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D-Link Extends Connected Home Offerings with Wi-Fi Motion Sensor and New App for Managing Devices
|By Business Wire
|June 19, 2014 03:01 AM EDT
D-Link today announced it is now shipping a new Wi-Fi
Motion Sensor, the company’s latest addition to its line of
Connected Home products designed to make one’s home smarter and safer.
The compact motion sensor plugs into an open power outlet and alerts
users of activity at home with a push or text notification as soon as it
detects motion. Whether you want to know when the kids get in from
school, make sure the puppy goes outside during the day, or receive an
alert when the garage door opens, the Wi-Fi Motion sensor makes it
simple to stay aware of what’s happening at home.
D-Link's Connected Home solutions simplify home automation and security. (Photo: Business Wire)
D-Link today also announced the intuitive mydlink Home mobile app for iOS®
and Android™ smartphones and tablets, providing instant
control over D-Link® smart devices from anywhere, anytime. In
addition to transforming a mobile device into a remote control for
D-Link smart products, the free mobile app can also be used to pair
D-Link smart devices together to truly automate a home. For example,
easily pair a D-Link Smart Plug with a Wi-Fi Motion Sensor to make home
electronics immediately react to motion, such as setting an action for
the lights to turn on as you walk in the front door, another for a fan
to keep the living room cool while you’re there, and another for music
to play when you step on the treadmill.
“D-Link’s Wi-Fi Motion Sensor, along with Wi-Fi Smart Plugs and Wi-Fi
Cameras, provide a complete Connected Home Solution that gives our
customers the peace of mind that comes from knowing their home – and
everything in it – is safe and sound while they’re away, ” said Daniel
Kelley, vice president of marketing, D-Link Systems, Inc. “The ability
to control devices remotely, automate electronics, and get a quick view
of what’s happening at home from virtually anywhere puts our customers
in the driver’s seat of their home security solutions.”
D-Link’s Connected Home solutions truly simplify home automation and
security. The mydlink Home app features an intuitive design that is easy
to navigate and fun to use, and the Wi-Fi Motion Sensor uses a simple
one-button installation – simply press the WPS button on the Motion
Sensor and on the existing router to connect to a home network in
“Keeping your home safe and secure shouldn’t be difficult, nor should it
cost an arm and a leg,” said Kelley. “We’re excited to offer our
customers a flexible, full-featured DIY home security solution that can
be set up quickly and doesn’t require any monthly fees or subscriptions.”
More about the Wi-Fi Motion Sensor (DCH-S150):
Instant Alerts – Sends push or text notifications via the
mydlink Home app when motion is detected
Pairs with Wi-Fi Smart Plugs – Works seamlessly with D-Link
Wi-Fi Smart Plugs to turn devices on/off in response to motion
Compact Design – One-piece wall-plug design is compact and
portable; no additional power cables required
Wi-Fi Protected Setup – Push button setup for easy connection
to a wireless network
Wi-Fi Connectivity – Requires no additional hub or device,
works with virtually any Wi-Fi network
Watch the Wi-Fi Motion Detection video here
More about the mydlink Home app:
Control – Turn connected devices on and off remotely from
Schedule – Set simple schedules so devices turn on and off
right when you want them to
Pair – Easily pair the D-Link Wi-Fi Motion Sensor with a
Wi-Fi Smart Plug to make devices respond to motion
Instant Notifications – Receive instant push or text
notifications so you always know what is happening at home
Create personal rules – Turn events into actions and create a
customized home experience. Turn on a device or receive an alert when
motion is detected or view your camera for additional peace of mind
Watch the mydlink Home app video here
Availability and Pricing
The mydlink Wi-Fi Motion Sensor (DCH-S150) will be available
for $39.99 at Amazon.com, Bestbuy.com, Office Depot, OfficeMax and
throughout D-Link’s vast network of retail and e-tail outlets. Detailed
specifications are available online at www.dlink.com/dch-s150.
The free mydlink Home app will be available for download on the App
Store and on Google Play.
D-Link is the global leader in connectivity for home, small business,
mid- to large-sized enterprise environments, and service providers. An
award-winning designer, developer, and manufacturer, D-Link implements
and supports unified network solutions that integrate capabilities in
switching, wireless, broadband, storage, IP Surveillance, and
cloud-based network management. For more information visit www.dlink.com,
or connect with D-Link on Facebook (www.facebook.com/dlink)
and Twitter (www.twitter.com/dlink)
or D-Link’s blog (http://blog.dlink.com/).
D-Link, mydlink and the D-Link logo are trademarks or registered
trademarks of D-Link Corporation or its subsidiaries. All other
third-party marks mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective
owners. Copyright © 2014 D-Link. All Rights Reserved.
Maximum wireless signal rate derived from IEEE Standard 802.11n
specifications. Actual data throughput will vary. Network conditions and
environmental factors, including volume of network traffic, buildings
materials and construction, and network overhead, lower actual data
throughput rate. Environmental factors will adversely affect wireless
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20140619005251/en/
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Aug. 30, 2016 06:15 PM EDT Reads: 356
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Aug. 30, 2016 01:45 PM EDT Reads: 687


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Press Release Archive
You can view all our archived press releases in this section.
If you have a media enquiry or would like to be added to the news release distribution list, please contact the GLAA Press Office.
11th July 2018
Our work to improve consumer confidence and protect vulnerable workers at hand car washes....
26th June 2018
A joint operation involving the GLAA and Greater Manchester Police....

domain: news


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The BMO Vancouver Marathon is making records before it even begins on Sunday, May 6, 2018.
Seventeen thousand registered runners will lace up for Vancouver’s premier running event — the highest number of participants since it first started in 1972. Runners and spectators come from around the world for the marathon, providing a significant boost for hotels, restaurants and other tourism businesses that employ British Columbians.
“The BMO Vancouver Marathon gives people from across the province, and around the world, a unique experience of Vancouver’s downtown,” said Ravi Kahlon, Parliamentary Secretary for Sport and Multiculturalism. “The economic benefits for the Lower Mainland and B.C. are significant. This is just one way our government is attracting people to British Columbia, creating good jobs and a sustainable economy, so that people can experience the best of B.C.”
In support of the marathon and the tourism opportunities it creates for B.C., the Province is contributing $168,000 in funding through its Tourism Events Program. The funding is used for marketing, international promotions, advertising and online webcasting. The marathon is expected to bring more than 16,000 hotel stays to the area, and generate an estimated $55.75 million in overall economic impact.
Ranked as one of the top destination marathons in the world, the marathon draws significant international interest and this year, for the second year in a row, it will draw participants from 65 countries. The event is also webcast to nearly 50 countries, helping to showcase the beauty of B.C.
“Vancouver’s only marathon has seen tremendous growth internationally, thanks in large part to the support of the Tourism Events Program, and has now surpassed another record for international and destination runners,” said Eric Chéné, Runvan race director. “The BMO Vancouver Marathon has become a world-class destination race, with runners now marking the BMO Vancouver Marathon as a must-run race. Thanks to the Province’s support, we have been able to increase and broaden our marketing reach that is otherwise limited as a non-profit. Once runners see our backyard, they want to run it.”
The Tourism Events Program supports events that raise national and international awareness of B.C.’s many tourism experiences, and motivates people from around the world to travel to and experience British Columbia. These events also generate tourism activity in communities and regions throughout the province.
- Tourism is an important economic driver for B.C., generating $17 billion in revenues in 2016.
- Tourism is one of the province’s biggest employers. More than 133,000 people work in this industry.
- Tourism is growing in importance for B.C.’s economy. In 2016, the industry contributed $7.9 billion in added value to the province’s gross domestic product (GDP), an increase of 5.6% over the previous year.
- The Government of British Columbia invests over $113 million in the tourism sector annually.
- In 2017, 5.7 million international visitors came to B.C. — a 3.3% increase (181,700 more visitors) over 2016.
For more information about the BMO Vancouver Marathon, visit: http://bmovanmarathon.ca/
For more information on the Tourism Events Program, visit: www.destinationbc.ca/BC-Tourism-Industry/Municipal-and-Regional-District-Tax-Program/Tourism-Events-Program.aspx


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via WSJ Blog:
While eating her lunch-time salad, a Wall Street Journal employee found an unexpected ingredient – a frog.
After opening a Pret A Manger nicoise salad at her desk, and eating about half of it, she discovered an approximately two inch long green and brown dead frog in the lettuce. She summoned nearby coworkers to confirm what she saw.
Ellen Roggemann, vice president of brand marketing for the company in the U.S., said that Pret A Manger’s goal of selling “handmade natural food,” often made from organic ingredients, could be partially to blame for the frog in the salad.
“We don’t use any pesticides with our greens and they go through multiple washing cycles,” she said. “An unfortunate piece of organic matter has made its way through,” she added.
The Wall Street Journal employee brought her salad back to where she purchased it, the Pret location on 6th Ave between 47th and 48th street across from the company’s office in New York. After handing the salad with frog to the store’s manager, the manager apologized, said the Wall Street Journal employee who declined to be named. She received a refund and a voucher for a free lunch, she said.
“We are so regretful that this has happened,” said Ms. Roggemann.
Pret issued a statement about the incident:
“At Pret A Manger, we take issues like this very seriously. Our lettuce is sourced from farms that do not use any pesticides on its produce, therefore organic matter does very rarely manage to pass through our production process. We are currently looking into this issue to make every effort that this does not happen again.”
Follow @TheReporters for shocking, satirical, weird, news, entertainment, gossip & stories from around the world
— The Reporters (@TheReporters) November 8, 2012


