi, are matched by Frankfurt, Munich and Rome.
In the United States, LaGuardia, Newark and JF Kennedy in New York also offer 30 minutes free access throughout the airports, while JFK’s Jet Blue Terminal (terminal 5) offers unlimited access.
Other airports are more generous, with Las Vegas, Boston, Dallas, Orlando, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington among the unlimited free airports in the United States.
Airports that have yet to wake up to the public relations benefits of a good chunk of free Wi-Fi include London’s Gatwick, Spain’s Barcelona and Madrid, and France’s Charles de Gaulle, which are each open for a near-unusable 15 minutes. The technical geniuses behind these services appear not to have noticed that it can take almost that long just to get the connection working, let alone getting to use it.
If that Wi-Fi connection is truly urgent, and no free Wi-Fi is available, it is obvious one should pay the price to connect to commercial WI-FI in the airport, or even subscribe to a global Wi-Fi service like iPass or Boingo.
There was a time when such services were regarded as a luxury. For many travellers today, they are as essential as a passport. After all, connectivity has become the entry visa to the mobile office.
CES: And thanks for all the beer!
Last week, the Las Vegas expo showed off its fun side with state-of-the-art technologies for making and enjoying beer, writes BRYAN TURNER
From craft beer-making machines to robots that pour beer, CES had more beer than usual in Las Vegas last week. And even free beer if you found the right stand. Stampede’s saloon-style booth offered beer to visitors who tried out its latest drones, virtual reality, and other gaming products. No beer tech, though.
Here are some of the beer technologies that stood out:
LG HomeBrew – Craft beer made at home
LG’s HomeBrew craft beer-making machine, debuted at CES 2019, brings the brewing process home thanks to single-use capsules, a self-cleaning feature, and an algorithm optimised for fermentation.
Like a Nespresso coffee machine, the beer maker uses capsules, which contain malt, yeast, hop oil and flavouring. At the press of a button, LG HomeBrew automates the whole procedure from fermentation and carbonation to ageing. A companion app lets users check HomeBrew’s status at any time during the process, from their handsets.
The beer machine not only offers a simple way to make craft
Designed with discerning beer lovers in mind, HomeBrew allows for in-home production of batches of more than 4 litres of beer in a variety of styles. The following five distinctive, flavoured beers are available now:
- Hoppy American IPA
- Golden American Pale Ale
- Full-bodied English Stout
- Zesty Belgian-style Witbier
- Dry Czech Pilsner
The only catch? It takes about two weeks to make, depending on the beer type.
“LG HomeBrew is the culmination of years of home appliance and water purification technologies that we’ve developed over the decades,” said Dan Song, president of LG Electronics Home Appliance & Air Solutions Company. “Homebrewing has grown at an explosive pace, but there are still many beer lovers who haven’t taken the jump because of the barriers to entry, like complexity, and these are the consumers we think will be attracted to LG HomeBrew.”
Click here to read about the party speaker that holds beer and robots that pour beer.
CES: Alienware gets Legend-ary
At CES in Las Vegas last week, Dell’s Alienware released a family of high-end, thin, light, and affordable machines for both amateur and professional gamers – and a new identity.
Alienware marked CES 2019 as a brand milestone with the debut of a new design identity, Alienware Legend. It aims to set a new bar of excellence for what gamers want most – performance and function. Alienware says it evaluated multiple concepts and chose one that was the biggest and boldest departure from its current look.
Alienware Legend, says the company, stays true to the brand’s core design tenets, taking cues from its deep roots in sci-fi culture and its early industrial designs, to distinguish the brand from the rest of the industry. The new Legend design is optimised with cutting-edge thermal cooling technology to achieve and sustain overclocking power, improved AlienFX lighting, and ultra-thin screen borders. It also unveiled a new “three-knuckle hinge” design that reduces the overall dimension while creating a stronger assembly, all combining to yield a better gaming experience.
“We’re excited to come to this year’s CES with some truly groundbreaking products, next-gen software and strategic partnerships that will bring more people to experience PC gaming and advance the industry,” said Frank Azor, vice president and general manager of Alienware. “The legend design answers the call for more and better from our gaming community, and the new G Series laptops will make PC gaming even more accessible to those looking for high-performance gaming at a cost they can appreciate.”
Click here to read about Alienware Legend in action with the Area-51m and m-series laptops


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TL;DR – Yes.
Hyperproof summary: following a pending FTC fine of $3 – $5 billion, Facebook is looking at a barrage of lawsuits, potential regulation, and heightened restrictions. Challenges come from home, but as outlined in last Friday’s post, most are from outside the U.S.
The broader implication: while the fines will make headlines, the regulations will be the most disruptive, causing a ripple effect to the company’s partners and customers. Restrictions on data collection, for example, could significantly impact their value as an advertising platform.
The 30,000 foot view: as goes Facebook, so goes the industry. Massive companies like Facebook and Google are the first targets, not the last. They’re the canary in the coal mine. Companies should be paying attention to what’s happening to them in the U.S. and abroad and use it as a compliance road-map.
Click here for full details on the Facebook’s potential ongoing challenges

domain: news


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Last month, YouTube announced YouTube Red, a subscription service for the video platform that would allow viewers — at $10 per month — to watch videos on YouTube ad-free. With that announcement came the promise of YouTube Music, a standalone music-streaming app that could put YouTube squarely up against rival services like Spotify and Apple Music.
Today, that service launches.
YouTube Music, like Spotify, offers both free (read: ad-supported) and paid versions (through a YouTube Red subscription). Using the free version, YouTube Music is very similar to what's currently available on the primary YouTube app, albeit with a streamlined interface only for music and a dedicated discovery section meant to surface what people want to listen to. The paid version — which debuts with a 14-day trial period — is positioned as a competitive entrant into the on-demand music streaming economy.
In its paid incarnation, YouTube Music will stream music without ads and allow songs to be saved for offline listening.
That last feature — the ability to take music on the go — is what makes YouTube Music a legitimate streaming service on par with Spotify and Apple Music. Previously, licensing limits prevented YouTube users from listening to music through the service without an internet connection.
Given YouTube's size and popularity, Red also brings a new competitive edge to the field: a different catalog. While Spotify and Apple Music have, for the most part, the same collection of songs (excluding the occasional Apple Music exclusive), YouTube has a huge and eclectic collection, including live performances, remixes, and esotera that can't be found on any other fully licensed platforms. If YouTube can keep the labels happy — no small feat — the company could distinguish itself from rivals with a substantially different offering.


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The idea struck Gandharv Bakshi after he graduated from IIM Bangalore (IIMB), which was after he had worked for four years with hardware technology company Tejas Networks. While at IIM Bangalore, Bakshi ran a small performance management consulting firm with friends. He had to travel frequently, and what got his goat was his phone battery dying on the way. He would carry a solar charger, but it was bulky and had to be constantly kept exposed to the sun. Offering a way out was his spouse Lavina, a NIFT graduate who worked as a designer for fashion brand Flying Machine. She stitched the solar charger on to his backpack. That was the germ of the idea that led Bakshi to opt out of placement at IIM Bangalore and focus on designing and building backpacks that could be charged using solar power. "A backpack that could merge with one's lifestyle," thought Bakshi.
Working on their start-up Lumos Design Technology in late 2012 (Lavina had quit her job by then), the husband-wife duo started designing solar backpacks. The components included a rectangular piece of solar fabric, which has a thin film of solar cells fused together, and a battery fitted inside. The battery takes in solar energy from the fabric and stores the power, which can then be fed to a phone or laptop through any USB. However, getting the backpacks manufactured was a tough task. "We had to invest in training backpack makers on how to go about the whole process," says Lavina, who initially lost 10 per cent of the bags manufactured due to manufacturing defects.
|NAME: Lumos Design Technology|
AREA OF bUSINESS: Wearable Technology
YEAR OF INCORPORATION: 2012
COOL QUOTIENT: Designs lifestyle products, especially solar backpacks
Although solar backpacks are not new, there aren't many manufacturers in India. Andhra Pradesh-based Suntek Energy Systems stopped making solar backpacks a few months ago. There are US-based companies like Voltaic Systems and Innovus Designs Inc, which makes solar backpacks under its brand Eclipse Solar Gear. Besides, there are a host of Chinese manufacturers making solar backpacks as well.
One of Lumos's differentiators is the lightness and stretchability of the bags as per the contents inside. "We achieve this by using solar fabric instead of solar panels stuck to the bag," says Bakshi. The start-up has also filed a patent for the trickle charging technology, which enables a device to be charged even using natural light in a room.
Carrying a price tag of around Rs 5,000, the company has garnered sales worth Rs 1.9 lakh since the product's commercial launch in January this year. Lumos is trying novel sales channels like tying up with employee rewards companies like Kwench and Loyalty Rewards. "Employees that earn points on their performance, can redeem these points for our solar backpacks," says Bakshi, who recently listed on online marketplace Snapdeal and is also talking to other marketplaces to drive sales.
In the longer run, Lumos wants to be a wearable tech company and is designing a range of such products. Targeting people who drive their car to work, Lumos launched solar-fitted briefcases that can be kept at the back, receiving sunlight to charge devices. The company is testing its products in strong backpack markets like Malaysia, The Philippines and Australia, and is developing a range of prototypes - solar-powered jackets, backpacks that can lift their own weight and backpacks fitted with music speakers.
It is early days for Lumos yet, and the company will face sizeable challenges in terms of carving out distribution channels and business models. At Rs 5,000, solar backpacks from Lumos are not for the mass market, so sales taking off with a niche segment will depend a lot on marketing and brand building efforts, which will need loads of capital.
Kranthi Vistakula, an MIT student, had developed a patented technology Climacon to make jackets that could adjust temperatures on need. The specialised jackets were at least three times costlier than other branded jackets, and Vistakula stopped manufacturing them in 2010. "Scaling a product that is not mass market is extremely tough for start-ups unless they have the capital to spend big on branding and promotion," says Vistakula, CEO of Dhama Innovations. His company has now carved out a new application of the technology with other products such as coasters and pain relieving braces, which are used by patients to warm or cool a body part.
"For us, Dhama Innovations is yet a role model, not a competitor," says Lumos's Bakshi.
Copyright©2023 Living Media India Limited. For reprint rights: Syndications Today