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Ford CEO Alan Mulally has announced plans to retire on July 1st. He will be replaced by Ford COO Mark Fields.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally has announced plans to retire on July 1st.
Mulally was appointed Ford CEO back in September of 2006 and was a newcomer to the automotive industry as he had worked at Boeing since 1969. While his appointment surprised some onlookers, he eventually become one of the most successful and respected automotive CEOs as he lead Ford to "19 consecutive quarters of profitability, developed the strongest product lineup in Ford’s history and embarked upon the company’s most ambitious global expansion in the past half century."
In a statement, Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford said "Under Alan’s leadership, Ford not only survived the global economic crisis, it emerged as one of the world’s strongest auto companies. We always will be grateful to Alan for his leadership, compelling vision and for fostering a culture of working together that will serve our company for decades to come.”
Mulally will be replaced by Mark Fields who has been the company's COO since December of 2012. Bill Ford says the decision will pave the way for the company's continued success as "Mark has transformed several of our operations around the world into much stronger businesses during his 25 years at Ford. Now, Mark is ready to lead our company into the future as CEO.”
Looking back at his career, Mulally said “It has been an honor to serve and contribute to creating a viable, profitably growing company for the good of everyone associated with the Ford Motor Company. By working together with all of our stakeholders around the world, we now are accelerating Henry Ford’s original vision to open the highways to all mankind." The executive went on to say "Ford’s future is so bright, and Mark – supported by an experienced and dedicated senior leadership team – is absolutely the right leader to continue to deliver on our compelling vision."


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As previously reported, Google recently announced that any adult in the U.S. can sign up to become a “Glass explorer,” and purchase a Google Glass for one day only: April 15th, which just happens to be today.
Here’s what Google said last week:
Whoops. So… we’d planned to post this next week, but it looks like the cat’s out of the bag now. Over the past several months, we’ve been trying out different ways to expand the Explorer program. Some of you signed up at Google I/O, some told us what you would do #ifihadglass , some were referred by a friend, some joined through their school or university. Our Explorers are moms, bakers, surgeons, rockers, and each new Explorer has brought a new perspective that is making Glass better. But every day we get requests from those of you who haven’t found a way into the program yet, and we want your feedback too. So in typical Explorer Program fashion, we’re trying something new.
Next Tuesday, April 15th at 6am PDT, we’re opening up some spots in the Glass Explorer Program. Any adult in the US* can become an Explorer by visiting our site and purchasing Glass for $1500 + tax – and it now comes with your favorite shade or frame, thanks to feedback from our current Explorers. The number of spots available is limited, so mark your calendar if you want to get in. You can find us on Tuesday at: http://google.com/glass/start/how-to-get-one
So far, there’s no indication on the landing page that they’re sold out, so you might still be able to one. That is if you want to pay that much money for a product that’s still so early in its development.
Image via YouTube


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Deadline to file claims for the Oroville spillway crisis approaches
OROVILLE, Calif. - The deadline to file a claim for the Oroville Dam spillway crisis was supposed to be on Friday but is being pushed to Saturday. So far dozens of people have filed claims, asking reimbursement for lost business during the crisis.
Julie Jackson, the owner of The Oroville Flower shop filed a claim because she lost business when the evacuation order was ordered during the emergency spillway crisis.
The Oroville Flower shop was preparing for their busiest holiday of the year.
"We were here over the Friday and Saturday prior to the evacuation making arrangements prepping for Valentine's day which is our biggest holiday of the year," said Jackson.
After they finished arranging flowers for Valentine's Day, they found out that they had to evacuate. Once the evacuation order was lifted they went back to the shop.
"On Monday we came in and just kind of hung out in here and people were calling wanting a refund for their order not for a delivery to be placed," said Jackson.
She lost a lot of money having to give people refunds as well as having flower arrangements go to waste.
"We calculated from prior years. We lost anywhere from $24,000-$30,000," said Jackson.
As a result of the loss, Jackson filed a claim hoping to get a refund for the business she lost during the evacuation order.
Julie's shop was not the only business affected by the emergency spillway crisis. Soul Healing Horses, a place where people ride horses for therapy, also suffered financially as a result of the spillway crisis. The owner of the company, Shannon Paige, said that although she did not have to evacuate, road closures signs affected her business drastically.
"It was about $4,000. That is what I wrote on my statement. I normally make a couple thousand dollars a month for the horses and that just supports them," said Paige.
Paige said the sign stayed there for months. The closure signs were not the only factor in impacting her business.
"The road having to be paved all the trucks, a lot of the traffic, a lot of people, a lot of my clients are emotional and behavioral clients so they didn't want to have to deal with it," said Paige.
As a result of the loss of her business, she filed a claim as well.
Paige said she is currently months behind financially and hopes that this reimbursement will help her recover from the loss of her business.
The Government Claims program will be accepting claims postmarked no later than this Saturday.


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Mastercard finds that cryptocurrency and blockchain tech are useful and can attract much more value to financial industries as a whole, but only when they tackle the security and ease of use issues to be able to build trust.
Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard’s EVP and head of cryptocurrency and blockchain tech, spoke within a North America Innovation Day event, and stated that the novel blockchain technologies and cryptocurrency are becoming more trending globally.
Nonetheless, Dhamodharan noted, the lack of safety and complex user interactions limit the technologies’ use cases and utilities.
This is why, while cryptocurrency technology has the potential to store and move financial resources and value, he argued, these use cases become sparse when safety and simplicity are not priorities.
The EVP was
quoted by TechCrunch as saying that,
“Instilling trust in the blockchain tech ecological system is a critical step in realizing its full potential.”
Similarly, Johan Gerber, EVP of Security and Cyber Innovation, stated that,
“What you must for this tech to scale universally is interoperability and underlying security of trust.”
And once these key points are accomplished, Dhamodharan opined, it will be a lot easier for numerous corporations, both traditional and new players, to enter the Web 3.0 industry and engage with it.
financial resources and talent coming into the industry, and There is plenty of innovation to be seen, but the technology holds more potential, Dhamodharan said. there is
“People look at cryptocurrency and think of it as an investment, but
a whole sector that’s a lot more useful for financial industries as a whole. The technology itself holds many of promise.” there is
Gerber also mentioned that Mastercard ” intends to provide a technological foundation that allows everyone from small startups to substantial financial institutions to innovate and build upon.”
Not a Newcomer
Mastercard is not new to the industry. Plenty of developments have been announced in the previous few months alone.
As already stated in October a year ago, the company debuted a new piece of software, Cryptocurrency Secure, powered by
CipherTrace, meant to assist banks identify and cut off transactions from fraud-prone cryptocurrency exchanges.
That same 30 days, Dhamodharan stated that “someday soon” we would reach spend digital currencies as seamlessly as contactless card payments, but that it would require developments in some key areas, including cryptocurrency cards, service providers, and easier crypto-to-fiat conversion for payments.
In November, CEO Michael Miebach claimed that it is “entirely possible,” that one day everybody will be paying with Bitcoin, “but I think it’s a long way to go before cryptocurrency becomes mainstream.”
Likewise in November, Mastercard launched Start Path Cryptocurrency, a worldwide engagement program to assist blockchain tech, cryptocurrency, and digital investment startups scale.
In the meantime, in June 2022, the company said
it would begin enabling non-fungible crypto token (NFT) trading for a range of crypto- ecological system platforms, including marketplaces, metaverse network gaming titles, and Web 3.0 infrastructure providers.
And in February in the year, Satvik Sethi, the previous Non-Fungible Token (
NFT) Product Lead at Mastercard, made a unique announcement: he surprised the Non-Fungible Token ( NFT) community by minting his resignation letter as an open-edition Non-Fungible Token ( NFT) on Ethereum (ETH) via the digital collectibles protocol Manifold.
– BitOasis Partners With Mastercard
– Mastercard to Enable Direct Non-Fungible Token ( NFT) Payment Options for Marketplace Operators
– Payment Giants Visa and Mastercard Push Back Launch of Cryptocurrency Products Owing to Uncertain Market Conditions
– Visa Reaffirms Commitment to Cryptocurrency Tech Regardless of Recent Reports – Here’s The Latest
– What is Blockchain Tech Technology?
– The Difference Betwixt Bitcoin (BTC) and Traditional Currencies


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Meet TWIC Woman of the Year: Line Aarnes
LAVAL, Quebec — Earlier this year, Line Aarnes started a new chapter in her career at Alimentation Couche-Tard, which operates approximately 15,000 stores, as vice president of global marketing. She relocated from Europe to Charlotte, N.C., for the newly created role, which was a promotion from her previous post as senior vice president of sales and marketing.
“This will give me the opportunity to learn more about our business in North America, and hopefully bring some of my competence from Europe to my colleagues here,” she told Convenience Store News.
Graduating with a Master of Business and Administration from the Norwegian School of Economics in Norway, Aarnes started her career as a consultant and analyst supporting projects in the consumer products industry, even spending eight years working in the grocery business. She also held the role of senior brand manager at Kraft Foods, responsible for areas of its chocolate business in Norway and Scandinavia.
Her first foray into the convenience store industry came when she accepted the role of director of foodservice at Statoil Fuel and Retail, working across all European markets. Before Couche-Tard acquired Statoil in June 2012, she held the titles of vice president of category convenience, and senior vice president of sales and marketing.
Despite some initial doubt about entering the c-store business, Aarnes said she has never regretted her decision because of all the opportunities it has provided her, as well as the people she gets to work with each day.
“It’s a business with quick decisions, and always extremely high speed and full of passion,” she said, explaining that this is one of her favorite parts of the industry, as well as the impact the stores have on people’s daily lives to help them save time and make the shopping experience more enjoyable.
“I also like the fact that everyone has a relationship with their local store, either as a child buying candy and ice cream, or as a grown-up where the c-store is where you meet your local neighborhood and some of your daily needs,” she continued.
A NEW ROLE
Her new title with the company marks the first time someone has been recruited globally to focus on merchandising and marketing. The goal is to build a strong and competent organization to support the business units in succeeding in the local markets, she explained.
“My role will develop based on what the strategic priorities are for the company,” Aarnes said. “The ambition is to accelerate growth and competence within merchandise and marketing across our business in the U.S., Canada and Europe.”
The first project she is responsible for is Couche-Tard’s first-ever Global Customer Segmentation Project, as the chain is looking to become a more customer-centric organization. As part of this, the goal is to build a better understanding of what occasions, motivations and drivers are influencing current customers and potentially new customers.
“Equally important is how we will use the competence to target and develop smarter and better solutions for our customers. This is a long-term investment that will influence all functions in our company and how we work,” she noted.
Right now, the most exciting part of her new position is all the things she is learning about the company and customers in North Carolina. It’s almost like starting a new job in a new company, she said. The move from Oslo, Norway to Charlotte also has been an adventure.
“It’s very exciting on a more personal level for my spouse and myself. It’s the first time we are living in the United States, and need to learn the differences and how to solve new, practical challenges,” Aarnes shared.
Looking back on her career in the industry so far, she is most proud of Couche-Tard’s large rebranding from Statoil to Circle K in Europe over the past three years. The retailer’s Irish Business Unit is the last one to be rebranded, which is happening now. The rebranding has been a “tremendous project,” involving many departments across the organization, including sales and marketing.
Her advice to other women in the industry is to say “yes” to all opportunities where they can develop and grow — even if the new tasks seem bigger than what they have experienced in the past.
“Think about long-term ambitions in your career, not only the next short-term move,” she advised. “Many interesting opportunities come from the ones you don’t expect.”


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Initial details on Apple’s strict rules for Apple Watch app development were revealed last week, but as the April 24th release date nears we’re starting to hear more about the bizarre secrecy surrounding the wearable. In an email to potential Apple Watch developers earlier this week, obtained by The Verge, Apple has started to invite app developers to WatchKit Labs across the world. There’s a strict attendance policy to enter WatchKit labs, involving government-issued photo ID and the need to bring a near-final version of an Apple Watch app on a MacBook running Yosemite.
"Tape will be placed over the cameras on your MacBook and iPhone."
This all seems reasonable, but Apple specifically states "you may bring one personal iPhone into the lab," noting that no other equipment is allowed (apart from the MacBook). "You agree that tape will be placed over the cameras on your MacBook and iPhone (or on your team member’s MacBook or iPhone) since no photography or video will be allowed at WatchKit labs." Tape is certainly one way to prevent leaks, but it’s not clear what Apple is trying to hide here given that public previews of the device will be held in a month and members of the media have had a closer look at working watches earlier this week.
A Bloomberg report revealed that Apple is also blocking internet access, and developers cannot bring outside materials into the room that houses the Apple Watch. Developers are sometimes forced to share a room to work on the watch and have to leave the code for apps in development on hard drives that can't leave Apple's offices. Apple is now planning to hold its secretive labs in Sunnyvale, London, Sydney, Tokyo, Beijing, and Hong Kong. If developers agree to the strict rules then they also agree "not to take any photographs, video recordings, or screenshots of Apple Watch, including but not limited to any application trailers of your application running on Apple Watch, or any pictures inside of the WatchKit lab venues."
Verge Video: It's finally here- Reviewing the Apple Watch


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The measures necessary to operate a cruise line between Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada are being finalized. The first cruise ship in the line will belong to the Arab Bridge Maritime owned by Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq.
Chairman of the Red Sea Ports Authority Ayman Saleh announced that the first cruise trip will take place this month. In the trial phase, there will only be one trip per week to be increased to two. Other companies will be allowed to operate their ships after all financial studies are finished.Tags:between, Cruise, hurghada, launched, sharm, sheikh


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It has been reported that HC7 Planetary Ransomware is first to accept Ether Cryptocurrency as ransom payout. Since Etherum (ETH) is steeply priced in market, hackers have now switched and started demanding it as a ransom payment to make maximum profits. Etherum is now there in the list and is rated as second most high priced cryptocurrency after Bitcoin. It is priced at $1200 which is estimated to soar even higher.
Recently spotted a new variant of HC7 Ransomware that rapidly encrypts your valuable files and appends the .PLANETERY extension to the corrupted filenames. It You have definitely heard of WannaCry ransomware last year and the destruction it has caused around the world, and that Ransomware was the worst PC threat in recent years. When this type of malware infects a PC, all (and encrypt) all their stored valuable data of the user and then request a crypto exchange payment in exchange for the decryption software or key. Normally, the currencies most commonly used for ransom payment are Bitcoin and Monero, although there appears to be a new currency that starts to catch the attention of the security researchers: Ethereum.
In recent months, malware researchers found that how the malicious hackers have moved a bit sideways to ransomware and have focused on different kinds of system threats, such as malware, using the victim’s PC to mine Cryptocurrency. However, that does not mean that ransomware is completely finished, far from it. From time to time, we can see how malware developers update malware by implementing new security and encryption measures to make them more complex and difficult to decrypt encryption algorithms or searching new techniques to free from the detections of antivirus programs. A few days ago, a system security platform found a latest variant of HC7 Planetary Ransomware, that is the first to use Ethereum as a currency for payment in exchange of decryption. While most Ransomware uses Bitcoin and several other variants of Monero, Ethereum’s enormous value movement (now equal to $ 1,200) meant that the hackers responsible for this malware have using this currency as ransom payment method, although other options, such as Verge, give greater privacy.
How This New HC7 Planetary Ransomware Works On Compromised Computer?
This HC7 Planetary Ransomware successfully intruded into system via corrupted or infected computer networks that uses remote desktop connections. After gaining successful entry inside on your system then it start manually to install the ransomware infection on various systems they can attacked to. As the ransom apply manual installation on system so it is very difficult for the security researchers to detect it. After following encryption it allows the affected user to decrypt only single device by paying the ransom of $700 and the single network after paying amount of $5000. So you should be really aware from this infection attack and follow all the security measures to make your system safe.