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As with frozen and canned fruits and vegetables that fall short of the 10% mark, FDA decided to expand the exemption for these enriched products in order to promote greater consumption. The government's dietary guidelines stress the importance of adequate amounts of fruits, vegetables and grain products in a healthy diet.
Cereal grain products 'healthy,' too
FDA also approved the use of a "healthy" label claim for certain cereal grain products such as enriched flour, enriched rice and bread, even though until now they could not be labeled "healthy" because many do not meet the 10% nutrient requirement.
Apr 30th, 1998


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Klarna’s AI Revolution In Customer Service
February 2024 mein, Swedish fintech company Klarna ne announce kiya ki uske AI assistant 700 full-time employees ke barabar kaam kar sakte hain.
Klarna, Swedish fintech company jo buy now, pay later services provide karti hai, recently artificial intelligence (AI) ke customer service mein use ke liye ek major advancement announce kiya.
Sirf ek mahine ke andar globally live hone ke baad se, Klarna ke AI assistant ne remarkable 2.3 million customer service conversations handle kiye hain, jo saare chats ke do-thirds hissa hain.
Yeh AI-powered virtual assistant Klarna ke operations aur efficiency par transformative impact kar raha hai.
Lekin isse jobs aur society par AI automation ke broader implications ke liye bhi important considerations uthte hain.
See Also: How To Use Joyland AI
Dramatic Results Within First Month
AI leader OpenAI ke saath partnership mein banaya gaya, Klarna ke assistant 24/7 operate karta hai aur 35 se zyada languages mein customers ke saath communicate kar sakta hai.
January 2024 me publicly launch hone ke baad, chatbot ne turant aur bahut zyada success dekhi:
- Ek mahine mein 2.3 million conversations handle kiye – Klarna ke total customer service volume ka 66%
- 700 full-time human agents ke workload capacity ke barabar
- Customer satisfaction rating human agents ke barabar
- Higher accuracy ke karan 25% repeat inquiries mein kami
- Average resolution time 2 minute se kam, jabki human agents ke liye 11 minutes hai
Klarna ke anumaan se yeh virtual assistant 2024 mein akele $40 million profit improvement la sakta hai. AI ne customer service mein naye hisse bhi khole hain jaha human agents ab focus kar sakte hain.
See Also: 10000 Genome Project UPSC
Key Features And Use Cases
Klarna ke website aur mobile app ke through, customers conveniently AI assistant ke saath chat kar sakte hain ek wide variety of common issues aur questions resolve karne ke liye.
Iske robust knowledge base aur advanced natural language processing ke saath yeh diverse customer needs handle kar sakta hai jaise:
- Account aur Order Inquiries: Order status check karein, deliveries track karein, payment history dekhen, statements nikalein, balances check karein etc.
- Payments Assistance: Declined payments troubleshoot karein, payment info update karein, installment plans change karein, billing details manage karein etc.
- Technical Support: Passwords reset karein, login issues fix karein, app errors troubleshoot karein, two-factor authentication problems resolve karein etc.
- General Information: Klarna ke various products, services, fees aur policies explain karein. Frequently asked questions ka jawab dein.
AI assistant ke paas knowledge aur capabilities hain taki woh aise customer needs handle kar sake.
See Also: Vidnoz AI Face Swap Free Download
Replacing 700 Jobs?
Klarna’s announcement that its AI chatbot carries out the workload equivalent of 700 full-time staff certainly raises questions.
The company laid off around 700 employees (about 10% of its workforce) in mid-2022 amid economic uncertainties.
However, Klarna maintains its workforce reductions were unrelated to the launch of the AI assistant.
According to Klarna, while it directly employs around 3,000 individuals in customer service roles, its support operations are mainly handled through partnerships with several external companies that collectively employ over 650,000 people.
Thus, Klarna says any job impacts from its AI assistant would occur at the vendor level.
Nonetheless, Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski did acknowledge the data illustrates the very real and current impacts AI automation can have on human employment.
On the company’s blog, he emphasized the importance of considering these implications and having an informed public discussion around effectively supporting those displaced by technological shifts.
See Also: Fetch. AI Login
Klarna AI Assistant Jobs
To pursue a job as an AI assistant at Klarna, you can follow these steps based on the information from Klarna’s career page and related articles:
- Visit Klarna’s Careers Page: Start by visiting Klarna’s official careers page to explore all open positions and learn about the application process1.
- Understand the Application Process: Familiarize yourself with the application process specific to Klarna, which may include tips and tricks for applying for roles like an AI assistant2.
- Learn About Klarna’s AI Assistant: Klarna’s AI assistant is a groundbreaking tool that handles various customer service tasks efficiently, equivalent to the work of 700 full-time customer service agents345. It can handle inquiries in 35 languages in under two minutes, significantly improving customer service operations.
- Prepare for Multilingual Support: Given that the AI assistant supports over 35 languages, having proficiency or knowledge in multiple languages could be beneficial for this role.
- Stay Informed About AI Advancements: Keep yourself updated on advancements in AI technology and how they are transforming various industries, including customer service and e-commerce.
By following these steps and being well-prepared for the application process and the nature of the role, you can increase your chances of securing a position as an AI assistant at Klarna.
See Also: Ram Sita AI Image Editing Prompt
The Future with AI
While still giving customers the option to connect with a human representative, Klarna plans to continue expanding its AI assistant.
Added capabilities to further enhance customer service and financial experience are already in development.
And Klarna is pioneering applications of AI across other areas of its business as well.
This includes AI-powered personalized shopping feeds, improved price tracking, automated subscriptions management, and more.
As one of the largest buy now, pay later platforms with over 150 million users, Klarna’s rapid AI adoption underscores how such automation will increasingly penetrate industries and transform operations.
For consumers, this injection of AI unlocks more convenient, customized, and engaging services.
But for policymakers and society as a whole, it necessitates proactive measures to smoothly facilitate this transition and safeguard workers.
Klarna’s early success with its customer service AI assistant provides a glimpse into the inroads innovative applications of artificial intelligence are already making into daily life.
Adoption will likely only accelerate going forward across sectors.
While AI promises immense benefits in efficiency and personalization, its impacts on labor and jobs remain complex and require judicious ongoing attention.
See Also: Hivemapper AI Trainer
within just its first month, Klarna’s AI chatbot radically upgraded the company’s customer service capacity, resolving tickets at record speeds.
But it also reduced human roles by an equivalent of 700 agents – highlighting the growing influence AI automation has on employment.
As Klarna leads the way in deploying AI across its platforms, its developments warrant consideration regarding how society will navigate the AI transformation.


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EVEN in the crisis some businesses flourish.
Servi Group, the Benidorm based hotel chain which was established in the town 42 years ago, has announced it is buying two hotels for a total of €24 million, but not in Benidorm.
One is in La Manga, and the other in Castellon.
Both however, come within Servi Group’s criteria of being on the coast and not more than 300 miles from their Benidorm base.
With these two hotels the group gained an extra 9,000 beds. “Benidorm is selling itself below cost,” said Jose Maria Caballe Horta of Servi Group, whose client base is 40 per cent British.
“We have adjusted prices with the crisis, but we have not fallen significantly,” said Caballe, which allowed Servigroup to maintain in 2011 the same turnover as 2010, and which was eight per cent higher than 2009.
The focus of the chain has been allowed to keep their establishments open all year round “with a lower occupancy than other hotels in Benidorm, but at a better price,” said Sr Caballe.
With 16 hotels throughout the Valencia region, Servi Group is a powerful employer, having up to 2,000 staff in the high season.
However, its two latest purchases are away from its Benidorm home, indicating perhaps, a shift in the town’s draw on a commercial level at least for hoteliers.
Low prices are not seen as a good thing by everyone.
By Paul Deed


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As was widely expected, China and South Korea did not wait long to react to the ‘America First’ tariffs the Trump administration announced today, with many foreseeing it will become a main point of discussion during the World Economic Forum in Davos which the US President will be attending later this week.
After the US government announced the punitive tariffs for Asian dishwashers and solar panels, which could mount up to 50% in some cases, China’s commerce ministry released a statement in response: “The US side once again abused its trade remedy measures.”
“China expresses its strong dissatisfaction with this.”
“China hopes the United States will exercise restraint in using trade restrictions and compliance with multilateral trade rules and will play a positive role in promoting the world economy.”
Meanwhile, South Korea's trade minister Kim Hyun Chong, who knows that these measures will hurt LG and Samsung, stated that "the United States has opted for measures that put political considerations ahead of international standards."
"The government will actively respond to the spread of protectionist measures to defend national interests,"
In Davos itself, where the first day of the World Economic Forum got underway, the US’s America First tariffs were the main point of discussion already, as Indian Prime Minister Modi reacted during his opening keynote address by stating that ‘protectionism’ was not the way forward: “Forces of protectionism are raising their heads against globalization. They want to reverse its flow.”
US Economy Professor and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz also chimed in on the issue, saying: “It’s bad for the global environment, it’s bad for the American economy, it’s bad for jobs in the United States.”
“You can’t build the world that we had in 1950, 1960, that’s not going to come back. So what we have to do is find new industries, like installing solar panels. And what are we doing? We’re making it more difficult to install solar panels.”