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(Corrects 1st paragraph to show growth in consumer spending was slower, not that spending was lower)
* Second-quarter growth slows to 2.4 pct on imports
* First-quarter growth revised up to 3.7 pct vs 2.7 pct
* Import growth biggest since first-quarter 1984
* Business investment largest rate since 2006 (Adds manufacturing and confidence data, updates markets)
By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON, July 30 (Reuters) - U.S. economic growth slowed in the second quarter as companies invested heavily in equipment from abroad and the pace of consumer spending eased, raising concerns about the recovery in the rest of 2010.
Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.4 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said in its first estimate on Friday, after an upwardly revised 3.7 percent growth pace in the January-March quarter.
Financial markets had forecast GDP, which measures total goods and services output within U.S. borders, growing at a 2.5 percent rate in the second quarter from a previously estimated a 2.7 percent rate for the first three months of this year.
“The anticipated slowdown in the economy is happening. Will business investment fall off a cliff next quarter if domestic consumer spending continues to flag?” said Lee Olver, managing director of financial strategies at Madison Williams & Co. in Houston.
A second report showed business activity in the nation’s Midwest region expanded more than expected this month on strong orders. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago business barometer rose to 62.3 from 59.1 in June and above market forecasts for reading of 56.5. [ID:nN30265688]
Separately, consumer sentiment dropped this month to a nine-month low, according to Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers. [ID:nN30173680]
U.S. stocks fell on the growth and confidence data, while prices for safe have government bonds rose. The U.S. dollar fell against the yen.
The economy, which is digging out of its longest and deepest recession since the 1930s, has now grown for four straight quarters. However, growth has been too tepid, making little impact on a high unemployment rate.
The sluggish economy and a 9.5 percent unemployment rate are eroding President Barack Obama’s popularity and dimming Democrats’ prospects in November’s mid-term elections.
A Reuters-Ipsos poll this week showed only a 34 percent approval of Obama’s handling of the economy and jobs compared to 46 percent who deemed it unsatisfactory.
This is a sharp decline from early 2009, shortly after he took office, when more than half of those surveyed approved of Obama’s handling of the worst financial crisis in decades.
For graphic on U.S. second-quarter GDP see:
For graphic on U.S. manufacturing trends see:
For Reuters Insider show on GDP see:
Growth in the last quarter was held back by a 28.8 percent surge in imports, the fastest increase in 26 years, which eclipsed a 10.3 percent rise in exports. The widening trade deficit lopped off 2.78 percentage points from growth, the largest subtraction since the third quarter of 1982.
Outside the trade sector, however, there were some encouraging details in the report. Business investment rose at a 17 percent rate, the largest increase since the first quarter of 2006, after a 7.8 percent pace during the prior period.
Spending on equipment and software posted its strongest growth since the third quarter of 1997, while investment on structures rose for the first time since the third quarter of 2008, likely boosted by a rise in oil and gas drilling.
Economists worried businesses might have taken an overly optimistic view of the the recovery, given the pull back in consumer spending. They expect spending to slow down in the coming quarters.
“It’s good to see they are putting their money into the economy, but just how sustainable are those numbers,” said Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pennsylvania.
“Businesses are making up for lost ground right now. Once they have made up for it and if they are looking at a more sluggish expansion, I think they will slow their investment activity.”
Growth during the second quarter was also supported by new home construction, which surged at a 27.9 percent rate after being a drag on GDP in the first quarter, reflecting a spurt in building activity spurred by a popular home-buyer tax credit that has since expired.
The rate of increase was the biggest since the third quarter of 1983. Residential investment had contracted at a 12.3 percent rate in the first quarter.
But there were some areas of concern. The report showed consumer spending was not robust. Consumer spending grew at a 1.6 percent rate in the second quarter after increasing at a revised 1.9 percent pace in the first quarter.
Consumer spending, which normally accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, had previously been estimated to have grown at a 3 percent rate in the first quarter. Spending added 1.15 percentage points to GDP last quarter.
With so much domestic demand sated by overseas production, U.S. businesses found stocks piling up on their shelves. Inventories increased $75.7 billion in the second quarter after a $44.1 billion rise in the first three months of the year.
Stripping out the rise in inventories, which could dampen future production, the economy would have expanded at only a 1.3 percent rate in the second quarter.
Separate reports showed current business conditions in New York City fell in July to its lowest level in 11 months [ID:nNLLTIE6AE], while employment costs in the second quarter rose a mild 0.5 percent as the soft economy kept a lid on wages and benefit costs slowed. [ID:nLLAUIE62P] (Editing by Neil Stempleman)


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New APAC comms chief for McCann
Marketing agency McCann Worldgroup Asia has announced a new regional comms director for Asia-Pacific. Based in Singapore, Samantha Strauss (pictured above) joins from BBDO Asia, where she spent three-and-a-half years leading its PR and comms strategy. Click for the full story from PRWeek Asia.
Dialight hires MHP
MHP Communications has been retained by global LED lighting tech firm Dialight, to advise on financial comms. Dialight is listed on the London Stock Exchange and had revenue of £80.6m in the first half of 2015. The account is being led by Tim Rowntree and Jamie Ricketts.
Will Roberts becomes Alstom's comms director
Will Roberts has joined global transport solutions firm Alstom as UK and Ireland comms director. He took up the role at the start of this month, having previously worked in-house and for agencies, including time at Network Rail. Last year, the business sold its energy division to GE, and in October appointed Atkins' Alex Burrows as marketing and strategy director.
Warner Leisure Hotels appoints Bottle
UK short break company Warner Leisure Hotels has appointed Bottle to deliver its PR and social media strategy, following a two-way pitch. Bottle won the social media account for Warner Leisure last April and is now taking over the whole contract, which was previously held by Diffusion.
THRSXTY's trio of wins
THRSXTY – formally known as 360 Degrees Communications and part of the Exposure Group – has announced it has been retained by Lacoste Footwear for global and UK comms and PR, and for Italian clothing brand Geox's UK PR. It has also been appointed on a project to relaunch Clash Magazine. Work on all three began last month.
Rooster wins ButlerTech
ButlerTech, a global travel tech company, has appointed Rooster to manage consumer and trade PR, and social media, following a competitive pitch. Rooster will help launch two products in the UK - CityButler, a destination guide app, and ButlerPad, a concierge app for hotels and resorts. The agency will also run the CityButler blog and ButlerPad's Facebook and Twitter channels.
Alter Agency created out of merger
The London agencies Capitalize and Tea & Cake PR have merged and rebranded as Alter Agency. Capitalize chief executive Richard Moore takes the same role in the new agency, as does his creative director Peter Kellett, while Tea & Cake managing director Lucy Finnegan becomes a director in the new firm. Alter clients include Puma, Bacardi, JD Sports Group and Beats By Dre.
Rostrum promotes Michael Kahn
Michael Kahn has been appointed to a director role at corporate PR and content marketing agency Rostrum. Kahn joined the agency in 2010 initially as a freelancer, and then became head of content in 2012.
Fleet Street wins potato firm
Fleet Street Communications has won an ongoing press office and campaign projects account with Lamb Weston, an international supplier of frozen potato products.


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Cyber Monday in Canada: What to expect
The weekend through from Black Friday through to Cyber Monday displays a whole host of exciting deals and offers to help kick off the Christmas shopping season with over 19.3 million Canadians expected to take part.
According to GlobalNews.ca, more than 1.2 million Canadians are expected to be ‘sick’ over the Black Friday/Cyber Monday period with even more (6.4 million) planning on taking vacation days. For those people still having to work over the shopping period, a lot of malls, shopping centres and stores will be providing early and/or extended opening-hours for your convenience.
Last year, Canadians spent (on average) $140.81 on each credit or debit transaction according to Consolidated.
According to new research, 44 percent of Canadians that were surveyed said that they would spend one week making plans for their Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping trips. The average amount that consumers say they’ll be spending on November 25th is $347. 60 per cent of Canadians that were surveyed said that their main aim when they went shopping was to purchase electronic goods, with clothing and accessories coming in at a close second.
A huge number of shops and online retailers are taking part in Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales with some of the best deals including Amazons $100 off the FIFA 17 bundle edition of the Xbox One S 500GB Console, 40 percent off the Breville BES870XL Barista Expresso and savings of up to 30 percent on selected Acer products.
You can also find some good deals from Aldo. It is offering 20 percent off its regular styles and 50 percent off the styles that have been already reduced. You do not need a code for this sale.
Roots are also taking part in the Cyber Monday sales with 30 percent off its entire store. The company has been running a ‘6 Days, 6 Offers’ sale with todays (28th) sale offer being 40 percent off hats, scarves and gloves.
There is 40 percent off all products at Akola with no code required. It also offers free shipping with orders over $75.
Chinese Laundry has a sale on too, with 30 percent off across the whole site when you use the code ‘CYBERMONDAY’ at the checkout.
You can save 20 percent from Black Friday through to Cyber Monday from Mulberry & Grand when you use the code ‘FEATHER’ at checkout.
There are also big savings to be made on travel deals thanks to Skyscanner such as flights from Toronto to London from just $500 (normally priced at $674), Montreal to Coyo Coco from $485 (normally $549), Montreal to Berlin from $550 (normally $723), Montreal to Reykjavik from $400 (normally $473) and many more.
- Top 10 most valuable brands in the world – Amazon to TikTokCorporate Finance
- Amazon offices won’t be ‘ready’ for employee return dateLeadership & Strategy
- Technology sector rocked by latest wave of layoffsTechnology & AI
- Black Friday could be out of date as retail trends shiftLeadership & Strategy


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Broadcasters, Manufacturers Eye RBDS Enhancements
Sep 15, 2006 8:45 AM
Quincy, IL - Sep 13, 2006 - Broadcast Electronics, Kenwood, Entercom, CBS Radio, Clear Channel and others are participating in what is being called an international plugfest. The goal is to implement a new standard for enriching RBDS text.
The group meeting of RBDS leaders from Europe, Japan and the United States is being held in Bellevue, WA, to conduct compatibility testing of Radio Text Plus (RT+), a standard passed by the RDS Forum in June 2006 for tagging specific radio text elements under a variety of categories. RT+ builds on the internationally established Radio Text standard by adding category codes to existing text streams, creating new and enriched opportunities for displaying song title, artist name, traffic updates, weather read-outs and more.
The RT+ standard has been developed jointly by the mobile phone manufacturer Nokia, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) and the research firm IRT (Institut fuer Rundfunktechnik).
Testing, which began Sept. 11 and concludes with an engineering review at the end of the week, includes the broadcast of artist, title, album name, station name as well as weather, traffic and stock market information. Each data element is independently identified within the RT+ system.
The participants are interested in the test results to advance new products based on the standard. Kenwood is expected to demonstrate a radio based on RT+ at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2007. In addition to Kenwood, Catena and Jump 2 Go are testing RT+ products during the week.
Seattle stations owned by Entercom and CBS Radio are hosting the broadcasts and using Broadcast Electronics' RBDS generators to generate RT+. The RBDS signals are being picked up by various prototype receivers supplied by some of the participants. The Entercom and CBS stations are also using the Radio Experience by BE to provide the text presentation for the RBDS and HD Radio streams. Clear Channel is also supplying an RT+ enabled signal through a local station.