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TUTELA has a report on best overall mobile experience in South East Asia. Singapore is top. But who is the top mobile operator? Singtel, StarHub, or M1?
One of the most anticipated features from Huawei Mate20 Pro is the 3D Live Maker. I was in awe when I watched the keynote live in London. It has finally arrived
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LINE celebrates its third Anniversary and announced that LINE and LINE family apps top one billion downloads Worldwide. Congrats to LINE on this achievement..
At the opening night of All That Matters event, Samsung took the opportunity to announce “Project Glued”. It is a new video-on-demand service that will debut..


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As one of the most exciting cryptocurrency investments in 2023, Metacade (MCADE) has enjoyed some significant successes in a short time. The momentum gained by its popular presale has led to two prime exchange listings in April, and now Metacade’s CEO, Russell Bennett, is hosting a series of AMAs to shed more light on the project’s latest developments.
Bennett hosted the most recent Metacade AMA on April 17th, giving insight into Metacade’s plans for the near future. The AMAs are live events, giving investors, gamers, and other early backers of the platform a chance to delve into Metacade’s plans over the coming months.
Metacade has been one of the most popular cryptocurrency investments during its presale. So, what’s next for the up-and-coming GameFi platform?
After the platform’s highly successful token presale, Metacade continues to gain traction as it prepares to launch the most extensive online arcade in Web3. Additionally, the MCADE token has proven to be a popular cryptocurrency investment at the beginning of 2023, as swathes of blockchain gaming enthusiasts have backed the comprehensive GameFi experience.
Metacade has been widely considered one of the most exciting cryptocurrency investments for the growing GameFi sector. The platform’s presale raised $16.35 million across eight stages, with most rounds entirely selling out. Consequently, there is widespread demand for more details about the development of this extensive on-chain arcade, so the upcoming AMAs will be a fantastic opportunity to hear more about the current state of development.
Since the token completed its presale, MCADE launched on several leading digital asset exchanges, including Uniswap and BitMart. In addition, the coin more than doubled in value in the space of 48 hours during April, which added more fuel to the fire for a project that has snowballed in recent months.
What is Metacade?
Metacade is the first community-driven blockchain arcade. It will contain a vast collection of play-to-earn (P2E) arcade games in a single metaverse location. In addition, it aims to give players extensive opportunities to earn cryptocurrency rewards in some of the most addictive gaming experiences on the blockchain.
Metacade’s core aim is to become a central hub for the Web3 community. It offers several unique earning mechanics beyond the gaming section of the platform, designed to serve investors, entrepreneurs, and gamers alike.
How does MCADE work?
The MCADE token is used to pay rewards in the metaverse arcade. However, the token can also be used as a cryptocurrency investment, and Metacade will release several decentralized finance (DeFi) services that can help token holders to maximize their investment returns. Among these services is staking and voting in governance proposals.
The blockchain arcade serves casual and competitive gamers alike. Players can play solo while progressing through extensive levels in the P2E arcade or join paid entry tournaments to win significant prizes paid in crypto.
One of Metacade’s unique earning mechanics is Create2Earn. This will reward content creators with MCADE tokens for providing value to the platform, including posting game reviews, sharing the latest information about blockchain gaming, and interacting with other users’ posts in the community hub.
Metacade will also advertise open positions at some of the leading companies in Web3. This crypto jobs board will connect crypto enthusiasts to paid opportunities in the blockchain industry, ranging from full-time to part-time roles, and even including rare game-testing opportunities for brand-new blockchain titles.
Could MCADE reach $2 in 2025?
Russell Bennett’s upcoming AMAs are expected to generate further excitement among the crypto community after an auspicious few months for the project. In addition, the AMAs will shed more light on the platform’s prospects, which price analysts have suggested could be one of the best cryptocurrency investments of the year, with some predicting up to 100x gains by 2025.
The MCADE token also has extensive utility on the Metacade platform and deflationary tokenomics. The AMAs may reveal some new developments, which could be a bullish catalyst to benefit short-term price action for the new token. For the longer term, the Metacade price prediction remains over $1 – with the potential for 100x gains during the anticipated 2025 bull market.
What could the AMAs reveal about Metacade’s developing platform?
Russell Bennett has previously stated the ambitions of Metacade during the early stages of the MCADE token presale. MCADE raised $3 million in weeks, yet Bennett remained coy, saying it was just the beginning of the project’s journey in GameFi.
The CEO was correct; Metacade soon attracted $16.4 million worth of fundraising over the presale’s eight stages. The AMAs will be fantastic opportunities to gain insight into the project’s latest developments, especially concerning major exchange listings and the continued growth of the metaverse arcade.
Is MCADE a good cryptocurrency investment?
Cryptocurrency investments rely on excellent underlying infrastructure and appealing use cases to generate long-term demand. Metacade certainly ticks these boxes, as the comprehensive GameFi platform contains an advanced incentive system that could keep players gaming long into the future.
Those that bought MCADE as a cryptocurrency investment during the presale have already enjoyed significant returns. Price analysts expect further upside for MCADE, which could quickly grow to become an industry-leading project in the world of blockchain gaming. The token can be purchased at the current price of $0.027 on Uniswap and BitMart.
You can find more information, including how to buy MCADE, here.
Disclaimer: This is a paid release. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily represent those of NewsBTC. NewsBTC does not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of information available in such content. Do your research and invest at your own risk.


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Smartphones dearer after hike in excise
A hike in excise duty has made smartphones dearer. Prices of smartphones of all brands have gone up by an average of 5 percent, mobile dealers said. Some sellers have already raised their prices while others plan to revise the rates on Tuesday, the beginning of the new fiscal year 2018-19.
Authorized distributors of smartphone brands like Huawei, Oppo, Nubia, Colors and Mi have increased prices. Call Mobility, the authorized distributor of Huawei smartphones in Nepal, has hiked prices by 6 to 8 percent depending on the model. The company said that it had already implemented the revised prices on some mobiles and would do so on others too.
Tele Cell, the authorized distributor of Oppo phone, has not yet revised its prices but said it would they be hiked according to the model. “We are discussing the new prices so that they will have minimal impact on customers and the market,” said Bobby Zhao, CEO at OPPO Nepal. “The company will be implementing new prices soon.”
The company has been introducing at least one new model each month, said Suraj Maharjan, public relations manager at Oppo Nepal. “We will be coming up with one mid-tier phone along with some other models.”
Prices of Colors and Mi sets will be increased by 7 to 10 percent, said Sanjay Agrawal, CEO and director at Tele Talk, the authorized distributor of Colors and Mi mobile phones in Nepal. The company will unveil a new price list on Tuesday.
ITP Nepal, authorized distributor of Nubia, a newly introduced smartphone in the country, has increased prices by 3 percent, said Puskal Khatiwada, sales and marketing head at Nubia.
The company had planned to sell its M2 Lite at Rs19,800, but with the tax hike, the company has revised the price to Rs19,999. Similarly, the company increased the price of the Z17 Mini S model to Rs37,499 from the earlier Rs36,000. The price of the Z17 Mini which the company had fixed at Rs29,999 has been revised to Rs28,500.
Samsung has increased smartphone prices by 5 to 8 percent on specific models, the company said. The new prices have already been implemented.
Kumar Shrestha, a mobile shop owner at RNB Electro in New Road, said smartphones prices had increased by around 5 percent.
According to him, the devices have become dearer by Rs1,000 to Rs2,000 each. Smartphone sales have dropped following the price hike, he said. “The impact, however, will be short-term.”


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NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) - Elon Musk's embrace of bitcoin earlier this month rocketed the cryptocurrency almost 50 per cent higher to more than US$58,000 (S$76,600). His cold shoulder this weekend whipsawed the largest digital asset.
Bitcoin dropped as much as 6 per cent in Asia trade on Tuesday (Feb 23) and was trading around US$52,000. On Monday, it plunged at one point as much as 17 per cent to below US$50,000, giving up more than US$8,000 in a matter of hours after the world's richest man tweeted his concern that the price had risen too high too quickly.
"Elon and his fleet have incredible power over market prices," said Mati Greenspan, founder of Quantum Economics, comparing Mr Musk's influence over the digital asset's price moves to Warren Buffett.
Long-time bitcoin skeptic and now Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also offered a stark warning, saying at a New York Times conference on Monday that the token is an "extremely inefficient way of conducting transactions."
Even other billionaires are weighing in on Mr Musk's comments. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said in an interview with Bloomberg Television's Emily Chang that he isn't a fan of bitcoin, either for environmental reasons - it uses a lot of energy - or for individual investors not named Elon Musk.
"Elon has tons of money and he's very sophisticated so I don't worry that his bitcoin will sort of randomly go up or down," Mr Gates said. "I do think people get bought into these manias who may not have as much money to spare, so I'm not bullish on bitcoin, and my general thought would be that if you have less money than Elon you should probably watch out."
It's widely believed that volatile weekend swings are driven by individuals trading the cryptocurrency at home. So it's also possible that prices fell on Monday as institutional crypto traders, who follow normal business hours, responded to Musk's Saturday tweet that bitcoin and Ether prices "seem high."
The world's largest cryptocurrency had been on a tear this month, propelled by purchases from Mr Musk's Tesla and institutional investors who say bitcoin is an attractive alternative to gold and the dollar. Skeptics have warned that the rally is a bubble born of massive government stimulus and excess liquidity from central banks.
In February alone, bitcoin was up more than 60 per cent, prompting commentary that the run-up is excessive. The digital token hit a new all-time high on Sunday and came close to surpassing US$59,000.
So-called altcoins fell in tandem. Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency by market value, plunged as much as 19 per cent before paring losses to about 13 per cent on Monday. Ether extended losses on Tuesday in Asian trading, dropping more than 5 per cent. It last bought US$1,707, down almost 17 per cent from last week's record peak.
The Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index, which measures the performance of the largest digital assets, fell as much as 18 per cent on Monday.
Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase & Co strategists have warned about bitcoin's declining liquidity. Strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote in a note on Friday that liquidity for the digital coin was lower than that for the S&P 500 Index and gold, meaning "even small flows can have a large price impact," he wrote.
"It should go without saying that new investors to bitcoin should be prepared for major volatility and for prices to drop suddenly and as sharply as they have risen," according to Neil Wilson, chief analyst at Markets.com.
On a personal note, the bitcoin plunge on Monday wiped US$15.2 billion from Mr Musk's net worth after Tesla shares slid 8.6 per cent.
Tesla's biggest decline since September was fueled in part by Mr Musk's bitcoin comments over the weekend . Two weeks ago Tesla announced it added US$1.5 billion in bitcoin to its balance sheet.
Mr Musk also tweeted earlier Monday that the company's Model Y Standard Range SUV would still be available "off the menu," backing up reports from electric vehicle news site Electrek that the model had been removed from its online configurator.
Mr Musk dropped to second on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index of the world's 500 richest people with a net worth of US$183.4 billion - down from a peak of US$210 billion in January. Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos reclaimed the top spot even as his fortune fell by US$3.7 billion to US$186.3 billion on Monday.
The two billionaires have been swapping places since January as the value of Tesla fluctuated. The stock surged as much as 25 per cent to start 2021 before wiping off almost all of this year's gain. Mr Musk briefly overtook Mr Bezos after his rocket company SpaceX raised US$850 million earlier this month, valuing the company at US$74 billion, a 60 per cent jump from August.


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The Staffordshire ceramics industry which has been decimated in recent years is to be bolstered by almost #500,000 in extra support.
The sector has gone from 15,000 employees in 2001 to 11,000 last year as it reeled from the loss of many firms, including Royal Doulton which closed its Nile Street factory and shifted production to Indonesia.
An onslaught from cheap Far Eastern imports dented the industry.
Advantage West Midlands has agreed a three-year funding package of about #475,000 to enable the Ceramic Industry Forum to continue its work helping West Midlands ceramic companies improve their productivity and competitiveness.
The money is to replace the Department of Trade and Industry Funding which was due to run out in March. After that the CIF has been told there will be no more hand outs and it must become a self-sustaining organisation.
It was established in September 2000 with the aim of helping ceramic firms improve manufacturing processes, adopt innovative design and marketing and make better use of skills.
Since then CIF has helped launch 1,600 new products and enabled companies to make #3.7 million worth of efficiency savings thanks to innovations designed by CIF's process improvement engineers.
The organisation has helped establish 40 new companies, and identified #16 million of further savings. CIF also managed the successful University on the Shop Floor project, funded by Advantage West Midlands, which has provided 60,000 hours of continued learning and training opportunities enabling staff employed in the ceramics industry to improve and diversify their skills.
Sue Evans, chief executive at the CIF, said: "The ceramic industry has had to respond to the new challenges of a globally competitive market place and the continual trading difficulties posed by high energy costs and competition from overseas manufacturers.
"We are delighted at the continued financial support from Advantage West Midlands."
Marie Greer, director for Staffordshire at Advantage West Midlands, said: "The Agency's funding of CIF will have a positive impact on the industry, providing intensive business assistance to around 50 firms and skills development for around 200 people.
"Advantage West Midlands has a key priority to develop a diverse and dynamic business base and we recognise that a competitive and innovative ceramics industry has an important strategic role to play in the region's future prosperity."


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Technical sailing clothing brand, Helly Hansen, has announced that it will exclusively feature PrimaLoft Insulation Technology in its entire winter collections, from its outdoor and watersports range through to wintersport and childrens wear. The company recently announced that it would partner with the Chinese ‘Team Sanya’ sailing team for the 2011/12 Volvo Ocean Race.
PrimaLoft is renowned for product innovation through its cutting edge insulation technology that is revolutionising the outdoor industry. PrimaLoft products offer superior thermal properties with excellent water repellency and are extremely lightweight, soft and compressible.
Helly Hansen will use the full range of PrimaLoft synthetic insulations across its winter product line to create the ultimate in performance, comfort and warmth for the consumer. PrimaLoft Infinity will be used in the brand’s stretch skiwear, with PrimaLoft Sport used in its lightweight, compressible insulator jackets. In addition, Helly Hansen has worked in cooperation with PrimaLoft to develop WarmCore by PrimaLoft which will be used in its lifestyle, kids and junior ranges.
Richard Collier, Helly Hansen’s Vice President of Merchandising, Sourcing and Development says:
“By utilising PrimaLoft across our winter product line we will create lighter, softer and more comfortable garments with superior insulation properties. We look forward to working with PrimaLoft to continue to develop new and innovative clothing solutions.
On working with Team Sanya, Erik Burbank, Vice President Global Marketing at Helly Hansen said:
“Helly Hansen finds it tremendously exciting to work with Team Sanya, the first Chinese team to enter the Volvo Ocean Race. Our goal is to give them the confidence they need to compete in this race – by equipping them with the best technical gear, and a team apparel program that reflects their sense of style and allows supporters and partners to feel like they’re part of the team. We’re particularly excited about bringing more awareness of the sport of sailing to China, where Helly Hansen’s commercial presence is rapidly growing. It’s a sport we’re passionate about, and it’s exciting to share that with the world’s most dynamic market.


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Savvy Video games Group, a video games and esports firm that’s a part of the Saudi authorities’s Public Funding Fund, has agreed to amass cell video games studio Scopely for $4.9 billion. Based in 2011, Scopely is thought for a number of standard cell video games together with Yahtzee With Buddies, Star Trek Fleet Command, Marvel Strike Drive, Stumble Guys and Scrabble Go.
The Los-Angeles based mostly firm had a $3.3 billion post-money valuation in 2020 after elevating a $340 million funding spherical. Scopely has grown over the previous few years with plenty of notable acquisitions. In 2020, Scopely acquired Disney’s FoxNext Video games, and in 2021, the corporate acquired Sony Footage Leisure’s GSN Video games For $1 billion.
“Scopely is without doubt one of the fastest-growing video games corporations as we speak, and now we have lengthy admired their capacity to construct loyal, engaged participant communities,” mentioned Savvy Video games Group CEO Brian Ward in a press launch. “At Savvy Video games Group, our mission is to put money into – and develop – the worldwide video games group by inviting the most effective minds to affix us.”
Scopely will function as a “autonomous firm” underneath the Savvy umbrella, which incorporates esports companies ESL and Faceit. The corporate will continued to be led by co-CEOs Walter Driver and Javier Ferreira.
“As a part of the Savvy Video games Group portfolio, we are going to proceed to construct one of many world’s most diversified mobile-first video games corporations,” mentioned Scopely co-CEO Javier Ferreira in a press launch. Our expertise platform, market-leading studio ecosystem, and world-class crew have at all times enabled us to remain one step forward of the quickly rising video games business, delivering long-lasting franchises that delight gamers around the globe. We sit up for reimagining the way forward for play with Brian and the Savvy crew.”
Savvy says the acquisition, which is topic to regulatory approval, will strengthen its capacity to ship new merchandise for the worldwide gaming group. The corporate additionally says the acquisition may also construct on Scopely’s cross-platform strategy to increase its dwell companies experience to new segments like PC, console and extra.
Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that the Saudi Arabian authorities is betting $38 billion to change into the subsequent hub for the video-game business, and that Savvy is trying to develop and purchase top-tier video games.
The deal marks the sixth largest acquisition in video video games historical past when it comes to worth. The highest place on this class goes to Microsoft shopping for Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in a deal that’s nonetheless within the means of being accomplished, adopted by Take-Two buying Zynga for $12.7 billion, Tencent shopping for Supercell for $8.6 billion, Microsoft buying ZeniMax for $8.1 billion and Activision shopping for King for $5.9 billion.