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According to Pinterest’s annual prediction report, “Store Décor” will be a major search trend on their social media platform this year. They envisage searches for terms such as “vintage shop fronts” tripling and searches for “creative retail display” increasing +18x.
According to their data, millennials are part of the driving force behind the entrepreneurial trend, which reflects the current social and economic climate.
History shows when there’s an economic shock, young people turn to reinvention, and 2021 was no exception. Now named the year of “The Great Resignation”, 2021 saw 4.4 million adults in the UK quit their job, and 77% of 25 – 34 year olds look to change careers.
Adding to this, the pandemic clearly sparked an entrepreneurial streak in millennials, with government-backed Start Up Loans among 25 to 40 year olds accounting for 58% of total applications.
Among the start-ups have been independent shops. Bucking the trend for online retail, it seems many young adults have decided to open their own independent shops, with numbers rising for the first time since 2017.
As more independent shops open, it’s important for owners to create eye-catching shop fronts, layouts and signage to entice customers in.
Pinterest will be a key platform for gathering inspiration, particularly where businesses are led by millennials – a generation that’s comfortable with social media. They will have a competitive advantage and easy access to the latest on-trend designs and interiors.
Inspired by Pinterest search data, here are 6 retail trends that will help set your independent store apart from the rest:
1. Curve Appeal
Curve’s the word in Pinterest’s 2022 design predictions. Popular for the past decade, geometric designs have now given way to curved interior schemes that make spaces feel soft, graceful and intimate.
Curved elements can be worked into retail spaces to soften their look and allow them to flow. Curved wooden display counters and till points are a good way of adding continuity to a space and making customers feel at ease.
Slated curved walls are also currently popping up in many retail stores. They provide a modern alternative to traditional partition walls, bringing warmth and texture to commercial settings. Woods such as ash, walnut, oak, and maple can be used depending on the desired aesthetic effect.
2. Biophilic Design
‘Biophilic’ design brings together aspects of the natural world such as sunlight, greenery, and natural materials. It’s a way of truly bringing the outdoors in.
Millennials have been early adopters of this natural interior trend, using it to enhance their mood and wellbeing. Biophilic design in retail brings other benefits too – one study has shown that a store with well-designed natural daylight can boost sales by up to 40%.
To maximise the availability of sunlight, install more mirrors into your retail space.
Planters with statement greenery are another way to introduce biophilic design elements into shops. To go one step further, install wooden planters made from reclaimed wood or heavy-duty oak to maintain an earthy feel.
Pets have played a big role in our pandemic lives. Due to this, more and more shops are becoming dog friendly and embracing the ‘barkitecture’ trend. Not to be confused with pet-proofing, barkitecture introduces specific animal-friendly areas into a room.
Pet-friendly areas of shops could include: a banquette seating area with additional dog-friendly furniture, a dedicated play zone for pets, or a feeding station made from reclaimed wood.
4. Flexible In-Store Layouts
As independent brick-and-mortar stores battle with online retailers for sales, flexibility will be key to generating high footfall.
Flexible retail design will allow shop owners to change the layout of their store overnight, helping them to keep up with emerging retail trends, effectively promote new products, and create a unique shopping experience.
Flexibility also means retailers can create multifunctional spaces, where shopping areas can be interspersed with bars, cafes and art spaces. These destination-type stores offer diversity, encouraging customers to visit and share their experience online.
To ensure flexibility, invest in versatile shelving and display units. Flexible shelving will make it easier to test out different product assortments and see which shelving solutions and product arrangements drive the most profit. Movable partition walls are also a good way of ensuring versatility. They can be used to create different areas within a shop and moved around as new trends emerge.
5. Vintage Décor
Pinterest have predicted that searches for “vintage shop fronts” on their platform will triple within the next year. They also state that searches for “farmers’ market display ideas” will significantly increase. This suggests the vintage trend is likely to see a resurgence over the next 12 months.
If you’d like to add a vintage feel to your independent shop, there are several things you can do to achieve the perfect look and feel.
Firstly, consider the colour palette of your store. Many vintage designs feature rich, bold colours such as burgundy, gold and forest green. Reclaimed or distressed furniture will also give your store a vintage edge, as will a slatted wall made of natural wood. These particular vintage design features will evoke a sense of nostalgia and romantic, old-fashioned charm associated with years gone by.
6. Gathering & Event Spaces
Now people can conveniently shop online, some customers need a reason to venture out into brick-and-mortar stores again. One of the key attractions to physical shops is the chance for social gatherings.
Tying in with the flexible layout trend, well-designed shops can also be utilised as event spaces. By creating a can’t-miss retail experience, in-store event, or workshop, footfall is likely to increase. These events will increase sales and provide an opportunity for customers to meet with friends and socialise.
To accommodate for both sales and events, think about investing in large wooden display tables that can double-up as workbenches during an event or workshop.
If you’d like to speak to us about your store design, please call 0113 253 7307, or contact us here: https://www.gralyn-joinery.co.uk/contact-us/.


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Is Bitcoin Really Used For Illicit Activities? | Terence Zimwara
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) decision to issue an advisory against cryptocurrencies in 2018 was borne out of a narrative that privately issued digital currencies are for bad actors.
Across the globe, politicians and influential figures have taken turns to label Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as tools for terrorists and organized criminals.
Unfortunately, this controversial characterization of privately issued digital currencies only helps to blur the immense potential of the blockchain.
Bitcoin transactions are anonymous and largely untraceable. It is such characteristics that lead the ignorant to conclude that these digital currencies are used to facilitate nefarious activities.
The interest by Bitcoin opponents to push this narrative helps to stall the development and adoption of the blockchain and decentralized applications (Dapps).
What the evidence say
But just how true is this assertion that criminals and terrorists are using cryptocurrencies to finance their activities? What proportion of cryptocurrency transactions goes into facilitating illegal or illicit activities? How do the two, crypto and fiat compare on this issue?
Chainalysis, a tech firm which claims to have the ability to trace Bitcoin and indeed cryptocurrency transactions, released a report earlier in the year which might have some answers. In a report titled, The 2020 Crypto Crime, the tech firm makes a very important observation that is missed by opponents of cryptocurrencies. The report states:
“If the last few years have proven anything, it’s that cryptocurrency isn’t just for criminals. Polling shows that adoption is increasing, as 18% of all Americans and 35% of American millennials have purchased cryptocurrency in the last year. Mainstream financial institutions like JP Morgan Chase are getting involved. Popular retailers like Amazon and Starbucks now allow customers to pay in Bitcoin.”
As depicted below, the share of cryptocurrency volume that is illicit remains insignificant, about 1.1% of all cryptocurrency activity. Such findings support the conclusion reached by Chainalysis that adoption by the generality of people is increasing. This is the primary reason the fintech was created.
Chainalysis’ conclusion is also supported by earlier findings from a study conducted by the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, better known under the name Europol. This study’s findings—which were made public in 2018—estimates that a total of between £3-4 billion (USD$ 4.5-6 billion) is laundered using cryptocurrencies each year in Europe.
This report shows that criminals are getting ever sophisticated when it comes to moving funds. However, just like observation made in the Chainalysis report, the figure associated with is insignificant when compared to the amounts that are moved by the same criminals with regular financial institutions.
The Europol report estimates that as much as £100 billion is laundered via conventional financial institutions. This suggests that the many tools put in place to stop criminals from accessing financial services are not doing the job. Instead, some of the measures are hurting those without access to financial services.
Why some communities use Bitcoin
It turns out Bitcoin is becoming a preferred means of sending and receiving remittances. As one Paxful, a global peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin marketplace has learnt, Bitcoin and peer-to-peer finance are increasingly used for remittances, e-commerce, and many more.
Paxful, which has been recording an increase of new wallets every year, states that as much as 45% of these are from Africa. The continent is also accounting for a greater portion of the firm’s total revenue.
Against this background, it would be amiss to characterize Bitcoin as solely a tool used by criminals or even terrorists to finance their activities.
So when the bodies like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) or the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) impose stringent measures on tech companies, it is poor African and Asian communities that suffer. Going after technology firms that are providing a vital service is ill-advised especially if this results in loss of access to financial services.
For now, it seems FAFT has taken heed of some of these concerns as evidenced by the so-called travel rule.
FAFT recommendation 16, which has alarmed some in the crypto space, specifies that virtual asset service providers, such as cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets, disclose information about participants in transactions of $1,000 or more.
For the most part, it means smaller transactions which are commonly associated with remittances and cross border payments will not be unduly affected by the new regulations.
Innovation for the benefit of humanity
Financial innovations like Bitcoin are not an innovation that came to life because its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, wanted to operate outside the regulatory perimeter. His idea was borne out of frustration with the financial meltdown of 2008 and how fiat currency is easily manipulated.
Bitcoin, just like other new technologies before it, must be seen more as a tool that benefits the majority and not criminals that constitute a small minority. Banning or strangling it will end illicit financial transactions; criminals will simply switch to something else.
Interestingly, no one has talked about banning the iPhone just because the Boston Marathon terrorists used it as a communicating device when planning the bombing.
An even better is the analogy of a steak knife that is present in every household. One cannot prepare a very meal without using this important utensil. However, we do not advocate for the banning of the knife just because one person with a criminal intent decides to use it as a weapon.
The internet cannot be banned just because paedophiles use it to distribute the heinous content. The internet is far more important to a majority of people than the insignificant paedophiles.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are not different and thus should not be judged differently.
Articles You May Want To Read,
- The Beginner’s Guide To Bitcoin Series: How A Bitcoin Wallet Works
- The Beginner’s Guide to Bitcoin Series: What is The Blockchain?
- Identifying Bitcoin Scams In The New Age Of Working From Home