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Rivian R1T Production Is Threatened by Supply Chain Issues
Just because the 2022 Rivian R1T is the first electric truck to hit the streets doesn’t mean everything is going well. The Rivian R1T may face a significant slowdown due to supply chain issues as it tries to stay ahead of rivals.
The 2022 Rivian R1T faces production delays
The 2022 Rivian R1T may face trouble as production falls short in 2021. Rivian has produced about 652 vehicles since production kicked off in September, but that’s not enough. The company could be short by a few hundred trucks and SUVs. As a result, Rivian may miss its goal of building 1,200 vehicles by the end of 2021.
Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe shares that its dedicated teams are working as hard to provide as many customers as possible with their vehicles by the end of the year. However, ramping up production of the Rivian R1S and R1T has been more challenging than expected.
Scaringe continued to explain that supply chain restraints continue to be a challenge. Rivian suppliers have been scaling up their production in an attempt to match Rivian’s ramp-up rate. The procurement team remains nimble as they continue working with supplier partners across all tiers to mitigate issues stemming from the supply chain, labor market, and Covid pandemic.
How is Rivian fighting these issues?
Scaringe shared that the supply chain issues for the 2022 Rivian R1T and other vehicles are short-term and solvable. With the supply chain’s uncertainty, they’ve decided to carry higher inventory levels than previously assumed. This helps to ensure that Rivian consistently has parts to build.
Rivian is also spending tons of money to ramp up production but faces littles revenue from vehicle sales as production slows. Rivian experienced an operating loss of $776 million for the quarter and a net loss of $1.2 billion.
But the Rivian R1T and R1S did provide a total revenue of $1 million during the third quarter because the first 111 models were delivered to customers. If Rivian isn’t profitable soon, it doesn’t mean people should be worried.
It’s not uncommon in the world of electric vehicles to have a slow start. Tesla didn’t turn a full-year profit until 18 years later. It finally did in 2020 when the company produced 500,000 vehicles.
Are people buying the Rivian truck?
Yes, the 2022 Rivian R1T and R1S are responsible for 71,000 preorders. Amazon also put in an order for 100,000 electric delivery vans. These orders provide both support and pressure for the production ramp.
Customers may grow impatient as some Rivian R1T orders won’t be available until the end of 2023. Rivian is building a new manufacturing plant in Georgia, but construction isn’t beginning until next summer. Vehicles won’t roll off the line there until 2024.
So Rivian plans to boost production at its Normal, Illinois plant by 50,000 vehicles. They have about 3,800 employees at the plant and plan to hire about 800-1,000 people by the end of the second quarter in 2022.
This move is made possible in part thanks to the $13.7 billion in gross proceeds that Rivian acquired through its massive initial public offering in November. We’ll keep an eye on Rivian’s progress and update you as we learn more.


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Mr Price says the days of over-full stores – and big end-of-season sales – end this summer
- Mr Price says sales at its flagship clothing stores were down considerably over the course of the last four months, as it struggled to get its mix right.
- The clothing chain has run some pretty deep discounts to clear its shelves, and says it is now rid of winter stock.
- It has promised investors a return to "clarity of offer" – which means less messy shelves and fewer discounts to move clothes people don't want.
- For more stories go to www.BusinessInsider.co.za.
The Mr Price group has promised investors that its flagship clothing stores will be returning to "clarity of offer" this summer – after two seasons of stores and shelves cluttered with the wrong kind of clothing.
In a trading update on Thursday Mr Price said its corporate-owned clothing stores, under the Mr Price brand, had seen a decline of 5.3% in sales over the last four months on a comparable-store basis.
It took "higher than desired markdowns" on clothing during the winter, Mr Price said, with the additional insult that these discount sales diverted its customers "away from full-price merchandise" – hitting the company in both profit and turnover.
The same thing happened with summer stock, after Mr Price overestimated how much clothing it would sell over the 2018 December period, and ended up offering significant discounts to clear its shelves in preparation for winter.
The company's share price took a big hit in January this year after reporting poor sales for the last three months of 2018, with analysts speculating that its customers may have defected to new offers from H&M and Cotton On, or moved downmarket to the cheaper clothes on offer at Pep and Ackermans.
The most recent problem an "imbalance in the shape of the assortment", the group told its shareholders, referring to the mix of styles, fashion items vs everyday wear items, and the price spread of clothing on its shelves.
Now, however, its shelves are ready for summer, with a return to a clear offer – and it believes the results are already good.
Its last two weeks of data for August shows that sales in its apparel division, which also includes Mr Price Sport and Miladys, were up 4.3%, the group said.
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Also from Business Insider South Africa:
- We tried de-alcoholised South African wine - and it took us by surprise
- The US government just invested R600 million into a gas project in the Free State that promises to reduce the global shortage of helium
- MTN had high hopes for its super-cheap R249 phone - so far, fewer than 90,000 have been sold in SA
- You can now go to jail for faking a degree on your CV – or claiming a qualification you don't have on LinkedIn or Twitter
- This graph shows why South African won't need an IMF loan soon
- Municipalities will be required to ‘map’ off-grid electricity users for a national database under new draft rules


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I have just been at a rather interesting lunch with some chaps from HP, video-conferencing company Tandberg, the UK Centre for Environmental and Economic Development (EED) and the trade union Amicus. The discussion was around whether video conferencing can really do anything about the damage business travellers are doing to the environment.
And according to Professor Peter James from the EED, its business travellers who are underpinning the major airlines – contributing around 40 percent of their revenues in fact – and allowing subsidising the cheap consumer fares we all enjoy. So if businesses can really latch-onto video-conferencing in a meaningful way – something which the Union Amicus is doing - then the impact on how we all travel good be massive. All the estimates are that airline travel is going to increase exponentially but people like Professor James believe that these estimates don't include the potential for collaborative technologies to reduce the need for some travel. Now, in reality, some work trips are a perk – the world of IT journalism is underpinned by the concept that you might not get paid that brilliantly but you get to travel to all sorts of interesting place and meet lots of interesting people. However, if video-conferencing can cut some journeys then that has to be a good thing.
Also looking at some of the cultural aspects of video-conferencing, it's interesting to note that despite some of these systems costing upwards of $300,000 and capturing images in clear-crisp HD – the ability to actually record the conversations does not come as standard in the equipment. HP argues that there are privacy and cultural reasons for this – people get paranoid enough being in front of a camera and the idea that they might be being recorded wouldn't go down well at all. I can see why recording might be an issue – but surely aside from the cost-cutting benefits of video-conferencing, being able to go back to past meetings and review content would be a really useful application?
I also quizzed HP and Tandberg on the carbon footprint of their video-conferencing kit. Taking the idea that video-conferencing is the green alternative to travelling to its logical conclusion then you'd hope that the video-conferencing kit itself – especially the massive Halo systems HP sells – would be manufactured in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way. HP said some elements of its Halo kit adheres to the US Energy Star rating system, and Tandberg claimed to be looking into the issue, but neither vendor had a very convincing story around sustainable manufacturing.


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As expected, a major update to the Pebble iOS app has just landed in the App Store. Version 2.0 ushers in Pebble's own app store, a centralized place for users of the wearable device to explore a number of different watch faces and apps.
According to Pebble, there are more than 1,000 apps and watch faces currently in the store. The store is divided into six different categories Daily, Tools & Utilities, Notifications, Remotes, Fitness and Games.
Pebble plans to actively curate the store to feature the best titles. For now, all content is free in its store.
And since users can only have up to eight different items at one time on their smartwatch, the Locker stores favorite apps and watch faces for easy loading and unloading.
Designed for the iPhone/iPod touch, the Pebble app can be downloaded now in the App Store for free.
- No Surprise: HomePod Supplies Will be Limited When Launching in December
- Apple Seeds Sixth Beta Version of watchOS 4, tvOS 11 to Developers
- Apple Releases iOS 11 Beta 6 to Registered Developers
- Today’s Apps Gone Free: Color Magnet, Pulse, Starry Night Interactive and More
This article originally published at AppAdvice here


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Curbside food scraps and yard trimmings collection is coming back to New York City in Fall 2021. The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is resuming brown bin service on a rolling basis, which is based on the number of sign ups in neighborhoods where collection is being offered. “This way we can ensure there will be enough material set out for our trucks to pick up,” explains DSNY. “The more sign-ups in an area, the quicker service will start.” All food scraps will be accepted, as well as food-soiled paper, yard trimmings and plant waste. Households can sign up for service starting in August. Those in neighborhoods where curbside collection will not be offered will be provided information on food scraps drop-off sites.
The curbside organics collection service was suspended in the height of the pandemic on May 4, 2020 due to “economic hardship, and to ensure the City can continue to devote resources to essential safety, health, and shelter, and food security needs,” stated DSNY at the time. Food scraps drop-off sites were temporarily closed as well, due to social distancing requirements. Those have gradually reopened over the past year. Residents with brown bins were instructed to store them for the duration of the suspension. Households in areas where curbside service will be offered in the fall can request a brown bin if they had not been issued one previously.


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With this new release, Blancpain has found a clever way to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its iconic Fifty Fathoms without altering the existing version of the watch. The Bathyscaphe belonged to the historical Fifty Fathoms family in the 1950s, and the modern version becomes an attractive alternative to the Fifty Fathoms.
Not just an electronic, high-tech gadget but a watch that can save your live. As the first wrist-type dual frequency PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) that can be worn at all times, the new Emergency II is intended for a wide range of users in a variety of fields around the world, including aviation, navigation, climbing, hiking, exploration, and all manner of extreme activities.
Not just a good-looking wristwatch but also a triumph of watchmaking technology from the Saxon luxury watch brand. The Senator Chronometer Regulator is officially certified as a chronometer and bears a certificate from the German Calibration Service (DKD).
Typical of Longines, this watch offers incredible value for the money. For around 1,600 Euros you get the Longines-exclusive column-wheel chronograph caliber L688 inside 41-mm, 300-meter-water-resistant steel case.


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Yet Another Slovene Textile Company Expected to Shed Employees
Prebold, 22 January - Prebold, a textile company celebrating its 160th anniversary this year, announced its plans to lay off some of its workforce. The final number has not yet been revealed, however 38 of the 571 employees have already been transfered to other posts within the company, Prebold director Vinko Zohar told STA on Tuesday.
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A new report written by the Book Industry Study Group’s rights committee
reveals a dichotomy in the rights world between the increasing importance of
rights transactions and the ability of publishers to take advantage of the
demand for American content in the international marketplace. Indeed, the
name of the report is “Publishing Rights: An Untapped Opportunity.”
Among the findings was that over 53% of survey respondents said that
their organization is “currently missing out on meaningful rights revenue.”
The survey found a host of issues that have made the failure to collect more
rights revenue an ongoing problem. Those issues include ineffective, costly
paper-based work flows that are characterized by disconnected systems and
a lack of standard approaches. Publishers also said that confusion about
who controls which rights has grown worse, particularly for backlist, acquired,
and divested works and imprints.
While a solid majority of publishers believe that sales of digital rights will
grow both in the U.S. and abroad, many expressed caution about moving
ahead to take advantage of the opportunity. As one publisher noted, “Clearing
appropriate rights to third-party material is massively time-consuming and a
cost burden. It’s very difficult to obtain rights that are sufficient to exploit
content and sell on to translating publishers.”
New BISG Report
Calls Rights an Untapped
and-mortar business are murky, but the company has ramped up its store
openings since it launched the first one in November 2015. Though Amazon
took 10 months between opening its first store in Seattle and its second in
San Diego, Calif., the pace of openings and announced openings has quickened. The e-commerce giant opened two outlets in 2016 and four so far in
2017—the most recent being its Columbus Circle location in New York City. It
has announced plans for stores in Bellevue, Wash.; Walnut Creek, Calif., San
Jose, Calif., Los Angeles; Paramus, N.J.; and for a second in New York City. If
all goes according to plan, Amazon will open 10 stores in 2017.
Its aggressive store-opening plans notwithstanding, Amazon has a way to
go to jump ahead of third place Half Price Books. The Dallas-based retailer,
which sells a mix of used and new titles, has had a net increase of eight
stores since 2011. It closed three locations earlier this year, but has plans to
open two new outlets (in St. Charles, Mo., and Tyler, Tex.) later in 2017.
Standing between Half Price and Amazon is Book World, the family-owned
chain based in Appleton, Wis., that has stores in much of the Upper Midwest.
Amazon continued from p. 1
APA continued from p. 1
ers, 67 million people have listened to at least one audiobook in the past year.
Of these, 18% were labeled as “frequent listeners,” having listened to four or
more audiobooks during that time period; 56% were men and 44% were
women. Eighty percent of these listeners had paid for their most recent
audiobook, rather than streaming from You Tube or downloading for free.
They are also discerning customers, with 74% saying it is important to listen
to a sample of the audiobook before committing to it and another 59%
saying it was important for them to get ancillary material with the audiobook,
like author interviews or sample chapters of forthcoming titles.
Webster underscored one growing trend: the use of voice enabled wireless
speakers, like the Amazon Echo and Google Home, to listen to spoken-word
content. Among audiobook listeners, 25% own such a speaker. “But this
poses its own set of challenges, as the user must call out a specific piece of
content to the speaker,” he said. Still, the use of speakers is likely to grow,
When it comes to content, audiobook listeners favor mysteries, thrillers,
suspense titles, and popular fiction titles. Health and fitness, as well as business titles, were the least favored genres. Among frequent listeners, 47%
said they enjoyed listening to a specific narrator, “so there is considerable
narrator loyalty,” said Webster.
The growth in the popularity of audiobooks has been accelerated by the
popularity of podcasts, which serve as a “gateway drug” to audiobooks, said
Webster. Not only do podcast listeners generally listen to twice as many
audiobooks per year as those who don’t listen to podcasts but “though they
listen to a lot of free content, [they] are among [audiobook publishers’] best
customers,” he added. —Ed Nawotka
PW 2017 Award Winners
Collette Morgan (l.), owner of Minneapolis’s Wild Rumpus, this year’s
PW Bookstore of the Year Award winner, fist bumps the 2017 PW Sales
Rep of the Year, Anne DeCourcey (r.), with HarperCollins.
At the luncheon, ABA CEO Oren Teicher called the state
of indie bookselling “strong.”
Ruta Sepetys was the winner of the
Indies Choice Young Adult Book of
the Year for Salt to the Sea.
Yaa Gyasi’s Homecoming was winner
of the Indies Choice Adult Debut of
Author Adam Gidwitz, whose The Inquisitor’s Tale was
an Indies Choice Book Awards honoree in the E. B.
White Read-Aloud Middle Grade Reader category,
addressed the lunch crowd.


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Δεν ξέρω αν το γνωρίζεις, αλλά, από χθες, κυκλοφόρησε η νέα έκδοση του παιχνιδιού Angry Birds, με την Rovio να συνεγράζεται με το Star Wars, δημιουργώντας ένα εξαιρετικό αποτέλεσμα. H Lotus θα συνεργαστεί με το Star Wars και τα Angry Birds, με αποτέλεσμα οι Kimi Raikkonen και Romain Grosjean να τα έχουν επάνω στα sidepods των μονοθεσίων τους για το Grand Prix στο Austin του Texas, το επόμενο Σαββατοκύριακο.
Περισσότερα μπορείς να βρεις στο Δελτίο Τύπου που ακολουθεί.
[Πηγή: Lotus F1 Team]
[learn_more caption=”Δελτίο Τύπου”]
Iconic brands Star Wars and Angry Birds will feature on the cars of Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean in Austin, Texas next week at the forthcoming United States Grand Prix.
In order to celebrate the return of Formula 1 to America, Lotus F1 Team is proud to announce it will feature Angry Birds and Star Wars on the E20’s sidepods, promoting ‘Angry Birds Star Wars’, a joint game which was released to the public yesterday, November 8.
The game is a partnership between award winning programmers Rovio – founders of the chart topping ‘Angry Birds’ game, downloaded more than a billion times already – and Lucasfilm – the creators of iconic films ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Indiana Jones’.
Accompanying the team’s promotion of Angry Birds Star Wars, an official weekly tournament game incorporating Angry Birds, Star Wars and Lotus F1 Team will run on the Angry Birds Friends Facebook fan page for a week from November 12-19. Prizes for this Facebook-only tournament will include a one-off opportunity for a test ride in the team’s simulator – courtesy of Lotus F1 Team partner Rexona – a signed replica Kimi Räikkönen helmet courtesy of Clear, as well as specifically designed Angry Birds merchandise and Star Wars items from Hasbro.
The relationship between ‘Angry Birds’ and Lotus F1 Team began in Monaco this year for the team’s 500th race and makes another step forward with this new joint activation ; incorporating Lucasfilm to give a new dimension in entertainment opportunities.
Patrick Louis, Lotus F1 Team CEO :
“As a team, we are constantly pushing the boundaries of our approach to entertainment and promoting our aim to be a little different. By promoting the new Angry Birds Star Wars game at the upcoming United States Grand Prix, we have the potential to connect fans between Lotus F1 Team, Rovio and Lucasfilm. After our victory at the recent Abu Dhabi Grand Prix we certainly think that the Force is with us.”
Harri Koponen, Rovio COO :
“We’re extremely happy to once again link up with Lotus F1 Team in our recent agreement with Lucasfilm. ‘Angry Birds Star Wars’ is the latest in our exploration to further entertainment, and what better way to showcase and publicise our new game than at the inaugural United States Grand Prix. We’re very excited to be back on the car following our success in Monaco, and are looking forward to continuing our relationship with Lotus F1 Team to a galaxy far, far away…”
Colum Slevin, Vice President, Head of Studio Operations for Lucasfilm Ltd :
“By uniting the Star Wars, Angry Birds and Lotus F1 Team brands, we are able to offer an entertainment experience for fans from across the globe. Through linking up with the team at the United States Grand Prix, we’re able to offer something totally unique in terms of entertainment, showcasing our brand on a new global platform.”