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The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.
What’s Buzzing Today: National Treasures hauls, original comic sketch covers and … how long have you left a case of cards closed?
Ok, it’s not the weekend, but this was slated to be sent last night — further proving that it was a busy one on The Buzz this past week. Here are 10 stories worth a look if you missed out. Check ’em out & hit the subscribe button at right if you want email updates.
This Week’s Big Hit?
It seems that 2017 Donruss‘ arrival has collectors talking and there’s fun to be found inside its packs. Click here to start with variations and find links to checklists & more. After that, check out a Buzz Break of a hobby box right here.
Keep reading for more …
She’s one of the comic book world’s biggest icons and a ferocious superheroine vampire — and her first story ever published back in 1969 is now in the hands of one of the world’s biggest comic art collectors.
She’s Vampirella and the original art — the complete seven-page story — from Vampirella No. 1 is in the hands of Thomas Fish, the owner of BlowoutCards.com. The artwork previously sold in May 2009 after it had been in the collection of its creator, Forrest J. Ackerman all these years.
“During the last comic art con in Secaucus, N.J., I had an opportunity to meet the previous owner and discuss this historic first appearance piece of comic book and horror memorabilia,” Fish said. “After some negotiation, we were able to come to a deal we were both happy with and the artwork is now part of my collection.”
Deadpool‘s $150 million showing at the box office this past weekend was a landmark moment for both R-rated movies and a potential game-changer for comic book films, too.
It set box-office records for its rating, records for its studio, records for its time of year and a few other fronts … and it all started for the character 15 years ago this month as The New Mutants was a Marvel Comics series that was winding down. Deadpool debuted in issue 98, which was called “The Beginning of the End Part 1” — the title’s final issue was just two months away.
The duo that created Deadpool was artist-writer Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza — and their work was seen by many readers that month but many, many more when X-Force No. 1 arrived a few months later. One of those books is one of the hottest in collecting today — Mutants No. 98 — while the other is one that collectors of the Polybag Era have stashed away in bulk. (Buzz is right there with a few dozen in a box somewhere.)
But what’s got to be hotter than the hot book for the hottest movie of the moment?


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The year 2017 started with optimism that a new administration would crack down on the imports of foreign-made steel that have bedeviled the U.S. steel industry in recent years, a hopefulness that was strengthened by the launch of a Section 232 investigation into whether imports threatened national security.
But the promised crackdown never happened.
Instead, steel imports — already at historic levels — rose by 15 percent.
The American Iron and Steel Institute reported that the United States imported 38.1 million tons of steel last year, a 15.4 percent increase over 2016. That included 29.5 million tons of finished steel products, a 12.2 percent jump over 2016.
Last year, imports of oil country goods skyrocketed by 196 percent, while line pipe shot up by 63 percent. Imports of standard pipe rose by 40 percent, mechanical tubing by 30 percent, hot rolled bars by 23 percent, cold rolled sheets by 16 percents, sheets and strip all other metallic coatings by 15 percent and sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized by 10 percent.
Finished steel imports captured 28 percent of the overall market share, the AISI estimates.
In 2017, South Korean exported 3.7 million tons of steel to the United States, down 2 percent. Imports from Turkey fell by 9 percent to 2.1 million tons last year, while imports from Japan dropped 16 percent to 1.5 million tons. Germany exported 1.4 million tons of steel into the United States in 2017, an 18 percent increase. Taiwan sent 15 percent more steel to the United States, more than 1.24 million tons.
In December, the United States imported 2.4 tons of steel, an 11.4 percent decrease and about 22 percent of the overall market share.


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Costco Wholesale continues to grow its membership, to 61.7 million members in the latest fiscal year.
Costco Wholesale is challenging Amazon.com as the most richly valued retailing giant in the country. The warehouse club leader continues to win over investors with its distinctive strategy.
It keeps things simple with limited selection, low prices, and executes well. It has shown that a significant Internet presence isn’t critical for retailing success. With just 7% of its sales online, it’s the anti-Amazon.
With its dominant online retailing franchise and leading cloud computing business, Amazon has long had the highest P/E among big retailers—although it is part retailer and part technology company. Amazon’s retailing P/E arguably is less than 43 due to the high value of Amazon Web Services, its cloud operation.
With its rock-bottom prices and treasure-hunt atmosphere, Costco continues to draw shoppers to its warehouse clubs. High inflation is adding to its consumer appeal. Costco earns the bulk of its profits from membership fees—the base fee is $60 a year. This gives the company a subscription-like model with renewal rates regularly running around 90%.
Costco generally won’t mark up prices of any goods more than 15%. That makes the Costco value proposition almost impossible to beat. Costco can make money with such low markups because it keeps expenses low, although it pays employees better than most rivals, including Walmart (WMT).
Membership continues to grow, rising 7% in the company’s latest fiscal year to 61.7 million members. The company operates 829 warehouses mostly in the U.S.


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Google’s Project Tango plans to model it in real-time 3D with a smartphone. Similar to its Project Ara to build a modular smartphone, Google’s Project Tango originated in the Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) group. This group which was earlier a part of Motorola Mobility, was bought by Google and then sold the Motorola division, though Google kept ATAP.
Ara expects to deconstruct a smartphone, by developing a phone which can be customized with functional modules by the users. While, Tango, on the other hand, plans to deconstruct reality, taking a quarter million 3D measurements each second to develop a real-time 3D model that illustrates the physical depth of its surroundings. Some of the specifications of Tango are:
It is expected that if successful, Tango-capable or similar mobile devices could lead to new heights of gestural control, 3D modeling for 3D printing, photography, immersive gaming and educational experiences, facial recognition, support for sight-impaired users, etc.
Along with the above mentioned specifications, the Tango prototype development kit includes:
Besides, the teardown point outs that this prototype would be simple to repair due to the relative simplicity of its overall construction.
Google announced that it expects to start selling the Ara endoskeleton for about $50. So it can be estimated that it will not be long for an Ara phone to become a Tango phone via appropriate modules.


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With the integration of Microsoft Dynamics GP and Manhattan Associates' Integrated Logistics Solutions, built on Microsoft .


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Tim Tebow probably wishes he could press rewind on this season. The New York Jets backup quarterback is coming off a season in which he led the Denver Broncos to the divisional round of the AFC playoffs, and now he is stuck behind a mediocre quarterback on a sinking team.
But not everything is going poorly for Tebow. The 25-year-old on Wednesday released his first spot as the new pitchman for TiVo.
"It's not just an ordinary DVR," Tebow says of TiVo. "It's like a magic box that goes out and searches on Hulu and Amazon and YouTube and Netflix, and it gets everything you like and brings it right to you."
Tebow says he's not just pitching the product because he and it have similar names. He enjoys the fact that TiVo, like him, can play many different roles. Unfortunately TiVo cannot protect the punter on special teams.
TiVo hopes that having Tebow as its pitchman can get people talking about the company again. TiVo has lost subscribers during the past few years, but with new products like TiVo Stream and TiVo Premiere XL4, the company is hoping to bounce back.
"Tim Tebow has unbelievable recognition as an athlete, as a young man, some of it controversial, yes," TiVo CEO Tom Rogers told USA Today. "But he has an enormous following. He's talked about. He brings attention. One of the things we want to accomplish here is having people take a look and recognize that we are something to talk about ourselves."
TiVo is set to air a new line of Tebow commercials starting Nov. 27. In the meantime, TiVo will donate $1 to the Tim Tebow Foundation (up to $25,000) for each "like" on its Facebook page.


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Photo Credit: Geekbench
Google's upcoming mid-range Pixel smartphones - the Pixel 3a and the Pixel 3a XL – are reportedly going to make their debut on May 7 at Google's I/O conference. Ahead of the official launch, the smaller Google Pixel 3a has been spotted on Geekbench. Codenamed ‘Sargo', the Pixel 3a was spotted on the benchmarking platform running Android 9 Pie and packing 4GB of RAM. The name of the octa-core chipset powering the device is not mentioned, but as per previous leaks, the processor in question is the Snapdragon 670 SoC.
The Geekbench listing of the Pixel 3a, dated April 29, mentions the motherboard of the device as ‘Sargo', which is reportedly the codename of the upcoming smartphone. The phone scored 1,625 on the Geekbench single core test and 5,206 on the multi-core test. In another listing on the benchmarking platform dated April 24, the Pixel 3a put up a tally of 1,627 and 5,189 in the single and multi-core tests respectively.
The processor is mentioned as an octa-core Qualcomm SoC clocked at 1.71GHz paired with 4GB of RAM, with Android Pie handling things on the software side. While the name of the chipset is not mentioned, a previous leak indicates that the Pixel 3a will be powered by the Snapdragon 670 SoC. The Pixel 3a XL, on the other hand, will reportedly draw power from the Snapdragon 710 SoC, and its leaked higher benchmark scores narrate the same story.
As for the rest of specifications, the Pixel 3a is tipped to pack a 5.6-inch a full-HD+ (1080x2220 pixels) OLED display with a pixel density of 440ppi. Talking about the cameras, the Pixel 3a will reportedly sport a single 12-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel selfie snapper, while the battery capacity will reportedly stand at 3,000mAh with support for 18W fast charging.
The design, as per leaked case renders and alleged official renders, will reportedly be quite similar to that of the Pixel 3 with thick top and bottom bezels. As for the colours, we have seen the phone appear in black and white, however, Iris and purple colour options have also surfaced. We'll get to know more at the Google I/O conference, where the company is expected to lift the covers from the Pixel 3a and the Pixel 3a duo.


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Individual springs and plastic pivots let this chair fit any body
By Lauren AaronsonPosted 10.14.2008 at 5:24 pm 6 Comments
To follow up on its famed Aeron office chair, Herman Miller gave its engineers a challenge: Create a seat that offers a custom fit for anyone, no matter how big or small, round-shouldered or straight-backed. The engineers’ solution was to construct the frame from dozens of small, flexible pieces that bend precisely to your contours.
From flexible flashlights to genetically engineered fertilizers, San Jose's Tech Museum names the 25 most do-goody projects of the year
By Lauren AaronsonPosted 09.22.2008 at 5:48 pm 0 Comments
The TV show Heroes didn't win an Emmy this weekend, but that's okay. Awards of a different kind have just been handed out to real heroes: people who are using technology to help those in need. The Tech Museum in San Jose recently announced its annual Tech Award Laureates, a group of 25 organizations doing innovative work in the areas of health, the environment, education, economic development and equality.
These filters use plants and fans to clear the air of toxic chemicals
By Lauren AaronsonPosted 05.13.2008 at 1:30 pm 11 Comments
Cost to Develop: $236,000
Time: 1 year
Prototype | | | | | Product
Your home could be emitting toxic gases. Just ask the victims of Hurricane Katrina, whose emergency trailers, made with glue-laden particleboard, let off so much formaldehyde that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that residents should spend time outdoors and make relocating to permanent housing a priority. Even in more expensive new homes, the concentration of emissions from things like furniture, carpet and paint can be two to five times as high as it is outdoors. But most air filters only catch particulates such as dust and pollen rather than organic compounds like formaldehyde and benzene, and the filters that do trap those gases need frequent replacement. So Mathieu LeHanneur and David Edwards built an ultra-efficient filtration system that eliminates toxins using natures own hazmat squad: plants.
Two college students develop an idea that could solve two of the world's major problems: a lack of affordable housing and an overabundance of plastic bottles
By Lauren AaronsonPosted 04.21.2008 at 2:24 pm 7 Comments
People around the world guzzle about 50 billion gallons of bottled water a year, and then toss billions of those plastic bottles into the trash heap instead of the recycling bin. Matt Naples and Peter Zummo think they can take this lemon of a fact and turn it into lemonade—or rather, take those discarded water bottles and turn them into chairs, shelves, or houses for the worlds poor.
Make this mini cellphone do just about anything, simply by swapping its case
By Lauren AaronsonPosted 04.10.2008 at 12:51 pm 3 Comments
Carry a different phone for every situation, whether youre traveling light or blasting tunes in your car. On its own, Modu is one of the smallest, lightest cellphones yet. But when you want to do more than basic calling, pop it into a new outer shell to give it features like a full keyboard, a wider display or a longer-lasting battery.
Rip open a Pleo, get the run down on hybrids, and learn about the military's futuristic flying laser gun as Chuck Cage and the editors of PopSci take a behind-the-scenes tour of the third annual How it Works issue. Learn the stories behind the stories of some of the world's most sophisticated machines.
Next-generation laptops won’t have hard drives. Instead, they’ll use flash memory—the same found in camera memory cards and iPhones. Flash-based drives are thinner, faster and nearly indestructible
By Lauren AaronsonPosted 03.13.2008 at 4:53 pm 6 Comments
Like a traditional hard drive, a flash-based drive stores information in the computer-readable language of 0s and 1s. But instead of writing data by flipping magnetic poles on a spinning disk, flash memory just shuttles electrons around on a stamp-size microchip.
Last week, toy manufacturers showed off the gadgets that’ll have you lining up outside stores come Christmas; we pick our favorites for all kids at heart
By Lauren AaronsonPosted 02.25.2008 at 4:34 pm 1 Comment
The annual Toy Industry Association's Toy Fair is every kids dream: A whole conference center packed with games, robots, balls, hula hoops, slime guns, Smurfs, and just about any other instrument of fun that you can imagine. Come to think of it, its every adults dream, too.
A new start-up’s counterintuitive plan to end poverty by getting poor people to buy stuff
By Lauren AaronsonPosted 02.19.2008 at 6:41 pm 2 Comments
More than a billion people worldwide live in poverty—not a gadget hound's I-can't-afford-an-iPhone poverty, but devastating, living-on-a-dollar-a-day poverty. These folks have trouble paying for food, staying healthy, getting an education, and doing many of the other daily things you and I take for granted. In future postings of this column, we'll discuss new tech that tackles each of these specific problems. But to kick things off, lets look at a new program that aims at the most obvious problem of the poor: They need more money.
The Internet depends on three-inch-thick cables that stretch from continent to continent
By Lauren AaronsonPosted 02.08.2008 at 1:31 pm 5 Comments
Undersea cables have made big news in the last few days, ever since several cables were cut last week near Dubai and Alexandria, disrupting Internet service all over the Middle East. (The latest news: It looks like a ships anchor sliced one of the cables. Oops!) The accident draws attention to how much our modern lives depend on unseen cables—just three inches thick and buried under sand—that most of us have never even thought about. There are hundreds of thousands of miles of these things snaking under our seas, with even more on the way.


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Bagels entice early risers
Sam Stryker | Sunday, January 23, 2011
Braving the bitter cold and early wake up call, several Notre Dame students joined local residents in waiting in line at the opening of an Einstein Bros. Bagels location in South Bend. For those who braved the elements, the wait was worth it, as they walked away with a year’s worth of free food.
Senior Jessica Spiewak said though the bagel franchise advertised the first 100 people in line would win free breakfast for the year, Einstein Bros. Bagels is not limiting the promotion just to the first meal of the day.
“[They gave us] a booklet of coupons and you rip off each one when you go. There are 52, so you can use one a week for a year or whenever you want,” she said. “They only work at this location.”
Senior Nate Anderson said he got to the store with friends early to beat the crowds.
“We didn’t go to bed,” he said. “We got there at 2:30 to scope it out, and we got in line at 4:15.”
Anderson said the novelty of waiting outside combined with the pull of free food convinced him and his friends to participate in the promotion.
“Me and my friends thought it would be fun to wait in the cold,” he said. “Free breakfast sandwiches sounded good, so we thought we would give it a shot.”
Spiewak, whose group of friends led the line, said the group tried to have some fun during the cold wait.
“We were the first five in line. The guys smoked cigars, so it was fun,” she said. “It was pretty cold, but they brought out free coffee which helped.”
Senior Vince Montalbano, who waited in line with Spiewak’s group, said standing in the cold with such a large group of people was in itself a fun experience.
“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it, but we made friends with the people in line next to us, and a couple of local television stations stopped by,” he said.
Anderson said he and his friends tried to do anything fun to keep their minds off the freezing temperature, including leading chants and singing popular songs.
“We substituted bagel or breakfast sandwich into the lyrics. [We did] anything to take [our] minds off the fact it was below zero.”
Spiewak said the event seemed to draw a wide array of customers.
“I heard at one point there were 115 people in line,” she said. “There was a good mix of Notre Dame kids, high schoolers and local adults.”
Spiewak also said the novelty of the promotion has drawn her back to the store several times.
“We waited in line from 4:15 until 6:30 when it opened, so the first thing we did was eat breakfast,” she said. “We went to sleep right after. It is super close to where I live, and I didn’t feel like making anything and I wanted a free sandwich, so I went back.”
Anderson said while the store may not have a strong customer base yet, he thinks the promotion might spark some long-term interest in the bagel store amongst Notre Dame students.
“In terms of awareness, I think it has done all right. I first heard about it at midnight that night. One hundred people now have this promotion, so word of mouth will spread throughout the year,” he said. “I talked to the manager briefly, and it seems like they do this [promotion] with all their stores.”
Montalbano also said he thought the store would prove popular with students. He said he has noticed the new location drawing some interest from the student body.
“I think people hear about something like that and they want to know more. I’ve seen kids using the free Internet there like in Starbuck’s,” Montalbano. “There is a lot of space.”
Spiewak said despite the bitter cold and the long wait early in the morning, the experience was well worth the effort.
“The big part is it is so close, so it is useful. Anything free is great, and worth it to me,” she said. “We waited in line for two hours and got 200 dollars worth of food, so when you break it down we made 100 dollars an hour.”