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HTC has announced the contest as it is set to launch three new Android smartphones in the first week of April in India.
Smartphone manufacturer, HTC has announced a contest in which one can win a HTC smartphone every day.
HTC, which is expected to introduce three smartphones under its One series in India in April, has announced the contest on its official Facebook page.
The rules of the contest are simple: Just select 10 Facebook friends of yours, write a creative header for HTC One in 100 characters or less, and then submit your entry and tell your friends.
The contest has been announced as HTC is set to launch three new smartphones - HTC One X, One V and One S - in India in the first week of April.
"HTC will be launching Android Ice Cream Sandwich based smartphones One X, One V and One S in Singapore on March 30 and in first week of April they would be available in Indian market," said Manu Seth, country head, marketing, HTC India, had earlier told The Mobile Indian.
The upcoming HTC One M10 will replace the One M9+ as the flagship smartphone of the Taiwanese company.
HTC has also reduced the price of Desire 728 Dual SIM by Rs 1,000.
HTC Desire 728 Dual SIM was launched just last month for Rs 17,990.
The company is expected to unveil the smartphone during MWC 2016.
As per reports, HTC may not unveil the handset during MWC 2016.
T50 reportedly would have a 5 inch display while T55 is said to come with a 5.5-inch display
After two years gap, HTC is now reportedly back to Google's camp to make its Nexus devices.
HTC One A9 comes with a 13 megapixel rear camera and an 4 megapixel front snapper.
The HTC Vive Pre will hit the markets in April 2016.
The smartphone will be available in Silver and Gunmetal Gray colour variants.


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Peloton hit a milestone today, but instead of a shout out, badge, or free t-shirt, they celebrated with updated SEC filings and a big bump in stock prices.
Peloton announced this morning that the company hit 1 million active connected fitness subscribers. This number surpasses earlier estimates that they would have between 920,000 and 930,000 subscribers by the end of the fiscal year in June. Today’s SEC filing updates year-end estimates to be in the range of 1.04 to 1.05 million subscribers.
In response to the news, Peloton’s stock prices jumped almost 8% to close at a record-high $46.17 per share. While much of the fitness industry has struggled due to COVID-19 restrictions, the closure of gyms and limitations on gathering size have led to increased sales of the Peloton bike. According to last week’s earnings reports, bike sales have increased by 61% in the third quarter of the fiscal year, which ended March 31.
CEO John Foley expects the increased demand to continue through the summer as coronavirus restrictions remain in place throughout much of the US as people look for options to stay fit at home. Tread sales have been frozen since March because of difficulties with maintaining social distance during deliveries. Foley does not expect deliveries to resume before the end of the fiscal year.
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Hate ads? Download Brave web browser. Fast, secure, built in ad-blocking.
A New York Times reporter caught wind of a teacher who decided to count the number of notifications her students received from their phones during class.
Reports from government sources say that Canada's most populous province will enforce a smartphone use ban with few exemptions.
Believe it or not, you can get a Galaxy S10 from Microsoft. It'll cost just about the same as anywhere else an unlocked unit will cost, though.
The Taiwanese phone maker is reportedly not going to make its own devices for the Indian market and leave it to three local players.
The big 5G product from TCL coming this year is a USB hub for laptops to gain bonker internet speeds for streaming from anywhere.
A recent study released in time for the upcoming Mobile World Congress reveals the numbers for the 2018 smartphone market performance.
Renders show TCL is covering its bases when it comes to preparing for foldable technology with one concept being a smartphone that can fold around a wrist.
It was the most popular iPhone and also the most popular smartphone in the continent in the fourth quarter of 2018, continuing a long streak.
Millions of square meters of OLED displays went to smartphones last year. Most of the money made in the industry came from smartphones, too.
In China, Huawei took a massive lead. OPPO and vivo follow on from there. Xiaomi looksl ike it is struggling at home. Apple has taking a big hit.
Manufacturers can submit their smartphones, smartwatches and tablets to the FCC again so that they can be marketed and sold in the United States.
Did you know you can sell unused devices in order to raise some cash? In this article we show you how to turn that old phone into dollars.
In fact, it's more than the core of what Microsoft wants to do: to complete user experiences at work and at home. Hardware's key.
Samsung not only claims dominance in the OLED market, where it has long held the lead, but also in LCD production for smartphones.
The Taiwanese tech manufacturer wrote off just over US$200 million from its smartphone division as it switches strategies into 2019.
A recent report is trying to predict the foldable display market for the near future and it concludes there will be 63 million units in 2022.
If you've been using olloclip's lenses on an iPhone, but have moved away from both... olloclip wants you back with the Multi-Device Clip.
Phone makers say there's a whole bunch of costs building on their end, but market analysts say it's all about a padded bottom line.
Join us in this retro unboxing experience where we show many of the phones that have been in Pocketnow's history
What does Google want to achieve with the arrival of Fuchsia OS five years from now? Nothing publicly, as it is denying any such plans.
It's the consumer electronics equivalent of carb loading as both LG and Korean compatriot Samsung have burst out with phones galore early in 2018.
Patent art on a recently published foldable phone concept from LG shows a hinge system with pen tip-like skaters and positioning chambers.
The company itself has already culled down estimates on sales and revenue, but investors are wringing their hands over innovation.


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July 7, 2015, New York … Diamond prices continued to soften in June with many categories trading at deep discounts to the Rapaport Price List. Markets were relatively quiet as U.S. demand after the JCK Las Vegas show was weaker than in previous years, and Far East demand remains cautious. Diamond manufacturers are under pressure and continue to lose money on their rough supply.
The RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI™) for 1-carat laboratory-graded diamonds fell 0.9 percent during June. RAPI for 0.30-carat diamonds declined 2.5 percent and RAPI for 0.50-carat diamonds dropped 2.6 percent. RAPI for 3-carat diamonds decreased 1.7 percent.
RAPI for 1-carat diamonds fell 1.6 percent during the second quarter of 2015 and on July 1, 2015 was down 15.3 percent from a year earlier.
RapNet Diamond Index (RAPI™)
(Changes at July 1)
RAPI 0.3 ct. -2.5% -6.2% -10.6% -25.8%
RAPI 0.5 ct. -2.6% -5.8% -9.3% -17.5%
RAPI 1.0 ct. -0.9% -1.6% -0.3% -15.3%
RAPI 3.0 ct. -1.7% -4.6% -6.2% -18.1%
Copyright © by Martin Rapaport
According to the Rapaport Monthly Report – July 2015, “Summer Heat Brings Price Pressure,” the June Hong Kong show met the low expectations of the trade and sales reflected a cautious Far East market and weak dealer sentiment. Manufacturers’ profit margins are being squeezed between stable rough diamond prices and declining polished. There is a shortage of fine-quality diamonds and selective
buyers are paying firm prices for these goods to fill existing orders.
However, there is a lot of excess inventory of lower-quality diamonds in the market and flexible inventory buyers are getting good deals.
Rough producers prefer to reduce supply rather than prices in the current weak market. Rough prices remained relatively stable in the second quarter after slipping an average 5 percent to 7 percent in the first three months of the year. De Beers rough sales fell by approximately 28 percent year on year to $2.5 billion in the first half of 2015, according to Rapaport estimates.
Manufacturers are expected to further reduce their rough purchases in the coming months in an effort to shrink existing inventory and raise liquidity levels.
The Rapaport Group has today issued an important statement regarding Rapaport Diamond Specifications, the Rapaport Price List and current market conditions. For additional information see this statement.


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In this Cyberscoop article, FIDO Alliance Executive Director Brett McDowell and Jeremy Grant of the Chertoff Group emphasize the importance of multi-factor authentication, and explain why NIST needs to include it in the revision of its Cybersecurity Framework.
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This weekend marks the 2nd annual Ecopalooza solar powered benefit concert in downtown Portland.
The wine and jazz concert is powered by 100% renewable energy, and proceeds go to The Ecopalooza Project, which promotes the use of clean energy in Portland.
This year, the Bonneville Environmental Foundations’s Solar 4R Schools program will match a portion of the revenue generated from ticket sales with the proceeds going towards the installation of a solar panel array at a Portland-area high school. With this solar installation, the winning Portland-area school will join a network of more than 150 school projects throughout the country. To date, these solar arrays have combined to produce more than 4 million kilowatt hours of clean, renewable energy.


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Doosan Coverage in Bulgaria Expanded
Megatron, the well-established Doosan dealer in Bulgaria and several other Balkan countries, has recently made new investments as part of large expansion plans. This includes opening a new service complex in Burgas by the Black Sea, which is only the start the exciting expansion process!
On 16th April, Megatron opened a new trade and service complex in Bulgarovo in the Municipality of Burgas (a city on the coast by the Black Sea). The new facility includes a modern showroom, offices, a conference room, a large store for parts and a service hub. The investment involved exceeded 2.5 million EUR.
The trade and service complex is located on a plot of land 15000 sq. m in area (equivalent to two football pitches) and includes buildings covering an area of 2000 sq. m. It is the company’s 11th outlet in Bulgaria and is built and equipped to the highest industry standards.
At the moment, 15 people are working in the complex, and this is expected to double in the near future. Around 70% of the employees are service specialists. Up to eight large machines can be repaired at the same time in the service area.
The process of development at Megatron will continue. The service base in Pleven will be renewed and its service capacity will be doubled this year, and in 2020, the company HQ will be officially opened in Sofia, which is expected to include a new trade and service operation.
Megatron is the official distributor for Doosan (and Bobcat) for Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia. For more information about Megatron visit their website.