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Since 2014, there’s been a domino effect of new businesses opening up in Juhl condominiums. The latest Greens & Proteins, a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner restaurant that has earned a reputation across the Valley, is what representative for the Juhl, Uri Vaknin, says is the condo’s second anchor business with Le Pho Vietnamese restaurant.
Today, Greens & Proteins celebrates their grand opening with the official acknowledgment of The Promenade at Juhl, 20,000 square feet of retail space on ground level, with a champagne toast and a ribbon cutting with Mayor Carolyn Goodman from 5- 5:30 p.m.
Vaknin became a representative for condos on Third and Bonneville in 2014. “One of the first things I wanted to do was activate the streetscape and the retail at Juhl,” he says. “But we also wanted to do it very thoughtfully and strategically. We wanted to curate the retail to be amenities for our residents upstairs but also complement the neighborhood.”
Along with Greens and Proteins and Le Pho, other independent businesses include JAECI jewelry, The Classic Jewel cocktail bar (which is expanding into the space next door), A/V Boutique and Downtown Décor home theater retail and design stores. Most of the operators live and work in the Juhl.
Vaknin says they wanted to maintain the authentic feel and flavor of Downtown while creating a continuous retail, shopping experience from the Arts District to Fremont East.
Helping bridge that divide, Vaknin, a former art dealer and board member to bring an art museum to Symphony Park, made sure to incorporate an artist-in-residence program and galleries. The Juhl is home to Gallerie Miscrea8, owned by Tanya Michelle (who also owns Lil’ Art Bodega in Container Park) and is hosting Justin Favela for their artist in residence.
“The artist in residence program adds a whole new layer and texture to the community,” he says. “There is a resurgence of culture in Downtown and people in our building, they are the creative class. For them, culture is important.”
Two new businesses are slated to open in 2017: Get a Haircut men’s classic cuts and barbershop and The Corner Market higher-end convenience store. Vaknin says there are plans to introduce lifestyle events in the future as well. The first will be hosted by Favela in January.
There are three more workspaces and one more retail space available. Vaknin says they are currently in talks with new tenants. “If they come to fruition, they will be unbelievable,” he says.
Stop by the Juhl on November 17, take a photo in any store on site and post it with #PromenadeAtJuhl. Show the post to a store associate to receive a discount on stuff.


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ELYRIA — Christmas festivities are almost ready for the Saturday kickoff in Elyria’s Ely Square and elsewhere around the city.
The free displays of the Elyria Festival of Lights include a new partnership with the city and the Lorain Arts Council to create the new Elyria Art Depot inside the former Brandau Jewelers at 336 Broad St.
The official start will be the arrival of Santa Claus at 5 p.m. to assist Mayor Holly Brinda flipping the switch to turn on the city’s holiday lights in Ely Square.
Other events will take place before and after, with the downtown events starting at 1 p.m., earlier than in previous years, Brinda said.
For example, an ice sculptor will start at noon to create an 8-foot snowman; kids’ crafts and a holiday movie is 1 p.m. at City Hall; and a children’s petting zoo starts at 1 p.m.
“We’re starting the activities sooner and we’ve added more,” Brinda said. “We’re trying to get families out a little bit earlier.”
An official schedule can be found at www.cityofelyria.org/parks/elyria-festival-of-lights.
Another addition will be the Elyria Art Depot, a partnership with the city and Lorain Arts Council. Brinda and Arts Council President Antonio Barrios unveiled the space earlier this week.
“There is growing evidence demonstrating a direct positive correlation between the arts industry and city and business revenues and we want to capitalize on that,” Brinda said.
She also credited building owners Janice and Tom Haywood, who offered a six-month renewable lease for the arts group.
“By offering the building for the cost of utilities and insurance, we hope to help jump start Elyria’s new Arts District and provide added exposure for the marketing of our building and other buildings downtown,” explained Janice Haywood.
If The Elyria Art Depot grows in success, Haywood said it could become permanently housed in the building.
Several additional downtown property owners have expressed interest in similar arrangements and James Graham, the city’s new economic development specialist, is working to find entrepreneurs and projects to match the available buildings to expand this arts-related pop-up business strategy.
“We are searching for complementary businesses to the arts to create a whole shopping experience in downtown Elyria,” Graham said.
And while the pop-up businesses may be temporary, the city hopes that at least some of the businesses will continue after the initial six-month start-up phase.
As for the Elyria Arts Depot, 10 artists have committed to participate, according to the city. Among the art disciplines to be represented include painting, drawing, print making, photography, digital art and 3-dimensional modeling, wearable fabric art, beading, metal sculpting, pottery, weaving, metal jewelry making, guitar and street performances.
The Arts Depot grand opening is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. Its hours are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursdays, and 4 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Artists who are interested in participating in Lorain Arts Council’s Elyria Art Depot project can contact Barrios at 440-288-2787.
Away from the downtown area, the Finwood Estate, 799 N. Abbe Road, will be open 6-9 p.m. through Dec. 23.
At the North Park Ice Arena, open skate is from 1-3 p.m. with admission $3 for youths, $4 for adults and $3 skate rental. DJ open skate is from 6-9 p.m. with admission $4 for youths, $5 for adults and $3 skate rental.
Information on 2013 Elyria Festival of Lights Holiday Kick-Off from Elyria Mayor Holly Brinda
Information on the Elyria Art Depot, which opens soon


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BANGKOK, Thailand - The rich red hue of Myanmar's prized rubies is a reminder to many gem dealers of the military government's bloody crackdown on democracy advocates, and talk of a boycott is increasing.
'There is a growing awareness that it is a fascist regime,' said Brian Leber, a third generation American gem dealer.
'Considering what this regime has done to its own people, we're troubled to see that a precious stone is offering such a great source of cash for them,' he said in a telephone interview from the Chicago suburb of Western Springs, Ill.
'Trade in these stones supports human rights abuses,' New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement this week. 'The sale of these gems gives Burma's military rulers quick cash to stay in power.' Myanmar is also called Burma.
But a successful boycott of what activists call 'blood rubies' will prove difficult. More than 1,500 people from more than 20 countries registered for a gems auction that opened Wednesday, despite the boycott calls. While some rubies are exported legally, many also are smuggled out of Myanmar.
The ruby trade puts money in the junta's pocket, since it controls mining concessions, but the scale of the profit is hard to assess. Secrecy shrouds both the gem trade and the country as a whole.
In 1964, Myanmar introduced an annual gem auction, and starting in 1992 the sale was held twice a year. In more recent times, a special third auction has been held each year.
First lady Laura Bush issued a statement Friday calling for a boycott of the event by the gem industry and urging consumers to reject any stone from Myanmar.
'These funds prop up the regime, allowing it to continue to harass, arrest and sentence peaceful activists who seek freedom of speech, worship and assembly,' she said. 'Every Burmese stone bought, cut, polished and sold sustains an illegitimate, repressive regime.'
The government has taken other steps to increase earnings, including an effort to cut smuggling. The country's New Gemstone Law, enacted in 1995, allows people in Myanmar to mine, produce, transport and sell finished gems and jewelry at home and abroad - as long as they pay tax, which smugglers don't.
Most rubies are trafficked as rough stones. They are dug out of mountainsides in the Mogok and Mong Hsu areas of northeast Myanmar. From there, they are carried on a long, perilous journey over mountains, through jungles and insurgent-prone areas, changing hands several times on their way to Thailand.
There, the rough stones are heat-treated with chemicals at high temperature for long periods to bring out the brilliant color and clear away small cracks.
Once cooked, cut and polished, the gems are sold to foreign wholesalers, who distribute them to jewelers around the world.
The biggest determiner of the final price is the success of the heat enhancement. If done improperly, the process can split a stone and make it almost worthless; done right, a ruby can become more expensive per carat than a diamond.
The best large stones fetch millions of dollars. The Christie's auction house, on its Web site, lists a ring set with an 8.62 carat ruby, which sold for $3.6 million - a record per carat price of $425,000 - in February 2006.
The vast majority, however, are stones of up to 2 carats, which miners in Myanmar sell for just a few dollars. They end up in jewelry shops with price tags ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars.


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The smartphone market is full of various brands offering myriads of devices at different price tags and with different features. But when there is a new trend in the niche, they all muster up some strength to come in with corresponding models. No one doubts the most trendy smartphone feature of 2017 is the full-screen. The latter has become so desired and demanded due to the Xiaomi Mi MIX launched last year. Now there are tons of such devices priced differently. You can even find a bezel-less screen smartphone carrying a brand name not heard for a long time. One of them is 360 (aka Qihoo 360). It’s a more or less popular Chinese smartphone maker known for its wallet-friendly devices sporting surprisingly good hardware. Today, the 360 CEO, Zhou Hongyi posted on his social media account informing the 360 N6 Pro will be unleashed on November 21. Seems nothing unexpected – a Chinese manufacturer is launching the next model. But the thing is that the N6 Pro will use a full-screen technology.
Gizchina News of the week
Unfortunately, there are no hints at hardware features and screen size, but one thing is clear – the 360 N6 Pro will be priced affordably. Earlier this year the company released the 360 N5 packing a whopping 6GB RAM. And what’s more interesting it was priced at only 1399 yuan ($210). The same can be said for its successor, which has been said to be the cheapest 8GB RAM handset at 1699 yuan ($256). So it’s quite possible the 360 N6 Pro will be priced around $250. Of course, there are many Chinese brands offering full-screen handsets for less, but the N6 Pro is rumored to sport more attractive features in terms of processor and camera.