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Michael Witt relaxed in a captain’s chair as dress-casual attendees glimpsed at the black 1953 Packard Caribbean a few feet away.
He was at Kiawah Island’s River golf course to display the uncommonly luxurious convertible, one of 750 built to recognize the Pan American Packard show car unveiled a year earlier.
The soft top was taking part in the Kiawah Island Concours d’Elegance, held Nov. 16 in its new venue at the River Course’s finishing hole.
The Packard’s owner befits a car brand known for its wealth and glamour. Sandy Lerner of Upperville, Va., co-founded Cisco Systems high-tech giant and, according to online site The Richest, boasts a $100 million net worth.
From the same town as the auto’s well-heeled collector, Witt gave the fledgling South Carolina concours high marks. “The weather was fantastic,” he said. “The staff put on a really nice show.”
The car enthusiast’s gracious tone was endorsed by fellow presenters and showgoers last Saturday.
They found the show, which drew about 80 cars, a bit small but well-represented. Headliners included a 1926 Bugatti T35T shown by Larry Wilson of Palm Beach, an Austrian-built 1938 Steyr and a rare 1928 Isotta Fraschini owned by collector Peter Boyle of Oil City, Pa. Don and Darby Wathne of Charleston brought two classic Rolls-Royces parked side-by-side, a 1911 Silver Ghost and a 1933 Phantom II.
Lerner wasn’t the only “name” collector. J.W. “Bill” Marriott Jr., chairman of Marriott International, displayed his 1938 Talbot Lago T150-C coupe, which was parked in front of a sand trap with the scenic Kiawah River in the distance.
“I think it’s small; I think there are very good cars here,” said Marty Williams of Charlotte. He said the golf course’s 18th hole was a “good venue. I think it will grow: 70 percent (of the cars) are local, which is very nice.”
Williams assisted Mount Airy, N.C., collector Lloyd Gillespie with his entrants, including an early model Shelby Mustang. “I help a lot of people with a lot of cars,” Williams said, describing his work.
He sees the Kiawah concours expanding in stature. “They started with good equipment,” Williams said. It’s something different.”
The Concours d’Elegance was the main event of the three-day Kiawah Island Motoring Retreat, which opened with a gala and concluded with a drive around the sea islands.
The event was separated into the concours class, the cream of the crop which vied for Best of Show; and the classic category, eligible for Mayor’s Choice and other special awards.
Among the larger turnouts was a contingent from the Coastal Carolina Corvette Club, including five women owners.
“The ones in the concours are great,” said Mishell Warren, one of the Corvette buffs. She said organizers are “working hard” to make the show an established feature. “It’s a beautiful location,” she said. “Once word gets out …”.
While most eventgoers did not primp for the concours, there were a few dapper dressers. Russ Crane of Kiawah Island, who showed his 1931 Ford Model A, wore a period hat with brown and beige sweater, knickers and argyle socks.
Elizabeth Spove and Charlie Masencup of Charleston were among the dozens of attendees who traveled to Kiawah Island for the midday classic show.
“It’s awesome,” said Massencup, while looking over the 1911 Rolls. Added Spove, “You couldn’t ask for a better day.”
Reach Jim Parker at 937-5542 or firstname.lastname@example.org.
Racing models at the Kiawah Concours d’Elegence Nov. 16 included this 1962 Lotus Super 7 owned by Mark Moskowitz of Charleston (Jim Parker/Staff 11-16-2013).×
Elizabeth Spove (left) and Charlie Masencup look over a 1911 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost owned by Don and Darby Wathne of Charleston. The vintage car was one of 80 shown Nov. 16 at the first Concours d’Elegance to take place at the River golf course. It was the sinature event of the annual Kiawah Island Motoring Retreat Nov. 15-17 (Jim Parker/Staff 11-16-2013).×


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How can we incentivize automobile companies — especially those that are traditionally most vested in the ICEV (internal combustion engine vehicle) realm — to not “be evil,” as the Google mantra goes? That is, to promote the adoption of EV tech and thereby the sustainability of human society.
It should not be that difficult to devise one or more policies/incentives that achieve this. It would likely have to be more complex than free pizza in compensation for the cessation of self-interested obstructionism. We can provide the consumer with a tax break or a point-of-sale rebate or unlimited access to HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lanes or free ferry crossing, and thereby raise the supply of EVs by increasing demand (via these various consumer benefits, thus added perceived value). However, it is trickier with companies who would take advantage of legal loopholes to delay EV development.
Consider the relative success story of the Nissan Leaf, and the kind of governmental support Nissan received in the process of initiating its development and production:
“Nissan-Renault has been a leader. At the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, Nissan shocked the industry with a plan to leapfrog the gasoline-electric hybrid with a new mass-market BEV, called the Fluence in France and the Leaf in the U.S. Nissan’s business plan called for EV sales of 100,000 per year in the U.S. by 2012, and Nissan was awarded a $1.6 billion loan guarantee by DOE to build a new facility in Smyrna, Tennessee to produce batteries and assemble EVs.” (Graham et al 2014)
It seems that a partnership-like injection of capital courtesy of the federal government succeeded in overcoming whatever initial inertia might have otherwise precluded Nissan from taking the leap that it did.
Is there some way that citizens could get involved in pushing these kinds of inertia-dissolving leaps into creation and use of EV production infrastructure? Perhaps citizens can get involved, at least a little bit. We can shelve our pitchforks and torches and purchase EVs as well as write letters to ICEV-heavy companies, for cash and ink are stronger than the blade.
The federal government provides guidance on writing complaints.
A benchmark letter might state how one’s ICEV lacks the advantages of an EV, or how the company’s offerings are disappointing by virtue of a lack of EV offerings. One can also insist that the company ought to do more to steer toward EVs, perhaps by seeking partnership with the federal government as Nissan did.
(While this may feel like sending a message into a black hole, intuition suggests that companies do generally listen to their customers. Ergo it is worth a try, complain to your ICEV-heavy company of choice today!)


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Apple is wanting to employ a business progress manager with experience in the cryptocurrency sector to direct its “alternative payments” partnership software.
In a Wednesday career publishing, Apple mentioned candidates should really have five several years or additional “working in or with alternative payment vendors, these types of as electronic wallets, BNPL [buy now pay later], Fast Payments, cryptocurrency and and many others.”
The Cupertino tech big claimed the supervisor would be Apple’s main negotiator for the different payments house.
“The Apple Wallets, Payments, and Commerce (WPC) workforce is trying to find an experienced Business Improvement Supervisor to direct Alternate Payments Partnerships,” the firm wrote.
Apple has extended preserved an ironclad grip in excess of payments, primarily in its App Shop, which has never ever acknowledged customers’ crypto and forces all catalog applications to use Apple’s commerce rails and engage in by Apple’s procedures.
That tightly-controlled ecosystem is the emphasis of a blockbuster court battle launched by Fortnite developer Epic Video games. Epic alleges Apple’s policies violate antitrust rules and stifle payments innovation. App developers could settle for “bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies” if not for Apple’s limits, Epic claimed in the match.
Apple has designed no community statements about its programs for the crypto house. The company did not straight away return CoinDesk’s calls.
Even so, pockets of the crypto place seem to be preparing for Apple. Coinbase provided Apple Pay graphics in a the latest application update, according to MacRumors.


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In the meantime, DCist reports that MegaBus will begin service between the District and Philly come March 21. So far, MegaBus has only been making a D.C./New York run, which is as it should be. But if you've just gotta get to the City of Brotherly Love, you should be able to choose from four departure times per day, including an early-morning one (think 5:45 a.m. -- set your alarm).
While a ticket to NYC will set you back somewhere in the $13-$23 range on March 21, the Philly ticket will be a mere dollar. That's cheaper than a half-smoke. And there's WiFi, and they're double-decker, which is just fun. So a fake New York? We can deal with that.


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Small cap newsbeat
Internet news dominated small-cap proceedings on Thursday with shares in software specialist Staffware racing ahead after it announced plans for an online business-to-business division. The AIM-listed stock jumped to £34.50 pounds by late afternoon, up £14.62 or 74% but off an earlier all-time high at £37.50, after the company revealed plans to invest £20 million to create an eProcess Division. EProcess will spearhead enlargement of Staffware's market for workflow software according to the company, which also revealed 1999 group sales in line with expectations at about £25 million pounds..
International metals trader MG surged 66.8% after saying it had established a joint venture to develop an Internet marketplace for trading non-ferrous metals. Shares in MG - which have marked time since the company floated at 205 pence in September -- surged 131- 1/2p to 328- 1/2p by 1435.
Web news also boosted software developer SDL which was up 16.9% after announcing contracts for its SDLWebFlow product with Microsoft and two other firms. The shares - which made theirs market debut last December after an initial offering at 134 pence - were up 68- 1/2 pence at 475p. SDL said Microsoft would use the product -- which helps in the language translation of web content - on a pilot scheme with the Danish, Brazilian and Portuguese versions of the Microsoft Windows 2000 website..
Despite big gains in a handful of companies, the FTSE Small Cap index softened to be trading 18.5 points or 0.6% down at 3,139 points by 1522.
Shares in bathroom and kitchen fittings firm Bridgend Group dropped 25% or 2- 1/4 pence to 6- 1/2p amid profit-taking after its surge to 9- 1/2p, dealers said. These shares had earlier been boosted by a tip from the controversial group at the Daily Mirror.
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